Something that I've noticed is that when I visit cities, I usually go straight to the main tourist attractions. But people who live there never get around to visiting the attractions.

Even when my family and I go to India, we always go to our family's house and it wasn't until two years ago, my sixth trip to India, that we saw the Taj Mahal.

Have you been to the "hot spots" in your area?

I know a lot of people were disappointed with the 22nd Bond film Quantum of Solace which released about two and a half weeks ago. I wasn't one of them. I thought it was better than the Dalton-era Bond films and much better than Sean Connery's unofficial Thunderball remake, Never Say Never Again. I saw it again last night and enjoyed it even more. So, for all you haters out there, here are my top 10 reasons why QoS should be seen twice.

10. The plot is easier to understand the second time around. We all wondered what the fuss was about the Bolivian water system but now I realized it's about the big countries controlling the survival of a smaller, more politically turbulent country aka world domination.

9. The action scenes are amazing. Land, water, air, fire, opera-house, car chase, hotel, church--yup, all the standard action sequence locations are covered and they're awesome.

8. Mathieu Almaric is so much fun.

7. Jeffrey Wright returns with his revisionist portrayal of CIA agent Felix Leiter.

6. The climax is one of the best in the Bond series.

5. Strawberry Fields and her homage to Goldfinger.

4. Daniel Craig is not only good eye candy but a great actor bringing a depth to Bond that the other ones couldn't.

3. Judi Dench is so great as M that I have to remind myself that M was once played by a man.

2. The film makes good use of its probably large location budget--Italy, Bolivia, Russia, Austria, London, Haiti.

1. Olga Kurylenko. Her portrayal of Camille reminds me of Melina Havelock from For Your Eyes Only. Also, I'm glad there wasn't a romance because it would have looked out of place. Olga really holds her own in the climax.

Of course, the film isn't perfect. It's nowhere near its predecessor in greatness Casino Royale. And the main titles song "Another Way to Die" is a mess. But, even so, QoS deserves to be seen again. 

My friend Mary and I went to Puccini's last night, which is one of those restaurants where you're not sure if the food is good enough to distract you from the bad service. While we were there, Mary filled me in on the developments in her love life. Or maybe I should say sex life.

She's attracted to two guys. The first is Luke who is her Physics lab partner. Their relationship was purely academic and casual until one day they decided to go to dinner together and it became a date. They had a good chemistry so they hung out again on Halloween, drinking and smoking and playing guitar. I am totally against smoking but Mary is one of those people who make it glamorous and sexy. In fact, Mary is a very glamorous and sexy girl herself. She's fashionable, actually has a body instead of a stick, enjoys a good meal and a good book, and knows how to party and how to be a good student. She's perfect in every way. Which is what Luke said to her after a night of (almost) sex (if you know what I mean). He sounded sincere and Mary was beginning to see herself in a relationship with him. Unfortunately she was tossed aside for the bitch ex-girlfriend in Boston.

A couple days later, she met Mathew and they hit it off really well and she ended up sleeping with him. He was the best sex she ever had and she would casually flirt with him, hoping their relationship would grow. And then he never called again, indicating that this was just a one-night stand. Mary knew that one night of sex doesn't amount to a relationship but she thought since the sex was so good, he'd call her again.

It's said that guys like the chase; they like playing the game. Mary herself knows this but, as she puts it, "Playing games doesn't get me laid." It made me wonder: was Mary's forwardness her undoing? Is Mary doomed to a life of one-night stands? In your opinion, does being sexually forward mean not being taken seriously?