“Best of 2013.” A handful of people have already posted
something similar. As opposed to their awesome lists of achievements and
accomplished goals, mine is a mundane compilation mostly of my interaction with
the Internet, the TV, and the bookshelf.
Books
I managed to complete my book goal last year. As per my
Goodreads account:
1. Me Before You, by Jojo Moyes
The title and cover can both be misleading. This isn’t your
typical romance novel. This book is about family, bravery, valuing oneself,
making the most out of life and weighing out choices. You’ll probably find
yourself ugly crying by the last few chapters, but it is definitely an affair to
remember.
2. Kitchen Confidential, by Anthony Bourdain
If a genie pops right out in front of me and asks me for
three wishes, Tony Bourdain’s wit will make the cut; it doesn’t matter
if it comes first, second or last. His personal accounts in this book are
so honest and raw and hilarious all the same. The man’s got balls, and he uses
them well. A mandatory reading for anyone who’s not only fond of food, but is
also interested in knowing what happens inside the kitchen. Bourdain fans everywhere should not miss this (that is if they haven't yet, since this memoir kickstarted his career in television).
3. Everything Rainbow Rowell
I love how Rainbow writes. She manages to capture the most fruitful emotion in the simplest random act and pulls it off.
4. Slammed, by Colleen Hoover
Do you want to cry, fall in love, and fall more deeply in
love while crying? Read this.
5. Where’d You Go, Bernadette, by Maria Semple
Bernadette is one of the most cynical human beings I have encountered in the literary world. Her ramblings and e-mail correspondence with Manjula Kapoor can be equated to comedy heaven. The sequences of her life, her past, and disappearance make this an interesting read.
Bernadette is one of the most cynical human beings I have encountered in the literary world. Her ramblings and e-mail correspondence with Manjula Kapoor can be equated to comedy heaven. The sequences of her life, her past, and disappearance make this an interesting read.
6. The Divergent trilogy, by Veronica Roth
Alas, a series that lives up to the hype. If it's any indication, I've read the books twice last year. The dystopian world and the characters that Veronica created bear a magic that's meant to be etched in your brain and linger in your heart forever.
Alas, a series that lives up to the hype. If it's any indication, I've read the books twice last year. The dystopian world and the characters that Veronica created bear a magic that's meant to be etched in your brain and linger in your heart forever.
Albums
Having a permanent 6am-3pm work schedule means I have all the
free time in the world, and that includes more time for music. Here’s what I
was able to appreciate from cover to cover, before, after and in-between shifts.
P.S. No ranking involved.
1. Modern Vampires of the City, Vampire Weekend
2. Paramore, Paramore
3. Trouble Will Find Me, The National
4. Random Access Memories, Daft Punk
5. Days Are Gone, Haim
6. The Lumineers, The Lumineers
7. The 20/20 Experience, Justin Timberlake
8. Hummingbird, Local Natives
9. Pure Heroine, Lorde
10. Kaleidoscope Dream, Miguel
11. Midnight Memories, One Direction
12. The Blessed Unrest, Sara Bareilles
13. The Hunger Games Catching Fire Soundtrack
14. Heartthrob, Tegan and Sara
15. The Cary Brothers’ Discography
16. Halcyon, Ellie Goulding
17. All I Want, Kodaline
App Appreciation
What’s an iGadget without apps? My most used ones:
1. iBooks: The gem that turned me an into an e-book convert/believer. Also,
the medium I used to read half of my book goal last year.
2. Goodreads: A must for every book lover. Here’s where I keep track of my
reading list, explore new titles, and find crazy bookworms for book recos. Although
I still prefer the web version, having this handy is loads useful, especially
when you’re in bed, reading.
3. Wunderlist: Bulleting has never been more enjoyable.
4. Line: Best chatapp in the market.
5. Snapseed and VSCOcam: Photo magikk.
6. Vevo and IMDb: To catch all music video and trailer releases.
Series
Kind of hard to narrow this down to five but here they are, the ones that held my undivided attention and filled my Twitter timeline with nonsensical blabber.
