December Is Just Around the Corner

My favorite month is coming and I'm really excited! Aside from the fact that it's a tad colder than previous months, it's also a celebration month: birthday, anniversary and Christmas all in one! Most people would say having your birthday in the same month as Christmas sucks because people often times give you gifts covering both occasions. I don't care though... cause even care bears don't care! (whut?) December will always be a time of celebrating new life to me and the Catholic celebration of Jesus's birth.

So in line with my upcoming month, I am listing all the things that I want but I do not need. LOL. In short, it's my wishlist. And since it's a wishlist, it's up to me (or the people around me, ehem, ahhaha) to make it come true. :p

Susan Bate's 6-pc Silvallium Crochet Hook Set

I love doing crochet! But I only have 4mm and 5.5 mm at the moment. I tried purchasing them one by one but the store where I always buy it ran out of stocks. I found it though at Gantsilyo Guru Selections and crossing my fingers to have future funds to get it. Plus, 100% of their proceeds go to the victims of typhoon Yolanda / Haiyan. I got my super saver yarn here at P350. I think I now know what I will ask for our exchange gift college friends edition.

Muji Round Corner Punch
Great for handmade cards but these are insanely pricey! An alternative brand would be me happy still. :)

Graphics Tablet
What do I need it for? NOTHING. Just jealous of the people who can add own handwritten messages on their photos and other needs like putting your signature on a soft copy document. No photo, I have no idea what's the best one for hobbyists.

Fujifilm Instax Mini 90 Classic
This one would probably empty my wallet if I have. About 300 to 400 for 10 films? Please bring back the film camera days! I just love that you have an actual photo right after you hit that capture button. Preferring the classic over the colorful ones because.. well.. I think it goes with the age.

That's it! (For now?) I would also love to have front loading washing machine or Sunnex pans and other insane stuff that are not practical to ask in a wishlist. LOL. Aside from that, I need to get a 25-year old haircut style. Now what does that look like??

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One Afternoon's Realization

Crochet has this really addicting factor that doing one piece can be like reading book: you forget how time passes you by. One minute you're onto the first few layers and the next, you already have a bonnet on hand. Then you look at the time and five hours actually passed.

One afternoon, I picked up my crochet needle and yarn and then made a crocheted circle that can pass on as a circular table runner (is there such a thing?). I actually thought of a beanie in mind but the edge started to curl because I did extra double crochets somewhere. So I decided that it would be a table runner instead. But then, I realized that the color doesn't match the color theme inside our house. My sister suddenly popped the big question when she saw me making it, "What is that?" I didn't hesitate to answer the simplest one which was, "Nothing." She laughed and continued to ask, "Then why are you making it? If it's nothing, make it as Phoebe's hat." Phoebe's our crossbreed Shih Tzu, Chihuahua, rabbit, bird (whatever, you name it, she has it) of a dog.

That got me thinking. Why am I doing it? What am I gonna do with it? I looked at my work and saw a circular pattern that doesn't lead me anywhere to. I stopped. And decided to undo my work. The pattern was already as big as my hand but I did not hesitate to undo it, the same way I did not hesitate to give my sister an answer of "nothing." Undoing it was the reason why my yarn was curly. I started a new pattern, something that would be a headband in the future, something of use.

If only life decisions were done as easy as that. If only life decisions can be undone the same way. But it's not gonna happen. Don't get me wrong, I've done a lot of bad decisions in my life but I wouldn't trade it to where I am right now. It's just a realization that sometimes, the whirl of all things, you need to stop and think, and breathe and think again, where you are, why you're there and where you want to go next. Besides, if we can undo our decisions, we might find that boring. After all, where is the fun in that? No mistakes, no heartaches, no pain, no sadness, no nothing. Nothing to make you stronger, be a better person than you are right now. 

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Book Reads Part 1 - Young Adult Fiction

As mentioned in number 29 of my Bucket List, I need to blog all the books I have. Somehow I'm thankful that I'm not my sister cause her books are 5 times as many as I have lol.

So I'm gonna go for the Young Adult collection first. I was really into pyscho suspense romantic thriller back in high school that it became reaaaallly heavy because of all the killings even though they end up happy so I switched to young adult for that light feel.

1. Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling - Who doesn't have this??? My first novel book is actually Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's stone (2004).
   
