I've been inspired by a recent article in Gizmodo, How to Travel Around the World for $418, that I started thinking along the lines of accumulating miles for a living. I actually didn't know you can rake in miles even if you're not flying, so with that in mind I think I can save up miles by wisely using a credit card or two. But that means I'd have to start earning if I want to start getting the rewards, so grad school will probably make or break my plans.

Browsing through several banks' websites, I picked the three with the most promising rewards.

Citibank. Specifically the PremierMiles card, because the miles do not expire. As in. I can save up miles as long as I like, and I can choose which flyer partner I want anytime. That is, points are not reserved to a single airline's rewards system. 

Allied Bank. This is a really good Mabuhay Miles piggy bank. My mom says Lucio Tan owns this bank so that's probably why it has the lowest actual cost to mile translation, P33:1 mile only! 

Union Bank. They have this special card called Omni Pass, and it can save points for PAL, Cebu Pacific and Sea Air. The inclusion of budget carriers is really a plus.

Rainier bitch

UPDATE!
Note: Also check out The Frugal Travel Guy for some tips and stories on how to maximize credit. Of course these pieces reflect credit in the US, but most likely concepts will still hold for us.

Just saw Jeux d'enfants. Feels like Amelie, but with strong hints of My Sassy Girl. I got curious when I read Kris' blog about it, then I realized it stars Marion Cotillard so I scoured for a download right away. Hehe

It's the kind of love story I like, really bittersweet. The kind where the protagonists are the major hindrance themselves. Hah.

Every year, we celebrate Christmas Eve with my mom's side of the family and then Christmas Day with my dad's side (plus hunting godparents.) It's a pretty solid tradition, and after twenty years a change wasn't something I expected.

Lola, my dad's mom, had her pacemaker batteries changed the other day and she's still at the Philippine Heart Center. She will be okay to move out of the hospital by tomorrow, but she'll be staying at my Tia's for the time being. It's perfectly understandable, but thinking about it saddens me. I am very close to my grandparents and Christmas without them is incomplete, it's just wrong.

Well, the show must go on. Or something to that effect.

*sigh*


UPDATE! We're going to Metro Manila tomorrow, so Christmas will be spent with lolo and lola after all! :)

I finished catching up with Bones' current season yesterday. I'm so bored, I'm rewatching some episodes. In no particular order, here are some worth seeing again. :)

The Man in the Fallout Shelter. It's a Christmas episode, and it's probably the most dramatic episode of the first season. The characters are not yet that close with each other, so they really bond during this lockdown. 

Two Bodies in a Lab. Kamon! It's a great Bones and Booth episode. Probably the first time Seeley saves her life.

Mummy in the Maze. Just because they're all in costume. Hehe

Woman in the Sand. The Jeffersonian finds Ruth Brennan's remains, and so many other family secrets are uncovered. Booth is such a great friend.

Aliens in a Spaceship. Bones and Hodgins are captured by The Gravedigger. I bet the note Bones writes is addressed to Booth, just as Hodgins is addressed to Angela. Consequently, Hero in the Hold is also nice to watch again since it's Tempe's time to save Booth.

The Tough Man in the Tender Chicken. Cute little episode, not just around the two main characters. Angela and Temperance got into a fight, good thing there's Sweets to explain and settle things. Plus, I like Wendell. Actually, subsequent episodes are really Booth and Brennan fluffy episodes. Season 4/5 is Booth head over heels about Bones, not that it wasn't there before.

Double Trouble in the Panhandle. Bones and Booth go undercover in the circus, so awesome.

Fire in the Ice. They go ice skating in the end. Practically the last three minutes of this episode sealed the deal for me.

Parts in the Sum of the Whole. They recount their first case together to Sweets. Then in the end Booth finally states how he feels clearly to Bones. Very sad episode in general though.

Death of the Queen Bee. Wendell and Angela come to terms with the pregnancy scare. Bones and Booth go to Bones' high school for the murder investigation and ultimately end up going to the reunion. They're so awkward and sweet on the dance floor. Creepy and fun episode. 

