Guiding Principles

There are four things in life that I've learned so far that could be called my own set of "advices" or a more popular word for that would be "guiding principles" in life.

First and foremost is to treat life as an adventure. Those are big words to say and there are no step by step guide as to how to treat life as an adventure. What I mean about this is that life is as boring as it is because of all the routine that we people go through. Most of us "normal" people go through school: pre-school, elementary, middle school, high school and college. Afterwards we look for jobs or decide to further our studies. And then we're back to our routine go to school/work go home. This scenario begs us to question "what are we doing with our lives?" and that's when one would realize that spontaneity is what we need and it's what is lacking from our lives. Now, this is just the first one and the following would better justify or support my decision to be always in an adventure.

Second is that it is okay or much BETTER to be different, unique or strange. I would like to quote Rachel (from F.R.I.E.N.D.S) what she told her father on the phone when she finally decided to live on her own, "..It's like all my life everyone's told me 'You're a shoe! You're a shoe! You're a shoe!' Well, what if I don't want to be a shoe? What if I wanna be a purse or a hat?.." What I realize from this is that it is not enough for people to conform or to be always told what to do. There is a part of us that wants to do everything in their life in their own way, without any people judging them for it. However, it is hard to face people's prejudice and this is what stops us from doing things. By the time that we realized that it's okay to be different, we should be able to be confident and accept other peoples voices and what they have to say about you because that way you would learn not only from their opinions but also learn to say "Oh, f*ck it. They know nothing about me" and just start on doing what you want to do.

Third is having a goal. Figure out what you want to do. It is hard, really but in order to have a fulfilling life, you must know what you want and work on achieving it. Some famous people or even your teachers or friends might tell you to make use of your skills or talents to figure our what you want to do in life but that is not always the case. Some people (like me) may admit that they don't have any talents and that they are average at almost everything so how would they find out what they could do in their lifetime? Well, that is a hard question as I am one of those who question that. However, I figured out (or made myself believe) that it is not necessarily true that only those people with talents or skills can make a huge difference in their respective fields. What I want to believe is that every person stands a chance to do their best at whatever they love doing even though they aren't necessarily a GENIUS at what they do. Mere passion can take you there. I am not saying this because I've already experienced it but someday I want to be able to say that. That's what I want to believe in and everyone should believe that doing what you love is the best thing that you can do even if you feel that you're not that good at it. Becoming good at it comes next.

Fourth is having an "attitude." Not in a bad "attitude" kind of way but in a I-don't-give-a-damn-about-your-opinion-and-I'm-feeling-good-about-myself kind of way. Everyone needs that "I can do it" attitude because double-thinking and being weak can make you not do it at all. There really is no harm in trying and that is so true. The only one you're harming is yourself because you don't want to experience failure that's why you don't try things at all. The end of it all would be regret that you didn't try because what if you tried and there's a hundred percent chance that you would get what you want? But because of fear, you didn't try and that hundred percent automatically becomes nothing because you have no confidence in yourself. No one can bring you down but yourself. You may blame other people but in the end, you're to blame because you let other people bring you down. Attitude. You're precious and if other people don't know that then YOU show them.

Nevertheless, I confess that I don't entirely practice these principles because I'm quite frail when it comes to making life decisions. I decided to write this down so that I wouldn't forget what I learned and so that I could apply all of these in my life. I am starting now and I hope I wouldn't be drawn away by some other thoughts or life events.

This serves as a reminder that I am still living and the time of my life is still ticking.

Upcoming Posts..

This post serves as a reminder to myself that I have to make these posts:

• Bigbang Alive Tour in Manila
• Trip to Singapore
• Graduation

It's better to do it this way so I really wouldn't forget since it's out in the public.

What this blog is all about.

