I just had an unexpected dinner with Dr. Carnate and Dindee It was all unplanned, Dindee was about to take me home when we accidentally run into him at the Arellano and Estrada intersection. It was really funny because Dindee’s excitement was very apparent hahaha. I regret a little that I broke my pledge not to take dinner to reduce weight –phew-

I am currently reading Mishima: A Biography by John Nathan. Yukio Mishima is one of the greatest writer of his time (1925-1970) who committed seppuku publicly in pursuit of his social ideals… whatever they were, I haven’t known yet. I scan-read an article about him rumored as a homosexual, which I haven’t confirmed. I’m enjoying reading this because it’s giving me an insight of Japan that I haven’t touched which is the Late Meiji period to postwar Japan. Though I encountered a student-movement thingie in “Norweigan Wood” by Haruki Murakami. Plus Obviously, I haven’t read any Mishima works yet, but when I read the overview of his life, I got interested (the fact that he’s Japanese is interesting enough for me geez). But now I’ve learned of his childhood through pubescent, I am compelled to read his works. I bet it’d be just as interesting. His childhood reminds me of Midori (another character from “Norweigan Wood”). Just like Mishima, she also experienced the misery of being a commoner studying in a prestigious school meant for people with aristocratic background. Connecting each event to previous books I’ve read makes it more interesting. But then, it also disoriented my anime viewing. I stopped watching One Piece for a while, but the good news is that it’s weekend and I will definitely continue with Luffy’s journey hehehe…

Speaking of Luffy, a couple of days ago, the first thing that run into me in the office was a “libre” tabloid headline (see image). And amazingly must have lost my sensibility at that moment when I automatically blurted “ohmigosh! Luffy had come to life!” seriously I thought it was for real, and when I turned to the page, I got disappointed to learn that it was actually just an advertisement hehehe. Darn, I didn’t even had the sense to inspect the graphics’ quality… and it was then that I realized, that somewhere in my subconscious mind…. Is a genuine belief for supernatural powers… and even longing for it… or simply just… the longing for the lost childhood.

10 Things You Can Do to Help Stop the Global Warming

1. Change a light – Replacing one regular light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb will save 150 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.
2. Drive less – walk, bike, carpool or take mass transit often. You’ll save one pound of carbon dioxide for every mile you don’t drive.
   
3. Recycle More – you can save 2400 pounds of carbon dioxide a year by recycling half of your household waste.
   
4. Check your tires – keeping your tires inflated properly can improve gas mileage by 3%. Every gallon of gasoline saved keeps 20 pounds of carbon dioxide out of atmosphere.
   
5. Use less hot water – it takes a lot of energy to heat water. Use less hot water by installing a low flow showerhead (350 pounds of CO2 saved per year) and washing your clothes in cold and warm water (500 pounds saved per year).
   
6. Avoid products with a lot of packaging – you can save 1200 pounds of carbon dioxide a year if you cut down your garbage by 10%.
   
7. Adjust your thermostat – moving your thermostat just 2 degrees in winter and 2 degrees in summer. You can save about 2000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year with this simple adjustment.
   
8. Plant a tree – a single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over it’s lifetime.
   
9. Turn off electronic devices – simply turning off your TV, DVD player, stereo and computer when not in use will save you thousands of pounds of carbon dioxide a year.
   
10. Spread the word! Convince your family, friends, colleagues and classmates to do the same.

-taken from www.climatecrisis.net

Shades

Yesterday while roaming around in Robinsons Place to look for some books, I happen to passed by at a particular shades stall and then there goes my shades fetish, I ended up fitting various shades like I always do (but not buying anything hehehe). I guess I just have this inclination towards shades. Of all the fashion accessories around, only sunglasses catch my interest. If only I were a fashion conscious fellow, I would’ve followed Randy Santiago’s practice of wearing shades all the time, at least when I’m out. Luckily, my entire obsession went to anime and Japanese stuffs hehehe… but anyway, something about shades attracts me… it’s the idea of giving an enigmatic impression to my receptors. It’s because the eyes are the windows of the soul. Even in manga & anime, the eyes are the main players in emphasizing one’s emotion. It’s even said that discerning a person lying can be done by looking keenly in his eyes. Yes our eyes can reveal so much of ourselves. Can I therefore conclude that my fondness of wearing shades reflect my secretive personality? Maybe, maybe not… I’ll leave it to your imagination.

