"There are millions of people in the world, and the spirits will see that most of them you never have to meet. But there are one or two you are tied to, and the spirits will cross you back and forth, threading so many knots until they catch and you finally get it right." - Picture Perfect, Jodi Picoult

Labels: book review, life, past life, R, reflection

Title: Wander Girl
Publisher: Summit
Price: P150
Author: Tweet Sering

It's the same feeling as finding designer clothes at a decent Ukay place, or cool puca jewelry in Boracay... like finding treasures at AFFORDABLE prices! Discovering Summit books, that is.

Thanks to a friend for clueing me in to these books... Admittedly, they've become my guilty pleasure too... I'm dumping the Shopaholic/Bridget Jones types now... Harhar...

Wander Girl appealed to me for lots of reasons. Technically, I liked Sering's writing style. Witty. Introspective. Funny. I guess, Summit books have to be funny. This novel is written like it is a traveler’s guide. Coolness. Of course, like any Summit book (or mag), this caters to the Fun, Fearless Pinay! Hehe.

The characters are real and endearing. The experiences (of most characters), close to home. Hilda Gallares, the heroine, started out as an insecure UP Diliman graduate who did not know what to do with her life, and some 7 years later, at age 30, is already an accomplished writer/publisher, and doing what she loves the most: writing and traveling. It's the wanderlust and the love for always moving that makes me relate to her the most (aside from all the bad relationships and what comes along with them... ehem)... The other fab characters are her dad (nagwawala, as she would call it, and I can sooo relate... harhar), her ate Helen (dating KP as in kulubot puwet... hahaha agen), and her best friend Lulu (true-blue, kick-ass Bisaya! Bisayans, unite... Hehe). Oh, I should not forget her boyfriend Gabe, who would count to 250 while they're having sex (brings to mind a friend's story. Just after having sex, and while attempting to do "another round", her partner blurted out "I guess I really need Viagra now"... Ano yun? Trying to be macho, or just plain pathetic? Argh. Men! hahaha... no offense.)

"We Pinays are shoppers in that grocery store. We are dissatisfied with our mangoes and yet we bite into one, swallow a chunk with a grimace, and then go back for more. We complain about the sub-standard men in our lives—how they womanize, gamble, drink too much, abuse us both physically and verbally, disrespect us—and yet we're still with them. We don't go up the grocer and say, "Sir, the mangoes in your store are rotten. Tomorrow, when I buy your mangoes—despite the two occasions they have disappointed me—I want them to be juicy and delicious. Otherwise, I will look elsewhere and never set foot on this store again," and then make good our word…. Pinoy men, I concluded as I rose from my chair, are emotional underachievers because we don't expect high standards from them. They are brats because we spoil them. They give so little and take a lot because we give a lot and take so little."

This book is more mature than Breakup Diaries. Or as Hilda would tell us, "free of Catholic guilt". It showcases the life of a single and independent Pinay in today's time, one that is having sex, yes, no matter that her mom still thinks that she is still a virgin at age 26. (Now tell me, whose mom doesn't?? My mom, I bet she still thinks of me as her baby... But Mom, I would like to protest, I want to have my own babies soon, the natural way! :D)

After a tumultuous 20's, Hilda is now all grown and wiser at 30, just finding out that the hardest relationship of all is not that with other people, but with one's self. And this time, she wants to take that journey.

And I would like to believe that's where I'm heading to as well.

"Because the best thing about wandering off, I found out, is coming home."

Labels: book review

September 18, 2004, 1AM:

I decided to hit the mall after work for a few minutes to get rent money, buy my cig supply for next week and just walk around to decompress.. The mall is my solace. There I can be anonymous and have precious hours to myself, away from all my work and 'lovelife' troubles.

