Break Muna

As someone who works from home (and alone), I usually get my laughs from things I find on the Internet. Without further ado, this week's dose:

Professional Heckler's tweet re: MRT's frequent malfunctions...

Name: MRT Age: 14 Hobby: Tumirik tuwing rush hour
— Professional Heckler (@HecklerForever) June 4, 2014

At in fair, this is why I love working from home- I get to avoid crazy Manila traffic. 

And here's another one care of ol' trusty Buzzfeed- 19 People Who Are Having A Way Worse Day Than You. 

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Funny, no? I was literally LOL-ing while perusing this article.

Okay, this next article is not really per se, maybe only when you are actually 30 and can relate to the items on the list- 30 Words That Have A Different Meaning After You Turn 30. But you know what, I think I was acting like a thirty year old even when I was twenty-something. Haha. However I can relate to #s 1, 4, 7, 19 and 25. Especially #4.

So that's it pansit for today☺

2014 Book Challenge: Biggest Flirts

Okay here I am again going all-preachy about how these teenagers are so promiscuous. Biggest Flirts (Jennifer Echols) may have been one of the books with the fastest hook up that ever happened in a YA book. I think Tia and Will's hook up happened even faster than those characters in Trish Doller's Something Like Normal. But after reading a lot of these American YA books, I think I am slowly coming to terms with how fast things go in their part of the world. However, I think I still need someone to explain to me what exactly is a hook up. Is it everything, but...?

Tia and Will hook up within the first ten seconds upon getting acquainted with each other. Okay it wasn't that fast but they did hook up at the end of night and of course the prude in me was shocked at how these kids progress sexually. I get that this is fiction where everything is possible such as hooking up with a guy you just met and he doesn't lose his respect for you, but in real life, 'wag isuko ang Bataan, girls. Spoken like a true, blue prude. Ha.

that's right

I like Will. Tia, not so much. This is not a case of double standards and this is not based on their propensity to engage in certain "activities." Well, I sort of have this issue with girls who self-destruct and obviously, Tia is one of those girls. But then again Tia is not solely to blame with regard to her actions. Her family is pretty messed up and with an absentee father and she is just a teenager who does what she thinks will get her through life. Plus, Tia is smart and she has what it takes to rise above her situation so notwithstanding the circumstances of their first meeting, I reckon Will was the best thing to have ever happened to her.

But props to Tia for changing for the better not because of Will but because she wants to even if it was Will who made her realize that she wanted something better and that she is capable of being better.

Two stars for Biggest Flirts. Although there was some semblance of kilig, kulang pa din. Groping and other stuff that entail a hook up doesn't automatically equate to kilig. They should learn from Lara Jean. Hehehe.

2014 Book Challenge: To All the Boys I've Loved Before

I swear, the words "Don't you dare fall in love with me" is some kind of a reverse psychology technique. Sinabi yan ni Anne Curtis kay Derek Ramsay sa The Other Woman pero na-in love pa rin siya. And here in Jenny Han's latest release, To All the Boys I've Loved Before, the same happens in spite of the 'warning' given by one of the characters.

I never really thought of Jenny Han as one of my favorite authors. I thought The Summer I Turned Pretty was pretty lame that I almost didn't read the next two books of the series but it was a good thing I did because they turned to be waaaay much better than the first book. Deciding on what to read next is hard so I let my sister pick a number between 1 and 50 which led me to my 20th read for the year. I started reading without any expectations because Han, I think, is still a hit-or-miss type of author.

Lara Jean has a crush on her sister's boyfriend. At first I was thinking, "here she (Han) goes again with siblings fighting over the same person," and although I liked It's Not Summer Without You and We'll Always Have Summer, I still feel that it's SO WRONG to be the girlfriend of two brothers (somehow I knew Belly would end up with Conrad because she never did it with Jeremiah and in YA world, that sort of thing almost never happens and they were already in college at the time, soooo.. puede ;)). So anyway... Lara Jean claims that she liked Josh first, but when Josh and her sister Margot became girlfriend- boyfriend, she immediately wrote a goodbye letter to her crush which is also a farewell of sorts to the feeling. She does this letter-writing thing to banish any feelings of "love" for the guy she once liked. But these letters were never meant to be sent, so when Peter Kavinsky approached her asking her about a love letter she sent to him, she was mortified.