HERE is a collection of my pictures wearing shades. Of all those sunglasses, only 2 pairs were actually mine hehehehe…

It’s Renchard’s birthday! He had his party last night. He and Frances finally made up prior to that and I’m glad to see them to be jolly together again. Oh how it feels good to make up with your enemy. Look who’s talking, they’ve been insisting me to reconcile with Kuya Aris, but for some reason, my ego won’t let me do it. In my deepest sense of reasoning (rather immaturity), I am not in the position to apologize because I firmly believe that I was innocent. But of course, a time would come that I’d humble myself and plead for forgiveness, not only from him but every person I’ve hurt no matter how unintentional. I’ve already set 2 conditions for me to do that: first, if I manage to have my lifetime wish granted. Second, if I have to part with the concerned person –say, if I’d be leaving MDH or going abroad or even dying… and maybe when I become a little more mature hahaha…

anyway, I’ve always felt, that one way or another I’ll have to get rid of those hatreds felt toward me and same goes for myself. I guess it’s one of those things that contributes to the fear I feel towards death… don’t get me wrong for I am not afraid to die, it’s just that the thought of leaving an unfinished business behind is pathetic. I realized this when I was reading “The Sandman: The Dream Hunters” by Neil Gaiman. By the way, I just have to praise Gaiman for this piece, the story was very Japanese, it’s as if reading an actual Japanese folklore written by a native Japanese. And of course the message was very clear and effectively expressed (that is if I got it right). This is the first time I’ve read Gaiman’s work and I’m afraid that I’m actually interested to read more I hope I don’t get to shove off my other literary priorities hehehehe…. Oh well, to try new things brings you more learnings and draws you to a new world which is actually good.

Today is also the Earth Day and I attended the Earth Day Celebration at CCP. There were booths of various environmental organizations and screening of documentary films discussing environmental issues of course. I was able to watch the “Inconvenient Truth”, a documentary film about global warming facilitated by Al Gore. At first, I couldn’t help thinking that this is nothing more than a political campaign. But after watching the film, who cares about his real purpose. It has a very significant message for every earthling. And with the heat that every one of us is experiencing right now, I believe it’s high time that we do something about it. A time for a change of lifestyle. In our own little way we can help save the earth from global warming. We can reduce our CO2 emission (reduce smoking, avoid smoke belching, if you’re a rich kid, opt for a hybrid car), we can conserve water and energy, we can recycle, we can plant trees... and we can convince our families, friends, colleagues, classmates, and our community to do the same. I’m not an environmentalist and I admit that I rarely do measures to help the earth, simply put, I don’t have the right to talk big. But I love my nephews and nieces… I love my friends who are member of the next generation. I believe that they deserve a clean water, a fresh air, to be free from biohazard… the future generation deserves a home. And we the incumbent beings have a role in giving those needs. Let’s help our mother planet!

Manatsu No Yoru No Yume

The worst part of having a good dream is waking up. To think that it’s so damn hard to fall asleep because of the summer heat, there I was having a dream of my life, a dream that, if only I had the choice, I would prefer to stay for as long as I shall live…I was right there, in the exact place that I long to be. Somewhere that I need to be, more than I need air. Where I felt more alive than being awake. But then, I had to go back, in this so called reality and face all those miseries again… and wear that smile again… Oh dear Mr. Sandman, please sprinkle those magical dust unto my eyes again, I wouldn’t mind getting all those mutt in the morning… in fact, I wouldn’t mind if Death would take a year of my lifespan… for a night of that dream…

Haha, this must be the effect of The Sandman: The Dream Hunters by Neil Gaiman. Though it was against my policy to purchase a western graphic novel, I thought it’s in accordance with my Japan only policy because this publication was illustrated by Yoshitaka Amano, character designer of various Final Fantasy installments. Besides, I’ve heard good remarks by fellow comics enthusiasts about The Sandman. Besides, one of the reason I bought it was because Power Books was on sale hehehehe….

