In books, i like the I's and the We's

Last night i started reading Suzanne Collins' Catching Fire, the second book to the popular book-turned-movie The Hunger Games, that is currently on-schedule for its theatrical release as well.

Although i am not exactly a big aficionado of 'pop' fiction books, especially those that have received and benefited from massive media attention and promotion (not saying that these 'pop' books are no good, it's just, well, a matter of personal preference for which i am totally entitled to, thank you), i decided to give the book a try before before seeing the movie and face the possibility of spoiling the integrity of the book for me.

And i was pleasantly surprised. Reading the first few pages, i found it actually interesting and most likely worth the reading time. How do i know it's good? Or entertaining at the very least?

It has something to do with how the author, in this case Collins, opens the book. Over the years, i came to realize that i am attracted to books using the first person perspective. So there goes a lot of I's and We's. The book has to stand upon something and come directly from somebody. I don't like it when the 'driver' of the book is also a spectator; i want to be the only spectator and not feel like there's another person watching how the books unfolds with me.

I think reading a book is a very personal thing and that the experience that one gathers in the journey of the story is very exclusive to the one reading it.

I don't want somebody else telling me about the characters dilemnas; i want to hear and know it from the characters themselves.

I don't want somebody else telling me how blissful and passionate they made love; i want to know the details first hand.

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On other news: There's a sadness that seems to have swallowed me whole today.

iWant.

These are exciting times for a gadget geek (like me); a lot of great things are being released and will soon be released in the months to come... and just when I told myself to stop lusting for more gadgets because it isn't healthy to my bank account, here comes new things that *enraptures* me...

#1 Windows Phone 7 Series + HTC

Forget the long and awkward name. This new smartphone OS is just too revolutionary to ignore. And as much as i love my iPhone3Gs, WP7s just makes it so dated. I am gearing to get this when it comes out hopefully before the year ends. And I hope HTC would release a device worthy of this amazing new OS from Microsoft; well, judging from the current HTC portfolio, it looks like I, and a lot others, will not be disappointed.

#2 HTC Desire with Android

I know. I don't need this. I have my iPhone 3Gs and when WP7s comes out, I am sure to get it. But one can just *want* right? While i love the look of the HTC Legend more with all its unibody awesomeness, this baby just makes it more desirable because of its beefier processor. Plus of course it's running the latest Android 2.1 OS which i must say just makes one go to geek-heaven.

#3 Sony DSC-TX5

When it comes to capable digital cameras, I have always been a Sony fan. I have had three Sony DSC's and though I don't have one right now as I have donated it to my sister, all of my Sony cameras have been very reliable. And while I am itching to upgrade to a DSLR or maybe a very good  point-of-shoot, this one is very, very tempting.

The Sony DSC-TX5 is one very capable digital camera packed with a 10.2 megapixel "Exmor R" CMOS low light sensor, is waterproof and shock resistant. Of course, I still have to consult my partner whether this is the one to get or an entry-level Nikon DSLR.

Preparing to watch...

New York, I Love You starring Bradley Cooper, Natalie Portman, Rachel Bilson, Blake Lively, Orlando Bloom and a bunch of other beautiful people.

New York, I Love You is a collective work of eleven short films, with each segment running around 10 minutes long. It looks like a good, light-hearted movie and a perfect conclusion for a good weekend (i mostly just sleep during the weekends). Hopefully, it doesn't disappoint.

Which smartphone to buy?

I'm gearing to buy a new smartphone in the next few days and I'm twisted between the iPhone 3Gs and the HTC HD2. Both are beautiful and powerful. The features are almost the same, so I'm confused and twisted. What to choose?

Beautiful...

Anne Curtis is just so beautiful (and intelligent too). My kind of girl.

The Man in the arena

Watched Invictus a few days ago. Good movie. Morgan Freeman is good.

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."

Being Alive...

I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing. (Agatha Christie)

Hope, courage and heroism

Courage, it would seem, is nothing less than the power to overcome danger, misfortune, fear, injustice, while continuing to affirm inwardly that life with all its sorrows is good; that everything is meaningful even if in a sense beyond our understanding; and that there is always tomorrow. (Dorothy Thompson)

Hope is both the earliest and the most indispensable virtue inherent in the state of being alive. If life is to be sustained hope must remain, even where confidence is wounded, trust impaired. (Erik Erikson)

Vision and Hope

If you want to build a ship, don't herd people together to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea. Antoine De Saint-Exupery

A cold, cold night in a foreign land

Outside, it's very cold. I did not turn on my AC the whole day, The Filipino Channel (TFC) has been on since i woke up this morning and it's been a while since I last visited this blog.

I miss writing and blogging. I miss the routine of checking blogs and youtube and being updated about the latest designs and design inspirations from popular design bloggers. My last post was September 18th and since then, a handful has changed about my work and my work environment.

1. I have officially waved a temporary good bye to my freelance work with Linkage Design in Manila.

2. I am now working 9 hrs/day as Art Director in a foreign land... (see #3)

3. I am now temporary settling (at least for the next 2 yrs) in this country where women wear black tarhas, restaurants are separated between a "Singles Section" and "Family Section", the weather could go extremely hot to extremely cold and there are virtually no movie houses.

4. I miss my friends. I miss my family. I miss the complexity of life back home.

Go figure.

