The Reader

There is no frigate like a book
To take us lands away,
Nor any coursers like a page
Of prancing poetry.
This traverse may the poorest take
Without oppress of toll;
How frugal is the chariot
That bears a human soul! 

-Emily Dickinson 

When I visit malls, I have a very short and simple list of agenda:

1) Pay Bills

2) Withdraw/Deposit from/to my savings account

3) Visit a Bookstore (National Bookstore, Powerbooks, Fully Booked, Best Seller) and actually purchase a book

Agenda number 3 is the only agenda I get to do frequently. And as a twin endeavor to my Project 12 Stories, I am also into the project of reading at least one book a month. Again take note of the qualifier: AT LEAST.

Last December, I made non-stop visits to the Christmas Bazaar in UP where several stalls sold second-hand books still in mint condition. Some of the titles I bought are: Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder, About a Boy by Nick Hornby, Stern Men by Elizabeth Gilbert and Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie. What topped my 2011 Christmas wishlist is a book on Children's lit, Eloise: The Ultimate Edition by Kay Thomson. I have yet to read all of them but just the thought of having these books on deck, ready to make me close-to-Einstein-and-Plato smart make me feel...smart, already smart even without going through their pages just yet.

Current Reads!!!

In January, because it is the month of resolutions, I read The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. In February, because it is the month of love, I read The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera, thinking it is a light read on love but instead I got treated with history, philosophy, life and love. Currently, I am reading When You are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris. I am thinking of reading more of his books. 

No, I won't be doing book reviews because I do not know how to and I simply do not want to. I keep a list of books that I read so I'll know which ones/type really capture my interest. 

Next in my reading list are the following:

1) Oh, The Places You will go by Dr. Seuss

2) The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World by Eric Weiner

3) Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

4) The Lady and The monk by Pico Iyer

5) A Year in Tibet by Sun Shuyun

6) How to be Good by Nick Hornby

And the list will get longer.

When I get to build my own house, I hope to have a library and inspired by Fully Booked flooring which tiles are designed with excerpts from Machiavelli's The Prince (so cool di ba?), I will design mine with that one book which moved me. I have yet to find it but for now Eat, Pray, Love still tops my list.

So Far, So Good

I'd like to think of myself as extremely popular and many are dying to know what I have been up to. So to my gazillion followers and die-hard fans, here's what I have been up to: nothing much. Haha!

Today is a lazy Sunday and the first time this year, that I have downloaded pictures to a borrowed laptop from my brother, actually opened Microsoft word application and started typing my heart away. I miss the feeling of wanting to do something so bad - good things that I want to do so bad - write, blog, look at and appreciate pictures, take photos, indulge in tambay time in a coffee shop (Chatime tea house actually as my beloved Coffee Bean in Eton is full of lazy lover of Sundays - like me!).

When 2012 started, I was up to the challenge of coming up with 365 beautiful stories of life, my attempt to making each day count and meaningful. But I am shamefully lazy and I have a routine. A ritual of waking up at 6:30 in the morning everyday-bath-hurried breakfast-hurried brushing of teeth-MRT-office-lunch-office-apartment told 365 times does not really make for an interesting plot. So I downgraded the feat a bit to 12 stories - a wonderful story experienced and shared each month. Also, my economics degree impressed upon me that "scarcity" creates "novelty", the lesser the supply, the higher the price. Play hard to get and master the art of pakipot moves: the less of you, the more mystery - the more mystery, the more you are wanted. So 12 instead of 365 - the sole legit excuse to blog laziness. (Definition of "Tina-tamad":noun, a believer of quality over quantity or in other words di naman nagkakalayo ang 12 at 365, puwede na yun!). Seriously now, I think everyone owes himself this: at least 12 stories for himself to share, at least 12 breaks from his routine, at least 12 things to look forward to, at least 12 reasons to love life, at least 12 excuses to summon a dying blog to life. Take note of the qualifier: AT LEAST. 

JANUARY 

The Manila Ocean Park:  Photos by Alan David

My neck hurt with the extreme stress of not having done something non-routinary. The month will come to a close and yet I have not gone out of town, have not enrolled in a new class, have not met somebody new. Conceding that I will be stuck in the city, I decided to show the city some love and visited one of its non-mall attractions (I hate going to the mall!!): The Manila Ocean Park. The park has beefed up its offerings to the public and so much has changed since my sister celebrated her 18th birthday there. Isabel is by the way 20 years old now so it has been 2 years since my last visit. I particularly enjoyed the Musical Fountain Show. It brought out the kid in me ooohhing and aaaahhing to Nemo being projected on H20 Hotel and colorful dancing fountains reaching out to high heavens. I am so inspired to be on the lookout for other city attractions and Manila extravaganzas! A re-do of the Binondo food trip, a re-visit to Intramuros, PBA games, museums, art galleries, fairs, concerts and many more activities not done in malls!

