Reading a book while commuting is like being accompanied by a real person on your way to work. It makes the whole ride to the office less dreadful.

Once I was accompanied by Thad Beaumont and let me tell you, he gave me my most violent morning to date. I also recall being accompanied by Dolores Claiborne, she talked a whole lot but it was fun because when she talked about Vera Donovan, I felt pity, fury and terror all at the same time. When Clay, Alice and Tom joined me in my early morning commute to work, I was inspired to raise zombies in my workstation for Halloween.

Whenever a character is about to say goodbye, I feel sad and panicky. I start thinking of another book to read. I am no literary connoisseur so I tend to stick to the authors I’ve developed a furious admiration for. That will be King and Gaiman. I read other titles too but these two guys are the ones who occupy the most space in my desk.

I recently finished the whole of Sandman and it was awesome. Morpheus is the best companion of all because he brings a whole army of other creatures and characters for me to play with.

Which now brings me to my next target: Wicked. I was dead set on getting Wicked after work. I heard Elphaba and Glinda are awesome commute-mates. I went to Megamall and headed straight to Powerbooks. I wanted to maximize the card thinger I got from there. After making me wait for 20 minutes:

Powerbooks Girl: Sorry, out of stock
Me: Oh… really?
Powerbooks Girl: May dadating naman po. Gusto niyo magpareserve?
Me: Kelan dadating?
Powerbooks Girl: Hindi po namin alam eh.

Uhm… whut? I turned my back on her and went to National Bookstore. I was surprised with the number of graphic novels they have in stock. Then my eyes traveled and found a whole shelf full of Gregory Maguire books.

Mirror Mirror… Lost… Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister… Son of a Witch… A Lion Among Men…

…That’s it? They had everything except Wicked. Great. I felt so sickened right at the pit of my stomach that I wanted to either throw up or cry. I thought of buying LXG or Swamp Thing or V for Vendetta instead since I have been planning to buy those anyway… but it just wasn’t the same. I had an appointment with Elphaba, it just felt wrong to be with someone else. So I went to the nearest bookstore: Bestsellers in Podium.

Eureka! They have it! So now I’m a happy sorbetera. I was so happy, I took Kingdom Come off the shelf as well. I’ve been meaning to read it since… oh I don’t know, three years ago? Two years? And since Bestsellers didn’t have V for Vendetta (why is everything fucking out of stock!) and Kingdom Come was just 700php, I took it!

Yay! New companions!

I was a part of this group. I don’t know how or why I became a part of it but I just did. We were made up of oddballs with strange little quirks. One of the members of the group looked like Finn from Glee. Anyway, we were moving around in a group. There was this guy, he was tall and slender and pale and has blonde hair. We get to see him sometimes and whenever we do see him, I will be covered with this feeling of dread and terror which I really don’t know why.

Then after a while, I found out why I was so terrified of him. He created us. He created the group. Through a flashback, I found out or ‘remembered’ that he talked to each one of us before. And it was because of him that we were grouped together. We were his social experiment and now is the time that he collects his specimen.

He started killing us off, one by one. It’s not a very kind death either. One time while the group was underwater, he pierced this person’s throat. Pierced. He didn’t slit the person’s throat. He pierced it and then he let that person bleed and choke on his own blood until he was dead. I forgot how he killed the others but we couldn’t escape him. We were forced to travel with him because if we escape we would be in for a more painful death.

The last straw came when this guy I’m apparently close to was the next target. The pale man took us in a sushi restaurant and all of a sudden an image flashed in my mind. I realized that the pale man was going to skin this guy’s face alive and he was going to turn it into sushi. I panicked and the sheer terror almost killed me but I tried my best to be calm.

The pale man stood up and asked Finn to come with him to the kitchen. I could see it all in my head, how it was going to happen. He was going to push Finn’s head on a chopping board and start slicing his face off starting from his forehead. I was so terrified, I couldn’t scream. There were other people in the restaurant. Drawing attention towards myself will put me in an even bigger shithole and nobody will be able to help me anyway so I kept quiet.

The pale man got out of the kitchen and a waitress followed him. She was carrying several plates of sushi that looked like nata de coco. I found it weird that a human’s face will be all white and fluffy. He told us to eat. I excused myself and told everyone I wasn’t hungry. So I stood up and went outside to ‘get some fresh air’.

As soon I stepped out of the restaurant, I made a run for it. I was running through huge crowds, pushing and hiding behind them, hoping that the pale man will lose sight of me. But… everytime I turn to look, he was always there, staring at me. No matter how hard I try to run and hide, he was just standing there staring at me with his cold, beady eyes.

