Bitter Pills, Breathing Spaces

I saw Begin Again right before it was pulled out of the local cinemas near my workplace. I can name a lot of obvious reasons why I loved the movie (and I can make a review of it, if I want to). But if anything, the movie has just reminded me that no matter how painful and taxing it can be, that it is okay to begin again... to start over... to move forward... even if it means losing something in the process in order to gain another. People say: no pain, no gain.  But there are times where I do wonder if the process gets easier?

I am at a crossroads again. I always thought that as I get older, I get more confident at these things. While I keep a calm facade, my nerves are driving me nuts and I second-guess myself. I hate it when I do that. I over-think to the point of suddenly remembering the what-ifs and the what-should-have-beens in my life... then I just chastise myself for even entertaining such thoughts to the point that I find the courage to pick myself up and move along.

Until I get to that point (and I will, hopefully soon enough), thank goodness for sour cream flavored chips, double-dutch ice cream and a movie that'll sure bring on the waterworks. Let the healing process begin... again.

Hi there! How is your long weekend shaping up so far? I hope it was better than mine as I had to come in Monday for work so as to lessen the load when I get back on Wednesday.  Not that my long weekend didn't kick off well. In fact, it went off to a great start with the 2nd Filipino Reader Conference. I blogged about the event as a special feature on my review blog. I do hope you can check it out.

If my memory serves me right, this is the second long weekend after Holy Week since April 9, which happens to be Araw ng Kagitingan, fell on a Monday. I love long weekends because whenever I get to enjoy one, I always find time to cook myself (and even for my family) a really good breakfast.  When I started with my new job last year, having a decent breakfast on weekdays is hard to get by. Decent in my book means full and easy. Of all the meals in a day, breakfast is my favorite. I can manage to survive through lunch when I've had a decent breakfast. I work faster and face challenges with ease.

Photo courtesy of joyosity @ Flickr.com

While I manage to get by until lunch with a cup of instant 3-in-1 coffee and a sandwich from the nearest Subway or Starbucks outlet, it doesn't satisfy me as much as my preferred breakfast fare which always includes eggs and fried rice. My relatives often describe my food preference as generally continental except for breakfast wherein it's very Filipino. My brother aptly put at one point, "kahit silog lang ang kainin niya sa umaga, masaya na siya (even if she only eats eggs and fried rice, she's happy)".  Silog, for those who may not know what it means, is a combination of the words "sinangag" (fried rice) and "itlog" (egg). Name every possible viand -- local/imported meats, dried fish/seafood, leftovers -- and I can eat them in the morning as long as "silog" is also served... Sometimes, I don't care what time of day it is, as long as I'm in the mood for "silog", I cook it. I go to my happy place every time I eat a serving.  In fact, I'm going to prepare one for myself as soon as I wake up in  a few hours. My all-time favorite silog combination: silog with Cebu danggit or Vigan longganisa, fresh tomato and onion slices in vinegar and fish sauce, and orange juice! My mouth just watered at the thought. Yummy!

How about you? How would you describe your best meal? :)

Wow, how time flies! I cannot believe it's Friday once again and it's the day before the 2nd Filipino Reader Conference! But before I fast forward to tomorrow, it's time for me to share my response to the final installment of...



And for this last one, it is all about Celebrating The Best...



Since 2012 started, I've read a lot of good books but the one that takes my number one spot so far would be The Fault In Our Stars by John Green. The book is so good, so well-written that I think that everyone should get a copy. I gave it a 5/5 rating on Goodreads and posted a review on my other blog. The book practically solidified John Green as one of those authors on my must-buy, must-read list. And yes, if by some miracle he ever visits the Philippines, I wouldn't mind camping out for days if only to get all his books signed. For real.

As to Filipino books, I've added more to my plate this year. Most of what I've read so far are written by Mina V. Esguerra (pictured right), and I love each and every one of them. An officemate gave me Trese Books 1-4 as a gift, which I hope to start reading soon. Also, I've recently finished Smaller and Smaller Circles by F.H. Batacan, which will be discussed soon by our book group. And after viewing all the nominees for this year's 1st Filipino Readers' Choice Awards, it looks like I'll be adding more Filipino books in my to-read pile which is a good thing. Best of luck to my wallet though. =P



And with this last post ends this year's edition of the Filipino Friday meme. I'm glad I was still able to participate and I shall now count the hours until the 2nd Filipino Reader Conference: United We Read, which is tomorrow, August 18, at the Filipinas Heritage Library, Makati City. For more details about the event, click on the badge below and it'll lead you to the Filipino ReaderCon homepage. Mabuhay ang mambabasang Pinoy! :)

I guess it's safe to say that I've been living under a big rock (that is my work) for quite sometime that this nearly passed my radar. I did say at one point that I hardly do meme posts but I loved Filipino Friday last year that I wouldn't miss a chance to do it again. So apologies for my three-peat post but I'd rather do it than never.