   
   It was given by my godfather as a late birthday present. I wasn't much into books yet during that time so it took me 3 months to finish it lol. As you notice, I only have 6 books. Book 5 is MISSING because my mother lent some of my Harry Potter books to a kid of someone that came to visit our house and cannot remember how many books that kid borrowed. Meh. Anyway, for some reason, I never intend to read the 7th book but still bought it just to say I have all. LOL. Well except for book 5.
2. Fallen Series by Lauren Kate - This series is actually 4 books in total about fallen angels. The first book was borrowed by a friend. In my honest opinion, the first book is reallllyy dragging. I think that happens in all first book series but this one didn't really piqued my interest. But I though of giving it another try and decided to buy the second one. That's where I got hooked. Things get really interesting at book 4.
   
   Sucker for love stories here.
3. Immortal Series by Gillian Shields - This I stopped buying. I don't know why. But it's about a boarding school somewhere in the likes of the Princess Sarah setup where three girls discover that they have powers. Honestly, that's all I can remember.
   
   Spoiler Alert! Leading man is dying... at least in book 2. :p
4. Hush Hush Series by Becca Fitzpatrick - Another fallen angel series. I'd say that Patch (one of the main characters) would totally be the epitome of hot fallen angel. Hahaha.
   
   Don't you hate it when books change their publishers and the next release would not be the same size as the others??
5. The Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins - Who doesn't have this too??? If we're talking about woman empowerment, Katniss Everdeen would be at the top list... and Bella would be the uuhmm. Nevermind.
   
   Not a Twilight hater though! My Mockingjay book has been borrowed too but I can't remember who has it. -_-'
6. Mortal Instruments Series by Cassandra Clare - Current favorite series! Aside from Patch, Jace Wayland would be the next hottest male character in Young Adult Fiction. Third would be Sebastian, also a character in this series. As mentioned, I am not a Twilight hater, I even read the series but it was my sister who bought all of it. I actually bought a copy of this book because there was a comment from Stephenie Meyer on it. Lol. Books 1 to 4 were borrowed by my cousin,
   
   Anyway, love Lily Collins' hair in the movie but Jamie Campbell Bower did not really met my Jace expectations. 
7. Infernal Devices Series by Cassandra Clare - This series is actually a prequel of Mortal Instruments where the setting is old London. No picture cause my cousin also has the 2 ones. Third one I haven't read yet.
8. The Host by Stephenie Meyer - So I bought this book to check if Stephenie Meyer can pull off the sci-fi writing. I guess she sort of did cause it worked under young adult. Though this one she made the love triangle really complicated involving four characters. :p
   

I also have one John Green which is Looking for Alaska which I haven't read yet. I have so many backlogs I don't know what to do, haha. So there you have it! Young adult book list done. :)

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Fruit Salad and Brain Mush

Wow.

Define hiatus. I have been quite a busy bee lately because of work. Yes! I do have work now but it's a project based work. So many things to do these days and it's quite refreshing to do things, have deadlines and other stuff. That's why I need to put a disclaimer here that my blogging skills are kinda rusty right now so please bear with me. :p

I received a certificate for the completion of a class cycle for Basic Chinese 1 last September 7, yey!

If you've read through my posts, I'm inserting some bits of pinyin stuff here and there, practicing sentence construction. In one of our classes, we talked about how Filipinos tend to answer questions way out of context and how two things could mean the same in Chinese. The topic of discussion was birthdays (insert birthday memes here).

This one looks like Ron Weasley, eh? Yes? Yes.

And this one reminds me of my boyfriend's dog Asgard. :p

And who wouldn't forget that birthday song?

Okay, got carried away there, back to that Chinese class I was talking about.

Question: When is your birthday?
Possible Answers:

1. Today, tomorrow, next month, next week, next year
2. December 25, 1988
3. December 25
4. 1988
5. On the Nth day of this month, next month etc.
6. Sunday of December

So because of a lot of answers above, how can you narrow down to that one answer you want say number 3? The Chinese has the answer for this which is "Ni jiyue jihao shengri?" where rough translation is ni = you, jiyue = what month, jihao = what day and shengri = birthday.

And there are other questions that we Filipinos do not answer directly or out of context but is acceptable in our culture. (RA = [supposedly] Right Answer)

Q: Nasaan ka na? (Where are you now?)

A: Malapit na. (I'm near.)

RA: I'm at <insert specific place here>

Q: Gutom ka ba? (Are you hungry?)

A: Kumain na'ko. (I've already eaten.)

