Heads-Up.

Domestic Travel is now up and running again! 

Join us at http://thejourneyofmei.blogspot.com/ for more travel pictures and musings. 

See you there, 

Meimei

...And So It Ends.

Dear longtime readers of Domesticity:

As much as it pains me to say this, it is with deep regret that I have decided to close up shop on Domesticity.

Between the demands of being a full-time PhD student and the effort required to revise my fiction projects, I have determined that I may no longer have any time left to put up new posts on a regular basis. I will be doing a lot of writing, of course... just not in this forum.

(But just in case you're curious, however: I'm still @stella_meimei on Twitter! Feel free to follow me, and I promise to be more interesting. End of plug.)

This does not mean I will delete this blog altogether; all of the old posts will remain on this site. Don't worry, you can still relive all of the fun moments from haircut to haircut, lipstick to lip gloss, and - in case you're wondering - how I got from crushing on Peter Sarsgaard to, well, professing my undying love for a certain two-time Academy Award nominee who bears a passing resemblance to Mr. Potato Head.

I don't like to speak with finality; sooner or later I may end up blogging again, perhaps under a different format or subject. For now, however, let it be known that I will be forever grateful to all of you for being part of this journey. I will miss you terribly, but I look forward to meeting you once again.

With much aloha,

Meimei

Today's Dispatch: Here Is Your Mind

I never thought I'd admit this, being the girly girl that I am, but Fight Club was the movie that changed my writing life.



...Well, not just that.



Here's the complete text of the "snowflake" scene:

You are not a beautiful and unique snowflake. You are the same decaying organic matter as everyone else, and we are all part of the same compost pile.

And you know why?

Today's Dispatch: Yet Another NaNo Preview

This post is brought to you, again, by the folks from National Novel Writing Month.

Last Friday we introduced you to Veronica San Luis, the titular main character (and reluctant heroine) of this year's novel, Her Name is Veronica. Today we continue with the question-and-answer portion with our main male character Dean Harper. 

Today's Dispatch: The NaNoWriMo Preview

This post is brought to you by National Novel Writing Month.

Being the crazy-compulsive writer that I am, I've decided to take the plunge and write my third novel this November, while putting the finishing touches on my July novel. (That one is 85% finished, by the by; the endgame is there, and the only thing left is to set up the big fights and other intense scenes in proper chronological order.) It's actually not too bad, since we have two long weekends this month to get cracking - one for Halloween/ All Saints/ All Souls, and another for Eid-al Adha - not to mention that my admission to UP Diliman is now... ahem... pending. 

Until then, here's a little primer on what to expect from this year's novel, a murder-mystery thriller called Her Name Is Veronica. This interview is basically a modified version of the Proust Questionnaire, but with a few creative edits. 

Today's Dispatch: Party on the North Side, Y'all

This post was brought to you by the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City, where I may (will?) be spending the rest of the year now that I have received the go-ahead to start my PhD course work at the College of Education.

The Oblation says "Heeeeeeyyyy!"
Photo source: manila-photos.blogspot.com

Yep, it's been a crazy day at Hacienda de Meimei right now, ever since I received my acceptance letter from the big ol' State University campus up in the QC. On the one hand, I am on par-tay mode (or as close to it as possible, considering that I still have one final exam to give before the weekend), because I could not be happier. 

On the other hand, there will be... changes. 

At this point in time, a full-time move to QC may be inevitable, especially since I will not be teaching next semester and there's no way I would want to commute several times a week to and from the Hacienda. (At the very least, I just want to do a one-and-done deal where I can go home and do laundry on the weekends.) But I'm also scared - for good reason - because this means I have to be at the top of my game, all the time. That will require a lot of changes of routines, of scheduling, of... everything else, come to think of it.  And I'm scared that a lot of things that have kept me sane all this time - especially my writing - will end up falling by the wayside. 

I try to be optimistic, though. I have friends up in the North who I'd love to meet up with again. I may have the rest of Metro Manila to explore on my own, possibly with a little courage. And who knows? I may end up loving it after all. 

Until then, I'm looking forward to what the rest of this moment will bring for me. 

Are you, or have you ever been, in the middle of a major transition similar to this one? Do you have any words of advice to share for a girl in the middle of a crazy career change? Share the love by following @stella_meimei on Twitter, or leave a comment below!

Today's Dispatch: Sorry, Potatoface

This post is brought to you by the following movies that came to mind while watching The Town with Bakeks, because - as good as this movie was to us, though a little less than epic -  it also reminded us that we were better off watching any of these movies instead of sitting through The Town.

First and foremost: Blood Simple. 




Which was also remade by Zhang Yimou as A Woman, A Gun, and a Noodle Shop. 



Also: Out of Sight.


And... Reservoir Dogs.


(Seriously: As much as I love The Hotness and his movie-stealing ways, I'm beginning to wonder if Steve Buscemi should sue him for unlawful impersonation.)

Though I must say, to be very honest with you...