- Finally done with Austen's Emma, after more than a week (more or less) of struggling to finish it.
- Mind is full of family-related issues.
- Work, or lack thereof. I don't know how I can still be so choosy at this point. Or useless. Or worthless. With all the fuss about money and my siblings' schooling, how can I still be here? So freakin' stagnant. I have yet to encounter something to motivate me.
- Allergies. Every single friggin' type of allergies I have.
No pleasant stuff on this part of the intarnets. Sorry.
Jan 26, 2012
Jan 23, 2012
Just a thought
I'd like to own a small café which is also a bookshop. It may be a mini-library where customers can check out books or a secondhand bookshop. It can also be both.
I see a lot of similar concepts in other countries (through Tumblr) and I love the abundance of independent bookstores in these places. That's not really common from where I live.
I won't mind manning the store myself.
I see a lot of similar concepts in other countries (through Tumblr) and I love the abundance of independent bookstores in these places. That's not really common from where I live.
I won't mind manning the store myself.
Jan 18, 2012
The one who has no dreams (still)
Is it possible for a person to have no dreams? No personal goals? No life plans?
I don’t know what I want to be.
I don’t know where I want to be.
I don’t know who I want to be.
Just what the hell am I going to do with my life?
. . .
Those are the opening lines of an entry in my old blog dated August of last year. I've been able to catch up with a friend these past few days and since we've already both graduated from college, talks about what we wanted to do came up.
She wants to study IT, and have already processed some papers. That's another three or four years but her parents don't mind so all's good. It's quite far from her first course (i.e., tourism), and just as far from the flying course she took afterwards. And while she's preparing for this IT venture, she's looking into visa applications for Australia. She says she wants to live there someday and probably study, too. I admire her for being interested in a lot of things, being very talented and an academic achiever, and good at whatever she does. She's determined to pursue her dreams (and she claims to have a long list), and that's great. I am genuinely happy for her.
Naturally, we talked about myself as well. What I wanted, my dreams, goals, and such. I have none. Five months after I first declared to the world wide web that I am a "dreamless" creature, here I am, reminding the interwebs of the existence of one such earthling.
She says it's impossible to not have even one dream. There's got to be something I wish to be, or have. She told me to ask myself, to find out once and for all what dreams lie dead in my heart and mind. I've done it a million times. And believe me when I say I truly, genuinely want to know. I still don't.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: It scares the hell out of me. It's like I'm walking in the woods, which never seems to be penetrated by the sun's light, never knowing which way to go.
I just hope and pray I'll be able to get past this dreamless phase. Because I would very much like to have dreams of my own. Then maybe, just maybe, I would chance upon a path where I can aim my anxious gaze.
I don’t know what I want to be.
I don’t know where I want to be.
I don’t know who I want to be.
Just what the hell am I going to do with my life?
. . .
Those are the opening lines of an entry in my old blog dated August of last year. I've been able to catch up with a friend these past few days and since we've already both graduated from college, talks about what we wanted to do came up.
She wants to study IT, and have already processed some papers. That's another three or four years but her parents don't mind so all's good. It's quite far from her first course (i.e., tourism), and just as far from the flying course she took afterwards. And while she's preparing for this IT venture, she's looking into visa applications for Australia. She says she wants to live there someday and probably study, too. I admire her for being interested in a lot of things, being very talented and an academic achiever, and good at whatever she does. She's determined to pursue her dreams (and she claims to have a long list), and that's great. I am genuinely happy for her.
Naturally, we talked about myself as well. What I wanted, my dreams, goals, and such. I have none. Five months after I first declared to the world wide web that I am a "dreamless" creature, here I am, reminding the interwebs of the existence of one such earthling.
She says it's impossible to not have even one dream. There's got to be something I wish to be, or have. She told me to ask myself, to find out once and for all what dreams lie dead in my heart and mind. I've done it a million times. And believe me when I say I truly, genuinely want to know. I still don't.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: It scares the hell out of me. It's like I'm walking in the woods, which never seems to be penetrated by the sun's light, never knowing which way to go.
I just hope and pray I'll be able to get past this dreamless phase. Because I would very much like to have dreams of my own. Then maybe, just maybe, I would chance upon a path where I can aim my anxious gaze.