I just have a lot of feelings right now so I decided to make an entry. I'm just realizing that I'm on my last year of being a teenager and that I'm graduating soon. I mean, how can I not feel that right now when I'm being a bum doing nothing all day but watch FRIENDS. You see, while watching FRIENDS, I realized that "OMG, I'm turning 20 next year." And that 10 year gap from being a teenager to being a "full-grown" adult is deemed to be the "best" years in one's life. That's when one person can live independently and make choices for himself/herself. Those choices would directly affect which path one would walk in when he or she turns "old and boring." Well, as I'm watching that lovely series, I am really realizing that anything can happen and to be honest, I'm looking forward to those years in my life especially right now. As I'm really looking forward to it, I want to start it with something I would really enjoy. Maybe I'd have some regrets but hell to that I wouldn't think of them in a bad way and just make the present matter. 

I've noticed that these days I'm worrying a lot because of my future and I want to do all sorts of things. But I'm realizing that I am not the only one involved in my future that's why I'm really confused. I don't know which path to take with all the choices. I'd like to take on something that would make me look good but not make me feel good about myself, or vice-versa, that's why it's killing me. Now I just want to focus with myself and my present. Take choices one by one. Now, this paragraph doesn't really matter.

To put it short, life might not be all fun and adventure but we can treat it as one. I would like to have all the fun I could have especially when I still could. There's no stopping my adventure. Hell, this blog is all about it.

Writing & Passion.

Finding the right words… Thinking of fitting ideas… It’s really hard to write something that would satisfy a writer. A writer would always want to scratch everything that he or she have written and make a whole different concept. Endless proof reading and revisions… But in the end, he or she would always go with the one which makes him or her feel good, no matter how badly written the work is.

I’m writing this entry at nearly 1am, September 9, 2012. I’m quite sleepy right now but I want to make an entry for this night. I have lots of stuff going on in my mind right now and they’re in a hurry to come out and be put into words. First stop, I’d like to share something about finding what you’re truly for. This finding your true passion and living it is quite cliché but I’d like to say that it is not an easy thing as you see in movies. Your life would not fit a 1-hour and 40-minute movie and it is not as beautiful as the portrayal in those near reality fictions. Sometimes life can be a bit blurry – imagine a blurry scene and all you can make out of it is the sound, which can be just sad piano music. Well, this blurry part of life is where I am right now. When you think you’ve already achieved something that’s admirable, you end up thinking whether it really is, whether it is something worthwhile. At 19 years old, almost living for 2 decades in the world and given 13 years of everyday social experience at school, how come do I feel like I haven’t done anything meaningful? But then maybe it’s because I’m JUST 19. This is not some first world problem and those shit others say. People live for many different reasons – and I haven’t found anything I feel that is worth it. Other people or perhaps most people say that in finding passion, one should make use of one’s talent or gift. Perhaps you’re a really good singer, maybe you can sing songs with messages that can reach every people in this damn world to make them realize those things that should be of importance. I’ll not make myself look pitiful here but I really haven’t found anything I’m good at that could make a difference in this world. I’m still enjoying in trying out things that could be my passion and make use of that to possibly leave a legacy.

Even though I’m still writing and re-writing my life by learning from experiences, I believe that I will find that something that would make me feel good all the time. That something that I would never regret doing and that something that I would be willing to spend my life with to make my life worth living.

Attempting to do an August post at almost 6 o'clock in the morning

So I've just finished writing my final research paper for Sociology and it's already 6 o'clock in the morning and I'm still up and writing this blog post. How cool is that? My eyes are now begging me to wrap this m&*(^&% up and sleep now but no. I am dedicated to write this blog post as long as I can................... No I didn't just bump my head on the computer!! I was admiring the black things floating under my eyelids. Ha-ha! Anyways, I'm so tired now and if I read his blog post when I wake up I'll probably laugh at my ass.

This has been a Rated-18 post and I hope you didn't have fun reading it, 'cause I didn't have fun writing it.. (a bit I guess) Until my next post probably on September!







CIAO.

(what the hell did I just type)

BIG (spoilers ahead!)

Theme: Maturity

My BIG Question: Why didn’t the writers include Yoon Jae’s ending?