Pablo Neruda's I Do Not Love You

Pablo Neruda is one of the world's most gifted poets and my most favorite. His poetry is music and love weaved into lyrical perfection.

Let me share with you another Neruda poem which I truly, truly love. Written and published in 1959, here is...

I Do Not Love You (Sonnet XVII)

I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,
or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that never blooms
but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;
thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,
risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
so I love you because I know no other way

than this: where I does not exist, nor you,
so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,
so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.

And here is a video of Robin Williams from the movie Patch Adams with the poem. Emotional.

A new start...

I haven't really blogged much these past months. Though i continue to roam around the internet in search of beautiful and inspiring things, I have not felt the urge, the spark, to actually hit the Blogger Dashboard and write new posts.

The reason, I have been making great changes in life, both in my professional and personal lives. For one, though doing freelance design+corporate pr work since 2002 while consequently handling the marketing of a small restaurant group has been extremely rewarding, I have decided to go back to a regular day job, not here in Manila though, overseas.

So wish me luck peeps. I will be leaving very soon. And I am excited to take my life to a whole new, albeit better, dimension.

Cheers!☺

The Serenity Prayer

Oh God and Heavenly Father,

Grant to us the serenity of mind to accept that which cannot be changed;courage to change that which can be changed, and wisdom to know the one from the other, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

The Serenity Prayer is the common name for an originally untitled prayer, most commonly attributed to the theologian Reinhold Niebuhr. The prayer has been adopted by Alcoholics Anonymous and other twelve-step programs. Yale Book of Quotations editor Fred R. Shapiro in 2008 published evidence that a version of the prayer was in existence no later than 1936. Shapiro believes that this casts doubt on Niebuhr's authorship of the prayer. Via Wikipedia

Counting my blessings:Week 1

I have always believed that "amidst life's drudgery and pains, it is still a beautiful world" and with the world seemingly trapped in a consensus of turmoil and hopelessness, it is high time to reinvigorate the power of positive thinking - directing and focusing one's thoughts on life's blessings no matter how mundane they be.

So today i start this weekly series of counting my blessings; jotting down even the most trivial of things that made me feel good, alive, happy, blessed.

March 19

Was able to learn and configure how to send HTML email newsletter and found out about Scribd and iPaper. Will be needing this for Linkage's email campaigns.

March 20

Got my 2 Starbucks planner + bags and was treated by our friend Sally at Starbucks Ali Mall.

Photo from Flicker

Found Fantasia's heartwarming rendition of What Are You Doing The Rest of Your Life during her AI competition. She's still the best American Idol to me.

Found out that Atlas Shrugged, my most favorite book, has immensely increased sales in 2008 and is continuing to sell primarily because the events that happened in the book (ie: the strike of the people of the mind against the looting society) is congruent to what's happening today amid the global financial crisis. Now isn't that amusing. I'm sure Ayn Rand is laughing wherever she may be.

March 21

Cried buckets of tears and had a serious talk with my partner and planned for steps to take to tackle problems; wrote an "i'm sorry" email to my Mom which made my hopelessness and despair ease a bit.

Ate 2 full meals today.

Was able to buy viands at the market even with a measly Php200.00.

Finished watching Baler and the 2008 TV movie The Andromeda Strain; got entertained but wasnt exactly ecstatic about them. However, Anne Curtis in Baler is just exquisite.

March 23

Was able to solve another financial obligation and felt relieved. 1 down, 5 more to go. Whew!

March 24

Visited my fav Starbucks and had a Venti White Chocolate Mocha while doing some internet surfing.

Had a good meeting with a returning client. Positive that it'll be a good new deal for us. I pray that the project will start very soon as we really need more projects.

Another good and liberating meeting with our restaurant staff over at our Japanese Resto branch in UST Dapitan.

Ate 3 full meals today.

Set up my new Behance Portfolio. A great community website for artists from all over the world. Apparently membership is by invitation only. Glad i got accepted.

March 26

Ate a very good dinner at a friends house celebrating the graduation of her daughter who also had an academic award. Later on we went to Starbucks Marquinton in Marikina and used my Buy1 Take1 voucher for 2 Venti's (Choc Cream Chip & Raspberry Latte Non-Fat).

March 27

Had a good meal tonight.

Finished watching the documentary Examined Life featuring some musings on life's meaning and purpose, idealogy, ecology among others by some modern day philosophers.

March 28

Had a quick nice chat with my mom over at Skype.

Found a new mac software called Kinemac and explored some of its functions. Will thrive on it on future posts most likely. Apparently, Kinemac is offered at an insanely low price bundled with some other inventive Mac softwares over at MacHeist.

March 30

My sister Tessa graduated from high school. I attended the graduation and was made to wear the "Parent" ribbon. Well, virtually i am their parent now since my Mom migrated to Denmark. All my siblings are left to my care. So i'm officially a MaPa (Mama/Papa). Hahaha!

As a treat for my sister, we had a small family dinner together with my close friend, Sally and her husband Andy. We had spaghetti, fried chicken and 2 Goldilocks cakes!

March 31

I have been informed by my favorite Auntie that my one of my dearest cousins was awarded Magna Cum Laude in the University of Sto. Tomas. This cousin virtually grew up with me, we were very close and i am so proud. Really, really proud.

Our Bayantel telephone line is finally fixed! Yipee!

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