Category: Hobbies

Categories
Books Magical Realism

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami | Book Review

QUICK AND TAMAD SUMMARY:

Ang book na ‘to ay tungkol sa isang lalake (si Toru Okada) na in the beginning, hinahanap nya lang yung nawawalang pusa ng asawa nya (Kumiko), hanggang sa yung asawa na nya yung nawawala. First book ko ‘to from this author.

Nung una, sumasakay pa ko eh. Ang tolerable pa. Pero habang tumatagal, lalong lumalala. Lumalala yung pagka-boring and pagka-nonsense. Siguro nga hindi para sakin ‘tong libro na ‘to. Pero nalalamangan ng pagka-curious ko yung pagka-ayaw ko sa book. Kaya feeling ko naman matatapos ko ‘to kahit pilit na pilit.

START OF SPOILERS

Ang daming weird characters. May weird prostitute, may weird manghuhula, may weird na teenager. Pero lahat naman sila weird.

I’m currently at 41% and UGHHH. Hirap na hirap talaga kong ituloy-tuloy. Okay ako sa weird pero bakit kasi ang boringgg. Sobrang hindi pa likeable yung main protagonist and hindi ako maka-relate sa kanya. Sobrang apathetic nya. Kaya din siguro ang hirap. Wala akong makuhang connection sa kanya. And yung mga nangyayari sa book, sobrang labo. Hindi lang siguro abot ng intellect ko yung gusto nyang iparating. Pero kahit feeling ko nagsasayang lang ako ng oras, tatapusin ko ‘to. Nanghinayang na ko sa na-invest kong oras.

Siguro si May Kasahara na lang yung saving grace for me. Kung wala yung character nya, hindi ko na talaga alam. Sya lang yung character na interested ako. The rest parang mga bato. Siguro pag nagbasa ako ulit ng isa pang book ng author na ‘to, alam ko na kung anong i-eexpect.

Isingit ko na rin yung na-sad ako dun sa story ni Lt. Mamiya. Yung kahit buhay pa sya after surviving everything and getting through all those traumatic experiences, feeling nya walang meaning yung buhay nya because he already died on that well. Huhu. Eto yung mga rare moments na may na-feel ako while reading this book.

So tapos ko na.

Clearly, this book is too deep for me to fully absorb and comprehend. Parang yung buong book is isang mahaba at weird na panaginip (or bangungot). Most of the time walang sense pero yung nasagap ng brain ko is yung themes of introspection. Hanggang dun lang. Hindi ko na sya kayang i-expound.

Atat na atat na kong matapos ‘to kasi ang haba. 600 pages. Siguro 75% of the time hindi ko alam kung anong nangyayari pero weirdly, nung 95-98% na ko dun sa book, parang ayoko pa sya matapos. Parang nasa momentum pa kong magbasa ng kawirdohan.

Baka yung next ko basahin na book from this author is yung Norwegian Wood, as recommended by one of the book club members, Danielle.

My status updates on Goodreads

RATING [2.25 🌟]

Alam kong generally mataas yung review nung book na ‘to pero ayokong mag-pretend na naintindihan ko. Hindi pa abot ng brain cells ko yung ganitong klaseng books. Nagpapadala naman ako dun sa book. Wala akong expectations. May mga parts na gusto ko yung pagka-weird nya and may mga parts na nalulusaw na yung utak ko para pilitin na mag-make sense yung binabasa ko.

QUOTES

Curiosity can bring guts out of hiding at times, maybe even get them going. But curiosity usually evaporates. Guts have to go for the long haul. Curiosity’s like a fun friend you can’t really trust. It turns you on and then it leaves you to make it on your own—with whatever guts you can muster.

Toru Okada

When someone gets on my nerves, the first thing I do is transfer the object of my unpleasant feelings to another domain, one having no connection with me. Then I tell myself, Fine, I’m feeling bad, but I’ve put the source of these feelings into another zone, away from here, where I can examine it and deal with it later in my own good time. In other words, I put a freeze on my emotions. Later, when I thaw them out to perform the examination, I do occasionally find my emotions still in a distressed state, but that is rare. The passage of time will usually extract the venom from most things and render them harmless. Then, sooner or later, I forget about them.

Toru Okada

I’m not one hundred percent sure about any of this, and I don’t have any amazing solutions. All I’ve got is this feeling.