I know it's been a while since I've written here. Having my other blog has kept me busy aside from work. However, I felt it's fitting to revisit this blog again, being my first and the longest. And for my 101st post, I am going to honor someone who I don't know personally but has been one of those who never fails to make me smile: Dolphy.

RIP Rodolfo Vera Quizon, Sr. (Dolphy) July 25, 1928 - July 10, 2012

What I love the most about my current profession is how learning heavily figures in it.  While majority of my time is spent facilitating the learning of other people, it feels good to learn new things as well.  And that's saying a lot since attending courses is often pretty rare for me.  I woe at the irony of it.  My last formal training was almost a year and a half ago which I wrote about here.

I went through a new training at the start of this year; something specific to my current company.  It was a huge eye-opener in a lot of ways.  I appreciated my role more and I realized that we needed to go back to basics.  There were keys tasks that are already ignored and mindsets that needed to be changed. In the end -- where I found myself drowning my exhaustion with several cans of Coke Zero, no longer caring about adding more pounds to what I gained from all the food I ate -- it made me wonder why people have succumbed to the pattern I came to experience. I knew my work was cut out for me when I signed the contract but I didn't realize that it would require a whole box of surgical gloves.  I guess it's time to stretch the latex.

Image Credit: ~Juu97 via deviantART

I guess by this time you'll know that I'm a girl with many hobbies/interests: taking photographs, watching movies (and even TV series although I somewhat neglected that lately), reading books among others.  Listening to music is another hobby/interest that keeps me pre-occupied and something that I cannot live without.

I did say in an earlier post that if get inspired, I'll make another blog.  And so here it is.  Luckily, it's not as taxing to make as my earlier post.  However, in its own way, it did tax me... or my wallet.


I have a confession to make: I am a book hoarder.  If I were to gauge by the number of books that I just sorted and cleaned up yesterday, they are a lot for my room to fit in.  My book blogger friends -- you know who you are -- would argue that they're still by no means the same volume as theirs, to which I agree.  As I'm surveying my room, I'm counting five plastic crates... Five. Plastic. Crates! And I remember seeing more than a handful of stray ones in our living room. Oh dear.

I remembered in 2010, I gave myself a goal: not to buy a lot of books because of my space dilemma.  I made a list, which I kept, followed and succeed. So I thought 2011 would be a cinch. I knew this year would really put a dent in my pocket but I wanted to keep myself in check. So I made a list.  I kept it.  Unfortunately, I didn't follow it.  In fact, I exceeded and got a total of 35 books (3 of which were gifts by the way)!  Jeez, it sounds like I rebounded from rehab.  Hahaha. Here's a snapshot of the books I owned (bought or given) in 2011 as seen in my Goodreads account:


2011 marks the year wherein I've read the most number of books since I got caught in the corporate jungle.  My day job hardly affords me any time to read so finishing any non-work related book is quite an achievement.  I can still remember my 2006 dry spell and I don't want that to happen again.  I gave myself a 15-book reading challenge at the start of 2011.  My total read books: 20!  Woohoo.  I am so proud of myself.  And I thought that was impossible since I switched jobs.  Thank goodness for long commute rides.   Here's a snapshot of the books I read as seen in my Goodreads account:



In some ways, I found all this to be a good thing because I was introduced to a whole lot of authors and my reading palate became more diverse. 2011 also became the year where I met more authors and got my books signed; I loved seeing one again (Hello Lauren Kate!) and meeting two new authors who were such great individuals, very enthusiastic about their work (Hello Samantha Sotto & Alexander Yates!).  I followed more authors this year on Twitter (Hello John Green, Gayle Forman, Scott Westerfeld, Erin Morgenstern and Laini Taylor!) and listed more books on my Goodreads wishlist.

