Fast-track to the present!

Woah! Can't believe it's been weeks since my last post here! The days just seemed to fly by so quickly. Many things have also happened in the span of those days, though none of them terribly notable.

First off, the thing that has kept me very busy the past weeks is finally over. I didn't get a high grade in my proposal but I'm just glad all the editing and revising and meeting with the adviser is now over. I even got an embarrassing allergy attack during the final day of submission, ugh! So glad I passed the class though!

Second, Gunter's grandmother being in the hospital after a major surgery has made me a little attention-seeky. I know I should be more accommodating but I guess it's just because I feel like i'm getting whatever time he has left over. I want his grandma to get better though. She's a cutie :)

Lastly, as for the shows that I'm watching I've decided that I'm not gonna be a martyr and slave away waiting for another The Heirs episode. The show, which is slated to have 20 episodes, is now at episode 11 so I'm just gonna wait for all of the episodes to come out. Of course, being me, I've set my gaze on a 90s cartoon by MTV called Daria. I'd post more about it when I can.

But for now I'm just gonna sit here and mull on the fact that today is the last day of my semestral break. Tomorrow is officially the first day of classes for me at uni and I'm. Just. Too. Excited. I. Can't. Hold. It. In.

/admits to sarcasm while I bitchslap myself. ugh.

Running With Scissors: DIY Ladder Weave Shirt

I'm not one for tedious DIYs, especially in clothes. Perhaps it's me being a lazybutt, or I don't want to be caught dead in a tacky poorly-made DIY shirt because I just don't have the skill to produce something pretty. This shirt, which I have thrifted from a flea market, was my victim for today. I really feared for the worst, and I ended up struggling with how I wanted the ladder to look like but I think this is fair enough. I wouldn't want a huge ladder with lots of holes on my back while I'm out on a chilly night.

He Who Wears The Crown, Bears The Crown

I have been wanting to watch this particular Korean drama ever since news of it first broke out. I wasn't able to get on Boys Over Flowers (a similar drama) so I'm glad I enjoyed this one thoroughly. The story is similar in many ways like Boys Over Flowers and vastly different too. 

We have a bunch of rich kids that have all arranged themselves in a strict hierarchy, a girl who is an heir to "poverty" and elder characters who have their own hierarchical issues to deal with. The difference is that, while the main male character in BoF is an ice king turned gentleman, The Heirs' Kim Tan is first presented as a mild-tempered exiled second-son. There may be more to his character than what has been presented in the first six episodes though. Coincidentally, both main male characters in BoF and The Heirs is played by one actor, Lee Minho.

Performance-wise, Park Shinye and Lee Minho have chemistry so that enables them to act more fluidly. I can't really tell with the others yet, since I think six episodes (and this is the first time I've seen them all act) is tad too short to make a comment about their acting and characterization. The music used is very good too! I'm enjoying Lee Hongki's Love Is... a lot. I hope they release a full OST soon!

Six episodes in and I can't wait for more! 

Coming out of the woodwork

The last weeks have been swamped by allnighters due to working on my Systems Analysis and Design project. I am so tired and it seems like no amount of coffee will remedy this. We're not even done yet, but I'm glad that the final schedule is on November 4th. That means I have at least a week all to myself.

Since talking about my uninteresting week doing the project would just be a massive bore, here's an infographic about untranslatable words that I find interesting.

Explore more infographics like this one on the web's largest information design community - Visually.

Beyond the Boundary 02: NEKOMAMA!

I watched the second episode of Kyoukai no Kanata pretty late into the week due to school engagement (ugh!) but I totally wasn't disappointed when I finally got around to watch it yesterday. I was so excited to just sit down and relax and watch more light-hearted youkai-busting.

King Costa

Costa is my boyfriend's pet kitty aka my nemesis for cuddles and attention. Even though he gets to cuddle with my Gunter far more than I can, I can't resist his adorable-ness and general sass. We often joke that Costa is a flaming homosexual kitty, because he seems to hang out more often with a random cat from his area. Also, he just really looks the part. There's nothing more adorable than a male kitty leading a double life as a gay James Bond kitty. 

