dante's peak was on TV tonight and i watched it while sitting on our newly-delivered sofa bed (loaned to me by the big boss in our office, isn't she the nicest? and she's even thanking me for taking the sofa. like i'd say no that huh?!) anyway back to dante's peak, the first time i saw this movie was way back my college days at UP. i think i saw it with joanne. it left an impact on me because the philippines and mount pinatubo were mentioned once in the film and because i've always liked disaster films.

for some reasons, disaster films (no matter how seemingly hopeless the situation is) always leave the viewers a ray of hope. at the end of the day, the lead characters survive huge volcanic eruptions, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquake, climate changes or any other natural disaster that Hollywood can bring in to a film. they may come injured and traumatized but alive and breathing nonetheless. moreover, disaster films are not only action- and adventure-packed, but also informative in the sense that they can explain in less scientific way why and how natural disasters happen.

i've never been in a major disaster. the closest i could think of was the 1990 earthquake in manila, and that artificial twister and intensity 9 earthquake that we experienced in a theme park at florida. i think that when put into a really major situation like the one in dante's peak, i'd probably just surrender myself to mother nature, especially if i've lost everything already, particularly all my loved ones. plus, i couldn't see myself being able to run away (literally) from the scene of the disaster. my legs are simply not trained to run, unless there's a rush of adrenalines which i haven't experienced yet. when i watched jurrasic park, i realized i'd probably be one of the first people to die in events like those because i don't think i have enough strength and energy to run for my life.

and oh, here's a trivia on me and mt. pinatubo (since it was mentioned in dante's peak), i can still remember the day it erupted. it was very dark outside, there was ash fall and since there was nothing to do outdoors, i played family computer all day long and that was when i finished for the first time the super mario game. being able to save the princess (after six months of trying) was a gloroius moment for me back then and that is why up to now, i still vividly recall the day of the eruption.