Toru Okada

If people want to lose all sense of direction, the best thing that you and I can do is let them. We have more important things to do.

Noboru Wataya

If people lived forever—if they never got any older—if they could just go on living in this world, never dying, always healthy—do you think they’d bother to think hard about things, the way we’re doing now? I mean, we think about just about everything, more or less—philosophy, psychology, logic. Religion. Literature. I kinda think, if there were no such thing as death, that complicated thoughts and ideas like that would never come into the world.

May Kasahara

I remembered laughing out loud when I read this:

May Kasahara: The women sell their hair to the wig companies. That’s how they earn their dowries in some places. The whole world’s so weird! The guy sitting next to you might actually be wearing the hair of some woman in Indonesia.

By reflex, I and the B-man looked around at the others in the car.

Click to view my digital book shelf.

Categories
Books Life

Current Reads

Pakiramdam ko malapit na kong maging guru kakabasa ko ng mga self help books 😂 Nagsimula sa Digital Minimalism tapos sinundan ko ng Atomic Habits. Digital Minimalism para mabawasan yung bad habits ko sa paggamit ng phone and Atomic Habits para makapag-create ako ng good habits and para na din mabago yung iba pang bad habits.

Lapit na ko sa goal ko na 15 books this year

Bakit ba ngayon ko lang ‘to naisip? Siguro kung sinimulan kong magbagong buhay pagka-resign na pagka-resign ko, dami ko na sigurong na-achieve or ang laki na siguro ng improvement ko. Pero ayokong mag-dwell dun. At least bumabawi naman ako ngayon.

Siguro naman, gone are the days yung mga drama ko sa previous blog posts ko na naaasar ako sa sarili ko, na wala akong disiplina, kasi ang procrastinator ko, etc. Sana naman tapos na yang mga dialogue ko na ‘yan. Kasi nakatulong yung book para makita ko ang mga bagay bagay in a different light.

Siguro yung pinaka nag-stick sakin na nabasa ko sa Atomic Habits so far (di ko pa sya tapos), is yung pagsasabi natin sa sarili natin ng mga bagay about ourselves like, “Procrastinator kasi talaga ako.” or “Hindi kasi talaga ko magaling sa directions.” or “Wala kasi akong self control.” Okay so kung ganun, eh di wala na pala talaga kong pag-asa?? Mag-stick na lang ako sa ganun kasi yun na talaga yung identity ko? Mali. Sabi ni author, “Our identities are not set in stone.” We have the option to edit and improve and expand our identities. And na-realize kong tama nga talaga. Nili-link kasi natin yung bad habits natin sa identities natin.

Eto example. Yung sabi ko kanina na mahina ako sa directions. Bukambibig ko ‘to lagi. So usually naka-rely lang ako sa mga kasama ko or kay Kenneth most of the time pagdating sa directions. Pero bakit nung pumunta kaming Japan ng mga friends ko or nung pumunta kaming Hong Kong ng Mama ko, ako yung navigator? So ang nangyayari pala, pag merong tao na alam kong sila yung willing mag lead ng way, nagigi akong dependent na lang sa kanila and I tend to chill. Hindi ko pinapagana yung isip ko pagdating sa directions kasi anjan naman sila.

Hays I miss Japan

Pero when it’s time na ako sa grupo yung mas nakakaalam or for example, saming dalwa ng Mama, na mas ako yung nakakaintindi ng Google maps or nung subway app kasi hindi naman sya techie, I feel the need to step up. And kaya ko naman pala talaga. So it’s a choice. Pagkasama ko si Kenneth, choice ko na hindi maging magaling sa directions and sa Mama ko naman, choice kong maging magaling.

Hays I miss traveling with Mama kahit lagi kaming nagtatalo

Plano ko naman basahin next yun The Four Agreements by Miguel Ruiz. Ngayon sobrang enjoy na enjoy ako magbasa. Mapa-fiction or non-fiction.

And regarding dun sa concern ko na pano kung yung mga friends ko ay ma-hassle-an dahil hindi na ko nakikipagchat masyado which will result to not communicating at all, turns out it’s all in my head. Kasi they had positive responses about it. Humingi pa ng copy si Nick nung Atomic Habits. Ewan ko lang kung babasahin nun 😄

Since naiisabuhay ko na yung cliché na saying na, “Time is gold.” And next ko namang susubukan ay yung, “Health is wealth.” Eto yung isa ko pang bad habit na gustong mabago kasi ang hilig ko sa junk food and sa matatamis.