Meganebu 01: No Glasses, No Life!

My initial reaction upon watching Meganebu was an awkward mix of hilarity and "wtf am I watching!?" emotions. I really just didn't know what to expect. With a given summary that was mainly talking about "Guys with glasses" I didn't think this would be it. 

Sidebar: Madrid, Surigao del Sur

Last Friday, I went to a trip to my mother's hometown with a couple of my friends. I've made this trip countless of times before, each visit accompanied varying levels of discomfort. I didn't really like sleeping on the floor because the wood flooring gets cold at night and it makes my asthma act up, not to mention the wide variety of bugs that would love to torment my already uncomfortable stay. 

Beyond the Boundary or blood-bending, glasses-wearing moeblob because IT'S OCTOBER!

FINALLY! It's October! It's the season of chill weather and the new fall anime lineup! I've been looking forward for the Kyoukai no Kanata (Beyond the Boundary) anime to begin ever since forever though I'm not sure if I just overhyped myself for it...BUT I truly wasn't disappointed! It's one of the few series that I'm super looking forward to this season. 

Baby, It's Cold Outside or Reasons Why I Like The Cloudy Days.

I've always said September is that one month that flies by so fast compared to other months. Perhaps it's due to the fact that so many things usually happen for me during this month, though I'm pretty sure that's not generally the case. Today marks as the last day in September (finally, September has ended!) and we are entering the cloudy, rainy days of October. It's actually raining as I'm typing this out, and i'm being cooled over by a soft, chilly breeze. It would suffice to say that that is the most practical reason for me to like the cold, but I enjoy many of it's other benefits as well. 

Here's just of my personal reasons.

Krewella - Get Wet Album also known as HOLYFUDGES AND CREAM.

I got my hands on Krewella's first album Get Wet, and as soon as I played the first track I felt like I got hit on the face by exploding wet bricks, seriously. Their album, consisting of 14 tracks (including an acoustic version of one other track) was so refreshing and new. The group itself burst into the scene so rapidly, bringing with them a right mix of professionalism and batshit crazy fun. 

(Get it HERE on iTunes | Listen to their Soundcloud)

Resurrection

It's been so long since I posted anything here. I just really wanted to post before September ends, to not break the monthly archive at the sidebar. Also, I'm just really glad I remembered the password to this blog or else i'd be killing myself mentally all night haha.

Mooooon

Well the being on certainly hasn't kept me from being a massive lazybutt with posting. That or it was the rollercoaster of a week, with exams and everything. So once again, since I'm still being a lazybutt, here's some pictures from when we went to the Mooon Cafe at Gaisano some time two weeks ago. This was before I started keto though. The food was great :)

Like crazy...

Being on ketosis, I'm encouraged to exercise when I can. I don't have a gym membership, though I think doing HIITs on my own is enough. I might need a new sportsbra though, just to stop things from jumping and jiggling everywhere. It has made me feel lighter and more active though, which is good :)

Yesterday, after dinner, I flipped open the laptop to see Gunter sleeping with a special note for me. I thought he had ended the Skype call and went about his own things. Instead, he does this super adorable gesture. He's such a cutie! We're planning to cook his lunch today and we're thinking of making a low-carb recipe. I gotta remind him to buy his buns before he starves again. 

On Keto

So I've just started Keto 3 days ago and it's really difficult. Asian people especially have a high amount of carbohydrates in their diets so it's really hard to just leave that out. I think it's about time I take diets seriously though, and I want to look better for when Gunter visits next year :) I think the headaches and little fevers for now are worth it in the long run.

Keto isn't "not eating at all" as what my classmates have exclaimed when I told them they can have my extra rice, haha. Just minimizing carbohydrate intake to make your system switch to ketosis :) Though I guess for them, not having rice is the same as not eating at all.

