2011 Challenge - Pass or Fail?

At the beginning of 2011, I listed out things that I want to accomplish during the year. Now, it's time to see if I was able to accomplish the said list :))

My 2011 List goes like:

- Sponsor a child through World Vision. CHECK! - PASS! see here
- Cut my TBR pile by at least half. (Kung ilan man siya by end of year. haha). - EPIC FAIL >_<. I didn't even get to update my list. I actually bought more than read more. Hahaha.. I don't think I even read 1/4 of the titles from the list. Maybe in 2012? :)))
- Have my books covered. - FAIL. :(.. I have the plastic cover though! :)))
- Arrange all my PC files - pics, docs, vids, music, everything! - FAIL. Errrmmm.... Since I started to get active in the fandom this year, I've got loads of new downloads.. ergo.. I wasn't able to fix them yet.. LOL >_<
- Setup inventory of my books. - FAIL. Still not started >_<
- Create my personal bookplate and have it in all my books. - FAIL. I got a couple of designs in mind but I haven't got around to printing them out and sticking them in my books.
- Start my money/coin collection. - PASS. Yay! :))). I got a couple already but still need to setup inventory for them.
- Learn a sport. Not exactly me playing but just learn the basics so I can watch and enjoy. =p. - What sport? FAIL >_<
- Complete my Harry Potter books. (2 years ko na sinusubukan to). - PASS! Finally, I've completed all! Wuhooo!
- Read at least 10 Classics. - FAIL. LOL. Have not read even 1
- Try out other book genres. Tama na ang puro smut! - PASS? I think. Thing is, at least I've read books that are not smut :)))))
- Watch more movies. I don't even know how I'll quantify "more" kase hindi ko naman nabilang yung last year. - PASS. I think so as well. i definitely have watched more movies this year than last year.
- Clean up my mails - personal and work. Burahin and kelangan burahin. I-archive ang kelangan i-archive. - Half-Pass/Half-Fail.. LOL. It's because I have a new job. so Work mail has been cleaned up. My personal mail though still need cleaning!

LOL.. OK, I think I got more FAIL than PASS! >_<. So much for my list. Still, it's been fun to really create my list and try to cross out stuff from the list. I think I'll do another one next year. and carry over my FAIL stuff from this year to the next. Malay ko kung ma-PASS ko na siya next year :))).

Bring it on 2012!

Goodbye 2011

Wow! It's been awhile since I've blogged. October pa pala >_<. Oh well...

Today's the last day of 2011. How time flies... 2011 had been a rollercoaster ride... There are lots of times that it's been so hard, esp the last few months. Despite all of that, I'm still very thankful to our Almighty for all the blessings that He has given me and my whole family. I'm very thankful for all the strength that He has showered us and grateful for letting us know that He is indeed by our side ALWAYS.

 

This year taught  me to be thankful for each and every day that I get to spend with my friends and with my family. Very specially with my family.

This year brought me back to Him. Lean to Him more. Listen more.. Follow more.

Salamat po Ama sa lahat lahat.

iSad

Thank you Steve Jobs... Your legacy will live on forever... Rest in peace...

Super Junior Collection Update

Malapit nako mamulubi! pramiz... hahaha... everytime I visit Fangirlasia's Office, I always seem to carry home some stuff... LOLz.. I'm in the mood to really complete my new addiction - SuJu! :).

And so, I've managed to add 4 more in my collection - SuJu-M's 1st album - Me, Victory Korea, Don't Don Cassette Tape (got this from ebay!) and The Grace 1st album (one of the boys was featured in 1 of the songs).

I'm really hoping that I'll be able to complete all of them soon! :) Good luck to me :)

Kuya Rommel & Ate Weng

Congratulations and Best Wishes

Kuya Rommel & Ate Weng!

Mr. Simple - Donghae!

