It’s sooo Lit!!! #atozchallenge2017

***NOTE: As explained in my last post, I was going to finish last year’s A to Z Challenge. Here is my letter “L”.

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Literature. I cannot write about the topic of Writing without writing about literature. That would probably be some form of blasphemy…

What is Literature to you?

When I was young, I used to think that “literature” was exclusively used to refer to stories or novels. I don’t know now how I learned more, but it was probably when I encountered the term “related literature”. I was a bit surprised that anything written (well, at least those with some value) can be considered literature.

According to the Ancient History of Encyclopedia,…

“Literature (from the Latin Littera meaning ‘letters’ and referring to an acquaintance with the written word) is the written work of a specific culture, sub-culture, religion, philosophy or the study of such written work which may appear in poetry or in prose.”

Based on this, it is either poetry and prose.

Dictionary.com explains it much clearer in the definitions it has provided. Literature is defined as:

• written works, especially those considered of superior or lasting artistic merit
• books and writings published on a particular subject
• leaflets and other printed matter used to advertise products or give advice

That last part was the kind of information that most surprised me when I learned about it. Leaflets and advertisements were far from my mind. That was mainly because whenever I thought of the word before, I thought of value and merit, especially artistic merit.

“Certain forms of writing, however, are universally regarded as belonging to literature as an art. Individual attempts within these forms are said to succeed if they possess something called artistic merit and to fail if they do not.” (Britannica.com)

That was how most of us were brought up. It was so old-school that even anything that’s not artsy was generally disregarded as literature, no matter how valuable the information it contained.

“Literature is a form of human expression. But not everything expressed in words—even when organized and written down—is counted as literature. Those writings that are primarily informative—technical, scholarly, journalistic—would be excluded from the rank of literature by most, though not all, critics.” (Britannica.com)

Anybody can be a critic, but it does not necessarily make him right. If anything, this kind of thinking was developed during the times when people were concerned more about social strata and social snobbery. We put the word “literature” in a box — No, this is just you, Lit. You can’t be some leaflet or thing that anyone just thought he’d write and call Lit. The nerve!

Today, we have become open to accepting the more modern definition of the word. Still, there are critics that cannot be persuaded. Me? I have broaden my own definition:

“Literature is a valuable written work that is artistic and/or informative and has merit to, at least, one individual.”

You say toh-mah-toh, I say toe-may-toe. Basically, it all boils down to the person appreciating it.

How do YOU define literature?

 

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I could have written more about it, but I fought off my tendency to write long posts to keep you interested. I hope you liked it and share your own thoughts in the comments below.

L is for “Literature”

This piece serves as my Letter L post for the A to Z Challenge 2017.

Why Dialogue is Important #atozchallenge2017

I learned to write fiction first by writing in script form. That means, except for a very few and brief inclusion of actual descriptions enclosed in parentheses, my stories were 95% dialogue. Some friends liked the stuff I wrote, though. Well, they were kids, too, so it was not hard to impress them.

The nice thing about it was even with the absence of actual storytelling, the dialogues worked. My few readers understood the stories, liked them even somehow. Why? Because the dialogue has its own specific and important role in literature.

The Whys of Dialogue

Years ago, I learned of this. I cannot recall from whom or where, but I learned that dialogues are essential in a story. Novels need them, be they fiction or non-fiction.

Here are what I know:

Dialogue makes interaction between characters more natural.

Without dialogues, can you imagine how it would be like? Sure, you can write them this way: She told him he was very wrong. Fair enough. But if you were a reader, how would you like to read something like this one?

She told him he was very wrong. He told her that he was right. She answered back saying he had to prove it. The man then accepted the challenge and said he would be back. Before he left, she reminded him that….

Oh, my. Major headache, that’s what one will get if he reads a whole book without actual dialogue. It’s not just boring, but rather annoying. Even if the character is supposed to be mute and doing sign language, you must be able to let the readers know what it is the character is telling somebody else. This is in written form, folks. There is no other way for your readers to see the actions. It is up to you to make them see–and hear–the character in their heads.

Dialogue adds “character” to the character.

It makes the reader understand a character better. Dialogue gives him personality, background, attributes, etc. If he talks with a certain accent that is recognizable through how the words and even grammar are written, the reader can immediately gauge from where he’s been, maybe get an idea of what his morals are, his beliefs, other things. Like if he sounds Texan, maybe he carries a gun.  This is not merely stereotyping, rather a part of characterization. In fact, you can make him more interesting by making him different, like he’s a guy who has never held a gun in his life–that would be an interesting angle.

