Weekly Photo Challenge: Winter

Canterbury Cathedral, taken just yesterday

This is my first winter in England for a long, long time and I am completely a little mesmerised by the complete change of scene. I mean, the foggy breaths, the winter shoes and the skeletal trees? What’s not to love? It’s completely different from what I’d be experiencing if I was back in the Philippines. This time last year, I believe I’d be in my shorts and slippers complaining that the air conditioner was weak.

How times change, eh?

Related articles

• weekly photo challenge: winter (hugmamma.com)
• Weekly Photo Challenge: Winter (thirdhandart.wordpress.com)
• Weekly Photo Challenge: Winter (katharinetrauger.wordpress.com)
• Weekly Photo Challenge: Winter (northernnarratives.wordpress.com)
• Weekly Photo Challenge : Winter (hurtlingtowards60.wordpress.com)
• Weekly Photo Challenge: Winter (smkelly8.wordpress.com)
• Weekly Photo Challenge: Winter (beijingcityphoto.wordpress.com)
• Weekly Photo Challenge: Winter (nilaewhite.wordpress.com)
• Weekly Photo Challenge: Winter (3rdculturechildren.com)

Third Edition of Hair-Pulling and Head-Banging

Every decision I do seems to put me into an even deeper hole. I do not like making adults go out of their way to accommodate me and my problems, because it seems they’re busy enough to begin with. And the only time I go to an adult for help — academic-wise, nothing life threatening or anything — I manage to get myself into deeper trouble. I have niggling feeling that this would all go topsy-turvy on me… but oh well, I can’t change the past.

I just want to ask a questions for you adults out there, because for some reason I believe that whenever there are no children or teens about, you all talk to yourselves about… younger people. Like senior citizens discussing “young people these days”, but only more discreet. Please educate me on this, because I’m sure this isn’t the case.

Damn, my imagination’s running amok.

Anyway, it might sound silly that I’m going crazy over a simple twenty minute discussion with two adults about my *academic career*, but since I seem to be wired to keep myself to myself, this is a pretty big step. It amazes me every day that my fellow peers are so easy in admitting they need help, I sometimes think it’s borderline laziness. Not that there’s anything wrong with asking for help, but wouldn’t it be more fulfilling if you achieve something yourself? Besides, talking to people in general scare me a little bit. I’m freaky like that.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Self Portrait

Me, all dressed up for school

Despite going through that phase in which I take the digital camera, place it at arm’s length at a certain degree above my face and take picture after picture (I was thirteen, can you blame me?!), I shy away from having my picture taken, preferring to take pictures of people than vice versa.

Also, contrary to popular belief (that is, no matter what my friends back in the Philippines say), I am not emo. Nor am I goth, rocker or punk. I’m just ME. It just so happens that ‘me’ likes the colour black.

Don’t get me wrong, I like the other colours in the rainbow (apart from pink and orange). It’s just that I find black to be easy to pair with other things. That, and I find it safe. Nothing can harm me when I’m wearing something black, even if it’s just a simple tee.

Anyway, I wouldn’t normally dress like ^that^ in public, but my school was having a non-uniform day for Children in Need and, in exchange for £2, we were allowed to forego our business suits and dress casually. Of course, the only condition was to wear something with spots. You might not see it, but my skirt is polka-dotty.

I took a picture of myself wearing that all-black ensemble because at the last minute, I changed my mind and instead chose to wear something less — I dunno — extreme. I literally had to turn around on the spot, go back into the house and change my clothes, I was that freaked out. It’s petty, I know. But again, can you blame me? I’m still new to the school. Safe to say, I’m entitled to be a bit shy.

So yeah. This is my self portrait. 

Related articles

• Weekly photo challenge – self portrait (allaboutwordswa.wordpress.com)
• Weekly Photo Challenge: Self Portrait (dailypost.wordpress.com)
• Weekly Photo Challenge: Self-Portrait (rutheh.com)
• Weekly Photo Challenge: Self Portrait (andreadreamin.com)
• Weekly photo challenge: Self-portrait (jmsimpson.wordpress.com)

Justin Bieber’s “Fa La La” ft. Boyz II Men

I can’t help it. This song is music to my ears (no pun intended — okay, well… a little bit).

I simply love listening to their voices blending and, despite its cheesiness, the lyrics are sweet. I know there’s a non-acapella version of this song as well, though as I’ve diligently skipped playing that song every time I (rarely) listen to Bieber’s album in Spotify, I have not heard it yet. And I hope to never will. The pureness of their voices should be preserved.

