Rosey the bookworm

 

I’m a happy camper. It’s been a while since I bought books for myself and for this week alone I got two. Yayyy me! First off was the “elusive” Paper Cuts by Pam Pastor, whose blog entries are just made of awesome. I said elusive because it took me weeks before I can find a copy of it in National Bookstore. But the whole wait was worth it. Her experiences will have you wishing what it’s like to live her life. My favorite accounts were those about Inday. Oh what a riot it must be to have a househelp like her! I finished the book in one sitting, but I still read it from time to time. Somehow it actually motivates me to keep on blogging. 

 

The second book I got is a chick-lit from Summit Books. Popped is basically a chronicle of what it’s like to be a K-Pop fangirl. And by fangirl I mean the extremes, such as (1) acquire any possible merchandise pertaining to the fandom you’re currently obsessing about; (2) travel to where your idols will be holding a concert, never mind the grand you’ll be forking just to breathe the same air as they do; and (3) obsessively go through every clip about them on YouTube or articles posted about them on the internet. 

My friends, there’s a reason why this blog is called iamnofangirl. I can never do any of those things. I do not have the luxury of giving up my job and following the call of my fandom. I can never plan for a trip impulsively because I have a lot of other factors to consider. If only life were as simple like Andie’s (the book’s main character), huh?

*photos swiped from Anvil Publishing and FunnySexyPH

One Saturday at Red Box

...the WFM people decided to get-together and unwind. It was, after all, the weekend. We opted for some videoke instead of the usual lunch + photo-ops routine. But the photo-ops still happened. I was raring to try Yogi on someone other than Gwen or my immediate family.

I couldn't be more thankful. It was the perfect opportunity to blow-off steam. Shift bid had me in a bad mood when I left the office and I felt like snapping at anyone who dared to cross me that instant. But the bad mood vanished into thin air as soon as we started singing our hearts out.

Yes, Bubbles... sing your heart out.

I would've loved to stay longer. It was fun hanging out with my officemates for once. Sadly, that monthly thing ruined the rest of my Saturday and forced me to retire to bed early.

Oh well, there's always the next time, guys! I'll still be your photographer if you'll let me.

K-Dramas are interesting once again...

It's going to be an all-star cast...

My favorite F4 guy is back with a new drama! I was pretty bummed when his storyline was shafted in BOF in favor of over-emphasizing Ji-hoo's backstory. But Kim Joon is back with a vengeance. The upcoming police drama Homicide casts him in the role of Shin Dong-jin, a rich kid/IT whiz who joins the force in order defy his domineering father. I hope he earns raves for this although it's only a supporting role. My sister is over the moon. Imagine Song Il-gook (Jumong), Song Ji-hyo (Princess Hours) and Kim Joon in one series? How lucky can you get?

It's like Anastasia/My Fair Lady combined...

Speaking of K-dramas, I'm particularly interested with MBC's My Princess. It pairs Song Seung-hun and Kim Tae-hee in a story about a young woman finding love and discovering her heritage as it is revealed she is a descendant of Korea's previous monarch. The two leads have never done rom-com before and they're surprisingly a revelation in their first project together. SSH, for one, is adorable when he acts all goofy or pissed-off at KTH's character. I'm definitely getting this on DVD once it ends.

In the meantime, where's that DVD of My Girlfriend is a Gumiho that we ordered? Hehe!

My plans for Sinulog...

… did not push through, unfortunately.

Fate must've willed it that I spend the entire day at home and be spared from the torrential downpour. Part of me was disappointed because this was probably the only time I was excited to be "out there". But my sister was not feeling well and I hate to be out while someone is sick at home. So yeah, maybe next year.

But who said I had to spend my entire restdays at home?

Mom put us up to task of buying my brother's surprise birthday gift. No thanks to my dad, the surprise was ruined even before we could hand the gift to the rightful owner.

He finally has his own phone that isn't a hand-me-down. My brother is no poster-boy when it comes to saving up so we had to bug him for years to buy a gadget from his own money. He refused to budge. And NO, he's not the most "kawawa" (kawawa = least fortunate?) among us three. He's just a little lost when it comes to his priorities.  Sometimes I wonder how he'd feel if there was no one left to pick up where he slacked off?

