What are you most grateful for right now?

I have a lot, which the majority of them, I'd fail to actually see due to a lot of frustrations. But perhaps what I'm grateful for right now is my ability to rein in my negative emotions and not let them out. I have a feeling that, if I did let it out, I could hurt a lot of people. Sure, having this ability could allow people to take advantage of me. But that's where one other thing I'm grateful for comes in.

My journal writing habit. This is the real reason why I'm able to control my emotions, especially the negative ones. I would write them down here since I don't usually blurt out my emotions and I was choosing not to, anyway. I'd rather let it all out here, even when I know that people would never listen to my sentiments.

Write down the lyrics that keep looping in your head.

Since I constantly listen to songs (even though I'm not that updated to new ones), there are a lot of lyrics that would usually strike my heart. But for this prompt, I'd be listing 7-10 lyrics -- with no explanations this time -- and the title of the songs in which they came from.

1. やっと見つけられたんだ (Finally, I found you...) - Only One, Fujita Maiko
2. I'm still, I'm here, and I'll be there... - Here I Am Again, Baek Yerin
3. 何十年 何百年 何千年 時を超えよう 君を愛 (Ten years, a hundred years, a thousand years, we'll be together no matter how long. I will always love you...) - Kiseki, GReeeeN
4. At ihiling sa mga bituin na minsan pa sana ako'y iyong mahalin... - Hiling, Silent Sanctuary
5. If I ever had a line to heaven, I swear I'd call you there... - Line To Heaven, Introvoys
6. You are my prayer - my every thought that I will treasure here the most... - Carry My Love, Sarah Geronimo
7. We learn just what we can become through the triumph of the one... - Triumph Of The One, Lea Salonga
8. Kung 'di rin tayo sa huli, aawatin ba ang puso kong ibigin ka? - Kung 'Di Rin Lang Ikaw, December Avenue ft. Moira dela Torre
9. 願いが 祈りが 惑う心 打ち消してくれる (Wishing and praying will counter a confused heart...) - Blessing, Aira Yuuki
10. 내 사랑을 그대가 부르면 용기 내 볼게요 (But when you call out my love, I will have courage and look...) - Moonlight Drawn By Clouds, Gummy

What (Else) I've Read In October 2021

  

Yup. I know I'm days late again in posting this thing. And I even recall that I have to do a monthly wrap-up, as well. Then again, things got a little busy around here. I'm not going to go deeper on that since this entry is about the books I've read. Or should I say, the books that I've re-read this month aside from the ones I've already posted prior to this. Let's just say that I don't want to remove the book comments I've already posted here. I ended up doing a wrap-up with regards to the rest of the books I've paid attention to (or at least I tried) this month.

So here we go!

xxxxxx

The Sunday Currently | 37 |

Yes, I'm aware that I've missed a Sunday again after posting the last SC entry. So here I am, back again to fill up a second SC entry for October. And to think it's the last day of the month. I still have a lot to write about and I just finished writing on my journal, in which I decided to add a rolling weekly spread on it as a trial. So I might as well get on with this, right?

So this Sunday, I'm currently:

Write the words you need to hear.

• I am loved.
• It's not hopeless for my life to change, even at my current age.
• I can fulfill my dreams, regardless of my age.
• I can find love in the most unexpected places. And they believe in it.
• That I am a creative writer and I will get recognized one day for it, one way or another.
• I am a good friend.
• The words I wrote saved them in some way and they're thankful for it.

These words are the ones I could think of at the moment. And perhaps these are the ones that continue to resonate in my mind over and over.

Who is someone you'd like to treat better?

I would say... myself. Was that selfish of me as an answer? I don't know. But this is my immediate answer as soon as I saw the prompt. It's probably because I kind of forced or programmed myself (in this case, unknowingly) to respond to other people's orders only because I'm just here at home and unemployed. Due to the sense of "utang na loob" (debt of gratitude) and the lack of other ways to contribute to them, I ended up doing chores (at least most of them) and errands for them. Yes, I'm feeling bitter about it. But at this point, I can't help feeling that way.

I'd like to experience being able to do something solely for me and not for them. No errands, no favors, doing things on my own pace, no one to call my name just to do this and that. Was it too much to ask? At the moment, I can only sigh.

The Sunday Currently | 36 |

Okay. I know it's been such a long time since I posted my last SC entry here. Even though I even have such alarm on my phone reminding me about it, I still haven't been able to write most of them. But tonight, I've got to change it a bit since I don't want to leave my October kind of bare, I guess. Yes, I know. I placed book comments there. But I'd like to add a new one.

Or at least that's what I think.

In any case, here I am again. It's going to be a little short. Then again, since when did I make a long SC entry, anyway?

So this Sunday, I'm currently:

What are three things you had to learn the hard way?

1. At some point in life, relationships that you tried your best to save will eventually fall apart. Or at least, that's what I've learned about my parents' relationship before they decided to go on their separate ways. I mean, even I could see that it's beyond saving, anyway. And this aspect, I think, is what made me fear getting myself committing to a relationship.
2. Motivation and inspiration will never go hand in hand in fulfilling my dream. What do I really need? Determination. And for some reason, this is something that I lack. I really have to find that determination if I truly intend to get out of this rut of a life that I have.
3. It could take you a lifetime (or not at all) to find a true friend who would stick with you through thick and thin. And as sad as it sounds, I don't consider my family as my friends. There are reasons and those reasons had stopped me from truly expressing myself to them without actually hesitating if I should confide to them even my greatest fears or not.

【Book Comment】The Secret Of Red Gate Farm (Nancy Drew Mystery Stories # 6)

Blurb (from Goodreads):

When Bess Marvin purchased an expensive bottle of Oriental perfume, she never expected to stumble into a mystery. Now Bess, Nancy, George, and their new friend Jo are out to unravel the secrets of a mysterious conspiracy, a secretive cult, and a ring of counterfeiters in The Secret of Red Gate Farm.

Who would've thought that a perfume would lead to another adventure for Nancy and her friends? Then again, no one would actually know where and when a mystery would appear to her, right? Of course, her friends were right upon saying that mystery follows her everywhere. So for a detective, that's perhaps the case.