Finally! After waiting for about a month (I think?), I got my Mr. Simple with Donghae on the cover! *flails* Talaga namang matinding EQ ang kinailangan ko para antayin ang album na to :)

If Siwon showed his abs in the "inner" album picture, Donghae featured his hands. :) Sakto! Buti na lang "hands" person ako.. nyahahhaa... talaga naman, magconnect lang :)

So, I finally got the two Mr. Simple Version A Covers that I want. I'm still debating if I should get Kyu's and Heechul's versions... LOL... I'm afraid that I'll give in and complete all 10 covers! *pak*. Tatalunin ata ng Mr. Simple ang number of copies ko ng Jerry for You. FYI, I have 6 copies of JFY... hahhaa... I already have 3 copies of Mr. Simple (2 Version A and 1 Version B). And the repackaged version will most likely to come out soon.... good luck!

Ohana and Books

With us already scattered across the globe now, it's rare that we get to meet up and it's even harder for us to peak up at 10 when we do meet up (usually it's just half)... So, when Pols told us that she'll be in Manila, shempre opportunity for us to meet and catch up! It was fun since 10 of us made it this time! yeyyyy! Same old same old, kwentuhan galore... update on what has happened and what's currently happening in our lives :). Super precious ang mga ganitong moments talaga! :)

Me with the Bakasyunistang si Pols... ang mga maka-Jerry! LOLz :)

Napagusapan ang susunod na travel and this time, we'd like to go to Korea together next year! I'm really hoping that this will push through... riot eto! Ohana in Korea 2012! :).

On a side note, since I don't go often in Eastwood, opportunity narin to visit FullyBooked there. hahaha.. naka-3 din ako ah! :)

Buys! Buys! Buys!

Ang gastos gastos gastos ko this month. LOL... Other than books, I am back again sa pagiging fangirl which means more gastos! :) I'm happy naman so, ok fine! :)

I added a few more books on my pile (surprise surprise... =D). Eh kase nga, sale ang NBS and Powerbooks! :). I was able to scratch some titles on my list of to buys (at discounted price pa!) and I got books of an author that I haven't read yet (Michael Palmer).. He writes medical thrillers which got me interested enough to buy 2 of his books (A Heartbeat Away is his latest and The First Patient which I got for 50% off :). Ohhhh... And I got Robert Liparulo's 1st Two Books in the Dream House Kings series (a 2 in 1 book) but I wasn't able to include it in this pic! :(

And on to my fangirl loot! I finally finally got my Mr. Simple Version A! Though I only got Siwon's cover. *sighs* Hopefully, there would be a Donghae cover on the next shipment. And I also got the Version B of Mr. Simple (yey!) with a Donghae photocard (double yey!). Happy ELF nako ngayon. hahaha..

Aside from the Mr. Simple albums, I also got SuJu's 3rd (Sorry, Sorry) and 4th (Bonamana) albums. And since complete ako ng 2NE1 releases, I also got their 2nd mini-album. :)

I had to show off the Siwon photocard that I got from Bonamana.. LOLz

For my CNBLUE fix, I got the 2 First Step Editions (Thank You First Step +1 and the First Step Limited Edition). And yes, I also got the 2nd part of the Heartstrings OST. Wuheee! 2 more of CNBLUE releases and complete ko na sila.

Ang gastos maging fangirllllllllll! :) :)

Another Sign of Fangirling....

Ang mahirap sa pagiging fangirl eh ang gastos... LOL >_<

I'm back to buying Idol stuff... which is another sign that I'm back to fangirling... hahaha.. anuba! >_< more gastos it is.. Initially, I was just back to watching dramas and only follow actors... which means that I won't need to buy much, probably just OST CDs... but NO! I have to again like an idol group... *sighs* LOL..

Currently, I'm into CNBlue and Super Junior (promise malapit ko na sila makilala lahat!). And now, everytime na pupunta ko sa FangirlAsia office, palagi nalang ako nalalagasan.. LOL

Here are the new CNBlue CDs that I got :)

3 more CDs to go and complete ko na ang discography nila... Though, mukhang Never ko na makukuha yung Now or Never Japanese release CD nila. This is their 1st release and Out of Print na siya :(. Sana may lumabas sa mga auctions one day!

I also got the Hearstrings OST :) Yong Hwaaaa!