Then finally I came to this apartment. There was a quirky family that lives there. They seem like the bunch who used to be rich but was now forced to squat in the city. I came there and I saw Finn. I cried and thanked the heavens that he was alright.

Now this is the part where it becomes fuzzy. All I remember now is that the pale man targeted someone else. And that I had a talk with him about ideologies and the importance of hope in human life.

Then I woke up with a splitting headache. >.<

I have just had about enough of people going “Oh my GOD, you’ve gotten very FAT!”

Here’s the thing, my weight goes from fat to not-fat like a friggin’ pendulum. When I lose weight, some people notice and compliment me for it but when I gain weight, hot damn, the whole world makes sure I never forget it.

So… yes, I’ve gotten fat again. Work and part-time has made me turn to food for comfort. Seriously, the only thing that keeps me sane in a terrible, terrible work day is chocolate. That, or a bag of chips.

But then of course I am blessed with a body that gains weight twice as fast as it loses them. So all those little snacks I stuff my face with during break time came out bulging in all the wrong places.

Sometimes I just wish I have always been fat. I hate the feeling of constantly surprising everyone I see. I’m fat. I have always been fat and will forever be fat. So please. I wish people would stop pointing out things I would not have wanted to hear repeated over and over until I’m pushed to try bulimia again. Haha.

—–

In other news, my best guy friend has recently started his own webcomic. First of all, I do believe in his artistic skills. He may be a crass, sarcastic jackass sometimes but he sure can draw! Though right now, he’s still practicing inking and coloring. Second, I believe wholeheartedly that he is funny. Just fuckin’ hilarious. I swear. I am not even trying to be sarcastic. He really is funny.

This webcomic he fondly called “In-Game” is a story about a bunch of people playing MMORPG. Think .hack//SIGN only humorous and light. It pokes fun at MMORPG culture and how players REALLY interact with each other in-game and how real people get so absorbed in the game they’re playing that it eventually takes over their (offline) lives.

READ IT AND LOVE IT: http://seraph.nagashiko.com/

Thank you guys. Please read it and encourage my friend by showering him with compliments. haha! But seriously, if you read Questionable Content, Octopus Pie and Anders Loves Maria (which I do, religiously) please give In-Game a chance.

In the world of Dragonica, an evil dragon terrorized the land and was successfully subdued and sealed; never to be heard from again. For a while, the citizens of the realm were at peace. However, as with any story, man’s downfall will be attributed neither to beast nor dragon but to man himself. A witch decides to take matters into her own hands and did what is expected of a villain, she freed the dragon.

Now it is your duty as a young warrior to train hard and stop the wheels of destruction.

Sounds familiar? Sure, it might sound like just every other MMORPG out there but familiar does not equal bad. In Dragonica’s case, ‘familiar’ is a nice little treat.

Fast Action
Dragonica has succeeded in what other games failed to do. That is, to perfect arcade style MMORPG. The treatment is light and the material is easily digestible. You can be a warrior, a mage or a thief. Simple enough, yes, but you don’t need exquisite and complicated job classes in this game because further complicating it will only ruin the fun. Arcade style games should be fast and fun. If it takes you more than a day to figure out how the game works and how your character can get stronger, then that game isn’t doing its job properly. Point-and-click games take 3 seconds too long as compared to the comfort of arcade style gaming.

The Learning Curve
With Dragonica, new players feel like they have been playing the game for ages! It’s that familiar feeling; that easy to grasp concept of hitting the enemies with, well, everything you’ve got. There isn’t much to learn that you don’t already know. Dragonica has released the player from the excruciating task of carefully calculating his basic attributes. This is perfect for both the casual player and the hardcore player who wants to sit back and just enjoy. Stressing yourself out with comprehensive stat calculations can really dampen the spirit. Dragonica offers you fun without the bulky hassle.

Calculated Cuteness
Does this all mean that Dragonica is a mindless game? Of course not. Instead of stat calculations, you are made to think about skill combinations. Everything is about proper timing and combo. Hitting enemies without being interrupted is already a daunting task and this keeps you on your toes. The cute graphics makes everything easy on the eyes and at times, even hilarious.

The combination of these elements and the fact that IAHgames definitely knows how to value its community makes Dragonica a game that can be enjoyed by everyone. Whether you’re a hardcore console gamer or a stubborn point-and-click player, Dragonica offers you a haven of fast-paced action and adventure. The fact that you get to play cute characters is just a very convincing tilt to their favor.

