A Book I Love

This is my first time to blog using Blogger's updated editor. I thought I'm gonna find myself having a catch by shifting to it, but I didn't. Why did it take too long for me to switch from my old editor? Blame it on my cognitive dissonance. Ayway, I've done a post like this before through Bookworm Adventures if you can still recall. I shared some quotes I got from my top five favorite books namely, Mitch Albom's Five People You Meet in Heaven, For One More Day, Robert Fulghum's All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist and Jostein Gaardner's Sophie's World. 

I don't want to talk about the same book again, so let me give you my thoughts on another book that I love. It's Chris Martinez's Last Order sa Penguin. This book is a part of the UP Jubilee Student Edition. It's written in colloquial TagLish to bring the best of Philippine Literature. It's a book based on a theatrical play of the same title also by Chris Martinez himself. It won the grand prize for Three-Act Play in Filipino from the prestigious Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature in 2001. The play was first performed by the UP Theatre Council in the Tanghalang Hermogenes Ylagan, UP Diliman back in 2000.

The story revolves around five friends nearing their thirties -- "the cheerfully gay Tuxqs, the problematic Harlene, the sex addict Tess, the social climbing Dyna, and the druggie Mario." They met up for some drinks at the Penguin Cafe/Bar/Gallery in Malate to talk about love, life, sex, relationships, society, and turning thirty. Their conversation is casual and satirical. I really love their funny dialogs. I've watched my schoolmates perform this a few years ago, and I can say the lines are even funnier heard live! How I wish I can watch another Last Order sa Penguin play soon. Cross fingers to that!

This book is just a very light read that you can finish it in just a few hours. May I just tell you that the book is the script of the play itself. It only has 131 pages. You won't find it hard reading this because as I said it's in conversational TagLish, which is actually a dialect widely used within Metro Manila. I love this book because of its humor and entertainment value referring to the current events and local pop culture. I also love the lessons brought about by every character. It makes us think on what's going to happen to us when we reach 30. The story tell us that we can always turn to our friends when life don't turn out the way we plan it.

To my friends who want to read this book, just tell me and I will lend it to you. To those who just happened to pass by my blog, here are some links of the sites where you can get a copy of the book: Good Reads and Open Library.

#30 Day Challenge

Mystique Shutterbug: Sea Vehicles

It has been such a very long time since I've last posted in this photo blog series. I got busy with other random stuffs, and photographer's block got the best of me. What's best about that anyway? I have a lot of reasons, but I don't want to rant about them anymore. Now then, I decided to get back to what I started. I went over my photo archives again, and looked for photos that I could possibly share. I noticed I have a lot of photos of boats and other sea vehicles. I love taking pictures of them because they evoke a certain drama. I took these during our recent field trip at Samal Beach. I wish to go back there with some people I miss the most in due time. So, here are what I'll be leaving you for today's episode on Mystique Shutterbug.

These photos were taken at Dayang Beach Resort, Angel's Cove, Malipano and Sta. Ana Wharf. OMG! I wish next summer I could go on an island-hopping adventure again with my friends. It's refreshing to see the waves and feel the sea breeze. I'm actually not much of a beach lover because I hate feeling sticky, but I have to admit that the sight of it allures me a great deal. From now on, I promise to myself that I will bathe in it next time, not just take pictures of it. Farewell again lovely summer. I can't wait for your return!

Did you hit the beach lately?

Once a shutterbug, always a shutterbug.

Katrina's Thought Bubbles: On Style

I got this award from Fashion Facile. Thank you so much for this Tessa. This is my second blog award. I got the first one from Chuck and Dee. I can't wait to have more. In connection to this fashion award, I've gathered these questions about style from Magazines earlier today, and I'll be giving my answers now. So here are the million dollar questions:

HOW DO YOU DEFINE YOUR STYLE?

It's casual, with a tinge of formality. Comfort with style is my fashion mantra. I love combining two colors like gold and black, pink and black/gray, red and black, brown and black or pink and brown. I also love accessorizing!

WHAT IS YOUR DAILY UNIFORM?

I usually wear jeans/leggings, chic top, trinkets to match, and a pair of flats. I love wearing chiffon and other sheer tops. One more thing, I can't leave the house without a bag. It's definitely a necessity for me.

WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER TO BE YOUR PERSONAL TRADEMARK?

I think I'm known for my smart casual attires. I often defy the norm by wearing formal outfit when everyone is just simple, but of course that only happens in ordinary days. I follow rules or dress codes on special occasions.

YOU WOULD NEVER BE CAUGHT WEARING...

