I surf myvanillapod.com from time to time for to feed my eyes. I remember I designed a set of cupcakes just for Farid's birthday last year. And guess what? Based from what I see in their gallery, a lot of people liked the phrase "HOT AT 22" [or whatever age they want]. How cool is that? My idea thank you very much! hahaha.

I cant seem to paste the image here for some copyright reason [ i assume]. But just click here and indulge yourself with their other cakes!

Sometime last year a distant cousin of my boyfriend started to feel aware that they are related to eachother [no matter how many cousins apart they are] and is obviously excited with that fact. All are witnessed by the eyes of internet surfers because, well its right there in your face. He's not that much bothered about it but he will respond if he has to . Last year she posted a comment saying how she'd like to celebrate his birthday with him and how it would be better than the one before. Actually nothing beats the one before because a lot of people's lives changed on the 16th sept 06. But its okay, she probably didnt know. So then she decided to offer him a party where there'll just be the two of them, with her serenading him. She mentioned singing and guitar. And somewhere in there "a quiet game of scrabble". Later when i asked, her serenading was actually "serenading him scrabble", which absolutely means NOTHING. Who bloody knows what serenading scrabble means.. Im very much curious of what it is until today.

Then today I saw a comment of her calling him "hunky cousin". How cute is that. His own blood relatives, first cousins doesnt even bother saying it. Or probably they had their chance already since all of them are very close. Probably this DT is still in the excitement phase. Im just guessing. If Im wrong, DT, then please forgive. Im just interpreting your words and actions.

Its true that your past experience makes you who you are today. Which is why somethings that you did not do then, you would like to do today. Back then I was an idiot. Now i can differentiate black and white, wrong and right. Call me uncool or old fashioned but if its not nice for the eyes and the ears, it can mean a lot of negative things, even if its just pure innocence. My mum always reminded me how it isnt nice if I hang out with boys too much, especially when I already have a boyfriend. I laughed at her advise not knowing how much that advise would help me as a person and as a girlfriend.

Fucking hell, where the fuck am I going with this? Beleiev it or not [believe it] my mind is half asleep. Im exhausted from work. So anyway, one day if it doesnt stop, i will say "its just not nice la bitch." And stop frickin hinting on how cool itd be if cousins or distant cousins in this case starts dating or have secret crushes on eachother. If thats not what this girl means to do then im afraid she's showing something else. My mistake if i misinterpret her actions. But im not the only one.

Well atleast thats out. I dont plan to take any actions anyway. It cracks me up once in a while whenever ths thing appears in my face. And yes i admit questions would pop up but not til im willing fight with my boyfriend and have sleepless nights. We have other things to fight about like "which band or lead vocalist is better?" Such nerds.

I've just created it...How well you know me?

dare to try? :wink:

click here

My memory of the days when NKOTB was burning hot are a bit blurry because I was still young BUT i do know  a bunch of their hits. I even have The Right Stuff single! I bought the cassette. This new song is quite cute. And again, i love jordan knight's voice! I remember straight after I heard about him releasing a solo album, I went out and bought it. And listened to it everyday :) :) :) :) *Summertime is currently playing in the background now. Makes me feel happy. Happy. Happy. The beginning of the song suits a chubby baby who's trying to walk by himself for the first time.

And is Donnie Wahlberg going to quit his day job???

Oh I found this interview clip on Youtube. They all look so handsome. Ahh Mark Wahlberg is hot too! I know hes not in NKOTB but I just have to say that. I like him a lot in Rockstar, the nipple piercing scene hehehe

I love the 90's! And pop! And music! And cute 90's men... with hot bodies like mark wahlberg and some others :) :)

Ha Kim Jae and Dina, Farah, Mira, Nisa, Adik, Amir, Nad, Kyna and everybody who can tolerate the pop genre, I dedicate this cuuuute song to you hehehe. Trust me, it will grow on you and you'll eventually want to listen to it [almost] every morning to start the day off <3

And...

Happy birthday Nisssssssa!

May all your wishes come true!

*sprinkling magic dust on you

[All facts and names are from wikipedia]

Anyway, my mom gave me a name "Astrid" after an Indonesian professor in politic studies, Prof. Dr. Astrid Susanto. She wanted me to be a professor...hmm if I can fulfill that... :lol: due to my just-slightly-above-average brain. I hope that she didn't want me to be in politic...