You can even let details about the character be known through his indirect words. For instance, one of my inspirations for Maya, the main character in my story, is Dr. Temperance Brennan a.k.a. Bones. Brennan is a genius who likes to share and insert trivia and stuff  in conversations. So by letting Maya talk and talk about trivia and stuff that she learns from her doctor-friend (who does most of the forensics talk, naturally), I let the readers know that Maya’s got the brains, too, and that she could also be a tad like a know-it-all sometimes, like Brennan.

You are more than just your brain, Dr. Brennan. #BonesFinale pic.twitter.com/qPnQkgCVnO

— BONES (@BONESonFOX) March 29, 2017

Dialogue fills in the void.

When something about the character or what is happening to him is not explained clearly, whether done by the writer intentionally or not, dialogue reflects the character’s thoughts and feelings. It makes him more human, or in the case of fables and children’s stories where animals and non-living things talk, more human-like.

Through his words and by the way he says them, that gives the reader an idea of him. How does he communicate? How does he speak to others–is he rough, angry, soft-spoken, prone to using coarse language, gentle? How does he treat particular characters? Those maybe clues to things the readers have yet to unravel.

Of course, there could be twists in stories. The well-mannered gentleman may turn out to be the murderous psychopath after all. So how can we say that his dialogues are the reflection of him? They are. He is deceitful, cunning, malicious, and his next dialogues will prove how cold, horrible or conflicted he is.

Dialogue provides white space for the reader.

Not unless a dialogue is turned into a whole speech, it allows for white space. It is literally that empty space on a page that lets your eyes “breathe” or rest. They will need rest after reading loooong paragraphs. I even learned this in my journalism class in college. Dialogues being often shorter allow that break, which then allows the brain to more clearly process what has been read.

 

Alright, so far, those are what I know. I did do a research and found more valuable information. I have collated resources and listed them down below. I suggest you pay them a visit.

Importance of Dialogue to the Readers

It mentions about dialogue also being…

• critical to plot advancement
• a tool of foreshadowing
• one way readers learn about the setting and conflict in a story’s exposition

Reasons for Using Dialogue in a Story

It listed down more ways dialogues help in stories, such as in making the story advance, developing the characters, increasing the story’s pace and dynamics, and showing what is happening rather than telling it.

“How important is dialogue in a novel?”

Writers shared what they know about dialogues. They may echo what have already been said here, but there are more valuable nuggets of knowledge and wisdom to be found.

 

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It is always my pleasure to share, so I am hoping you gleaned at least one thing from this post. Be back tomorrow!!!

D is for “Dialogue”. Like you don’t know it yet. PFFFT.

This piece serves as my Letter D post for the A to Z Challenge 2017.

If you’re interested:

A for Alibata – How to Spell the Ancient Filipino Way

B for Block – “How do you personally deal with writer’s block?”

C for Contents – Contents with all the Feels

Contents with all the Feels #atozchallenge2017

In the world of SEO, it’s been said many times over: Content is King. But it is not just in SEO. In fact, in general, in a world where communication is vital, quality content should definitely be top priority to get the message across.

For instance, what good is a story if there is no content? I mean, even editorial cartoons have stories, right? There are contents involved, whether the words are visible, heard, and/or simply implied. Why? Because, as said, contents are needed to get the message across, to get the needed/intended results. In Marketing and Advertising, the same is true. Bad marketing and advertising are not going to get you the customers and the clients, you might as well close the business.

When I was in college, we were taught that one of the most effective ways to entice viewers is to create motivational videos. This type of videos are written to appeal to the emotions. If you do it effectively, your intended audience may be motivated to buy your products or get your services. The best examples of motivational videos are commercials. Of course, there are lots of  silly and downright irrelevant ones. But when it comes to commercials, you need to target the emotions, appeal to viewers’ senses, make them believe you are relevant to them.

So where am I going with this? I thought I’d show you a great example of great marketing. This has to do with the trilogy of commercials Jollibee did just for this recent Valentine’s season. Jollibee is McDonald’s‘ biggest competition in the Philippines. It has actually already branched out to neighboring countries and the US. Maybe Europe even, I’m not sure.

