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I have the utmost respect for people who have day jobs and still manage to write or read beautiful prose or poetry.

I think that’ll be a resolution for me: to MAKE TIME for literature.

Last 2010, stress was one of the biggest contributors to my contracting a lung infection, which resulted in having to take medication for MONTHS. The only good thing that came out of that was that I finally learned to take tablets/capsules because there was no other form of the medicine available. Taking medicine or vitamins in tablet/capsule form is just as stressful for me as getting sick, which is why I try to keep myself healthy. I sleep early, I drink lots of water, I try to eat vegetables whenever I can (I’m a picky vegetable eater), I eat breakfast regularly now as opposed to my old habit of eating brunch, and ,thanks to my commute, I get some form of exercise in the form of walking.

You can’t get rid of stress because it is everywhere. I suppose what we need to learn is how to deal with it properly. I honestly haven’t learned how to do that, since I’m still stressed about 99.99% of the time, and I’m afraid it’s beginning to show physically. Again. I know where every single stress source is coming from, and I know how to deal with it, but it’s just frustrating because my progress is very slow. I’d like it to be faster, but I’ve realized that my mind and body simply don’t work that fast when it comes to dealing with stress.

What have I been doing? A good deal of silent crying, mind you, plus a lot of writing here and there. It helps, if only a little.

You know what I really want? Alone time again. I miss my quiet moments. Those were the times that kept me sane, that kept me healthy, that kept me going.

I think I need another artist date/solo time to de-stress. Hm, time to look up hotel rates again.

1. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

2. The Warlock (Nicholas Flamel series)

The first was free breakfast. I normally eat breakfast at work because if I do it at home, I’d miss the early bus to work, so I bring my breakfast with me and eat as soon as I arrive. This morning, though, after finishing my breakfast, a colleague comes in and brings bags of pandesal and cheese bread, with a variety of sandwich spreads such as Cheez Wiz, choco hazelnut, ham spread, and chicken spread. I was a bit dismayed because I was already too full to partake of pandesal, which is one of my favorite breakfast foods, but it felt good knowing that somebody was generous enough to bring breakfast for everybody in the workroom.

The second was a surprise. I’m not the type of person to experiment with make up. Powder, blush, lipstick and some eyeliner when I feel like it and I’m good to go. Today was the usual, except that I used pink lipstick for the first time. I was hesitant to use it because I’m not a pink person, and the shades of pink that I like border on purple already, but just because today’s uniform was a dreary black and white, I figured I needed a pop of color on top of the red watch I was wearing. Since my friend had given me a palette of 4 lip stick colors, I went with the brightest one, pink, and hoped for the best. When a colleague stopped by my cubicle to ask a question, she literally stopped when she saw me and complimented me, saying I looked “good” different. I appreciated her saying that, for it made me feel better.

A little change goes a long way. In my case, my nerves, lethargy, and overall angst dissipated because of one small change I made.

Good vibes all the way.

A realization set in as I crammed the checking of these last two sets of papers. (The ones that I brought home, at least. I still have penmanship manuals at work.) I never had to cram this much paperwork on such a short time before, and the reason behind this was, I suppose, the fact that I lose a lot of time just being on the road.

I HATE THIS.

Sherlock/Irene

Just… if you were looking for baby names. (Dr. Watson)

And because I am unable to sleep now, I think I shall write about this stellar first episode of the second season of Sherlock.

Or not. I feel nauseous now.

I do love that I was just reading “A Scandal in Bohemia” prior to watching the episode. I haven’t finished yet, so I don’t know if they just took bits and parts of different adventures and put it in this episode.

Can I just say that my ovaries just about exploded when he was figuring out what had happened to Mrs. Hudson?

And I shall end my fangirl post here.

I’m not sure I’m ready to publicize my thoughts on the phrase and what it’s connected to, so I’ll leave it at that.

love... immortalized

Writing love letters is a lost art. Gone are the days when men and women sat down to think of the words that would carry their feelings for their beloved across great distances. Now, people whip out their smartphones and laptops and type out their feelings in 140 characters or less. Where’s the romance in, “Hey babe, love ‘ya.”

Okay, okay, people in this technology-dependent world may find the above statement romantic enough, but not for this literary nerd. Give me a handwritten love letter and watch me crumble. Yes, that’s right. Your resident kulot is a hopeless romantic.

Carrie reading from the wrong page of the book. Tsk tsk.

And this is why, when I saw Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City with a copy of the book, 50 Greatest Love Letters of All Time, and heard her read an excerpt, I just about died. Here was a book that held within its covers evidence that TRUE LOVE existed and, if you are as hopeless a romantic as I, might still continue to exist until now.

Here’s what the text on the jacket cover says:

Even in this age of e-mail, faxes, and instant messaging, nothing has ever replaced the power of a love letter. Much the way light displays every color when passed through a prism, love letters express the spectrum of our emotions, offering a colorful glimpse into the soul of the writer, and of the writer’s beloved. For passionate readers and lovers of words, a letter is irresistible.

My favorite love letters are from poet Elizabeth Barrett-Browning to her brother George about her husband, Robert; Beethoven to the “Immortal Beloved”; Simone de Beauvoir to Nelson Algren; and Anne Sexton to Philip Legler.

Unfortunately, Fully Booked no longer carries this book. I think it’s already out of print. Your best bet for a copy is online. In my case, I spotted a secondhand hardbound copy in Booksale. I thanked the heavens for my luck and immediately purchased it.

If you do get your hands on a copy, don’t ever let it go. Cherish each word, each phrase, each sentence that holds volumes of love within it.

Here’s an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 6,600 times in 2011. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 6 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

(click the images to go to the summary)

1. Room by Emma Donoghue: This book has been with me for a few months now, but I still haven’t mustered up enough courage to open it. When I first saw it on the shelves of Fully Booked, I was hypnotized. As soon as I got home, though, I thought I may have bit off more than I could chew. I’m not sure what I’ll find here, but if the reviews are right, then my overactive imagination might go into overdrive and I might find myself without sleep again.

2. A Lion Among Men by Gregory Maguire: This is the third book in the Wicked series. I’ve had this for over a year or two already and I STILL HAVE NOT GOTTEN PAST THE FIRST CHAPTER. I don’t know why. The tale of the Cowardly Lion honestly does not interest me much, especially after Liir’s story (in Son of a Witch) disappointed me. However, I need to get it off my unread list because the last book in the series is finally OUT.

3. Out of Oz by Gregory Maguire: FINALLY.

4. Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare: Only because I read the first book, Clockwork Angel. Now I want to know what happens. Turns out after Clockwork Prince, the next book’s coming out in 2013. GAH.

5. 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami: The summary looks good and readers have said positive things about it. I think I’ll make this my first Murakami book.