13 Things I'm Grateful For in 2013

Even with all our Christmas mourning and family problems, I still believe in silver linings. Thirteen thinngs because we're ending 2013. These are the things/people/events that I'm so grateful for. Yeah, I know I'm not making that much sense. But what are you grateful for this year?

Christmas Giveaway Winner!

Sorry about my absence these past few days, what with all the stress about my father's death and Christmas hype and family affairs. I hope everyone had a merry Christmas! I'm glad to announce that Denysia A. won my giveaway. Denysia, please check your email for instructions on how to claim your prize :)

Everyone else, thank you so much for joining! I hope you try your luck next time on my other giveaways (there will be plenty more I'm sure).

Have a prosperous new year ahead! Lots of lovin'!

A Eulogy

He was a good man. Some people might say otherwise, but he was a good man to me.

So I just found out my biological father, the person who took care of me for the first ten years of my life and kept on loving me even after that, passed away. We were at our church Christmas party when my mother handed me the phone. I didn't understand the text message at first but when realization hit me, my lungs felt like acid, my mouth was filled with something like bile, my shoulders started shaking, my knees buckling and a soft wail escaped my mouth. I didn't know what I'd do, so I ran. Sturdy arms caught me and escorted me downstairs, Ptr. John tried to comfort me but I really wasn't listening anymore. I let the tears fall and the sharp gasps slip out, not caring who was watching or if I was too loud. I couldn't understand what I felt, later on I realized it was grief. It was the emotion I felt when I realized it wasn't working with my parents anymore, only much more intense. Much more terrible.

Pepper Lunch Dinner

I know how funny that sounds, but let me tell you why it's Pepper Lunch and not Pepper Dinner. Turns out, for most people in the world, ESPECIALLY the Japanese, mornings and afternoons are the busiest time of the day where you dedicate a big chunk of your day to hard work. So Pepper Lunch usually serves those people who are really active in daylight (but they still try to cater to you, vamps and insomniacs, no worries). The founder, Kuniho Ichinose-san, started Pepper Lunch in Tokyo, Japan in the year I was born, 1994. Since then, it's come a long way, both geographically and achievement-wise. They have restaurants and hawkers all over Asia, even  reaching as far as Australia and the mighty US of A.

Who do I know all these things? Am I a crazed Pepper Lunch fan? I'd love to say so but actually, these are the kinds of things you pick up when you meet the marketing people of an establishment. It's that and free food.

Bigby's 15th Birthday Bash

Around two weeks ago, I was invited to Bigby's Cafe and Restaurant to celebrate their 15th birthday. The celebration endured the whole year, but on the December 8, they had an affordable All-You-Can-Eat buffet ready for their guests. The buffet, priced at Php395 for adults and Php295 for children aged 12 and below, was fairly reasonable, considering the things they put on they table. My favorite, and everybody else's, Baby Back Ribs, graced the buffet table as well.

Divergent Trilogy by Veronica Roth

I first read Divergent almost a full year ago, it wasn't that great for me since I'm a sucker for awesome (really awesome) writing and it fell short of that. Story-wise though, it had great potential. The story is set in a dystopian world where people are required to live in conformity to a group, called faction, for the rest of their lives from age 16. The factions intend to fix a certain problem with the world, problems that caused the destruction of earlier generation. Some resolved to live in self-denial (Abnegation), knowledge (Erudite), peace (Amity), honesty (Candor) and courage (Dauntless). Their society discourages open thinking so it scares them to have people who have more than one aptitude for a faction. Beatrice Prior is one of those people and she's scared of herself, scared of something she doesn't even understand.

The Taste Of Dreams

Last Wednesday, The Chubby Buddy and I were privileged to be invited to try out this new homebased pastry business' cakes. Chocolates and Creams sprung out of the desire of friends and business partners, Shela Camarinta and Melody Joy Tan, to bring their global sweetscapades to our budding city.

EATalian: Angelo's Ristorante CDO

I read somewhere that the three most popular foreign cuisines in the Philippines are Italian, Japanese and Chinese, and surprisingly, Italian tops that list. I found it hard to believe at first but think about it though: Spaghetti, Lasagna and Pizza. What place have I visited in this country that doesn't know these words? Anyway, I'm not a very big fan of Italian but the place I was invited to last weekend certainly made me a fan!

December Wishlist 2013

Well, I have a wish list every month, not just this month because it's Christmas. Usually I see a trend in my wish list so I don't always buy the the things on this list because I know that after a while, my urge to buy some of it diminish. Anyway, enough explanations: I've marked down some of the things I've been wanting for a while (which means it's not just a passing fondness to fads)

 - Compact System Camera **

 - Pullover

 - Solitica Contact Lenses

 - sterling silver jewelry

 - Cowgirl Boots

 - A New Wallet

 - Doc Martens type of Shoes

 - Boaters **

 - less appetite

But yeah, I understand that I may not get all things this year but it's okay. I know how to count my blessings! Some people need the money much more than I do so o shouldn't hesitate to spare! While I want these things, some people need adequate food, clothing and shelter. I don't mind not having these things anyway :)

I don't know why I'm blabbing about these things. It's a miracle I got to post something today too. We're thinking of moving to a different internet provider, our current one is being slow and the technical crew aren't even nearly helpful.

