Best pasalubong ever

Okay, so Eric didn't get to buy a Hedwig doll.

Which is okay because he got me something better, and I say this is the best pasalubong ever because (1) it was something I didn't think I need but which I do pala, and (2) it was a totally unexpected gift, and pleasantly unexpected gestures are always the most appreciated.


Ta-dah!

It's a portable reading light! I just clip it on my book and voila! Instant handy reading pleasure.

See, at night I used to rely on my bedside lamp, but the glare bothers Justin so I'm forced to sit at an awkward angle so that my book shields the glow. But with the Booklite, not only do I no longer have to worry about the glare, I can even read while lying on my stomach (a preferred position when I'm feeling sleepy but still super engrossed).

And yes, I'm already daydreaming about how this Booklite would be perfect on my next overnight plane trip... now I can read to my heart's content and not have to suffer a headache from the yellowish glare of the plane's reading lights.

I just hope the replacement batteries aren't expensive. At the rate I'm using this baby, I might need to change them pretty soon.

Anti-climax: HP review

So now that I’ve finished the book, what do I have to say?

What I love:

• Finally! Voldemort shines! I know, I know, he’s evil, but here, he’s impressively evil. His role in the six books were merely “supporting;” here in Book 7, we finally understand why everyone in the wizarding world was afraid of him.

• Great fight scenes. And there are lots of them. I can’t wait to see how the major ones will look on the big screen once the film version is made. I especially look forward to The Battle of Hogwarts; in relation, it was nice to see the professors do something more drastic than hand out detentions.

• The cameo appearances of familiar faces. Viktor Krum makes an appearance! So does Cho Chang, the other members of Dumbledore’s Army, and Dobby the house-elf. And, yeah, so does Dolores Umbridge, but don’t worry, you’ll love what happens to her.

• Snape’s redemption. I didn’t know which made me go “Oh my God” louder—when I read the chapter devoted to Snape’s memories, or when Hedwig dies. And speaking of characters dying…

• Deaths that hit the spot. I was so caught up in trying to predict who between Harry or Voldemort would die that I forgot that there were other characters (good guys) who could possibly die as well. Quite a few of them did, and to be honest, they were those whom I least expected. Which I guess was why the deaths were all the more jarring. Again, I hope the movie does these death scenes justice.

My gripes:

• A dragging middle. I think there were too much pages devoted to Harry & Co.’s stay at Grimmauld Place and their camping all over England.

• Dumbledore’s life. The idea that he had a sketchy past seemed to have come out of nowhere. I wish there had been hints about it in the previous six books; it’s kind of off to think that he was this great, benevolent wizard for the first six books and then get sprung a new notion right out of nowhere.

• Bitin epilogue. I wanted to see more of what happened to the other characters, like Luna, the rest of the Weasley family, even the Dursleys. But, hmm, don’t you think the ending left room open for a Harry Potter 8?... Now that would be cool!

Potter mania

Yes, I am one of those people -- according to an Internet blogger -- "whose lives this week revolve around an effing boy."

How obsessed/excited am I? Let's see...

I've started reading all the Harry Potter books , from Sorcerer's Stone to Half-Blood Prince. Just reviewing, so that when I come across a name or a term on Book 7, I won't have to go back to find out what it refers to.

And at night, just to distract me from the suspense, I've been watching all the movies. I have yet to watch Order of the Phoenix on film but I can wait for the DVD.

Eric's in Hong Kong right now and I've asked him to go to Toys 'R Us and see if they have a stuffed Hedwig toy. I tell him it's for Justin but, well, we both know I'll be the one thrilled when he does bring it home.

My dear brother, who will be picking up my reserved copy tomorrow, can count on me texting him every 30 minutes to find out if he has gotten it and if he's on his way over.

Nobody bother me tomorrow... or on Sunday, okay?

Stage mom

I know it's rude to point and stare but when you're pointing and staring at my son and the words "Ay, ang cute," come out of your mouth, then by all means go ahead.

La yummy vita!

I read Food of Love in one sitting and when I finally (regretfully) finished, I wanted to do one of two things:

1) Move to Italy
2) Marry a chef

The synopsis:

Experiencing the sensual pleasures of Rome for the first time, student Laura Patterson decides she wants to go out with a chef. So when she meets handsome Tommaso Massi, who tells her that he works at the best restaurant in Rome, she's bowled over by the fantastic dishes he cooks her. But Tomasso has a secret - the real chef is actually his best friend, they very shy Bruno. And Bruno has a secret too - he’s fallen head over heels in love with Laura himself…

So begins a delicious comedy of errors, a romance as light and dazzling as one of Bruno’s own chocolate desserts, in which Laura has to choose between beauty and passion, Bruno has to decide between friendship and love, and Tommaso realises he’s bitten off more than he can
chew.

