Pooh!

Grabeh ito, watch this and I swear, makakalimutan mo lahat ng problema sa buhay :P

City mouse

Another LOL post from JZ, this time on the (de)merits of the rustic life. I like Peter Mayle's Provence books as much as the next reader—a dream of idle days, rich food and good wine, what's not to like?—but, if today I learned I would inherit a vineyard in France on the condition that I actually move in, I would have to say “Can I get back to you on that?” I think country living is just divine—as long as you can close the book soon as you feel yourself getting sick of it ;P

Kingdom of fear

"People in general scare me. That’s why I live in isolation in a remote area of Maine. I’m afraid of choking to death. I’m afraid of the San Andreas Fault. I don’t sleep on my left side because that’s where my heart is. I’m afraid it will wear out too quickly. I also have a recurring dream about the lake next to my house boiling and blowing up." —Stephen King

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Latest ultimate find at the Makati Cinema Square Booksale: A copy of Kingdom of Fear, The World of Stephen King. It’s a collection of essays about Stephen King written by other greats in fiction and film, such as Clive Barker, Harlan Ellison, and Chuck Miller. And with a foreword by the King himself!

I’ve already started reading it—the first two essays are by Andrew Greeley (“Stephen King’s Horror Has a Healing Power”) and Robert Bloch (“Monsters in Our Midst”)—and am enjoying it immensely. How could I not when it’s a virtual gathering of 17 people telling you their reasons for loving Stephen King’s work? Can’t think of a better fan club to hang out with :)

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"The average guy recognized that King was important a long time ago, and made him into a bookselling phenomenon. Among cognoscenti in the field he’s considered a master. But his work is also important both as literature and as cultural matter. He writes from the heart of the American experience." —Whitley Streiber

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Yes I know, it's finals week, I should be studying! I’ll be a good girl and go back to my @#$%^&*! transpo cases now :)

90 days

OMG it's December! I know my last post was a thousand years ago, so (to the handful of people who read this blog) sorry about that. As usual I've been juggling school (my load this term: tax, evidence, torts, transportation, insurance, international law) and work, but of course there was time for movies (An Inconvenient Truth, Borat, Casino Royale, Marie Antoinette, Green Street Hooligans) and books (Gaiman's Fragile Things, Erik Larson's Thunderstruck, Randy David's Nation, Self & Citizenship, among others), just no time to blog about them.

Today I'm taking a deep breath before diving into finals—our first exam is on Tuesday and the last won't be until the 16th or thereabouts. That means I have to get through at least two more stressful weeks before I allow myself to even think about Christmas, so it will be another rush to get through my xmas list—the kids muna, the adults saka na ;)

Am counting the days ‘til Christmas break—so exhausted! Not that the Christmas season is the best time for rest and relaxation (just thinking about shopping, parties and traffic makes me feel like lying down for a minute), but at least second term will be over and done with and I can behave like a normal person for a change.

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My friend Indira is in London for a 12-month scholarship, and this list was among some wall stencils she saw at the Tate Modern—

HOW TO WORK BETTER
1. Do one thing at a time.
2. Know the problem.
3. Learn to listen.
4. Learn to ask questions.
5. Distinguish sense from nonsense.
6. Accept change as inevitable.
7. Admit mistakes.
8. Say it simple.
9. Be calm.
10. Smile.

Ahh, but what if there’s more than one thing to be done but you only have time to do one thing but you can’t do just one thing you really need to do everything?

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“Unless a man undertakes more than he possibly can do, he will never do all that he can.” —Henry Drummond