Suffice to say, my love for reading is back in full force and I have no intentions of stopping any time soon.  It helps that I'm actively part of a club with a few friends who meet regularly to discuss and recommend books.  So I guess my target of 20 books for 2012 would be a cinch?  I truly hope.  And about my space problem? I'm thinking about donating, if not re-selling, some of my books.  I'm thankful for my Kindle for PC app but since I can't bring Sydney while I commute, getting a Kindle soon is becoming a priority.

Happy New Year friends! Hope the smog hasn't gotten to you as much as I did. I've been in my room for perhaps the whole day and I'm not exactly looking forward to going to work tomorrow (because it's too soon).  To distract me, I prepared this 2011 recap post.  You may remember that I made a similar one last year.  I liked doing it so much then that I want it to be a regular thing.  This year though, I plan to amp it up by adding two recap posts but for books and music.  Hopefully, these will be up in the next few days... or hours... depending on how inspired I get.

Without further ado, here's my life in 2011 through the movies I watched.  Enjoy!


January 8 - The Tourist
(This movie kept me thinking until the end.)

January 22 - Tangled
(Perhaps the only movie musical that I've watched so far in ages. And yes, I didn't cringe! How could I when I am swooned by the voice of Zachary Levi. Teehee!)

March 5 - Just Go With It
(There wasn't any new movies showing that week. I remembered Meann and I choosing between this and I Am Number Four. Well, obviously, you know what we both chose and neither of us regretted it.)

March 13 - Red Riding Hood
(I wanted to read the book before watching this. After I watched it, I fell in love with Billy Burke more. And I liked Max Irons. I do have a copy of the book; unfortunately, it is still unread.)

March 19 - Rango
(This is for me the best animation movie I've seen. Story-wise, it was compelling.)

March 21 - Sucker Punch
March 26 - Sucker Punch
(Like in my post last year, I have the habit of watching movies more than once. This was no exception. And I'm a proud owner of this book and I won this shirt from New Worlds.)

April 19 - Arthur
(I will admit to not being a big Russell Brand fan but this made me laugh and cry. The geeky, movie cars were awesome.)

April 28 - Water For Elephants
(Thanks to our fairy godmother, I saw this in an advanced screening together with 4 other Robert Pattinson fans.  My friends know that I'm a fan of his so anything he makes, I'll see.  To this day, I regret not seeing Remember Me in the cinemas.)

April 30 - Thor
(If only because I wanted to see Chris Hemsworth in 3D, I made an exception to my Northern allergy and saw this. While this takes my favorite movie of the year award, my only wish: extra 20 feet for maximum ab exposure. =P)

May 31 - Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
(If anyone questions how much I love Johnny Depp, this should be proof that I do. It's the third movie of him that I've seen; that's like an average of 1 Johnny Depp fix every 2 months. Not bad at all.)

June 4 - Kung Fu Panda 2
(This was our company's family day offering. I joined the first screening. I laughed and cried all the way until the end. Keeping my fingers crossed for a 3rd installment.)

June 4 - X-Men First Class
(Since I wasn't contented with Kung Fu Panda 2, I watched this with a couple of friends who swear by Charles/Erik's or James McAvoy/Michael Fassbender's powerful chemistry. I was equally hooked. The duo takes the Best On-Screen Couple of the Year award for me. :D)

June 20 - Super 8
(I loved this movie but if there's one thing I learned, I shouldn't have watched this alone.)

July 9 - Temptation Island
(I loved the original; I loved this remake too. And the crowd that my friends and I were with in the cinema... tres chic!)

August 6 - Cowboys & Aliens
(Having seen Super 8 a few months before, my enthusiasm watered down a bit. Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig easily changed my mind.)

August 13 - Captain America, The First Avenger
(Chris Evans and Sebastian Stan. Need I say more? :D)

September 3 - Zombadings 1: Patayin Sa Shokot Si Remington
(My 2nd Filipino movie for the year! And that is awesome by my standards. It didn't hurt that Meann and I saw Martin Escudero at the end of our screening. Here's proof.)

September 8 - Contagion
(Kate Winslet. Jude Law. Gwyneth Paltrow. Marion Cotillard. Matt Damon. Laurence Fishburne. An all-star cast movie directed by Steven Soderbergh. I've seen similar kinds of movies but this works. So bravo!)

