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As the new month made its way to everyone's lives, I was amazed by the amount of people who welcomed it with one of the most beautifully written songs— August. May it be shown through their Instagram Stories, listening to it on streaming apps pushing it to the top line again, may be through their work of art, and other ways you could possibly think of.

I am proud to say that I have been a swiftie for over 9 years now. Taylor's great lyricism finally getting its well-deserved appreciation.

Cheer's to August! 🥂 I hope you turn out as good as a bottle of wine. 🍾

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So far, my favorite moment from The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo:

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Currently reading The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, and so far, so good. I am nearly done with Don Adler and starting off with Celia St. James. What a revelation!

Honestly, I kind of look at the very last line of the book as I was very intrigued and I can't help but smile when I read the word 'wife'.

So excited to see more about the controversial love life of Ms. Hugo!!

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Today, a kdrama episode had given me the answer to a silly question that I asked my mother a day ago.

Yesterday evening, I told my Mama that I want to read the dictionary; that I want to learn how to play chess; to solve a Rubik's cube; and to memorize every nation's flag.

Then I asked her— "Why didn't you allow me to learn these when I was a child?"

Growing up, I never experienced a forced study habits from my parents. They allow me to play as much as I want, but they make sure that I am responsible enough to know my limits. Since elementary, I have been in the higher section, I get to have academic achievements and other extracurricular awards. But all of those was not because of my parents pushing me to do so, they allow me to do what I want and did their best to support me.

A day after asking that silly question, I watched an episode from Extraordinary Attorney Woo called "Pied Piper" wherein they solved a kidnapping case. But unlike other similar cases, this one's quiet different— the defendant kidnapped the kids to allow them to play as much as they want. He delivers his ideology that the children must play as long as they can, later is late, as what he said. These children that he kidnapped were children of rich families who wants their child to grow up and study at the best university in their nation, they want the children to be studious and smart.

Then I get to realize, is this the answer to may day-old question? My parents did not forced me to learn the things I mentioned for I am not interested with them when I was a child, all I want to do is to play, that's why they let me. They gave me the liberation and the freedom to be a child as long as I am one. I guess it's never late to learn every single word in the dictionary; to learn how to solve a Rubik's cube; to learn how to play chess, but if I get to know them earlier, I might be late for the fun of being a child.

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Self-published

an autobiography by Ken Shyr Garcia In June 2005, my favorite romantic novel finally comes to an end. The couple Jonathan and Shirbenly Garcia found their happy ending at the last chapter of their book. In the epilogue, it was revealed that the couple were pregnant. It was then when they announced the sequel for the book. For sure, it will be another roller-coaster ride of emotions. In November of the same year, the sequel was published. I flipped into the pages, and written on the very first page, was the name of the main character, who is none other than me. Chapter 1. It was the first year of Ken Shyr Yu Garcia’s life, in the book they said that she was a chubby little girl from the start. Her parents wee very happy to welcome her existence in this world. Her Father, Jonathan was a gold smith, and Her Mother, Shirbenly is a teacher. She was born on Valenzuela City in the Philippines. The next four chapters talks about mainly her childhood, she grew up friendly and very active. Ken Shyr started to enter school at the age of three. When she was about to turn five, she was confined at the hospital diagnosed with a disease called dengue. By the help of the Almighty, Garcia went home safely and healthier than ever. But little they know; it was only the start of their family’s hardships. The year 2010 welcomed their family with a surprise of a new family member, I thought that it would be another sequel for the romantic novel but when it as about to be released last December 2010, it was said that the story was rejected. The next chapter, the year was 2011, at the summer training program of Ken Shyr’s mom, they received a news that she was hit by a motorcycle. Her mother underwent to an orthopedic surgery and was bed-ridden for months. On the same chapter, Garcia exceled in her studies that she made it into the star section. Ever since the first chapter where she entered school, her being an achiever was not hidden. In the book, you can also tell how much she loves arts. At the very young age, she showed her great interest in arts. She loves to draw, write, sing, and create crafts. Fast forward to chapter 12, it was the chapter where she graduated elementary school and enter high school. To her, high school is not how she expected it to be. To others, it is the best year of their lives, but to her, it was just a phase to learn. You can read through the pages that she finds it difficult to socialize with her classmates, despite that, she has her best friends in church. Ken Shyr’s life also revolts around church. She is a church officer ever since chapter 6. The next chapters mainly talk about her life as a teenager. In Chapter 13, she felt lonely throughout the year despite having her friends. The following chapter were kind of good to her, she finally found the right people that she became friends with. But on Chapter 15, the pandemic started. It was not easy for her and her family during these days. On the brighter side, they spent good time together and created a strong bond that ties their family together. This chapter was quite long , discussed here were new discoveries and maturity for our main character. It was also in this chapter where she moved-up in senior high school with the title with high honors it brought so much joy to her parents, and it was one of the highlighted parts of this book. Currently, I am on the 16th Chapter,  this chapter started when her friends surprised her on her birthday. This chapter is my personal favorite, it allows me to witness so much change in her life. This chapter was not yet closed to finish and a lot of things have had happened already.                 I know that whenever chapter this book ends, I will be satisfied. Satisfied that the main character lived her life happily as days goes by. I just wish that more and more great things happen to her life. And I wish that this lady will grow into a fine successful woman that is beyond the stars but with her feet on the ground. I am not yet closing this book, just having a break from the sixteen long chapters that I have read through the years. Someday, when the Almighty Creator of this story decided to end this book, I would be thankful that I have got the chance to read it. One thing that I hope for before this book closes, I wish that it would inspire people and bring smile to their faces. 