The Couple in the Cave. Hannah materializes and I just adore Bones so jealous. Plus the murder they're solving echoes much of their feelings, ish.

The Doctor in the Photo. Bones reevaluates her life because of a case that hits very close to home. Just when Booth is so into Hannah, poor Bones.

Yeah, Bones is my current TV addiction (aside from The Good Wife and Dexter which I started watching again) and it's probably a factor why I'm slacking in thesis writing. But really, I am just so unsure how to write it. 

My work is an offshoot, and quite frankly I don't know how to write something that is almost just the same thing. Yes, I was made to do more theoretical work on the topic and we were exploring new ideas that are sadly not yet in fruition but I feel conflicted. Very much so. I've hardly done anything new and I can't write, knowing that what I'll say has been already said. And I can't write based on what I think I can do just because, and it'll be so weird. 

I can't write not knowing what point I want to make. Crap. 

I'd love..

This weekend is slated to be a gift buying (and making) marathon here in our household. I love picking out gifts, but it's really helpful if I know what the recipient wants. It doesn't have to be anything super specific, just a good gauge of what he/ she wants or needs.

I already received what I wanted, thanks Lolo :), but I'll make a list of things I'd like to get just the same. It's fun to daydream anyway. Hehe

1. Tag Heuer Ceramic Watch (Daydream kung daydream!)

2. LX5

3. Logitech Comfort Lapdesk

4. Cute cable ties

4. Baking/ Desserts cookbook

6. Bag big enough for school but not too big 

6. Red shoes

7. Little planner

8. Publication

9. Good health

10. Complete family picture (Even though some of my cousins are in the US.)

 

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These photos are not mine, click on the images for their sources.

Cookie Phase

I've been experimenting with baking lately, more specifically cookies. Now that I know the exact temperatures on our oven knob, I can bake in ease. Hehe

Today Ina and I baked some sugar cookies and my left over cranberry oatmeal dough. The first couple of batches were a hit! However, in the third batch we lost LPG so we had to stop. I put the dough of the sugar cookies and the trays with the scoops in the freezer. Then after the tank was delivered, we finished the last batch of sugar cookies.

L-R: Baked at room temp, scooped then chilled dough,

 chilled then scooped dough.

Now, here are my observations as to baking cookies so far.

1. Sugar cookies should be baked with the dough at room temperature. It's okay to chill the dough for around 20-30 mins to ease scooping but leaving it to freeze and pop it directly in the oven is a bad idea. Sugar cookies are obviously laden with sugar and it's baked at a relatively high temperature (at least compared to chewy ones) and sugar tends to burn when it's heated long.

2. For chewy cookies, it is imperative to chill the dough and it's best that way before you place it straight into the oven. I think that's the thing with chewy cookies, the cookies are cooked slowly in relatively longer and at lower temperatures. The chilling is key to maintain its shape, believe me.

3. There is this thing with over mixing, I guess you just know it by feel. I can't really say how you can tell if a batter is over mixed; just mix your dough well for a couple of minutes after all ingredients are incorporated and some more unless specified. Luckily I haven't had a batch of over mixed cookies so far. I hear they're pretty hard.

Baking really is an exact science, and it pays to follow your recipe religiously. Just tweak it from there. :)

UPDATE 6/12: We made a superb batch of Banana Crunch Muffins (recipe by Ina Garten). I am so making that again the next chance I get.

It's really hard not to care when you're in UP~ the university of honor and excellence where everyone is constantly vigilant and active in all issues of Philippine society, and where freedom is guarded at all times. 

This proposed budget cut is utterly unacceptable. Higher education is by no means a futile pursuit for the government; the youth must be nurtured and given ample opportunities because they are the future. In other words, in my opinion, the youth is the best investment and quality education is the best fertilizer.

Quality education for all.

Some links:

UPD's USC website

UP College of Science

For a first hand account of the rally, visit my friend Jane's blog.

