Tales Of The Isolated Goth Girl's Doin' Fine

My blog stats is makin' me happy! Even DELIRIOUS sometimes (I blame all of you for this unstoppable excitement and overdose of enthusiasm. I almost couldn't sleep because I keep thinking which Gothic rock song to cover, or how to record a Goth craft tutorial :'3 ♥) Thank you for all the hits, comments, positive remarks, and additional members for my Army of the Undead! Keep 'em comin'!

I promise to keep my future posts from being boring. Though I don't have a camera to call my own, I will try my best to utilize all the resources I have here (penniless Goth over here).

I've also added more blog gadgets at the right, and I'm planning to add some more for everyone -- Goth or not -- to enjoy their stay here. ^w^

Thank you so much! Umm, thank you again! I'm so happy I just might cry popcorn.

My Two New Books!

Hi bats!

I've been frequenting the BOOKSALE book shop lately. BOOKSALE sells a good load of secondhand books, mostly bestseller ones! Some of them books come from other countries, but they come in really cheap (the cheapest one I've seen so far costs P5.00 which is around 0.123245 cents if you're from the US. O.o) I've even seen a book that still bears the name of the previous American owner, complete with her mobile number, her school, and the address. Hahahahaha.

So yeah, I'm pretty happy I have two, new books to read! I'm halfway through in "Never Slow Dance With A Zombie" by E. Van Lowe. It's the book I bought frist. Genre is teens, comedy, drama. I bought it because of the cover and the title. It's pretty fine though. But I surely can't wait to read the second one, "Ravenloft: Scholar Of Decay" by Tanya Huff! The genre is Gothic horror! I miss reading Gothic books! ♥

Never Slow Dance With A Zombie by E. Van Lowe

Book Description: 

 

Principal Taft's 3 Simple Rules for Surviving a Zombie Uprising:

Rule #1: While in the halls, walk slowly and wear a vacant expression on your face. Zombies won't attack other zombies.

Rule #2:  Never travel alone.  Move in packs.  Follow the crowd.  Zombies detest blatant displays of individuality.

Rule #3:  If a zombie should attack, do not run. Instead, throw raw steak at to him.  Zombies love raw meat. This display of kindness will go a long way.

On the night of her middle school graduation, Margot Jean Johnson wrote a high school manifesto detailing her goals for what she was sure would be a most excellent high school career. She and her best friend, Sybil, would be popular and, most important, have boyfriends. Three years later, they haven't accomplished a thing! 

Then Margot and Sybil arrive at school one day to find that most of the student body has been turned into flesh-eating zombies. When kooky Principal Taft asks the girls to coexist with the zombies until the end of the semester, they realize that this is the perfect opportunity to live out their high school dreams. All they have to do is stay alive..

Scholar of Decay (Ravenloft Books) by Tanya Huff

Book Description:

When Aurek Nuiken travels to Richemulot to search for a spellbook that will save his endangered wife, little does he know that a beautiful woman, a family of wererats, and his own brother will cruelly conspire to turn the tables against him. As hideous monsters of Ravenloft close in, he is drawn to the brink of madness in a world that preys on the innocent.

Non-Goth Suitor Doesn't Know I'm Goth

Another suitor signed up for a whimsical, theatrical, and unusual joy ride in his life. He still doesn't know what's in store so I'm not saying "yes" yet, 'til he knows about my morbid interests, that is. If he accepts me, then I'll be happy, but if he doesn't, I'll laugh devilishly at his loss. He will have lost one of the most talented, most beautiful, and smartest girls in the whole wide world. MWAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA. E-ehm. Sorry for the sudden egotistic statement. It was fueled by adrenaline, I swear. I'm just a bit hysterical as of the moment.

Wish me luck for my Sinulog date tomorrow, bats!

Amy Asphodel and her non-Goth boyfriend! ♥ [source]

Prayer:  
Dear God,

I pray that this guy you're giving me isn't a pervert. I hope he's not boring or ill-mannered too. Thank you for someone like him, though, and I pray he'll accept the girl You molded me to become. In Jesus' name. AMEN.

-- Minxie is nervous. HAHAHAHAHA

"Sinulog", Cebu's Big Festival

I'm inviting everyone from all over the world to visit Cebu during the early weeks of January!

Cebu becomes totally festive and lively during this time of year -- even more festive than Christmas time, I swear. The road isles are decorated with tarpaulins and posters of Señor Santo Niño, you get to see red and yellow fiesta buntings hung above as you look up, deafening music and beats roar from the speakers of almost every establishment, some roads get temporarily closed due to the parades and the big sea of people, stalls selling Cebuano stuff or providing tattoos appear, and theatrical dances are presented onstage or along the streets!

Cebuanos waving during the chorus of a Sinulog song at mass. [source]

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All this in commemoration of what happened hundreds of years ago. It was in the year 1521.