It's a re-read again as an addition to my Goodreads reading challenge. It's a good thing I'm done reading this now since the whole thing was quite tensed to me. Yes, I know it was written in the 30's (and yet I'm reading the 60's edition). But I've been imagining the scenes as though they happened in contemporary times. So yes, it might be a weird thing to think about. But I like it that way.

So it's counterfeiters this time, huh? I mean, people could really come up with such facade just to be able to operate like that. I like the set-up in which a simple act of helping out a new friend would lead to this. Of course, each moment unexpectedly lead to clues ― small ones, at first ― in which would later on connect to a larger and dangerous set-up for Nancy and her friends.

This one was probably more tensed than Mystery At Lilac Inn case. At least, that's what I think. I'm not sure why I was thinking of it that way. Or maybe because I could tell something really big was going on. Obviously, there was something there. Honestly, I would've appreciated it if Nancy doesn't get into too much trouble and getting captured like that. Then again, this wouldn't be a mystery story if it wasn't like that, right?

Okay, maybe I'm having some nonsense sentences here. This might not be much of a helpful comment, but I'm still putting it up here since I'm just glad I got to add another "done reading" on my Goodreads list and on my Reading Challenge.

Today, I honor my body by...

...drinking LOTS of water and eating on time. Or at least I intended it that way. But I only got to do the first one since the tension around the house due to the situation that made me forget that I have to eat on time so that my ulcers won't act up again.

I also love a good batch and that's what I did, even though the cold water could make my cough and runny nose a little worse. I did drink honey ginger water just to ease it down and also drank a medicine to do the same. I have to watch my health carefully after this. The pandemic still hasn't subsided and at times, I don't know how people are able to determine what is common colds and those having symptoms of COVID-19.

September 2021 Wrap-Up

I really don't know what to do with this wrap-up. I know it's two days late, that's one thing. Not to mention, this is surely going to be a short one. And I'm not exactly sure on what to write. I mean, my August was quite chaotic and my September is... I guess a little tense. Seriously, why did it even thought of it that way? But hey, I'm still here, alive and breathing. And I am so glad for that. The virus is still creating even more chaotic all over the world and I'm just glad that I still have lots of things to do and think about that will divert my mind from all the happenings around me that were enough to put me in distress. You know what I mean, right?

In any case, I'm just going to list down what had happened to me over the course of another cursed month for my family (in this case, it's a cursed month for my mom).

• We got our first dose of COVID-19 vaccination last September 28. They injected Astrazeneca vaccine on us (me, my youngest sister, my mom, and two others in the household). I'm not sure if I did feel some side effects, but I couldn't exactly tell the difference since my migraine struck again around afternoon. And in my opinion, it was a bad thing for me when my migraine and its accompanying symptoms strikes.
• I got to read three books this month. And I'm glad since I didn't get to read any last month (August).
• I reposted "A Love Worth An Eternity", but I'm dividing it in three volumes. The first one is titled "Love Will Bloom Here."
• I had two of my teeth (or at least, what's left of them) extracted on the last day of the month. What I mean on the parenthesis is that the only ones left to extract were the roots since the crown of each tooth chipped away for quite some time.
• I started a new journal at the start of September. So that's my 7th journal. Wow! I never thought I'd be able to keep it up. I also had a journal writing milestone of 400th straight days of writing on it this month, as well.

...and that's what happened to my September, people. I'm still contemplating (not sure why) if I should post my life advice that would usually pop up in my mind. But here's the thing, though. Those advice are things that, I'm not sure if I'd be able to apply it to myself, or based on observations or perhaps from what I learned from the characters I would imagine and write.

Quite weird, I know. Anyway, I'm not going to promise anything when it comes to posting here. But I'd definitely post more entries from time to time.

【Book Comment】The Colossus Rises (Seven Wonders # 1)

Blurb (from Goodreads):

 

 One Boy

Jack McKinley is an ordinary kid with an extraordinary problem. In a few months, he’s going to die.

One Mission

Jack needs to find seven magic loculi that, when combined, have the power to cure him.

One Problem

The loculi are the relics of a lost civilization and haven’t been seen in thousands of years.

Seven Wonders

Because they’re hidden in the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

This is a bit late for a review/comment. Sorry for that. This is actually more of a re-read since I forgot the plot of this story and I like to write a book comment on this one. By the way, I'm writing this while waiting for my sister to finish her dental check-up/tooth extraction and also waiting for my turn.

We got one heck of an adventure here, right? Involving Atlantis and the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World... These are the topics that fascinated me for quite a long time. I guess, what most of us were. So could you say that anything related to ancient history and civilizations fascinated me in a great deal. And actually creating a historical fiction/adventure story like this, then count me in on reading that. Even for my age of 30, I still love reading this kind of stories. Maybe you could say I'm still a kid at heart.

Okay. Sorry. We're straying from the real topic here. So there's a lot of scientific terms here that at times, it's kind of hard to follow up. But yeah, their simple explanation makes up for it, somehow. And finding the Loculi, releasing the griffin from the seal (or was that called a griffin?) and I guess Jack became the chosen when he pulled out that sword. Arthurian reference here, anyone? Guess not. Okay, I'm not making any sense here, I guess.

But for thirteen years old, this sort of adventure is quite farfetched to me, regardless of the reasons. In this case, they had no choice but to deal with it if they wanted to live longer and get past the age of fourteen without actually dying because of that genetic marker that they had. Things were just starting to get harder for the rest of the Select gang (as I'd like to call it) because of what Marco did in the end. I mean, seriously, Marco? What the heck is going on with your brain right now? Did you really have to do that? But of course, I had a bit of suspicion about him in the middle of the journey. Or maybe not just there. Even though I read this a few years back already, I can recall feeling that way about Marco, for some reason.

Okay. Maybe I'm reacting quite weird with regards to what happened last. In any case, the search for more Loculi had just began and it's definitely a race against life and time on this one. I still haven't started reading the second book after this, but perhaps I'd be able to find time. I have to keep up with my reading challenge, after all. Right now, I'm just glad I got to re-read this.

