Last Weekend In Photos

I've always been curious about The Book Stop Project and last September 16, I finally got to visit their temporary home at Bonifacio High Street in BGC!

The Book Stop is a pop-up library that encourages reading and a passion for books and promotes the sharing of ideas through the redistribution of books. 

They had a Coffee & Books Day event when I dropped by.

Blind Date with A Book!

The concept is to bring a book or books wrapped in paper where you have written some words that describe what the book is about without giving away the actual title!

The coffee part was a talk on coffee appreciation and basic brewing courtesy of Figaro Coffee Company's master roasters!

It was a day of free books and coffee so it was a lot of fun!!

The following day, I went to the final day of Manila International Book Fair 2017! At first I didn't intend on getting any books but of course, who could resist buying even just one book when you're at a book fair, right?!? :P

I finally got myself a copy of Isa Garcia's book Found: Letters on Love, Life, and God <3 p="">

I recently started listening to indie pop artist Reese Lansangan's music and instantly became a fan because of her talent in song writing. When I found out that she's also an author and she's published poetry books with some friends (via Summit Media!), I knew I had to get a copy!

The first book, "In Case You Come Back," was first published in 2016 while "The Maps That Contain Us" is a new release. They actually had a signing at MIBF but it was the day before I went!! It would be awesome to meet Reese one day, though :)

And finally, the moment I've been waiting for --

JAMILTON!!!

Ever since the first Jamilton event I attended, I had been wishing that there would be another one and my wish came true when the event organizers CatScratch Club partnered up with FandomFest at MIBF bringing us #JamiltonAtMIBF <3 p="">

In case you aren't aware, Jamilton is basically fans jamming to Hamilton: An American Musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda! People can sign up to be song leaders for each Hamilton song to be performed at the event but the whole audience is highly encouraged to sing along. Trust me, the sing-along can get pretty wild, which I love!!

Exhibit A:

If you're a Hamilton fan (hey, Hamilfam!) and you're interested to join the next Jamilton event, there's one coming up in October!! Visit CatScratch Club's Facebook page for more details: https://www.facebook.com/CatScratchClub

Movies, Books, Music, and TV

These are a few of my favorite things (in no particular order) :)

Last week, I went to see "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" expecting to be entertained as much as I was reading the book because, after all, the writer of the movie screenplay was none other than Stephen Chbosky himself. Later on, I found out that he was also the director! Needless to say, it was such an amazing experience being able to witness on the big screen the same moments that I loved from the novel. The story was told in the most beautiful way. Having said that, I am simply left in awe of Chbosky's talent.

In other news, I'm very happy about my recent book purchases:

Bought Queen Jo Rowling's new book, "The Casual Vacancy," last payday Friday! Meanwhile, I was able to get a signed copy of John Green's latest release, "The Fault In Our Stars," at 20% off thanks to Fully Booked - Gateway's sale!

Meanwhile, in the music scene... If you haven't head it yet, listen to Rihanna's new single "Diamonds"!

Also on my current playlist:

• Taylor Swift - Begin Again
• Alicia Keys - Not Even The King
• Glee Cast - It's Time (Imagine Dragons Cover)
• Adele - Skyfall (Yes, the OST to the new Daniel Craig 007 film!)

Lastly, if you're a fan of reality singing competitions, I suggest you get into the new season of The X Factor! Demi Lovato & Britney Spears are really great additions to the panel and it's almost the Judges' Homes round so it's gonna get exciting! Plus, the talents this year are really amazing from what I've heard thus far!

Just look at these little girls singing it out!

Booky Wook

This post has nothing to do with Russell Brand or his books of the same title but this is, indeed, about books! Specifically, my book wishlist (which seems neverending if you refer to my trusty Goodreads to-read list).

On top are the first two in Veronica Roth's "Divergent" trilogy ("Divergent" and "Insurgent") since I recently found out that they are already set for movie tie-ins (the first one's currently set to be released in 2015!), and of course, the final book once it comes out!!

