Your Love Don't Cost A Thing!

The Top 3 Christmas Gifts To Give Me That Won’t Cost You Anything

I could never make that sound more appealing than it already is. A chance to make me happy this Christmas, and it won’t even make a dent on your battered wallet!

But – and you should know that already, there is a catch. Nothing is free, there is ALWAYS a catch. In the interest of full disclosure, this list comes with that catch, and I’m sure you, my friends, are smart enough to deliberate the trade offs. Catch vs. the chance to make me happy. Shouldn’t be a hard choice, right?

1. Movie poster for Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows, Part 1 – not just posters you can buy at the bangketa, but those big posters they use in cinemas.

The Catch: You have to use your charm (and probably connections) to beg cinema management to hand you over a movie poster. But c’mon, they just throw those away after a movie was shown, right?

2. Download The Amazing Race seasons 1 to 17.

The Catch: Technically, it will not cost you anything, if you’re using unlimited broadband or DSL connection and you will only download on your net surfing time. But we’re talking about 17 seasons here, with an average of 12 episodes per season, so better start downloading soon! If you haven’t seen the show yet, then it’s finally a chance to watch the best reality show in the world.

3. An introduction to someone (who’s cute, nice, charming, witty, plays basketball, plays the guitar, reads books, tall, etc, etc.) – intro lang, how hard could that be?

The Catch: I know you guys. Unless you’ve been lying to me all these years, none of you has a friend/officemate/brother/cousin/second cousin/knows someone who knows someone that I would be interested in or I should have met him already!


21 Days to Go Before Christmas! :p

14 Days To Love - Kisses No. 3

"Look for the girl with the broken smile, ask her if she wants to say awhile, and she will be loved..."



Now here's a kiss with a dash of real life romance!

I have not seen the movie "The Notebook". But I've seen this kiss a few times already and I'm pretty sure it's just as hot as the kisses that Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams shared in the big screen. I love the background music, I love Ryan's little "come hear" gesture. I love how he gently clutched Rachel's hair while they were kissing. I love that they showed Lindsay Lohan's reaction hahaha. I love how Rachel leaned a little closer to Ryan after they kissed and with him still holding her. Even Paul Walker shouting at Ryan ("C'mon say something!") was quite hot. Yep, still shallow.

14 Days To Love - Kisses No. 2

"Saranghae."



From my favorite Korean drama! I want to say that this is another great FIRST kiss, but technically, it's not their first (they had 2 accidental kisses before!). This was their first kiss as a couple, though, and it's sweet and passionate and swoon-worthy. The guy, Gong Chan, is your typical responsible, very serious guy who fell hopelessly in love with his pretend-cousin, the street-smart and bubbly Yoo Rin. Their kiss was both playful and romantic, and for me, showed Gong Chan's growth as a person. The first kiss on Yoo Rin's forehead was sweet, but like Yoo Rin, I was a bit disappointed. And then he pulled her close and really kissed her! The best part was that pause, with their noses touching a bit, long enough for him to whisper "saranghae" (I love you), and kissed her again. *swoons* I'm a pile of goo after watching that and even after rewatching that scene, I'm still kilig.

14 Days To Love - Kisses No. 1

Julia : Not porno tongue. Church tongue.
Robbie: [laughing] Church tongue. I like that.



My first kiss is from my favorite romantic comedy film and it's their first kiss! It shouldn't be romantic, at least as far as the leads are concerned, but it is, because it was at that moment when they began to feel that what they have is much more than just friendship.

I like this, because it's the leads' first kiss and it's sweet, and Julia got more than the "church kiss" she had envisioned. The awkward start, and the strains of the background music (oh so familiar because it's Robbie's proposal song to Julia later in the movie) made the moment a memorable scene.

100 Songs To Save Your Life

I got this from Manuel Quezon III’s blog, but it actually originated from Big Baddie’s blog. The general idea is to create a playlist that you would want your future child to listen to. ONE HUNDRED looks like a big number, but trust me, it’s not easy to limit the list to just 100 songs. My first draft reached 174 and I only listed one song per artist. And it’s harder to choose one song for each artist, especially my favorite ones! The songs I chose aren’t exactly the artists’ best, in my opinion, nor my super favorites. These are the songs that played some significance in my life.



Dear future spawn,

At this point, I still have not met your future dad (or maybe I have but I don’t know it yet!). I don’t have a clue whether he’s going to be rich, gorgeous, intelligent and tall. I wish he would be. But most of all, I wish that there’s really a future dad for me to meet and mate with so that I can actually produce a spawn. Don’t you wish that, too, little yet-to-exist one?