RA: Yes / No.

Q: Kamusta na ang nanay mo? (How is your mom?)

A: Nasa Baguio siya nagbabakasyon. (She's in Baguio having a vacation.)

RA: She's fine / She's not fine.

Some answers above I'm guilty as charged.

Sooo..... now I cannot remember why I've written this blog. -_-'

Shout out to my friend Kei, it's her birthday today. Happy birthday tsong! :D Andddd my bucket list has been updated :)

*Pictures taken from Google images

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Concert Pet Peeves

I'm not really into skin to skin contact with people I don't know but the urge to watch an artist live is stronger. Evey thing might sound whiny after this and you'd probably tell me not watch anymore, but I will definitely watch more concerts, lol. I thought about this list after posting about FOB in Manila and might as well share it to you guys.

List of my concert peeves, not in order:

1. Laking-Aircon Kiddos (rich fussy kids): I know I should expect them because the ticket prices at standing patron is not cheap but sometimes it's really annoying to hear them exaggerate a story so simple. 
   
2. Annoying Concert Get Up: If you're going to a rock concert, I wouldn't expect you to wear high heels and complain that your feet are getting hurt already because the concert's taking too long to start. Also, slashed tanks are cool but not when you look like you met an accident before the concert.
   
3. Bouncing Hair (Especially curly ones): I like my dinner and I've had my dessert. So I wouldn't want your hair inside my mouth for a midnight snack. Head banging is okay, but head bang within your personal space. And oh, that includes jumping up and down. 
   
4. Sticky Floor: Some folks bring soft drinks inside the venue and NOT finish it. It tends to get spilled then your shoes will feel like there's sticky gum under it. Not fun.
   
5. iPads: I reallyyyyyy hate them during concerts. They take up too much air space from other people's views.
   

Anybody here share the same thoughts? LOL.

Anyway, back when we watched Paramore, I was wearing ballet flats. The reason was, I did not expect any pushing or crazy crownd. The first time they came here and I watched, it didn't happen. In the middle of the first song "Now," I lost my right shoe and stepped into the slimy floor. This FOB concert, I was prepared. Good thing I did prepare, haha. Check out number 4's evidence on boyfriend and I's picture below. :p

*All images except the last one are Googled.

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Fall Out Boy Live in Manila 2013

Last Thursday, we were able to watch Fall Out Boy at Smart Araneta. Nothing beats watching artists perform live on stage.

But before the concert pics, here's a lovey dovey picture first to make you puke or say d'awwwww. Whatever floats your boat :))

That guy up there is my concert buddy from Smash Project, to Paramore to Maroon 5 and now Fallout Boy. He's the bodyguard/human wall during unpleasant pushing and elbowing on concerts. I haven't encountered any casualties since cause I was safely enveeloped in his macho arms (no pun) :p

Now time for the real concert pictures! :p Didn't take much and I actually enjoyed the concert more because of it.

Typecast as the opening act. They sang five songs I think, but the only ones I know are The Boston Drama and Will You Ever Learn.

Fall Out Boy!

I'm not a super fan but it feels to good to see a band be back together again because they realized that a lot of people listen to their music.

Love this new song from their album featuring Elton John entitled Save Rock and Roll. 

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Back to Reality

I suddenly had a week long hiatus because unfortunately, I was hospitalized for 3 and a half days :(

Aside from it being a mandatory diet, it was actually an eye opener.

I was moved to a semi-private room because there were a loootttt of patients in line waiting for the private one. It's probably a month of sickness because of the changing weather and other factors. Inside the room, I was with another woman who's of my sister's age. She was rushed to the hospital by his father on a motorcycle because of a severe stomachache. On the second day, she was visited by her stepmother and stepsister who's about 10 years old. Being a little girl exploring the big world, she was constantly observant and opinionated.

"Ate, ang lamig naman dito. Sana ganito sa bahay." (It's so cold here. I wish our house is the same)

It earned a little chuckle from her sister and her parents.

"Nabubulok, di nabubulok. Ang daming basurahan. Ang arte naman pala dito ate." (Biodegradable, non-biodegradable. There are so many trash cans. It's so fussy here.)

She obviously does not know why trash should be segregated at hospitals. But what really struck me when she was asked by her mother to flush the toilet after use. She went out of the comfort room without doing it and called her father to do it for her while she watched.

"Eh wala naman kasi tayong ganun sa bahay." (We don't have that in our house.)

