Rabbitin turns 4!

It's customary during anniversaries to look back on the year that was. Nothing of particular import happened in terms of my blogging life. Same old, same old. I pretty much stuck to everything I used to do the year before. I do feel my blog is getting a little stale and stagnant, layout wise. I did attempt to tweak it, but the results were disastrous. I am not quite so adept at html and css things, that I had difficulty customizing the theme. I actually wasn't able to bring the blog back to it's original state. An item went missing, and a few got jumbled up. Nothing too noticeable though. I think. Anyway, enough rambling about boring stuff. If there is one thing, that's constant, that I am really thankful for, it's the readers. They aren't numerous, but really, they are all the readers I need. And I am glad that you stuck with me for yet another year. Thank you! I am also grateful for the handful of fellow book bloggers and TFG members who take time to write me comments! Thank you!

There is one major thing that happened though, indirectly related to blogging. The TFG members I was talking about earlier? I have met them and more! It was a burst of unexpectedness. You see, spontaneous is not my middle name. That word cannot be found anywhere near me. But I guess for every rule there is always that one single, little exception bound to mess up one's pristine track record. And that's how I found myself sitting inside Milky Way Cafe, on the 24th of May for an F2F. Okay yeah, I didn't parachute out of a plane, or went backpacking around the world with nothing but a pet gerbil and a go-getter attitude. But meeting people is not the easiest thing for me to do. I have been corresponding with this book club for roughly about two years or three, and yes, all those times I have been contemplating coming over and finally meeting them in their resplendent fleshes. At least that's how I imagined them to have in my J.J. Abrahms movie mind, like staring into some light, aka lens flares. Okay, so what's the worse that could happen? I was asked. The movie in my mind could answer this in so many ways, taking on various adaptations with wholly plausible and improbable scenarios. But on the 24th of May I came, I saw (nope, they don't have resplendent fleshes. but they do have resplendent minds. ayown naman pala!), and I conquered. It was a great day.

I came in straight from the airport to the meet up, accompanied by Meliza, a fellow book club member and a friend. We were a bit early so we decided to wait it out in a convenience store. She got some cold meds and I put down my back pack on the table near the window with a clear view of the entrance to the Milky Way Cafe. And as time went by, we saw the book club members trickle in one by one.  At first I was excited, but as more and more people arrived, trepidation in the pit of my stomach came along with it, and I thought this was a bad idea. But I was there, and Meliza was there, and I feel she will drag me out of that place kicking and screaming. The walk to cafe felt really long, despite being relatively near in distance. So we crossed what I felt like the longest street, climbed the longest stairs. And I thought this is it! It turns out, you still have to ride the elevator. So, I rode the longest elevator ride of my life, ping, doors open, and I said, okay this is it! It was a hallway. Walked the longest hallway in my life, at the end of which was a cafe. And I thought this is it! It wasn't. Then someone with a female voice, came up from behind us, and she and Meliza greeted each other. I turned around, to be met by a massive look of surprise on her face, which I now wished I had captured digitally, and we hugged. Monique. Haha. We proceeded to look for the room, found a door labelled Bookchilla. So I thought, this is it! The door opens aaaaaaaaaand there they were! And there I was! And I didn't hurl! And everything turned out great. I could listen to these people talk all day. I do wish I was less of a giant ass dork and talked more. But at this point, those things cannot be helped.

Thank you guys for the awesome welcome! Made me feel really happy! It was really great to meet you all! I am hoping to be back yet again. I'll probably go through the same damn terror, but that too, cannot be helped. (I also wished my bowling was in better form, but I think that too, cannot be helped!)

Memories are unreliable things, so my account is most likely a skewed version of what actually happened, and is most likely to mutate over time. Haha.

Also, I am giving away a copy of Monstress by Lysley Tenorio freshly bought today! (So many people in NBS! And they stand and read along the already super narrow aisles, blocking access to certain shelves. Huhuhuhu. Haha.) My apologies for the badly taken photo of the book below.

4th Anniversary Giveaway Details:

1. Open to Philippine residents that I actually know. :) (Sorry overseas readers! :( The shipping will burn a hole in my pocket!)

2. In the comments section below, tell me what made you happy recently (as to how recent "recent" is, I leave that up to you), it can be a book, a movie, a person, an event, a place...anything. 

3. One entry per person.

4. One winner will be picked via randomizer, to be announced the day after the end date below.

5. Giveaway ends on Tuesday, June 16, 2015, 12:00 Noon. 

Again, thank you awesome readers, for the year that was!