FEBRUARY

Beautiful Baler. I took these photos!! My camera still works!!

Sometime in September 2010, I went for a solo trip in Baler. I could not stand quarter life drama that time that I needed to step out, to be somewhere not familiar and to have some quiet and slow time to think about the things I want to do next. It is refreshing and bordering spiritual to travel solo. I am thinking of doing it again this year. Then in 2011, my quiet and slow time in Baler was replaced with a dancing-in-the-rain and heart-thumping-concert experience through the Surf and Music Festival. In February 2012 this year, one of the most important people in my life decided to celebrate his birthday in Baler and I chose to  celebrate it with him. My third visit in Baler is the first time I went out of the Sabang Beach and actually visited other Baler attractions: the something-hundred year old Balete tree, the Baler Museum (my second time) and President Quezon's mansion. This won't be my last visit as I hope to hone my surfing skills and work on my surfer abs!

Photos by Malaya De Mesa

Aside from being the month of love and birthdays, February is also UP Fair month and I allowed Malaya to bully me to watch this year's HIMIG-sikan. Up Dharma Down, Parokya ni Edgar and Urbandub never fail the crowd year after year. But the highlight of my UP Fair night was not really the concert or the UP Food (think isaw, barbeque, sweet corn or shawarma!!) but believe it or not, it's the long ticket line and getting crushed and squeezed with eager kids while listening to a UP student-concert organizer marshalling the crowd, an arm raised high up in the air with an arnis stick, shout: "Ito ang lehitimong pila! Ito ang lehitimong pila!". The beauty of Tagalog words uttered with conviction. He could have done well with "Dito po ang tamang pila", but being a UP student that he is, smart, thouroughbred and subversive, an ordinary "Dito ang tamang pila" will simply not suffice. The university has its standards - I miss college life! 

2 out of 12 promised stories.

I owe you 10 more.

Happy Sunday!=)

Tibet Dreams

Images from Google

It just hit me. I want to go to Tibet. Or maybe after reading a feature on Georgina Wilson and how she has gone to the country of my dreams -  that rekindled my feelings on Tibet being the country of my dreams.

Dreams.

I am solely responsible in fulfilling my own dreams.

Some will inspire me to achieve them.

Others will encourage.

A number will provide me the opportunities.

There will be roadblocks – many of them.

But at the end, I call the shots to what I allow to happen in my life.

I am responsible for my own dreams.

And it is my duty to fulfill them.

I started the year slumped with work, haunted by responsibilities and loaded with frustrations over a long list of unfulfilled personal to do’s and checklists. 90% of my time is spent on work and while I am ever grateful for the endless learning opportunities my work is providing me, it has robbed me of… me. I found myself settling and waking up every morning with the sole agenda of working. And there’s nothing beautiful with it. There’s family. Friends. Loved ones. Loved One. Books. The Ocean. The mountains. Friday nights spent drinking. Saturday movie dates. Sunday me-time on a coffee shop reading beautifully written Sunday features. Vacation leaves spent in an unfamiliar territory or somewhere wonderfully familiar. Life is beautiful. Life is short.

Two things nudged me into checking my life’s balance:

a) The ugliness of my passport picture – God, the hairline! God, the eye bags! God, the pimple-ridden skin! That Tuesday afternoon when I applied for my passport renewal debunks the biblical claim that mankind is made in God’s own image and likeness. There’s nothing godly with a stress-looking corporate poser and God (again!), I used to be hot, this is unacceptable. Something needs to be done. Fast. Now.

b) Tibet. I do not know anything about Tibet, not a bit about its history, nothing about its current affairs and georaphy. Give me a map of the world and I cannot even pin point where the country is. I’m completely Tibet-illiterate. What I know only is that I want to go there and that is enough for me.

I close my eyes and think of Tibet.

I see yellow. Sunlight Yellow. Monk-robe yellow.

I see mountains and houses made of rustic stones.

I see color. Radiant colors on an old lady’s garments. Handcrafted head dresses.

I see children. Smiling children with silky black straight “Dora” hair sitting on the front porch.

I see culture. People Dancing. Food. Animals carrying baskets. 

I do not know anything about Tibet but I zeroed in on the place because I just know that it is beautiful and one of the reasons why I was born is to see and experience the place. Tina’s Tibet Tales. Tina and Tibet. Traveling Tina in Tibet. Tina’s Tibet Tambay Stories. Tibet loves Tina.  Tina loves Tibet. Tina’s Terrific Tibet Thoughts Today!!!  

I think I will even change my name from Tina Bacud to Tina Tibet-cud (wahaha!! Walang basagan ng trip!)

Oh Tibet, Ikaw na!

I dream of Tibet.