Jan 17, 2012
I read a lot of blogs every time I go online and I often find myself looking through several pages of posts. I admire those who can easily articulate whatever's on their mind, and I find myself asking what the hell am I doing with my blog.
With transferring to Blogger from Wordpress, I promised myself that I would do more personal posts. Reading the blog, I find that everything here just seems superficial. It's either I have nothing better to say/nothing on my mind or I just find it hard to put 'em thoughts into words, which is often the case. I long for the days when blogging (for me) is spontaneous, high school days when everything and anything that pops on your mind gets instantly published. I wish I could be like that again, only better at writing.
This blog needs a change.
With transferring to Blogger from Wordpress, I promised myself that I would do more personal posts. Reading the blog, I find that everything here just seems superficial. It's either I have nothing better to say/nothing on my mind or I just find it hard to put 'em thoughts into words, which is often the case. I long for the days when blogging (for me) is spontaneous, high school days when everything and anything that pops on your mind gets instantly published. I wish I could be like that again, only better at writing.
This blog needs a change.
Jan 16, 2012
LOTR awesomeness
Visited several random blogs and saw this at Geek Out!:
It's one of items listed in their 2011 Christmas Guide for Geeks and boy, am I glad I stumbled upon this. I don't usually visit the blog because it's mostly comics stuff but I searched for something LOTR and that led me to this.
Ah, you'll be mine someday. Just you wait.
These locally produced sets have exactly the same content as those that were released in the States when the DVDs first came out. Each 4-disc set has the feature films on the first two discs with commentary, a third disc with feature documentaries about the per-production of each film, and a fourth with documentaries on the making of the movie, post-production, and the release.
All in all, there's something like 15-16 hours of extras here, on top of the the extended cut of the films which watched end to end , would run about another 12 or 13.
Be sure sure you include a bed pan and some soda and chips when you gift these (available at Astrovision for about Php 900.00 each) and be prepared not to see your loved one for at least a weekend.
It's one of items listed in their 2011 Christmas Guide for Geeks and boy, am I glad I stumbled upon this. I don't usually visit the blog because it's mostly comics stuff but I searched for something LOTR and that led me to this.
Ah, you'll be mine someday. Just you wait.
Jan 15, 2012
Book shopping spree!
B gave me NBS gift certificates as a late Christmas present. I'm gonna get me some yummy books!
. . .
. .
.
Ten seconds later...
Top to bottom: A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan, The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov.
Heehee. I was supposed to buy The Bell Jar but it was out of stock so I opted for Bulgakov instead. One thing about having a long to-buy list is that you have alternatives when certain books are out of stock or nowhere to be found! Also, I was supposed to buy only 3 books and some pens for the remaining credit but I'm really glad I double or even triple check each shelf for hidden gems. Happy to find Dorian Gray (which is nowhere to be found in some branches)! That's 4 books crossed out from my to-buy list in one go! Total amount: P1,068.00
Jan 13, 2012
Ruminations on "Blindness" by José Saramago
I've been eyeing this since I first saw it on Booksale last December. There were at least 5 books in the two branches I frequent so I didn't buy it right away. I was also trying to refrain myself from impulsively buying books that are not in my to-buy list, so I decided to check some reviews first. Finally bought it last week.
Survival. The story revolves around an ophthalmologist's wife who was spared from an instant epidemic called "white blindness" that struck the whole country, and how she alone carried the responsibility of looking after those no longer capable of doing so themselves. The story is set mostly in an asylum where the first victims are quarantined (she pretended to be struck blind as well just so she could stay with her husband)--where names became irrelevant and your voice is your identity. It's a story of survival, compassion, and just how much (and for how long) one's spirit can endure.
This book is so good, though I'm not satisfied with it's ending. It made me wince, smile, almost want to cry. The living conditions depicted in the book is unimaginable, and the line between what can be considered humane and not seems practically erased. Survival of the fittest is definitely in play here. It's dystopian, and it's frightening because it seems possible; one moment everything's as it is, then BOOM--you're flung into a world you only see in nightmares. It is creepy in a way, and it made me cringe more than a few times when certain things are described and my brain supplements it with visions of the things I read. No thanks to you, imagination.
