The Year That Was

2014 was a colorful year, to say the least, composed of both the good and the bad, sadness and joy, new challenges, new places and an opportunity to grow and live out a new life.  But I am thankful still, because despite all the changes that happened, there are still old faces, old friends who through thick and thin, good and bad times, stuck around and never left.  Of course, I will forever be grateful to the wacky, dramatic, loving bunch of people who always got my back and who fully support me all the way - my family.

Let's see, what did happen to me this year?  I got an operation December of last year so the first 2 months of this year I was trying to get back on my feet and was in recovery mode.  One of my closest friends decided to leave the company and work abroad; I got assigned to head a team in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam for a year; my cousin, will leave for the US this month to start a new life with her new family; and another close friend just recently resigned.  

My new assignment in Vietnam is challenging.  Truly challenging.  I haven't felt this stressed for a long time but I guess it comes with learning to adapt to the culture of a new country and with working with an entirely different group of people.  I am still in the stage where I am trying to adapt to everything : work, environment, people and I guess it is taking its toll on both my health and my sanity.  But no complaints, here.  I know its part of the process.  I just need to learn to let some things go and turn off my brain once in a while to relax and unwind and of course adapt as fast as I can. 

Vietnam cuisine is one thing I truly enjoy.  Local food is really good here.  Seafood, fruits and vegetables are abundant here and are quite cheap compared to Manila.  I really enjoy the seafood fare here and the vegetables here are sooo fresh and readily available. The foodie in me is very excited to try all these dishes.  There are also a lot of foreign dishes available.  One thing that got my attention was there are quite a number of Japanese restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City. 

People are also warm and friendly, but generally not all of them speak or understand english.  Communication is a bit of an issue here for me, so to avoid getting lost, I always carry a small notebook with me where my work and apartment address is written in the local language.

Good thing there is an Expat Filipino team working here in our company so I am not completely alone.  This wonderful group of people have become my family here in Vietnam.  My patch of sunshine and most of the time the lifeline that keeps me sane and helps me learn the ropes here both in and out of work.

Since this is my first time to be away from my family for very long period of time, I am missing them everyday.  Plotting vacation schedules to go home to Manila on my calendar has now become a priority.  I take comfort in counting down the weeks or days till I can board a plane so I can spend time with my family and friends back home.  And today I am very excited that I catch myself smiling for no reason since I will be flying home in a few hours :)

So before the year ends and Christmas is officially over, I would like to greet everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Bountiful New Year.  Cheers to new adventures, new friends, stronger relationships, bigger opportunities, happiness and joy and of course lots of love in the coming year :)

Till next time!

- M :)

catching up

New Year, New Books! :)

But before I go into my TBR for the first quarter of this year, I still have to write about the books I managed to finish for the last quarter (more like last half) of the past year.  I was not actually able to finish some of the items on my TBR since work kinda caught up on my reading time (excuses...excuses...).

Anyways, I had some time to catch up on my reading last December since I underwent major surgery and was on medical leave for a month.  So that was one achievement I had during my recovery period (and house arrest haha!).

Below are some of the books I finished:

I will write more about them in the next few days (promise!).  All I can say is that I really loved them all (pang-artista lang :P).  Cuckoo's Calling was a surprise, though I really don't have any doubts about JKR's writing. But all I can say is that I was pleasantly surprised by it.  House of Hades did not disappoint, at this point it only increased my impatience waiting for the next book.  Divergent was also good, but I need to take a breather first before delving into Insurgent.  Thus, I picked up The Ocean at the End of the Lane, which I couldn't put down.

So there.  Now, am currently reading A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness.  Am thinking if I should read Shadow and Bone (Grisha Trilogy) by Leigh Bardugo next or do I move on to reading Insurgent :) (hmm... decisions, decisions...).

Till next time! - M

One Day

Happy Monday ! :)

I am currently loving this song, All of Me by John Legend.  I am (still!) hoping that one day (fingers crossed) someone will sing this to me ... and that would be just awesome (insert fluttering eyelashes here hihihihi) :)

Okay, I think my meds are affecting my brain cells... I have to go now before I say any more ... 

