Farewell to Finn

I've watched Glee since the Pilot episode of season one. I've loved them since then, too. There are very few episodes that I didn't particularly dig, and a handful of songs I'm not a fan of, especially in season 3. But all in all, this is one of the shows that really make me happy. I can remember many points in my life when I was really down and watching Glee episodes was one of my main forms of escape from all my worries and the stresses in my life.

It broke my heart when Cory Monteith died from a drug overdose. My heart broke for Lea Michele. My heart broke all over again for Rachel in today's episode, when the show had to also let go of Finn. I cried like a baby, balled my eyes out, from the very first scene all the way to the last.

And this scene just killed me..

Happy Day!

I'm excited to hug my Curly Top again today! Yey! I feel like cartwheeling, if I only knew how.

Honey

My bestest friend in the world shares her name with a sweet, sticky stuff. I think it's appropriate. She's really sweet and she's stuck with me for life. We've been friends since we were both twelve. She was the first person who struck up a conversation with me on the first day of freshman year in high school. (Yes, back in our day, high school starts after 6th grade so the freshmen are like twelve or thirteen.)

We went through puberty together, and that makes our friendship all the more sacred. When I look back, it makes me smile to remember all our silly antics. We were like Serena and Blair from Gossip Girl (minus the rich parents, gorgeous outfits and vindictive schemes), always fighting over petty stuff, having silent wars and hating each other, only to make up again the following day because we miss talking and we have important stuff to share to each other. By "important stuff" I mean updates like her crush glancing her way for like a fraction of a second, or my crush asking me for a sheet of paper before a quiz, or that our favorite boy bands have new music videos out on MTV, or that she realized she wants to marry that cute drummer from one of those bands and have two kids with him after college. 

We were inseparable in high school, but rarely saw each other during college. We studied in the same school but took up different degrees, we made friends with other people, I had a boyfriend, she had two (not simultaneously!). One great thing about our friendship is that we don't need to see or talk to each other daily to reinforce our relationship. We could go for weeks or even months at a time not hearing from each other, but when we see each other again it's like we never stopped talking, like it was only yesterday when we last got together. 

She's the first person I run to when I'm going through a crisis, she is my rock. She's like a sister to me and she knows me inside out. Even now that she's married (not to the drummer of the boy band though) and we're living and working in different cities and going through our adult lives separately, she remains to be my very best friend. Time and distance could never change that. And I hope when we're both eighty-year-old grannies, we'd still get together on rocking chairs in a porch and chat the day away like we always used to.

Roller Coaster Diet

It's not something to be proud of, but I've been on a kind of roller coaster dieting since May of this year, in hopes of losing weight and getting rid of my flabby tummy and arms. I call it "roller coaster" because I've developed an unhealthy pattern of not eating almost to the point of starvation, which I'd be able to pull off for three weeks or so..and then around the time when I'm about to get my period, a wicked attack of food cravings would kick in and I'd spend about a week binge eating on sweets and rice meals. When the cravings subside, I'd be filled with so much guilt that I'd stop eating again. And the cycle repeats itself...

I always tell myself that I would exercise but I always end up quitting after one or two tries, because it's so damn hard! 

Right now, I'm at the end of another epic week of binge eating. I looked at my kitchen cupboard this morning and discovered that I've consumed most of its contents, and to think that I only stocked food in the house in case of another emergency flooding situation in which I might get stranded at home again, because when it happened almost two months ago I was caught unprepared. So now, I have to go to the grocery again and re-stock my emergency food supplies.

I think I really need to start exercising instead of keeping up with my ridiculous eating habits.

Imaginary Friends

I don't remember having imaginary friends when I was a child, but maybe I did have them. I'm not entirely sure if kids who had imaginary friends would be able to remember having them when they're grown up. I think I have to research on that.

Anyway, I do have a lot of "imaginary" friends now that I'm older. Only, they're not just inside my head. I did not create them. They are real people who live somewhere on the other side of the world. I met them through this square-ish screen called The TV. And I have an amazing imaginary relationship with them. Come to think of it, I don't just have imaginary friends, I also have imaginary family members, imaginary enemies, imaginary neighbors, and best of all, imaginary boyfriends/husbands/love interests.

I stand corrected, I just realized not all of them are real. Many of these imaginary people in my life are fictional characters who were created for TV or books or movies. But still, my life is a lot better having an imaginary connection with them, even if the love is always going to be aimed one-way. Haha!

My Imaginary BFF: She's super fun to hang out with, makes me LOL and LMAO. Plus, she's very kind, loves dancing, loves singing, loves giving, loves talking. She likes random funny stuff and random heartwarming stuff, appreciates talented people, and loves animals especially cats. She's my best friend for life!

She's the only real person on this list.

My Imaginary Families: I care for them like my own parents and siblings.

Modern Family

Raising Hope

The Starks, Game of Thrones

My Imaginary Girl Friends: They're like my soul sisters!

