50 Shades of Grey is so much like Twilight

Virtually everyone has read Fifty Shades of Grey.

When it first started popping out into the mainstream books, I didn't engross to the hype. Why? I literally thought it was a book for an architectural basis or the like until people within my network started talking about it. Almost all of my friends are reading the e-book and are bugging me to read it too. And I didn't succumb because the reason they wanted me to read FSOG (okay I am a lazy typist) is because of how detailed the author writes. And I didn't get the detailed part at first. I was like "Guys, I have read through hundreds of books which are written in deliciously amount of details." Little did I know that the detail they were pertaining to was far from how Gabriel Allon decapitates a Nazi POW. Far, far from that.

One September night, I finished reading a really really good book. You know the feeling of reading the last sentence of a book and you feel so sad that you've read the whole entirety of a really good story that you don't know what to do with your life anymore? I felt so sad that I immediately wanted to read another book just so I will have something to do with my life again. And then FSOG happened.

The first chapter of the book was screaming of boredom, I must admit. But what kept me from abandoning my reading is the curiosity as to why it became so popular. Take note, I haven't done any advance reading or spoilers, if you may, about the book. Not even a description. But as I got deeper into reading, I have been noticing some prominent similarities to another young adult fiction--Twilight.

Seriously, the similarities are pulsating to be pin pointed. I am still at chapter 9, so so far, these are the principal comparisons

• First of, Jose. MY GOD. Jose is the screaming image of Jacob from Twilight. Tan skin and dark hair? 
• Next is Paul. Hello Mike? The high school kid who was hitting on Bella at the first parts of the book.
• And really now, BELLA AND ANA. Both are brunets with pale skin.
• Edward and Christian, the unruly hair is very uncanny, and so as their need to read Ana/Bella's thoughts.
• Anastasia's mom has remarried.
• Anastasia's old beaten VW car and Bella's VW truck.
• Edward and Christian's love for lavish cars.
• Christian saving Ana from a vehicular accident. Bella and Edward's scene with an icy-wheeled truck.
• Both books have a restaurant wherein the waitress is into the guy (Christian & Edward)
• DIET COKE.
• Ana and Bella both have addicting smells. 

Bare in mind I am still at chapter 9! So I will not be surprised if a coven of vampires is out and in search for Ana's blood! This is all too weird. The only difference is (well aside from vampires and shape-shifters) is the sex. FSOG answers to the lacking of sexual details Twilight has which was just a tease in the latter. And the sex element made it marketable to Twilight fans who craved for details for the main characters from Twilight which they identified from Christian and Anastasia. 

So what do you think? Is FSOG a rip-off of the Twilight series?

Wala Lang

Pano mo ba malalaman kung love mo ang isang tao?

Wala lang. Naisip ko lang. Kase masyado ng overrated eh. Parang tipong 14 years old magsasabi na ng I love you sa jowang hilaw tapos after a few moments, heart broken na. Alam mo yun? Nawala kase yung essence ng totoong meaning ng love. Oh sige, pu-puwede natin isisi sa hormones nung bata-bata pa tayo, nung teenager moments ang dating. Pero gets? Sa sobra kaseng pagkakasabi ng I love you ng kung sino sino lang, eh parang di na totoo. Parang yung feeling na pag inulit-ulit mong sabihin ang isang salita, parang namamanhid na yung utak mo sa pagkakabigkas ng salitang 'yon eh parang di na niya alam kung ano ba yung meaning nun.

Labo ba? Oo, malabo talaga.

Pero di nga, pano mo nga ba talaga malalaman kung nagmamahal ka na? Ako kase 20 years old na ko eh di ko pa rin masagot. May reference point ba kung san mo i-babase ang love? Kapag ba kunware pag gising mo, yung taong yun agad naiisip mo? Yung tipong buong araw, kapag nagliliwaliw utak mo, eh mauutal ka bigla kase nabanggit mo na pala pangalan niya involuntarily? Love na ba agad yun? Yung kapag may narinig kang hardcore sa heartbreaking lyrics na kanta, eh yung taong yun ang kagad lilitaw sa utak mo? Tapos pag nanood ka ng romantic movie eh kahit anong plot nung story mapipilit mo pa rin yung love story mo kasama nung taong yun sa movie? Ganon na ba ang love? Love na agad? Di ba pwedeng nababaliw lang? PBB Teens?