For those not in the know, Filipinos are a very sentimental bunch. Jollibee, being homegrown, knows this. They have been coming up with sentimental commercials for the longest time that have helped endear them to people. These still result to great name recall that get them the new customers–imagine, toddlers already screaming for “Jollibee! Jollibee!” whenever they see the mascot or its statue. They’d recognize the “bee” anywhere. Ask them where they want to eat, they’ll be saying Jollibee. Ask them what they want mom or dad to bring home for them and you know the answer.

Now about those Jollibee Valentine’s commercials? Pure. Genius.

Granted, there are a few misses that I’ve noticed, but overall, they’re great! In fact, just search for “Jollibee commercial” (or specifically type in “Vow Crush Date”) on YouTube and you’ll see a whole lot of reaction videos about these three presentations. Oh, but YOU don’t really need to, because I have shared those videos right here, just for you.

Watch them, see what I mean, and you’ll get ALL the feels! THEN decide if you’ll still want to be my friend after getting all those “feels” (well, that’s what they call it now)… BTW, “kuwento” means “story”.

So, are we still friends??? 😉

Everytime I watch reaction videos of this series (it should be in this order so you have the happy one in the middle as some kind of buffer, at least), it never fails to make the reactors tear up. Yeah, it’s sad, but that’s an example of great marketing. Of course, how important can a fast food chain really be in your life? Not really much. But the recall, wow. Even foreigners now already know and recognize Jollibee; some of them have tried out the food since there are restos near them. I mean, how great is that?

I know they made you sad, but you have to remember, these were made for Filipinos who could relate to them. Filipinos are big on families and emotions. Besides, I also know that aside from sad, you felt various things, too. I told you, FEEEELS…. There are more heart-warming, feel-good Jollibee vids (ex. Ang Regalo ni Lolo or Grandpa’s Gift last Christmas), but this series got the most reactions.

Commercials aren’t really that long here. On social media, they keep these long, but on TV where they pay millions per play, they just show complete ads for a week or two, then show the shorter versions as viewers already know the stories. The Valentine’s ones, in particular, aren’t on TV now as they were supposed to be for February.

Anyway, here, I will just show one of the reaction videos. I chose this because the guys are really funny. Just fast-forward to the actual reactions part (at 7:56), if you want. Thanks to Maximum Munchies for this!

As bonus, here’s that local 80s song from “CRUSH” that the guys were swaying to:

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So happy you’re here. Hope you liked this post (though you probably teared up a bit). Please come back tomorrow!!!

[DISCLAIMER: I am not endorsing anything…But if Jolllibee decides to give me a whole year supply of food, why not? *wink*]

C is for “Contents”…and “Commercials”, why not???

This piece serves as my Letter C post for the A to Z Challenge 2017.

If you’re interested:

A for Alibata – How to Spell the Ancient Filipino Way

B for Block – “How do you personally deal with writer’s block?”

“How do you personally deal with writer’s block?” #atozchallenge2017

There’s no such thing as writer’s block. At least, that’s what Neil Gaiman and some writers say.

I don’t really believe in writer’s block, but I absolutely believe in getting stuck…The difference is one is imposed on you by the gods, and one is your own d*mn fault.” (Neil Gaiman, The Huffington Post)

I agree with him, in a way. But I also believe it’s all just a play of words because whether you call it ‘writer’s block’ or ‘writer getting stuck’, it’s all the same banana. It’s a temporary obstacle writers face, something most writers go through at least once in their lives. That makes it real. It exists because it happens and is experienced.

A writer acknowledging he has a temporary writing problem does not necessarily make him lazy. The only question is, what must a writer do to not get stuck for long?

Of course, the best and most correct answer would be to continue writing. Unfortunately, not all writers are the same when it comes to how they get stuck and how they try to ease out of it. So I thought it would be fun to know what weird or unique ways writers do to battle the block. I made use of my new bestfriend, Quora, and posted this question:

“How do you personally deal with writer’s block?”

Writer’s block is real, but we also know it can be ‘cured’ by continuing to write. What OTHER unique, specific and effective techniques have you personally done to get over it? It would be interesting to find out quirky, fun and unique ways writers battle the block.

