Room with a (side)view.

At the risk of dropping my camera from eleven floors up.

Seven(th) Heaven at Daiso Japan store

everything for Dhs7!

I just had one of those grand times criscrossing the aisles of my favorite shop in the world, Daiso Japan (one price for all items, unless otherwise stated!) And all for a measly DHS 110, I take home with me a star to top our christmas tree, a can of snow spray, a large desk mirror, a felt tip eyeliner pen, a notebook (for my recipes), a large paper star, a tube of hair gel, a bag of elastics, a bottle of mint bubble bath, a laundry net and that giddy feeling that lingers and guarantees that I will be back again in no time.

I cannot fully express how this shop is magical to me; it's like a little shop of horrors minus the blood-thirsty plant. There is, however, the money-thirsty cash register, and aisles and aisles of things you probably didn't need but are just pretty, nifty, colorful or just plain interesting. For me and my friend Luisa today, it's a haven of things we were not able to buy when we were kids. We were drawn mostly to the stationery aisle where notebooks of an array of designs and sizes were on display. Opposite it, the pens were exhibited in all their colorful glory. It turns out that myself and Luisa had the same inclination to such, and I swear we would have stayed in that same place had we not felt hungry and that she had to go home soon and bring her boyfriend dinner.

my Daiso loot for the day!

Upon arriving home, I quickly rummage through my bag of treasures, holding up each one like they are the most unique things in the world. I feel especially happy with the pink notebook I have bought to write my secret recipes in, and the star that now completes my once unfinished christmas tree. With  a shop like Daiso, truly the best things in life are (almost) free!

Flying Random Thoughts Entry No.2

I've never had anyone lecture me about writing as much as "Mr. Too-Much" has, one time during a flight to Colombo.

"If man becomes content on where he is, he stops evolving. It is human nature for man to be discontented with what he has, and to always strive for change. If you really want change, go look for what you want. Don't even look at the money or luxuries involved, but instead look for change for the sole purpose of your evolution. That is when you might truly be happy."

The next day, I had to drag my friend Steve to the nearest Carrefour to buy the latest classifieds. If only I could convince people this forcefully, I wouldn't go around as much begging people to believe me that I have good sense in writing. Anyway, I  did find advertisements and I've actually replied to two. To date I haven't got replies, but then again, I really am not the one time big time type. I've concurred over the past years that I do have to endure a lot of "no's" before I get a "yes", and it's usually when it seems insanely impossible. That means maybe, when I am supposedly buried then under tons of classifieds, I might find a single clause that would bring me a notch up my personal evolution.

And with my stubborn, evil self grinning at the background, this is what I aim to do.

picture + thoughts

Revelation

"Never refuse a moment when your self wishes to express itself. Write. Take pictures. Explore."

Heads or tails?

When in doubt, flip a coin. Your decision/wishes will be apparent even before your coin lands.

re-kindling my love for photography

Writing in vernacular 001

...naisip ko kasi marami namang pwede isulat, maraming paraan paano yun isulat, kalaban ko lang sarili ko kasi meron naman akong oras, panahon at pagkakataon. Ayoko na nang maraming pang pagdadahilan sa hindi ko pagsusulat.

Happiness

I have resolved a long time ago to thank God for even the minutest of things.

I slept last night on the sofa, writing and finally watching a movie before I fell asleep.
Today, I feel spiritually uplifted after listening to some good music, which I haven't done in a long time.

My soul is in such a state of happiness that, after a long time, I feel like I've found a heavenly calm and peace.

Thank God.

I played the guitar once, too.

Something new

My husband isn't home for the night, and instead of lavishing my solitude under the duvet without competing for space and silence, I decide to settle for the comfort of my sofa bed in the living room. For a change, and for an extended effort to write, I commit this night with the laptop, and possibly anything alcoholic, in the hopes that it might conjure anything poetic from me.

When I realized my passion in writing, I tried to go about how I saw writers did their thing. I was willing to try anything new that time; writing in Starbucks, writing in the library, getting drunk and trying to write (which was difficult) and smoking while writing. My parents were against it of course, especially my father who managed to dodge the habit,while being the only person in his job department who doesn't smoke. The rebellion at that time when I was just fresh from highschool was inspiring, especially from me who wasn't the type to actually rebel. But it was something new, and although cigarettes really did taste quite awful, it liberated me at some level that I wrote some of my best pieces during those periods. (I've quit the habit in honor of my father and my health.)

I've done so many new things, in fact so many they remain new. What I mean is they never grow old with me, because I can't seem to focus on them. Engaging in new things is always good, but now it has come upon me that I should try to make these "new" things, especially the ones that I really like, stick me with me because they are beneficial.

Here are some new things I've had over the past 2 weeks:

1. Walked around the park one time, by myself for an hour (good cardio and the music I had playing was refreshing!)
2. Did weights everyday for a week
3. Writing more in my blog and tweeting more, rather than Facebook-ing.
4. Spent some time with a girlfriend for some serious shopping and girl time.
5. Had wine and cheese with girlfriends, talking about our boys.
6.Colored my hair by myself.

Having listed that down, I maybe should do numbers 1 and 2 on a regular basis! New things should really be made into good habits, and should not remain a once in blue moon idea. And to be really honest, the shopping time I spent with my good friend Luisa uplifted my spirits to a level I have almost forgotten! It's like when a laptop or a mobile phone needs to get updated, we also need to get an extra "app" every now and then to make our lives more exciting! After which, we then keep the apps that will prove helpful to us in the long run.