Kase mas okay mabaliw, sa totoo lang. Personal na opinyon ko to, kaya wag ka mag taas kilay. Kase tignan natin 'to sa anggulong analitikal. Una, kapag in love ka tapos matino pag iisip mo, kada oras na bakante ang laman ng utak mo, magiging space filler yung taong minamahal mo. Kung baga parang malingat ka lang ng konte sa konsentrasyon mo sa homework, kahit isang segundo lang, parang yung pangalan niya na agad nasa isip mo. Eh kung baliw ka, ok lang. Parang hello, baliw ka nga eh. So hindi mo na kailangan i-justify ang mga bagay. Kung baga di ka accountable sa pagkakaisip sakanya. Diba mas okay baliw?

Pero kase okay lang naman ang ma-inlove. Ang masaklap lang, kapag di ka love nung kinaiinlaban mo. Yung tipong di ka naman talaga niya gusto simula pa lang, as in platonic lang talaga ang relasyon niyo. Oh kaya ex mo tapos siya naka move on na, tapos ikaw namamaga na yung eyebags mo sa kakalupasay kase miss na miss mo na siya.

Saklap noh? Yung pangalawa. Kase para sakin mas okay na yung una pa lang alam mo na na ayaw ka na kesa naman yung nasayo na nga, nawala pa. Pinatikim ka lang tas binawi rin, bastos eh. Eto kase yung nagiging madalas na dahilan kung bakit di ka maka-move on. Kase ikaw, ayaw mo pa mawala yung relasyon na yon, yung taong yun lang yung umayaw. Di ka pa ready mag let-go, eh wala ka na palang pinanghahawakan. Nandun na, iba nang kamay ang hawak.

Normal lang ba yung ilang taon na kayong hiwalay, yung tipong alam mong naka move on ka na, yung alam mo sa sarili mo na tanggap mo na talaga na wala na kayo, eh siya pa rin nasa isip mo PARATI? As in, always. Normal ba yun? Kase ako gusto ko ng tumigil yun eh. Di ko kase alam kung ano pa hinihintay ko para tuluyan na siya lumayas sa pagiisip ko. Minsan naisip ko nga na baka dapat makausap ko siya, yung aalamin ko lang kung kamusta siya, kung masaya ba siya sa buhay niya ngayon, kung worth it ba na di ko na siya pinaglaban, kung worth it ba na iniwan niya ko. Pero natatakot din ako eh, natatakot ako na baka pag nakausap ko na siya, pag narinig ko na boses niya, pag nakita ko nanaman yung mukha niya, eh tuluyan nanaman ako mahulog sa bangin. Masaklap doon, alam ko sa sarili ko na sasaluhin niya ko. Di nga lang ako sigurado kung kelan niya ko bibitiwan.

Nagtataka lang kase ako kung bakit kung sino pa yung taong pinaka naka sakit sayo, eh siya pa rin ang hinahanap mo. Di mo naman kase pupuwede piliin kung kelan ka titigil sa kahibangan mo na ikaw pa rin ang pipiliin sa huli eh diba? Kahit sabihin pa ng mga kaibigan mo na lilipas din siya sa buhay mo eh alam mo sa sarili mo na hindi. Kasi naging parte na siya ng buhay mo eh, pano pa lilipas ang isang bagay na ingrained na sa systema ng pamumuhay mo? Kahit ilang gallon pa ng detoxifying coffee ang inumin mo, papayat ka lang. Pero nasa loob mo pa rin ang kada kilobyte ng kung ano ka nung alam mong mahal mo pa siya. Akala ko nga dati pag sinubukan ko mag mahal ng iba, mawawala na pagmamahal ko sa kanya. Pero totoo, sinubukan ko talaga. Sa totoo lang sinuwerte ako sa taong to, sobrang bait, nasasakyan yung trip ko sa buhay, at ginagawa lahat para maging komportable ako. Alam ko na mahal ko naman siya, pero iba eh. Iba pa rin yung naramdaman ko date. Ibang klaseng pagmamahal yun, di ka-lebel neto.

