Wanted: Perfect Friend

Next to finding my very own prince whom I'd always prefer to be smart than charming, having those perfect friends who would always say the right words, let you eat more than half of their meals, laugh with you till your stomach distends with air, invite you for a sleepover, share a hundred of their secrets, and give you the tightest hugs is my next childhood fantasy. Thanks to movie and television shows that features those kind of friends.


But just like the guy who kissed the white girl who can't chew an apple first before swallowing, friends in the big and small screens doesn't exist.


You see, hoping to stumble upon a group of friends who'd never piss you off or make you feel bad falls in the box impossibilities.


A perfect friend and an unflawed friendship don't exist.


It took me two decades of hoping and losing hope to finally realize and accept that.


Back in high school where cliques are as common as online shops nowadays, I've always wanted to belong in a group. To be noticed and appreciated. To not be a poor loser in the background who does nothing but scribble abstract lines until the bell rings or the next class will begin.


Looking back, I felt more like a loser than a loner in the background.


I've always been looking out for perfect friends but I fail to look and ask if I were a perfect friend myself.  And honestly, I know I am far from being a perfect friend.


Failed friendships and lost friends were my proof to that.


I felt ashamed. How selfish could I get? Wishing for a perfect friend when I myself is not.


Thereis no such thing as a perfect friend or a perfect relationship with your chumies. There will always be a bad day between good ones. Let's not taint the good memories and define friends in a box.


Each friendship is crafted special. Our friends may not be there to meet our expectations.But we too, we make mistakes. We come late in appointments, make lame excuses, run out of advices, too sleepy to talk and too difficult to understand.


In the end, I think it still boils down to compromise, respect and willingness.

Eating Green...and Purple

I often pass by the set of establishments fronting SM delgado. And my curiosity dwelled on this cute area that sells fresh vegetables harvested directly from a farm in Passi City Iloilo.

Midway, the establishment that my eyes voluntarily ignored houses the food that you know were never my type- organic!

From their garden salads down to their cheeseburgers, the restaurant shouts green. They even have eggplant for fries.

The place serves not quite a variety of food but the lack of choices were compensated by reasonable servings and unexpectedly yummy foods. Not to mention, they really have an awesome display of frames with cute qoutes. My favorite one says "We don't have Wifi. Please talk to each other." It immediately reminded me of my friend who one mentioned that the moment we connect our smartphones and tablets to a wifi, we became disconneced to the organic way of socializing.

Its weird to say and hear it myself but yeah, I enjoyed the green and purple stuff along with the bread and patty in my burger. It makes me feel good about doing something good for my tummy and body, given the fact that Im sort of having complaints about intermitent pain around my abdomen. Its kinda disturbing really, the pain.

I think Midway is a good start towards embracing a good and healthy life.

If you happen to have a friend who consider veggies their nemesis, which Im sure you do, please do them a favor. Take them to Midway :)

No longer Surreal

Twenty five hours ago, being a writer, having a book and signing them all felt surreal. Even meeting people whom I used to interact only in social media sites felt weird. Super weird. Like Im in a different time and space, or something close to that.


I used to confine the writer in me in my facebook account, in every page of my book and in a very few soul that has come to know what used to be a major secret.


You see, being here in the northern part of the country, going to the place where my little dream came true, seeing the people behind it and actually having conversations with co-writers was like entering an online game. Like the one in the animated film Wreck-it Ralph. You know they exist but they never felt that real until you are actually in that moment.


It was a good experience, not perfect, kinda disappointing (monetarily speaking), physically tiring but some parts of this day made it worth it. Like seeing my editors, smelling the newly printed books, getting complimentary copies, meeting readers and gaining new friends.


I thank everyone who came and have their books signed. It was also a pleasure meeting some of my fellow writers like Ms. Nikki del Rosario, Venice Jacobs, Cranberry Laurel, Dwayne Izzobel and Bridgette Marie :)

Para sa Brokenhearted ni Marcelo Santos III

If I'm not mistaken, Para sa Brokenhearted is Marcelo Santos' second book published by VIVA PSICOM on the early months of 2014.

