Pretty things: Evangelione

These are the works of Mei Ying from Malaysia. She makes miniatures and tiny fabric dolls. Look how tiny these are. And I shamelessly complain when I start sewing hands & feet of my own doll?! I need practice. Yes!

Kdrama: Arang and the Magistrate

Here I am featuring another sageuk drama. I'm glad it is still going strong despite having seemingly exhausted their stories of kings, heroes & heroines. Could we be seeing a new wave of sageuk fantasy drama based on folklore? (Started by 2010's Gumiho) Because of this I was inspired to read on Korean folklore, I'm currently reading Korean folktales: imps, ghosts and fairies by Im Pang & Yi Ryuk. This was translated and published in 1913! [Don't worry they are easy to read]

As much as Korean's love making sageuk drama, their international audience can't get enough either! I just found out The Moon Embracing the Sun will air locally soon via GMA [or is it airing already? I just saw the huge billboard while riding the MRT *lol*].

Anyway moving on!!! Arang and the Magistrate is set  as a comedy - melo - fantasy - sageuk drama. phew.

Based on a folklore about a female ghost named Arang whose sudden death caused her to wander and haunt the office of the Magistrate. Due to terror, past officers die on the first day they take office. It so happens that Eun-oh, the newly appointed Magistrate can see ghosts and is therefore not shocked by Arang's presence. He in turn vowed to help Arang in her quest to find out how and why she died.

Sound serious noh? NOT! Oh I can't wait till you watch the first episode. All my preconceived thoughts about Arang or Lee Eun-oh flies right out the window. Haha I love that they held back a bit on the summary. Better to be surprised than know exactly how things will play out on just the first episode.

Life recently... #23

My High school friend went home from Singapore. Surprise visit for his Mom. He bought her a condo [Same one I'm in..lol..kapitbahay!]. We toured him around Manila, mainly MOA, North-Trinoma and around UP. He was worried we wouldn't be able to go out because of the rain & flood. Thankfully the monsoon has moved on and we got 2 days of sunshine.

P.S. We went around by MRT-LRT. I really like traveling by train [but not during rush hour :p]

Memories, Thoughts, Ramblings #3

There's this girl who stood at a fork in the road. She loved the unknown, she was a free spirit. She chose to pursue her dream but along the way bits of herself started chipping away. She learned many new things, ideas and experiences. One day she woke up wondering if she can ever go back to that moment. Making a mental note to go forward while preserving those bits that were lost.

I'm looking at a replica but she feels almost alien.

2012 August goals

I wrote this at the beginning of the month but only posted it now. I prefer it this way though, cause I already have some goals ticked off. *yey for productivity*

This is the first time I feel confident that I can complete my goals. I'm overflowing with energy. *haha* So yeah most of these are from last month's list. I queued 2 weeks worth of posts so I'm going to semi-unplug from the internet and hopefully get these done! (o^-‘)b

My google reader will probably explode though :/ It's already past the 1k mark :3

Oh and HeyLadySpring is on facebook. I'm spamming there lately :3 hehe

 Create

• Bunting project. [Done! Will blog about it soon.]
• Typography throw pillow case. FAIL!

Move

• Tourist mode in QC. [Mezza Norte, Cubao Expo, ......]
• Watch a UAAP game [Go USTE!~ bwahaha]
• Start jogging again. FAIL!

Inspire

• Read 5 books [Only read 4 books! huk!~]
• Watch 2 movies. [Linda Linda Linda & Solanin]

Live

• Dress better. [haha wala kasing kerr]
• Semi-Unplug from the internet. [relapsed a bit haha!]

Read my previous goals.

ends August 27! Join Join~

BC Bloggers Meme: 5 Money Saving Tips

I'm joining a BC Bloggers meme after a long while. (〃＾-＾) [Read my first post: Things that make me happy.] There's one every week. So you can choose which topics to blog about. Join our blog community and meet awesome people!

I'm a fan of personal finance articles. I read them although they're quite boring. I don't have endless wads of cash so I can only make do with what I have. *laughs* I am hoping to add more steps to my process. I know the title says "saving tips" but what I'm going to share is how I budget my money. My actual savings amount to only 10% of my monthly budget.

