meet daniel.

Everyone, meet Daniel Naht Anh. He's my newest baby cousin. He is the son of my uncle and his Vietnamese wife. I received this email with pictures of him yesterday. He's so adorably cute! He looks like a little cute siopao. Haha. I wish I can kiss and cuddle him right now. Unfortunately, he's in Vietnam and I don't know when I'll get to see him. But hopefully they come home soon because he's the first grandson of his lola. And when he comes home he can be sure of a certain Ate that will spoil him to death :) EHEM.

Yesterday, I went to school and claimed my Form 137 from the Registrar. The first thing that came to my mind was a big sigh of relief that finally I completed the requirements from our school. It was placed in a long white envelope and contained that school seal. I opened it and looked at my grades from first year to fourth year. Surprisingly, I was still a little shocked. In my hands were the four years of high school basically, the grades that served as the "essence" of our student lives. I'd like to think that there's more to life than grades, but I still can't help but feel very much relieved that despite those times I wanted to just give up on my "good girl" image, I managed. I'm sure that everyone has experienced tremendous pressure from our teachers, and I'm not exempted. There came a time when I just didn't want to be the smart girl anymore because I was so stressed out with all the school work, I felt like a hand was pushing my head in the water and I couldn't breathe. But (as Bella Swan put it), I resurfaced. I still worked hard and I was so determined to prove them wrong that even I surprised myself. I turned out to be better than what I thought I was capable of. I'm glad I did. And as I look back on my Form 137, I felt like my old self is giving me a pat on the back and telling me I need not be afraid of what's to come. If I did it in high school, who says I can't do the same in college? :)

American Idol doesn't seem interesting anymore without Ramiele. Of course, my dear jason Castro is still there but subconsciously I know I'm watching because of her. And now she won't be there anymore. Kinda like the way I felt when Danny got booted out. :( But I'm still watching anyway. Last night, I fell in love with Jason even more because of his sweet and beautiful rendition of Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Did you know that that was the version of the song played in the last scene of one of my favorite movies, 50 First Dates? (What a long sentence! Haha) And when he stares at the screen.. oh those gorgeous eyes just make my heart melt ♥

I finished reading Eclipse this weekend. I really, really tried to read slowly and at least finish in two weeks. But I couldn't do it.. especially with how the events unfold as I turned the pages! I was in a state of shock after reading the last page. A part of me can't get over it because it was just so.. good. I can't think of any other word to describe it. I didn't want to leave the vampire and werewolf world just yet. You see, it's impossible to not get caught up in such a different world when you're reading. It's like an automatic switch is turned on, and suddenly my imagination transports you to another realm. Now I can't wait for Breaking Dawn. August, please come quickly! :)

And now, I'm moving to the classics. I'm reading Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. My grandmother told me it's about time I give myself a dose of the classical novels they considered their "chick lit" back then. She said I'm surely going to need it for my course anyway. I think for the next week or so I'll be drowning myself in a totally different era -- of corsets and big ball gowns.

Sense and Sensibility, Wuthering Heights, and Jane Eyre: HERE I COME :)