The thing is, not only Peter Kavinsky's got sent. Josh also got his. Lara Jean was doubly mortified but since she figured that the lesser of two evils is Peter, she got into a pretend relationship with him. The time was right since Peter just got dumped by his long-time girlfriend, Gen, and he wanted to make her jealous and then maybe, want him back. Peter and Lara Jean pretends they're a thing but I knew eventually they're going to like each other for real. They're so cute together and so wholesome. The Prude In Me approves. Haha.

this is exactly how i feel the whole time i was reading the book

In the end, Peter admits to liking Lara Jean for real and I want that to happen but seriously, what is going on with him and Gen? And that ending...

Dear Peter,

Oh come on, don't leave me hanging like this. And yes, Han is gonna milk it for what it's worth- there is a sequel to this. But I am not complaining. It's always good to have something to look forward to. Just don't make me wait too long.

Albeit starting the book a few days ago, I only got the time to really read it today. Technically there were things that needed to be done but after a few chapters into it, I reckon I could never put it down. I have Peter Kavinsky to blame for today's non-productivity. I give this book five stars because I really, really liked it and this one by Miss Han is a 'hit' with me.

What's Up, Doc?

♥ It's daddy's birthday today! We're celebrating later tonight with the cousins. It's pig out time again! Haha. Ayan naman kaya tumataba. Seriously, I need to lose a lot of weight. As in, A LOT. I gained ten pounds and I think this is the heaviest I've ever been. I feel like Totoro. Ha. Buti si Totoro, cute. I feel like a blob and a horrendous blob at that. Hindi cute. Kaya nga naman I'm bringing sexy back. Naks. Haha. My driver's license and vacation pictures were my wake up calls. Those and the fact that I can feel my back fats. Second day pa lang naman pero I did Zumba. Yay me! Hopefully I can do this everyday. Anak ng tinapa ang hirap ng no rice, no? So I'm going to post my progress in here. Sana nga lang may progress. Weight today: 140 lbs. *cringe*

♥ Going to rant here again about my favorite TV series. I am very very VERY disappointed that Suburgatory has been canceled. At least they gave me the ending that I want ☺ Now to the other shows... Watched Star-Crossed's and Bones's season finalés yesterday. Whattanending for both! Just as I'm beginning to get bored with Bones, they give me that nerve-wracking finalé. Yun lang ang alam ko eh Bones and Seeley live in an urban area meaning they have neighbors who could hear all those gunshots coming from high-powered guns so why didn't anyone alerted the police? Star-Crossed's ending? Mapapa-WTF ka talaga. Why'd you leave us hanging like that? Kasalanan yan lahat ni Emery. And on Hart of Dixie, it looks like we'll be back to Zoe + Wade. But first... seriously? Joel is perfectly fine when he hears Zoe profess undying love for Wade which means the whole time they were together she still loves or is hung up on Wade. And their break up was so recent. How can he not react violently to that? I'm still waiting for Jonah Breeland to come back, though. Anyway, have you heard? Rachel Bilson's expecting! She and Hayden Christensen are going to have a baby. I didn't even know they were still together. Ha.  

♥ Stash. I've been spending on a lot of  "beauty" products lately. I'm very frustrated with my skin, my hair and my weight. Haha. But really, I must be depressed or something.

I was supposed to buy only the liquid liner but they were able to make me buy two more products that I didn't really need. Anak talaga ako ng nanay ko. In fair, they were on sale that day but still I spent more than I what I originally planned to spend. I don't use them that much now. Tsaka kakasabi ko lang na hindi muna ako bibili ng kahit anong pangkilay because I have enough to last me two more years. And I haven't even gotten my Anastasia stash I bought last December (but I'm going to get it soon, yay!). Okay no more pangkilay products na talaga. Sabi nga ni Bo Sanchez: Drink Now or Drink Forever? I choose Drink Forever. Next time I should remind myself that. 

Another impulse buy.

 But it was on sale...  and at that time we just came from the province and my face is super sunog and I have all these discoloration on my face. This product had me at "fade." 

And here's another:

The thing with Snoe products, not everything is effective. The first Snoe products I bought (Magic Apple Whitening S-rub, Star Night Star Bright Night Perfecting Toner and the Emu Cleanse), weren't too effective. Okay lang the toner and the emu cleanse albeit cannot be used as standalone cleansing products. I need to use another facial wash aside from Emu Cleanse and also another toner/astringent aside from the toner. But the whitening rub? Not effective at all. I still have it here. The next Snoe product  bought was the Outzit soap  and it was amazeballs! I had such a good experience with the Outzit soap that I decided to buy and try another one. The next one was the Awesome Poresome soap and it was quite a disappointment that even if I haven't used up the entire bar, I already bought another one. Barre Beauté Bee Happy soap. This one had me naman at "anti-aging." I feel I already look haggardo versoza so I wanted to use something to ward off signs of aging. So far, so good although still not as good as Outzit. Another Snoe product I bought was the Poudre Phenomenon Pore-Erasing HD Powder. In fair, I like it. 