ANYWAY. If there’s anything that I can share with you now, it won’t be riches nor strikingly good looks. It certainly won’t be HEIGHT (for your own sake, pray that future dad has oustanding height genes!). What I can share with you is my passion for three things: music, books and movies.

Let’s talk about music first. Music is like a best friend. It will always be there for you no matter what. There’s music to celebrate your milestones and triumphs, there’s music when you feel down and blue, there’s music when you fall in love, there’s music when your heart gets broken, there’s music to get you through nights when you want to hide out from the world. Music breaks down walls. Music puts into words the thoughts that you can never say.

I’m sharing with you 100 songs that saved my life. Actually, there are more than 100 songs that saved, and has continued saving, my life. For now, these will do. Someday, I will sit down with you and tell you the stories and memories I associate with each song. And I hope someday you would love music the way I do and find those songs to save your life.

Love, your future mom (IF and WHEN that moment comes!)

100 SONGS
001. 5ive, Until The Time Is Through
002. 98 Degrees, The Hardest Thing
003. Ace Of Base, The Sign
004. Adam Sandler, Grow Old With You
005. Aerosmith, Cryin'
006. Alamid, Your Love
007. Alanis Morissette, That I Would Be Good
008. Aqua, Turn Back Time
009. Arashi, Sakura Sake
010. Arkarna, So Little Time

011. Ash, Lost In You
012. Band Aid, Do They Know It's Christmas?
013. Beach Boys, Wouldn't It Be Nice?
014. The Beatles, I Will
015. Bic Runga, Sway
016. Bon Jovi, Always
017. Boyzone, And I
018. China Crisis, Wishful Thinking
019. Crowded House, Don't Dream I'ts Over
020. The Cure, Boys Don't Cry

021. Danny Wilson, Mary's Prayer
022. Dave Matthews Band, Crash Into Me
023. David Pomeranz, King And Queen Of Hearts
024. Dead Or Alive, You Spin Me Right Around
025. Depeche Mode, A Question Of Lust
026. Dishwalla, Angels Or Devils
027. Divinyls, I Touch Myself
028. Elliott Yamin, Moody's Mood For Love
029. Eraserheads, With A Smile
030. Fat Larry's Band, Zoom

031. Foo Fighters, Walking After You
032. The Foundations, Build Me Up Buttercup
033. Fra Lippo Lippi, Stitches And Burns
034. Francis Magalona, Kaleidoscope World
035. Franz Ferdinand, Take Me Out
036. From Autumn To Ashes, Short Stories With Tragic Endings
037. Gin Blossoms, Till I Hear It From You
038. Goo Goo Dolls, Name
039. Green Day, She
040. Hanson, Mmmbop

041. Harem Scarem, Something To Say
042. Heart, These Dreams
043. Hirai Ken, Canvas
044. Hoobastank, The Reason
045. Imogen Heap, Goodnight And Go
046. Introvoys, Kailanman
047. Jars Of Clay, Fly
048. Jason Mraz, I'm Yours
049. Jeff Buckley, Last Goodbye
050. Keane, Somewhere Only We Know

051. The Killers, Mr. Brightside
052. Live, Selling The Drama
053. Maroon 5, She Will Be Loved
054. Matchbox 20, Unwell
055. Metallica, The Unforgiven
056. Michael Jackson, Smooth Criminal
057. Mr. Big, Wild World
058. Muse, Can't Take My Eyes Off You
059. Nelly, Dilemma
060. New Radicals, You Get What You Give

061. Nickel Creek, This Side
062. Nirvana, Lithium
063. Noel Cabangon, Kanlungan
064. Oasis, Wonderwall
065. The Other Two, Selfish
066. Our Lady Peace, Clumsy
067. Parokya Ni Edgar, Silvertoes
068. Paul McCartney, This Never Happened Before
069. Pearl Jam, Black
070. Peter Cetera, Glory Of Love

071. Phil Collins, Groovy Kind Of Love
072. Pink Floyd, Wish You Were Here
073. Radiohead, Karma Police
074. Rivermaya, 214
075. Rob Thomas, Smooth
076. Sandwich, Butterfly Carnival
077. Siakol, Lakas Tama
078. Sisqo, Incomplete
079. Smashing Pumpkins, 1979
080. Snow Patrol, Run

081. Sponge Cola, Dragonfly
082. Stonefree, Listen
083. Sublime, Santeria
084. Sugar Hiccup, Five Years
085. Survivor, Eye Of The Tiger
086. Tears For Fears, Mad World
087. Third Eye Blind, Deep Inside Of You
088. Toad The Wet Sprocket, All I Want
089. True Faith, Hi
090. Two Minds Crack, Upside Down

