STORIES, STORIES

The secret to living: Books. photo by aphroditeshari I'm one of those people who believe they can learn anything just by reading on it. Seriously. It's my father's fault. He raised us this way. When I was in grade school and I wanted to learn tennis, he didn't stop at training us on the tennis courts of the university where he worked. He would give us articles on how to play tennis better. Read, read, read. It's not uncommon to find books in his library like: How To Play Badminton. How To Play Basketball. How To Swim. (I read all of them). He recently finished reading How To Play Bridge. I also found a book on Origami, and another one on The Art of Gift Wrapping. My dad's a geek and he doesn't even know it. So anyway, this morning, I was hungry, didn't have anything to eat for breakfast, no one was home. I went to the kitchen, found eggs, and remembered how much I suck ass at cooking. True story. I looked up How To Boil An Egg online, and voila. omgilove...

It's been a long time since I last played video games. I remember the first one I ever played on a Playstation. My nephew has no idea what this is. Pssh. People born in the late 90s. *eye-roll* I kicked ass at this game. And that's about it. My brothers love playing with me, mainly because I'm so competitive that I get heart palpitations and extremely red-faced when I lose. Which is often. Also, because I even out the teams. They're always in need of one more player, so I usually get teamed up with the best one so that I don't really have to do much. Now that I've started playing again, I've discovered a couple things about myself as a gamer. Or a non-gamer. I play like I drive. There's a limit to the amount of multi-tasking I can do. But what I lack in this skill, I make up for in precision. And the only reason I can do that is because I take it way too seriously. So, sure, when we're playing Call of Duty, I get killed within the first 5 minutes (o...

In the grand scheme of things, nothing much really matters. Not those petty problems. Not the fact that you hate coconut. Not the small arguments with your friends that you think you "win" at. Not your weekend plans. Not the little things that irritate or annoy you. Not what people think about you. Not your age. Not your career. Not your possessions. Not your weight. Not your online library. Not your Facebook account. Nothing.

The universal facial expression for bitchiness. Also, clean teeth. I've recently finished reading that book Why Men Love Bitches , another one of those relationship books. I don't normally read self-help books as they tend to waste my time with things I could've told myself, and this one wasn't an exception. Being in a relationship renders you blind. You know how when a friend comes to you for relationship advice, you're amazed at how stupidly they're dealing with their problems? You're like "WAKE UP, he's just not that into you!" or "She's obviously treating you like shit, why are you still with her?" And then things happen to YOU. That's what this book is good for, if anything. If you're like me, and you don't really appreciate relationship advice because "oh, they don't know what's REALLY going on between us, we REALLY love each other even though he bashes me/he puts me down/he doesn't reciprocate/h...

Recommendations time! ( You all remember that old tradition I started weeks ago? ) * Movie night with friends and their siblings. Sometimes, wholesome, family-friendly weekends are nice. Even if it means watching a Disney movie with all that SINGING!! Grr. Panadol the Panda had a great time watching a Disney movie. * India Arie. Good R&B/soul music. "If Nelson Mandela can forgive his oppressors, surely I can forgive you for your passion. If Gandhi can forgive persecution, surely you can forgive me for being so petty." - Wings of Forgiveness, India Arie. * Battlestar Galactica . Great political drama. 10 out of 10! Panadol the Panda was up all night watching Season 3! * Playing Tekken our way. My friends and I played Tekken with these rules: a) Change the loser. b) The winning character is banned, forcing us to use all the characters without over-doing it with the stupid Eddy and the stupid Hwoarang. Grr. c) Any player who sells out the game just so his favorite player i...

Possibly one of the most difficult things to do. To forgive. Which is a shame, because it's really the only thing one needs to do to move on. JK Rowling said in that speech she delivered that "there IS an expiry date to blaming your parents.." I agree, and in fact, it applies not only to your parents, but to everyone else around you. Forgiving someone doesn't mean you are weak, or that you are making yourself vulnerable to more abuse or hurt. It means you accept what has happened, that you were betrayed, that you were treated wrongly, and yet you are willing to start over again. Everyday is another chance to start over. Living is hard work. And I'm saying this as much to you as to myself. I need a lot of convincing in this area. I forgive. *** When you meet X, you are immediately struck by the strength of her character and personality. Power suit. Executive job title. Expensive business cards. Precise make-up, immaculate hair. As much animated as she is serious, ...

Mommy D's birthday is coming up, and the decorations for her party were made tonight. Brace yourselves, the captions to the following self-explanatory pictures really outdo themselves. These round things are covered in silver and gold glitter. This is a hand covered in glitter. It's on the sufrah . This is the glue. This is a hand holding some colorful confetti, also dramatically covered with glitter. This is one of those round things as it is being covered in glitter. Stop looking at the girl's t-shirt.

"Rebel, rebel, bitch, bitch." Call it late adolescence. Whatever. But every single chance I get, I "rebel". I mean, when I was a teenager, I was the perfect child. I listened to my parents, I got good grades, I made good friends, I was every parent's dream. (To my siblings who are reading this: PISS OFF!) Now, a decade and a good half later, I'm trying to catch up on what I missed out on. I smoke, I stay out late, I sneak out of the house, and most importantly, to send a message to my parents about my rebellion, I DON'T USE MY OWN COFFEE MUG. My mom bought a set of coffee mugs with our own initials on them, and of course, I use all the other letters except mine. A is the new D, okay? That's 10 times more effective than a middle finger, right? The best part? I don't think my parents give a shit. I need a new plan.