Life: Books and Travel

I've been bit. Travel bug.

Darn... it bites hard.

I want to travel the entire world today. I feel like going on a travel rampage ever since I've started settling down in this city. Before I moved here I used to be a real settler, you know, the kind who's absolutely content at spending an entire lifetime in one place. Maybe it's the move that made me ballsy--I realize that even if I uproot myself, nothing bad will happen to me, the world won't implode, my family wouldn't fall apart (yeah because I'm suuuuch an important member!) and my life wouldn't go haywire.

I've been meaning to do start on international travel a year ago, but due to troubles with my nephew, my Japanese visa went unused :( I was quite looking forward to it. I had my travel money saved up, a checklist of all the things I need to bring, travelogues and maps, and I even had entire playlist ready.

I haven't quite moved on from that disappointment, yet, I believe.

Traveling the world is not just an option, as I told Greencross, it is a must. I can't not go away. And it's not just because I just want to have the experience of going out of the country; No, I'm not focused on the geography. I want to go away because I want to see humanity's diversity of culture, manner, architecture, literature and language. And most of all, I want to see the lands where my favorite books were set.

If you frequent this my book blog, The Contemporary Reader, one of my earliest post included: Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, and The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios by Yann Martel. These are the three books that I want to visit. Literally visit.

MY TRAVEL BOARD

1. Captain Corelli's Mandolin is supposed to be set in the beautiful island of Kephallenia (Cephallonia) (Κεφαλλονιά), Greece, and it is the largest of all the Ionian islands in the western part of the country. In the book this is where Pelgaia, the heroine of de Bernieres' story lived with her Papa, Dr. Iannis, and where she met the steadfast soldier with a musician's heart, Antonio Corelli. It was never said in the novel what town they lived in, but according to Wikipedia and supported by other readers, "The book is believed to be inspired by the picturesque village of Farsa, just outside of Argostoli"

Farsa: quaintly beautiful, sloping, sprawling

2. Pride and Prejudice is the classic, beloved love story set in Hertfordhsire, England. This is where Mr. and Mrs. Bennet live with their five daughters. Elizabeth, the future Mrs. Darcy, loved to take long walks around the fictional town of Meryton in Hertfordshire where Pride and Prejudice is primarily set.

Hertfordshire-- I'd love to talk a long, refreshing walk around the entire span of the town, too.

Aside from Hertfordshire, I would love to visit another county in England. Derbyshire is where the magic happens. In the novel, Fitzwilliam Darcy and the Darcy family peerage own lands in Derbyshire and has an county estate called Pemberley, which is thought to be based on the real-life estate of Chatsworth House.

Like Elizabeth, when I first saw Chatsworth house, I too, thought: "...at that moment she felt that to be mistress of Pemberley might be something!"

3. The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios tells of a story of two close friends, one is struggling with how to cope with AIDS, an existential crisis and his mortality, the other trying to help by telling a story about an Italian immigrant family who lived in Helsinki, Finland. I normally don't like short stories, but this one was beautifully told with a lot of metaphorical injections and parallelism, so it stuck with me all through these years. I want to visit Helsinki; even though the story never said where exactly I'm sure being young, active people, the two friends might have operated in the city's downtown mostly. I'd like to try and discover Sweden because here's some opportunity in it for me though, so I shall wait and see about that, too!

Esplanadi Park in Helsinki with a quintessential European feel

Oh, one could dream... and write the frustration away.

I would not consider traveling a hobby (unless I'll be stinking rich, burning money with airplane gas is not the lifestyle I want to subscribe to!) but I want my travels to mean something. I realize now there's a reason why I didn't really want to go to places like Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia... They don't mean anything to me at all. I don't want to go to places just because. I want to say, "I want to go to X and Y and Z  because... " with long-winded, excited, overanalyzed reasons hahaha!

Books were my first windows to the world; They were the ones who taught me that there are different things in life I need to see.

