Life: Cheap ways to have fun

I don't have friends here in Manila yet, and it's hard to find kindred spirits if you keep odd hours and don't get out as much. Staying in during the Saturdays and Sundays don't do me good because I always get restless; I mean, hey, I have every reason to look forward to the weekend--I'm on the night shift team and it's not always really great at the office because work is quite intense! I think I deserve some fun, light-hearted things to do!

The only thing is I hate spending too much. Seriously, I get the hives when I spend a lot on non-essential things in life. Greencross is considerate enough to always take me somewhere, even for a walk around the block, or to the nearest mall and eat some ice cream. In this city where exorbitant living is required to have fun, we're breaking the mold and pushing the envelope in the attempt to have good, clean fun without breaking the bank!

Here's some nice things I enjoyed over the weekend:

Eiga Sai 2013 - Free event! This annual event sponsored by The Japan Foundation, Manila has always been a tradition for me and my friends back in my hometown. This year, I have Greencross to accompany me (but I'm no stranger to watching the big screen alone, as pathetic as that may sound haha!) and went to Shangri-La Plaza.

My favorite movies from Eiga Sai 2013:
* Confessions
* Rinco's Restaurant
* Mai Mai Miracle (Animated)

When we got to Cineplex, there was some guy who was being a big asshole, pushing his way in in the most gruff manner to get inside the cinema immediately. I felt really sorry for the guard and attendants who were in his way. How vexing, and how utterly rude!

Grocery Promos - We do quick grocery shoppings during the weekends for our weekly food staples. Though we shop at an upscale mall, we always do our best to keep the things we buy as cheap as possible! It's always a happy time for us to do the groceries. It's also fun to shop at Rustan's because there's so many "free taste" things and promo activities, too.

Last Saturday, there's was the Oreo Challenge promo (which wasn't so much as a challenge, really.) and I won some Oreo cookies and Oreo notepads. It made me happy hahaha! Here's a collage from photos taken by Greencross:

Last Sunday was a bit of a downtime for me, because I was quite beat for some reason. I wasn't feeling very chirpy but I guess it happens. I looked at Greencross engrossed in his game and was envious that he has Guild Wars 2 to enjoy and I didn't (I have a character but we only have one PC so most of the time he plays)! All I got are some cutesy games so I was feeling like I needed something fun, too!

Play On! Bought a Video game: I've missed playing videogames SO MUCH. These past few years it's all MMORPGS, but they don't have the same quality as platform RPGS (single player ones, yeah I'm a lonewolf like that (/////_-) lol!) I may not have a PlayStation or an Xbox unit anymore, but there's always the 3DS! I've decided on Fire Emblem: Awakening for a month now after having played a demo version; I was just waiting for the right time to strike (read: price drop!) But the need to grew too much for me so yeah, I got this brand new spankin' cartridge!

It's not very cheapskate with the price tag of P1,750 BUT! It's hours upon hours of gaming, sidequests, character development, awesome dialogue, adventures, frustration, happy things and such! And if gaming reviews are not mistaken, Fire Emblem: Awakening has an amazing "replayability" to it! So yeah, I'm excited for that. I really, really miss video games.

So that's it! My weekends are pretty eventful around here, if you're to call it that. I'm a simple girl of simple means or maybe mababaw lang kaligayahan ko, but yeah, any excuse to have fun and enjoy the good things in life is what I love best!

Thanks for reading~
See you next post!

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.

Life: "Those days when you just feel shitty"

It's been 2 months too late in updating this blog.
And this update is not even a beauty post. Wait, no, why am I feeling apologetic? This is a personal blog after all. Continuous typing begins now.

It's DECEMBER. The month where suicidal tendencies rise as high as obnoxiously ostentatious department store Christmas trees. The year is ending, and it's time to reflect on things that has been bothering me for quite sometime.

