The Longest Entry Yet
The Happiest People
There sure a lot of weird surveys being conducted today. But out of the weird lot, something nice do come out once in a while. I read in the paper today that in a recent survey called World Values Survey conducted by social scientists all over the world, Filipinos were ranked as the happiest people in Asia, and 6th happiest in the world. Nigeria, Mexico and Venezuela were the top three. =P (The song HAPPY plays over and over in my head)
See, a country doesn't have to be rich to be happy. And it's sort of comforting to know that culturally, we're a happy lot. Lalo na ngayon na sobrang kabanas ang buhay. Grabe na. Everyday, if you just let it bother you, there are a million things to complain about. Hehe, and we Filipinos do complain loud enough. So it's something good to be affirmed that even if we do grumble a lot, we still are basically cheerful. Kahit magtaas na ng magtaas ang gasolina, kahit may VAT, kahit may mga taong tulad ni Erap sa mundo, kahit na kulang pa rin ang sweldo kahit anong promote sayo AT kahit tatlo-tatlo na trabaho mo --- masaya pa rin. Somewhere in the core of of our souls, it takes a lot to shift the balance which makes Pinoys happy. Makes me remember my ultimate favorite line in Desiderata: "With its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it still is a beautiful world."
BOOKS! BOOKS! BOOKS!
Wargh! Have a lot of books (NOT COMPLAINING) and I don't know which one to start with! 13th month weekend namin sa office and after so many weeks of playing out the Ilocano in my genes (playing the kuripot, in short) I get to splurge again. Last Friday, I dropped by National Bookstore in Crossings Q. Ave. and I scoured the Previously Owned Books Section (P.O.B.). Found a lot of hardbound books, pero parang ang sakit bilhin for 250 bucks kasi hindi ko naman masyadong hinahangad. (++,) Then wonders of wonders, I found Diana Wynne Jone's Dalemark Quartet for 75 bucks apiece lang! And I already have the first book so I only had to buy three. Value for money talaga! Aferwards, I hit Tower Records and bought Nina's Live CD (finally had to own a copy of that song that's stuck in my head) and Tori Amos' The Beekeper (as influenced by Peloy). I love the Nina CD because a lot of my fave songs are in there. And she even sang Burn as a duet with my aherm, I mean, with Christian Bautista. The Tori Amos CD is fabulous as well. I finally hit on that piece of music that's ethereal and earthy at the same time (sige nga, top that!). Ang galing. My personal favorites are: Power of Orange Knickers (woohee! have to get orange knickers, methinks), Sleeps with Butterflies (for the boy with the nice smile whom I got to see today since he serves in the nearby parish we go to), and Ribbons Undone.
Other books in my to-read list includes:
1. The Snow Garden by Christopher Rice
2. The Castle of Llyr by Lloyd Alexander
3. Dreams Underfoot by Charles de Lint
4. A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemmingway
5. The Big Bounce by Elmore Leonard
And I still haven't read Mariel's Magic Circle Quartet, and I'm still dying to read Ursula Le Guin's Roccanon's World.
Aother change I'm feeling particularly liberated about is that I have finally moved out of that phase where I buy books with the mind set that the Book Club will like it. When I do that kasi, I end up buying books I don't even want to read (like hard sci-fi books). I would always be grateful to Norman for breaking down my wall of resistance regarding reading fantasy books ( I was once of those people who thought it juvenile), but unfortunately, I do not share his passion for sci-fi (at least those that are too far into the future and too cluttered with robots and non-humans). And Edward very plainly spoke that he finds my books ma-drama. =D Hehe. I like emotions -- I read with my emotions as well as my senses, and I really don't think I'd like to say sorry for that. I do not want to limit myself in just a couple of genres. Don't worry naman, bookclubbers, I won't be reverting to Danielle Steel or Judith McNaught anytime soon. That's so ten years ago.
And the Book Club is still one of the best things that has ever happened in my geeky life. +D GEEKS AND PROUD OF IT!!!!!!!
THE NOVEL UNWRIT
Huuwwwayy??? Huwwayy can't I get down to writing my novel??? The story is already complete in my head. Even had a few details about my characters right already. I am so psyched about it, it's probably the best story ever to come to me. But to write it down! Ack! I would need super concentration for that one. It's nice to say that my excuse is that I'm busy at work... which I am. But I still make sure I delineate the line between the office and the other parts of my life and I believe I'm successful at that. A writer writes... that's the thing though. Wherever she is and whatever the occassion, she will find a way, she must find a way to write. In grade school and high school, I wrote instead of studying. And I hate to think that that's about my most prolific year... I have to find a way to be able to practice the art. Must Write. And Must decide which one to write first. SInce I have been suffering from writer's block since the end of my college days, I have a retinue of story lines waiting to come alive. It's really not a matter of what to write, but how and when to write.
POR DIYOS, OLIVIA, ESCRIBIR IMMEDIATAMENTE!
Letting Go
Yes, peeps... this is the event of the century... After years of holding on to false hope... After years of waiting for something that was never coming...After a couple of failed "starting-overs" and "moving ons"...
Liv's Letting Go! Yey! =P
It really doesn't matter now whether there was something there or I have just imagined it. Years of trying to figure it out and I finally have the answer: it's not supposed to make sense ever! Ha! Probably had to go through the whole thing to just learn a few basic things about love. But something bigger, brighter and better must be waiting out there. The difference about my letting go this time is this: God told me to. Yep, in mass today. It was the homily of the priest. You can't force love. It must be something freely given. You can't make it stay if it wants to be gone. And you can't stop it when it has finally come. The day will come.
And with this, I bid everyone, good night!
