Warm Bodies

A zombie who yearns for a better life ends up falling in love—with a human—in this astonishingly original debut novel.

R is a zombie. He has no memories, no identity, and no pulse, but he has dreams. He doesn’t enjoy killing people; he enjoys riding escalators and listening to Frank Sinatra. He is a little different from his fellow Dead.

Not just another zombie novel, Warm Bodies is funny, scary, and deeply moving.

I first heard about Warm Bodies the book while browsing through zombie literature in Goodreads. I remember adding it to my To-Read list because the plot seemed new and very original hehe. I never got the chance and I never bothered to look for the it since it got drowned by my other, more prominent, book cravings.

So I was quite excited when news that it'd be turned into a movie were spread. I got even more excited when I found out Nick Hoult would play the lead hihihi. But then I got submerged in school activities and responsibilities that I missed the first weeks of its premiere here in the Philippines.

But alas, after our failed attempt to watch it yesterday since it was late already, my sister and I rushed to the mall right after lunch and finally got to see Warm Bodies wee. 

WARM BODIES IS AN AMAZING MOVIE HUHU. It made me love zombies even more, if that's possible. I liked their take on what can cure and stop the apocalypse which is love and human interaction. It might be a bit cheesy but the message is so strong and it can be applied even in circumstances that don't involve flesh-eating creatures. It was so nice!!! The acting was so good too. Nick Hoult and his best friend were so adorable and I liked his internal monologues hehe. It was so funny too whenever he'd run and still stay in character, he looked like a very tall and very lanky rag doll. The way the story was woven and was fit in a span of 98 minutes was amazing. Huhu I can't even organize my thoughts properly since my brain keeps on repeating 'it was so nice it was so nice it was so nice it was so nice it was so nice'. 

But while watching, I kept thinking that if an actual zombie outbreak were to take place and a lot of people have seen this film and it turns out the real cure is not affection........we'd have a huge problem on our hands hehehehe. 

Over all, the movie was great and it's now a favorite of mine. It really was love at first bite hehe. My funny bone was tickled, I felt the tension and I was moved by the ending. We should have more zombie movies like Warm Bodies :D

Warm Bodies on IMDB

ZOMBIE ATTACK CAUGHT ON TAPE!

This week has had me up late at night working on requirements and stuff and to accompany me during my sleepless nights, I turn to the miraculous and very amazing website that is youtube. I go from watching covers, music videos to trailers to getting lost in the weird side of youtube and back to covers. I promise to make a separate youtube-appreciating post in the near future. I'm gonna embed the crap out of those videos that really entertained me but in the meanwhile, I will show you this little gem of a video that I unearthed just 30 minutes ago. 

WATCH IT WATCH IT WATCH IT WATCH IT WATCH IT WATCH IT WATCH IT WATCH IT 

Two things came to mind and one is that the guy wearing the green hat is. So. Me. The other day during a rehearsal for prom, Twinkle and I were talking about a hypothetical zombie apocalypse in Masci and we were surveying people and ourselves whether or not we'd survive and I said that I probably won't since at first I'd fangirl over the zombies too much and before I'd know it, I'd be bitten already hehehehe. 

Second thing that popped into my head while watching is that if I were to be a zombie, I pray to God that I don't end up as one of the naked zombies. Please lang hahaha!! As a zombie, I'd do a lot of running and other activities that would seriously ruin the poise that I am currently running low on hehe so imagine anyone actually as a feverishly rampaging zombie in his/her birthday suit HAHAHA.

Anyhoo, that's it for the mean time hehe. February is turning out to be a real pain in the heiny but a very good pain at that hehe. It has proven to be the hardest and most tiring month for me ever but it has been the best too so far. I imagine February as a scrapbook that I've been slaving on and I can't wait to have it done already so I could close the scrapbook and just open it up whenever I'd feel nostalgic and have nice things or memories to look at hehe. 

Gab's Birthday Giveaway: The Verdict

My first ever giveaway was launched on my birthday, last December 16. I really took the time scouting for really neat things that even I had the urge to just keep them all here in my house and just forget the notion of having a giveaway. But alas, I battled it out with my greed (imagine me now on the edge of a cliff while the wind is gorgeously running through my hair with my ever trusty strings quartet behind doing their thang) and won hence, Gab's Birthday Giveaway or #gbg was conceived!

I didn't go with the usual giveaway flow of asking people to follow me and such since I really wanted to get to know my readers more and to...interact I guess hehe. So I just dropped the question and let your creative minds do the rest hihi.

With only 45 letters to work with, here are some of the answers that really caught my eye besides the pantyhose answer and the mind-boggling Jessa Zaragoza one HAHA.

Diana's answer really killed me. Seriously, it slayed something inside me. Bludgeoned that something, even. Reduced it to pulp, perhaps. Her answer just caught me so much by surprise and it was so right that it almost brought me to tears................hehe that was too dramatic but for realsies, I absolutely loved her answer.

I really don't know how but I liked it HAHAHA.