I got quite the answers from various writers, mostly published authors. There were the usual answers like the writer’s-block-is-not-real ones, there were “techniques” I was familiar with as I do them as well, and then there were the really unique ones that made my day!

Read for yourselves. I am sharing some of them. Maybe we can try them, too.

First is Larry Dixon, Fantasy and Sci-Fi writer, plus editor, among other things.

This was rather long but I thought I’d share the whole thing. He made a good and rather interesting point. I liked the perspective he shared. I thanked him for it and he said, “It helps me to turn what feels like a tragedy to other writers into a pleasant puzzle.”

Now, for the more uniquely innovative answers, we first have Elke Weiss, writer and song lyricist. Our exchange follows. And yes, she shared a recording as proof. I have linked to the recording, just click on the screenshot.

Jeremy Landry is next. He’s a “moron that loves answering questions”…Hey, his words, not mine, okay?!! But he writes, too, so this is legit.

Very interesting! Sometimes I do that, but not to that extent. I don’t think he mentioned anything about being in theatre, but I wouldn’t be surprised. If you’re a writer doing that, you better make sure you are alone.

Meanwhile, John Morris is a Creative Scientist, at least that’s how he describes himself. He does have very practical tips for writers.

Kamila Miller is very generous in giving practical advice, after all, she has had much experience as EM Prazeman (for historical fantasy fiction), Tammy Owen (for memoirs), and  KZ Miller or Kamila Miller (for contemporary fantasy and short stories). I did break down her answer in parts.

And then we have Adam J. Taylor, writer and a whole lot of other things–Sherlockian, Fannibal, TFOL, Partial Whovian, etc.

There were more answers shared that I’m not able to post here. How about you, how do you go around the writer’s block? Please feel free to share!

If you are curious about what the others had to say, you can find the whole Q&A page HERE.

 

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Well, I’m glad you’re back here from last time, or if this is your first time here, welcome, friends! Come back again tomorrow, alright? In fact, come back every weekday and on Saturdays this whole month of April (and maybe I’ll post stuff on Sundays, too)  😉

B is for “Block”

This piece serves as my Letter B post for the A to Z Challenge 2017.

How to Spell the Ancient Filipino Way #atozchallenge2017

The written language is most important in writing.Without it, we’d all be like cavemen drawing stories, probably even opinions, on walls, tree trunks, leaves…I imagine there would be much more confusion in this already-confused world.

Of course, there would be the spoken  language, probably mostly grunts coupled with hand gestures. We’d probably be fighting over and over due to sound and gesture misinterpretations. I mean, cave paintings are now art, but isn’t art subject to various interpretations? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, in a manner of speaking.

So, without the written language, we’d be so far from the civilized world of today…Well, almost civilized. (Some people do seem to even openly and unabashedly show or express their Neanderthal tendencies.)

A Sense of History and Identity

An uncivilized society with no history, that’s exactly how the country’s Spanish conquerors made the natives, our land’s indigenous people and my ancestors, believe they had. After all, we all used to be made up of tribes that practiced pagan beliefs. For around 400 years, they called us ‘indios’, their colonial and discriminatory racial term for us. The conquistadors made us believe our forefathers were illiterate prior to their arrival. The better to reign over us, right?

“The colonial masters required the native Filipinos to swear allegiance to the Spanish monarch, where before they only had village chieftains called ‘datus;’ to worship a new God, where before they worshipped a whole pantheon of supernatural deities and divinities; to speak a new language, where before they had (and still have) a Babel of tongues; and to alter their work habits, where before they worked within the framework of a subsistence economy.” (Encyclopedia of Southeast Asia: Philippines)

Illiterate with no social identity, though? That was the biggest lie Spain gave us. Before they came barging in, we already had our own ancient writing system, the baybayin, also and more popularly known as alibata.

The Baybayin/Alibata

What is baybayin?

“Baybayin is a pre-Spanish Philippine writing system. It is a member of the Brahmic family and is recorded as being in use in the 16th century. It continued to be used during the Spanish colonization of the Philippines up until the late 19th Century.” (Mandirigma.org)

Pre-Spanish era, we were not yet Filipinos. I say this for the simple reason that Filipinas–the Philippines–was named after Spain’s ruler Haring (King) Felipe once they conquered us. The whole truth was, we were an already-learned people with our own history, as proven by our writing.

