Christmas

It's a few days past Christmas, and find myself inkling to do a quick post on some of the stuff I got and put them in a better light.

Let's start with this one! At the office, we still managed to have ourselves a simpler celebration of the season, and that included the Christmas Exchange Gift which was done through Elfster. So it was a simple matter of making our wishlists.

The one who drew my name (Lee), anonymously told me through the site that he couldn't find it, so I had to point him in the right direction to get the book I wanted. Happy to see that he found the 9th Doctor Who book, and even threw in a Lego figure of Loki. :) Thanks Lee! That was a little Christmas celebration well spent.

Next we have a little room improvement with my parents' gifts for both my birthday and Christmas. This actually started out when my mom and I cleaned out my closets together the day before my birthday. I voiced out that it was time to find another shelf to accommodate the books that I had in my room, and it was high time to replace the bedside table I had been using for the longest time.

So we sought out a nice compact shelf (the one on the left), with a plastic shoe rack shelf (not seen in the photo) and a new table lamp too. What followed sometime later was the garment stand for all my stray jackets and hats. Funnily enough, every time I come into the room, I jump thinking that its someone hiding in the shadows. I got to get used to that.

Finally we come our family Christmas Eve celebrations! Let's start things off from the top right and work our way around clockwise.

• Power Bank from my parents. It's funny how they can think up of the most opportune time to get us one of these! Since we often need to charge our phones while we're out, this will easily come in handy when there isn't an outlet in sight.
• Bench Socks from my Auntie Shiony. Quite the irony how I'm slowly shifting my undergarments in the direction of this brand. It's a definite sign!
• Boxes from my mom. I actually picked these out from Saizen when we were doing some last minute shopping earlier that day to help keep my stuff more organized. 
• Books!
• Warp by Eoin Colfer and Seriously...I'm Kidding by Ellen DeGeneres were from my aunt.
• Festival of Death, Fear of the Dark and Players (books 4-6) of the Doctor Who series from the exchange gift from Uncle Cesar. Adding that to my current collection below, here's where we stand! 

Just 3 more to go before I have all 11 books. Then I can start reading this properly. :)

Reading List

So the latter half of my year has been spent getting quite a handful of books and putting them aside to read later on. After Kai supplied me with "The Cuckoo's Calling" by JK Rowling (under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith), I decided to gather together the rest of the books that was left on my reading list. Not surprisingly, it turns out that I've found myself quite a pile, and looking to increase when my birthday and Christmas exchanges are done and over with.

Here's to hoping I can get to some of these in the next coming months!

Wishlist

So since my birthday and Christmas are just around the corner, I wanted to make an early wishlist of what I'd like to have. 'Course, budget aside, I'll find some way to get to them. One way or another.

1. Laptop bag (something less bulky than what I have now. The ones from Halo or Targus look appealing. Jarvis (my 12" Acer Windows 8 lappy) could use the space.
2. HDMI to VGA adapter. I can't make presentations using my laptop without one! I really need to find this since I don't want to have to rely on the projector having an HDMI input (since it isn't a staple so much).
3. Lego Marvel Super Heroes 3DS game. I told myself that Pokemon X/Y is one of the last games I'd get for myself for a while since I have other priorities to save up for. This would be a great bonus to have, especially because of Stan Lee.
4. iPod 7th gen. My 4th gen iPod's screen is starting to conk out due to my careless drops, and it's been displaying the wrong cover album art for as long as I can remember. Maybe that's to be expected of an 8gb device and cram 7gb of its storage with music. The poor thing.
5. Computer Table & Chair. I don't utilize my desk in my room so much since the bed is more inviting. And since I'm at home, I do sort of want to relax a little and literally lay low with a down-to-earth coffee-table like table (and maybe copy off of my siblings). A floor chair would be neat too!
6. A Kamen Rider Belt. Either W, OOO, Fourze or Wizard would be awesomesauce. :)
7. iPad Mini. It'd be neat to have a tablet of my own. I can end up saving up for one myself, but this is just to put it up here so I have a running list of what I actually want to have.
8. Deadly Heat. The fifth installment of the Nikki Heat series based off the ABC series Castle. It was released last month, and I'm wondering when it'll be available locally so I can finally get past that cliffhanger from the previous book.
9. Nintendo Points Card. So many digital downloadable games, downloadable content requires money! And an easier way to that is by getting point cards to get them. :)

One can dream right? v(^.^)v

The Ramsay Effect

Last week I spent the first half of the long weekend with Kai. She was staying over at her relative's place with her mom in the Greenhills area, which made easy access to the Promenade, an establishment that housed several restaurants, a movie theater and several stores, including an epically huge Fully Booked branch. 

One of the reasons why I love going into bookstores is because you never know what you might find, or what catches your eye when you pass through the aisles. As we made our way to the third floor to locate the mangas, I spotted a book that had Gordon Ramsay's face plastered onto it, which effectively made me halt and nick it off the shelf to inspect it. Surprisingly, it was an autobiography. 