Max and Caroline
2 Broke Girls

Blair and Serena
Gossip Girl

My Imaginary Pals: The best bunch of people to hang out with!

That 70's Show

How I Met Your Mother

Chuck

My imaginary schoolmates: My real high school experience sucked so I re-live it vicariously through these folks.

Dawson's Creek

Glee

Teen Wolf

Awkward

My imaginary neighbors: Observing the daily drama in their lives amuses me to no end.

Revenge

Breaking Bad

Suburgatory

Once Upon A Time

The Walking Dead

My imaginary office mates: I'd rather work with these people. 

Suits

Drop Dead Diva

Outsourced

Grey's Anatomy

My imaginary boyfriends: *Swoon*

Damon Salvatore
The Vampire Diaries

Nate Archibald
Gossip Girl

Jon Snow, GoT

Mike Ross, Suits

Isaac, Teen Wolf

*I do not own any of the images in this post, all were borrowed from Google.

Letting Go of Harry Potter

So Daniel Radcliffe is currently the poster boy of the Toronto International Film Festival, with three new films this year.

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/harry-potter-actor-evolves-bold-roles-20191286#.Ui05sBJ92eg.twitter

I realized that I've been neglecting Dan, and I feel really bad about this realization. I mean, he's made other films after--and even during--the Harry Potter series. But I've never seen any of those other films. I downloaded December Boys a long time ago, but never got around to watching it. I sometimes think about seeing The Black Woman but I always talk myself out of it, making lame excuses like, "It might be too scary for me."

The truth is, a tiny voice inside my head is preventing me from seeing Dan in any role other than Harry. I just have this feeling that if I let myself see him as another character, or even as the real Daniel Radcliffe person, that would really bring about the finality of it, that the Harry Potter world I live in is done, over. I refuse to move on. He is Harry. He doesn't have any business being anybody else. 

But that's unfair, I know. I mean, I've fully supported Emma's works after she shed the trappings of Hermione and moved on to become Sam in Perks, and I fully intend to see all her other upcoming films too. So why can't I give Dan a chance, eh?

Well, I think I'm finally getting there. I am currently reading this book called Horns, written by Joe Hill. It's one of the films in the Toronto festival that Dan is starring at. I got mildly intrigued when I read about the story, and especially after I've seen pictures of Dan in character as Iggy Perrish. I immediately reserved a copy from Fully Booked, and thanks to the rainy weekend, I am now halfway through it. On the first few pages, I had an internal battle within my head, because my brain kept picturing Daniel as the main character, but I keep catching myself in the act and I try to erase the picture because it's painful to let Harry Potter get lost in another book. But now, I think I've resolved my inner conflicts and am now able to let Harry and Iggy co-exist in my fantasy world, telling myself that they just look similar but they are two very different persons.

Dan as Iggy Perrish in "Horns"

So yeah, Dan can move on because he deserves it. But I hope he wouldn't mind if I say this: For me, you will always be Harry. Always.

Christmas Came Early

It's a Friday the Thirteenth today, and as luck would have it, I received bittersweet news at work about a new role that I'll start doing a week from now, and for some reason I don't feel like I have the time and strength to process it all yet, so when I got home I threw myself into a weekend coma. 

When I woke up tonight, my semi-crappy day took a turn for the better, if not for the best! Lo, and behold!! The news that my broken-Potter-heart has been longing for ever since the closing credits of the last Harry Potter movie rolled in front of my tear-stained face: A Potter world movie spin-off! (Cue trumpets and drum rolls and all joyful, exalting music here.) And J.K. Rowling herself will be doing the screenplay for it! My heart wants to burst with so much excitement right now. My inner Hogwarts witch is doing back flips and cartwheels and just dancing with glee! 

http://insidemovies.ew.com/2013/09/12/jk-rowlingharry-potter-fantastic-beasts/

http://entertainment.time.com/2013/09/12/fantastic-beasts-and-where-to-find-them-everything-we-know-about-j-k-rowlings-new-potterverse-screenplay/

http://popwatch.ew.com/2013/09/12/harry-potter-jk-rowling-fantastic-beasts/

Too true, Luna Lovegood!

The magic lives on!

The new adventures will be based on this Hogwarts book.

Oh, you fantastic beast of a woman! I love you, my witchy godmother!

Let the Countdown Begin!

It's the first of September, which means that Hogwarts students are packing into Kings Cross station once again, on their merry way back to school, while I sit and rot here, still waiting for my Hogwarts letter to arrive...

It also signals the start of the longest Christmas season, only here in the Philippines! As soon as the -ber months kick in, we Filipinos go Christmas-crazy! Never mind the fact that we still have All Souls' Day coming up in November. We put up holiday decorations, we play Christmas carols, and we start Christmas shopping!

But for me, it's time to sing that seasonal song that only becomes appropriate every time September rolls in!