【Book Comment】Five Run Away Together (The Famous Five # 3)

Blurb (from Goodreads):

Julian, Dick and Anne arrive in Kirrin Cottage to stay with George (real name Georgina) for the holidays. They plan to spend time exploring Kirrin Island but their happiness is spoilt when Aunt Fanny falls ill and has to leave with Uncle Quentin to be treated in a far-off hospital. They are cared for by Aunt Fanny's temporary cook, Mrs Stick, who is accompanied by her husband and their ghastly son Edgar. The Sticks and the four children come to hate each other. Mrs Stick repeatedly tries to poison George's dog Timmy, prompting George to hatch a secret plan to run away to Kirrin Island. When Julian catches her leaving, she decides to allow the other children to go with her.

The children find evidence of other people visiting the island and suspect smugglers. The discovery of a young girl's toys and clothes point to something sinister going on.

Finally got back with my reading. Or at least I'd like to think of it that way. In any case, I ended up finishing this for about three days, which I'm glad since I thought it'll take me a week to do that. It's a good thing it didn't happen that way. I guess you could say I wasn't sure on what to read next after the second book. But yeah, maybe it's a good thing that I proceeded in reading this third book in the series.

One thing I can say about this story -- Julian was quite a bossy fellow. George was ever the obstinate, so I wasn't surprised on that. Dick remained the sort-of jester of the group while Ann, this time, somehow acted like a mother figure. At least I think of it that way. Julian really stood out to me, both in a good and a bad way because of the way he handled things with the Sticks and the issues they encountered upon their return to the island. Perhaps at most point, he did act as the group's leader and the one who would control George. The latter, though, doesn't succeed all the time since George was stubborn to a fault.

Right from the start, I could see that the Sticks were up to no good and there was no surprise that they were involved in something big. But seriously, kidnapping? I'd rather not complain. They really took advantage of their experience in the ruined castle to scare the enemies off, and in a weird way, I must say. I kind of like to know how they spent the remaining week in the island after the ending, though. But I guess I could just do that in my imagination.

My second book I finished this month and I'm glad that I even got to read two books. Let's see what book will I write a comment on next. Till next time!

【Book Comment】Five Go Adventuring Again (The Famous Five # 2)

Blurb (from Goodreads):

There's a thief at Kirrin Cottage! The Famous Five think they know who it is, but they need to prove it! Where can they find evidence? The discovery of an old map and very unusual hiding place is all they need to get to the bottom of this mystery and uncover the true culprit! 

Finally! I got to finish reading this one. August hasn't been good to me in terms of my reading and yes, I haven't finished reading anything last month. So I tried my best this month. Thank goodness, I was able to do just that.

I have a physical copy of this book, by the way. Surprisingly, I was able to find some more at Booksale before the pandemic started. So I couldn't help wondering why I wasn't able to finish reading this last month. Then again, there's no use dwelling on that. Right now, here I am with the individual book comment.

Short Life Update # 1

So at the moment, I'm just seizing the opportunity of having people not using the desktop computer for me to be able to write here. I mean, it's been a while since I've posted something here properly, right? I was supposed to do a wrap-up for the month of August. But my birth month turned out to be wackier than I thought it would be. That's why I'm doing it this way for now.

Still an unemployed person, sorry to say that. For someone who already turned 30, this is not good news at all. But as much as I want to actually find a job, I'd really like it to be something that I'm happy to do regardless of the stress. Writing is the one thing that kept me sane, and obviously, something that I've always been happy to do for who knows how long. Seriously, when did I start writing stories, anyway? I mean, writing something that really brought me so much joy and would make me forget the world around me? Geez, I can't even remember when it all started.

At the moment, it's raining hard here since last night due to Tropical Cyclone Kiko (international name: Chanthu). But here I am, kind of hoping that it won't be the same as what happened last month when it rained for three weeks straight. And also here I am, praying for those affected by the higher typhoon signals.

I watched Kamen Rider Saber, by the way. And you could say that I like the concept of it using books, stories, and swords. I'm pretty sure you're aware that I like those.

As for stories I'm focusing on writing now, I have the new version of "The Last Sky Of The Earth" in its fantasy setting and written in English. Not an easy thing to do, if I'm going to be honest. But hey, I chose to do this, only because the concept of isekai has really hit me. Even the concept of reincarnation and things like that.

Yup, I wasn't joking when I said that this is short. Let's see if I'd be able to post something else here before the month ends. Stay safe!

The Sunday Currently | 35 |

The only Sunday Currently entry I've got to write this month, for some reason. Or maybe I just ended up neglecting a lot of my writing tasks, except for the fiction and journal writing ones. Those are the ones that I got to keep up on doing, and I'm grateful for that. As for my reading, it wasn't proceeding well, to be honest. But I intend to finish reading it before the month ends -- and I only have two days more to do just that.

So let's update on what happened with my life this week. At least, I'll try to.

This Sunday, I'm currently:

What is a word of wisdom that changed your life?

"Words are like knives. When used incorrectly, they turn into foul weapons. You have to understand the opponent's heart and use them with discretion. No matter who it is you're dealing with."

And also this one, which is similar:

"Words are like swords. If you use them the wrong way, they turn into ugly weapons. There are cases of broken friendships that should have lasted a lifetime if not for verbal abuse. Once you sever your ties, you might not see each other again."

Both quotes were from my favorite anime "Detective Conan". Though the 1st was from an episode titled "Three Days With Hattori Heiji" and the 2nd one was from the 11th Detective Conan movie "Quarter Or Silence". And these quotes became the words of wisdom that, unconsciously at first, I ended up applying to myself. How so? I've always watched the words that were about to come out of my mind. And I'd rather not say anything if I knew it would offend or hurt someone.

What I Read In July 2021

Five books! Can you believe it? And it's just this month. Maybe for the others, it's not that much. But for me who had put reading on hold for quite a long time, it's important. I guess I have to blame the nonstop monsoon rain for this. And probably because of the reading challenge I participated in. That's not a bad thing, right?