Answer:

In the drama, the story mostly revolves around Yoon Jae. It was all about him and his relationship with Gil Da Ran. Even I thought before that the story was going to be about how Yoon Jae and Gil Da Ran’s relationship would strengthen. It was clear to me before that the story would still revolve around Yoon Jae. Just notice: even if Yoon Jae’s character didn’t actually exist after the second episode (except for the flash backs that was so lovely ^^), he was still mentioned- he was the priority even. The story revolves around him. I believed that to be so. However, when Gil Da Ran started to have feelings for Kyung Joon, he was given the spotlight. After that, you would notice that Kyung Joon was the star character after all. However, one wouldn’t notice that because the drama seems to be telling us something. Yoon Jae’s body as Kyung Joon is implying that Yoon Jae is still given priority. It’s just that when Gil Da Ran acknowledged her love for Kyung Joon and vice versa, it is being shown to us that Kyung Joon’s character is given importance; and more importance that is. This is the explanation why I was so disappointed that Yoon Jae didn’t get to have an “ending.” I kept expecting for his character to comeback because I still can’t see the body of Yoon Jae as Kyung Joon himself. I think that’s why in the end, Kyung Joon is still portrayed in the body of Yoon Jae to show to the audience that Kyung Joon is as important as Yoon Jae; that Kyung Joon is not a mere body sleeping for almost all the time in the series and that Kyung Joon was “Yoon Jae” all along. It is to reiterate that Yoon Jae’s body is not just his body. It is the body where Kyung Joon matured after all. He wouldn’t return to the person he was back then. Thus there was not a single scene that Kyung Joon returns to his own body, and that is again because Kyung Joon had already matured.

But this doesn’t mean that Kyung Joon really didn’t return to his own body. This is just an interpretation of the drama. This is a new kind of drama in my opinion. It is not about the characters at all. It shows to the viewers how the theme is being relayed through the medium of art chosen which is a drama series. We are so used to dramas being centered to the characters. This time, the Hong Sisters went to a different direction; that is a new kind of drama. A drama series with a theme to begin with, and that theme is where it all begins.. and ends.

(This is a post to answer a question that got me asking when I saw the ending. However, I still think that the ending didn’t satisfy the goody-fluffy-warm feeling that I felt while watching it from the start until before the end. If I am right that the Hong Sisters were trying to go to a different direction, which is to make a new breed of drama, well it was not a great start. But trying something new doesn’t always mean that we would like it or that we would be satisfied easily. It is to be expected that people would get disappointed at first either because it was the first time of the writers to write in a different way or the people are just not used to those kinds of stories/drama series.)

Fangirl post! (V.I.P.)

I consider myself as a full-pledged V.I.P. (BigBang fan). I started becoming a half-hearted fan of BigBang in 2010 but then I have loved them more and more until in 2011, I became addicted. Now, we (V.I.P.'s and other K-pop fans) know that BigBang will be holding a concert here in the Philippines for their world tour (Alive). I died at the moment when I found that out and I just came back to life (I can't miss their concert, haha!). So yeah, I have been excited since then and I wouldn't forgive myself if I don't get the BEST seat in the concert. Although the best seat is in their dressing room.. kidding. Well, I'm ready to spend some moolah just to get a good (and I mean really good) view of the boys during the concert. Because of that excitement, I immediately bought the latest version of the BB light stick. I originally wanted to buy from the YGshop but then the shipping fee was too expensive. That's when my friend introduced me to a shop that her friend owns and then I bought two things: the light stick and the Alive album (GD cover). I admit that the light stick was expensive when I bought it but now there are many shops offering it at a much LOWER price so feel free to check other shops out. I just bought that immediately because I was really really excited and I don't care how much money I spend (haha! impulsive buyer.). Anyways, here are photos which I posted already on my instagram account (genina07). Follow me!

