Zmeyette's 2011 Reading Challenge! Fight!

The new year comes with a lot of "new" stuff--to most of us, it's a fresh start, and a chance to try new things, have new experiences, grab new opportunities, and get new achievements.

I am no different. First of all, hello new site design! I'm not good at visual creative stuff, but I found myself tinkering with the design of my blog until I used up so much time playing around with it that I just decided to go ahead and apply the design to my blog. It's a bit dark, but I really don't have time to do anything about it now without sacrificing other things I have to do. At any rate, I am liking the new look and feel of the blog.

Another thing, and this is what I'd like to share right now, is a challenge that I decided to take on this 2011. It started sometime during the holidays as I was looking through my Tumblr dashboard. One of the posts pertained to a challenge to read 50 books this 2011, and after looking at it for a bit, I was in.

For as long as I can remember, I have always loved reading books. Whenever I read a book, I am transported into a different world, and this experience is something I always enjoy. This is why I tend to look a bit crazy when I read, because I am so absorbed in my reading and it affects me so much that if I read something funny, I really laugh out loud; sometimes, when the events are too much for me, I really have to take a break from reading. I'm that affected. And yes, sometimes my family thinks I'm crazy. I think they just got used to it over time. 

Nevertheless, even if I really like to read, that doesn't mean I can boast of a lot of books that I have read. I do read a lot, but then I don't own a lot of books, so it's hard for me to keep track of the books I've read. I've only just really started to collect books when I was in college because I get just enough to get by before that. And then, by that time, of course, I was already addicted to the internet, and a whole lot of other things also keep me from really reading a lot. 

That is why sometimes I think I'm just someone posing as a bookworm. And the thought makes me sad. However, I really can't deny that reading is something I really enjoy, an experience I find to be amazing. Because of this, and because I have also decided to live my life as fully as I can from this year on, I decided to commit to this challenge. It's not as if I have to be pressured or stressed by this challenge, because according to what I read in that post, it's supposed to be fun--and it's also not a strict challenge, which means that rereads and all type of books are included (um, law books, anyone?). And really, if this was a stressful challenge, people will lose the whole point of it all, which is to enjoy reading, and reading more. 

The next issue, then, is how to keep track of the books that I will finish this year. To solve this, I dedicated a page of my beloved Journal  to serve as the record of my finished books. But sometime this week, as I was looking up my online accounts (aka procrastinating, sorry!), I stumbled upon my neglected Goodreads account. And, what a cool twist of fate, they also have a 2011 Reading Challenge!

Zmeyette's Goodreads Reading Challenge! Fight!

Goodreads' 2011 Reading Challenge is a bit different, but still ties up well with the Tumblr reading challenge that I committed myself to. In Goodreads' challenge, the user can set the goal he/she wants for 2011, and this goal can be changed at any time. What I absolutely loved about this, however, is that it gives me the perfect tool to track the books I have read. Motivation, too. This is because Goodreads has a widget that shows me how far along I am in accomplishing the challenge (see above picture). To update this, I only have to set the date I finished reading a book, and in so doing the widget will be updated. This also serves as motivation for me, because I just can't stand the "You have read 0 books toward your goal of 50 books" message staring at me from the widget. Hence, I posted this widget in my blog so I will get really motivated (and so I will not forget). 

I am really having fun with this as of the moment, and so now I will continue reading so I can finally update the blasted widget. Why don't you try this too? There's no need to go to a website or set a really strict and formal goal, but it's fun to take on a challenge once in a while. Go make your own 2011 Reading Challenge! Good luck!

Starting the Year Organized

'Tis the new year, and at this point in time people will have gone back to reality from the happy holidays. Students to school, yuppies to work, and so on.... This is a whole new year where there are new opportunities to grab, new (and not-so-new) tasks to complete, and of course, dreams to continue chasing.

Yes, amidst all of the baggage from last year, the new year can still look to be a blank canvas, or a hodgepodge of tasks and events that seem to be all over the place. So, what to do to erase the fear that comes from the newness of the year, and from the mess of the previous year that spills over to the next?

Why, perhaps it wouldn't hurt to get a planner, no?

Okay, okay, maybe this post is just because this is the first time I actually bought my planner before the year began. I was a disaster with planners, actually. I started using (or trying to use) a planner during my high school years, I think around my junior year, mainly so I can keep track of my extracurricular activities, so I can submit them for the extra points they're supposed to be for. Needless to say, being in high school, and a pretty disorganized and forgetful person, the planner was not of much use, and served more as a journal than as a planner.

