Suffer for fashion

We went back to our place in the (mountains, hahaha) province and look what I found sporting a leopard print hood! Its the oven toaster. This roaring piece is hand stitched from scraps of fabric the caretaker found from our dusty archives. Fierce.

This post's main purpose is to celebrate the find: a new favorite song. Suffer for Fashion - Of Montreal. Eardrums must brace themselves for extreme repetition. The laid back and "I don't care" vibe of this song is just perfect for this rainy summer! Yay.

How's your summer been?

Finals Photo set:a produce of disordered priorities

I’ve been wanting to make a photo set and a perfect opportunity came in: the finals week. My personal experience with this week has been definitely stress-filled and highly conducive to eye bag expansion.


I have to be honest, I was more engrossed with taking photos than studying. I’m not sure if I even studied at all.

Hunger Games: A Must-Watch

I’ve read the trilogy viciously. They were gripping and they departed from the series of inter-species (a.k.a. bestial) romances from teenage bestsellers. Again, the story is barely a love story.

While on the plane to Iloilo, I promised myself to watch the movie as soon as I landed. And so I did, after a quick lunch, with my mom. My mother slept through most of the film as she finds the dimness and the cushion in the movie house suitable for rest.

I, on the other hand, was watching everything come alive on screen. Everything was off the book. It felt like my imagination was shot in HD with a supreme cast (another thing, I was disturbed when I found about the cast but they were really good!). The movie is good. But then again, the curse still lives on: the book is better.

But there was no murder, the movie didn’t destroy the book. In fact, it just rendered my imagination of a few key scenes with real-life visuals.

The Hunger Games is a must watch - but try and watch it in lesser known cinemas which will consequently have less people. Watching it in a theater filled with people in Iloilo was a buzzkill. Squealing teenagers who are obviously fans of Twilight piled in a corner. They let out squeals. They must be silenced, turned into Avoxes!

**

They released the movie two days before the worldwide premiere here in the Philippines which I interpreted as a recognition for the interest in film our culture carries. But unfortunately, it is not. It is because it would be too easy to distribute pirated copies in DVD here in the Philippine which could potentially break a big chunk for opening night revenues. Sad. 

Going Home to Iloilo

I'm going home to Iloilo tomorrow! Perfect timing because I'm starting to miss my parents' physical attendance. Oh yay!

BUT before the bliss, welcome to hell:

My packing-up skills are so bad that I usually end up bringing all the wrong things. Photo above features the beginning stage of my ritual: digging up every corner in an attempt to reveal any preciousness I might have buried. Last time I found my copy of Schindler's List and a few photos from my Looney Tunes 35 mm camera. Also some prom photos of my sister which I unintentionally brought (creep).

I have a lot of photos I need to share! I will have time to do so soon!

Getting sentimental

A video trailer I made for a play we staged for our Lit class.

 

I really enjoy making videos. For this one, I used a pink digital camera that has a glorious HD video recording function and iMovie. The background music is by Oh Land ("Human"). The credits are wrong, lol. I crammed this thing and I was able to take only around five shots because I was also trying to make myself useful during this rehearsal day.

I'm digging up things from my days as a freshman (technically speaking). I'm being sentimental. Ew.

Finals are done

A weird creature on my math book. Shows how focused I am during classes. My books are filled with weird doodles. But they are kind of entertaining (and embarrassing) when I'm studying. 

The finals are done and I have until tomorrow here in Manille before I retreat to Iloilo. Yay!

McDo at 4:20 AM

It is 4:20 AM and I'm at McDonald's with a bunch of classmates preparing for a final exam in Chemistry.

I can't study and although I try, nothing goes through a somewhat thick wall that separates whatever I read and my brain. I will put a lot of weight on my instincts today. An exam in Chemistry for breakfast (7:30 AM) and an after lunch treat of a Literature final exam at (1:30 PM). No point in whining.

After all of these, just a few papers and projects to cram do within the shortest time possible and I will arrive at the doorstep of a short summer break.

PS: I'm working on a photoset documenting the crazies that is brought by the reaping.

A Tale of Two Cities and the Scent of Failure

It is the finals week here at school. Unreal because I have around five new books and I just got hold of a copy of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy which I haven’t watched completely after numerous attempts (I know, what a shame!). Even funnier is I have a new fiery interest for anything besides schoolwork.

