Kitty Found… then Lost :(

It's official, the first stray kitty that I took home is also the first kitty that left me.

I'm so sad. She was the sweetest of them all. Very young, probably about a month or two. She purrs when I touch her. Calm and well behaved during the hot day but she also gets really playful and active at night.

I first met her outside a restaurant my sisters and cousin were eating at after spending an afternoon walking their beagles. It was just last Sunday. She bravely came near the beagles and was probably telling them to leave cos that particular restaurant was her turf. And just like that I fell in love. Her fur was pure white, a little dirty of course, but nothing a sponge bath couldn't take care of. I started feeding her some morsels and she gladly ate them. She would go under the other tables but when I call her she comes right back. How could I resist taking her home?

(Read more and her picture after the jump)

I Read!

I started reading at a very young age, the first "books" I've ever read is probably the free fairytale pamphlets you get when you buy a can of milk (yung sa Nestle Nido noon, manipis lang siya). Once I learned my ABC's, after dinner, my Dad would tell me to read it to him and he would simply correct me if I get some words wrong. Most of the time, I did'nt have a clue what they were about, English kasi, eh grade one palang yata ako noon.

I believe what really got me into reading is the Archie's Comic Digests. I'd read them during summer vacations from grade school, usually before I go to bed. That's what probably triggered my habit of reading books before bedtime.

Then came the heavier children's books my sisters bought me, the first one was "The Lion King", then came "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", tapos "A Bug's Life" (puro Disney ah?), hanggang sa a few years later, eh mapunta na sa young-adult na Hardy Boys, meron akong Omnibus ng first 3 books nun. Kasabay ng hardy Boys na-introduce sakin ang Harry Potter, mga year 2000-2001 ng mabasa ko yung book 1, hanggang sa natapos ko ang book seven a month ago within 3 days. Oh ha! :D

Sumunod-sunod ko na ring nabasa ang ilang classics such "The Secret Garden", "Dracula", "The Hound of the Baskervilles", at ang "Around the World in 80 Days" and "2000 Leagues Under the Sea" na hindi ko natapos. Haha.

And that's when I really got hooked. I don't know. There's something very different about reading books which feel sort of "more personal" than watching a movie or tv show. Parang, dama mo rin lahat ng hirap nung author sa pagsulat niya nung kuwento. Immersed ka sa lahat ng mga pangyayari sa istorya. I like the feeling of being in a different place and time everytime I read a new book. Or even an old one, there's nothing wrong with revisiting the places you've been in naman diba?

Plus, I began the habit of reading in public transportations na rin. Si Nitta Sayuri ng "Memoirs of a Geisha" ang kasama ko nung nag-aapply ako ng passport. Dalawang "tuesdays people" ng "Tuesdays With Morrie" ang kakuwentuhan ko tuwing bumabyahe ako papunta sa part-time job ko last-year. Nakilala ko rin sina Lestat at Louis, si James Patterson, si Elie Wiesel, sina Charlie at Algernon,  at marami pang interesting personalities in my readings.

Right now, I'm reading "Stiff", a book about the interesting "life" that human cadavers go through, kakatapos ko rin lang ng "The Perks of Being a Wallflower, at "Night" na first part ng "Night Trilogy" ni Elie Wiesel.

I wish I could share to you some of my insights about these books, but the drive to do so is not enough for me to actually do it right now. I guess I'll be keeping them to myself for a while, only until sipagin akong mag-sulat at mag-bigay ng opinion. Hehe.

For now, I hope you can go through some of the books I mentioned and read one or some of them and then, perhaps, you might like to share your own views and opinions based on what you've read.

Enjoy Reading :D

(originally from "My Library" page which has been deleted)

Summer Project

I've been doodling these weird/cool/sharp/organic-looking shapes for a few years now. It started back when I was bored waiting for calls to come in when I was working at a call center. I just took a piece of paper and armed with a nice gel-inked pen I started doodling. Just whatever shapes my had could come up with.

I once turned them into bookmarks and gave them as Christmas gifts.

