So, how was your looong weekend? Good for you!
Mine wasn't long enough ... well, I don't think any number of days would be enough nowadays for someone to say "Yes, I've had enough rest and sleep and R and R". Most of the time, when we're supposed to be resting and relaxing we end up going from this appointment to that appointment when these appointments were supposed to be R and R-ing activties but we end up getting stressed out instead because of a lot of factors -- traffic, toll fees, the high cost of eating out, no vacant seats, no vacant tables, paying even if you were just to pee, mythical value for money -- stuff like that.
But the recent 4-day break from work (my long vacation started at 5:31pm last Friday) wasn't as stressful as it would've been should we had decided to go somewhere (where all the vacationers were also going). Since Ikai had Saturday make-up class for their Mastery Test (the replacement of the Periodical Exam in these Age of K+12), a Sunday ballet class, and Elvie had taken the holiday shifts Monday and Tuesday, my 4-day break was basically stationery in Makati with a quick trip to church in Ermita, Manila last Sunday.
Had the chance to play my guitar a bit and managed to finish reading Well of Ascension and The Wizard of Oz. While I did get to visit the bookshops over the 4-day spell, I didn't pick up any new book yet. My eye however is on getting Carlos Ruiz Zafon's The Shadow of the Wind which would be a deviation from my usual SF&F fare. I'm also trying to find a copy of Eliza Victoria's short story antho A Bottle of Storm Clouds but the book seems to be still unavailable at Fully Booked-Greenbelt and the Bibliarch branches in Glorietta, GB, and Waltermart-Makati. Tried as well at National Book Store and Power Books but nada. Maybe next weekend, I'll be luckier.
Didn't go online as much as well except to check my emails and FB periodically. My Twitter has been silent as well for the entire four days.
But I feel exhausted rather than relaxed after the four days. That's because I wasn't able to sleep well in the evenings the past week. I usually am able to doze off around 11 to 12 in the evening but the past several nights, I've been waking up after sleeping just an hour or so. And then I end up trying to get myself to sleep again. Well, the past two nights of problematic sleeping was my own fault. Well of Ascension just kept me reading page after page even though it was already past sleeping time. I couldn't put the dang book down.
One of the highlights of the long weekend was actually a simple one. We went to Salcedo Park.
Last Monday afternoon, I packed up the little ones and their Auntie Tate and we trooped to Salcedo Park. I asked Ikai and Issa to pray that it didn't rain (Typhoon Igme was threatening after all) and you know what? It really didn't rain. So, it was a happy Ikai who romped around the playground and I swear, she was the noisiest kid that afternoon with her whoops and yeys. Issa however was more cautious as this was the first time she was aware that she was in a park and in a playground. With her Auntie in tow, she slid and swung. As for me, I took advantage of the makulimlim weather, sat on the bench to guard our snacks (yes, we brought our own snacks) and read my book. Elvie later on arrived from work and after an hour or so, we packed up and went home.
One incident though marred what was turning out to be a fun, quiet afternoon. A kid smacked Issa on the upper lip while they were at the slide and though the strike wasn't quite strong, it shocked Issa so much that she cried out loud. I saw the incident first-hand and reprimanded the kid's yaya who was not watching her alaga and instead gossiping with other yayas. I have nothing against people if they want to converse with others but heck, make sure you got one eye on your alaga especially if your alaga had a tendency to hit.
After Issa started to cry, I said to the yaya:
"Oi, nananampal na o!"
Yaya answers, "Pinagsabihan ko naman ah."
I answer back, "Kulang! Bantayan mo!"
I know it's the protective stage father in me but what parent would ever want his or her kid be on the receiving end of a blow, right?
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I'm now working on three stories.
On the evening of the day that I wrote that I had another story idea, I ended up coming up with another story idea. This one came along as light rain fell that night and I was reminiscing my time as a Boy Scout and joined our school scouting movement for a jamboree in the mountains and forests of Makiling.
But my primary goal is to finish The Dance of the Twilight which is now over 5,000 words.
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Like I said earlier, I've already finished with Well of Ascension and I decided to finish off the Mistborn trilogy by taking up Hero of Ages as my current read.
Sanderson writes great and colorful fiction. His magic-systems are unique and fresh and the way he paces his action sequences are superb. I'm actually thinking of getting his two other standalone novels available at Fully Booked -- Elantris and Warbreaker -- to add to my collection. I'm also waiting for the availability of the Gollancz edition of Mistborn: The Alloy of Law here in the P.I.
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And plugging once again Call for Submission to the 8th Volume of Philippine Speculative Fiction. Deadline is September 15 at 11pm. Do you have your stories ready already?