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Reflection: A Lea Salonga Biography

by Ken Shyr Garcia The curtains are now open as we explore the life of a West-end, Broadway, and Disney Legend Maria Lea Carmen Imutan Salonga or simply, Lea Salonga. On February 22nd of the year 1971, Feliciano Genuino and Maria Ligaya welcomed their daughter, Maria Lea Carmen in their humble home. Feliciano, an engineer, and owner of a shipping company, and Ligaya, a homemaker and manager. Salonga’s childhood were far from the usual playing games outside as she made her first professional stage debut at the age of seven in 1978 in The King and I. Her childhood career on stage was as steady as her pitch, appearing in musicals such as Annie and The Sounds of Music. Later, she then recorded her very first album, called Small Voice, at the age of ten. Ever since childhood, Lea showed her love and admiration to Broadway. She was inspired by the-one-and-only, Barbra Streisand. During the 1980’s, she also had several television projects where she worked as a child actor. Following the success of her first album, she hosted Love, Lea, her own musical television show and became a cast of German Moreno’s That’s Entertainment. She also acted in films and received an award for the Best Child Actress from Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (FAMAS) and three Aliw Awards for best child performer in three consecutive years. Despite the continuous success from her career, Salonga also devotes on her studies. She finished her secondary education in 1988, the same year when she released her second album, at the O. B. Montessori Center in Greenhills, San Juan, Metro Manila. She also attended the University of The Philippines College of Music’s extension program aimed to train the musically talented children in music and stage movement. In college, Salonga studied Biology in desire to pursue Medicine at the Ateneo de Manila university. It was the same year when she auditioned for Miss Saigon. Later in New York, she took two courses at Fordham university’s Lincoln Center Campus. The year 1989 was a remarkable year in Lea’s international career on Broadway, she was selected to play Kim in the debut production of the musical Miss Saigon in London. For her audition, the 17-year-old, Lea Salonga chose to sing Claude-Michel Schonberg’s “On My Own” from the classic, Les Misérables. She was later asked to sing “Sun and Moon”, that impressed the panel of judges. The song On My Own hold a significant part on Lea’s life and the starting point of her international career.  The following year after her international debut in West End, Salonga won the 1990 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical, becoming one of the youngest winners of the said award. When Miss Saigon opened on Broadway the following year, she again played the role of Kim, winning multiple awards such as the Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and Theater World awards, and set another record as becoming the first woman of Asian to ever win a prestigious Tony Award. Salonga played the role of Kim multiple times in different nations, she then went back to Broadway in 2001 to close the production. Salonga was also the first Asian to play Eponine in the Musical Les Misérables where she sung the famous “On My Own” at the Les Misérables: The Dream Cast in Concert in 1995. She also returned to the beloved show in 2006 to play the role of Fantine. Many fans also recognized her crystal-clear singing voice of two Disney princesses, Princess Jasmine of Aladdin and Mulan from Mulan and Mulan II. Her portrayal of the beloved Disney princesses was honored by the Walt Disney Company as they bestow her with the honor of “Disney Legend” In 2004, Salonga married a Japanese Chinese Entrepreneur named Robert Charles Chien. Sooner, their love resulted to the birth of their only child, Nicole Beverly Chien. They settled in Philippines and continued their peaceful and happy life together. Lea Salonga brought so much pride to the Philippines for her overwhelming achievements and accomplishments in the industry of Broadway and Theater. Despite her international stardom, Salonga remained patriotic and continued to appear on various Television Show in the country like The Voice, The Voice Teens, The Voice Kids, as one of the coaches. Lea recently appeared in the critically acclaimed Sony musical-drama Yellow Rose in Netflix. She also appeared on different classics in the name of Broadway and played major roles.Aside from her wonderful voice, she also has a pure heart. During the pandemic outbreak, Lea released her single “Dream Again” with all profits donated to charities aiding the COVID-19 relief around the world. Now, the 51-year-old legend, is currently living her successful life in the Philippines and recently announced her return to the United Kingdom for a tour in 2022. Her pitch perfect and clarity voice opened various opportunities that led to the success that she has now. And with that, may it be ten or twenty years from now, Lea Salonga will remain the West End, Broadway, and Disney Legend that she is now.   With my love of Broadway and Musicals, I personally admire the legend Ms. Lea Salonga. She may not be the most famous person in the Philippines, but she is a huge star shining internationally, I admire her talent that brought so much inspiration and pride to our nation. And despite her massive success worldwide, for me, her most important deed was the act of helping others. If I would be given a chance to replicate her life, I would go with it. Just like her, I wanted to be appreciated with my talent and I wanted to use this talent to help others as well. Nevertheless, no one will ever top her Shing, Shimmering, Splendid success that made her become the legend I truly admire.

