Some friends

Got a call from Celestine tonight. And Salve has been sending me "unimportant" text messages lately. Since I was busy with work and school requirements, I didn't pay attention to Salve's "irregular" activities. Only to find out from Celestine na may niluluto silang kontra sa akin! Wanna know what it is? Let me rip from Celestine's blog her entry which she ripped off from this blog... Ang gulo! Basta, ganun yon! Yung orange na comments, kanya.

Ripped from http://celestine_tines.blogs.friendster.com/celestines_weblog/

TO SHERMA: ADDITIONAL BOOKS FOR YOUR LIST
I have taken the liberty of posting Sherma's blog entry regarding her so called "Challenge." In it she dared herself to read less than 20 books in a year. Since I am not so impressed with the number as well as her list; I believe as her friend it is my sworn duty to add a couple more. And Sherma in case you get all worked-up please include Salve to your ire 'coz I have sought her opinion on this as well... and she wholeheartedly agreed with me.
Now, where am I? Ah yes the blog entry... I ripped off her blog and added a few of my well-founded and heartfelt comments.
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SOURCE: http://dwickedangel.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, February 08, 2006

The Challenge
I’ve always labeled classic literature as boring. (this statement only reinforces your conclusion about your illiteracy! hehehe...) Somehow, works in this genre fail to make me want to read on until the last page. I’m not sure if it’s the language used or the milieu in which these works were written, but it’s a real effort for me keep going.But even with this difficulty, I believe I ought to read the classics, if I want to be truly “literate.” Salve and Celestine, who were extremely surprised when they learned I got through high school without reading a single novel by William Shakespeare, Nathaniel Thorton, and the like, think so, too. They’ve been encouraging me to read the works for as long as I can remember, giving me pointers on how to get through, if not enjoy, them. And when I survey Salve’s collection of the “oldies,” somehow I feel compelled to read each one of them.

I did attempt to, several times. But each time, I always ended up dropping whatever classic work I was trying to drum into myself, before I even get to Chapter 3.

So I devised a way for me to coerce myself into reading these “unreadables” — by employing the punishment-and-reward strategy. (You dare label the classics as, ugh I can't even write it let alone think of it... You philistine!)

Here’s how it goes:

Challenge: By the end of 2006, I should have read all the books listed below (classics and non-classics alike). You call this a challenge??? It does not even exceed 20... Nah!! Definitely NOT! Let's include a couple more.

Rationale: The challenge would give me the chance to finally get acquainted with the characters that graced the pages of classic English literature. Toward the end of the year, I'd likewise be able to find out how disciplined I am: If I pass this challenge, then I'd know I have enough discipline to see me through greater endeavors; However, if I fail this one, then I'd know I lack self-discipline. I would then be able to design measures to discipline myself. (You don't need this challege to find out if you're disciplined or not. You already are. Take my word for it - disciplined bully that is!)

Classics
To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
Mythology (Edith Hamilton)
Emma (Jane Austen)
The Scarlet Letter (Nathaniel Thorthone)
Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Mark Twain)
Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained (Milton)
Adventures of Oliver Twist (Charles Dickens)
The Prince and the Pauper (Mark Twain)

Non-classics
The Partner (John Grisham)
The King of Torts (John Grisham)
Obstruction of Justice (Perri O’Shaughnessy)
The Last Promise (Richard Paul Evans)
Lean Against the Wind (James McKarns)
Eleven Minutes (Paulo Coelho)
Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
The Prince of Tides (Pat Conroy)
The Chamber (John Grisham)
Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)

(hmmm... this is not a challenge girl. Some of the titles you have listed can be read in one seating. NOPE! DEFINITELY NOT)

Reward: Buy myself the white gold necklace I really want without feeling guilty.

Punishment: Treat Elaine, Chie, Jing, Salve and Celestine to lunch or dinner - you call this punishment this is a reward for you! You should be so lucky! (Am still thinking whether I should include Lorien or not). And more important: refrain from bullying these five (or six, I haven’t decided yet) imps for a whole month. (Now this is punishment. You, stop bullying for a month? haha! It's like you trying not to breathe! To quote Hermione Granger "it's in your blood!")

Rationale: These girls definitely won’t let me off the hook if I fail the challenge. Hence, they’d be keeping an eye on me. Knowing that, I’d of course persevere. Likewise, for an innate bully like me, having to go against my nature, even just for a month, would kill me. I'm sure I won't last a month without doing some bullying spree.So there’s the challenge. We’ll see how I’d fare. (Looking forward to the promised free food! I can already taste our victory!)

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ADDITIONAL READINGS:
Twelfth Night (William Shakespeare)
Shogun (James Clavell)
Things Fall Apart (Chinua Achebe)
100 Years of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia-Marquez)
The Color Purple (Alice Walker)
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Maya Angelou)
Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
Nicholas Nickleby (Charles Dickens)
Womenagerie (Jessica Zafra)
Coming Home (Cristina Pantoja-Hidalgo)
Canterbury Tales (Geoffrey Chaucer)
Jonathan Livingston Seagull (Richard Bach)
Tale of Genji (Murasaki Shikibu)
The Last of the Mohicans (James Fenimore Cooper)

So Sherma, take heed and READ the books. I promise you won't regret it. Maybe by then, Salve and I will deign to acknowledge that you have become slightly literate. Hahaha! I feel so wicked and I absolutely love it! >:-) And in case you're wondering if we really do love you, the answer is unequivocal YES. We're doing this for your own development. Salve and I look at it as social work for the less fortunate such as yourself.;-)


[Hey guys! I need to have a say on this!!!! 'Kala ko ba a "couple" lang? Bakit ang dami naman! Harap-harapang dayaan 'to! Please remember that before this clallenge, I have read but five classic books in all of my 27 years on earth — Jose Rizal's Noli Mi Tangere and Mi Ultimo Adios, Edgar Allan Poe's The Cask of Amontillado (A short story), Ernest Hemingway's (can't remember the title...) and something else I can't recall now. And now I'm gonna read 10 in just a year! And you still think it's no challenge at all?! Sige na mga friends, baka naman pwede nating pag-usapan 'to?

TEKA NGA PALA! How dare you bully me? I'm the bully here. Since when pa binu-bully ang isang bully? Hehehehehehe —Sherma]