Kai and I are big fans of the Chef after watching several of his shows (Hell's Kitchen, Masterchef US, Kitchen Nightmares US, The F Word) on TV or other media. So this was definitely one of the primary reasons we wanted to have a better standpoint on his he grew up and how he became the sensational man who confuses me with his dexterity. I mean he slices and stuff with his left hand, but eats in a right-handed fashion (must be upbringing I figure).

Why the sudden topic, you ask? Well, that's because it's his birthday today!! So many birthday wishes to him~ :D

Purchase Arrivals

What a treat after a long day at the office today! After being swamped to my neck in Excel formulas for one of my projects, I get picked up by my dad, who earlier that day, informed me that my pre-ordered copy of Richard Castle's fourth book in the Nikki Heat series, Frozen Heat, arrived from his friend in San Francisco! It's unexpectedly thinner than Heat Rises, but I'm happy to now that at least I finally have it on hand~ As was in my previous post below, this was one of the two books on my pending reading list once I finish Fifty Shades Freed. We'll see how things go, or where I lean over to - crime/mystery or tragicomedy.

And while we're on the subject, Season 5 has already started! It was indeed worth the wait and the episodes so far have been epically hilarious and ingenious at the same time. Yei~

The second of that little package was the skin for my Galaxy Ace. During my stay in the US, I took the time to purchase my current phone online on Amazon. While I was there, I ticked off some accessories to accommodate it - screen protectors and this skin. The screen protectors that were with my Uncle mysteriously disappeared/haven't arrived yet, so I'll settle for the skin that my Aunt sent over.

Waitlist

I always enjoy a good read, especially if it's worth it. The character, the plot, the premise - anything that gets me to read (okay, might as well include the author in the selection process) a physical book is always a welcome thought.

Lately, my love for reading was rekindled some months ago because of the Nikki Heat novels. Since then, I have been with a book in my bag every step of the way; to the last Artemis Fowl book, the Fifty Shades trilogy and the pending list of books after that. Scheduled on my waiting list are two titles by no so unknown people: JK Rowling's new adult novel The Casual Vacancy and the latest Nikki Heat novel Frozen Heat.

Before I get to any of those though, a little book called Fifty Shades Freed still stands in my way. I hope I could get to finishing it soon. I'm still figuring out which among the two I read next.

Artemis Fowl Collection

Last weekend, convinced Kai to help me sort out my bookshelves and take down some old Encyclopedias from my youth that was taking up the space. Primarily, I wanted to do this so that I could rearrange some of my shelves to contain my absolute favorite books and as a display space for my growing figuring/toy collection. For now, this short entry is just a feature on a completed set of books I recently championed last Friday when I bought books 2 and 3 of the series to complete it! So right there in the middle of the picture below, you see all 8 books of the series, coupled with some other interesting titles~

1. Artemis Fowl

2. Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident

3. Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code

4. Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception

5. Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony

6. Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox

7. Artemis Fowl: The Atlantis Complex

8. Artemis Fowl: The Last Guardian

Once I've finished reading my Fifty Shades trilogy, I'll most likely get to work on Frozen Heat by October when I get my copy before re-reading the series~ :D But for the meantime, I'll try coaxing my girlfriend to finally read it because she's missed out on everything.

Birthday greetings~

September 13: Tenimyu Season 1 Hyoutei A cast's Ootori Choutarou, Seto Yuusuke

September 15: Tenimyu Season 1 Fudomine cast's 2nd Tachibana Kippei, Kitadai Takashi

September 16: Team Batista's Narumi Ryo, Miyagawa Daisuke

September 17 (today): Tenimyu Season 1 Seigaku 1st cast's Inui Sadaharu, Aoyama Sotai and Hyoutei B cast's Mukahi Gakuto, Fukuyama Seiji

Fifty Shades

When I was browsing through my News Feed on Facebook, I saw a parody cover of the 'Fifty Shades of Grey' with Gandalf the Grey and Frodo wearing a ball gag. Granted, it was enough to pique my interest and made me ask the question: "What the hell is that?" And so the search began.

Thanks to Google, I got my answer as soon as I clicked on the Wikipedia entry. To my surprise, Fifty Shades of Grey penned by E L James was in fact a book. Categorized as an Erotic Romance novel catered to mature audiences (or basically anyone who can take reading carefully depicted sex scenes without fainting), Fifty Shades of Grey and the rest of its trilogy is not for the feint of heart.

Saying it that way would in essence answer the unspoken question of whether or not I could handle the topic, let alone all the smut. To be honest I enjoy reading these types of things to help in my so called "research" (take the air quotes a bit seriously but no pressure) for my fanfiction or blog roleplays. Plus it put things - like all those yaoi, yuri and hentai manga - in better perspective with good descriptions like James uses in the book. Yes I've read fanfictions that off the same prowess but there are limited reading materials that 1) use first person PoV and 2) talks excessively about the practices of BDSM which also turns out to be a topic of interest to me.