091. U2, Pride (In The Name Of Love)
092. Ugly Kid Joe, Cats In The Cradle
093. Urbandub, First Of Summer
094. Vertical Horizon, Everything You Want
095. Verve Pipe, The Freshmen
096. The Verve, Bittersweet Symphony
097. VST and Company, Ikaw Lang Ang Aking Mahal
098. Weezer, Buddy Holly
099. Wilson Philips, You're In Love
100. The Wonders, That Thing You Do


P.S.
After this, you should check out the other songs of the artists I bolded.

Fivesome

Honestly? I had a hard time elaborating on these because I’m pretty sure I’ve talked to death about these things a lot of times already and I don’t know how to make this post a little bit more interesting without me just repeating myself. Either Jen knows me too well or I’m way too predictable! Either way, let’s give this a shot!

(Comment to this post to get your own 5 things from me!)

5 Things From Jen:

1) Post-it
I started collecting post-its when I was reviewing for the board. The review school was near the Corona store in Recto and they have local post-its and flags that were cheaper than the trademarked Post-It by 3M. I used the post-its and flags to organize my review materials and notes, and I want to believe that those helped me pass the board! I haven’t bought any kind of post-it or notepad in more than a year (Woo hoo! Be amazed at my self-restraint!), although I can’t help but make sad little noises whenever I see new post-its at National Bookstore.

2) Apple
I don’t hate apples, I just don’t… like it!

3) Dangling Earrings
My preference in earrings used to be simple and uncomplicated. I wear small silver hoop earrings pretty much all the time before. Along the way, I discovered that dangling earrings are the easiest way to look lady-like! I prefer cheap earrings with playful designs, different enough but not too loud or clunky to draw too much attention.

4) Harry Potter
Do I even need to elaborate on this? :D I LOVE Harry Potter ridiculous amounts! I lost track of the number of times I’ve reread ALL 7 books (Book 3 being my favorite, is the most tattered and battered). Aside from the 7, I also have Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Quidditch Through The Ages, and Tales of Beedle the Bard. I plan to collect the UK adult edition books. I have DVDs (original) of movies 3 to 5. I joined an HP-related contest!

But by fandom standards, I’m just an average fan – I haven’t created an HP fansite, I haven’t written an HP fanfic, I never supported a ship and have not engaged in shipping wars with wankers fans. And yet, I spent way too much time creating my own theories about the series, overanalyzing characters and scenes, memorizing lines and spells, and inserting HP references in normal conversations.

5) JDrama
My current crack of choice! There are days when I can sensibly explain why I like jdramas and prefer it over pinoy telenovelas: jdramas are shorter (usually 9 to 11 one-hour episodes) and have fixed storylines that even if the drama became popular or highly-rated, the series will not be extended or the plot suddenly veer away from its original intentions just to satisfy fans’ clamor.

Also, I’m yet to see a jdrama that features clichés I hate, to wit:
- baby-switching
- “we are siblings we can’t be together” angst angst angst “oops, no son, I was an adulterer, he’s not your dad so she's not really your sister”
- I will SUBTLY oppress you by slapping you and pulling at your hair every scene we’re together, dialogue-ing “wala kang utang na loob!” when you so much as fight back a little, throw food at you, finally throw you and your clothes out of the house (which I should have done A LONG TIME AGO if I really hate you that much)
- you can tell I’m poor because I lack table manners
- you can tell I’m the kontrabida because I dress better than the bida (even if she suddenly becomes rich, her fashion sense is still godawful) and I CACKLE when I’m evil-ing

That’s not to say that jdrama don’t have their own clichés; it’s just that so far, I can take those clichés better.
- rain scenes of doom (leads break up in the rain, male lead angst beautifully in the rain, etc etc)
- squee-inducing embrace from the back (bonus if done in the rain a la Hana Yori Dango)
- batshit crazy antagonists (so you don’t feel bad for laughing at them because you’re not supposed to take them seriously)
- gratuitous parade of androgynously pretty guys, with bonus gratuitous nudity (how can anyone NOT like that???)

Obviously, today I’m coherent about my affair with jdramas. Often, I’m too caught up with either its soul-crushing angst or massive suspension of disbelief or pure crack-iness to explain properly why jdramas tick. Jdramas taught me that “WTF?” and “W-wait. What?” are completely acceptable reactions that convey the awesomeness of the drama.