And lastly, my first ever SuJu CD! yay! It's their 2nd album, Don't Don. FGA doesn't have the Mr. Simple covers that I want, so eto muna ang binili ko.

A lot more SuJu CDs to go! Fighting!

Fangirling in Bangkok!

This November, I'll be visiting Bangkok for the first time.... No, not to enjoy the sites.... but to watch these guys! LOL

Ate Gi and I already decided that as soon as there's an announcement of a CNBlue concert outside Korea (the concert in Korea is too early for us), we'll fly out together to watch them. As what Ate Gi said, it's most likely to be in Bangkok.... Yesterday, it was announced that there will be a Blue Storm concert in Bangkok. Date and Place has been announced: November 19 at the Impact Arena.LOL... So, tonight, I just booked our flights! :) And so, we now have our annual adventure set!

Ang Bunso.... makikita ko na! Exciting! :)

Magastos talga maging fangirl.... tell me again, why am i back to fangirling? LOL....

Book Splurge Part II

Since I've been too lazy to post lately, I wasn't able to post the books that I bought since mid-June.. =D.

So, let's see..

June: 5 more additional books.. it should have been 6 more.. unfortunately, Kieran Kramer's Dukes to the Left of Me, Princes to the The Right is out of stock! Fullybooked only informed me only after the order has been made.. pffftt.. talk about improvements on their online system.

July: 14 books. :)

This is a yubong from Ate Gi from the US! I asked her to look for this one for me... yey! :)

The 2nd Sandford book in the Prey Series plus my NY Magnet & B&B Mist from Ate Gigi :)

August: 23 books! Adikkkkk... Well, 2 of those were from Nikka which she helped me buy in Amazon. haha.. wala kase sha dito nun before (ngayon meron na! ammp!)... The others were mostly bought in National Bookstore because they're on sale! So, for the new releases, I already got a 20% off.. some older ones, I got for 40% or 50% off. O diba, ang saya! Still a couple more days until the end of the sale (until the 21st) so baka madagdagan pa to... LOL.. Let's see ;)

Bought in Amazon with the help of Nikka gurl :)

20% off except for The Sky is Everywhere which I got at 50% off ;)

This is on my book list for a long time now... And i got them all at 20% off

The J.D. Robb books at 50% off and the 2 Demonata Series books at 40% (obviously =p)

I'm really hoping that someday I'll be able to read them all already! :)

Another Trip to Singapore!

The secret to getting good rates on a Cebu Pac seat sale is to buy now, think later. LOL... It's a pretty slow Friday and I CebuPac tweeted about their 50% seat sale so I went to their site and checked out the rates. Nikka's just beside me and urged me to go and get tickets for us! After waiting for Roland's 'Yes' to the trip, we went ahead and bought our tickets for Dec 1-4! yey :).. This time, it's just gonna be the 4 of us: Nikka, Ros (she's coming with us this time! sure na daw. lol), Roland and myself. Too bad Joel and Sharon won't make it 'coz they're already going in Sept. Haha..

This is going to be my 4th time at the Lion City... The 1st was a day trip to meet and have dinner with friends. The 2nd was the 1st real trip again with Ate Gi. The 3rd trip was with Conchi. This time around, I'll be with my travel buddies from work. I'm already looking forward to visiting the Universal Studios (wala pa siya nung first 3 trips ko. haha)! Also hoping to see and ride the Singapore Flyer (sana naman!), eat chili crabs and probably do some shopping - malamang books and some fangirl stuff (hehe).. we'll see!

Singapore here I come! Again! :)

The 5th: My Fair Lady

My Fair Lady

Still on a Korean high, I finished my 5th Korean drama today. This time, it's My Fair Lady. I was really curious to watch this drama because this time around, it's the girl who's rich (can you still call her chaebol or is that for men only?) and I love rom-coms! :) Also, the lead actress is YEH, who I totally love. If I would fangirl an actress, it would be her. The lead actor, Yoon Sang-Hyun is a dead-ringer for Kimura Takuya (my ultimate!). Waah! And add Jung Il Woo, who is such a cutie especially when he smiles, then this drama is a sure in for me. :) I really enjoyed it - had a couple of laughs, shed some tears and got some little kilig. The support actors/actresses were pretty funny - the house staff and even the kontrabidas and the little kid was so cute :). I liked it because again, the kontrabidas weren't pure evil! They were actually pretty funny. hahaha...

