JynxedPanda-Sphere » All In The Family

It’s A House Thing

jynxypanda — Wed, 16 May 2012 07:38:31 +0000

I’m giving away a ticket to Philippine Fashion Week Holiday 2012! Pls scroll down or go to my post here.

Do any of you guys have Pinterest? Oh I can hear you guys grumbling “Not another social network, AGAIN.” Actually it does seem like Tumblr but in a more organized manner. Pinterest is somewhat like a corkboard and shelf all rolled into one. For example, you were looking for a particular style to redecorate your home but there are so many. So what you do is you “pin” it on a particularly board in Pinterest and then you’ll be able to review them all at a later time. What I love about is it’s graphical user interface and it’s just so easy on the eyes. It’s bookmarking WITH STYLE. I’ve already made 12 boards and I’ve also indicated my dream camera there too, just so I won’t forget it or anything. I will get a DSLR someday and after hours of research, I do know what camera and lens to get. I just need… you know, moolah. So if you’re on Pinterest already, ADD MEE! Or if you want an invite (you can easily log in using twitter or facebook), I can easily give ya one. Just comment away

One of my favorite boards there is of course, that dream house “Welcome to My Abode” board. Ever since I was young and had to move away from my grandparents, I knew I wanted my own room just like what other “normal” people had. Why am I still sleeping in the same room with my parents EVEN up to now? Why can’t I tear down these walls and decorate to my own liking? Well of course money money money is the problem and the fact that we’re just renting our house. So if ever the owners decided to boot us out, I’ll be homeless. So I don’t really have a permanent home, this is why I love the phrase, “Home is where the heart is” because I can make ANY PLACE my home. And thus the dreamer in me continues to dream. I’ve grown out of my pre-teen and teenage phase so unfortunately I can’t decorate my room like one anymore (well WHO SAYS SO… I still can! haha) but I have a vision of what my dream house would be like. It’s got to be big, and spacious! Check out my dream house board.

Seems though I LOVE to incorporate nature and books in my future home.

Maybe live inside a mountain or a hill

Or float around in my lazy river inside the house

Or yeah again in a cave

But then something revolutionary happened last week that threatened me to jump off my dream precipice. I watched a documentary on Youtube called “We The Tiny House People” and it featured the tumbleweed houses and various other people who were able to build extraordinary homes in such a limited space. It wasn’t actually my first time to see this particular house

which looked like a cabin compartment on wheels more than anything else. Somehow it wasn’t able to change my perception of my dream house but after watching this documentary and to find out how living less doesn’t always mean living more, but it doesn’t mean that LESS CANNOT BE MORE. Why can’t it? A lot would disagree with that statement at how having less things mean more things. But I believe that we can make it more. You got to work to achieve and if you check out my favorites in the documentary, such as this amazing 400-square feet boat home by Heather Wilcoxon who ditched the Hollywood glamour to live on a boat.(no I am not a hippie or bohemian-ish really… i would change the interior design but the concept is amazing)

My favorite apartment though has got to be Christian Schallert’s apartment in Barcelona. They call it the “lego-style apartment” because of how everything is connected and hidden. It’s perfectly functional too.

This space-saving idea is so practical and wonderful but might be turned off by those with kids. Of course you can’t raise kids in these kinds of quarters but it doesn’t have to be such a big difference right? People who have built tiny homes state that one of the reasons why they love building these is because of “being lazy” and “no dusting required” statement. Actually that’s a perk but I think the reason goes beyond that. Less cleaning is always helpful but let’s not forget that it’s great for sanitation purposes, it helps with countries’ density problem. Building these kinds of tiny houses is more economical and cheaper they say because of lower rent rates and of course less land needed and I do agree.

I look at the problems here in the big city of Metro Manila and look at the squatters and shanties around and I can’t help feel a nudge somewhere… that this might be a solution to their problem. I don’t know how it’s going to be implemented or not but applying these kinds of concepts could help with the environmental waste problem and also the squatter situation. I want to pitch this idea to somebody but I feel like I lack the needed knowledge (i am not an interior designer or an architect) but this is an important idea that must be shared. What do you think?

Please take the time to watch this documentary, it might be long (1 hour and a half) but it’s really worth it. You don’t have to watch it all now but it would be great if you take the time to watch this too. This has affected me so much that wherever I turn to in my home, I’d see “WASTED SPACE!!!” and say “TOO MUCH SPACE FOR 3 PEOPLE!!” and I want to take out everything. But it’s not yet my home… wait till I get my own. Nature will definitely be a part of my future home though.

If you just want to watch the trailer, you could do so here It’s only 10 minutes I think?

Check out the Tumbleweed blog or Faircompanies for videos and photos of more tiny houses. They also give you tips on how to “save space” from your homes.

Jay Shafer is also the founder and owner and architect and… well he built the first “tiny house” like this. Check out his tour. Thought that I should mention him here because he’s kind of the “pioneer” in the States.

Updates when I update!

Cleaning Out Culinary Skills

jynxypanda — Wed, 09 May 2012 04:17:33 +0000

Don’t really have spring here so I just pretend I have spring cleaning. Even though it’s summer. So let me just be a Snow White here and clean out my closet.

Oh the things you find in junk (actually there’s still box-loads of junk and I just had a major Epiphany which I will share in my NEXT blog post) especially TONS of stuff toys. I didn’t realize I’ve amassed a collection until I saw that they were gathering dusts (and maybe cobwebs and a few spiders who knows) in my closet and I’ve decided to scrub em till they shine! Well lookie what I found!

