At last!
The rest of my Association Meme answers :D
Association Meme: Comment to this post and I will give you 5 subjects/things I associate you with. Then post this in your LJ and elaborate on the subjects given.
From ashavah:
1. Hufflepuff
As I said in my answers to Shelle's 5 things, I love feelgood movies wherein the underdogs prove their true worth. I had hoped that JKR would Sort Harry into Hufflepuff House and make PS/SS (and, I guess, the entire series) a feelgood story for Hufflepuff because everyone seemed to look down on them. I'm still disappointed that she didn't, but it's good that she nevertheless showed that Hufflepuffs weren't all boring plodders or perky "everybody's friend" types. I'm sure there was something special about Cedric Diggory that got him selected for the Tri-Wizard Tournament, and Zacharias Smith certainly wasn't friendly at all. My favorite Hufflepuff, however, has got to be Professor Sprout. (I don't know if she was a Hufflepuff during her school days, but she's Head of House and that counts!) Her prompt pledge of support during the Battle of Hogwarts in DH still makes me so proud to be a self-proclaimed Hufflepuff!
2. Basketball
I think football/soccer is reportedly the most popular sport in the world, but in the Philippines, basketball is king. It's odd when you consider that Filipinos are generally on the short side, but the popularity of the sport comes from when the Americans colonized the Philippines and promoted baseball and basketball through the education system. (American Jesuits still play a huge part in Ateneo basketball lore.) As a spectator, I like the acrobatics that can sometimes be involved and how a game can be won or lost in a blink of an eye - it's relatively easy to score points compared to other sports and that helps make things exciting. I also enjoy being part of a noisy, supportive group of fans - cheering along with a crowd of 11,000+ is a pretty powerful experience!
3. OCs
Sometimes you can't rely on The Author and his/her canon characters to get things done the way you want them, so you need to send in an OC to do the job. :-p
I have to say I'm a bit befuddled by the general attitude that OCs are very hard to write well - even though my own have been mentioned occasionally as examples of good ones, I can exclude them and still have a nice list of well-written OCs that I've encountered in my reading of fanfic. Maybe that's due to the quality of the fanfic that I've read - I guess I've been pretty selective, and so has the Quill (thank goodness).
On the subject of my own OCs, in hindsight I think I would have been able to change Hex's background and remove more of the Mary Sue-ish elements thereof, but that just didn't occur to me when I first created him, and he's taken on a life of his own in the years that followed so I guess I should just fuhgeddaboudit!
4. Roleplaying
Already answered here, under "RPing." :)
5. Philippines
The place isn't perfect, but it's home and there are lots of things about the country and its people in which I take a lot of pride. I'm proud of the diversity of the land - we have beautiful beaches and mountains, and many unique species of plants and animals. I'm proud that Filipino culture is an interesting mix of Eastern and Western influences, but also of the fact that elements that are uniquely ours still manage to shine through in our languages, values and art. I'm proud of the spirit of the Filipino people - I don't know if it's still true that we're one of the happiest people in the world and can still laugh in the face of hardship, but if we can't do that, then we certainly know how to carry on and do what's necessary to survive in tough times. Heck, I'm even proud of the crazy things that happen in the Philippines from time to time - only in the Philippines can you have earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, killer typhoons and flash floods all in one calendar year, accompanied by (allegedly) pregnant men, women who give birth to fish, jellyfish causing a massive blackout and the father of God running for President!
From in_the_blue:
1. Hex (or Hex and Maeve, if you prefer)
Already answered here, under "Hex Holmstrom." :)
2. Basketball
Already answered in my 5 things for JK, above :)
3. Ateneo
Some cool things about going to the Ateneo for college: the campus was beautiful, an open, airy and welcome change from my tiny grade/high school in the middle of Manila. There were boys, another welcome change from my all-girls grade/high school :-p Being a Jesuit university, I had pretty rigorous theology courses as part of the core curriculum for all Ateneo college students. I can't remember much of it anymore, LOL, but I practically have a minor in Theology. I also practically have a minor in Philosophy, again thanks to the core curriculum. So besides learning more about my major field of interest, I also picked up some interesting lessons from Socrates (as written by Plato), St. Thomas Aquinas and Hannah Arendt. (Most, if not all, of the quotations that began the chapters of SLABC in the Quill were from my old Philosophy readings!) I think it was also interesting to be a woman attending what used to be an all-male university and being privy to the history and little traditions that arose during the school's 150-year history.
(Notice I didn't say a thing about basketball, LOL!)
4. clothes shopping
I love clothes and I love shopping, but I've noticed that I hardly ever buy clothes because I go usually shopping alone. I believe I have a fairly good idea of what would look good on me so I have bought some nice things on my own, but most of the time I feel it's good to have validation from someone else who would actually have to see me in the clothes I'm buying. I used to go shopping with my mom, but think it's probably better to do so with someone younger (at least when you want to buy more trendy clothing). I don't doubt my mom's taste, but she seems to prefer "safe" options and that's not really what you want when you want to break out of your style rut and try a new look!
5. boys at parties
LOL! I have no idea what to say about this one. I go to parties and there are boys at those parties, and I'm still finding it hard to talk to the ones that I like. What do you say that will capture his interest and get him thinking of you In That Way? Now that I've written that down, I realize that it could be anything and I should stop over-thinking these things and just relax and be friendly. I told myself after my first party that I need to do that, but there are times when I forget and cling too much to my comfort zone. I need to stop doing that - but at the same time be careful and watch out for myself :)
Association Meme: Comment to this post and I will give you 5 subjects/things I associate you with. Then post this in your LJ and elaborate on the subjects given.
