Brace Yourself

Aloha! Sorry for the long delay of update. I'm out of town... brace yourself with reviews about food, places, hotel, resorts and restaurants!!


All the best!

The Only Thing Between Us - Pamela Santos

Category: Book

Genre: Love

Author: Pamela Santos

Overview and Review of The Only Thing Between Us by Pamela Santos

image of the book: to follow

Finished reading: April 5, 2008.

This book actually started as a short story over at GirlTalk Forum where I used to frequent back in 2005 and I stumbled in Pam's short story. It's been making a scene over at Girl Talk and everyone's talking about "how kilig" and nice the story goes. So, almost everyone told Pamela Santos (including me) that we hope she makes it into a book. And now, the dream of Pamela Santos finally came true. It's published! And of course a few weeks after it was published (I have to order since SM Davao doesn't have the book yet) finally I have my very own copy.

This is a story of Bianca and Ryan who were childhood friends, and are often mistaken as boyfriend and girlfriend when they were in High School. They are the Best of Friends. But one day Ryan found Josephine and had her as his girlfriend and Bianca was even the bridge for the two of them to get together. Bianca wonders why she is jealous of Josephine and finds out she broke their golden rule: she is in love with Ryan.

A series of circumstances brings them away or back to each other's arms like meddling parents, friends, a golden rule, third-parties, a series of miscommunication, long distance or geographical differences, and a whole lot more. With everything that stands between them, the question is: "Would they finally end up together?"

If you've read a lot of novels and love stories that are pretty much Westernized and you like them, this would be different. It's a totally "pinoy" setting and everything about it screams "Pinay Pinay Pinay". Why? Because it sure shows a lot of things about being a Filipino, say for example: the meddling parents *we all know the reason for this and it's because they only want what is good for us* (so Pinoy di ba?), the reunions *with everybody in the clan present*, pasalubongs, the family outings during summer. A refreshing story to be "kilig" over at. Pamela sure knows where and when to capture a teenager's heart. It made me "kilig" a few times and if it weren't for all those books I've read I would've been "kilig" all the time. It has a unique ending and you would envy the friendship bond Bianca had with Ryan wishing you share the same thing with someone. This book makes you feel at home and warm at heart.

Save Up

http://www.wamu.com/personal/savings_account/online_savings_account/default.asp

Category: Website / Services

If you want to be rich you need to learn to save. Every financial gurus tells you that. No matter where you go and where you get mentored they would always incorporate into their teachings the value of "savings".

Since, almost everything is done online isn't it nice to have an "online Savings Account" as well?

WaMu is a bank who makes things better for people— whether it's their customers, employees or their neighbors. They have friendly employees, an they have innovative ways when it comes to banking (and this online savings account is one of them) and they work in their communities.

If you are in the United States of America, you can open an online savings account and manage your online savings account through online banking and electronic statements.

What are the benefits and features if you want to go banking with them ? They have a Free Online Banking and Free Electronic Statements. All you have to do is just maintain a minimum balance of $300.00 each day of the monthly statement cycle to avoid the monthly service charge which would amount of $4.00.

There is even no monthly service charge when you open an Online Savings account with WaMu Free Checking account online, or whenever you link a new Online Savings to an existing active WaMu checking account, as long as checking relationship is maintained and you also have an easy access to funds by ATM: although Transaction limitations apply to Online Savings accounts and access is subject to the availability of the funds.

Take a step in becoming a rich and successful person by opening an online savings account.

Fast and Furious 3: Tokyo Drift - 2006

Category: Movie

Genre: Car Racing

Director: Justin Lin

Writer: Chris Morgan

Tagline:

If You Ain't Outta Control, You Ain't In Control.

Rated PG 13

Casts:

Lukas Black as Sean Boswell
Lil Bow Wow as Twinkie
Han as Sung Kang

Overview and Review of Fast and Furious 3: Tokyo Drift directed by Justin Lin.

Avoiding a jail sentence in America when Sean Boswell got into trouble racing(race accident), he was sent to live with his father in Tokyo who happens to be in the Navy. When he arrived he discovers a different kind of racing in Tokyo. Sean and his racing ego met a match named D.K. (Drift King a.k.a. Donkey Kong by my brother) here who got ties with the Yakuza.

Can't say much for the summary without divulging the whole story, because that's pretty much about it. If you are looking for a great "storyline" you really would not find it here. What you would find would be non-stop car show, cool drifters (really really nice specially when they all lined up and were not racing), and Japanese girls in those skimpy clothes.

I seemed to notice Sean always gets into trouble here when it comes to a girl. Tsk. Tsk. Although the start was a little bit too worldly for my taste. But, heck the cars and the race sure would take your breath away.

It had an effect of me thinking of drifting while passing "curvy roads".

