Birthday month splurging; slice-of-life blogging

November is - without a doubt - the most expensive time of the year for me. It isn't surprising because it's my birthday month, first of all, and it's the month before Christmas. Of course, if I do my math, December is definitely more expensive than November, but due to (of course) 13th month I have more cash on hand after all the holiday spending is done.

Two weeks ago, I bought 1Q84 (I have yet to read it - still finishing Norwegian Wood). This weekend, I splurged on jewelry. The last time I spent money on the same kind of items was...July? And they were small earrings with prices that were extremely marked-down. Since November to December is the time when most bazaars are organized, I went to World Trade Center to check out what I could buy.

Before today, Mama already bought me three earrings from the same bazaar yesterday (technically, she didn't buy it for me - she bought a bunch of earrings at wholesale and she gave me the opportunity to pick out the pairs I liked). From that bunch, I picked three. Then, she convinced me to go back with her the next day - and so I did.

I'm very happy with the stuff I bought. I did go over budget though. /facepalm This weekend's damage finds are the following:

• Escada Ocean Lounge
• Four earrings
• Two rings
• Skechers sandals

If there's any piece of jewelry that I'm willing to spend a lot for, it will have to be the ring. I think my rings are more expensive than all my earrings (bought mostly from tiangges) put together. For instance: when I got my DVD copy of the fullscreen edition of The Return of The King, it came with brochure for LOTR jewelry. It included *drumroll please* The One Ring in gold and silver versions, complete with the Elvish inscription One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to find them all and in the darkness bind them! I really wanted to buy one for myself, but the dollar amount was so darn high that it would take a miracle for me to afford it with my college allowance coupled with my then-part time job. Anyway, I digress. I bought two rings - on my pointer is a handmade amethyst ring, and on my pinky is a ring made out of bone (from what source I didn't ask XD. I only know that it was imported from Vietnam). 

  

Here are two of the four earrings I got. I finally got my first pair of feather earrings. The ones I've been seeing are too expensive (my expensive for earrings is more than Php150 - wahahahahaha!), and this pair only cost me 75 bucks (yay!). The other one is again, Bohemian-inspired (my favorite style for earrings).

I cannot wait for the next payday (which is this week, HURRAH!)

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I don't follow a lot of blogs, except of course those that are written by my friends. I do read blogs of non-friends, and it's not the typical movie or fashion blog...I actually fancy people who blog about themselves and  what happens in a day of their life (weird, huh? parang stalker tuloy ako...wahahahaha!). I like it more if they relate their stories in a way that is effortless - like they're not trying hard to be eloquent, and yet their writing style is very fluid. I actually follow a blog of this person who's living in Scotland who does a-day-in-her-life posts like it was copied from some novel. I'm a sucker for those kind of things. 8)

I have come across some blogs that do slice-of-life who try to be profound, but their profound-ness (for lack of a better word) is really crappy. I could sense if a blogger is trying hard to write in a way that is different from the manner he speaks (and I know this isn't just me, cause I tried showing a gadawful blog post I found to an officemate, and she concluded along with me that said blogger is trying so hard to be eloquent that he achieved anything but eloquence). I don't exactly know how to quantify how I sense this...but here's my best try at it: if I feel uncomfortable reading a blog post, then it is highly likely that the blogger wrote it in a manner that he isn't used to.  

I guess...the reason why I'm saying all this is that if you really want to talk about your life online, and you want to be believable, then the best way to do it is to write the way you speak. It adds to the authenticity of your post, plus you won't come across as some poser. If you'd like to think otherwise, even Grace D. Chong, who won a Palanca Award, blogs in a very down-to-earth way. 

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And so ends November this week. It is (soon will be was) a very tough month, but I know I'm learning,  growing, and healing. =)

If you know what I'm going through and you've felt the brunt or the worst of it but responded with patience,  thank you. It will take some time for me to heal, but I'm getting there.

Introspection

I realize that the more I get older, the more I become exclusive or picky with people I interact with.

When I was in high school, I was pretty much a semi-open book; the same with college.I wasn't really one of the popular kids, but I was one of those who would speak their minds without so much of a thought of restraint.

Now it isn't that way. Though I still speak my mind, there is a stronger inclination to hold back. But when I do speak my mind, I speak more pointedly than before. I'd like to think I am more civil though (I've been working on it, believe you me). At present, I prefer being by my lonesome more than the company of some people. Having realized this, I think to myself (jokingly) na baka by the time I'm 30, I will be a loner na. XD

I think my time in Laguna had a lot to do with this, as well as with other stuff that happened recently. =/

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I haven't been taking pictures. I haven't been writing. I haven't been doing anything crea-freaking-tive lately!

Music-wise, however, I'm improving by leaps (and probably) bounds. I made my own lineup for three consecutive YC services (first time doing it, and without any help whatsoever!), and I've been learning how to play the keyboard. If I remember correctly, I'll be assigned in synth next Sunday (HOOOH EMMM GEEE). Of course, I have a long road to follow in order to be "good enough", but it's been a fun road thus far. =D Next week, I'll probably be buying my own keyboard. Yay me. 8)

I have been reading Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis and his other stories. I kind of liked his Conversations with the Supplicant. The way he writes is rather odd for me. It doesn't flow so smoothly, so much so that you need to focus more when reading. It's not like other books wherein the focus comes to you as you read - for Kafka's stories, it's the other way around. I operate on the first formula, so reading Kafka is quite a challenge.

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People have been posting so much about Ninong Steve Jobs (yeah, we're tight XD) that I decided not to go along with the bandwagon. I decided to post about it now because they hype has mellowed down considerably from the past two days.

When the news broke on Thursday (my time zone) that he died,  my Facebook, Twitter, and - oh my stars, would you believe it  - Tumblr timeline was 60% Steve Jobs and Apple. I love the man and the company, but one can only take so much! Sure, I did a few posts of my own (one on FB, ten or so on Twitter, six on Tumblr), but they weren't like HUHUHUHU PATAY NA SI STEVE JOBS! I AM SO SAAAAAAADDDDDDD KILL ME NAAAAOOO (When I saw the crazy posts, I knew I had to stop adding to the drama because I was certain that somewhere out there, someone like me was also getting irritated.)

It also wasn't helping that I use a Macbook at work, I listen to my iPod during work (and going to and from the office), plus there's an unopened The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs on the side of my table. It was a Steve Jobs/Apple bombardment of the highest proportions, and I was feeling very melancholic about it, but at the same time, I couldn't shake off the feeling of being irritated about some OA reactions that I've been reading. (At some point, I read a post on FB which said that when he saw his Mac when he came home, he bawled his eyes out. It took all the self-control I had left not to post: "I was in front of a Macbook the whole day and managed to keep it together. Get a freaking grip.")

To be honest, I do feel sad, but more than that I am thankful for the man that was Steve Jobs and the mind-blowing innovations that he birthed into the earth. He brought us closer to the 22nd century (or 23rd, whichever is your fancy). 

Maraming salamat Ninong Steve. If I get my own Mac, I'll definitely name it after you. 

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