I purposedly avoided going within 2km radius of my favorites shops, lest I go into my I'm-heartbroken-so-I-deserve-a-new-top-or-whatever-suits-my-fancy frenzy.. Hehe.. I've already vowed many times before, that I will not let any man be a reason to drain my bank account via unplanned visits to the spa, salon (and later on curse the high heavens for the dreaded I-was-depressed-so-I-had-my-hair-done-ok?! haircut) or unplanned shoe/CD/clothes/DVD/kikay purchases. I can do that on my own account, thank you very much. :)

But, my shopping maniac nature just wouldn't escape me. So, determined not to go beyond 1,000 pesos, I decided to humour myself and buy, you know.. stuff I NEED. So if that was the only money I have left, I used it up on the ff:

1. Marlboro Lights, 1 rim - ~P300
2. Contraceptive Pills - ~P500 (Ok, dude, don't react! Prescribed by my OB for health reasons! hehe)
3. Book - The Breakup Diaries by Maya Calica - P150 (Well, I needed a distraction from my recent "breakup" story.. I wanted to buy Cosmo, but the title was just too inviting to pass up.. No regrets. I was truly entertained. My review below.. His is a lot more comprehensive, though) 4. Parking fee - P40, and I had a few pesos left to boot! :)

I left the mall, feeling quite happy and ready to go back to work (on a Friday night, yes!), and realized I probably made a couple of contradicting purchases. So I SMS'd my two best friends (both doctors) - "Ey, can I smoke while on the pill?".. Best Friend A "No, mam. :( Prone to forming clots even if you don't have wounds. Can cause clogged blood vessels". Best Friend L "As if you'll stop smoking if I say you can't! Hehe.. Nah, won't kill you now. Prolly 10-15 years later".. I just love how different my friends are. But of course, L is right. If I had to choose between the risk of getting pregnant, vs not smoking, I'd obviously take the 1st option. Hehe.
So anyways, I ended up reading the book when I got home. It's an easy read so I was done in time to still catch the folks in the U.S. and complete my work deliverables for the week. Yay me!
The book is entertaining, like I said. Every woman, who ever experienced a break up, imagined or otherwise, no matter what age or size, can relate. She wrote her novel in the manner of Bridget Jones. I found it distracting, sometimes, but The Breakup Diaries is funny and witty, and I would admit, I couldn't put it down.

I saw myself in Monica, well, not for the part where she would confess her sins every so often.. "... I've allowed him to, uhm, sort of touch me.. below my neck, Father..".. LOL. "A watched phone never beeps".. Another laugh. I had had to resort to putting my phone on silent mode, because I was already hearing my Itsuomo ringing tone even when it wasn't ringing, as I was constantly expecting for HIM to text or call, which he used to do, like daily, and all throughout the day. Nyeta o. Detox! (What do you know. After one day of no word from him, he SMS'd me with "Hi my friend".. "Friend mo mukha mo!", was my first thought balloon.. Though I really wanted to say, "Gago, I miss you". But finally replied with "Hi ka rin".. Argh. I've mutated into a teenager. If this were a scene from a movie, it would be from "30 Going 13"!)

Every woman who's been scorned has had to gather up all her strength and willpower not to cave with low attempts to jerk her feelings around by way of missed calls, drunken or sporadic SMS's, or random calls (like every 3-weeks random!).

Fought the urge to call Itos or even text back. Felt texting back would make me a major loo-hoo-ser. But, OK, will admit was going to reply except suddenly could not find name in the phone book. Just then, "DON'T TEXT HIM" was calling me.

Every woman who's been scorned has gone through psychoanalysis, doing a post mortem on failed relationships, and deconstructing the past to understand WHY, in the manner of:

Reasons why Itos broke up with me (must be written down, again and again, lest I forget!):

1. I'm too nice -- Itos's words
2. "He's too cute for you" - Giselle's point ( reassess friendship with G)
3. "He's an asshole" -- Teray's opinion (everyone is entitled to one)
4. I didn't sleep with him -- Raj's demented reasoning

Lol again. This book is worth it. (Though I have to reconsider if this will really be part of my last 1,000 peso purchases... I have to leave something for food and water, I suppose..)

Come to think of it, getting over a breakup is not that bad.. You know you're going to get better at it, the next time around.. It is also really quite funny. You can't help but laugh at your own eccentricities. The things you do. Good thing you have friends who can accept you, no matter how crazy you get. Chances are, they've had their moments like that, anyways. Right, dude?? :)

September 18, 2004, 11AM:

Just finished my early Saturday/late U.S. Friday meeting. Am hungry. Oh, phone just lit! Message from... "IGNORE HIM! HE'S BAD FOR YOU!!" :D

Labels: book review, life, relationships