First John Grisham Experience -- The Appeal

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I'm grateful of having met bookworms in the office.

A colleague is almost always holding a book every time I see him -- in the operations area, elevator and even in the FX on the way to the office. So I approached him one day and asked what he was reading. I don't remember exactly what it was but that conversation led him to lend me one of his books.

Having said that any book would be okay, I didn't have any idea about the book I was about to borrow until he brought it to me and said,"You might not like it."

"Nah. Don't say that. Let me read it." I replied.

He was right. Well, at first. I honestly was just dragging myself as I read the first quarter of the book. It was my first time to read such law-related literary work and another colleague's comment didn't help neither. "You're reading John Grisham's book?! Gosh! I never read John Grisham's. His books are just so..... much into law." I knew what she was talking about right at that moment.

The story is divided into three stages: The Appeal, The Campaign and The Opinion. I found the first part quite like a dull narrative. And then it slowly caught my full attention when I reached the second part. Afterwards, it made me curious and stirred up until the end.

It took me more than a month to reach the final chapter and the final sentence of John Grisham's novel, The Appeal. It may be unimpressive to me at first but this made me challenge myself to be open to a much different literary genre. Its no-happy-ending story made the antagonist savor his victory while leaving the protagonists defeated. Grisham gave me a glimpse of how politics has always been a dirty game and how possibly the Supreme Court justice can be as dirty. A profound reality check?

In the long run, I think John Grisham's novels are worth the read despite some ambiguities on political terms.

Josh Grisham accompanies me
as I'm having my foot spa.


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Harmony (2010 Korean Movie): An Apercu

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Another tearjerker. One of the best musical films I've seen. This film is added to my list of Korean movie favorites next to A Moment to Remember. I was surprised to find myself almost crying at the first few parts of the movie.

Now I know what my Korean student was talking about. Since schools and offices were closed plus she wanted to avoid the crowded places outside, this student of mine recommended the movie to her family during a holiday (Buddha's birthday) last week. Captivated by the touching story, she asked her family to watch the film too for she knew that they would also love it. Well, despite already knowing the scenes, ending or the whole story and all, she still found herself crying while watching the movie.

I got intrigued at the time my student was telling me about it. So I checked for movie posters on the internet and saw that one of the main casts was Kim Yunjin (from Lost) and that made me more curious.

Then as I was strolling through YouTube last night, I remembered to check its trailer. Man, I have never almost cried from just watching a trailer before!

Country: South Korea
Production Company: JK Film
Genre: Drama/ Musical
Director: Kang Dae Kyu
Starring: Kim Yun Jin, Na Moon Hee, Kang Hye Won, Jang Yeong Nam, Lee Da Hee, Jeong Su Yeong, Park Jun Myeon, Cha Jin Hyeok, Kim Jae Hwa, Ji Seong Won
Length: 115 mins
Date of release: 28th January, 2010

Shooting the film in an actual women's penitentiary, the globally-recognized actress Kim Yun-jin (Lost) leads an all-star veteran casts in Harmony, the most heartwarming film that will arouse your emotions. Jeong-hye (Kim Yun-jin) is sent to prison after killing her abusive husband. Then she gives birth to a child in jail who she must give up for adoption after 18 months. In order to let her child see the outside world, she resolves to organize a choir in exchange for a special day out with her son. Despite each prisoner has their own dark past, the choir unites together to sing the greatest harmony to express their love to their families.

A MUST-SEE MOVIE! Watch it while you can! Here's also its music video:

A MOTHER'S HAND HAS THE BEST HEALING POWER.

^_^

Overloaded Finale (Shoot Me!)

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Kudos to me for finally publishing this post after more than half a year of staying as draft. Date Published: 15 July 2011 0___o

The last third of the year 2010 and the first two months of 2011 has been such a blessing.

Shoot Me!
(31 to 52 of 52)

- 26th Birthday -
Not so young yet not so old.

- A Sister's Gift -
Hmmm, do you agree with it?

- PM 1 Team Building -
My teammates and I had a blast one karaoke night partying with our four November birthday celebrators. Can you spot Spider Woman?

- Aissa's Christmas Party -
It's a blessing to see children with special needs like her being cheerful and confident.