(for someone having a hard time elaborating, I sure have some long answers!)

14 Days To Love - Prelude

Today is the end of January, which means Bash The Singles Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. *cue retching from too much reds and hearts*

I decided to do again a 14 Days To Lurve project that I did last year (like it was such a success). This time, instead of quotes from books, I choose quotes from movies and TV shows. Unlike last time, though, my posts will include notes/thoughts on the quotes I chose. In books, the emotions/feelings behind the quote are described by the author for the reader. This time, it’s merely dialogue, and unless you’ve watched the movie/TV show quoted, the meaning of the words might not be so clear.

You won’t see the usual quotes here, like the lines from Jerry Maguire or The Notebook, because I… haven’t seen those movies. I haven’t watched a lot of romantic flicks, so don’t expect fancy words that will make you swoon. I did not pick these quotes for the words itself, but more on how those words were said by the characters and how it relates to the whole picture. So please be kind and don’t harass me with comments like “But that’s not romantic enough!”.

Jen and Mak are also planning something similar, so don’t forget to check those out.

Comments will be nice, but chocolates on Valentine’s Day are just as good. (What?)

Can't Wait For These Movies!

This is really late, but I saw a poster of X-Men Origins: Wolverine and decided I still want to do my list of my most anticipated movies for 2009!

2009, for me, is going to be The Year of Movies Featuring Hot, Gorgeous Men. I’m not saying I’m watching just for that, I just noticed it while compiling my list. :D

So, here we go!



Top 8 Most Anticipated Movies of 2009

1. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Is anyone surprised at all with my choice? This has been my most anticipated film of 2008 – I already made my plans around its supposed November release date – and what did the producers do? Delayed it until July 2009! My rage, let me show you it. The penultimate book in the HP series wasn’t the best, but who wouldn't want to see Snape kill Dumbledore on-screen? And just because my fave scene in the book (POTTY LURVES LOONY!) won’t be in the film, doesn’t mean I don’t look forward to hearing “WON! WON!”

2. X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Hugh Jackman! Hugh Jackman and his biceps! GAMBIT! Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool! Daniel Henney! Liev Sch-however you spell his last name! Hugh Jackman!

3. Public Enemies

This movie stars Johnny Depp and Christian Bale. They could have the two wash laundry for the duration of the film and I'd still watch it. But this film has a good plot and I'm watching it for it. Really. Really. Depp plays John Dillinger, public enemy #1 during the Great Depression and Bale is the FBI agent tasked to capture him.

4. Watchmen

The production of this movie was mired with legal battles between Fox and WB. I sure hope that the issues have been settled already because everyone's looking forward to this! Everything I've seen so far points to this movie being awesome. The League of Extra-Ordinary Gentlemen, this certainly is NOT.

5. Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen

Optimus Prime is back! Giant robots! I can't wait for the sequel to Michael Bay's best film yet.

6. Terminator Salvation

Another Christian Bale starrer. It's hard to imagine a Terminator without an Arnold Schwarzenegger, but Bale has proven that he can take on an iconic movie franchise and turn it into a blockbuster. Not even the fact that McG directed this film can dampen my anticipation.

7. 2012

Two words: John Cusack. Didn't I say I'm watching movies this year for the eye-candy? Okay, something else to convince you why this is worth watching: the movie is a post-apocalyptic thriller set around a Mayan calendar prophecy predicting that the world will end on December 21, 2012. Now THAT should draw your attention.

8. Sherlock Holmes

Based on the classic fictional character, this movie stars Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law, the sexiest crime-solving pair. I don't think this will be your typical action film and like everyone else, I'm curious as to what RDJ will do after his success as Iron Man.


Honorable Mentions:
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs; Arrested Development; A Christmas Carol (Gary Oldman!); This Side of Truth; Inglorious Basterds; Dragonball Evolution; Crank 2: High Voltage; Friday the 13th; Shutter Island; Ninja Assassin; Star Trek, Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Meme Killed The Radio Star (The Clues)

Sorry! I was not able to post the clues yesterday! Here they are - bonus points to those who can guess the artist and the song title. :)

1. Cause all I really want is to be with you / feeling like I matter, too / if I hadn't blown the whole thing years ago / I might be here with you
   
2. All these rhythms that you hide / only love can save us now / all these riddles that you burn / yeah, yeah, yeah
3. Swimming through sick lullabies / choking on your alibis / but it's just the price I pay / destiny is calling me / open up your eager eyes
4. I thought I was fool for no one / Oh, baby, I'm a fool for you / you're the queen of the superficial / and how long before you tell the truth
5. He's the one who likes all our pretty songs / and he likes to sing along / and he likes to shoot his gun / but he don't know what it means / don't know what it means and I say
6. 5ive
   