I always thought that 'Astrid' was originally a Belgian queen's name. But it's much more than that :wink:

Astrid, Estrid, Æstriðr or Ástríðr is a given name of North Germanic origin. It comes from Old Norse Ásfríðr (Divine Beauty), from áss (god) + fríðr (beautiful).

I like that! Astrid = Divine beauty :mrgreen:

Many members of the European royal families use the name Astrid. They are:

• Queen Astrid (Astrid Eiriksdottir) [Norway], daughter of Eirik Bjodaskalle and mother of Olav Tryggvason (Olaf I of Norway) who ruled Norway from 995-1000 and was known for converting Norwegian Vikings to Christianity.
• Estrid (or Astrid) of the Obotrites [Sweden] (ca. 979 – 1035), was a Swedish queen consort, married to Olof Skötkonung, the King of Sweden, ca. 1000, and mother of king Anund Jacob of Sweden.
• Estrid Margarete Svendsdatter [Denmark] was a princess and sister of Cnut.
  
• Astrid, Queen of the Belgians (born Princess Astrid Sofia Lovisa Thyra of Sweden) (November 17, 1905 - August 29, 1935) was the Queen consort of Léopold III of the Belgians. Her conduct, and her tragic early death, made her the most popular Queen in the history of Belgium. The town of Astrida (now Butare) in Belgium's Ruanda-Urundi colony was named after Queen Astrid.
  
• Princess Astrid, Mrs. Ferner [Norway] (Astrid Maud Ingeborg, born 12 February 1932) is the second daughter of King Olav V of Norway (1903–1991) and his wife, Princess Märtha of Sweden (1901–1954). A 580 000 km² area in Antarctica is named Princess Astrid Coast in her honour.
• Princess Astrid of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este, Duchess of Modena, Princess Imperial of Austria, Princess Royal of Hungary and Bohemia (Astrid Joséphine-Charlotte Fabrizia Elisabeth Paola Maria), styled Her Imperial and Royal Highness Princess Astrid, (born June 5, 1962) is a daughter and second child of King Albert II and his wife Queen Paola of Belgium. Astrid married Archduke Lorenz of Austria-Este, the head of the Ducal House of Este, on 22 September 1984 at Brussels. Her husband was created Prince of Belgium by Royal Decree of November 10, 1995.

And of course there are other famous Astrids in the world, such as:

• Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren, née Ericsson, November 14, 1907 – January 28, 2002) was a Swedishchildren's book author and screenwriter, whose many titles were translated into 85 languages and published in more than 100 countries. She has sold roughly 145 million copies worldwide. Today, she is most remembered for writing the Pippi Longstocking books, as well as Karlsson-on-the-Roof book series.
• An asteroid is named 1128 Astrid. It is a main belt asteroid orbiting the Sun. Approximately 35 kilometers in diameter, it makes a revolution around the Sun once every 5 years. It was discovered by Eugène Joseph Delporte at Uccle, Belgium on March 10, 1929. It was named for H.M. Astrid, Queen of the Belgians. Its provisional designation was 1929 EB.
• Astrid Carolina Herrera Irrazábal (born Caracas, Venezuela, 23 June 1963) is a Venezuelan telenovela Icon and sex-symbol. She won the 1984 Miss World contest, representing Venezuela. She became the third woman from Venezuela to win the title. The pageant was held in London, United Kingdom.

My middle name, "Amelia", however is much more popular. My parents gave me that name after my birth month, May. In bahasa, it is spelled Mei. So "Amelia" has "Mei" inside it. "Mei" also a Chinese word for 'pretty' :grin:

Amelia is a female given name. It is derived from the Germanic word amal meaning "work", and means "industrious" and "fertile".

Some famous Amelias:

• Saint Amalberga of Maubeuge (also Amalburga, Amalia, or Amelia of Lobbes or Binche) was a Lotharingian saint who lived in the 7th century.
• Amelia Mary Earhart (pronounced /ˈɛərhɑrt/ "AIR-hart"; 24 July 1897 – missing 2 July 1937, declared dead 5 January 1939) was a noted American aviation pioneer, author and women's rightsadvocate. Earhart was the first woman to receive the Distinguished Flying Cross, which she was awarded as the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She set many other records, wrote best-selling books about her flying experiences, and was instrumental in the formation of The Ninety-Nines, an organization for female pilots. During an attempt to make a circumnavigational flight of the globe in 1937, Earhart disappeared over the central Pacific Ocean near Howland Island . Fascination with her life, career and disappearance continues to this day.
• Marco Amelia, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI, (born April 2, 1982 in Frascati, Rome) is a World Cup-winning football goalkeeper, who currently plays for Italian Serie A club A.S. Livorno Calcio and the Italian national team.
• Amelia Vega (born November 7, 1984 in Santiago de los Caballeros, Santiago, Dominican Republic) became the first Dominican woman to be named Miss Universe, in 2003. At the age of 18, she was the youngest winner since 1994.