Oh and before I forget… 10 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!

Pride and Prejudice: Mr Darcy’s First Proposal

Burn, Darcy. Burn!

So we finally covered Mr Darcy’s proposal in English Literature class and let’s just say that as the teacher read the passage, I was mouthing the words and hearing in my mind the swoon-worthy tone of Matthew Macfadyen. I am aware that there are other Mr Darcys out there, though I know the 2004 movie adaptation is far from being the most accurate to the novel, I still think Macfadyen wins as the ‘top Darcy’ simply because of his voice.

Oh, and the passion between their characters! It’s just so… ohmigoshsogreat, y’know?? It completely takes my breath away. And then I thought about my third* favourite Darcy, and how Colin Firth managed to make you feel sorry for him even though he insults Elizabeth so thoroughly. In the 1996 television version, I absolutely love the proposal scene because not only does it stay true to the novel, but Ehle’s coldness was how I imagined Elizabeth to react.

Though Keira Knightley was great and everything, I felt the scene was dramatised too much. I mean, c’mon! The prophetic fallacy? The raining? It get’s old, man. Besides, Ehle’s Elizabeth was strong, and she didn’t nearly kiss Darcy in the heat of passion… unlike Knightley. ^_^

Moving on to the other interpretations of Darcy’s proposal, I came across the 1940s film

12 Days of Waiting

To all the Whovians out there, here’s another trailer for The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe Christmas special.

Okay, I am that little bit more excited!! I can’t wait until Christmas if it means watching this totes epic totally incredible episode. 12 more days!

A Christmas Party

So here’s the sitch: a couple of months ago, I decided to do some volunteer work to fill up my time. With school, the work that comes with it, and certain social obligations such as hanging out with friend (lol), I find myself having a lot of free time. And while surfing the web is all well and good, there’s only so much Facebook a teenage girl can take. (Erg, I can’t believe I just typed that…)

Anyway, the volunteer work coordinator just threw a Christmas party and I must say it was very fun. It was very tame compared to the Christmas party I’ve seen in movies — there were no alcohol (to the underage people like me, at least =P), no dirty dancing and certainly no borderline violent games. We played a quick Christmas quiz and Scattergrams.

Oh, and we made Christmas crackers too :)

But what made it really interesting was meeting all the other volunteers. I dunno if I should be relieved or surprised that I was not the only ‘young’ person; I was certainly the youngest, but only by a year or so. There were only about eight people who attended, but not one person was like another… and it was a pleasant surprise. There was a retired police officer, an ex-Illustration student in uni, a computer programmer turned businessman, and then there’s me: the girl who jumps from England to the Philippines and then back again.

I had a lovely time, and not even going home in the strong* wind and rain managed to dampen my spirits (although they did dampen the bottom half of my trousers. Damn osmosis, or whatever it’s called). This is officially my first social experience that has nothing to do with school, friends or family. It was slightly scary, but well worth it :) I think I grew up a little bit today (lol).

The highlight of the party? Well, there was that one time when the conversation turned to literary characters, and one guy was very passionate in his dislike for Bella Swan. I understand where he’s coming from — I really do because part of me feels the same, and part whispered “Vampire love lasts for eternity! Of course she was devastated that Edward left!” On the other hand, there’s the part thinking amusedly that “Oh, I was just reading a fanfiction about Bella before leaving for the party. She was pretty badass and definitely better than Stephanie’s Bella.” Just saying.

Okay, that’s all I have time for now. I need to finish my pile of homework… -_-‘

*Honestly, the wind was strong enough to lift me off the ground a little bit. I know I’m not the heaviest of people, but come on! The wind cannot be that strong >_<

Related articles

• How to survive the Office Christmas Party (viccareers.wordpress.com)
• Children’s Christmas party (emilyanthony.blogspot.com)
• Why does it not feel like Christmas! (thesilentsoul.wordpress.com)

You Know When You’re A Writer When…

It’s amazing how much people can change over the course of a few months. The list below is from the Notes section of my Facebook account — yes, Facebook still has Notes. Reading through it, I realise that my mindset now differed from my mindset then. I’m not saying that I’m a completely different person, just that my priorities changed.

I suppose growing up, even the tiniest bit, can alter a person. Nothing drastic, of course… but it’s enough to be felt. Now, I barely have time to write, let alone think about writing, because I’m concentrating on my courses. Ohh, the easiness of youth. *sigh*

Anyway, below is the list. The ones italicised were true of me seven months ago; the ones underlined are still true of me now. Enjoy!

