squeezing these in

i have a 5-day work week and during those days, i'm out of the house 12 hours a day. when i do get the chance to pop a DVD into the player, i do, but since nights are so short and sleep is far too precious, i content myself with what's on the TV. but earlier this week, (for the love of heavens i cannot recall the day!) i saw this beautiful movie, "An Education."



the movie is about an angsty teenager who tried to hasten her growing up period. she fell in love with a married man who had the temerity to ask for her hand in marriage. at that time, she didn't know the guy was married. she fell in love with his money, his charm (for he could sway the girl's parents with his sweet talks) and his sense of culture and arts. when she accepted his proposal, she also decided to quit school and abandon the idea of going to oxford university. (i know there's nothing wrong with that) the thing is, she did well academically. so, when she found out about his civil status, she called the wedding off and decided to go to college. she eventually wound up in oxford, with a youthful face and a lifetime's worth of lessons.

while doing my thing every morning, i try to read a page or two or more (which is almost always the case) of Saul Bellow's "Seize the Day." the book has quite a following. i have read this before but i have forgotten what it meant to me (i used to try to pick up something from these books). when i reached these lines, i remembered the emotions evoked from me.

"Oh God. Let me out of my troubles. Let me out of my thoughts, and let me do something better with myself. For all the time I have wasted I am very sorry. Let me out of this clutch and into a different life. For I am all balled up. Have mercy."



and these are currently on my shelves:



(for when i do my thing in the morning) according to Coelho, time is not what moves man to change. it's love!



(this is what's on my bedside, on days when sleep eludes me) i have heard great praises for this book from oprah. although that wasn't what prompted me to buy this one. the real reason, it's a hardcover edition for PhP10 only. so, why not?



(this is what's on my phone's acrobat reader, for those times when i need to wait on someone and i have nothing better to do to wile away the time) this one's really for laughs. let me quote an excerpt so as to illustrate how hilarious this book is:

"'A letter like this,' Milo mumbled despondently, 'could ruin any mess officer in the
world.' Milo had come to Yossarian's tent just to read the letter again, following his
carton of lost provisions across the squadron like a mourner. 'I have to give you as
much as you ask for. Why, the letter doesn't even say you have to eat all
of it yourself.'
'And it's a good thing it doesn't,' Yossarian told him, 'because I never eat any of it.
I have a liver condition.'
'Oh, yes, I forgot,' said Milo, in a voice lowered deferentially. 'Is it bad?'
'Just bad enough,' Yossarian answered cheerfully.
'I see,' said Milo. 'What does that mean?'
'It means that it couldn't be better'
'I don't think I understand.'
'without being worse. Now do you see?'
'Yes, now I see. But I still don't think I understand.'
'Well, don't let it trouble you. Let it trouble me. You see, I don't really have a liver
condition. I've just got the symptoms. I have a Garnett-Fleischaker syndrome.'
'I see,' said Milo. 'And what is a Garnett-Fleischaker syndrome?'
'A liver condition.'
'I see,' said Milo, and began massaging his black eyebrows together wearily with an
expression of interior pain, as though waiting for some stinging discomfort he was
experiencing to go away. 'In that case,' he continued finally, 'I suppose you do have
to be very careful about what you eat, don't you?.
'Very careful indeed,' Yossarian told him. 'A good Garnett-Fleischaker syndrome
isn't easy to come by, and I don't want to ruin mine.
That's why I never eat any fruit.'
'Now I do see,' said Milo. 'Fruit is bad for your liver?'
'No, fruit is good for my liver. That's why I never eat any.'"