"Amelia" is not only used for one's first name...it's also a name for a city, a village, a birth defect, an island, etc

• Amelia is a city and commune in the province of Terni (southeast Umbria, in central Italy), near the Tiber river, and the capital of the province of Terni.The city is approximately 93 kilometers from Perugia, 8 km north of Narni and approx 15.2 km from Orte. It is about 100 km from Rome.
• Amelia City is an unincorporated community in Nassau County, Florida, United States. It is located in the southern half of Amelia Island, on A1A near the Amelia River.
• Amelia Island is one of the southernmost of the Sea Islands, a chain of barrier islands that stretches along the east coast of the United States from South Carolina to Florida.
• Amelia Cove is a Canadian hamlet in the St. Barbe District of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
• Amelia is a village in Clermont County, Ohio, United States. The name Amelia was adopted in honor of Amelia Bowdoin, a well known and popular tollgate operator on the Ohio Turnpike.
• Amelia (from Greek α = "none" plus μέλος (plural μέλεα) = "limb") is the birth defect of lacking one or more limbs. It can also result in a shrunken or deformed limb. For example, a child might be born without an elbow or forearm.
• The Amelia was a brig of 90 tons and was under the command of Samuel Shaw. The ship departed Sydney, Australia sometime between 8 and 17 January 1816 on its way to Java and Canton, China. It was never heard of again.

Quite interesting, right? So how about YOUR name? :cool:

Well, i miss him. I dont know how else to comfort myself. He's been away since monday for work in Phuket. He's not at Redlight District so thats a good a sign. Atleast Im confident he wont be coming back with chest bumps bigger than mine. Ok, jokes aside. I miss him, very much. So much til i stare at the phone every second, ready to answer his calls or SMS. And although i know it isnt possible for me to call him, i still dial his number. Subconsciously i keep hoping to get through. After two days, no luck. Yesterday was better than today. I went to Farah's house to keep sad feeling of missing him in my purse. I wasnt feeling that good yesterday. It was hot and depressing. Lucky Farah was at home, if not i would probably... sleep? Yes.

Today i woke up late due to the amount of cough syrup i drank last night. Woke up late, but felt like I shouldnt be up at the time so i curled up in bed and force myself to sleep. I bet ive put an image of a lazy me in anyone's head who are reading this. Im not usually like this. I do this when i feel like i havent been doing it for so long. Heh. I also thought i had a plan of going swimming with one of my friend who did not contact me at all. So if shes not bothered, why should i eh? This is why i like doing things myself more, and this should answer the question to whoever asked me "How come i eat or can eat by myself outside?". But ofcourse, its nicer to have some company. I got out of bed eventually and just had lunch and tv and read Cat O Nine tales which i started in January but is still on the first story and had a nap. I wasnt sleepy. I just felt like closing my eyes and sink in to the darkness. I woke up [again], checked the phone [again] and watched TV [again]. and had dinner. And feel the broedom all out.

When i got in the room, after staring at the phone for so long, the phone finally rang. The 1st phone call of the day! And then finally.... he called. At first i saw a number im not familiar with. Out of nowhere, my thumb decided, by itself, without the help of my brain, to press "reject". And it rejected the call. WTF. I screamed! Im sure that was farid! Lucky me he called again. I got to talk to him for a few seconds. He is A-OK there, no humps or lumps, but he misses me very much, he said. This may sound weird but i felt like i could almost smell him as soon as i heard his soothing voice. I hugged my pillow even tighter and she a little tear after we hung up. I never knew i could miss my boyfriend THAT much. Family, yes. Boyfriend? This is the first time. He'll be back tonight :)

And i love this song. "Selamat Jalan" by Lucy in the loo. Words and music by little miss Hana herself :) *we will meet soon, Hana. We CAN do it!

Watch the video below and they will help you with your blogging etiquette (and make you laugh).

What blog do you read everyday?