“History is impossible without the written word as one would lack context in which to interpret physical evidence from the ancient past. Writing records the lives of a people and so is the first necessary step in the written history of a culture or civilization.” (Ancient.eu, on Writing)

This is our ancient writing system, the Baybayin. Here you see when to make the characters sound with an “e/i” or an “o/u”, all depend on where you put the marks or dots. The cross has a different purpose and was not part of the original system

The Baybayin Advocacy

Back in 2008, when I used to simply call it ‘alibata’, I wrote about it in my old and now defunct first official blog. I said (with some edits here),

“Alibata is slowly being re-introduced to Filipinos. A decade or so ago, some began sporting alibata characters, the Philippines’ ancient alphabet, especially as tattoos. Most popular of these is the ‘pa’ character to represent the letter P, to symbolize being ‘Pinoy’, slang word for ‘Filipino’ or ‘Pilipino’. Once in a while, I encounter people wearing shirts bearing some of the characters. In the ’90s, GMA (Channel) 7 came up with the action show titled Pintados. In our ancient times, ‘pintados’ were the tribesmen-warriors called so because they had their bodies painted all over. No, tattooed all over. Anyway, this show took a lot of liberty using alibata characters, but without educating the audience on what they meant…

I think I’ll call myself an Alibata advocate. I’ve been trying to practice it this year and I plan to use it in other things…(I do follow what I’ll call ‘Neo-Alibata‘, though. Old and ‘new’ must meet somewhere.)

It was used in many parts of the country back then, especially in Visayas and Mindanao, so it’s not necessarily Tagalog, our most widely used dialect originating from Luzon. The Spaniards came and forced people to become Christians and the ancient letters began disappearing. The style I’m using isn’t exactly the original. I’m following some changes especially when I’m not writing in Filipino. There are letters in the English alphabet that we don’t have.”

The “Ka” character on a Philippine flag

What I meant by “the style I’m using” was that I was/is following the altered version created by a Spaniard that adds the cross sign to indicate that a character is to be read as a simple consonant–“pa” is simply read as “p”.  Meanwhile, our writing system did not have any R-sound so one of the usual things done, which I follow, was/is to use the “da” or the “la” character instead. I am very partial to the second one because I find it prettier, to be honest. The Mandirigma Research Organization‘s site should be able to tell you much more, so I recommend that you refer to it.

Another popular character, the “Ka”, is another fave of mine. It was used in one of the flags of the Philippine Revolution, by the revolutionary group called Katipunan. Now I know what that image on the flag symbolized.

Check out how I did my name (Jennifer Federizo Enriquez) and my alias (Li’l Dove Feather) respectively using a generator I just found.

Nice, eh? When I wrote the post mentioned above, I actually offered to write readers’ names for them if they requested it in the comments. It was a total hit, I tell you. That second image you see on this post is my handwriting in ali–oops–I mean, baybayin! 

“The term Baybay literally means ‘to spell’ in Tagalog…Some have attributed it the name Alibata, but this name is incorrect. (The term “Alibata” was coined by Paul Rodriguez Verzosa after the arrangement of letters of the Arabic alphabet  alif, ba, ta (alibata), “f” having been eliminated for euphony’s sake.” )…no evidence of the baybayin was ever found in that part of the Philippines and it has absolutely no relationship to the Arabic language. Furthermore, no ancient script native to Southeast Asia followed the Arabic arrangement of letters,…its absence from all historical records indicates that it is a totally modern creation.” (Mandirigma.org)

Like I said, I aim to be a baybayin advocate. In fact, in the story I am working on, the alibata/baybayin is mentioned.

“…It was proof that unlike what the Spaniards claimed, Filipinos were not an uncivilized race before they arrived and conquered. It was only what they made everyone believe.

Maya had scoffed at that in a conversation saying, ‘Ha! I was learning my A-Ba-Ka-Da loooooong before I met any of them. My father taught me that and his father taught him, and so on. If I had my way, I’d put learning alibata in the grade school curricula.’ She would, too, knowing her. In fact, her journal notebook was filled with things always written in alibata, one way to keep most people away, ironically.” (MAYA [CHAPTER 2: DEAD AIR, PART 4])

The point made regarding including the writing system in the school curricula is definitely my opinion. And time may come that I shall write a whole story in our beloved baybayin. I can’t wait for other Filipinos to do the same (although there are those who have been incorporating it in their comic books). After all, according to the Mandirigma site, “Baybayin was noted by the Spanish priest Pedro Chirino in 1604 and Antonio de Morga in 1609 to be known by most, and was generally used for personal writings, poetry, etc.”