But don't get me wrong! There is no way you would convince me to suck up my submissiveness and get involved in all that. Again, I take interest in using what I learn through research and reading explicit manga titles like 'Hoshi no Yutaka', as well as the Fifty Shades Trilogy, for character development in my fanfictions and roleplays. Not to mention the general theme of writing out elaborate sex scenes (or lemons) has grown to be a talent of mine as time passes and this book is just helping me along that swimmingly. Fifty Shades provides me with an excellent avenue to explore heterosexual interloping jumping out from the pages of a book, crafted into a story to die for. A great inspiration and ultimately, a niche away from its primary idea as being a mere fanfiction of the Twilight series.

With all these descriptions it may already be obvious that I am in full swing of reading through the three books. I purchased them during my family's trip to the US a few weeks back; the first at Barnes & Noble in San Diego, and the other two at Costco wholesale in San Francisco. I am well into the second book as of this writing, and already there are dozens of ideas to stemp from it. The possibilities are endless.

When time permits, something more than a drabble will rear its head, probably once I've finished the trilogy of books. Here's to that undying splash of creativity!

And looking forward to the upcoming movie! :)

Books and Artemis Fowl

Midway through last month was the worldwide release of the final book of Eoin Colfer's well-acclaimed series, Artemis Fowl. The Last Guardian, which is the 8th and concluding in its series, was something I had been anticipating, and most of my motivation to finishing The Atlantis Complex several months back. The feeling that sparked me when I finally got my hands on my own copy, which I bought with my own hard earned money, was pretty much the same as when I got my hands on Deathly Hallows of the Harry Potter series - this was the end.

But with a heavy heart, I summon the little kid in me who has since been a faithful follower of Artemis Fowl the Second, Butler and Holly Short on this one last adventure, if just to put my heart at ease. And without fail, the finale was something I never expected. Much as Deathly Hallows brought tears to my eyes, this pretty much amounted the same result. 

I finally finished reading it last night, and I have nothing but kudos and praise to the great Eoin Colfer. Thank you for bringing Artemis Fowl into the world. Without Arty, I wouldn't be half the imaginative roleplayer I am today. Without Holly, I wouldn't be half as persistent to do absolutely everything in my power to see things through. 

When I had bought the last book last July 16, I was starting on the third of the Nikki Heat novels, Heat Rises. I decided to put it on hold to give me time to finish the AF series because I owed it that much. This way, I had enough excuse to take my Nikki Heat novel with me during our US trip this Friday. Sadly we won't be there until September 11 when Frozen Heat is released in stores. But for now, reading on!

Something that caught me by surprise while Kai and I were looking for a book to give to my nephew Tristan in Fully Booked last Friday! This graphic novel of the second book, The Arctic Incident, was a welcome surprise. Ironic, really, how I was leafing through the graphic novel of the first and ended up swiping up the second without really looking. Oh well, I'll return for the first graphic novel in time. But this is surely part of my reading list after Heat Rises.

Some Spring Cleaning

Monday last week (April 23), my net was uncooperative and prohibited me from chatting with Kai, so I decided to finally clean out one of my cabinets brimming with school papers and readings. I decided to sort them out into trash, reusable as scratch paper or memorable papers and readings to hold onto to add to my little collection.

Among these collection of works are the readings I attained from my three Philosophy classes in college. In this little collection of mine, I have the following:

• Plato's The Republic 
• Plato's The Cretan City
• Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics
• Michel Foucault's Discipline and Punish
• Michel Foucault's History of Sexuality 
• Michel Foucault's The Use of Pleasure
• Hannah Arendt's The Origins of Totalitarianism
• Hannah Arendt's The Human Condition
• Hannah Pitkin's The Attack of the Blob

Along with this collection, I have several scripts carried over from my Literature 14 class back in freshman year. The titles of which I won't care to recall or elaborate anymore. After going at dumping papers and readings in the thrash for disposal, I find myself with packets of scratch paper and several memorable pieces of output. A fine way to remember college, I think.

(Obviously this is a long, overdue post)

Nikki Heat Novels

After knowingly digging up some information about Castle (this post), we found out that the Nikki Heat novels that Richard Castle writes in the course of the seasons was published by Hyperion to give the show more publicity. Of course, while the author remains as Richard Castle, the books were penned by a ghost writer to retain the scope of the show. Much as luck would have it, I wanted to get my hands on these books and have an excuse to read something on paper than on screen, just to give my eyes the needed rest from staring into my iTouch the rest of the time. And didn't luck shine down on me when we passed by Fully Booked after our eventful afternoon of visiting churches did I find these two in the shelves and in stock. Sadly, the third book, Heat Rises, wasn't part of it, but I'd settle for these to keep me happy and preoccupied.