[picture caption] : Just A Girl (from left to right) Nina, Bree, and Charlie

Charlie Watson, Bree Baker, and Nina Moody have been friends since middle school and together they are known as JAG [Just A Girl]. While pursuing a solo career in New York, Charlie Watson reunited with Walter “Mucho” Scott, a producer she had previously worked with, and decided to start a girl group. It was then, that Charlie decided to include her two best friends from her hometown of Jacksonville, Florida, Bree and Nina in her new plan. After spending a year in Atlanta, Just A Girl was signed by Front 1 Entertainment, then received a recording deal with Dallas Austin's Rowdy Records. As proven by their single, “So Xtra,” which features Big Ooh, a rapper from Trenton, New Jersey, although each girl has her individual tone of voice, together they create the perfect harmony. Make sure to keep an eye out for these upcoming stars, don't let the gorgeous faces fool you, they've got talent! 

"SO XTRA" JUST A GIRL FEAT. BIG OOH! (PROD.BY:SCOTTFREE) click here

Written by Mz Sanchez

FYI, i made this banner [above] NOT out of boredom. I really wanted to do it so i can help promote this dear sister from another mother to win or at least get the chance to feel the excitement of the competition. Please vote for Puteri Iman CG07 to be the next Seventeen Malaysia Magazine Cover Girl! :) spankyu!

ps: If you click the banner you can vote online ;)

In the meantime, I'll just imagine my feet in these shoes. hehehe. And yes, im going to continue with my work now. I got a week left til I finish college. IT FEELS LIKE FOREVER! Wish me luck. I need all the luck and support i can get. The past years have been difficult which is why i need to do this. I owe myself this. Ahh... I owe myself the shoes! Argh! Get out of my head!

SPECTATORS! *cheers

And some MARY JANE's. This Guess pair is really really hot. Gila baboons!

and so is Uma Thurman. The name is hot. Her pretty ugly face is hot. [Not exactly my type but the whole package and those kick ass moves she got up her sleeve and those killer legs ARE hot ok..]. Plus I love this yellow jacket.

Being a Christian maybe is the most difficult thing to do

Living outside my hometown changed my perception a lot. Change my perspective of looking at the world. I learn to adapt outside my comfort zone. I learn to deal with people. And mostly, I learn to be a Christian.

When I was younger than now, being a Christian is like a ritual. Everybody are Christians (or Catholic, since we believe in the same and only God). It's very easy to be one, because I live among them.

I went to church, I read bible in the church, I participated in church committee, I served Him as a musician (in ensemble). When I was 15, I went to "katekisasi" [dunno the translation in English ><] class. I said I believe in God truly. I am a Christian, I was sure at that time.

Later when I reach Singapore, I face 'a simplified real world'. I met non-Christian people, I met non-Indonesian people, I met people I like, I met people whom I simply can't get along with. I see people do things that shouldn't be done. I see people do things which Jesus will surely not approve. I see people act nicely then do bad things behind their back.

I see that my Christian life in the past was not good enough. I see now that I was really 'blank'. I thought I know what does it takes to be a Christian. I thought that going to church every Sunday and said to everybody that I believe in Him is enough.

But I realize it's not.

It takes much much MUCH more than that.

It takes all my life.

All my rational view.

All my world.

To resist what the world say, and only do what God has said.

To serve Him with all my strength and my heart.

To love everybody like Jesus has loved us.

To be kind to your enemies.

To forgive.

O heavenly Father,
may You grant me wisdom
to deal with this life
to choose Your way whatever it takes.
to love You more and more every time.
to be what You want me to be
to do what You want me to do
to serve You with all You gave to me

I am blessed, really. I truly hope that I will be a better person, a better friend, and most importantly, a better Christian.

ABBA - Thank you for the music

Pengalaman musik saya dimulai ketika masih kanak-kanak. Seperti umumnya ibu-ibu kelas menengah di Jakarta, mama saya memasukkan saya ke sekolah musik. Dan seperti pada umumnya pula, ia ingin anaknya bisa memainkan piano.

Sayangnya, saya bukan pemain piano. I really hate those piano times! Passion saya lebih ke string instrument, dan saya ingin sekali waktu itu belajar memainkan biola. Seperti pada umumnya orang tua, mama saya merasa dialah yang tahu apa instrumen terbaik buat saya. Anak yang penurut dan plegmatis seharusnya mengikuti saja dan mempelajari piano lagi.

