Lord of the Rings

I’m not much of a movie buff and I don’t do the fangirling thing (except with select anime and manga) but a few months ago, I talked with a bunch of kids about books and they couldn’t believe it when I confessed I hadn’t read or watched Lord of the Rings.

Feeling significantly inferior, I resolved to get into the series but nothing happened until two weeks ago when I went shopping and spotted a bargain—all three LOTR books printed and bound in giant book for a measly $22. I didn’t hesitate to buy it and when I proudly showed it off to my mum, she said, “You bought a dictionary?”

I suppose it looks like one. The cover is fire-engine red and it’s the thickest book in my shelves.

I decided to watch The Hobbit, which came out recently and I loved it. So I went bought The Hobbit book and read that first, which I also loved and once I was done I delved straight into LOTR. I’m almost halfway through my fat book *mental celebratory dance*.

Now when people ask what I’ve been to, I tell them about my new-found love for LOTR and instead of being happy for me, they’re scandalised I only got into it now. To be truthful, I’m kind of scandalised myself.

The characters are vivid and their habits make me laugh. I like Gollum and Treebeard best, then Merry and Pippin. When the Ents went on and on in their language, I giggled at Pippin’s reaction and I had to smile at Gimli and Legolas’ rivalry when they killed Orcs.

I’m having so much fun reading this series and I have to ask myself why I didn’t pick this up earlier.

Found at http://9gag.com/gag/6421931

Finding my laptop's name

My friend Hanada names almost every object she owns. Her old phone was Miguel, her new phone is DiCardiac, her old laptop was Aang the Airbender, her new laptop is Korra Tenzin, her calculator is Refridgerator, her USB is Tardis and her desk is Narnia. That's only off the top of her head!

I never understood it. I'd just call them 'her old phone, her new phone, her old laptop, her new laptop, her calculator, her USB and her desk'. That’s what I call my possessions too, because they’re objects. But when I laid eyes on my first laptop, I couldn't stop looking at the beautiful metal casing, the black keys and its slim design. I knew it was female and I knew her name was Halle.

Halle served me well but unfortunately she didn't last long—a water bottle with a loose cap saw to that. I got a replacement laptop which was the same make and model and almost two years later, it still doesn't speak to me. It has no gender and no name so it has been called ‘my laptop’ since we first met.

Not my laptop but it looks similar.

It’s a good laptop. It handles hours and hours of Facebook, Blogspot, Tumblr, writing, revising and editing. It’s sturdy and takes everything I throw at it. Or rather, it survives anything I throw it at. The metal casing has dents and dings and there’s ink (mostly red) all over the keyboard.

As it survived way longer than Halle, I decided to go the opposite way—this second laptop is a male and it needs a strong, masculine name. I'm thinking Alastor. No, not Alastor Moody from Harry Potter. I'm talking about Alastor, Lord of the Crimson Realm from Shakugan no Shana. The voice actor for this character has a deep, booming voice that fits my laptop perfectly.

Alastor, Lord of the Crimson Realm as a pendant.

In this case, it wasn't so much that he didn't speak to me— I had to be patient and get to know him better before he revealed his name.

Alastor!