On repeat: We found love

I can't get over this song. It's definitely on repeat in my player. Love the lyrics-- love the song.

Great song Riri! :)

Last day of October

Time indeed passes by so quickly-- it will be November 1 tomorrow! What?! It's crazy, right? Anyway, today marks the last day of October. Hello Halloween and horror stories! Actually, I'm not really fond of watching horror movies. In fact, if I remember it correctly, the last horror movie that I've seen was the Bride of Chucky back when I was still in elementary. You see, I just can't stand the sight of blood and gore-- why do people want to be scared anyway? Perhaps its thrilling for other people. Truth is, my family and friends are very fond of watching horror and suspense movies. The Ring, The Grudge, The Eye, Tale of Two sisters-- you name it-- they have seen it all. As for me? I'd rather watch romantic flicks instead. Haha. I'm easily frightened by ghost stories so I really try to refrain from hearing them or even watching documentaries about poltergeists. But since today is halloween, they seem to be ubiquitous! (well at least for television shows and shopping malls). Anyway, I'd rather spend my halloween watching some chick flicks instead. DVD marathon tonight! Yes, I think I'll spend the last night of my birth month watching sweet and "feel good" movies instead. :)

Some movies in line for tonight (again):

Image source: imdb.com

Being Happy

I've been very busy these past few days. But instead of feeling very tired from the long travel from my house to the office, I'm actually very thankful for everything. I'm learning a lot of new things.

By the way, I bought a great book last month-- and this book is totally amazing. I planned to create a post about  it the moment I read it-- it's a life saver.

One of my favorite happiness tips from the book is: "Just live in the now". Jump into every opportunities that life provides us. Don't worry too much about the future-- learn to live in the now. Another great tip that I got from the book is that, if you want to be happy, start today! Indeed, the choice of experiencing happiness is in our hands. We can be happy if we really want to. The choice is for us to make. :)

Adele on repeat

Yes, I'm gaga over Adele. Her songs have been on repeat for months now-- actually a year already. Oh how I love her. 

P.S. I found a good copy of the piano score of "Turning tables". Her songs are not only on repeat on my playlist, it's also on repeat in my piano. 

Adele is love.

On page 191 of the Fountainhead

image source: amazon.com

I'm currently reading the Fountainhead. I don't to know how to describe it though. I think the word "brilliant" will not suffice to give justice on how marvelous this book is. But what got me more connected to the book is that it revolves around the world of architects-- the aspiring architect inside me can't help but cry. Now I'm more motivated to work and earn more moolah-- I will work things out and see what happens. After all, nobody knows what will happen in the future. But the best advice that I recently had is to just "take things one day at a time" :). Just live in the now first. Who knows what the future holds anyway? But I'm sure God has a very good plan for me. I'm very sure about that.

For now, I will finish reading this good book first :)

P.S. I will be very busy with the coming days. Hello more moooolah! :)

Having my own polaris

Oh how I love Rascal Flatt's God bless the broken road. Actually, it is my favorite; my ultimate feel good song .

It's sublime lyrics can truly be heartfelt by anyone who listens to it. I just love the song a million times. Also, it reminds me of the polaris-- the northern star which guides you.

Further, I can't help but reminisce the story of my favorite drama, winter sonata (the polaris played a huge part in their love story). I can never forget how Jun said to Yoo jin that she will never get lost because the polaris is always guiding her-- that he will be her polaris. It's very lovely indeed. And today, as a gift for myself for my 21st birthday, I'm thinking of buying the polaris necklace on e-bay. I will keep you posted if my plan will turn out well J

This is what the polaris necklace in the show looks like. Look how pretty it is:

Image source: global.rakuten.com

Oh I must have you my dear polaris necklace (while I'm still searching for my real polaris) J

Sleeping with a smile on my face-- wishing on a star

If I was very down and depressed last time, I feel very great today; an exact opposite of what I felt a few days ago. It's so heartwarming to be complimented for a job well done. It definitely boosted my self confidence and made me to realize that I am really capable of doing big things. I am going to sleep with a smile on my face today; I feel very happy indeed :)