On one hand there's the harrowing condition in which the people are subjected to, on the other there's the strength of a woman who is not willing to turn a blind eye on her surroundings (pun intended)--though several times she wished she couldn't see--and take responsibility in striving for what little order and justice she can do or give. It's so easy to give up and give in to depression and whatnot (it is even understandable to end your own life), but she cannot find it in herself to let things go as it is and let things happen knowing she can at least try to change them. This is the story of how the heroine, along with a band of companions gathered around her, struggled in a world far from what anyone could ever hope it would be.
There's a line in the synopsis that says, Blindness is a powerful portrayal of man's worst appetites and weaknesses--and man's ultimately exhilarating spirit. And I think it is. It truly is.
Survival. The story revolves around an ophthalmologist's wife who was spared from an instant epidemic called "white blindness" that struck the whole country, and how she alone carried the responsibility of looking after those no longer capable of doing so themselves. The story is set mostly in an asylum where the first victims are quarantined (she pretended to be struck blind as well just so she could stay with her husband)--where names became irrelevant and your voice is your identity. It's a story of survival, compassion, and just how much (and for how long) one's spirit can endure.
This book is so good, though I'm not satisfied with it's ending. It made me wince, smile, almost want to cry. The living conditions depicted in the book is unimaginable, and the line between what can be considered humane and not seems practically erased. Survival of the fittest is definitely in play here. It's dystopian, and it's frightening because it seems possible; one moment everything's as it is, then BOOM--you're flung into a world you only see in nightmares. It is creepy in a way, and it made me cringe more than a few times when certain things are described and my brain supplements it with visions of the things I read. No thanks to you, imagination.
On one hand there's the harrowing condition in which the people are subjected to, on the other there's the strength of a woman who is not willing to turn a blind eye on her surroundings (pun intended)--though several times she wished she couldn't see--and take responsibility in striving for what little order and justice she can do or give. It's so easy to give up and give in to depression and whatnot (it is even understandable to end your own life), but she cannot find it in herself to let things go as it is and let things happen knowing she can at least try to change them. This is the story of how the heroine, along with a band of companions gathered around her, struggled in a world far from what anyone could ever hope it would be.
There's a line in the synopsis that says, Blindness is a powerful portrayal of man's worst appetites and weaknesses--and man's ultimately exhilarating spirit. And I think it is. It truly is.
Jan 6, 2012
Ah, less than a week into the new year and I have already acquired four new books. Why do I even have a to-buy list when all I purchase are random used books that happen to catch my eye? This addiction to Booksale proves difficult to cure.
Already done with the first two. (I would love to write some reviews but I have 0 book-reviewing skills.) Emma is my first Austen (yeah, I know). I was already on my way to the counter when I spotted Anne. It was a bit expensive, but I know that it's very popular and highly recommended plus I really like how it looks so, here I am, blogging about it.
The only book I planned to purchase was Blindness. I've seen several copies in two Booksale branches and can't resist it, after researching about it on Goodreads. The rest are impulsively bought. I wish I could've resisted buying those, but then they are books. Good books at that. Oh, well.
Already done with the first two. (I would love to write some reviews but I have 0 book-reviewing skills.) Emma is my first Austen (yeah, I know). I was already on my way to the counter when I spotted Anne. It was a bit expensive, but I know that it's very popular and highly recommended plus I really like how it looks so, here I am, blogging about it.
The only book I planned to purchase was Blindness. I've seen several copies in two Booksale branches and can't resist it, after researching about it on Goodreads. The rest are impulsively bought. I wish I could've resisted buying those, but then they are books. Good books at that. Oh, well.
Jan 5, 2012
2012 movies that make me giddy!
The Secret World of Arrietty, February (Japan release: 2010)
The Hunger Games, March
Men in Black III, May
Brave, June
The Dark Knight Rises, July
Ice Age 4: Continental Drift, July
Rurouni Kenshin, August (Japan)
The Hobbit, December
When I first read The Hunger Games Trilogy, which was December 2010, and learned that there will be a movie adaptation this year, I thought that I could never be more excited for a movie, ever. But when I found out that there will also be an adaptation of The Hobbit, I can't...I just can't possibly contain my excitement! Yes, I seem to be more giddy about the latter (at least as of the moment). Don't judge haha. It might be because it's one of my most recent reads, and the time I'll have to wait 'til the movie is released is relatively shorter.
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