1/31/14 - That Awkward Moment

That Awkward Moment is the directorial debut of Tom Gormican. It's a romantic comedy, but more of a guy movie if I should say so especially with all the R-rated jokes. But ladies will love it too, as proven by the lady sitting beside me at the cinema who had a lot of laughs.

It's main stars include Zac Efron, Miles Teller and Michael B. Jordan, not to be confused with the basketball player. All three of them coming from an interesting background, Efron as a teen star who everyone has witnessed ever since his younger days in High School Musical and transforming into a decent actor with the roles he has been taking from then on, then we have Teller who has some decent performances in the indie flick Spectacular Now which shows more of his dramatic side and Jordan who has just appeared in an award-worthy performance in Fruitvale station.

The story revolves around the lives of these three best friends who does the typical stuff that guys do, hang out in the apartment, play Xbox, drink in bars, etc. They have their womanizing ways but things take a turn when Mike (Jordan) is surprised by the news that his wife, played by Jessica Lucas, is asking for a divorce. With their friendship in mind, Jason (Efron) and Daniel (Teller) vows to stay single along with Mike as support. However, each of them meets a lady whom they get close with. But how far are they willing to go without breaking their promises to each other?

The movie does not escape from falling into cliches but they had a good job of making these guys' characters so lovable that you would want to root for them. There is more than a fair share of humor that is guaranteed to make you laugh but there is also a good balance of romance. There is something unique to each pair of couple that you can relate to. It's unavoidable to notice that despite the use of his body to appeal to the audience, Efron manages to grow into a mature and comedic actor and lose the HSM stigma.

This is the first movie I watched this year and I have made no mistake. This wasn't even planned until yesterday when I just found out that it was already showing.

1/30/14

I upgraded my bank account earlier. It wasn't something I planned but I figured that I should do it while I'm not busy.

It took longer than expected because of my situation. I tried to deposit a check into my savings account before but they told me my account was only allowed for a cash deposit. I could do it if I updated my account but I needed to present valid IDs which I didn't have during that time. This was around 2-3 years ago where my passport was still expired and I didn't have any other IDs. Since then I have been strictly making cash deposits only and any checks I've received is encashed which would take extra effort just because I had to do it in the bank where the check came from.

But now that I have a renewed passport and a couple of IDs, I am eligible to update my account. I also took the opportunity to deposit some money that I have been safekeeping just to add some money into my account.

During the update process, they also had to change some data, specifically my name. My bank account used to indicate only one of my first name plus my middle initial and my surname. The account was created when I was very young and the bank was under a different name so I couldn't remember why they decided to shortcut it. I've never really had problems with it anyway. But now they had to put my full name. I was worried that they have to change my debit/credit cards as well but they didn't have to anymore as they told me the number is the important detail when it comes to the cards.

The lady who assisted me was really nice and even explained to me how to use the credit cards that I currently have. In the past 2-3 years, my bank has been sending me different cards which I have never used because I didn't know how the procedure works and I felt more secure with cash transactions. It turns out that one of the cards is a "rewards" card where I could earn points from making purchases in any SM Malls.

I also had to inquire about linking my account to Paypal since I am interested in opening a personal account in case I find a job that pays through that method. I have been trying to search for online jobs but still unsuccessful at this point. All I've found are scams but let's save that for another post. The tellers that I have talked to were not really sure if my account can be connected but one suggested that I connect it through my credit card. I would probably try that but I realized after that  she could be talking about using Paypal for paying instead of receiving money. I'll have to ask around first in the meantime.

1/28/14

The jobhunting has begun! Though I've been keeping track of some openings I stumble upon, I have officially started to take it seriously again starting today since my sched has cleared up. It has been more than a month of being unemployed and now it's time to get a job again. I've started submitting in a few companies so far but I also plan to re-apply to some old companies I've applied to before. Wish me luck!

1/27/14 - 56th Grammy Awards

The Grammy's were held last night, Jan. 26, 2014 at the Staples Center in LA. It's considered the biggest evening for music as they award outstanding acts for their work in their respective categories. It is a night where most, if not all, music genres and artists are celebrated and recognized.

