Original Friends DVD: almost P 2,000 per season x 10 seasons = P 20,000

Pirated Friends DVD: 60 DVDs x P 45 each = P2,700

Wow. Huuuge savings.

Next time I go to Divisoria, I'll bring enough money.

Have you seen McDonald’s McJelly commercial? The girl eating McJelly is so pretty and she looks like an angel. Truly an eye candy. Or, if the advertising people had their way, an eye McJelly.

I think the commercial was shot in McDo Katipunan. It’s a pity I wasn’t there. I might have been able to catch them shooting, and stared at the girl for as long as I want.

***

I was supposed to tell you to tune in to StarWorld this week because they’re airing reruns of Friends Season 10 every 7:30pm. But, alas, it’s too late. They aired the season (and show) finale last Monday night.

It was so bitin! First of all, I was under the impression that the show would last until Friday because in their farewell interview with Oprah (which they aired during the Friends timeslot last Thursday and Friday), they kept saying “This is the final week.” So I was anticipating a whole week of Friends. I even set an alarm in my cellphone to ring at 7:15 pm from Monday to Friday to remind me to “watch Friends in StarWorld.” So imagine my surprise at the end of the show when I realized I had just watched the last two episodes (they aired double episodes that night).

Second, I would never see how Monica and Chandler struggle through parenthood. I mean, it’s kinda unfair because they were the first couple to actually get married on the show itself and we never get to see them with kids of their own. Well, Ross and Rachel did get married in Las Vegas, but they were drunk and had to divorce later, so they don’t count. (And Ross’s other marriages don’t count, too. Like, duh.) I mean, we got to see Rachel as a single mom to Emma, so why didn’t the writers let Monica and Chandler adopt sooner? Why did they have to wait for nine months to get their baby and not go to an orphanage or adopt an Asian kid instead?

Third, the other episodes were kinda slow and didn’t add much to the whole story or the characters. They just showed ordinary things in the Friends’ lives (with a funny twist, of course). But in the last episodes, there were a lot of big changes in their lives that I can’t help but think “Boy, that was fast.”

In their interview with Oprah, the writers said that they wanted the audience to see that the Friends were going to be all right. I find it strange that their idea of “all right” is settling down and raising a family. I guess I’m in a stage in my life where getting married and having kids aren’t in my priorities.

Anyway, I was expecting a very funny, if not the funniest, episode, but I was disappointed. Though it was still funny, it was also sad, almost bittersweet. I mean, in the final scene, Rachel was the most teary-eyed of all. I was thinking, is that really part of the script or was Jennifer Aniston that emotional because it was their last shoot ever?

But I found it amusing that there were allusions (for the lack of a better term) to past incidents in other seasons in the last two episodes. It’s as if they were bringing the whole show to full circle. Phoebe’s taxi, Ross and Rachel’s “break”, a chick and a duck. Monica even says that all of them has lived in that apartment one time or another. It was cute. Hehe.

So what do I plan to do every night now that I’m bereft of my Friends? Probably play The Sims and build houses similar to the apartments in the show. Crazy, huh?

If there’s one thing I am thankful to my ex for, it’s introducing me to the sitcom Friends (no, persuading me to wear short skirts and sleeveless tops doesn’t count). Although in retrospect, maybe the thanks should go to his roommate. Hmm…

I absolutely love Friends (despite the association). I tried watching (reruns of) other sitcoms, like Seinfeld, Everybody Loves Raymond, Malcolm in the Middle, and Will and Grace, but they just don’t crack me up like Friends do. Well, Will and Grace is also great, but there’s a certain limit to how much of Jack and Karen I can take.

Who are my favorite Friends? Hands down, Monica and Chandler. After watching my first few episodes, I felt myself drawn to Monica. I could totally relate to her, and sometimes I can see myself in her character (charing!). I wasn’t fat in my younger days, but I felt I was fat “in essence” (if ever there’s such thing) or the proverbial fat girl. I had a lot of issues with myself and my body, and was desperate to fit in with my schoolmates. Monica followed Rachel around during high school partly because Rachel was popular. I didn’t follow anyone around, but I did place several semi-popular people on a pedestal.