7. You realize that / sometimes you're just not okay / you level out, level out, level out / it's not alright now / you need to understand / there's nothing strange about this
8. The Beatles
9. Imago
10. But I'm a million different people from one day to the next / I can't change my mold, no, no, no, no, no, no, no
11. We're just two lost souls / swimming in a fishbowl year after year / running over the same old ground / what have we found? / the same old fears
    
12. Must you make me laugh so much? / it's bad enough we get along so well
13. I've realized that the reason I think / the changing seasons are beautiful / is because you're there / I'm going to tell you now (Obviously, it's either you know them or you don't! I posted the English translation of their song, just in case. :p)
    
14. Kiss me, please kiss me / but kiss me out of desire, babe, not consolation / you know it makes me so angry cause I know in time / I'll only make you cry
15. I'm lost in admiration / could I need you this much / Oh you're wasting my time / you're just wasting time
    
16. Di magawang alisin ang aking mata / sa anghel na nakikita / iniibig na ba kita / Oh ewan ko ba
17. Paul McCartney
18. When you're on a golden sea / you don't need no memory / just a place to call your own / as we drift into the zone
    
19. Green Day
    
20. I would say I'm sorry / if I thought that it would change your mind / but I know that this time / I've said too much / Been too unkind
    
21. Drive me away / cause the night just feels right / take me away with you tonight / anywhere with you
    
22. David Cook
    
23. I'll sing it one last time for you / then we really have to go / you've been the only thing that's right / in all I've done
    
24. This is what you get / when you mess with us / and for a minute there / I lost myself / I lost myself
25. I got shit running through my brain / it's so intense that I can't explain / all alone in my white-boy pain / shake your booty while the band complains
    

I'm The Queen Of Wishful Thinking

I just realized that my birthday is only three weeks away! This is my obligatory pre-birthday/pre-Christmas na din wish list! :)






All I want for my birthday is him:




So cute!



If I can’t have him, I’d settle for a Polaroid Instant Camera:



But I think they’re phasing out Polaroids. Sad.

Anyway, more wishful thinking:

1. UST Commemorative Plate
2. Portable hard drive
3. Rurouni Kenshin (manga)
4. Live Aid Concert DVD
5. Einstein’s Dreams (Alan Lightman)
6. First Among Sequels (Jasper (Fforde)
7. Kafka On The Shore (Haruki Murakami)
8. New pair of eyeglasses!

Also, I need suggestions on how to organize DVDs.

Mix Tape 002: Tunog Kalye

(Rules are here.)

Bilang paggunita sa araw ng ating kalayaan, aking ginawa ang mix tape na ito na aking tatawaging "Paliparin Ang Kamalayan: Tunog Kalye Circa '90". Ang mga kanta dito ay nagmula sa mga bandang sumikat noong Dekada '90.

(Oo, alam ko na hindi naman kelangang Tagalog ang salita kapag Araw ng Kalayaan at mas tugmang gawin iyon sa Linggo ng Wika. Alam ko din na hindi magandang pakinggan ang Tagalog ko. Eh ano naman?!)


Paliparin Ang Kamalayan: Tunog Kalye Circa '90

1. Pagtawid - After Image
2. Ulan - Rivermaya
3. Lakas Tama - Siakol
4. Bilanggo - Rizal Underground
5. Long Hair - The Weedds
6. Halik Ni Hudas - Wolfgang
7. Payaso - Razorback
8. Esem - Yano
9. Torpe - Hungry Young Poets
10. Silvertoes - Parokya Ni Edgar
11. Kailanman - Introvoys
12. Paglisan - Color It Red
13. Tao Po - The Youth
14. Iisang Bangka - The Dawn
15. Alapaap - Eraserheads

(listen to the playlist here.)

Who's The Man?

I was checking one of my (many) notepads and I discovered these two sheets tucked under the pages!
These were given to me by Jen and Mark in one of our coffee sessions last year. I meant to write about it (I think Jen already did!) but it slipped my mind. We tried to guess the qualities of a prospective partner that we thought would be a good match to us. (Jen/Mark, if the explanation was wrong, feel free to correct!) In case you can’t read what they wrote, here are the qualities:

Answered by Jen:
1. Music-lover (into music talaga)
2. Sensible
3. Responsible
4. Conversationalist
5. Patient

Answered by Mark:
1. Smart – insightful
2. Medyo “bad boy” image – rugged (?)
3. Romantic type
4. Charming/carinoso
5. Music-lover

The common answer was: the guy should be a music-lover. Take note that they didn’t write “someone who likes to listen to music”. It has to be music lover, as both Jen and Mark would stress! At first I was amused with their observation since I never considered myself as some sort of “know-all” when it comes to music, so I thought the quality was a bit too much. I just love listening to songs and I often find ways to express myself through music. I thought I would be okay if I can find someone who can understand that.

