Got this from Clarissa's blog (http://www.livejournal.com/~soulair)  while I was blog-hopping a while ago. Thought it would be worth trying. :p Haha. Halata bang nagka-KSP moment ako? :) So. Bear with me dears.

Naks drama. :p

I've just finished "The Bronze Horseman" by Paullina Simons and it has utterly CHANGED me. It's now on my ultimate TOP THREE favorite books of all time. Speaking of which, here they are (my top three)!! :) One thing they all have in common is that they all made me CRY MY EYES OUT.

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION from AMAZON.COM

From the author of the international bestseller Tully comes an epic tale of passion, betrayal, and survival in World War II Russia. Leningrad, 1941: The European war seems far away in this city of fallen grandeur, where splendid palaces and stately boulevards speak of a different age, when the city was known as St. Petersburg. Now two sisters, Tatiana and Dasha Metanov, live in a cramped apartment, sharing one room with their brother and parents. Such are the harsh realities of Stalin's Russia, but when Hitler invades the country, the siege of its cities makes the previous severe conditions seem luxurious.

Against this backdrop of danger and uncertainty, Tatiana meets Alexander, an officer in the Red Army whose self-confidence sets him apart from most Russian men and helps to conceal a mysterious and troubled past.

Once the relentless winter and the German army's blockade take hold of the city, the Metanovs are forced into ever more desperate measures to survive. With bombs falling and food becoming scarce, Tatiana and Alexander are drawn to each other in an impossible love that threatens to tear her family apart and reveal his dangerous secret -- a secret as destructive as the war itself. Caught between two deadly forces, the lovers find themselves swept up in a tide of history at a turning point in the century that made the modern world.

Mesmerizing from the very first page to the final, breathtaking end, The Bronze Horseman brings alive the story of two indomitable, heroic spirits and their great love that triumphs over the devastation of a country at war. 

 STEVEN PRESSFIELD'S "GATES OF FIRE"

 PRODUCT DESCRIPTION from AMAZON.COM

Thousands of years ago, Herodotus and Plutarch immortalized Spartan society in their histories; but today, little is left of the ancient city or the social structure of this momentous culture. One of the few antiquarian marks of the civilization that has survived lies scores of miles away from Sparta, at a narrow Greek mountain pass called Thermopylae.

It was there that three hundred of Sparta's finest warriors held back the invading millions of the Persian empire and valiantly gave their lives in the selfless service of democracy and freedom. A simple engraved stone marks their burial ground.

Inspired by this stone and intrigued by the lore of Sparta, author Steven Pressfield has brilliantly combined scholarship with storytelling. Narrated by the sole survivor of the epic battle--a squire in the Spartan heavy infantry--Gates of Fire is a mesmerizing depiction of one man's indoctrination into the Spartan way of life and death, and of the legendary men and women who gave the culture an immortal gravity.

Culminating in the electrifying and horrifying epic battle, Gates of Fire weaves history, mystery, and heartbreaking romance into a literary page-turner that brings the Homeric tradition into the twenty-first century.

 Steven Pressfield's THE LAST OF THE AMAZONS 

 PRODUCT DESCRIPTION from AMAZON.COM

The author of the international bestsellers Gates of Fire and Tides of War delivers his most gripping and imaginative novel of the ancient world–a stunning epic of love and war that breathes life into the grand myth of the ferocious female warrior culture of the Amazons.

Steven Pressfield has gained a passionate worldwide following for his magnificent novels of ancient Greece, Gates of Fire and Tides of War. In Last of the Amazons, Pressfield has surpassed himself, re-creating a vanished world in a brilliant novel that will delight his loyal readers and bring legions more to his singular and powerful restoration of the past.

In the time before Homer, the legendary Theseus, King of Athens (an actual historical figure), set sail on a journey that brought him into the land of tal Kyrte, the “free people,” a nation of proud female warriors whom the Greeks called “Amazons.” The Amazons, bound to each other as lovers as well as fighters, distrusted the Greeks, with their boastful talk of “civilization.” So when the great war queen Antiope fell in love with Theseus and fled with the Greeks, the mighty Amazon nation rose up in rage.

Last of the Amazons is not merely a masterful tale of war and revenge. Pressfield has created a cast of extraordinarily vivid characters, from the unforgettable Selene, whose surrender to the Greeks does nothing to tame her; to her lover, Damon, an Athenian warrior who grows to cherish the wild Amazon ways; to the narrator, Bones, a young girl from a noble family who was nursed by Selene from birth and secretly taught the Amazon way; to the great Theseus, the tragic king; and to Antiope, the noble queen who betrayed tal Kyrte for the love of Theseus.