In any case, I'm glad I got to read this much in one month when I can't even finish one book in a month before. Here are the books I've read this month, though forgive me for the short comments on each of them as I forgot to actually write a longer ones on paper as soon as I finished reading them.

The Sunday Currently | 34 |

This is one noisy Sunday, if you ask me Then again, I guess every Sunday around here is like that, whether I like it or not. In any case, I still have a lot of things to do, so I might as well start doing this. Those things had a lot to do with writing, anyway. There's journal writing and continuing a story update that I should've posted yesterday, but because of some laziness and other outside factors, I didn't get to do it. It made me decide to create a new posting schedule so that I could keep up somehow.

In any case, we'll see what will happen if I'd be able to actually do it. For now, let's just start writing what I would call a weekend update.

So this Sunday, I'm currently:

Series (+ Episodes) Comment: "A Tale Of Thousand Stars"

 

Why am I writing an entry about this, by the way? If I'm going to be honest, I don't know, as well. But I've had this urge to actually do this since last month. Sadly, I only got the time to do it today. So here I am.

And yet, instead of doing an episode by episode entry like before, I preferred doing it this way. Or you could say I decided to do it this way. Maybe because I just like to keep it short, if I can. Or maybe I'm just too lazy to even write entries per episode. Procrastinating is really not good for me who's struggling to deal with it.

Anyway, back to the topic. It's been months since this series finished airing and I'm still having a hard time letting go. Not only because of the storyline that caught my attention since I first watched the trailer, but because of the fact that this was the first BL series that I watched without skipping. Okay, it's the first BL series I watched. Period. I have to say that it was a game changer for me in some ways. Even my writer self got affected by the story, somehow.

Series Plot:

A volunteer teacher dies in a tragic accident, in which her heart is transplanted to Tian. Through a series of diary entries, Tian learns about her life, her secrets and interests. Including her promise to Chief Forest officer Phupha, about counting a thousand stars with him. Tian then decides to follow in her footsteps and complete her dream. With Tian a new volunteer teacher, he attempts to befriend Phupha. Yet Phupha gives off a cold exterior. Slowly the two grow close, but Tian's heart beats fast around the forest officer. As he starts to fall for him, much like its previous owner did. But with the area being dangerous, can they keep their thousand-star promise?

The Sunday Currently | 33 |

Okay. I know I missed writing and SC entry last Sunday for one reason -- I slept before I could even stop myself. I mean, I didn't realize that I actually fell asleep. I guess I was too tired to even notice it. Anyway, since it happened like that last week, I have to compensate for that by writing an entry tonight. And I have to do it while I'm still in the mood to write something and while I'm still awake. Hahaha!

So let's go!

So this Sunday, I'm currently:

Something that never fails to make you feel better.

• Chocolate
• Wafers
• Marshmallows
• Reading
• Writing
• Love songs

Should I consider it weird? Maybe not. But since I was in college, these are the things that always have ways to make me feel better. They may be quite light things (or petty should be the word -- or not), But I love them all the same. I'd actually rather eat or read or write than dwell on negative emotions too much. Not to mention, I've always been an over-thinker, which is obviously not good for me at all. So I needed to think of ways for me to calm myself down when I don't feel good mentally or emotionally.

So for my future significant other (if ever he would actually come into my life), this is one thing you got to consider about me. Or least that's what I'm thinking. Then again, we'll see.

Something that you miss.

The days in which I just write stories with no care about the future or the outcome of the stories I write. I just write because I want to and I love to share it to the world. I just write for the sake of putting down the ideas that linger in my mind on paper. At the time, I write whether or not they would love it or not. Or at least, I chose not to pay attention to it.

Another thing I miss even those are the times that the idea of love and falling in love was still so beautiful to me. Regardless of the rejection I got and getting friend-zoned a lot, it was an ideal feeling for me. It was how I've been able to write romance stories, no matter how far-fetched it would have been for me at the time.

The things I miss might be intangible, and perhaps it would have been too much, as well. But at this point, I couldn't help it.

Things you would like to do with your significant other.

You got to be kidding me. But hey, that's what the prompt had asked, so I might as well get on with it. Maybe one of these days, I'd actually be able to make it happen,

• Hiking and watching the sunrise with him. Not in a snowy area, though.
• Just enjoy a leisurely walk by the seaside hand in hand.
• Cuddle and enjoy a cup of hot chocolate while watching a series/movie.
• Dance outside, preferably slow dance/waltz.
• Pass on letters and love notes to each other from time to time.
• Get to sing love songs to each other.
• Take photos of our beautiful and even random moments together.

How would your life change if you were your own biggest fan and truly believed in yourself?

In my guess, I wouldn't be so afraid of every little failure that comes my way. As if I have this booster that says, "I can take it heads on, because I know it will help me mature and grow into a better person." At the moment, that's not what I feel, and maybe that's why I'm having a lot of trouble dealing with it.

My life would definitely be a whole lot better and I'd feel so strong and confident to do the things I love, if I truly believed in myself. It would feel amazing to be able to do such a thing for once. For someone who's filled with self-doubt, it's a little hard doing so, even for a make-believe.

But over time, perhaps something could happen. I don't know what it is, but I just have this feeling in me for a long time and I guess all I need to do is to have faith that it will happen.

Your favorite podcasts.

Honestly, I don't listen to that many podcasts only because I don't know where to look for some, especially those that would catch my interest. If my memory serves me right, the only podcasts I ever listened to since I learned of its existence (sorry for living under the rock for a long time before finding out about podcasts) were those from Thought Catalog and of #RomanceClass Podcast. Both can be found on Youtube, by the way. Well, I only got to listen to the first season of the latter one. I definitely love listening to these two so I guess I could say these are my favorites. Maybe I'll add others once I got the chance to listen to a few more.

June 2021 Wrap-Up

It's already the second day of July and I still haven't posted this. What the heck am I doing?