Show ▼

Sorry for messy beds background

That’s just 1/4 of the family and I’ve got some more tucked away in Narnia waiting to be found. Most of the stuff toys I have now were mostly gifts and this is one of the reasons why stuff toys aren’t really my ideal gifts… O_O where would I place all these without them gathering dust? I am thankful for each of them though and they are darn cute, you gotta admit it! I did find some… weird ones, one was so freaky that our dog kept barking at it.

But he wasn’t scared of his new toy

It creeped me out at first, I mean what is it and why doesn’t it have ears or something? See, having ears makes a difference. A lot of difference.

I’ve been reading a lot of good books lately and I hope you can check them out here. Add me up on Goodreads, am always on the search for another perfect book. I love fantasies such as The Hobbit, Harry Potter and also magical realism books such as One Hundred Years of Solitude, and also books with animals on them (Life of Pi did it for me I think). The last book sale blew a huge hole in my wallet but I died a happy bookworm. Tea Obreht’s The Tiger’s Wife is a gripping read, one of the few books that made me actually want to join a book club and discuss its meaning because there are so many twists and turns and I NEED to know what really happened. It’s also about a Balkan country which I know next to zilch about so it was a very interesting read. Full review of my read books can be found here.

As you can see, this set has all my preferences

I swear you have got to read Habibi if you’re an aspiring artist or designer because of its intricate patterns and designs on the drawings. Just for that I’ve already given this book a WHOPPING 10 but it is for mature audiences. This is the third volume of Y:The Last Man and since the bookstore only had 1 copy left… I couldn’t help but by it T_T And Free Comic Book Day is coming up on May 19 with 20% off on graphic novels… *gets shot more* Somebody help me control my book shopping tendencies. Maybe I should check in a support group.

I’ve also been bitten by the culinary bug. Well it’s actually more like my mom’s doing.

Mom: I don’t want to cook anymore, you’ve got no job yet anyway so you can cook for us.

Me: But but but I do help with the business…

Mom: No, you start today.

Me: Okay… *polishes my rusty cooking skills from 2 years ago*

I haven’t cooked really or had the desire to cook since my student exchange last 2010 but I thought what the heck and since our new helper at home actually knows how to cook, she helped me with my chopping skills and mentored me as we cooked these dishes. I was the mastermind and strategist while I learned the correct basic cooking techniques as I never received any proper training. Searching for recipes is the funnest part and I somehow became immune to the heat even while cooking. I didn’t despise it anymore as long as I can cook good food and see the happy faces of my family. Seeing the joy of somebody relishing good food is really something. Makes you feel happy like Santa. If Santa’s out there…

And now I want to introduce you to one of my inspirations (besides my mother and brother because he does cook good food), THE PIONEER WOMAN (Ree Drummond)! She was the one who saved me during my student exchange because of her step by step VISUAL recipes. I never had the patience for cooking videos because what if I missed a step and I had to rewind it back then I’d be hobbling around the kitchen frantically making a mess out of things. So when I saw her WONDERFUL WONDERFUL SITE, I became a disciple of her good cooking and inspired me to actually take good food photography (and I still fail at it, sorry ). What I love about her blog is not only the mouth-watering delectable pictures and easy to follow recipes (heck I’m even thinking of canning and making cinnamon rolls, what the fudge), but also her style of blogging. It really appeals to me. And maybe because she talks and answers herself a lot.

Oh yes she does.

Like me. Sort of.

See? Am answering myself again. Oh the beauty of solitary soliloquy! Oh where were we? Oh yeah food.

SO YEAH GO VISIT HER BLOG! Here are my “exam results” and I hope you guys… like the virtual food? TATA FOR NOW!

My first dish, Spicy Shrimp Aglio Olio (very unconventional as we decided to put Tomato, this is a no no for aglio olio BUUUUTT it kinda worked, it’s still tasty!)

Spicy Tuna Carbonara (didn’t follow Ree’s exact recipe, has Filipino touch to it)

Pasta Puttanesca (Had to substitute some items, be creative as they say! XD)

Chicken Parmigiana, my first love at her site and this was infinitely better than the one I made in France

Above: Baked Blueberry Cheesecake for Chair’s birthday!
Below: No-Bake Blueberry Cheesecake from mom’s recipe
Baked = cheesier, no bake = ice cream-ier

Fresh Strawberry Smoothie.

Lasagna. We didn’t follow the recipe exactly and it came out a bit soggier than usual

After much Italia cuisine, I decided to cook healthier dishes LOLL coz I think we all became fatter afterwards :/ Chicken Couscous with Chick Peas and Harissa Paste. This recipe was from some dude in Foodily. I kinda forgot who…

Roast Herbed Chicken. VERY HERB-Y! This is Jamie Oliver’s recipe (I seriously love his shows. And his family is like the BEST FREAKING CUTEST FAMILY EVER! Check out his instagram) but I used breasts instead of a whole chicken. You need to lessen the oven time coz it cooks faster.

Striving Thrivin’

jynxypanda — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 23:20:02 +0000

*WARNING: PERSONAL POST. SO UH, IF YOU DON’T WANT TO READ MY DRABBLE, DON’T PURSUE FURTHER UH, JUST READ UPDATE POST BELOW THIS INSTEAD XD*

This is the title of my playlist in my iPhone

READ ONNNNN ▼

before my finals week in the last year of University. I only had a few weeks left before my student life ends (if ever I do pursue Graduate studies, it’s going to be different and frankly won’t be as “carefree” as a University student) and how I’ll be entering the real world. I don’t want to make a super dramatic post about finding my soul or self or identity as I struggle to find the meaning in all of this (but maybe it will turn out dramatic, I don’t know). And how I struggle with questions such as, “Holy crap what if the life that I really want wasn’t the course I chose?”, “What now? Where do I go? Do I leave or do I stay?”, “After 8pm of March 23, I’m officially not a student, so does this mean I’ll be a working girl now?” and plenty of questions such as that.

