12/31/2010 ‒
Spoiler alert!

I don't think my sister is annoyed at this habit of mine, but I do it to do just that. Whenever she buys a new book, I take it from her, flip to the last page, go to her, and yell "spoiler!" only to read the very last word in the actual text.

Of course, that last word won't make any sense. It's "you". It's "casserole". It's "cheerleader". It doesn't really spoil anything as you have, say, a hundred thousand words to get through before you get to the very end. That word is out of context. Terribly out of context, at least until you figure out what happened in between.

Not everybody really appreciates it, though. Remember the Lost finale? "It's all about the journey, son," Christian told Jack, giving us this not-so-subtle hint that it's about those in Oceanic 815, and not the mysteries of the DHARMA Initiative. Not everybody liked it. Sure, the series was really floated as a character drama, but people got so invested in the mysteries that they got annoyed when the initial thrust returned in the finale, and in the middle of the finale. Fine, they handled that badly, but looking back, it is about the journey, else that last word - "bear" or "Island" or "Hurley" - would terribly be out of context.

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12/24/2010 ‒
Communication breakdown?

How do you prevent your Christmas messages from sounding very cheesy? Insert some much-needed cynicism.

I'll be honest: 2010 didn't go that well, but it could've been worse.

Fine, that isn't exactly cynical. When I sent that message to 72 people - a surprisingly bigger number compared to last year's extravaganza - I realized that it sounds cheesier, because it pretty much celebrated the person on the other end. Yay, you! it went. So thanks for the company (and strings!) and here's to a better 2011. Happy holidays!

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12/18/2010 ‒
Moustache

Call me a camwhore, but I need to illustrate my example. Forgive me!

Depending on how style magazines have shaped your definition of grooming, I'm either decently groomed or terribly unkempt. It's harder to define when you ask me. All I know is, I don't feel very dirty when I'm out, and I try to keep my appearance in check whenever I can. But I don't brush my hair, and my face isn't exactly as flawless as those men's magazines want you to think. If I understood it correctly, it probably means lots of make-up.

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12/14/2010 ‒
That family affair

I'm only supposed to talk about how my Christmas shopping came in at the worst possible time.

The irony is, all I wanted to do was to avoid the Christmas rush, so the gloves came off over the past two weeks. Well, there is another reason: I just wanted to get the process over with, because the overexcited part of me has been holding on to those gift ideas as early as July.

Yes, July. That was when the family wandered into a record store, for some particular reason. My dad was looking at this live CD of Paul McCartney, and when I realized he was taking a serious interest in it, I automatically thought it should be my Christmas gift for him.

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