Sayangnya (lagi), saya bukan anak seperti itu. Kebencian saya pada piano makin tumbuh dan tumbuh, selama tahun tahun dimana saya dipaksa untuk mempelajarinya. Sampai sekarang, saya masih memendam rasa itu, sejujurnya. Sampai sekarang saya tidak mau menonton konser piano. Ketika piano digabung dengan instrumen lain, barulah saya bisa menikmatinya.

Saya masih menyesali keputusan mama saya ketika itu. Itu adalah tahun tahun produktif saya, yang seharusnya jika dipakai untuk menanamkan dasar musik yang baik, pasti akan bertahan lama. Saya baru berhasil melepaskan diri dari piano bertahun-tahun sesudahnya. Sekitar setahun setelah 'menang' dari les piano, saya belajar biola.

Biola adalah alat musik yang saya impikan. Suaranya indah, dan saya benar-benar takjub mengetahui alat sekecil itu bisa menghasilkan sekian banyak nada. Namun tampaknya, sudah terlambat untuk saya mempelajari biola. Usia saya ketika itu 13 atau 14 tahun kalau tidak salah. Usia SMP. Saya katakan sudah terlambat karena, masa-masa SMP adalah masa yang cukup berat bagi setiap anak. Lingkungan SD sangatlah santai, dan sekarang di SMP seorang anak harus berjuang menempuh masa remajanya dan belajar menjadi dewasa. Singkat kata, saya tidak punya banyak waktu untuk mempelajari alat musik yang sangat rumit seperti biola.

Perkenalan saya dengan alat musik perkusi dimulai di lingkungan Marching Band, yakni Putri Santa Ursula Marching Brass dimana saya menjadi anggota dari 2001-2007. Buat saya, perkusi sangatlah enjoyable. Meskipun range suaranya cukup terbatas (kala itu saya memainkan snare drum), saya sangat menikmatnya. Dan mungkin perkusi juga cocok dengan personality saya yang tidak terlalu halus serta ketidakmampuan saya untuk mengenali nada, sehingga saya lebih menguasai alat musik ritmis. Di seksi perkusi PSUMB, saya cukup berbakat, kalau boleh sombong 8) . Saya bisa beradaptasi dengan cepat ketika pindah dari snare ke multi toms. Dalam dua minggu saya sudah bisa memainkan lagu yang cukup rumit dan cepat temponya. Saya juga pernah bermain bass drum ketika harus menggantikan seorang pemain dan menurut saya, I've done a pretty good job. Wah kayaknya sudah kebanyakan sombongnya... :-D

Saya terpaksa mengurangi frekuensi bermain musik saya secara drastis ketika saya harus mempersiapkan diri mengikuti tes masuk NTU. Saat saat itu benar benar luar biasa hectic. Boro-boro bermain musik, bahkan waktu sekolahpun sering kami korbankan demi belajar A level. Begitu pula saat saya tiba di Singapura, saya benar-benar tidak ada waktu untuk bermain musik. Dan juga, karena saya tinggal di hall (asrama), sangatlah mengganggu jika saya berlatih di kamar. Les musik di Singapura sangat mahal, dan biasanya di tengah kota, sedangkan NTU ada di ujung barat Singapura.

Di Singapura, saya lebih menjadi penikmat musik. Sayangnya, konser-konser musik disini, meskipun bagus, tapi mahal. Satu satunya kegiatan bermusik yang saya lakukan di NTU adalah mengikuti paduan suara (choir). Saya sangat menikmatinya. Choir ini juga membuat saya berpikir untuk lebih mengeksploitasi suara saya.

Menjadi pemain ataupun sekedar penikmat, musik tetap menjadi bagian penting dari hidup saya.

Musik itu kebutuhan jiwa
Musik membuat telinga mendengarkan keindahan
Merasakan harmoni
Menikmati keajaiban yang terpancar dari getaran udara

"Ah music, a magic beyond all we do here!"
kata Albus Dumbledore, ketika Harry Potter memasuki sekolah sihirnya, Hogwarts, untuk yang pertama kali.

Musik tak mengenal batas budaya
tak mengenal batas ras
tak mengenal batas bahasa
untuk dapat dinikmati

Anda tidak perlu menjadi seorang perfect pitch
ataupun seorang konduktor profesional
ataupun seorang pianis kelas dunia
ataupun seorang komposer pemenang Grammy
ataupun seorang penyanyi dengan suara semerdu malaikat
untuk dapat menikmati musik

Musik
keajaiban yang nyata

Musik
anugerahNya yang tak ternilai harganya

Thank you for the music

1) NTUSU BP-Mentoring as an Executive Committee (ExCo)
BP Mentoring is a club which was created to organize mentoring sessions from NTU students to primary or secondary school near NTU who needs more help in their academic.