I kind of envy those who have already heard their calling early in their lives. Look at Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg. Do you think they’re successful because of talent? or hard work? No my friends, there has to be luck in this game called life. It’s when you luckily roll the correct number on that dice that you’ll win in Monopoly. Life’s a gamble and only a few can be called winners. A lot of people say that success depends on perspective, I actually agree on that a whole lot. Know the book Secret? The Secret of getting what you want? Well I’ll spoil it to you my friends, it’s actually all about the Secret of the Law of Attraction. Concentrate on positive things, and positive things will go to you. THINK ABOUT IT ALL THE TIME, BE SPECIFIC. But without luck, I don’t think you’ll be as successful too.

I just finished reading Walter Isaacson’s biography on Steve Jobs. It’s a GREAT READ especially for those Steve Jobs/Apple/Mac fans and actually those who want to know in the lives of crazy successful people. Or those with a different line of thought. After reading it, you may disagree with me and would want to rip its pages, heck you might even hate Steve for being an Asshole with a capital A. But I think it’s important to learn his mistakes and know his struggle to success. I just learned about one thing though, he was lucky. He found his passion, heck he called up the head of HEWLETT PACKARD back in the day and was hired as an intern. How gutsy can you be? If you want something that much in life, go get it. But first, you MUST WANT SOMETHING. I think that’s the problem with me, and maybe you too? Or a lot of people out there, ask first the question, WHAT DO YOU WANT. The day you can answer that is the day you can become like Steve Jobs or Bill Gates.

I wasn’t born with a great talent. I’m an adequate but I think a failing singer (well I’d like to think adequate but coming back from a sore throat, my voice has become a man’s voice with the ability to speak like Minnie Mouse. It’s crap XD). I can’t dance well to save my life but I do try. I’m not artistic enough unlike my cousin so I’m just one of the faceless anonymous in this realm. I don’t know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing. So yeah, I’m still searching for that. I have many wants, many many wants, but passion has to be something more concrete. I believe in a lot of things, but which one should is the icing on top of the cake? Hopefully I’ll be able to ask that soon because I feel like I’m just an empty shell (OKAY NOW I’M BEING DRAMATIC SHOOT, I DIDN’T WANT TO BE XD) handing out job applications, one after the other but with so many goals in my head that I don’t know where to turn to. I have a few set of “ideals” I’d like to follow. I’d want to travel and live in another country. I’d really want that but once I commit myself to a company here, would that restrain me? I am sure though that I’ll never join a company that doesn’t confirm with my beliefs and principles. NO TO SMOKING. NO TO ALCOHOL. It’s not that I’m choosy, I still have to respect myself. If you’re next asking me about my relationships… well that’s a matter I don’t want to talk spill at all. Let’s just say, the time will come when I do.

So after 700 words, I’m now going to actually just list down my playlist. Hope you get the feeling of what I was going through in the last few weeks (and up to now actually). My only problem wasn’t about graduation, it was about life. These songs were chosen because of their lyrics, their meaning and their melody. The guy who commentated on Adele’s performance at the Brit Awards 2011 summarized it PERFECTLY.

“There’s nothing quite like the feeling when you’re listening to a song, written by someone you don’t know, who you’ve never met, yet somehow manages to describe exactly how you felt, a particular moment in your life.”

I’ll be sharing the top 10 songs here. Let these songs speak/sing for themselves and I hope you can choose one below and play it as you finish this post. Or just keep it with you. If you don’t, I hope you like any of them. Will be posting their music videos! Don’t have to play them all, or you don’t have to play them at all (well check out the last 4 songs, they’re really. FREAKIN’ AWESOME.). Thanks for reading up to this point my friend. If you have found your passion, you are one lucky person so STRIVE TOWARDS IT. BE POSITIVE, WORK AT IT.

1. Believe – All American Rejects

I don’t ever want to believe
No I don’t ever want to believe yeah
That when we die
We all leave

2. The Cave – Mumford & Sons

Cause I need freedom now
And I need to know how
To live my life as it’s meant to be
And I will hold on hope
And I won’t let you choke
On the noose around your neck
And I’ll find strength in pain
And I will change my ways
I’ll know my name as it’s called again

3. Change – Taylor Swift

Tonight we stand, get off our knees
Fight for what we’ve worked for all these years
And the battle was long, it’s the fight of our lives
But we’ll stand as champions tonight

4. Defying Gravity – Wicked Cast

I’m through accepting limits
Cause someone says the’re so
Some things I cannot change
But till I try, I’ll never know…
Tell them how I am
Defying Gravity
I’m flying high
Defying Gravity

5. No Curtain Call – Maroon 5

I have no time for fear
Or people in my ear
Head down and running so fast
Try not to dwell on the past
I’m fighting through this pain
And things I cannot change
Running right into the flame
Rather than running away

6. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da – The Beatles

Ob-la-di Ob-la-da
Life goes on, bra! – REPEAT LOADS OF TIMES

7. Marchin’ On – One Republic

For those days we felt like a mistake,
Those times when love’s what you hate
Somehow
We keep marchin on

For those nights that I couldn’t be there,
I’ve made it harder to know that you know
That somehow
We’ll keep movin on

There’s so many wars we fought
There’s so many things we’re not
But with what we have
I promise you that
We’re marchin on
We’re marchin on

For all of the plans we’ve made
There isn’t a flag I’d wave
Don’t care where we’ve been
I’d sink us to swim
We’re marchin on
We’re marchin on

