the cover took my breath away. Simply put, there were stories I didn’t want to end but what made things better was the fact that it meant there was a Mervin Malonzo art coming up

I’m joining the cool crowd that’s doing these impressions/reviews as I’ve just finished reading the stories. I’ve also just left a review on amazon. It’s very seldom when I buy a book and read it straight away, sometimes it takes seven years. And considering I read this on the computer till my little girl screamed for me, that’s a feat. Hooray!

To start off, here’s the ToC of Alternative Alamat:

“Ana’s Little Pawnshop on Makiling St.” by Eliza Victoria
“Harinuo’s Love Song” by Rochita Loenen-Ruiz
“The Last Full Show” by Budjette Tan
“The Alipin’s Tale” by Raymond G. Falgui
“Keeper of My Sky” by Timothy James Dimacali
“Conquering Makiling” by Monique Francisco
“The Sorceress Queen” by Raissa Rivera Falgui
“Beneath The Acacia” by Celestine Trinidad
“Offerings to Aman Sinaya” by Andrei Tupaz
“Balat, Buwan, Ngalan” by David Hontiveros
“A Door Opens:  The Beginning of the Fall of the Ispancialo-in-Hinirang” by Dean Alfar

*** May contain spoilers ***

Ana’s Little Pawnshop opens the volume and was a fun read. New Worlds’ Meann Ortiz mentioned in her early impressions of the book that the pawnshop reminded her of Faerie Market in Gaiman’s ‘Stardust.’ The pawnshop also reminded me of another Gaiman work called “Chivalry” about an elderly woman who finds the Holy Grail in an Oxfam thrift shop (who doesn’t love going to Oxfam???) Eliza Victoria’s writing reads so different here. I like the tone, but I didn’t really feel much for Ana’s loss as described by the narrator. I’ve read a few of Eliza’s stories and many of her poetry. Till the young Ms. Victoria I admired only three people who effortlessly shifted between prose and poetry: James Galvin, Ed Maranan and that bloke from Carmarthenshire, Dylan Thomas. I’d say Eliza’s youth always adds spunk (not the British slang) to whatever she writes. She is not afraid to experiment (read “Summer Evening” on Vanilla Literary & Art Journal). Her grasp of emotions and ability to convey them in writing is, for someone so young, quite remarkable. I remember reading “Prayer” in Stone Telling and having a nightmare after that — a compliment on how the imagery in her work affects you. So I guess, this “fun” in Ana’s Little Pawnshop had to sacrifice that raw emotion you get when you read her other works. Overall, the story is very engaging with its crisp, believable dialogue and a good opener to get readers involved from the start.

Whilst “Harinuo’s Love Song” was well-written and showed Rochita Loenen-Ruiz’s range as an author, I didn’t enjoy it as much as I did her other stories, especially those published by Fantasy Magazine. I normally don’t need to be familiar with characters or cultures in order to enjoy a story. “Harinuo” has that feel of that writing she did with “Hi Bugan ya Hi Kinggawan,” yet it took so much for me to get used to the former. But then that’s just me, I get distracted by everything and at one point couldn’t help but google Antoon Postma and read about his works, too! The next story, “The Last Full Show,” on the other hand, reeks of familiarity. No, I haven’t read the Trese books, I meant the familiarity to the setting, reference to urban legends (“Robertson”), amongst others. I really enjoyed this one.

The Sphinx at the museum in Delphi, with me lurking around the corner.

“The Alipin’s Tale” is very rich both in Philippine mythology and historical characters. Endlessly fixated on Greek mythology, this is the first time that I remember encountering a Filipino story that reads like one (do enlighten me of such Filipino stories, please). The tale is rich in events, rich in fantasy, rich in religion… even with the footnotes to the story that so and so was a reference to a myth, I thought that this take was still very original, also enjoyed this one.

“Keeper of My Sky.” Alternate realities, a series of what could have beens, like reading Einstein’s Dreams, trying not to kick up dust. This has to be my favourite in the volume. Beautiful. (This happens to be written by my Sherlock buddy back in college – hi TJ!).