Aside from the abovementioned, I also bought this new Safeguard facial soap for sensitive skin plus the kojic and oatmeal soaps I bought from a customer. I'm using everything all at once and I don't even know what's effective and what's not.

♥ It's summer in the country and there's no denying nor escaping the fact. Normally we don't use the A/C when an electric fan would suffice because aside from the fact that it's cheaper, we're also helping the Earth by not contributing to more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. 

But this time, I succumbed. Kahit mag-isa lang ako sa kwarto, mag-e-aircon ako! But man my electric bill sucks! Eto ang literal na sala sa init, sala sa lamig. During the rainy season, I  have leaking roofs and overflowing gutters to think about. In the summer, it's sky-high electric bills. I already miss January and February weather.

♥ Last but not the least, today on the internet...

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Y'all should see this list on Buzzfeed

Funny. 

And today's inspiration:

To Do Today: 1/turn my gratitude up, 2/watch for enchanted frogs, 3/search for the marvelous. That should keep me busy.
— Dr. SunWolf (@WordWhispers) February 1, 2014

Buh-bye. Gotta prepare for tonight's dinner. 

2014 Book Challenge: Bossypants

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Ten years ago when I watched Mean Girls in the cinema after that horrendous day at work, I didn't have any clue whatsoever that it was Tina Fey who wrote script. Ten years ago I didn't even know who Tina Fey is. So when I found out that it was her who wrote the script to one of my favorite movies, I knew I had to watch or read whatever this lady throws out there, although I never really tried watching SNL because I swear I do not get American humor. When Bossypants came out three years ago, I got hold of an audiobook but since I refused to get a decent stand-alone mp3 player and the player would jumble up the chapters, I just stopped reading listening. Note that this was pre-Kindle days.

So three weeks ago I decided to pick up and read this book again because I wanted to be well-rounded when it comes to the reading books. After a slew of YA books, I reckon it's time for other genres.

This book is genius. I admit I enjoyed listening to the audiobook more but nevertheless, this was one awesome read. There were a lot of topics with which I can relate to in spite of the age gap. Here are some snippets from the book (no copyright infringement intended, okay? I just want to share the good ☺ Who knows someone might buy this book because of it):

On her father...
"I only hope that one day I can frighten my daughter this much... How can I give her what Don Fey gave me? The gift of anxiety. The fear of getting in trouble. The knowledge that while you are loved, you are not above the law. The Worldwide Parental Anxiety System is failing if this many of us have made sex tapes."

On expectations...
"I think this is what Jesse Jackson calls the 'subtle genius of lowered expectations,' but I may be misquoting."

On feet exposure...
"I'm a firm believer in our constitutional right to wear shoes, and I believe more people should take advantage of it... I know what you're thinking and no, I don't have messed-up feet. Maybe my feet are so amazing that I want to shelter them so they can live a normal life. I don't want them to be the Suri Cruise of feet."

On getting her picture taken...
"Know your weaknesses. For example, I have what can be described as "dead shark eyes." But if I try too hard to look alert, I look batshit crazy, like the runaway bride. If a bout of "creepy face" sets in, the trick is to look away from the camera between shots and turn back only when necessary. This also limits how much of your soul the camera can steal."

On driving (and animals)...
"My husband drives the whole seven hours because I don't have a driver's license. It's just one of the many ways in which I am developmentally stunted. I don't drive.  I can't cook meat correctly. And I have no affinity for animals. I don't hate animals and I would never hurt an animal; I just don't actively care about them."

I so agree with the abovementioned and can identify with her although, unlike her, I do have messed-up feet and I just recently learned how to drive (although I still can't drive all by myself and still need to be accompanied by a driver). I love Tina Fey. I feel we could be BFFs. Ha.

Tagaytay: By Default

How many times have I been to Tagaytay to accompany baikbayans? Not a lot, actually. But you see, I've grown tired of it already. There's really nothing to do there but eat. If that's the case, then I should really be enjoying, right? Haha. Anyhoo.

Last May 7, took my aunt from Canada to Tagaytay. According to her, the last time she's been there was when she was still in college and boy, that's a looooong time ago.