"I'd use a condom to survive a zombie apocalypse

cause condoms are so elastic and durable and they don't tear easily

so i'd wear a condom all over my body

to protect me from zombies"

-Nona's wise words

NONA'S ANSWER. I don't need to explain why her poetic reasoning really had me thinking.

AND THE WINNER IS...

Matthew/FaFaMatthew/@matthewIdiot who garnered 84 retweets! 

Congratulations to you and to everyone who joined, even to those who didn't but surely know how to survive a zombie apocalypse and to everyone since we lived through 2012!! Thanks everyone for just making this a success and for all the support you've given to this blog huhuhiheiheoheoehoeho (hihi getting sentimental hihihihihihi).

Nothing beats Plants VS. Zombies

Here's to life and to more giveaways in the future!!!! ;) 

Gab's Birthday Giveaway!

I first thought of having a giveaway on the day our report cards were released way back in the first quarter. I wanted to base the giveaway on my rank or whatever but then there were complications and so the ranking was not given huhu. Last quarter's cards out however brought good news and extreme joy hehe. So I'm having this giveaway 1) because I'm really happy with my academics 2) it's my birthday and I love birthdays and you guys ought to be happy too 3) it's Christmas and people should get gifts hehehe!!!! 

Babydolls, here are the prizes up for Gabs!! Woops I meant grabs................these really came from the heart hihi.

Trivial Pursuit Board Game

This 25th year edition of Trivial Pursuit is such a steal. Just like Superman joke HAHA. I used to have a weird obsession with board games when I was younger. I was exposed to Monopoly and such and I knew they're a bit pricey so when I discovered the cheap, often Disney themed board games that were sale for only P70 pesos so I'd buy myself a box whenever we'd visit my haven, National Bookstore. 

Mummy Model/Puzzle

This Universal Studios model of a mummy shows my love for monsters and puzzles hehehe. I don't know when it started but I am in love with monsters and mythical creatures that's why this is so perfect hihi it stands 8 inches tall and is well a mummy!!

Canson Watercolor Pad, 200gsm 

200gsm woopie!! It means the paper is thick. I love thick papers hehe they're my best friends whenever I'd paint. Oh and yadda yadda yadda this is included here since I love art.

Lisa Frank Sticker Album + Stickers

 I was deprived of Lisa Frank stuff when I was a kid since the li'il bastards were pricey huhuhu!! That's why now that I know how to save money and all that jazz, I invest on me Lisa Frank goodies hihi. So if you too were deprived, this is for you!!!!!! 

Prang Watercolor Pan

This would go well with the Canson Watercolor Pad hihi! I used to stay away from Prang but then I tried it out and our irreconcilable differences proved to be reconcilable and that's why I like Prang now hehehe.

Gab from Russet Accessories

I AM GIVING AWAY MYSELF HEHEHEHE!! Sorry that cracks me up every time hehe. You get the Gab set from my sister's shop, Russet Accessories! This was named after me since I've expressed how much I love it. It's like a mouth with an eye inside for me. The white ones are the teeth with the gold fillings, the pink looks like a gum line or an isaw and well the eye is the eye hehe.

"Please try to win us!" -the prizes

You can have all of them by following these steps: 

1) Follow me on twitter! 

2) Tweet this with your most creative answer: "I'd use a ___ to survive a zombie apocalypse. || Details at:  http://gabmesina.blogspot.com/2012/12/gbg.html @gabmesina #gbg"

3) Ask your friends to retweet your tweet for the tweet with the highest number of retweets will be deemed the winner! (Now that's what you call an oral work out!!)

4) Leave a comment in this entry stating the following,

Name:

Age:

Link to your tweet:

*The most creative answers will be painted by me in a series and it'll be so cute and you'll be credited and yay.

*Make sure your tweet could be seen publicly :)

*Open to Philippine readers only, sorry :(

*Giveaway will run for 2 weeks. Winner will be announced on New Year's Eve!!

And lastly, may the odds be ever in your favor.......chawrought. 

Reasons Why I'm Home Because a Wise Person Once Told Me 'If You Ain't Got No Money, Take Your Broke Ass..........Home': #1 Zombie Tarot Cards

I have come up with my Christmas/Birthday wish list which is highly likely to remain just a 'wish' list but anyhoo you might be reading this and have no clue on what to get yourself this Christmas or you might have a friend or a lover that is into what I'm into and you can get ideas from me yay or you might be a prince/princess/queen/king from a faraway land and you want me to be your right hand man and you're looking for things to bribe me with. Whatever the case may be, I'll be posting til the end of November...so here is #1 from my List of Reasons Why I'm Home Because a Wise Person Once Told Me 'If You Ain't Got No Money, Take Your Broke Ass..........Home'.

THE ZOMBIE TAROT CARD SET!!!!!!!!!!

I really really really really really am dying to get my hands on this beautiful beautiful creation of Paul Kepple and Stacey Graham. Here are the reasons why I want this so badly: 1) it's a given fact that I love zombies 2) I have a strange fixation on trading cards 3) things that come in pretty boxes especially matte boxes are alluring to me and 4) IT'S A ZOMBIE TAROT CARD SET!!!

