Faceless.

I always come at the day’s end

I am the only one for the job

I don’t yearn much

I just want you

.

Unending echoes of agonizing screams

As wild flames enclose every piece of you

Charred and seared, you beg for an escape

But your seconds are over, your clock has stopped

.

Decaying skin of a crumbling soul

In that condition, I reach down to fetch you

And carry you far away 

As your flesh and bones remain

.

For I am Death

And this is how it goes

We meet only once

When your life meets its close.

Gone are days of chivalry, of simple joys, of heartfelt poems and Shakespeare sonnets. Words of praise and verses that would make one swoon have been long since forgotten. There’s just too much innovation in technology nowadays for people to relish and savor the great beauty of old-fashioned art and literature. How I wish these things would go back. Maybe the world would become a nicer and peaceful place. 

Numbers by Rachel Ward

Reading a summary of a book which has a main character that can see a person’s date of death in her mind by merely looking at their eyes was definitely the reason why Rachel Ward’s Numbers caught my attention. The anime/manga Deathnote and the movie, Final Destination, immediately popped into my head while reading the gist at the back of the book. Yes, curiosity got the best of me and I decided to get a copy and read it.

The story starts with Jem, a shy quiet girl who tends to spend her time alone and away from people. She might as well be considered as one of the weird kids at their school, not talking much and always keeping a low profile. But how can anyone blame her for being that way when she is carrying around a dark secret she has known all her life? How do you interact with the people around you when one look in their eyes would mean you suddenly knowing the day when their lives would end? And that is how Jem’s life has been for as long as she can remember. This burden is became the main reason why she avoids any kind of relationship with people. In her mind, it would be impossible to be close to anyone when every time she looks at them, the numbers appear, a constant reminder that they will eventually be gone.

That is her way of life until she met Spider in one of her usual chill spots. What started out as mere mutual understanding between two weird introverts blossomed further into a unique friendship. Maybe even more than that. Suddenly, Jem took chances and risks she never thought she can handle. She was drawn into a new kind of experience with Spider beside her. But then during a date in London, Jem foresees a tragic accident, which changed everything. All of a sudden they were blasted into a catastrophic chain of events that would turn their worlds around.

I have to say, I really have mixed feelings with this book. I very much enjoyed the first few chapters as I can strongly relate with Jem’s personality. Like every other teenage loner, we both contemplate with things that aren’t exactly spoken out loud like death. To her, death is a constant thought but not in a suicidal way, it’s just a basic fact of life. We all live and we all die at some point. It is the undeniable truth. And given her unusual sight, I think death would really be part of her every day life.

Halfway through the book, I felt bored and the storyline seemed a bit of a drag and was dull. I wouldn’t reveal any spoilers but let’s just say that I feel that the events did not seem to connect with the premise of book. To me, it became more like a teenage romance, a bit like watching Skins, instead of a mystery/fantasy genre the book promised based on its gist. The book did not quite satisfy the level of adventure and thrill I was expecting. At some point, actually most of the time, the events were very predictable. That, plus I did not feel the excitement I usually get when reading these kinds of books, honestly lessened its appeal to me. 

But then as I neared the end, I was a bit caught off guard as I turned to the very last page. I was a somehow disappointed about one anti-climactic event but what happened after was certainly a cliffhanger and somehow lifted my interest a little. I think I would still want to read the sequel, but not any time soon. Oh, and maybe one redeeming quality of the book was that it is very much quotable. It also makes you think about things as it poses a lot of questions about life. I mean, if someone can tell you the day you will die, would you want to know? If you do, what would you do when you realize that you only have a short time left to live? All in all, this book is a 3.5/5 for me.   

I hate suspension of classes.

On contrary to the desires of most students, I really don’t like it when classes are cancelled due to bad weather or whatever else. I know that it seems a bit insesitive for those who commute, I get that. But this is not about the consequences of going to school in such increment weather. This post is all about what I think is the consequence of missing a day’s worth of class.

Yes, it’s nice to take a break but then after that, everything just piles up. The quizzes are doubled, make-up classes are held, the lectures are rushed, the deadlines for reports are moved and the whole schedule is affected. I may be weird but I just find it more difficult to adjust with these changes. To me, it seems that the workload increases when classes are suspended. Plus, I feel like my efforts in studying and preparing for the following day are put to waste.  Call me geeky or whatever, but I really prefer going to school as planned.

Damn, I hope there are classes tomorrow.

My mom called me and told me that my uncle/godfather just died. And I didn’t even got the the chance to visit him the whole time when he was struggling with cancer. It’s just so soon. Last summer he was fine and now. Oh God, I can’t. I don’t know what to do. I didn’t even had the chance to talk to him, to see him, to say goodbye. And now he’s gone. Why can’t I turn back time? What do I do? I feel so bad and selfish and shitty. Why is life so unfair? He’s a healthy guy with no vices and he’s dead. I cannot stop crying. I just can’t believe it.

Since it has been exactly a year since the world premiere of the last Harry Potter movie, I would give two and a half hours of my time to re-watch the first movie, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, all over again.

“I open at the close.”

Dear followers..

This coming Tuesday, my classes would resume and I would have to go back to my dorm tomorrow. Now I guess you would say, “Why is she telling us these stuff like we care?” Well, this post is somewhat like a notice to all of you, my dear followers. Since I would be back to school, that means I would have much less time for pleasure reading for I will probably use it for my academics. And with that, my blog posts won’t be as frequent as this summer. It’s not like I’d be entirely gone, only a little absent. I’ll try my best to post at least once a week so that my blog won’t be stale. 

So uhm, I think what I’m saying here is that I hope you would still stick with me even with the diminished updates. But I know there would always be those who won;t, who will unfollow. But really, it’s okay and I would understand. I just want to inform you of what will happen so you won’t be surprised. :)

Re-watching the first season of Grey’s Anatomy.

They all look so young then! Was it really that long ago? Oh and I haven’t seen George O’Malley and Isobel Stevens for too long now that I forget how awesome and funny they are. Oh and Chief Weber looks to weird with his graying hair and mustache. Haha. And Meredith looks so fresh and beautiful. I almost forgot that Preston Burke existed.