- Baby Chin Chin's Christening -
We may be often apart but this friend of mine (now a super busy teacher and mother) will always be my twin.

- Just Sing a Song -
Another karaoke time with my "big" friend at her mother's house.

- Under My Umbrella-
It's me under my cute parapluie....in my room.

- Walk of Fame -
Velma Kelly and some other movie stars were in our company's Christmas party.

- I Yum Pizza! -
After hours of looking for a resto and after long minutes waiting for our order, these pizza finally landed on my taste buds. Christmas Eve with friends!

- Jesus' Birthday -
My sisters and I are all still together.

- First Christmas -
This was our first Christmas with her and her first with us.

- First Snap Together -
Meet KC, my sister's dear baby.

- Church's 7th Anniversary -
Despite some twists and turns, the Kids Ministry is still ongoing.

- Baby KC's Christening-
This christening also served as a family reunion since many of my cousins arrived to celebrate with us that day.

- Blue Car -
Meet my super energetic yet adorable godson.

- Colleague/Friend's Birthday -
This shot wasn't scripted. It was totally stolen and I like the way my expression was captured. Hehe.

- Playtime After Work -
What happens when there's a camera around after sitting and teaching for hours is this.

- Makeup Makeover -
Chuseok is a three-day holiday in Korea so I had lots of free time! Well, here's the result of staying awake overnight while having friends to talk and play makeups with.

- Tropical Chicken -
Meet my makeup artists. After staying awake overnight, my friends had our lunch at 4pm.

- Hmmmffff! -
I can't remember the last time I woke up early in the morning to go outside and exercise. I can't help it but laugh whenever I see this picture.

- Sessionistas 2011 -
The first concert I've ever watched in Araneta Center, Philippines.

- A Proud Aunt -
Such happiness is indescribable.

If it's not because of Carin's Shoot Me! challenge, I wouldn't enjoy... and... er... be challenged doing this weekly adventure. Although I obviously wasn't able to technically do and finish the challenge on time, I am still proud of myself for completing the task. Hehe. Blogging is therapeutic but sometimes motivation gets out of hand. Memes such as this help me get back into the swing of things.

I thank you Carin for starting this journey and I encourage you Church Lady to carry this on. Happy Blogging! ^^,

I ♥ Kevjumba!!!

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Kevjumba is just one of the YouTube stars I am planning to write about soon. Among all the rising celebrities in the said video-sharing website, Kevin Wu is my ultimate favorite so far. I can't wait to write a short profile about him and on how he found me. Let me save it for later. :P


For now, take a look at one of Kev's awesome pics. Eric Sueyoshi did a very creative twist in this shot. I bet you can see that too! Love it!!!!

Thanks to KoreAm for this cool pic.

Confidence, Dude.

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It so happened that a colleague offered a set of pretty sandals her friend was selling. And so, a close friend and I scanned through the pictures of the said products and made our choices. This close friend of mine suggested some pairs .......... which I mostly declined.

"That color doesn't suit me," I said.

"That style would make my feet look bigger," I added.

Then she frankly yet gently replied, "Why don't you try them? Look at Anne Curtis. She was asked what motivates her to sing even though obviously she couldn't. You know what she answered? Confidence. You should have that too, dude."

Anne Curtis is one of the hosts in Showtime, an early morning (formerly noon-time) variety show airing on ABS-CBN in the Philippines. Aside from the contestants, the judges and hosts get the chance to showcase their own talents as the madlang pipol shout, "sample! sample!"

* Madlang Pipol is a humorous phrase in the Philippines which means the public or people in general. The Taglish-ness of the term is what makes it funny. -- Tagaloglang.com

Piano Bathroom

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Aside from diaries, greetings and some grammar questions or exercises, the Writing Board is another place to have interactions with students simply for fun.

Let me share to you an interesting place in South Korea which my student shared with me through the One on One Board two weeks ago. What an interesting, fun and amusing place to visit!

Welcome to the Piano Bathroom!

I wonder how big this grand piano is inside...

Can Yiruma play this piano? ^^,

How loud can this piano sound?

Oh, a piano staircase!

A cute fountain that is.

I love those blue walls!

Note: Photos were sourced from Naver, a Korean website. Aside from the pictures above, you may also see an artificial waterfall here.


