BMM Log: September 2014

It's the end of September, the first -ber month! Sooner or later, it'll be Christmas! But first, there's Halloween. Wheee!

September was hectic for me, to say the least. With the school semester in full swing, I had no time to read for myself; nearly all the books, the full-fledged novels, in my Book log this month were for school. Sigh. And I didn't get to watch any new movies! Que horror! (yep, I'm loving Spanish, can you tell?)

Books

September 2014 Book Log

The Flame and the Flower

by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss

Soledad's Sister

by José Y. Dalisay Jr.

Cave and Shadows

by Nick Joaquín

The Number 73304-23-4153-6-96-8

by Thomas Ott

Global Frequency Vol. 1: Planet Ablaze

by Warren Ellis

Desolation Jones: Made in England

by Warren Ellis

The Sheik

by E.M. Hull

Sylvester

by Georgette Heyer

See what I mean by the novels being school readings?

Quote-ivation: Just Start

This past weekend was a trial; I wasn't feeling well starting Friday and only got better late Sunday. Once I did get better, I had to face tons of school work but my motivation was non-existent. Honestly, I just wanted to lie in bed and sleep the weekend away. Of course, I couldn't do that so I made myself a mantra to get myself moving.

Just start. Don't think about anything but the task, don't overthink your steps, and just pick a place to start and dive in.

Quote-ivation: Pace Yourself. Listen to Your Body.

I mentioned yesterday that I felt off this week. I felt like I was coming down with a fever, probably because of muscle pains from a PE dance step coupled with just plain tiredness.

Last Friday night, I was sure that that fever was going to fully materialize. I was prepared to spend the weekend in bed fighting off sickness. I was also stressing because I had a lot to do for the next week: three papers to write, two books to read, and a whole lot of research to do. I contemplated even soldiering on even while sick. 

While there are times when it can't be helped to just do your work while sick, there are also times when what you need is to just stop. Stop and rest. No matter how full your schedule is, consciously step on the breaks and put those worries aside. Your body is important, the state of your health keeps you functioning. If you feel off, determine if you just feel lazy, uninspired, or truly on the verge of being sick. Pace yourself. Listen to your body. It you don't believe in what your body is saying, who will?

Weekly Wrap-up and Quote-ivation: Plan. Prepare. Prevail.

This past week was...off. I didn't feel that well and had some minor mishaps throughout the week (like when I forgot my change of clothes for PE or when I nearly forgot to read for a class because I forgot to put the reminder in my planner).

Pining for the Sand

With all this rain, I'm lemming for the beach. It's the -ber months, I know, but summer isn't far off (ish...).

The picturesque cove above is Twin Rocks Resort in Virac, Catanduanes (my mom's hometown :D ). Definitely check it out and add it to your to-visit list.

P.S. Fun fact: During the day, when the sun is high, the waters go into low-tide mode and recedes from the shore. Then you can walk where the water once was! Super fun.

Health Heroes: Items to Keep Healthy and Fit

Remember my post yesterday about me being out of shape? Well, I'm really serious about getting back into shape. So here are some of the things I'm currently using (or would like to use :P ) to keep healthy:

FitFlop sandals / A1000 Bloch Studio Yoga Mat / UP by Jawbone Fitness Wristband in Assorted Sizes Onyx / 

Tiny Tea Teatox (28 day) / Tiny Tea Teatox (28 day)

Seven App. I featured this in my What's in my iPhone post. It's basically and exercise app that guides you through a 7-minute (or more, if you want) exercise every day. It goes from light to heavy and levels can be unlocked as long as you stick to your schedule and keep exercising every day.

Muscle Pains, Keeping Fit, and Yakult

Good God, my leg hurts. I was in PE class yesterday and we had these steps (it's a dance class) where you squat really low on the ground (the dance was tango, FYI) and support your entire weight on one leg. It seemed fine until the next day (today); my leg HURTS. The muscles are sore and I have a hard time going up stairs or flexing my leg to take my weight. 

This made me realize how out of shape I am. Before, I could go through one hour sessions of intense workouts and have minimal muscle pain the next day. Now, I can't even perform a simple dance step without being in pain the next morning. 

It's quite hard to be fit in college with all the stress and exams and lack of funds. But I think it could be done. A very simple way to do so (especially in UPD) is to walk instead of ride. The campus is large and, if time permits between classes or early morning or after classes, go a turn round the Acad oval. It's a relatively easy way to get your body moving. 

You can also stretch from time to time, especially if you sit all day. Just some simple reaching out of legs and arms could do wonders. A jumping jack is also advisable for some easy, simple heart-pumping action. 