My next something new on the list is to get an online writing course, to help me enhance my writing. I sure hope it doesn't remain a fleeting idea, though.

Screaming Secrets

I am a no-good gossip monger.

For one, I know how it feels like to be talked about behind your back. My earliest recollection was when my youngest sister was born and people talked about how I wasn't around much before she came (my school is far from our town and I had to get out early and return late to avoid traffic), and how the new baby is mine and we were just pretending that she was my sister. I was 15 then.

When my mom lost her job, there was so much of these nasty stories as well. I saw how it upset my mother so much, that I developed an aversion to opening up to people because I was afraid they were going to use all this information against me when I am at my worst. I got over the fear eventually, but even though I have really close friends who know the most trivial things about me, I unintentionally was able to keep them to a comfortable number. A lot of people may have thought of my aloofness as of being self-absorbed, but it worked for me for some time and has protected me from a lot of hurt.

Apparently though for people, they seem to enjoy casting their scandals into the wind and do not care so much how these things can fall into the hands of other people who also haven't got better things to do. There's no point in asking someone to keep a secret for you when you have told the whole town about it!

I'm just saying that the world is full of can-opener people. If cans were alive and had feelings, imagine how excruciating it is to be turned around while being forcefully pried open, and expose your guts for everyone to see. How easy it is for people to expose you, when you're just like a spanish sardine bottle. It's alright I guess to be transparent sometimes, but to be outrageously "out there", well, let's say some people deserve to be talked about in the first place. People like me who dislike all these drama, would tend to steer away from all the floating "chismes" at any given time, but often it just screams down your ear canal and thus, blogs like these.

It's really either a secret only the both of us know, or a secret which everybody knows. Sometimes, I wish people think it over more.

Facing me

I've been a writer since I started out in highschool. I've only been published (and paid for) when I got into college, and I was able to publish some more even when I was working with my previous companies. It was only last year that I decided that I want to write a book, and it's only the other day that I have actually started out with the first few sentences.

My journey into writing has taken me a decade.

I am now 26, and have finally decided that I can't wait till I'm 36 to finish the book I have started.

Bummer

I hate colds.

Flying Random Thoughts Entry no. 1

Since I won't be able to give up flying altogether for writing, I might as well pick up the best things I've heard my flight colleagues, and write about it.

For my first ever, I quote my recent senior whom I'll refer to as Himitsu-chan.

"We've all had choices to make."

And I agree. I've just married the only guy who hasn't faltered with his devotion for me for all of 7 years. I could've, at any point before our wedding day chosen to just drop it, but I went on ahead and said "I do". I wouldn't say I was teeming with other choices, but the fact remains that I could've done something else. I could for example, get lost in Kathmandu and never get to be heard of again. Well, I guess I'm just saying. Yet, I chose my husband, as he chose me and here we are in our cozy apartment playing family with my stuffed turtle until we finally get real ones( kids, I mean.)

It might have been different, 7 years ago, if I had chosen to go down a different road. I might have been happier, or I might be drowning in sorrow. But I've made choices. It might not have lead me to where I intended to have gone to, nonetheless it landed me where I needed to go.

The bookworm running out of bookshelves

I don't have that habit of going into a bookshop and aim to actually buy a book, especially when the best sellers fetch for exorbitant prices I choose not to be able to afford. I do, however, buy a book regardless of its stature and, call me a scrooge if you must but these best-buy ones are the books that I'd rather give a chance to.

To be really honest (and obnoxious), I could finish a 400 page book in two days, and this is why my husband disagrees with the frivolous buying of expensive books, or even normal books for that matter. The poor thing can only do as much though when we're at the checkouts with yet another book or two to fill the shelf. At the end of the day when the books have been read, and me trying to go back the pages to see if there could be anything at all that I could've missed, it is with sore realization that I have in fact, digested 75dirhams in just one sitting. It is anything but a waste of money, but sometimes I wish I lingered on for much longer and make the book worth of its every penny.

To resolve this dilemma, I have come to a resolution to keep my books to a number and after that, give the excess away to a public library. I might come up with a list of must-have books with the help of my bookworm friends, but at this point I have yet to find out how my resolution might actually fare in the short term, with really good books being published by the minute. I don't even know if the house my husband plans to have made for us, would even have a personal library of some sort, so the number of books I can keep is still another variable.

On my opinion, I really don't own that much yet, and so I could give in to hoarding books still. My intention now though is to plan for the future of the books I read, which ones that are to grow old with me, and which ones I would eventually let go. That way maybe I could save me some bookshelf space, and at the same time, give other bookworms like me, a go for reading without shelling out hard-earned cash. For sure, free books are way better than cheap books, no matter how incredibly shabby that makes me sound! At the end of the day, I might feel better that I have done for the books I read, my share in its long journey.

Inspired by Paulo Coelho everytime I purchase a book, who I quote ".. but as soon as I've finished a book, I let it go; I give it to someone else, or to the public library. My intention is not to save forests or to be generous. I simply believe that a book has its own journey to make, and should not be condemned to being stuck on a shelf."

Wedding Gift

Touched by how truly personalized this wedding gift is from my cousin
(and now, godmother) Ate Dynah and her family.

A new possibility

I just had an epiphany while browsing through Facebook.

One of my college friends who posted an album in my wedding's honor, also has quoted me and at the same time, reiterated to me, the desires of my subconscious. I still am amazed at how her simple gesture of remembering the one-time affair also served to me as the sign I've been asking for the longest time.

And now that the ever so-elusive Cheshire Cat has grinned on me, I might as well go down the road to which He points, and start having tea with my newfound dream.