Why I Never Stop Reading?

‎I love to read. Even when I am on the road, I’d never stop reading. It’s like a sort of addiction for me. If I don’t read, I would know nothing.

The love of books was instilled into me when I was a child. My mom would always bring me colored fairy tale books and activity books everytime she comes home from her work as a public school teacher. I would also receive toys, but they would usually be matchboxes, building blocks, or playdoh from my dad who used to work in a Middle East country as an engineer. But my love for books weighed more than my fascination for toys. Because of that, I have would read the stories in my textbooks before they could be used in school. Sometimes, when I cannot find anything to do, I would read anything my eyes land on, even a candy wrapper.

When I was in high school, I was able to finish one book in a day — sometimes not dropping until the last page until the wee hours of the morning.

It has been a practice that stopped when I worked in the BPO industry. The heaviness of the graveyard shift hindered me to read loads of books in a week. But still, I’d force myself to check out the bookstore for good reads. Every pay day, I make sure to buy one paper bound of a fiction, a classic, or a devotional. I had planned before to build a huge library at the back of our house…which has not yet a reality.

I don’t buy as much books as before, but I guess I have been reading much more now than ever. I guess it’s because of my job. I get to read more news everyday as I need it. If I don’t get to read at least the frontage stories of the day, I feel helpless.

And because I have been used to reading, I always look forward to do this especially during waiting periods. I couldn’t even stop myself from opening links from news feeds at twitter while riding home.

But it pains me when I rarely find real bookworms in my generation today. I’m sorely disappointed when my niece loved computer games more than books. In our family, only my mom and I love reading. Usually, we’d trade books and discuss them. I wonder if bookworms are becoming endangered in this generation. This has been a dangerous thing.

A fellow journalist, quoting another source, said that reading newspapers every day in a year makes you three years advanced in thinking from your contemporaries. I guess it has been true for us journalists, sans bragging. But it would be good to see more people explore knowledge by reading.

But by reading, you don’t have to feed yourself everything with what you read. You have to analyze and take things critically (in a positive manner). Reading is a good exercise for your brain. If you’re a student, doing advanced reading helps you understand your lessons. Even at work, reading anything in connection to your skills help you improve in knowledge of what you are doing. But I would suggest that you read news everyday. It would help you analyze everything that is happening today. The big issues, even national ones, have an effect on our daily lives as a citizen of the world we live.

Reading has helped me a lot in my everyday living. I know not everyone’s fond of it but I encourage it as a good practice. Just reading my piece is a good beginning to this practice, I hope. We never stop learning as we grow up. And learning brings us to growth and improvement. 🙂

These books are from a friend’s office desk. But I love to see books piled up, and wish to borrow even one. I kept mine hidden in a cabinet at home

A Chase for A Tango

Dance before me
You shadow of fleeting dreams
Why run away so quickly
When my grasping hands meant no harm
I hate it when you tease me
Whenever I juggle nothing with my hands
Or when I stand immovable
Or asleep in my sacred hour
Why torture me with your presence
As if you like my company
If I invite you for a dinner tonight
Must you run away without taking a bite?
Tell me how can I make you stay?
I’ll be more pursuant than any lover
Even if I give up my last penny
To keep you is priceless beyond anything
Together let’s tango away
Away from this hopeless hour

Dear Little Lovesick Girl

For those who are still waiting for true love (like me!). But while waiting for “The One”, I have found my love in Christ. But how does He give His heart away? Here’s a poem that I wrote while I was in my desperation moment as I sulk in those “boyfriend-less” days:

Dear little lovesick girl
Why run away with many lovers
Who cared not to love you more
Stealing only the best from you
Like wolves ready to kill an innocent lamb

Dear little lovesick girl
Can you not wait for a moment to see
The one who truly loves
The prince who will save you from that battered tower
Whisking you away without asking for a price

Dear little lovesick girl
Will you not stay and hear my song
That I’ve written for you, only for you
A song that you can sing forever with me
As I dance with you, forever with you