Then one day I found myself asking a male friend about a certain song and he replied that he doesn’t know it. I answered back exasperatedly, “how can you NOT know it?!” and enumerated the reasons why he SHOULD know it – i.e. it was a song from the second best-selling album of the artist, anyone who calls himself a fan of the artist must definitely know the song, etc.

Okay. So maybe that was a bit extreme and geeky. But my friends got it right – I would really like a guy who’s not just a casual listener. I would like someone who can appreciate a song, lyrically and melodically, its history, backstory and meaning. He needed not have a clear-cut choice of music genre, but I would like a guy who’s not dismissive of other genre and who can inspire me to try out other forms of music.

Another quality/ies which I think goes together was what Jen termed as sensible and Mark called smart – insightful. I guess I’m drawn to people who can teach me new things and who can make me think and re-think. I’ve said before that one quality I don’t like about someone is indifference. I mean, it’s one thing to describe someone as smart when he spouts words as if he had swallowed an encyclopedia, and another thing to describe someone as smart and refer to his well-formed opinions.

For example, let’s talk about one of my fave things – basketball. One guy can recite all the pertinent statistics related to a team, who was MVP when, who wears which jersey, who plays for which team. The other guy can tell you why he thinks the Spurs sucks, or why Steve Nash is the greatest point guard ever, or why the Finals this year is the most exciting ever. The point is, I would like a guy who has opinions, someone who takes time to understand things and would not just shrug you off with “I don’t know”. I think someone like this is also someone who would not take me at face value, someone who would take time to know me and understand me. I guess this explanation sort of touches the conversationalist and patient attributes.

Medyo “bad” boy image – rugged. This one is sort of funny. It’s very specific, but at the same time feels so vague. I’m still not sure if I understood what Mark means by that! Well, maybe if we based it on my “fictional character” crushes, I tend to be attracted to morally ambiguous guys. I don’t want to describe them as outright “bad”, but they’re not nice in the strictest sense of the word. Should I be falling in love with this type of guy? You tell me!

Mark thinks my guy needs to be the romantic type. He should also be charming and carinoso. Why not? I’m not the most romantic person in the world, so a romantic and charming guy is just what my doctor-friends would order to thaw this cynic’s heart.

So I think I mostly agree with what Jen and Mark wrote. I would really like a guy who’s all of these – and more. Does he exist? Your guess is as good as mine hahaha!

How about you - do you agree with these qualities?

50-50 Update

Updated from my entry last February. Items in red are the books/movies I’ve read/seen from March to May.

The year is almost half-way through and I’m only 6 items short to complete my 50 movies! Sadly, my books list isn’t doing so well. Only 7 new books read during the year! Still a long way to go…


Books

21. Degree of Guilt – Richard North Patterson *
20. The Innocent Man – John Grisham
19. Artemis Fowl and the Lost Colony – Eoin Colfer
18. Protect and Defend – Richard North Patterson *
17. Along Came A Spider – James Patterson
16. Camp Foxtrot (A Foxtrot Treasury) – Bill Amend *
15. Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince – J.K. Rowling *
14. Second Chance – James Patterson *
13. Desperation – Stephen King *
12. Book Thief – Markus Zusak
11. Harry Potter And the Chamber of Secrets – J.K. Rowling *
10. Angels And Demons – Dan Brown *
09. Maximum Ride: Saving The World and Other Extreme Sports – James Patterson
08. A Long Way Down – Nick Hornby *
07. Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
06. Artemis Fowl - Eoin Colfer *
05. High Fidelity - Nick Hornby *
04. Lost In A Good Book - Jasper Fforde *
03. The Subtle Knife: His Dark Materials Book II - Philip Pullman
02. The Balance of Power - Richard North Patterson *
01. Your Momma Thinks Square Roots Are Vegetables (A Foxtrot Collection) - Bill Amend *