I've failed myself a couple of times in the span of my blog absence. You'd think that it takes a long time to make one stupid mistake up after another but noooo! I actually have the capacity to disappoint my family, my friends and myself in one go. I am grand slamming it up in the Not Impressed department.

I told myself midway this year: STOP BEING ANAL!!! Shit, I even penciled in my activities from June to December. What?! Who plans like that? ANAL RETENTIVE SHITHEADS LIKE ME THATS WHO. When I plan my life like that I get so irritated at life when there are curveballs---wow I can't even adapt like a normal human being! And I feel like I'm about to shit flames when plans get cancelled lol insane lang?

So I made a promise to myself to get rid of my organizer, get rid of any notion that life happens according to my scheduler. Because it doesn't. Get better at curveballs, Aicha. Love it. Live it. Shit happens. But don't say no to someone gifting you cute planner though!

On a non-related topic: I am so scared of showing skin. I have no clue why but, maaaan, everyday I dress like a cross between a manly girl and a young boy. It gets especially worse because in the recent years I developed an aversion to tops that hug my body. You know wai?

I am a fatso! Heya! The owner of this body is repulsed at herself, what more other people? I think I should just spare them from looking at my developing fats!

I want my skinny ass back. ;u;

But I am really beautiful though. Evidence: (quite a "determined to be disappointed" face there, eh.)

Am actually proud of myself for posting up a camwhore photo of myself. Don't remember taking one since June of this year. My resolution is to do more camwhores whether I like it or not.

I detest camwhoring quite a lot. Ironic as fuck. I especially hate solo camwhore ones! Whenever someone takes my picture I always NEED to have someone with me, too. I hate camwhore photos because I feel uselessly vain. There are a lot of vain people I know. I'm beautiful yes, I have good things; but I am human still! I still retain my weird insecurities about my caterpillar eyebrows and flat hair and thick lips to even venture into creating an entire Facebook album dedicated to my face.

I see it everyday; I don't need an album to validate over and over that yes indeed ladies and gents this is my face. But I need to do it so I will have a lot of practice with how to present myself in photos. But I think I need to put on gunk like make-up so the next time I see myself in the mirror and in pictures I'd be all: "Hayyy girl dang u so interestin' lookin'..."

To Myself: Next year, I want you to do the things you won't be able to do anymore. Dye your hair chocolate. Ombre it up with blue. Get piercings. But you won't because you're too safe and too square.

Next post won't be as crazy as this one I promise.
I will review a great deal about this chinese sweet tea I'm drinking. It's supposed to CLEAR YOUR SKIN by detoxifying those stuff inside your body and promote better digestion. Pretty cheap, too!
Stay tuned for that!

Until my next emotional breakdown.
Thanks for reading!

Life: Bored at My Desk [We don't have Thanksgiving!]

Chewing some extremely super dooper doublegood Japanese candies. Oh boy are they so addicting.

Currently, I am at a place where I really have no way of updating the new things I've discovered during my absence. I don't have a very good camera right now and it sucks! My silence in the blog world didn't mean I stopped testing and re-testing various skin care products and doing a lot of adventures!

I am glad though that this absence has afforded me a lot of time to really use the products I'm using and getting the hang of things when it comes to skin care layering! I have an updated routine to share, too.

Did you know about Layering? I've only just about discovered it and so far I am on my trial and error and continuing my search for a good night cream that will moisturize my oily face. That's really a difficult thing, you know XD

In the meantime, I am enjoying my life as usual! I love the people I'm sharing my time with, some may annoy me but it wouldn't be the same without them anyway. We have a new addition to my family, a serious-looking little baby boy. Then I have a lot of things to do in terms of career and personal life.

I am doing all I can to expedite the process of acquiring a digicam that takes perfect shots everytime!

Til then, see you! Happy Thanksgiving!

