2014 Book Challenge: Love and Other Foreign Words

Almost 20 days, that's how long it took me to finish this book. Ergo, I am 11 books behind my target.

So... Love and Other Foreign Words, how did I find you? It was boring. I've read, like, a bunch of similar stories of a boy and a girl being just friends but the other has more-than-a-friend feelings towards the other and while some were more interesting than the others, there were some which are pretty blah. And this book belongs to the blah category.

Umpisa pa lang, I pretty much knew how this would end and I wasn't wrong. Yun lang, I hope they included more "moments" between Josie and Stu. Should I deduce from the fact that Stu can't keep a girlfriend and has never said 'I love you' to any of them that he is in love with his best friend? Umm, that could be the case but it could also be that he's really just a jerk. And Josie... Josie who couldn't keep one because no one's at par with her superiority.

Now that we're on the topic of Josie (OMG, if Josie were a real person, she'd love that we're talking about her), I think she's one annoying stuck-up brat. She thinks she's all high and mighty just because she has superior IQ. She frowns upon her friends and schoolmates who speak "ohmig*d." Ikaw na, Josie, ikaw na ang may perfect command of the English grammar at vocabulary. She also tried to sabotage her sister Kate's wedding which is cute if she's eight but she's almost sixteen and she's not amusing anymore. Good thing she realized that the reason why she hated Geoff so much was because he's too similar to her- because as a reader, I can see that, that's she annoyed with him but she doesn't realize (yet) that they're both know-it-all snobs. And oh, Josie thinks she's very, very intelligent but not like the other nerds who aren't cool cos she's cool as shizz, y'all!

I'm not a regular nerd. I'm a cool nerd.

There's nothing wrong with being smart but Josie qualified it a bazillion times in the book that's she's not the typical smart girl, even college football guy thinks she's the bomb.

whatevs, Josie

So finally Josie and Stu got their shit together during Kate's wedding. They kissed and that was it. Yaaaawn.

Gave it two stars. I was going to give it three stars but Josie's attitude was such a turn off so minus one star for all the sass talk.

I was saving up Rainbow Rowell's Landline after crazy production season but I need a good book to read. I hope Rowell doesn't disappoint.

Hart of Dixie News

News about Hart of Dixie came out just yesterday and I am not happy. Why? Two thing. One, season 4 doesn't come out 'til early 2015 and 2, looks like it'll be their last season as well. Wait, there's another one- season 4 only has ten episodes. So I'm actually unhappy about three things regarding Hart of Dixie. My sources say so here and here.

This has been a sad, sad year for me and my favorite TV series. First to go was HIMYM, followed by Suburgatory and now, Hart of Dixie. Not to mention a few years back that Chuck and Gossip Girl suffered the same fate. But why so abrupt?

This is so not my year. 2015, please please please be superduper good to me ☺

Before I Get Back to Work

Now that I've gotten that kalechehan off my chest, let's move on to why life is good ☺

Well, thank God that these two things that have been haunting me for close to six years already, I've finally dealt with and yes, these two things were also the source of my tirade. Ngayon isa na lang multo ko. CHANGE TOPIC!!!!

So after last Tuesday's urgent errands, picked up my order from Shang then walked all the way to Megamall where I was meeting my friend who had something to give me from her travel abroad. We were scheduled to meet at 5:30 pm. I arrived in Mega 3:30pm, so what to do with two hours to kill? let me count the ways:

1. I had one Happy Lemon GC left so as soon as I stepped foot inside Megamall, I dragged my ass and my five-kilo-baggage all the way to Happy Lemon. Ordered my usual- Coffee with Rock Salt & Cheese. Facebook-ed. Twitter-ed. And Instagrammed. Used up all my lives in Farm Heroes Saga and Candy Crush. And I still had an hour to kill- it's only 4:30
2. Tempted to watch Gone Girl instead of going around the mall. Checked movie schedule. Alanganin na to watch a movie. 4:35 pa lang.
3. So I went inside Forever 21 to see if there's something in there that would tickle my fancy since I'm in the mood to spend on myself because after spending so much on other people, I FRAKKIN DESERVE TO SPLURGE ON MYSELF. But there was nothing worth splurging on so I left empty-handed. 4:45 pa lang.
4. Went inside SM Department Store to see if the polka-dotted blouse I've been eyeing was still available. Sadly, it's not there anymore. Hindi talaga kami meant to be. Gallivanted around the health & beauty section and dropped by Makeup Factory to inquire re: mineral make up. Napasubo sa "makeover." It's almost 6pm and the makeover's not yet done. J called a little past 6. 

