Categories
Books Fiction

The Chicken Sisters by K.J. Dell’Antonia | Book Review

READ THIS IF…

  • You think a family drama that revolves around two competing chicken restaurants is something you’d enjoy
  • You want to read about two sisters whose feud is deeper than serving the best fried chicken in town
  • You want something that’s a bit fun and sometimes heart warming (but eventually things will get out of hand)

Already convinced? Click to buy on Amazon.

SUPER QUICK AND TAMAD SUMMARY

Two rival chicken restaurants. Two sisters who hate each other. Amanda is team Chicken Frannie’s and Mae is team Chicken Mimi’s. The feud will escalate when they compete in the popular TV show, ‘Food Wars’.

Ingredients: spilled family secrets, deliberate sabotage, and a $100,000 cash prize for the Food Wars winner.

Aside from being a Reese’s Book Club pick, I got attracted to the beautiful, bright yellow book cover and the title. And so I read the blurb and I find the premise really interesting. I think this book could be an entertaining movie or tv show.

Categories
Canada Life

Di Mapakali + Takatak + Random Pics

Hindi ako mapakali. Masyado akong overstimulated. Ang daming magagandang libro, ang daming magagandang panoorin, ang daming magagandang gawin. Hindi ko na alam kung anong uunahin. Sa mga panahong ganito, ang pinakamagandang gawin ay ito. As in itong ginagawa ko ngayon. Magsulat at magkwento.

Sabi ko nga kanina, ang daming magagandang libro. Sa dami ng librong interesado akong basahin, pitong libro yung tina-try kong tapusin ngayon.

Although nag-eenjoy naman ako, nakaka-bother lang na ang tagal ko nang walang natatapos na libro kahit ang dami kong oras na ginugugol pagbabasa araw-araw.

Anywayz, natutuwa akong mag-type. May bago kasi akong keyboard. Yung takatak keyboard. Nag-decide ako sa Keychron K2V2 after some grueling research. Thank you sa pambubudol ng Intelligent People Discord server. Pero tumupad pa rin naman ako sa pramis kong hindi ako bibili ng kahit anong gadget this year kasi na-reimburse yung pinambili ko nitong mechanical keyboard. So wala pa din akong ginastos. Pero sana mapigilan ko yung sarili ko na bumili nung bagong lalabas na iMac this spring (ayon sa rumors). Baka pag hindi ako nakatiis mangutang ako sa travel fund namin huhu.

My takatak keyboard.

Cashew back to his old favorite spot.

F na f ko lang yung filter.

Naalala ko ring gamitin ‘tong egg mold na ‘to. Cute! Walang egg yolks kasi ginamit ko sa carbonara.

Tinatamad akong mag-drawing nung mga panahon na ‘to pero pinush ko pa rin habang nakikinig ng audiobook. Natuwa naman ako na pinush ko. Pinapagalitan pa ko ni Kenneth bakit daw hindi ako sa table nag-ddrawing at baka sumakit nanaman daw yung kamay ko. Hindi ko pinapansin kasi nasa momentum na ko. Eh di ayun. Sumakit nga ng konti.

Finally dumating na ang kanilang bahay. Ang cute!!

Nag-agawan pa sila nung una pero after non hindi na nila ginamit. Cats 🤦🏻‍♀️

Excited ako pumuntang Costco kasi more than a year na kaming hindi nakakapunta. Tapos ganito yung pila. Hindi kami tumuloy.

Hindi ako nagkakape except sa occasional iced coffee. As in super occasional. Pag trip ko lang. Tapos dapat matamis at madaming kung anek anek para hindi sobrang lasang kape. Pero nag-decide ako na maging coffee drinker starting yesterday kasi nabasa ko dun sa isang book na binabasa ko (The Whole-Body Microbiome) yung iba-ibang benefits ng kape. Pero para hindi masyadong lasang kape, nag-try ako nitong coffee creamer. Ang sarap!

So nag-request ako kay Kenneth kung pwede kaming bumalik sa Costco nung hapon kasi baka hindi na mahaba ang pila. Buti na lang! Buti na lang pumayag! 10 minutes away lang ata yung Costco from our apartment pero sobrang tamad ni Kenneth mag-drive! Sana makapasa na ko sa next road test ko para hindi na ko nakadepende sa kanya.

Back to Intelligent People Discord, nasabik ako bigla mag-watercolor ulit kasi yun ang pinaguusapan recently. Pero wala yun sa plano ko ngayon. Ang plano kong gawin ngayon ay manood ng tutorials para makapag-drawing ako ng backgrounds. Pero pwede naman sigurong pareho. Why not.