September 24 - Abduction
(Taylor Lautner's first starring role after shooting The Twilight Saga franchise. Not bad; not good either. More movies would do the trick.)

October 22 - The Three Musketeers
(Matthew Macfadyen + Logan Lerman + Orlando Bloom as a bad ass = MAJOR LEAGUE EYE CANDY! The chemistry between D'Artagnan/King Louis XIII is my runner-up for the Best On-Screen Couple of the Year award.)

November 17 - The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1
November 18 - The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1
(Breaking Dawn, the book, is my 2nd favorite in the series so you can imagine my anticipation. I think Bill Condon and Melissa Rosenberg did their best to adapt this. I was entertained.  However, if I were to rank the four movies, this unfortunately takes the last slot for me.)

December 10 - Immortals
(Luke Evans. I sigh as I say your name. Not that I don't like Sean Bean but can you be Zeus in the next installment of Percy Jackson? Pretty please?)

December 17 - Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol
(I love you, Simon Pegg! You were made to be seen in IMAX.)


When I reviewed my last year's post, I watched a total of 17 movies.  This year? 23 movies! Woohoo!  I hope to see more this 2012. And this nifty sequel below would be the first one on my list...

• Attending the 1st Filipino Reader Conference;
• Buying more books, of course, to add to my growing pile;
• Meeting and having my books signed by two authors, namely Samantha Sotto and Alexander Yates, and listen to their experiences in a panel discussion sponsored by National Bookstore & Random House entitled "Life of a Novelist"; and
• Sharing those experiences with good friends and fellow bibliophiles.

Over the last few months, I've been secretly nurturing the desire to put up another blog.  And no, it won't be similar to this blog, content-wise.  This is time it's going to be a bit straightforward as to the type of posts that I plan to publish.  As this will be hosted in a different site, I still need some time to design the look and feel of it, as well as study my options for this new blog.

When I put up one via LJ a few years back, I enjoyed its privacy options and the insurmountable amount of communities that it has.  But it all became just that and nothing more after a while.  I still access it but not for the original intent when I signed up for it.  I think, despite the nature of this blog, I've managed to ensure that my posts would not generate that TMI effect.  After all, there are still a lot of things about any person's life that's not meant for public consumption.

This only means that I'll be doing double-time for both blogs soon.  I think I can handle it especially after getting some inspiration from a training summit I attended two months ago.  And that alone fuels me, even if it takes me one widget at a time to build up this new blog.  I do hope that you'll like it as much as you've supported this little one.  I'll announce it when it's up and running. :)

It's been a while since I've blogged here. Computer issues, something beyond my control for now. I don't normally do meme-type posts but I'm making an exception for this, simply because it's for something close to my heart: reading. So to kick this off, let me introduce you to...

Filipino Friday is an initiative of the official Filipino Reader Conference site to promote the 1st Filipino Reader Con on the 14th of September during the 2011 Manila International Book Fair. For this meme's first installment...

Introduce Yourself: Let’s all get to know each other better. Tell us what kind of reader you are. What are your favorite genres and books? Who are your favorite authors? Do you have a comfort read? And what’s the best book you’ve read so far this year? You can also include links of where other readers can find you online, such as your book social networking sites, etc.



Okay... Where do I begin? ;)

As a reader, I'm pretty open to a lot of genres. I don't discriminate; as long as it is a story that piques my interest then I'm good. My love for reading started with Nancy Drew, back in first grade. Since then, I never stopped. I moved on to The Three Investigators, then Sweet Valley High. College reading was torn between course books and classic/chic lit. Now, most of the books that are on my to-read pile are either YA or classic/contemporary fiction. You would see books from some of my favorite authors like William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Libba Bray, Michelle Zink, Suzanne Collins, J.K. Rowling and Stephenie Meyer in an odd hodgepodge filling the corner of my room.

When I read books -- even if I liked them -- I would only read them around twice. I have my in-between-book reads: mostly Shakespeare's sonnets and a couple of his plays (Hamlet and A Midsummer Night's Dream) or Jewel's A Night Without Armor. To date, the book that I loved reading so far was Before Ever After by Samantha Sotto. It was a welcome break from the stream of YA fiction that I've been reading lately.

Most of my reading adventures can be seen via Goodreads and I like updating my reading status if and when time permits. Also, I've discovered the beauty of colored tabs. The last two books I've read have little colored tabs peeking on one side, indictating bits of the book that I loved as well as best quotes.

