A Year and Some 50 Books Later

I can daresay that it felt like a new year. Goals have changed, priorities were rearranged, relationships are strengthened while new ones are formed and the career was rebuilt.

From my last post, I did go home to Davao and stayed there until January of this year. While there, I managed to finish the task I set out to do for the family. I also read some books, saw some movies, drove some trucks (sedans are no good in our part of the country), shot some guns, attended weddings of friends and baptisms of my friends' kids, bonded with my nieces and a nephew and even played "mother" to a niece whose "ate" left because she got pregnant. So much has happened in my personal life which greatly impacted my professional life. 

my babies: (L-R) Cleo, Yo, Jaimee, Ayesh

Team Davao Oriental (rifle category)

burn from an empty shell caught in my eyeglasses right after it was expelled from the muzzle

At a Mitzi's wedding

Some of the guns I practiced on (I'm a pistol shooter but surprisingly, archery principles apply in rifle shooting0

Back then, I merely dabbled, not fully practiced my profession. I accepted some pro bono cases, gave out legal advice to people who sought it, and extended assistance by way of referring them to experts (especially correction of entries in the birth certificate). 

On the whole, I never regretted having slowed down in this highly stressful profession. It only made me realize what is it that I don't want out of life, and worked out my wants from there. The time made me more appreciative of what I have, but also gave me the capacity to let go of what (or who) I don't need in this life. That span of time was really a lightbulb moment for me. 

The greatest birthday gift I gave myself was moving on from associate to advocate. At the moment, I am part of a team of young idealistic Filipinos working towards making the country healthier in reaffirmation of the right of everyone to the enjoyment  of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. 

To Stay or To Go

I should have been resigned at the end of March 2011, but my boss' request for a 15-day extension was something I cannot refuse. I also wanted to stay as long as possible because the boyfriend got reassigned in the Metro (great timing!).

So, even with the extension of y employment, I still have one pending deliverable to the office. After that, I'd probably run out of reasons to not head back to Davao. Hay, I want to stay but I have to go. Not much choice there.

In the meantime, I have returned to reading and hoarding books. I may have to write another post on those books because I've just borrowed my sister's laptop.

Bigger Things

During dinner with my sister Mia, I'd come to a stark realization that time flies and now, more than ever is the time to gauge such passage of time by how much fulfillment there is in the things we spent most of our time on. The logical conclusion to this realization is my resignation from the law firm that I work for.

It is bad enough that the private practice of law is innately stressful, I happen to have a power-tripping boss who cannot seem to get through the day without banging the door and lashing at something or someone. I have decided to tender my resignation effective at the end of March.

As I was drafting my letter, I felt an immense sense of relief and at the same time, remorse. Relief because I will now have the chance to "search my soul" and be free from worrying that I might end up spending all my time in something I no longer am passionate about. Remorse because I could have done this sooner and spared my heart the bother. But until I tender that letter, my head will be battering my heart for this decision.

That the month of February proved to be most stressful for me is evidenced by how my weight did a yo-yo, at how many unfinished books I have started, and at how much I managed to hoard.

The books I was able to finish:

The books which remained on my bedside are:

The books I have bought (and even I am appalled at myself, but I simply could not help it):

On February 4:

A Maggot by John Fowles

A Fanatic Heart by Edna O'Brien

On February 11:

Portnoy's Complaint by Philip Roth

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

On February 14:

Exit Music by Ian Rankin

Carpentaria by Alexis Wright

On February 15:

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig

The Taste of a Man  by Slavenka Drakulic

The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin

The Means of Escape by Penelope Fitzgerald

Crackpots by Sara Pritchard

A River Town by Thomas Keneally

Politically Correct Bedtime Stories by James Finn Garner

On February 20:

The Book of Where by Neil Bell

Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres

Success by Martin Amis

If the River was Whiskey by T.C. Boyle

Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard

Will the Boat Sink the Water? by Chen Guidi and Wu Chuntao

Eating Mammals  by John Barlow

Stop Breakin Down by John McManus

The Course of the Heart by M. John Harrison

Unless by Carol Shields

On February 25:

The B.S. Factor: The Theory and Technique of Faking It in America by Arthur Herzog

The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

Once: Poems by Alice Walker

Pooh's Birthday Book A.A. Milne

On February 27:

Holes by Louis Sachar

The Van by Roddy Doyle

The Family Markowitz by Allegra Goodman

The Laws of Evening by Mary Yukari Waters

Home by Marilynne Robinson

For this stressful month, I even have a band/artist for the month: the Modest Mouse and I even found out that the band was cited in a US Supreme Court decision through their wikipedia page.

For March, I just wish my heart and mind would reconcile and that I'd finally find the one thing in the world that I would voluntarily devote myself to, and I so invoke the intervention of whatever gods there may be for this simple wish to come true.