Christmas Concerts 2010

I just love Christmas. Everyone is kinder and more generous, and all the more happier. It's when families come together and celebrate under one roof, and all amazing family dishes are feasted upon. Lights are everywhere, and you just know that there's an air of merriment and love all around.

Love Actually. Photo taken here.

Christmas music is festive and quite addictive sometimes, so conceirtos featuring these are big highlights of the season in my opinion. Orchestras and chorales performing these tunes are a marvel, and I try to see as many of these that I can. 

Since it's most convenient for me, my suki is the UP College of Music. Their December calendar is filled with exemplary performances, usually for minimal fees. Another great venue for concerts like these is the Cultural Center of the Philippines. 

Enjoy! :)

Drama Fix

Comedies are always a treat, but recently I've been craving for some drama. I've started to watch Grey's Anatomy again, but it's a bit mellow nowadays. I searched through my downloads (yes I sometimes download on whim, my defense is that I base it on good recommendations) and I took a shot at The Good Wife. After a couple of sleepless nights, I am now up to date with the current season. Yaaaaay :)

It's really good.

Of course I'm rooting for Alicia and Will.

For my favorite character, it was hard to decide between Kalinda and Eli Gold.

I go for Eli, so kick ass. 

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The photos are not mine, click on them to view their sources.

Cebu 2010 Part 1

Jamie and I have been planning to go on a trip after graduation for a loooong time. Recently, plans got more serious especially with the addition of Nins, Jomax and Rainier into the trip. After so much research and drama, we finally got to go on a very much anticipated vacation!

We availed of PAL's seat sale a couple of months ago to go to the Queen City of the South. And thanks to a couple of helpful travel blogs, we planned how we were going to go about Cebu; explore the historic Cebu City and then bum around Bantayan Island in its pristine beaches. For this entry, I'll be introducing the fabulous people I got lost in Cebu with, because chronicling the trip is too lengthy and I'm too tired to do it right now. Hehe

Mga dakilang echosera, in no particular order:

Echoserang Dalagita

Echoserang Pa-Becky

Echoserang Toy Boat

Echoserang Mayor

Echoserang Maldita

I have the best grandparents in the world. I know, everyone would like to think so, but I really do mean it.

I love you Lola, Lolo, Mama and Papa (wherever you are)! Thank you for knowing exactly how I feel, preparing what I love to eat and being always right behind me. I know I'll fall short in making up to you, but I'll try. :)

Gift ideas

Christmas is roughly two months away; I don't plan gifts this early, but somehow I am so bored right now I want to plan my gifts already. A little hiccup is that I don't have much money this year, I've been spending on vacations and so my savings are pretty unreliable right now. So I will take the time I have to not just plan but be resourceful in what I can give.

What to put under the tree?

I know it's not really imperative to give gifts or give big and expensive gifts (not that I can at this point) but I do want to, even just little somethings. :)

Day one over, friendship over.

Until last Saturday I really thought SPP would start today, Tuesday, but it started yesterday. It was pretty uneventful, nothing really stood out for me. I presented my poster which got good reviews, I'd like to think. It's just that what I had printed was the version before the final one. Very deep regrets.

So there. But I got pretty emotional come dinner. HP and Epson were teasing me about Brother practically the whole day. I can take comments and slurs about it, but definitely not in a crowd. During dinner every chance they got, they turned on me. Brother's seniors were just on the other table. Good Lord. I ended up crying. And when I cry, I am bordering angry trust me.

This thing about Brother, almost everybody knows. But I only openly talk about it among select people, even rarer that I talk about anything about it at all. Just thinking about it ticks me off, and if you're familiar you know what I mean. In that sense, especially that I did tell HP and Epson about it myself, it's privileged information. I tend to keep things to myself and I really don't like other people poking around my business or other people dishing out my business.

I guess it is my problem that I take things too seriously. I do. I can't help it. Maybe that's why I'm relatively pikon. Other people, even friends, can't gauge of my personality that well; it's probably too much to ask for. Only a few really do, and after last night HP and Epson absolutely don't.