“Conquering Makiling” is sharp, witty and sexy. I felt I was invited by friends for a climb up Makiling and instead of getting nervous and tired, it became a walk in the park and just that – a gathering with friends. (Damn I didn’t realise Philippine myth is this hot haha).

“The Sorceress Queen” reads like a modern fairy tale with lots of twists and turns. Interestingly as I read I began relating the setting to a smaller one, such as that of a household, that is, of mine. Men, women, pride, two different kingdoms or countries, where shall we live?

“Beneath the Acacia” was also enjoyable because not only it is fantasy, there is also a lot of mystery with the characters discussing clues / red herrings. The entire story already felt like the climax / reaching for a resolution. I wanted more. Celestine could write a full-length novel based on this story. One story that deals with the kapre, Victoria and Mang Andres, surrounded by the story of Juan and Maria.

I got drawn to “Offerings to Aman Sinaya” because of the boat and water details.  Fascinating. I don’t know why this made me think of the film “Whale Rider.” Maybe because the author lives in New Zealand?

This is the first time I’ve read David Hontiveros (I’m missing out, I know). I felt like I was dodging bullets. So many thoughts on a page. God that was manic – exhausting, in a good way. Reading this anthology was like a roller-coaster experience. The styles are simply so varied. I have to admit that whilst I have favourite stories in the anthology, Mr. Hontiveros’ writing is the kind that I like. That thing that’s said about (some) male authors expressing in a page what (some) women authors would write in 10. I like the reference to HR Giger, amongst others, which made me dig up these photos below from my files:

Alien. At the HR Giger Bar/Museum in Gruyères. We love their cheese. I couldn't smell. "The whole town smelled of feet," my husband said later.

Dean Alfar’s “A Door Opens:  The Beginning of the Fall of the Ispancialo-in-Hinirang” ends the volume. I was prepared to be put off when I heard that this story made use of footnotes. I know it helped that the story is not as long as “Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell,” which footnotes I became very impatient with. Mr. Alfar’s writing, was, as usual, excellent and very readable. Loved the part when some heroes appeared which sort of equaled the good number of women appearing in this book

I have yet to read the appendices, just thought of posting these random notes. Browsing through these last pages gives one an idea why this took a year or so in the making. Kudos to editor and publisher Paolo Chikiamco of Rocket Kapre for putting this volume together. Congratulations, an excellent work indeed, well done! Having worked with him in “Ruin and Resolve,” this is the kind of editor who will stand alongside his author and dissect a story till it is in its possible best form. I was about to say “Alternative Alamat” should be studied in schools but DeptEd might say some of the text is PG, you know how they are. I’m not familiar with some of these tales, or maybe I just don’t remember them. Now I’d like to read the original stories.

As it has been repeatedly said, these gods and goddesses come in different forms across the islands. We have different names for them, we have our own stories about them. The trouble is there is not a single reference book for all these myths. You know them based on what your grandparents’/playmates’ stories. But not many would really be patient to read the nonfiction stuff/related literature. This anthology is probably the only one you’ll find today that brings back these stories to us and one that speaks to today’s society. Roll in volume 2

***

I regularly read stories and poems online, all of them are either just on the websites or PDF copies. I’ve had my Amazon account for years but it was only when I had bought Alternative Alamat that I had opened a Kindle (for my PC) account. I’d like to write about this experience as well, in relation to a post I recently read on PGS entitled “Tablets, e-readers closing book on ink-and-paper era.”

I am just for clicking and reading, that is, using all the basic icons. If I’m able to click on full screen and back, I’m okay. Even with these fancy readers, I don’t use the icons on the left hand side at all. Mike, my husband, is the tekkie type in our family, the kind who has nine terabytes of storage back in the garage of our old house. Our 14-month-old tends to turn toys upside down as though wanting to see how they work – these two must get it from Mike’s grandfather who repaired aircrafts during the war. I, on the other hand, panic when I see icons on my computer that shouldn’t be there. If I want to bookmark a page, I jot the number down, I press control + find if I’d like to find which page I had left off. My mobile phone which I hardly ever use was Mike’s first phone, a 11 or 12 year-old Nokia, my current computer was the one I had bought in Oslo in 2005, it used to be in Norwegian till Mike had changed the language into English. I use gadgets till the day they die, also explains why I live in an old house, oh you must get the picture now. What I’m trying to say is, as much as I am a sucker for impulse purchases after trying something, I didn’t find myself getting addicted to Kindle. I share the same sentiment as the others about Alternative Alamat, and that is, I hope there’s a physical copy. A hardback, even!