Just discovered panoramic shot feature in my phone camera 

We left at 12 noon and took the C6 road going there. It was a scenic route along the Pasig River- Laguna de Bay. It was scenic alright, but I swear the river reeked big time. Note that we were inside a vehicle with air conditioning but we can still smell the unpleasant smell. And it took us three hours to reach Tagaytay. Feeling ko mas mabilis kung nag SLEX kami. That's what we get for listening to our rented driver service who was annoying and a know-it-all. But in fairness, if we didn't use C6, we wouldn't be able to buy melons and watermelons

We ate lunch at 3pm. Galit-galit muna dahil gutom na gutom na kami. We ate at Leslie's. Hindi daw masarap ang food sabi ni AD pero we were in a hurry to food in our tummies and settled for the first restaurant we saw. In fair naman, the view of the Taal volcano is right smack in the middle of the place. Even if it was a work week, I took 'Dorota' with us because it was her birthday and it is one of her dreams daw to go to Tagaytay and Baguio. I think I just helped her realize one of her dreams, haha. I am trying to win her loyalty some more and get her to stay with me forever. Bwahaha!

Leslie's was one of the first restaurants in Tagaytay so they have one of the best views of the volcano. Mega photo-op moment with everybody. Not that I did most of the picture taking because I am not too fond of having my picture taken. Mommy enjoyed the most, I think. Haha. Not sure if the huts were just a recent addition to the restaurant but anyway, I think it was a nice idea.

The boys went around the place and they saw a big spider~

I think Jacob touched it. Joaquim didn't even bother going near it. I only went near to take a picture. Ayoko ngang hawakan. But I was really amazed as it was the first time I got to see spider that big.

After lunch (that ended at 4pm in the afternoon), we went horseback riding for the boys then to another Tagaytay default- Sonya's Garden

hey there, weird fruit, we meet again

Siempre nag-miron lang kami as always. For the nth time I went there, I haven't actually been inside to eat or have a massage. Maybe that's why they limited the areas accessible to those who aren't checked in or at least to those who are there to enjoy their services, to ward off the likes of me. Haha. But hey, we bought pandesal and some stuff from their store.

Our plan was to have coffee in Bag of Beans but since Auntie was in a hurry and it's already 6 pm and she still has to pack her bags. We just ordered to go. I had my Bag of Beans usual- Caramel Macchiato. Sayang lang that we didn't get to stay longer in there because the place is beautiful at night time

and my phone cam wasn't able to capture how nice this is. bah.

On our way home, we saw this view~

again, my phone cam didn't do justice to how beautiful this scene was

They made me get off the van and cross the road just to take this picture. Usually, I am content with the images my phone cam was able to take but I realized at the moment I was taking this picture that it's times like this that DSLR cameras are for. Notice that the sun was right in the middle of the two slopes.

The trip home was three hours long. Feeling ko lang hindi short cut ang dinaanan namin. And with that, I am going to end this post with another #shoeselfie. I just found out there's a term for what I've been doing for so many years now (not because I want to show off my shoes because they're not even nice enough nor expensive to show off to other people, I just think my feet is nicer than my face haha).

i bid you adieu ♥

All Good Things Must Come To An End: Suburgatory

Found out last Monday through this article that ABC is canceling Suburgatory which means this is their last season and

very much.

I really feel that the universe is conspiring against me and my beloved TV series that most of them end prematurely. I actually should be grateful that Suburgatory has seen the light of its third season unlike Emily Owens and Star Crossed. Well, with Star Crossed I'm only watching because of the cuties but as for my other beloved series who have gone to TV series heaven, I just can't frickin' believe that they were canceled cos seriously they're sooooo good.

Suburgatory has been my pick-me-upper for three years already. If I feel bad and need some cheering up, I'd just watch an episode and I instantly feel better. I don't know why people do not like this because it is uber funny. I just hope that they end it well and looks to me that they're starting to tie loose ends.

OKAY WAIT I JUST FOUND OUT THAT TODAY'S EPISODE IS ACTUALLY THEIR SEASON FINALE. WTF. SERIOUSLY, I WAS CAUGHT OFF GUARD HA. AND JUST WHEN I SAID THAT THEY'RE STARTING TO TIE LOOSE ENDS, WALA NA PALANG SUSUNOD NA EPISODE. I AM NOT AMUSED. LOOSE PA RIN AND ENDS. WELL, YOU DON'T ALWAYS GET WHAT YOU WANT. 

I am still in disbelief. Haaaay. Still can't get over that there won't be any new episodes of the show next week, but at least I got my wish~

And here's the final scene:

I got my happy ending for Tessa and Ryan Shay! Hooray! But alas, I wish I could say the same for George and Dallas. But really, I am just glad that these two ↑ ended up together and looks like Sheila Shay doesn't object. Man, I'm gonna miss this show so bad.

P.S. According to Wikipedia, the series is being shopped to other networks. Someone please be my hero and pick it up ☺