For those doubts that swirl all around us
For those lives that tear at the seams
We know
We’re not what we’ve seen

Oh
For this dance we move with each other
There ain’t no other step
Than one foot
Right in front of the other
Oh

We’ll have the days we break
And we’ll have the scars to prove it
We’ll have the bombs that we saved
And we’ll have the heart
Not to lose it

8. Shake It Out – Florence + The Machine (DARNNIT THE WHOLE SONG IS FREAKIN’ BEAUTIFUL

Regrets collect like old friends
Here to relive your darkest moments
I can see no way, I can see no way
And all of the ghouls come out to play
And every demon wants his pound of flesh
But I like to keep some things to myself
I like to keep my issues strong
It’s always darkest before the dawn
And I’ve been a fool and I’ve been blind
I can never leave the past behind
I can see no way, I can see no way
I’m always dragging that horse around
And our love is pastured such a mournful sound
Tonight I’m gonna bury that horse in the ground
So I like to keep my issues strong
But it’s always darkest before the dawn
Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh woaaah
Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh woaaaah….
And given half the chance would I take any of it back
It’s a final mess but it’s left me so empty
It’s always darkest before the dawn…
And I’m damned if I do and I’m damned if I don’t
So here’s to drinks in the dark at the end of my road
And I’m ready to suffer and I’m ready to hope
It’s a shot in the dark and right at my throat
Cause looking for heaven, for the devil in me
Looking for heaven, for the devil in me
Well what the hell I’m gonna let it happen to me

9. The Times They Are A-Changing – Bob Dylan (THE WHOLE SONG. JUST LISTEN.)

ULTIMATE SONG: UNDER PRESSURE – QUEEN & DAVID BOWIE / ANNIE LENNOX & DAVID BOWIE(THE LAST PART OF THE SONG IS ONE OF THE BEST ENDINGS, EVER. IN ANY SONG. EVER. THE FREAKING MELODY. THE LYRICS. BEST. EVER. One video isn’t enough so here’s TWO!)

Pressure pushing down on me
Pressing down on you no man ask for
Under pressure – that burns a building
down
Splits a family in two
Puts people on streets
It’s the terror of knowing
What this world is about
Watching some good friends
Screaming let me out
Pray tomorrow – gets me higher
Pressure on people – people on streets
She been around
Kicked my brains round the floor
These are the days it never rains but it pours
People on streets
Insanity laughs under pressure we’re
cracking
Can’t we give ourselves one more chance
Why can’t we give love that one more
chance
Why can’t we give love
Give love give love give love give love
Give love give love give love
Love’s such an old fashioned word
And love dares you to care for
The people on the edge of the night
And love dares you to change our way of
Caring about ourselves

This is our last dance
This is our last dance
This is ourselves
Under pressure
Under pressure
Pressure

FREDDIE FREAKIN’ MERCURY, YOU ARE MISSED. SO MUCH!

So that’s it! Thanks so much for tuning in

My Pet Hamster Drank the Potion

jynxypanda — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 16:47:09 +0000

//Will probably bury this post after a day or 2

Thank you to the commenters who shared their views on religion! It really cheered me up that people do think about religion critically and that people still have faith! Watch my last post if you’re interested.

I’ve been becoming depressed after the… news about this hemorrhoids business because of the uncertainty of things, whether this cream will work or not, will I live or die, will this change me from what I am now, will I be ready for both good and bad news? It was comforting to know that I wasn’t alone and that people have experienced the same things, what scares is what the people experienced after the initial “calm” finding. After watching an incredibly underrated movie called 50/50 starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt,

I can say that I’ll get through anything, any news whatsoever but before that come the stages. When I thought that I was cured finally after 2 days of not experiencing anything, I then to my horror found out that it wasn’t over. I couldn’t help but do a dramatic scene of sobbing in the loo, in the shower, thinking and contemplating and just thinking again… what if, what if, what if. I couldn’t get the thought out of my mind and I was seriously frightened and scared. Most frightening moment of my life.

But afterwards, after the sobbing, the mourning and the denial, you gradually accept and become ready for anything to hit you. You look for your inspiration and you find them in the littlest things. You try to act noble and do the most honorable thing. You try to keep your act together for the sake of others and for the sake of yourself. Suddenly you had a purpose in life. Live while you can.

This weekend started with a kaleidoscopic myriad of colors, music, body movements and aroma but it all turned black and white as I again was saying goodbye to my brother for the 3rd time as he ventures off to a better land for better opportunities somewhere above the Atlantic. I cried once again as I would not hear us screaming at each other anymore for a year and laugh at how relationships work. At how you think you hate someone but after everything, you still love them to bits. I WISH HIM WELL AND ALL THE BEST! CHEERS BROTHER AND BON VOYAGE!

So yeah, the title… LOL I actually wanted to write this post because of my dream. I’ve been feeling SO GROGGY AND SLEEPY the past few days and I just want to sleep it off ALL THE TIME. I practically slept in all the car rides the past days too. Thing is I’ve been dreaming every single time and this dream stuck like a gum under a shoe. That sort of disturbing thing.

I dreamt that I had a pet hamster the SIZE of a small bean/seed/nut.

Imagine that, it was only a few centimeters or even millimeters long but I had it somehow. It looked like my favorite hamster when I was young and I took care of it. But then, I suddenly lost it somehow and got another one. I would play with it as it scurry along the palm of my hand but then I would eventually find this “first” hamster. This “first” hamster now though grew to be an inch longer and I was surprised! At my surprise, I lost again my “second” hamster and got another little hamster. It kept on repeating until I had a lot of hamsters now. But then they would also grow and grow…

Senseless dreams right?