A spaghetti/tank/tube top paired with shorty shorts and skirts. I can wear it as a beach wear, but not as a normal daily get up. That outfit reminds me of noontime sexy dancers. No offense about that , but that look is not very flattering. It's just too revealing. Looking like a bombshell is way different from looking like a stripper.

WHICH LABELS ARE HANGING IN YOUR CLOSET?

ASOS, Bayo, Club Monaco, Dorothy Perkins, F&F, H&M, Kamiseta, La Senza, New Look, Massimo Dutti, Plains & Prints, Secret Possessions, Zara, some local fashion brands and ukay-ukay (vintage) stuffs.

ARE YOU A SHOE OR A BAG FIEND?

It's hard to choose between these two irresistible fashion must-haves, but I guess after some deliberation with myself, I'm quite sure that I'm more of a bag than a shoe fiend. I have better number of bags than shoes.

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE BEAUTY PRODUCTS?

Avon, The Body Shop, Sunkissed for Active Cosmetics, MAC, Johnson's & Johnson's, L'Oreal Paris, Revlon Colorstay Lipcolor, Nivea Lip Gloss. Honestly, I can leave the house without make up on. I don't even have any facial rituals other than face powder and lipcolor. I'm good to go just with those two.

ONE THING THAT YOU WISH YOU NEVER WORE IN PUBLIC?

I wish I didn't wear high heels before. Everytime I wear one, something bad happens. It's quite embarassing! I'm just not used to that kind of foot wear. It looks sexy on others, but totally not on me. I can only wear it on photo shoots, cause I don't have to walk around a lot.

IF THERE WERE ONE LAST FASHION ITEM THAT YOU WANT TO ADD TO YOUR WARDROBE, IT WOULD BE...

...A genuine crocodile skin Birkin bag by Hermes. I know I couldn't afford it at all. I bet, my life is not even enough to pay for it. But, the statement says "want" not "buy". There's nothing wrong about dreaming, right?

WHICH FASHION ICON'S LIFE WOULD YOU LIKE TO LEAD FOR A YEAR, GIVEN A CHANCE?

Maybe it would be with Katie Holmes and Nicole Kidman internationally; and with Anne Curtis locally. They have superb style and enticing wardrobes. One last choice would be with Kimora Lee Simmons. I wanna try having her clothing empire!

Sonic Boom: Saturday Music

I just finished downloading Arctic Monkey's Discography. What a relief! I've been waiting for it to get done for two weeks already. That's what you get when you're a Smart Bro Prepaid user. You will have to suffer long enough even though you're only downloading a few megabytes worth of file. I almost gave up on it, and tried to cancel it. Good thing my conscience forced me to cool down. Enough of that nonsense muttering. It's not good for a beautiful Saturday morning, right?

For today's Sonic Boom, I'll be sharing you what I'm listening to as of the moment. But before that, let me say something I've learned about Arctic Monkeys. I first heard about this band from my ever favorite radio station NU107. According to Wikipedia, AM is an English indie psychedelic/garage rock band from UK formed in 2002. I really like their lead vocalist's (Alex Turner) voice quality, although he pretty much sounds like the front man of The Fratellis.

This band's music is just so perfect for road trips. The discography I downloaded includes the following albums:

• Brianstorm - EP
• I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor - EP
• Teddy Picker - EP
• Who The Fuck Are The Arctic Monkeys - EP
• WhenThe Sun Goes Down - EP
• Leave Before The Lights Come On - EP
• Fluorescent Adolescent - EP

And now, here's Baby I'm Yours from Arctic Monkeys. It's officially my new favorite love song. I love the romantic lyrics and melody. It also suits for a song I want to play for my wedding. I dedicate this to my boyfriend. Enjoy the song, folks!

Baby I'm Yours - Arctic Monkeys

"Baby, I'm yours (baby, I'm yours)
And I'll be yours (yours) until the stars fall from the sky,
Yours (yours) until the rivers all run dry
In other words, until I die

Baby, I'm yours (baby, I'm yours)
And I'll be yours (yours) until the sun no longer shines,
Yours (yours) until the poets run out of rhyme
In other words, until the end of time

I'm gonna stay right here by your side,
Do my best to keep you satisfied
Nothin' in the world can drive me away
'Cause every day, you'll hear me say..."

You can have those albums in your playlist by downloading them through this link. I hope the song I shared today pleases you as well. Have a good day ahead everyone!

The video used in this post is not intended for copyright infringement.