This summer comes what is probably the biggest challenge I could take with my doodling. I decided to cover a small table with it. Here's some pictures. I will do my best to finish this within a week from now... Wish me luck!

[slideshow]

Bisita Iglesia 2010

Who likes churches?

I do! Especially the really old ones or those that look pretty old. I just love looking at them. Here's a fresh batch of Church photos from Easter Sunday's Bisita Iglesia. Went to Intramuros to see Manila Cathedral and San Agustin Church. Was supposed to visit a bunch of other churches but got too tired and sleepy. Oh well, will take a shot of those next time :D

[caption id="attachment_313" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Manila Cathedral"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_315" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="San Agustin Church Facade"][/caption]

And here's a pretty famous and historically significant church in the Philippines that I went to last week. It's the Barasoain Church in Malolos, Bulacan. Got there through a side trip from swimming in a nearby resort.

[caption id="attachment_318" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="In front of Barasoain Church"][/caption]

This church is known as the Cradle of Democracy in the East. Find out why and learn more about this church on Wikipedia.

There's also more churches on this old blog post of mine. It has lower quality though coz I was just using a camera phone.

Pyramid by Charice and Iyaz

Not a big RnB fan but I really like this one. It's pretty catchy and light.  Charice and Iyaz' different vocal styles beautifully complement each other. The lyrics are simple enough yet sounds so deep and powerful.

Plus it's Charice!!! It's Pinoy Pride, come on! Read somewhere she's gonna be releasing her international debut album on Oprah. WOW.

Xtina’s Not Myself Tonight

Ha! I have no idea what came over me 2 days ago when I first heard this song and said I didn't like it. Maybe my ears just needed some Q-tips coz now - giving it another go on YouTube - makes me take back what I said the moment I heard the first few beats again.

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!!!

I guess that's whats great about Christina. She goes out and explores various types of music and collaborates with different artists and when she's ready to show what she's done after years of production, she delivers something not everyone expects. She has never underestimated her fan's taste by giving them the same old shit record after record.

I mean we saw her go wild and all emo with Stripped, then goes vintage and soul with Back To Basics and now, she gives us music from the future with Bionic. And with the hype she has created online just by the first single alone is proof that her loyal fans are here to stay for her whilst satisfying new listeners to her music.

Not Myself Tonight sounds like something from a club floating on Earth's orbit (if ever something like that would ever exist).

The Fourth Kind

The best way to watch this movie is on the computer with a good screen and with earphones on. That is if you weren't able to catch it on the big screen like me. Thanks to uTorrent, I was finally able to watch The Fourth Kind just now.

Well, I'm a sucker for scary movies. The scarier the better and this movie didn't disappoint. And me blogging about it just minutes after I saw it shows just how I loved it. No other alien flick has made me this scared ever!

I feel like I consciously decided not to watch it in theaters because I thought I just might be disappointed with it.

It seemed like the movie was just capitalizing on the recent success of films that try to pass off as real (read: Paranormal Activity, Blair Witch Project). While watching it though, I realized the movie wouldn't have worked any other way. The format in which it is presented is where the strength of this film lies. This is actually the best decision the filmmakers came up with for the film which enabled them to deliver the biggest scares possible. I can't imagine this movie being as scary had it not also tried to pass itself off as real.

And they even took this format/sub-genre so far as having the lead actress and director telling you right on the film that "this-story-really-happened-and-we're-gonna-show-you-the-actual-recorded-footage-right beside-the-dramatized-scenes-side-by-side-from-time-to-time". Talk about crossing the "4th Wall" as if it never even existed.

Milla Jovovich was just amazing and is another reason this movie is worth watching. Never seen her this good. I now place her alongside Jennifer Carpenter (Exorcism of Emily Rose, Quarantine) when it comes to portraying fear and hopelessness. They both know how to do it just right without going OA (over acting).

Anyways, ran out of words. Here's a trailer just so I can have an excuse to post a video here :D If you're trying to decide whether to watch this film or not, take my word and watch it. If you don't like it, then go back here and just comment that I'm talking BS. After all...

What you believe is yours to decide.