Ten Things You May Not Know About Peter Pan

Earlier this month, while browsing through deviantart for some Disney-related images, I came across a fan art of Peter Pan. I liked it so much that it reawakened my love for the movie and the character. Since then, I started to look for anything that's related to Peter Pan. It has become my personal obsession. I know not everyone appreciates the story, but, hey, we all have our preferences.

I realized that I have taken my Peter Pan addiction so far on tumblr that I've decided to post this here. I didn't want to turn that page into a Peter Pan shrine. After all, there are plenty of them out there already. Hehe. So to satisfy my "need" for anything Pan-related, here are ten things about Peter Pan that you may not have known.

• Disney's Peter Pan was the first Peter Pan ever to be played by a boy, but it was the 2003 version that had the first live boy to play the part. Traditionally, Pan had always been played by women.
• Since the very first showing of Peter Pan, the same actor who plays Captain Hook also plays Mr. Darling.
• In the original 1953 Disney version, there is a scene where Tinkerbell is dying and Peter sings a song to save her, but this scene was taken out in later versions. Tinkerbell appears with Peter later in the film and no explanation is given as to her healing.
• Kathryn Beaumont, the girl who voiced Wendy Darling in the Disney adaptation, also voiced Alice in Alice in Wonderland.
• J.M. Barrie gave the rights for Peter Pan to Great Ormond Street Hospital in 1929.
• Many people believe that Marilyn Monroe had the body that Tinkerbell's curvaceous one was based on, but it wasn't. It was actually based on actress Margaret Kerry.
• The name Wendy was popularized by the book. It was very uncommon before Barrie used it for the book's heroine.
• The characters of Peter Pan were based on Barrie's friends, the Llewleyn Davies kids. Peter Pan was said to be based from the child of the same name, Peter Llewelyn Davies.
• The height requirement for the Face Character of Peter Pan in Disneyland is between 5'1" to 5'4". Hurray for me!
• The melody for the song Second Star to the Right from Disney's Peter Pan was originally intended for Alice in Wonderland.

There Is Something Strange In Your Neighborhood

Have you read a good book lately? I have. And if you have the time, let me tell you all about it.

Just recently, I read a book called Kapitan Sino by the witty and remarkably humorous Filipino writer, Bob Ong. It's a little different from the others he wrote as it is not semi-biographical, but his charming wit and humor are still very much present in the said book.

Like Macarthur, his other novel-ish type book, it's still sort of a comic tragedy but it's not half as depressing. It tells the story of a Pinoy superhero and his struggles in life, but presented in a way that's closer to reality than most of the superhero comics or novels. It showed a superhero that's flawed and, in spite of having superpowers, very human. It also paints a very clear picture of the kind of society we're in.

I'm not very good at summarizing things, so I suggest you read for yourself. I won't say it's a great book because the plot is not really something new (and it might also cause you to raise your expectations), but it's a really good read. It's entertaining as it is very funny. Also, it has the Bob Ong trademark. You learn a good lesson after all the funny anecdotes without spending more than Php 200.

If you're looking for something to read to pass the time, I suggest you read Kapitan Sino.

Whoa. I think I just wrote my first book review.

Perfect

I'm 21 years old, though at times I look like 12 (or 34). I'm only five feet three inches tall (or short), just like Jessica Simpson. Yes, Jessica Simpson, and no, I don't know why I had to put her in. I have the frame that Anorexics and Bulimics are trying so hard to achieve. About 85 % of the people I have talked to on the phone mistook me for the opposite sex. I have a forehead that's the size of the moon and a neck that's at par with a giraffe's. I am in love with music even though I sing like a strangled cow. I appreciate boring movies and I cry even at the most inappropriate scenes. I'm corny, sappy, and dramatic. I hate mess but I'm too lazy to be organized. I'm smart but not so much. I have a good memory, but it only works on things that don't matter. I could go on, but I'd rather stop.

I am not perfect and, yes, I'm not even close. But I'm hoping that someday I'd meet someone who I would be perfect for and would be perfect for me. And when that time comes, no matter how crazy the world would be, I know everything would turn out to be perfect. Just wait and see.

Black Coffee and Smiley-Pancakes with Extra Strawberry Drizzles

After having a marathon of one of my favorite animated series, I came to a realization. I miss being a kid. Yes, I know I haven't been much of a grown up lately, but what I meant was that I miss being a little child. I miss worrying over the little things like missing my favorite cartoon show and laughing over the silliest things like a corny text joke. I miss waking up on a Saturday morning, excited to have the whole day for playing with my toys and my friends. I miss not feeling guilty over reading comics and kiddie novels instead of school books. And most of all, I miss the freebies that kids get (especially during the holidays!). Haha!

I am now at the age where people expect me to be a mature individual. Yes, at 21, most people would expect you to give up your childish ways. They would expect you to get over your fascination for toys, addiction for video games and enthralment in animated shows. I completely understand why people would expect something like that on 21-year-olds. We are at the age that's ripe for taking responsibility and making things happen. And it's hard, as they say, to get things done when you're hung over your childhood fantasies and crayon-colored world.

As we grow up, we give up the happy-go-lucky child within us. We gag that kid. and lock it up in the deepest, darkest part of our being. We try to ignore it's distant cries and deprive ourselves of the little happiness it bring us when we see that little kid smile. We give in to the notion that growing up means moving on and leaving the child behind, thinking that you can always get back to that kid when you feel you've done what you thought you were supposed to do. But you will never be done with your duties anytime soon. And in time, you'll forget all about that little kid. The moment you'd realize what you've forgotten, it probably would have been too late. And the child you kept hidden for so long would have long been dead.