Something I Feel Strongly About

I feel totally worried about my little Caramel's bad condition. She has been showing signs of sickness for two days already. She won't eat and her breathing is abnormal. Her body temperature's also higher than the normal. I feel terrible seeing her acting so differently than the usual, cause she has always been a very active cat. I'm thinking it's only because of the rapid weather change. Cross fingers to that. I don't know what to do. I feel helpless on this matter, so I decided to sick virtual assistance. I hope the these things I've learned are really of great help.

"Cats can become ill for a variety of reasons, and many illnesses and diseases may result in similar behavior changes or other signs of illness in your cat. Paying close attention to the symptoms of a sick cat can help you to more quickly identify illness in your cat and diagnose and treat the problem before it can become more serious."

How to Take Care of a Sick Cat

• Give her enough sleep. Our fault is that we don't let her sleep as much as she want. We always cuddle her even though it's quite obvious that she's exhausted, or she's not in the mood to play.

• Keep the surroundings clean. We haven't done general cleaning lately because of laziness. Caramel's condition is an eye-opener for us. Time to make our house squeaky clean.

• Disturbance should be kept out of the way. My sisters and I can be considered a big disturbance to Caramel. From now on, we will let her rest without our intervention -- only our Tender Loving Care.

• Designate a sick area. Caramel's sleeping there as of the moment. It's outside our house. My father won't let her live here inside with us, cause he hates cats. But we made sure that she's safe there.

• Feed regular foods. We feed our cats with Paksiw na Isda, because it's their favorite meal. Caramel actually eats all kinds of food, it's just that she seems to lose her appetite lately. She's to languid to eat.

Additional information I got from eHow is that we should feed the cat by hand if it's too weak to move. We should also take its temperature two times a day. Experts say that, it will be low in the morning and higher in the afternoon and evening. It is also recommended that they be kept warm and comfortable in a quiet part of the house; and that we must not make them feel that they are alone. It just goes to show that cats are pretty much like us humans. Get well soon my dearest Caramel. I can't wait to play with you! Mama KATrina is badly missing your liveliness!

#30 Day Challenge

Five Ways to Win My Heart

With my friends, Regine and Lerr.

Thirty day challenges are all the rage these days. It indeed takes 30 days to form a habit, because I'm getting so into blog challenges. This is my second attempt at one, and I still have two more that are still pending. Now, let me begin with the most recent one that I agreed to do. The first task is to give you five ways to win my heart. I'm not someone who plays hard to get, but I'm also not otherwise. I actually don't know what to call myself. I guess I'm just in between. I don't belong in either one of those two. To tell you frankly, I don't have an idea of what are the exact ways for you to win me. But since this is a dare, I might as well give it a whirl whether I like it or not. The things I'd like to share are true to all kinds of friendship, not just romantically as other people seem to consider it.

I do think I'm a weird and boring person. I'm not saying that because I'm trying to get pity from you, but because I want to give you a warning. I can get too sensitive, demanding, assuming or cynical at times. I decline group excursions, sleepovers and other activities most of the time because I'm raised to be a homebody. Most of my friends don't bother to invite me anymore because they already know that my answer is a resounding NO. They think I'm a kill-joy. I have a good number of friends around, but only a few can stand and handle me. To name a few are Lerr, Regine and my boyfriend. You still have time to think whether you want to win my heart or not. You're time's up by the time you've read my list. LOL! But if you insist on knowing the details, here's how you crack the egg shell confining me.

The Ingredients to Win My Heart

• You need to make me feel that you are worth fighting for. I'm a loyal friend or girlfriend, so if the scenario calls for me to defend you I'd definitely fight for you. It may sound really corny, but I would do everything just to make my friends feel that they are special to me. In return, I want you to be true. I don't want to be with a hypocrite person. If you don't like me, just say it outright. Don't make me give my full heart to you when you know deep down that you don't deserve it. Don't be a fool.

• You have to accept me, especially my flaws. As you know me better, you may find certain things that are very unattractive and repelling. I hope those won't matter to you the most. I want someone who highlights the interesting spots of my personality more than the dull ones. I don't want a friend or a partner who feels awkward being with me. I've had my share of bad experiences with people who got ashamed of me. Those were traumatizing, I hope it won't happen to me again.

• You need to prepare yourself in telling everything about you. I don't mind it if you spill your heart to me. I want to know my friends even more, and that can only be done through no-holds-barred chitchats. It's difficult to befriend someone who doesn't trust me. I tell you, I'm a good listener. It's fine with me if you monopolize the conversation, and I only have to butt in just as long as you show me that you have faith in me. I always love heartfelt conversations. I hope you do too.

