...my take...

Do you review books? If so, for who? If not, have you ever thought about doing so? Why, or why not?




 I don't do book reviews, though there are times that I wanted to. I tried doing it one time but I never get around to finished it. I even went as far as looking up in the internet some pointers or guidelines on how to come up with a book review. 


I think I'm better off reading the book and that's about it.

...a fun-filled weekend...

Weekends are time for sleeping in, I suppose. Lying in bed a little longer than you usually do. In my case, I am too eager to start my Saturday, that I always wake up early. Saturday mornings are reserved for my usual morning run and I always try my best to be steadfast about it.

So anyway, last Saturday went by as usual, minus my sister. She decided not to come because there were some stuff she needed to do. I did my morning run ( finally ran 10K, yes ). A few hours later, I had my driving lesson.

By late afternoon, we were off to Victoria. It was not planned but I grabbed the chance to visit the capital of British Columbia, for the first time. We went to one of their friend's house. We had hamburgers, hot dogs, steak and other stuff. There I get to ride on a speed boat for the first time. It was awesome.

A hotel.

A some sort of entertainment.

Part of Victoria Harbor

It was already midnight when we got back from Victoria. My legs went numb from sitting too long inside the car but it was worth the trip. I'm already thinking of going back there, with my sister one of these days. Victoria is a nice place.

Sunday morning found me, getting out of bed, earlier than necessary. No, I did not head out to run. I woke up early because I was hungry. So I made breakfast then went online. I did nothing in the morning except lounge on the couch and watch TV and even dozed off. At three in the afternoon, Mama came home from work. Then we went to the Dollar Store and bought some stuff. She got a call from her friend, inviting her to go to Parksville. And off we go...

Cool activity.

Basking in the sun.

Enjoying the nice weather.

After looking at the sand sculptures, we head back to the car and drove to Qualicum Beach. We had dinner at a Quality Food store. I had a mini combo meal, consisting of fried rice and sweet and sour pork. I was "busog", afterward. :-) We went to the beach later.

I saw this while I was walking along the beach. Poor thing.

Can't get enough of the sun.

I had the cheesecake flavor. yum, yum, yum...

On our way home, we stopped by at Ranjee's place ( where she work ). It's a part of Qualicum Beach. We stayed there for a while, looked around the place and as always, snapped some photos.

Inside the tree house.

Don and I tried the swing. I had a swell time. :-)

I had fun this weekend and my sister was jealous, because she missed it. Anyway, it was nice. Looking forward to another outdoor adventure to make the most of summer. Never mind that my arms  are now darker from the rest of my body, one drawback of staying outside that I have to get through, I guess.

...distracted...

Can you read amidst distractions? (TV, others talking, sporting events, etc)




 I can manage to read amidst distractions, for the most part anyway. When I used to live back at home, noise has always been part of our every day lives. I can read through all my younger siblings arguments or my nieces and nephews running around. I learned to read through it all. Of course, there are times that I opted to have some peace and quite while I'm reading but it seldom happens. I end up falling asleep.


I usually zone out when I'm reading so outside noise is not really a problem for me. They may as well not be there. The TV may be on while I read but I'm not really watching it.

...awesome Saturday...

I always look forward to every Saturdays, especially when my sister came to the island for a visit. We managed to have loads of fun, even if it's just going to the nearby mall, window shopping or just hanging out in my aunt's house. And I also look forward to my usual weekend run. So anyway, first things first. The moment I woke up, I was already psyched up to head out for a short run. Plus it was such a beautiful Saturday morning.

Looking the part. After my run, I managed to sneak in a bike ride around Mama's neighborhood. The streets are off limits, for now. 

With my new found "skill" on top a bike, I am overjoyed beyond words. It was just so cool to be able to stay balanced on it and get to places. I just realized what I missed. It's never too late, so I'm taking my sweet  time.

At mid-morning, I had my first ever driving lesson. I was eager to sit in front of the wheel again. The one I had in Mama's car, a few weeks ago,  did not count. I had a swell time, handling the steering wheel and at the same time, trying hard not to step on the gas pedal or brake too much. I have lots of stuff to learn though. So I booked another class for next weekend.

Afterward, my sister and I had a quick lunch and we went to the library. I requested some books online and I got an email that one was available for pick-up. I have high praises for their library here and I have yet to fully enjoy what they offer. 

 Borrowed. First book to read. I have two more coming and they are all about running. Go figures. :-)

Google Maps rocks! The third time I make use of it. We're still not familiar with Downtown so we relied on this.

Sister soaking up the sun.

From the library, we made our way toward the park. There was some sort of activity there, the Dragon Boat Festival. But when we got there, the race was already finished and we just saw some folks, bringing along their paddles. It was a pretty hot day. I could feel my arms tingling from the scorching heat of the sun. We strolled on the harbourfront walkway then decided to have some ice cream.