This morning Frances and I finally realized the early morning jogging that we have been setting long ago (and postponed so many times). Damn the summer heat just won’t give me enough sleep that I need, I was up so early that I decided to work out than staying in that oven! I was a little frustrated though that I couldn’t keep up with Chy’s speed. Jogging together with her also made me realize how weak my stamina is and how easily I give up. No wonder I rarely achieve my objectives (short term and long term) –sigh- I really need a change or should I say evolution… also this morning I met up with 3 friends who are artists – Mike, Mark and Romer. We were supposed to go together at Anne’s place (another artist friend) because she’s coming up with an art exhibit this coming August 2007. Meeting with Anne was a good thing, I learned that having so many connections with different kinds of people opens a lot of opportunity for you. And it’s even a give and take relationship. There are so many information which she seemed to miss that I can feed while she has a lot of connections I need, to make a leap in career that I’ve been waiting. But I’m looking forward to this exhibit, I am motivated to draw. I just hope this keeps up.

I’m really enjoying “One Piece”. Thanks to the long weekend, I finally had the chance to grasp the edge of this title. And I’m really liking Luffy’s crew more and more. I like the idea that each member has his own strengths and weaknesses, with different goals and dreams but were drawn to each other to achieve their objectives. I hate to admit this, but Luffy’s company reminds me of a certain group of 5 deviant individuals from a not so normal hospital. And yes I miss this group and their late night adventures hehehe. Anyway, I’m currently at the Little Garden stopover where they meet 2 giant warriors who have been dueling for over a century, to the point that they have forgotten the reason why they are fighting in the first place. After 73, 466 duels, always resulting to a draw, they’d end up laughing… so it seemed that they were good friends all along. And I’m really getting excited how things would turn out. One Piece was aired in local TV more than 2 years ago but I only got the chance to watch it now. My cousin told me that the series is still ongoing and is currently on episode 300+ already. Hmmm, why are there so many titles nowadays that seem to be following the tradition of Dragon Ball epic. I remember losing my appetite during the Cell saga, because it seemed to me that the “dragon ball” quest had been through long ago and that its theme got stuck with the never-ending desire to get stronger. For chrissake the earth seemed like an ant to a super saiyan (4) Gogeta already!!! And now thanks to the going mainstream of anime, a lot of titles seem to be competing with its record hehehe. It’s not that I think of it as a bad thing, but I have this tendenNo I hope not, I think I have a lot to look forward in “One Piece” because it’s just like an RPG. KAIZOKU da!!!


My accomplishment for the past days is my progress in anime viewing hehehe, to date I’m already at episode 70+ in One Piece, episode 24 – Kyou Kara Maou, 10 – TOKKO, episode 14 – Maria-sama ga miteru. Weee, I’m back in the anime scene: I’ve recently attended 2 anime related events, I’ve spent my vacation mostly watching anime, and I’m looking forward for the upcoming events, I’ve updated my collection wishlist, I’ve recently bought new DVDs (Black Jack Movie, One Piece Movie, Kino no Tabi)… there’s only one thing missing – cosplay enthusiasm. Yes till now I haven’t got any inspiration… hmmm…

Last night after visiting Dindee’s mother (she had stroke, pls. pray for her fast recovery) I decided to go straight at home… while walking along UN avenue, I felt this mood of being too exhausted to go anywhere else but too hyper to sleep, or simply say I’m tired but not sleepy. And whenever I’m having this kind of mood, broke or not, with or without friends, I go to Starbucks in Manila Pavilion and let my time pass until I finally feel like resting. And then I realized that it had just been 2 days since it closed but I miss it that much already. On their last day, I, with fellow coffee lovers stayed until closing time and had our last moment in the best coffee house in the world. It turned out that, that place actually touched many lives as well. At first it was just Dr. Robert Li, Dindee and I. Then came Jamir, an Iranian dentistry student at UP. When Dindee had to go back to her mom’s room, I took Dr. Jay with me then Frances and Emil came. Then when we returned, Angelo, a law student was there already. The funny thing was, when each would learn they have a common friend or acquaintance or whatever. And I realized more and more how small the world is. Of course, I’ll always remember the friendliest barristas I’ve known – RS, Paris, Gladys, June, Kent, Ivanhoe, Francis and some that I know by face but not by name… Oh how I really miss them. Here’s my tribute to Starbucks Manila Pavilion.