*toasts to whiskey – hoping it would cure my cough and colds -_-*

Questions:
1. What’s the first dream that you had in 2012? Or what’s the latest dream you remembered?

Till We Have Faces

jynxypanda — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 18:52:38 +0000

Quick Site Updates! Added links, pages to my Europhotoblog, fixed Project 365 (now my instagram blog, having an iPhone can be handy dandy!), Project Filmography 2012, Project 50 Leaves 2012 (I FINALLY FINISHED 50 BOOKS LAST YEAR!! WOOT GONNA DO IT AGAIN!), added my old poem (will be making new ones soon!) and also added some Meme Questions that I got from Jess (do ask me questions! Would love to hear from you guys :D). So was able to spring clean my blog just in time for the first day of the year!

I got a story to tell though! Something happened right before the start of 2012. Remember my last post when I talked about the alien conspiracy theories and how people think that another reason why the Mayans predicted that December 21, 2012 is the end of the world is because the Mayans MET the aliens. Actually not only the Mayans but including ancient civilizations such as the Greeks (EVEN PLATO THOUGHT THERE WERE ALIENS, well the Earth is a made of grids and this is related to aliens coming here) and Egyptians (how were they able to build the pyramids with no pulleys and other forms of equipment in just a few years?) were visited by them too. Well the creepy thing is that at around 3am in our room, I saw two small dwarf-like creatures that had alien shapes with blinking eyes(????) were kinda moving at the 2 corners of the room beside the air-conditioner and on top of my cabinet. I WAS SERIOUSLY FREAKED OUT BUT I KINDA SUPPRESSED MY SCREAMS. I ran and opened the light but nothing was there O_O I decided not to look at the corners again and just sleep well. Oh gosh that was creepy and I think I hallucinated it because I haven’t been sleeping early the past nights and my brother has been bugging me with all this alien talk so maybe that’s it….

That has to be it right?

Oh and we kinda mistook a flying lantern on New Year’s eve as a U.F.O. Oh flying lanterns are the craze now! The Philippines by the way is always fun on New Year’s Eve since people LOVE to make a lot of noise and lights. Our family was treated to a free fireworks show as usual because our neighbors were kinda competing against each other on who had the best show. Well all of them were awesome! Here are some photos I took

Shower of Lights

Little Piper Boy and the Fountain of Youth

Scarlet Fever

Well back to the alien part… I’m not gonna deny that there might be other beings in the INFINITE universe. Maybe there’s an alternate reality or something and we might never know. But I am still a Catholic Christian at heart (though the Church is another matter, oh gosh) and just wanna share this amazing book by C.S. Lewis called Till We Have Faces. Religion is all about creating a way of life and this is how I choose to be and in Lewis’ book, which he claims to be his masterpiece, he tackles it in such a profound way by retelling the myth of Psyche and Cupid in the point of view of Psyche’s sister. It’s such a beautiful philosophical and theological book but requires a bit of deep reading (need to read it again! don’t worry it’s not too deep as reading Ricoeur or other German/French philosophers. Still enjoyable!). Like what a reviewer said, tt basically tackles the psychological honesty about the human sense of injustice by the gods. Who has not been tempted to say to God, “It’s not fair”?

The ending is one of the best endings I’ve read. I teared up just because of the honesty and revelation of it. It’s quite an experience reading it, nothing like I’ve felt before. LOL this is turning to be a love story by the way I’m talking about it. But seriously I loved it.

Just some favorite quotes

“I have seen something like it happen in battle. A man was coming at me, I at him, to kill. Then came a sudden great gust of wind that wrapped out cloaks over our swords and almost over our eyes, so that we could do nothing to one another but must fight the wind itself. And that ridiculous contention, so foreign to the business we were on, set us both laughing, face to face – friends for a moment – and then at once enemies again and forever.”

“I know now, Lord, why you utter no answer. You are yourself the answer. Before your face questions die away. What other answer would suffice?”

I have this in PDF (I thought that it would be boring so I didn’t bother buying it, now I NEED to get a paperback copy!) and am willing to email it to those who want it.

Now I’m going to end this post with something light. All Asian girls have to relate to this video in some way or another. THIS IS FREAKING HILARIOUS! Been playing this every night before I go to sleep just to make me smile again What made this funny for me was the guy in the video dressing up as a girl and everyone keeping a straight face about it And the way he played the girl was kind of funny too. I’m not saying all asians girl do this but it’s funny how some do (like me! I do the starting today no fast food bit and break that promise after a few days or something XD) and how it’s portrayed her. Hope nobody takes offense (I’m asian and a girl too btw)

and I GOT THE SLATE PLANNER! (My other post talked about my planner dilemma but I solved it!) Am liking it so far especially the art, quotes, and there’s even a space for a Bucket list! I have my own list in my blog but I think I’ll make a list of things to do in 2012 (sort of a new year’s resolution, but nah, no deadlines or constraints for me Check out their site to order or you can go to any Fullybooked branch near you.

Toodles peepz!

Questions
1. What’s the first thing you did after you woke up on January 1, 2012?
2. Do you think you’ll read this book? What’s the most thought-provoking book you’ve read? If you don’t really like to read, what’s the most thought-provoking thing that happened to you last?
3. LOL Do you do any of the things that Asian girls do? (Doesn’t have to be Asian really, most girls do those too!)

Happy Christmas, Joyeux Noël!

jynxypanda — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 13:05:58 +0000

~~THEME IS A BIT WONKY ON FIREFOX. PLEASE BEAR WITH ME. Hope that you use Google Chrome or Safari first Thanks!~~

—> FIXED!

HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE!!!