And that, my friends, was how I spent two hours while waiting for J. We had dinner at Phoa Hoa. Chikahan over beef noodles. And here's my pasalubong

I had three choices- this blue one, a red one and one bluish green. If hadn't known yet that royal blue/ blue-colored things will improve my aura, I would've chosen the iridiscent green-blue one. But now that I'm collecting blue things, I chose this one. I'm trying to pray the rosary every day which reminds me I have to review the mysteries.

I came home fully made-up and mommy liked it. Thank God mommy liked it because she gave me money to buy the foundation- HUZZAH! I was really going to buy the mineral foundation from Makeup Factory because I was feeling sorry for myself at that time but I was going back for it on Friday (Oct 17) because they were going to have a sale and if I were to buy within the first two hours of store hours, I get 20%-ish off the product. So I went back Friday morning and my gulay talagang madness sale siya kahit wala pang midnight- arrived 11 am (pasok pa rin sa 2 hours) and I made V line up already. Got my make up and went back in line. AFTER THREE FRAKKIN' HOURS, we were still in line. Kalorks. And that was all I was buying- two items. Buti sana kung pangregalo ko na sa buong sambayanan sa pasko. Oh well. "Sana gumanda ka jan sa makeup mo, ha," sabi ni V.

dahil kailangan ko talaga ng pambura ng fez

Thanks, Mommy!! ♥ Iba na talaga 'pag type ni mommy ang type ko- may funding! Haha. 

Was back in Megamall Wednesday to meet A. No plans to go to mega but since I think she fixed her schedule in a way that she'll be in BSA office last Wednesday since I asked her if she'll be there as I was then planning to pick up waxes and stuff on Wednesday. Dahil mabait akong friend, nag-effort ako ☺ And to justify my lakwatsa, I had labels printed na rin.

Met with A for late lunch at Pollo Loco. Seryosong tanong- bakit wala masyadong branch ang Pollo Loco? I lurve Pollo Loco. Their chicken is waaaaay better than Chicken joy and Chicken McDo. Hmm.. I wonder if they have delivery? So anyway... after lunch we had dessert at Tim Ho Wan. We had hakao for dessert. Hakao for dessert! And that's not all. Apparently, hakao was our prelude to dessert. This was dessert

I'm in love with their mint chocolate macaroons and their mango panna cotta (and the glass jars the panna cotta comes in). Actually, I think I'm more in love with the glass jars and the panna cotta is my bonus ☺ 

I got sick over the weekend. I was supposed to go to A's parents' 36th wedding anniversary but since I was under the weather, I just stayed at home and rested. Betet, Vicks, Katinko, Fisherman's Friend and Tuseran Forte kept me company. 

At siempre kahit may sakit pa rin but feeling a whole lot better compared to how I was feeling during the weekend, I was back to lakwatsa mode Monday! Jo's back in Manila and she wanted to meet up. Almost all my close friends aren't Manila-based so when they come here in Manila, I try my best to meet up with them. So Monday morning, after paying my taxes (PAKSHET!), I hauled my ass off to the wonderful world of Divisoria. 

As usual I was late for our 10 am "call time." Para maiba naman, we had lunch at Tonkatsu in Lucky Chinatown instead of Wai Ying. 

Tonkatsu is also owned by the same people behind Italianni's. My katsu heart belongs to Yabu and if not for Jo, I would have not tried this other katsu place. This is what I had- 

That is 120 gram rosu with unlimited cabbage, rice and miso soup. The pork cutlets were a little smaller than Yabu's but they're yummy and tender just the same, but Yabu still has better tonkatsu sauce, better-tasting roasted sesame dressing and better fruit choices. Of all the fruits in the market, why did they decide to put corn? Corn! But aside from the sauces and the 'fruit' included in the set, I liked it. Yum yum yum yum, delicioso! 

So there, my food adventures and other kababawan that make my life worthwhile. Haha. Pakshet pa din ang gobyerno.

I'm Giving Up On You

And that goes out to you, mi patria adorada. It's not that I don't love you anymore, it's just I am now disillusioned with what has become of you, my beloved country. Not all hope's lost. Maybe, just maybe we can still turn this around.

taken near NCCA. 9/6/2014.
on our way to pick up my birthday fudamchi

So what brought about this change of heart? Umm, siguro lahat ng nangyayari sa bansa plus my experiences as a dissatisfied citizen. I am not well-traveled; I've only been to two other countries- Thailand and Singapore, but why do I get the feeling that our government is doing its best to inconvenience us (that is in comparison with the two aforementioned countries). Ang Pilipinas ay isang malaking model ng broken windows theory.

