I am glad that I was able to, finally, get my hands on a copy of Arthur Golden’s book-turned-movie Memoirs of a Geisha.

It was the second to the last copy available in the bookstore and the last one that remained sealed in its plastic packaging. The last copy of the book was on display on one of the easy-access racks and it was badly thumbed through already.

Needless to say, I am more than halfway through the book and I have had it for only a few hours.

So far, I have noted several differences between the original story and what was portrayed in the movie.

However, film is a different genre and dramatic license must be taken in more than one instance to make a tight story that will fit in a two-hour onscreen rendition.

As I devour the hypnotic pages of my new paperback, I must say that, so far, I like the novel better than the movie.

Here is a book description from Amazon.com:

In this literary tour de force, novelist Arthur Golden enters a remote and shimmeringly exotic world.

For the protagonist of this peerlessly observant first novel is Sayuri, one of Japan’s most celebrated geisha, a woman who is both performer and courtesan, slave and goddess.

We follow Sayuri from her childhood in an impoverished fishing village, where in 1929, she is sold to a representative of a geisha house, who is drawn by the child’s unusual blue-grey eyes. From there she is taken to Gion, the pleasure district of Kyoto. She is nine years old.

In the years that follow, as she works to pay back the price of her purchase, Sayuri will be schooled in music and dance, learn to apply the geisha’s elaborate makeup, wear elaborate kimono, and care for a coiffure so fragile that it requires a special pillow. She will also acquire a magnanimous tutor and a venomous rival.

Surviving the intrigues of her trade and the upheavals of war, the resourceful Sayuri is a romantic heroine on the order of Jane Eyre and Scarlett O’Hara. And Memoirs of a Geisha is a triumphant work – suspenseful, and utterly persuasive.

Today, I got to watch a screening Memoirs of a Geisha at one of the local mall theaters.

I had read positive and negative reviews of the movie and went to watch it, surprisingly, without any biases.

I have yet to read the book, so I was pretty much a tabula rasa, which I suppose was a good thing.

The film has great music and gorgeous cinematography that reminded me a lot of Zhang Yimou’s Hero (Ying Xiong).

The actors and actresses were very well chosen for their respective roles. My favorites are legendary Chinese actress Li Gong as the cruel, envious, love-to-hate-her geisha Hatsumomo and Japanese actor Koji Yakusho as the caustic, scarred yet very appealing Nobu.

The scene in the entire movie that really impressed me was Sayuri’s spotlight dance, wherein actress Ziyi Zhang was clad in a flowing white kimono with very, very high geta to match.

The blue light, snow effect, haunting music and Ziyi’s powerful choreography in that particular sequence were just mesmerizing. The picture I posted in this entry is from that particular scene.

Earlier today, I hauled myself off to the beauty parlor and stayed there for the better part of three hours.

I emerged with golden-bronze nails, as yours truly became her manicurist’s token guinea pig for a brand-new shade of polish that they had just acquired.

Half an inch or thereabout was trimmed off my hair, to clean up the little imperfections that have been haunting the ends of locks for quite a few weeks now. I was so impressed with the way my hair was treated with a teeny bit of serum and blown dry to a shiny, straight finish.

Since I was a good girl and got myself out of the house, I treated myself to an early dinner of baked ziti. The sauce was all-natural tomato. I had Valentine-red raspberry iced tea for my drink.

After eating, it was off to watch Underworld: Evolution.

The movie opened locally last Thursday and I just had to watch it first chance I got. Well, I wasn’t disappointed today!

I have been madly in love with Bill Nighy, who plays the immortal king Viktor, since the first installment of the Underworld saga back in 2003. I was practically squeeing with delight when I saw him in the prologue, in shiny battle armor and full-on warlord mode.

Underworld: Evolution was definitely more exciting than the first film. The action was practically nonstop since the first scene.

It was great to see a buffer, more badass Selene take matters into her hands and kick the bejeezus out of powerful lycans and vampires alike.