1. Divide budget into magic jars. Or in my case just the compartments in my wallet & several bank accounts. I learned this method from Miriam Quiambao. That's how I can afford my lifestyle. This way I don't ever feel guilty when I splurge on stuff like CD's, books, art, home furnishings etc.

• Live 50%, Savings 10%, Learn 10%, Luxury 10%, Play 10%, Share 10%

2. Invest big time. My only real investment is this house. Which is why I can't afford anything else. I don't want to juggle between different financial obligations *lol*. What am I to do if I suddenly can't afford to pay all of them. Better to channel all my energy on one thing first.

3. Live within your budget. Don't use money meant for something else. Unless you can replace it right away. My wishlist almost always exceed the money I put on my Luxury jar. It takes all my self-control not to use the money in other jars. It's ok, this sacrifice is needed to form good habits.

4. Find a long-term savings plan. I'm thinking of purchasing an insurance plan (with added savings). I'm hesitating because I don't want to lose the little money I have :( how heartbreaking that would be.

5. Bring in more money. It wouldn't hurt to have more. If there's a chance to do an OT [syempre paid dapat!] Go! Or open up a small business. You can sell pretty much anything on the internet these days.

And that's my 5 Money saving tips!~ Check out Chin Chin's blog Stay at Home Blessings, she's hosting this week's meme. Let's all learn something new. （＠￣∇￣＠）／　YA〜

Music Monday: In Your Arms

It's another Krissy & Ericka song!~seventh track from their Twelve: Fifty One album. I've been playing it non-stop since Tuesday.

photo © Tricia Gosingtian

In Your Arms by Krissy & Ericka

Keep me sane in your arms tonight
Hold me close that I might not fall
But I know that we might be destined for life
A tragic flaw of mine...
Is running away.

Remember those nights, we stayed up just laughing on the phone
Remember that time you said that "I would never let you go"
Remember that time when I said that we could never ever be
But I know it's a lie because deep down inside
Is a coward

Hiding underneath all the silly games I play
With the batting of lashes and all the charming things I say
I'm an addict to the fact that I could lure you in with just a crack of a smile
But with you I might want to stay a while

Keep me sane in your arms tonight
Hold me close that I might not fall
But I know that we might be destined for life
A tragic flaw of mine...
Is running away.

Running away from what we could have been
I'm losing myself in this game that we're in
I didn't mean to let you in now everything is backfiring

Keep me sane in your arms tonight
Hold me close that I might not fall
But I know that we might be destined for life
A tragic flaw of mine...
Is running away.

Links: lyrics ♪ youtube ♪ fanpage ♪ buy the CD in any local music store (Odyssey and the like)

ends August 27! Join Join~

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How I plan to be a productive reader

So it's August and I have only read 1 book since January. I'm distracted by my blog, reading emails, twitter, blogs etc,. I'm subscribed to over a 100 blogs on my google reader. I still have a thousand updates left unread. Fact is I can't stay away from the internet.

Now I'm not saying reading blogs are a waste. I'm a visual learner so I enjoy looking at photographs made by different people across the globe. I love following artists and their creative process. I love listening to snippets of my favorite musician's new songs. I love the instant feed of various bits of information. I learn about a lot of things in a speed of light.

This unfortunately resulted in my inability to process information slowly. I get bored easily when I'm reading. I can't sit still for an hour to read a book anymore (my longest time is 20-30mins) :/ I can't focus on one subject at a time. I get agitated when I'm left with my own thoughts. I always have music or Harry Potter audiobooks blaring because I hate the silence.

This situation calls for drastic measures. Since I can't completely detach myself from the internet, I will have to be a more aggressive reader. Balance it out a bit.

I found this poster on pinterest. I've stared at it for a few months now. I finally decided to post it.

This is how I plan to be a productive reader:

• Read 1 book per week
• Read minimum of 60 pages per day
• Bring a book everywhere (esp. at the bank)

Extreme? Yeah it is. I lost all my reading habits since I got out of college. I thought yey I'm free from all these studying *chucks notebooks across the room*. Not knowing that a good ole routine is much healthier for the mind.

links: photo © analog soul • How to read a book a week

Also my giveaway is till open!~ Join join join!

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