I have 7 months to lose as much weight. I think I can do this. For once I have a very good motivation and not just "because I don't want to be bullied for being too fat for Asian standards." I've been exercising more too. I kinda slacked with it before especially when uni started for me but Gunter doing exercises to relieve stress and such really motivates me. He does rope skipping pretty much everyday. I wish I could do that but I can't because BOOBS. I need a new sportsbra.

Sleepybuns love food too!

My sister's birthday was actually on Monday but due to it being exam week for her, she plan to have the get-together on Thursday night. Thursday was also a special day for Gunter and I, and i didn't actually realize it until...Wednesday night. I suck, sorry :c It was still a special day for us and gosh, I love my sleepybun.

Anyways, food! Lots of food! Gunter thought the whole roasted pig looked a little weird, haha. He'd be in quite a surprise when he comes here. Should be fun! :) I also failed at taking panorama pictures lol

Cooking with Gunter: German Pancakes

This was the very first meal that Gunter and I did by Skype. It was particularly fun watching him work with whisks and beaters wearing an apron :) The recipe used was of a dutch baby recipe.

It turned out great and pretty. He ended up smothering his with a lot of cinnamon powder because he likes it, haha.

Who knew this simple invitation to make something for breakfast turned out to be one of the best things I've ever done with someone? I can't wait until I get to taste Gunter's cooking :P

It's a rainy Wednesday once more

I had an early class at uni again today. After a wonderful date with Gunter yesterday, I'm glad I was rested enough for this early call. Nothing says "wake the hell up!" like gulping down a lukewarm cup of black coffee in one go.

The rest of the day was pretty hazy. I seriously feel like I just zoomed my way through time until now. After a an almost disastrous quiz on Systems Analysis and Design, I went home and had an early lunch which taught me a lesson: Do not eat lunch that early! I got so hungry when I arrived home after my (postponed) Principles of Management class earlier this afternoon that I'm pretty sure I ate more than 20g of carbs. Oh well, it's my sister's birthday dinner tomorrow anyways so the keto would've failed if I started today.

The weather earlier was chilly and rainy. I really like seeing gray clouds on the horizon. There's a certain calm and melancholy that dark clouds and rain bring to me

Cooking With Gunter: Tuna!

Every time Gunter suggests that we cook something, I always get excited. Sure, I don't get to taste it (yet!) but just being a part of it and seeing how he works makes me smile (and laugh! and giggle!) His funny antics are a great way to keep me going happy. He's my happyfuel :3 /cheese

This time, we made a tuna casserole. He replaced some ingredients though, like the peas, mushroom sauce and American cheese. I think his version turned out great and pretty!

I love that cute face, haha <3 I can't wait to do this again. I wonder what we'll cook next~

"Himmlische" Leysieffer

I was preparing to go to uni last Monday when the DHL delivery guy came around and told me the package Gunter sent me has arrived. I was so thrilled! The customs fee was high though but that didn't stop me from claiming my preciousss <3 He sent me cheese (that went bad, aww),  his mom's ceramic sculpture for me, a bottle of UHU and my most priced possession...Leysieffer chocolates!




The Die Klassischen one has alcoholic chocolates. It has many of my favourite pieces! The Die Koniglichen one has the most yummy truffles! With gold flakes! I had to share some but i still got to enjoy the lot of them :) And the Espresso one. I really love it, considering i'm an insane coffee addict.

They're all safely tucked in my tummy now haha.

Cooking with Gunter: Pancakes make people happy :)

Gunter finally sent me the pictures he took! The one good thing about the recent heat wave in Germany is that I get to see him topless a lot, hehe :) Can't complain~




We have another date planned for tomorrow (Tuesday) and I'm hoping the package will arrive here tomorrow too. I'd be at uni for most of the day on Wednesday and I want to receive it first hand :c Oh well~ I'm just glad I'm getting chocolates! And cheese!