P.S. what time will the meteor shower happen again? I hope I can see it although its raining tonight. I know that this might sound silly, but I want to make a wish through the meteors-- to see someone I've been longing to see for the longest time (someone who visited me in dreams yesterday) Just like a star, I can see him yet I can't happen to get close to him because he's so far away-- sparkling brightly with millions of stars.

image sources: playgroundconfidential.com

http://images2.layoutsparks.com/1/150990/wish-on-a-star.gif

Follow your heart's desire-- reach for your dreams

I found this image on Facebook and I can't help myself from uploading it (I asked permission from my friend who shared it on Facebook). Kudos to its owner.

Steve Jobs is indeed one of our generation's most intelligent man-- a genius in his craft. And he managed to do that because he followed his heart; he went after his dreams. It is truly inspiring indeed. Thank you Steve for reminding me that I will never find happiness in life if I will not take risks and just go on with the status quo; thank you for the inspiration--- now I am truly determined to pursue my dream. I will be a good writer and I will definitely be an ARCHITECT. I will go with what my heart truly desires.

Moving on

I feel down today. Just moments ago I was completely in a bliss. Then something came up; actually, a harsh comment from someone who I don't even know personally  (and who doesn't know me personally as well) broke my heart :'( How can you judge someone if you don't even give her a chance to speak up for herself? You want to do things your way, and then you blame me because of very tiny mistakes? Geeez. I guess its true that most of the time, people remember compliments only for a day and carries and remembers harsh words and inappropriate criticisms longer. But I don't want to be a trash collector. So even if I'm feeling a bit down now, I won't let it ruin my happy life; I will let go of this negativity-- the garbage of harsh words I received and I'll move on instead. It might take time for me to fully recuperate from this depressing experience. However, I must also look on the brighter side earlier and yesterday-- when I got compliments for a good work; a job well done. Instead of preoccupying my mind with this depressing thing, I will think of more positive things instead-- that I am very blessed and privileged because I have good friends and family who knows me too well and who knows that I am highly capable of doing big, bright things and I'm already there; I'm very close to a new big thing now :).

To you, the person who broke my poor heart today, may God bless you.

Look at my lips

Just last month, I bought a great red lipstick from Etude house (the reddest one)-- it was under their "Look at my lips" category/ type. I am really happy with my purchase, the shade of red was so intense and bright-- exactly the way I wanted it to. It also has this somewhat fruity scent. Plus, it doesn't dry my lips even without lip balm underneath! Great deal indeed! It was certainly worth my money.

And just today, I saw a promo on their page:

Image source: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=268008246555150&set=a.268008189888489.68222.156132414409401&type=1&theater

You can win prizes if you will post your picture wearing your favorite lip color shade. Too bad the promo was over :| why did I just saw it now? :'(

Loving aspins

I feel gloomy today. The weather makes me sad; I just despise rainy days :| it brings back a melancholic memory to me-- one very depressing day that I can't even bury into oblivion until now.

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I love dogs. In particular, I am a proud owner of four adorable aspins. They are our little babies in the family. Now how do I relate this to the sad rainy day experience that I mentioned earlier? Here goes the story:

It was raining badly one Thursday afternoon and I was on my way to my archery class. When all of a sudden, I saw something furry lying in the gutter near UPLB gate; it was a stray dog trying to find a shelter to ease the cold. To my surprise, there were students taking pictures of the dog; I was agitated. But I guess I am more furious to myself than to those people. I should have done something to help the dog. Instead, I froze into the jeepney seat and I wasn't able to move or say "manong para po!". I wasn't able to do anything to help the dog. After my class, I wandered endlessly around the campus to find the him and see if there's still something that I can do. I went to the place where I saw him-- along a gutter-- but he's gone. I thought that perhaps there were good samaritans/ students who took care of the dog since there are veterinary medicine students in UPLB; therefore they could have brought the dog to their clinic. So I decided to just go home.

