Neil Gaiman's SMOKE and MIRRORS<<<

I've been reading Smoke and Mirrors for weeks now. I bought my copy from National Bookstore, SM last February and just opened it this summer...
I really love Neil Gaiman and I'm trying to collect his books..
Coraline was the first book that I read from him - this was years ago. I borrowed the copy from a schoolmate.

As i was reading this one now, I got a mix of emotions from one story to the next. Maybe you were wondering why it took me so long to finish this. It's because I am not reading it continuously. If i have a break or just finished a book, I open this book and read one short story...
One piece at a time...
And I'm loving Neil Gaiman more and more...
(Plus points for the good looks despite his age... he's still cute...yeah... dangerously cute)

first time to Our Lady of Lourdes Parish...

Since I'd been to many churches here in Baguio, it was my long-time aim to visit/ attend a mass to all the Catholic churches here.
Some of the churches that i already visited are non-Catholic because of invitations from friends and schoolmates...(Iglesia ni Cristo, Philippine Baptist Theological Seminary, University Baptist Church, Victory/ Every Nation Campus Ministry ) and i like the idea of attending these churches since i also want to know how other religions conduct their masses...

Yesterday, for the first time, I attended the mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, in Kisad Road, Baguio City...
Good thing, i still found a vacant seat...then i took my place.
During the mass, I saw my blocmate Jose at the far side. He gave his seat to a lady in purple carrying a child, and stood at the back... how courteous.

I wasn't able to listen perfectly since half of the attendance were children who stood three and a half feet and below - many were running, ascending the stairs, giggling over the bridge, and as expected, some were trowing tantrums. OH dear...

But was a nice church...
Lots of people attended. I even saw some familiar faces.
I'm sure I'll bring my family here once we all got the opportunity to stay...

started reading Life Expectancy the other day///

as my nerves were totally filled with boredom and lifelessness... the drive to pick a book made me feel more productive deep within...
i started reading Life Expectancy as i arrived home from the library last rainy Saturday (i returned Illusions by Richard Bach and used the Internet)...
i really love Dean Koontz...

i started browsing the novel and now I'm halfway through it...

i can't have a continuous time in reading the book since i also have other stuffs to accomplish...
but so far, the story caught a variety of emotions in me - fear (my heart beat faster on the initial part, indeed), humor, gladness, confusion - and i expect more thrill on the other half of the story...
he has such a gifted hand and mind...
oh i wish i can share this talent!

buhay DORM...food chaos!

!!!oh noh..!!!
as i woke up around 7am kanina...
nagmadali ako na maglagay ng heater sa tubig na paligo ko sa 1st floor (by the way, i'm residing at roon 207, 2nd floor, UPBaguio Residence Hall ) kasi ang daming nakapila sa 2nd floor (as usual) hoping to have a warm bath kasi lagi na lang malamig yung paligo ko...eh pag umaga, ang lamig-lamig sa dorm...

after nun...i checked my grocery kasi i was planning to cook canton (as usual uli) for my breakfast plus some hot chocolate to pair it with...
as i was tring to find a pack of pancit canton at the SM plastic bag sa upper shelf ko...i discovered na wala na pala akong stock!

oh no talaga!

nakakainis...!
so i ended up making a hot Milo drink and eating a pack of 3-piece Presto Creams...so light...
hay....

sana makapaggrocery na ako mamaya....
di ko pa naman hobby ang magpagutom...
di kasi ako sanay ng walang kinakain kung walang magawa...
hay....
pero so far enjoy pa naman sa dorm..
di lang nga ako masyado nakakanuod kasi i prefer to read upstairs than to watch TV programs na di ko naman gusto...(pero usually come to watch the news for some updates)...

how BLIND people can see...(n_n)

I'd been walking my way home last Friday when i came to saw a line of people connected to each bother by clinging to the right shoulder of the person in from of them..
at a distant, it looked strange since they were all senior citizens i think...
as i came closer... i realized five of them are blind... the guy in the front was the one leading them as they walk and crossed the road... four old men and two old women...
isn't it just inspiring?
despite of their condition, they seemed to be happy and unbelievable comfortable of themselves...as if everything was the way it was before...
it really just tells us that the capability to see it only a dimension of our colossal cosmos.
for us, who live our life by how see it (up to some point), we would be in total mess if our visions expires within a blink of an eye...
it seems that you've been sleeping forever though you're really awake...
the curtains are down...
the lights are off...
you're imprisoned in the darkest dungeon you can imagine...
under the deep shadows of fear and frustration to escape...