Pancake Date

Saturday, Gunter and I planned (well, semi-planned) to have a date. The plan was to make waffles but after being betrayed by his waffle iron (haha) he resorted to making pancakes out of the batter. They turned out well after the first-pancake-that-shall-not-be-discussed. He took his own pictures which I'm going to ask for, later :)

The entire saturday was fun! We watched The Phantom Tollbooth at night and had a really good time afterwards, haha.

Crack

Sunny Days and Wednesdays

After class, some of my classmates and I went to Rose Cake House to grab some refreshments. The weather was soooo warm! The sun was out in full blast and the walk was a little long but our cookies and cream icecream shakes made up for a lot :) I don't necessarily go out a lot. I like keeping to myself most of the time but it's a nice thing to do once in a while. 

Wednesdays are very tiring and i'm glad that half of it is done now. 

Cheese and Chocolates :)

I was having a kinda stressful day, so I'm glad Gunter is preparing something for me :) I can't wait to receive my cheese and chocolates! And something that his mom has sculpted for me!

This is worth the wait!

Reading Strangers by Dean Koontz

I got this book at the mall last night for just around $2 I'm so pleased! I admit I haven't read a lot of Dean Koontz (I'm not even sure...he uses a lot more pseudonyms than I can remember!) and my favourite of them has to be Demon Seed. I'm currently reading the first novel "Strangers" in the book. 

I'm kinda glad I picked this book instead of The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown that was also on sale for about twice the price of this book. I've read it before, but I've never had my own copy. Hopefully it'll still be there when I save enough.

Now I gotta wake Gunter up. He's supposed to buy me some cheese today, haha. He's been particularly busy the past couple of weeks due to exams and uni and general, but nothing I'm nagging him about. We're both uni students so I can understand and accept the business :P

Lazy Hair Days

After a long and tiring day at uni, I randomly remembered an old trick I used to do some years before. I used to just keep my hair in a bun after a tiring and hot day when having it down is just too warm. I ate my dinner and did my chores in a hurry to do this, only to find that the bun donut I perused for this before cannot be found. 

Luckily, the Internet has been really helpful with this. I found out you can use an old sock as a replacement for the bun donut! Here's one of the many examples on how to do it.

Here's my result! It's difficult to get the shot be visible, what with my very dark long hair =.=

A Sudden Disappearance....

Classes got most of my attention the past days, even my communication with Gunter has significantly lessened, haha. It's tiring and I could really use a booster, these days...perhaps to the tune of a long weekend, sleeping in on a cold rainy day.

I am at a public cafe and I'm really uncomfortable with writing out my thoughts in a public place so here's a couple of gifs I've made throughout my absence.

My iced tea while waiting for lunch at Chow King

This is what happens when you have a GIF-making app on your phone and you're doing the laundry.

King Costa grooming himself to amuse me...

I am thoroughly amused...

First GIF, actually. Because I was bored and class hasn't started yet.

Revelations

I finally told Gunter about the existence of this blog, which I seriously wanted to be kept hidden for a while. I feel lighter now, though, because then I wouldn't have to merely tell him that i'm "writing" when I'm actually blogging.

The day's not over yet, and the feeling of lightness and bliss I feel right now are obviously fleeting. Gunter lent me some cash to buy a replacement for my broken headphones. I'm not one to ask money from anyone, even if we are close, but this time I have to be realistic. I wouldn't be able to speak to him, otherwise. His condition was that I peruse the leftover money to buy myself a nice cup of coffee. I wouldn't say no to that, either.

Uni, on the other hand, left me with mixed emotions. It was both nerve-wracking and fun. A random quiz here and surprise postponements of classes there, it was rather unusual of my rather boring and average classes. A teacher's comment about my personal life divulged to other members of the faculty bummed me. Not that it had any actual damaging effect or anything, I just really dislike it w

Terrifying Tremors

A little more than a year ago, the first "mall" in my slowly-growing city of Surigao opened it's doors. Ever so curious, my younger sister and I decided to check out the opening. As expected of Surigaonons, it looked like more than half of the city's population decided to check it out as well. Oblivious to necessity, we didn't tell anyone that we're going there.