Kitang kita sa breakfast ko ngayon

RANDOM POSTS:

Categories
Books Insights Non-Fiction Personal Development

Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport | Book Review + Notes [Part 5: Extra Notes and Rating]

So tapos ko na yung book. Nalito pa ko kasi nakalagay dun sa Kindle 64% done pa lang ako tapos pag-flip ko ng page, Acknowledgements na. Super dami palang notes sa huli and references kaya akala medyo matagal ko pa matatapos.

Since madami na din akong nasabi about sa book na ‘to, meron pa kong mga extras na gustong idagdag na nabasa ko pa after kong matapos sulatin yung parts 1-4.

Nabanggit yung importance of solitude. I think kaya nya ‘to in-include kasi yung magta-try ng digital declutter, they could get bored and will find themselves reaching for their phones. And kaya may whole chapter about solitude is for us to realize siguro na sometimes, okay lang na walang gawin. Hindi mo kelangan i-fill yung every second of your life.

Regular doses of solitude, mixed in with our default mode of sociality, are necessary to flourish as a human being.

Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport

Nabanggit dito na solitude or being alone with your thoughts helps us regulate our emotions and process stuff. And medyo natawa and na-guilty din ako dito sa following quote:

Continue reading “Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport | Book Review + Notes [Part 5: Extra Notes and Rating]”
Categories
Books Insights Non-Fiction Personal Development

Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport | Book Review + Notes [Part 4: So Anong Dapat Gawin?]

Nung nag-start akong basahin ‘to, ang gusto ko lang talagang mangyari is mawala yung uncontrollable urge ko to always check my phone. Pero ang dami kong nakuha sa book na ‘to.

Sobrang necessary na diniscuss muna sa book lahat. It started with identifying the addictive behaviors, the reason behind it, and pano sya dapat i-approach which is yung strategies and principles. And eto na yung time para i-introduce naman yung concrete steps on how to start. From Paleolithic brains to economics, at this point, gets na gets ko na talaga. Parang hindi ko na kelangan ng further explanation. I’m sold!

Very important na maintindihan munang mabuti yung mga diniscuss before this para kapag gagawin ko na yung ‘digital declutter’, mas strong yung reason bakit ko ‘to ginagawa. Mas may conviction behind it. Which makes it more doable and sustainable.

The Digital Declutter Process

Continue reading “Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport | Book Review + Notes [Part 4: So Anong Dapat Gawin?]”
Categories
Books Insights Non-Fiction Personal Development

Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport | Book Review + Notes [Part 3: Minimalists vs Maximalists]

Ang freeing nung phrase na you will “happily miss out on everything else.” Naalala ko yung pinakinggan ko na podcast medyo recently lang. First time ko narinig yung term na JOMO.

Replace FOMO with JOMO (Joy of Missing Out). When everybody is off drinking and making shallow conversations, you are actually doing something deep and meaningful that brings more value to yourself and maybe to other people as well.

The Minimalists Podcast [Episode 250.5]

Sobrang tinamaan ako dito. And hindi pa nakatulong na andito ko sa ibang bansa. Medyo na-lessen na rin naman simula nung nagkapandemic kasi nga ang dalang na lumabas ng mga tao.

Continue reading “Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport | Book Review + Notes [Part 3: Minimalists vs Maximalists]”
Categories
Books Insights Non-Fiction Personal Development

Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport | Book Review + Notes [Part 2: Bakit Tayo Nagkaganito?]

Almost 1 week na since nag-start ako na baguhin yung unhealthy habits ko and so far, okay naman. Napapanindigan pa.

So balik ako dun sa book, meron daw iba’t ibang “ingredients” bakit nga nakaka-hook ang technology or social media. Two of those:

  1. Intermittent positive reinforcement

Eto na nga yung unpredictable rewards na sinasabi which releases more dopamine. Back to the slot machine analogy.

It hurts but it’s true 😭

And ang interesting neto. Nananadya talaga sila.

Continue reading “Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport | Book Review + Notes [Part 2: Bakit Tayo Nagkaganito?]”
Categories
Books Mystery YA

Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen McManus | Book Review

This is our book club pick for October and kakatapos lang namin mag-discuss about it.

