banana chips

watching shonen knife's "banana chips" music video while eating banana chips. this song reminds me of high school days and the heyday of mtv. and the song always gets stuck in my head whenever i eat banana chips. banana chips... banana chips... banana chips... oh yeah! *lakas maka-LSS. :P*

on a totally unrelated note, i'm really glad that i've gotten my little sister into reading, and most importantly: buying books. here's a pic of some of her most recent purchases that has kept me busy recently:

yes, that's an animated shounen knife on my screen. :P

i went through the books like a hungry dog and after a few days, have no more left to read. :( among all these books, i guess i liked "the perks of being a wallflower" the most. it's different from all the books i've read before (in a good way). i've read "tuesdays with morrie" years ago and loved it. "for one more day" was good too but i liked wallflower more. bob ong's "lumayo ka nga sa akin" also had a different format, but i didn't enjoy it quite as well as his previous books. i still think his debut work "A B N K K B S N P L A Ko?!" is the best he has ever done. that's just my 2 cents worth, though. oh well, gotta go raid some bookstores soon!

alone with the devil

This is a very interesting book that I've had on my shelf for years but have not finished reading. Written by Dr. Ronald Markham - a forensic psychiatrist, the book talks about some of the famous cases he's handled.

Quoting from the author's introduction of his own book: "I've interviewed mass murderers, serial killers, wife killers, husband killers, child killers... every kind of killer you can imagine. I want you to see and feel what I see and feel when I expose the mind of a murderer. I want you to see and feel their madness too. I want you to experience what it's like to learn that not only is the killer alone with the devil, but that we all are."

I picked this book up from a second hand bookstore ages ago and read parts of it at home. Having a very imaginative mind, I kept picturing the scenes of murder over and over in my head and found myself too scared to sleep. The book haunted me even worse than the most frightening movie. The blood and gore vividly painted in my mind by my traitor-of-a-brain scared me so much that I ended up a sissy and forced my little sister to sleep beside me that night. I slept so close to her then that she probably would've gotten an attack if she were suffering from claustrophobia.

I tried to pick up reading where I left off several times since then but I chickened out each time. I actually made another attempt and pulled it out of my bookshelf earlier today but had to put it back. I figured that the Halloween season is the worst time to read this and scare the hell out of myself. Hmmmm. I wonder when (and IF) I'll ever be able to finish reading this book.

what must be done to start "she's come undone"

I rewarded myself with a new(ish) used book yesterday because I've been studying my ass off for the past weeks. I've got just one more module exam to finish. After that, I'm off to do a little review and then it's gonna be the time to take my final exams! Must get all 6 exams done by the 12th of September! I'm feeling all the pressure now! Oh well, just a few months from now (most likely half a year or just a little bit more) and it'll be all worth it! :)

Btw, the book is Wally Lamb's "She's Come Undone". Bought it for P250 at my favorite secondhand bookstore in UP - Bookshoppe sa Peyups. It's the shop behind the waiting shed between SC and the Post Office. I always buy 3-4 books when I go there so Ate (Sorry, I don't know the seller's name. Must ask her when I go back.) was asking me: "Ito lang?". LOL. Sorry Ate, I'm on a tight budget right now. :P

Now all I have to do is stop myself from reading the book until I get through my exams. To be honest, I'll probably cheat a little by reading a few pages during study breaks. Hah! Self-control, where are yooouu?

economically speaking

today, i stumbled upon a web article about the book from third world to first written by singaporean minister mentor lee kuan yew. the article contained an excerpt from the book and i was surprisingly hooked. that brief excerpt was definitely one of my best reads for quite some time. see, i usually read fiction or laughter-inducing or travel-related stuff. history has always bored me to death but the preview that i got of this book left me wanting more. i love how lee kuan yew narrates the events that transpired between him and the former presidents of the philippines. parang nagbabasa lang ako ng tsismis column o diary niya tungkol sa mga conversation niya with our former presidents.

plus lately, inuman conversations with college friends-slash-housemetes has been focused on the economic status of the philippines: what's wrong with it, how our economy has come to what it is right now and what we can do to improve it. siguro kung may makakarinig ng mga usapang-naimpluwensiyan-ng-alak namin, sasabihin nila na "sige nga, ikaw kaya magpatakbo ng pilipinas. kayanin mo kaya?". but still. we are filipinos. it's inevitable to talk about being filipino and the controversies that come with being one. i love those healthy conversations. i love them as much as i love my housemates who stimulates me to think even while (or maybe especially while) drinking. wala talagang tatalo sa usapang lasing. :)

bottomline: i really want this book. i checked the online sites of national bookstore, powerbooks and fully booked but none of them seems to hold this title. i'll try calling the bookstores and inquire about it but if all else fails, i may have to ask someone to buy it for me in singapore. that being the case, sadly, my economical interest might just have to wait.

i dream a dream

yan ang dream ko. hehe. this was taken sa condo na tinitirahan ng isang friend ko.. naiinggit ako kaya kinuhanan ko ng picture.. pero seryoso, pangarap kong magkaron ng sariling library sa loob ng sarili kong bahay. sana in the next 2 years, makapagpatayo na ko ng bahay. i don't have any specifications sa house except that it needs a library. :D

at ung library, gusto ko as in super dami ng books. ung tipong madaming rows of shelves na pang-library talaga. tapos arranged by author then book title ung books. parang ganito:

at gusto ko wall to wall carpet ung library ko. tapos may dark heavy curtains.. tapos may PC. tapos may area na maraming throw pillows na pwedeng higaan habang nagbabasa.. haayy.. heaven. :D cguro di na ko lalabas ng library ko pag nagkataon.

so this is me unleashing my inner geek. ung nanay ko, dahil hindi mahilig magbasa, hindi maintindihan ang addiction ko sa pagbili at pagcocollect ng books. which is really sad dahil wala ako sa bahay namin sa cavite nung binaha ang bahay namin dahil sa milenyo. ang dami ko ding books na tinangay ng baha. di nila naisalba dahil di naman importante para sa kanila.. :( i had to start rebuilding my book collection tuloy.

aun pa pala. more specifications on the construction of my library : it has to be sa 2nd floor ng house para bumaha man, kahit wala ako sa bahay. andun pa rin ang books ko.. now all i have to worry about is making sure na fire-proof ang room without using water.. hay. (btw, burning books reminds me of the book fahrenheit 451 by ray bradbury. have you read this book?)

pero kelan pa kaya mare-realize ang dream ko na to? sa ngaun kasi konti pa lang ang books ko..below are pics of my books.

the first pic (upper left) has 2 half-rows of books which are mostly for academic purposes. (plus a few other books. btw, the bin laden book is not mine. i just borrowed it from a friend and must be returnes soon.) the red envelopes contains readings in college (specifically spanish10, stat131, and a photocopied MGB). the second picture (upper right) contains 2 rows of hardbound and "big" books.. and the last pic (bottom center) contains 3 rows of "pocketbooks" aka my paperback books.

haaay.. kelan kaya dadami ang books ko para makapuno ng kahit 3 shelves man lang? mukhang kelangan ko magbooksale every week. hehe. :D ayway. reality check muna. tama na muna pangangarap. (sa totoong buhay, gutom na ako at maghahanap ng makakain.)

Note : library shelves pic was taken from Mount Angel Abbey Library's site.