• You have to be inane at times. Who would want to be with someone who's always serious, right? Humor is always a good bait. It's lovely and it also makes a relationship lively. Whoa, that rhymes. LOL! I love to laugh even at the corniest antics. If you want to be my friend, you should learn how to make life less formal by doing and talking about nonsense stuffs sometimes. I hope you don't mind spending half of your life laughing with me. This is one of the reasons why I love you, Ciovic. Mushy!

• Lastly, I want a friend who has a common ground with me. I hate arguments, that's why I try to avoid them as much as possible. I don't get along well with someone who is a complete opposite of me. I don't like debates, because my blood easily boils. I get mad that instant, I don't know why. Wouldn't it be nice if the person you are with shares the same passion and sentiments with you? But of course that doesn't mean, I already dislike you if we have different opinions. That happens once in a while. I understand.

I've found some friends who have all the ingredients to win my heart. I'm still hoping that they'll grow in number as days go by. It may be good to keep everything to yourself, but it's undeniable that it always feels good to have people you can turn to in dark and difficult times.

#30 Day Challenge

Thank You

Congratulations to my Royal Wedding of the Century blog entry. You ranked first! I am more than inspired to bring out my creative juices. Thank you so much to all my visitors (especially to Scarlet's Walk, Chuck and Dee, Fashion Facile, A Dash of Lav, Planet Crap, Ciovic Balabbo and to my mother) from the deepest corner of my heart!

I checked my blog stats, and it definitely made my day. I just reached my 11,180 page views today. To all my avid readers, thank you for your undying support for this three year old place I call my home in the virtual universe. Know that I appreciate your every visit and all those thoughts you share. On my fourth year blogoversary this coming December (that's 200 days to go), I'll be giving back the love to show my heartfelt gratitude. That's a promise. Watch out for it. :-)

May She Find You

This is my sister Janine's letter for her future boyfriend. She got that idea when Candy Mag featured AJ Perez's letter for his future girlfriend. For your information, she has a big crush on that celebrity guy. She cried when he died. She even used his picture as her profile photo on Facebook to show her sympathy. Sorry sissy, I blurted out your little secret. Anyway, she made the background image herself through the Paint application. I influenced her, for the record. LOL! I am so happy that her writing ability is becoming better. Read on and see how mushy she is, just like me.

New Challenge

Found this cool challenge from Scarlet's Walk who also got it from Anima Persona. I am still having blogger's block as of the moment, so I thought of giving this a try. Maybe this can cure my mind's vacuum sickness. I actually have two pending blog challenges as of the moment -- one is my very own 30 Day List Challenge and this one. I found out that these two have some common tasks. What am I going to do? Yeah right, that's not a big problem. LOL! Who's up for this with me?

Opening Soon at Abreeza

The much talked about shopping mall complex located at J.P. Laurel Avenue has just opened. It's actually the first Ayala Mall here in Mindanao, and I'm so glad that the owners have first chosen Davao City for their business. I know this is a very late news, but I just can't help but blog about it. I haven't been there though, cause I don't want to drop by in that luxurious universe without some bucks in my pocket. I don't want to end up just roaming around there, window shopping. That would be so frustrating, right? I got really frantic to know that the famous fashion and food stores in Manila are set to open in Abreeza. Here's what I got from Mindanaoan Blog. I hope they won't mind my repost.

FASHION Stores we are sure to love:

Cache Cache

Philip Stein

Paris Hilton Abreeza Branch

Artwork

Nautica

Liz Claiborne

Marithe Francois Girbaud

Escada

Promod

Marcs & Spencers

Armani Exchange

The Body Shop

The Face Shop

Freeway

Warehouse

Dorothy Perkins

Topshop

Aerosoles

HotFlopz

Shoe Salon

Janilyn

Nine West

Planet Sports

Nothing but H20

What A Girl Wants

XOXO

Zara

Terranova

Geox

Parfois

Power MAC Center

Sneaker Club

Aldo

Etude

La Senza Lingerie

Etam Lingerie

Kenneth Cole Reaction

... and many more

FOOD Stores that will definitely please our palate:

Blackbeard's Seafood Island

Teriyaki Boy

Red Kimono

Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf

Starbucks

Gilligan's Restaurant

Go Nuts Donuts

Dairy Queen

Italliani's

TGI Friaday's

Tokyo Tokyo

Lemon Grass

Fudge Factory

Chicken Tsunami

Cafe Laguna

Grab a Crab and Coffee Club 101

Mooon Cafe

Taco Bell

Bread Talk

Wendy's

Slurpee

Max's

Bulcachong

Burger King

Taters

...and many more

Fully Booked, Net Xpress and BoyzTrek will also open soon. Or, are they open now? The opening of Fully Booked is a great news for bookworms like me.