All of Me

John Legend

[Verse 1:]
What would I do without your smart mouth
Drawing me in, and you kicking me out
You've got my head spinning, no kidding, I can't pin you down
What's going on in that beautiful mind
I'm on your magical mystery ride
And I'm so dizzy, don't know what hit me, but I'll be alright

[Bridge:]
My head's under water
But I'm breathing fine
You're crazy and I'm out of my mind

[Chorus:]
'Cause all of me
Loves all of you
Love your curves and all your edges
All your perfect imperfections
Give your all to me
I'll give my all to you
You're my end and my beginning
Even when I lose I'm winning
'Cause I give you all of me
And you give me all of you, oh

[Verse 2:]
How many times do I have to tell you
Even when you're crying you're beautiful too
The world is beating you down, I'm around through every mood
You're my downfall, you're my muse
My worst distraction, my rhythm and blues
I can't stop singing, it's ringing, in my head for you

[Bridge:]
My head's under water
But I'm breathing fine
You're crazy and I'm out of my mind

[Chorus:]
'Cause all of me
Loves all of you
Love your curves and all your edges
All your perfect imperfections
Give your all to me
I'll give my all to you
You're my end and my beginning
Even when I lose I'm winning
'Cause I give you all of me
And you give me all of you, oh

Give me all of you
Cards on the table, we're both showing hearts
Risking it all, though it's hard

[Chorus:]
'Cause all of me
Loves all of you
Love your curves and all your edges
All your perfect imperfections
Give your all to me
I'll give my all to you
You're my end and my beginning
Even when I lose I'm winning
'Cause I give you all of me
And you give me all of you

I give you all of me
And you give me all of you, oh

lyrics from www.azlyrics.com

Till next time! - M

belle de jour 2014

I am on a roll today :)

I would just like to share how happy I am with my Belle de Jour Planner :) 

Let me tell you how I got one:

I was actually part of the population that collects and redeems stickers to get planners offered by coffee shops in the metro in the past years, so this is actually the first time I got my hands on a BDJ Planner.  I was not able to collect and redeem anything for this year since I underwent major surgery last December and I spent the whole month recovering and mostly stayed at home.  

My friend Ayie, who also went through a medical procedure (yes, our schedules were only a week apart :P), came up with an idea that instead of drinking and spending on coffee, why not just buy a planner? Plus, it IS more budget friendly :)  Soooo, what she did was buy 3 planners (BDJ, Navi and Everything is Possible) and gave them to us as gifts.  She tied each planner's vibe to our personal characteristics :)  I got the BDJ power planner, Ayie got the Everything is Possible planner for herself and the Navi Planner was given to Gen.

I like how the whole planner is set up plus there are other features that I really love like the vacation planner, and the cash flow and bills tracker.  I love the space alloted per day on the weekly spread as well as the fact that there is a Most Important Tasks space on top of each day... I'm kinda OC so that helps a lot haha :P

Plus the coupons ... don't get me started on the coupons!!!!  well, obviously I am happy with the coupons.

We all loved our planners and I have Ayie to thank for this :)

Now, I am itching to buy me a set of colored pens so I can customize how I write entries on my planner ...

Till next time! - M

Live Life

My resolution for this year is to Live Life.  I want to be able to enjoy everything that life has to offer. Along with that, I need to be able to learn to accept things and move on when I need to, laugh and/or cry as each situation unfolds; share and teach what I know and learn from others as well; listen with both my heart and my ears and at the same time be confident enough to voice my own opinions and my feelings when need be.  Love with my whole heart, accept the pain of loss, grieve, pick myself up and face the world again.  Accept pain and feel the intensity of being hurt, enough for me to learn from it and move on from it, but not so much as to trap me in its web.  Experience hardships and trials and revel graciously in success once achieved.  Be humble and kind but still know my worth and not let others trample and take advantage of me.  Find happiness in the small and simple things of life, be grateful for what I have and learn how to accept defeat, when,  after doing and trying everything possible to change the situation and come out victorious, the cards still do not fall in my favor.  But at the same time, know how to pick my battles and fight for what I believe in and not easily give up even when times get tough.  I also want to be able to upgrade my knowledge and skills not just for my career, but more for myself.  Travel, laugh, be in awe of the wonders of nature and of things I haven't seen or done before, play, run, read, sing, dance, look at the clouds and stars, swim, sit still, sleep deep and well, experience peace.