Thanks Eun Ja for sharing these! ^_______^

Nobody Kills the Dance Floor Like QUEST CREW!!!

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I got home from work one day, supah excited to watch Quest Crew vids again, saw this, watched it and almost screamed when it was over!!!

One of the best choreographies EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1




Quest Crew's AIRSTRIKE! set from the TAKEOVER in Melbourne, Australia.
(Video not mine. Make sure to drop by Quest Crew's Youtube channel.)


^^,

The Kite Runner: My Review

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The Kite Runner is a novel by Khaled Hosseini. Published in 2003 by Riverhead Books, it is Hosseini's first novel, and was adapted into a film of the same name in 2007.

The Kite Runner tells the story of Amir, a young boy from the Wazir Akbar Khan district of Khan, who befriends Hassan, the son of his father's Hazara servant. The story is set against a backdrop of tumultuous events, from the fall of Afghanistan's monarchy through the Soviet invasion, the mass exodus of refugees to Pakistan and the United States, and the rise of the Taliban regime.

- Wikipedia

I didn't. They told me I would cry but I didn't. But I was moved. Impressed. And most importantly, I learned as I was introduced to a different literary genre. Most of the novels I’ve read were fictional. The Kite Runner may be fictional in characters but some facts remain -- the Afghan history, child abuse and discrimination as well as the power of faith, hope and love.

SPOILER ALERT! Don't tell me I didn't warn you.

This is my first time to read a novel with an Islamic background. I got to learn some of Islamic cultures about:
- servant-master relationship
- usual conversation with opposite sex
- engagement and wedding

Now I know that a kite flying contest is not all about making a kite soar the highest. There are two competitions involved --- being the last one flying and catching the last one falling.

This novel made me go back to the first chapter upon reaching its mid part.

All the characters played significantly moving unique roles:

• Amir’s guilt and struggles
• Hassan’s sacrificial love
• Assef’s sociopathic views
• Baba’s life perspective
• Ali’s fatherly love despite disability
• Rahim Khan’s loyalty and mentorship
• Soraya’s unexplained infertility
• Sohrab’s silence
• Sanaubar’s harlotry
• Farid’s brave assistance
• Farzana’s shyness
• General Taheri’s unwavering expectation
• Khala’s warmth and welcomeness

I hope that Khaled Hosseini would make a sequel of this novel. I wonder what went through Sohrab’s young mind – from his memories of his parents, grandma and Rahim Khan up to the time of their deaths, about the very right moment he was taken in and then out of the orphanage unfortunately becoming one of Assef’s toy (just like his father Hassan), when he met his father’s best friend Amir finding hope but then feeling betrayed at the end, while he spent his life in silence, while he sees how much Amir was genuinely working hard to win his trust again, and finally, when he unconciously gave Amir that very rare smile as they flew a kite together for the first time.

There is no happy ending. There is a challenging, realistic and inspiring ending.

Again, thanks TeaSea for lending me the book.
Photo courtesy of Gah-ehl. ^^,

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The Kite Runner: An Apercu

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Intrigued by a colleague's remark, I wondered what this book contains:

the book that made me cry, the writer who moved my nerves into a different dimension that traces the lines of inner emotions which fills the gap of evolution and bridges the gap of reality and most likely tearing apart the pieces of humanity from its solid identity..take time to read if you have time - TeaSea

The Kite Runner. Reading its pages and now reaching its tenth chapter, I can say that this literary work really "pulls every string in your heart to make it sing" (as commented by THE TIMES).

Innocence of childhood, different ethnicities, building and shattering friendship, betrayal, scandal, history and a mixture of Philia, Storge and Eros kinds of love -- these are what Khaled Hosseini's book has unfolded me so far.

I can't wait and imagine how this incredibly touching novel would end. What shall I discover as I unravel this written masterpiece?

(Book review to follow.)

Till then. ^^,

A Fresh Restart

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Yep. Just dropping by the blogosphere (after several months!!!) to let you know that Clutter and Niches still exists. Well, lots of clutter had already piled up and now needs to be marshaled. This author hadn't written up her thoughts for a few months so it may took her a while to get back into the swing of things.

Thank you for your forbearance. See you! (--,