SUPER QUICK & TAMAD SUMMARY:

May serial killer sa town nila na pumapatay ng magagandang babae. Ang bida ay si Ellery na mahilig mag-play detective. Kasi feeling nya may connection yung pagkawala ng aunt nya from 20 years ago dun sa recent murders.

At first, kala ko super YA vibes. Yung typical highschool ganaps na ang annoying nung mga characters. Pero hindi naman sya naging heavy sa ganon kaya naging okay naman. Nag-focus talaga yung author sa suspense/mystery aspect which is good. Nag-enjoy ako manghula.

START OF SPOILERS

Naaasar ako kay Ellery kasi labas ng labas. Kita na nga na may killer on the loose. Although very typical yun sa mga horror movies, na parang nawawala sa tamang pagiisip yung character tapos lalabas pa din ng kwarto or ng bahay na as if ang tapang tapang nya.

Nafrustrate pa ko nung itutuloy pa din yung homecoming dance. Bakit itutuloy?? Bakit hindi sila nagiisip? Pero it turned out, wala naman nangyari. Pa-effect lang na feeling mo may mangyayaring masama nung araw na ‘yon.

And ang useless na lang din nung pagka-worry ko for Ellery kasi hindi naman sya yung target talaga nung killer. Si Brooke talaga (recent victim).

Sobrang dami kong napagbintangan na killer sa book na ‘to. Pero may tumama naman sa hula ko. Yung mga obvious suspects like Ryan and Vance or even Declan, inalis ko na sila sa list ko kasi ang dali naman kung sila na agad. Dumaplis sa isip ko na si Peter yung killer kasi dinescribe sya ni Ellery as, “good looking” and “charismatic”. So naisip ko, ah so mukang papasa ‘tong matandang ‘to sa mga teenage girls. So dun na-form yung theory ko na baka may secret relationship sila ni Lacey noon (the second victim).

Mga 85% into the book, naumay na ko manghula. Matatapos na wala pa ding hard clues. Pero shortly after, ni-reveal na din na si Peter na talaga.

So eto na nga yung ending. Yung last line na, “I thought she was your mother.” Super chillz! Yung akala mo tapos na kasi na-reveal na yung killer pero may twist pa sa huli.

My status updates sa Goodreads while reading the book 😆

RATING [3.5 🌟]

So dahil sa last line na ‘yon, imbis na 3 out of 5 stars yung ibibigay ko, nagi syang 3.5 stars. Walang lingering effect yung story for me. Yung tipong after ko basahin irerecall ko pa yung mga series of events? Hindi sya ganon for me. After ko matapos and ma-woah sa ending, okay na na ko.

Book club meeting

QUOTES

[I found this part sweet.] Your brother saved you, Nana had said. She was right. I just didn’t realize which one.

Our next book is The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton. Suspense/mystery ulit so I’m excited!

Categories
Books Insights Non-Fiction Personal Development

Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport | Book Review + Notes [Part 1: Ganito Ka Din Ba?]

Heto na ang mga quotes and commentaries sa book na to. Self explanatory naman yung title so wala nang intro.

Huhu. So true.

In all honesty, naaapektohan talaga yung mood ko and sometimes hindi ko ma-pinpoint kung bakit. Sometimes obvious yung reason pero minsan basta naapektohan na lang ako. Parang nasisira na agad yung araw after ko magcheck ng iba-ibang social media apps.

CALL TO ACTION: Wag nang magcheck ng phone sa umaga. Do your morning routine first. Magtiklop ng kumot, maglinis ng litter box, pakainin ang mga kitties, load dishwasher, etc.

Continue reading “Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport | Book Review + Notes [Part 1: Ganito Ka Din Ba?]”
Categories
Art Career

How You Like That?

I’m not the biggest fan but I watched the BLACKPINK docu because it seemed really interesting. The question that came to mind after watching it was, “What is your goal and how badly do you want it?” It made me realize that I am doing very little to reach my goal and made me question myself. How badly do I want it? The docu is good btw.

So how badly do I want to be a great artist? Not as much? Is that why I’m not doing the best I can? Is it because I don’t really want it that bad? Is that fine? Am I lacking passion? Is it okay to not be so passionate about something? Is it because we can get by even if I’m unemployed? So is that the reason why I don’t put much effort because nothing is at stake? That is possible.