There are a lot of things I want to be able to experience, and all may not happen in 2014 but in which case I want to start now.  I am not getting any younger and I think I have the right now to cast a bit of my careful nature aside and take risks, both in life and in love.  But still, I need to remind myself periodically that while living life to the fullest, there still needs to be balance.  An acceptance that there are things, people and situations that belong and do not belong in my life, regardless of how I feel and how much or how deep my investment is in a person, a project or a career.  I still believe in a higher power, and ultimately both the universe and the Man Upstairs will deal my cards the way it is supposed to be dealt, whether I like the outcome or not.

I Lived by One Republic somehow sums up what I had in mind for 2014, so I figured this can be my song to start off my year.  I would just like to share the lyrics with you and maybe, the song can be your song too :)

Cheers guys! Have a great year ahead! :)

                                                                         "I Lived"

                                                                     One Republic

[Verse 1]
Hope when you take that jump
You don't fear the fall
Hope when the water rises
You build a wall

Hope when the crowd screams out
They're screaming your name
Hope if everybody runs
You choose to stay

Hope that you fall in love
And it hurts so bad
The only way you can know
Is give it all you have

And I hope that you don't suffer
But take the pain
Hope when the moment comes
You'll say...

[Chorus]
I, I did it all
I, I did it all
I owned every second
That this world could give
I saw so many places
The things that I did
Yeah, with every broken bone
I swear I lived

[Verse 2]
Hope that you spend your days
But they all add up
And when that sun goes down
Hope you raise your cup

I wish that I could witness
All your joy and all your pain
But until my moment comes
I'll say...

[Chorus]
I, I did it all
I, I did it all
I owned every second
That this world could give
I saw so many places
The things that I did
Yeah, with every broken bone
I swear I lived

[Bridge]
Whoa
Whoa
Whoa
Oh
Oh
Yeah, with every broken bone
I swear I lived
Yeah, with every broken bone
I swear I lived

[Chorus]
I, I did it all
I, I did it all
I owned every second
That this world could give
I saw so many places
The things that I did
Yeah, with every broken bone
I swear I lived

[Outro]
Whoa
Whoa
Whoa
Oh
Oh

Lyrics from www.azlyrics.com

Image from my.englishclub.com

Till next time! - M

Say Something

A Great Big World feat Christina Aguilera

M : cuts right through the heart :(

Say something, I'm giving up on you.
I'll be the one, if you want me to.
Anywhere, I would've followed you.
Say something, I'm giving up on you.

And I am feeling so small.
It was over my head
I know nothing at all.

And I will stumble and fall.
I'm still learning to love
Just starting to crawl.

Say something, I'm giving up on you.
I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you.
Anywhere, I would've followed you.
Say something, I'm giving up on you.

And I will swallow my pride.
You're the one that I love
And I'm saying goodbye.

Say something, I'm giving up on you.
And I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you.
And anywhere, I would have followed you.
Oh-oh-oh-oh say something, I'm giving up on you.

Say something, I'm giving up on you.
Say something...

backtracking

Hi there! :)

It's been almost a month since my last post.  August to October were super hectic and workload was crazy and try as I might, I was not able to post as much.  I was not even able to finish my TBR pile for July - August, but I did read a bit - THAT I managed to squeeze in.  Otherwise I would've gone insane :P.

So looking back, below is my TBR for July- August:

I was only able to finish The Demonologist, How They Met, Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist and the Eyre Affair.   Here are my thoughts on these books:

1. The Demonologist (Andrew Pyper) - This book gave me quite a scare! The way the book was written really fuels the imagination, and boy, do I have one hyperactive brain.  The book is about a demonologist who does not actually believe. Due to this lack of belief he was subjected to a number of events orchestrated by a demon, for him to believe in their existence.  The plot refers quite a bit to Milton's Paradise Lost but you don't actually have to read it first to understand the novel.
2. How They Met and Other Stories (David Levithan) - this book is a compilation of short stories with love as its central theme.  It deals with a number of different relationships: straight, gay, lesbian, but it was all written beautifully.  The stories express a number of emotions linked to love: longing, lust, happiness, among others.  It displays Levithan's creativity and how he sees love as a universal emotion that binds people together. Nice read indeed :)
3. Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist (David Levithan) - I liked this book, simply because it has a number of things and emotions embedded in the story, though at first, the story seems quite ordinary.  I liked how the story evolved and how I got to know Nick and Norah more.  Both of them have issues and both were given equal time in the spotlight for the reader to understand and appreciate both characters.  Plus I like the notion that there is a someone meant for somebody and that a broken heart can be mended by finding the right person :)
4.  The Eyre Affair (Jasper Fforde) - the book started quite slow for me, but it took off after a while.  Thursday Next, the lead character is a Literary Detective whose main job is to catch Literary Offenders.  Overall, it is an enjoyable read, taking you to an alternate world where characters in books can jump pages into the real world and vise versa, where criminals have certain powers that defy the rules of physics and worms that eat punctuations and prepositions, instead of leaves, exist.