After all the tears, headache, heartbreak and suspense, it’s happened. We started looking for houses in May, found this period property, prepared all the requirements and had a survey done to the house. We planned to move in October but when dad died, it also meant we couldn’t touch Mike’s share in the old house till after probate. We had only 75 per cent of the funds ready.

We fell in love with this house. That kind of love when you walk into the entrance hall and think, now this is different. We knew from that moment it was what we wanted. This property simply had the character that swept us off our feet. We had to do something or the owners who were emigrating would let the house for another six months, worse, put it up again for sale. We decided to rent it ourselves till probate was sorted out, then we could buy it.

And two weeks ago, after two months of waiting, we completed the sale.

Our former house with my parents-in-law is a 6-bed with a huge garden, a very pretty house, different in the sense that it is very modern. We occupied most of upstairs. Mike even built me my own kitchen there. But with the sprog coming, and who knows another one, we thought it was time to move on.

I see no point in recalling all the details of the frustrating journey now that we finally came to this.

It’s here, a house with both our names on the deeds. Which means we are also skint, i.e., slaves of the bank for the next 25 years

Welcome, let me show you around!

GROUND FLOOR

Entrance hall: left photo is the door to the cloakroom/downstairs toilet. Right photo is the front door.

***Front room as it had been used by the previous owners.*** Currently, this is a mess as all the stuff from our old study are still in boxes. We'd like to use this room as a study, first of all to have a spare bedroom upstairs instead of using that as a study. Also, we thought (or rather, I THOUGHT), it would make a perfect library with the brick built fireplace with multi fuel burner in the room.

Our lounge (formerly used as a dining room) as we have furnished it so far. I've been trawling the internet for three years for that boat coffee table (in photo) and at last had found one that was shipped from Germany! The project for this room is to paint that red wall a lighter shade. Middle photo is our first Christmas tree in this house. Door leads to our kitchen/diner. Right photo shows french doors leading to the patio.

Cupboard/cloakroom under the stairs. It is much bigger in person than I could show in this photo. "I'd like to paint it," I told Mike. "And destroy the atmosphere?" He answered. He was right, the first time we saw this, we thought it really showed how old the house is. We could use it to keep the guests' coats. The only problem is, I could squeeze in only a couple of my own coats and it's full already.

***Left photo is the kitchen as it had been used by the previous owners, they had modernised it extensively*** Right photo is our kitchen, not much difference, except for the table. I think it's all right this way as it has a country kitchen feel to it. I know that the table might be too big for this kitchen but there is a reason behind that: this is the snooker table from the old house. In fact, it is the only furniture from the old house that I truly wanted. It was the parents' present for Mike on his 5th birthday as back then, he showed a natural talent for the sport. He was briefly trained by their neighbour who was a snooker world champion (the table itself was made by the champion's company). I just got over obsessing about this table as it's the first time that it sits in a kitchen and I was worried that the felt might be damaged. Underneath that PVC cloth is a plastic cover, a shower curtain and a table protector. I'll try to post more about this table some other time.

Hey, we serve Guinness in our kitchen and we have a snooker table, so come visit!

My favourite part of the house! The stable door! My little girl needs a pony. Or maybe a Great Dane?

(Let's go out to view the garden first shall we, before the rain starts to fall, you never know about this "glorious" British weather). Left: View of the garden from the kitchen. That's the sprog when she fell asleep after a walk. We didn't want to disturb her. Right: I'm not much of a gardener so I like this medium-sized garden which is on the side of the house. I thought it's better to have the garden on the side as when it's at the back, you will sometimes miss callers. The shed/garage will ultimately become the hubby's workshop once insulated. I have a house, he has a garage. Everybody happy.