Anong balita sa radio at TV?

Gan'un pa rin; kumakapa sa dilim

Minsay naisip ko nang umalis na lang dito

Limutin ang lahat, lumipad lumayo

We are a great country, no doubt about that, but  we are a country governed by a bunch of thieves and liars. Tingin ko sa gobyerno natin ay isang buwitre.

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This is a disturbing and sad picture of a vulture waiting for his prey, the child, to die and this is also a perfect depiction of our government vs. the people. Lecheng buwitre kayo.

Serendipity Kuno

I was supposed to go supply shopping yesterday and to save on gas and other expenses, I decided to hitch a ride with AD who has something to attend to in Trinoma. My supplier is super near that area so I asked if after her event, we can just go to my supplier and pick up my order which I'm going to place in advance via phone call. And because I am a master procrastinator, I held off calling my order on the day itself and alas, both numbers weren't, umm, reachable. But I didn't know this until 11:11 AM.

While AD was in her event, was supposed to take C to Gymboree and then for a haircut. While in Mercury Drug to buy C's medicine, AD called and told me to come to the event after depositing C and yaya in Gymboree because Atom is one of their speakers. YAY! Gymboree was available at 3:30pm pa so we just took C for a haircut then we proceeded to the activity area. And Atom was there *le sigh* 

So I was there, three rows behind him. Haha, ang stalker-ish ng vibe. But yeah, really think he's cute and so did a handful of college students from Miriam College. So here's the only shot I was able to take because I was so dyahe to let the fangirl in me out.

I gave this blog post the title "Serendipity Kuno" kasi on our way to Trinoma, AD mentioned that she read an article in a magazine where Atom was asked to choose between Snow White and Cinderella and he answered 'neither,' because they're both princesses and he'd rather go for Pocahontas. At that time, she didn't know Atom would be there. So by the power of the universe and Gray Skull, my chance encounter with Atom. NOT. Haha. Ambisyosang palaka. 

So kahit hindi nako nakabili ng dapat kong bilhin, keri lang ;) Pero hindi totoo ang "ngiti pa lang, ulam na." Because the talk ended at 1:30 pm and when you only had oatmeal for breakfast, you'd get hungry famished, too.

Because I'm still fixated on ramen, we had lunch at Hanamaruken. First time to try this ramen place and although it was delicious, my ramen heart still goes to Ippudo. This is what we had for lunch~

AD ordered the spare rib ramen cos I said I like the tastier ramens than the clear soup ones, but I preferred the pork belly ramen which was supposed to have milder taste. My favorite this time was the gyoza

nagkahiyaan pa

After lunch, had Coke float and hot fudge sundae at McDo. Comedy talaga si C, he was imitating my every move. 

Gallivanted around the mall for a wee bit. Of course I had to visit Typo, a new money wasteland. I think I was able to visit a Typo store during our SG trip last 2012. And YES, everything's expensive. I really wanted the light blue pineapple ceramic but it's P399. I will go to Dapitan na lang. I can DIY some of the stuff I liked from there. Like the wooden laundry pegs. They're selling it at P399 din ata. Magpipintura na lang ako ng tig-25 pesos na wooden pegs galing Divisoria. But these I bought~

The pen and the raindrop stamp from Typo. The owl stickers from Toys R Us. The milky gel pen with seafoam-colored ink, P80; raindrop stamp, P80. And those, my friends, are the cheapest you can buy from that store. Greeting cards are 3 for P400, if I remember correctly. Oh my bulsa!

if i could, i'd take all of you home ♥

So there, my happy Saturday date with Atom (ASA! HAHA!), AD and C that ended with a massive headache. 

Being Socially Adept

At least, in social media :P

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Things I find on the internet... but they're so so so relatable. I used to troll tumblr every day back when I was less busy and used to sulk and rant about my life. I found solace in tumblr. It's comforting to know I am not alone and tumblr's where I got my positivity shizz. I now visit the site every once in a while because I am now busier with grown-up stuff [which is obligatory even if "I don't feel like adulting yet", LOL] and there's Pinterest and Instagram now.

Here are some IG posts from people I follow:

via a series of, then-seemingly-unfortunate, but now-are-actually-
serendipitous events

and this I need to keep reminding myself

I like Instagram and I love love love following lady-entrepreneurs "lady boss" like me. But in my case, I am the boss of me because there's no one else in my business but me. I am a one-man production team. Which actually has its pros and cons. Anyway, I just like following other girls who are in the same boat as I am. There's strength in numbers, haha!