Your Stance: RH Bill VS. Catholics

I've come to terms with the fact that I have no legal background to speak of so I would have the right to wave about cases, laws, ordinances; I'm not a Doctor/Obstetrician that I can freely give medical information about the body or how the reproductive cycle goes; and finally I have no religious nor political affiliations that I seek to promulgate. I am a private citizen who has a stance, a voice, using this post as a platform acting like a megaphone for all who would care to hear.

I am Pro-RH Bill. But I hope, even if you are on the opposing side, you wouldn't stop at that sentence in the spirit of give and take of information and understanding what you may have thought of as 'the dark side' as well.

The debate has not ceased, it has even generated a better, wider audience. And even those who have not even heard or seen the actual bill draft have preconceived notions and prejudices already, whether it's from a religious, political, or personal (mix of the two?) standpoint. And those are all we are entitled to have.

Maybe I made this post after all the confusing mix of articles, comments, legislation drafts, what my parents said, what our leaders replied has finally caught up with me. It's so easy to question anything: You read so and so article, does that article even have credibility? You said so and so's stance is this and that, what makes you think he is an expert? You believe in this and that organized political/religious groups, what makes you think what they think is right?

In these times, I have been left to my own devices, much like everyone I know in the face of these contradicting but at the same time very profound ideas. In the end, it all boils down to ourselves, we side with what we truly value in life, and what we want to uphold.

They say "You can be the change that you want to see in the world", and at this point, I want those who view otherwise to know that being Pro-Contraception does not mean you are automatically an evil person who wants to kill off an unborn child, who wants women to mutilate their bodies and put cancer inside them by getting on the Pill. Who thinks a couple who has sex without procreation in mind is going to have their names marked in the list of people going straight to hell.

I do not want to kill a child. On a personal level, I love babies, I love children, I adore my nieces and nephews, I once worked for an NGO Child Care Crisis Center. But I am completely Pro-Contraception. Does that mean I wished for these children to have never been born in the first place? I hope anyone won't go that low to insult me or to those that share the same sentiments as I do. I am Pro-Contraception because I have seen the ways it wounds a child to be unprotected, unsheltered or living low in love because the parents were not ready to shoulder a grave responsibility or add another head to their abundant family; or how a bright, young one is scarred for life when he or she is considered--as it is commonly termed in an untactful society--an "unwanted child".

I am not saying that Contraception is the only answer to stop having unwanted children, because it is not. My point remains that here is a bridging correlation between preventing pregnancy and contraceptives. Core point is: you, or with a partner, mutually chose to not have children yet but still enjoy the benefits of a loving union.

Now, the case that Catholics have is the notion, taken from various Dogmas and other holy documents, pertaining to the primal end of marriage and sexual activities. Both are made for procreation. It is something that I personally agree with in the Judeo-Christian tradition that: Sex is unitive and procreative in nature. (Of course it is, not unless you are unable to bear due to medical reasons, which is an entire can of worms altogether.) Now that Artificial Birth Control methods have long been laid out on the table and the fact that there is a new proposed bill to strengthen the campaign, it clashes violently with the Natural Family Planning that the Church approves of as they see that only the Unitive nature of sex is being upholded, which gave rise to the notions such as: "Birth control enables us to use our spouses as objects for pleasure, without the potential for self-sacrificial life-giving love". Given that we can now use sex for pleasure only, it makes the Catholic Tradition that God designed sex for Procreation null, causing the uproar and moral reprehension of those that support the bill.

Admittedly, it's hard for me to follow through with a lot of religious blogs that banner these statements because they only cover those who are under their wing, the pious dominant. But what about us, the margin, who do not follow their Dogma? The religious may call me morally corrupted, atheist, evil, but who are they to say that? Yes, the Philippines is predominantly Christian, but don't immediately rule out other religions as well, not everyone is a Christian or a Catholic.

