It's Growing!

I have been on tumblr for more than a year now and thanks to it I have stumbled upon few of great bloggers like Saab Magalona, Sara Meier, Nicole Andersson and Ala Paredes. Last month I have came across Ala’s blog about the things she collects and found myself so inspired I wanted my own entry on the same subject.

This is a no materialistic article. Like how Ala presented hers, I intend not to limit it on the THINGS that I have been hoarding all these years. So if I interest you far enough go on and read as you please.

I am starting to collect...

Vintage looking rings and necklaces

These come no surprise for it has been a fad for over some time now. However I resent the mainstream and the people who rides with it, I cannot fight the urge of collecting unique pieces of these recent trend. It may be so 3 years ago but I've decided to continue collecting smart finds of these kinds. 

(forever21 has amazing collections of these vintage necklaces!)

Funky Hats

This came up after I visited Enchanted Kingdom in 2010 and my boyfriend talked me out on buying a cute hat. Since a friend gave me a jester hat as a Christmas gift back in 2007, I said why not start a new collection? They're cute for picture takings, hehe :) 

Memo Pads

Maybe this is what’s left of me as I once crazed upon stationery back in elementary and high school. I stopped visiting the stationery corner of bookstores since the death of my favorite Aunt. I thought that I don’t have any more reason to collect them. But then again, once you loved something, you always will no matter how it may be changed or modified (there is still Psychology in this-haha). In my case, I may have restrained myself from continuing a decade of collection but I guess it just morphed into another form—memo pads. Whenever I visit a bookstore, I always end up at the memo stand. I am so much aware that they have no use for me since I dislike writing on small pads but I cannot deny the fact that it screams at me saying I need them. So, I end up buying one or two. 

Lip Gloss

This would make me sound so ironic but believe me I am not into Lip glosses. Why then? Whenever my brother and my sister-in-law would visit the country I would find myself handed with a new set of lip gloss. I, too wonder. Oh well, who could refuse such gifts anyway? Don’t worry, I still use them. I save the glittery ones for appropriate occasions while I use (or maybe overuse) the nude ones whenever I go out. Also, aside from those presents, I also find myself buying lip treats that interest me unusually. I am not into glitters and shimmers but I go for the flavors. Haha, weird right? I don’t know, there’s just something in the smell, the packaging and the color that makes me indulge even if I rarely use them. That 2 (Etude House and Maybelline) at the top is what I use everyday. 

Books

I know that I shouldn't judge a book by its cover by I cannot simply go by it. Forgive me for I am really a visual person. When I am at a bookstore browsing for a book I can buy, I put so much score on the cover and the title. If it is aesthetically pleasant enough to join my stack, then I read the synopsis if it’s far interesting to invest my time and money to. Apparently, my favorite book, Veronika Decides To Die by Paolo Coelho is not with me nor at the picture. Boyfriend still isn't finished with it after...3 years? Haha,kfine not your thing. 

(Just few of what I have at home)

Laugh Memories

Believe me or not, I can vividly picture in my head the times I've had good laughs with my friends and family. I replay them when I am sad or when I miss them. I could remember the things we were laughing about, the place, the punch lines, etc. My memory is not that reliable when it comes to remembering things and happenings but surely it knows which are not to forget.

Pictures

This is self-explanatory

Stories and anecdotes

When I was small I have always enjoyed being told stories by my mom, my aunt and even some of my cousins. I collect them in my head. Each night, when I am not tired enough to pass out in my bed I create stories in my mind and picture them as I put myself to sleep. I even wrote a story back in high school that I haven’t finished until now. If only I could compile them and publish a book, I will.

Inspirational Images

One of the many good things you get from the net is images that may inspire you to be more creative or adept in your choice of career. It may help you to be better on what you do or just simply brighten up your mood. When I am bored, I browse a lot. There is nothing in particular that I search for, just being random. When I bump into something cute, interesting or unusual I automatically save them for future reference.

Places

One of the few things that make me real happy is being able to travel and visit places. I collect places I already set foot at through memories and pictures. Most of it at the moment comprises of beach—Calaguas, Caramoan, Boracay, Guimaras and Bolinao to name a few (I promise to blog about each of them soon). This, I say is my most loved collection. 

Time Travel Through Letters

Few nights ago, I felt a little productive so I gathered all my stuffed boxes in the thought of arranging them. I have been seeing them stacked in one corner of another room in the house collecting dusts and spider webs. I promised myself that one of these days I will put them in a more justified place, secured and worthy for the memories they hold. Yes, you’ve got it right. Inside are decades of memories encapsulated on letters, doodles, scribbles and pictures.

I did not intend to reread all of them and get so mushy all over again. All I wanted was to sort them, see what are really worth keeping and what are good to be discarded.

Looks like a real mess, huh? Excuse the Sugo peanut wrappers in the photo. I was snacking on them as I rummage old letters I get to keep for I don’t know, remembrance? It sounds so high school isn’t it? It is maybe because most of these letters are from the people in my elementary to high school days and few are from my early years in college. Some are nonsensical, more like just a piece of scrap for which I cannot remember the real purpose of. Some however are truly for keeps.