In the past month I've only been able to cross-off a couple books from my wishlist:

"Room" by Emma Donoghue and "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky (forgive me for being super late!!)

Here goes the rest:

• "The Night Circus" - Erin Morgenstern
• "The Fault in Our Stars" - John Green
• "I've Got Your Number - Sophie Kinsella
• "The Happiness Project" - Gretchen Rubin
• "Before Ever After" - Samantha Sotto
• "Sarah's Key" - Tatiana de Rosnay
• "The Sense of an Ending" - Julian Barnes
• "Will Grayson, Will Grayson" - John Green & David Levithan

Turning 21

I celebrated my 21st birthday in Singapore with my brother and sister-in-law and a couple friends who came with me on the trip (which I will write about in detail in another entry). It was the first time I didn't celebrate with my parents, or my girlfriends, since for the last 3 years, we had always gotten together for my birthday. It was different but it was fun, mainly because I was still able to enjoy my day with family and friends, even though only a small number of them were there with me.

I had my birthday dinner at Marché Restaurant, a Swiss place, which is probably one of my favorite places I've eaten in Singapore, besides local ones. I had the savory crepe with roasted chicken filling and it was so good! I also got to try the rosti, a Swiss potato dish, among other delicious food on our table. Those are probably what I'll be coming back for! And their sumptuous desserts, too!

After dinner, we already headed home since my friends were to leave for Manila very early the next morning. We stayed up until they had to leave, that was, of course, after I blew my candles out and opened their presents for me.

(1) A keychain with Rihanna's 'R' logo; (2) Shirt printed with a Rihanna quote ("It's tougher to be vulnerable than to actually be tough."); (3) A bottle of Rihanna's fragrance, Reb'l Fleur

It's funny how they know how much appreciative I am of anything Rihanna-related. Hehe.

Looking at these photos, I can't help but get nostalgic and look back at my previous birthdays. Like what my friend, Ina, said, it seems just like yesterday when it was my 18th birthday she was documenting! I am starting to get old, indeed! But with age comes wisdom, as they say. And I'm so glad and thankful that I get to live my life the way I want to (still with certain limitations, but those are a given), that I get to experience such wonderful things at a young age.

I will soon be starting a new chapter in my life -- yes, the part where I officially become a member of the adult world -- and although I am slightly anxious, I simply can't wait! I am looking forward to new experiences, new friends, new mistakes (hopefully not so much of these!), and most importantly, new lessons in life.

Friends on a Rainy Day

Left the house yesterday thinking, "Oh, it's gonna pour... Oh, I hope it doesn't pour hard!" I've never really been a rainy day person. Actually, I'm not that much of a sunny person as well, unless it's sunny AND windy. I'm more of the cloudy kind. Chill weather, I love that. Because all I ever associate with rain and too much sun is stress. Haha.

I went to Katipunan to meet up with my girlfriends and by the time I got off the LRT it was thundering hard. Thankfully, by the time we arrived at our stop for lunch, the rain has subdued. We decided to eat at Crazy Katsu in Maginhawa St. because I'd told them a bunch of times that I really wanted to try their katsu!

Photo from Crazy Katsu on Facebook

Photo from Spell Saab
(The rice is served separately)

We all tried their best-seller, which was Chicken Katsu, and it was really good! I liked that the sauce was tangy and just spicy enough for me. Just looking at the picture makes me want to run to the place and order some more katsu!

After having our fill of yummy food and good talk, we headed to Moonleaf for a milk tea fix. Then, more catching up about our lives and other milk tea places we've tried (more on this on another post!) ensued. By this time, the sky was cloudy and I was happy. :)

When in good company, a gloomy day can turn into one of the nicest days you've ever had.

