This day is, sadly, not as nice as yesterday has been. Woke up a little late after going to bed past 2am, and spent most of the morning reading Nick Hornby’s How to Be Good. I don’t like it which makes me sad since Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity was great.

I mean, Hornby’s voice, in this book, is still as insightful, witty and occasionally comedic but I don’t want to spend an entire day reading the thoughts of a middle-aged doctor who endlessly whines about her marriage, and her general wifely and motherly duties. It’s exhausting. She kind of doesn’t like her job, she thinks her husband is nuts and she even despises her children a little. It’s like listening to a friend who won’t stop yapping about her problems.

Katie Carr is annoying, pathetic and tedious. If she keeps a blog, which she should btw because she needs an outlet for all those negativity, I would never subscribe. Her pessimism and metaphysical unease are poisonous. Ugh.

There’s nothing that can damper a Sunday like a disappointing book, yes? :(

June 28 can’t come soon enough. It’s the day the new book for Read Hard! will be announced which is always a reason to celebrate. One of the two days every month when buying a new new (as opposed to thrifted/second hand) book is justifiable. Not that all the other days are spared really, because earlier this week, I went home lugging around four newly thrifted books. The only difference is that impulsive book shopping always makes me feel a little guilty afterwards while buying for a book club doesn’t. :P

Anyway, I always forget to bring home my copy of Nabokov’s Lolita from its place in my cubicle shelf. I have been meaning to read it but honestly, it is a difficult book to finish. It’s too beautiful which can also mean, too staggering and filled with numerous big words. It’s a book for intelligent people. Reading it has become a tedious exercise that requires much brain processing. I’ll get around to it but right now, I just want to enjoy light reading.

New favorite book! My copy of A Clockwork Orange is beautiful. My boyfriend got it for me! WEEEE.

Also read two volumes of The Sandman Library because I bought them, they’re nice and they must be read.

I have had several books looted in the last two weeks but I’m too tired to post a photo of ‘em all. Anyway, I got my 8th Vonnegut book from La Belle Aurore last Sunday.

If you’re from Cebu, you have to check the place out. YOU REALLY HAVE TO! It’s the best bookshop in this part of the universe. Aside from great and cheap books, the place has a beautiful interior, a wonderful over-all ambiance and a shopkeeper who will not hound you while you are rummaging the shelves for bargains. It even has a Facebook, a Multiply page and a sketchmap so you will never, ever get lost.

See you there.

I am fully aware that my style is mostly lame, which makes being told that a pretty little shirt, a nice toy or something I find cool is “So Darliza” odd and at the same time, very, very pleasant . Is there really such a thing as “Very Darliza”? I do not even know my place in the world or what I really like or what I really want or how I wanna look so it’s surprising to me that some people associate me with a certain look, a certain approach or a certain feel.

It’s like trademark, one which I have (apparently) subconsciously cultivated over the years. Okay.

High Fidelity

On a slightly related note, let me talk to you about tastes. Tastes matter and I mostly judge people (inaccurately, sometimes) based on the things they like. I find people who have good tastes and/or have tastes like mine to be more attractive than those who veer too far away from the things I enjoy doing. People who read, who like good movies, who listen to music  and who like science and technology are infinitely more interesting to me compared to those  who listen to mostly Lady Gaga and only watch no-brainer, blockbuster movies.

Funnily enough, I have a lot of friends that I have been friends for years and I don’t really share the same interests with. They like sports and enjoy pop songs and (I’m presuming) do not even know a lot of bands that I like. But don’t get me wrong, they are great people and I love them to death and I’m lucky to have met them on different circumstances.

However, if you are an acquaintance and I find out that you paid at least $3 to watch a really lame movie such as Twilight Eclipse on its opening weekend then ended up really liking it, we don’t have much chance of being friends. I would understand watching the first movie (I saw it in the theaters too. It’s a dark secret I keep.), but I was too horrified about how everything about it sucked to even talk about how I paid to watch it. It was so bad.

I know that all this talk is lengthy and choppy and reeks too much of superiority complex but this really isn’t a post about that. I’m just being honest. I know that in tastes and preferences, there should be no debate but you can’t really expect to be friends with someone who hates the things you like.

What’s your Toy Story?

Toy Story 3 was worth all the hype. It was well-animated and very moving, especially towards the end. I had to keep myself from bawling with the ending but it’s also worth noting that even the credits solicited some LOLs.

All in all, the Toy Story series is a really nice trilogy that displays, more than anything else, the leaps and bounds by which Pixar has grown. It might even be my favorite trilogy (with LOTR coming in close second).

