PORTED FROM Vox Hunt: My Desktop

Show us your desktop.
Submitted by Anthony.

Desktop at work. My desktop at home is somewhat the same, but it's cluttered with more icons. :3

Happy Holidays!

Desktop ko-work

PORTED FROM VOX: The Filcosplay Big Sister's Party-Hosting Guide (Was QotD: Party Time. Excellent.)

Are you throwing or attending a holiday party this year?  Any ideas/tips to share?

I attended two in this year already. One was the Filcosplay Christmas Party I helped out in, the other is the Christmas party of my company. I don't know if this counts, but my gals at the Kaka Fun Club are having dinner on the 23rd. Not to mention the family parties that each side of the parentals throw (with my family usually doing the party for the mother's side)

Here are some things I've learned about hosting holiday parties:

• Games are always good for parties, never mind if the attendees' ages range from 1 to 101. They not only let you learn something new every time (Uncle, during a guess-the kid-in-the-picture game: ****** ***! I didn't know my sister looked like that at age 10! O.o Mum (the sister in question) and us: ... >_>0 ...For serious!), they also foster group dynamics (Same uncle, this time during the let-yourself-and-a-partner-out-of-your-belt-bindings-without- using-your-hands game: Us: YOU CHEATER!!! ... True stories I tell you.). + XD
• If you are the host(ess) and you plan to have games at the party, make sure everyone in the party is wearing comfortable clothing and comfortable, easy-to-move-in shoes. Chuck your costumes and your high-heeled shoes, unless you either wear them like second skin or you are desperate for attention (in which case, you're better off trying to play with or against your crush or something than stepping on his/her toes, or worse, literally tripping all over him/her). This will be true especially for motion-based games. 
• You can never have too much dessert. Especially if the dessert is leche flan (sweet egg custard, prepared by yours truly).
• Hell, you can NEVER, EVER have too much food. And if you do, at least you have take-aways of the good stuff. I mean, really. Almost all the best food I've ever eaten was cooked and prepared for the Christmas holidays. And I know this will be very Filipino to say, but having too much food is better than having no food at all, especially in holidays celebrating abundance and thanksgiving.
• Music always sets the mood. Choose songs that fit the holiday mood, but have a more upbeat rhythm. I don't like Destiny's Child so much anymore, but their Christmas album gets everyone I know who has been in our house during the holidays partying.
• Name tags help a LOT especially in parties of 25 and more, and especially when you think these people will be meeting each other again, possibly outside of the party/holiday atmosphere. Not to mention that it cuts the host(ess), who has around a bajillion concerns in his or her mind because of the party, some slack in having to memorize who's on the guest list.
• Oh yes, always, ALWAYS draw a guest list, even if it's the people you know. And make sure they RSVP. It completely blows to invite these people and then come party day, no-one arrives.
• Always bring a still camera. If you can afford to, bring a video camera. Just make sure you get around to editing everything and sending them to the participants no more than a month after the party though. v^~^0

Alright, I can't really suggest much at the moment. My older sister is the mistress of our house and the best hostess ever, but sadly she's studying elsewhere at the moment, so I'm still learning the ropes my own way with her guidance. v^~^0

+ I swear I will make comic strips out of these. 

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

An end-of-the-year survey/meme from a friend in LJ (Paris would know her very well). Code's very basic and rather ugly in my opinion, but I don't make this stuff. v^_^0