Don't you just love rom-coms? Hmmm... though after watching this, I'm totally fangirling on Kimura Takuya again. hahaha! kase naman, super kamukha ni YSH si TK! Is this a sign that I'll be turning Japanese ulit? :)

Going Korean... Again...

It's been awhile since I've watched anything Asian for the past year or so. I've been too engrossed with reading or watching US series. But I guess it's just waiting for the right moment... LOL. I think I knew deep inside that once I 'try' 1 episode, I'm doomed. LOL... And now, I'm back to watching with subtitles again. And mind you, I'm still trying to get used to it again! hirap ng hindi na sanay sa subtitles!

Anyways, for the past month or so, I've already completed a couple of series... *sighs* It's all Song Seung Hun's fault! LOL...

My Princess

My Princess was the one which re-started it all. I said I was just going to only look at the 1st episode. The next thing I know, I'm at the last episode already. I really enjoyed the series - I was laughing at almost each episodes, cried at some... Really has the formula of your typical rom-com Korean drama - a love quad, with a really b**ch kontrabida (though I got to admit, there are a lot meaner kontrabidas that I've watched before. haha). Kim Tae Hee was really pretty here and I think she did great, the part is really fit for her. And of course, the sexy-gorgeous Song Seung Hun (SSH)... *sighs* I've never seen anyone look good in just about anything he wears. Panalo! And to think I don't like him much before *grins*. Though, I'm still confused at the ending. When she followed him, did that mean she left her princess status? Which doesn't make sense since she held on to it for the last 2 years.. Ewan! I guess, it's the viewers' choice on how they want it to look like. :) Basta, happy ending parin.
 

Secret Garden

Next drama is Secret Garden. I really had issues with Hyun Bin being too thin here. I really like him na mas may laman! But as the story progressed, I guess, I got accustomed to him being thin and he's looking cute and charming again. Must be that darn dimple :). It's an OK drama with a couple of kiligs din. I know everyone will agree with me that the sit-up scene and the coffee foam kiss are the best scenes from the drama. Kilig to the nth level. haha.. I also liked the scene where he was watching her sleep and she woke up and they were just staring at each other. And HB's lines wherein he said why would he piggy back her. Instead he'll just carry her in his arms so he can see her (awww). Main issue for me would be the switching of souls thing. I am not sure if it was just lost in translation or something but I they didn't really explain the reason of the soul swatching. Again, baket?! :) :) Ohhhh, and is it just me or Yoon Sang Hyun (Osca) could really really pass as Kimura Takuya's brother! ;)

Lie to Me

Way after watching a drama and I'm still thinking about it, I guess I really do like it. And Lie to Me is in that list. I really wasn't expecting much from this drama, though I've got to admit that I'm a bit of a fan of Eun Hye. I really really loved her previous dramas - Goong and Coffee Prince - and I think she's adorable. On the other hand, I don't know much about Kang Ji Hwan except that he's the star in Hong Gil Dong. But, after watching the series, I really liked it and I'm still thinking about the story and the characters. I liked that the usual kontrabidas that you'd like to kill are not there. I liked that their main issues are the characters' internal issues and struggles. I liked that when Hyun Ki Joon (Kang Ji Hwan) realized and accepted that he loves Gong Ah Jung (Eun Hye) he never looked back at his previous love. I loved how they showed how HKJ loves GAJ. I kept thinking after that Hyun Ki Joon is an ideal guy for me *swoons*. Conchi said that I don't just like the character and that I like Kang Ji Hwan himself... hehehe.. in denial ako (though I've been checking his soompi thread a lot.. *grins*... Kase naman, ang mga gayish moves! dapat nya tigilan ;). Pero hindi mo ko mapapanood ng Hong Gil Dong (for now.. hahaha)!