Then I wondered. How do we say if it is to stay on that memory box of ours or good to go already?

Minutes later I found myself smiling, sighing and oh well, feeling a bit of sentimental. As I read some of them I can clearly look back at how the sender and I used to talk or how we used to be when we were still together. I saw myself back then. It’s funny how this moment brought back multitude of memories, emotions and feelings. By the looks of the penmanship, the organization of thoughts and the emotion accompanying every word written whether on stationery,  card or just a plain teared page of a notebook it reminded me of who I was 10, 5 or 3 years ago.  I even found the letter my family wrote me for my senior retreat back in high school. I read it again and realized it was just what I needed at the moment. So inspiring.

It was fun reading some of them. I was reminded of how I was loved and cared for by those people whom at some point in my life became significant to me. Friends, family and other special people whom I shared a chunk of my life, big or small it doesn’t really matter. But as I close the last box, I was left a little melancholic. I think that’s really what happens to you if you open yourself to your past once again. Either some of those people who sends those letters are gone or are no longer a part of your present, reminiscing over what has transpired will always pinch your heart.

So why do we keep them anyway? What’s the use of those old letters hidden at the darkest corner of your closet? It reminds you of how it didn’t work out. It tells you how shallow you were. It screams at how stupid you are that you didn’t do what you must have done. But it was those things that set you up straight today, right? It was those sad realizations that you get after reading each words that helped you grasp that you couldn’t have gotten any better than you are now, isn’t it? It’s now part of the past. And no matter how a tinge of regret you may feel, it’ll always be a liberating feeling how you emerged to be the person you are today from the person you were back then. It’s like turning the pages of your biography backwards. It gives you a glimpse of how colourful it all went. So what if you feel a little sad? Who cares if you ask yourself the ultimate question again, “what if...?”  

All I’m saying is that there is nothing wrong in keeping letters no matter how seemingly unimportant they are in your present. They are a part of  who you are. And the roller coaster of emotions you put self into every time you read some of them? They’re natural. Does it not feel nice to reminisce over a petty fight you had with your best friend back in elementary and how she said sorry to you through that Garfield stationery? How about reading again how your first crush wrote you a crappy letter saying he wants to be friends? Or that set of letters your “first love” sent you? These may all sound cheesy but hey, it feels good to relive those moments right? Especially now that it’s not anymore “cool” to send letters since we already have various social networking sites. Aren’t you proud that you were able to experience those exchanges of letters before it get phased out?

Ahhh...memories.

That night I missed a lot of people. 

So why don’t you visit that old box of yours and have a quick pull of your past. You never know what emotions it’ll bring to you. Happy reading! J

P.S.

I intentionally used my phone’s camera for a low resolution output. I don’t want you reading who it were all from nor what it says. J

Thumbs Up!

Just by looking at me, would you be able to tell that of all the movie genres there is I am immensely and passionately in love with epics/historical or fantasy? Those movies which involves swords, armors and yes, a lot of killings. This is ironic since I have an unexplainable fear of blood.  I don't know, there's just something in those stories that give me goosebumps. These tales of bravery, brotherhood and heroism. Romance, secrets and intrigues. Strategy, wits and distrusts. These are the kinds that give me chills and hold me wanting for more. Hence my eternal affection and salute to Lord of The Rings Trilogy and Troy. Yep, my all-time favorite movies. 

So imagine my reaction the first time I saw the making of one of HBO's newest series. I have seen commercials of Camelot and Tudors before (which are both under the same genre) but I never really felt excited as I was with this new one. If you have been following me at twitter you might have been pissed off with my frequent raves regarding this new series. OMG. Pardon for I was astounded. Friends, I bring you: GAME OF THRONES!

Game of Thrones is an HBO series based on the first of best selling A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin.

  "Long ago, in a time forgotten, a preternatural event threw the seasons out of balance. In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cold is returning, and in the frozen wastes to the north of Winterfell, sinister and supernatural forces are massing beyond the kingdom’s protective Wall. At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family as harsh and unyielding as the land they were born to. Sweeping from a land of brutal cold to a distant summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, here is a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens. 

Here an enigmatic band of warriors bear swords of no human metal; a tribe of fierce wildlings carry men off into madness; a cruel young dragon prince barters his sister to win back his throne; and a determined woman undertakes the most treacherous of journeys. Amid plots and counterplots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, the fate of the Starks, their allies, and their enemies hangs perilously in the balance, as each endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones."

                                                                                                                                                                                    

Interesting? Catch it on HBO but I'm afraid I can't share you when for I do not know the exact dates. It premiered last August 28. I downloaded it so I am finished watching the whole 10 episodes. It saddens me much though that the second season does not begin until April next year. Such a torture. What are the books for anyway? I'm sure to bury myself in the next coming days to a good read, yaaaay!

And oh, by the way this series isn't for children nor for the faint-hearted. There are a lot of killings (READ: blood and gruesome scenes), nudity and what comes after (you know!). So don't tell me I didn't warn you. Other than that, you'll be most likely to be hooked like me.