New Year, Same Me

Of the January that went by in a blur, I had the right balance of work and play. Of work, swamp could be such an understatement to describe how the first month of 2011 was. I had work left from the past year and I had more coming in, that I simply had to stop, breathe and of course, read, and to top it off, travel.

I may have mentioned that the stress levels at my workplace is directly proportional to the number of books I could finish (and I could buy) somewhere in this blog. For January 2011, these were crossed out of my reading list:

Currently by my bedside are:

My parents, brother and I went to Singapore, and took a side trip to Kuala Lumpur just to see the Petronas towers. That 5-day trip was a real eye opener. Somehow, I have high hopes for the Philippines. But all the hopes could never catch up with what Singapore, and even Malaysia have. We used to be the tiger among the Southeast Asian countries. But now, we're too far down the line as the peso's purchasing power would attest (exchange rates between the peso and Singapore dollar is at, give or take, Php34.00, while that of Malaysian ringgit is at, give or take Php14.00).

Given the stress at work (and I wonder what other profession considers stress levels as bragging rights), and even at home and all the ruminations about the future of the Philippines, I was tempted to relocate to Singapore.

I'm still thinking about that prospect, in the meantime, I bought these from Kinokuniya (a popular bookstore in Singapore, with branches all over Asia and the Pacific, except Philippines:

The new year is here, the Chinese new year is yet to come and I still am the same old me, wishing for a better Philippines.

2010 in Retrospect

The words that could best sum up my 2010 would have to be -- one roller coaster ride.

For one, the period of waiting for the bar 2009 bar exam results ended and life as a lawyer began.

For another, the boyfriend got reassigned in Cebu and since June, I'd been there and back twice.

For the most part, family and their health have never been better, save for my Godfather's demise a day before Christmas (and I wasn't there, and couldn't come home).

There were all the books read, movies and TV shows/series seen, music heard,  all the gastronomic delights and the travels within Luzon for vistas.

This year also ushered in a lot of enriching experiences, blunders of a neophyte lawyer as well as pleadings approved without a single revision (if you know my boss, that would have really been a great achievement).

The next year is proving to be as exciting as the year 2010. I can only say, whatever is in store for me this 2011, bring it on!

Gifts For Myself

First stop, I had the lenses to my eyeglasses replaced with the same photochromic lenses I was using. The gift certificates given by one of the senior partners in the firm meant that I saved almost five grand on the lenses alone. (Thank God for generous bosses!) I just hope our Christmas bonuses didn't figure into the GCs we received. 

Second stop, the only shop I care to spend hours on, Book Sale (hehe). These are my finds for today:

Third, I got SB's 2011 Planner. I've been collecting SB planners since 2006. Oh well, I am a sucker for notebooks, writing pads, other paper stuffs and office supplies and of course, the coffee too (especially at Starbucks where Espresso shots can be added to suit one's caffeine fixes).

Fourth, I might receive an ebook reader (fingers, even toes, crossed) from my sister. But if  I won't, then I'd definitely be saving up on that. The iPad seems like a contender but I love how Kindle or Nook's format is in e-ink which is so close to the original physical paperbacks and are way lighter.

Fifth, for our gift giving in the office, we were made to list down our wishes. I wrote down a gun as one of my "impossible" wishes for this Christmas. My name got picked by the partner who hired me and is known to give his "baby" everything he/she lists. He phoned me yesterday, gave me a client's name and contact details whose business was selling guns, so that I could pick out the gun I wanted. I declined, but if my boss insists, I'd accept the gun (I think, LOL).

Lastly, I was told that there is something in a little velvet box for me with an amethyst stone on it. (*.*)

On the books I've finished in November, these are:

1. Julie Hecht's The Unprofessionals about the friendship between a teenage junkie and a middle-aged woman who is perpetually on anti-depressants, which friendship did nothing to prevent the teenage junkie from committing suicide.

2. Roland Merullo's Fidel's Last Days which depicted a botched assassination of Fidel Castro leading to a premature take over by his assassinators.

3. Erma Bombeck's Motherhood: The Second Oldest Profession illustrating the different kinds of mothers and their responses to child bearing, rearing and weaning. (Note: Erma's works are categorized under Humor and so, topics as serious as motherhood is given a light treatment without necessarily veering away from the reality of it)

4. Graham Greene's The Ministry of Fear set my heart racing for a former soldier who was caught in a web of conspiracy among spies in London circa second world war.

Currently, the following titles are on my bedside:

1. Philip Roth's Operation Shylock: A Confession

2. Ward Just's Forgetfulness

3. Kim Ponders' The Art of Uncontrollable Flight

4. Charlaine Harris' Definitely Dead and All Together Dead



Because I'm Such A Truebie

I have finished two more installments of the Sookie Stackhouse novels. Generally, books turned movies/TV series aren't rendered faithfully and thus, they tend to be disappointing to watch . However, I find Trueblood quite the contrary. I happen to like the series more than the novels. Maybe because the novels are far too romance-y for me.