Marcelo Santos, having over a million likes in facebook is popular for his daily dose of qoutes and inspirational message which is almost universally relatable. He talks about love, relationships, struggles, failures, faith, and everything else.

I haven't read his first book Para sa Hopeless Romantic but I've heard a lot of good reviews about it. So I got curious about him. I wanted to know what makes Marcelo Santos' thoughts so popular with women (aside from the facts that he's quie a cutie).

And so I read his book PSBH, which is the only book available at hand, thanks to my classmate Kenneth for lending it to me.

About the book:

Sa cover, nakalagay doon na isang nobela ang PSBH, pero nakalagay sa isip ko na para siyang self-help book. Ewan, magulo ako madalas. Haha

Anyways, yun nga, sa gitna ng klase (huwag po ninyo akong gayahin) ay sinimulan kong buklatin ang mahiwagang libro ni Marcelo.

It was not the typical Filipino book na madalas kong nababasa na ma-English. In fairness kay Marcelo, he's good with the national language na dapat naman talaga ay kabisado nating mga Pilipino. Detailed din siya sa eksena, you can imagine the setting clearly, para kang nanonood ng pelikulang 3D.

And then I started reading about Jackie and her broken heart caused by her ex RJ. Okay naman yung keento, nasanay lang siguro ako sa tagalog romance kaya nag-expect ako ng detailed na ligawan, sweet gestures, korny lines, you know, typical recipe for a lovestory. Though meron naman siya and I understood the reason for the lack of elaboration, kasi hindi naman yung lovestory nila ang point ng libro kundi ang post-breakup-the bitterness, heartaches and lessons package.

With the last two stories, yung kwento ni Alex at Kath na may twist sa dulo though medyo predictable, I think, mas ma-aapreciate mo yung realizations about second chances and letting go more kaysa sa indibidwal na mga eksena. I guess, that'sthe strong point of this book.

All in all, okay naman. Yun lang, kung di ka brokenhearted o may parehong pinagdadaanan ay baka di ka rin maka relate gaya ko.

Pero keri lang, baka naman iba ang opinyon mo sa opinyon ko kaya gora lang and grab a copy of this book in major bookstores nationwide :)

Once a Princess movie review

Una kong nalaman na magiging pelikula ang Once a Princess noong February 2014. Napa-wow ako nun! Sobrang na excite ako both for PHR at kay Miss Angel. It was something big. Kaya naman agad akong bumili ng librong iyon ni Miss Angel Bautista na naging number one PHR book noong 2012.

When I read the book, I was shocked, hurt then baffled. Nag-expect kasi ako. Andami ko kasing nabasang reviews tungkol sa nasabing libro na sobrang magaganda, iyong tipong well-written, pinag-isipan, "best book ever" at kung anu-ano pa kaya naman nang mabasa ko ang first three chapters, I was like, "Eto na yun?" I have read better books than this. Tapos eto ang naging number one? Nahabag ako sa mga librong nailathala din ng PHR noong 2012. Those books were a LOT better.

No offense meant, pero hindi ako nagkaroon ng enough reason na ipagpatuloy ang pagbabasa. Na bore ako, halos narrations kasi lahat. Kaya parang ini-scan ko nalang hanggang sa ending. Wala talaga akong naramdaman, well, may konting lungkot siguro sa bandang ending but thats it. Ang konti kasi ng interaction ng hero at heroine. At halos walang nakakakilig na eksena. Or maybe, hindi lang talaga ako maka-relate.

After reading/scanning the book, ang excitement ko for the movie, nabawasan, hindi lang pala nabawasan kundi nalaglag sa zero. Idagdag pang hindi ko talaga ramdam na appropriate sina Erich at Enchong para maging lead casts.

And then the trailer came. Napakunot ang noo ko. Iniba ang story, binigyan ng dramatic twist at parang nawala na talaga yung romance.

And the movie. Kung na disappoint ako sa book at sa trailer, sobra-sobrang lungkot at pagkawasak ng puso ang naramdaman ko sa movie.

Credits to THEULTIMATEFANGIRL for the photo collage.