I guess that pretty much sums it up. Thanks for taking time to check out this blog post. Pinoy readers unite! :)

I laughed my heart out the first time I came across that quote. I mused at how cool it was of Simon to make that comment. In a way, that inspired me to create this blog post.

I don’t normally buy planners but when I brought my Navi 2010 planner more than a year ago, I swore than one of the things I wanted to do with it was write down the movies I watched. As I took out my old planner to be replaced by a new one (still a Navi), I decided to look back on what movies I watched and I was surprised with what I saw. It’s not much but I’m proud to say that I’ve seen quite a number and I’ve got the ticket stubs stuck on my planner to prove it.


January 9 – Sherlock Holmes
January 14 – Sherlock Holmes
(With movies I like, I normally catch them at least twice in the cinema. Hope this doesn’t surprise you as you may see similar entries below.)

March 4 – Percy Jackson & The Lightning Thief
(I remembered wanting to borrow the books after I watched this because I was amused despite that one musical segment. To date, I’ve read all 5 books and I felt really disappointed with the adaptation the moment I finished Book 1.)

April 17 – Date Night

April 29 – Kick Ass
(I became a fan of Chloe Moretz after seeing this movie. However, this hasn’t made me brave enough to watch Let Me In when it was released in Philippine cinemas several months after.)

May 1 – Iron Man 2
(I confess. I love Robert Downey Jr. since Chances Are, thus I hated it when I wasn’t able to see Due Date with Zach Galifianakis.)

June 5 – Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
(I remembered hedging to watch this because I’m not a Jake Gyllenhaal fan despite loving Brokeback Mountain. I came out enjoying it.)

June 29 – The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
June 30 – The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
July 2 – The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
July 3 – The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
(I’m a Twilighter so this is normal. I watched Twilight 11 times during its run in Metro Manila cinemas last 2008. Expect the same trend when Breaking Dawn Part 1 comes out late this year.)

July 6 – Toy Story 3

July 13 – Inception
(Inasmuch as I would’ve loved to catch it more than once inside a cinema, my head hurt after watching this in IMAX. It must’ve been all those mind-bending SFX and sequences.)

July 17 – The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

July 20 – The Last Airbender
(Jackson Rathbone was my saving grace in this movie. Enough said.)

July 21 – The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

July 24 – The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
(Another movie I hedged watching but I thoroughly enjoyed after exciting the cinema. Not exactly a Nic Cage fan; sorry folks. The movie, however, allowed me to rediscover my love for One Republic.)

July 26 – SALT

August 19 – Vampires Suck
(Any Twilighter worth his/her salt should be able to laugh at his/her own fandom once in a while. Besides, when a franchise is spoofed, it only means one thing -- you're already part of pop culture history.)

November 13 – Unstoppable
(This was one of those movies that I felt had the most compelling script, acting & direction. I was emotionally compromised… err… engaged all throughout.)

November 19 – Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows: Part 1
November 20 – Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows: Part 1
(While I am also a Potterhead, I didn’t watch this one more than twice because I had some issues with it -- specifically all the Harmonian themes of the movie. I’m just glad that my first screening was with a theater-full of Ron/Hermione shippers. I plan to change this when Part 2 comes out in the middle of this year.)

December 4 – The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
(This pains me. I wanted to watch it more than once because, of all the three movies in the franchise, this was the only one that made me cry a lot. And yes, it didn’t hurt to see Ben Barnes in 3D. No sir.)

December 27 – RPG Metanoia
(The lone Filipino movie I watched for the year… in years, to be honest. I hardly watch Filipino films even if the MMFF is an annual event. The last MMFF movie I watched was Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo. Too bad I only caught RPG Metanoia once and in regular format. To say that it was awesome would be an understatement. RPG Metanoia gave me something to be proud of -- that Filipino filmmakers haven’t lost its touch when it comes to telling stories. It doesn’t hurt that the quality was beyond satisfactory for a first 3D Pinoy animated film.)

Hopefully, 2011 would bring more movies for me. So far, the line-up is exciting. I kicked it off last Saturday, January 8, by watching The Tourist. And yes, the ticket stub is already stuck in the new planner.

2010 went by without so much a fanfare. It was typical yet assuring; cynical yet validating; comical yet disheartening. There was so much I wanted to say about 2010... so much I wanted to blog about... but I wasn't able to. Perhaps, it was meant to stay that way. 2010 would be another unspoken year, but still unforgettable despite its utter simplicity.