With astounding immediacy and extraordinary attention to military detail, Pressfield transports readers into the heat and terror of war. Equally impressive is his creation of the Amazon nation, its people, its rituals and myths, its greatness and savagery. Last of the Amazons is thrilling on every page, an epic tale of the clash between wildness and civilization, patriotism and love, man and woman.

Oooh! I'm back!! Got so much to say! Where to begin??! :)

 Friday, we went to the pier at around four thirty (parents got delayed because of last-minute business calls). Rough place. And no wonder, because we were in the vicinity of Tondo. Mafia territory, wehehe. We were warned not to look anyone in the eye and not to give our luggage to "porters". Papa told us to pack light so I only had three heavy bags...my ever-trusty bagpack, a humongous beach bag and my UCB black school bag. I ended up carrying five, though, because of Mama's and Papa's extra luggage. :) Ok lang!! Pang-work out!! :)

And the ship?!! It was my first time on a moving ship!!?! It was so appropriate because a few hours before leaving for the pier we were watching Pirates of the Caribbean on TV! haha. "A pirate's life for me" and all that jazz. :) But oh! It was so different, actually being on a ship, and not just seeing it in movies. Feeling the movement of the sea every moment when you're on board....Walking, eating, sleeping, taking a bath (haha! now THAT was a challenge!)... it was quite exciting.

The five of us (mama, papa, gabi, ogot and i) had an economy room to ourselves. It was only a bit larger than a prof's room in the Faculty Center, but it had its own T&B (so we didn't have to share with the other hundred or so passengers in our 'floor' in the communal bathroom with only 2 toilets and 2 shower stalls). It was certainly a far cry from Rose's suite in the Titanic (actually, it looked a lot more like Jack Dawson's quarters, hehe), but it was COZY. And the more important thing was that our family was TOGETHER. :) THis was no luxury ship experience. Papa wanted to save money, and heck, it was all fine by us anyway!! :)

Before the sun set we all took a stroll in the upper deck, Ogot posing like the model he thinks he is (peace, bro! :)) and Mama clicking away at everything. Gabi and I held hands and walked stiffly along the length of the upper deck, gripping the rail and trying our best to combat our vertigo. Dammit, we were HIGH. And MOVING. *urk* We thought we'd lose our lunch right then and there. Haha. We're such pathetic cowards, afraid of heights. :) Ogot, in the meantime, had no such fear. He'd lean far out over the railing, and we'd scream at him to get back, get down, and he'd laugh at us and call us sissies. Grr. So much for sisterly concern and devotion.

When we managed to drag him away, we went down and had dinner. Eating on the ship was COOL. I could feel the engine moving beneath me all the time. And when the ship was on the rather choppy part of the water, all the furniture and the silverware started RATTLING. Asteeg...

 *proudly* I did NOT get sea-sick!! Milagro!! :)  I was quite worried that I would get sea-sick, being that it was my first time on a ship and all. But fortunately Gabi, Ogot and I were made of "stronger stuff" than we originally thought (read: we're BROAD :) hence, sturdy? haha). It was the slim passenger next to us who suddenly leaped from the dining table and lurched for the communal bathroom. Poor thing.

Taking a bath in a cramped japanese-style shower was a challenge. And because of the movement of the ship, it was also dangerous because people kept slipping. We used the side bars to keep ourselves standing, but for the trip back home I gave up trying to keep myself upright and just sank down into the 'tub' and stayed down.

Sleeping. Ooh. Now that was a problem too. I had to get used to the rocking motion of the ship before I could sleep a wink. It was also my first time to sleep on a double-decker bed. Syempre the parents got the lower decks. Gabi and I got the upper ones. Ogot slept on the bench on the upper deck. Just kiddin. He slept on a mattress in the middle of the two double decker beds. :)

On Saturday we arrived at Boracay after a 12-hour journey. My first glimpse of Boracay was one long line of BEACH. My first thought was: My God! How could a beach be THAT long?!! For it was impossibly, magnificently LONG. Seemingly endless, to my eyes.

We all were told to put on our life jackets (another first for us!!) and then, one at a time, we all descended the HIGH, SWAYING gangplank (another ‘throwing-up’ moment) into a banca that could carry 30 people. That’s why it took us over an hour to get to Boracay itself from the ship. There were over 500 passengers, and only around 3 ferries and 3 bancas. We were assembled in the lobby for an hour, standing in our life jackets (yes…feeling TITANIC!!), fiddling with the strings until some kind porters had mercy on us and tied them properly.