"Do you like pain, creep?"

I just finished The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and I am absolutely hooked! In a perfect blend of crime, mystery, violence and ethics with a tinge of romance, this book has left me hanging at almost every turn and has had me enduring my increased astigmatism in the early morning hours just to keep on reading.

Definitely a fantastic and thrilling read! Now, I need to get a a copy of The Girl Who Played with Fire.

Anong bagyo?

I honestly did not see this drinking session coming. In a blink I was at Cantina Katips with my groupmates Nicole, Andy, Elo (and Mabi) and our adviser, plus we also invited Ate Nic. Oh well. Spontaneity is cool. We had fun. Though maybe we had more fun if... Hahaha.

It didn't occur to me to take pictures until Sir Ganni and Nicole decided to have a contest and chug a glass of beer. Mwahaha. Nicole won, but Sir Ganni wasn't really competing. (Update: Nicole fell asleep the instant she hit a bed)

In photos: Sir Ganns, Nicole, Andy and Ate Nic 

Dear ol' adviser

What's more interesting is that Ate Ekkay and Sir Chris dropped by Cantina as well. That's one long table of physics geeks. :)

Malamig na ang simoy ng hangin.

Today I realized Christmas indeed is just around the corner. We went shopping at SM Department Store earlier, and the whole mall echoed Christmas songs. As in. Plus we stayed near the trees and decor at Home World while waiting for Lola and Mamie so the image of Christmas is quite vivid now. 

I love Christmas, and I don't think we Filipinos celebrate it like anyone else. For one, we have Christmas for around four months and I don't know any other country who has Christmas that long. Tia tells me our tree this year will be something like Paskong Pinoy. I want to hoist up the tree this instant. Mwahaha. But I can't do that so I'll just hunt for some new Christmas albums. :D

Everything deserves a WHY

I impulsively bought a Live Curious shirt at Regatta earlier. I don't regret it, I'm just amazed that I actually bought it because I'm saving up for my upcoming trips this sem break. In any case, I hope it brings me much needed luck in my exam later. 

In whatever discipline you're in, in whatever area you're enthusiastic about or in whatever field you aim to belong, I sincerely hope you don't succumb to boredom. Live curious. :)

Winnie Monsod's Last Semestral Lecture (10/05/2010)

I submitted several questions for PDI's First Edition last summer. I was hoping the one that got me my tickets is the one asking the candidates what they would do to stop the brain drain in our country. None of my questions were asked and this has nothing to do with Winnie Monsod's last lecture except to me, I know. But somehow after seeing this clip I remembered that incident and I felt good, knowing that somebody whom everybody listens to is like voicing what I have in my head. :p

The Pursuit of Happiness

I used to think that to be happy is the ultimate goal in life. Consequently, I thought hurt and sorrow were the evils we must avoid at all costs. It's a bit naive in my part, now that I think about it. Not that these perceptions are wrong, but just not as absolute as I thought they were.

Happiness would lose its meaning if we were constantly happy. There wouldn't be that glory and that want to be happy. At the same time, the feeling of pain would lose its meaning because these are two complimentary emotions that to lose the meaning of one would render the other meaningless as well. Everything would just be the same, if we were brought up to feeling only one side of the spectrum of human emotions because I don't  think we'd discern feelings if that were the case, because we wouldn't be able to identify which is which.

I've new found appreciation for the whole range of human emotions, be it in the good or bad side of the scale. Pleasant emotions make us feel better, make us feel more complete and I still think it's a good idea to strive to be happy. At the same time a lot of emotions are unpleasant and unwanted, but understanding that there's a rainbow because of the rain creates a whole new perspective; we should take in the good and the bad, because life would be more meaningful with both. 

Let's not be picky and take a cue from Forrest Gump, "Life is a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get." 

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Image taken from here.

Only children know what they are looking for.

