COME HAIR

Photos from a quick Sunday morning pool with my cousin a few weeks ago.

If you happen to notice in the first photo, I got my hair cut short and had it "repaired" (i.e rebond). Oh no! Andyan na si crush! Hahaha. I must admit that I kind of miss my old, long, thick and wavy hair. I miss the feeling of waking up in the morning and my messy hair is all over my face and then I get to smell that no-shampoo-for-two-days salty kind of scent it emits. Hmmmm! I even miss my nasty habit of plucking out dead hair or cutting out horrible split-ends. No joke.

Also, while I'm now enjoying this new straighter and thinner hair of mine, I must suffer the consequence of not allowing my hair to get wet with chlorine-filled pools or even the seawater for a year. Which kind of sucks because I really like swimming and floating and the beach. Sigh. See? The things we sacrifice for vanity. 

Needless to say, I didn't really enjoy the water and the pool pictured above. I was just knee-dipping while looking at my cousin with jealousy as she enjoyed the pool all to herself. Sad.

But all in all, I'm quite contented with the result. It's high-time to welcome change because frankly, if I look at my previous photos nothing really much have changed - at least in physical terms - about me. (Not even my freakin' height!) And wait till you see my graduation pic! I had a fuggin stray hair untucked behind my ear. :(

Speaking of graduation, I CAN'T WAIT! It's only a few days away. But I'll save all my mushy musings about that in another post.

So that's it. 

I don't even know how one can relate the photos above with my writing content. Lol.

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I AM NUMBER FOUR

I'm obsessed with anything that is about the human personality. I suppose that studying the human personality is a form of self-discovery and will eventually lead to self-actualization (Mr. Maslow emphasized the importance of it). When you begin to understand yourself, you also begin to understand others and how they are different from you and life becomes more peaceful.

Last year, my cousin introduced me to Florence Littauer's Personality Plus book. I talked about it a little in this post (See No. 9). I liked it so much. It has become my "personality bible" since then. I even begged my cousin to give it to me haha. The book is now actually being passed around my circle of friends because I've been encouraging them to read it too. It certainly helped me understand myself more and I've become more tolerant to people who do not have the same personality with mine.

I was identified as a Sanguine in that test. To summarize, the Sanguine temperament is:

impulsive and charismatic
tend to enjoy social gatherings, making new friends
tend to be boisterous
quite creative and often have many ideas
struggle with following tasks all the way through
chronically late
to be forgetful
sometimes a little sarcastic
often, when they pursue a new hobby, they lose interest as soon as it ceases to be engaging or fun
they are very much people persons
they are talkative and not shy
warmhearted, lively and optimistic
they have been called "people-oriented extroverts"

Now I've come across this Enneagram test while riffling through one of my favorite blogs, Nothing Spaces. Enneagram sounds too foreign for me. I don't remember it being mentioned in our General Psychology class. Needless to say,  I was curious and took the test. (You can take it HERE.)

As it turned out I am a Type 4 (The Individualist):

Enneagram Type 4 - The Individualist

Identity seekers, who feel unique and different

People of this personality type tend to build their identities around their perception of themselves as being somehow different or unique; they are thus self-consciously individualistic. Fours tend to see their difference from others as being both a gift and a curse - a gift, because it sets them apart from those they perceive as being somehow "common," and a curse, as it so often seems to separate them from the simpler forms of happiness that others so readily seem to enjoy. Thus, Fours can manage to feel superior to others while also secretly harboring some degree of longing and envy. A feeling of being a member of the "true aristocracy" alternates with deep feelings of shame, and fears of somehow being deeply flawed or defective.

Fours are emotionally complex and highly sensitive. They long to be understood and appreciated for their authentic selves, but easily feel misunderstood and unappreciated. They have a tendency to withdraw in the face of a world that seems harsh or crude, and are often somewhat moody or temperamental. They are emotionally centered and spend much of their lives immersed in their internal mental landscapes, where they feel free to cultivate and analyse their feelings. A desire to manifest this internal world often leads Fours to an interest in the arts, and some do become actual artists. Whether artistic or not, however, most Fours are aesthetically sensitive and concerned with self-expression and self-revelation, whether it be in the clothes they wear or in the overall nature of their often idiosyncratic lifestyles.

