Goodbye August (A Month's Worth of Blog)

I have spent the whole month of August feeding bits of information about myself to the World Wide Web. And I must say: so far, so good. While it was not my life's mission to spill the beans on myself when I started this blog, this has been the closest I can get to an autobiography. Besides, I'm still hiding behind the name Crazy Insomniac. I was, and still am, apprehensive to be writing about myself, my thoughts, my deepest secrets over at the Internet. I don't even keep a diary. But I want to think that I'm finally opening up, albeit gradually. Easy does it.

Anyway, my life's not that interesting to warrant a blog. But hey, it's a free world and the blog's free.

August is almost over. And what have I done for the past month? Nothing much. Still waiting for the approval of my job application. And to make the wait tolerable, I read books, watch movies and surf the Net - the usual stuff. I also run errands for my mom in between.

I'm currently reading John Grisham's The Chamber. It's a 1994 novel, I know, but I haven't read this one yet. I'm collecting the author's works, remember? I'm just through with The Broker, and while it may not be Grisham's best, it's still a good read, thanks partly to the witty dialogue.

When I feel lazy opening a book, I pop in videos, but it's mostly Walt Disney these past days - Beauty and the Beast (my favorite) and Aladdin. I'm contemplating Mulan later in the day.

Television? Not much. Internet? Just surfing. I'm looking into Julia Stiles and I plan to write something about my favorite romcom movie The Prince & Me soon. I know my reviews are over at the other blog, but I can't help it with this movie. I'll probably be writing reviews of what I find worthwhile in this blog once in a while.

Anyway, this entry looks like a summary of the past month and a taste of my entries for the next month. Hmm, I think this is going to be a monthly thingy. I hope September will be more eventful so I can have an interesting summary.

My Last (Or Latest) Indulgence

I finally got myself a copy of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, the last installment in the phenomenal Harry Potter series. The urge to get myself a copy was so strong that although the book was way beyond the thousand peso mark, I went ahead and got one anyway. Incidentally, it's probably P47 to a dollar, so the book costs approximately 28 dollars. This installment happens to be my first ever Harry Potter book, one I can call my own. I've read all six installments but they are all owned by my cousin. I intend to get myself the complete series, now that National Bookstore, the pricey bookstore I go to, is on sale. There's also a new bookstore at the mall I frequent, Fully Booked. I'll probably be writing an entry on the bookstores I get my books from soon.

I'm not a cheapskate. I'm not wanting when it comes to money. I was just taught to live frugally and I guess I exercise sufficient control when it comes to spending. There are times when I shop impulsively. But then again, I don't shop much. The only time I splurge on clothes is during the Christmas season. Whenever I feel like shopping, it's usually for books, CD's, and Vcd's/DVD's, my indulgences. But even with these, I exercise control. I don't jump right ahead and buy them as soon as they're out on the market. I wait for them to go on sale. As I've said in my earlier entry, I scour second-hand bookstores for quality titles. There are good finds in excellent condition you'd think I bought them from a pricey bookstore. As to Vcd's/DVD's, I wait until they go on sale, then I buy by the bulk. The most expensive DVD I have is 300, bought two weeks after its official release. For the sum of 16 dollars, I get a free movie art book.

I take special care in handling things that you wouldn't hesitate to lend me your rarest titles. Which is why I hate it when people return my stuff and I find pages puked on or discs mutilated - I'm exaggerating, but you get the idea.

My biggest indulgence would probably be completing the Friends series. I got the ninth season, courtesy of my aunt. A series costs about $20, so it'll probably be a slow project as I'm willing to shell out that amount once a month. I got nine more seasons to go, and at the rate of a season a month, my collection of this television series will be completed in nine months. Not bad. Slowly but surely, I always say.

The OC

No, this is not about the television series; I have not watched a single episode of it. Neither is this about the Orange County. This entry is about my obsessive-compulsive behavior, or what I proclaim to be my obsessive-compulsive behavior.

According to my not-so-extensive research,

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is an illness that causes people to have unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and to repeat certain behaviors (compulsions) over and over again. We all have habits and routines in our daily lives, such as brushing our teeth before bed. However, for people with OCD, patterns of behavior get in the way of their daily lives.

Most people with OCD know that their obsessions and compulsions make no sense, but they can't ignore or stop them. (Source)

The article enumerates some of the common obsessions and compulsions, among them 'concern with order, symmetry (balance) and exactness' and 'ordering and arranging items in a certain way', respectively. Admittedly, I have certain obsessions and compulsions that are a bit odd when compared to a 'normal' person, all of which concern order, symmetry and sometimes neatness. I have not gone to the extreme of the behavior, however.

I arrange my CD's, Vcd's/DVD's alphabetically, and get irked when people do not return them in their proper places after borrowing them. I am a strong advocate of the saying 'A place for everything and everything in its place'. But like I said, I have not gone to the extreme. I can live with the fact that my Babel DVD is still in my cousins' room weeks after they have finished watching it.