Have I ever mentioned that I love this holiday? Haha and I took this opportune moment to herald the total revamp of my site! I’ve finally updated my rotting pages (heck my bio hasn’t been updated in 2 years!) and fixed some broken links (still open to link exchange!) and also do you notice anything? Anything different at all? Nah you probably don’t…

BUT IF YOU DO……. It’s all thanks to my dearest and most awesome artist friend Liza! Please head on over to her site and give her some loving while you oooh and aah at her other works. I didn’t think a Harry Potter Panda theme was possible but she made it all happen. So what do you think? I decided to shake things up a bit here because I thought that I needed an “identity” and I felt lost amidst all the other blogs there and I needed a look that would scream me.

Man I can’t believe that 2011 is ending…
SOME PERSONAL CRAP. Read on only if you want to ▼

and (the end of the world OMG haha naah) 2012 is just right around the corner. Honestly for me, 2011 hasn’t been one of my best years. I’ve always thought that Senior Year would have been awesome because of what my friends have gone through but I absolutely feel NO SENTIMENTALITY at all. :/ It’s kinda crazy but I just want 2011 to be over and done with. I may sound like a cruel person (or maybe I am…) but this is just another phase that I will get through. Maybe because 2010 has been so awesome that 2011 is left behind the shadows but I doubt that this is the case. I’ll stick to the reason that I’m just not a sentimental person.

I won’t deny that 2011 has given me a LOT OF FIRSTS. Check out my about me page coz I added a few things there! I’ve started to bake, climbed a mountain, got drunk, blacked out, first time to go to Palawan, first k… okay so a lot of things happened but I seriously can’t wait for 2012 just because I have this bubbling optimism for it. I’m finally, FINALLY going to be able to work and make a difference with my life. I think that’s the biggest step anyone can achieve. To finally be able to plant a flag and say “I DID THIS ON MY OWN AND I CAN SUPPORT MYSELF”. Well to that effect anyway. I want to help my family and myself so much and I think that this is one of the only ways to do it. And really, working entails meeting new people and creating a new life, wherever I may go to. I don’t want to divulge anything yet but I’ve been applying here and there. Let’s just see how it goes.

So my only Christmas wish this year is for everything to fall in place. Vague but it stands true for me. I don’t want any material things (okay who am I kidding, if anyone can give me Steve Jobs’ biography or the Harry Potter Page to Screen book or any of the books in my shelfari, or a book shelf, or a trip to HK, etc. I’D LOVE YOU FOREVER!) so no Christmas lists for this year. Being stable is the most important thing for me now.

In my last post, I blogged about making Butterbeers and here’s one of the recipes I’ve used (Please add whipped cream). There are actually a lot of versions online and I didn’t even get to try this flaming butterbeer (do tell me if you do!) because Schnapps are hell expensive! And so are the other ingredients.

I did get to try butterbeer latte and my friend and I loved this! Better than the Cream Soda one I think but seriously, only drink small amounts because of the buttery-ness! For those who are health conscious… I’m not sure if Butterbeer is the best bet for you

Oh! And for your Christmas movie list, please PLEASE include Les Choristes (The Chorus in French) in your list. It may seem dark and depressing at first but I assure you that you’ll have tears in your eyes. Or at least a few drops! haha! We watched this for our European film class and so far this is the most heartwarming one. Good thing for youtube, the full movie can be seen online! Watch the trailer then hit the spoiler for it

On 15 January 1949, the former music teacher Clément Mathieu arrives in “Fond de l’ Etang” (“Bottom of the Well”), a boarding school for orphans and problematic boys, to work as an inspector. The place is administrated with iron fist by the cruel director Rachin, and most of the boys have severe punishments for their faults. Clément decides to teach the boys to sing in a choir in their spare time, and identify the musical potential of the rebel Pierre Morhange, the son of a beautiful single mother for whom he feels a crush. He also has a special feeling for the young Pépinot, a boy that expects the visit of his father every Saturday near the gate, but indeed lost his parents in the war. With his methods, Clément changes the lives of the boys, of the other employees and his own.

Taken from IMDB.

The beautiful angelic voices shall serenade you this Christmas eve

Watch the WHOLE thing ▼

Another reason why I like this film ▼

Oh by the way, this friendly doggy also wants to say Merry Christmas!

Watch some feel good movies such as It’s a Wonderful life or Les Choristes and enjoy it with your family! Or read a book or something. Or just do something joyous! Oh and another crazy thing to think about this Christmas (got this from a friend, not sure if he composed it himself XD)

Is there a Santa Claus? – a physicist view

Consider the following:

1) No known species of reindeer can fly. BUT there are 300,000 species of living organisms yet to be classified, and while most of these are insects and germs, this does not COMPLETELY rule out flying reindeer which only Santa has ever seen.

2) There are 2 billion children (persons under 18) in the world. BUT since Santa doesn’t (appear) to handle the Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and Buddhist children, that reduces the workload to 15% of the total – 378 million according to Population Reference Bureau. At an average (census) rate of 3.5 children per household, that’s 91.8 million homes. One presumes there’s at least one good child in each.

3) Santa has 31 hours of Christmas to work with, thanks to the different time zones and the rotation of the earth, assuming he travels east to west (which seems logical). This works out to 822.6 visits per second. This is to say that for each Christian household with good children, Santa has 1/1000th of a second to park, hop out of the sleigh, jump down the chimney, fill the stockings, distribute the remaining presents under the tree, eat whatever snacks have been left, get back up the chimney, get back into the sleigh and move on to the next house. Assuming that each of these 91.8 million stops are evenly distributed around the earth (which, of course, we know to be false but for the purposes of our calculations we will accept), we are now talking about .78 miles per household, a total trip of 75-1/2 million miles, not counting stops to do what most of us must do at least once every 31 hours, plus feeding and etc. This means that Santa’s sleigh is moving at 650 miles per second, 3,000 times the speed of sound. For purposes of comparison, the fastest man- made vehicle on earth, the Ulysses space probe, moves at a poky 27.4 miles per second – a conventional reindeer can run, tops, 15 miles per hour.