So, that's that for my shortened July - August TBR.

I did read a few more books after that,  I read House of Hades by Rick Riordan (Heroes of Olympus Book 4) last Saturday (yep, excited much! I finished it in less than a week!) and am now currently reading the Cuckoo's Calling by Roberth Galbraith aka JK Rowling :) Will write my thoughts on that and post it hopefully soon.

So what else have I been  up to?  My friend Ayie and I went to the Manila International Book Fair in SMX Convention Center on the last day, September 15.  We were surprised to find the venue packed!  We initially thought it was due to a number of other activities being held there on the same day, which included a Cosplay event and the UAAP Cheerdance Competition (UP Fight !!!! ). But it turned out that the Book Fair was really packed!  Was quite happy about it though, cause it means there are a lot of people still interested in books! Yay! :)

I got me a number of books that time but my biggest regret was not getting a Larousse Gastronomique which was on sale at 500.00 Php only! sheesh :(

Oh well ... hope Larousse will still be there next year :)

Till next time! :)

- M

forgiveness

they say it takes a strong person to say i'm sorry and an even stronger person to forgive.  one has to be strong enough to admit their faults and a bit more braver than the usual to ask for forgiveness and ask what should be done to make it right.

here are some of the quotes i found online that focuses on forgiveness and forgiving.  credit of the images go to the owner(s).

this last one is may favorite :

Happy Tuesday guys!
Till next time :)

-M

random quotes

here is a collection of quotes i liked the past week.  i just thought of sharing them and maybe, just maybe, someone will find a quote or two that can help them get through their day :)

Happy Weekend! :)

Wanted You More

- Lady Antebellum

When I first heard this song, something about it seemed to latch on to me. Then I read the lyrics and I knew why ... pang-emo moment ! :)

I kept waiting on a reason
in a call that never came.
No, I never saw it coming
Something in you,
must have changed.

All the words unspoken,
promises broken.
I cried for so long.
Wasted too much time,
should have seen the signs.
Now I know, just what went wrong.

I guess I wanted you more,
and looking back now I'm sure.
I wanted you more
I guess I wanted you more.

All the nights we spent just talking
of the things we wanted  out of life (out of life).
Making plans and dreams together,
I wish I'd seen I was just too blind.

My heart was open
exposed and hoping
for you, to put it on the line.

But in the end, it seemed
there was no room for me
Still I tried to change your mind.

I guess I wanted you more,
and looking back now I'm sure.
I wanted you more
I guess I wanted you more.

Oh I don't need you
I don't need you anymore.

I guess I wanted you more,
and looking back now I'm sure.
I wanted you more
I guess I wanted you more.

Oh I don't need you
I don't need you anymore.

a little something for the week

This week is starting to be one of those weeks when I feel I need to make myself get up in the mornings and drag myself to work.  So before I wallow in that sentiment, here's a little something I found to perk things up and help keep me focused.

till next time!

- M 

July - August TBR Pile

Its been a while since my last entry and to start things off, I am posting my July - August TBR.  The books I have on the list are some of the books I am itching to read for some time now.  Without further ado, here is my required reading list for the next two months:

1.  Nancy Drew #1 ; The Secret of the Old Clock (Carloyn Keene) - yup, that's right, Nancy Drew!  Since I wrote in an entry a few months (or weeks) back that I want to collect Nancy Drew books and read them all, I am re-starting my Nancy Drew experience with the first book of the series.

2.  The Eyre Affair (Jasper Fforde) - It took me a while to read this since it also took me quite a while to find it and if there are available sequels to the book available in the local bookstores.  The book first came to my attention when I read a review about it online.  I googled it and I liked the plot and the story, so here it is now.  I hope by the time I finish this, I can easily find the next book in the series.

