2012, you’re a blast!

I re-read my year-end post in 2011 for some take-off points and apparently I wrote in the end that I can't remember when I was THAT much excited for 2012. And boy did 2012 deliver – I can’t focus on ONE specific moment that can capture the year since there are just too many awesome experiences this year.

First, thank you Lord and I’m still employed lol. This year marks my first year in my current workplace. Which is a milestone in itself since the last time I had an anniversary at work is, uh, four years ago? Still grateful that my work is mentally stimulating and my workmates are great to be with. Hahahha, well let’s not jinx it. Here’s to more “happy times” in the office, and may the stress be worth it!

And because of my still-employed status, thank you Lord that I have money to spend (and save)! Despite my initial plans to rein it in (as if I could), I kind of overindulged a bit on my travels this year. So happy that I have enough funds this year and a LOT of friends who are travel-happy like I am. I love that my domestic trips are bordering on the more active type (Sagada, Oslob, and Pinatubo) although I still have my chill trips (Boracay, Vigan, Laoag, Iloilo). My out-of-the-country trips were at the peak of craziness – from going to Thailand with my cousin as a pseudo excuse to catch L’arc-en-Ciel to capping the year with a five-day trip to Seoul, South Korea (this music video just about captures how much fun we had).

I also considered this year as one of the highlights of my fangirling life – rocking to Laruku alone (hence, you can go crazy with no judgment) last March was amazing. Also going through crazy traffic in November just to attend Lee Min Ho’s fanmeeting at Araneta. I also watched A LOT of kdramas this year, and of course spread the hallyu lovin’ to more friends. This year also marks the end of the Twilight series (holler to my TCP friends!) and of course that epic Rurouni Kenshin movie. And how can I forget that epic Big Bang concert where in two fairy godmothers helped me to even catch the rehearsal, THAT was so surreal I can’t even think of anything that can TOP (pun intended) that…yet.

Lastly, I think this year was a blast due to my enjoyable family and friends. My sister got married this year (yay!) so I’m happy that I now have a new extended family. We also had a grand reunion from the mother’s side of the family so I was ecstatic to see everyone, including the new faces and be back in Negros again. I’m also so glad I got to hang out with my forever-reliable friends more this year. And in the midst of all the happy times, I will always remember Ice even if I can’t see her.

So this rounds up 2012. I can confidently say that this is definitely one of the exciting years I had so far. Can’t wait for what 2013 (my last year in the 20-zone!) will bring! So here’s to all of you and may you have a blessed and crazy year ahead! Cheers!

me and Laruku part 2!!!

I was so elated when I found out a few months ago that L'arc~en~Ciel will go on a world tour again!

Now we have the actual concert dates, seems like I'm going to the Hong Kong leg again because it's slated for March (where I'm planning to go to Korea w/ friends). I was planning to go to the Bangkok concert before in order to squeeze in some sightseeing (never been there), but it's on a March weekday.

So Hong Kong again it seems! Will be flying just for the weekend for the concert (hopefully the tickets are still not expensive and I chance upon a seat sale) and do some shopping and sightseeing with the rest of the time. Had to prepare again for some praying and sweating while booking concert seats online. Can't wait!

25 Random Things About Me:

Since Daene tagged me regarding this and I had this unusually light day at work, why not? Apparently it's been going around in Facebook (although I don't usually check mine, mostly I just approve friend requests hehe):

