A Bookworm's Thought

Lately, I've been reviewing for an English proficiency exam. I came across a topic in the writing task which I found interesting because I had something to say about it and especially since it involved books. I was kind of restricted though as there was a time limit, it needed to be formal and academic, and there was a word limit as well. So, I thought I should share what I had written for this sample writing test.

Technology has evolved so much over the years. Most people these days have become avid users of gadgets from computers to smart phones. Recently, e-books are introduced to the world, making reading more convenient and less bulky. With this new technological development, people are torn between thinking that printed media will become a thing of the past and believing that the existence of e-books will not cause the disappearance of the former. People always run back to the basics when all else fail. Printed media is a basic reading material and it will not be replaced that easy.

With the birth of tablets in the technology world, many have opted to invest on e-books rather than purchase heavy and bulky books. Techy readers can have all the editions and volumes they want in their iPad or Kindle with just a touch without the burden of carrying a huge bag or having to stack piles of books on the table. They can read their favorite novels in the first bus and scan the newspaper articles in the second bus at an easy click. It cannot be denied that e-books provide convenience to readers.

Readers who were already book lovers before technology introduced e-books are very fond of the feel of pages on their fingers and the crisp sound as they are turned. When readers open their book, they love smelling the vanillin scent of the yellowing pages before starting to read. Such moments bookworms have with their books are priceless and special. E-books cannot give these out of the ordinary feelings that traditional book readers experience. the goal of filling up the shelves with their favorite authors' masterpieces can only be realized with real books.

E-books may be convenient and practical but such advantages cannot lead to the extinction of printed media. The priceless feeling of holding a read-worthy book is enough to compensate for the money and space used up by it.

Trick or Treat?

Halloween has just been recently adopted in my country probably because we don’t have pumpkins around which is by far the most famous symbol of the event.

Three years ago, my childhood friends and I decided to hold a costume party for Halloween just for the sake of fun. We didn’t expect that it might become an annual celebration since it was merely a random idea. Turned out, we’ve been having this party three years in a row.

Our theme for this year's party was “Trick or Treat.” All of us were basically dressed in scary attires in line with the theme. Here’s an idea of how the party goes. A notification is very important to gather us around resulting to the preparation of the invitation which is posted online. The decorations are never forgotten, of course. The orange and black color scheme does the trick. Fake cobwebs, plastic skeletons, and paper bats are staple ornaments creating a spooky effect. A background music adds up more spice – just a few horror movie soundtrack on repeat and we’re good to go. To make sure all of us have something to eat, every person coming should bring a dish as a contribution, in other words, potluck.  A Halloween themed food would be desirable but not compulsory. What’s required though is the costume. There is a “No Costume, No Entry” policy for our party. This is actually for everybody to have fun and to be fair and square to those who’ve made effort with their costumes. Thriller by Michael Jackson is perfect as a spooky dance music, that’s why we made it as the dance theme song for this year’s party. After the eating and picture-taking, we prepare parlor games for everyone to enjoy, like the mummy wrap game. It takes a lot of effort to don the costumes, so we make sure to give a humble prize to the spookiest person before we all bid farewell for the night.

After the party, all of us went home with smiles on our faces and a memory to live by as all of us enjoyed our Halloween celebration in a fun and spooky fashion. 

Checking the vitals

Tomb stone sandwiches

Apple and mallows as smiling mouths

Cookie spiders

Mummified hotdogs

The creepy visitors

Having fun with the parlor games

Injecting Joker

The doctor is in

Bloody everybody

Zombiefied

Frustrated Artist

There's always an artist in each of us. In my case I should add the word frustrated. I'm definitely not note-worthy and I haven't sold any of my works ever (just gave some to very close friends). Funny thing is the painter in me has an on and off switch. That's why I can't call myself straight as an artist; there's always the word frustrated somewhere.
Since I was a kid I always wanted to be an artist. I tried drawing and doing crafts and stuff. When I was a junior in high school, I participated in a summer art workshop which fed my frustration. Believe it or not, I actually cried my eyes out to join the workshop because I really wanted it. That's how frustrated I am. During that workshop, I concentrated on learning how to paint. For the culmination of the workshop, we had an exhibit and our guest speaker for the event was French-Filipino watercolorist, Gion Gounet. He appreciated my work and invited me to put up one of my works in his one-man show in Bool Church convent. I was pretty amazed and happy to know that my work has caught the attention of an awesome artist. In college, I joined a little group of young artist from our university called the Order of the Golden Palette. We had an exhibit in the College of Arts and Sciences building showcasing our artworks based on song lyrics. While majoring in nursing, I was busy for clinical duties and paper works. Without the luxury of time, I only get to channel my artistic side through writing poems since I'll only need paper and pen or even only my mobile phone, hence, I can practically do it anytime and anywhere.  I'm kinda lazy, so I don't get to make a lot of visual art everyday. I actually need a little push to make art. I'm just making excuses, I'm really lazy to say that again or I'm just not that artistic.
My artist mode has been turned off for a while, I became a very boring, stagnant person. Good thing, I got involved back in 2011 in an all-women artist collective-- Baji, that hosts an annual arts exhibit for Women's Month. The artist in me resurrected from the dead and I got inspired again to do art. For this year, I made a painting especially for the event, which I was happy about because I get to share again a piece I can call my own  and the speaker cited my work during her speech.
I hope the inner frustrated artist in me never goes to sleep again. I just have to keep inspired. Note to self-- keep calm and make art.