The light stick. (ver. 3)

The Alive album (GD cover)

I chose to buy the GD cover because obviously, by bias is GD. Anyways, let's all get ready for the concert and save some money for the ticket! Also, bigbangph (http://bigbangph.org/) has a project for the concert so check their website out for more details. It's dedicated to the boys so it will be a really huge project. Let's support Filipino V.I.P.'s and the hope for the success of the project! :)

A boring life post.

What's going on in my life these days? Well, as I'm expecting to graduate, I feel so lazy about going to university and all. I feel like I should have a break because I haven't had any real ones lately. All that makes me move now is the thought that I'll be graduating this October. Well yeah, I need one more push to get me through this.

One thing that is also bugging me these days is my tendency to want all sorts of stuff. I have to remind myself that I can't have all of those things and that I have to limit it. Some are material things and some are not. I really need to have one direction right now. I like different sorts of things that's why I tend to have many "wants" or "likes" to the point that I don't know which path to follow anymore.

There's only one thing that I am proud of right now. I've stopped drinking soft drinks and I hope that I can still go through with that.

A post about books.

I love books. I always buy them whenever I have enough money. Even if I don't really know whether the book would be good, I'd buy it once I declare it interesting. However, I don't really read it immediately. In fact I have so many books that are left unread in my bookshelf. The books won't even fit the bookshelf anymore. The reason why I don't read the books immediately after buying it is that I'm busy with school. As a student hailing from a liberal arts college, it is to be expected that I read a lot of things required for class. That's why my books get neglected easily. During the summer vacation however, when I just did internship and no reading required, I finished three books. Those are Catching Fire, Mocking Jay and Th1rteen R3asons Why.

I'll start with Catching Fire and Mocking Jay. I've already read Hunger Games (first book of the trilogy) way back before the movie was released. Then after being free from school works, I immediately started reading Catching Fire. All I can say about Catching Fire is that it is an action-packed book. I think it is the longest among the three because of those exciting happenings in it. At the end of Catching Fire, I was so mind-blown that I had to read Mocking Jay right after. While I was reading Mocking Jay (middle part), I had to stop. I didn't like what was happening anymore, and I feel like I'm being tortured mentally. Suzanne wrote the book in a way that you wouldn't able to predict anything because many things could possibly happen. I was like 'brain, please stop over-thinking and let me finish this book.' But my mind won't and I was getting paranoid by the minute. Then I decided to let myself breath and didn't read it for a day. When I got impatient, I read it with the decision of finishing it so that my paranoia would stop. I finished it and I will not spoil anything by commenting on the ending.

Next is Th1rteen R3asons Why. This book is by Jay Asher and my copy is published by Razor Bill. When I first saw this book at the book store (Fully Booked), it was in the section of the 'featured' books. Being put there was of course a huge thing, that's why I got interested and read the synopsis at the back. It was interesting and I already felt the excitement just by reading the synopsis. I then bought it and started reading it. It was a kind of book that I didn't have to put down just because I don't feel like reading anymore. I put it down because I needed to do something else. It was like a priority to finish this book because it keeps on growing inside me while I'm reading it. I can't help but continue to read. So the story goes like the guy lead, Clay Jensen, received tapes from an unknown sender. He listens to the tapes and he found out that the voice behind it was Hannah Baker, the girl from her school who committed suicide. By the time he had received those tapes, Hannah was already dead. Those who received the tapes were the ones involved in Hannah's decision to take her own life. The title 'Th1rteen R3asons Why' comes from the tapes. Hannah provides reasons why she took her own life and those involve people too. It's not much of a kind of book where I can relate with but it provides readers with a different insight. Sometimes I'd be mad at Hannah because of deciding to take her own life with those reasons. But the book also provided me a reason why those thoughts exist in the minds of teenagers. One more thing, I love the character of Hannah Baker and Clay Jensen. They have fresh personalities, unlike those in other books or movies that I've already seen before. I really love this book and I recommend it for those who like to read young adult novels. And for those who don't, I still recommend it because it has a unique way of narration which shows two perspectives at the same time.

