Bliss

Tom Robbins' Another Roadside Attraction - 50 pesos
Fare from home to Robinsons' - 12 pesos
Happiness at finding unexpectedly one of the works of the one of the world's greatest novelist - priceless

I'm in blissful state since yesterday. While just strolling around Robinson's yesterday, I happen to pass by my favorite book shop. My heart practically stopped at the sight of Robbins' novel on sale. Immediately I went back home to get cash as I only have forty pesos in my pocket. I couldn't believe my luck at having found Robbins' novel unexpectedly. It's been almost a year since I've been trying to find it and now my search is over. Now, I can die peacefully with the knowledge that I have read one of Robbins' work. I have to take back what I said in one of my earlier posts. Cebu is not a bad place for buying books after all.

Fonts and flora

While searching for movie reviews of The Da Vinci Code, I came across the blog of Butch Dalisay. Just reading a few of his entries, I was immediately impressed at his writing. Whenever I discover more people like him online, I couldn't help but regret that I could have developed competence in writing had I taken more formal lessons in it. I admire people who write so well. It's easy to concoct ideas but putting them in writing is something else. Now, that I am blogging myself, I had been trying to look around for crash writing courses in Cebu, but like my search for books, I had been so unlucky so far.

On a different note, I have started collecting indoor plants. My interest in it started when the ERIC team went to an Internet cafe to work after a virus bogged down the computer systems at the office. Since the cafe we went to was not an upscale establishment, the owner has obviously cut down on airconditioning expenses. One particular thing I noticed is that they have these small potted plants inside the toilet. The presence of the plants have somehow lessened my awareness of the humidity inside the place. Right there and then, I thought of putting similar plants to our room for a greener and cooler ambiance. Now, I have three varieties at home. I'm thinking of adding cactus to my collection.

Cracking the hype

Dan Brown must be laughing hysterically by now. His book, The Da Vinci Code, has caused considerable controversy all across the world. The mere fact that one book has caused this intense and varied sentiments from people of various races is simply amazing. I happen to read a downloaded copy of the book, saved in adobe format, last year. Someone at the office has obtained a copy of it and saved in one of the office's hidden files. I am no longer that keen on seeing the movie as I was rather disappointed with its ending. My faith, or what else that still remained of it, was not in the least bit shaken after having read Dan's novel. For all the hype that the book has stirred, everyone should remember that it is just a historical fiction and nothing more. Catholics should'nt even be violently reacting to it. I wonder what the outcome would have been had Dan Brown selected another religion for his innuendoes.

At a glance

Your Personality Profile

You are dependable, popular, and observant. Deep and thoughtful, you are prone to moodiness. In fact, your emotions tend to influence everything you do. You are unique, creative, and expressive. You don't mind waving your freak flag every once and a while. And lucky for you, most people find your weird ways charming!

The World's Shortest Personality Test

Book lust

I love Cebu. If I would be given an opportunity to choose between living in Manila and Cebu, I would still choose my city. Compared to Manila, Cebu has lesser traffic, lesser cost of living and lesser crime rate. Almost all the amenities that can be found in Manila are also available in Cebu. Isn't that good enough? Absolutely not. For book-lovers like me, Cebu is not a good place for buying books. There's just no choices at all and the book shops here almost always offer similar titles. I wonder how they remained in the business of selling books if they can't diversify. It was almost a year since I had been scouring the shops here in Cebu to look for titles by Tom Robbins or more novellas by Banana Yoshimoto and until now my search remains zilch. Searching for books here is like searching for Mr. Right. It can get so frustrating. There were times that I was already tempted to buy books online but the thing that kept me from doing so is the fact that I don't have a credit card and my apprehensions about online shopping. Plus there's also the problem on the shipment of orders as most online shops do not deliver to Cebu. Sigh. I just can't accept the fact that I would just die not knowing why Tom Robbins is inimitable. There's got to be a way. Sooner or later, I will be able to figure out a way. But for the meantime (and as always), I'll just fill my longing for Robbins and Yoshimoto with what's available on second-hand book shops.