Tagalog

“bookworm”

It all started with a book review …

Mrs. C. Ines required us to do a book report every week (or twice a month?) when I was in second year high school (Click here to read High School related article). We were given the reign to select our preferred books.

Hence, I chose Nancy Drew series, Sweet Dreams, and a bit of Hardy Boys. And then I levelled up to Harlequin, Mills & Boon, Barbara Walters, Sidney Sheldon, Danielle Steele and whatever that caught my eye.

At first it was a drag reading the book, writing a summary and giving out comments. Nonetheless, I must say that the “bookworm” in me was unleashed. Without realizing it, I was doing more than what was required and filled out my book review notebook in no time at all.

Later on, I became fascinated with Tagalog pocketbooks. I particularly like the novels of Martha Cecilia, Helen Meriz and most especially Rose Tan. Ha! Rose Tan is a darling! Her quirky characters made her novels unique and absolutely entertaining!

Enter Wattpad…

I started reading in Wattpad because of the following AshRald fan fictions.
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Note: Click the links below to read the AshRald related articles)
birth Sasa & Gege AshRald Connection
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Slowly But Surely by borntoshare
Never Gonna Let You Go by KateJoaquin
What Love Is by JecaMarieGeli
Coffee Shop (completed) by sarahgestrada17

My One & Only

The British flavor of this AshRald fan fiction gives a regal feel of the story. At first, I was confused with the British-English terms, but I’m getting the hang of it now. In any case, I’m learning a lot and I’m loving it!

I particularly admire the writer’s passion to improve his craft by taking into consideration the suggestions given to him. There’s absolutely a big leap of improvement from the first chapter to the succeeding chapters.

Keep it up Moo (@kalabaw_moo)! And thanks for dedicating the chapter 7 to me. I appreciate it.

Sa Papel Lang

Kate (@immissshockends) usually posts some mind boggling statements on twitter about this novel. Being “thecuriousme”, I started reading it. I was surprised because the writer sounded like “little” Rose Tan in the making.

The story has come to an end. It was short but sweet. I hope there’s a book two though. Keep the books flowing @iluvsgga ! You’ll go a long way!
(Note: I’m extra proud for @kalabaw_moo and @iluvsgga because they are both Ilocanos like me. Amazing! :D)

From AshRald Fan Fiction, I branched out to the humour category in Wattpad. Below are the other stories that I recommend for a good read (and a great stress reliever to boot!). 😀
Diary ng Panget – Diary ni Eya (Season 1 & 2) – by HaveYouSeenThisGirl
Living Under The Same Roof (Book 1 & 2) – by i_love_kyle
Secretly Married by forgottenglimmer
Your Place or Mine? by turning_japanese
Reyna ng Kamalasan by forgottenglimmer
Sweet Scandal by XiiMakulet
Mr. Cold (the heartbreaker) by jammpots
Bridal Shower by mercy_jhigz
To Love You More by Bjloves
The Paid Girl by ella_enchanted
A + D by fallenbabybubu

I know it’s written for youngsters but who cares. I truly believe that we are all young at heart. Have fun reading!!! 🙂

English

I’ve always thought that if you have good command of the English language, it will be enough to make you “global”. Hence, I did everything within my mighty power to learn English even though I abhor the intricacies of its “technical” aspect.

A lot of people say I speak and write English well… Hmm.… I might have succeeded in a certain way but I know in my heart that I still have a long way to go.

My accent turned topsy-turvy after communicating with people having various mother tongue such as:

Filipino (Ilokano, Tagalog, Bisaya, Ilonggo, etc)
Dutch
German
French
Singaporean Mandarin
Chinese Mandarin
Cantonese
Hokien
Bhurmese
Bhutanese
Nepalese
Indonesian
Malay
Arabic
Ethiopian Language
Hindi
Tamil

I usually adapt the most prominent accent but my tongue seemed be confused on what accent to follow. Strange huh? Even so, I did manage to improve my accent slowly and it got better when I worked at HSBC. We were dealing with American clients, so, we were taught to neutralize our accent to minimize communication barrier. After a few months, I can already speak English with that American twang.

However, when I went to work in Singapore, I needed to unlearn that American twang and speak English the “local” way inorder to get the message across and minimize receiving blank stares. (See related article -> Singlish).

Now, I need to unlearn the Singlish and bring back the North American way of speaking English. It’s a work in progress and it’s a bit difficult because I’ve also adapted the unresponsive nature of Singaporeans. It’s a total struggle!