Oops! Lunch time. Gotta go. Part one of the ‘Boracay diaries’ ends here. J

thanks to kannika....music survey daw... :) 

Random 10:
1. You Raise Me Up - Secret Garden
2. Bridge over Troubled Water - Charlotte Church version ;-)
3. Humdrum - The Corrs
4. Now We Are Free - Hans Zimmer, Gladiator
5. The Steward of Gondor - Billy Boyd (Pippin!) and Howard Shore
6. My Medea - Vienna Teng
7. Only An Ocean Away - Sarah Brightman
8. Think of Me - The Phantom of the Opera, Sarah Brightman version
9. Here With Me / White Flag- Dido
10. Luna - Alessandro Safina

Placed the player on shuffle and we came up with:
1. Dark Waltz - Hayley Westenra
2. Within - William Joseph, piano
3. Prayer in the Night (Sarabande) - Amici Forever
4. THe Mummer's Dance - Loreena McKennitt
5. Si Volvieras A Mi- Josh Groban
6. Dance - Mario Frangoulis
7. Lady D'Arbanville - Gregorian
8. Runaway - The Corrs
9. A White Shade of Pale -Sarah Brightman
10. Divertimento - Secret Garden
11. I'm A Doun For Lack O' Johnny - Vanessa Mae
12. Colors of the WInd - Pocahontas (Judy Kuhn)
13. Unexpected Song - Sarah Brightman
14. Dust in the Wind - WIlliam JOspeph version
15. Masquerade - The Phantom of the Opera
16. The Gladiators' Waltz- Hans Zimmer
17. One Fine Day (from Puccini's Madame Butterfly)  - Opera Babes


What is the total amount of music files on your computer?
Don't know...too lazy to count... :)

The last CD you bought is:
The Phantom of the Opera soundtrack....Masquerade rocks!! Raoul I love you!! Phantom...hmmm...eye candy ka nga lang. Christine...well, never mind. :)

Last song you listened to before this message:
Wag na Wag Mong Sasabihin (Kitchie Nadal)...blame it on the little brother

who will you pass this on to:
YOU! Yes You!!

SNAGGED this one from Kannika. :) Haha. My books aren't even remotely *intellectual* :) I'm taking a break from all that heavy CL 111 reading, hehe! *naks excuse*

1. You're stuck in Fahrenheit 451, which book do you want to be?

               I'd be Steven Pressfield's "Gates of Fire" (about the 300 Spartans of Thermopylae)!!!! Gak. The BEST book ever. I'm willing to bet that twenty years from now it'll be a CLASSIC. Right up along there with Harry Potter. Except that THIS one's got more passion and intensity and....oh just read it!!? *sobs*

2. Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character?

Hell yeah!!

               A lot of them are characters from Steven PRessfield's books. I love Dienekes and Leonidas from "Gates of Fire", Alexander from "The Virtues of War", and Damon from "Last of the Amazons".
               Mag-aaway kami ni Kady dito. hehe. Raistlin from the Dragonlance series by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, and Tanis Half-Elven. (gak, I CRIED when he DIED)
               Oh yeah. I 'fall in love' with almost all of the heroes of Teresa Madeiros, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Nora Roberts, Sophie Kinsella and Julia Quinn. *winks at Vilma*
               Oops. Nabuko na kung bakit gusto kong magbasa. haha!

3. The last book you've bought:

Stephen R. Donaldson's "Lord Foul's Bane", "The Illearth War" and "The Power that Preserves", the 1st trilogy of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever. !!!

4. The last book you've read:

Julia Quinn's The Duke and I and THE IRDA by Linda P. Baker (Kady's book) -- I finished them both yesterday. :)

5. What are you currently reading?

Currently working through THE GUNSLINGER (Stephen King), White Oleander (Janet Fitch), Haunted (heather Graham) and Milan Kundera's "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" (which I find unbearably heavy, hehe). Gosh. So many books, so little time. :)

6. 5 Books you would take to a deserted island:

+Gates of Fire -- for that Gladiator-Troy feeling, hehe
+White Oleander, to figure out just why Gabi was crying herself to sleep while reading it
+The Gunslinger-- Stephen King's fantasy. Oh yeah. Nagkaka-crush na ako sa Gunslinger ha... :)
+ The Bible. The Old Testament, to be exact. Not that I'm overly-religious, but there ARE all sorts of unexpectedly INTERESTING things in often-overlooked parts like Numbers and Deuteronomy... :)
+my Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever trilogy!!! :)

7. Who will you pass this quiz to?

Kady, Vilma, Sheng (if she decides to put something in her blog na! HINT HINT!!), and anyone else who's interested in books (YOU! Yes YOU!). :)