The Adventures of Abby

Before my list, let me just declare that I am a huge Hunger Games fan. I finished reading the series in August 2011, and I finished book 3 in 7 hours. I just couldn’t put the books down as soon as I hit chapter 3 of the first book.

I begin with that because if you’re reading this for the purpose of being educated in the novels, I highly recommend that you go ahead and purchase them (or borrow them, if you’re so fortunate) because I can almost guarantee that you will find them worth the money and more. If you’re not big on fiction or just don’t have the time for it, then this list is for you.

Either way, there’s far too much content in book 1 to cram into 2.5 hours, so you may find that some things make more sense after reading what you may have missed:

• The Hunger Games are all about control. Though the Hunger Games began as a result of a past rebellion referred to in the film, it’s not so much about punishment as it is about control. The idea is: Remember that we are in control, we can take your children while you watch helplessly. You are at our mercy. (more…)

My host (and in turn my website) got hacked, and it took a while to restore my blog with all the database and domain confusion I had to go through. Okay, okay, so most of my hiatus was my own fault. I’ve been busy as usual, and to those who don’t know yet, I’m out of Hong Kong and currently in beautiful British Columbia, Canada.

View from Mt. Seymour, overlooking Vancouver, BC.

And I love it here. It’s a beautiful place and I have quite a few old and new friends here, too. But why am I here exactly? Well, I have two reasons: first, to be with my boyfriend who moved back to BC (d’awww?). Second, to get some formal education in Marketing and PR from a fairly well-known institution. Yup, that’s right. It’s been five years since I graduated from University, but I’m back in school and having… well, let’s just say it’s been a familiar challenge.

After two and a half months of being here, I think I’m pretty settled in and pretty used to the place. I have a ton of stories, but I’ll save those for future updates. Until then!

The expats, exchange students, interns and locals who love to party, love to party on October 31st. Those who don’t, go anyway. It’s a chance to stand out in a city where crowds are the norm and an excuse to wear self-indulgent outfits with no shame or abashment. If none of the above, at least a chance to see a parade of bizarre, occasionally unsightly costumes where people are normally so fashion-conscious.

Two places to mention: Lan Kwai Fong and Wan Chai, both in Hong Kong island. No, this is not the off-the-beaten-path guide to Hong Kong’s Halloween, if that can even exist. (more…)

Another unintentional hiatus by me. Way to go, Abby. Update coming soon hopefully, let’s try to get back on track.

Ever since college, I dreamed of living in an apartment in the city. It was exciting to me, the thought of having to take an elevator to and from home, getting fast food because it’s convenient, and looking out the window at night to see the lights.

I grew up in a small town in Manila — simple, quiet and generally slow. Sundays were always lazy, there was nothing but trees to block your view of the sky, nights were dark and buzzing with the sound of cicadas. We were always in the suburbs, and it was lovely.

But I suppose I got my wish. Hong Kong, especially the places where I’ve lived, is the definition of a busy city. Sunday is probably the busiest day of the week, the average view is more building than sky, and nights are filled with the sound of construction, party music, or the army of vehicles driving by right in front of your apartment.

Don’t get me wrong, I still love the city, but I realized why I liked it so much. It wasn’t about comfort or convenience per se. It’s about what it symbolized for me — independence, a faster lifestyle that hopefully meant I was taking charge of my life and career. Was it all in my head?

I still love the city, but oh do I miss the suburbs. Like they say, you don’t know what you have till it’s gone.

It was just like any other day, except that I was a bit nauseous. Little did I know that that Friday morning, May the 13th, was to be the start of over 3 painful weeks ahead. Superstition aside, of course.

This was how much medicine I had to take. And this isn’t even all of it:

Two things I’ve learned about doctors in Hong Kong: One, they don’t normally give you enough medicine for a full course of treatment, just enough so you have to go back for more (I hear it’s so they make more money, but I dunno!). Two, as you can see from the picture, they give a lot of medicine here. Each visit, I was given 4-5 different types!

So what exactly did I have? (more…)

First, let me say again for the record that I’m a Bible-believing Christian. But like most Christians, I didn’t believe in the May 21, 2011 rapture according to Harold Camping. I say that with no joy or hint of mockery to Camping’s followers.

People quit their jobs, dropped out of school, used up all their life savings for this belief. Over US$3 million were reportedly spent by those who believed on spreading the message about the rapture. But before you call them ‘idiots’, let’s think about that info for a minute.

When people heard of the prediction, I imagine that there were 3 major reactions: Acceptance, curosity (which may lead to one of the other two), or rejection. Considering their actions, the people who accepted it obviously had their reasons for doing so, or they wouldn’t have risked it all like that. I never followed Family Radio, but after doing some research it does look like Camping made some very strong arguments.

Those who were curious most likely did their homework and eventually decided whether to accept or reject it, either that or they just decided not to care. We who rejected it also have our many different reasons — some educated, some not. But what we have in common is that we all made a stand, we picked a side.

My point is, we all have our beliefs. Whether it’s about rapture, doomsday or what brand of ketchup is best, we all make our choice based on what makes sense to us. This isn’t to say that I think all beliefs are correct (this is just not possible), but my point is, I don’t think anyone should be ridiculed for their beliefs. This world isn’t simply divided into ‘smart’ and ‘stupid’.

Now that the prediction has failed, I think we should just move on. No gloating, no mocking, especially since some people lost so much over it.

If you ask me what I believe in, it’s that no one knows when the end is. But no one knows when their death will come either, so either way, I think we should all have a stand on afterlife, and a reason to truly, truly believe it. If we don’t, it’s time to start looking.