Of course I wouldn't have understood The Little Prince as thoroughly if I weren't in Ma'am Lalaine's class. I've always considered it a very witty, almost philosophical, book but I didn't extract so much meaning when I first read it several years ago. Now, it's like a whole new different book that I've read especially when our class got to discuss balance. (Update: Love story pala ang The Little Prince, as in more than just the symbolism of the rose. Gosh, I'm dense!)

Simply put, we need balance in our lives. Balance between work and play, balance between greed and service, balance between theory and practice. Grown ups, the little prince said, are only concerned with matters of consequence. It cannot be helped. But what's important is to not get caught up in the oh so important things such as money, politics or golf in order to appreciate sunsets, rain and drawings which are equally important.

We were supposed to write a comparative essay among The Little Prince, The Pearl, and The Giver. I didn't come to think of balance being one of the concepts that these three share. It really struck me how important this is and how I totally missed it, and I've come to realize I find this specifically important because I am afraid to lose the child in me. Very much so. I'm pragmatic and serious most of the time, and I can't help but think I need more poetry in order to see things not just as they are but also what they can be. I'm afraid of being an unbalanced and messed up grown up.

I'll read The Little Prince again after a couple of years, and I'm really curious what I'll pick up then.

There are endless significant lines in the book but I'll end this post with a classic quote:

 L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux.

What is essential is invisible to the eyes. 

Easy Cinnamon Sticks

I was looking for sandwich recipes earlier for my baon tomorrow when I stumbled upon Bobby Flay's Nutella and Banana sandwiches. I went to the pantry straight away!

I made a simpler version, we only had banana but it was really good still. Would've been marvelous if topped with vanilla ice cream. Hehe

Because of this, I don't think I'll ever buy cinnamon sticks again. Taking a cue from Bobby Flay's recipe, it's quite simple now that I think about it.

Start with buttering a non stick pan. Add the sliced "sticks" of bread to the pan to toast it a bit, then add a sugar and cinnamon mix of a ratio of about 2:1 until the mixture adheres to the bread. Just adjust the amount of sugar and cinnamon mix to the amount of bread you'll use. 

Note that you should use low heat and cook quickly when there's sugar, it may burn.

Enjoy!

Crestfallen

I just don't understand why.

Image taken from here.

Rafa FTW

Roger Federer is the best. He plays ever so gracefully, hardly gets injured, and speaks a handful of languages. But of course, there's no point in being too good when there's no one to challenge you. I guess that's why I like Rafa, because he can really stand up against Roger. Well, at least that's how I came to like Rafa at first. Now I know he will be written down as one of the best players ever, and not just the King of Clay. He's the simple, family-oriented guy from Spain who actually happens to be a marvelous sportsman.

This is a little treat I got from YouTube, springing after reading a recent article from the US Open website. It's a footage of the Australian Open 2009 awarding ceremony, which I haven't seen until just now. The awesome part starts at around 3:38. :)

I don't how accurate this quotation is, but from the same article I found this gem:

"I go to practice every day not to practice; I go to practice every day to try to learn something and to keep improving my level," Nadal said after his throttling of Mikhail Youzhny in the semifinal.

Incredible.

Good Times!

This weekend has been fun! My super buddies Jamie, Ninya, Jomax and I had a movie marathon last Friday. I attended the KaSCIyahan cheerdance competition as well as Truce yesterday, it's the awarding ceremony slash party of KaSCIyahan where NIP was the overall third best institute. And today, my batchmates and I had our graduation pictures taken. And of course, UP Pep Squad bagged the championship crown earlier in the UAAP Cheerdance Competition! Woohoooooo!

If you haven't seen the routine, here is a YouTube video. Sorry for the quality, but it's the best available yet.

Such a shame that this weekend has to end.

Kamon!

I handle responsibilities pretty well. It's a bold statement to say, but I'm quite sure being responsible is among my better traits.

Our lab is having our annual welcome party tomorrow afternoon, a holiday. What's worse is that a senior member of our subgroup proclaims tomorrow morning as an impromptu cleaning session. Oh my gaaaaaaaaaad.

Oh, come on, on a holiday?