4) The payload on the sleigh adds another interesting element. Assuming that each child gets nothing more than a medium-sized lego set (2 pounds), the sleigh is carrying 321,300 tons, not counting Santa, who is invariably described as overweight. On land, conventional reindeer can pull no more than 300 pounds. Even granting that ‘flying reindeer’ (see point #1) could pull TEN TIMES the normal amount, we cannot do the job with eight, or even nine. We need 214,200 reindeer. This increases the payload – not even counting the weight of the sleigh – to 353,430 tons. Again, for comparison – this is four times the weight of the Queen Elizabeth.

5) 353,000 tons traveling at 650 miles per second creates enormous air resistance – this will heat the reindeer up in the same fashion as spacecraft re-entering the earth’s atmosphere. The lead pair of reindeer will absorb 14.3 QUINTILLION joules of energy. Per second. Each. In short, they will burst into flame almost instantaneously, exposing the reindeer behind them, and create deafening sonic booms in their wake. The entire reindeer team will be vaporized within 4.26 thousandths of a second. Santa, meanwhile, will be subjected to centrifugal forces 17,500.06 times greater than gravity. A 250-pound Santa (which seems ludicrously slim) would be pinned to the back of his sleigh by 4,315,015 pounds of force. In conclusion – If Santa ever DID deliver presents on Christmas Eve, he’s dead now. Say what?..

Hope you all have a merry holiday! *dance*dance*dance*

Questions are back!
1. Any Christmas 2011 plans?
2. What’s your Christmas wish?
3. If you could change anything in your Christmas tradition (or have one if you don’t), what would it be?

People, Places and Possesions (boring title)

jynxypanda — Sat, 09 May 2009 13:03:47 +0000

**WARNING UBER LONG POST!!**

EUREEKKAA!! I’ve finally added spacing to wordpress without adding html codes such as these < p > ; < / p> or < b / >. I’ve been dwelling on this problem since day one but wordpress support was giving no solutions until I googled this blog. Thank you so much! I wasn’t able to comment because of some error but I really do thank you whoever you are!

I’ve also added some nifty new pages (well not that nifty… no visitors page yet! I still have to calculate and solve the probability of the number of users who will view the page, etc… okay i’m kidding:D) like the Mini-Bio and History pages in the About me section up there *click it if you guys wanna go :D* More updates will happen in the coming weeks so just stay tuned for updates! hehee Am now currently working on the comment limit shown, custom smilies and commenter’s plug in each post (does anybody know the plugin for this? hehe will be searchinngg.. :D)

I’ve also visited new friends such as Sofie! I’m very glad to have visited ya and thanks for exchanging links with me. From now on though, all those requesting for link exhanges would have to message me using the contact form here. The tagboard will just be a snippet of messages that you want to share and announce.

Speaking of Sofie, she has this nifty meme of listing down the top 5 places in the world that you are dying to visit. My dream is no doubt to travel the whole world before I become so frail and old that I can’t even run anymore. I mean they keep on saying, work hard now and have fun later or reap your harvest when you’ve finally retired at 70 ot 60 but come on, would you still appreciate the Eiffel tower or the Great Wall of China when you can’t climb them anymore? *Even if you’re a strong 70 year old* So goal is to at least visit these 5 places before 70.

What 5 places? ▼

1. Denmark/Austria/Europe nalang in general
My uncle has raved so much about Denmark since he has lived there for almost 7 years (he’s now in Shanghai hehe, oh my trip to Shanghai last April pushed through my blog friends! This was one of the reasons why I didn’t blog for soo long! Plurkmates know this though hehe) and I’m sooo curious as to how the view is. And plus they have Legoland (gosh I’m such a kid). I’m sure that there will be tons of castles and greenery.

Plus Austria! The first time I watched Sound of Music and the opening scene unfolds with Maria running down the mountains! Such a beautiful scenery. I dream to be able to do just that someday.

2. Madagascar/Africa
I haven’t thought much about Madagascar because it was such a low profile island. Even after the Madagascar movie came out, I really had no clue if it were just some African country but thank goodness TIME magazine did a feature on endangered species including the exclusive animals that could only be found in Madagascar. See the baobabs(upside down trees), the most ferocious little mammal the size of a squirrel! Gosh, so much beauty in that island. I hope those poachers and killers STOP what they’re doing. They should be educated and be told off that there are only a few of these animals left.

3. Japan
No brainer. I’ve been bitten by the anime bug ever since I watched Akazukin Chacha when I was around 5-6 years old and it has been amplified because of Fushigi Yuugi, Samurai X, Ayashi no Ceres (omg CRUSH KO SI TOOYA!! lolz) noong elementary days and now it has become an unstoppable force because of my Otaku blockmates and friends. I just can’t imagine what the real Japan would be like. I mean the country that is. Would there really be wacky people? I wanna go to Hello Kitty/Sanrio Land! Gooshh! *hyperventilates*

4. New York
THE ultimate city of the USA. Broadway, shopping (horribly expensive so I guess only window shopping would suffice), crazy people, amusement, gosh NEW YORK HAS IT ALL! hahaa. and plus all you need is to go to one state of the US and you’ll be able to travel everywhere now! Really cool The Big Apple is definitely on my list!