At first sight, it was spacious and I'm pretty sure many people were in awe at it's sheer size compared to the other infrastructures in the city. My sister and I were happily surprised when we found huge stacks of books on sale at the second floor. After digging through a bunch of barely-interesting books, we both found a couple that we liked...that is, until the earthquake shook the entire building.

Researching it afterwards, I found that it wasn't that strong but for some reason being inside a new building while it was happening wasn't good. The entire floor swayed and the glass on the ceiling broke off. People were screaming and hiding under the tables. I could hear murmurs of prayers and profanities, it was all a little surprising for me. When the building stopped swaying, everyone rushed to the exits, pretty much everyone looked shaken and scared. 

People gathered outside the building, as medics and police started to arrive. Children were reunited with their parents who were separated during the shuffle. Up to this day, my sister and I still feel a bit bummed that we didn't get to buy those books we had on our hands. 

Supermoon and Siomai

The entire sunday was pretty bland. I've never liked Sundays for many reasons and this time was no different. I refused to go to church and pretty much spent the morning sleeping in on Skype with my boyfriend. It's the one thing I enjoy when he's sleeping. I love how I can sleep in with him despite the distance. 

By late afternoon, I was already itching to get out of the house go somewhere else. Luckily, my parents had plans to go to the city so, as much as I'm not a huge fan of tagging along, I went with them. First stop was the newly opened Parkway Market. It was obviously not in it's completed plan yet, but they've pushed back their schedule so many times already. It wasn't particularly big too, but in this small city anything that bustles with activity has the capacity to attract attention. 

I was glad to see a Master Siomai food cart in there. It's easy to snack on and I've been a big fan of them ever since I've tried them about four years ago back when I went to my first uni in a big city. I missed out on the Tuna Siomai so I tried their Shark's Fin Siomai and one Japanese shuumai. Of course, I had them spicy :)

Before heading to the hospital and back home, we visited some relatives. I didn't get off the car though, because my eyes were transfixed on the big golden ball of majesty that crowned the barely cloudy sky. June 23rd of 2013 was blessed with an event where the moon is so close to the Earth, the closest the Moon has ever gotten to the Earth this year and it won't happen again until August 10, 2014. For the entire trip back home, all I could think of was when I'd be able to witness the same moon at the same space and time with Gunter. 

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Things Aren't What They Seem...

Second week after classes has started and I’m already tired of it. After a doubly terrible day yesterday (a missed opportunity and a wardrobe malfunction), I was already eager for the day to end by noon. I didn’t really expect a quiet Saturday with my parents present although having the both of them gone for most of the time proved to be a nice surprise. 

My dad came home at around noon, and at around 4PM we wanted to check out the Parkway Mall opening. The place was really packed, and even the parking lots were filled with customers’ cars. We drove all the way to the city and eventually grabbed a snack at McDonald’s. We rarely eat fast food so this was a nice change. In my tiny town, there's very few fast food chains and McDonald's just opened here about 3 months ago. 

I’m always surprised at how different the pictures of food are with the actual products. I had a Double Cheeseburger, Large Fries, and Iced Coffee. The pickles brought a weird zing to my tastebuds haha /not a pickle person. 

 

The only thing I imagined while picking through the fries was how it’d be like when Gunter and I do eat fries together and just talking and giggling. There was nothing special about their fries though, they were even saltier than I expected and a little greasy too. 

The Iced Vanilla Coffee was my favourite. I’m a coffee person and although I wouldn’t consider McDonalds’ as a good coffee-brewer, sometimes the caffeine kick is all that’s important. It was fun imagining how I’d be meekly sipping on my coffee while Gunter sitting across me in our little booth being all hot, funny and gorgeous. Haha, a girl can dream right? :)

Pre-NaNoWriMo Preparations

This year, I intend to join the 2013 National Novel Writing Month (which happens in November) and actually start writing a novel. To prepare for it, I figured I should start outlining the things I need to do.  They're just bare necessities, I figured. 