Graduation 2012

You know that feeling when you're looking forward to something and you feel all kinds of excitement beforehand? If you do, then you also probably know how it feels when that thing/event you've waited for and been excited about passes. Suddenly, all of those positive feelings you had is replaced with a sense of sadness and loss.

That's exactly how I felt after going home from UST after our graduation ceremony. But even though it kind of makes me feel crappy that it's all over now, what keeps me from feeling crappier are the moments I shared with my beloved friends and classmates right after we sang the UST Hymn altogether one last time. The smiles, the hugs, and words of congratulations to each other are things I most certainly will not forget.

I would not have been able to accomplish everything on time during the last stretch of my academic life if it weren't for the following people: my Thesis group mates, my group in Compiler Design, the rest of my class (4CSC), and finally, the professors who were forever supportive of our efforts to achieve our goal of finishing our degree in Computer Science.

Most especially, I would not be where I am today if it hadn't been for the endless love and support from my family. Even though only one of my brothers made it to see me get up on stage, I sincerely appreciated my two other brothers watching from Ustream. Hehe. It's times like this that I become really, really appreciative of technology. :)

And to all the Neocentennial graduates of the UST Faculty of Engineering -- Cheers to us for we have come out as victors from the most challenging task of our lives yet! From now on, we may face harder challenges and experience greater failures but that doesn't mean we should give up, even if the universe suggests otherwise. Keep in mind what J.K. Rowling once said:

"It is impossible to live without failure. Unless you live so cautiously that you avoid life -- in which case you fail by default." 

Baccalaureate Mass 2012

I know I should've blogged about this over the weekend but I got caught up in watching Friends, it's getting really, really good that I couldn't stop. I'm almost finished with the 8th season now. Anyway, so last Friday, my last day as a student, had to be the longest day I spent in UST, and we weren't even there for classes. In the morning we had the "Meet the Parents" activity which went really well, and in the afternoon was our baccalaureate mass.

To be honest, since we finished our final exams, I've been feeling indifferently about my oncoming graduation. I don't know, I guess, I feel like there's a huge chunk of my life that's suddenly not going to be there anymore. I remember feeling the same way when I graduated in high school. I wasn't really emotional during the ceremony but when I came back to my school like a couple days after, that's when the sadness hit me.

Now, thinking about the last time I'm going to be in the same room with all of my college friends and the last time we're gonna be singing the UST Hymn just makes me feel... kind of lost. Besides, I'm actually really gonna miss UST. I mean, I know it's still only one jeepney ride away from where I live but, you know? It's going to be different, going there from now on will just make me a visitor... It'll no longer be a "home."

But hey, it has been an amazing 4 years of my life and I'm surely gonna be keeping a lot of memories from my stay in the Royal and Pontifical Catholic University of Santo Tomas, the Catholic University of the Philippines.

I'm surely gonna remember literally running through the Arch of the Centuries with all of my classmates as a mark of our finishing our degree. Being with this class has been the most fun I've had throughout college. I love you forever, 4CSC!

The Year That Was

So it's been another year... But 2011 really wasn't just another year for me. This year has brought a lot of new experiences, new friendships, and new discoveries, albeit little, about myself.

I started 2011 thinking I was soon to embark on my last year of college and how I wanted it to be somehow a memorable last year in UST. Looking back, I can say my senior year has been more than I bargained for, and the great thing is, it isn't totally over yet. Before my days as a senior started though, I had to finish my internship for the summer. Having to wake up early to travel to Makati and stay at the office for 8 hours easily became a routine but it wasn't all bad. I made new friends in two of my batchmates who worked with me in the same company. One time we even made plans to meet with some of our other batchmates who were also working in the area and had time to share stories with some of whom we don't normally have a proper conversation with at school.

Then it was back to attending classes at school. I guess we are just really blessed that all of us in class have bonded, and thank God it happened during our last year together. From our retreat in Caleruega to going to Cebu and Bohol with the whole batch (which I'm going to talk about more a little later) and to having an all-nighter Christmas party, it has been one heck of an enjoyable semester with my lovely classmates and friends. One thing I learned this year is that even though it's hard for me to change my mind about people, it helps a lot when it's them who try to show you that other side of them you might like. Like they say, it takes two to tango.