if i were in their shoes,,,knock on wood... i don't think i can survive...
or it would be extremely difficult for me to adjust in any way...

but i really admire these people...
they, who despite the absence of sight, continue as if nothing has happened...
as if nothing was lost...
still enjoying every single day of waking up in the morning and living a life of contentment and simple aspirations...
i guess it's what you call

...FAITH...

i really salute these guys...
all of them who experience the same situation out there...
i really found the courage in you...

may God bless you always in every step you make...
in every day you are experiencing His grace...

got the book: Gravity by Tess Gerritsen

Finally, I have the copy of this book - hardbound, used, but still in very good condition.
I bought it from BOOKSALE since I got interested with the topic and I saw at the back cover hoe Stephen King commented -- oh actually praise, yeah... I think that's the word -- how the author effectively wrote this book. He even stated that she is better than Cook. I had read one Cook novel and it was really great! How much more about this one?
I'm really excited to finish Life Expectancy...
next target... Gravity, of course.

Mother's Day tomorrow...

my Mom and I near Burnham Park during Panagbenga last February...

so color coordinated, huh?
yeah...
but pink is not our favorite color, mine is blue and hers is green...

well, i will not be spending Mother's Day with her for the first time because i'm here in Baguio for my summer class (which doesn't really seem to be summer at all due to the RAINS!!).

hope she'll have a nice and memorable day tomorrow...
i'll just be whispering my sweet prayer for her like what i'm always doing for all of them...

...love you, Ma!!
thanks for everything....

seriously, THANKS!

hugs and kisses from me...

oh no!!! it's raining hard..i can't get out of the library!!!

how can i go home?
i guess I'm stuck here again...
i don't want my feet to be wet but how could that be??

finished reading Illusions...before sleeping<<<

Category:	Books
Genre:	Religion & Spirituality
Author:	Richard Bach

another dimension of the human soul and faith...
Richard Bach, the same author of Jonathan Livingston Seagull does it again...
with the right words coming directly from the heart... like his hand and wisdom were tied together within the guidance of the Is...
(it is not an overly religious book as it may seem...it's sounds like the narrator, Richard, is just talking to you in a mild and pleasant way...how nice..)

this really gave me another way of looking into life...
full of illusions...

and here are some insights i got from the book:

"I am tired of clinging. Though i cannot see it with my eyes, i trust that the current knows where it is going. I shall let go, and let it take me where it will. Clinging, i shall die of boredom."
(talks about taking some risk and going an untraveled path...brave feat indeed!)

"The river delights to lift us free, if only we dare to let go."
(don't hold on too much...know when to ease the grip...)

"Nothing good is a miracle, nothing lovely is a dream."
(know the reality from the abstracts...)

"When you ask the question properly, it answers itself, doesn't it?"
(grammar... sentence construction<<)

Try to look for this book and you will not regret reading it. I already returned it in the library. Hope i can also have my own copy of it.

bought another one: Life Expectancy by Dean Koontz

again..
i walked inside BOOKSALE and looked for some good reads...
then at the bottom of the shelf at the back, a hard-bound blue book caught my attention... (i must admit that my criteria on buying a book are quite 'odd' in some ways, sometimes i choose the one in good condition, with a good illustration , with the publication that i trust, known author, New York Times Bestseller, International Bestseller, etc., or with a praise from another distinguished writer... - something like these...).

i picked it up and saw that Dean Koontz was the author...
the i read the overview and the plot seemed to be good.
furthermore, the book is really in good condition and was published just in the year 2004.
it seemed that the book wasn't even browsed by the original owner yet...

gonna start reading this one soon...

hollywood hotties in just a matter of around 30 years!

the pictures were sent to me via e-mail around last year by my cousin but i didn't opened it because i thought i was just some sort of a forwarded message...
haha...
look at my Justin Timberlake!!!
oh noooooooooooo!!!!!!