When 2011 stepped in, I welcomed it with no foresight. A first in over a decade. I still did my customary birthday song hum... I still marveled at the fireworks (and morosed at the smoke)... However, a certain degree of calm settled over me. As well as fear. I know for certain that there will be changes but I can hardly see anything. I can only act, hope and pray... for a better year, a better decade... because, heaven knows, I deserve something better for myself.

It's pretty much the question I'd ask if English were a real person, not a language. When I attend external training activities, I always love it when I take a lot of answers rather than questions. However, it was not the case after I attended a language conference about the state of Philippine English last week.

English, like any other language, is evolving. That is a fact. No matter how many people would like to dispel this phenomenon, it cannot be stopped. The new words being added to Merriam-Webster's coffers, even to Oxford's, is staggering proof. Nothing is indeed permanent in this world except change. And with so many events that shaped our world over the last generation, English as a language has evolved but more so now. The standards most linguists hold on to are starting to get, if not already, blurred to the point that they are almost begging to be thrown out of the window. For most people, we only know two main variants of English -- American and British -- by which we all mostly base our standards on. However, will you be prepared for a time when a Chinese English dictionary will hit the shelves of your favorite bookstore in 30 years or so, if I were to consider David Graddol's prediction? There is an Australian English Slang dictionary, which makes the prediction rather plausible than absurd.

What does Mr. English think about all of this? With every country speaking English as a lingua franca or a second language is introducing some innovations in its use, does he mind being having altered versions of himself walking in every part of the world? Spanglish (or even Taglish) used to be frowned on but is now gaining acceptance as a form of English unique to Spanish-speaking citizens. I felt the weight of the responsibility for Philippine educators of English. They have long subscribed to a standard -- something that majority are still struggling to live up to -- that is slowly collapsing under the pressures of economic and global trends. Where will they be in this shift?

While I dread the implications, I am cautiously optimistic. However, if I could name one thing the conference gave me, it was the comfort of validation -- knowing that what I've done so far as an educator and my beliefs in English as a language were sound, that I'm on the right track. But there's a part of me that still prefers the feel of strong pillar -- that there's something that I can hold on to or look up to -- when there's seems to be nothing else of merit. How strong that part is, I don't know.

Considering all intents and purposes, English was singled out as the language for global business communications several decades ago -- a means to unify rather than polarize. If I were to consider the challenges and ideas presented in the conference, it hardly seems to be the case.

Dear Mr. English, where do you stand now?

No words can describe how I seriously miss blogging. My life has been such a whirlwind since my last post that I'm either tired or pre-occupied to blog. Adding to this blogless existence is the death of our home PC, which served us for more than 5 years. While I'm able to do some of my net stuff lately, I feel it's not enough. I yearn to own a laptop but the timing and funds are my major issues. Add to the challenge is the rapid pace of technology that makes you think twice about what gadget to invest on. The ironic part is that I know what I want in a laptop, and it's definitely not going to be a mini-note, which would take some serious amount of Gs before I can get one.

Right now, I can't complain. I'll have to take full advantage whenever I can even if it's for around 2-3 times a week, if my own schedule permits. I need a long vacation where I do nothing but sleep, binge, watch shows and read books. For now, I'm just going to enjoy updating myself about all things Twilight.

Here's hoping this post won't be the last within the next few days. Perhaps, I can write something more substantial. Until then.

Hey there! I haven't really blogged in a while. Partly because of work and writer's block. I was thinking about making a movie review but I needed some more time before I put in on paper. And lately, all I could manage to squeeze in while working would be listening to music. It was then that I realized that it's been a while since I shared a playlist. Inspired by my recent dream where I was driving a bright yellow Porsche turbo in France's beautiful countryside, I now present to you...

I noticed that since Wednesday, it's always raining during the end of my shift. Not sure if it was the weather telling me to extend my time at the office or my workload but Libis can be pretty shitty traffic-wise especially when it rains. It didn't help when I found out something bad about my timekeeping. I raised my sarcasm sign last Tuesday. It always went up a notch every single hour, moreso around yesterday afternoon. The last time I felt this much sarcasm was in 2001. A part of me wanted to find something to balance it out. Never realized that it would come from Mother Nature (or Metro Manila pollution?).