During my college years, I trudged on with my attempts at planning out my activities, instead of mentally going over my activities for the following day and being surprised at one thing or another I am supposed to do. I guess the point where the planner started to be somewhat of real use to me was when I got my Powerbooks planner. It wasn't really a planner, I think, but a reader's journal, but being a booklover, I fell in love with the theme of it. I guess that's where my planner preferences also started. The major flaw of that journal was that it did not indicate the dates, so I had to fill them in, and worse, it only had twenty-eight days per month! I had to cram the 29th - 30th/31st days of the month in the notes page. But on the whole, I was satisfied with it.

Source: spot.ph

My 2010 planner was one I really loved. And one I used more often, too! (Can you taste the feeling of self-accomplishment in that line?) At this time, I now used more effort in finding my planner, although I think I got to buy the planner around the middle of January already. But it was okay, because I really fell in love with this planner. Even now that I'm supposed to be done using it, I still can't help but gush about it. Anyway, aforementioned beloved planner is the Navi 2010 planner. There were a number of planners on the market, but I fell for the Navi because it had adequate space, I loved the color of its pages, and it was simple enough for me. Yes, my preferences in planners were already in full swing around this time, and I was quite picky in choosing. I guess that's why I ended up buying it quite late. I still wasn't the best at using a planner for planning instead of recording past events, but it did help me in my thesis, and therefore in graduating, although with the onslaught of law school, I ended up not using it for around two months. Then I reunited with it and ended my 2010 happily with it. Oh, and I also loved the quotes that it had for every week. Very inspiring.

My beloved Navi <3

And so we're now back to 2011. The year is looking to be hopeful, adventurous, and stressful already, and I'm glad I was able to find a planner (well, it says it's a journal, but it's pretty much the same to me) while it was still 2010. So, what did I buy? I bought FreeSpeech Publication's "this Journal will actually change someone's life!!! 2011."

Last year, it was one of my options for my 2010 planner. However, that year's edition somehow looked too dark for me, and the lighter tones and the interesting quips of the Navi 2010 planner won me over. This year, though, it was the Navi planner that didn't work for me, and the Journal was the one that got to me. I actually looked for the Navi 2011 first, but then, compared to the Journal's being too dark for me last year, the Navi was actually too light for me. The light brown pages of the Navi 2010 planner which I loved so much was nowhere to be found in the 2011 edition. The pages were white, and the art was just too bright for me. So I looked for another one, and then I saw this lovely dark green journal. At first I was hesitant about it, but now I just love it. I'm gonna miss the weekly quotes, though.

I still have a monthly calendar which is where I put all the birthdays that I keep track of, although the difference with my Navi is that it has this feature at the beginning of every month, whereas in my Navi it was all in the beginning of the planner, before the weekly planner.

Although admittedly, I am going to miss my Navi quotes, my new Journal has lots of fun trivia, especially about important events all over the world, from national holidays--hey, my birthday is actually Random Acts of Kindness Day! Isn't it awesome?

Just disregard whatever random stuff you can see written on my journal. :P

Also, it has different kinds of writing spaces (strategy notes, stuff, and doodle pages) that give me somewhere to write all my fleeting thoughts. My previous practice was to stick post-its in my planner for whatever random stuff that I have to note but is not actually a planner entry (at least in my books), and I think I'll still do that, but with these features, I can foresee that I'll be doing that less often. Also, I love the mood chart that it has, it gives me a way of keeping track of my days, and prompts me to look back on my day and determine how the day actually turned out for me. I think it's a really cool feature. 

There are other features that I wasn't able to take pictures of, such as different lists and information for every month (like "10 Places I Want to Travel Before 2012), quarterly check-up pages, and a really cute feature where you give coupons to people, for example, to a movie date with you! I think this is a substitute to the coupons that come with other planners (like my Navi), and while it makes the price (I think it's 720 pesos at Fully Booked) quite expensive, considering the lack of treats that come with it, I still say it's a good planner for me, since its features encourage me to use it constantly. 

A good planner, of course is nothing without the right mindset and attitude, so more than having an awesome planner, I am looking forward to a more active, organized, responsible, and fun self this 2011. 

Cheers to an awesome new year! 

Me, the Books I love, and Book Reviews

When I started this blog, I was reading a lot of fiction, and thought that a lot of the entries here would be reviews about the books I read. Indeed, some of the posts are about some books I have read.

Unfortunately, somewhere along the way, I seem to have buckled. And the problem seems to run deeper than the all-too-easy (even though it's oh-so-real) excuse of real life. Which sucks, but if there's a will, there's a way, right? And it's not as if I haven't been reading books, because I have (even though I'm now practically buried in readings and cases, I am still somehow able to read other happier stuff).

Let me do a bit of introspection (actually, considering that I am already posting this blog entry, it must mean that I already did) concerning this matter.

I remember once posting a blog entry on a blog I was required to do in a class last year. I remember that it was a free-for-all entry, and I had quite the difficulty in thinking of a topic. So, I blogged about it--my difficulties in blogging.