3.  Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist (Rachel Cohn and David Levithan) - So begins my David Levithan book journey.  I loved Every Day and since then I tried to get my hands on any Levithan book available.  I am especially curious on this book since some people I know saw the movie and really loved it, I'm betting the book would be even better :)

4.  Boy Meets Boy (David Levithan) - I haven't exactly read an LGBT novel before this and I am quite excited about this book to say the least.  The good reviews I read also added to my curiosity and I spent quite a while looking for it since it was mostly out of stock.  It seems like other readers out there have the same idea on getting their hands on this book like I did.  I found a copy after 3 weeks.

5.  How They Met and other Stories (David Levithan) - the 3rd Levithan book on my list.  I like the fact that the book is a collection of stories.  I think I would start off my Levithan journey this month with this one so I can get acquainted with his early writing style. 

6.  Paper Towns (John Green) - I have been reading John Green Books for the past months and it was always such a reading pleasure.  I will be posting my reviews on Looking for Alaska and the Fault in our Stars soon.  Its quite obvious that I like his books and that is why I am so excited to read this one.

7.  The Demonologist (Andrew Pyper) - When I picked this book up from Fully Booked I was not able to put it down.  I was quite intrigued by the book's plot.  I loved The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova and this book is right along that alley.  Likewise, it has been a long time since I read anything from that genre.

So that's it, my TBR list for the next two months.  Looking forward to reading during the coming rainy days while sipping hot coffee :)

Till next time! :)

-M

out of sorts monday

So, here's the thing, I was not able to catch enough sleep last night, in fact I think I slept at around 5:30 am and woke up at 8:30 am to go to work.  I got to work looking like a cross between a panda with dark circles under my eyes and a parched zombie since my officemates say I look soooo pale.  I feel like I'm floating, my vision this morning is kinda blurred and I feel so out of it, lutang na lutang lang ang peg :P  Damn this insomnia!!!!!

So anyways, I managed to get through this morning kinda okay.  As usual, my go to energizer is coffee and I think I consumed around 2 tumbler fulls in 3 hours :P (no wonder I feel buzzed!). I got to take a nap for 20  minutes during lunch break and that helped a lot.  I still have a lot to do since I will be out of the office for four days for a seminar.  Good thing I managed to sort myself out before my boss arrived :)

I hope the rest of my day will be okay :)  Hope all of you had a better day than I did, though :)

Till next time!

-M

May Book Haul :)

Since its still my birth month and therefore, I still would like to think its my birthday (haha!:P), I splurged a bit on my book purchases for this month (happy bibliophile doing the dance of joy).

I went to Bonifacio High Street on the eve of my birthday, May 4, to have dinner and hang out at Fully Booked :)  I sooo love that branch !  I can get lost in the bookshelves there for hours!  However, since I was with my cousins, Ghina and Regine, and my friend Ayie, and we still have other stuff to do, I was just there for, I think about 2 hours or so (bitin!). Ayie and Regine did not mind the my book geekiness since they were both into books too, but Ghina was another story :P.  Let's just say that clothes are more her thing, by the end of the second hour she was constantly whispering to my ear that she's hungry hahahaha!  I handed her an Archie comic to kinda get her in the mood, but it worked for like only 30 minutes!  Oh well :)

 Pre-Birthday Book Haul

Last week, May 18, I went to Fully Booked BHS again to attend the Travel Writing Seminar with my friends Ayie and Gen.  I kinda got in late, but I still got to take away some pointers that can help me in my writing :)  The most exciting part for me last Saturday was that they were on sale! 20% off on most books! :) Yey!  So, obviously I got me some more books.  Though I made significant progress on my TBR pile, the last 2 weeks added another layer to it.  BUT, hey, no complaints here!  :D

Post birthday Book Haul :D

Till next time! :)

-M

Of Broken Hearts, Pain and Moving On

Another month is coming to a close and as I manage to trim down my TBR for May and June, below is my take on the books I have read so far.  Plus, I also included my pending thoughts on Why We Broke Up from  my March April TBR list.

Broken Hearts, Pain and Moving on is the central theme of the 4 books I finished.  It involves different perspectives and situations but I like the fact that all the characters I have come to like, and some I really do love in these books, all manage to come to TERMs with their realities, however painful it may be and find the strength and the motivation to move on to a better place.