Dear little lovesick girl
Do not let go of that broken heart
That was shattered and burned by thousands of lovers
Who wanted nothing but to destroy
The love is meant for the one

Dear little lovesick girl
I promise I’ll gently carry your broken heart
For I know how it is to be broken and torn apart
For you and your love I was mad enough to do such a part
Open your eyes and see the bruises and stained marks
Only I can give you a brand new heart
Filled with wonder and love I had reserved for you alone
I will not ask you to pay my price
Only stay with me and be my bride

Dear little lovesick girl
I’m madly in love with you, how could you miss that love?

Wandering Connection

A quick poem…while waiting for a press conference:

We are silent among them
Trying to indulge in our existence
With longing eyes we look for friendship
The empty desks force us into silence
They move around with hands full
Occupied in senseless goals to frailty
Living in oblivion they restore their ego
Not sensing we are in their region
Make me speak and pour my heart
Would I not bring this place to life
Open those ears and hear me out
Until we make a connection
And a world full of life

Deleting 2048

And so I deleted it at once. No more obsession. No more frustration.

It took me about four or three days of having so much of my time wasted by playing 2048. I’m not a fan of math or of games, but this one kept me hooked. Maybe because I had a knack for mind games.

This game looks simple at first. But to be able to match the same number tiles to complete the 2048 number, it becomes complex. More tiles add up to fill space every time these are moved to add up the 2s, 4s, 8s, and so forth. So far, the biggest number I was able to reach was 512. Then, game over.

Who says game over? Try again.

And again. And again. And again. And again!!

I’ve noticed myself how I spent so much of my time playing it. It was supposed to kill waiting time, but it became an obsessive challenge. This is the reason I shun off any other games before it. I have to make sure I win. And win!!

But it wasn’t healthy. I was supposed to do even more essential matters. But I’d play this game while waiting and ending up not doing the other important matter. Hay…so much for killing time.

So, I said goodbye to 2048 even if I had never completed the perfect tile. I had to shun off my analytical thinking on this number game for a while. Well, maybe not for a while…

But the moment it was gone from my phone, I was remorse for a while. i just consoled myself with the fact that there are more victories in life more worth getting than 2048. 🙂

Rush to Comfort

Fridays. They’re always action packed. In order to get a bus ride home, I am forced to become a Lara Croft running around EDSA. If it is not as freaky as that, then it’s not a Friday.

I would have this theory that it goes this way because people can’t wait to go home. My other theory is mall sale, which usually does not happen occasionally. So, I’d stick with my first theory. Every Friday, especially in rush hour, commuters fill the roadsides, even the no loading/unloading areas. A lot of those cars and buses move side by side slowly on the road. In Manila, commuters are willing to crowd and stand in a bus for two hours.

People are always in a rush. I wonder what causes us to race against one another to get to a bus. A good seat? A ride home? I’m one of those guilty. I remember how I recalled a zombie scene in Resident Evil 4 when the ladies flocked and almost stuck themselves at the door of an MRT train that paused to give a ride. That was when there was no queue system yet. It was freaky. Like zombies, we can’t wait to rush in and gobble that good seat.

Come to think of it, what are we running after? After all, all of us will get a chance to ride or to sit. If our goal is to go home, we will go home. There are buses until late at night. A lot of reasons maybe, like not wasting time. We’re excited, I understand. But competing with another just for that ride is even more freaky. We’re too impatient to get a good ride. We have lost this sense of patience.

My mom, the calmest person in the world, would always tell me  to wait. This irritates me. But when we do, we still get to our destination. No reason to rush, she would remind me, unless it’s really urgent. Let me rephrase it, if there’s no urgent reason to go, then don’t rush.

We all get to where we need to go. Rush and impatience had been in our system for a long time. Can we blame the lagging system of transportation for this? I don’t think so. I guess, we all need to relearn how to be patient again. Besides, it keeps us away from road dangers. In the end, we all go home.