A favourite of mine is conceptualization and planning characters. Many aspiring writers I know get a lot of character and plot ideas but those usually derail their current projects. I wish to get rid of that, or at least minimize it so I can have the maximum time writing about relevant things. 

I've already chosen my writing tool Scrivener, developed by Literature and Latte. It's not free, but it has cool features that would prove important to me. The corkboard feature is kinda cool :)

I have to plan for many things because I figured I'd be particularly busy during November especially with the documentation for the systems proposal for uni. I really want to participate this year, and at least have a considerable amount written after the event so I can continue at my own pace. So excited!

Slow Days and Wednesdays

Another non-working day for the Philippines today. Normally I would enjoy the lack of need to be present at university but the old folks grasps are much too tight on these days. I've never enjoyed their company. There's so many things they fuss about and I just  find the whole thing rather "maturing". I didn't really expect to be cut off some slack even if I'm sick. I'm just glad my boyfriend's been really supportive and caring, I'm so grateful.

Last Tuesday, I enjoyed a rather laid back hour with a couple of my classmates at the uni cafeteria. It wasn't the usual gang I hang out with except a couple but it was fun nonetheless. I wish I'd get comfortable with them visiting my house soon, haha. Which reminds me, I don't really miss my old friends. That's probably rather heartless of me considering we shared so many memories but oh well....best not to dawdle and get depressed.

I have a lot of catching up to do with my blogs, in terms of content and design. I'm satisfied with the re-branding and redesign of this blog, and I still have to create new content for Sparkling Spectacles. I've got quite a long day ahead for me today.

Surigao Good Eats: Mandarin Tea Garden

It's Monday again, which means it's another five days of possible anxiety attacks at uni. I need to figure out a way to enjoy college. Although, yesterday my family had a quite nice dinner at a restaurant. We're not really one to splurge at fancy restaurants, as long as it's delicious and worthy of it's price then it's good.

One such restaurant in my tiny city would be Mandarin Tea Garden. Originating from Davao City, the one in my city has just recently opened. We've been there a couple of times and have never been disappointed by the food or the service. The place isn't big, compared to the hotel's own restaurant to which it is situated beside.

The Mandarin Tea Garden in my city is located at the Ground Floor of Parkway Hotel along the National Highway. I'm planning to take Gunter here. He's gotten particularly skinny the last couple of months and i'm determined to feed him as much meat as I can, haha.

LDR Stuff: Skype Sleeping

It's a luxury for couples to be able to comfortable take a night's rest with their SO's on a soft bed. But for people (like me) who's SO is otherwise-located, being able to sleep and also hear them while sleeping is already quite a luxury. This is a little indulgent, others would say, but for not having that special person in snuggling distance I personally think this is worth it.

May also be used to spy on Costa

Now, I know many couples have their own routines to do this so I'm just going to highlight what we do. Here's a short background before I start enumerating things. He's in Germany, I'm from the Philippines. That's almost a 7000 mile distance between that that also comes with a six-hour time difference. Normally, when he gets home from university, I'm already sleeping. Depending on our schedules, I am able to wake him up and he's able to join me in my sleep if he'd like to take a nap. 

How is this possible? Here's our recipe for Skype Sleeping!

Ingredients (umm...applications/hardware to use)

• A decent internet connection
• Skype (of course)
• Headphones - must be comfortable enough to wear in bed if preferred.
• decent-quality webcam - while some of us are comfortable with sleeping in a room with a random light source on, and we'd want decent lighting so our SO's could actually see us and not just stare in total darkness. this all depends on what you'd like.
• F.lux - I use this to control the amount of blue light my laptop gives off when it's the only lit-up thing at night that usually gives me headaches. 