Looking at the brighter side of things, I know things will work well in the next couple of months. The naturally bubbly, giggly. and chatty me will soon surface.

How to think English is also added in my to do list. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not removing Ilokano and Tagalog in my system. I’m a Filipino and will always be. I just want to improve myself and make my Mama proud (wherever she is now). (Note: Writing is given. :p)

Thus, my mantra now is:
“I must speak English and think English.”

Why don’t we do this together? Aja! 🙂

heads up!

I cut the Saranghae Korea! into different links. I separated each Korean TV Series to give way to Leila’s request. She wanted to comment on separate TV Series. I think it’s a very good suggestion because it made the article more organized and “clean”. Thanks Leila! By the way, check out her newly set up blog site -> Vaindulgence

Have fun reading everyone! More articles will be posted in a flash! Saranghae!

– thecuriousme 🙂

Hearts of 19

I saw this series being shown in Singapore and I got captivated! I admire the female lead’s “never say die” attitude. Incidentally, she’s also the female lead in Boys Over Flowers. I admit that triggered me to watch the show. 🙂

I can’t say much since I haven’t finished it yet. Nevertheless, I’m loving it to the maximum level!

go back to Saranghae Korea! article

My Lovely Samsoon

This is another good show for unattached individuals who are chubby and with a very odd name which is “unacceptable” in the society. I fit the bill for being single and fat. Well, my name is unique and strange… but i love it! :p

The series also emphasized that being vocal is an asset. Know what you want, voice out how you feel and fight for your rights!

go back to Saranghae Korea! article

Soulmate

This made me stop and ponder on things. It truly hits home!

Whether we admit it or not, we all want to meet our soulmate. There are relationships that are not meant to be, no matter hard you try to make it work. Tragic but it’s reality. Accept the inevitable and move forward. It’s such a waste to live a pathetic life. :p

go back to Saranghae Korea! article

Marry Me

It’s a story about an old spinster (a.k.a. old maid) who wants to get married badly. This series kept me glued for two reasons:

The male lead is so cute (he’s also one of the characters in the Boys Over Flowers)
I can relate well to the story because I’m also an old maid. LOL I also want to get married but for the right reasons, otherwise, I’d rather stay single. Ha!

go back to Saranghae Korea! article

I Really Really Like You

At first, I don’t like the plot of this series including the title (it’s corny!) but after watching few episodes, I finally find it appealing. The male lead is very charming and has an endearing hilarious antics. The way the male and female leads tried so hard to avoid the love that they feel for each other makes me think of some people I know. Indenial stage eh?

Also, this series made cooking an interesting and artistic undertaking as well as provided helpful tips and tricks.

go back to Saranghae Korea! article

Bad Couple

It’s kinda weird because the female lead’s plan to have a child without a husband coincide with mine. Hush hush! I even sent a text message to my prospective “donor” two (2) years ago. We did not yet talk about it. I think he’s ignoring it on purpose. I wonder why. Maybe… Just maybe… He has something else in mind that I will know soon? Or it’s just my wild imagination?

Hmmm… Whatever it is, he has still six (6) months to think things over. You know who you are. Ha! If I don’t receive a reply after that period, I will resort to plan B. :p

go back to Saranghae Korea! article

Saranghae Korea!

Aneong Ha Sae Yo! (Hello!)

As promised in my previous article (Korean Aficionado), below are the Korean TV Series that I’ve watched for the past two (2) months. You may click the links to view:

Note: I prefer watching the original series with subtitles than the “Tagalogized” (dubbed in Tagalog) version.

I’ve also watched Boys Over Flower (multiple times!), Coffee Prince, Sassy Girl, Temptation of a Wife, Full House, Baker King (partial) and… I forgot the others. I plead guilty. I’m a sucker for Korean TV Series and reached the point of becoming proficient in the art of reading subtitles!

iPhone crunchyroll app provided a convenient way to watch Korean shows whenever and wherever. Thanks much Steve Jobs and the Apple people for developing the iPhone! I hope the Flash Player issue will be sorted out soon so that I can watch more. Ha!

As for the Hearts of 19, it’s not yet in the crunchyroll so I have to watch it in mysoju.com. I hope the crunchyroll guys will soon add it in their list. Wheey! Time to stop! This blog entry has gotten way too loooooooong! :p

See you all in a bit! Saranghae (I love you)! Aja!