Amazingly, this happened to me.

My mom called me up one day to chat and she suddenly mentioned that I had received a letter from the US. I was shocked and my mind went into overdrive with pictures and names running through my head – my classmates from Glenside Weldon? (I had no ongoing communication with any of them)

one of my best friends from Philadelphia? (She was touring Asia last we talked so it was not her)

a possible college or university I applied for before? (They replied too late)

My mom even went as far to mention a pen pal boyfriend. I was like, What??? No way. I’m not into pen pals now and whaaat??? It seemed too ludicrous. Lol. She said the writing seemed childish (or “pangit”) so I was kept in the dark until I got home.

Here’s the envelope (address blacked out!):

I did not recognize the handwriting and there was no return address. I never figured out what it was until I actually read the contents! I was so weirded out because the envelope contained one single sheet of notebook paper, and the letter was badly written (in my opinion). But, amazingly, my memories of this letter came back in a rush.

It was June 1999. It was my last month and last year in the US. Our family was returning to the Philippines after two years. I was finishing 5^th grade under the tutelage of Mr P, my favorite teacher ever. He taught me how to write a masters-worthy paper (I was so proud of my Walt Disney biography paper and environmental pollution paper), influenced me to read, and introduced me to Harry Potter. I was a teacher’s pet that whole year.

Being a new Asian student with limited English, I didn’t have a lot of friends. I always made up excuses to stay in the classroom during recesses and lunch breaks because I didn’t want to feel lonely. My most memorable times that year was borrowing books from Mr P’s mini-library (Goosebumps and Fear Street were my favorite books; RL Stine my favorite author then) and Mr P’s reading time – when he would pick a book and read it out loud to us while we sat in chairs and on the floor around him. It was the life.

Anyway, one day, he told us to write a letter to ourselves after ten years. We were to tell our after-ten-years-selves what we were doing and how we envisioned ourselves when we finally read the letter. That time, I never thought I would actually receive the letter. It’s really awesome that the letter actually arrived – good thing we didn’t move around in the Philippines.

So my first two paragraphs went like this:

I joined a competition for fifth and sixth-graders with my then best buddy, Louis. I think we won because I remember getting a gift certificate to Barnes and Noble I think. Anyway, it’s just funny that after more than ten years, I really did get this letter. I wonder if it was Mr P who really sent it.

This is something I will definitely treasure — a memento from my life in Pennsylvania and from being a fifth grader under the best teacher ever.=D

I have no idea how it started, I remember waking up and thinking, I’m not in Anchorage anymore. Just kidding. It was more like, I woke up and was disoriented because it was still dark out and my alarm hadn’t gone off yet and I need to get back to sleep. But.. oh I had a dream! And I started to recall it. So, here goes:

We were already in Anchorage. (Another side note: I’ve only encountered the word Anchorage maybe once or twice in my entire life—through a book or something, I don’t remember—so I have no idea why my subconscious chose this place.) I don’t exactly remember the specific details but we definitely had a lot of fun. The place was beautiful – acres and acres of woods (not the scary kind but the natural wonderful kind), a huge lake with cabins nearby, and an amazing mountain landscape.

So, what did we do? We swam with the fishes (literally, there were schools of fish with us, as if in a movie), hiked through the woods (with sunlight streaming through the leaves – gorgeous!), and enjoyed the cabins (very homely, woodsy, perfect!). Oh, and the best (and weirdest!!!!) part: at one point, I was going back to the cabin, I saw a group of people going to another cabin farther away. For some strange reason, there were a lot of guys and all were handsome!!!!!!!! During the whole dream, it was always just me and my family; there were no signs of other people there, until that particular scene.

It was crazy! I remember just stopping and staring at them, because they were all my type – dark-haired, tall, just the right physique…and I just.. stared. LOL. And..they waved! They were like, “Hey!” “Hello!” and waving and smiling, and I’m smiling back. Then, suddenly, we (meaning my family and I) were rushing to a taxi who has been waiting for us down the road. It turns out the vacation was over, we had our planes to catch so we were packing and taking our bags to the car and the guys were just hanging out by their cabin and having fun. It wasn’t so sad to leave the place because I had a really awesome time.. and then I woke up.

Now I want to go to Anchorage!!!! I wonder if there is such a place though – woods, cabin by the lake – there. Maybe in Nebraska or Louisiana?

It all started when my brother made some ninja stars and I was like, “Cool, how’d you do that?” He proceeded to show me, but I got a bit bored and didn’t complete it.

A couple days ago, I worked on a holiday and since there was nothing much to do, I decided to check out origami again. Now I’ve attempted cranes and other supposedly-basic stuff, but never got around to finishing one — especially when I see the words “petal fold” and “valley fold” and whatever fold. This time, I was determined to complete something. Something really different.

I was searching for dragon kirigami (another hobby I had before in high school) when I came across modular origami. I’m not going to explain what that is about (ask Google), but it totally got my interest. So, ta-da, I give you…my first modular origami art — the eight-pointed star, for lack of a better cooler-sounding name.

It’s basically eight notepad pieces folded and pushed into each other — like Lego’s. Here’s the back view — sorry, lines aren’t that straight.

I’ll post more of my “art” when I’ve done more, and if they turn out great. Lol.

I’m also planning to get back into kirigami — have to buy a new cutter art pen and some paper first though. Will keep you posted!

- Overall, “Breaking Dawn” was the best in the series (not to mention the most horrific and morbid as well).

- It’s like the movies aren’t complete without Jacob showing his upper body — and the first five? ten? seconds proved that.

- The wedding was so beautifully done — decors, the gown, etc. I’m sure a lot of future brides will be “inspired” by the theme; hopefully, not the cake though.