Good thing that my parents will be coming and I have a pretty valid excuse to skip at least one laboratory activity tomorrow. I never thought laboratory activities would jam and control my schedule so much. So much for considering grad school.

I am a semicolon.

I love my English 11 class. I may not be getting the highest grades, but I am learning so much. Ayos :)

Today we discussed several poems, including Jose Garcia Villa's concrete poems: The Bashful One and The Emperor's New Sonnet. I am totally clueless in poetry, as I have said before, and these two are among the poems in our reading list that I cannot grasp by myself. But today, I have found admiration for concrete poems especially The Bashful One.

Concrete poems are poems that rely on their aesthetic organization to extend their message. Or something like that. The Bashful One is basically a poem that includes a single punctuation mark, a comma is the widely received understanding of the said punctuation mark. (Hay poetry you are in so many levels subjective!) So what does a comma mean? Commas are used to pause, usually for emphasis or division in a sentence. It can mean hesitance, prudence, delay or whatever that may cause discontinuity. But right after the comma, there is always something that follows, a continuation. You can always depend on that.

The Bashful One with the space divided into quadrants.

Now the placement of the comma in the third quadrant, in terms of Cartesian space would render it in the space of negative x and negative y. Going down the literature route of this conjecture, it is in a position where the comma would seem unimportant since the most memorable parts of a piece are usually in the first and last portion or in the top left and bottom right of the space. We read left to right, from top to bottom and the comma is located where one would most likely to miss it. So why in the world would Jose Garcia Villa place the all indispensable comma in a quadrant of little importance? Wala lang.

The bashful one, the comma, is in literal terms the shy little punctuation mark. Let's dissect the title for some more insight. First is the definite article 'the', joined by the adjective 'bashful', and then the indefinite pronoun 'one'. It's almost oxymoronic that the definite article and the indefinite pronoun refer to the same object. The contrast is further enhanced when you take into account the term 'one', which is used here as an indefinite pronoun while it also means singular or unique. These choice of words make you think, what the shy one is shy about or why is it quiet in one corner. It's like the bashful one is really a modest and humble little comma, which is timid and simple yet full of substance because it always follows through. At this point, the bashful one is not just a comma anymore. A poem may refer to a chair, a punctuation mark or a blank space but in the end it's all about humanity, about human nature. Crazy and amazing at the same time.

Before discussion, we were asked if we were a punctuation mark which one would we be.  A majority said they were question marks and a handful declared they were exclamation points. I simply said I think I am a semicolon, because I pause, but then I continue. Oha. Spontaneous answers are the most honest answers, but even I was surprised how my answer came to be. Even more so when we were closing in on The Bashful One when I realized how similar how I felt as a punctuation mark and what that heck of a poem touches on.

--

On a side note, my ostentatious and very loud seat mate had a bit of a slap in the face when our teacher concluded that great (read: intelligent, skilled, etc) people are usually quiet and shy. Haha. In yo face!

Low Batt

This week has been nothing but all about SPP. It is my last year as an undergrad (believe!) and I do want to say there has been fruit in my endeavors in research. That is, I want to at least have a paper this coming SPP.

But, dear lord, I am so tired right now.

I got home around 10:20, and yes I spent the whole day in the lab. Got frustrated over bad samples, a bit crazy over cleaning glassware, and a little impatient in handling data. I hope that when I process these, they'll be worth it.

What's worse is that I also have to present a seminar tomorrow. As in, the one with Dean Saloma. I chose a topic a few weeks ago, so I agreed when Jeff asked me to switch schedules a few days ago (I'm originally scheduled next week) because he has a wedding to attend. But things didn't go as smoothly as planned, and what I thought would be an easy task to squeeze in is now a big burden. I can't think well enough to make my slides. Ano ba yan.

Hay. At least I have that Mang Inasal date with Andy and Nicole on Monday to look forward to. Yay?

One

When I was playing with Tia's 2nd Gen iPod classic a few years ago, I was hunting for familiar artists to listen to. I did find some, but one time I was risky enough to try something else. I gave U2 a shot. Back then, I knew the band U2 existed but I didn't know any of their songs, or their music in general.