Naiinis lang ako sa sarili ko pag naiisip ko toh eh. Kase gustong-gusto ko mahalin itong lalakeng toh na mas higit pa sa pagmamahal ko sa taong nakasakit sakin. Pero kahit anong pilit ko, kahit ilang dasal ko, kahit ilang beses kong talikuran yung nakaraan, eh di ko magawa. Di ko masasabing panakip-butas siya kase hello naman, parang magkaibang dimension sila. Di mo pwede ipagtaklob ang dimensions. Dimensions will always be similar, but never the same.

There's this guy

There's this guy, we were childhood friends. He went away for a long time and one day, he came back. He was cute and all that. Tall, dark hair, toned body, and he was in a band. He went to my house one day, I was in my downright humblest clothes. I didn't know that in that moment, my whole world would change permanently.

There's this guy, he called me everyday. We talked for hours about everything. We'd go outside my house and sit under the stars while he tells me every story behind each constellation. We would finish our talk at 3 in the morning and every one of those nights would be the best night of my life. Almost everyday he'd come to my house, laughter would surround the silence in the neighborhood as we acted silly around each other knowing that the world didn't matter. Everyday he would wake me up at 6 in the morning saying "Wake up, I miss you." And going to school seemed to be not so dreadful anymore. Instantaneously, my day would lighten up. He'd constantly ask me to trust him, that he wouldn't hurt me like the others.

There's this guy, we were walking on the city streets, he slowly held my hand. I looked at him with confusion, and his smile was the sweetest smile I've seen. Just thinking about that moment still makes my lips curl up til this very day. Thinking of that moment made me remember that it was the moment I knew what I really felt, I was in love. He walked me home and it was the most beautiful walk filled with silence but my heart was secretly rejoicing. My heart was pounding really fast that I was worried he would be able to hear it.

There's this guy, the only guy who made me feel the happiest and at the same time, the most afraid. I felt the happiest because I knew what I felt was real. And for the first time in my life, I let someone in. He would hug me really tight and gently kiss my lips. He asked me one night if I've already trusted him, and for the first time, I said yes. He embraced me filled with sincerity and whispered "I love you." I instantly thought that there's no turning back. That from this day forward, I knew he would always be in my heart. Of all things, his absence made me cringe. Just thinking of him not being in my future made living a malady.

There's this guy, this guy made everything in my life seem perfect like giving up on life will never be an option. Life was so beautiful. Everything about the world made my lips curl up every time. It scared me that everything went good, that it's impossible for something this euphoric to not have it's price.

And it did.

There's this guy, he held my heart and he promise to never let it go. But what I could never understand is how he could just suddenly disappear. I could never understand how one day we were inseparable and in an instant, he was gone. My whole world crushed and fell right in front of me. He tore my heart in to pieces in such a way that no one could ever patch up again. 

There's this guy, I would have never imagined that he would be the one who'd break my heart. He was the dream that I knew that would one day come true. And he was also the nightmare I was always afraid to haunt me. But this guy, I knew was the one that got away. He was the guy that I knew from the start, would be the end of how I knew love should be. He was the guy that after he have left, would change my universe forever. 

There's this guy, we one had the most beautiful fairy tale. And they all say that when  fairy tales end, it supposed to have a happy ending. It's just sad to know that when our fairy tale ended, he found his happy ending somewhere else.

Food for the Goddesses

So I just survived my first week of the semester. If you guys must know, my univ is following a quarter-semester-based curriculum so yeah, that pretty much means our longest vacation is 4 weeks. Our school offers this so students can graduate earlier than the usual. Yeah, right. They didn't say you have to go through the eye of the needle to do this! Not only should you shed tears and blood, but internal organs would be necessary too if asked!

