15 books

My cousins Lala and Rain and my very bright inaanak, Yuan, tagged me on Facebook. Yes, I'm on Facebook and whilst I'm a wee bit disappointed with myself for signing up, I take pride in the fact that I only have 58 friends (more than half is actually family) compared to others who has thousands of random strangers whom they refer to as "friends". Being popular was never really a childhood dream. Eating a whole lechon with the crispiest skin and not having to worry about cholesterol and hypertension, now that's a serious head trip.

But I digress, here are the rules of the game.

Don't take too long to think about it. Fifteen books you've read that will always stick with you. List the first fifteen you can recall in no more than fifteen minutes. Tag fifteen friends, including me, because I'm interested in seeing what books my friends choose. (To do this, go to your Notes tab on your profile page, paste rules in a new note, cast your 15 picks, and tag people in the note.)

1. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

2. The Rosales Saga by F. Sionil Jose

3. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

4. The Harry Potter Series by J. K. Rowling

5. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

6. A History of Violence by John Wagner

7. Hope for the Flowers by Trina Paulus

8. The Books of Abarat by Clive Barker

9. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

10. The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

11. Girlfriend in a Coma by Doulas Coupland

12. Amsterdam by Ian McEwan

13. High Fidelity by Nick Hornby

14. America is in the Heart by Carlos Bulosan

15. The Stranger by Albert Camus

33

Happy anniversary to my beloved Teatro Tomasino. The university-wide theatre guild of The University of Santo Tomas celebrates its 33rd year today.

My stint in UST was definitely memorable because of Teatro. They say most of life's important lessons are learned outside the claasroom. And it couldn't be more true in my case. UST gave me the diploma eventually but Teatro Tomasino molded me into the person of strong will that I am today. The organisation and its members shared knowledge and wisdom to me that I will be eternally grateful for. Most importantly, the guild taught me how to love. I lost it but because of Teatro, I found another one that's even more beautiful.

Incidentally, this year's first production is "Ang Kalungkutan ng mga Reyna" by Floy Quintos. I invite you all to watch because I can't. Check out their FB page for more details.

Happy Birthday Teatro. As we say in theatre, break a leg!