RT 2012 book 21: lola and the boy next door

{source}

{source}

Another Stephanie Perkins novel. Obviously, I enjoyed Anna & the French Kiss that I picked up the author's other novel right away. So was Lola and the Boy Next Door as swoon-inducing as Perkins' first novel?

The answer is NOT QUITE.

I think I liked Anna & the French Kiss better because I liked the main protagonist, Anna. I'm a little undecided whether or not I like Lola.

The Bells are back after two years and Lola Nolan has been dreading just that. At first, I thought it was because of "mean girl" Calliope, but it was really all about Cricket, the boy she has this huge crush on. Cricket broke her heart and upon his return, she's afraid that her crush on him might also make a comeback.

Cricket talks to her. Lola becomes this ball of nerves with matching butterflies pa in her stomach. Apparently, Cricket likes her in that way and what happened two years ago was just a big misunderstanding which was orchestrated by Cricket's twin sister, Calliope. But that doesn't make things easy for them because Lola has a boyfriend. Max.

I really like Cricket because he seems really nice and smart, but every time I try to make give him a face, I see Nolan Ross (Revenge). Why? Because Cricket is supposed to be tall and gangly and Nolan Ross is tall ang gangly and geeky. So anyway, Cricket's also that kind of boy you could bring home to mom (in Lola's case, bring home to her dads). Just imagine, Lola's practically throwing herself at him but he's the one backing off because of the boyfriend. If it were other guys, I bet they'll pounce on the opportunity. I wonder if nice guys like him really do exist. So Cricket Bell was my source of swoon in this book.

Lola frustrates me. She obviously likes Cricket and she's been lying to Max all this time. Clearly, she knows there's something wrong here. In other words, may malisya ang lola mo. Pun intended. Ha. Maybe Max is really this rock n' roll sex god that she thinks she can't let go of. If I were Calliope, I'd dislike Lola too.

Don't get me wrong because I absolutely enjoyed reading it. Hindi ko lang masyado type si Lola.

Do you take pleasure in knowing I'm over there... pining for you?

-- Lola and The Boy Next Door

RT 2012 book 20: anna & the french kiss

or in this case, those prone
to giddiness should not read

I would have written about Pride & Prejudice but since I spent, like, two months reading it, there were so many details I've forgotten already. I liked it and thought that Mr. Darcy is sweet but a little creepy. So... back to Anna & the French Kiss, the main attraction.

Remember that I once struggled reading the novel because my copy was in Spanish. Well, I searched every nook and cranny to find one in English and my hard work paid off because I did find one and thanks to the English copy, I'm finally done with the book.

Anna Oliphant, against her will, gets sent to Paris by her wealthy father [who found his fortune writing cheesy love stories (think Nicholas Sparks)] where she will spend her fourth and last year  in high school. Initially, she sulks but she immediately finds friends and a crush. You know, a crush is the most effective motivating force to go to school everyday even when it's sucky and the commute's hard. Take it from me, that's based from personal experience. Ha.

Anna's crushing hard on Etienne St. Clair, but she can't make da moves on him yet because 1) he has a girlfriend; 2) she doesn't want to jeopardize their friendship; and, 3) her friend, Meredith, also likes St. Clair. So in other words, it's complicated.

What I loved about this book is the giddiness galore! You know naman me, I live for kilig. Haha. I highly recommend this book to those who wants a no-brainer, feel-good, kilig-to-the-bones read. Initially, I really wanted to finish reading the Spanish version but I was afraid there would be something lost in translation, so I gave up with the Spanish version and resumed my reading with the one in English.

Speaking of English, Etienne St. Clair has an English accent. So what do I think about St. Clair? First, he is a nice guy because although he's sort of dropping hints that he likes Anna in that way, he didn't act these feelings because he has a girlfriend. It's just unfair on Anna's side because he's making her feel all these things and dropping hints and telling her she's beautiful and all, but because he has a girlfriend, they can't take it to the next level. Which is really frustrating most especially on Anna's part. I, too, fell in love with Etienne and his accent, but he's short. Choosy pa ako, 'no?

Personally, I was most kilig when Anna browsed the Neruda book Etienne bought for her and he put an asterisk on this quote:

I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,in secret, between the shadow and the soul.

te amo como se aman ciertas cosas oscuras, secretamente, entre la sombra y el alma 

And on that note, I have to bid you adieu.

gossip girl 06x03: dirty rotten scandals

You know, I kind of feel for Sage. She has every right to be upset because Serena van der Woodsen is her frickin' stepmother. And to make matters worse, she goes on very preachy to Sage saying that rebelling against her father would only hurt her. Spoken like an experienced skankawhoreus.

ooh, it's the return of the culottes

Omigaahd, I so hate Serena van der Woodsen for doing that to Blair!!! Just because she wants to save face, she jumps into another conclusion without finding out the real story and walks out on Blair's baby. Blair is the victim here. She was just being nice to Serena (so okay, she also needed another "it" girl to model for her) and look where it got her. Serena, Ingrata.