Our literary world has suffered for centuries and it’s time to bring back pride for what we can do and continue our history!…But for now, you can bet that the writing system will figure more in my story’s chapters to come. We always start somewhere.

Meanwhile, here are samples I personally made:

If you found this blog’s landing page, this surely welcomed you

If memory serves me right, this was my first attempt at doing baybayin. I mixed images and using a mouse with an unsteady hand, I tried to write down my alias, Li’l Dove. Though the “B” didn’t look that right, I think it was okay because the effect I was going for was a “smokey” effect

For my then blog, I made this for fun. The girl was supposed to be me, only with better hair and with earrings (well, only one visible) when I am not the type to often wear them. I spelled out “kopi kat” in baybayin and added a personal logo I created

These were just some of the many names I spelled out in baybayin, as requested. I have deleted the others

My own personal logo, in various renditions. It honestly does not strictly follow the writing system’s spelling rules. I’ve just stylized my logo. The above character, yet another one of my favorites, says “G” (meaning me, Gi); the one below says “pi” because no matter what happens, I’m proud to be Pinoy!

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I hope you enjoyed that one and learned a thing or two! Come back on Monday for the next A to Z post! Maybe I’ll have something nice again for you again 😉

By the way, all rights reserved to me, J.Gi Federizo, except for images and quotes that are linked to the right sources. I had original sources in 2008 as well, but the links are gone, and Mandirigma.org shares enough and proper information already, so my thanks to the whole research organization.

Also, DISCLAIMER: This post does not aim to spread hate against Spain or any other country. We are not accountable for whatever bad deeds our forebears did during their time.

A is for “Alibata”, otherwise known as “Baybayin”.

This piece serves as my Letter A post for the A to Z Challenge 2017.

The A to Z Challenge Announcement #atozchallenge

Finally! I had been visiting their site several times already, but no word from them until last January 30. The news is, well, they will announce it on February 6, whatever that is. Oh, the suspense!

So for all of you bloggers/writers out there who would like to be more prolific, are looking to meet new friends in the blogosphere, or are hoping to be somewhat recognized for your work, why not start with the A to Z Challenge? It’s not a contest, mind you, but a community of bloggers/writers who join for a specific goal: to write on topics that start from A to Z for the whole month of April, Sundays not included. I will be very bold to guess that the announcement will include something that has to do with the number of April days this year as I checked more than a week prior and April is one-letter short.

Visit the site and sign-up to join. Don’t worry, it’s all free. Do read the guidelines as well…Happy blogging!

I Have YOU in My Heart #atozchallenge2015

Prayers for YOU, my little ones.

For my Beautiful JAMIE and ZOE — I may not see you but I know in my heart how absolutely lovely you both are. Today was supposed to be your real birthday, but just the same, Happy Birthday, my dear Zoe

Mama and Papa love you both.

Please tell God to send us another sister for your kuyas.

This time, please tell Him to let her stay for good.

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I have decided to finish my 2015 A to Z Challenge today. I have been thinking about what Y and Z words matter to me most and, for the life of me, I always come back to “YOU” and “ZOE”. It’s supposed to be Zoe’s birthday today, the estimated due date,  and I could not let it pass anymore. So I decided to dedicate this post to both my babies…Please consider this challenge finally done. At least, it has made the challenge more meaningful to me…

X Marks My Not-Really-Bucket List #atozchallenge2015

I know why they call it the Bucket List. Popularized by a Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson movie (which I liked, by the way), it referred to a list we all used to refer to as Things to Do Before I Die. Before I kick the bucket, to be more figurative yet clear about it.  It’s a list of things you just have to do in this lifetime. If you’ll believe every person that makes one, there should be no room for doubts, no ifs, no buts.  Somehow, it seems like a race against time, trying to do everything that’s on the list because, really, who knows when you’re going to die?