And that, folks, should have been my rant to myself since it took me this long to finish typing this. Well, things got a little busy around here and I didn't have time to upload it earlier than it should be. So now here I am. I'd say nothing much had happened this month, at least life-wise. I did manage to list down the things related to my writing progress and some were achieved fairly while others weren't.

So let's get on with it, I guess.

What I Read In June 2021

I know I don't usually do this. But because I subscribed to a few Booktube channels on Youtube, for some reason, I ended up deciding to do this instead of a video. Reason? First and foremost, it'll be easier for me since I'm not exactly into recording myself in a video, anyway. I was never confident in doing that. Second, I just want to compile all my book comments for this month into one single blog post, even though I don't have a lot of books to feature here, anyway. And third, maybe this will motivate me to read more once again.

Honestly speaking, I love reading and it's what motivated me to write stories when I was in high school. My writing endeavors actually started when I was in 6th grade, but my inspiration at the time were my dreams (like, literal dreams from my sleep) and a bunch of anime I've watched. And possibly my crush at the time, as well. Did I actually add that particular fact? I'm laughing inside as I wrote that particular part. Maybe one time, I'll mention him here, regardless of the fact that he would be able to read it or not.

Okay, I think my introduction here turned out to be longer than I intend it to be. But I guess that's okay, right? Nothing wrong with that. I have to say that this month is a good start for me in terms of reading books since I haven't been able to do so in a long while, even when the quarantine started hitting us hard, big time. I bought a few more books even with all the chaos going on around. And yet, they just remained on my shelf. Bad idea, I know.

In any case, here are the books I was able to read this month. A classic English children's book (no judging, please), a Tagalog pocketbook, and the first volume of a light novel I read online. So what do I think about them? I think I should do it in order of the time I got to finish reading them. Just a reminder: My book comments aren't exactly that as deep as those you'd find in Booktube community or even on other book bloggers. I write what I think about them ~ no matter how limited it might be. I just don't want to force myself to writing pretty stuff when trying to explain myself, if you know what I mean.

The Sunday Currently | 32 |

Late night writing this, but it's okay. So this entry will make me reach my SC entry quota for this month. Yehey! Sorry for that. I'm just glad that I reached my quota, even with the lack of proper devices to use in order for me to post entries like this here in my blog. I know that not many (if not, no one at all) read my blog. But I still like to post things here. The same way that no one reads my journal except for me, and yet I still write a lot of stuff in it. Rantings, frustrations, dreams... Things like that.

So today is the last Sunday of the month. Then again, it doesn't really make any difference to me, for some reason. Or maybe because I was still frustrated about some other stuff today that made me feel that way. In any case, let's start jotting down things for this SC entry.

Here we go!

So for this Sunday, I'm currently:

The lyrics which moves you most are...

I don't know why, but I'm deciding to write about 7-10 lyrics that answers this prompt. I listen to a lot of songs -- most of which were ballads -- and there are indeed a lot of those lyrics that move or affect me a lot. I'm going to write here the lyrics and a few (possibly short) explanation as why these lyrics would move me.

The Sunday Currently | 31 |

What a rainy Sunday night we have. Then again, since it was kind of hot during the day, this rain helped dropped the temperature a bit. I'm glad about that, by the way. It's a little crazy that I had the urge to actually write on this SC entry even though at one part of my mind, I don't really feel like it. Just like what happened last month. But I do intend to do majority of my goals for this month. Though it's going to be tough, I just want to finish doing this.

So let's get on with it, right?

This Sunday, I'm currently:

List 10 things you hope to be remembered for.

Honestly speaking, I still have no idea how to answer this one. But I'd like to try doing so.

1. A person who's creative and loves what I do.

2. A person who could read through another person's heart (though this is something I'd like to acquire ― like an empath of some sort)

3. Someone who never gave up on writing to reach to people.

4. Someone who'd do anything (good things) for the sake of the one I love.

5. Always there to rely on, not just for errands and chores.

6. Someone whose words can truly touch people's hearts, regardless of the language barrier.

7. A person who would do my best in a subtle way.

8. A person who people would love so much and is willing to help to the best of my abilities.

9. Someone who loves eating marshmallows as a way to de-stress.

10. A hopeless romantic person, and still someone logical enough about giving out the love that's meant for the person I choose to be with.

I know that some of my answers here might not make any sense. But this is me ― at least for now. And this is how I think at the moment. It might make sense to me now and would reflect my and my way of thinking. But it might not be the same in the next coming days or years. The pandemic changed my way of thinking drastically ― at least, a little drastic for my taste. So I guess it also affected how my thoughts flowed at this point.

Anyway, we'll still see what would happen in the near future, right? And it would also depend on my choices today.

The Sunday Currently | 30 |

I didn't get to fulfill my goal last month of writing at least 2 SC entries. So let's try this month, okay? I'm still eating a late dinner as I write this. And I'd rather finish this first before writing on my journal later. Let's get on with it!

So this Sunday, I'm currently:

If This Goodbye

I actually came up with this while thinking of the plot for another planned story featuring a gay ghost and his two friends who never even knew he died a long time ago. In any case, this was supposed to be lyrics for a song during the parting scene. But since I don't know how to write lyrics, let alone compose a song, I chose to do it like this instead -- the format that, at least, I'm quite familiar with.

This is a free verse poem, by the way. I'll mention about that story once again once I have it started.

If this goodbye
is so hard to even speak of
How will I erase this lingering pain
that is about you?

We had this chance again
to live in our memories
Once buried in our resentments
and misunderstandings
Despite that, reality will continue
to tell me the painful truth

So if this goodbye
is what's needed
to set us free
No matter how much
it will hurt
Regardless of the tears
that will flow
Then I'll say it to you
with conviction

In hopes that in one
of our lifetimes,
The one path we once
walked on together
Will shine once more
To allow us to continue
our pending story

So that this time,
fate won't separate us
ever again
Until then, let me live
in this hurt that stays
Ever since I realized
that this life
will never bring you
back to me anymore...

May 2021 Wrap-Up

Man! What a hot May this has been. And I wasn't really glad about that at all. But at least, it started raining. It helped drop the temperature a bit, especially during night time. This month, however, had a lot of happenings ― at least in my life. Or not exactly my life, but of those around me who are a part of my life. Okay. It just got more confusing than usual.