I have been maintaining this blog since 2006. Since then all I ever blogged about are the things that interest me, mainly: anime, games, boy stuff, movie rants and raves, food loves and, well, stuff. Until lately, I’ve never blogged about make-up and clothes. And you know what started it all?

Yes, it’s in the title. Project Vanity.

I don’t remember how or why exactly I came across Project Vanity. You see, I wasn’t exactly familiar with beauty blogs and fashion blogs before. I never got around to reading them because I never really looked. But then at one point, my skin got really troublesome and I decided to finally control the face situation by searching for sites that could help me.

Here’s the problem, I got nasty looking eyebags and I’m anemic. I look like a zombie. I try to use concealers and foundations but every single product I use makes my skin break out and go all flaky! I was desperate. I NEEDED a product that will help me fix my problem. THEN by the power of Google, Lord-of-all-Things-Researchable, I came across Project Vanity.

The blog owner, Liz, talked about using a toner that practically “changed her life”. Her post on Burt’s Bees Garden Tomato Toner got me hooked. I tried it and it worked on me! YAY! I’m still using it and when I’m not using it, I notice my skin goes back to its bad self.

Since then I’ve returned to Project Vanity and literally rummaged through her old posts. I like how her posts are short, concise, yet very informative. Oh and I just love the fact that she features products which aren’t that expensive. I think, if your readers won’t have the money to follow your advice, you will unconsciously be alienating them. She blogs about upcoming ’sales’ too, which is really helpful for girls like me who knows squat about sale schedules. XD

In the future, I would want to see more make-up techniques and of course more of her awesome product reviews. For a cosmetics noob like me, seeing all these reviews on products that are effective and also very affordable, it makes the sudden leap less intimidating. It helped also that the first advice I got from Project Vanity worked like a charm for me.

The posts in Project Vanity does not sound at all vain, actually. It’s honest advice. And that’s why I love it.

Before I went to bed last night, I figured I better finish The Dark Half by Stephen King before actually shutting my eyes to call it a night. So with barely a hundred pages left, I finished the book and then I lay down and did what I haven’t done in a while: I left the big lights on as I sleep.

I love horror/suspense literature. I like them because I’m a scaredy cat. In the same way that my grandmother loves cookbooks because she loves to cook, I love suspense novels because I love feeling that tingle and that rush you get when you actually take all the stuff you read to be true.

I love the feeling of uncertainty and paranoia in the middle of the night, just before I close my eyes to sleep. I love looking at the clock and commanding myself to sleep before the witching hour which, contrary to popular belief isn’t 12 midnight but actually 3am; and I love panicking when I can’t sleep before the witching hour.

I love how the vivid images of the suspense novel I read play in my head like an old film reel on imax.

This fear and the love of being freaked out got so bad that I eventually grew afraid of the dark. And no, it’s not just this fear you brush off like the shudder you make after peeing. One time I got so scared that I clammed up, felt cold sweat on my brow and after a couple of seconds, heaved a deep breath because I realized I haven’t been breathing.

Before you get smart with me and tell me, “What about the theatre? You’re scared of that too?”

No.

I only get scared when my imagination decides to take flight without me. Through the years I realize that I get scared of the dark when I want it to scare me. I get scared of it when I am presented with a perfect opportunity.

Because scaredy-cats like suspense novels. Me? I’m in-love with them.

I have been commuting my whole life and have had my fair share of WTF moments but nothing ever really prepared me for this one. If you have been reading this blog, you know that I’ve started a series called Hazards of Commuting wherein I share funny (most of the time horror) stories of my commute to work.

If you have read some posts on my blog, you would know also that I’m a chismosa. When I commute, I tend to listen to other people’s conversations. Usually it’s not that interesting so I tune them out. But there is one thing that I can’t tune out even if I tried; and that is the driver’s radio. No, not the FM radio but the radio-radio they use to tell each other if the streets are clogged with vehicles or if there’s a cop right up ahead.

So I was on my way home and took the usual Quiapo Fx. I was sitting in the middle part. I had a lot of things going on in my mind so I was oblivious to the world around me. The Fx started moving and I was going to drift off to sleep when I heard the radio kssshk-kssshk’d. I know that sound and right then I knew that I won’t be getting any sleep. I would be too preoccupied listening to their street jargons like “kilo kilo” or “5-10″ or “dogger”

iz in yer radio makeen secks sounds

So I listened. Do you know that it takes considerable skill to decipher what they’re saying? It’s not that easy! I paid more attention and little by little the words started making sense.

“pahipo naman… pahipo naman”

That wasn’t shocking for me. They always joke around when they use their radios. I once heard them talk about a passenger who was about to get off saying that she had nice, smooth legs: “the kind you’d lick” So, yeah. What I heard after that was what shocked me.