Gossip Girl is doing damage to NYC's reputation- now I think the Upper East Side is teeming with skanks and asshats. And speaking of asshats, Dan Humphrey is, so far, this season's ass-est of asses.

I think the length of Dan's hair is proportionate to his level of arse-ness. Remember that he was semi-kal when he was still cute and nice Lonely Boy, and now that his curly bangs banging, he's so not nice and cute anymore. And then he breaks Nelly Yuki's heart all over again. What an asshat.

As with Blair's fashion disaster, she is totally not the person to blame. Eleanor is. She takes with her husband to who-knows-where and leaves the reins of her business in the hands of her immature daughter who hasn't even graduated from college yet and doesn't have any experience with running the business or any business for that matter. And oh, the clothes were so Cinderella (a local apparel store) circa 1990s.

And because of this episode's last scene and Dan's asshatness, I think I'm crossing over to Team Chuck.

Finally, Chuck has let go of his arseness; he's finally matured. Slight. I do hope Blair follows suit soon.

Not really loving how things are going in the series and as I've said I still watch it because of Blair and the possibility that the show will have some kind of redeeming qualities toward the end that will justify all the time I spent staring at my downloads, waiting for it to finish and actually watching each and every episode at least twice. I still have high hopes for you, GG. Please do not disappoint. XOXO

Apparently, reading this is more interesting than GG's newest season. Unconditional love, y'all, unconditional love.

gossip girl 06x02: high infidelity

So tell me, is Georgina Sparks harboring some sort of obsession over Dan Humphrey?

I'm guessing YES since she's staring at Dan while he is sleeping and she did tell him that he was her baby daddy. At first, I thought she did lie to Dan about the pregnancy because it is in her grand revenge plan on Serena & Co. But judging from this picture, she does like Dan. But why does it feel creepy? When Pacey was staring/looking at Joey Potter while she was sleeping, it didn't look creepy. It actually looked sweet. Bakit ganun?

Blair really hasn't learned anything, has she? Most especially that she's taking over her mother's business, she needs all the connections she can get and she has burned a lot of bridges since high school days so I guess I'll just have to wish her good luck. Ha. One of Blair's erstwhile minions, Nelly Yuki, pays Blair a visit not to beg for reinstatement as what Blair thought but to interview her. What comes around goes around nga naman, haha!

aww.. Nelly Yuki's all grown up! I can still remember her profession of undying love to Dan Humphrey

I really, really thought Blair has matured already. Apparently, not. Oh, I see she's sporting a headband AGAIN. High-school mode ON.

You see, that is why Blair is better with Dan. I think we have already established that Blair and Chuck do not do each other good. Okay they love each other, but they do not bring the best out of each other. But Dan and Blair, they're good for each other. Their love may not be the same intensity as Chuck and Blair's, but it is a great love just the same.

Nakakaloka. Hindi lang pala si Blair ang hindi pa natututo. These kids should have known better than to keep secrets (and more secrets) from their loved ones/ special someones and to just jump into conclusions. So when Serena sees his newest boytoy with another girl who turns out to be the Nate's newest conquest, she instantly arrives at the conclusion that he is cheating on her. And since Nate saw that too, he broke up with the "girlfriend" right away, via voice mail. How classy.

Turns out that Sage aka Nate's newest conquest is the daughter of Steven aka Serena's latest boytoy. How much more complicated can their lives get?

So anyway, I thought I really like Lily that even if she's obviously the original skank. I thought I could forgive her man-hopping but when she dropped Rufus like a hot potato when Bart resurfaces, I know she's a bad woman.

I mean, can you really switch your feelings on and off just like that? Bart gives her a necklace and all's forgiven and forgotten... Sad.

And speaking of Lily, we have already established that Serena was created in Lily's image and likeness ergo Serena will be another skank-a-whore just like her mother.

Serena as a parent? Be afraid. Be VERY afraid.

And seriously, Serena, WTF?!? Being in Gossip Girl is NOT something to be proud of. Skank.

hart of dixie 02x03: if it makes you happy

There's a lot happening this week in Bluebell. First up, one of the newest characters in the story, Ruby Jeffries, has decided to go against Lavon and run for mayor of Bluebell in the next election.

I really like Lavon and if I were a resident of Bluebell, I'd vote for him again. Why? Because Ruby may not admit it but she's only running just to go against Lavon. Plus, didn't she say it herself that she couldn't wait to leave Bluebell right after graduating high school?

And speaking of Ruby and Lavon... they did share a past. Lavon and Lemon also did. And Lemon and Ruby kind of have a shared enmity towards each other. This is getting interesting ;)

Now Lemon is volunteering to be Lavon's campaign manager. I am sensing another love triangle here. I actually like Lavon + Lemon. They're cute together. I do hope they end up together.