And last and but not the least- Pinterest. However, recently, I think they deleted some of the images in there because I swore I have "pinned" a bazillion images into my boards but when I checked they were just a few in there. Bah. Corny. But anyway, my favorites are the super funny someecards such as this one

Which is so funny because it's true. And speaking of the gym, I haven't been to the gym and my membership's expiring in six months. Sayang.

And here's another funny but oh-so-true

YES!

I have just one person in mind. ONE. I could always "hide" her from my feed but sometimes I find entertainment in her posts.

Kthanksbye ←I also got this from the internet.

I Watch Too Much TV: Gilmore Girls Season 1

Just finished watching season 1 of Gilmore Girls and I loved it!

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I remember AC watching the series on Studio 23 but since I'm a little retarded in my choice of TV shows, Gilmore Girls at that time wasn't to my liking. I was already in college at that time pero yung mental age ko then was below 18, haha! Aside from Dawson's Creek and Smallville, I just watched lots of  Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon. But when you come to think of it, mas risque pa pala and DC kaysa sa Gilmore Girls. So anyway, I'm so loving Gilmore Girls. I'm on a roll and I going to finish everything before the year ends. It's the perfect companion to all my production work this season.

Lorelai was the original manic pixie dream girl. She was an MPDG even before there was a term for it. That is just my opinion but I strongly believe that she was Zooey Deschanel's predecessor. And in season 1, Alexis Bledel was so nene. Rory's, what, 16? When Blair and Serena were 16, they were getting high, drunk or fornicating. We need more TV characters like Rory for teenage girls to emulate. Even if there were not too much sexy times in Gilmore Girls, I still got kilig over the Dean-Rory-Tristin triangle and the will-they-or-wont-they relationship of Luke and Lorelai. Plus, Lorelai and her mother's bickering is something I can relate to very much.

Oh hey I just realized that Gilmore Girls is the original GG. But to me GG will forever refer to Gossip Girl. Unconditional love, y'all!

So yeah, will go now to continue with my Gilmore Girls marathon ☺

In Blue-m

Because I want to make this blog more personal, I am writing again about my most recent adventures and misadventures.

Well, there weren't much since I was sick last week. Got to finish my emailer which was my main target last week. I was sick almost the entire week except last Wednesday when I went to AD's office so I could make use of her compli movie ticket and for Doy's birthday treat. But after that, felt super sick the whole time. I had to rest and make myself stronger for Juno's homecoming. Hehe.

Saturday, October 4: Lola Juno's homecoming. Last time we saw each other was a year ago, during the Linkin Park concert. Default venue is Robinsons Place Ermita. I finally got to meet ze boyfriend. Lunch at Uncle Cheffy's where we had lots of CHEESE! Cheese Cheese Cheese and Seafood panizza. Yummy pero ang tipid pa rin nila sa alfalfa. Strolled around the mall looking for Comic Alley which, as it turned out, was already closed. Buti na lang nagtanong kami sa Customer Information counter or else we could've spent more time trying to find something that doesn't exist (at least in that part of the world). Coffee in Starbucks, as usual. Wow, I think I just realized we're super predictable. Haha. Had a nice time catching up with Lola and of course, meeting her jowa for the first time. Hope it wouldn't take a year again before we see each other again.

Sunday, lunch-in with the family. Manang had the day off so we had take-out food from Lydia's Lechon. YUM! After lunch, went with the sisters to Fr. Carmona's seminar in Don Bosco. I am a believer in the wonders of the enzyme. It was last year that I was under medication for my PCOS but at the same time, I was also taking the enzyme. I had polycystic ovaries since I was 23 and I've already taken Duphaston, Primolut and Metformin but to no avail. Well, my new OB tried a new treatment but I would still attribute my normal ovaries to my enzyme intake. That was six months ago. Baka PCOS na naman ako. Good luck to me :) Father doesn't give out enzymes anymore because the government said it's not BFAD -registered. I'm really starting to lose faith in humanity. Imagine, how many people will get well from their illnesses but they stopped the free enzyme distribution because, allegedly, certain companies will be affected should the people opt for this free, alternative treatment.

I also accepted a rush order yesterday. Super rush. I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity kaso lang I think I charged too cheap for all the mega effort I put into the project. But you see, I am very passionate with what I do and I just want to come up with pretty works of art and pretty product pictures afterwards. But apparently, passion is not enough according to Entrepreneur.com

And oh, the highlight of my week was purchasing an aura-reading service online. Haha. Napaka-gullible ko pero I would like to believe I "bought" the real deal. According to it, my aura is "powder pink color with light blue strands." To enhance my aura, I should dress up or surround myself with the color Royal Blue.