2) NTU CAC Choir as a member
I always love to sing, but I totally understand that my voice is not a solo-type. I have a soprano voice, but not a very strong one. I know that I have to join a choir in order to satisfy me love for singing and still good to be heard...^^
I am a first soprano, the highest voice range in the choir.

3) PINTU (Pelajar Indonesia NTU = NTU Indonesian Students Society)
Every Indonesian students at NTU is a member in this society...hehe...

4) PSK NTU as a dancer
For those who are Indonesians, this PSK is not what you think it is...=p
PSK stands for Piring, Saman, Kecak (3 Indonesians traditional dances).
I am a saman dancer. Saman, a rhythm, a dance, a passion. Hayla hotsa!

ohya, and don't forget

5) BUMI PSUMB (Badan Alumni PSUMB = PSUMB Alumni Association)
I still love PSUMB. I miss all the moments. And I really want the best for it. If they need help from me, I'll absolutely glad to help if I can. Go! Fight! Win!

Chaching was our adviser that Aizel wooed for a year. Understand that I come from an all girls catholic school and the student handbook says unhealthy girl to girl relationships are prohibited. I didn't know what that meant at the time. Years later I found out that Xutch went steady with one other teacher and I had no idea at the time.

Marnelli was the coolest girl I knew. She had a unique handwriting in spite of all the penmanship books we all had to fill out from cover to cover. She gave me a red heart greeting me a happy valentine's day. She asked for my phone number but we didn't have a phone. And for the first time, I felt like a loser for living so far away from the city and having no access to a telephone line.

I liked sleeping over at my cousin's house because they lived in the city and they had a telephone. I would spend entire afternoons calling everyone I knew just to show that I can use the phone. I also made a lot of prank calls and argued with the party-line. (In the 80's two houses shared a phone line, with different phone numbers. Like a shared channel or port, wherein you can't use it if your party-line is on it.) The phone was black and heavy as a rock. It was a turn dial too. And it was a pain to call a busy line because there was no call waiting and no redial button.

I had a crush on this boy who was so besotted with my pretty cousin. I remember looking in the mirror and wondering about what was so un-pretty in me. I could not understand what it meant to not be pretty when I couldn't figure out what was wrong with my looks.

Everyone was talking about getting their period and explaining the use of maxi-pads and such. I had extra underwear and clothes and maxi-pads and tissue in my locker which I always ended up giving to one of my friends who got their period. I couldn't understand what all the fuss was about. I was hoping not to get it since it felt like so much trouble, what with everyone who had it wanting to go to the bathroom every hour.

James was my beloved half-breed dog. Everyday I spent time with him brushing him, stroking his head, rubbing his belly. It was wonderful. I talked to him too. He kept all my secrets.

Have you ever fallen in love and never been able to pick yourself up again? Have you been stuck in a maze of life never finding the escape? Wishing you were somewhere else? Have you ever been stuck inside that black hole of nothing were things just keep getting worse and worse?

Had your fare share of heartache?

Met far too many of the wrong men?

Mistaken lust for love?

Reminisced on the good times and laughed at the bad?

...... Yep, me too!

Are you as the wonderful miss Gwen Stefani once sang, Just a Girl with a typical prototype?

If so then this is the book for you!!

abused by love? beaten by love? blinded by love? distraught by love? seduced by love?

Grounded by love.. by a man that gave you dreams again?

That was me, I was just a girl who's life changed the minute that exact man entered my life and changed it completely..

'all I know is that a whirlwind was going through mine, hurricane Dylan I would like to call it because all he brought after blowing you off your feet was destruction, heartache and a lot of picking up the pieces' - Just a Girl pg 292

On the 13th of April 2005 I met a stranger.. A stranger who appeared to me in a dream one drizzly Wednesday afternoon whilst asleep at my mums house and not long after I came face to face with him-unexpected and by surprise.. fate? I hear you ask? Who knows, all I know is that he dropped me down to reality with a great big bang and made me look at my life in a totally new way!

Learning me a great deal of lessons too!!