As for Zoe, she's stressing because a reporter from her alumni med school magazine is coming to Bluebell to follow her around. She wants to make an impression that she is making a changing the world and making a difference (albeit in her own, little way) in small-town Bluebell. So when Tom exhibits leprosy-like symptoms, Zoe finds the perfect setting to make her little small-town medical adventure interesting.

According to Tom, he did some work for Crazy Earl so Zoe jumps to the conclusion that Tom may have contracted leprosy from him. Zoe seeks Wade's help. They pay a visit to Crazy Earl and he bursts Wade's bubble- he reveals Wade's little secret. But then again it is no secret. It is so obvious that Wade has the hots for Zoe and not only because he wants a bedmate.

Argh. I admit Zoe + Wade look good together. I still on Team George but the way Zoe and Wade looked at each other, man, I am sold.

another sg post

I told you I have another one of these SG posts, haha! But before I proceed... Can I just say that time flies sooo frickin' fast??? It's almost one month from our Singapore trip! And here I am still hung over.

This post is about the many things I love and don't love about SG; so, without further ado...

What I ♥ About Singapore:

1. The very efficient public transport system.

{source}

 I commute a lot here in Manila and commuting here is such a pain in the ass. I am very grateful for our light rail transit here in the metro and wouldn't know what to do without them, but after experiencing how it is to commute in Singapore, I swear, I fell in love with their trains and stations. And not to mention the buses... man, I dream of the day our buses would be as efficient as theirs, where buses (and jeeps) would stop at (and only at) the designated loading and unloading zones. And oh, I'm also in love with the "tap system." They use only one prepaid card for all train lines and buses. Very convenient, diba? Parang their government aims to provide quality and convenient lives for their citizens- even connecting walkways from one train line to another is air-conditioned! Kabaliktaran ng Pilipinas, lahat ginagawang inconvenient ng gobyerno para sa atin!!! At huwag i-deny yan- pumunta lang sa pinakamalapit na government agency/munisipyo para ma-confirm.

2. Trees, trees and more trees! For a small country like Singapore, one would think that they'd value space very much and would fill every nook and cranny with structures. Actually, I was expecting it to be filled with towering building offices and apartments. Which was a misconception. The city is filled with lots and lots of trees. For a country situated just atop the equator, you'd think it'd be scorching hot but surprisingly, it is not. Because there are trees everywhere you go. 

ang SG ay parang isang malaking Ayala mall

I wonder why can't we do the same here? Kung space ang pag-uusapan, mas marami tayo nun diba? Singapore is evidence that nature does not hinder a nation's progress. If they can do it, we can too. It just takes an awful lot of willpower. I hope makita ng Pilipinas ang tao na yan in my lifetime. 

3. In relation to #2- it is a pedestrian-friendly city. Clean, unobstructed sidewalks with trees providing shade to the pedestrians, walking from one point to another is a pleasure. 

4. It is a fairly safe country. You could walk around the city with your bag open and not worry about pickpockets or snatchers. Of course, kailangan pa rin alerto 24, pero not as much when I commute here. They don't even check bags when going into malls or train stations. 

5.  Taxi drivers are honest, they use the meter (hindi uso ang kontrata, haha) and they don't ask for dagdag. Well, the cheapest flag down rate was S$3.20 which is around Php108, so kahit manghingi si mamang taxi drayber ng dagdag mas mura pa rin satin, pero gets mo naman kung ano gusto kong sabihin diba? Parang feeling ko lang dito sa Pilipinas, parang nangdidiskarte lahat ng tao. 

And what I don't ♥ about Singapore:

1. Everything's EXPENSIVE! A sausage mcmuffin meal in McDo costs S$5 which is around Php170. I could buy two sausage mcmuffin meals with that amount! 

2. Language barrier. Nakakabilib that Singapore's a multi-lingual country- signage, announcements and instructions are available in Chinese, English and Malay- but there's always something lost in translation. Like when the time my friend asked for Tabasco in a restaurant. It took four persons to ask her what it is she was requesting. At promise, kahit English ang salita, hindi ko pa rin maarok dahil sa accent. 

3. Maraming masungit. In fernez naman to those who belong to service-oriented businesses, they were nice and accommodating naman. 

4. MapapaWOW ka sa bango. Kinabog ang Wow Philippines ng Intramuros, haha! 

That's it, pansit! But do not get me wrong. Even if my comparison of our country to Singapore highlighted it's shortcomings and inefficiencies, I still love it (and actually couldn't wait to come home after five days in a foreign land). It's just that I wish we could improve how we do things here. I hope the government would actually look after the welfare of the people and not only after the votes, aim to make the citizens' life more convenient and implement laws and rules and regulations for the greater good and not only for their own benefit. And we also have to do our part by being obedient, disciplined citizens. We can start by throwing our trash properly, okay?