Just recently a friend of mine told me that she felt like she was starting to get her old princess-y self back. I was genuinely so happy for her because it meant that she hasn't given up the child in her completely. She still had the little girl that believed in happy-ever-afters, the one she was forced to give up for quite some time, in her and waiting for her to open the door that she was locked in. And it was only a matter of time before she could finally set her free once more. However, just after she told me all about it, another friend of mine sort of made a confession that was the complete opposite. He basically told me that he suppressed his love for something because he had become an adult. He was, for a lack of a better word, embarrassed to like something as childish as that thing. And that made me sad.

I'm no expert in Life, but I feel like being young and growing up aren't on different ends of a continuum. I don't think that you have to choose one over the other. I don't think you have to give up a part of you just to be someone that you think you're supposed to be. Keep in mind the wonderful words of G.K. Chesterton: Happy is he who still loves something he loved in the nursery: He has not been broken in two by time; he is not two men, but one, and he has saved not only his soul but his life. Why should you change who you are if you can get the job done just as well when you're being you? Of course, I'm not saying that you should always act like a child because that's just plain stupid. What I'm saying is, give your self a chance to be a kid every now and then, see things through the eyes of a child, and don't be afraid to love the same things that you used to when you were a little tot. It's not immature, nor is it retarded. It's called being yourself.

So to hell with those insignificant people who mockingly chuckle when you get excited over a cartoon that you used to love. Don't even mind the curious glances of strange passers-by as you check out the toys that make you feel nostalgic. And screw those who silently judge you for still believing in fairy tales and happy ever after. They're probably just envious that you could afford to be a child and an adult at the same time.

Thank You, Yesterday

January 1. A new day, and a new year. Before I got out of bed, I pondered what I would want to do first on the first day of the year. I lay on that semi-soft, semi-hard mattress, feeling the cool breeze for quite sometime until I finally figured out that there was only one thing to do. To take a look back at the past year and thank God for the blessings that I've received.

If there was one word to describe the year that's passed, I wouldn't know what it is. Because for me, it would take more than one word to describe the wild ride that was 2009. It had been pretty ironic, and also blissful at some point. It was petty frustrating, but also a lot of fun. Last year wasn't recorded in a journal or a blog, but it was imprinted on my heart. I have run down below five reasons why I loved 2009. Of course there should be more but I guess that would suffice as I can't really put down ALL the reasons why I loved 2009. :)


♥ Last year, I fulfilled a promise. Due to unfortunate events, my older brother hadn't finished his studies. I'm not even quite sure what level he is in college. So the moment that it became clear to me that we were having academic problems for my brother and financial problems for the entire family, I made a vow that I will make my parents proud and finish my undergraduate studies. And on my graduation day, when I saw how happy my parents were, I knew I had fulfilled my promise.


♥ Last year, I was a Yes Man. After being inspired from the movie of the same name, my friends and I decided to become Yes Men. Whenever one of us suggested to do something like play golf, eat halo-halo, or whatever that would come to mind, we would only answer "Yes". It was fun while it lasted. We got to do stuff we didn't usually do and we also allowed ourselves to let go of our worries for some time. It didn't really last long though, since our responsibilities were calling out to us. Most of us were graduating, so school had become so hectic that we could no longer keep up with our Yes Man attitude. I hope we could get back to it again come 2010, though.


♥ Last year, I became a Nurse. If you knew me back in my senior year in high school, you'd know that I didn't want to be a nurse. And if you knew me back when I was a little kid, you'd know that becoming a nurse was never one of my millions of ambitions. Surprisingly enough, though, that's what I have become. I've studied to become one, got a pin to prove I am one, and passed the exams that would allow me to be one. Yes, thanks to God, I am now a nurse even if it wasn't what I've always wanted. Now, the next step is to look for a nursing job. Hehe.

♥ Last year, my friends and I gave back to the community. After our much awaited Christmas Party, my friends and I decided to extend the Christmas spirit to the abandoned children in the Missionaries of the Poor. We fed the lovely little children who had special needs. It was then that I realized how lucky I truly am. It was also then that I realized how stupid and selfish I was to have thought that the world had done me wrong just because of the minor misfortunes that befell upon me, when the children at MOP has had it worse and yet they find it in themselves to be happy with the little things that they have. It was truly one eye-opening experience that I would treasure for the rest of my life. And it was also a very good way to have ended the year.

♥ Last year, I decided to keep on doing the things I love. If you've read my previous entries, you'd know what I'm talking about. In the last quarter of 2009 I became an Indie Blogger (either James or Gwen came up with the nickname) and I got back to my roots and started drawing again. Although I haven't really finished any artwork yet due to my sucky schedule (I hate the night shift 'coz you always feel like there isn't much time!), I never stopped trying. And yes, I will never stop trying for as long as I can. Keep in mind that not everyone knows what would make them happy. So if you're lucky enough to find out what it is that makes you happy, don't let it go. Hold on to it because it just might be what you'd need to keep you going.

Now that 2009 has ended and the future is staring at us right in the face, I can't really say that I'm all excited. Because there's really no telling what may ensue come 2010. Who knows what kind of joy and sorrow we'd encounter this coming year. Well, c'est la vie! I may not know what tomorrow might bring, but I know I've got to say this: Thank you, yesterday.