In two semesters I'll be graduating, though. So I'm excited for that! (Two sems=6 months). Goodbye Mapua!:)

So anyway, I've been kind of stressed lately. No, not because of school. Because of my weight. Everyone seemed to notice that I gained a significant amount of weight. And because of this, I've used an equally significant amount of self discipline to restrain myself from food. So what more logical thing to do than to scan through pictures of my favorite dessert of all time.

Caroline's leche flan cake! It's basically a custard caked placed atop of a super delicious sponge cake! The sponge cake sips the caramel sauce of the custard and it's orgasmic to the mouth, I swear! Almost literally melts once it touches your tongue! The first picture is in ube flavor (purple yam) which is my favorite.

Yeah I know it's over saturated because of the flash.

Here are other mouth-watering shots which I'm sure you're dying to look at because you're hungry and sad like me!

Obviously, these shots were taken from last Christmas. Because it was the only time this lasted for more than 10 minutes in our house. Hehe. This can be bought at Eastwood mall and it costs less than 200 pesos so yeah, we're happy kids.

xoxo,

M

Tony Moly Dear Me Petite Cotton BB Cream

Today is the last day of SM's 3-day sale so my Mom and I took advantage right after hearing mass! Seriously, I can't tell you how immensely dense SM was today! I think everyone in our area was there hehehe or not. I bought 3 tops and jeans since tomorrow is our first day of the 4th semester. I was surprised to see that Watson's was also on sale (since they rarely do!) so I went straight to Tony Moly to look for a good BB cream. I've read good reviews for this Korean brand's BB cream for its price. When I got to their stall, I was so relieved to see what I was eyeing for about 2 weeks now (because for the 2 weeks that passed there were no stocks for the one that I like!).

excuse the mess!:)

This 30g bottle costs 330 pesos in regular days. Since it's on sale (if you purchase a certain amount, then 10% will be deducted!), it costs 300 na lang. Lol I know, how big of a sale! My mom bought other products from Tony Moly so I got this for that price.

From my research, this one's the most suitable for my skin type (oily skin here). The other BB creams Tony Molly offers have other treatments included so the sales lady said that those were for older buyers. The other one, the one with shimmer (Secret BB cream 02 Brighter P498), isn't recommended for people with an oily-skin type since the shimmer would add shine to your already-shiny skin. So this is a big no-no for me! Whereas the Dear Me Petite Cotton, the finish is matte.

DMPC BB cream has an SPF of 30 (which would last for about 5 hours) so this is nice since it's summer and we all know that the Philippines is tremendously hot during this season.

Upon opening the product, I noticed that the tube opening is kind of big for a creamy textured product. So I recommend to not store it standing erect (like how I did on the first picture hihi) because it will definitely spill on the cover. And we don't want to clean up mess before applying, too much hassle.

The consistency is good, not too thick since it isn't really a foundation make-up (not full coverage) so if you want to cover scars, you should apply concealer first. But basically, it blends smoothly and evenly.

I forgot to take a picture of the cream so I ripped from one of my research sources, Frozen Blossom's blog.

Even with it's light texture, it still concealed the unevenness of my skin. And as you might have read on my previous posts, I don't like using products with pungent smells. So this definitely pleased my nasal track since it smelled just like baby powder! Very light and not too fragrant. After you put on the cream on your whole face, apply powder for a nice finish.:) One downside is there isn't any other option as for the shade. There's only one shade for this variant of BB cream and it's more biased on a lighter skin tone. So if you have a darker tone, then may I suggest mixing it with a foundation of your choice!:)

Verdict: MUST BUY! This product is worthy for its low price. SPF30 is not so bad for make up. It's perfect for summer and it conceals light blemishes on the face. Perfect for everyday use since it is a Blemish Balm after all. So this is a good buy!:) Mind you that this is Tony Moly's best seller. So they don't always have it in stock everyday so grab one ASAP!