And it is my sole responsibility to make that dream happen.

So help me God.

RESOLUTIONS

...Happy New Year Universe!!!=)

While I have yet to organize my 2012 resolutions and agenda (I can not explain why but I am ever so excited for this year), I hope to share these posts I found in the internet.

Let everyday be our constant reminder that LIFE is BEAUTIFUL.

From one of my favorite bloggers, Regina Belmonte:

This 2012, I hope...

That you fall in love with someone who loves you—really loves you. (Or fall even deeper in love if you’re already there.) 

That you finally, finally fall in love with yourself.

That you breathe and allow yourself to be silly every now and then. 

That you don’t take everything so seriously. That you don’t forget how to have fun. 

That you never start thinking you’re too old for it.

That you have adventures, do things you’ve never done before, go places you’ve never been.

That you work towards turning at least one of your biggest dreams into reality. That you turn “why?” into “why not?”

That you’re brave enough to make mistakes, and learn from them. 

That you pick yourself up after every fall, and stand taller, stronger, and wiser for having fallen.

That you learn when to hold on, and when to let go.

That you change someone’s life. Especially if “someone” is you.

That, by the end of this day next year, you have three hundred and sixty-six new stories to tell.

The Holstee Manifesto

This is your life

Do what you love

And do it often

If you don’t want something, change it

If you don’t like your job, quit

If you don’t have enough time, quit watching TV

If you are looking for the love of your life – STOP

They will be waiting for you when you start doing things you love

Stop over analysing

Life is SIMPLE.

Open your mind, arms and heart to new things and people

We are united in our differences

Some opportunities only come once, seize them

Travel often

Getting lost will help you find yourself

All emotions are beautiful

When you eat, appreciate every last bite

Ask the next person you see what their passion is

Share your inspiring dream with them

Life is about the people you meet,

And the things you create with them

So go out and start creating

Life is short

Live your dream

And Share your passion

TO A PURPOSEFUL & AWESOME 2012!

ACTUALLY

Print screen shots from the movie Love Actually

Sweet.=)

WISHES

a work in progress - the list gets longer as Christmas draws near

This post is especially for my godparents whom I haven't seen in a million years, my grandmothers who both take pride in my being a lola's girl, my aunts an uncles who have forever been generous, my friends who love and adore me (hahaha!) and to that one person who'll luckily draw my name in an exchange gift (cheap lang ako super!), here's your guide to how-to-make-Tina-happy on Christmas 2011 - the superficial way.

While I appreciate "love" and "prayers", which are among the most popular "gift items" I have been receiving in the past years (on my birthdays and Christmases) and I love receiving them, believe me, the tangible kind makes me just as giddy (or at this time of the year, giddier, haha!!).

1) ELOISE THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION

I fell in love with this book in my brief stint as a Coach Reader in The Loyola Learning Library. While waiting for Daniel, the 8-year old English-speaking shy little boy whom I am supposed to read a story to, the owner of the Lib made me read Eloise. I almost forgot my search of my own copy until that one fateful night when I visited Fully Booked and found out about the complete edition on Eloise's adventures. And to make it more special (aka I'm so stingy I won't buy it for myself - haha), I have assigned two of my friends, Di and Joice, to buy me this for Christmas. And they said yes! I love my friends. Especially on Christmas! haha!

2) UP JACKET

I've never actually been an owner of a UP Maroon merchandise. Not even a shirt except for those sold in the School of Economics. A UP Jacket will make a lovely gift.=)

3) PILLOWS

*the kind you actually sleep on or even more special, memory pillows!

I saw this kind in one of the hardware shops in Trinoma (yes, hardware, you read that right) while shopping with Bes and Abby for a belt cleaner (Abby's). Just like a toy store, hard ware shops have a store-load of interesting Christmas treats. Even for a girl.=)

4) AN EAT-ALL-YOU-CAN BUFFET TREAT

Desset Buffet, Heat, Shangri-La Hotel

I have tried Spiral and loved it. Tried Vikings and adored it. 

I like food.

Plus, I am working on making me meatier.=)

5) EVERYTHING GIRLY

*SHOES - I have a thing for Suelas shoes!=) I have 2 pairs and have worn them out.

Suelas by Laureen Uy

*BACKPACK - because I like to get away..

*BRACELETS - because I like hiding my tiny wrist..

6) AN OUT-OF-TOWN GET AWAY

*Self-explanatory

7) A LOVE LETTER

*Just because I am a girl.=)

7 items on the list.

For now.=)

PRE-SCHOOL

My sister, one year away from being a licensed pre-school ed teacher, never fails to remind me I have big eyes. Extremely big ones - they inspired and continue to inspire her to produce artworks such as these:

Chibi Characters. November 2011.

Tina Tarsier. August 2011.

I miss writing.=)