Ever watched Family Guy? The Griffins are the closest fictional equivalent I have of my own family.

All set for Sinulog 2011!

Free times lately are spent trying to master the functions of the camera at home. It's fun! I'm learning how to take macro shots and it's very addicting. Perhaps I should ask for a tripod next Christmas, huh? I already made my sister promise that we'd go out this Sinulog so that we can take photos. I think it's high time I find a new hobby other than surfing the internet. 

And speaking of Sinulog, the entire city is already abuzz with celebrations leading to the Grand Mardi Gras this Sunday. Expect the streets to be crowded. Traffic will definitely be insane. I'm not sure if we'll check out the street dance but we're definitely headed to the mall just to take pictures of the revelry. Yogi must be put to good use. Hehe!

Hello, Yogi…

At last, you are all ours.

My beloved sister wouldn’t settle for a point and shoot camera. So what’s a poor “ate” left to do? Go for an entry level DSLR that’s right within our budget. After an initial pushback last December, we finally got our wish yesterday. YEEESSSS! Finally a decent shutter in the house. For years we had to settle for the good, old camera phones to document important milestones both at work and at home.

Yogi is an EOS 1000D. We’re having so much fun tinkering with it until now. Quite a long way to go before I reach the level of those photography enthusiasts. But I’m learning. My sister is such a quick study. She really has an eye for taking great pictures. Her favorite subject? Our dog, Gwen.

Thank you, Mom, for partly financing our new toy. You are so getting a photo shoot when you visit over the summer.

My sister's favorite subject ^____^

My lame-ass attempt at a new profile pic

On the day we bought Yogi (that's my sister's hand)

Bread, Love and Dreams

Try sitting through an episode of this series and it will make you run towards the nearest bakeshop after. I kid you not. Bread Talk became Disneyland in my eyes.

Part of Baker Kim Takgu's (a.k.a. Bread, Love and Dreams/The Baker King) appeal was the ability of its writer to integrate the baking industry into a melodrama. And she didn't just integrate, she sustained its importance to the plot until the very end. The plot is formulaic but the charisma of those who played the characters made it one of the top-rated k-dramas for 2010. It's not too dragging (30 episodes only) and the lead guys are such eye candies. Yes, I'm shallow. But don't we all initially gauge our interest on a drama depending on how attractive its leads are?

For those who follow its run on GMA-7, or if you had just started it on DVD, one of the most interesting characters to watch out for is Gu Majun (Matthew, to local viewers). Effortlessly played by newcomer Joo Won, his flawed nature makes him the perfect anti-hero to Takgu. A poor tortured soul eager to break free from psycho mommy's clutches. His brooding nature makes one take caution at his motives. But why is it so hard to hate him? Why do you secretly root for a brotherly relationship between him and Takgu?

Watch the series to find out!

Happy New Year, everyone!

I was supposed to make a year-end post last night but since we were all too busy with food preparation, the plan slipped through my mind. Not enough pictures. I promise this year will be better once we have Yogi. It was a hoot seeing our dog scared shitless of the fireworks though. She kept following us around all over the house. I didn’t know whether I should be amused or pity her in that state. Were your pets scared of the fireworks/firecrackers too?

Speaking of holiday festivities, it is probably the only time of the year (except maybe for Holy Week) that people are in-town and reunions can be scheduled with ease. I met up with some of my block mates from college a few days ago and we had fun reminiscing over dinner at Mesa. Gen, who’s currently based in Dubai, initiated the meet-up.

Wanna know a secret? I have this really bad experience on meet-ups with this batchmates of mine. A few years ago, I was at the mall with my sister when I spotted a couple of them having lunch at this certain restaurant. It turns out they were having a get-together and I wasn’t invited because they didn’t know my number. I mean, seriously? I have Facebook (where they are even my friends) and I have Twitter. Not having my mobile number should never have been an excuse. I don’t force myself on people but when your block was composed of only 20 – 25 people during college, from freshman to senior year, surely you’d expect at least a sense of courtesy for an invite to be sent your way. But that’s all water under the bridge now. I’ve moved on.

I have high hopes for the new year. I have yet to come up with resolutions but I hope to be as productive as I was last year. Just not as sickly, please. I hate being sidelined due to health issues. It destroys my focus.