Those are the books that I've finished reading this summer in the Philippines. Now school's started and I guess textbooks and journals would take the spotlight in my priority reading list. Since I am in my last term, I hope that I could read novels again (not as a school requirement) after graduation!

I also bought a Jane Austen collection of her seven novels: Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion, and Lady Susan. This was published by Barnes and Noble, NY. I wanted to buy Pride and Prejudice only but the cost of that book is nearly the same as this cool compilation. It has an 'old book' feel to it that's why I had decided to buy it after thinking a lot. 

I haven't started reading it yet but I will once I have time. What I'm currently reading is (and the unfortunate book which would be dumped because school has already started) John Green's Paper Towns. I couldn't say much about it but it is a mystery type of young adult novel. I've already read John Green's Looking For Alaska and it was good but not so awesome (for me), and I have his 'An Abundance of Katherines,' which is also one of those books that I haven't read yet.

One last thing, I am actually collecting books and it is one of my dreams to build a library in my house full of books that I've collected in my lifetime.

Random Post # 2

I've been wanting to blog about many things these days.. but I was just too lazy to do so. Now I just want to update this so that I'd remind myself to blog about all sorts of stuff. I think that I'd be blogging about my recently acquired gadgets and makeup, a trip to a tourist spot in the Philippines (which will happen on Friday), and a book haul. Well, those are the stuff worth blogging. But maybe I'll post some more random things in the future. It's so fun randomly saying anything without planning or anything. And oh yeah, my cat is pregnant and I think she'll be giving birth soon. I love kittens. And my cat.

Sore ja, ato de buroggu shimasu. (I can't put that in hiragana/katakana yet 'cause I haven't figured out how to do that on this computer yet)

Etude Playhouse 2012 & Forever 21 SM North Edsa

I went to the Etude Playhouse: Pink Fair 2012 on its first day since I got a free entrance ticket for it through buying from Etude House anything worth 1,000 pesos. I didn't take that much picture since I didn't bring my DSLR (since it's so heavy). Actually I didn't take any pictures at all except in my BB. However, BB's camera is low quality and I just posted it on twitter.

The Playhouse was fun, with all the games, talk and freebies. Unfortunately, I didn't get any prize for the games since I was such a noob. -_-" The talk was however enlightening, like the Beauty 101 and the trend report both by Meg magazine. When I was done with the games, I decided to go to Forever 21 first since it's its second day of opening in SM North.

I bought these stuff:

Back view of the top

Front view

This is a pleated shorts and mine's a much darker orange.

White shorts with tribal print belt

Pictures taken from Forever 21 website: http://www.forever21.com/

I also bought sunglasses and a pair of feather earrings. The feather earrings was a last minute thing just to make my bill reach 5,000 pesos for a free F21 bag.

This is the free bag. ^^

A Quick, Amateur Photo shoot.

Model: My sister. Makeup & Photo by yours truly.

This was an unexpected photo shoot. I was just going to try out the 'smokey eye' look on my sister, then it turned into a photo shoot session. The location was actually just in our parents' room and the lighting was the yellow light installed in the room. There's a white space in that room so it was convenient. I've also touched-up the photos a bit like the one on the left, I tweaked the highlights, shadows, etc.

Same for this picture at the left, I've also just tweaked the lighting. the background gave off a white-ish color because of the TV. There are black and white versions of these first two pictures in my sister's Facebook account since she wanted it to be in B&W.

The next is in B&W since I thought that it is better without color. I used the preset in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom to give it a B&W effect. 

This photo on the right is quite a weird one. Through the course of my experience in taking photos of my friends or family, I've always had a liking on weird shots like this one where the model has a blank expression (I'm thinking of posting that other picture..). It's just that it's not pre-determined or expected. I played with this photo in Lightroom and I stumbled upon this effect and viola! I liked it. I call this one the 'frozen' look.

Love Rain.

 Love Rain is Jang Geun Seuk's new drama with Im Yoon Ah from SNSD (Girl's Generation). The story basically has two parts. First is the part set in the 1970's, and the second is the present. The first four episodes of Love Rain is dedicated to the 1970's part.