Procedure

1. Set up your laptop/PC. It should be in a place that doesn't get too hot too quick. If on a PC, perhaps an external webcam would be easily manoeuvred so that it shows you when your SO calls. I use a laptop so it's always pointed to me.
2. If you're comfortable with wearing headphones/earphones at night, you can. I personally wear mine to bed, and it's not that uncomfortable since i normally sleep on my back.
3. I've configured my Skype to accept calls automatically from people in my contacts, and for the camera to automatically run. My boyfriend has the same set-up. I know many of you aren't comfortable with this set-up. It's just that we really don't have any people on our contacts who would randomly start a call.
4. I've installed F.lux to regulate the brightness/blue light my laptop emits at night. It really helps a lot, especially to those who are uncomfortable sleeping with bright lights.
5. For those who wants to try a more secured method, there is a program that lets you select a specific contact to allow certain actions to. You can download it [here]. There are some issues with it though but it should run with no problems. Another method is using TeamViewer so your SO can accept the call themselves with no bother to you.
6. SLEEP! Of course. It can't be skype sleeping if you aren't asleep! And just wait for your SO to come snuggling up to you once they are able to :
7. Don't forget to tell them to set up the same thing so you both can do it whenever the other wants. 

Enjoy!

Tomfooleries and Skylarkings

No, the post title doesn't have anything to do with the post itself. Sorry to disappoint. I think I've just rewatched South Park so many times.

I don't really have anything planned for the weekend but...for the sake of satisfying my compulsive need to write up a list I CAN do, let's make a list!

• Read this list of "creepy" wikipedia articles. - I've already read some pages from this list, and some are new to me so this should be fun. 
• List down some tiaras I can write up on the Sparkling Spectacles blog. I've got less than 8 down and I'm pretty sure I can do better than that.
• Write a character chart for this character I have in mind before I forget about it. Sidebar: Research about hooker culture....don't ask... 
• Watch more Criminal Minds. No need to elaborate. 

Late Monthsary Present and More!

I don't like surprises. So when my boyfriend told me he has a surprise for me, I flipped and ignored him for the rest of the evening. I know it's bitchy, but he knows really well how much I despise surprises. I'd much rather know what I'm getting and then anxiously wait for it. Maybe I'm just paranoid, but yeah. I'm a derp.

He sent me a huge photobook + CD of one of my favourite Korean acts, TVXQ's Keep Your Head Down, as well as the Korean and Chinese versions of my sister's favourite Korean acts, EXO's XOXO. My sister was pretty much freaking out when we unboxed the whole thing, and since I didn't expect the photobook we thought they mistakenly sent us the package. 

There's two EXO socks included too, which was cute haha. I'm glad I don't have classes tomorrow for Independence Day. Tomorrow, I'm thinking of compiling/brainstorming a couple of DIY projects I can do, that is, if my parents decide to not ruin the day for me. So excited :)

There's 104 Days of Summer Vacation and School Comes Along Just To End It

In exactly 30 minutes, uni officially starts for me. Unlike many people, I don't enjoy college as much. Perhaps  it's the socially anxious side of me that makes me paranoid having people in my personal bubble. I don't mind the interaction in itself, but it's more of the lack of people who share the same interests with me and the boredom that brings to the whole college experience. I am always open to new friendships but keeping them seems to be difficult for me. 
Perhaps I can spend my in-between classes time at the library? The biggest bummer I feel is the fact that I'm not able to wake my boyfriend up from slumber day to day now with my class schedule. I really do hope I can get used to classes and find a workable, non-boring routine that accommodates the things that I enjoy and the things that are less-fun but needed to be done. In short, I need to find BALANCE.  I'm particularly glad I've started this blog to chronicle my progress.

Sunday Morning, Rain Is Falling

Late update! Hope I get most things covered on this post.  Yesterday, my boyfriend and I celebrated our first month of being officially together. We've known each other for much longer than that though. It feels like we've been together for a long time yet the month that passed seemed so quick and everything seems so surreal. Sure, there were some tears and lots of feelings but we're both very blessed to have each other in our lives. Being in a long-distance relationship sucks a lot. We're both each other's support system and I'm just very thankful that I have him to support me.