I can't wait to try those new food joints for my food blog series Gastronomy. I'm also happy that my favorite fashion brand Dorothy Perkins is already within my reach. I hope H&M will also open soon. Go where the breeze takes you. There are just so many things in store for everyone in Abreeza. Those new and exciting things make me wish that I could get a job this instant. This is just the beginning of a more industrialized Davao City. I've also read from Weird's Eye View that a 12-storey high hotel (Kukun) and a 30-storey high residential condominium (Alveo) are also soon to rise within the complex. That is a good news for our city, because it will surely boost our tourism and economic growth. Don't you just love Davao even more?

The images in this post are not intended for copyright infringement.

My Celebrity Crushes

I hate having a crush on celebrities especially on Hollywood stars, because I know I can never have them. LOL! They're so up there, and they're very hard to reach. Yeah, I really have that weird definition of having a CRUSH. I mean, why would you waste your time liking and thinking about someone who doesn't even give a damn thing about what you feel? I know that thought is just so cynical, but that's just the way I rack my brain ever since I've stepped out of high school. I'm not a pessimist or something, it's just that a certain experience has enlightened me. That's it.

However, sometimes we have to take a breather from our self-made rule and break loose. I hate to admit that two lovely men from the foreign showbiz world got my attention big time. I couldn't help but have a crush on them, especially on the characters they portray. They're from the hit NBC serial saga called HEROES. I'm so addicted to that TV show. I'm done watching the second season, and I can't wait to grab a copy of the third and fourth seasons. I am talking about Milo Ventimiglia aka Peter Petrelli and Nicolas D'Agosto aka West Rosen. Here are the details I've gathered.

MILO VENTIMIGLIA

He was born on July 8, 1977. That means he's turning 34 this year. He is best known for his superhero character who can absorb others' abilities (Peter Petrelli) in Heroes. He also had acting stints in Gilmore Girls, American Dreams, Boston Public, CSI and many others. About his personal life, I am so happy to know that he doesn't have any vice. He doesn't smoke and drink alcohol. Pretty cool guy, eh? About his love life, he dated his Gilmore co-star Alexis Bledel for three years and a half. He is also Hayden Panettiere's (that girl he's with in the photo who is also his Heroes co-star) ex-boyfriend. They dated for two years.

NICHOLAS D'AGOSTO

This hot guy was born April 17, 1980. Can you believe he's already 31 years old? I really can't. He still looks so young. No wonder his character in Heroes Season 2 was a senior high school student. He also got involved in drama and theater when he was growing up, acting in many different plays and musicals. He has worked for a bunch of films such as Fired Up, Dirty Girl, From Prada to Nada, Final Destination 5 etc. He was also seen in TV series like Boston Public, ER, House, Supernatural, Without a Trace, and many more. One interesting fact I found about him is that, he actually studied poverty and race issues in the Dominican Republic for a semester when he was a student at Marquette University.

Well, they're not my ultimate celebrity crushes. I like Orlando Bloom, but many girls have been going gaga over him so I'm choosing these two instead.

Do you think they're cute too?

Details from IMdB and Wikipedia.

The images in this post are not intended for copyright infringement.

Sonic Boom

I'll never get sick of music. In fact, I can calmly spend my entire time just listening to the songs I love. I can't live without music. I know that sounds so trite, but it's true. You can take away fashion and photography, but leave music alone to me. Living in a world without those tunes to match my mood just won't work out for me. I know someone there shares the same passion. Right, Ciovic?

Until now, I still couldn't get a hang of the 30 Day Song Challenge. It made me appreciate my first love even more. It helped me enliven every memory associated with each tune. And because I don't want to stop being a music fiend just by completing the challenge, I've decided to make posting songs a part of my blogging habit. Thus, my new blog feature called Sonic Boom.

The first song that I'll be sharing for Sonic Boom is part of the Official Motion Picture Soundtrack of the movie Princess Diaries. It's one of my favorite songs about having a positive outlook. About PD, I think it's the best Ann Hathaway film I've seen. Her innocent image is much better. I don't like her when she bares her body. It's not even that good. 'Nuff said. Here's Miracles Happen by Myra.

Miracles Happen - Myra

"You showed me faith is not blind

I don't need wings to help me fly

Miracles happen, once in a while

When you believe

(miracles happen)

You showed me dreams come to life

That taking a chance on us was right

All things will come with a little time

When You believe..."

I know it's a rare song choice from me, because I mostly listen to head bangin' and roof rockin' tunes. I just like the message of the song, and I love Princess Diaries. I hope you look forward to more of the songs that I'll be sharing. Tune in again next time only here on Sonic Boom. I'm signing off.

