(Digital painting by Marco)
Anna Manila tagged me for another meme. This time it’s the Page 123 meme. She told me it’s very simple, and I didn’t need to do if I didn’t want to (ummm… appealing to the conscience, huh.. LOL !). But I want to do it anyway. This is my third tag, and I’m just warming up. 
I’m asked to:
1) Grab the nearest book.
2) Then turn to page 123.
3) Mark the fifth sentence. Pick up the next three sentences and post. (In other words,
post sentence nos. 6-8 on page 123)
4) Acknowledge the book and the author.
5) Tag 3 people in turn.
Well, which nearest book? From where I sit in my study/home office, there are shelves of books around. Which would I reach for? To the right? To the left? I’m afraid I might be tempted of being biased and pick a book I like.
So I thought of another way. I would ask my daughter to get a book for me from her room.
“Gem, anak, will you please get me a book from your shelf?”
“What book, ma?”
“Any, any book.”
“Why, what will you do with it?” (Darn, why do children interrogate their parents when asked to do something?)
“Basta, I need it for something. No questions asked.”
A minute later, she handed me a book. Oh, it’s “The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. Probably she thought I would favor this one because we share the same fondness for this classic. But it’s very thin and when I scanned the leaves, there were only about 90 pages.
“This book won’t do, baby. Give me another one. Don’t choose, just grab any book you can grab.”
After another minute, she handed me the book. Ah, great, it’s got 245 pages. Ummm. turn, turn, turn to page 123. Looking, looking for sentence nos. 6-8. ……….. Okay, here’s what I got. Oh, it’s a list of wise quotes, by the way, so I have to number them:
6) The higher your self-esteem, the healthier the people will be that you attract.
7) Once you’ve given away your virginity, you can never have it back.
The truth is always easier than a lie - you never have to remember what you said.
From “Chocolate for a Teen’s Soul” by Kay Allenbaugh. It’s a book of life-changing stories for young women about growing wise and growing strong.
My, my, my… what coincidence. The above quotes quite hit me, especially no. 7! My daughter is now 16 and fast blooming to be a lovely young lady. She will be in college in June, and most probably will be studying in Manila. I tell my husband, she can’t go without me. I just have to be with her. She is in such a vulnerable age and I worry no end about quote no. 7.
Yeah - I know, I know… we are in cyber age, but still, I can’t help it!
I’m tagging anyone - meaning, anyone who wants to do the meme, you’re it!
I was beginning to say “sayang,” — excerpts from The Little Prince would have been great. But those chocolate bits are okay too, in a way okayer than st. exupery because i haven’t read them. I like No. 6 … had a problem with that before pero hwag na lang magsobstory ha. LOL Ok din yung No. 8 … even in blogging and with an assumed name (such as I use) , one has to be oneself all the time. Eh yung No. 7, that’s for my daughters. Ay naku, when you find out they have boyfriends na, wala peace of mind pag ginagabi, nag-iisleep in. You know what i do aside from texting/calling hour on the hour … I monitor the stock of Whispers, etc. that i buy. ay ano ba ito?
Grabe I almost fell off my chair with the Prab-Rhoda exchange in my site. And perhaps we haven’t seen the end of it. Hahhaa.
I did this meme before!
What you have quoted did hit me the instant I read it. It’s true, isn’t it?
Anna, nagka-problema tuloy ako sa sinabi mo.
But anyway, I known naman, whether I like it or not, she will go to that boyfriend stage. Buti na lang I only have one daughter, e ikaw, you have two?
Amused din ako sa reaction ni Prab. After I posted my comment, I didn’t know he was still in your site. And he posted a fast reply. Hahaha!
Kyels, you’re right. First, we can’t figure what the quotes are for, but when we read them we get hit one way or another.
Two daughters. Pero its the bunso who has a serious boyfriend. The one who’s in school is i hope too deeply engrossed in her medical books for anything else.
Sometimes my kids ask me when I make a fuss over their boy/girlfriends sometimes spending the night at home: “Mom, don’t you trust us?” I answer: “I do but not your hormones” — harapharapan with the gf/bf. Eh, siguro sabi — ang weird naman ng mommy na ‘to.
About Prab’s name … saka na lang ha … pag nabuo na. Ok naman sya, thank goodness. I just worried a bit that we might have gone overboard.
Hiya ! I’ve done this meme ,too. Sayang nga hindi Little Prince because it’s one of my favourite book, too.
6.Ouch!
7.Ouch, ouch!
8.Ouch, ouch, ouch!
Anna, okay yun a - telling them straight. I think when I come to that situation, I will follow your example.
With Prab, yes, I read his last comment on your site. Game naman yung bata. Hehe. Pero sa totoo lang, nagka-prablem ako sa name nya. LOL!
I like #8
Dimaks, me too!
Right, Cruise! A reminder I want my daughter to bear in mind.
Pining, 90 pages lang kasi yung Little Prince.
I like #6. Hmm… might want to look for that book when I get to Powerbooks or National.
Hala mga Tita ko, na amuse sakin. lawl!
Prab! Akala ko di ka na dadalaw dito sa site ko after that ‘prablem’ you gave us. hehehe.
Yup, okay ung # 6, but I also like #8. Di ba, kung nagsasabi ka ng totoo, di mo na kailangang i-memorize pa..
Great quotes. Especially the one about losing your virginity. It must be a lot harder raising daughters. All that worries.
Yes, truly, Irene. With my two boys before when they were in their teens, I didn’t worry as much now.
Tita naman, it’s just a name. Why would I hold a grudge?
Naku, Prab! Alam mo bang may mga nagpapatayan dahil lang sa pangalan? Hahaha!
Maraming issues tungkol sa names. Meron kaming relative, hindi niya nagustuhan ang family name nila (my mother’s side), kasi daw hindi maganda ang connotation sa dialect namin, aba, pinapalitan ba naman niya, kesehodang gumastos siya sa court proceedings!
No, seriously - your Tita Anna (este, Myrna pala) and I were a bit worried, you might be thinking we were poking fun at your name. And some people can be sensitive when it comes to this matter. But with you naman - no ‘prablem’ pala eh… Oh, here I go again… LOL !
Really? Well, I guess if his name really stinks, and I mean both literally and figuratively, then I’d do the same. Otherwise, it’s just a waste of money.
Like I said sa website ni Tita Anna, I’ve heard worse, even as a kid, so wa epek na.
Ay sige, sagot ko rin itong meme.
Very nice choice of book. Galing ng timing ano?
Hi, Leah! Ayan, sige, sagutin mo meme. Tell me pag ready ka na, ha. Yup, the book - gulat nga din ako pagbukas ko sa page 123, timing na timing.
I loved “The Little Prince”. Pinagkakaguluhan namin nong high school kami.
The book that you did use, however, sounds like a great choice for teenagers to read!
Hello, Kathy! Yup, Little Prince is my all time fave. It’s always book that I grab when I do bathroomy ‘morning routine’.
And with the book I used - that’s my daughter’s. Mahilig mag kolekta siya ng books. 