....
great picture-editing!

gwen stef...

angelina jolie.jpg

avril lavigne.jpg

catherine zeta-jones.jpg

janet jackson.jpg

jess simpson.jpg

justin tim...jpeg

katie holmes.jpeg

kirsten dunst.jpg

nicole kidman.jpg

paris hilton.jpg

newly borrowed books...

even though i recently bought some books...
i just can't keep myself from looking over other books...
especially I'm now here at the library and have nothing to do for 2 hours... (i already reviewed my lessons for the next class - English).
as i was looking for some books in the shelves at the back... i saw the book entitled Illusions and took it out... Richard Back wrote it, and i expect it to be good like what he did with Jonathan Livingston Seagull...

as i went to the other side... i picked another book which i once borrowed before - paradoxes from a to z.

i checked these books out and hope to find new insights from them.

after the storm...

haven't blogged for a couple of days...
the system was down... good thing it's back to it's condition today.

AYER (Spanish, yesterday)
Typhoon EMOng stroke last yesterday... from signal no. 2 to signal no. 3...
it's so nice that i had classes during the morning that i was able to attend and enjoy despite the cold rain that made my feet wet (it was only signal no. 2 then... well i really didn't know that a storm was here until i woke up and a friend from Quezon City sent me a massage telling the news...).
by lunch, it was announced that the intensity of typhoon Emong reached a higher level which made it signal no. 3, thus, classes were canceled.
nice to be inside the dorm and eating lunch by that time...
by night..i was doing my assignment in English while all my roommates went down to the reception hall with the others to watch TV... the lights over there went off while the ones in the room dimmed a bit... all of them rushed screaming to their rooms. Elaine, one roommate, said that the power was down in many areas in Baguio... including our neighboring building.
i slept by around 12:15 am.

HOY (Spanish, today)
i woke up seeing the light from the window opposite me.
the storm was gone.
the sun is smiling again...
i put the heater, cooked my food, fixed my bed, ate my breakfast, took a bath, got dressed, grabbed my bag, walk to the school and signed the attendance in Physics...
no class today...
so i went straight here at the library doing this blog...
sooner or later I'll be signing out to go to my next class...

hope it would be sunny the whole day!
I'm just wearing a jumper-shorts and a blouse...
cross-fingers to that!

got new-bought super cheap books from BOOKSALE>>>

...after sending a friend a document through LBC SM Baguio, and after going to LBC Porta Vaga to receive some money (it was offline at SM)... despite the rain, i decided to walk some more to National Bookstore (back to SM...again..) to buy a refill for my Stabilo and to look for new books. after doing that, i went to the 3rd floor and scanned the books scattered on the floor at Booksale... and i saw Sir Popoy there (by the way, i also saw him at NBS).

i looked and looked and looked for books...
luckily, i was able to find good ones with definitely low prices.
i was abl to buy the following with less than Php 100.00 in all...



i think i got new (sort of) books to put my attention to...
happy reading...

times we didn't know what to do...

well..
my roommate (at the same time, my blocmate, friend, orgmate) ,Tin and I share the same bed in our room (though we have 2 king-size beds there). we knew each other for 2 years now. and as friends, one thing the keeps us occupied (aside from eating, reading books, surfing the net, sleeping, and walking around) is taking posing and taking pictures of ourselves. Take note: lots and lots of pictures until our cams ran out of battery!
Whatever the position, wherever we are...there's no stopping this vice!

here's just one picture on our room...
she was about to sleep while i was reviewing my notes... getting ready for the lesson tomorrow (can you see my orange Stabilo marker?)....but we decided to take one shot before that...
haha...

try to see some more picture at my multiply site.

finished reading New Moon last night

..yes..!
see what a good student i am...
i finished reading the last 3 chapters of New Moon before reviewing my lessons...
hahaha...
i just can't get myself out of this mess...
i just can't resist myself on waiting for Edward (as if i'm Bella).. good thing this part ended well (although it didn't really ended yet),,
i really can't keep my mouth shut while going on with the pages..
i keep on saying comments or telling Bella what i would like to tell and do to Edward the exact time they united under the shadows of the clock tower...
since after Edward has left, it indeed broke Bella into pieces... as she said,

I'd been broken beyond repair.

it was really, really romantic! the fact that Edward held Bella so close to him made me feel the true love between them. so sweet!!!!! and i know that Edward was just being so protective when he said that he didn't want Bella to be one of them (vampire) but as her nature tells her, she tried to solve this by casting the votes of the Cullens...good thing, MOST of them welcomed Bella wholeheartedly and said Yes to her...

*** *** ***

Something more...
i really loved the line which said...