For now, let's do a bit of a monthly wrap-up, shall we? This will also be a bit of a checking on what May goals have I managed to achieve. But I must say, they're not a lot. And I'm not sure if I should be glad with that or not.

By the way, I'm getting a new headset. Or should I say, earphones? Sometimes, I'm confusing the two, which could be annoying. In any case, this is my affirmation for tonight as the earphones that I'm using has started to malfunction. I just have to earn enough for me to buy that, of course. I was able to do it when I had to pay for the TIN ID. Why not do the same thing here? Right?

I'm writing a new blog entry which is going to be the last one for this month, as well. As you guessed it, it's going to be a monthly wrap-up again. I'm still thinking, however, if it's right that I set a goal this month.

Let's see...

ETB Book 3 Plot (Tentative)

NOTE: This is the initial plan for the story which will be the third and final book of "The Last Sky Of The Earth" trilogy. Puwedeng magbago ang mga eksena rito depende na rin sa takbo ng mood ko sa pagsusulat nito at sa magiging takbo na rin ng kuwento. Hehe! Anyway, hindi ko pa naman naisusulat ito dahil wala pa nga ako sa kalahati ng Book 1. This is still in response to the post I made before (). And as usual, it might contain spoilers.

The third and final installment of "The Last Sky Of The earth" trilogy follows the succeeding adventures of 4 prestigious Japanese families who had sought refuge in the Philippines after the attack at the Shinomiya mansion in Kyoto more than 3 years prior. This time, it's not only the clans of the Shinomiya, the Azuraya, the Yumemiya, and the Miyuzaki who are recognized around the world after the deadly battle with ancient organization called the Black Thorns. Even the originally forgotten Yasunaga clan is steadily becoming recognized, as well. Just when they think that they can finally attain the peaceful lives they've always longed for, the news breaks out that Shingo is attacked!

What is one song that resonates with you?

It would be the English version of Ai's Japanese song titled "Story".

I already heard the Japanese version first, but it didn't draw me to the song as much as the English version did. Setting the language reasons aside, it's probably because the English version was used in the movie "Big Hero 6". I love that movie. And I've always imagined a scene in my head in which the people I care about would be singing this to me as a way to thank me for so many things that I'd do and will continue doing to help them and guide them in their lives. 

One other reason why I love this song and why it resonates with me is that maybe (just maybe) I'm still waiting for someone to actually help me see what I can do and what I can become with no prejudices and judgment. A person who could possibly act as a major catalyst or something for my life to be set in motion (finally).

I don't know why I wanted that, though. But it's something that's been in my mind for quite a long time now since I heard that song.

3 favorite quotes about life.

These are the quotes that I recall telling to myself (or at least trying to live by) since high school days. And seriously, that was a long time ago.

1. "You never fail until you stop trying." ― Albert Einstein

2. "It is never too late to be what you might have been." ― George Eliot

3. "Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game." ― Babe Ruth

They're pretty short, but they're the ones that really got stuck to me all these years. I'm still doing what I can to actually live by these quotes, though.

【My Fiction Writings】All About "Our Memory Of The Dawn"

Okay. Since I just update this fanfic 3 days ago, I guess I should start telling more about this particular story on this segment of my blog. Come to think of it, I haven't written anything for a long while that talks about the stories I wrote, right? The last one was about "The Secret Of The Rose Clans" from the Chronicles Of The Roses romance series and I'm not sure if it was enough.

Anyway, here we go.

The Sunday Currently | 29 |

The first for this month. Okay. Like, seriously? How come I didn't write any Sunday Currently for 2 Sundays after the last? I still can't seem to fathom that, honestly. How come I can't stick to doing this continuously? Anyway, enough complaining. It already happened. I don't want to add fuel to the fire (or in tonight's case, it's heat) because of that. I should focus more on what to write, right? Or at least, that's the best option for now. I'd rather not think about the heat that the country is going through right now.

I was supposed to write on my journal first, but my alarm for this blog entry started ringing. So before I'd forget again, here we are. Let's write this while contemplating on certain things, shall we?

For this Sunday, I'm currently:

Baguio On My EXO-Inspired Stories

I'm not really sure why, but I just noticed this while my sisters and I were riding a taxi earlier. I actually wrote a few stories in which I managed to write as I thought of a certain spot here in Baguio, my hometown.

I once wrote a story titled "What This Heartbeat Means" which was an EXO fanfic based on the result I got from an EXO dating game I found on Youtube years ago. I played it for fun and maybe out of curiosity. Anyway, that story is now deleted and I only remembered it again when the taxi that we were riding on took an alternate route going to town to avoid the traffic along Naguillian Road. One of the routes it took was an alley heading to Guisad Valley National High School ― a once familiar path to me as I usually use that route when I was in high school. Only I didn't go to the high school on that route. As soon as I was writing the story before, that was the place that would pop up in my mind, for some weird reason. It would happen like that, even though the area doesn't have any relation to the story at all.

Your favorite books.

I think I'm going to list 10 here, but not in any particular order. Okay? I'd rather not rank the books I've been reading and going to my list of favorites.

📖 "Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets" by J.K. Rowling (English)

📖 "Nights In Rodanthe" by Nicholas Sparks (English)

📖 "39 Clues # 9: Storm Warning" by Linda Sue Park (English)

📖 "The Sign Of The Twisted Candle (Nancy Drew # 9)" by Carolyn Keene (English)

📖 "A Ring Of Endless Light" by Madeleine L'Engle (English)

📖 "Para Sa Hopeless Romantic" by Marcelo Santos III (Filipino)

📖 "Made In Heaven" by Louise Dane (Filipino)

📖 "My Mischievious Star" by Maricar Dizon (Filipino)

📖 "Unwritten Letters To You" by T.B. LaBerge (English)

📖 "Bucket List Of Love" by C.P. Santi (English)

Happy Mother's Day, Mama!

