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The girl walks in a nearby book store on the first of Summer, and her wide sparkling eyes start wandering every which way like a kid in a candy shop trying to pick out just a few candies from among so many delicious looking ones. There are arts and crafts books, dream interpretation books, classical literature, rows and rows of beautiful manga, and even shelves full of role playing books. It took quite a while before she realized what she was in there for, and with a disappointed downward glance and a slight frown, she sighs. Off to the information desk she walks, asking the lady at the desk urgently for books on Oracle databases.

The lady asks “what?”

“Oracle databases” the girl replies.

“Can you spell that? I-I mean I know how to spell Oracle…” says the lady after catching a puzzled look on the girl’s face.

“Data-bases” the girl replies enunciating the word for she had a habit of being soft-spoken.

“Oh! Databases!” the lady finally understood and leads the girl to rows of books on computers and networking.

On a top shelf to the far right, there are two very thick and thorough books on Oracle 10g and 11g. She picks up a book and skims through its dry content full of computer jargon. The girl looks frantically for a book on Oracle for Dummies…but none can be found. There is a SQL Server 2005 for Dummies, but the girl knows she needs one for Oracle. Disappointed, she picked the one on Oracle 11g and drives home.

Have you ever gone into a store wanting to buy some cool stuff only to realize what you needed to buy wasn’t very desirable? Stories are very much welcome. Oh yeah, it was the 2nd of summer aka today that this story took place, but 1st of summer sounds so much more significant to me.

Thanks for your comment: Jaleesa, Gill, katie, Lisa Marie, Cryslynn, Justin, Lav, trishie, Miss Dre, Sue, D, Kira, Olivia Kitty, Jen

I thought I’d write an entry on this book after having read it, but I’m in one of those writing moods right now, and since I’ve been in a dry-spell for so long, this opportunity simply can’t pass me by.

I’m a bit more than half-way done with the book and have been since day one of reading the book…so why haven’t I progressed? Actually, I wanted to finish the book the day I bought it but wasn’t able to because 1. I’m a slow reader and 2. I keep getting distracted while I’m reading. The two are somewhat intertwined really. I’d like to say I have too much going on to find time to finish the book, but I should be able to find time for something even if I am really very busy. Perhaps I’m not motivated. I shall finish before the end of June though.

Yes the word Alchemist was a huge determining factor for becoming interested in this book. Me and my Fullmetal Alchemist obsession…>.> I did read the inside jacket before choosing it however and was on the verge of picking a book about Jane Austen before seeing this one.

What’s so unique about The Alchemist is that the main character’s name is only mentioned once, at the very first sentence of the very first page of Part One: “The boy’s name was Santiago.” For the remainder of the book, he is known as “the boy”. I actually forgot his name was ever mentioned until a few days after reading the book and glancing at the first page. It’s written by a Brazilian author by the name of Paulo Coelho and the main character is from Spain. Most of the adventures take place in the northern deserts of Africa.

It’s a book about finding one’s destiny and how pursuing it is one’s own responsibility. Some people choose not to because they haven’t realized it, or they feel that it is merely a fantasy too far away to reach. Some people would rather have the fantasy and dream about their destiny than actually pursuing and fulfilling their destiny. The main character is confronted with many obstacles both internal and external and at times he almost gives up his dream. But he has courage, a determination to listen to his heart, a belief in omens, and creative optimism to guide him through his journey.

There’s something magical and enchanting about this adventure book. It has fantasy, adventure, romance, and other genres that I like. I also like how the main character starts by living a common life of travel through his trade of shepherding and fantasizes marrying a merchant’s daughter. Then one day he has a dream telling him to go to the Egyptian pyramids, a destination pointed out to him by a child in his dream and apparently leading to treasure. That one dream and the words of a gypsy and King Salem push him towards a great adventure.

I managed to upload six more images to my gallery. They are my Lines Project (under Pen), Unity and Variety Project (under Pen), Gradation Project (under Paint), Shapes Project (under Paint), and my Final Narrative (under Colored Pencil).

I also wrote outlines for Fullmetal Alchemist and Death Note in the Anime section. I’ll have to insert images later to go with those pages. Also, I’m working on one for Tsubasa Reseroir Chronicle. I’m having trouble finding a good reference for all the places mentioned in Tsubasa though. If anyone knows of a site for that, please let me know. Thanks!

For those of you who don’t already know, to comment on updates, just click on the green link that is the title of the entry. The updates won’t be shown in the Blogs section since I want that part to be for other topics.

Thanks for your comment: Aimey, Tasha, Veronica, amy, Kathy, Angelica, Cris, Karei, Emz