Why We broke Up

(Daniel Handler)

Min is the central character of the story. It is her voice, her experiences and her feelings that we come to share.  I, for one, can relate to her feelings, how she felt, and how she wanted to explain everything to Ed and take him back to the things she thought were important to both of them.  And eventually use all of these to make him realize why they broke up.  Each item served as a poignant reminder of that tingly feeling Min called love, or more likely the kilig factor associated with love and the pain of not being able to feel that again with Ed.

I love how I was able to see and feel how Min's love for Ed developed and how she knew by the end of the story that one day she will be able to smile again, without Ed in the picture.

I also love how the book was presented, the illustrations did not just add value to the book, it added another layer of feeling as well, an added depth to the story if you may.  I cannot imagine reading the book without the illustrations, the experience would not be the same.

Creep

(Jennifer Hillier)

Creep is psychological thriller which involves the affair between a psych professor and her grad student, who turned out  to have huge issues.  When Dr. Sheila Tao broke off her affair with her student, Ethan Hawke, to marry her fiance, all hell broke loose.  The classic case of if he cannot have her, no one else can.  There are twists in the story that are kinda expected but there was one that I didn't see coming, and that changed things for me.  

It was a good read, not as fast-paced as the last book I read from this genre, Gone Girl, but it was enough to keep me reading.  There were some slow parts but overall I liked it :)  I cannot wait to read the next installment, Freak, which is now also available in paperback.

The Fault in Our Stars

(John Green)

I heard a lot of things before I even got my hands on this book.  Mostly good things, but one thing stood out

the most, it would break my heart.  And it did.

Augustus and Hazel are star-crossed lovers, in the sense that they both have cancer and they are both holding on to borrowed time.  Given the premise of the story, I loved that there are light moments and witty dialogues.  It kinda takes away the gravity of their situation and gives the reader a chance to get to know the characters more.  There was a line in the book that says something about letting their disease define who they are and that should not be the case.  They should be remembered more on who they are as people and not as cancer victims.  

The book was written beautifully.  I loved it.  I kept putting off reading it since I knew I would be heartbroken after I read it but, still, it is an excellent read.

Archie in "Will You Marry Me?"

Archie getting married after, like 60 years, is something I wanted to read.  Like most people, I grew up reading Archie and him finally choosing one girl is indeed something I would want to know!

The compilation was quite pricey but I could not let this pass! I have to read who marries who and what happens to either Betty and Veronica if Archie chooses one over the other.  And I was not disappointed.  There are two storylines depicting both of Archie's choices.  My heart still goes out to Betty.  I wanted Archie to pick her every since I started reading the series :)

There are now 3 more installments to this comic.  Archie: The Married Life Series now has 3 books.

So there it is... looking forward to finishing the rest of my required reading for May-June :) 

Till next time!

- M

patience and courage

I saw this post this morning on my FB timeline and I just want to share it :

Quote is from Paulo Coelho's book Manuscript found in Accra.  I am soooo getting this book :)

Have a great Tuesday !

-M

*post from Paulo Coelho's Facebook page

incredible ink

The elections are finally over.  I hope everybody went out yesterday and exercised their right to vote :)  Our voting precinct was located just outside our village gate and the voting proper was really smooth.  Kudos to the teachers, volunteers and poll watchers and everyone else involved in the Felix High School voting precinct, two thumbs up! :)

inked! :)

As my cousin Ghina so eloquently put it, I now have incredible (indelible) ink to show everyone that I voted :).  Now, I just need to find the right cleaning aid to take this ink off.  It does have incredible staying power :P

Till next time!

-M

May - June TBR

well hello there! :)

Presenting my TBR for May to June! :)

I still need to write about Why We Broke Up, all I can say for now is that I loooved it :).  I still have two carryovers from my TBR last month though: Write Here, Write Now and the Song of Achilles.  Counting that and the 9 books above equals 11 books.  I do hope to finish all of them by end of June.

I am quite excited to read John Green's The Fault in Our Stars and Looking for Alaska since I read quite a number of good reviews.  It was quite a while before I got my hands on a copy though, since most of the time both these books were out of stock in the bookstores I frequently visit. 

The Mango Bride is a recommendation from an old friend.  Her cousin, who is also a Palanca Awardee, wrote the book.