I personally don't care much for these awards but it still provides some entertainment value and hey, I can still make my own predictions.

This year, the some nominees were quite expected and while people consider some major snubs, I didn't really care about them. But I did wish that they had nominated more deserving artists.

So let's see. Here are some of my thoughts on the show.

*Lorde. This young lady seems to be the it-girl of the moment. She had a very successful hit song last year with Royals which she performed on the show with such awkward movements. The song was nominated for a couple of awards and she won at least 2 of them but failed to win one of the biggest award, can't remember if it was for Record or Song of the Year and she was also not nominated for Best New Artist or Album of the Year though I don't know if it was only because of eligibility requirements but I digress. I am not a fan of her music and yes, it's nice to see when artists win awards but I am so happy that she did not sweep all of them when there are much better deserving acts in the categories she was nominated in.

*Prior to the show, I had no idea who was the opening act but it was soon to be revealed as none other than Beyonce. She gave a sexy performance of her song Drunk In Love from her latest self-titled album. As much as I like her, the performance was extremely boring. It was a good performance but as a show opener, it was lackluster and it somehow carried on with the rest of the show as other performers were also quite boring.

*Speaking of performances, there were too many of them! I felt like I was watching the AMA's which is more known for having too many performances. If you think I'm exaggerating, the show only gave away 10 awards or even less and the show lasted for around 3 hours and 45 minutes. I'd rather have them televise more awards than have plenty of mediocre performances.

*Now here are the performances I like the most, or at least those that I can remember (in random order):

-Queens of the Stone Age. I'm not really a fan of them but they were great on stage but minus points for the Grammys for cutting their performances when they were closing the show!
-Paul McCartney and Ringo Star. Two legends performing on the stage once again and they absolutely delivered! Playing with a bright and colorful piano, Paul just had fun on stage and the song was so good that even people in the audience such as Steven Tyler was singing along.
-Taylor Swift just shown how good she is by performing the best song on Red, All Too Well. She didn't need to have any fancy props or dancers on stage but she created magic with only her piano like she has done before. Though her head banging may be a little distracting and out of place, the sincerity and power of the song is strongly felt. I just think she performed way early in the show.
-Pink. She amazed the whole world when she performed a few years ago in the Grammys while doing acrobatics in the air and this year, she did it again, and I mean that literally. She started her performance with her song Try while performing aerial stunts in the air through ropes before coming down to the stage to recreate the dancing/fighting movements in the video. Both sequences in the air and on stage were absolutely stunning but she has done it before and I'm pretty sure she'll do it again. Not that it's bad but I hope she's not just going to be a one act pony. However, the performance is not yet done with that as she was joined on stage by Nate Ruess (from fun.) and they sang their worldwide hit single, Just Give Me A Reason. Many people complained about Nate shouting the song but I didn't have any problems with their performance.
-Imagine Dragons and Kendrick Lamar. These two acts just blew me away. Radioactive was already epic on its own but some additional support from Lamar was unexpectedly great! The energy was so high and everyone was praising it. Everyone wanted to have a copy of the song and what do you expect, it was out on iTunes right after!
-Carole King and Sara Bareilles are great artists in their own right and they have shared their skills to the world when they performed together with the songs Beautiful and Brave.


Here are some that were alright but could be improved.

-Katy Perry is not really known for great vocals or dancing but she still had an interesting stage presence as she performed her song Dark Horse with rapper Juicy J. I'm not a big fan of the song but a lot of people seem to love it which is the reason it is her next single and why she performed it of course! It seems like a good choice than Roar which is just pop music at its generic level.
-Hunter Hayes. I like his music and he actually premiered a new song on the show which is a self-empowering song. It is commendable but his vocals wasn't the best that night but it's most likely due to Grammy jitters.
-Kacey Musgraves. Don't know if I spelled her name correctly and I'm not really a fan of her music but gotta give credit to her especially performing right after an epic performance from Imagine Dragons with a mellow country song. This is her first time t perform and she held her own. She even won Best Country Album!

