Books I’ve Been Salivating Over As of Late

(With snippets from GoodReads.com)

1. The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams - Seconds before the Earth is demolished for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is saved by Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised Guide.Together they stick out their thumbs to the stars and begin a wild journey through time and space.

2. Dilbert 2.0: 20 Years of Dilbert by Scott Adams - celebrates the 20th anniversary of Scott Adam’s office humor comic strip Dilbert.

3. God Debris: A Thought Experiment by Scott Adams - a story about a young delivery man trying to hand over a package to an old man, but delivering the package proves to be as difficult as trying to understand the meaning of God.

4. Genesis by Bernard Beckett - Confident about her history, Anax goes through a day of Examination to be admitted into the Academy (an elite governing institution of her utopian society) but finds out her history and the academy aren’t what she believes them to be.

5. The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson - an extraordinary debut novel of love that survives the fires of hell and transcends the boundaries of time.

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Memory Gap

The thing I hate about my brain is that if I don’t have a deep personal relationship with someone (in other words acquaintances that come and go at school or in the workplace, or people I haven’t told my life story to, or people who haven’t seen me drunk yet and vice versa) and I haven’t seen them in a long time, I either forget their name or face, and worse - sometimes both.

I’ve had numerous awkward moments wherein the person would call my name, grinning from ear to ear and start a conversation, and then the conversation would end and the person would be long gone before I remember their name. I would be left with a blank stare, which I hope the person wouldn’t have noticed. I would then rack my brain before I go to bed, trying to remember the person’s name, sometimes to no avail. Next I would feel so embarrassed that I hope we never see each other again or at least that the person forgot about that meeting and never mentioned it to anybody.

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And You Think Your Problems Are Unbearable

A few days back, I chanced upon the Biography Channel’s The Woman With Half a Body. The special features Rosemarie Siggins, who was born with sacral agenesis. At the very young age of 2, her legs were amputated so she could have a better quality of life. Her story is very inspiring, as she remains positive despite unbelievable odds.

Because her legs were amputated, she had to learn to walk on her hands. She also learned how to use a skateboard, which I thought was cool. What’s cooler is she has a passion for  fast cars, and at the time of filming, she was beefing up a Mustang for the racetrack. She’s actually kind of a tomboy, but she found someone who is completely devoted to her and doesn’t really mind her not having legs. Watching her journey to finding the love of her life gives me hope. There is someone out there. You just have to find that person or be lucky enough to meet him in this lifetime. I think her husband is extraordinary. He definitely sees through her disability and sees the beauty within her. Now, they have a son, who was born normal.

The thing I admire about Rosemarie is that she is a rock. If you think her disability is a big enough problem, brace yourself for more: her mother died of cancer, her father has schizophrenia with an onset of Alzheimer’s and her 29-year-old brother has the mind of an 8-year-old. When her mother died, she had to move back to her parents’ house, along with her husband and son, to take care of her father and brother. Imagine that happening to you. It’s just baffling. Makes you wonder why such things happen to a nice person like Rosemarie.

But despite that, she is the glue that holds the whole family together. She stays positive and couldn’t care less for people who stare rudely at her or think she’s a freak. Despite all that, she still manages to run the household like any other mother out there. I was a little teary eyed, watching the program. It makes me grateful for what I have that I take for granted. I also made it a point that if ever I feel that I have the world on my shoulders, I will think of Rosemarie.

Justice for Ivan de Guzman

Farewell, Ivan.

You will be deeply missed.

Cops probe death of a 27-year-old in Pasay condo fire

Man linked to arson-slay case sought

What’s the Formula for Success?

I’ve been turned into a Malcolm Gladwell fan the moment I finished reading just the first page of his second book Blink.  I first knew of Blink when I was still working in an outsourcing company that does abstracting and indexing. I chanced upon a review of this book and decided to go on a hunt for it. Since the book really satisfied my intellectual hunger, I decided to go buy his first book The Tipping Point. Once again, I was amazed by this author’s take on things around us, from the very mundane to the important issues facing society and the world.

I could say I lean more toward nonfiction books, especially if the topic piques my interest. I have read more fiction books than nonfiction, but that’s just because I was required to in high school and in college. After three years, Mr. Gladwell has churned out another book that will surely satisfy me intellectually. It’s called Outliers: The Story of Success, which tackles what successful people are made of and what makes them different from everyone else. 

I’m so excited about this book I can’t wait to go and buy it. It’s going to be released tomorrow, November 18, and God knows when that will reach our country. I sure hope within the month or I’ll die of anticipation.

(Mr. Gladwell’s blog can be found here, and more information on his latest book here. )