There sure a lot of weird surveys being conducted today. But out of the weird lot, something nice do come out once in a while. I read in the paper today that in a recent survey called World Values Survey conducted by social scientists all over the world, Filipinos were ranked as the happiest people in Asia, and 6th happiest in the world. Nigeria, Mexico and Venezuela were the top three. =P (The song HAPPY plays over and over in my head)
See, a country doesn't have to be rich to be happy. And it's sort of comforting to know that culturally, we're a happy lot. Lalo na ngayon na sobrang kabanas ang buhay. Grabe na. Everyday, if you just let it bother you, there are a million things to complain about. Hehe, and we Filipinos do complain loud enough. So it's something good to be affirmed that even if we do grumble a lot, we still are basically cheerful. Kahit magtaas na ng magtaas ang gasolina, kahit may VAT, kahit may mga taong tulad ni Erap sa mundo, kahit na kulang pa rin ang sweldo kahit anong promote sayo AT kahit tatlo-tatlo na trabaho mo --- masaya pa rin. Somewhere in the core of of our souls, it takes a lot to shift the balance which makes Pinoys happy. Makes me remember my ultimate favorite line in Desiderata: "With its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it still is a beautiful world."
BOOKS! BOOKS! BOOKS!
Wargh! Have a lot of books (NOT COMPLAINING) and I don't know which one to start with! 13th month weekend namin sa office and after so many weeks of playing out the Ilocano in my genes (playing the kuripot, in short) I get to splurge again. Last Friday, I dropped by National Bookstore in Crossings Q. Ave. and I scoured the Previously Owned Books Section (P.O.B.). Found a lot of hardbound books, pero parang ang sakit bilhin for 250 bucks kasi hindi ko naman masyadong hinahangad. (++,) Then wonders of wonders, I found Diana Wynne Jone's Dalemark Quartet for 75 bucks apiece lang! And I already have the first book so I only had to buy three. Value for money talaga! Aferwards, I hit Tower Records and bought Nina's Live CD (finally had to own a copy of that song that's stuck in my head) and Tori Amos' The Beekeper (as influenced by Peloy). I love the Nina CD because a lot of my fave songs are in there. And she even sang Burn as a duet with my aherm, I mean, with Christian Bautista. The Tori Amos CD is fabulous as well. I finally hit on that piece of music that's ethereal and earthy at the same time (sige nga, top that!). Ang galing. My personal favorites are: Power of Orange Knickers (woohee! have to get orange knickers, methinks), Sleeps with Butterflies (for the boy with the nice smile whom I got to see today since he serves in the nearby parish we go to), and Ribbons Undone.
Other books in my to-read list includes:
1. The Snow Garden by Christopher Rice
2. The Castle of Llyr by Lloyd Alexander
3. Dreams Underfoot by Charles de Lint
4. A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemmingway
5. The Big Bounce by Elmore Leonard
And I still haven't read Mariel's Magic Circle Quartet, and I'm still dying to read Ursula Le Guin's Roccanon's World.
Aother change I'm feeling particularly liberated about is that I have finally moved out of that phase where I buy books with the mind set that the Book Club will like it. When I do that kasi, I end up buying books I don't even want to read (like hard sci-fi books). I would always be grateful to Norman for breaking down my wall of resistance regarding reading fantasy books ( I was once of those people who thought it juvenile), but unfortunately, I do not share his passion for sci-fi (at least those that are too far into the future and too cluttered with robots and non-humans). And Edward very plainly spoke that he finds my books ma-drama. =D Hehe. I like emotions -- I read with my emotions as well as my senses, and I really don't think I'd like to say sorry for that. I do not want to limit myself in just a couple of genres. Don't worry naman, bookclubbers, I won't be reverting to Danielle Steel or Judith McNaught anytime soon. That's so ten years ago.
And the Book Club is still one of the best things that has ever happened in my geeky life. +D GEEKS AND PROUD OF IT!!!!!!!
THE NOVEL UNWRIT
Huuwwwayy??? Huwwayy can't I get down to writing my novel??? The story is already complete in my head. Even had a few details about my characters right already. I am so psyched about it, it's probably the best story ever to come to me. But to write it down! Ack! I would need super concentration for that one. It's nice to say that my excuse is that I'm busy at work... which I am. But I still make sure I delineate the line between the office and the other parts of my life and I believe I'm successful at that. A writer writes... that's the thing though. Wherever she is and whatever the occassion, she will find a way, she must find a way to write. In grade school and high school, I wrote instead of studying. And I hate to think that that's about my most prolific year... I have to find a way to be able to practice the art. Must Write. And Must decide which one to write first. SInce I have been suffering from writer's block since the end of my college days, I have a retinue of story lines waiting to come alive. It's really not a matter of what to write, but how and when to write.
POR DIYOS, OLIVIA, ESCRIBIR IMMEDIATAMENTE!
Letting Go
Yes, peeps... this is the event of the century... After years of holding on to false hope... After years of waiting for something that was never coming...After a couple of failed "starting-overs" and "moving ons"...
Liv's Letting Go! Yey! =P
It really doesn't matter now whether there was something there or I have just imagined it. Years of trying to figure it out and I finally have the answer: it's not supposed to make sense ever! Ha! Probably had to go through the whole thing to just learn a few basic things about love. But something bigger, brighter and better must be waiting out there. The difference about my letting go this time is this: God told me to. Yep, in mass today. It was the homily of the priest. You can't force love. It must be something freely given. You can't make it stay if it wants to be gone. And you can't stop it when it has finally come. The day will come.
And with this, I bid everyone, good night!
Comments
Post a Comment