What I am doing now, instead of studying or making whatever papers I have to pass for the last week of this semester, is watching movies or reading my first ever Dickens. I have watched The Muppets, The Other Boleyn Girl, and the Fellowship of the Ring in under 24 hours. I act like I have plenty of time when I have at least 200 pages of book paper to study, thousands of words to write, and a video documentary to make. Regret, I can already smell you.

Se.se.se.se.segway to A Tale of Two Cities:

I am halfway through the book. Reading it far more efficiently than Confinement which took me about two months to finish. Talk about gripping. I've been wanting to read a Charles Dickens book since forever and I began with A Christmas Carol. The problem is, I can't remember anything from that book. I probably read it when my comprehension excluded Dickens. Hahaha.

A Tale of Two Cities is an oddly heartwarming book which begins beautifully:

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way--in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only."

- Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities, Book 1, Chapter 1

I am definitely not one to make a book review so I leave it to you to be sensible enough to read the book at least once in your life. 

Lost

My brain is definitely messed up. I feel sad and lost again.

Above is a bar of biscuit covered with a thin layer of caramel then chocolate (trust me, I will get somewhere). 

When I was in elementary, my best friend and I would always buy two of this. It was thicker back then and when coupled with a pack of juice, it became our recess snack. It was a cheap option, leaving me with some of my money to buy toys in the novelty shop just outside my school beside a busy road. I was repeatedly told to never go there because it was too dangerous but I always disobeyed. Afternoon after afternoon, I would walk back to our elementary school campus cradling mangoes in plastic bags and cards with anime characters I don't even recognize.

It wasn't the thrill of disobedience that fueled it but definitely knowing what I want. Now, I don't have that. All is a blur. What people want from me, what I want for myself has become an unrecognizable blob in my head. Living a life without direction is too hard for me right now. I feel robbed of my ability to make decisions. 

When I saw this bar in a Seven Eleven store, I felt so betrayed for some reason. 

Narnia for adults

A guy runs for senator when he accidentally comes across a group of weird men in fedoras that adjust human events to make sure they happen according to plan. Just watch the trailer. 

They navigate New York by going through doors that lead to different places. After watching this movie, I became paranoid but was immediately comforted by the fact that fedoras aren't popular within the Manila crowd (except for the occasional metrosexual). But what if, instead of fedoras, they sport those hideous Angry Birds shirts? We are doomed.

Matt Damon is awesome in this movie. 

Logos Hope in Manila

A well-deserved break for a book nut after a week of coupling college and an internship is a trip to Logos Hope - a ship that is also a bookstore (can I get a "wow!" please). 

When I called my mom to tell her about my big plans of going to the harbor and visit the ship, she reminded me that I've been there before as a pre-pubescent being. It is heartwarming to listen to your parents remind you about your childhood. 

The ship is the size of the average Superferry. Digression: I want to ride a boat this coming school break back to Iloilo. I've been watching too many period movies that had scenes of traversing the Atlantic. Ahh, the abundance of contemplative moments! 

It houses a bookstore. So you need to get on board to check their selection of books. 

Sorry for the lousy photos. I was too giddy with all the books around with the prices being outrageous. Bring a thousand pesos and you'll get books enough for months of consummation. Prices ranged from 50 to 700 (for the glossy art books) pesos. Most of the paperbacks sell at 150. They're obviously cheaper than the ones sold in land. I'm guessing because they never touch the shore, they don't have any tax. I could be very wrong because I shun legalese.

Of course, if you are more of a tourist than a bookworm, they also have spots for you!

With friends from high school that now go to neighboring U.P. That calculator shirt is a favorite.

I was thinking of captioning this "All aboard mate!". I'm a loser.

There is a 20 pesos admission fee and you can stay on board as long as you want. There is a cafe that sells  imported canned drinks, chocolate croissant an a variety of other snacks right after the book store. 

We went down the ship only for more photos. I haven't uploaded these on Facebook and I'm thinking of not doing so. Hahaha

I bought five books (fiction and non-fiction) including a thesaurus. I've been wanting one ever since because I want to start a hobby of highlighting my favorite words. I've always wanted to try doing that.

The ship departs Manille on March 14, 2012. A reliable source (a GPS in the form of a human friend) who brought us to the dock told me the ship opens at 1 PM every afternoon. It is definitely worth a visit. Go go go!

Its amazing how I look tired in photos. Makes me seem legit stressed from all my 'important' responsibilities. Ha!