I was able to spend a part of October at home, mainly for Nanay's 60th birthday. Rummaging through my old stuffs, I found lots of unread paperbacks. Most of them were from college days in Baguio and about two-thirds are considered "Classics." I only brought back with me these ones:

On the pretext that I'd be bookhunting for the nieces and a nephew, I could not help but get these for myself:

Currently, I am down to the last 60 pages of Joseph Heller's Catch-22 (it takes me so long to finish an ebook because I don't like reading from either the netbook or the phone. My brother suggests I get an ebook reader. For now, I'll just stick with physical books.)

Virginia Wolf's The Waves is shelved, at the moment, because I find that one needs to be in a certain mood (which is a tad bit difficult to induce), in a certain place and time (most definitely the beach on a sunny day) before an appreciation of the book's poignancy can be had. 

The physical book I'm currently sticking up my nose in is Julie Hecht's The Unprofessionals. The title is reason enough for me to pick the book.

the sale i couldn't resist

it didn't matter that i was sick yesterday, all that mattered then was to get myself to National Bookstore's warehouse sale. i got the books that i wanted. but i'd gotten more. i grabbed everybody's attention when i almost nearly fainted while queuing at the cashier. i thank God i didn't came by myself. i had my sister with me. even then, NBS people really took the time to see to it that i had white flower (they thought of spirit of ammonia, but they didn't have any) , water, ventilation and even a means of transportation back to CGS.

here are my finds:

from top to bottom: (the hardbound ones fetched for Php 20 each, while the soft bound ones ranged from Php50 to Php150 because they're new)

1. National Geographic's 2010 Almanac for Kids (this is for my nieces and nephew)
2. Lauren Slater's Lying:A Metaphorical Memoir
3. James Hynge's China Shakes the World: The Rise of a Hungry Nation
4. Roland Merullo's Fidel's Last Days
5. Thrity Umrigar's If Today Be Sweet
6. Bret Lott's Before We Get Started
7. Walter Mosley's The Man in my Basement
8. Roberto Calasso's K
9. Lynne Cox's Grayson
10. Mariano Miguel Montanes' Pablo Picasso: The Last Days
11. James Hillman's A Terrible Love of War
12. Elie Wiesel's The Time of the Uprooted
13. Max Byrd's Shooting the Sun
14. Patrick Ryan's Send Me
15. Ivan Doig's Prairie Nocturne
16. George Hagen's The Laments



i've also found these at book sale for Php20:

i've been trying to finish these:

the Sookie Stackhouse omnibus is loaned to me, so i have to finish that soon. my copy of "The Waves" is from booksale. it has this receipt from Barnes and Nobles Bookstore dated October 18, 1983 (i wasn't even born yet). somehow, the receipt got me thinking of my own existence and my quest to retire early to an island with my books (such wishful and wistful thinking).

counting months by the books i've read and bought

August and September consisted of these:

the ones I've read are:

G.V. Desani's "All About H. Hatterr" was wildly hilarious, albeit colloquial which tends to hamper one's comprehension of the author's thoughts. "Eat, Pray, Love" By Elizabeth Gilbert detailed one woman's quest for inner peace and what one must go through to attain it. Carrie Tiffany's "Everyman's Rules for Scientific Living" is one of the 50 Books You Can't Put Down for 2007 (Australia's literacy project of sorts) which depicted how failures impact persons from different backgrounds; like in the novel, the scientific man who is guided by rules and logic responded to failure by enlisting in the army for the war, while the woman who was an orphan and a seamstress, carried on with her life even after the scientific man left her. M.J. Hyland's "How the Light Gets In" interested me because M.J. Hyland's short bio at the back cover of the book revealed that she is an "ex-lawyer." (hm, it's a possibility for me too!)

the ones i bought:

Salman Rushdie's "The Ground Beneath Her Feet" and Mitch Albom's "For One More Day" are from Lung Center's Sunday market.

Jaan Kross' "Treading Air" and Joan London's "Gilgamesh" are dregs from the Powerbooks' Power Sale.

"The Drink and Dream Teahouse" by Justin Hill was a buy one take one deal from those booths in Megamall's exhibit areas (this was the "take," what i bought was that M.J. Hyland novel).

"After the Wreck, I Picked Myself Up, Spread My Wings, and Flew Away" by Joyce Carol Oates and "Vanessa & Virginia" by Susan Sellers are from Bestsellers (which is owned by National Bookstore) at Podium.

"The Story of Edgar Sawtelle" by David Wroblewski, "A Fine Balance" by Rohinton Mistry, "The Discomfort Zone" by Jonathan Franzen and "Operation Shylock: A Confession" by Philip Roth are all from Booksale.

this is what i'm currently reading:

Margaret Atwood's "The Blind Assassin" consist of three seemingly unrelated tales which according to the gist at the back cover of the book will be interwoven to provide the proper context for the three tales. i can't wait to get to the ending.