It was the sound of a woman’s voice. And she was making sex sounds.

“Unnhh… aaahh! ahh!! UNGGHH!!! AH!!”

I am not shitting you. I swear on my belly fat that I am NOT shitting you. You might be thinking that I’m just hearing things. That those sounds weren’t sex sounds but simple, harmless grunts. Heck, the girl could be pushing around furniture, right? On the driver’s radio? Right. Well, if those were innocent sounds, I don’t suppose the driver had to turn his radio off, right?

But he did. He turned it off. And so we, the passengers, were stuck in awkward silence. I had to command every muscle in my body to concentrate on NOT laughing. Seriously.

After a while, he turned the radio on again, but he turned it on little by little. The volume was barely audible at first but when you finally got to hear it:

“Arayy koooo… uhnnnn!” the girl’s voice was loud and clear as crystal.

The driver immediately turned it off.

I would have laughed really but instead I made a mental note that I am so blogging about this. (yes I am a nerd) I fell asleep after that and woke up just in time for me to get off. This whole experience makes me wonder though…

… WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT ALL ABOUT?! Seriously! What! The! Fuck! Hahaha! Do they serve audio porn now for lonely Fx drivers? Damn!

Oh well I guess I’ll never know.

So remember the geek frames I bought yesterday? I went to the mall to have the lenses replaced. It’s supposed to be a simple process of taking out the clear lens and then replacing it with ones that correspond to your ‘grade’ (mine is 300) but I knew that things would not be that simple. Some frames, especially the cheap ones, cannot be tampered that easily. Some would even break. So I knew that I had to ask around if replacing the lenses of my new frames would be possible.

I went to around 3 or 4 optical shops and they all turned me down. They said that if they attempt to replace the lenses, my frames might break so they can’t do it. I was majorly disappointed that they wouldn’t even try. I didn’t go to Executive Optical because I know that they charge more than the other optical shops but I was desperate this time. I wanted to use the frames so so bad.

Rejected everywhere except for one!

So I went to Executive Optical and asked them if they can do something with the lens. After waiting for a few minutes, they told me that they can do it but I have to agree with the non-liability agreement thing they have. They can’t make sure that my frames would go undamaged.

“Ah, I understand, the frames may break” I told the girl holding my frames.
“Oh no, it’s not that. The bottom part might get scratches or it might get chipped or something” she said.

Oh. So THAT’S it? That’s what the people at the other optical shops are so afraid of? LOL If they only knew how much those frames cost. Heh. So I eagerly said yes, okay, I am not holding you guys accountable if something happens to my frames. My boyfriend was a bit skeptical though and he kept reminding me that if my frames broke, I would have wasted 1.3k for absolutely nothing. It was a bit unnerving yes, but the desire to use the frames was too great. I decided to trust EO.

We watched The Time Traveler’s Wife as our Koala Date movie. Good movie, by the way. I can see how Rachel McAdams is to heartbreaking love stories as Julia Stiles is to Shakespeare remakes. Though I couldn’t see the chemistry in some parts of the movie, that didn’t stop me from thoroughly enjoying it.

After the movie, we returned to EO and I received my glasses. No scratches, no chips, no defects. The lenses were perfect and the frames were totally usable. I was so happy and giddy that I would have given EO a tip if it were possible! So hah! Take that, other optical shops! ~X(

I knew I shouldn’t have agreed to meet up with the guys at Trinoma. I splurged (again!) Oh man. I really should control this. In any case, here’s the latest addition in my small wardrobe:

When I saw this yellow dress, I just couldn’t put it down. The yellow was so yummy and the material was something that I would always go for. It wasn’t flimsy or clingy. I was sure that it wouldn’t go around showing all the fat in my belly. I looked at the price, okay, less than a thousand bucks. Still within my budget. Then I tried it on.

Usually I would be disappointed with tube dresses like this because the garters hang onto my boobs in such an unflattering way. This one didn’t. Well, at least not as much. And I really like the ribbons and the fabric underneath. I feel young and optimistic in this. So there, I bought it.

Then the geek glasses. I’ve been searching for spare frames because I feel that my current ones will die on me soon. (not yet not yet please!!) I saw these at PrP and as such with frames found outside optical shops, this one’s practically dirt cheap. I loved how it fit snugly onto my face so now I’m hunting for an optical shop that can change the lenses for me. Heh. Recommendations anyone?

Dress is from Bayo by the way and it’s the only one left of its kind. Don’t you just love it when that happens?