I won't list down the other performances anymore since I could have done without them but those include performances from Daft Punk, Robin Thicke, Metallica,John Legend, a Miranda Lambert and Billie Joe Armstrong tribute to The Everly Brothers, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis with Madonna and Queen Latifah and others.


*During Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' performance of Same Love which promoted gender equality, 34 couples exchanged rings as part of the performance to deliver the message of the song and that all people no matter what gender should be loved. It is a sincere message but I feel that gimmick was over the top. But congrats on the newlyweds!

*How the heck is Ed Sheeran nominated for Best New Artist when he was nominated for a major award last year?

*Macklemore is so overrated. I need Eminem to show the world who really is the best once again.

*What's up with the show using Youtube covers during the presentation of nominees?

*Pharell needs a real stylist

*What an awful winner for AOTY! Get Lucky was already an awful song to begin with and they reward the album with the top honor! Even some musicians disagreed too on my Twitter timeline. But then again, the nominees for that category wasn't that great even if Red was nominated which is not exactly Taylor's best piece of work. It was funny to see Taylor and Katy act surprised when they thought they were announced as winners in their respective categories.

I don't want to make this any longer anymore but overall, the show was quite disappointing but it did have it bright spots.

1/25/14

My shopping spree continued earlier today! Bought a couple of DVDs on sale (People Like Us and A Lot Like Love), plus an album (not gonna tell whose album it is :p) that needed an extra purchase to buy so I bought a perfume But despite that, I still didn't spend as much as I was scared to.

I'm really loving the cool weather the country has been experiencing. It's not as cold as other countries but it's better than what we usually have. Hope it continues.

1/23/14

I just found out today that one of my favorite new bands, The 1975, is coming to Manila in March! I am so excited! The best part is that it's going to be a free show in the mall but there will obviously passes to be given and I'm going to try and use my connections once again this time.

1/22/14

So as I mentioned, I celebrated my 24th birthday two days ago. It was done in a simple manner. No fancy celebrations as anticipated but we did have plenty of food here in the house like what I wanted. I even received some tanktops as gifts from my dad which I didn't expect.

Last night, my mom and I tried out this well-known resto that just opened up recently in the mall serving Japanese food called Yabu. They serve mostly Katsu served with refillable rice and cabbage. The meals also comes with Miso soup and a bowl of fruit. They have been quite popular here in the country but their other branches were far from the nearest mall so when the new one opened, I wanted to try it out for my birthday! The service was good enough. The waiters were nice and attended to our needs promptly.

I ordered the chicken oroshi katsu which is one of the new dishes on their menu. It was delicious. I also liked what my mom ordered which I believe was called menshi katsu which had some cheese in the fillings along with the meat. I rarely go for more than 1 cup of rice but I couldn't stop myself for asking for more this time. Their prices seem to be worth it for the food as well as their refillables. I would love to eat there again in the future.

1/19/14

In an hour, I will turn twenty four years old! I can't believe it. I'm getting old and I don't know how to feel about it. But for now, I'm taking all the negative energy away for a moment and let me list down 23 things in the past year that were quite memorable. These are things I've experienced for the first time, tasted for the first time, things I bought and anything else that would make my 23rd year of living worthwhile.

In random order:

1. 2nd Hong Kong trip. Last year, as I mentioned in a previous post of our family trip, we went back to HK and I had a very good time to spend some time away from the country and enjoy their local scene.

2. Disneyland. In relation to my 1st entry, we went to Disneyland when we visited HK and it was such a magical experience. I have only been to the Disneyland in the US so this was quite different.

3. Arrow. I may have cut down my addiction to TV series but this was one show that I discovered this year. Amazing series on one of the most underrated superheroes in the alternate universe.

4. Chosen. Two of my favorite actors in one show in the second season of this action-packed show cannot be any more surreal.

5. Razzles. Ever since watching 13 Going On 30 back in high school circa 2004, I have always wanted to try out the candy. I've seen them a few times around selected stores/supermarkets but last year, I finally got to taste them! Now that's what you call an effective product placement in a movie.

