Evergreen, evermore

Is it weird that Maria and Capt. Von Trapp are one of the few things in the world I actually believe in?

Panic is what panic feels like

School on Monday. I am seriously fucked.

Bicol express

Last week (why I always start my travel entries this way, I don't know), I went to the Bicol region, particularly the provinces of Albay, Sorsogon, and Camarines Sur, for a short holiday.

It was rather beautiful, if not for the torrential rains that crippled us most of the time. Spending hours in cramped vans and nights in crazy hotels with scary bathrooms isn't so bad when you've got Styx (think "Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto!" at 7 am repeatedly) and family with you, I've learned.

I took almost 300 pictures, but I'd rather post them bit by bit rather than in one big jizz of a post. Right above is a photo of Mt. Mayon, one of the most famous peaks in the world, which greets you as you get off the plane in Legazpi airport.

The Hunger Games trilogy: the ditziest review you'll ever read online

I finished the Hunger Games trilogy a few months ago.

I was a little apprehensive about liking this book, because I seem to be developing vestiges of the same affection I held for Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight saga. While I don’t deny that yes, I read Twilight and that I actually enjoyed it, I wasn’t so hot on the idea of the Hunger Games turning into a clusterfuck of poor movie adaptations and even poorer casting choices.

The premise, I’d have to say, is good. It’s kind of like 1984 meets a whole bunch of post-apocalyptic books for young adults, and not in a cheaply done way. It’s full of action, it’s quite violent, and not at all saccharine.

I don’t know about you, though, but a girl can only take so much craziness. I also didn’t like how Suzanne Collins kept the emotional scenes very brief; although I understand that the narrator (Katniss Everdeen) is very EQ-deficient, I really think that there is still a lot of room to draw out the heart of every tender moment that doesn’t remove the book’s overall badassery.

This may not be a popular opinion, but I really do not like Katniss. From her, I realized, stems my anxiety about the Hunger Games turning into sci-fi Twilight. While she’s not as idiotic as Bella, she becomes so freaking annoying when she makes out with Peeta but loves Gale, kisses Gale but feels bad, then realizes that she’s a cold-hearted bitch when both Peeta and Gale acknowledge that she doesn’t actually give a damn about any of them. Okay, it’s true, there’s a war and shit. BUT COME ON. I think we can spare a few pages of you making an actual decision about who to like in between starting a rebellion and killing the president with your mad archery skills.

Speaking of, I’m just gonna put this out there: Peeta Mellark is a babe. When he makes these absolutist statements such as “you are the only reason I live for” and yaddi yaddi yadda, I get a little peeved, but I can’t help it. He’s too adorable. I really hate myself for liking this boy. I really do.

To be honest, I skipped a lot of parts in Mockingjay because I only looked out for the parts where Peeta and Katniss interacted. And I may or may not have teared up in the scene where Haymitch censures Katniss, who begins being a total bitch to Peeta after he got poisoned by the Capitol (causing him to say really mean things to her and to actually try to kill her), and said that if she were the one who got poisoned, Peeta would do everything he could to make her better. IDK. I am such a sucker, really.

I’m not so sure if the disappointment I got from reading this is because of the praises I used to keep hearing, but I thought it was okay. Maybe it’s just not my kind of thing. I’d hate to be a Katniss (i.e. a bitch), but I’m kind of glad I didn’t have to legit buy copies of my own. Would have regretted it, to be honest.

Hong Kong Holiday

Last week, I went to Hong Kong with my friend Andrea. It was a real bitch to prepare for exams (the week after) while exploring a foreign city, but I swear it was worth the trouble.

This man was sitting in front of us on the Airport Expressway. He kept looking back, thinking we were taking photos of him.

Our hotel room.

Hackneyed bokeh shot from our window.

Right after we checked in (that was around ten in the evening), we headed out (in flip flops!) and walked along the MTR station.

I like the MTR. I love trains in general, but the sophistication of its stations, how it snakes through the city in the most convenient ways… maybe I’ll encounter a system much fancier than this, but for now allow me to remain in awe.

Rebecca Black must be proud of the elevator carpets.

First stop was H&M at Silvercord.

Off to Causeway Bay.

This is Jardine's Crescent. The stuff there's not bad, but I liked Temple Street Market on Jordan station much more.

Then we walked five bajillion blocks to World Trade Centre.

We elected to stay in Kowloon the next day.

Cotton On on Granville was having an insane sale. We went a little crazy.

#WakingUpEarlyForOurFlightFail

We have the most ghetto water bottles--Bonaqua. I love them.

Last minute photo in HKIA. Bye, Hong Kong!

Hello, Manila!

Hellogoodbye

Hi. I'm Marga, a twenty-year-old college student on the semi-brink of graduation.

I made this blog because I attended a journalism seminar last January where the speaker said that one of the best ways to establish an online portfolio is to make a blog. My two other blogs aren't very good testaments to the writing ability that I intend to use in order to feed myself and the two children I plan on having with James Franco, so this one came to be.

Enjoy, and try not to choke from laughing at my sad attempts to chronicle the rather mundane life I have.