Looking back on 2006
About You...
Name:	Ma Jocelyn Bordador
Nickname:	Joy
How old were you in 2006?:	22
What was the most important thing you discovered in 2006?:	I've changed so much in the past 8 years, I hardly recognize myself.
What will you always remember about 2006?:	It's the year I've become stronger and regained some sense of self.
In 2006 did you...
Keep your New Years resolution?:	Yes and no
Go on a holiday?:	Yes, twice. XD
Change jobs?:	Yes.
Buy anything from eBay?:	No. I don't trust them there.
Prank call someone?:	No.
Get drunk?:	Yes, but didn't have a hangover.
Get high?:	No.
Fall in love?:	Yes.
Break up with someone?:	No.
Get married?:	Doesn't apply.
Get divorced?:	Doesn't apply.
Stop speaking to someone?:	Yes.
Kiss someone?:	Sort-of, I think... do cheeks and family members count?
Kiss someone whose name you can’t remember?:	No.
Make a new friend?:	Heaps! XD
Do anything embarrassing?:	My year wouldn't be complete without having done something embarrassing. v^_^0
Do something that you thought that you would never do?:	Oh hell yes!
Do something you have always wanted to do?:	Yes
Do anything that you regret?:	Sadly, yes.
Do anything illegal?:	I hope not, but I think I did...
Break a promise?:	Sadly, yes.
Lose something?:	Too many things to count...
Go crazy?:	Oh hell yes!
Best of 2006...
Movie:	Happy Feet! XD ...Does Brokeback Mountain count? :3
TV Show:	Encantadia/Etheria, NANA, Heroes
Song:	Rose by Anna Tsuchiya tied with Glamourous Sky by Mika Nakashima (both NANA)
Album:	Blue Monsoon by Sound
Thing you bought:	See "Album". And also my shoes from Liliw. <3
Memory:	Too many to mention, but most of them seem to be cosplay-related.
Worst of 2006...
Movie:	I'll get back to you on this later...
TV Show:	Jigoku Shoujo - too many loose ends, not much sense. So much wasted potential. Oh, and House and most local soaps.
Song:	Taralets by Imago, Hitoiro by Mika Nakashima (I dislike whoever composed it XP)
Album:	That one by Paris Hilton. UGH.
Hangover:	I'll try to add that before 2006 ends. XD
Memory:	Losing stuff. Saying goodbye to my sis (even if it's only for a year). Being in the middle of fights. Being betrayed. And that one thing I don't EVER want to remember.
About 2007...
What do you want in 2007?:	Weight loss. Idealism tempered with pragmatism. A raise - I keep getting all the this-is-WAY-much-for-the-n00b-to-handle-but-let's-give-it-to-her-anyways jobs. XP
Is there anything you would do differently in 2007?:	I would definitely try to be less paranoid and less temperamental.
Do you think it will be a good year?:	I don't want to assume anything.
What do you look forward to most about 2007?:	More financial independence, emotional stability, and contentment. Oh, and the possibility of meeting people.
Do you have a New Years resolution?:	To trust more, love more, bitch less and hate less.
Take this survey | Find more surveys Bzoink - The Original Survey Site

PORTED FROM VOX: QotD: Books From My Childhood

What books did you love as a child?
Submitted by hearts. 

I'll admit that some of my reading was not intended for my age group at all. I learned to read because my mother kept reading to me, though she says my entire family was amazed that I fast-tracked the process, having been able to read with little supervision or guidance at age two (sadly, I can't say the same thing for my writing skills). I guess that's why my mind progressed so much faster, why I became more finely attuned to my surroundings, and why I continue to value my time alone reading (and sometimes secretly sniffing the pages of) a book.

• A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Before Hollywood bastardized it, TWICE. It was my first full-length novel and I read it on the Christmas of my seventh year, the same age Sara(h) Crewe was in her first year at Miss Minchin's Select Seminary for Young Ladies. I am forever angry at the classmate who borrowed my novel for her report, because despite all my reminders she never returned it (not as angry as I am with myself though, since I never seem to learn to stop being so generous).
• Nancy Drew mysteries. The old hardbound ones that my sister had are still at home. They were very female-affirming, which is something not a lot of mysteries - and particularly not the "new" Nancy Drew mysteries - are to-day.
• The Velveteen Rabbit, printed on a paperback colouring book. It is melancholy but beautiful, and it still continues to hold a lot of truth about life today. I was happy he was reborn as a real rabbit, though sadly reality is not always as kind.
• A hardbound storybook featuring stories from Hans Christian Anderson. I don't recall the exact title, and I remember we gave this away so long ago, but I'll always love it for having the story about the one-legged tin soldier and the ballerina with the original ending.
• Cordillera Folk-Tales. They were a refreshing change of pace from Western fairy tales (since they were as colourful and brilliant as they were violent XD), AND they were very Filipino. I felt very sad when I went to Baguio for the first time only to find that the people of the Cordilleras were no longer as extraordinary as the people in the books, but I am glad to say they are still as resilient and compassionate.
• The Did You Know? encyclopeedia-almanac published by Reader's Digest, and other similar books. I remember my mind being like a sponge, wanting to absorb things about history, geography and some sciences. Too bad it still refuses to include chemistry, economics, and all forms of maths. =_=0
• Encyclopaedia volumes and dictionaries in general. Learning new words was always exciting for me.
• EDIT: I forgot to include the Choose Your Own Adventures series. It was fun to try and get a different ending each time. And the fact that some stories are actually historical fiction (I have a book somewhere that's set in the middle of South Africa around the 1970s) makes this series a great combination of entertainment and education.