Early Merry Christmas

Ever since I found out that my eldest brother and his family who are based in the US will be spending Christmas here in the Philippines this year, I don't think I've ever really felt sad. The last time we were all together prior to this was in 2005. So I was really excited about them being with us for the holidays, and so were all of my family.

Yesterday was the last day that we were all going to be together before my brother and his family go back to California so we had an early celebration of Christmas eve dinner (Noche Buena). I thought it was just going to be a normal dinner but we ended up starting late because we had to wait for my other sister-in-law who flew in from Singapore, and so we still got to open presents at midnight, although it was a day early.

Speaking of presents, here are some of the things I got:

A shiranian (shih-tzu pomeranian) dog,
I named him Barkley

Harry Potter merch

"Rihanna Navy" shirt
(Excuse my weird face)

I gotta say, getting material gifts is nice (more than nice, if I'm totally honest) but nothing really beats having your family by your side during this special occasion. The best present is that warm, fuzzy feeling you get when you share precious moments with family. :)

The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other.
--Burton Hillis

So I wish you and your family a Very Merry Christmas! May we all keep in our hearts the true meaning of Christmas, the birth of our Lord Savior Jesus Christ!

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Last Thursday was the first time this semester that I went out with my college friends to a movie. We had classes until 6 PM so we had to check the showtimes at SM malls near our vicinity. We ended up going to SM Manila to see the new Transformers film in 3D. The movie was very long (2 hrs 30 mins) but it was definitely worth the time. It was also a bit pricey but we did get some freebies so it was all good. There were free snacks and candy and we also got this nice Transformers mask, which they give for every 5 tickets bought.

Spot the four-eyed decepticon!
We wanted the autobot mask but I think this was the only one they had in stock.

I really enjoyed watching the movie and understood why it had to be that long because they simply can't give us a really good film without build up. There were a lot of action, as expected, some important twists and also, funny bits here and there which kept us entertained all throughout the duration of the movie.

One standout from the new Transformers was definitely Sam's (Shia Labeouf) new leading lady, Carly, played by Victoria's Secret model, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. I don't why they had her wear white in the whole film but she looked gorgeous in each outfit nevertheless. I mean, she's a model, why wouldn't she look good in any clothes, right? And she's also very pretty, too.

What's funny is that there was this whole fight scene going on between the autobots and the deceptecons and Carly was standing there in the center looking all modelesque inspite of all the commotion going on behind and around her. Also, I noticed how she and her white clothes didn't even end up with smears and smudges of dirt/blood! She still looked flawless while Sam's face had cuts and bruises. I guess they had to preserve the pretty.

Overall, I give this movie 4.5/5 stars and I definitely recommend that you go and see this with your friends/family! You'll definitely enjoy it especially if you've been a Transformers fan since the beginning.

The Taylor Swift Experience

Hi!! I've been so busy after the weekend that I haven't had the time to blog about the Taylor Swift concert! Before I go to bed, let me just share with you what happened that amazing Saturday.

My friends and I met up at UST and we arrived at Araneta at around 3 PM. We saw that there were already loads of people in line so we went straight to the GA gate and found out that, yes, there was already a line, a very, very long one. So we went in line and after some several minutes, they started letting people in. We still had to wait in line inside though, because they can't let people get in the arena itself until 6.

Fast forward to Sam Concepcion (opening act). When the lights went down and he came out, the arena went nuts. It was sooooo loud!!! He sang Yeah 3x by Chris Brown, Kung Fu Fighting, his song Even If and Firework by Katy Perry which he dedicated to Taylor.