Acting-wise, parang si Erich lang ang pumasa sa akin. Si Enchong at JC, parang okay lang. Nag shine lang yata ang dalawang lalaki sa suntukan scene.

Napaangat ang kilay ko sa supposedly ay kalahating pilay na si JC dahil sa motorbike accident. Like, if he is scheduled for surgery, how can he walk effortlessly? Ni hindi nga niya nagamit ang saklay appropriately. At nagawa pa niyang makipagsuntukan kay Enchong ha? Ni hindi nga siya natumba until the latter part of the fight scene.

Tapos ang love scene ni JC at Erich sa sala. Naka-sapatos pa talaga si Erich ha, at may suot pang tube sa loob. At wala na bang mas magandang lugar? Sana doon nalang sila sa banyo nung tinutulungan ni Erich si JC na maligo. That would have been hotter.

Unrealistic talaga yung ibang scenes. Kagaya ng scene na tinuro ni Lennard (Enchong) ang north star. Duh, halos hindi pa nga lumubog ang araw tapos may lumitaw na north star? And then the cafeteria scene nung dumaan ang motorsiklo ni Damian (JC) at sinabi sinabi ni Erin (Erich) na "This should teach me a lesson never to trust someone like me again." Di ba sa international school sila, tapos ganoon ang cafeteria, worse, ganoon ang basketball court? Kawayan iyong paligid at parang tambay iyong mga naglalaro? At ang bahay nina Erin, hindi manlang napanindigan iyong pagiging magara. Front lawn palang ni hindi nga mai-landscape. Sobrang layo sa description sa book. Apparently, kulang sa budget ang movie. Parang tinapos nalang for the sake na matapos na.

What made me cringe was the english dialogues. Hindi talaga nagawang lumabas na romantic o nakakakilig. Parang ang awkward ng pagka-deliver ng lines. Sana tinagalog nalang nila!

Ang daming discrepancies sa movie, ang bilis ng pacing, walang character development at ni hindi na establish ang pagmamahal ng mga bida sa isa't-isa.

I felt really bad. Parang pinabayaan ng producer iyong movie. Parang nabalewala dahil mas inuna yung ibang movie na mga bigatin ang bida. Sana nag stick nalang sila sa libro, o nag invest nalang sila sa nakakakilig na mga eksena. Sana binigyan ng justice ang salitang princess at ang fairytale-like aura ng title. Sana iba nalang iyong cast. Iyong tipong pagtingin mo palang kay Lennard, kikiligin ka na at mamahalin mo na siya. O sana dinamihan nalang nila ang abs exposure ni Enchong at JC,ikinatuwa pa sana ng mga fans nila. At sana di nalang ginawang sobrang pathetic ni Damian. Sana nagkaroon din siya ng katangiang mamahalin mo. Para naman may point iyong pag-aagawan.

Andaming sana.

Promise, nasayang ang pera ko. Pinambili ko nalang sana ng burger, nabusog pa ako.

the DOVA experience

Dwelling at the heart of La Paz, overlooking the town plaza is a new must-visit place for our tummies, DOVA.

Thumbs-up!

Definitely tomato-y

DOVA waffles are a must-try! 

Amazing tummy experience.

DOVA's frame-inspired interiors

DOVA is an ideal place for people who are looking for a great place with food that satisfies.

Study Haven

Studying is one of my ultimate weaknesses. So I was kinda happy to find a perfect place where I could study without feeling bored and sleepy.

Daily Buns Diversion road

                   
I like the place for several reasons. But here's my top three:

1. Serenity
The place offers a serene environment that relaxes the mind, making it suitable for storing in new info and appreciating that new gained knowledge. 

2. Connected
They have a good internet connection that helps in looking for extra notes on the WWW. 

3. Taste-y
Your tummy will thank you for the healthy and yummy treats that Daily buns offer. They have a wide array of breads and pasta that comes in a very reasonable price. 

If you're looking for a place where you can study, read your favorite books, or just  have a chitchat with your friends in the middle of the busy streets of Mandurriao, Iloilo, Daily Buns is the place for you.