Hello, it's been a long while - 1.5 years, to be exact.

I'll be honest, I got so caught up in building another blog that reflects more of my personal passions & helpful for my future career that I completely forgot I even had this one. And school has been so busy - no longer a high school teenager, but a college girl in her 20s - that I don't have time to keep up with my writing, though I really should.

Side note: maybe I should at least finish off my Harry Potter posts.

Just checking in is all.
Maybe I'll come back to this sometime in the near future.

Minti.

The Making of Harry Potter: Interior Entrance

Here you can see the interior exterior, if that makes any sense at all. Inside the doors of the Warner Bros. studio, but before all the magic begins (that is, if you don't count cast portraits, the Ford Anglia (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets), miscellaneous items from the store, Harry and Ron's trunks and trolleys, and of course, Harry's Cupboard under the Stairs (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone). There is also a nice café and a Starbucks in this area, but if you want the famous Butterbeer, you must wait until you reach the backlot section of the tour.

Fly here for more.

The Making of Harry Potter: Exterior Entrance

The exterior entrance to the Studios, complete with some pieces from the live-size chess set in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone, and the tour bus.

Myself, I was already freaking outing being a total Potterhead by the time I got off the bus... or even before that: when I saw the bus. Or even as I got off the train and saw the sign for the tour. Or even that evening before. Or even before I arrived in London. Or even...

Fly here for more.

The Making of Harry Potter: Introduction

I'm happy to introduce a new series to my blog: The Making of Harry Potter.

As you probably don't know, I am an avid Potterehead. A few months back, I had the utmost pleasure in visiting the Warner Brothers studio in London (Leavesden) - this was where the eight Harry Potter movies were filmed, other than those on location.

"Warner Bros. Studio Tour London - The Making of Harry Potter celebrates the incredible craftsmanship behind these films as well as the wonderful production family that called the Studios home for ten years. This tour also marks the first time that fans get the chance to set foot on the actual sets from their favourite movies - at the studios where they were filmed." - The Making of Harry Potter: The Official Guide, Warner Bros.

In the next few posts, tagged with The Making of Harry Potter, I will be sharing my experience at the Studios, along with pictures I have taken and some quick facts that I have learned (if I remember them).

I hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoyed being there.
Mischief managed!

Everyone has a hero in their life...

It could be a Hollywood celebrity, a teacher, a social activist... the limitations are endless.

It could be more than one person or might not even be a person (say, a fictional character maybe?)

Who is your hero?

I know I have a whole lot of them, but there is one running around in my mind right this moment, saving my life (metaphorically speaking) as I write. This person is a hero to me in two different ways: how they make me feel and just how they are as a person. This hero of mine is one of my inspirations; they make me want to become a better person.

RE: What Is Love: The Key Traits

I've truly realized this in the last few days.

With my boyfriend being busy with school and I, quite the opposite, it is becoming increasingly difficult to see each other (even if we are not too far away). Relating it to statistics, when his workload increases, the amount of time we get to see each other decreases - it's a negative correlation.

One thing that is keeping my feet grounded is being understanding of his situation, and also being patient in waiting for the right time to see each other. Trust is also a big one too - I trust that he loves me.

This entry is a short one. But to summarize:

Understanding. Patience. Trust.

These are the key traits in a protecting and advancing a relationship.

Grow back down

One phrase: Nerf gun battles.

I found that ever since I entered high school, I have forgotten about having fun amongst all the work and stress; I forgot about being a kid.

Every year (or more like every term), my boyfriend's university puts on a Humans vs. Zombies tournament, so to speak. And they play using Nerf guns. I, being a girl and not very into shooting and things, had never touched a Nerf gun prior to this day. It also doesn't help that it is usually advertised as a "kid's toy".

I went over to his apartment and along with his roommates, we had several small Nerf gun battles. It was most definitely a fun experience.
Fun.
Every day, every night, I lock myself inside my room and all I do is study (with the occasional TV shows); work. All the time, I forget about going out, having fun, being a kid again.

The older we get, the more serious work gets laid upon us. All the more to grow back down again and embrace the inner child within ourselves.