Creep is a psychological thriller I am currently reading. I got the book last September 2012 during the Manila International Book Fair and haven't gotten around to reading it.  But now that I am reading it, I can't seem to put it down :)

My pick me-ups and light reading list is kinda long this time: Emily the Strange (3 books!) and Archie Wedding and The Married Life Book 1.

Looking forward to reading all of these books in the coming weeks.  I can already picture myself sitting on  a comfortable couch in a corner of a cafe, sipping coffee and losing myself in my books.  Aaaahhh... if only I could do that often! 

Till next time!

-M

My Nancy Drew Challenge

Nancy Drew was my childhood hero.  A female icon depicting a brave, smart and determined young woman.  I had a collection of Nancy Drew Mystery Books when I was younger, and got around to owning around 20 books or so.  I started reading Nancy Drew when I was in Grade School.  My parents used to reward me with books when I did good at school.  That explains my love of them, my parents were the perpetrators and nurturers of my being a book geek :P

I loved the way Nancy and her friends solve their cases.  It enabled me to think beyond what is conventional, to see beyond what is normally visible to the eye.  Deep, huh?  I am not being philosophical or anything, but Nancy Drew made me believe at a young age that girls can kick ass and be smart and save the day.  She embedded the notion that certain things can be questioned and that brains are needed to succeed.  

Photo from : therelentlessreader.blogspot.com

I kept those books I collected when I was a kid until 2009.  When Typhoon Ondoy ravaged the country we were part of the population that felt its wrath.  Our house was submerged under flood waters for almost 4 days. Part of my book collection including my Nancy Drew Books were sure goners by the time the flood waters subsided.

Now, I am striving to build that collection again, hence the Nancy Drew Challenge.  I plan to rebuild my collection, but in a bigger scale.  I want to collect all 64 books in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories Series.  I started this project last year and I was able to collect Books 1 - 15.  Will now start to collect 16 - 30.  Then if I am done with that, will move on to the rest :)

Why am I doing this?  aside from the fact that I am a bibliophile and collecting and reading books is part of my DNA, Nancy Drew is a part of my childhood.  And reading those books make me feel nostalgic, happy :)  It kinda takes me back to the days when as a child, life was simpler and brighter :)

So wish me luck!  Will post updates on this project from time to time :)

Till next time!

-M

its my birthmonth! :)

MAY ... my birthday is just around the corner and as always, I have this certain kind of happiness associated with celebrating my birthday ... weird noh?!  hahahaha!  I guess it comes with the feeling of being special even for just a day and I can use that one excuse to shop all I want, eat and stuff my face full with food (which includes chocolate cake in all forms!) and just enjoy my day because ITS MY BIRTHDAY! woohoo!!! 

Aaaaaactuallyyyy... I already did a bit of shopping for my birthday under the guise of my personal wardrobe project (An Article of Clothing per Pay Day) which I still have to write about :P.  I got myself some clothes for work and play (tops, shorts) and I got me a new pair of shoes yesterday from Res Toe Run in Gateway :).  Lovin' my new Native shoes :)  Got the shoes while I was out with my mom, she was lobbying that I get a pair of Sanuks instead.  Maybe next time (or next payday!), I will get a pair since I do love my Sanuks (I have 2 pairs I wear every chance I get) :)

Like most people, I do think about my age, but only for a while then happy thoughts send the aging thoughts back and file them in my brain for later use.  Reserved for emo and take life seriously moments, perhaps :P.

So, how do I plan to celebrate my birthday?  nothing special really.  I would just like to spend time alone (emo moment?!? not!) basically doing nothing :P  I just plan to go to the mall, and spend time in my favorite shops and bookstores, go to a coffeeshop and read, do a bit of shopping (if my budget still permits) and EAT :)  I will be going out with my cousins Ghina and Regine for dinner and coffee on the eve of my birthday.  A sort of tradition we started 2 years back.

On the day, I will spend time with the parental unit.  Have dinner out and maybe watch a movie if they are up for it :).  And as is my practice, I claim the whole month of May as my birthday hahahaha! so everything I do during this month will be under the birthday celebration reason thingie (excuses.. excuses).

Happy birthday(month) to all May celebrators! :)  Happy Happy moi! :)

Till next time! :)

-M