When People You Know Die...

I'm feeling very mortal right now. Just received truly devastating news from my hometown. Seven young people, most of whom I know either personally or as acquaintances, perished in a tragic road accident yesterday. Made me realize how I've been living my life as if it would never end. It's an unpleasant jolt of reality. Most of those people were younger than me, and now they're gone, just like that. Forever taken away from the people who love them. I'm going to need more than a moment to process this.

Scrap Pork

The voters' poor decision-making skills plus the politicians' horrific greed and immorality equals a very poor quality of life in the Philippines. We are actually very rich in terms of natural resources, and Filipinos are a hardworking bunch of people. Yet we are a third-world nation. Why? Because we allow criminals and all sorts of fiends to run our country, control our resources, and take advantage of the power.

Here Comes the Sun

After a week of relentless rain, Mr. Sun finally decided to grace us with his presence. Time to hang my newly washed clothes out to dry!

Bad Day

Today, I took my very first (and hopefully my last) swimming expedition through waist-deep flood waters. It was the most unpleasant experience of my life, not to mention scary as hell! With every step I took, I was expecting to get swept away by the strong current, or get electrocuted by unseen live wires. But God is so good, He delivered me safely to my third floor apartment. I am now safe and sound, a bit shaken, yes, but safe nonetheless. When I reached my house, I immediately took two baths, one after the other. Then I bathed in Isopropyl alcohol. I'm planning to burn the clothes that I was wearing when I swam through the flood. They're painful reminders of this day which I plan to put behind me as soon as possible. (Plus, those clothes are probably teeming with all sorts of germs and other gross stuff!)

Here We Go Again!

August is really proving to be delubyo month in the Philippines. It's been like this every year, ever since I started living here in Manila. Ondoy, Habagat, and now Maring. Nature is unleashing its fury upon us once again.

Homesick!

After just two weeks of being back in the big, bad city, I wanna go back home to Neverland. Take me back to the beach, please!

I need to find an effective distraction soon, lest I go crazy! I'm seriously considering quitting my job and heading back to live in my parents house again. I'm so jealous of Curly Top who gets to spend two more months back home!

I miss this mokong so much!

Celebrating the First of Many Decades to Come

Today, my Curly Top and I celebrated our tenth anniversary as a couple. It's amazing, surreal even.

We met during freshman year of high school, I was twelve. Back then, I regarded him as just one of my classmates. A tall, lanky guy with curly locks who always sat towards the back of the classroom with the rest of his buddies. I, on the other hand, was always seated near the front with the rest of the short girls and boys. He and his group of friends were the noisy ones, the troublemakers, the popular kids. I was a goody-two-shoes who preferred to be left alone with my Archie's Comics and Sweet Valley High pocketbooks. He played for the football team for Intramural Week every year. I tried my luck once with the softball team but promptly quit after a head-to-ball encounter. (Whoever named the sport soft ball was very mistaken!) 

He was frequently seen playing a guitar inside the classroom or on the corridor during free periods and in between classes. He's an all-around nice guy. He had many friends, many extra-curricular activities. I was minding my own business, trying to navigate my way through high school with as little bruises and burns as possible. One day during senior year, out of the blue, I realized that I liked this guy a lot. No reason at all. I don't even talk to him that much. But suddenly, he's just always on my mind. Weird. At sixteen, and it being just a few months away from high school graduation, I didn't have the slightest idea of what to do with those sudden "feelings" that I had. So, I did the most sensible thing to do: nothing.

We attended the same university for college. (There wasn't really a lot of choices as far as universities go in our little town.) We would say hello whenever we bumped into each other on campus. Those infrequent encounters, or even just spotting him from afar, made my college days worthwhile. I harbored a silly crush on him, but me being me, never in my wildest dreams expected to be in a serious relationship with him (or with anyone for that matter). My life back then revolved around school and home, and I knew my parents would probably kill me if they found out I had a boyfriend. But all of those factors didn't stop me from saying "I love you" back to him, when he finally told me how he felt for me ten years ago. 

To be honest, at the beginning, I didn't really have very high hopes for our relationship. I was always bracing myself for the inevitable end, for things to get screwed up, for an obstacle too difficult to surmount, for one of us to finally quit. But maybe we got lucky after all. Ten years down the road, we're still here. The object of my teenage puppy love turned out to be the one true love of my life. For this, I'll forever be thankful. 

So, to my dear Curly Top, God bless the not-so-broken road that led me straight to you!

All Hail, The Half-blood Prince!

So my kumareng Kate delivered a bouncing baby boy yesterday, and then stepped out of the hospital today looking like this:

http://celebritybabies.people.com/2013/07/23/royal-baby-prince-of-cambridge-first-photo-kate-middleton-prince-william/

Congratulations, Kate, for making the rest of us commoners feel uglier than ever. Haha!