My boyfriend has taught me, amongst many other things, to become a kid once in a while. Not worrying about anything, just having fun. Enjoying childish things like Nerf gun battles.

It was short, but definitely the most fun I have had in a while.

"Life is a journey, not a destination." - Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Where will this train take you?

Me?

I am finally in university, studying something that I am passionate about.

Music.

"Music?" you may ask.

I know it isn't business, or medicine, or engineering or anything that people claim will get you a job (because there totally aren't any jobs for musicians out there in the entire world - sarcasm intended), but it is my passion. 

Well, at least I think it is.

Semi-Hiatus

To those people who happen to stumble upon my blog or something totally strange like that:

I just realized that I haven't posted anything since January.
Wow.
That's a long time ago.
I guess I've just been so preoccupied with other things like school, piano, dramas, movies, relationships...etc. and I haven't had much inspiration recently.

I might try to start blogging again in the next couple of days only because it's March Break and I have more time.

Until then, assume I'm on a semi-hiatus.


The everwandering heart,
Minti.

Life's Number 1 Lesson

I keep on saying this but if I learned something from these past few years, it's this.

You're feeling upset and having a crappy day, about to have a mental breakdown. That's a normal thing for everybody. There are good days, and there are bad days. This is life. So you just have to DEAL WITH IT.

Sure, at the beginning, you can talk to someone to get their advice on it, but as time progresses and the problem does not go away, there is nothing else that your confidant can do. They have done the best that they can do and in the end, how you feel is up to you and if you're still feeling crappy...you're the only one who can change that. Sure, confiding helps. But it won't mean anything if you don't take action. And if you dwell on the situation for too long...it starts to annoy your confidant. Believe me, I know, I start to grow weary and impatient.

Complaining about the situation will not do anything for you. So:

• Stop complaining.
• Think about how you can reverse your pain.
• Consider all that your confidants have told you - they tend to be right.
• If you cannot accept it and are not trying to make yourself happier, then...you are just digging your own grave. 
• You must truly want to feel happier and change this around.

Because you, and only you, can change how you feel.

Keep Calm and Follow The Paintbrush

Something interesting that I came across and though I'd share it...since I haven't posted in a very long time (October!)

RE: What Is Love: Eye Love You.

Depicted is Le mur des je t’aime, also known as the “I Love You Wall”. This piece of art is located in a park, near Montmartre in Paris, France. Painted on the 612 tiles of enameled lava is the phrase “I Love You” in all (or at least most) of the languages in the world. Fragments of broken hearts are depicted as well, showing humanity torn apart, in which the Wall hopes to reunite. 

Beauty does not necessarily need to be natural, majestic, or of a grandeur scale – it can also be something as simple as a couple of phrases or a series of words. Everybody who visits this wall of love will be able to find the phrase in their native language, printed alongside many other languages. This shows us that we are all united as one within our world full of diversity and culture. 

As Oliver Platt once said, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”, which is why I decided to title my photograph Eye Love You. This wall serves as a subtle but effective reminder for Parisians and other tourists that they are loved.  Love is not always beautiful, but when you join with people who are the same as you and mend the broken fragments of your heart, it is the most beautiful and happiest feeling in the world. This photograph is not of something concrete, but rather stands for something abstract: the human’s natural feeling of love.

Validation - Smile!

validate: to recognize, establish, or illustrate the worthiness or legitimacy of

This was shown to me by a teacher during one of my trips, and it instantaneously clicked with me.

The message about smiling, about validating/saying nice and encouraging things to not only friends and family, but strangers as well - all this made it such an inspirational film.

See for yourself!

So I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

To wrap up this blog post of a lesson, get a name-tag, and write with me:

"I will validate."

everwandering-mind

dear wandering minds,

welcome to a new fragment of metamorphosis. here you will be able to explore new things related to the every-day life, ponder about the art of writing, and follow me as i unleash my hidden creativity.

JOURNEY ONWARDS AND IMMERSE YOURSELF.

RE: Once Upon A Time...