I would definitely buy this again! Have a beautiful summer, ladies!:)

xoxo,

M

Home Alone

I just woke up from a loooooooooong nap (2pm-6pm!) and when I got down stairs, no one's home! Everybody left and no one even bothered to tell me. Haha. Anyway, my dog's here so all's good.

So yesterday I bought something for my phone which I rarely do. I went to Glorietta with the boyfriend and saw this cute silicon case! Instantly fell in love with it!

Was playing with the camera settings hihi. Bought this for like 200 bucks!

In lieu of my post regarding Watson's Whitening Milk and Salt Scrub, I think it's about time to write an update. I've been using it daily for a month now and I can't say quite much just yet. Why? Because I think these kinds of things take time to fully see it's effect. But so far so good!:)

Pros: As I've mentioned before, I love how the smell isn't too potent. Personally, I don't like using daily essentials may it be cosmetics or toiletries which are very fragrant. This is because I am in love with my perfume by VS (which I will be posting about sometime in the near future hehe) so I don't want to smell like a perfumery house. Another thing which I really liked about WWMSS (wow that's long) is it doesn't irritate my skin! Lot's of exfoliating products I've used would either give me rashes or would make my skin super itchy! Ugh. So this def would be an empty bottle in no time! And of course, having to use this product for about a month now, I've noticed that the dark areas in my skin began to soften and lighten. Not significantly though, just a tad bit. I have to get back to that area of review after I've finished the bottle so keep posted for that!

Cons: Or should I say con? There's only one back draw--it's effect takes a long time to be noticed. I'm not complaining though, for a hundred bucks worth.

So overall I do recommend this product if a) you're in a tight budget and would want to use a product for its worth and b) if you have patience. Otherwise, when given bigger means for whitening and exfoliation, then I guess you can buy a more expensive brand. Watch out for my final verdict on the coming days (when I've fully finished the whole package).

xoxo,

M

Reason for this Season

It's Maundy Thursday and what have you sacrificed for the Lord?

Being in this generation, it's tremendously hard to find what we could give to God in return for all the blessings he has given us. Small things, I think, count as big sacrifices as long as it comes with sincerity and love. Even as simple as waking up like 3 hours earlier than the usual to attend a Lenten Retreat in your community will (I think) count as your sacrifice! Hehe, ok so yeah, I think that is my grand offering, and I've given up smoking too, for this season at least.

So anyway, I got up unexpectedly early today thanks to my visitor (UGH). I woke up at 7am and I remembered that today is the first day of the Lenten Retreat. I got back to bed and I couldn't sleep. So I thought that was God telling me to attend the retreat.

I went there with my mom and tita and saw a couple of friends from high school. One of them, Jake, whom I was surprised to see since he isn't that big of a fan of God. Yes, he doesn't believe in the Almighty Father. Years back I remember trying to introduce to him the idea of having a supreme being but he and I had a falling out so I failed there. But we're in good terms now!

If you're wondering about the retreat, well here's how it looks like (from our view)

It was held at the Smart Araneta Coliseum and we were seated at the upper box b! Haha. Tickets are compliment of the sponsors and the Araneta family so admission is free! How cool is our church? Haha. Mind you that though there is no entrance fee, the place is well lit and the air conditioning was great! I mean beyond great! I was freezing up there! Which is nice since it's summer, hehe. Tomorrow we'll be back for the second day and also on Saturday. To feed your curious minds, well the retreat was very effective for me. Though I know that the lessons taught during the talk is obvious and already established, it is still very powerful to hear it from the speakers who were very enthusiastic and honest about what they were preaching. The speakers include the parish priests and other liturgical leaders.

This holy week, may we not forget why the government has allowed us a long vacation. Not only to spend time having fun with our families in Boracay, but most importantly, so we may not forget how Jesus gave his life to save us from our sins, that He is still the reason for this season. Have a happy and meaningful Lenten Season!

xoxo,

M