Book 12 of 2012: A Storm Of Swords

Happy Holidays! I believe this will be the last book that I will finish for 2012 and while I didn’t reach my goal to finish all five books in George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series this year, 12 books for 2012 doesn’t sound so bad right?

I finished reading A Storm Of Swords a few hours after Christmas Eve. To date, this is the longest novel in the series and I feel as though I have been struggling to finish it for the longest time, more than two months according to my post about Book 11 of 2012. The scroll feature on iBooks and waiting for Noche Buena helped me speed up my reading rate though.

My baby brother also got a smartphone earlier this year and I’m welcoming him to the world of ebooks by sharing my habit of going to bookstores to look at titles that I would later download. Right now he’s starting on the Harry Potter series.

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2012 has been a good year filled with good food, great company, and awesome trips. The Mayans believe that the world will end tomorrow but I believe that they got their calendar wrong and that 2013 will be even more awesome.

I made a photo book for the parents to highlight 2012′s events and trips. Digital photography is the shit and all that but there’s still something special about seeing photographs printed out.

Diosdado Macapagal International Airport

There has been talk over the past year about making the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) in Clark, Pampanga the primary international airport of the Philippines instead of the overly crowded Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Manila. I was excited about my first time flying out from there, expecting something along the lines of a NAIA Terminal 3 inside the less congested Clark Freeport Zone. A friendly advice to those who have not yet been to DMIA, manage your expectations.

What we ate in Tagaytay

Weddings and food – these are the reasons why we go up to Tagaytay. Or maybe to stare at Taal Lake but really, why just stare at Taal Lake when you can also stare at good food?

First stop: LZM Restaurant. W says that they serve the best fried boneless bangus but I liked their chicharon bulaklak a.k.a. heart attack in a plate best. I usually stick to the regular chicharon made out of pork skin because other types of chicharon look dodgy but LZM Restaurant’s chicharon bulaklak made me reevaluate my chicharon philosophy. Yes, I have a chicharon philosophy, which includes a ‘No Chicharron ni Mang Juan or other fake chicharon brands’ clause.

Bunc Hostel in Singapore

I’ve never stayed in a hostel before. I’ve always envisioned hostels as cramped dingy places filled with twenty something backpackers on a RTW trip. I did not expect to find a nice forty something Chinese lady (with a lot of silk dresses) or a (slightly creepy) Indian grandpa in one.

The ‘private’ beach at Pundaquit

I can’t afford to rent private beachfront properties for vacations yet but I’m lucky to stumble upon awesome beaches thanks to the innernetz and friends. We discovered another ‘private’ beach over the long weekend in Pundaquit, Zambales. Sometimes we’re selfish and want to think that we have the sun and the sand and the sea all to ourselves.

Obsessed with Big Better Burgers

Big Better Burgers has been around for about four years already and I’ve only eaten here within the past month. I blame anyone who has ever sunk their teeth on the charbroiled goodness of Big Better Burgers’ burgers without telling me how good it is.

A day at the National Museum

Hello fellow cheapskates! Did you know that you can get in for free at the National Museum this month?

What we ate in Subic

I’ve been driving for about two months now and I’m rediscovering my favorite travel destinations outside of Metro Manila. (I’ve driven to Subic and Tagaytay…and Antipolo.) The traveling experience is surely different when driving as opposed to when I’m riding in the family car or when I’m taking the public bus. I was usually asleep within the first 30 minutes of the ride before and obviously I can’t do that now so I’ve learned to appreciate the journey itself. Naks.

So far, food has been the main motivation behind these road trips. I wonder when we’ll crave for bagnet or fresh strawberries.

First stop: Texas Joe’s House of Ribs. W wanted to take me here because they have really good ribs and an interesting book trading system where you can take a book as long as you leave one as well. Too bad I ordered the beef brisket, and their bookshelf was locked when we got there.

Book 11 of 2012: A Clash Of Kings

I’m excited about finishing the second book in George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series as everything that I’ll be reading from this point on won’t have been included in the TV series yet hence I can spoil it for those who aren’t reading the books. I love spoilers. *insert evil laugh* Also, I’m bored with Jon Snow and well…snow. Things are just more exciting south of the wall. It takes me more or less a month to finish a book so I am still on track for my finish-these-damn-exciting-books-by-2012 goal.

Four for reading and for my growing-longer-by-every-trip-to-the-bookstore reading list!