I plan to arrange my clothes according to color: one shade on one side, another shade on another side...you get the picture. I say plan because my cousin (whom I share rooms with) and I have the intention of overhauling our room. So this color-coding scheme of clothes will have to wait until I buy the closet I want.

I don't know if it's just me, but I never watch a movie sequel unless I've watched the previous installment, the sequel's story having absolutely nothing to do with the previous story notwithstanding. The consequence: I miss out on the movie in the cinemas, but I don't go to the cinemas that often anyway. Not much of a loss there. In fact, I'd rather watch movies on DVD in the comforts of my home.

Finally, I get irritated when items are crookedly positioned - a ball pen on the table, books on the shelf, pillows on the bed. My cousin's idea of fun is to disarrange items in our room and watching me with delight as I fight the urge to fix them. Needless to say, I always lose.

This OC behavior does not extend to my life, I'm so glad to say. Yes, I make plans and I stick to them as much as I can. I do not go berserk however when things do not go as planned. In fact, some people describe me as spontaneous. Now that is not the trait you would want to attach to a person who is a self-proclaimed order freak.

Oh well, I guess people have their peculiarities.

Picky Eater

I love to eat, and I'm fortunate to have been blessed with a body that does not bloat despite my pigging out. I likewise enjoy watching the Lifestyle Network's chefs in action, particularly Jamie Oliver. Boy, that hot guy can whip up dishes in my kitchen anytime. Surprisingly, I hate to cook. There's a teeny weeny cooking bone in my body that says 'can fry eggs.' Sadly, that's the extent of my culinary skills. And nope, I don't have any plans of enrolling in a culinary school ever. I pity the guy I'm going to marry.

As is so clearly mentioned in this entry's title, I am a picky eater. My friends and I like to sample different restaurants, but I only choose those innocent-looking or -sounding recipes on the menu. I don't have an adventurous palate. Once I've tried a dish, and liked it, it'll be that dish for an eternity until I'm brave enough to try out a different one. The safest that someone can offer are burger and fries. For sophistication, it's anything Italian.

Incidentally, I was browsing the McDonald's website and am quite surprised to see that nowhere in the search bar for country/market is Philippines found. I mean, this country practically has a McDonald's in every available nook or cranny. After a few seconds of relentless searching, I found the local McDonald's website. Don't bother clicking on it: HTTP Error 404. Why did I mention this chain? This is where I get my monthly dose of burger, fries and sundae.

I'm contemplating writing over at the other blog about the food and restaurants I've tried and visited. I don't think it'll be effective though, being a picky eater. Besides, if ever I do eat out, it'll probably be the same restaurants, and the same dishes, as before. Hence, there isn't much to write when it comes to topics of food and restaurant. Whatever I've eaten and wherever I've eaten it, I'll just probably write it here as a diary entry.

My Dream House

I want a place of my own, that's for sure. A friend or relative might have mentioned ages ago that it's not really important for the girl in this country to have a place of her own; nor would she be chastised for still living with her parents even when she has reached the age when she should have moved out, as per Western standards. In fact, neither is it important for the guys. It's usual in this culture to have families stay in one roof. I belong to a closely-knit family so I know what I'm talking about. It's less appealing if the guy were still living with his parents and so much more dreadful if you move in with him though. I'd definitely go for a guy who has his own pad but despite the independence, still manages to keep in touch with his family.

I grew up at my grandma's (mother's side) house, and though my parents have moved out and built a house of our own, I can still be found at my grandma's. My family would have breakfast at home, then it was off to grandma's for the whole day. Right now, I'm living with my elder brother and my cousins, all from my mom's side of the family. During my primary and secondary years, I lived with my aunt and her children, and some of my other cousins, who went to the same school I did. So I guess you can say I practically grew up in a crowded house. They may be family, but still, I long for the time when I could have a place of my own,with just me in it. Plus, I have this really crazy idea that having a place of my own means I have somewhere to go to in case the relationship with my guy doesn't work out - sort of a sanctuary.

Anyway, this country's getting a bit liberal so it's not really surprising for a single woman to have her own house. So, how would my dream house look like? I'm caught between a luxurious mansion and a cozy cottage. When I watched The Holiday, I fell in love with Kate Winslet's house. The house and everything around it felt like it ought to be on a Christmas card. I'm picturing myself bundled up on the sofa, with a good book and a mug of hot chocolate. Then when they showed Cameron Diaz's house, I was awed by the design - simple and modern. I envied the media room, with its state-of-the-art flat TV and countless DVD's lining the shelves. So my dream house would be a hybrid of modernity and coziness, with a nasty media room containing a really cool entertainment system, and a cozy study with shelves and shelves of books.

I'm currently looking at different designs here. They got a wide range of collection, many of which caught my eye. It'll be a long way before I get to buy my own house, but I'll get there.