Amazon.com has the following movie summary:

Better action, a bit of sex, and gorier R-rated violence make Underworld: Evolution a reasonably satisfying sequel to 2003’s surprise hit Underworld.

Looking stunning as ever in her black leather battle gear, Kate Beckinsale is every goth guy’s fantasy as Selene, the vampire “death dealer” who’s now fighting to stop the release of the original “Lycan” werewolf, William (Brian Steele) from the prison that’s held him for centuries.

As we learn from the film’s action-packed prologue, William and his brother Marcus (Tony Curran) began the bloodline of vampires and werewolves, and after witnessing centuries of warfare between them, their immortal father Corvinus (Derek Jacobi) now seeks Selene and the human vampire/lycan hybrid Michael (Scott Speedman) to put an end to the war perpetuated by Victor (Bill Nighy), the vampire warrior whose betrayal of Selene turns Underworld: Evolution into an epic tale of familial revenge.

It has been raining on and off since Thursday, and the weather has been grey, overcast and deliciously cool.

I woke up late this morning and wanted to have a light lunch before going off to my afternoon training. However, I had a very ugly migraine attack, so painful that it was difficult to keep my eyes open and my head up straight.

As a result, I had to call off all my appointments for the day. I ended up being stuck at my place.

With nothing really better to do, I finally took the chance to watch the video CD that was loaned to me by a friend more than a week ago: The Wedding Date, the 2005 hit romantic comedy topbilled by Debra Messing and the very hot Dermot Mulroney.

The movie was a lot of fun, with just the right mix of intelligence, quirkiness and passion.

The leads had great chemistry, too, so they did not have to force anything to create romantic tension.

There are two great quotables that I picked up from the movie, both said by Dermot’s character, Nick Mercer:

“I’d rather fight with you than make love with anyone else.”

“The hardest thing is loving someone and then having the courage to let them love you back.”

Amazon.com provides the following movie summary:

Debra Messing shines in this hilarious romantic comedy about the surprising road to finding true love.

Kat Ellis (Messing) is determined to attend her younger sister’s wedding with a date. Rather than face the ridicule of her family and in order to show up her ex-fiance, she resorts to the Yellow Pages to find a last-minute escort, Nick (Dermot Mulroney).

His dashing good looks and quick-witted charm may win over her family. But will they win over Kat?

Filled with unexpected twists and endless laughs, The Wedding Date is the one date that you’ll want to keep!

Today was salon day. I had a thorough foot scrub and massage, then had both my fingernails and toenails done.

Although my fingernails are cut short and square-shaped so as not to get in the way of my computer work and martial arts training, my manicurist insisted on giving me French tips. Thus, each nail was fully painted with translucent pearl polish, then tipped with matte white.

Almost everyone who saw my manicure and pedicure commented on how good these looked. Whoever said that French tips are only for those with long nails?

Afterwards, I went to one of the local malls to meet someone as well as catch a glimpse of the first ever region-wide Pencak Silat tournament.

The event was mostly for juniors, 17 being the age limit, I believe. There were weight-class competitions in both sparring and artistic areas. Some of the relatively more senior Silat practitioners did a couple of exhibition routines, too.

In other news, my rashes and sores that manifested several days ago have been healing nicely. The irritations on my skin are gone, although my mouth sores are still a bit painful. Methinks I need more cut-black tea and citrus fruits in my daily diet.

Today is the birthday of DB, a distant relative and a very good friend of mine.

Happy, happy, happy birthday, DB, and may you continue to kick everyone’s ass this year and in the years to come!

To celebrate, we had a delectable feast consisting of chopsuey, butter-fried chicken and glistening and very fat pan de leche for dinner tonight.

I think I ate all the mushrooms that were mixed into the chopsuey, although I vehemently denied doing such a heartless thing when my mother gently accused me of this crime.

My gift to DB was a set of various beauty products: foam facial wash, body soap, moisturizing cream and an exfoliating facial loofah. All these have been pre-packed at the store in a gorgeous white vanity bathroom bag.