Team Peeta

Okay, so Peeta is to Edward, while Gale is to Jacob.  I always like the sensitive guy. :)
Anyway, this is my Hunger Games post. Where I say just how incredibly amazing this book is. Well, random thoughts would be more appropriate.  *spoiler alert*
And so here goes:

• After reading the first 2 books last year, I thought, “This is the best thing since Harry Potter!”
  
• I’ve been trying to get people to read it, but it’s a bit difficult to explain that the whole book is about children killing children on national television.  Sure, it’s a lot more than that, but the premise does sound violent. I did convince a few friends and, like always, I bugged my siblings to read it. (They love the series, by the way.Yey!)
  
• Waiting a long time for Mockingjay was not very easy.  And I was a bit disappointed after reading the last book. =s
  
• Don’t get me wrong, I liked how it ended and how it somehow reflects what goes on after wars and how people cope after all the trauma. But see, the problem is that I was waiting for something big to happen in the end. I was waiting for an epic ending. Instead, after the big explosion (parachutes scene), it was one anti-climactic scene after another. Add that to the fact that the story took so long to build up. Or maybe my expectations were just way to up there?
  
• Why did Prim have to die?! :(
  
• The epilogue wasn’t creative, but at least we know who ended up together. :)
  
• Catching Fire is, hands down, the most exciting book (and my favorite in the series).  I love the Quarter Quell concept. But it was Hunger Games that made me cry.  (Rue!)
  
• My favorite character is Haymitch. :)
  
• I hate that they make movies out of the books right away, so a lot of people just skip reading and just wait for the movies =( But I’m still excited for the movie!haha
  
• They better get a good cast(like they did with Harry Potter!).Like they keep saying, Hugh Laurie would make a great Haymitch :) Peeta better be cute!haha
  
• They keep comparing this book to the Battle Royale . Must find that book/manga/movie sometime.
  
• Now that the series has ended, what’s next? :) Might give in to peer pressure and read Fallen. haha ;)

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

“You see things. You keep quiet about them. And you understand.”

I officially have a new book to add to my list of favorites. A book that I am so glad to have found randomly in one of my favorite bookstores. “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” is one of those books that seem to talk directly to me. Like, I get this strange feeling that it was made for me. (Of course I know that it is not. Stephen Chbosky, the writer, will probably get so kilig if he finds out that some random girl from the Philippines thinks that the book he wrote more than 10 years ago actually spoke to her. I would, if I were him.)

The book is an epistolary (new word for me! it means that the book was written as a series of letters. In this case, the main character, Charlie, writes to an unknown person to share his day to day life with because this person understands and won’t judge him), a day to day chronicle of what goes on in the life (and in the head) of a shy freshman boy as he explores the normal growing up fare – family drama, love, sex, smoking, drugs, and passions such as music and writing.  It’s basically your typical growing up/coming of age kind of story in the same tradition as “The Catcher in the Rye” (which was, surprise surprise, the author’s inspiration for writing this book). If you liked that book, I am a million percent sure that you’ll love this one, too.

Charlie’s someone I can relate to, if not for his experiences (some are too extreme. Drugs? Nah, I’m a bit more mellow than he is) but  because of the way he thinks. It’s too familiar. Like my thoughts. And it’s a bit creepy. His observations about everything and everyone almost sound like my own thoughts. I think he and I would make great friends. It’s like finding your soul mate in a book character.

“When I was walking up the stairs to my dad’s old room, and I was looking at the old photographs, I started thinking that there was a time when these weren’t memories. That someone actually took that photograph, and the people in the photograph has just eaten lunch or something.”

“And I thought that all those little kids are going to grow up someday. And all of those little kids are going to do the things that we do. And they will all kiss someone someday. But for now, sledding is enough. I think it would be great if sledding were always enough, but it isn't.”

“Sometimes, I look outside, and I think that a lot of other people have seen this snow before. Just like I think that a lot of other people have read those books before. And listened to those songs.
I wonder how they feel tonight.”

See? I keep on thinking those kinds of thoughts. Probably the "connectedness” talent that I have (thank you for letting me know this, Strengths Finder 2.0.  Will write about this book sometime!)

I don’t know. Maybe I’m just a wallflower myself.

And somewhere in between reading the book, I came to a conclusion, that yes, I most likely am. I feel like I’ve been observing to much, not doing enough. Trying to understand everyone, not feeling intensely. I’m envious of people who feel every moment as intensely as every other moment in their lives(even though I sometimes think it’s too OA). I think I’m sometimes deliberately missing out on the “being in the moment” part of life. Must be “out there” more. 

“Maybe it’s good to put things in perspective, but sometimes, I think that the only perspective is to really be there. Like Sam said. Because it’s okay to feel things.  And be who you are about them.”

The only perspective is to really be there. Isn’t that a nice thing to remember? :)

This book has the most beautiful lines and the most memorable characters. I felt like those were my experiences. And that I’ve lived them through Charlie.

“So, I guess we are who we are for a lot of reasons. And maybe we'll never know most of them. But even if we don't have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there. We can still do things. And we can try to feel okay about them.”

I know when a book touched me so much when I can find so many memorable quotes and insights from it. This one has everything I’ve been wanting to read in a long while. Because while I enjoy reading about faraway adventures and magic and future worlds, it’s these kinds of books that make you appreciate reality and every piece of it. The bad things that make you a better person and the good things that are worth living for.