Eh ayoko pa naman ng BLUE! I would like to believe my favorite color is Green. But I guess I was just in denial. Look at my stuff~

isn't it neat?

It's blue, alright, but not really Royal Blue. I like Aqua and Pistachio. Sige na nga I'd paint my desks, etc with this color instead of pink.

I really miss Hart of Dixie. Hope it premieres this week.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Xmas

Grabe how time flies. Another month down the drain and we're just 84 days away from Christmas. Which means I only have 60+ days left to prepare for my bazaar. Kalurks. Ang bilis. Super.

So anyway, just want to summarize how my birthday month went. The last time I wrote something here I wanted sana to make blogging a daily habit or at least, update more often. But alas, I've been busy with both work- and social life related things.

So it was my birthday the first Saturday of the month. Had a little salu-salo with the family which was sorta impromptu. Although I admit I enjoyed that day- lots of delicious fudamchi, nice chat with cousins over Korean dramas and movies and daddy's dinuguan. Aside from this, got to try new restaurants- Simply Thai and Ippudo. Will forever love Thai food, while ramen is currently my fixation. Another food I'm craving is Muy Hong's fresh lumpia. Gah! I'm such a pig. Dapat nga talaga I should start watching what I eat. I gained 10 more pounds and I feel super sluggish. Hindi na lang ako chubby, mataba na ako. Pakshet.

While in personal entertainment... got to see only four movies, read 0 books and finished one Korean series. With all the catching up I'm doing with my Korean series plus I'm almost always out, very limited time I spend watching movies. I have a Kindle so not finishing any book this month is inexcusable. But because I am currently addicted to Instagram and playing Candy Crush and Farm Heroes Saga, that's what I do whenever I'm just waiting for something or someone.With just three months left before the year ends and 32 more books before I hit target, looks like I won't be able to complete my reading challenge on Goodreads.

Speaking of work, I'm still trying to create momentum, to get the ball rolling so to speak. At least I'm already done with my emailer and my website's already updated with my 2014 product list. Pero I swear I should start production earlier- mga bandang summer pa lang nakapag-shopping nako ng supplies. Plus, I have to do a lot of manual label cutting- MANUAL! As in by hand. I am not complaining though cos I looooove cutting labels. I find it therapeutic. "So... by tomorrow, I'll start production for real," said the master procrastinator.

In other news, it's already fall! Meaning, my favorite US TV series are coming back this month. I'm still sad about the fact that Gossip Girl, How I Met Your Mother, Chuck and Suburgatory. Buti na lang they still have Awkward and Hart of Dixie. I started watching Reign and Beauty and the Beast, but both shows I found lacking. Well, I sort of liked them during the first few episodes but after several episodes later, someone gets uber annoying that I can't stand watching them on a regular basis anymore. In Reign, it's Mary- ang lakas maka-Kris Aquino. With Beauty and the Beast, I sort of got tired of Kristin Kreuk's acting skill. Haha. That and Jay Ryan's speaking voice. Buti na lang Bones is back but alas, they killed Sweets. Why do they always kill that one guy I am emotionally invested with?

Argh. I hope I feel better tomorrow. And I hope Hart of Dixie premieres tomorrow.

*ADDENDUM* Because I was already borlogs last night, I totally forgot about the Cosmo magazine event we went to. Because AC is sort of obsessed with James Reid and he is included in this year's Cosmo's Top 10 hottest bachelors list, she wanted to go. At dahil monthly naman ako bumibili ng Cosmo for the spa, I decided to get a one-year subscription which, also, is how you'd get tickets to the event. To cut the story short, I already had a super loooong day then met with AC in MOA. Since the invites said GATES OPEN AT 7PM, I thought we better be there at 7, be prompt for a change. AC insisted that we stay in MOA first because according to her, these things never start on time but because my feet were already killing me, I insisted that we go to the event venue on time. I should've listened to her because we just waited THREE FRICKIN' HOURS outside. It wasn't worth the wait, I tell you. Waiting three long hours outside with no food and water and nothing to do just to see half-naked men with abs isn't something I would do again. In this case, the end doesn't justify the means.

So anyway, here are the pictures of what our poor ol' camera phones could take from afar

THE HIGHLIGHT OF MY NIGHT- DANIEL MATSUNAGA!
He wasn't even on the list yet he was there- destiny na ito. NOT. Haha

Boys boys all types of boys

James Reid before he fell off the stage or was it after?
AC was disappointed.

And that's Paolo Avelino. He was disappointing as well.

DANIEL MATSUNAGA, FTW

So there, our little secret from our parents haha, Sabi namin we watched a concert in CCP. Liars liars pants on fire ;)