The video used in this post is not intended for copyright infringement.

How My Week Went

My head always aches these past few days. I hope this won't lead to something serious. God forbid. I'm pretty sure this is only caused by the extreme heat of the sun -- the result is, I'm having blogger's block again. The last time I blogged was four days ago, and I hate it. The scorching summer heat is totally taking its toll on me now! I can't think of interesting things. This is the time when I badly want the rain! Please pour hard this instant. Anyway, here's a list of what I did this week:

Tuesday: I went to Unlimited Network of Opportunities Business Center to interview the subjects of my thesis.

Wednesday: I went to UNO, and I had my hair cut at Joan de Castro Salon. I received a bunch of criticisms about my hair. The parlorista told me I have dry hair, and that I should get a treatment to make it shiny and thick. Thanks for that piece of advice, dear. Words of the Day (from the parlorista): Her Street (hair straight) and Her Cat (hair cut). That really made me laugh. I'm sorry!

Thursday: I went to UNO again for an interview. Got a lot of ideas about how to become successful from a Phoen1x core leader. I went straight home after that because it was raining, and my Mom's already looking for me. I was so wet when I reached home. Geez.

Friday: I was supposed to go to UNO again, but I got tired. One more thing, I don't have clothes to wear anymore because I still haven't done my laundry yet. I also haven't ironed the rest of my clothes for almost a month. I am such a lazy bone! I wish we have a maid.

I'm bored and broke. What a deadly combination, right? We will be having the most dreaded enrollment two weeks from now. We only have three weeks left to enjoy the summer. Gosh, 18 more units to go before I can finally bid farewell to my beloved school. That's it for now folks, I still have to cuddle my sweet little Caramel. I'll be posting again later.

10 Things From My Childhood

There is a garden in every childhood, an enchanted place where colors are brighter, the air softer, and the morning more fragrant than ever again. ~Elizabeth Lawrence

Old memories from my childhood never fail to make my day bright. They're one of those special things that I hang on to whenever I'm hiding in my solitary cave. Just reminiscing those beautiful moments of my past paints a smile on my face. It's really one of the best activities my abnormal mind can do. That is why for this entry, I will again share you a list of ten things I got to grips with a long time ago. Break a leg.. and arms.. and head! Hehe

DRAWING

I brought out my mind's deepest and wildest fantasies through my pieces of drawing. I believe I've already mentioned before that I used to draw mansions, dresses and princesses. My drawing pads are basically like blog; and my sketch works are like my scribbled thoughts. I have loved drawing even before I started to love writing.

CHILD FRIENDLY MOVIES

There were no CDs and DVDs before, only video tapes. We even used to have VHS with Rewinder. LOL! And then, my parents finally decided to buy VCD player for convenience. We used to rent movies every weekend at EMCOR. Two of my favorite childhood films are Homeward Bound and Babe: The Gallant Pig.

CHILDREN's CRUSADE

This was a yearly event we were required to take part during my elementary years at Royal Valley Academy which is a Seventh Day Adventist school. Every class had to present group singing presentations with skirts. Sadly, I was always one of the wall flowers. But still, I loved this event because I got the chance to dress up and wear make up.

GENERAL SANTOS CITY

I used to spend my summer vacations here in my Mom's hometown and my birthplace. I've had a lot of memories in this place with my grand mother. However, I have to admit that this place is one of the scariest places I've ever been. Not because of the bombs, but because of the ghosts. Whenever I'm here, I always encounter spooky things.

SCHOOL SUPPLIES

I was so obsessed with notebooks, bond papers, pencils and other school stuffs when I was still a nerdy grade schooler. I love their smell, especially the new ones. Actually, my favorite section in malls before are not those fashion boutiques but the school supplies section. Honestly, even until now I still am into those things.

STORY BOOKS

My sisters and I used to have a lot of nursery rhymes and story books. I can recall my mother reading them to us once in a while before bedtime. My favorite stories were Aesop, Hans Christan Andersen and The Grimm Brother's tales like The Ugly Duckling, The Little Red Riding Hood and The Three Little Pigs. If not because of our carelessness, maybe we still have all those; and maybe we can have a library full of children's stories.

SONG HITS

During those old school times, I still had to save 20 pesos just so I can buy this magazine filled with many songs. I loved to buy song hits because it has that element of surprise. No one could say what songs were in it, that's why I get really happy whenever my favorite songs have been included in the publication.

STATIONERIES

Almost every girl used to be so into these scented letter papers with envelopes that come in different designs. I used to spend almost all of my daily allowance on these. I bought them, but I don't even use them. I just collect them and then wait for another girl to ask me if we could barter. Those memories are still fresh to me even up to now.