I have a confession to make: a majority of the time, I only half-listen to the homilies...but I am trying to change that...because I tend to not understand them or it does not really connect with me.

Oh, for those non-Christians, a homily is the priest's sermon following the readings, usually in response or in relation to the message presented in the Gospel reading.

However, a recent homily definitely caught my attention.

A couple weeks ago, I wrote something related to happiness.

Coincidentally, or by fate (whichever you believe in...I know I am a strong believer in fate), the homily that the priest gave on the following Sunday was on happiness.

I'm gonna keep this short and to the point.

He said that happiness is in sharing and helping others.
I believe that is definitely true.
But I also believe it is only one kind of happiness, and there are many more forms of happiness to explore.

What makes you happy?

And the priest also gave out a little homework challenge to the youths of the congregation: do something this week to make your parents smile.

Sadly for our parish, he is going back to Africa to preach there. Although he has been here only for a short time, his homilies will be remembered by many. I pray that he will change lives and help many of those in need there at Africa.

God Bless him and all of you readers ✞

Tumblr

The Tumblr version of this blog is now up and running!

Sure, it somewhat contradicts my original statement of "I created this blog because Tumblr is all too mainstream now etc.", but it's all still the same material, just on another site.
It makes things easier to reblog, like, and spread, as Tumblr has a much larger and more active population than that of Blogger.

Don't worry, though, this is still the "headquarters" of my blog.

Visit it here (and follow!): everwandering-heart.tumblr.com

Journey onwards and immerse yourself.

Once Upon A Time...

There lived a young princess.

She had all the riches she could ever ask for.
She was kind-hearted and beautiful.
She had the most loyal, trustworthy friends in the world.
She and her family were very, very, very close.

Everybody thought she must have lived a very happy life.
Everybody but herself.

He took the midnight train going anywhere...

A summer's afternoon just three days ago, the world lost someone great.

A singer. An actor.

A son. A brother.

A friend. A lover.

An inspiration to many.

"Earth lost a person, but heaven gained an angel."

It was 3am the morning after when I found out about his passing.

Being a follower of Glee, I just didn't know how to take the news.

Speechless.

Confused.

Shocked.

Heartbroken.

I didn't know what to do.

And I still don't.

Just a mere two years ago, he was just couple feet away from me,
Singing and dancing on the stage with the rest of the Glee cast.
I had been an advent follower of Glee for the first three seasons (come the fourth, I got busy with school and could not find the time, but I followed the first half of the season), so Cory was a big part of my life - every Tuesday night. Finn Hudson was one of my favourite characters on the show, one I actually felt for.

It is a terrible loss, especially on his family, the cast, and Lea.
Please pray for all of them as well as for Cory's soul.

05.11.1981 - 07.13.2013
R.I.P. C.M. </3

"Be nice to everyone, always smile, and appreciate things, because it could all be gone tomorrow." - Cory Monteith.

My Life is a Ghost Story

Found poem: a poem made by combining or rearranging fragments of prose, as a speech or story, into a verselike structure.

I am currently reading The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill, which talks about a woman and her life as an African slave. Although I tend not to enjoy reading this type of book, it is surprisingly compelling. Here is a found poem I have written for The Book of Negroes, a compilation of various texts from the book, up to page 108.

3 Dolls, 2 Decorations, 1 Thought

Here is my tiny story of 3 dolls, 2 decorations, and 1 thought.

3 Dolls - March 2012.
While walking past some elderlies in a park, these handmade dolls caught my attention. A woman next to me told me that whenever she comes to the park, she sees this middle aged lady knitting dolls; she knits just for her own enjoyment. My first thoughts when I saw them were "Oh, these are so cute!" and the artisan asked me if I wanted to buy any. They were not very expensive, and I really liked her handicraft, so I bought them - 3 Dolls.

2 Decorations - December 2012.
Not too long ago, my aunt told me a story on how she went to help disabled children. The children there, although disabled, were very talented musicians and even made these little decorations, under the instruction and guidance of youth volunteers. My aunt had purchased a couple of these handmade decorations. After telling me the story, she showed them to me and subsequently gave them to me - 2 Decorations.