Line I like:

Sean: Why'd you let me race your car? You knew I was gonna wreck it.
Han: Why not?
Sean: 'Cause that's a lot of money.
Han:

I have money. What I need around me is trust and character. And one car in exchange for finding out what a man's made of is a price I can live with.

Bad Credits

Category: Website

I know a lot of people who does not know better when it comes to "credit". And they often get themselves into trouble because of it.

Once you have a bad credit credit cards it's actually "almost" if not hard but impossible to recover from it. But, if one perseveres, they can pull it off and get bad credit offers online.

They can browse bad credit offers by category. They can compare the features and details of the offers side by side, and finally apply online for the offer you have chosen. You can also get as much credit and debt help from them and you can start to rebuild your credit today.

Juno - 2007

Category: Movies

Genre: Young Adult

Director: Jason Reitman

Writer: Diablo Cody *won an Oscar for Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen*


Overview and REview of Juno directed by Jason Reitman.

Rated: PG 13

Cast of Characters: Ellen Page (Juno MacGuff), Michael Cera (Paulie Bleeker), Jennifer Garner (Vanessa Loring), Jason Bateman (Mark Loring), Allison Janney (Bren MacGuff), J.K. Simmons (Mac MacGuff), Olivia Thirlby (Leah)

Juno, a sixteen year old girl named after the wife of Zeus is the type who tends to be different thus never conforming to the rest of kids in her school. She is also sarcastic in a funny way and witty at the same time (I like her one-liners). She has a best friend named Paulie Bleeker who is a track racer. The two of them, Juno and Paulie are in the same band together. This movie started off with the two of them experimenting sexually at a couch for one time.

This movie is not good for people who are close minded. They would just look at the situation and freak out about it. But to most, it's actually a learning experience. Just look beyond the situation. The unconditional love the parents had for Juno and the undying support of Juno's best friend. It's like being pregnant without having to. It's fun in a dorky{no pun intended} kind of way.

I like the original songs they play, specially their theme song. Cute cute. I like the setting specially the "summertime" part(although I had trouble there because I thought those cherries bloom during spring, got my confirmation because it was one of the factual errors cited in IMDB). I also like the cinematography.

Lines *courtesy of IMDB*:

Juno: I'm pregnant.
Leah: What? Honest to blog?
Juno: Yeah. Yeah, it's Bleekers.
Leah: It's probably just a food baby. Did you have a big lunch?
Juno: No, this is not a food baby all right? I've taken like three pregnancy tests, and I'm forshizz up the spout.
Leah: How did you even generate enough pee for three pregnancy tests? That's amazing...
Juno: I don't know, I drank like, ten tons of Sunny D... Anyway dude, I'm telling you I'm pregnant and you're acting shockingly cavalier.
Leah: Is this for real? Like, for real for real?
Juno: Unfortunately, yes.
Leah: Oh my GOD. Oh shit! Phuket, Thailand!
Juno: There we go. That was kind of the emotion that I was searching for on the first take.

Vanessa: You think you're really going to do this?
Juno: Yea, if I could just have the thing and give it to you now, I totally would. But I'm guessing it looks probably like a sea monkey right now and we should let it get a little cuter.

*watched it April 3, 2008 with Ate Jill, Ate Kai, Yheyhe, Nuth2x @ home when we had a slumber party. Hehe.*

Queen Bee of Mimosa Branch - Haywood Smith

Category: Books

Genre: Southern Fiction / Friendship

Author: Haywood Smith

Overview and Review of Queen Bee of Mimosa Branch by Haywood Smith.

First Sentence:

"I took the long way home that fateful midsummer day last July, maybe because I still couldn't quite believe what I was about to do."

Linwood Breedlove Scott, just divorced her husband Phil who ran away with a stripper. Along the way, the IRS took everything away except for her coffee table. Now, she is about to go back to her hometown - conservative + gossip = Mimosa Branch, GA to create her new life. Her childhood home with her parents is what Lin often refers to as the "loonybin", where she thinks everything is crazy. Little did she know that the place and people she calls the "loony" were the people who matters to her most and would stick with her and show her "real love".

It was a bit boring at first, maybe because I felt the heat of the place while I was reading (it's also quite hot sometimes here in our city). But, as I moved into a much cooler place to read I enjoyed the book. For one thing, it is outrageously funny. It is also an easy read and written very well. It basically focuses on friendship and family. Funny "green" can be read as well. And the mix of interesting characters made up most of the story.

For a fiction and comedy it's amusing how the writer never missed out on some life lessons you would get from here: Moving on and creating a new life is not always as easy as it seems. That it is a big, fat waste of energy to fight change.

Lin: "Yesterday's gone, tomorrow's always a day away, but today's a gift. That's why it's called the present. It took a lot to teach me how to live the gift, but I wouldn't change a bit of it, because it got me here."