His midnight eyes glared into mine with the gravitational force of a black hole...

i just loved the concept... the sincerity... how i wish i can also find my Edward... in the right time maybe...

so happy because of the sun!!!

just glad that the sun is out FOR REAL!
and not just for the half of the day but i guess it would be shining 'til late in the afternoon..
wow..!
i really can feel its heat striking my face!
this is REALLY the longest time that the sun had shone for a couple of weeks!
i hope that this would officially start my summer season....
and more days of fun as well....!

paranoid about the Black Hole

when we were in our Physics class early this morning, we had a few clips to watch about the space - it's discovery and age - in relation to gravity...
plus we got to watch a special episode from The Discovery Channel some sort about the Black Hole...
the sound effects and the narration were great as if we were watching a horror film..and the sound just terrified me...and also because the narrator really did well in scaring me.

i learned that Gravity is not a force but some kind of a curvature within the fabric of time and space...

and the thing that makes me feel so creepy about the idea of the Black Hole was that it was a dying star that was gathering enough energy...

it whirls and whirls until a thick cloud of gas surrounds it like a galaxy itself. This huge star whose size and mass is indescribably large (could be half the size of the galaxy it is located) would then shrink into a very small body while retaining its how heavy is was. Thus forming a seemingly endless abyss...dark and powerful thing that can attract other celestial bodies to its depth... depth that is unknown to human... a void that keeps so many mysteries in the billions of years that the universe had existed.

This just made me shiver... Thinking that i am lucky enough to live in this age where the possibility of being eaten by this monster is far as the sky. Good thing the Black Hole in this galaxy is said to be dormant (well I'm really not sure about this..maybe i didn't hear it right) and the Sun is still young as well...

i know the earth can still survive for thousands and thousands of years (hopefully). but the next problem being faced is not about the death of the sun or the Black Hole yet...but the thinning ozone layer and global warming..
i hope people would be concerned with this issue as well...
now that i believe something can still be done...

reading New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

just started reading Stephenie Meyer's New Moon...
it's just so bad that i already read Eclipse and almost halfway through Breaking Dawn before summer class and I'm just having a close reading of this sequel now...
well, this is due to the lack of copies of its stock here.
it was only last week that piles of copies are delivered in local bookstores here in Baguio that's why i was only able to buy this one now...
well...
the story is nice..
just sad 'coz the majority of t he part was Bella with Jacob and not Bella with Edward...
(*sigh*)
but i know Edward will start appearing again...soon...

Lost

Confused.
Silent.
There's a crossroad.
You stopped
and tried to look back...
The past is bitter.
The present is uncertain.
Tomorrow...
Would there be a tomorrow?
The road is dark...
The sun is black.
The wind is harsh..
A tear.
A sob.
An end...

this is my latest update on my deviantArt account...
just a poem..
i just love the title..

the azure

after a long period of darkness,,,
rain...rain...flowing water...
dark scary clouds...
the strong gush of wind...
the boredom that accompanies these events
..finally..
finally...
the sun is up again..
to show its might and power...
to radiate its beauty upon me...
the sky...
oh the clear blue sky...
like a pool hanging from above..it sends me a brighter mood...
it makes me more confident...
it moves me...
it makes me alive...
yes...
alive once again...


just an on-the-spot poem i made...
this tells my mood right now...
i really do hate the rain....
that's why I'm happy for the appearance of the sun today!

sweet frustration (a light verse for my English class)

Amidst the feelings of desire
From that moment of regretful silence
Through the cold sleepless nights
Until something was created
Beneath her innocent flesh
Like a seed growing from the inside
Despite the evil voices in the dark
Across the vastness of her thoughts
Between a YES and a NO
After all the confusion
In spite of the doubt and the fear
During the time she was given
Down the end of the rope
Above all the pain and suffering
Out of her, an angel was sent.

this was the light verse i was able to produce as an assignment for my English class...
our topic?
obviously the use of PREPOSITIONS>>>

a sunny day, at last!

wow...
it feels so good..
i feel so alive!
i feel so me...

for the first time after so many days of rain...
the sun is back again..
oh..
sure i'm gonna love this day!

mom just arrived

early this morning, my mother came after around 5 hours of travel from our town to Baguio. She is here to attend a teachers' seminar this whole week. She is now staying at my dorm as a transient and i will be sleeping with her in her assigned room.

