Trivia Night

Last Saturday, I went out with two of my high school friends (one of whom I haven't seen for more than a decade) for trivia night at The Daily Table in Ma-a. Tin has been inviting me since last year. Recently, she has been putting off her weekend travel plans because of the rising fuel prices, so we finally had the chance.

That's us to the left of the host. (Photo courtesy Trivia Nights Pinas)

I genuinely thought I wouldn't be able to answer anything, but it's surprising what random things we have stored in our brains. And we won the night! We were lucky enough that some of the questions catered more to our age group. Most youngsters would not have heard of Diana Ross, much less know what group she's in. It was overall a very enjoyable game, with a funny host, and great company!

After the game, we went to Starbucks to chat. Tin and I meet yearly, so it was mostly Jeck who gave us life updates. But the highlight every now and then... was BTS. I'm not really a fan, so they ended up trying to convince me. Just so you know, I'm not a hater. I'm more into vocal groups like BtoB, Beast, Pentagon... and my favorites have goosebump-inducing voices (Changsub, Yoseob, Jinho, Sandeul). The sole BTS song in my K-pop playlist is a ballad called "The Truth Untold" sung by their vocal line.

I got home at around 1:30 AM. That's how much we needed catching up. Next time, we'd have to meet earlier.

BBC's The Other Bennet Sister

Spoilers ahead.

The Other Bennet Sister - Mary and Tom (BBC)

It's been a week since I finished watching The Other Bennet Sister, and I am having a hangover, an obsession. The last time I felt like this was last year's season of The Wheel of Time (I'm still devastated that it was cancelled). I had done one rewatch with my sister. I've invited (more like pestered) friends to watch it. My sister's close friend borrowed my copy of the book, and I already want it back. I devoured clips and tributes on social media, but I still can't get over it! So I hope writing about it will help.

There were several changes made from the book, and I was initially disappointed, but it gradually became its own entity. The book had a more serious tone and rightly so because it followed Mary's thoughts, while the show was more light and funny. It had me alternately crying and in stitches from a combination of second-hand embarrassment and kilig. While the book focused on Mary's growth through her journey from one place to another, the TV series decided to jump to the London plot, a.k.a. the love story, and what a story it was!

Some parts were improved by the show, notably the Pemberley segment. I especially loved that conversation between Mary and Elizabeth and that we got to see more of the sisters in action.

I thought the book needed more scenes between Mary and Tom, and it's still the case with the show. I felt that since the show added a non-book character, Miss Baxter, it lessened what could have been more screen time and development for our couple.

Then there was the proposal. It was beautifully made. In the book, it happened indoors. In the show, it was in a park, which is true to the theme of their favourite poet, Wordsworth. I'm happy that it was still Mary who said 'I love you' first.

Ella Bruccoleri and Dónal Finn were phenomenal! This show has really cemented Dónal's abilities for me. He was great as Mat in The Wheel of Time. I've already seen him as James Moriarty in Young Sherlock's first episode (it's on my watchlist). Plus, he's a musical actor.

I'm so glad that the show is getting more attention. We have definitely been missing some good old-fashioned and meaningful period dramas for years.

The Other Bennet Sister will be released in the US and Canada on May 6th, while the rest of the world is still waiting for an announcement. There are, however, unconventional ways to watch the show, which I used, if you really can't wait to see it. Then support it still when it comes out in your area. Personally, I cannot wait for the DVD!

National Museum of the Philippines – Davao

I read about the term microadventure last January. It is defined as an adventure that is short, simple, local, cheap – yet still fun, exciting, challenging, refreshing and rewarding. Come to think of it, as kids we had this all the time. We didn't need to travel to distant places; every new experience, however small, was an adventure.

So I made a short list of places in my area that I haven't gone to yet. Just a short one, otherwise a homebody like me would be overwhelmed. I started listing our neighboring villages, which I realized I haven't ever explored. Then I moved on to important landmarks in Davao City.

On February 28, I initially only planned to go out to use my voucher in NCCC Mall grocery, Ma-a. But then my sister wanted to come with me and that meant we'd be wandering around somewhere. After buying the groceries, she suggested we check out sewing machines in the Brother store downtown (our mother wanted to sew curtains).

So we went there and were shown the different machines available. We called our mother, and she was fine with the most basic one. We thought we'd show her the brochure first, so we decided not to buy it yet.

It was still early in the afternoon, and we were near People's Park, so off to the National Museum we went.

When the plan for the museum was first released, I thought the durian-inspired design was a bit overused and awkward. In spite of that, the final building looked neat. It is hidden by trees when you enter the park and will only be visible once you get closer. It was interesting to look at, a modern structure framed by a green canopy, with an eye-catching interplay of light and shadow.

There are four floors that are open to the public. When we visited, however, the 4th floor was closed for renovation or something.

On the first floor, we found paintings by my former high school art teacher, Sir Bong Perez. My sister was impressed! I thought his were the best paintings displayed there.

Fisherman's Village by Bong Perez

We lost track of time on the second floor, particularly the display of rocks found in the different blocks of Davao Region. They reminded me of some small rocks I collected during my high school and college field trips to the geothermal plant at the base of Mt. Apo.

The second floor was dedicated to natural history, while the third floor was about Davao's cultural heritage. Overall, there was excellent representation of Davao City.

We then had dirty ice cream outside the park. I wondered why my sister looked at me funny when I ate it all, including the bottom of the cone. Turns out the vendor, who wears a plastic glove on his left hand where he holds the cone, receives money with the same gloved hand. She thought I saw it, too. Anyway, she finished the cone as well.

Before going home, we were back at the Brother store for some last-minute shopping.