But for some strange reason, I was still agitated; I can't help but think about the dog. It was 8:30 pm already. I couldn't help it anymore. I told my parents that I had to go back to the campus since I forgot to photocopy something needed for my class the next day. It was still raining. Again, I searched and wandered around the campus for the dog. Around 9:30 pm, I was losing my hope of seeing the dog again. Then as I was about to go home, I saw him again. Lying in an open space near a bakeshop. The first thing that I did was to buy food for him-- I brought bread and crumbled them so that he can easily eat it. He was too hungry. And sadly, that's the only thing I was able to do for him. Until now, I'm still regretting it; that all I did was to feed him.

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So I don't really like rainy days. It reminds me that there are a lot of aspins out there, waiting to be loved and rescued; to have a shelter. I talked about this with my brother and you know what, we came up with a plan: we will open an animal shelter once we have work and money to support it. Our vision is to have at least one animal shelter per region in the country-- and with God nothing is impossible. I just hope and pray that more people will appreciate and value dogs, especially our aspins who are just as adorable and lovable as the expensive breeds. But for now, perhaps what we can do is to disseminate information on how more people can help in providing shelter for these animals. Actually, what we also want is for current aspin owners to realize how valuable these dogs are; that they should be treated well and be loved. Even a single act of providing drinking water for the dog makes a difference. Trust me, the love and comfort that they bring is more than what you could expect.

Please let us support:

www.caraphil.org
www.paws.org.ph
www.animalkingdomfoundation.org

and other kind-hearted organizations who continue to help animals. These organizations take care of dogs and cats who are homeless and abused. Let us give them a home; adopt a pet be it a dog or a cat. They will surely double the love that you will give them. Please, let us treat our native dogs and cats with care.  Just like what PAWS says "see the beauty beyond the breed" and you'll be overwhelmed with love.

P.S. here are some of our beloved aspins (potchi and bimby) ♥ ♥:

And yes, I am a very proud aspin owner.

Play day

I woke up today with the ranting of my brother about how "haggard" and tired he is with his acads. It is the start of his hell week again. But before he immerse himself with a truckload of paper works and exam reviews, he asked (actually he plead to) my parents if he could have a "play and relaxation" day. And his wish was granted. My dad drove us to Ortigas. But I guess we underestimated Quiel. The weather was fine in LB, but we never knew how hard the rain was from SLEX onwards. Actually, the pressure was on my dad since he was in charge of driving. Thank God for our safe trip today.

As for our "play day", my brother and I indulged on a shopping spree with an extra challenge--- we only have an hour to decide and choose what to buy. And there it was, Megamall became our hideaway playground. Oh how I love my parents. They always know what we need when we are stressed. And now, my brother is truly energized-- he's on the mood to review for his exams and face his hell week with ease. Go go go future chemical engineer! :)

But what really caught my attention today was a huge billboard outside Megamall which says:

"Nicholas Sparks live in Manila"

I became frantic. As you know, I am a self-proclaimed romantic and I just adore his works. Who did not shed a tear with A walk to remember and The Notebook? I am really a fan. I hope I could get to his autograph signing (but before that, you need to buy his latest book first). Since this is my birth month, my wish of meeting the great man behind the sublime love stories would certainly make my birthday truly memorable. 

Infidelity: an appealing topic?

Infidelity-- this happens to be the "it" trend in the market and world of television or movies today. Wasn't it just weeks ago when a locally produced film, "My Neighbor's Wife" was released. In the television scene, I can recall the korean drama "A Rosy Life", which I think was one of the first dramas with the same topic to be aired in the Philippines. Then came "Temptation of Wife", and the taiwanese version "The Fierce Wife". And just this week, another entry, a movie with the same topic, was released-- No Other Woman. The topic of infidelity injected into soap operas or movies seem to be ubiquitous; to the extent that the crowd might have had enough of it already. But as my friend and I were intrigued by the trailer of the film No other woman, we decided to give it a shot (although some things are already predictable).

We were actually flabbergasted to see a long queue of people waiting outside the cinema. It got me to thinking, that perhaps, there must really be something special in this movie than the others. There were a lot of people who wanted to watch the movie; in fact, my friend and I had to sit at the front row since every seat was already occupied (I had a bit of a stiffed neck afterwards).