Now I do. And ever since I heard them for the first time, One has been a hit. With Mary J. Blige, even better. :)

Sleepy thoughts, not.

I don't know. I'll blame it on the Korean coffee I had a while back. Haha. This is a most unfortunate time to not be able so sleep because I'll be at our org recognition later, then I'll present my seminar in my subgroup's parallel, plus I have an exam tomorrow. I feel tired, but I guess my mind is still active. I tried to review for 161 but I can't focus enough. Hahaha

Allow me to prattle around. I just linked my GMail account to my YouTube account recently, I was reminded of the things I saw when I made the account: Princess Hours and Grey's Anatomy.

Here's my favorite Goong episode. Yuhuh, episode 16 FTW.

As for Grey's Anatomy, I loved the second season. Everything went kinda downhill from there and I didn't watch it religiously after that. But even after a few years, Chasing Cars still reminds me of Grey's Anatomy.

I guess that's another purpose (perk?) of having a blog, so that after ten years I'll be able to look back on how I thought and what I did. 

I don't hate poetry.

But I also don't like it. Though somehow, I want to develop an appreciation of poems. So let's see how good my Eng 11 teacher is. Haha. 

When I think of poetry, of course Shakespeare comes to mind. But beyond that, I also remember the movie In Her Shoes. I like the two poems featured in that movie, they were pretty good on their own but it is outstanding how it was incorporated in the film. After some googling, I found both pieces. :)

One Art by Elizabeth Bishop

The art of losing isn't hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster.

Lose something every day. Accept the fluster
of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.

Then practice losing farther, losing faster:
places, and names, and where it was you meant 
to travel. None of these will bring disaster.

I lost my mother's watch. And look! my last, or
next-to-last, of three loved houses went.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.

I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,
some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.
I miss them, but it wasn't a disaster.

--Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture
I love) I shan't have lied.  It's evident
the art of losing's not too hard to master
though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.

i carry your heart with me by ee cummings

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart) 

Who made you king of anything?

Yes, my thoughts exactly. Thanks Sara Bareilles. :)




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Thanks to Google Operating System for the helpful blog entry regarding embedding mp3s!
Also, Dropbox. You're so useful.

I therefore conclude Irish bands are topnotch.

I am downright in love with The Script right now. I have Breakeven in almost all of my playlists. It's a song about heartbreak, though that's not really something you want to be the first song you think of. But come to think of it, almost all songs are love songs and a major chunk of those are of heartbreak. I'm not heartbroken but Breakeven, just as Chasing Pavements, resonates so much emotion and the melody is just so addictive. Plus, it's not really a crime that their lead singer looks a bit like Iker. Hehehe

I'd love to sing this or some really nice song for English 11, but I'm no singer. For that, kailangan ko na pala magisip ng madaling kantahin.

Loving Short Stories!

Yip. Yip. Because novels are too lengthy to read, at least right now when my sem is getting heavy already, and because English 11 introduced me to 13 good pieces, I've picked up several short stories recently.

Yesterday, I had no change for my fare home so I went around SM for a while thinking of what small item to purchase so that I'll break my bill. I went as far as the Annex side of the main building and got to Book Sale. It was hard to see where the classics were, because they don't have a category for classics. So I went around browsing titles, which is actually something I enjoy. It's a great way to waste time. Hehe

I was about to purchase The Essential Hemingway and then I saw Literature: A Portable Anthology. It's a compilation of 35 short stories, 250 poems, and 9 plays. I don't really care about the plays nor the poems, just the 35 short stories. I think it's really meant as a textbook, and my hunch was verified when I saw the preface with the tone that it was meant for teaching. I haven't checked, but I hope a chunk of the poems we'll be discussing in English 11 will in the book.

Also, I am really curious about Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy. Must check it out soon.

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My parents treated me to a fabulous Sumo Sam lunch today. Probably my favorite Japanese resto to date. :)