Movie Review: The Family

A mafia boss and his family are relocated to a sleepy town in France under the witness protection program after snitching on the mob. Despite the best efforts of Agent Stansfield to keep them in line, Fred Manzoni, his wife Maggie and their children Belle and Warren can't help but revert to old habits and blow their cover by handling their problems the "family" way, enabling their former mafia cronies to track them down. Chaos ensues as old scores are settled in the unlikeliest of settings.

This is seriously one of the funniest movies I have seen this month. Okay, maybe it's the only comedy I've watched so far this month but it's hilarious anyway! Mind you, it's not quite like Mr. Bean (the in-your-face funny type), I found it amusing because seriously, can you imagine a mob family trying to be normal anything but?

Anyway, what I didn't like about the movie is Diana Agron's bad acting. She looks bored all the time (I think its the eyes) and it's not giving her character any plus points. The kid and Robert are my favorite. Michelle Pfeiffer's accent was terrible but I enjoyed mimicking her anyway (so I didn't completely hate her lol)

This isnt really a review (as you might have guessed) but I really recommend you guys watch this movie! For fans of The Godfather like myself, don't expect too much mafia business, it's a family movie afterall. Do expect anger management issues, guns and a terrific climax by the end.

I give it an eight out of ten!

Math!

The ancient Babylonians, Chinese and Egyptians all were known for their mathematicians. The Pythagoreans that followed Plato first used the term "mathematics" for the study of math theory and numbers. Originally, theories and formulas were recorded on stone and papyrus. Students often studied the subject under tutors and teachers in organized schools. Today, mathematic books help students who study the subject to pass their mathematic coursework. Mathematicians and scholars create textbooks at various levels for learners from elementary school through graduate school level. By top educators, math books are written and published in various languages for distribution around the world.

Marketing math textbooks happens through target campaigns to educators and parents using catalogs, conventions and internet advertising. Advertisements are geared for certain levels of mathematics. Many parents are interested in helping their children get a good start in the subject and buy easy math books. Math is an essential pillar of learning and education, so the school book industry continues to write, update and publish math books at all levels from basic math to calculus and beyond. Because math literacy is expected by students from their earliest years in the classroom, the market for quality mathematics textbooks remains steady. Into the future, new books will always be written, published and sold so that young and old can learn up-to-date mathematics.

Book Haul #1

As you might have deduced by now, I'm a bit of a nerd. Well, one part of me is a hardcore-literary-parallel-searching type of nerd, while the other part is a closet-nerd. I actually prefer hardcore but all of you need closet nerd Penda. The one who pretends to not sniff books, not read ebooks on her tab and not hyperventilate at the sight of Rainbow Rowell / John Green's books. If it weren't for closet Penda, this blog would've been swarmed with literary puns and pretentious book reviews. This is closet nerd P's territory. Hardcore book geek's stuff is supposed to be at An Imperial Affliction. But since I'm (we're?) revamping the blog, hardcore nerd gets seven minutes of heaven! Muahahahaha! I have dominated you little earthlings!

The Emotionality of a Male

My best female friend Page has been away to study music for a year now. And since I’ve got the emotionality of a male*, I’m just starting to miss her.

*Quick intermission: The Emotionality Assumption

A. Women are more likely to miss people/ places/objects directly after loss/departure/separation of said people/places/objects while learning to let go eventually.

B. Men are more likely to miss people/places/objects later on, after realizing the impact of said people/places/objects.

Essay Writing

Last semester, my English professor required the class to write essays. Having written essays almost all my life, this didn’t really pose as a challenge to me, but I wish I could say the same for my classmates. It was really important to do well on the essay since it accounted to a large portion of our grade. Even though I wanted to help those who came to me, I couldn’t accommodate them all. And while online, I found that there are other means to get the job done. These include purchasing premade essays and hiring someone to build the essay for you. It’s obvious that if I have to choose one, I’d go for the second option. And here are some good reasons why it’s great to hire someone to help you with your essays:

    - Save on time, frustration and stress.

    - Have others contribute to your mastermind ideas in the first place! The people writing the essays encourage you to discuss essay ideas with them.

    - Original essays that consider your thoughts vs. premade essays that do not represent you at all.

    - Reliable and competent essay writing (this is always where it matters, because if it wasn’t, why hire someone?)

    - Learn from professionals by observing their work

A good provider for such service is Powered Essays - an online company offering high-quality custom writing services to students from all over the internet. Services include custom essays, term papers, research papers, dissertation and many more you are able to find on the site. They promise a 24/7 customer support and the chance to communicate with your hired writer. You are also ensured that the essays they provide are non-plagiarized, meaning not copied from the internet or any other source.