In my opinion, one great marketing strategy that they used was the sex appeal of the actors. Who wasn't intrigued by the criss-cross bikini of Anne Curtis shown at the trailer of the movie, right? And yes, there were a lot of bikini and intimate scenes in the movie. Also, I think that people are eager to see Christine Reyes play a "good wife" role in the movie (but trust me, she became fierce in the later part of the film--- ooops, spoiler). The leading man, Derek Ramsay also happens to be very appealing to the ladies-- perhaps even to men.

So I don't think I have to elaborate much on the story since we pretty much know what it is about. What I'm more intrigued is with what I heard from the person beside me "Bakit pag babae ang nagloko, di nila mapatawad. Pero pag lalaki, hindi rin halos ganun kalaking big deal" That's something to ponder about I guess. I am no expert in these kinds of things. But if you'll ask my opinion, I think that the husband won't dare to look at, or even decide to kiss, another woman if he is really committed to his wife. Isn't that part of the sacrament of marriage? Anyway, I don't want to dwell too much on this issue as I am not married yet. I'm just an observer for now.

But I think that we should really give the writers a round of applause. It was written in a very concise and clever manner; there were lines that will truly stay on your mind (Ang mundo parang quiapo, maraming snatcher [ng asawa]; itago mo na yang lucy torres mo at ilabas mo na si gretchen barreto). It was very interesting indeed. But the ending was a bit predictable (that someone will get into an accident blah blah). Nonetheless, this movie still shows how we Filipinos are fond of happy endings (even after a series of sampalan and sabunutan), they managed to become friends afterwards; they ended things amicably anyway so that might be the reason. Anyhow, I commend the writers, director, and actors of the film. I think that watching it was worth my money.

A challenging piece: Challenge accepted

One of the biggest pieces that I would love to play flawlessly and concisely before I die includes this:

Of course, the sound will indubitably be different had it been Liszt himself playing the piece. But either way, I think that Yundi Li is a tremendously talented pianist. The climax of the piece would certainly be closer to its end. It's just too sublime. I need to practice everyday and do my finger exercises more frequent so that I can finally play this piece. Perhaps I'll start practicing this piece now (the biggest challenge here is really near the end part).

And now I'm having the same feeling when I was just starting to study Chopin's Etude Op. 10 no 3. I never thought that I will be able to play it (Oh dear God, the middle part of that piece was extremely hard! I had to practice even at night). But there I was, playing the piece on stage, in a piano recital at an auditorium, in front of a crowd. What I felt after playing that piece is ineffable. I never thought that I could make it. It was certainly a "challenge accepted" (take it from Barney, I just love that quote). And yes, I will take this piece as another challenge. I will definitely play this clearly. It would take a lot of patience and practice, but the thought of making your mentor, parents and friends proud is a big prize to achieve. Of course, the sense of self-satisfaction from that achievement is another big reward.

And if you can read this post, Yundi Li, please marry me! Haha. I just really want to watch you play in person (I would specifically want to hear you play more Chopin and Liszt pieces). Let me add this to my "dream/ goal list" : to watch Yundi Li play in person. I should save moolah then so that I can fly to where you are and watch you perform live. J

Proud alumna

This is an overdue post regarding our Araneta experience watching UP Fighting Maroons in action live.

Everyone in the coliseum was just ecstatic! The beat from the drum was resonating all over the place. Screams of eager fans fill the coliseum. Everyone, including me, was on a high. We were chanting several cheers (which includes the infamous beat: U-NIBERSIDAD-NG-PILIPINAS with clap). So this is the college spirit. Of course, we can get wild and rowdy cheering for our school while watching at home. But watching it live, on the scene, is totally a different experience. At some point, I even lost my voice as we were cheering wildly for UP. You can feel the bliss and pride of UP students, faculties and graduates as we sang UP naming mahal at the end of the event.

Who cares if this is an overdue post. We have an entire year to brag anyway. So again, congratulations UP (I'm a proud alumna)! It was such a great fight. Kudos to my friend Ro for the ticket :)