HOT CAKES & ICED JUICE

Remember these two? These are my favorite snack time combo in elementary. Our canteen only had banana cue, nutri-bun, hot cakes, yema and iced juice back then. We still didn't have burgers and pizza rolls. Mom didn't want me to drink too much cola so I opted to have iced juice instead, and besides it was yummier and more affordable.

BARBIE DOLLS & PAPER DOLLS

We used to have a good number of Barbie Doll and Friends toys all the way from England, and their clothes were one suit case full. We had two KENs, two BARBIEs, one CINDY, one KELLY and four other Barbie's girl friends. Sad to say, they're all broken now. We weren't really good at handling toys before. As Aqua said, if only I could turn back time.

How about you dear friends, what ten things do you have in your childhood? Care to share your thoughts about them?

The image used in this post is not intended for copyright infringement.

Tribute to my Blogger Friends

In times when I couldn't buy load for our broadband Internet, I tie my hair up and think of something that I can do to get rid of boredom. As what the Baudelaire siblings said in the movie Series of Unfortunate Events, "There's always something!" There is no time giving way to tedious dullness, so I do what I always love to do which is writing. I write possible blog topics in advance so that I just have to copy and paste them when SmartBro is already loaded. That is how I maximize my time so I wouldn't get bored.

Last week when I was broke and Blogspot was down, another lovely bug bit me. The art bug pierced me once again. I was thankful for it because it helped me fight off sluggishness. I made some artworks through the Paint and Photoscape applications, and I'll be sharing them to my dear blogger friends. I know it's not very sophisticated for a giveaway; but I hope that through it, they'll feel how much I appreciate them. To my blogmates, thank you for your support. You inspire me to write more interesting stuffs.

You, my blogger friends, deserve to have these souvenirs only from Mystic Nymph.

To my classmates who are also into blogging like me, these are for you:

Sergei - I've already said this before, but I just want to reiterate that I look up to you on fierce writing. Did you just move your blog?

Jesse - You never fail to amuse me with your cynical thoughts. I miss talking and hanging out with you dude!

Lavinia - I've learned a lot of cool sites because of you. I'm glad that aside from being SISTS, we're also blogmates.

To those girls I consider as big sisters in the blogosphere, I give these to you:

Ms. Dee - I can't wait to have my version of those delicious dishes you share. Your food blog series is very helpful for beginners like me.

Ms. Tessa - I am so happy that you've already attended many events with Davao Bloggers. I've read in your personal blog that you really want it.

Ms. Zahara - You are my first blogger friend. I'm a big fan of you because it seems like you don't run out of engaging topics to share.

Blog-hopping wouldn't be this fun if not because of those people I've mentioned. Here's to our passion for writing, blogger friends! More power to our niches. I hope you like what I personally made only for you.

day 30 – your favorite song at this time last year

I didn't have that much of significant happenings in my life this time last year, as usual. It was also summer time a year ago, and I just stayed at home. I didn't have some memorable activities or whatsoever, well, except for my first time to vote for a national automated election. I felt really proud that I exercised my right. I felt like I made a big difference, although I’m not sure if I actually did. So far, I still don’t regret voting for those people I think are worthy to rule and lead the people.

Maybe you’re thinking that my favorite song last year was ABS-CBN’s Boto Mo, Ipatrol Mo theme song called Ako ang Simula in relation to what I just shared. No, it’s not. But I have to admit that also liked it at some point. The song promotes social awareness, and it was played on TV almost all the time for recall. The result – I had LSS, but as I said, it wasn’t the song that got me hooked last summer. Instead, it was Franco’s Song for the Suspect. It’s one of the best Pinoy rock songs I’ve ever heard.

I bet you already know that Franco is a band composed of different musicians from other Philippine rock bands such as Urbandub, Parokya ni Edgar, Queso and Inyo. They’ve joint their forces to give one love jah love to every rock music lover in town. They just performed live at Jickong’s here in Davao last year. Too bad, I wasn’t able to watch them. So now, let’s lend our ears for Franco Reyes (Inyo) on vocals and guitars, Gabby Alipe (Urbandub) and Paolo 8 Toleran (Queso) on guitars, Buwi Meneses (Parokya ni Edgar) on bass and JanJan Mendoza (Urbandub) on drums.

Song for the Suspect – Franco

"One love, jah love

Come and feel the vibe

He's given us the herb

Rising from under the earth

With soul we can unite

So give me and pass me the light

Throw away all your hate come, come with me

Well I see jah coming

So come gather round my children

Well I and I me try

To never let the fire die

So don't break the cipher

Be part of the unbreaking circle my friend

Throw away all your hate come jah with me..."