In that entry, I somewhat talked about pressure, about some topics that might not make the cut in some circles of mine. My problem here is somewhat similar. Maybe, like a favorite heroine of mine, Rose Hathaway of Vampire Academy, I have a high expectation of myself, that if I'm going to a write a book review, it better be damn good, and this thought is really scary.

Another is that I fear that if I write, what I write will not be good enough for the book that I'm writing about. This happens especially when I love the book that I'm going to write about. I put a lot of pressure on myself, I know, but I can't help it. Not just because of me, but because of the book. Oh dear.

Lastly, maybe it's just because, well, I'm overthinking. It's not as if I'm a professional blogger nor am I a book critic, but I'm thinking and pressuring myself into expecting a book review of mine to be at par with such.

And so, now that I have vented (and seen how utterly ridiculous my concerns can be), I will proceed to bang my head against the wall and maybe get to finally writing book reviews.

But hey, if you have any advice for me, I could really use it. How do I get over such issues?

Distraction: Looklet

When you have something really important and urgent to do, that's when distractions show up. This is something that I have learned in my life (so far).

So in the course of the past few months, as I was exploring this whole new world of postgraduate schooling, a lot of distractions have cropped up.

These distractions can actually be deadly for me: if losing focus on a normal week can already have dreadful effects, then just imagine being distracted on an exam week! It can lead me to a definite breakdown. It has happened at least once already.

Even now, typing this blog entry, is a distraction in itself. It's a way for me to fool myself that I am not simply lying around doing nothing, when in fact it's pretty much the same as doing nothing since I am evading the tasks that I am supposed to do.

As the title suggests, one of these distractions is Looklet. Don't know what Looklet is? Well, as my friend put it (and I totally agree), it's like playing paper dolls. It's just online, which means more dress choices, model choices, and even background and effects choices! And just to get it out of the way: I LOVED playing with paper dolls.

Which makes it unsurprising, that I'm hooked. Really. Even if I'm not that much of a fashionista, it's still fun to play dress up. And since I love make believe stuff, it helps my imagination work. And well, I'm a girl. I love clothes, even if it doesn't show in real life. Haha!

If it still isn't obvious why it's a distraction, well, when you keep Looklet open, you see clothes, and sooner or later you'll get struck by an inspiration or a look that you just have to achieve somehow. Whether it's through randomly surfing through the stuff, or just a spark of inspiration, when you get to actually trying to achieve that look, it might take some time. Hence, it's a full-blown distraction. Really dangerous.

What's the catch for me? Well, if you look at my sample "looks", they're not really much to look at. I'm not good at creative stuff, and it shows. But my idea of creating looks is something that I'd want to wear, so I don't really experiment. Still, I get to create looks that will probably never be put together or worn by me in real life. So really, it's a playground for me.

And here are some of the "looks" that I've created (I like them, but I probably won't do this in real life, especially the second one! Hahaha):

For some reason, I really like this look. Although, does it seem gloomy? Hahaha

If I'd somehow get a pair, I'd wear the boots, but the dress? I highly doubt it. But it looks nice, right? 

I know you can do better than this, so why don't you get distracted on this site too? Unleash the fashionista in you! It's at http://www.looklet.com! Enjoy!

Oh, and of course, this post won't be complete until I thank my dear friend Cielo for introducing me to this distraction. It's deadly, but it's fun! Thanks love! :P

And with that, I go and slave away over work I've put off for much, much too long. Too long for my own good. Ah, Looklet, you kill me. With those killer boots. Tsk.

So Fast, So Slow

I thought I'd be able to update my blog at least once a week, but here I am, updating only a week before finals. The passage of time has been very weird, to say the least.

I've already mentioned before how I realized I've been taking time for granted, and how I experience the passage of time more than ever. When you're in class dreading to be called, even an hour or two can be so excruciatingly slow. Or when trying to read up or make an assignment for a subject, the same one or two hours can be so fast!

Even now, the passing of weeks feels slow and fast at the same time. On the one hand, coming to this point-last week of classes (I think, haha)-seemed to have come so slow, as I remember the struggle that it took to get through even just one week, or even one day. On the other hand, however, I'm quite surprised that it's almost finals already. It feels fast, too. And yes, that's kind of weird.

It gets weirder when I think about how at the beginning of the year, I was still a senior struggling to finish my thesis and graduate on time. Now, I'm struggling to finish the first sem of my first year. It's a bit unsettling, although not necessarily unpleasant.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg, when it comes to whatever is in my brain. Hopefully I get everything in order. Because it's finals next week!

This is just the beginning of the last, crazy part of the ride. Fighting! Hahaha

P.S. Hopefully, this broke the stagnation that has been my blog. LOL.