Quote dump

This why I love to read. :)

"What is a teacher? I'll tell you: It isn't someone who teaches something, but someone who inspires the student to give of her best in order to discover what she already knows."
-Paulo Coelho, The Witch of Portobello

"If there is a Creator, what is he? And if there isn't a Creator, what is this world?"
-Jostein Gaarder, Maya

"The reason death sticks so closely to life isn't biological necessity - it's envy.  Life is so beautiful that death has fallen in love with it, a jealous, possessive love that grabs at what it can.  But life leaps over oblivion lightly, and gloom is but the passing shadow of a cloud."
-Yann Martel, The Life of Pi

"To choose doubt as a philosophy of life is akin to choosing immobility as a means of transportation."
-Yann Martel, The Life of Pi

"To lose balance sometimes for love is part of living a balanced life."
-Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat Pray Love

Lip gloss therapy

Coming home from a very draining vacation weekend, I wasn’t feeling well at all.  Not that I didn’t enjoy my weekend because really, I had a blast.  It was just physically tiring.hehe

But there’s nothing new lipgloss can’t fix. I super love lipgloss (anything for the lips, actually. ask my friends). They’re instant mood boosters. I think our boss knew that when she got us(Billi and I) these as pasalubong from her New York trip.

:):):)

These, among other things.  Other things included a cute purse (our brand, of course), a New York pencil and…

yey! The Patricia Field Sex and the City 2-inspired clover charm necklace:)  (Patricia Field is a renowned celebrity stylist who did costume design for Sex and the City and The Devil Wears Prada. She also designs shoes for Payless, the brand I’m working for right now.)

How cool is that? I was thinking about getting this necklace once Payless opens in Manila, but now I actually have one. :D

So there goes my cough, headache and body aches. Reduced by half.haha I still have to take Alaxan, Bisolovon and Biogesic, but at least my spirits are up.  :)

Bedroom ideas

I've been wanting to move to a new place for quite some time now. I just don't have the money yet. haha I hate it because there's so many ideas and cool things to.

Like this...

And this...

more photos here

Still not sure if I want to stick to cute and girly (see above) or if I should be more grown-up (see below)

grown-up rooms

Pretty rooms, right?:) (I still like the girly designs better though.)

I also like these:

These are so me. ;)

more photos

Now I know why mom and dad were so giddy every time they'd open their "Dream House" folder back when we were still having our house done. At that time, I wasn't as excited. (But hey, it was their project. I want my own house too.hahaha) 

I did, however, decide on what Mia's and my room would look like. (Right now, it's just Mia's room. bummer. But the pink and yellow walls,. the bright pink and green curtains and the long bookshelf will everyday remind my dear sis of me. Well, I hope. Even though she's kind of converted my bed into an extra shelf while I'm not there. haha) Can't wait to see it again on Thursday. 

So right now, I can't really have my own room. These ideas will have to be filed under my "wishes and dreams" folder."  Haaaai. I wonder when I can have my own room again? :) 

Wants

Yza wants to read:

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Angelology by Danielle Trussoni
Clever Maids: The Secret History of the Grimm Fairy Tales by Valerie Paradiz
Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert 


Yza wants to watch:
The Vampire Diaries
Shutter Island
Friends (the complete series!)


Anything else I should add?
=)

New Work! :)

Leaving my previous job is the best decision I’ve made this year.  It came at the perfect time.  And I was more than ready to move on.  Things were crazy over there (I will eventually share some tidbits in future posts) and I didn’t want to have any part of it anymore.  Of course, the bigger picture is that it didn’t offer me any opportunities for growth, career-wise.  In the long run, it really wasn’t a wise choice to stay.  For the record though, I really enjoyed the work, my colleagues and the perks.  But, you know, those aren’t the only factors that determine whether or not you’re staying.

So here I am, my third week into my new (and improved) job, having absolutely no regrets and extremely excited about our brand and the company’s future.  The change in atmosphere is very refreshing and as opposed to liposuction (which I heard 24/7 during my last job), shoes (which I hear about 24/7 here) are much more interesting.

Anyway, the point is, I’m happy happy happy with the choices I’ve made so far – resigning, taking a 2-month breather (more or less) , working for this new company.  I hope things work out well. Keeping my fingers crossed!

photo credits: Will Brenner Photography www.brennerphotography.us

My future baby:)

 

After watching "The Proposal", the only thing I wanted (aside from Ryan Reynolds, of course) was Kevin(the white, adorable, furrylittleangel they had for a dog). Sigh. Someday, you'll be mine.

 

The samoyed actually looks like a spitz.. This one in the pic looks like a spitz-chowchow hybrid.. sooooo handsome:) haaaaai

on the side: Speaking of handsome,here's our Dash(dad's german shepherd). Or Dashie, as I like to call him:)

 

Our dear puppy (or our youngest baby brother) Spy (mom's japanese spitz) is probably the closest I can get to owning a samoyed.

 

And while I'm in Manila, I have Celine (a gift from the sweetest boyfriend) to keep me company. She'll be my temporary baby (okay, permanent, since she won't ever die=D)

 

..until the day this cute little furball and I finally meet:) haha

 

"woof woof"

haha, it's talking to me.