At long last! I’m finally done with my first blog challenge. I wasn’t able to write them consecutively because of some inevitable circumstances, but still, I managed to finish it somehow. That’s what matters most, right? I give you my heartfelt gratitude for sharing your thoughts on those tracks that I posted. Songs evoke certain memory. Thank you for coming along with me in my musical ride as I relive my memorable moments, and as I learn more about my real choice of tunes. So long, 30 Days of Music! I’ll be off to my next challenge soon.

The video in this post is not intended for copyright in fringement.

Congratulations UP Mindanao!

UP Mindanao has just got the 9th place in Top Study Links' Top Colleges & Universities in the Philippines 2011. I'm just so proud! Here's the Top Ten. First column is the World Rank; Second is the Name of School; and the third one is the Country Rank.

976University of the Philippines Diliman * 1

1686De la Salle University Manila 2

2282University of the Philippines Los Baños 3

2339Ateneo de Manila University 4

3552Xavier University Ateneo de Cagayan 5

3801University of Santo Tomas 6

4056University of the Philippines 7

4107University of the Philippines Manila 8

4112University of the Philippines Mindanao 9

4726Mindanao State University Iligan Institute of Tech
10

Twenty years back, the vision of having UP in Mindanao metamorphosed during the 3rd regular session of the House of representatives on April 30, 1990. That was two months before I was born. LOL! it was 1st District RepresentativePprospero C. Nograles who paved the way for the House Bill No. 30358 known as an "Act to establish the University of the Philippines in Mindanao." Mr. Nograles seemed to foresee Mindanao's success if UP's by its side.

This intense conviction for the endowment of another UP constituent in Mindanao was finally enacted into law on February 20, 1995 through the Bill, Republic Act 7889. On the same year, the Board of Regents submitted an official declaration of the creation of the University of the Philippines Mindanao. Information gotten from this site.

Time has passed so fast and UP Mindanao has retained its undisputed prestige for just more than a decade of existence. It has proven its excellence and dignity in just a short span of period. I believe that it will carry on until the day our country stops needing it, which is totally impossible.

I am one of the proud and honored residents, or Iskolar ng Bayan as they say, who once dreamed of being here, and now I am one of those who made the wisest decisions. Being a UP student is indeed one of the greatest way to make our lives in the future take a notch higher. Fellow UP Min students, let's celebrate our victory together and hope for more fruitful years coming ahead. God speed!

day 29 – a song from your childhood

Yey, Blogspot's back to normal! Okay, back to the challenge..

My childhood music life revolved around MTV Channel 29. I used to dislike listening to the radio during those times. As a child, I only wanted to watch TV because anything other than that was boring. My favorite MTV shows were Punk’d, Cribs, Pimp My Ride, One Bad Trip and that violent clay shows. I also love watching those countdowns, requests and of course, the MTV Music Awards. My favorite VJ was Donita Rose because she’s funny and witty. I already forgot about the other VJs. Ah yes, VJ KC and Joey Mead. I didn’t like them that much.

Because of MTV, I got to be very familiar with my childhood favorite artists such as Spice Girls, Backstreet Boys, All Saints, S Club Seven, Incubus, All American Rejects, and many more. I wept real hard when MTV got booted out of Philippine free TV in the year 2002. I mourned over its loss that I didn’t want to watch TV after it. After it, there came MYX, but it failed to get my attention because they didn’t play the songs I’ve grown to love. I always thought that MTV was still the best music station in the land. Nothing else comes close to it.

I’ve chosen Crush by Jennifer Page as a song from my childhood. I didn’t like this song before, because the music video wasn’t interesting. I also thought the melody was dull, but when I listened to it again just recently, I changed my mind. We also had a sort of unwritten rule at home that we shouldn’t have a crush at a very young age, so even that word sent chills down my spine. I hope you enjoy my musical blast from the past, folks!

Crush – Jennifer Page

"See you blowin’ me a kiss

It doesn’t take a scientist

To understand whats goin’ on, baby

If you see something in my eye

Let’s not over analyze,

Don’t go too deep with it, baby

So let it be what it’ll be

Don’t make a fuss and go crazy over you and me

Here’s what I’ll do, I’ll play the woos

Not like we have a date with destiny

It’s just a little crush

Not like I faint, every time we touch..."

The video and the photo in this post are not intended for copyright infringement.

EDIT: I just remembered something. VJ Utt was my ultimate crush among the MTV Asia VJs back then. He was so cute.