From ashavah:
1. Hufflepuff
As I said in my answers to Shelle's 5 things, I love feelgood movies wherein the underdogs prove their true worth. I had hoped that JKR would Sort Harry into Hufflepuff House and make PS/SS (and, I guess, the entire series) a feelgood story for Hufflepuff because everyone seemed to look down on them. I'm still disappointed that she didn't, but it's good that she nevertheless showed that Hufflepuffs weren't all boring plodders or perky "everybody's friend" types. I'm sure there was something special about Cedric Diggory that got him selected for the Tri-Wizard Tournament, and Zacharias Smith certainly wasn't friendly at all. My favorite Hufflepuff, however, has got to be Professor Sprout. (I don't know if she was a Hufflepuff during her school days, but she's Head of House and that counts!) Her prompt pledge of support during the Battle of Hogwarts in DH still makes me so proud to be a self-proclaimed Hufflepuff!
2. Basketball
I think football/soccer is reportedly the most popular sport in the world, but in the Philippines, basketball is king. It's odd when you consider that Filipinos are generally on the short side, but the popularity of the sport comes from when the Americans colonized the Philippines and promoted baseball and basketball through the education system. (American Jesuits still play a huge part in Ateneo basketball lore.) As a spectator, I like the acrobatics that can sometimes be involved and how a game can be won or lost in a blink of an eye - it's relatively easy to score points compared to other sports and that helps make things exciting. I also enjoy being part of a noisy, supportive group of fans - cheering along with a crowd of 11,000+ is a pretty powerful experience!
3. OCs
Sometimes you can't rely on The Author and his/her canon characters to get things done the way you want them, so you need to send in an OC to do the job. :-p
I have to say I'm a bit befuddled by the general attitude that OCs are very hard to write well - even though my own have been mentioned occasionally as examples of good ones, I can exclude them and still have a nice list of well-written OCs that I've encountered in my reading of fanfic. Maybe that's due to the quality of the fanfic that I've read - I guess I've been pretty selective, and so has the Quill (thank goodness).
On the subject of my own OCs, in hindsight I think I would have been able to change Hex's background and remove more of the Mary Sue-ish elements thereof, but that just didn't occur to me when I first created him, and he's taken on a life of his own in the years that followed so I guess I should just fuhgeddaboudit!
4. Roleplaying
Already answered here, under "RPing." :)
5. Philippines
The place isn't perfect, but it's home and there are lots of things about the country and its people in which I take a lot of pride. I'm proud of the diversity of the land - we have beautiful beaches and mountains, and many unique species of plants and animals. I'm proud that Filipino culture is an interesting mix of Eastern and Western influences, but also of the fact that elements that are uniquely ours still manage to shine through in our languages, values and art. I'm proud of the spirit of the Filipino people - I don't know if it's still true that we're one of the happiest people in the world and can still laugh in the face of hardship, but if we can't do that, then we certainly know how to carry on and do what's necessary to survive in tough times. Heck, I'm even proud of the crazy things that happen in the Philippines from time to time - only in the Philippines can you have earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, killer typhoons and flash floods all in one calendar year, accompanied by (allegedly) pregnant men, women who give birth to fish, jellyfish causing a massive blackout and the father of God running for President!
From in_the_blue:
1. Hex (or Hex and Maeve, if you prefer)
Already answered here, under "Hex Holmstrom." :)
2. Basketball
Already answered in my 5 things for JK, above :)
3. Ateneo
Some cool things about going to the Ateneo for college: the campus was beautiful, an open, airy and welcome change from my tiny grade/high school in the middle of Manila. There were boys, another welcome change from my all-girls grade/high school :-p Being a Jesuit university, I had pretty rigorous theology courses as part of the core curriculum for all Ateneo college students. I can't remember much of it anymore, LOL, but I practically have a minor in Theology. I also practically have a minor in Philosophy, again thanks to the core curriculum. So besides learning more about my major field of interest, I also picked up some interesting lessons from Socrates (as written by Plato), St. Thomas Aquinas and Hannah Arendt. (Most, if not all, of the quotations that began the chapters of SLABC in the Quill were from my old Philosophy readings!) I think it was also interesting to be a woman attending what used to be an all-male university and being privy to the history and little traditions that arose during the school's 150-year history.
(Notice I didn't say a thing about basketball, LOL!)
4. clothes shopping
I love clothes and I love shopping, but I've noticed that I hardly ever buy clothes because I go usually shopping alone. I believe I have a fairly good idea of what would look good on me so I have bought some nice things on my own, but most of the time I feel it's good to have validation from someone else who would actually have to see me in the clothes I'm buying. I used to go shopping with my mom, but think it's probably better to do so with someone younger (at least when you want to buy more trendy clothing). I don't doubt my mom's taste, but she seems to prefer "safe" options and that's not really what you want when you want to break out of your style rut and try a new look!
5. boys at parties
LOL! I have no idea what to say about this one. I go to parties and there are boys at those parties, and I'm still finding it hard to talk to the ones that I like. What do you say that will capture his interest and get him thinking of you In That Way? Now that I've written that down, I realize that it could be anything and I should stop over-thinking these things and just relax and be friendly. I told myself after my first party that I need to do that, but there are times when I forget and cling too much to my comfort zone. I need to stop doing that - but at the same time be careful and watch out for myself :)