"Tears fall and hearts break, time seems to be a healer for such things. Hopes get crushed and minds daze but dreams reappear. Actions get forgiven although the pain is never forgotten but life moves on, whether you take that with you or not" - Just a Girl pg 377

"Life is about pain and that loss of something special. It too is also experiencing the good and allowing your heart to love. Without heartbreak and laughter we'd be numb, without love we wouldn't smile and without pain we wouldn't learn" - Just a Girl pg 389

En la ducha se pueden hacer muchas cosas (cada uno que las piense), pero creo que, a parte de lavarse, la segunda cosa que nos sale a todos de forma natural es cantar. ¿Por qué? Muchos dicen que es porque el agua es revitalizante y energizante, así que nos ponemos a cantar. Pero yo creo que en realidad cantamos porque el agua y la cutre-mampara (o mampara a secas, en el mejor de los casos) amortigua el sonido de tal manera que te sientes en una de esas peceras de grabación con un técnico aplicándole filtros a la voz, y como todos, en algún momento de nuestra vida (sobretodo en la edad del pavo) hemos querido ser estrellas del pop (rock o lo que sea) no podemos controlarnos y nos salen nuestros gorgoritos.

La verdad es que me sorprendí a mi misma mientras, al lavarme el pelo, me escuché entonando un entrañable ducha-hit: Don't Speak de No Doubt. Después siguieron otros grandes éxitos como Just a Girl (también de No Doubt) y Somebody Told Me de The Killers, además de otros de los que no quiero acordarme pero que fueron cantados con la misma pasión.

Desde luego, llevaba unos días muy musical, y todo confluyó en la ducha de casi media noche que me pequé para no tener que perder el tiempo a las cinco de la mañana, la hora en la que tenía que levantarme el sábado para irme al aeropuerto. Está claro que apetece más cantar un viernes por la noche que no un lunes por la mañana, así que hoy no he cantado... Pero no lo voy a dejar. Me propongo cantar más en la ducha, así como recuperar esas emocionantes sesiones de cante en el coche, de camino a la gran ciudad... Ahora es más complicado porque cuando cojo el coche y no estoy con ÉL, siempre me acompaña por teléfono... Cosa que, evidentemente, prefiero antes que ponerme a cantar. pero en las ocasiones en las que ÉL no me acompañe y esté en medio de una de esas insufribles e interminables caravanas en la Rondas de la ciudad, cantaré haciendo el ridículo como muchas otra veces he hecho antes y llamando la atención de los demás conductores, cuyas caras suelen ser de: "¿A esta qué coño le pasa?" "¿Se piensa que está en Operación Triunfo?" "¿Cómo puede estar contenta si llevamos una hora y media aquí parados?" y la más popular de todas:

 "Policía, en el coche de al lado hay una loca".

In this volume, the two girls have their friendship tested when they start dating... boys.  The main girl also has to go through an extra trial when her chosen boy wants to go study in America and persue his dreams instead of love.  Oh!  The old-style shoujo angst!  I love it.

You're not going to find a really deep, meaningful resolution to the series here, but the characters continue to get depth, and the story continues to be fairly engrossing.  I can't say too much more than that, because, really, it is a slice-of-life series and there's not too much to critique about it because not too much happens, but I still like it a lot.  It's quite wonderful, and definitely worth tracking down both volumes.  I got my whole... six bucks out of the series.

Take "Just a Girl," for instance.  It was written in the early 90s, and admittedly, it kind of shows.  I don't know if this is just her style or the style of the story at the time, but it's like a breath of fresh air to see a shoujo heroine's life uncomplicated by massive backstabbing and huge romantic triangles.  We get small tastes of these things, but it's on such an innocent and small scale, it reads as really adorable and good for kids.  I liked it a lot.

Basically, the heroine's family moved away so she now has to stay at the dorms at the high school she chose.  She brings along a posse of stuffed animals that she talks to and makes her the subject of ridicule by some of the other girls.  Through a great deal of effort on her part, she makes friends with a girl who seems to snub everyone else and is an outcast amongst all the other girls at school.  Most of the first volume deals with these two settling in at school, learning about each other, and making friends with some of the other students.

And that's it.  It's kind of like an earlier version of Fumi Yoshinaga, except there's slightly more plot and it's slightly more mundane than a Yoshinaga series.  But I still liked it quite a bit.  The characters all come off as pretty genuine (if a bit dopey, sometimes) and the problems also all seem legitimate and not like something that would never happen in a million years, like, being turned into a sex slave by a neighbor or something like that.  None of that here.

And there's a second volume where things get even deeper.