The Greatest Love

 And the last drama that I watched (I just finished it today. haha) is The Greatest Love. Yun Pil Joo (the doctor and the other guy, played by Yoon Kye Sang) is really cute. Dokko Jin (Cha Seung Won), I'm still debating with myself if I like him or not. Hahahha.. I don't which one I didn't like - his overacting (but could be because it's his character) or his hair. haha.. But really, if you look hard, maganda ang built nya ha and he's got a nice nose. LOL... And like ko yung tattoo nya (it's real, the name is of his daughter - yes, he's married.. =D)! *sighs* If I'm debating with myself, most likely, I'm liking him at in denial lang ako. HAHAHA... The series was OK - it gave me a few laughs and sniffs.. and sige na nga, may konting kilig here and there. Guess, since it's from the Hong sisters, you'll somehow like it parin. Not my most favorite among their other dramas (dang! just found out that Hong Gil Dong is from the Hong sisters.. nooh! dame! hindi parin kita iwawatch! haha), but it was still OK :). Oh, and the I really love the main song from this drama.... :)

4 Dramas in just a little over a month... waaah! I wonder until when will this last? ;)

Epic End....

An epic end to an epic series... No other words but awesome for this movie... I really felt sad watching this today.. *sniff* *sniff*.. I think it's time to re-read everything again and go back to the world of Harry Potter and Hogwarts :)

I'm pretty sure there would be an awesome boxset of the movies that will be released soon. Can't wait! :)

Transformers: Dark of the Moon Date

It's another movie date with Conchi and Kathy and this time, it's Transformers Dark of the Moon. :) As usual, Conchi and I met at Fullybooked, SM The Block. Yes, I did buy some books (Jaci Burton's The Perfect Play in Trade Paperback - my 3rd copy and Josephine Angelini's Starcrossed). We then went up and got our movie tickets. OA! ang haba ng pila! We even tried buying the tix online but the connection was so slow and so inabot narin kami na sa counter. There were a lot of available seats naman pala so keri lang. :) After getting the tix, we waited for Kathy and then had a late lunch at Tender Bob's (yum, pork chops!). During lunch we started our "copy sessions". LOL.. I'm back watching Asian dramas and this time around, I copied loads of Korean dramas.

Time to watch the movie! I think this one was better than the 2nd installment (too long fight scenes >_<). I actually enjoyed it and really had some laughs during the movie. At in fairness, slightly cutie na si Shia LaBeouf.. I guess because may laman na siyang konti? hahhaa.. Of course, hotness si Josh Duhamel though I wish he had more scenes. :) Patrick Dempsey's character is a wimp. LOL. I really didn't like him there. The effects I think were kick-ass. I enjoyed the 3D though i think there were times that it was blurry. Nawawala yung sharpness.. or maybe it's because of the glasses? HAHAHA....

Till our next movie date! It seems like it's gonna be Captain America... Sino kaya mayaya to watch Harry Potter? :)

Pahabol, I managed to get pala Aly Carter's Uncommon Criminals at NBS in Annex. LOL..

And congratulations to the Azkals for winning against Sri-Lanka, 4-0! :).

Click! Click!

With extra time on my hands and with the cold, rainy weather outside, katamad maglamyerda. Instead, I window-shopped online. Hahaha! Went to Amazon and added a couple of stuff (read: TV Series DVDs) in my cart, to be bought later. :) At least, I can better track the items I want and see if their price would go up or down. If bumaba, then that's the time I'll buy them. LOL...

Of course, I didn't stick to window shopping lang. I also visited FullyBooked Online and (surprise!), I was able to find a couple of books that I can't seem to see in their stores. Kaya ayun, click click eto! And here are the books I got: 

Jill Shalvis' Simply Irresistible and Animal Magnetism - I soo want a copy of these. Pero hindi ko nga makita sa store mismo. Buti na lang!

Kieran Kramer's Dukes to the Left of Me, Princes to the Right - I kinda like her books (Historical Romances obviously, and read all her 3 books digitally lang). I've actually seen a copy in the stores but they weren't good copies :( so, hindi ko binili.

