God, I sooooo love this kid! ❤

Today Francine is three months old. My, how time flies. And at the same time, seem so slow. It felt like ages since I delivered my daughter, and still ages more since my tummy was swollen with her inside.

To celebrate, we went to Mass and had dinner out. I gave Francine a teeny, tiny bite of the cake’s chocolate frosting inside. She frowned with the first taste, then licked the icing a moment later while drooling. She must like the chocolate just like Mommy!

Anywho, here’s a pic of my little girl earlier thumb knuckle-sucking:

I sooooo love this little girl! ♥

My rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Admittedly, my taste in literature is not very nationalistic. I seldom read Pinoy books. Not even the ubiquitous Bob Ong has managed to capture my fancy.

In a rare bout of patriotism, I wandered into the Filipino literature section of National Bookstore a few months ago while looking for something to read. I was determined to find a Pinoy book that I would enjoy, given my predilection for foreign authors. I found TRESE: Murder at Balete Drive. It was the teaser at the back cover that got me:

When the sun sets in the city of Manila, don’t you dare make a wrong turn and end up in that dimly-lit side of the metro, where aswang run the most-wanted kidnapping rings, where kapre are the kingpins of crime, and engkantos slip through the cracks and steal your most precious possessions.

I mean, come on. A kapre Mafia? WTF, right? That is something waaay out of the ordinary. That is weird. I like weird. Well, in plots and stories anyway.

And the book did not disappoint.

There are four cases in the first book, Murder at Balete Drive. And after reading the first one, I was already thoroughly impressed. It gave new life to an old tale, and added a few well-placed twists besides to form one hell of an opening tale to the world of Alexandra Trese. The other three stories were good too, but that first tale was what really captured my heart and made me an instant fan of Budjette and KaJo.

The first book just whetted my appetite for more of Trese and company, especially the mysterious Kambal. What manner of creatures were they that even fearsomeaswang hesitated to attack them? Where did all of them come from? And who is Alexandra Trese anyway? I was dying to find out if my questions would be answered in the following two books.

It is a measure of my respect to the authors that though readily accessible on the Internet, I did not read any synopsis or description of characters or any other sort of material that would spoil my reading experience and take away the element of surprise and discovery in reading the next books. I read all of the three books literally from cover to cover.

The way the book was written reminded me of Neil Gaiman’s work in the Sandman series and the novel American Gods. That is, how old tales and characters were revived and given a fresh, and definitely edgy, perspective. And in a pleasant surprise, Budjette affirmed my thought with a note at the end of the third book saying that those very works indeed were a heavy influence in the formation of the books. Or something to that effect anyway, but the amazing thing was my comparison was spot-on.

That is not to say however that Trese is a mere imitation of Gaiman’s work, because it most definitely is NOT. Budjette and KaJo definitely hold their own against other popular foreign authors with Trese. It is distinctively Pinoy, from the settings and locations in Manila to the tikbalang and Nuno sa Manhole (yes, in a friggin’ MANHOLE–this really cracked me up). The plots are awesome. And the stark way the graphics are drawn perfectly suits the overall mood of the series.

But I would have to say that my absolute favorite of the three books is the third. I love how the complex relations in the previous books are unravelled, and with such style to boot. I love how Alexandra’s journey to becoming who she is [now] was laid out, with plenty of action and twists to satisfy even a hardened cynic like me. And I totally love the intertwining story of how and where the mysterious Kambal came from. I finally learned what sort of hybrid creatures they are, and just love that bit of creative thinking the author came up with.

All in all, Trese is one gem of a series totally worth your money and time, and then finally, your respect and appreciation for Filipino talent. Kudos to Budjette and KaJo.

Francine had her monthly checkup earlier today. From 4.3 kg the last time, she is now approximately 5.15 kg. She also grew by 3 cm, from 52 to 55 cm. Gee, she really is growing so fast. I feel freakily amazed, being a first-time mom and all. Like, wow!