Last Sunday I attended the Ozine Fest 2007 at Megatrade Hall 2. I was there early just to be sure I’d get a ticket. I’ve learned my lesson at UPAME Matsuri last December. And I was right because it went sold out by the time Neil came. Gosh, cosplay seems to become more and more popular with kids. I noticed the vast increase of young cosplayers in the event and the good news is that they are becoming more conscious of accuracy and quality of costumes. Just to add testimony to the growing popularity of cosplaying in the Philippines, Ozine released a cosplay magazine. I bought one just for the sake of knowing how the Ozine people do it this time. I have to admit that any magazine they release doesn’t please me. There was no single issue have had something that’d be interesting for someone who’s been an anime fan for almost 8 years already. Of course I’m not saying I know every single anime but their reviews are pathetic. It couldn’t get my attention for more than a minute. And I’d say, I could get articles waaaaaayyyyy better than that for free –in the internet. Though it’s really ironic, because I actually have 5 or 6 issues, but it was only because they were featuring events that I had attended and I was hoping I’d see my pic somewhere hehehehe… Going back to the event, I was both pleased and pissed with the way it was organized. Pleased because of the bazaar (huhuhu, I wish I had more okane) and there lots of fun booths –parlor games, video games etc. But I was pissed because the organizers seemed not to consider the convenience of the fans. First, the area for the cosplay viewing was too small, and it went even smaller because they had to put room for the judges just a minute before the cosplay show offs started, making the audience occupying the viewing area, which was supposed to be for us (pls. be reminded it was too small already). Haay, and that annoying Level-up crew keeps on reprimanding some fans to keep from the space (good enough to accommodate 10 people) just in front of their booth. They reasoned out that it was off-limits because they hold transactions in that space for buyers. And I really hated how dimwitted he was, of course that was the instructions of his superior and he’s just following SOPs. But anyone can see that every damn attendant was focused on the catwalk. How in the world can you expect a customer at that very moment??? And with that crowd, how can you expect a 5 ft. kid like me to enjoy the show? Oh well, that was a Palm Sunday and I decided to quit watching, instead I attended the mass and thank God, it gave me peace of mind. After the mass, I contemplated and realized that I am slowly outgrowing the local fandom. Of course I still love anime and Japanese culture, I’m just disappointed. I feel like the Anicons here are contaminated of pathetic Filipino culture. Oh boy I don’t want to end up criticizing my own nation again, so I’ll end these thoughts of mine. Just check my Ozine Fest 2007 pics HERE.

I’m just glad that the long weekend is just a day ahead! And that means I could rest and watch anime! Yay!!!

I’m gonna miss that old place… where I used to relax and pass my time before going home from work… huhuhu, today’s the last day of Starbucks Pavillon! They are transferring to SM Manila, but we rarely ever drop there. I’m gonna miss that good ‘ol staff with warm greetings of “hi Kid”… haayyy… in the place where friendship grew… even doctors are affected. Just this morning when I met Dr. Blas in MDH lobby, other than the usual “hi” I automatically blurted today’s Starbucks’ last day… and he reacted “oh no, where are we going to stay na”…Oh well, so much for the regrets, might as well switch to Figaro since Starbucks Bayview is too far for a walk (NOT!).

Yesterday I attended the 3G Gigabyte Lan Party at Market Market. That was actually my first time going there and what a hell of an adventure I had been. Nothing scary or serious, just exhausting. When I arrived at the event, I hardly had the strength to enjoy. Besides, the event turned out to be for beneficial for online gaming enthusiasts in which I admittedly cannot relate. There were very few cosplayer whom I cannot recognize the characters. If they are not from online games, then they must be the latest anime. Whatever, the bottom line I did not enjoy. But for the sake of experience (I think 3G is also held annually-I’m not sure), so this is what goes on at 3G and other related events. Simply put, stick with anime, manga, toy, and J-culture events. Well, it’s never too late to enjoy, tomorrow’s Ozine fest, this’ll be the first time I’m attending an Ozine event, I just hope I’d get the smoke of my money’s worth.