I want to broaden my perspective in life through literature and travel. My books somehow define me, I won't lie. They have been my constant companions that 'talk' to me about a lot of things when people didn't even want to try. I can reach out to them anytime I want to. They've been there through my saddest days, so I'd like to take them to happier places.

Planning starts now. I'm kinda thankful I have a paying job that's enough to cover my ass expenses, because this is NOT going to be a PHP 50,000 vacation, surely. The last time I checked, the plane ticket to an airport in Cephallonia alone costs that.

Please wish me good luck in my plans, and may the winds of travel take me to the places I want to go!

P.S.
If there's anyone reading this who's interested to volunteer for a 1-week organic farming activity in Sweden, let me know! Plane tickets/Visa on you but lodging and food is free.

Review: Glam Works Nose Pore Strip is the Best Pore Strips!

Hi everyone! September never stays this cold where I come from, and you know I'm not one for complaining... Oopsie that was actually a line from a song from Taking Back Sunday! But it's pretty apt, since we've been experiencing cold, wet weather for two months now, and even until the budding month of September. And it's even unfortunate that a storm has ravaged the northern part of our country tremendously some few weeks ago. I was, and am really saddened about the calamity.

Due to the weather, I've been staying at home more and more when the rain clouds are out and about. But during the cooler days Greencross and I enjoy walking to feel the cool breeze. We just walk around wherever, just like in the olden days when walking was a form of entertainment. There are times when we end up in the mall. And then I discover something new just like this product.

Glam Works Nose Pore Strips were sold in Watsons where we ended up one day, and I've been meaning to search for a good nose pack since I guess scrubbing my nose to get the dirt out isn't really working as much as I'd like to. I've been using some nosepacks and nose strips for a while but they don't seem to cut it. Don't you just hate it when you look at your face up close and you see an ugly blackhead-peppered nose? Eww!

Yes, it is gross, and it's hard to keep them away. I got the nose pore strips and when I arrived home I tried it. You will believe me when I say the Glam Works strips are pretty awesome in removing A LOT of dirt inside the pores.

WARNING!

If you're in for a
really bad
picture
of
BLACKHEADS
and
WHITEHEADS

I warned you! kthnxbai.

That was pretty revolting, but I was ecstatic when I saw the results. I followed the directions:

1. Wash face
2. Wet the part of the nose where you're going to place the strip
3. Open a packet and separate the plastic from the white strip
4. Leave for 15-20 mins
5. Pull strip by starting at the tip of your nose.

And viola, a strip full of disgusting whiteheads and blackheads! It hurts like a sucker when you pull it off, and if you have sensitive skin the patch of skin on your nose may turn pinkish or reddish. (my skin is sensitive to tactile pressure as I have a weird skin disorder called Dermatographic urticaria which is not a big deal health-wise, but can be really weird! After the pore strips my skin raised up LOL)

But other than that I would definitely say that this is by far the best nosepack! I will be using this once a week (not a fan of the pain of pulling the strip and red skin lol)

If you find yourself having fair weather and you'd like to walk around, make sure it is in the general direction of a mall with Watsons store! You can find this product and you will love it like I do.

Thanks for reading!
Take care of yourself!

Kose Suncut UV SPF 50+++ Protect Milk Sunblock Review

Like any other girl who lives and loiters in the sunniest part of the world, I've been searching high and low for the very thing that can protect my skin from the year-round unforgiving heat of the sun.

I've tried a fair share of SPF-filled lotions and creams in various ranges but none has capture my love and my loyalty than Kose Suncut UV SPF 50+++!!! This is pure love right in this 30ml bottle.

To think that I made this purchase during my second haul from Sasa.com and I am soooo thankful I took the chance and didn't go for any other sunblock brand (I was going to go with Clinique City Block SPF 50!)

Directions for use:
1. On a clean face, spread generously and evenly.
2. Reapply as needed.

