Face to face with Death.. Literally Cebu Earthquake 2013 (October 15, 13) Today I woke up 3:30 am and headed to the white room. I eventually went back to my room and took the laptop and the pieces of illustration boards with me. I laid down on the bed and started working on the project since I was expecting another school day. I felt drowsy and without knowing it, I fell asleep. A few hours passed and I woke up to the voice of someone yelling my name. It was my cousin Thaye. She was yelling our names and was trying to wake us up. I opened my eyes and she kept repeating the word "earthquake!" I thought she was joking so I looked at her for a second with disbelief and then looked at the ceiling. I heard a very loud crack and suddenly, huge chunks of cement on the ceiling above me were constantly breaking down. And in a moment, a big chunk of cement fell down and just when it was going to hit my head, I was able to roll on my side and avoided it. I wasn't able to move a muscle staring at the chunks of cement that could have hit me and possibly crush my head! The next thing I know is my younger sister yelling and running out of the room. I told her to stop and take cover under the bed since the house was shaking so much. I knew something would hit her if she didn't. But it was too late. She ran out so fast and we all followed. We ran down the stairs I noticed my grandfather, was still on bed trying to get up, and all of my cousins are outside already. So I helped him out and my older sister came in to help me too. In the end we were still in one piece. The experience gave me all the shivers. The room in our wall is badly damaged and it would be dangerous to leave it that way. So my mom asked our family friend to break down the wall completely. Right now there is a total of 67 deaths in the whole Cebu province. And I'm glad I was able to avoid being the 68th. God bless us all! :)

My 1st Dinner Date Last night (Oct. 11, 13) I had my first dinner date with a Japanese guy I met online last weekend. It was our first time to meet each other personally since he's been studying English here in Cebu. He wore an outfit that I've often pictured my perfect date to be wearing. And he happens to be a really handsome guy too. He's 32 years old. But he looks way younger than his age. He's really tall and wearing my sandal with those 5 inch heels really saved me. The first time I saw him, I thought he was still in his early 20's. And he's such a head turner. I noticed many girls that passed by us would look or smile at him. I felt so lucky to be around him. We spent almost 3 hours talking about each other and laughing about random things. At first when he asked me out a few days ago, I wasn't really sure about meeting him since I knew he's 16 years older than me. But I am so glad that I didn't reject his request, 'cause yesterday night's dinner date was absolutely worth it! For the first few minutes during our date, I felt absolutely nervous and awkward about myself. I kept worrying about so many things. (We all know that girls don't we?) But despite his really overwhelming poise (in a positive way) I found out that he's actually really nice and outgoing! I actually had a very good time with him. Later on, we went home late at 8, and he escorted me to the taxi cab while we held each other's hands. We ended the date with a satisfied and a happy heart. That date was memorable. And we're both looking forward to going out with each other again. :)

Chinese books? I am starting to learn Mandarin and it's going pretty well. Can anyone recommend a good book to me? I am still in reading. haha! xie xie ^^

Casual and informal language? I've been reading a few articles on the internet lately about Hangul, and I've been trying to add up new words and phrases to my vocabulary in "Formal Hangul." I know them quite well now but I'm curious about Casual and informal Korean. Are these 2 the same? Or do they have to be spoken to the specific kind of audience or person? How will I know if it's Casual or Informal? Pls answer my questions. Thanks you!