From the innovation, fast-moving entertainment, and broadly relevant themes of the first Toy Story movie, to the second film, we are presented with the product of how Pixar makes a commitment to quality at any cost. The emotional impact of the story in the third film was also deepened which mixes excellent entertainment with powerful and deeply moving ideas behind it in the same way that their recent films (Up, Wall-E, etc) have excelled at doing.

There are a lot of great films this year but Toy Story 3 is my favorite, so far. Also, if you are my friend and you decide not to watch it (and watch Karate Kid instead), I swear by my pretty floral bonnet, I will end you.

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin

This band is awesome and they’ve released a couple of singles for their upcoming album, Let It Sway. Both songs are really good. I am excited.

Scott Pilgrim VS The World video game

The trailer was released several hours ago and it’s awesome! It’s in 8-bit-ish graphics with gameplay that has the potential to keep me up nights. I know that I’m not really a gamer but whatever. Im’a play this game ’til my fingers bleed. There’s a co-op mode too so I can play this with my boyfriend/friends!

SingleMedia.Deviantart

The dude is my boyfriend. I took the photo one Sunday afternoon while we were heading to the mall to watch Prince of Persia. He made this for his deviantart ID or badge or whatever. As you can see, the boy got skillz.

Scott Pilgrim VS the World shirt design

I’ll be sporting this in a few weeks. *i’m so cool* hurrr. And oh, my boyfriend made that for me! :)

Stupid ants.

Another un-pleasantry that this unfortunate incident brought into my life is not having any means to monitor the songs I listen to. Ever since I (finally!) got Last.fm’s scrobbler thing installed, I can’t quite get over it. It’s the most beautiful app for someone who listens to music often and is obsessed with lists and annals (lolol i still laugh at that word. i’m so mature.) at the same time. I’ve been looking for ways to upload scrobbles from my iPod touch but all means found were in vain. The songs I can listen to on the site’s radio were also limited and my PayPal account is 2 dorrars short for the subscription. However, after badgering my friends endlessly, someone finally gave me $2 so I could subscribe to the Last.fm radio. I am now enjoying beautiful music without limits. Also, uploads by cool people from tumblr!

I hate how several days this week have become nondescript. I try to remember details but I get absorbed with learning a lot about the new job I’m in that I forget to pay attention to things that might make one day different from the other. I generally enjoy each day but nothing has been memorable. Except Monday and Tuesday and Thursday nights maybe because they were spent with teh boyfriend.

This post is so dull lol. Anyway, pictures!

I spent my weekend here. It was very, very nice.

The clutter in my room is not girly. Instead of bracelets and other accessories, I have wires. LOTS OF IT.

Work is amazing. I am surrounded with extremely intelligent people who have excellent technical, people and language skillz and whom I know I can learn a lot from. It’s crazy how smart and talented they all are to the point that they make me doubt my own abilities knowing I’m the only one in the team who’s without a title (one has two titles even! lolz). The only thought that consoles me is knowing that getting a job with a lot of other people as competition speaks of my potential to be just as great as my teammates are. Haha. I hope.

I know my diagram sucks. Shut up.

Basing on the presumption that a good job is something that fits what you love doing, what you are good at, and what people would pay you for, this job is more than good. I have always subscribed to the philosophy that when you do something you love, success and money will follow. It’s a great job because I know that I can be really good at it and knowing that people see me for what I can contribute is really heartwarming. It’s also something I can do for a long time because I learn something new with every project.

Nothing is stale. Nothing is boring. I am so blessed. ^^

Anyway, if you are one of those people who are unfortunately not quite so happy with their job or with the paths that their careers are going (sadface :( ), I suggest you think about it. I know it’s too early for me to know if I end up successful or not but right now, the future looks bright. Do something that you are eager to wake up early in the morning for. It will be worth it in the long run.

Here’s a cute hamster to help you ponder about it:

But I think I’ve had enough of long hair. I really like it but it tends to be heavy, flat and hard to manage. Also, given the almost-unbearable climate that my country has this year, long hair is uncomfortable and hot. Really hot.

However, this decision isn’t just a matter of comfort. I also feel like I’ve had only a few hairstyles in my lifetime. I know that I never really cared much for looks and never thought about hairstyling as a big deal but life is too short to be afraid of haircuts. I need a little more adventure and if a short trip to the salon every month or so is what it takes to reduce the dullness in my life, then bring it on, scissors. I am not afraid of you!

Anyway, here are some inspiring photos of girl crushes with short curly/wavy hair.

Morena Baccarin. If you don’t know her, GTFO!

Ala. I’ve always liked her style. And she looks adorable with short hair.