Here's an excerpt on how the cards are described in the manual that it comes with: 

Card #1 The Knight of Cups: Romantic*Adventure*Moody - He's the one with the ready smile and a surfboard underneath his arm. A natural charmer, the Knight of Cups is always ready to schmooze-and always keeps one eye on the exit. He can be fun to have around, but his mood will change like the surf, and he's often likely to steal more than a kiss. Watch your heart, literally.

Those are just some of the cards inside heehee. From the reviews I've read, the box is felt-lined and oh so pretty hihi!! And the author keeps on emphasizing that instead of going for the usual gory bloody theme that comes with zombies, they opted to go for a vintage housewives-ish feel to it. All I gotta say is besides being so darn pretty this deck seems like the real deal wee so nice.

Zombie Tarot on Amazon

Outbreak Manila: Enchanted Kingdom

Last October 31, 2012 Asia had its first ever zombie run inside an amusement park. I don't know how much I've said this before but I really love zombies so when we first saw the teaser trailer for Outbreak Manila: Enchanted Kingdom, Zombieland came to my mind and I almost creamed my pants in delight. 

To prepare for this run which was held on halloween hehe, Twinkle and I evolved from our MMDA selves, went back through time and becometh people from the olden times. More specifically, the medieval period which we just took up in school last quarter hehe. We planned on going as the Powerpuff girls and the Professor but we lacked time in buying a decent PPG costume so we decided to just forget the whole theme thing and buy costumes on our own. 

But something happened, while I was browsing through the halloween costumes on sale, I came across a ton of nice costumes for only 500 pesos each! Long story short, I got the medieval velvet taray gown for Twinkle and this black witch dress thingy for myself. When I got home tho, I remembered that I had a sort of medieval looking dress in my closet so the idea of going as a medieval set was hatched. I returned my costume and in return got this set on sale. I can't really describe it since it looks like a cross between a female version of Christian Grey and an executioner and a gladiator and a medieval butcher. But the description in the bag thing says that it's a Scorpion Vixen so... let's stick with medieval executioner instead HAHA. 

The day of the run, we hung out at Twinkle's place, watched The Walking Dead's 3rd episode and hung out at high street. After walking around and stuff we went back to Twinkle's and dressed up wee. 

Twinkle m'lady, Bea the court jester, Nath the pirate who looks like a prince and me yay

Awesome live art!

I was expecting that a lot of people would be in costume since it IS halloween but although the number of people in costume was higher than in BGC, it still quite wasn't enough for me hehe.

At first I was expecting the run to be as easy as the one in BGC but maaaaan was I wrong! We died instantly when we came to the super infested plaza part. I swear it's like an endless wall of red-flag-hungry zombies huhu.

Pretty pretty

Since we were already dead, we just took our time and had fun hehe. Especially with the gorilla below. He's now my best friend hihi. We felt super duper giddy whenever random zombies would growl and compliment us on our costumes hahaha and in return we'd compliment the other pretty zombies as well hehe.

Super cool Sparta guy

The start.......................................of..........something........new......................?

Schmiderman schmiderman

After we crossed the finish line, we were approached by a few officials saying that we were eligible to win best in costume! They then took down our names, our costume description and took pictures of us. We were also told that the announcement would be at 10:30 pm, seeing that 10:30 was not that far away, we hung out for a while and roamed around a bit. We got sidetracked by the games and Nath tried to win prizes but alas we failed HAHA. After playing, we headed over to the huge tent and waited for the announcement. When the Sparta guy from our wave was announced we seriously thought we wouldn't have a chance then so we were quite disheartened but then another announcement came on and..............WE WON!! WEEEEEEEEEEE!! We got on stage and maaaaan did it feel good hihihi. 

I reallllllllllllly had a great time. That day was one for the books, I must say. I serrrrrrrrriouuuuuuuuuuusly can't wait for the next outbreak here in Manila!!!!!!

P.S. We used expired kodak disposable cameras that we bought for only 2 for P500 and I am so so so so so pleased with how they turned out hihi. Will definitely do this again next time!

C-A-L-V-I-N

When the whole zombie Calvin plan was hatched, I instantly wanted to make a banner for Calvin out of body parts hehe. I turned to my knowledge that I got from numerous Art Attack episodes with Neil Buchanan still the host. 

For the brain, I just filled a plastic bag with papers and taped the sides so it could look rounded. Then I proceeded to tape a ton of wiggly stuff so it'd look all brain-y

Finally had a reason to buy them pricey paint tubes that are always behind glass cases. Teaaaaars (of joy and extreme giddiness) 

An ear for the letter C

This was how my desk looked for the entire week hehe

The amazing toy hand hehe

I hope I can make something as realistic as this in the future huhu

This too

Far from being finished!

 I originally planned on making a segmented intestine for the letter V but my sister told me it just looked like a pea pod or something so I started over and made an isaw-y intestine instead.

Crrrrrrrrrrrreamy

Almost thereeeeeeeee

Some quality time with the toy hand hehe