FIRST FLOOR

A good-sized master bedroom. This is probably one of the few rooms in houses we had viewed where our super king size bed easily fits.

***Spare bedroom as it had been used by the previous owners.*** Right now I use this for my sewing, a place for the sprog's old stuff, currently just a dumping ground for anything really. Like I said I would want it to be vacant for a) when my mother comes over b) when another little person comes along?

I blogged about the bathroom recently here.

Probably the best part of the house. Pretty neat. The hubby guesses (and judging from the size) this was originally the third bedroom, as baths/toilets in very old houses were usually on the ground floor. Still, the house is considered a 3-bed house because of the converted loft/attic, which is the sprog's room (lucky girl!), pictured below.

SECOND FLOOR /ATTIC

She's got the best room in the house, as if she were Anne Shirley up in the attic, with all its exposed original beams. We've been teased that we're spoiling her this early. She absolutely loves this room.

Just pics of these two without whom nothing else matters Thank you <3 <3 <3

I’m very excited about putting our stamp on this house. I must admit that I fell in love with the cottage of Kate Winslet’s character in the film “The Holiday” and I’d draw inspiration from that although the ceilings in this house are too tall for that cottage feel, I think. The 1830s cottage we had looked at in rural Bath had the same look, but it needed a lot of work.

I just remembered that back in the Philippines, I have one of those three-dimensional Victorian dolls house books. I’ve always loved things Victorian.

Now I’m thinking of floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, stair runners and treasure chests.

http://cdocity.com/

http://www.redcross.org.ph/donatenow

***

Just copying Sungazer‘s entire post. Please help!!!

donate to help the victims of tropical storm sendong.

The death toll from the flash floods on Sunday rose to at least 711 in Mindanao. Hundreds remained missing.

The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) said it was a combination of factors that led to the tragedy.

“It’s unusual for Mindanao; a month’s worth of rainfall fell in only a few hours; people were already asleep; the storm hit pineapple plantations that don’t absorb water; it was high tide and waterways were heavily silted. It was unprecedented and overwhelming,” said PRC secretary general Gwendolyn Pang.

In Cagayan de Oro, the bodies, many bloated and bluish and frozen in grotesque poses, continued to pile up in funeral homes. Senior Supt. Gerardo Rosales, city police chief, said 474 bodies had been recovered. A total of 482 persons remained missing.

Officials said 214 died in Iligan, 15 in Bukidnon, five in Compostela Valley and three in Zamboanga del Norte.

The government and the Red Cross appealed for help to feed, clothe and house more than 35,000 people huddled in evacuation centers as soldiers battled to recover bodies.

Source.

Click to donate! I used Paypal. Safe, fast and secure.

According to the Iligan Bloggers, the Paypal Donation ID for Iligan is singcol.inquisitor@gmail.com.

For Cagayan de Oro, send to francis.siason@gmail.com through the Cagayan De Oro Bloggers. “Proceeds will be donated and delivered to Xavier University Cagayan de Oro where the members of CDOBloggers are planning to volunteer. Thank you and God Bless.”

Click here and here for other donation details.”

These are a few of my on-and-off sewing activities since July.

Got tired of this dress so transformed it into a wrap.

A pick up skirt / added lace to my cardigan.

This one's my favourite. Another pick up skirt!

Photo of the sprog's reading/play area – I count five new cushions, covers made from fabric, old and new. Stuffing from old pillows.

Her cot bumpers initially covered just a quarter of her cot. From Mike's old duvet and duvet cover, I made two bumpers to cover the entire cot (she loves Winnie the Pooh).

Still from Mike's old duvet and this nautical-themed fabric I had bought two years ago – the results are a patchwork cushion, coasters, and one to hold the teapot if you like Matches the boat coffee table.

A denim bag.

And of course, this dress that I had posted about here.

Hmmm, let's see…what do I do with this mix of cotton, lace and crochet?

I made this dress! (I'll post more about sewing soon).

Even the taps bring us back through time

THINKING ATWOOD. The book ends where the toilet roll begins.