My works and I:

Reproduction pieces and original ones when I was in high school

Behind me is my entry for Baji 2011

First artwork for the year 2012

Matri, oil on canvas. 2012

Painting and poem; my entries and I during Baji 2012

Yashica Fumblings

Meet my Yashica

I long wanted to own a vintage range finder. Good thing I was able to get a hold of my Yashica Electro 35 GL at a low price. It's not really in mint condition; there are scratches and dents, it looks pretty used up but what the hell, the photo capturing capability is not lost (I must say still excellent) and that's what matters. My Yashica is one good bargain and I'm loving it.

This is the first camera I own that I have more control of since all of my cameras are toy cameras and point and shoot ones. I was a bit nervous with the first roll, thinking I might waste the whole 36 shots. Thank goodness, that didn't happen but there were only 24 frames exposed. I bet I wasn't able to load the film properly causing the film to not advance in the right way. That wasn't much of an issue though, since I made up for that mistake with the next roll.

The light meter is one efficient function that helps  indicate whether there is less or too much light entering the lens when I press the shutter release half way. With that, I can adjust the aperture or find a better angle with sufficient light source. The viewfinder also provides an indicator if I have properly focused on my subject. When the subject is not focused well, there will be two images; as I adjust the focus ring, the images will superimpose into a single image signifying that the focusing is right. A bonus with this model is its ISO, which is from 25 to 1600. I heard this feature is rare in RFs for most only have ISOs up to 800. I have no problem at all with the shutter release, the rewind knob, nor the film advance knob. This camera is quiet and smooth in every click and crank.

The Yashica Electro 35 GL is a very easy and basic camera to use. The only inconvenience is its weight. Of course that's expected considering the kind of material it's made out of and probably because I'm not used to it after all the rest of my cameras are light weight.

I'm still in the process of mastering this camera and trying out different types of film. So far, I'm having so much fun and amused with the results.

Here are a few shots from my first 3 rolls:

And so this is Summer

Instax shots with sisters and cousins

The summer season here is almost over. A few days more and I'll be back reading law books and wracking my brains out. At least before that begins I had a feel-good time for more than two months. 

First off a one week vacation in Singapore and one day side trip to Johor Bahru, Malaysia which sure is one of the highlights of this year. This experience in detail in my blog entry Singapura: One Fine City. 

My cousins and aunt from New Jersey whom I haven't seen for a long time came to visit us for our family reunion. Also my aunt from France, cousins all the way from Dumaguete, General Santos, and my sister from Singapore came over. The reunion was a series of outings- dolphin watching, snorkeling in Balicasag Island, days in the beach of Panglao, ziplining and caving in E.A.T. Danao Adventure Park, gathering at relatives' houses, and grand finale at the Bohol Beach Club. It was good to see the descendants of Rafael and Felisa (my grandparents) gather together.

During the fiesta of our city, my close friends from high school and I were able to spend time together. Although it was just for a day it was worth it; just talking and hanging out. We had so much catching up to do and we were able to do that that day.

The 3 days in Cebu with my boyfriend started with a not so good intro but that was overlapped with good times spent with close friends I haven't seen in a while. I was able to meet the most adorable blue-eyed white cat, Midnight, my friends own. And we purchased our first ukulele, naming it Cece. Now I'm practicing on a few songs and having a good time.

2012's summer was good to me and I can't be more grateful. I can face the new school year with a big smile.

Lomo shots from this summer:

Big smile for the Merlion

Finally we meet Shrek and Fiona

My mom carrying Lily on our way to Balicasag Island

The scenic ocean view of Balicasag Island

My sister and niece enjoying the crystal clear water of the island

Himontagon Hills at sunset

My cousin and her baby

My cousins and sisters during the reunion's grand finale

Dipping in Bohol Beach Club's pool

Say "hi", Coco!

Bohol Beach Club's beautiful white sand beach

Cece the ukulele

Adrift

The scorching heat cruel from skin to bones

But the crystal blue water calls

Digging toes through the powdery sand

Approaching the crash of the waves

Freedom felt as I glide through

Holding breath with wide open eyes

In the salty fluid of the ocean

I felt more free and welcome

Blissful moments worthy to keep

Floating, memorizing every cloud

Swimming and savouring the feeling

In this precious drift is where I long to be

~melancholik

The 16 Shots Mask

After more than a year, I finally had my 120s processed. I waited that long for them to be developed in Manila since I didn't get the chance to go there for some reason. I live far from there and no shop in our city processes 120 films which is a sad fact. Despite that agonizing feeling of delay, I did bear with it patiently letting the rolls live in some corner of the so-called cool shelter of the refrigerator. Thank God a fellow lomographer was on her way to the north so I asked her to bring along my rolls. After less than a week my negatives were delivered by the shop (Digiprint) straight to our door. My sister told me a package has arrived for me and I knew it was what I have been waiting for for some time. I was very happy that the shots turned out good. Can't wait to go shoot some more.