From Wikipedia: 

On April 15, 1521, the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan arrived and planted the cross on the shores of Cebu, claiming the territory for Spain. He presented the image of the child Jesus, the Santo Niño, as baptismal gift to Hara Amihan, wife of Rajah Humabon. Hara Amihan was later named, Queen Juana in honor of Juana, mother of Carlos I. Along with the rulers of the island, some 800 natives were also baptized to the Roman Catholic Church. At the moment of receiving the holy image, it was said that Queen Juana danced with joy bearing this image of the child Jesus. With the other natives following her example, this moment was regarded as the first Sinulog.

This event is frequently used as basis for most Sinulog dances, which dramatize the coming of the Spaniards and the presentation of the Santo Niño to the Queen. A popular theme among Sinulog dances is Queen Juana holding the Santo Niño in her arms and using it to bless her people who are often afflicted by sickness caused by demons and other evil spirits.

After Magellan died on April 27, 1521 on the shores of Mactan, the remnants of his men returned to Spain. The Spanish explorer Miguel López de Legazpi arrived in Cebu on April 28, 1565 and occupied the villages ruled by Rajah Tupas. In one of the huts of the burning village, one of López de Legazpi's soldiers named Juan Camus found a wooden box containing the statue of the Santo Niño lying amongst several other native idols. Historians later said that during the 44 years between the arrival of Magellan and López de Legazpi, the natives of Cebu continued to dance the Sinulog but no longer to worship their anitos (god) but to show their reverence to the Santo Niño.

The Augustinian friars that accompanied López de Legazpi in his expedition proclaimed the statue performed miracles and built a church on the site where it was found. The church was called San Agustin Church, later renamed to Basilica Minore del Santo Niño.

Since 1521, devotion to the Santo Niño has grown and has taken root in Philippine popular piety, particularly in the Visayas; pilgrims from different parts of Cebu and the rest of the Philippines make their yearly journey to the church to take part in the procession and festival. Starting in 1980, the Cebu City government organized the Sinulog Festival and eventually gave incentives to tribal dance groups. The first Sinulog parade was held in 1980, organized by Dávid Odilao, then Regional Director of the Ministry of Sports, and Youth Development. The parade was composed of students dressed in Moro costumes, dancing the Sinulog to the beating of drums.

The idea caught and thus, under the direction of the Cebu City Mayor Florentino Solon with the help of several influential Cebuanos, Odilao turned over the Sinulog project to the Cebu City Historical Committee under Kagawad Jesus Garcia. It was the task of the Committee to conceptualize the Sinulog festival and make it into a yearly event from then on.

In 1981 the following year, the concept of the Sinulog Parade was actualized involving not just Cebu but also representatives from other provinces in the Philippines . Marking its difference from another popular festival, the Ati-Atihan in Aklan, the Sinulog focuses not on the ritual itself but on the historical aspects of the dance, which, as it has been said, represents the link the country's embrace of Christian faith.

Sinulog is celebrated every third Sunday of January, but Cebu dances even before the said date. This is gonna be fun. ♥

THE SINULOG BEAT:

Midterm Exams Are Over!

Hiya!

I'm sorry if I hadn't informed you bats about the then-upcoming midterm exams last week. I was totally busy studying and writing down stuff about Beowulf and The Canterbury Tales, taking online quizzes, and breaking off the boredom by reading great, hilarious articles from SPARKNOTES. Oh, before I forget, I would like to thank SPARKNOTES for being a great help to my studies, and for being the main reason why I got the highest exam score in my major subject, Literary History of English! Yay for this Goth! and to SPARKNOTES!

Thanks a million, SPARKNOTES! ♥

Most of the exams were a bloody piece of cake to me, except for the subjects that have always been a usual pain in the neck for my brain (wait, does my brain have a neck?): Trigonometry, Filipino, and Physics. I'm obviously right-brained, so I normally ain't that strong and interested in Mathematics and Science.

Well, yes I did get some A's in Math way back when I was in high school, but I thank the wonderful instructor for that because he teaches Math thoroughly yet effortlessly, like it's some other easy subject. He'd give the lecture for a span of more or less than 30 minutes only, and then have us answer the daily seatworks for the remaining time. I was really good at Math then, but I wasn't really enthusiastic about it. Well NOW, I'm not good at it PLUS I'm not enthusiastic. This instructor I have right now fills the whole period with hilarious jokes. Math period is fun, the exams, though, aren't.

Filipino, unlike Math, has always been my nightmare regardless of the instructor. I know, I know. It's a shame that I'm not so good at speaking my country's national language, but don't blame me. My parents haven't been good at raising me in a Filipino environment. Me and my siblings' humor is pretty Western, and we don't watch local movies or shows, nor listen to local music.. which only means our whole family isn't really good at Filipino at all (except for my mom maybe, since she grew up in Manila).

And Physics? The instructor's voice is as inaudible as anybody's usual classroom fart. Moreover, his voice is like Jigglypuff's singing. I'm nearest to his table but I headbang like a zombie due to drowsiness everyday.

Oh well, I think my grades in these 3 subjects are gonna suck.. but at least I rock the other 5 ;)

So to all students reading this, Goth or not, here's a beautiful conclusion for this post and/or a wonderful thought/quote to ponder for the day:

"Our grades do not exactly reflect what kind of STUDENTS we are, sometimes it only shows what kind of INSTRUCTORS we have."

Have a batty day, bats! ♥