Movies

44. Sex and the City
43. Hana Yori Dango ****
42. 9 ½ Weeks
41. Rain Man *
40. School Ties
39. One Missed Call
38. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
37. What Happens In Vegas
36. Interview with a Vampire *
35. The Lake House *
34. JFK
33. Superman Returns *
32. Catch And Release
31. My Girl ***
30. Crash
29. High Fidelity *
28. A History of Violence *
27. Sweeney Todd
26. Michael Clayton
25. No Country For Old Men
24. The Hitman
23. Evan Almighty
22. Wrong Turn
21. The Jacket
20. Reservoir Dogs *
19. Cutting Edge *
18. Edward Scissorhands *
17. The Green Mile *
16. My Girl *
15. There’s Something About Mary *
14. Syriana
13. Lions For Lambs
12. Super Bad
11. Juno
10. Karate Kid Part 2 *
09. Titanic *
08. Little Miss Sunshine
07. Seven *
06. Zodiac
05. Eastern Promises
04. Eight Below *
03. X-Men: The Last Stand *
02. She's The Man *
01. Hana Kimi **

* re-read or re-watched, as the case may be
** technically a Japanese television series, but it was worth 12+ straight hours of my life so I'm including it.
*** Korean telenovela
**** another Japanese live action drama!

50-50

I got this project from another blog. In lieu of the usual resolutions (I know! About 2 months too late! But anyway...), I will start a list of the 50 books and 50 movies that I read and saw, respectively, this 2008. Since I started late, I will just include the ones I completed this Feb.

Want to make your own? Make up your own rules. In my case, I decided to include the re-reads and re-watched because I'm madaya that way. And don't forget to tell me about it!


Books

07. Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
06. Artemis Fowl - Eoin Colfer *
05. High Fidelity - Nick Hornby *
04. Lost In A Good Book - Jasper Fforde *
03. The Subtle Knife: His Dark Materials Book II - Philip Pullman
02. The Balance of Power - Richard North Patterson *
01. Your Momma Thinks Square Roots Are Vegetables (A Foxtrot Collection) - Bill Amend *

Movies

12. Super Bad
11. Juno
10. Karate Kid Part 2 *
09. Titanic *
08. Little Miss Sunshine
07. Seven *
06. Zodiac
05. Eastern Promises
04. Eight Below *
03. X-Men: The Last Stand *
02. She's The Man *
01. Hana Kimi **

* re-read or re-watched, as the case may be
** technically a Japanese television series, but it was worth 12+ straight hours of my life so I'm including it.

You know what I learned from this list? I definitely need to read more since I only read two new books so far this year.

I would update this list every now and then until I complete (or exceeded) the required number. Wish me luck!

P.S.
I also realized that while the 50 movies may be easier to accomplish (Hello, HBO! Hello, Star Movies! Hello, MCS or Quiapo!) the 50 books may be a lot harder to complete (unless I just re-read all my stuff). So friends, will you let me borrow your books? :)

14 Days To Lurve - Day 14

Finally, the last entry for this series. I decided to come full circle so I will end this with another quote from Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity (actually the third quote fron the book). Well, not so much as a quote but almost an entire chapter! I hope you can see the romance behind the sort-of sarcastic exchange of dialogue. I just thought that this was the most romantic way to propose. Happy Valentines!


“Are you going to talk to me, or shall I get my paper out?”
“I’m going to talk to you.”
“Right.”
I swish the beer around so it’ll get really lime-y.
“What are you going to talk to me about?”
“I’m going to talk to you about whether you want to get married or not. To me.”
She laughs a lot. “Ha ha ha. Hoo hoo hoo.”
“I mean it.”
“I know.”
“Oh, well thanks a fucking bunch.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. But two days ago you were in love with that woman who interviewed you for the local paper, weren’t you?”
“Not in love exactly, but…”
“Well, forgive me if I don’t feel that you’re the world’s safest bet.”
“Would you marry if I was?”
“No, I shouldn’t think so.”
“Right. Ok, then. Shall we go home?”
“Don’t sulk. What’s brought all this on?”
“I don’t know.”
“Very persuasive.”
“Are you persuadable?”
“No. I don’t think so. I’m just curious about how one goes from making tapes for one person to marriage proposals to another in two days. Fair enough?”
“Fair enough.”
“So?”
“I’m just sick of thinking about it all the time.”
“All what?”
“This stuff. Love and marriage. I want to think about something else.”
“I’ve changed my mind. That’s the most romantic thing I’ve heard. I do. I will.”
“Shut up. I’m only trying to explain.”
“Sorry. Carry on.”
“See, I’ve always been afraid of marriage because of, you know, ball and chain, and I want my freedom, all that. But when I was thinking of this stupid girl I suddenly saw it was the opposite: that if you got married to someone you know you love, and you sort yourself out, it frees you up for other things. I know you don’t know how you feel about me, but I do know how I feel about you. I know I want to stay with you and I keep pretending otherwise, to myself and to you, and we just limp on and on. It’s like we sign a new contract every few weeks or so, and I don’t want that anymore. And I know that if we got married I’d take it seriously, and I wouldn’t want to mess around.”
“And you can make a decision about it just like that, can you? In cold blood, bang bang, if I do that, then this will happen? I’m not sure that it works like that.”
“But it does, you see. Just because it’s a relationship, and it’s based on soppy stuff, it doesn’t mean you can’t make intellectual decisions about it. Sometimes you just have to, otherwise you’ll never get anywhere. That’s where I’ve been going wrong. I’ve been letting the weather and my stomach muscles and a great chord change in a Pretenders single make up my mind for me, and I want to do it for myself.”
“Maybe.”
“What d’you mean, maybe?”
“I mean, maybe you’re right. But that doesn’t help me, does it? You’re always like this. You work something out and everyone else has to fall in line. Were you really expecting me to say yes?”
“Dunno. Didn’t really think about it, really. It was the asking that was the important thing.”
“Well, you’ve asked.” But she says it sweetly, as if she knows that what I’ve asked is a nice thing, that is has some sort of meaning, even though she’s not interested. “Thank you.”