I soooo love this car seat given by my two best friends to their inaanak. They didn’t spring for a pink or girly one despite Francine’s being a girl, which is more than okay with me. Hell, if I could have fit in it, I would have used it.

Francine looks real chuffed all strapped-in to girl-racer glory, doesn’t she? Given her reaction this early to the car seat, I have high hopes for her turning out to be a wannabe racer reckless driver like me. Speaking of which, up until my last month of pregnancy I was still driving around. And doing my walking exercises on SM. But that’s beside the point.

Sure took me long enough to resume my Project 365.

Anywho. Today, Francine is 2 months old. Yey!

Just like in the photo, she already “talks” to me. Making eye contact and cooing sounds as if she can really understand my banter. So cute when she does that! Inay Po (my maternal grandmother) is simply enthralled when Francine “talks” to her. And when she smiles, oh my! She’s got “smiling” eyes as well.

Call me biased, but she really is one cute kid.

Maybe I did just crawl out of a cave somewhere, but only now am I finally appreciating this song. The Eminem and Rihanna version that is. Talk about some fiery kind of love. It’s dark and violent and all the more beautiful for it. That the über-hot Megan Fox stars in video is a damn sweet bonus (there goes my tibo streak again).

My fave lines from the song:

Maybe our relationship isn’t as crazy as it seems
Maybe that’s what happens when a tornado meets a volcano
All I know is I love you too much, to walk away now

Still holding on despite the pain and almost killing each other in the process while struggling to keep the relationship. Love it! Haha. Okay, you may call me a friggin’ masochist now.

My rating: ♥ ♥ ♥

As what the blog entry title says, the common factor between these two books is the narrative point of view. Two dead girls (one from a vehicular accident, the other a suicide) tell their stories, particularly those surrounding and/or prior to their deaths.

I rated Before I Fall just two stars because I did not like the ending. Really. I mean, the whole point of Sam’s reliving the last day of her life not just once or twice but seven times over (for chrissakes!) is for her to make amends and become a better person, and then she still dies just like that after she does? Would have been more justifiable if she was supposed to move on or go to heaven or something after finally making things right on her seventh try, but no, there was nothing. She just died, period. Which is a crying shame since her seventh (last) day held so much promise had she been given another chance and allowed to live. Okay, I may be a sucker for happy endings but I do like tragic endings just the same. But this (for me) has not a tragic ending for the story, but a bitter one. As in it leaves a bitter taste in the mouth after you I finish the book, what with so much could-have-been’s. So there you go. Just two stars.

TH1RTEEN R3ASONS WHY got its three stars from me (sorta) relative to my rating for Before I Fall. I like its ending better, because while Hannah understandably stayed dead at the end of the story, there was a ray of hope there when Clay learned his lesson from her death and started doing something about it. Could have merited four stars, but for some reason I did not “connect” with the book so the fourth star got dropped. Anywho, I did like how tightly-woven Hannah’s story is as a whole, as narrated in her suicide tapes. For someone about to kill herself, she’s got enough clarity in her voice to make me wonder if she did it because she really give up or simply to exact revenge on those who played a hand in her downfall (with the sole exception of Clay). Both, I guess. Lord knows how messed up you’ll be if you were one of those people who received her tapes, finding out all those sick truths and how the repercussions of your actions led up to someone taking her life. Would you be able to live with that? The thought is frightening. So maybe I did connect with the book after all, but not in a way I like at all. So three stars still for me.

So. Both books deal with death in a major way, what with the narrators being dead girls after all. It’s not really as morbid you might think. In fact, the whole of the two books leaves you with lessons on living [better] and not on dying. Makes you appreciate your life and the fact that you can still do better for yourself and maybe even touch some lives in the process. Slaps you with the truth that every action has repercussions which may or may not turn out pleasant in the end, and you gotta be careful in dealing with others just in case. That it pays to be even just a bit nicer to the people you interact with, even just to those you meet while walking. Reminds of a quote I heard before:

Every smile saves a hurting soul.

It doesn’t cost anything to smile or be nice, after all. And the world would be so much nicer with a bit more kindness.