Product Experience: 
At first I was hesitant because the sunscreen liquid is white. I've been through that "white cast" or "grayish cast" that ordinary sunscreen usually have once applied on the face. But, it broke my prejudice since it is very, very easy to apply, goes on so smoothly, and the white liquid simply disappears as you spread it on the skin.

It is pretty watery, so it is a light but POTENT sunscreen. It doesn't smell funky at all. It's has a mild suncreeny scent but it disappears as it is spread too.

The best thing about this is that it doesn't make my face look like a grease ball! :D I have oily skin, and having this on even on top of my daily moisturizer DOES NOT make me oilier! Compared to all the other sunscreens I've tried, this one is KING.

Cons?
I was kind of turned off at first that the reviews said it was a small bottle... But I guess there's a reason people complained about it being small! This is a really good product so much that you don't want to run out of this. And I don't want to run out of this sunblock. Not now, not ever. Unfortunately, I only bought one single piece!

Also, I wish that the twist-cap has a pop-up cap instead, but this complaint is more on the packaging and not the product. So basically, I have no cons!!!!! :)

If you ever want to buy this at Sasa.com, please be reminded that I am going to run out soon so you better save me at least 5 pieces because I am going to hoard this soon. This is fast becoming a product I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT! ^____________^

I hope to hear from you and thanks for reading!

Bright, Orange and Pulpy: Minute Maid!

Do you love oranges?

Because gosh, I sure do. :) In fact, I just ate one last night!
Greencross* bought like 4 oranges to share with our friends, but we might have gobbled it all by ourselves. Maybe. Don't tell them.

Another thing I LOVE is Orange Juice! But I hate powered ones with a passion. They're just too fake for my taste. I hate the powder that gets on the counter when you pour it into a jar, and the icky way some powder are left at the bottom of the pitcher no matter how many stirs you make.

Luckily, bottled orange juice was invented.



I just drank a bottle of Minute Maid Pulpy. They say it’s got ‘no preservatives added’. Aw, c’mon…It’s bottled juice. Is that even possible? So I thought maybe... I will still give it a try. I may be just one of those that will try a healthier alternative to the usual softdrinks. To my surprise it tastes exactly like a fresh orange squeeze! It's cold, it's refreshing and it tastes fantastic!

I didn’t believe it the first time I heard it’s got no preservatives added. So I read the ingredients (even the fine print) and everything checked out! It really has NO PRESERVATIVES ADDED! That means it doesn’t have ingredients that may turn out to be allergens, or worse...carcinogens! Whew! Now that’s healthy goodness that tastes so good, I may just change my mind as to how I view bottled juices. For once I have found a natural home made fruit juice taste with no preservatives and no unhealthy carbonated ingredients!


So okay, it’s got no preservatives added. That’s really good, right? Not just because it doesn’t have those icky, harmful ingredients, but it also means... that it's the perfect drink when you're craving for something sweet to guzzle down.

So far anyone who still has a hard time believing that Minute Maid has got no preservatives added - meaning it's THAT natural, it's almost like it's plucked straight from the tree, it's just as Mother Nature wanted your orange juice to be, it's got nothing but the good stuff yes, none of those potentially toxic stuff that can harm your brain, kidneys, heart; cause tumors aargh- the list of preservatives' bad effects just go on!!! Anyway, just to prove a point on just how good Minute Maid Pulpy is 'cause it's got NO PRESERVATIVES ADDED, I'm gonna quit drinking my usual soda drinks. I swear. I'm HUGE on sodas and pop drinks, but I know with Minute Maid, the transition will be easy peasy.

Feels good to know about the real pulpy deal, right? C’mon show me a smile on the comment box, and you might win yourself a Really Pulpy Deal! (That’s a chance to win a Minute Maid gift pack simply by commenting. Sweet! C'mon you just might be picked as the lucky 'commentor'!)

Love,

Aicha! :)

P.S. I love munching on the orange pulps, tasting the sweetness, and enjoying the tangy, fruity taste... It's like everything you love about oranges is in here!

Learn more about the Minute Maid contest here!