Hope we'll have some time to go out as well..
=)

just finished my physics 11 exam

exam was done..
good thing all the discussions went well...
plus the readings helped din naman...

and the lectures were good...
magnetism,
electricity,
atom..

and i love the topic on waves..
really nice..

hope to get a good grade sa exam...

no class in Physics today.... :)

class is canceled...
i guess Prof in not in the mood to teach this morning.
readings were just given and were are here at the library to have them photocopied,.,
57 pages in all and we will have our 2nd long exam tomorrow...
hope i can finish reading them tonight..
and hope to do better on the exam...

reading False Pretenses by Catherine Coulter

started reading this book yesterday around lunch time..
it's a nice book..
good plot,,
great characters...
unexpected twists...
even if this was her first suspense novel,,it really worked out fine,...
I'm now on its last pages..
i still don't know what to expect..
would it turn out as a happy ending for Elizabeth and Jonathan?
would Dr. Christian Hunter, the shrink who saved and who was madly in love with Elizabeth and who actually killed Timothy Carleton, be discovered as the killer?
how would Catherine and Rowe end up?

oh.,.
still too many mysteries,,,
hope to have a blast in the end...

oh no..,i was wrong... it did rain during the Graduation Day!

after a sunny and warm lunch with Ate Mika, Kuya Josh (who graduated that day) and Alodia... we went back to our campus to check the graduating students...
by around 2pm, they were requested to form their line for the march to the Convention Center...
pictures here, pictures there...
click! click! click!
the graduating ones in their white/cream-colored Barongs and dresses.,..
so nice to see...
i also had pictures with some of my closest friends,,,
but then, the sun began to hide,,
thick gray clouds started to cover the sky...sending me a chill,.,..
on no..

while we were at the 2nd floor of IB building watching the crooked line of students,..
shouts of disappointment flooded the parking lot due to a few drops of drizzles that lead in a seemingly unending rain!

"OH noooooooo!!!"

"Shit, ulan...."

"Dali, sa IB..."

"..dun tayo sa lobby...!!"

"whyyyyyy!!!!!"

different expressions from all over...
and it also mad me sad coz i was expecting a fine weather as well...
not to mention i was only wearing short shorts (as in really short...) and a thin piece of blouse with almost exposed back...(haha..i was really optimistic that the sun would be up...)

the rain fell for a very long time and all of the graduating students tried to save their clean dresses from the downpour... make-up,. headdress and high-heels included...

i felt the cold wind,..
and i hated that feeling...

it was raining...
AGAIN....

so we just decided to ride a taxi though the convention center is just in front of the university..just a few mild steps away..but we just can't pass the rain...
a really impossible thing to do that moment...

despite having my umbrella with me while riding the taxi..
i still got soaked...oh no...

but we still managed to get to the convention center alive...
but not happy of how we look..
so wasted...
so cold..

i just told you all...
i really hate the rain..
and this is just one reason for it...!

UP graduation 2009

...after the hard work and the trials...
the sleepless nights with dark coffee for researches, papers, exams, presentations, thesis...
at last, the DAY has come..
oh... super happy for my friends na magmamarch na mamaya...
happy kasi alam kong this is what they really aimed for din..
before the challegnging life after this...
pero sad din kasi aalis na sila..
marami pa naman akong kaclose na graduating..
paborito and love kong nga Kuya and Ate ko dito..
pero..ok lang basta continuous and communication...
just praying for a successful life for them...
SALUTE!

class on Graduation Day...oh no.... plus lunch date with a few close friends...oh yeah!

we just had our class in Physics 11...
well, ok lang naman..

kaso i expected it to be canceled for the Baccalaureate Mass so my mind was somewhere i haven't explored yet...
eh tapos na,,,wala na ako magagawa...
pumasok pa rin ako..

anyway i learned something naman..
about the 'Electromagmetic Radiation' thing...
that it is produced by two objects (like a cellphone and a computer/speaker/radio) when they tend to be close and if a message was received, a sound will be heard due to the interaction of the magnets (or whatever it is) within the equipment...

haha..
practical application...

and a magnet close to something like a cellphone or TV could totally damage the functions of that device...
well..
it shows that i still pay attention though i think we shouldn't be seating there a few
moments ago..

well..
right now, just waiting for the time to tick 12 'coz i have a lunch date with Ate Mika, Kuya Loren (probably) and Alodia...
good to eat with them..
it's been a long time since i've done this..
looking forward for the nice food that will be served...=)

plus happy din ako because the sun is shining brightly...
after so many days that the sky was gray and crying..
finally the sun has shown its beauty...
yeah...
maybe for a better day for the graduating students..
(and for me...haha)
*wink*