At Waterstones the other day, I couldn't resist these two paperblanks editions of embellished manuscripts. I was good, though. I chose the pocket ones so I could have two: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Could you guess why this hardbound copy of “A Dance with Dragons” had been reduced form £25 to £4.99?

It doesn't have the name of the author. No, actually, George R. R. Martin's name has been erroneously printed over the text on the back cover. The spine is all messed up, too. The hubby likes it. I like it, too. Like an error in stamps.

The wreath I made using a ship's wheel

“Our holiday fundraising drive is also now in effect!  Expanded Horizons wants to take the next step in publishing and go “semi-pro”! If everyone who read our magazine gave $5, we would have enough money to cover all of next year’s expenses, and to increase the pay rate for our contributors. If everyone gave $10, we could go semi-pro for all stories.

Please show your support of diverse speculative fiction this holiday season and help us take that step.  If you’ve been reading us all year and enjoy what we publish, please show your appreciation by contributing to our sustainability.

Thank you!”

Please, please, please help this little magazine reach this goal by donating and spreading the word.

***

…over at Rocket Kapre  is an equally exciting news. “Alternative Alamat” is going to be released at last! Editor Paolo Chikiamco posted an entry about the cover (on the right – it literally took my breath away), release date and story introductions recently. He’s also doing a series of interviews with the contributors. As far as I know, this anthology of stories inspired by Philippine Mythology is the first of its kind. Paolo gathered a strong lineup of authors in one volume (that you end up wishing you’d also be included, sigh!). So looking forward to this. Alternative Alamat will be released on Amazon.com, Flipreads.com, and the iTunes store on December 14th, 2011. Save the date everyone!

I bought a small shopping bag so I could also use it as an everyday bag. Why not? It's unique. I got a small (calamansi) lunchbox for the sprog, one of my Christmas presents for her, shhh. The print says "Contains Natural Philippine Lemon Extract."

I’ve discovered Doy Bags sometime ago whilst looking for a “bayong” (Filipino market bag). I was hesitant to buy from them at first. The colours and the plastic didn’t quite attract me. I wasn’t looking for a chic handbag. I was happy as long as it was the bayong I knew, as it was traditionally made. Anyhow, I’m glad I gave Doy Bags a try. I am really happy with my purchase. Not only did I get a bayong but I also bought from a company that’s concerned about the environment and that employs women from disadvantaged backgrounds.

“Are they Cath Kidston?” The hubby asked when I showed the items to him. He’s a bloke so he’s forgiven and wouldn’t distinguish a Birkin from an H&M bag, but then I agree that these colours do evoke Cath Kidston.

... at St Audries Park, one of Britain's premiere wedding venues (I got this photo from the website).

Last week we attended the wedding of one of the hubby’s colleagues, a nice bloke (the type who climbed Mt. Everest for charity – seriously!). Breathtaking venue, fantastic food, lovely people. I loved the harpist most especially

The Lord Babbage suite where we stayed for the night.

The view from our suite. I read in the brochure that when the house was built hundreds of years ago, they had to move the village to where it is now so it wouldn't ruin the view!!!

The Victorian Orangery where the wedding took place.

The next day we went to see what we could do train-wise. We drove by Minehead Station. Unfortunately, there were no trains running that day.

Pauwi sa amin. The long black coat, baby in one hand, the bayong (Filipino market bag) on the ground. Yes, I have a bayong now! Will write about it in another post

We drove by Watchet.

I've never been to Watchet before but I know it from the geology course books at the department. Now I could see why the students go to field trips here.

Family Christmas hamper from Fortnum & Mason, one of those things we'd rather not buy. In this case, free stuff are usually favourites

All these goodies and all I’m thinking is it’ll be nice to use the hamper and the tins as containers for my sewing materials.

When I hear of Fortnum & Mason, I remember the hubby’s story of a guy he knows who went to the store. All the guy wanted was to make spaghetti bolognese for his girlfriend. In front of him was this expensive selection of meat. He asked for some minced meat and the butcher asked him back, “is it for the dog, sir?”

Someday I’ll go to Fortnum & Mason carrying my bayong (Filipino market bag) and ask for minced meat and I’ll have an answer ready for the butcher.