29 turning 30 years... That's how long it's been, huh? That's how long you've been such an amazing mother to me. I know I can be really annoying, irritating, frustrating, hardheaded (at least sometimes). Not that I'm proud of that. But it seems that I grew up learning things on my own most of the time. At some point, I know I let my pride rule over me to not ask for your guidance or help unless I deem it necessary. It's a really weird mindset of mine that, until now, I can't seem to remove.

And yet, even with that, I still want to thank you.

Thank you for still listening to my selfish wishes. Thank you for being there for me, regardless of the fact that I rarely come to you to ask for anything. Thank you for a lot of advice that, most of the time, I tend not to listen to them. I don't who or what to blame for that part, though. Even still, thank you for so many things I learned from you.

I'm sorry... for being a hard person to deal with sometimes. I'm sorry for being a stubborn woman who can't seem to make a firm decision since the time I noticed how my life is falling apart in front of me, even with your presence. I'm sorry for being a continuous disappointment because of my decisions. I'm trying . I'm doing what I can. But several negative thoughts that had haunted me for so many years would always do its best to cripple me. I was never proud of myself. And yet here you are, still saying that you are to me.

I don't know what will happen in the next years. But let's have faith. At least, I'd like to have one for myself that something will change this year. You've always have one for me and I'll always be thankful for that.

I love you, and thank you. I'm always thanking the heavens that you're my mother all those years.

Happy Mother's Day!

Your favorite songs.

I have lots, but I'm going to list here 6 in each language that I have on my playlist.

English:

🎵"The Call" by Celtic Woman

🎵"In Another Lifetime" by Gary Valenciano

🎵"Come What May" by Air Supply

🎵"If You Met Me First" by Eric Ethridge

🎵"When God Made You" by Newsong and Natalie Grant

🎵"Forevermore" by Side A

xxxxxx

Filipino:

🎵"Hanggang May Kailanman" by Carol Banawa

🎵"Panunumpa" by Carol Banawa

🎵"Hanggang Sa Huli" by SB19

🎵"Sana" by Shamrock

🎵"Sobra Kitang Mahal" by Miguel Aguila

🎵"Kung Hindi Ikaw" by James Wright

xxxxxx

Chinese:

🎵"Season Of Fireworks" by F4

🎵"One Persistent Thought" by Hu Ge and Alan Dawa Dolma

🎵"Just Lose It (Hurts So Much)" by Pets Tseng

🎵"Back In The Days" by BY2

🎵"Half Of Me" by Jiro Wang

🎵"My Love For You Won't Change" by Bii

xxxxxx

Japanese:

🎵"Megumi No Ame" by Alan Dawa Dolma

🎵"Kimi No Zutto" by YuYu

🎵"Kiseki ~Mirai He" by Tiara (originally by GREEEEN)

🎵"Your Best Friend" by Kuraki Mai

🎵"Crystal Snow" by BTS

🎵"Only One (Ballad Version)" by Fujita Maiko

xxxxxx

Korean:

🎵"Moonlight Drawn By Clouds" by Gummy

🎵"This Love" by Davichi

🎵"Only You" by 4Men

🎵"Spring Day" by BTS

🎵"Miracles Of December" by EXO

🎵"Don't Forget Me" by Bae Suzy

xxxxxx

Thai:

🎵"A Song Khai (Countless/Infinite/Inumerable)" by Ying Thitikarn

🎵"Peua Tur (For You)" by Gun Napat

🎵"Khon Bap Nai (What Kind Of Person?)" by Mix Sahaphap

🎵"Yom Jum Non Fah Din (Surrender To Heaven And Earth)" by Ying Thitikarn

🎵"Neung Kum Tee Lon Jai (One Word That's Overflowing From My Heart)" by Pijika

🎵"Saai Dtaa Go Hok Mai Bpen (Eyes Can't Lie)" by Earth Pirapat

6 drink/beverages I love (give explanation for each)

1. Coffee ― I guess you could say this is a night owl/writer's best friend? Hahaha! But honestly, this will always be my favorite. Except the strong ones, only when I truly need it.

2. Milk ― I only drink this when I badly needed something to make me sleep soundly. It's better this than resort to using sleeping pills or something.

3. Milo/Chocolate drink ― Possibly my second favorite after coffee, only because I've loved chocolate. At least the slightly sweet ones. 😄

4. Cucumber lemonade ― This juice drink that started to become a trend a few years back was a little milder and sweeter than lemonade. So I guess this is one reason why I included it in this list.

5. Pineapple juice ― My go-to Vitamin C drink when I don't want lemonade or any other citrus-y drinks. I guess you could say that this is my favorite juice drink.

6. Cookies and cream milk tea ― I've only started loving this recently, and only when I have the money to buy one. Then again, that doesn't happen often.

This list just asked for 6, which I considered a good thing, honestly. I don't drink a lot of stuff, actually. Not a alcohol drinker, as well. I'm the only one in my family who's not. At this point, I had a feeling people would have a glimpse of how boring I could be. Or not.

April 2021 Wrap-Up and May 2021 Goals

An April wrap-up that I'm writing in May. How weird is that? Well, I wasn't able to write this last night as I was too sleepy to even concentrate. My journal writing nearly suffered from that drowsiness, as well. It's a good thing I was still able to write something there as I've made a goal of writing on my journal for 1,000 days straight. I still need to calculate as to how many days I've been doing this straight days journal writing, but I can say that I'm making quite a progress.

Anyway, I'll list down some of the major things that happened last month, with information courtesy of my journal. Hehe!

The Sunday Currently | 28 |

July of 2019? Are you freaking kidding me? That was the last time I've written a Sunday Currently entry? Just what the heck happened to the rest of 2019 and the entire 2020 for me not to be able to post any more of this? I mean, seriously. Anyway, even I was surprised to know that. I can't believe I haven't posted anymore Sunday Currently entry in so long. So let's do it again, shall we? I want to make up for the long time that I haven't updated my Sunday Currently entries.

Shall we start?

So this Sunday, I'm currently...

Put your playlist on shuffle and write down the first 15 songs.