6. Universal Tower CD Sale. Collecting CDs has always been a passion of mine. Despite the rise of digital media, I still believe that having a physical copy of a CD is more fulfilling as a music fan. This year, I have spent a lot on money and this particular sale alone made me purchase more than 60 albums of artists that I like or have yet to discover.

7. Trainer. I've seen a lot of hot people around the gym but some of them come and go. Last year, there was a new gym trainer who is almost a constant presence in the gym and the presence of that particular trainer makes me more motivated to work out. Let's just say the adjectives hot, photogenic and adorable would be very fitting to this trainer.

8. MOA Arena. The Mall of Asia has opened a new arena two-three years ago where various kinds of events were held, from fashion, sports to music, it was a huge venue that were an alternative to the Araneta Coliseum and others. I never got to watch any concerts in the venue but last year was my first time to go in and watch an event as I saw a college basketball game featuring my college alma mater.

9. DLSU Championship, speaking of my college, last year DLSU had great success in sports. We manage to capture the championship in women's volleyball and eventually capture the General championship for the first time in the UAAP. This year was also promising as the men's basketball team won the championship and the cheerleading squad had a podium finish. Things seem to be going fine as of the moment and in retaining the general championship. I am truly proud to be an alumnus of my school.

10. Moderator. My membership of a certain website has been upgraded from a regular poster to a site moderator! I'm so humbled by the trust and I continue to learn and accomplish responsibilities.

11. Commuting to Enchanted Kingdom. My previous trips to EK has always been with the family or relatives but last year, I went with my officemates and we just commuted via bus which is my first time to do so.

12. The 8123 Tour. The tour may just be fresh from last week but it was already one of the best one that I went to especially with my close encounter with the bands.

13. The 1975. One of my biggest musical discoveries last year.

14. Getting a job! Not only did I end my year of being a bum but I also got a job where I stayed for at least 10 months, the longest one I've had so far.

15. Learning SEO. I gained new knowledge in a new industry which helped me learn some skills that will help me in this digital age.

16. Speculoos Cookie Butter. The local scene was struck with pure delight when a new brand of spread hit the market. Who would have thought people would fall for something that is similar to a peanut butter. Nutella has found a competition!

17. A Rocket to the Moon breakup. I was very devastated to learn that  one of my favorite bands has split up. I'm thankful for the music they were able to share with the world.

18. Habagat. Ondoy gave me a trauma and this year it almost happened again with strong rains and typhoons hit our country. Fortunately, our home was spared from severe damages unlike last time where water reached hip level inside our house as opposed to this year which would only reach our ankles.

19. Return of my love for clothes. I used to like spending a lot on clothes back then until I slowed down. However, I met some people at the office  whom I would usually go with after office hours and would accompany to the malls. We would visit several shops and I just won't let myself get left behind in terms of shopping. I've bought several pairs of shirts and shoes just last year!

20. Teambuilding in Tagaytay. One of the perks of working with an energetic team in the company is that it makes corporate events more fun such as our first ever team building last year held in Tagaytay. It was such a fun experience that I'll never forget.

21. Throwing up. I don't think I've ever been so drunk before. I've only had 2 drinking sessions last year (such a loser I know!)

22. Boy Meets Boy. One of David Levithan's novels that I have been searching for years. I finally found a hard copy and I'm so glad to have it in my possession.

23. YOU. I know I don't have a lot of people who read the blog but I am amazed that I still get traffic. I made this blog as a personal outlet where I can share anything I want without being judged by people I know and even if I don't know the people who would take a glimpse of my entries, I'm still thankful and would continue to write more.

At the start of this entry, I told you that my birthday is coming up in an hour but the length of writing this post took just that so what can I say, it's my birthday already! It took me a long time to find 23 things to list. Maybe it's a bad thing but that just mean I have a lot more to live and discover!

1/16/14

2014 is starting out to be just alright. It's not yet the best but overall, it's going pretty smooth, not counting the problems I'm experiencing such as jobhunting and lack of sleep.