It's your God and your beliefs, as I have mine. But I am not shoving my own God to your face and calling you evil and morally corrupt just because you don't follow my God. You only have a Catholic Viewpoint, and this viewpoint, as mine, is limited in scope and breadth, it only covers those who share it. Please do not impose on me your rules which I believe do not apply to me. Yes, you are entitled to your ideas, but you are not entitled to shove it to my face and call me names if I don't accept yours as my own.

NOTE: This note was not meant to alienate or anger anyone, I have tried to sound impartial as I wrote this in a calm, even though sleepy, manner. It's 3:22 AM and I have to go to work early, but this is something I can't just shake off with one sleep. If you have any comment to add, reactions that you want me to read, please comment below or mail me at its.the.crazy.country.air@gmail.com !

Thank you for reading.

My Surprise Gifts for the Week

Hi Everyone!

I would like to introduce my NEW best friend, Cattle-brie! Hehe, funny name, eh? She was given to me as a surprise gift by Greencross last week.

I've developed a weird affinity for Rilakkuma since last year, and recently I have grown to love this San-X soft toy character more than any thing! Other San-X / Sanrio softs ain't got nothing on this kawaii-blank-face-kuma XD I love Rilakkuma more than Hello Kitty or other popular soft-toy icons.

I didn't have the money to buy Rilakkuma merchandise from stores, so I just go to the San-X website and save pictures from there. The only thing I have are a bunch of Rilakkuma pictures on a folder in my computer =______=

But now.... I have Cattle-brie! Rilakkuma in a cow costume! IT'S SO KAWAII I'M GONNA ROLL OVER AND DIE :)


SO FREAKING CUDDLY. And yeah, the name is derived from a character in the Forgotten Realms saga by R.A. Salvatore that I am into. I know, it's a bit nerdy, yeah, but the word play is so apt... CATTLE-brie because Rilakkuma is wearing a cow costume! Get it?! XD Oww, I'm too dorky for words. :(

Cattle-brie has also an alarm clock! Greencross and I are sticklers for punctuality. Burden of proof: Out of the 20 people in the team, we're two of the remaining three team members without any blemishes in our Perfect Attendance records. OH YEAH. :))


I did not at all think that I could have a Rilakkuma stuffed toy! I can't believe he went ahead and ordered this. I mean, he didn't have to but just the mere thought of it you know... it's so touching to have someone who surprises you with something, most especially when you've had a really bad week.

And I got Cattle-brie among many other things ^____^I had a special foot spa AND back massage for me, omg! What boy does that nowadays? Seriously. It was so fun to get "pampered" all of a sudden maybe I can return the favor sometime.

I had a big grin all day from my surprise gifts! ^______________^

Thanks for reading!

Feeling Uninspired? Stop and look at the roses :)

Whenever I feel lonely or sad, or just generally down or uninspired, I always try to find things to cheer me up. If I'm not feeling too good about myself, I go to Google Images and search about clouds, puppies, small birds and flowers. Recently now, I have been saving a lot more images of flowers than anything... I have a folder called "Inspiration" full of the beautiful blossoms you see below!

Looking at the pastel color of the pink roses always calms me down and most of all makes me smile!

Maybe one day I will go to the market to see some really nice daisies and white and red roses plus those adorable baby breath blossoms. I would especially like it if I can see some real nice pink ones.

I think flowers make me think that everything will be OK.

Work is getting to me, I guess. I'm tired most of the time but at the same time I'm really psyched about it. I also want to work part time, but I have a strange feeling I will not be 100% on either work if I do, which is kind of unfair to my full-time work. I don't really need the money, but I will be more financially secure if I get another source of income though, so I can provide more for my mom/dad for their medicine and other expenses, as well as mine.

I get headaches and neckaches lately. And I feel like I'm not getting enough sleep. But I'm already used to this sleeping pattern so I guess this is just fatigue. I know people get burned out at some point, so I guess I'm not immune. But I'm sure this will pass!!!!!

All the more reason to open a Flickr account and get more pictures of flowers.

Sorry about this ramble! Thank you for reading. Feels therapeutic :)