Categories
Books Insights Memoir Non-Fiction

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert | Book Review

READ THIS IF…

  • You feel like you’re the only person who haven’t read it and you’re curious
  • You want to read about a woman who travelled across Italy, India and Indonesia to eat, pray and love 😅
  • You want to read about a person who you may fall in love with or totally hate (or both, like me)

Already convinced? Click to buy on Amazon.

During the course of reading the book, I think I experienced equal parts of annoyance and admiration. There were a lot of comments about her being self-absorbed (and a ton other hateful adjectives) but in her defense, she didn’t travel the world to become a philanthropist (although did everyone forget about the fundraising she did?)

I think there’s nothing wrong with dedicating an entire year just for yourself if you’ve been through something that you feel is extremely painful. And whether people understand it or not (I know I didn’t), it’s none of their business.

Categories
Art Career

Validated Pero Magulo

Few days ago, nag-reply sakin yung art agent for children’s book illustrators kasi nag-submit ako ng portfolio ko. Although hindi successful, sobrang natuwa ako sa feedback nya kasi sobrang detailed. Super agree ako sa sinabi nya na feeling daw nya nag-eexplore pa ko ng style ko. Na hindi pa ganun ka-cohesive yung portfolio ko. Sobrang saya ko talaga nun. Pinuri nya din yung mga illustrations ko. Sobrang nagpasalamat talaga ko. Sabi nya:

I love your palette and many of your pieces – the image of the animals in a haystack, the old man sitting in a takeaway, and this image of a tree I saw on your instagram stood out. Also, your hand-lettering is wonderful, and that’s a skill which can come in handy especially for jacket illustrations. However, I get a sense that you are still exploring and haven’t yet found your personal style.

Nagandahan daw sya dito ❤️
Categories
Books Romance

Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert | Book Review

READ THIS IF…

  • You’re in the mood to read an adult fiction with explicit sexual content
  • You’re into awkward dirty talks and cringey e-mail exchanges

QUICK AND TAMAD SUMMARY

This is a romance novel na may halong erotica. It’s about a rich girl (Chloe) na nagkaron ng near death experience so naisip nyang gumawa ng bucket list kasi feeling nya ang boring ng buhay nya. Sample nung items na nasa checklist nya ay ‘Go camping’, ‘Have meaningless sex’, and ‘Travel the world with nothing but hand luggage’. Enter this guy (Red, an artist) na tutulong sa kanyang ma-accomplish yung list nya.

Already convinced? Click to buy on Amazon.

📷: nerdybooknurse.com

Ang misleading ng book cover and blurb. Kala ko sweet and romantic yung story. Na may konting adventure kasi ang interesting nung list nya. Well, adventure nga naman kaso sexual adventure pala.

Categories
Insights Life

Selfish?

Naalala ko nung college tapos nagdi-discuss yung CI (clinical instructor) namin (si Ms. U) about procreation. Na isa daw yun sa mga purpose natin kung bakit tayo nandito sa mundo. Tumaas ako ng kamay para itanong, “What if I choose not to participate in procreation?” Ang sagot nya (with kasamang gigil), “Then you’re selfish.” Tumatak yun sakin at naniwala ako sa kanya. Pero hindi pa rin masyadong nagbago yung pananaw ko sa pagkakaron ng anak. Tinanggap ko na lang na baka nga selfish nga ako.

Pero ngayon naisip ko, parang selfish din kung mag-baby ako. Kasi personally, eto yung mga reasons bakit minsan napapaisip akong mag-baby:

  • Pag tumanda kami parang ang lungkot, wala kaming kasama (This is selfish, it’s not their job to ease our existential worries)
  • Walang magaalaga samin pag nagkasakit kami (Self-serving. Again, it’s not their job.)
  • Sayang naman kasi baka maipasa ko yung artistic genes ko sa kanya at yung pagkagaling sa Math ni Kenneth (Self-serving)
  • Curious ako sa magiging itsura nya (Self-serving)
  • Baka pagsisihan namin (Fear based. Self-serving.)

Siguro magbabago yung isip namin kung wala na ‘tong mga ‘to. Thankful din ako kasi on the same page kami ni Kenneth. Pero hindi pa naman sarado yung isip namin. Ayoko lang syang gawin for the wrong reasons or dahil lang sa social pressures.

Nakagawa na ko ng post about dito pero napaisip nanaman ako kasi may nag-trigger. May chismosang tita nanaman na nagbigay ng unsolicited advice. Na minsan kelangan kong isulat para ma-process ko ng maayos. I-block ko na lang sya pag nag-message ulit haha.