5. Sichuan China!
For a panda lover, I have NEVER seen a real panda. Our zoos don’t have them. Singapore doesn’t either. So I am going the the LAND of the pandas when I get back to China! Plus the scenery is surreal. HuangZhou included too! hehe. I think there’s just soo many things you can do in China too.

To be able to see a preview of my China trip, pls go here (for Chingrish HILARIOUS I TELL YA!), here, here, and here. More photos if you view my whole Multiply site. Hope you can visit! I tag whoever comments in this post to also do this meme. Please provide pics for the top 5 places! hehe

As an avid bloghopper, I’ve discovered many cool things through the net. I was actually itching to blog about these during my hiatus but my blogging mojo wasn’t present. Now that I think I’ve found it, I’d like to share more about a similar “talent competition” like American Idol but it’s actually worth watching to those who despise AI. haha. Heard of Susan Boyle? Yah you got that right, I’m talking about BGT (Britain’s Got Talent)

OKAY FOR SOME REASON YOUTUBE DISABLED THE EMBEDDING FUNCTION of some BGT videos so I’ll just provide a link. SUCKS! WHY OH WHY?

Anyway here’s Susan Boyle. Man, have you ever heard such intense emotions in the song? I know everyone’s tired of talking about her but she’s just inspirational character. And she has been hiding that BIG VOICE for such a long time! I’m a sucker for broadway musicals, their songs, and classical music so I pardon to those who hate them. I absolutely love them and you can’t change that. hehe. This is the reason why I also played her video for about 30x now since the video appeared. I HOPE SHE WINS!! There’s this Flawless act, a group of dancers, who people think might win too but I was more attached to Susan. So GO GIRL!

Okay here’s another vid!

Haha who here has twitter/plurk? I guarantee that whoever watches this will suddenly have second thoughts on continuing their account or they might feel a bit of a trouble bug that’s creeping behind their backs. Is plurking/twittering really WORTH your time? hehe. Watch and ponder.

On the contrary my brother even made a twitter account because of this. Beats me why his logic is so different. He says he’s fond of satires so ergo, make a twitter account. lOLZ

Am hiding this one. Reader is advised to be older than 17 when reading the next segment. Thanks!
I am above 17 yey ▼

Okay here’s a personal problem I’d like to share (even though it’s my blog, I don’t usually banter about family stuffs, love life-nonexistency of it, whatever personal stuffs). You see my dad has been addicted to smoking ever since… well he tried it when he was young. He has also tried soo many times to stop and even told my mom that he’ll stop as soon as they got married. Well they’ve been married for 22 years and it’s still happening. He has toned down a bit but come on, no kid wants their parents to keep on making themselves sick right? So when someone dropped by my blog yesterday, I checked out his site and it opened my eyes to electronic cigarettes and their possibility of helping addicts stop smoking. As quoted from their site in the Philippines,

“Electronic Cigarette is the product of tomorrow, it is the future of smoking without compromising your health. E-Cigarette looks like a real cigarette, the taste and the feel is undeniably the same as your favorite brand and it saves you money since it is way cheaper than traditional cigarettes by as much as eighty percent (80%).

Do you find it hard to quit smoking? Are you looking for a healthy alternative to tobacco smoking? Do you want to live a longer life and prevent lung cancer? You have come to the right place! The Electronic Cigarette is the ultimate solution for smokers who value their lives as well as the people around them. It is a product made specifically for smokers who are finding it really tough to stop the habit as well as the smokers who don�t want to have diseases that can be acquired from smoking traditional cigarettes.

Unlike the usual cigarette, E-Cigarettes can be smoked anywhere since it does not contain Tobacco nor Tar. It does not produce Carbon Monoxide that is not only offensive to others but also pose danger to their wellness. The vapor-like smoke that is produced is totally harmless yet feels like the real thing. The revolution of healthy and safe smoking has begun, don�t be left behind. Its time to change for the better. A clean and cancer-free environment for all of us. Save money, more importantly, save your life!”

But skeptic old me isn’t buying into anything that sounds this good so I googled some facts and I found out that the World Health Organization doesn’t say anything about this as a legitimate therapy for addicts. There COULD be side effects like nicotine poisoning and such. So my thoughts of buying it for my dad for Father’s day suddenly evaporated.

I do hope they conduct further studies on this because this could really help the people and the world. First of all, it could help a person stop smoking altogether. Second, people around that person smoking wouldn’t be harmed as people puffing real cigarettes do. Pls pls let there be a better way.

So guys, PLEASE DON’T SMOKE. Save yourself the trouble of finding a way to stop an addiction. Just a friendly warning from Tiff K

One of my other favorite finds this week is this CLOUD SOFA. The instant that this gets out in the market, I’M GONNA BUY IT (depends on the price though)! It has always been my dream to sleep on such puffiness. Have I ever told ya guys that I once dreamed of being locked inside a stuff toy store and sleeping on top of all their toys? Sighs.. really like puffy things. haha How do you get on the Cloud Sofa though? Sighs too bad that this is just a concept design.

Well I guess I’ve blogged long enough. Sorry for the uber long posts! I guess I’m just talkative. You do like it when you get long comments right? hehe I’ll try to shorten my blog posts a bit though. Sorry!! Hehe I have something in store with my next post though! Haha I’ll share something hilarious.

Well updates when I update! Oyasuminasai minna san

Questions:
1. Would you do the tag/meme I posted? If not, what’s the place that you would surely go to if you were given a hundred thousand dollars now?
2. Will you still twitter after watching the twitter video? What were your thoughts on it?
3. Do you like long blog posts? Long comments? Was this post very long?
4. Is a 4th question a bother? hahaa Do you also want to buy the cloud sofa if it were out in the market?