 Lick all I want. I can't get enough of ice cream. To cool down.

After that short jaunt at the park, we headed back home. I sat outside, enjoying the afternoon while reading a few pages of the book I borrowed. Then later on, Mama drove us to Bowen Park to try on playing tennis. Well, it was not really tennis per se, since I was just hitting the ball against the wall. Besides, what I did was more of running around after the ball and picking it up than really hitting it with the racket. It was fun though. Few minutes later, I was already sweating and breathing hard. It is a cool workout. :-)

Reading is always cool. Starting off "What I Talk About When I Talk About RUNNING"

In action. My sister was kind enough to snapped this pictures while I was running around.

I had a great day. And most of all, I had fun. Looking forward to another cool and awesome weekend....

...by myself and then some...

Do you have friends and family to share books with? Discuss them with? Does it matter to you?

 It's only my aunt whom I share my passion for reading, and why not, she was the one who encouraged me to take up reading and I'm glad she did. Whenever I read something interesting or great, I can't wait  to share it with her and ask her to read it too. The same way goes with her.

I have this friend who has this extensive collection of books and come to think of it, I've read them all. While she on the other hand, has yet to find the time to read them.

 With my participation in this weekly activity, I am drawn into discovering other genre that otherwise I have not known, if I am just to depend on what I personally read and what my aunt and I share.

I would have wanted to have a more people to share my readings with but somehow, I like it better this way. Reading is something I'd rather do on my own and maybe share it with someone on occasions.

...current read...

What are you currently reading? Would you recommend it to others? Is it part of a series (if so, which one)? What are you thinking about it? What book(s) would you compare it to, if any?


 I'm currently reading Sophie Kinsella's Shopaholic & Baby. I'd recommend it to someone who's after a good laugh while reading and not necessarily a laugh-out-loud moment. Though, I did laugh out loud while reading it, good thing I was in my room. It's part of  the Shopaholic Series. 


Actually, the first book I read from Kinsella was not one of the series but I took a liking of her writing so I started planning to look for her other works. Fortunately, my sister bought all her novels during its release or something and when she told me that she have all the books, I was in cloud nine.


I am in no way hooked into shopping so with regard to that part, I have no say, but when it comes to how the author presented each plot and dialogues, well, that's what got me. 


I can' compare it to any other books I've read, especially with the series types. I've read books that were part of a series, the Twilight saga and Harry Potter. The Shopaholic series has a league of its own.

...July, the man...

"What do I owe my father? Everything." - Henry Van Dyke

"I've had a hard life, but my hardships are nothing against the hardships that my father went through in order to get me to where I started." - Bertrand Hubbard

"It doesn't matter who my father was; it matters who I remember he was." - Anne Sexton

Today is my father's 61st birthday and a week from now would be his 4th death anniversary. What a way to start the month of July, for us, anyway. It has been four years since my father passed away but there are times that I think about him as if he's still around. I recalled some moments with him vividly. My all-time favorite was the slide at the children playground.

I sometimes think it's unfair that, now when I can see him under a different light, he's not around to appreciate it anymore. And it is something I will always regret the most.

I've had a rocky relationship with my father so his untimely passing without much of parting word on my part was something I have still to reconcile up to now. And there's nothing much I can do about except grieve at times when I let down my guard. And move on, I suppose.

Words are not enough to extol all what my father did with his life. He was far from perfect since he had his own share of shortcomings. No doubt about it, my siblings and I owe it all to the man, who decided to have us, in whatever circumstances.

"It's only when you grow up and step back from him- or leave him for your own home-it's only then that you can measure his great-ness and fully appreciate it." - Margaret Truman

...letdown...

Name a book or author that you truly wanted to love but left you disappointed. (And, of course, explain why.)

From my constant "channel-surfing" on TV, months ago, I chanced upon the movie on HBO, "The Jane Austen Book Club". My interest was piqued. I even got to the extent of jotting down all the novels of Austen and silently told myself to read them all, like what the characters did in the movie. I've heard of Jane Austen and how she was hailed as a great classical author and all. 

True enough, I bought my first novel of Austen, which was "Mansfield Park" . I started reading it diligently at first but later on, I got lost with the story. I tried to keep at it until halfway but I stopped. I never finished reading the book. I really would have wanted to finish reading all her books but I can't just get my way around to it. I wondered how it become considered as a classic anyway.

To all Jane Austen fans out there, no offense intended. I guess I need to work on broadening my horizon when it comes to Austen. Probably in time, I will be able to tackle her head on. For now, I set my sights on other books, of which are somewhat easy for me.