I’ve always wanted to write down my own list since I was young, but I haven’t gotten around to doing so. I guess now is as good a time as any. I’m not going to call it Bucket List, though. Understandably, we all have wishes, goals, ambitions, and I do, too. But I am not going to stress myself to death over them. If it’s my time to die, then so be it. I won’t let the bucket hit me back on the head on my way ‘out’. (I know, I know, that’s not how to say it. It does seem appropriate, ‘no?) I believe that if you get too caught up trying to accomplish everything that’s on the list, you just might forget the other things that should really matter to you. Too many lists I see that are all about ME, ME, ME.

Anyway, my next post is my list and I’m calling it…hmnn…MY HAPPY LIST. Seriously, I just came up with that one now. Sorry it’s not so literary-sounding or deep. If you can suggest a more proper name for my list, please share 🙂  If an item is crossed out like THIS and in red, consider that done and virtually marked with an “X”.

 

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Yes, sir, this is my “X” post for the A-to-Z Challenge 2015. Consider this one done 😉

What’s Up? #atozchallenge2015

I’ve been house-bound for days and will continue to be in the coming weeks. But I refuse to just keep lying down or sitting down doing nothing or staring into space or, worse, crying and staying depressed. So I try to keep busy. Of course, I don’t overdo, don’t worry. So what’s up with me?

These are what keep me busy:

TV. There are actually not so much interesting stuff to watch on regular channels. Too bad we don’t have cable. It won’t be practical for us, anyway. But I’ve been watching way too much kiddie shows for my own good, I’ve found myself singing along to Hi-5 songs.

Books. I finally had time to finish The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd last week (I liked the movie as well, just want to say). I am now reading the same author’s work, The Mermaid Chair. Taking it in stride.

Once finish, I’ll most probably read the second book of the Wicked novel series titled Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire, even if I haven’t yet read the first (hey, I don’t have a copy, alright?).

 

THEN I’ll continue my on-and-off reading of Anne Rice’s Interview with a Vampire. I was on it last year till I found out I was pregnant. Didn’t know if reading it would not affect the baby, but I did not want to risk it (so much for that).

Write. Well, I haven’t done much yet, but I’m trying. I have to go back to the me that I knew. Blogging is one way to do it. And I am about to continue with my long-time and long-neglected story, even if it means doing longhand.

Organization. I am not allowed to do much work (husband too strict — hate it but love him for it at the same time). So just little by little, I sort things out, stuff I haven’t had much time to take care of when I was busy working. It’s great ’cause organization is something we haven’t done well for months. It’s what makes me feel more me.

Home-tutoring. Not really homeschooling but kind of. School’s out but we need to prepare our recent-kindergartner for his exam this May that’s supposed to test if he’s ready for the first grade. Personally, I know he is and he’s actually smart, but then you can’t be too complacent as you never really know what they’re going to ask the kid to do or answer. We do think we have the right ideas so I try to teach him base on those and try to add more ideas.

 

I know I’ll have much more to do these next weeks. Will keep you posted 🙂

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This serves as my “W” post for the 2015 A to Z Challenge.

#Videos to Get By #atozchallenge2015

It’s April. I vowed to finish the A-to-Z Challenge, which became my personal challenge the whole year, but still, here we are. I would’ve already finished had I not gone through something last week. Yet, here I am, fulfilling something I promised myself, something that’s gonna keep my mind off things and also gonna help me move on. Anyway, for my “V” post, I am sharing the videos that have entertained me a lot these past months.

Let’s start with The Popular Song by Mika and Ariana Grande. This isn’t new but not surprisingly, me being not that up-to-date these recent years, my radar missed this one. I find this song fun and, having been somewhat bullied in school as well, relatable a bit (DISCLAIMER: I do not promote revenge and violence). I gotta admit, though, one thing that drew me to this was the fact that it’s kind of a spin-off–if we can use that word for songs–of one of my favorite WICKED song that’s titled Popular. Check this one out:

Next is the song Love Yourself. Just last month, I think, I publicly confessed through Facebook that I never thought I’d say I liked a Justin Bieber song until this one. I’ve sort of outgrown it by this time, but why not give it a chance if you haven’t yet? Maybe you’ll like it, too. Certainly not the kind of Bieber songs we got used to. There are actually two video versions of the song, but I am very partial to this one because of the dancing:

Lastly, we have here a series of episodes from the reality show Undercover Boss. I really like this show and honestly, I cried every time I watched an episode, which was exactly why I decided not to continue because I didn’t want my crying to affect the baby. I started watching this when someone shared this episode on FB:

Hope you like these vids!!!!