It reminded me how some people live life simply and still get by day by day with a smile. It reminded me that I should be thankful for everything that I have right now and be contented. As humans, we are always wanting more than what we have. I don't blame humanity because that's how it is. We want a good life for ourselves, or our children and for our children's children. But sometimes we forget that we are provided for, we are blessed, that we have  enough, that we should be thankful.

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Time Flies Whether You're Having Fun or Not

Saturday was fun and nostalgic.

It was my first class in Mandarin Chinese provided by the Confucius Institute inside Ateneo in Katipunan. I studied high school in St. Bridget so it's really good to be around the area again. Being a Makati or Ortigas girl surely keeps you from the other side of your other world.

Walking around the campus and looking for the building or room was surely a familiar experience. Many students want to graduate as soon as possible, I was one of those way back college. To me, studying is much better after all, the only worry you need to think of is passing exams and project deadlines, dormitory curfew, peer pressure or if you still have enough money to last you for the week. Everything is provided for you unlike when you graduate, take a job and apply what you learned. Time comes you need to worry about  your career path, whether your salary is giving you enough, performance reviews, office politics, paying the bills and other "mature" stuff.

Maybe that's the reason why Avril Lavigne's Here's to Never Growing Up song was made.

But put all your worries aside, having to stand up on your own is freedom. One of the things I really enjoyed when I got a job was being able to buy the things that I "need" and I "want." Aside from that, you get to decide what you want to do, where you wanna go, what you want to happen. Of course not everything is in your control, but the freedom to choose and think for your own, I think that's the needed control that you want.

And deciding for a lot of things has consequences, good or bad. We all make bad decisions, we sometimes tell ourselves "I should've done this, should've done that." But the moment has passed and the only way to go is move forward.

So yeah, Saturday was fun and nostalgic. And it reminded me of reality.

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Household Chores and Perspectives

Way back elementary years, I had the guts to tell my mother to pay me 10 pesos for every household chore that I will do. Of course mom said that's not gonna happen and that same day, entrepreneurial career ended. I decided not pursue it, lol.

Earlier, I had the opportunity to wash the dishes after dinner. And it didn't occur to me that I can do a blog post out of it until I'm typing about it now: My top 3 favorite household chores in order. YES.

Number 3: Cooking - What can be more thrilling than knowing you're making something that you can eat after? Unless it's not edible. Lately, I've been experimenting on dishes. Being a bum can do that to you: No work = wake up late + eat breakfast + watch series + cook lunch + eat + watch series + eat + cook dinner + watch series + eat dinner + watch series + eat + sleep late. Oh, and also surf the internet to find potential job for your next corporate slavery experience. Bum life. But I'm doing something which is experimental cooking, does that still make me a bum? Anyway, I love to eat. And it's not true that if you cook something, you don't get to enjoy eating after because.. well you cooked it. Not true in my case, food is food, and well, I eat food.

Number 2: Rice Washing - Not entirely a chore on itself cause it's part of cooking but I had to separate this because it fulfills a semi-fetish. I love doing it. I could wash rice for the whole afternoon, lol. The texture of wet rice being squeezed between my palms is kind of a ticklish massage. I personally like to fill half of the cooker with water and just grab a handful of rice, squeeze the water out of it, put it back and do it again. It's not gross because the way and the amount of time you render in washing it makes it yummier to eat. No scientific explanation, just mother's wisdom. I'd say doing a household chore that gives you a free hand spa deserves a number two spot.

Number 1: Dish Washing - You can relate dish washing to dancing with your feet side to side, your hands doing the circling motion and depending on how rigorous you clean it, you also get you upper body shaking. Would be nice to have a song to go with it. Aside from the illusion of doing it as an exercise, there is another thing I like about this chore. I have this habit of cleaning my closet over and over again and I think I had that passed on to washing the dishes. I like a neat sink, don't want a speck and sometimes I even get annoyed when there's water stains but that's part of life unless I wipe it with a dry cloth which for some reason we usually lack of. So what's so special with this? Not only you get every little dish squeaky clean, you also get to think. A lot. It's not the same if you're sweeping the floor because you're moving from one place to another unlike dish washing, you stand on one place until it's time to put the dishes back to the cabinets. Now I actually wonder why.

So what's with this post? I just realized during my enlightening moment which was during the dish washing chore, that even if we do things routinely, we can still learn something from it. It just depends on the way we see it and the way we act on it.
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