14 Days To Lurve - Day 13

He sat down on the edge of the bed next to her, and dropped his head in his hands. ‘It wasn’t supposed to be this way,’ he thought. He felt her shift on the bed again and place her hand on his arm. He loved her. Every time he had to leave her, his heart ached. Every time he saw her, his heart ached. All he wanted was to be with her. She consumed him in every way possible. She gently squeezed his arm, and he closed his eyes. He could lead her into the fires of hell and she would willingly follow.

Opening his eyes, he turned to look at her. He could see in her eyes that she loved him, there was no doubt. And it was because of this love he allowed himself to do something he had always forbidden himself to do – dream. His life had never been his so it was useless to dream, but when he held her, he realized he wanted his life to be his own. He allowed himself to dream of a future and in this future he saw himself walking with her, free. They were both free.

Forbidden Obsession - Corazon (an HP fanfiction from Ashwinder)

14 Days To Lurve - Day 12

I like being called his wife in the same way that I liked calling Lander my husband. It felt sort of tingly. I had the same feeling when I stared at my wedding ring. They say you get used to it but I hoped that they were wrong. Marriage, like spinach and opera, was something I never thought I would like. I changed my mind about opera when I was nine years old. My father took me to the first night of Madame Butterfly at Brescia. After the performance Dad cooked, while Puccini regaled me with hilarious stories and signed autograph books - from that day on I was a devoted fan. In the same way, it took being in love with Landen to make me change my mind about marriage. I found it exciting and exhilirating: two people, together, as one. It was where I was meant to be. I was happy; I was contented; I was fulfilled.

And spinach? Well, I'm still waiting.


Thursday Next, Lost In A Good Book - Jasper Fforde

14 Days To Lurve - Day 11

And all of it, this whole grand obsession, carried on in the face of a racing heart, a turning gut, a frantic sense of resistance and disbelief. I shudder at random moments. I tell myself that this has not happened. This is a juvenile episode, a mind trick with deja vu. I grope around inside myself for the old reality. I say to myself that I will get up in the morning feeling unaffected, feeling right again and sane.

But I do not, of course, and the moments when I am with her, the anticipation, the appreciation is exquisite. I feel short of breath and giddy. I laugh too easily, too much. I do what I can to stay near her, show her a paper over her shoulder while she's at her desk, so that I can linger with the details of her person. And then, when I'm by myself, I feel desperate and ashamed. This raging, mad obsession! Where is my world? I am departing. I am gone already.


Presumed Innocent - Scott Turrow

14 Days To Lurve - Day 10

Well, it means you were right - that my leaving would be giving up on you, and I'm not quite prepared to do that just yet. But it also means that I need to know that you're not quite prepared to give up on me yet either... So, all that being said, I refer to the wall, with its hastily- yet adoringly-written S.O.S., which I guess kind of speaks for itself... I spent an hour and a half staring at this half-painted wall after we talked last night. Just staring and thinking. So, the way I figure it, it's your turn to stare now.


Pacey Witter, Dawson’s Creek Season 3 - "True Love"

14 Days To Lurve - Day 9

I can never go back to loving you the way I did, knowing that my love wasn't strong enough the first time around.


Pacey Witter, Dawson's Creek Season 3 - "Secrets and Lies"