- Speaking of the cake, it was so shocking that I had to look away. I’ll never forget that ghastly sight when the camera pans from Bella staring blankly/in horror at a bloody Edward, down to her bloody wedding gown, to her blood red bouquet, and finally zooming out, showing the audience that they were both accessories on a cake of corpses. *shiver*

- So they get married, and leave on their honeymoon, which is definitely not suitable for younger audiences. Lol. Also, this time, their attempts at being funny (lines and scenes) were effective compared to the first three movies, where I just mentally roll my eyes.

- Then Bella gets pregnant, and everything goes crazy. The werewolves were more awesome and savage this time; in effect, the fight between them and the vampires near the end of the movie was brutal and cool.

- Oh, and let’s not forget the blood. First, we have Bella drinking blood from a plastic cup with a straw! Most of the people watching couldn’t drink afterwards, funny. Then, I had to look away again during her birthing scene. Even the sound effects were hair-and-goosebumps-raising. The sound of skin being torn, Bella screaming, something being punctured, liquid (blood) squishing, more screaming, bites and more puncture sounds… it was craaaaazy! And it was torturous having to endure that scene, which lasted what, more than 20 seconds? I had already read in an earlier review that there was a lot of blood but I still wasn’t prepared for the actual.

- A really touching scene was during the imprint between Jacob and Renesme. It was just so amazing when Jacob was forced on his knees – what was that quote about losing gravity?

- The process of vampire transformation was also impressive – ice casing the veins, etc.

- And it’s amazing what being a vampire can do to you. Evidence: some guys a couple seats away from us were like, “#$&@, ang ganda niya!” and repeating it again and again during the part where the camera pans slooooowly around Bella becoming “healthy” again, up to the point where she (suddenly but predictably) opens her RED eyes. End.

- Oh, and I want to take a picture sitting down on Aro’s (Volturi leader) throne, flanked by two others.=P Wait for the mid-credits scene!

Anyway, I really enjoyed the movie (especially compared to the first three — and I almost fell asleep watching the first) — it’s a must-see!!! Even guys enjoyed it; less super-mushy crazy lines spouted by Edward that doesn’t seem to fit. Lol. And I’m rereading the book now to see the differences since I pretty much forgot what happened. It’s been 3? years since I read it when the book came out.

So.. what are you waiting for? Get your tickets!

I watched the movie “Beastly” (starring Alex Pettyfer and Vanessa Hudgens) with my brother a few nights ago, and I was struck by the words of the poem they read to each other. I used the title of the poem as my post title as well; a poem by Frank O’Hara:

Having a Coke with You

is even more fun than going to San Sebastian, Irún, Hendaye, Biarritz, Bayonne

 or being sick to my stomach on the Travesera de Gracia in Barcelona

 partly because in your orange shirt you look like a better happier St. Sebastian

 partly because of my love for you, partly because of your love for yoghurt

 partly because of the fluorescent orange tulips around the birches

 partly because of the secrecy our smiles take on before people and statuary

 it is hard to believe when I’m with you that there can be anything as still

 as solemn as unpleasantly definitive as statuary when right in front of it

 in the warm New York 4 o’clock light we are drifting back and forth

 between each other like a tree breathing through its spectacles

 and the portrait show seems to have no faces in it at all, just paint

 you suddenly wonder why in the world anyone ever did them

 I look

 at you and I would rather look at you than all the portraits in the world

 except possibly for the Polish Rider occasionally and anyway it’s in the Frick

 which thank heavens you haven’t gone to yet so we can go together the first time

 and the fact that you move so beautifully more or less takes care of Futurism

 just as at home I never think of the Nude Descending a Staircase or

 at a rehearsal a single drawing of Leonardo or Michelangelo that used to wow me

 and what good does all the research of the Impressionists do them

 when they never got the right person to stand near the tree when the sun sank

 or for that matter Marino Marini when he didn’t pick the rider as carefully

 as the horse

 it seems they were all cheated of some marvelous experience

 which is not going to go wasted on me which is why I am telling you about it

From the start, our trip was awesome. A huge typhoon (local name: Pedring) had just hit Manila and another was on its way. A lot of flights were being cancelled everyday and I had to pray extra hard that ours wouldn’t be one of them. Thank God though there was a light shower, our flight left on time.

When we got to Shanghai, we had no choice but to take a taxi to the hotel since their buses and metro closed around 10 or 11 in the evening. We arrived around 1230am.

After checking in at the Grand Hyatt, I got a pleasant surprise — my cousin who wasn’t supposed to be there was there! It made the trip all the more fun since I had someone my age with me. Lol.

Since we all hadn’t seen each other in a long time (my mom and her sisters and me and my cousin), we chatted a bit until about 2 am before finally succumbing to sleepiness. A full week in Shanghai waited for us!

I can’t wait! This will also be my first time to try photo-blogging. I hope I can get Internet access while I’m there so I can update. I’ve always wanted to blog about my travels but once I get back from the trip, it seems too tedious to look through pictures and write about them again. Such a waste since I’ve been to so many beautiful places and I just want to share them with others.

We’re praying for nice weather (despite the typhoons that passed and may pass), safe trip (there was a recent metro train collision in Shanghai a few days ago), blessings (free breakfast and cocktails maybe?), and easy navigation (since we’re planning to go to several nearby provinces as well).

Well, let’s see when I can post about my arrival then!

http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lmk4hgi2r41qcn6oqo1_500.png

I’m sure people who are OC (like me) will find it in less than 2 seconds.

Funny. Oh well. So, back to the basics for me. I’ll be concentrating on making a tone for the next few days (?). Please, let it be days only. I want to start playing for real and doing piano duets with my mom.=(