Sophie Jordan's Firelight - I like the cover of the 2nd book in the series. It's about a Draki, a descendant of dragons who can turn into human form. Sounds interesting, so sige na nga try din!

I'm just hoping that the books would be in good condition when they are delivered, especially the paperback ones. :)

Book Splurge Updates

I've been too lazy lately to post all my book buys... Since I have the time today, I decided to take stock of the stuff I bought from April to June that I haven't posted.. And here goes:

April: 17 additional books. In a previous post, I was worried that I only got 5 books for the month. So, nag-panic buying ang lola. LOL.

May: 23 additional books from the ones I previously posted!

June: 13 additional books from the ones I recently posted. There's still two more weeks in June and I still believe that I'll add more before the month's out. :)

Books are just love! :) I really hope that I could read more in the coming months. :)

Fathers' Day

We've managed to drag our Dad out of the house. And it's to celebrate Fathers' Day! :)

It's been raining pretty hard since morning pero wa kami care. We really wanted to celebrate. So, off we go to Trinoma. Lunch is at Abe's.. Delicious! Really enjoyed their Crispy Pork Adobo ni Lola Ising and Pastel de Lengua. Not much a fan of the Sinigang na Bangus Belly with Ripe Guava (though my brother liked it. haha). We also had Knockout Knuckle (their Crispy Pata) and Binukadkad na Pla-Pla.



Knockout Knuckles



Crispy Pork Adobo ni Lola Ising



After lunch, we headed to an eye shop and had my Dad test for new glasses. In fairview, malaki talaga ang discount for senior citizens. Nakakatawa si Dad, he whispered to me after deciding the type of lens he wants, "Baka mainggit si mama, bili mo narin siya." :) :)... Haha.. My mom's glasses are still ok, btw.

After getting his glasses, we just wandered around and shopped! Ahahhaha... My mom bought Popoy his b-day gift (I think) and I bought my sister hers. They both celebrated their birthdays this June. I also wasn't able to resist getting new shoes! They're adorable! :)

And of course, I had another book splurge! :)

I finally made use of my Powerbooks GCs and they made me use my e-purse (it turns out they'll be launching a new Powercard soon so they want their buyers to make use of the old points). Anyways, I got all these and paid only about 500 pesos! O diba... joy :)

I also got these at Fullybooked.

So, yeah, nabawasan na yung list ko of "To Buys". Sana yung rate ng pagbawas sa list ko of "To Buys" eh ganun din yung rate ng pagbawas sa "To Be Read" list ko. Hahahaha!

It really was a great Sunday with the Fam! I'm thinking of making this kind of family bonding at least once a month :). Next month we'll be celebrating my Dad and Mom's 41st Wedding Anniversary :).

Again, Happy Fathers' Day Daddy! Love You! :)

Friday Book Spree

One thing I love about our new work is that we get to get home while the sun is still up. :) Since, we are happy this week, Nikka and I went straight to Fullybooked, High Street after work. Joy! I was able to get some new books and scratch off things on my "To Buy" list. yey!

This round, I got the following:

Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma - we were really surprised that it's already available here. I was thinking of having Mike (who is currently in the UK for work) buy the book for me. Ayan, I can now think of other titles to ask him to get for me. hehe

Clarity by Kim Harrington - I saw this in one of the book blogs that I'm following. It looks interesting so it's on my "To Buy" list for awhile now.

Scottish Brides by Christina Dodd, Stephanie Laurens, Julia Quinn and Kareny Raney - Since completing Julia Quinn's works is one of my life's bucket list (haha), I finally got this one. Two more books to go and I will complete everthing! :)

Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin - This book title has been available in bookstores for a longtime now. I only became interested when I saw the movie trailer. The movie looks and sounds really good (and I've heard good feedback about the movie) and I was curious. But the releases had all been the Movie-Tie-In cover lately. When I found this version available, I grabbed one for myself. Nikka was even telling me to also get the other books already, but I didn't relent. hahahha.. nakaka-No parin naman pala ko.

Forgottten by Cat Patrick - Now, this is a new one for me. We just came across it while looking for books. Mukha namang interesting so sige na nga! :)

How I love taking home new books! :)