1) you think of your friends as characters

2) you write them into your story

3) you get revenge on people by basing a mean character off of them in your story

4) you have conversations with your characters — the fictional ones, not your friends in the real world — and, most usually, they hate you for making their life miserable (or WAY too exciting for their liking)

5) you have some books you read for enjoyment, some you read for school, and others you read just to get ideas on how to make your stories flow better

6) everyday, you daydream about how to plug today into your story.

7) the end of your pinky is usually stained with ink (if you’re left-handed) or pencil lead.

8) you have way to many saved Word docs in your computer.

9) your drawer is overflowing with copy-paper of your printed stories/filled notebooks.

10) you mentally correct anything you read subconsciously with better words and phrasing.

11) even in the most dire of situations, you’re thinking about how it would be best written

12) you hear a song on the radio and you automatically think ‘Hey that’s a good plot idea…’

13) you constantly play the same song over and over to get into a ‘mood’ for one of the chapters

14) you wake up in the middle of the night to search for a pen/laptop/notebook to write down a story idea because you’re afraid that you’ll forget it by morning 

Coca Cola’s OFW Project: The Advert’s Gone Viral!

And I would be surprised if it didn’t. Provoking an emotional response is one of the sure-fire ways of engaging the target audience. In this case, the targeted audience are those families with OFWs. And let me tell you, they are not in the minority.

Filipinos are easily influenced, particularly when it comes to family-related topics such as spending Christmas together, or working abroad to support a loved one. OFWs are not a strange thing to me, my mother being one herself, and I understand where Coca Cola is coming from. It’s an awesome thing what they did, bringing those families together. It’s an expensive thing to fly three people across the globe and grant them this wish, and really, this video made me cry.

I could easily relate to it and everything, but as I rubbed my eyes viciously to rid of the tears (because you know, I couldn’t see the screen with ’em), at the back of my mind I was thinking… How come a soft drink company did something as special as this, and not the government? As part of my English lessons back in the Phils., I had to give a speech entitled ‘Youthful Voice in an Angry Sea of Apathy and Disbelief’, and one part of that speech came to me as I watched the video:I heard somewhere that OFWs are being crowned as the “modern day heroes” because the money they send in, essentially, help the Philippine economy. So much so, actually because there really are a lot of OWFs.

I don’t know how to word my thoughts other than through a Maths equation:

Many OFWs = many disrupted families.

Therefore, why does the government not do anything about it? I know they have a lot of things to worry about, but come on!! America acknowledges their hard-working soldiers, how about the Philippine’s equally hard-working OWFs?? No offence to Coca Cola, but they are a commercial company. What kind of reputation does that give the world, that my country’s government isn’t bothering to help their citizens in such a season as this?

…But anyway, I understand that there are many factors why the government can’t just up and fly people from this country and that country straight to the Phils. For one thing, they might not even be Filipino citizens any more. Either way, it still irks me that a commercial company upped the government.

Whatever. This might just be the anti-softdrinks person in me talking. (I swore off the unhealthy drink about a year ago, only drinking it on special special occasions.)

Notes: To read the entire speech of ‘Youthful Voice in an Angry Sea of Apathy and Disbelief’, then click here and you’ll be redirected. This was such a pain to memorize, but so worth it :D

Celebrity Crush of the Moment: Ethan Peck

Forgetting that he had that small role in The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, I first encountered Ethan Peck in the television sitcom remake of 10 Things I Hate About You — oh, did you know there was a TV sitcom? I didn’t until I saw it on Wikipedia -_-‘ Anyway, his character is the bad boy Patrick Verona… and what can I say? I’ve become a cliché and have fallen for the rebel.

I dunno if it’s the bad boy persona (but I’m sure the leather jacket has a huge part in it), those full lips of his, his bone structure or the fact he looks too adorable to play a rebel (in my opinion, anyway)… but either way, he’s one smokin’ tamale. Or whatever it is you kids use these days. In the words of Shakespeare:

Shall I compare thee to a Summer’s day?

…because man, you’re hot.

Okay, so the second line isn’t exactly Shakespeare, but you get my drift. Below are some more pictures of Ethan in his role of Patrick Verona.

Okay, so maybe I’m crushing on Ethan’s character than Ethan himself. But don’t you just love the smouldering eyes?? The tough-yet-sensitive attitude? ? The fact that he actually genuinely LIKES Kat and that they are soooo good together?? *le sigh* Ohh, to be in a Shakespearean romance… (Though, I’d rather not be in a tragedy if I can help it >_<)

Apart from the snappy, witty dialogue... why do I like the show so much?? Ohhh.