It's just the 3rd week of the year but I have already watched a concert, got new clothes, a new watch, hard copies of two of my favorite book, one of which is The Perks of Being A Wallflower that I got earlier,won a contest, my favorite shows returning, among other stuff that has already happened. I really wish this year doesn't turn out to be another 2012 in the making.

In a few days, I'll be turning 24 and I have no plans yet. We did decide to order some food and we may try out one of the new restaurants that has opened in the mall last week which I can't wait to try since there seems to be a huge hype over it.

1/14/14 - The 8123 Tour in Manila

I still can’t get over the fact that I went to the 8123 Tour last Sunday. It was a tour starring three of my favourite acts, namely, The Maine, Nick Santino and This Century. It wasn’t my first time to see them live, in fact I’ve seen them each of them 4 times already but it’s always amazing to see them as they are really great performers.

I wanted to come to the concert ever since it was announced back in September but I was always hesitant due to some other personal problems but on the day itself, I finally got my ticket! I bought the VIP which is around P3.5K. It’s not so bad considering who will perform and the fact that it’s going to be held at a small-medium sized venue means that I’ll have an intimate concert experience. I know the bands have a lot of fans here in my country so I felt relieved to be able to buy a ticket just a few hours before the show.

There were plenty of people as I expected so the show did not exactly start at 7 PM as advertised but the delay wasn’t too long.

Nick Santino started the show which is quite expected since he is just a solo act. This is his first time to come here on his own as he used to play in a band called A Rocket To The Moon. But instead of playing his old songs with them, he introduced to us his new material from his EP that he released last year. I haven’t had the chance to find a copy of his album yet but I’ve heard some of them on Youtube and they’re still good and even better when performed live. He did sing Baby Blue Eyes which is one of the fan favourite songs from the band. I really wish I could find a copy of his album soon.

This Century was the second act to perform and they brought the house down with their hits from all their albums. I really had a good time seeing them live as they were always so lively and their songs are the perfect type of songs to sing along to. But unlike the two other acts, this is the first time where I’ve seen them at a very close distance since the previous times I’ve seen them were at much larger places and my seat were so far away.

The Maine was the headlining act of the show and they did not disappoint as always. They had a long setlist and played all their biggest songs including songs from their latest album released last year that they haven’t performed here before. What I like about the vocalist or the entire band at all is that they really care about their fans and would talk to us in between songs. He gives off pieces of advice on our future and our outlook on our lives. The crowd would sing along to every song they sang and the feeling I had for the entire show was just surreal.

After the show, they announced that they were having a free meet and greet session with all the people in the crowd! I didn’t expect that they’ll meet everybody so I didn’t prepare any items to be signed. I didn’t bother buying the items on sale in the venue since they were either too expensive or things that I already own. While I was on the line, I found a piece of clean cardboard so I decided to use that one. I initially thought of asking the band to sign either my ticket, a water bottle or even my shirt (which I wish wouldn’t have to happen since it would mean I won’t have to wash that shit ever again and it was just my first time to wear the shirt). When it was already my turn, I was so happy but I still maintained my composure and even managed to ask each one of them a handshake aside from their signature. I kept on telling them that it was my fourth time to see them live which is true and I hope they appreciated it.

Before I forget any detail, I usually go to concerts alone including this one but I was glad that I actually made a friend! She’s a young girl who’s also a fan and I’m glad she made the first move or else I would have probably just kept it all alone to myself for the entire show and it’s nice to have some people accompany me at the line for the meet and greet plus just the fact that I made a new friend out of the dozens of concerts I’ve been to is quite amazing!

I’m looking forward to attend another concert this March and that will be another experience to share!

1/13/14 - Capital Cities in Glorietta

It was a pleasure to see great musical acts. Capital Cities is an artist I discovered last 2012 with their hit song, Safe & Sound but it was only last year when I heard their full length album during its release. Their album are worth looking into especially if you are into alternative/dance music. I would say they're a combination of Foster The People and Walk The Moon. The most notable characteristic is their incorporation of trumpets in their songs.

