2013 was a great year. A lot of things happened, some changed for the better, some, not so much. I got close to many new people but I also 'lost' some friends. Not really lost but I just don't talk to them as often.
I love new years. They symbolize a new beginning. It always brings me hope that no matter how sad or great the past year was, it will only get better.

Before we welcome 2014, I would like to take this chance to celebrate 2013, the year that it was, by recounting all the major happenings during my past 12 months. So here's my 2013, in a nutshell.
My year started well. It was celebrated with family, as usual. This year was more fun than ever since the kids(me, my sister, my two cousins and my sister's boyfriend) were in-charge of the cooking. We decided what food to prepare.

 We had this event every December that we call 'Pastoral Day'. It's when we feed scholars and give them gifts. This year we decided to just order from Jollibee, atleast we had a mascot. I mostly led since our president was away. Sooo stressful. Look at me in the photo. Haggard much? In the end though, it was truly fulfilling. I'm excited for next year.
Before we had our final exams, we opted to have a sort of 'mini christmas party'. For the five of us and our teacher. We had exchange gifts, I cooked spaghetti and then we ordered Jollibee meals for lunch. I received a Beatles Tshirt which I greatly appreciate. So now, moving on to the exams. One word: BOOOO! They were freaking hard. But I still don't know what the results are so let's wait until 2014 to find out.

Well, there you have it. I haven't realized this was turning out to be such a lengthy post. I don't mind if you don't really read through it, but I hope you do!

How about you? How did 2013 treat you? 

Claudia from Miss Young Lady informed me that she nominated me for the Liebster Award. I was overwhelmed and grateful. But wait, what is the Liebster Award? I have just heard of it. Claudia also posted a short description of it on her post. I've learned that it is an award given by bloggers to other bloggers as a way of discovering new bloggers and welcoming them into the blogosphere. All you have to do is answer a few questions given by the person who has nominated you and then nominate others who would answer your own set of questions. Easy right? I don't know how it actually started but I think it's a really good idea. An easy way to promote other blogs and your own blog as well, so I'm happy that Claudia was nice enough to nominate me. :)

Here are her questions:

• 10 facts about yourself and a picture

1. 1.) I'm half Filipina and half German. But I was born and raised in the Philippines. 
2. 2.) My hair is naturally curly. I love how I don't have to do anything to make it look made up. I never have to go through the process of curling my hair for parties. It does go frizzy though. Haha
3. 3.) My eyelashes are real. Every new person I meet asks. 
4. 4.) I am a 4th year Civil Engineering student. I like Math and Physics alot. 
5. 5.) My favorite band is The Beatles. 
6. 6.) I grew up wanting to become a film director.
7. 7.) I'm interested in history. 
8. 8.) The Lord of the Rings, Titanic, Catch Me If You Can, The Godfather, Ocean's Eleven, Fight Club, Good Will Hunting and The Shawshank Redemption are some of my favorite movies. 
9. 9,) I am an Aquarian, born on February 1, 1994.
10. 10.) I am not musically talented but I love music. 

• Can you forgive and forget? 
I believe that yes, you may forgive but I'm too sure about the forget part. 

• Would you prefer to live an easy life or an interesting life? Why? 
I don't think there's such a thing as 'easy life'. We've all got our own problems. You may think that a certain person's life is boring but that's just because you don't full know them. We're all interesting in our own way. 

• What styles define you? 
I'm quite girly yet quite not girly. Haha. I don't know what my style is actually. 

• Talents? 
I write. No singing or dancing. 

• Do you believe in love at first sight? 
Infatuation at first sight, yes. Love, no.

• How will you recognize true love? 
You probably don't. I'm not one to have romantic ideals. 

• A habit that you wish you didn't have 
I bite my nails. I don't like it but it helps calm me during exams and quizzes.

• Write a letter to your reflection in the mirror 
Hey you, remember that whatever you put your mind into, you can achieve. 

• Write a letter to your parents or boyfriend/girlfriend 
Dear parents, thank you so much for everything. I've grown to become a strong good girl and it's safe to say I wouldn't be this way if not for you. You have raised me well and I am greatly thankful. I promise to make all the trouble I've caused worth while. 

• Why did you start blogging? 
I started blogging again because I was losing touch to my artistic and in-touch-with-my-feelings side. I got so swallowed up with the logical side that engineering brought upon me that I forgot my love for writing. 

• What is the first thing that capture your attention when you visit a blog? 
The name. I would immediately judge how witty and carefully thought of the name is. 

• If you could write a book, what would it be about? 
I used to dream about writing a book based on Beatles songs. It would be composed of young men in a band, just like the Beatles. How creative, not. 

• Your treasure items 
My Ipod. That's about it. 

• Describe your bestfriend 
I don't believe I have a best friend. Best friends though. It would be unfair to describe just one. 

• Sony or Samsung? 
Although my phone is a Samsung, I actually prefer Sony. :D 

• What is your favourite quote and by whom? 
'No one I think is in my tree.' -John Lennon, Strawberry Fields Forever. 

• Home-cooked meal or to go out to a restaurant? 
Depends on who's cooking. Haha.

• What is your great memory from your past? 
I had a very good childhood so I guess anything from that. 

• Do you have a former favourite outfit that you're now embarrased of? What was it, and why does it make you just ask "why??"
Yes. I had this shirt that just made me look fatter than I am and then I decided to put an ugly belt over it. Since I thought it was fashionable, I wore it to a concert. So my picture with the band's lead vocalist is me looking ugly in that outfit.

Fun fact: I'm a huge Lord of the Rings fan. You can imagine how excited I was for the second installation of its prequel, The Hobbit. Especially since everyone's favorite Elf Prince is back in town to let the wind blow through his long gorgeous blonde hair. 

Although last year's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, was pretty much(for the lack of a better word) boring, The Desolation of Smaug is in a league of its own. It's waaaaay waaaay better. It is action-filled from start to finish. I don't believe there was any dull moment. I didn't even care that its title character, dragon Smaug, didn't appear up until the final 30 minutes or so of the film. In any other way of presentation, I would have been bored once again. But no. Peter Jackson did well on this. He kept it entertaining, somewhat deviating from

the actual literature but who cares? It's an adaptation. Keeping the original text would be basically copying and what might have worked on the novel may not work on a screen adaptation. 

So the movie brings us back to where we left off. Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellen) and the Dwarf King, Thorin (Richard Armitage), along with a group of dwarves are still on their quest to reclaim the kingdom of Erebor. Along the way they cross a forest, encounter huge spiders, taken captive by elves, escape orcs and cross through Lake-town. When they finally reach the mountain, they have to find the keyhole. But after opening the door, the sleeping dragon Smaug, awaits them. If he is awakened, he could destroy the entire Middle Earth through his fiery ways. 

I would be biased here since I admire Peter Jackson as a director. The film is very well done. The scne where the group floats down a river while escaping orcs and elves. That was crazy exciting. The added love triangle between pretty pretty elf prince Legolas(Orlando Bloom), she-elf Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly) and incredibly handsome dwarf Kili (Aidan Turner) was also handled well and was a good addition to make the story more interesting. Evangeline Lilly was fun to watch, adding the needed feminine touch to the testosterone filled 2 hours and 40 minutes.