Fours are somewhat melancholic by disposition, and under stress tend to lapse into depression. They also tend to be self-absorbed, even under the best of circumstances, but when unbalanced, easily give way to a self-indulgence which they perceive as being fully justified as a way to compensate for the general lack of pleasure they experience in their lives. Rather than look for practical solutions to their difficulties, Fours are prone to fantasizing about a savior who will rescue them from their unhappiness.

Intellectual Fours tend to mistakenly type themselves as Fives, and a heavy wing can certainly exacerbate this tendency. Fours however, unlike Fives, tend to be self-revealing and comfortable with emotional expression.

I have a mixed feeling towards it. I'm surprised that most of it are really true but I was thinking it's a little contradictory to my Sanguine temperament. I was expecting I was more of a Type 7. But I realize I also have this other side. It dawned on me that this is exactly what I need to reveal about myself.

In my group of friends, I'm dubbed as Miss Korny (see post here). Corny not only because I throw the most nonsense jokes and punchlines but also because I can be deep and philosophical at the most inappropriate times. It rings true too that I am emotional. I have a huge thing for sentimentality and profound thoughts. Sometimes, I suppress showing it because I don't want to bore people. I'd rather make someone laugh. I don't want people to diss me as someone too mushy or too cliché even if deep inside, I really am.

I think Jennifer Love Hewitt's "Barenaked" song got it right:

Do you ever feel so deep
That you speak your mind
To put others straight to sleep
You wonder if anybody cares

Thankfully, I have friends that relent to me once in a while and they patiently listen to my pa-deep and profound musings. No wonder meaningful conversations (preferably over frappuccino) truly make me happy. This makes me think too that maybe it's my Type 4 personality that lures me into the art of writing. Hmmm...that explains.

There are still a lot of things I want to pinpoint and discuss. Yet at the same time, I'm still taking it all in. Finding out true things about yourself can be overwhelming, in my case at least. I can not translate further all my thoughts yet but I'm glad I found out this Enneagram thing today.

Try it too!

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GOODBYE JULY

Jeez, we are now down on the last day of July. Time is flying so fast...faster than a G6. Haha.

Anyhoo,  since I am now on my last college year, I have fewer units and that means less subjects.
I have tons of free time and well, I'd just like to share some things that helped me kill time and fight boredom...

MOVIE:

Wicker Park

I like this movie because its plot is unusual. It reminded me of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind". This movie made me realize that movie plots actually happen in real life, ONLY we don't have live cameras rolling in real life so we never know. Don't you think? Okay, weird thoughts. Haha.

I was so smitten with the classic kissing scene at the airport with Coldplay's "The Scientist" playing at the background. Awesome.

TV SERIES:

Game of Thrones

I know this series is very well-loved and it was only this month that I finally had the chance to see it. After three consecutive sleepless days and deep eye bags to deal with, I finished Season 1 til Season 3! I was so attached to the series that I even dreamed of The Hound hounding me. Haha. Too bad they killed Robb Stark and Talisa. They were my favorite couple in the series and they had a nice love story. Oh well, Game of Thrones is not for the hopeless romantics.

Anyhoo, let's see what happens in Season 4! I wonder who'll be the next dead Stark...(Gasp!)

BOOKS:

"One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

I've always  been intrigued about the works of Garbriel Garcia Marquez and that's no wonder since he's a Nobel Prize Winner. With luck, I stumbled upon this book at the school library so I took the chance to read this classic. The whole plot reminded me of Jose Rizal's "Noli Me Tangere" and "El Filibusterismo" --- the books we were all required to read back in highschool.

I find this book a nice read. I mean it's a classic right? It's very deep and perhaps it could pass for an adult read. But it made me ponder on some real things and thoughts about life.

"Norwegian Wood" by Haruki Murakami

My friend Toni lent me this book and I loooove it! 

I wanted to quote EVERY LINE of the characters. This is the kind of book that you just want to read all over again right after you just finished it. It is so "relatable" because the characters are just about my age and college students as well. So some of their thoughts were my thoughts too.It's both a heavy and light read. There were serious things tackled too like suicide and all. How I love the character of MIDORI! :)

I spent the whole of last weekend just reading and re-reading this book. Perfect for the bed-weather!

Time wasted for reading is a time well wasted indeed.

How about you? What are you up to?

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