Standing my laptop on it's side for shits and giggles, and
then he pops in and takes a  peek hehe

Waking up, I immediately got a cold spell and started sneezing all over. The early hours were cold and drizzly, so i'm thankful for the cup of hot chocolate I had before heading off for church. I'm not particularly religious, but with the kind of parents I have It's just best not to argue with unreasonable people.
I realize that tomorrow is the end of my freedom. Uni will start and I'm going to have classes. I hope my profs stick to their original schedules and not haggle for hours that are only beneficial for them. I only have one class tomorrow though, hopefully that'll help me start to get used to routine. I've never liked schedules, or routine in my life. I like having this sense of orderly chaos (perhaps that's a problem? hehe) around me. It usually keeps with the surprises. 

Don't Get Stuck In The Doldrums

Being stuck in a small town with no library and no book store, the only way I can satisfy my interests is reading through the Internet. Sure, there are tiny stores that sell outdated books but none of them particularly grab my attention. I like reading in my spare time (though there's not a lot of that) and on any particular subject that interests me at that time. The subjects could vary from academic things, crime and science fiction, to Young Adult titles.

I can't possibly list all books I like, though the last one I reread is The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. I am reading it to my boyfriend who I think is finally engrossed in the story. The story is very creative, full of puns tucked neatly in wisdom every growing child should learn.

"Time is a gift, given to you, given to give you the time you need, the time you need to have the time of your life"

 My interests were reignited when I caught the 1970 movie version of the book on Turner Classic Movies and I immediately got nostalgic.I loved the movie, but it left out and changed (not to a huge degree, really) some parts from the book. Immediately I picked up the book and got the epub version of it (illustrated, of course) for my phone. Rather unfortunate that I had to read most of it while working on some things at uni.

I heard there's a movie/documentary to celebrate the Fiftieth anniversary. Not entirely sure when it's going to be released but I can't wait to watch it!

On Birthdays and Presents

My boyfriend sent me a box of stuff for my birthday this year and it was more than I actually imagined. It took a long time to get here but patience really does pay. I've never wanted any presents on my birthday. I normally just eat with my family and friends (separately!) at some place and then sleep it on. I don't know when I became this desensitized to birthday celebrations, maybe I just really didn't see the point of celebrating a day that reminds me that I'm older.

Still, my birthday was made fun and memorable by my boyfriend. We weren't together yet during my birthday but that didn't stop him from writing me a poem and singing me a song :) On his birthday though, I managed to paint something for him and although it wasn't really anything in comparison to his presents, I'm still glad he liked them.

I have some ideas to make inexpensive presents and I can't wait to get started on making them! :)

On Artistic Endeavors

When my boyfriend sent me a box of acrylic paints, I knew I had to paint his "soul animal" - the fox. I'm not that good, though I wish I was but that's why people practice right?

I still have a lot to learn, evidently, but I'm glad he always appreciates everything that I do no matter how derpy the end result usually is. I should work on drawing chibi foxes and tigers. I plan on making presents for  him. He worked hard on the presents he gave me, I feel like I can't top that with any present I can just buy. 

This one is based on a picture of him. I suck a lot at shading and I couldn't even follow the lighting on the image because the light was behind him and it created very sharp contrasting shades. I still like this one though, probably the best sketch I made of him so far, hehe.

I work with coding and databases, though art and writing are some passions that I really can't stop pursuing. I hope I'd have a chance to pursue them more soon :)

Restart

What an emotional whirlwind that half-year was! I finished everything I need to begin the academic year with a clean slate...well, as clean as it can get. I know I can't undo my mistakes but I've got to move on. It was difficult but I feel that I'm ready to take on future and get back on track.

The last two months were particularly terrible, what with the emotional burdens my personal problems were causing me. My boyfriend, who currently resides in Germany, I feel was also burdened by it. I would randomly call him in the middle of the night (for him) because I was close to having a panic attack. That was really unfair and I'm glad I'm in a better place now. 

This is the last personal blog I'm ever going to make, hehe. I really need stability and permanence in my life. Now if only I'd remember to update this regularly.