Monica had an older brother that their parents seemed to favor, so she turned to food to fill her need for love. I have a younger sister much prettier than I am, and my parents sometimes expect too much from me, so I turned to books and pets for comfort.

Monica grew up to be a perfectionist and a neat-freak. I’m no neat-freak (you should see my room – it’s a total mess), but there’s a hint of a perfectionist in me. I could be too hard on myself sometimes, and I would hate myself for ages when I screw up a task or a project or whatever. I’d go almost berserk (honest!) if something isn’t going the way I planned it.

Monica would sometimes boss her friends around, but you know this is because she really loves them and thinks she knows what’s best for them. I could get bossy, too, and I’d like to think this is actually because I really care for the people around me.

And Monica is also one of the normal, average kind of woman when it comes to dating. She’s not ugly (hell, no!), but she’s not a bombshell either. Guys don’t just fall on her lap. She sometimes had to get the nerve to ask a guy out for a date, unlike Rachel who claims she’s never done that yet. (It’s weird because Courtney Cox, who played Monica, initially auditioned for the role of Rachel, and Jennifer Aniston, who played Rachel, initially auditioned for the role of Monica.)

Chandler is such a witty, funny guy. I liked him even before he and Monica hooked up. He has the makings of a nut case because he had a dysfunctional childhood (his parents divorced because his father was gay and later became a transvestite) but he turned out to be a relatively normal person. I also like his sarcasm, his mannerisms, and the deadpan delivery of his punchlines.

I think Monica is lucky to have Chandler because she can feel totally secure with him. Chandler isn’t the type of guy who would cheat on his girlfriend/wife (as compared to the track record of Ross and Joey). And have I mentioned he’s such a witty, funny guy?

The best thing about this couple is that they decided to adopt instead of going through fertility treatments and artificial insemination. Sometimes, an infertile couple has to realize that maybe having a biological child isn’t for them, and that they would be more blessed if they welcome an unwanted/abandoned baby into their home. (Hmm… Phoebe was the surrogate mother for her brother’s triplets, Rachel got pregnant and Monica adopted. The writers covered pretty much everything. :D) Or, it was already the last season and they didn’t want any loose ends, so Monica and Chandler had to have kids as soon as possible. Fertility treatments take years to work and artificial insemination is for lesbian couples, so adoption was the only way to go.

I think I'm rambling already so I better stop here. Basta, I love Monica and Chandler, and I love Friends. I'm dreaming of having a Friends VCD/DVD collection and then holding a Friends marathon for a week. :D

I bought three tiger barbs a couple of days ago. That’s a kind of tropical fish, if you still don’t know. They’re small and light brown, with four dark vertical stripes on their sides. Two of them died last week. They're in the freezer right now, awaiting burial. Don’t worry, it can’t be mistaken as ulam because I placed it inside a box of matches. Oh, and we’re planning to buy an aquarium (complete with aerator, filter and the customary miniature castle). But my younger sister, Nadya, and I have to use our own money. So we have to “work” in our family business. *sigh* My first taste of “independence” in the “real world.”

Nadya actually has more money, whether in the wallet or in the bank, than I have. And to think she’s ten years younger than I am.

By the way, she’s taking Math and Science classes that her school is offering this summer. It’s not because she failed or did poorly during the school year. She actually won a couple of Math contests already. District level nga lang, but she’s quite good. And this is not just the proud sister talking. Gahd, aren’t we a bunch of nerds.

But for all her potential, she has one shortcoming: she hates reading. She actually got sleepy after reading a page of Nancy Drew. (To her credit, it wasn’t really that interesting. Nevertheless…) So what’s wrong with that, you ask. A lot. How is she suppose to know important stuff when she won’t read anything other than her textbooks? How is she suppose to pass her entrance exams when her vocabulary is miserable and her reading skills are next to zero? Besides, reading is a way better than sitting in front of the idiot box all day. What is wrong with kids nowadays? Don’t they know that if they don’t read, they’re gonna grow up bobo? Sheesh.