anniversary, books, and movies

last friday was our anniversary. wheee! :) one year went by so fast. haha. that's queso for you. he gave me a big bouquet of sweet smelling flowers and a big sketched portrait of me. wow. gifted child! seriously. and then on saturday we had lunch and coffee at tagaytay. it rained so hard that day and it was chilly too. but all was fine. the meal too because we had lunch at Fire Grill.

when alej and i drove back to Manila we went straight to the World Trade Center for the annual book fair. i didn't think there would be that much people but i was surprised to see how many people came. yes, i am a book fair virgin. after going around for so many times i was able to buy Haruki Murakami's Dance Dance Dance and Jessica Zafra's Twisted 7. i wanted to hoard more books just so i could lock myself in a room and not come out after i've devoured each of them. but the real world awaits and in the real world, there are such things as "responsibilities" and "priorities" that we have to consider. so daunty tasks come first before idley lying on the couch all day with a good book in hand. there were books by Filipino authors such as Walden Bello but ended up not getting. one of these days i will find my old self and splurge on a good (but pricey) non-fiction book that is related to political economy.

after the book fair, alej and i watched The Devil Wears Prada at the Mall of Asia. i loved the movie! maybe because Ann Hathaway's character remind me so much of myself. geeky, gawky, and perky minus the smart part. i am well-driven, though. i loved the movie because writing for a magazine is one of the things i aspire to do even if it's freelance. but never will i write for a fashion magazine because i think i can see the picture which the movie painted very well for me-- i will be ridiculed for my plain-Jane fashion sense. after that, we met up with alej's friends right away to watch Little Man which was really hilarious. and you know me, great movies make my day.

even if it was late, my great day didn't end there because we all headed for Pier One just to hang out. i had a beer (yes, just one) and a great time with alej's friends. they're really nice. i wouldn't be forced to tag along in one of these group things if it weren't for being comfortable hanging out this crowd. i am a sociable person but when i don't feel like it, i'd rather stay home and stare at the ceiling than be sociable with strangers that i don't feel like hanging out with. so we were just talking and having a great time when i realized how late it was. yes, i got in trouble for coming home late and i have to suffer the consequences. or maybe diplomacy is the key--- talk with the Mother so that the curfew will be moved to a considerable lateness. HAHA! seriously, i think i'm the only 21 year old with a 10 o'clock curfew. it used to be midnight (which is why alej calls me his "cinderella") and now it's moved to 10. que horror! high school girls have better curfews than i do!

so yes, it was a great weekend minus the getting-in-trouble-with-mother part. i love weekends. :)

i am in love again

i am in love-- not with my boyfriend but with someone else. i am in-love with Haruki Murakami. i've never felt this way over an author before save for the last few favorite authors in my past. yes, books and i-- we have love stories. Murakami's writing makes my spirit go giddy in excitement each time i read the sentences he has strung together into a novel.

i was drawn to Murakami right away. Dance Dance Dance is my first novel by him and i am enchanted by his play of words. he narrates the novel with the gift of a poet, making the book a pageturner. he related his story to the contemporary capitalist issues Japan is facing which makes it all the more interesting. he writes the poetry i cannot write, he writes in such a way that no one else can. Murakami is truely a new-found favorite author.

aside from the writing, the cover art of the latest editions of the Murakami books are so cool. i don't know about you but i love cover art of books. Murakami's books are my favorites-- they have an immaculate white background over bold letters and a single word with calligraphy. my Dance Dance Dance copy is immaculately white and it pains me to see a few creases on the cover by my pageturning. i must cover this right away before it drives me crazy. i hate dirty book covers and creases.