I enjoy doing art, sure. But when I feel pressured because I’m not as good as the artists that I look up to, it’s not so fun anymore. Maybe I’m just not the type of person who works well under pressure. But sometimes, without that pressure, I tend to relax too much. Which isn’t good also. So the answer is? BALANCE.

Gusto ko talaga yung mga ganitong moments na tanong ko sagot ko. Galing ko talaga mag-advice. Sana naman i-follow ko.

Categories
Games Hobbies

Games

May bago kaming gadget! Bumili kaming Nintendo Switch nung isang araw. Wala talaga sa plano naming bumili ng Switch kasi PS5 ang natitipuhan namin. Pero hindi kami gamers, so nung nabalitaan namin na sold out na yung pre-orders ng PS5, hindi kami nalungkot.

Excited pa rin kahit hindi adik sa games 😄

Kaya lang din pati namin naisipan bumili ng console, parang regalo lang sa sarili namin. Kasi hindi kami mahilig bumili ng damit, sapatos, hindi din kami yung tipong palit phone every year. Napapagastos lang kami sa pagkain. Kahit nung nasa Pinas pa kami mahilig kaming kumain at magtry ng iba-ibang kainan. So hanggang dito nadala namin. Mahilig kaming magpadeliver so parang yun na yung luho namin.

Commercial muna ng niluto ni Kenneth na roast pork. Sarap!

So yun na nga. Out of curiosity and para lang din may paglibangan kami pag naiinip, naisipan namin bumili ng PS5. Pero since sold out, aantayin na lang namin yung official release date which is mga 2 weeks from now. Eh kaso nakausap ko yung kaibigan namin. Kino-convince ako na Switch na lang yung bilhin. Eh na-convince naman kami so bumili kami nung mismong araw na yun 😂

Grabe yung gastos nung araw na yun at yung sumunod na araw. Kasi syempre pag bumili ka ng Switch, sunod sunod na yung pagbili ng accessories. Screen protector, hard case, another set of controller, charging dock ng controllers, ano pa ba. Basta yung mga yun.

💸💸💸

At ang isa pang unexpected buy, yung AirPods Pro. Haha. Naconvince ko si Kenneth. Sabi ko ibabawas ko dun sa napagbentahan ko ng stickers and sa mga art commissions ko. Hindi ko alam kung bakit bigla akong naatat. Siguro dahil malapit nang mag-end of the world.

So yun. Ayaw ko pang tingnan yung credit card bill namin kung magkano na. Kakabayad ko lang last week nung kalahati ng bill eh. Ano na kayang itsura non ngayon.

So far, enjoy na enjoy naman kami paglalaro. Yun pa pala yung isa pang expense, games. Ang mahal pala ng mga laro. Kala ko 1k lang sa peso. Nasa 3k din pala. So pumili sya ng game which is yung The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild kahit wala kaming idea sa story ni Zelda 😂 Pero since lahat ng pinanood at binasa namin ay Zelda daw yung the best, eh di yun na. tapos ang pinili ko ay Overcooked 2 at Two Point Hospital.

Kagabi naglaro kami with the couple next door. Ang saya 😄

Nilalaro ko din yung Zelda. Inabot na ko ng tanghali paglalaro simula nung pagkagising ko. Kaya bukas ayoko munang hawakan yung Switch hanggat hindi pa ko tapos sa mga chores at tasks ko.

Mario lang alam ko 😄

Ang mga naka-line up na games sa next purchase namin ay Mario Kart 8 at Super Mario Odyssey. Siguro next year na yun pag may bonus na 😄

Orayt 10 PM na. Antok na din ako. Hindi dumating yung meal kit namin from Chef’s Plate. Sana dumating na bukas para may ready to luto na.

UPDATE: Ang laki ng bill namin! Waaa. Buti na lang dumating na yung welcome bonus. Welcome bonus yung $300 (around 11.5k sa peso) na promo ng bank pag nag-open ka sa kanila ng account. Tapos yung credit card namin may cashback na $200 (mga 8k) eh di may $500 na kaming pambayad na hindi nanggagaling sa bulsa namin. Free money talaga sya kung iisipin. Kaya din malakas yung loob ko na medyo gumastos kasi alam kong may paparating na pera hehe. Pero kahit ibawas sa bill namin yung $500, ang laki pa din 😅😫 Bawas delivery muna and tipid tipid.