Just when I thought I'm already done with video games, I find myself attacked by this:

I started blogging more than a decade ago but it was only in 2015 when I started to up the ante. I wrote a lot of helpful, inspiring, and relatable posts. I focused on evergreen content. And it definitely paid off. I was able to earn, rake in a few sponsorship, get invited to exclusive events, enjoy premium services at no cost, receive PR kits and blogger mails, eat food I cannot afford, enjoy all-expense paid trips, stay in 5-star hotels for free, won awards, and more!

If zombies were to chase me, I only have a 300-meter chance to run for my life. Anything farther than that does not guarantee my survival.

Because I hate to admit this, I AM NO LONGER FIT AS I WAS BEFORE.

How do you survive a zombie apocalypse?

I'm not sure whether I should start my intro with a defensive speech as to why I got 39 new books (not including the children's book I got for Rhett) in less than two months or should I just accept my fate that I always get defeated in a battle against impulsive book buying.

Supportive. As always ♥

Here’s the thing, when you are in front of a million new books priced at 50-90% off, there's no way you could ever resist that. Not me. And it's not all the time you can get big book sales like this, that's why you have take advantage of it.  Meaning, you can’t just go barging in a book sale and NOT buy a book… because that’s just stupid. And besides, I don't really have anything to spend my money on.

Today is 11.11. Every online and physical store is on a HUUUUGE sale. Tempting, yes. But I wasn't really psyched about it because:

1. I'm broke. And even if I had the money,
2. The internet has been fucked up since Thursday.

So instead of wasting precious bandwidth, loading websites that will only make me a thousand more poorer, I'll blog about last month's National Book Store's Book Binge Bazaar book haul instead.

Even though I go gaga over Queen, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Soundgarden, or Linkin Park, it has never been a secret how much I love boy bands.

I guess you can blame that to the curtain haircuts made famous by Nick Carter back in the 90s. That pretty boy look definitely won too many hearts. But more than the pretty face, they got the phenomenal stage presence, smooth dance moves, cheesy songs, and the voice that definitely made teen girls fall head over heels. And I guess, I have not outgrown that stage until this very day.

I was 12 when I fell in love with these guys. I used to watch them every day on MTV. And even though I claim to be a huge boy band fan, I've never seen one group performed live.

I remember during my freshman year in high school, I saw a batch of seniors who were standing in neat rows under the heat of the sun. They looked cool in their combat boots and fatigue, except, they were more like puppies to me than soldiers. They're pretty good at obeying commands. Sit, roll over, drop and play dead, or whatever the commanding officer tells them to. I watched them every Friday and told myself I've already been potty-trained since 2, I don't need new tricks, and I'm never going to be a trained pup. And the only way to elude the comedy and horror of Preparatory Military Training (PMT) is to be part of a varsity team.

I’m not claiming to be an interesting person but new and seemingly interesting things happened lately. Plus, I need more entries for this blog, so here goes.

"Hey, I got a new badge on my blog."

"Congratulations! You deserve that!"

"Thanks! But I want to add something right there."

There was a pause.

"I want to win a Palanca," I told Jan flat out loud.

He gave me an eager look as he continued to listen to me and my absurd dreams.

I rolled my eyes, gave out a soft sigh, and blurted, "I just do not know how to do it."

You see, I've read this year's winning entries - mostly from established writers, journalist, and columnists - and I certainly do not make the cut.