They had a series of mall shows this weekend and I made sure to watch at least one of them. I decided to catch the show in Glorietta. The tickets for the show is claimed with the same mechanics like all other shows which is to purchase anything from the mall's stores that is worth a certain amount of money for a specific duration of dates and that is equivalent to a stub which can get you a reserved seat. However, even if you don't have one, you can still watch the show from the outside the barriers or even the railings on the other floors since it was in an open space in the mall. Fortunately, my mom had to buy some sort of medicine which was quite expensive so I was able to get myself a stub before they ran out.

It was also announced that the first 150 buyers of their album, In A Tidal Wave of Mystery, would get an autograph signing after the show so I bought myself a copy, not just because of that but it was really a good album.

The show started on time at exactly 7 pm. There were plenty of people who watched and it is good to see a lot of people supporting them. I haven't really done my research about the members of the band aside from their lead, Sebu and Ryan Merchant, but it was revealed that they have a Filipino member in the person of Spencer, their trumpet player. It was really cool to see him play live as he showed the most energy on stage and you can really see how proud he is to be a Filipino.

They started the show with their second single, Kangaroo Court and followed it up with other songs from their album such as Origami, I Sold My Bed But Not My Stereo and Farrah Fawcett Hair. The crowd went wild as we danced to Safe & Sound to close the show with other waving their clothes in the air. Despite having only an hour to perform, they were able to entertain the crowd with their infectious hooks and beats. They even did a cover of Staying Alive - not sure if that's the correct title but that's a classic song. I love how they can make modern music with beats that sound reminiscing of the 70's. They make old school look cool, not saying that old school isn't already an awesome era.

I'm so glad to catch them during their first trip here in the country and I would love to see them again.

1/10/14 - My top 10 TV shows in 2013

I have mentioned before that I love watching a lot of TV shows. I try to catch up with each one of them whenever I have time and I think it's time to share my favorite shows of the past year. It was hard to narrow them down to 10 spots. I have no clear criteria for their placing aside from my personal enjoyment. Some shows had a great season while some had mediocre ones. Some have fallen into a deep hole with their poorly written storylines while other have excelled over the others.

Before I present the top 10, here are some of the ones that didn't make it but deserves a mention:

*Teen Wolf
-Colton Haynes disappearance was felt but they did introduce new characters to add a new plot. Stiles continues to be funny and one of my fave characters on the show.

*How I Met Your Mother
-This show would usually be in my imaginary top 10 list in the previous years but this season has been a bit mediocre. They did reveal who the mother is already but they seem to run out of storylines. However, it still has its funny moment which is why it made it in the bubbling under

*Glee
-They used to be one of my favorite shows but they took a huge drop in season 2 with condescending and uninteresting storylines. However, they seem to be on a constant improvement starting in season 3. Season 4 saw the addition of new characters that have been carried over to the new season due to the fact that some members already left due to graduation.  This time, the fans are tuned in to two different settings, the first one is with the Glee club back in Ohio while the other is in New York where some of the notable graduates are staying. It;s a little confusing and it has mixed opinions on the fans, some saying it needs a spin-off instead while some are still glad to be able to see them on the show. The new season was struck with controversy even before starting when one of their lead cast, Cory Monteith died but they were able to incorporate it into the show. They ended last season on a good note and the latest one seems to have the potential to be good. It was also announced that the next season will be their last so I expect them to go out with a bang.

Now let's get started..

10.  Game of Thrones

Huge fan favorite Game of Thrones produced by HBO starts the countdown. You may be surprised to see this show so low but I actually just started to watch this show this year. I was glad to catch up with all 3 seasons and I can somehow understand why a lot of people like this fantasy driven show.

9. Modern Family

This family sitcom never fails to deliver some great humor. Even if they're on their fifth season, they still continue to make any storyline work and these can happen to actual families in real life. I really love the dynamics of the cast which is one of the reason this works so well.

8. The Big Bang Theory

Another sitcom makes it a back-to-back appearance for comedy. Award-winning show The Big Bang Theory makes lands on the 8th spot on my list. They don't need fancy visual effects or props. Their dialogue alone makes the entire show very funny. However, I am getting a little annoyed with the back and forth relationship between Penny and Leonard.

