not exactly a book review.

so i finally finished welcome to the world, baby girl! as with all great books, there came a tug at the heart as i reached the last page. at first i hadn't paid much mind to this book when i saw a reader's digest condensed books volume that contains that title. but i bought the actual book many years after since it was in that enticing buy one, take one deals in the bookshop i frequent. however, it remained unread for some years before i actually opened it, what it being buried underneath the ever-growing pile of unread books. and then i stopped after the first couple of chapters until it got buried underneath the pile again. i only went back to it after having recently made an inventory of all my books. meaning, i have classified them into three groups: sell, keep, and read.

welcome to the world, baby girl! was slow reading for me at the first few chapters, even with a good beginning that used simple statements describing a small town and the people in it. much like an old person telling a story that happened the past but had a lot of segues in it that you just want that person to get to the point. when the puzzle pieces of the character relations and the timeline fell into place though, there was no putting the book down for this old girl.

the book is a good combination of small-town charm, the mystery behind dena nordstrom's nomadic early life, and the fast-paced, fast-changing world of television broadcasting in the 1970s. dena is one heck of a character whose early life defined a part of who she was until a series of events finally led her back home. i like how the story is hilarious, serious, and sad at turns.

enjoyable, captivating, entertaining, rich, and intriguing. these are just some of the words that several reviews said about welcome to the world, baby girl! and i agree with all of these. and i say this because while i have more good words to say about this book, my mind is short-circuiting with lack of sleep or maybe my body has gotten used to sleeping earlier than my usual bedtime of past midnight (might ramble about that soon). so please forgive this old girl for not gushing more about this book.

one thing's for sure, though. welcome to the world, baby girl! stays in the keep pile. 

how's the weather? and other brain farts.

The photo above was taken about a week ago. I just love how that shattering hue of blue is enhanced with the plants and lamppost in it. No one else would know just by looking at that picture that it was taken during a really cool morning, because it might as well have been taken during the summer anyway. But I just love that shade as to me it signifies that the amihan season in the Philippines has begun.  

Along with the changes in season come the seasonal photos posted by my friends on social media as well who are scattered around the world. I have several friends who have already shared their own photos about snow in September (Canada), how it is snowing just now in their area (some other temperate areas in the northern hemisphere), while some are enjoying springtime (Australia and New Zealand) in the last quarter of the year. Now, winter has always held some magical mystery for me as it is the only season that I have never experienced yet. What's it like to experience snow? What does it actually look and feel like? How long until I get sick of it? Will I get sick of it?

Having lived in a tropical island for most of my life, I have always wondered all of those things. The closest thing to experiencing a wintry weather was when I went to the States in the springtime. That really felt like I was in a freezer. Funny cos  a relative from Michigan who was also in California at that time mentioned how it was warmer there. In a swarm of people who cavorted about wearing shorts and shirts, I was the only one bundled in a thick jacket, wearing two shirts, and still shivering from what I guess was a balmy 60s or so. Ha.

So yeah. If that springtime weather felt like winter, what more if I went somewhere right now where it's actually winter? Complete with snow and the windchill factor. Yikes.

There is a running joke here in the Philippines when one talks about the weather. When a foreigner asks a Filipino about the weather, the Filipino replies, "We have two kinds of weather here: hot and hotter." That couldn't have been more accurate. If it's not raining, it's hot. If the humidity is really high, good luck, cos it means rain but only after suffering under such sweltering heat first. Summer is the last stretch of the country's dry season in the Philippines. Visitors will survive hanging out in malls during the day if they're not lounging in some island soaking up the sun and splashing about in azure waters.

If I get to be asked which season is my favourite, I'd say the dry season, which has started in late October. People here in my country can now enjoy drier yet cooler weather again brought about by the northeast monsoon which we call amihan. So while winter and playing in the snow are still light years away from becoming a reality for me, I am content snuggling under furry blankets wearing jammies in this cool weather. Hot cocoa in the mornings or the chillier evenings is in order too. 

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Commuting in Metro Manila is not for the faint-hearted. One should be physically, emotionally, and mentally prepared for what is in store when battling it out with the masses of people for a choice seat in any of the available public transportation. Rush hour is the thing of the past, which can be easily and sadly, painfully felt at this time of the year since Christmas is fast approaching. Minutes matter to those marching off to work in the morning because leaving the house just a few minutes later can spell horrendous traffic and difficulty in getting on a bus, train, or jeepney. People who drive their own cars don't fare well either. 

Which is why the hapless hordes can just be thankful for small mercies. In my experience, that would be the bus lane, the P2P (point-to-point) buses, being able to find a seat the moment I get on the bus, so on and so forth. Because if I focus on the fact that I have to allot two and a half freaking hours' worth of travel time each day instead of maybe just thirty minutes or so in an ideal world (and so much more, to be honest), I'd go raving mad. 

But really. Working at home now is the way to go. Leaving the house only when necessary is fine.

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I'll end this drivel with something more substantial. My Long Forgotten Cloistered Sleep is another excellent work of the musical enchantress Yuki Kajiura and sung by one of her singing groups called FictionJunction. It was a nice surprise to see that Wakana and Keiko of Kalafina are also part of it. There are two other singers in FictionJunction who I'm not familiar with yet as this is the first time I've listened to this group's songs.

The song is also the first English song composed by Ms. Kajiura that I've listened to. I love the medieval-like melody of this song which is characteristic of most of Ms. Kajiura's compositions. Good thing there's a live version of it which showcases her on the keyboards and FictionJunction at the vocals.  

Hit play and enjoy!  

sunday currently vol. 31

reading: just finished reading paris encore, the 8th book of the zion covenant series. ww2 has started heating up! but i need to read the 7th book which i don't have yet. ha. guess i'll have to start with the 9th and the last in the series, dunkirk crescendo.

writing: this and... another fanfiction. hohohohoho

listening to: nothing but i can hear the dialogues in kingsman 2.

thinking: about too many things as usual.

smelling: nothing.

wishing: on a star

wearing: checkered shirt and... the ever-present cycling shorts. nyahaha

loving: still emma swan, snow white and prince charming. ha. they're such a sticky-sweet-fluffy family that gives out all the feeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeels lol

wanting: to sell all my books.

needing: alam na ni Lord yun.  

feeling: happy that there's no more ban on the food i could eat. also feel like i'm gonna barf due to the things that stack up each day. useless. 



thanks to siddathornton for this great idea.

update 2

"Unusual, but not........................ impossible."

Said my doctor once more on my last visit two weeks ago. But that hesitation to say the word impossible was pronounced compared to the first time he said it because there was none at all then. And how could he not say those words in that manner? For surprisingly my ft3 and ft4 levels have actually gone down by a few points again but thankfully still within the normal range. Any lower and he might diagnose me with hypothyroidism this time, which I hope will not happen.

Another cause for that hesitation is that the normal treatment time for hyperthyroidism is from 12-18 months, and I have only been on medication for five. I guess that was really a fast recovery. A miracle. So much so that I can now EAT WHATEVER I WANT WITHOUT RESTRICTIONS AT ALL and yeah I am yelling that out here on the www I'm so giddy yay lol.

Of course that doesn't mean that I won't continue with the healthy cookery and healthy eating that I've started. That and constant exercise to maintain my present weight because yeah now it's all about the weight again. psh.