It's also very important to eat well. Today I drank Yakult. It's not much but it's something. I'm gunning for one of those cleansing teas in the near future but right now, the tried and tested Yakult will do. 

However you want to do it, keeping fit is important. Now excuse me as I nurse my sore leg. 

This is not a sponsored post. 

Quote-ivation: On Personality Tests, Change, Choice, and Balance

I've always found it fun to take those personality test like the Jung Typology Test or the Myers-Briggs Test. I even once loved going on Quizilla.com (it was still not under TeenNick, I think) to take those "What is your Spirit Animal?" or "What color are you?" tests.

What's in my iPhone

The iPhone is one of the best things that happened to me this year. I use it a lot for college.

Here are the apps in my iPhone:

The apps are mainly divided into 12 categories. This makes it easier for me to search for an app and it makes the whole interface clean (thus saving my sanity).

The four at the bottom are the most used apps for communication, with the Settings for easy access to cellular data, and the Camera for daily snapshots of life and college readings.

Default Song: "No Good Deed" by Idina Menzel

Do you have a song that you listen to to feel like everything is alright with the (your) world? Mine's "No Good Deed" by Idina Menzel from the Broadway Musical Wicked.

Whenever I listen to it, it just centers me. I don't know why. I think it's the chant at the beginning; it's the thing that made me notice this song. And the emotion: oh God, the loss, the grief, the anger. And coupled with Idina's voice. Perfection.

What's your default feel-good/motivational/bad-ass music?

On Outfit Colors and Personality

I love wearing black. I posted my all-black college outfit before and I still wear variations of it even now. It's my uniform.

I don't feel comfortable when I'm not wearing black, or at least dark colors. I don't feel myself. If necessary, I can stomach lighter colors, but only if I absolutely have nothing to wear anymore.

I also don't like prints that much, especially florals. If I have to go for prints, I'd go with stripes, preferably in black and white or navy and white. I haven't tried wearing other prints like checks or houndstooth. And god-forbid you try to make me wear pastels. I hate pastels. For dresses, I can be persuaded to go with pastels, but for "normal" everyday clothes, NO.

I don't know why this is. Does it reflect personality? Maybe. All I know is if I want to feel 100% for the day, I have to don a black or at least a dark shirt. Oh, and it's much easier to look put-together with this color palette, and it's better for your budget since you won't need to coordinate that much in terms of accessories and footwear (check out my footwear below :P ).

What about you, what's your preferred outfit palette?

Quote-ivation: I Must Not Lose

Today started on a high note and was very productive, but towards the end, it became a struggle. So I have a new #quoteivation:

Weekly Wrap-up: September 15-21, 2014

This week has been...tiresome. It wasn't as hectic as the others; the tasks were just few, but they were huge chunks of time-spenders that kept me up at night and made me have only a couple of hours of sleep.

Quote-ivation: On Typhoons, Consideration, and Growing Up

Yesterday, the Philippines was hit yet again by a typhoon which caused wide-spread flooding in Metro Manila and most North provinces. I was honestly surprised that a typhoon with a path so far up North could affect MM that way. The rains were being compared to Ondoy, the one that sank a lot of parts of the Metro and caused havoc that shocked everyone with its unexpected quality.

On Lipsticks

I love wearing lipstick. I have to wear one; otherwise, I'd look sick and gray. My lips just aren't naturally colored.

My favorite everyday color is Revlon's Coral Berry. It's a great brightening color that flatters me very well and I make sure to always bring it in my makeup bag.

Quoteivation: Quotes for Motivation

Every week, or whenever I’m going through a tough time (which is pretty much every week when we consider school work “tough”), I have a mantra to keep me motivated to finish tasks.
If you’ve been following my Instagram, you’ve already seen some of them.

August 2014 BMM Log

Helloooo! I’m back! Last month was the first month of the school year so it was pretty hectic trying to get used to routine (more on that maybe in another post).

Also, A lot of my upcoming BMM Logs would have school readings so be warned :)

Anyhoo, last August was more on the movies side, especially animes (side note, Kawaii Manila 2 was yesterday but I didn’t get to go because #busy -_-” Oh well, there’s always next year, right?). Let’s get on with the log.

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Books

  

image sources: Haikyuu, The Sheik, The Hand…

Haikyuu Manga. The manga is still on-going but the anime’s about to finish soon. I think I’ll have a post coming up on why this anime is worth watching. Long story short, I love it, especially the manga’s training camp arc (after the Aoba Josai arc). Definitely watch it for inspiration not just in volleyball but in life and determination.