Around 45 minutes after his set, it was finally time to see Taylor. When we saw her, we just started going crazy. Everyone was screaming and once she started "Sparks Fly," all we can really hear was our own voices screaming out the lyrics. It was a blast! She definitely put on a fantastic show. I loved how she knew several Filipino words as she welcomed us to the Speak Now Tour with a "Magandang gabi Manila!" and even said "Salamat!" to the applauding crowd. :)

One of my favorite parts of the show was when she did "The Story of Us." She had this really nice intro about how we all experience love and heartbreak, no matter how far we live from each other, the different languages we speak. Then she said something like, "No matter what love and heartbreak throw at me, it's gonna be alright!" And cue the unending shrieks and screams. I also loved the whole "Speak Now" choreography! She wore a blue dress and she also had white gloves on and she was dancing with Liz and Caitlin. It was so cute!

We prepared a banner!

Waiting in line

There's Taylor!

Singing "Speak Now"

Playing the ukelele during "Fearless"

Too bad we weren't lucky to get a pass to the T-Party but I guess it just isn't time for us yet to meet Taylor. I hope during her next tour we'll finally get the chance to be enchanted. ;)

Here's a video blog from Taylor herself chronicling the whole of her Asian tour including her stop in Manila:

Six years in the making

Last Monday, I went home to Binangonan with my dad and my aunt because it was my cousin's wedding. Incidentally, my elementary classmates decided to have a reunion the same day. We have been planning to do this for some time but it was only then, after six years, that the event pushed through and I'm glad I was able to come.

Unfortunately, I had to leave early because we had to get back to Manila that same night. It was really nice seeing those familiar faces though, and sharing some good old fun and laughter even for only a short time. :)

There's something about the smell of old books...

Today was a lazy day that consisted of sleeping a lot and finishing Jane Eyre during the intervals in which I was awake. Yesterday, though, was more eventful, if I may say so. I accomplished what's on top of my to-do list which was to go to Booksale. I think I spent more than 3 hours there rummaging through endless stacks of books.

And this is what was yielded of my trip:

Skin Deep by E.M. Crane and The Beach House by Jane Green

Skin Deep had some really nice reviews from Goodreads while The Beach House seemed like my kind of read even though it only had fair reviews. And you know what? I only paid P140 for both hardcover books! It was a good thing I had enough self-control for if not for that, I would've stepped out the store with 5 more books in hand.

Despicable Me

Today my friends and I went to see Despicable Me in 3D. The day was so much fun because we only had one class and then we attended the first Friday mass at school and after that, we went straight to the mall to see the movie.

It was really worth watching in 3D, worth the money spent, too, because it was 95 minutes filled with laughter and utter cuteness. It has a really good storyline, too, which I loved that it almost made me cry. (Yes, yes, I know I'm such a Sensitive Sally.)

I absolutely adored the little girl Agnes, she is simply the cutest and sweetest thing in the world. Of course, I already loved her from the moment I saw the trailer with her uberly cute reaction to the stuffed unicorn at the carnival ("He's so fluffy I'm gonna dieeeee!"). But you just can't help but adore her more when you see the movie cause there's absolutely more where that came from. I just wanna grab her and pinch her cheeks! And then there was Gru. As much as he wanted to be the super villain of all time, he was already too lovestruck with the kids that he couldn't be without them. His character just shows that no matter how bad or awful or negative you project yourself to be, there's still a part of you that wants to be good. All it takes is a saving grace and in Gru's case, his are the girls. :)

Lastly, there were the minions!! I love their character! They are absolutely hilarious. My favorites parts of them were when one minion shook the other so he would light like a glow stick (really funny!) and when Gru was telling them and the kids that playtime is over, one of the minions was like, "WHAAAAAT", which is actually the only line from them that I understood. LOL. I want my own minion to keep me company!

Of course we took pictures with them outside the cinema. :) (Even though the photo was kind of a fail because the minions kept on falling.) I wanted to steal those standees so bad! Hahaha.

Rating: 8/10