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New Year’s Day

A memoir written by Ken Shyr Garcia I will never forget that day. Despite remembering the details vaguely, I will never forget those smiles that hides thousands of heartaches.

It was the year 2010, I was five.  We are minutes away in welcoming the new year. Dozens of foods are presented nicely on the table. Those fruits in the middle, radiating good fortune for the next year. There are decorations everywhere and you wouldn’t experience a minute of silence. People are waiting to celebrate the new beginnings.

I am personally excited for the games, practicing my speed to pick up the most candies from the ground. The feeling that day was overwhelming, it was a yearly tradition for us to celebrate the year with the whole family. During the past years, we were not complete, there is always someone missing. But today, everyone was here, except from him. My Grandparents are happily eyeing their lovely grandchildren as we bond with each other. One of my aunts is singing her lungs out from the Karaoke, my other is busy preparing the foods. Two of my uncles are busy talking about their newest vehicles. While at the corner, there are my parents. My papa watching over mama, she recently got home from the hospital. As a child, I never know what my mama must have felt like that time. All I have seen was her smiles and happy eyes.

That night, we captured photos that we could look to forever and remember that very moment when we welcomed the presence of the year 2011, leaving the bad days of 2010.

3… 2… 1… Happy New Year! Horns from the trumpets, fireworks from afar, and shouts of greetings is all you can hear when the clock struck midnight. Smiles from everyone and wishes for a prosperous year ahead, those times, I will never forget.

Twelve years later.

As I reminisce the days, I cannot help but notice the eyes of this lovely woman. She was sad and happy. This photograph from that New Year’s Day said it all. My Mama was sad, she was heartbroken by the loss of my brother. I cannot imagine how hard it must be for her- to celebrate the new year, two days after the deceased of my brother. Now that I am older, I plucked up the courage to ask my mama.

Ma, noong nalaman mo ‘yung tungkol kay John-john, umiyak ka ba?

Oo naman.

These two words. It broke my heart.

Looking back, that New Year’s Day was a day of goodbye, a day of moving on, but not forgetting. Every year, when that day come, he may not be physically with us, I may not have seen him, even a glimpse, still, he will always be in our hearts, alive and happy as we enter a new year in our lives.

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A Lifeless Dessert

If someone asked me my favorite meal of the day, I would say dessert. I love how cold and refreshing they made me feel, just like what I have now. 

My good friend, Lina, brought me a dessert when she went into my house. How sweet of her! Too bad she wouldn’t be joining me. I went straight to the kitchen to pick up my sharpest knife. For a moment, I stared at my dessert. I usually eat it on my birthday, but today’s an exemption. To my excitement, I cut a small piece from the upper part of my sweet course, and I craved, even more, when the red filling dripped like lava. My knife absorbed some of it, too, so I licked it, and it tasted like heaven. Oh, I love my dessert! I took a bite from the small piece that I cut, and it was soft and tasty. The red fillings were the best part. I couldn’t stop myself from eating this lovely dessert. I am forever grateful to Lina for giving me the best dessert.

When I finally satisfied my cravings, I decided to store my dessert. I grabbed a clear bag to place the spare parts I saved up for later. Then, I started cleaning up the mess from all those red fillings that dripped all over the place. I was halfway done with the cleaning when I heard a knock on my door. I didn’t answer. I don’t want them to see my dessert; I wanted it only for myself. “Syce Fait, open the door!!!” The knock continues. I suddenly felt like I wanted to cry, then the door was forced open. I stopped crying; instead, I laughed hysterically. “What in the world is this mess from?” His tone of voice made me feel furious. “My dessert,” I answered with a smile.

*NEWS*

A woman in her 20’s was arrested yesterday at her home in Manhattan, New York. The police confirmed that Syce Fait murdered people and ate them. The police traced her doings after losing her co-worker, Lina Gonzales, as she was the last person Gonzales contacted. They found her body in Fait’s storage with the absence of its numerous parts, and the police believed that she had eaten them. They also confirmed that Syce is a Psychopath.

Writing Prompt: Pick an object that is ugly and create a character who finds it very beautiful. Have the character describe the object in a way that convinces the reader of its beauty. Now write a version where you convince the reader that the character is mentally unstable.