Categories
Books Insights Money Diaries Non-Fiction

The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel | Book Report

READ THIS IF…

  • You want to find out how humility plays an important role in financial independence
  • You hope to have a healthy (-ier) relationship with money
  • You want some powerful insights if you’re looking to invest or already investing in the stock market

I discovered this book through a YouTuber. Interested ako sa money matters kasi ayaw namin na maging problema ang pera pag retired na kami. Gusto kong maging prepared sa mga pwedeng mangyari. When it comes to budgeting, lahat ng expenses namin up to the very last cent naka-track. Pero lumalagpas pa din kami sa budget. Dumating yung point na na-frustrate ako. Parang wala naman effect yung expense tracking ko. So mas lalo akong naging interested sa book na ‘to kasi parang kulang pa yung alam ko pagdating sa pag-manage ng pera.

Lahat naman tayo gusto na pag nag-retire tayo, sapat yung pera natin. Pero feeling ko kasi hindi pa ko sobrang knowledgeable para ma-achieve yung financial independence. Ang hirap nung gusto mo lang pero hindi mo naman inaalam kung pano. Kaya curious ako kung anong matuturo ng book na ‘to. And gusto ko rin yung title kasi hindi sya yung tipong, “How to be a Millionaire in 90 Days” (whut) or “How to be Filthy Rich”. Gusto ko yung The Psychology of Money.

To rephrase an old saying: everyone talks about retirement, but apparently very few do anything about it.

Categories
Life

Haysss.

Nakaka… disappoint? asar? tawa? na hanggang ngayon, lagi pa din akong tinatanong ng Mama ko at ibang kamaganak ko kung ano daw ginagawa ko. Akala daw nila nagaaral ako kahit ilang beses ko nang sinabi na HINDI NGA AKO TUMULOYYY. Nakakafrustrate na kahit nanay ko hindi alam. Tinanong daw kasi sya ng lola ko tapos hindi nya daw alam ang sasabihin. Kahit nasabi ko na sa kanila ng ilang beses at kahit madalas akong magshare sa social media ng ginagawa ko (at nagcocomment pa sila lagi na okay daw maganda daw), parang hindi talaga nila magets yung concept of freelancing. Or in denial pa din sila hanggang ngayon na hindi ko piniling maging nurse? Parang sarado ata yung isip nila na, “Kung nurse ka dapat nurse ka.” 9 years na po akong hindi nagpa-practice. Mag-give up na po kayo.

Nasa isip ko, ano bang problema nila sa pinili kong gawin? Dahil ba hindi nakakaproud sabihin na:

AMIGA: O nasa Canada pala yung anak mo. Anong trabaho?

MAMA: Nagd-drawing.

Kailangan ko bang makapasok sa Disney para maging proud sila na ang trabaho ko ay mag-drawing? Hayssss. Eh hindi naman kami nangungutang sa kanila, hindi kami nagugutom, nakakapagbigay naman kami sa kanila ng papasko, pabirthday etc., sobrang kuntento ko sa buhay namin dito pero ba’t parang sila yung hindi mapakali? Hayssss ulit.

Categories
Books Insights Non-Fiction Personal Development

Essentialism by Greg McKeown | Book Review

READ THIS IF…

  • If you’re a very busy leader or a person who’s really in demand
  • You want to learn to say “No.” without feeling guilty (but also, if you’re someone who won’t get fired if you say no to a task/meeting)
  • You want to value simplicity more (although I’m sure there’s a better book about simplicity out there somewhere)

Already convinced? Click to buy on Amazon.

Ang subtitle nya ay The Disciplined Pursuit of Less. I had high hopes dito sa book na ‘to. Kala ko more on about minimalism and simplicity sya. Well, tungkol naman sya dun pero akala ko holistic yung approach. Pero hindi pala.

📷: sloww.co
Categories
Art Books Life

Injury + Current Reads + Polar Bear and Almond

Sira ang plano ko ngayon. Kung kelan finally nagkaron ako ng motivation na mag-film ulit ng video para sa YT channel ko—balak ko sana gumawa ng isa pang ‘Draw with Me’ video kasi nasa mood din ulit akong mag-drawing—pero sumasakit nanaman yung braso at kamay ko. Nagse-self diagnose ako pero feeling ko repetitive strain injury pero sana naman wag carpal tunnel. Nakakaasar ilang beses na ‘tong paulit ulit. Parang kelangan kong maghinay-hinay sa mga hobbies ko.

Pansin ko kasi sumasakit pag medyo matagal akong nagd-drawing or after ko mag-piano. Hays miss ko na mag-piano ulit pero natatakot ako na baka sumakit nanaman katulad nung dati. Nakakainis talaga. Pero kelangan kong ipahinga ‘to at baka lalo pang lumala. Pero eto yung nasimulan ko kasi balak ko gumawa ng new sticker sheet para sa aking online shop.

Vintage pottery