Thoughts Before Christmas

I'm back!

I didn't expect to be updating this time but since I came back early from the movies, I'd take advantage of the opportunity. Aside from watching a movie and having a chilled drink at a cozy cafe, I finally bought myself a Christmas gift! Guess what it is? A book of course! I soo adore Philippa Gregory's Other Boleyn Girl and because of that, I grabbed the chance to pamper my self with a simple joy when I find a discounted copy of it at a new book store called Bestsellers in Robinson's Galleria.

Speaking of Bestsellers, I found the specialty shop very cozy and accommodating because there not clutter in browsing through the numerous aisle of wonderful titles ranging from hard to find American graphic novels to award-winning novels both foreign and local. Customers are also offered comfortable seats where they can read through the books before purchasing them. It feels like heaven for bibliophiles like me! Of course, I still love hanging out at Powerbooks. And to think that Powerbooks, Bestsellers and National Bookstore are owned by same people, I can't understand my weird liking for the two earlier shops. :D

Moving on from books and shops, I made an ultimatum for myself. You see, I have this disorder called nail-biting whenever I'm tense or nervous or in a pressured state since I was a kid and I want to get rid of it. While I'm trying to fight the urge to bite, I can't do it successfully at times because I know that I can bite those dead cells off without hurting myself. But hey, I'm like, 16 years old already and it's unpleasant to see nails like that. To primarily solve my problem, I applied blue nail polish with unpleasant smell and taste on my fingernails in order to alarm me whenever I am to put my fingernails on my mouth. But still, I hope that I can still wear them at school for continuous progress, ne? Ganbatte for me!

Referring to my earlier account of watching a movie, I actually watched the controversial film The Golden Compass. Many rumors and accusations are heard about the film and the first novel of the His Dark Material trilogy, the Northern Lights by Philip Pullman, the inspiration of the said movie, but I didn't really pass my judgment on whether it's actually against the Catholic Church or not for I wasn't able to see the movie or read the book myself. Things are different now though for I had the luxury of watching the film.

Based on my observation, there is nothing about the film that mentions ideas against any religion. The way I see it, the source of conflict is because of the similarities of the history of the Catholic Church wherein it was said that the authorities incarcerated those who are believed to be practicing witchcraft and sorcery as well as forcing people of other beliefs into Catholicism. The similarities I noticed are all based on history which happened before the Reformation, Counter Reformation and the organization of the Vatican II. I, myself, am a Catholic and I do not think that such film could easily influence the faithful if they have real belief in the teachings and authority of God. Though I haven't read the book, from what I can judge so far, I can say that the Golden Compass possesses a great story line and interesting elements regardless of the countless possible interpretations. It will be a shame if people will pass judgment on something based on the opinions of others. In logic speak, that will be a fallacy of authority, Argumentum Vericundiam. See, I do learn a thing or two from my Logic Class.

Anyway, I still have to work hard to raise my SAT II scores in Math level 1, Biology and Physics. I so want to get high scores on those tests. I can kill a plant in exchange of an 800 in all those subject tests *dreaming awake*. Aside from those tests, I also have to prepare for the DOST-SEI scholarship exam and the MTAP qualification exam which will all happen on January. That is so sad! I'm just enjoying my two-week vacation from school but still, the mentioned stuffs are for me when I step into college right? On top of the upcoming tests, I am also awaiting for the results of the UPCAT, ACET and USTET. My life depends on those tests.

Seems like my Christmas wishes will be delayed for some time.

Happy Holidays! :D

Love, Allyne

P.S. I’d like you all to greet my friend, SEV/AP E-I-C, A HAPPY BIRTHDAY! *pops a party popper*

High on Mistletoes

Time sure passes by quickly.

Yesterday seemed to be January yet now, I am already experiencing the chill of December nights. This just explains how we should make every moment of our lives count. May it be the happiest or the saddest of memories, every minute we spend each day contributes to another learning experience here on earth.
So much for introductions…

Last Wednesday, I made one of the “last” memories I need to make before I finally say good bye to high school – Senior Christmas Party. It makes me feel so old! I’ve been attending Christmas parties for since kindergarten days and to think that I finally made the last one for my high school days. Of course, this year’s celebration became extra special because my batch did it all together. Obviously, the idea seemed a bit corny because we are like older now and we were still playing stuff like newspaper dance, tug-O-war, obstacle race and some stuff like that.

After the games galore, we proceeded to our classrooms and had our mini-food fest sponsored by Shakey’s (minus the pizza –how ironic, ne?). It’s not that significant so let’s move on to the most exciting part of parties – gifts! Anyway, I’m über happy because I got, like, two Neil Gaiman books in just 30 minutes. The first book I received was a movie-based edition of Stardust though I’d really love to have the Stardust copy with its original binding. Still, thanks SG President for that wonderful gift!!! Of course, I also received with teary-eyes a rare (in the Philippine context) book called Good Omens (Black Edition)written by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman from a super generous friend! I’m also sooooo thankful to all the other people who gave me love in the form of gift this season. At least you remembered me. I’m also so sorry if I wasn’t able to do a proper Christmas shopping for you guys due to two terrible causes: 1.) My shopping-allergic Dad and, 2.) The EVIL Periodic Tests. I hope to spread my cause probably on Graduation season which, unfortunately, won’t be to long.

Gee, I sure missed a lot of memories for I became the Christmas gift shopper of a certain father person when I was supposed to be coming along with my friends for some happy tripping. I’m so sad about that. Sigh, past is past right?

Well, I finally got my results for the SATs and guess what? I still suck at Math…surprise, surprise. Anyway, I suppose that it was destined for me to get a so-so score for a total of 1600. With this at hand, I really need to do my best for the SAT II on January. Ganbatte! What a holiday it’s going to be for me. Somebody please teach me electromagnetism! Onegai shimasu!

On the happier note, I’m finally done with my Christmas shopping for my family’s exchange of gifts. Yayness!

For Christmas, aside from world peace and economic prosperity to the Philippines, I also wish to have copies of Yun Kouga-sensei’s Loveless manga series. Why is it so difficult to buy stuff like those here in the Philippines? See, if you want to give me an ideal gift, I’d recommend that you just give me novels. Not much of the classic ones though. It is not that I don’t like classic books; in fact I really adore them. The thing is I feel unworthy of keeping them.

It seems that I have already filled you with some of my usual hyperactivity these past few days. Can you feel Christmas? I do. Let's all have fun!

I just realized that so many things happened in my life this past three days and maybe you’ve had enough of my wildness. I suppose that I might not be able to keep in touch with you soon so, I wish you all a wonderful Christmas!

'Til my next entry!

Manga Tiangge!

Good evening everyone! Did you miss me?

For the meantime, I’m just going to advertise some stuff. I am planning of concentrating my manga collection so in short, I’m currently selling used copies of the following manga titles:

Land of the Blindfolded (Tsukuba Sakura) vol. 3 and 4 [English]
Gals! (Mihona Fujii) Vol. 1 [Japanese]
Inuyasha (Rumiko Takahashi) vol. 1 [Japanese]
Yu-Gi-Oh! (Kazuki Takahashi) vol. 7 [English]
Card Captor Sakura AniManga (Clamp) Vol. 1 [Japanese]
Rurouni Kenshin (Nobuhiro Watsuki) Vol. 1 [English]

Don’t worry, since the stuffs listed above are used and it’s Christmas season, the price is amenable. If you are interested, post a comment or email me for details. Thanks!

Would you believe?