1. "Say It Isn't So" by Gareth Gates
2. "Reflection (2020 Chinese Version)" by Crystal Liu
3. "Praw Tur (Because Of You)" by Bell Supol ft. Panadda
4. "Stickwitu" by The Pussycat Dolls
5. "Call Me, Beep Me! (The Kim Possible Song)" by Christina Milian
6. "Lom (Wind)" by Num Kala
7. "Days In The Sun" by Emma Watson
8. "Panunumpa (Vow)" by Carol Banawa
9. "Feel Your Breeze" by V6
10. "Ichinen Nikagetsu Hatsuka (1 Year, 2 Months, 20 Days)" by BRIGHT
11. "Consolation" by 2AM
12. "Blaze" by Kinya
13. "Valentine Kiss" by AKB48
14. "Heaven" by Hamasaki Ayumi
15. "Felt So Right" by Sarah Geronimo
    

【Book Comment】"Maria's Diary" by Maureen Stewart

Okay. Now I have to say that this was an overdue book comment/review as I've already finished reading this around the end of March or the start of April. Wait. I still have to recall the exact date. But there's one thing I recall clearly about this book after reading this.

I was annoyed and irritated about Maria. Or Lavender, as she'd like to call herself. Haha! And that feeling actually goes both ways -- good and bad. Annoyed in a good way because of her tactless attitude, if I interpreted it right. Irritated in a good way because even with that attitude, I'd like to call her bold and fearless when it comes to her opinion -- whether or not they were verbally expressed or just her diary knowing the truth about them.

Open/read when: You're missing me a lot

Dear Sunrise,

This could be a maybe, though. I mean, we still haven't met until now. But I'm pretty sure, the yearning is there. It's strong and definitely getting stronger as time passes by that we still haven't crossed paths. It could really drive us crazy, don't you think? I miss you even without knowing you yet. And you're the same, regardless of the life that you have now and the presence of the people surrounding you.

It's too much to bear, but please don't despair. As we know, it's part of a test. A part of endurance and patience until the day that we'd finally meet will come. You miss me, but it won't be long. Or at least, let's do our best to make it seem that it won't be long now. We'll get to smile at each other one day and laugh without a care in the world. Let's believe in the works of the heavens that it's not going to take us that long to wait and miss each other's presence that we both longed to feel all this time.

Let's smile at the world, even if the yearning is too strong for us to bear. Let's have faith, even if the circumstances are enough to make us lose hope. Let's love each other, even if we still don't know each other at the moment and we could still be far away from each other.

I miss you and you could also be missing me. But one day, we'll be together finally.

Missing you a lot,
Florence Joyce

Describe a childhood nightmare you can't forget.

There's not much to describe, to be honest, as I don't recall much of my dreams, let alone my nightmares when I was a child. But I do recall falling a lot in my dreams, causing me to (possibly) experience astral projection at some point and sleep paralysis, as well.

The one nightmare that scared me the most when I was a kid that gave me sleep paralysis was about the dark area that I was in and I don't know where to go. I had the urge to run, but I couldn't. I knew it was a dream, but I couldn't get out of it. It just froze me and I had the hard time to breathe. Until now, anything that would make me experience sleep paralysis still gave me the chills and that slight fear.

If you are to date a celebrity, who will that be?

The first person that came to mind the moment I picked this prompt up was the Thai actor, Earth Pirapat. Probably because I was watching the series "A Tale Of Thousand Stars" that made me think of him almost immediately as the answer to this question. I'm not going to lie, he is handsome, even though he is 2 years, 5 months, and 24 days younger than me. He has a sort of childish charms that I can't explain at this point, but I truly adore. Too bad we live in two different countries. 😜

Even if it's just for one day, I'd really love it for that to happen at some point in my life. That would be wonderful. 💕

10 games I love (give explanation for each).

If I'm going to be honest, I don't really play games a lot -- whether it would be an indoor game or even outdoor ones. But even with that, there were those online ones that I've paid attention to. At least, from time to time. I'll try to list down those that I can remember while waiting for the laundry in the washing machine to finish.

1. Badminton -- I may have said that I'm bad at playing outdoor games, but there were those that I ended up liking at some point. This is one of them. I guess this is one outdoor game that I enjoyed somehow.

2. Snakes & Ladder -- Probably my favorite board game when I was younger. My sisters and I would frequently play this game before. One of the games that gave us some bonding moments.

3. Tetris -- Most of the time, I hated this. But that was before I started playing it, thanks to my sister. I can't recall the name of the device where I would play this before, but I did enjoy playing this back then.

4. Crystal Saga -- Possibly the only MMORPG that I played as part of my research for a game project when I was in college. I played it so that I could have a gist of how it actually worked, and I did enjoy playing it, if I'm going to be honest. Made me able to think of a story line, as well.

5. A3! (Act! Addict! Actors!) -- The first actor training game I've played and couldn't get enough playing had not my phone got lost, and now the TelPad stumbled on some problems.

6. Rental Boyfriends -- Possibly the first otome game I've ever played and still loved playing until now.

7. Cybird Games (Ikemen Series) -- I couldn't exactly pick just one of the list of games that this otome series have, so I decided to do it like it. Yes, they're still otome games, but these were the ones I loved playing.

8. Hidden Objects -- This is a generalized term I used for all the games I played that has this theme. I just love playing this kind of game because they've served as my stress reliever before.

9. Word Hunt and Wordscape -- I think these two actually fall in the same category. They did help filling up my word bank, believe it or not. And for me, that's quite essential.

10. Jackstones -- Though the last time I played this was way back elementary days, I remembered enjoying this even if I was playing it alone.

[Book Comment] Amulet Of Quilla (Talisman # 3) by Allan Frewin Jones

So after months of reading this book chapter by chapter (or should I say part by part), I finally finished reading all of it -- while waiting for the rain to stop falling and waiting for the delivery guy to finally arrive with the plants that my mother ordered online -- again. Anyway, as I'm writing this down, I'm at the 4th floor of Maharlika Building in Baguio. And until now, it's still raining hard.

Anyway, I'll put that aside for now.