Kind of hard to narrow this down to five but here they are, the ones that held my undivided attention and filled my Twitter timeline with nonsensical blabber.
1. Game of Thrones
2. Breaking Bad
3. The Mindy Project
4. Scandal
5. Hostages / The Blacklist (cheat!)
*Honorable mentions: The Voice (RealityTV), American Horror Story: Coven (miniseries), Orphan Black (sci-fi)
Things I wouldn’t normally do
but (shockingly) did.
but (shockingly) did.
1. Revamped this online space
It was an act so spontaneous that conjured a pretty decent outcome. A simple doodle that spurted countless tweaks and edits, and then this. A layout I'd probably stick to for the long haul. My favorite part is the sidebar, because it's colorful and took the longest time to fix.
2. Participated in a blogging challenge
I don't just share my blog to anyone. I mean, yes, it is linked in my Twitter bio, but that's the most visible yet discreet area online where I have the gall to post my blog's url (not even, really, because it is disguised as a bit.ly url) and let's be frank, not everyone reads your Twitter bio. Or do they?
Early last year I joined an online community where, in a span of one month, I wrote entries about a prompted topic for the group. We then linked it to a thread in a secret Facebook page to share with 20 or so more girls. I had initial doubts before joining this challenge. I am that person who judges people by the way they write (kill me, but before you do, please understand that I seek solace in reading, and I diss my own writing all the time) so, basically, my fear was equally heinous -- that my writing to be horridly judged in return. But what's there to lose without trying? So, tossing my insecurities aside, I said YES to the e-mail asking me to join this project. It was rewarding in many ways, though I'd take a comment made on one of my posts the best bit of prize I took home from this experience.
I only enabled the comments section of my blog during that particular timeframe so I can interact with the rest of the group. I wasn't expecting anything, but when I posted my entry about courage, I received one of the best compliments ever given to me. My smile became infinite, my tears welled, and my heart beat rapidly. Reading this comment from THE Wanderrgirl Arriane was one of the best moments of my year.
3. Met up with strangers
The same people that were part of the blogging challenge plus some awesome women entrepreneurs. This was to celebrate Women’s Week. I’ve enjoyed and learned a lot from this afternoon sitdown, and gained an amazing amount of positivity.
4. Joined a mailing list to receive a slew of postcards from a stranger.
Last year was the year I started @replying to my favorite writers on Twitter. A slight crack in my bubble world. One of them, Queen of Cool Petra, went on a US trip for a while and sent out e-postcards to those who gave her their e-mail addresses. Of course, I became curious and didn't want to miss out, so I was kapalfez to give mine. For two weeks I was on the lookout for new messages in my inbox and was not disappointed. Daily photos and wonderful prose delivered electronically. They were so precious that I made a label specifically for all the postcards I received in my mailbox.
5. Shared a contest link on Facebook in exchange of EPs
I once asked Reese on a blog post comment to make a compilation of her songs and post it online for us fans. She said she’d go about doing so one of these days. When that day came, I was frantic with excitement. It came free but there were steps that needed to be followed to get it. It involved Facebook. I only go on Facebook to message friends and change my profile photo. I was apprehensive at first. I asked my sister for a favor. “Can I log in to your account to share something?” “No.” “Can I use Nicole’s account to share something?” “Stop it.” So then I used mine. And I got what I wanted. And it was delivered with a pretty birthday cake.
More Highlights:
1. Rico and Regina's wedding
2. Saw Potted Potter and met the cast.
3. The Script!
4. Palawan trip with my aunts.
5. Colored my hair!
6. More dinners with family and friends.
6. More dinners with family and friends.
I have no specific goals or resolutions for this year because obviously I suck at it big time. I have a rough outlook for 2014, though, and it involves living healthy, controlling my wants, becoming more visible, loosening up, and spending more time living outside the Internet, the TV, and the bookshelf. It's so on. Let's do this.
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