In the midst of the love story are descriptions of recipes that will make your mouth water, even if most of the terms are in Italian, and some of the ingredients seem kinda gross--baby hares??? Ox intestines??? But when you read about the kinds of sauces they're simmered in, or how they smell once you add garlic or basil or whatever herb--

Heck, now that I think about it, forget about my two options earlier....I want to marry an Italian chef!

Available at Fully Booked

A rockin' imagination

Those who read Eric's comment on the "Mirror, Mirror..." post will remember that he mentioned something about a rocking chair. Here's the story.

When I got pregnant, we bought a rattan rocking chair because, well, I felt it was something all new moms needed. But now that Justin is bigger, it's kinda hard to position ourselves comfortably in the chair, so for many weeks now, it was underused.

Plus Justin is already at that stage where he could crawl any minute, and I didn't want him to wander under the chair and get his fingers or hand crushed.

So yesterday, I transferred the rocking chair from Justin's room to ours. I moved and re-moved some furniture to try to find a suitable space for it and in the end, I positioned it diagonally across our bed, against a corner.

I didn't expect Eric to come home, take one look, and ask if I could please move it somewhere else. Preferably outside the room.

The reason: "If it starts to rock by itself in the middle of the night, I don't think I could handle it."

Yes, people, I married a scaredy-cat.

Mirror, mirror, on the wall...

Eric and I had a (very brief) fight this morning about mirrors.

I wanted more of them in our bathroom. He thinks I'm going overboard.

Let me give you a history: when we first moved in, we had two mirrors. One medium-sized, rectangular-shaped one over the sink, and an oval-shaped one on my dresser table. I didn't like the oval-shaped mirror over the dresser because it was, by my standards, puny for a dresser mirror, but the mirror was part of the traditional dowry given to me by my mom and we didn't know where else to put it so I agreed it would go on my dresser -- temporarily.

Anyway, changing that wasn't really my priority. What I wanted more was a full-length mirror. One that I could stand in front of and fully appreciate my top, bottom and, yes, sometimes even the footwear. For the longest time, Eric balked at the idea; being a typical guy, he says standing farther away and on tiptoes in front of the oval dresser mirror should be enough for me to see my outfit. Like I said, typical guy.

So I was pleasantly surprised when one day, out of the blue, he told me, "May darating bukas para sukatin yung full-length mirror mo." Yipee. (Personally, I think he was atoning for some sin he committed that I have yet to know about, but he denies it....)

While I was happy, I also decided it would be a good opportunity to ask him if I could change my dresser mirror to something bigger and more quadrilateral in shape. He said "okay," although I think his mind was somewhere else on that time because when I brought it up again this morning...

He balked even more and said that our bathroom has too many mirrors as it is already.

Argh. On one hand, I was upset that he broke his promise; on the other hand, I didn't want to get into a lengthy argument about "You're a guy, you don't understand the importance of mirrors to a girl, blah blah blah."

Because seriously... okay....every girl obviously needs a full-length mirror.

And you need a mirror over the sink so that you can look at your teeth when you're brushing or flossing.

And you need a dresser mirror (a decent dresser mirror) because the dresser is where a girl puts all her face/hair/vanity stuff, and it doesn't make sense for her to keep moving from dresser to skin, dresser to sink.

Let's not forget the small magnifying mirror on the desk (for putting on eye makeup), but that's practically negligible.

Anyway, he told me I could go and look at whatever I wanted. He didn't say "buy," just "look." Which is a first step, so I won't complain anymore.

He's lucky that when we were fixing up our room before we got married, I didn't ask for a closet whose doors were made up of mirrors.

Girls, back me up on this one!

Blank

Some people have a knack for remembering names and faces, even of those they haven't been in contact with for a long time. While I do not possess the same photographic memory, I was confident that I would be able to at least vaguely acknowledge that there was something familiar about the people I run into.

How do you explain, therefore, that three times in three different occasions I was greeted by people -- but I drew a total blank?

The first time was a couple of years back at SM Department Store -- Eric and I were paying for our purchases when someone calls out, "Jacluts, kumusta ka na?"

I turned around and.. I swear... I had no idea who she was. Except she called my by a nickname that only those people from high school know of, so that should narrow things down a bit... NOT. And because I would rather be stupid than embarrassed, I pretended I did know her, and asked, "Uy!!! Kumusta ka na? Saan ka nag-w-work?"

She even introduced me to her boyfriend/husband, while I didn't do the same with Eric, because heck, I she was a total stranger to me!! I left as hurriedly as I could and all through the night, I kept racking my brains. No dice.

The next two instances occurred (separately) at Bonifacio High Street. The first time, I noticed that a girl kept staring at me. I ignored her, but when we nearly collided with each other, she sheepishly waved to me and said something like "hi." Flustered, I said "hey" back and left.

The second time, a guy gave me a "raised eyebrows in greeting" move but as I was walking, I just...walked on.

Not familiar at all.

I must be coming across as a total snob.

Or I'm getting early Alzheimer's.