7. The Vampire Diaries

I was really interested to see how this season will go since some of the characters were leaving the show to appear in a spin-off series. They also had fans hanging when Katherine was turned to human and Bonnie died. This season, the producer made some promises which we haven't seen come into fruition but there are some interesting moments. We see the cast go into college. I hope the storyline won't suck since most teen shows that are set in college tends to be boring. We are introduced to a new villain which is something worth watching for. The never-ending love triangle between Elena, Damon and Stefan is still there which can be so tiring.

6. Grey's Anatomy

Veteran medical drama Grey's Anatomy is still standing strong on its 10th season. This is also Christina Yang's last season on the show so it is interesting to see how the writers will write her out. Hopefully, she won't die as we have a lot of them every season. This season, we have already seen one cast member die and Meredith and Christina's friendship go on the rocks. Some are hoping that this will be the last season since they believe it won't survive without Yang but we'll see about that. The April-Jackson storyline is getting too annoying. We already know they'll end up together.

5. The Walking Dead

Zombie-infested TV show The Walking dead starts the top 5. It's great that we have seen some characters on this show grow and have a fair share of screentime. There may be some annoying characters like Carl  but there are badass characters to compensate for that such as Michonne. They are not afraid to take some risks which we have seen when they killed some important characters this season. February cannot come closer!

4. Bones

I just love the tandem of Dr. Brennan and Booth. This police crime investigation show is just the perfect combination of drama, comedy, mystery and romance. A lot of fans were given a special treat when the two main cast have finally tied the knot after taking down one of the most grueling cases in the show's history.

3. Dexter

One of the greatest shows on TV has ended its run last year. Dexter aired its 8th season last year and drew a large audience which it deserved to. The show has built a strong fanbase and though they may not have won a lot of awards, they are very much recognized by the viewing public. Dexter's character is interesting as it covers both the good and evil side. It was also great to see some artists I like appear on the show for its last season, namely, Bethany Joy Lenz (OTH) and Yvonne Strahovski (Chuck).

2. Chosen

Milo Ventimiglia and Chad Michael Murray on one show is enough reason for me to check out this action-packed show. It was hard to find this series because it runs on a cable channel in the US which is not well known here and it only has 6 episodes per season. But it only runs for half an hour so I just had a 1 day marathon to finish both seasons that have aired so far. Due to its short screentime and limited number of episodes, you can expect this show to be full of action right from the start and has less to no filler content at all. I was glued to the screen for the entire 20 minutes in every episode. It has a very interesting plot which opens up a lot of questions every time. It revolves around different characters receiving a box that has orders to kill a specific person. The catch is that people are randomly chosen and there is no way to get out of this "game" as people are also going to hunt you. I highly recommend this show.

1. Arrow

It was hard to pick my number 1 but in the end, it went to this show right here, Arrow! CW usually gets a lot of flak for producing crappy shows but this one is an exception and a pleasant surprise. Even though I just started watching this show this year, it had so much impact on me. I really like shows about superheroes and I'm glad this one is not badly made. It has its weak points but it has more great ones. The villains have been good so far and I love that they introduced Flash on the show. I hope they pick up the planned spin-off for that character as I would like to see more characters from the superhero universe.

There goes my list!Sorry if it's too long! I was planning to divide it into two but I may get tired and lazy to do this again.

1/9/13

I have a couple of artists on my music library who do covers on Youtube. I enjoy discovering up and coming acts who can give a good rendition of songs that I like or even come u-p with an original song. Some of those who are in my library includes Paradise Fears, Alex Goot, Sam Tsui, Jake Coco and Tyler Ward.

Another band is starting to make waves and even have their new song charting on iTunes. They're called The Vamps. They're a group of young lads from the UK. Don't be surprised if they get compared to One Direction, who doesn't? But that's not bad at all. These guys can sing and I'm sure people in the young demographic will like them.

Listen to some of their covers and also one of their original songs called Can We Dance.

1/7/13

The second half of Teen Wolf season 3 has started and the premiere episode bored me. Nothing important happened aside from the cast seeing hallucinations. I'm not going to spoil anything since there's really nothing worth spoiling.