The screen cap on the right is Jang Geun Seuk <3 and in just 3 seconds, he fell in love.

So how does it go? The first part is set in the 1970's wherein a college student, Seo In ha (yes, I got bothered at first when I found out that his name is the same as my nickname), fell in love with a college girl named Kim Yoon Hee (Im Yoon Ah). However, things got complicated when something happened. I don't want to spoil this stuff because I basically watched this clueless of what would happen. (I was right with my guess though..)                                                                                                                   
Look at how they dress (at the right)! 

The title. Why is it called "Love Rain?" Look at the photo on the left, that particular frame tells a lot of story so I think there aren't much to be said here.

 And the screen cap on the right also tells a lot. I put it there because of its importance so yeah. Well, the guy there is Lee Dong Wook (no, not the actor LDW) played by Kim Si Hoo. Lee Dong Wook is a med student and he comes from a family of doctors. He's also a "casanova." He's pretty charming..

Well of course, Jang Geun Seuk here on the left is happy playing tennis. I just want more screen caps of JGS. >.<

And yet another screen cap..









These screen caps come from episode 1 of Love Rain. However I'm on episode 5 and later is the airing of episode 6. I'm just waiting for the English sub and I'll be able to watch it. That is why I cannot talk about the second part yet because I don't know which details to say. But if you do some research, the second part is about the present. This will not sound good because unfortunately, Kim Yoon Hee and Seo In Ha will not be together. That's why the present is about their daughter and son, respectively, and their own love story. If you've watched the Korean film "The Classic," this is quite like it.

Random Post

This is random post #1. I will blog about random things from time to time when I have time and energy to do so. Well, this first post about randomness is firstly about the layout of my blog! I'm so lazy to fix it and the PS in my laptop is not working. When I get ALL free time, I'll be making something like a banner 'cause the title part is too plain for me. I don't want to add color since white is the best for me cause it's neat. Second is about school. I've been quite slacking off lately this Holy Week vacation but I've already finished two works that needs to be done. However, there are many more to go and there's my finals. That's why I found time to re-start a blog because of pro-cras-ti-na-tion. Oh our good friend procrastination. Well, I'm currently slacking off. Third is about this blog and its future. I'm planning to make this blog last looong (cause my blogs tend to be short time ones). This will be my sort of investment so that I'll be reminded of continuing this blog by the time I graduate. I'm also hoping that my life would be REALLY full of adventures like the title of this blog. If not, should I change my blog address then? XD 

That's it for my random post #1 and more random posts to goo~

Makeup Haul: Etude House and The Face Shop

I was planning to go outside (yes, outside. I've been stuck at home) this Holy Week that's why I checked which malls are open. I checked online and turns out that almost all the malls are already open today. So I went to SM Masinag, to buy some goodies since I had extra money. I went to both Etude House and The Face Shop and I bought these:

Etude House

This is the 'Lovely Cookie Blusher' in 03 Orange

This is what it looks like..

Fresh Cherry Tint #01

Fresh Cherry Tint #01 (Red)

Happy Teatime Green Tea Cleansing Tissue. I always buy this as a make-up remover.

And tah-dah! I got this! I actually bought my sister a powder brush, that's why my purchase was 1,000+ pesos. If you purchase about 1,000 pesos and above, you either get a sticker something or this ticket to the Etude House Play House: Pink Fair 2012. It's on April 21-22 from 2pm to 7pm. There are lots of things to do in the Play House like make-overs, photobooth, games, etc.

 Face Shop

Phytogenic Infinite Powder Foundation with SPF 20 NB 25

When you open the box..

Powder Foundation itself..

Face it Designing Eye Shadow 04 Gold & Brown

Face it Designing Eye Shadow 04 Gold & Brown

Inside.. with 4 shades.

Swatches, clockwise from the darkest color.

 7P Eyeshadow Brush

 Freebies from The Face Shop!

I put on the Lip Tint, Powder foundation and Eyeshadow. ^o^