But this is quite good. My fave shows are starting to come back. Some have started last week and the rest are coming out within the next few weeks! This is so exciting! Maybe I should post a list of my top 10 tv shows but I'll reserve that for a later post.

1/5/14

I attended a family reunion earlier. It's an annual thing where our clan from my grandmother's side of the family meet up once a year, during the first Sunday of the year specifically. It's not just a small clan, but there are like 600 people from that side of the family. Of course not all of them attend every year but it's amazing how I could have so many relatives. I often come when I'm available even though they're usually boring. I barely know any people there personally aside from my first cousins and close relatives. But it doesn't matter, it's something to keep myself busy and there's always lots of food!

This year, it was held in a school where the reunions has been held in the past couple of years so I'm already quite familiar with the place. The program usually starts with a mass then the lunch, games, etc.

I usually just watch and observe, try to remember familiar faces and just listen to other people's conversations or explore around. This year, it was quite the same. The host of the event decided to keep the celebration simple to cut the budget but the essence and normal activities were still there. Just no fancy prizes, decorations, etc. The host of these reunions actually change every year per family so everyone gets a turn.

In one of the games, my name was included and despite feeling a bit sleepy since I slept late last night, I tried my best to play the game with other random people called to play. 

The game was called Minute To Win It. You may be familiar with it since it was inspired by a reality show. It's a game where we had to accomplish challenges under 1 minute. There were 5 tasks overall. I'm not going to the details much but there were ball shooting, knocking down cups, eating challenge, etc. In the end...we won! Who would have thought! Our prize was a decent amount of money which I certainly needed at this time!

There were also raffle picks called on during the entire time with cash prizes but I never get called anyway. There was also another game which was like a question and answer type of game and even though I got eliminated early, the losing contestants still receive some cash as consolation prizes so that was really nice. I hope games and prizes will be similar in the future so I'll be encouraged to join.

As I said, in my previous post, I planned to clean up my room this weekend. That happened but not yet complete. My insomnia has been keeping my energy down so I find it hard to move a lot but I still managed to clean up some stuff int he room and even redecorate it a little. I'll try to continue this week.

1/3/14

Today was quite awesome! I didn't even get to sleep last night because of my excitement but that didn't really bring down my energy for the whole day.

It is nothing special but today is the first day I'm going back to the mall like my usual routine after spending the first two days stuck at home. My body has been aching to go out and I know what to do, not to mention that I have read that the stores are on sale. But I already know what to buy.

I immediately headed straight to Powerbooks in GB3 to buy a hard copy of one of my favorite books that I have been looking for since 2009! It's a book called Boy Meets Boy, a young adult novel introduced to me by one of my college friends. In fact, that book introduced me to several works of the author, David Levithan, and I am quite positive that I have posted my reviews on his books on this blog last year. This is my first hard copy of any of his books as I only have an e-book version of the others that I own.

I also bought a vintage looking briefcase with a union jack design from Dimensione. It would be a great addition to my room and I can use it as a storage. I plan to clean my room this weekend so I made sure to buy it today.

I had my first workout of the year today and it feels so good. I really hope that my body would improve this year as it seemed to have stalled within the past year. I should probably start following a serious plan this time but I'm not sure if I can.

1/2/14

It's already the second day of the year and I am still unproductive. I woke up late in the afternoon and I had to do a lot of moderator responsibilities on a particular forum. I planned to fix my resume and create some accounts on important websites which will help me find a job. But I guess I also have lots of time for that. I'm just enjoying being able to sleep longer this time around.

1/1/14

Happy New Year everyone!

It's the first day of the new year. Spent the whole day relaxing at the house since I'm still tired from yesterday's reunion. We didn't really do a lot compared to the previous NYE gatherings but we stayed up late even after going home.

I'm disappointed I didn't receive a lot of cash this Christmas but I'm still thankful for the gifts I received. 

I have some things lined up for the following days/week and it's funny considering that I have a bigger problem which is unemployment. But I hope to keep the momentum going that I had in 2013 and improve my luck this year.

Cheers to a prosperous 2014!