25 Random Things About Me

1. I accidentally swallowed a mentos when I was in prep and didn’t eat a mint mentos for my entire grade school year.
2. I’m addicted to nuts and seeds (hence my column name when I was writing for the school paper in HS). Favorite: pistachios and squash seeds (dragon sid all the way)
3. I had this bishounen (for anime) obsession my entire HS year—I’m known by my HS friends as the girl who likes 2D men.
4. I can rap in Nihonggo—well actually, I just liked this one song in Taiho Shichauzo’s OST that has a rap part in it, and I sing/rap to it (in the confines of my room…alone…)
5. My favorite sport is table tennis and I loved it the moment I played it – my sister taught it to me and I played nonstop from 8pm to 2am that first day.
6. No matter how tired I am when I get home, I still have time to sort the TCP twilight pins, hehehe.
7. We presented a spoof of “Spice Up Your Life” for our Music class in 2nd year HS and I’m sporty spice (with matching kick in the air)
8. I can say the tongue-twister “Peter Piper” perfectly.
9. I know ‘Sound of Music’ by heart and I pretended to be Julie Andrews while she was singing “I Have Confidence” while walking through the CSA covered courts.
10. There was a time that I thought being able to drink Cali Shandy was cool (haha, THOSE were the days!)
11. I LOVE L’arc~en~Ciel… and they’re the only ones who can spark my inner Rockstar.
12. I named my gun (before you fret, it’s a pathetic M1 I use in ACP training) Aoshi (after RK’s Shinomori Aoshi), my violin Lei (as in Hua Ze Lei, MG), and my laptop Hyde (of Laruku).
13. I’m a big romance novel addict, McNaught and Garwood ruled the past 10 years of my life.
14. …and as a casualty of romance novels (historical and regency ones mostly), I had a Scottish what-could-they-be-wearing-under-those-kilts? phase. Oh, I also want to own a castle.
15. I want to go to Japan even just to frolic under the cherry blossoms
16. When I was young, my siblings along with our cousins made this “group” and we would perform songs and dance at our relative’s parties and weddings (yeah, nauuuto pa kami nun)
17. I was a squadron commander in HS
18. I just want to have ONE picture that looks like the Wuthering Heights cover
19. Hydraengas --- I want those flowers at my wedding (yeah, wala pa ngang groom may flowers na ko hehe)
20. I mourned for a day when Wowow was pulled out from cable (no, not because of the porn) since they have all the updated animes and their movies are earlier than HBO or Star Movies
21. I usually have weird dreams, i.e. St. Augustine (as a statue, not even the person) going up our makopa tree
22. I hate having my picture taken when I was young. Almost all of my childhood pictures are of me crying (ngayon na ko bumabawi)
23. My videoke playlist: Superwoman (Karyn White), Total Eclipse of the Heart, Luha (Aegis)
24. My mom ran over my foot with our car before…and she got mad at me for being in the way!
25. I want to be an accomplished musician but I’m just plain lazy…much to the frustration of Lei just sitting at the corner of my room.

Goodbye 2008!!!

I remembered at the start of 2008, I was chatting to my friends (particularly Eds) that there’s something about this year…and while that might have implied that there might be some “progress” regarding my static love life, not that I was expecting it (as Kit wisely put it, nag-order na ko, kaso out of stock!), this year steered me to a whole different direction, one that I didn’t expect but grateful for. So here are some highlights of the year that was…

Jetsetter?!?!
I love to travel and one of the best things from having a steady income is that I don’t need to ask my parents’ permission and money to go on my planned trips. I had a blast with all my travel buddies (you know who you are) and I hope we have more trips in 2009!
• Hong Kong (Day 1&2 and 3&4): this was the most notable since I got to go there to watch my beloved L’arc~en~Ciel. Hay it was a full circle moment for me since I was fairly obsessed with this band since I was in high school.
• Snorkeling spree – went to Puerto Galera and Dive and Trek, Batangas with the gals for leisure partying (if there’s such a thing) and snorkeling…have to buy an underwater camera sometime.
• Kota Kinabalu (Day 1&2, Day 3&4) – hay I had an awesome time with my friends on this one. Highlight was of course getting lost in Mt. Kinabalu, wahahhaha.
• Road trips – couple of road trips (indebted to Daene’s car!) marked the year, like the maiden voyage (I swear guys, ang dami nating nadaanan ng araw na yun!) and that trip to Tagaytay for my birthday

Target for 2009: Avail that Osaka promo fare from Cebu Pacific…!!!

Major fangirling
I really had some serious fangirling moments this year… Edward Cullen, James McAvoy (the whole image of him towards the end of Penelope was soooo dreamy), Cam Gigandet (won’t expound on that, the Danag episodes are enough to incriminate me), Wu Chun (Ics, why do you have to be in China when he came here?!?! Buti na lang hindi si Mike He!)…and fine, let’s throw Prinsipe Leonard and Shinomori Aoshi in the bunch. Dang, listing the links made me sweat already…

Twilight
Hay, what would my year be without Daene pushing me to read this book? It probably won’t be as interesting as it would be otherwise. This has certainly expanded my social network and became my ultimate creative outlet (as Meann would put it) for this year. I’m so happy the four of us (you know who you are) clicked at the onset and made my experience with TCP as thrilling as it could be. Here’s to 2009!!!

Personal milestones
Daene and I were joking that we always share glasses of Weizen whenever we achieve a milestone, and we really drank a couple of glasses, hehehe. I resigned at my first job and got another one (where I’ll start next week *nervous*), which is a pretty big move for me since I do not easily adapt to new situations. Nevertheless, I will really miss all my friends in my first job, they’re the most entertaining group of people and going through all the stress (and boredom?) was bearable because of them.

I also got a couple of personal dramas, but that was due to my imagination again so I’ll just keep them to myself and laugh about it occasionally, hehe. My lolo also passed away this year which is a big blow to my family…may he rest in peace.

So there, pretty brief recap of 2008…this year was one of the busiest I had so far but I’m not complaining. I’m so happy that this year has allowed me to try a lot of new things…to which I appreciated given that I’m THIS close to the impending quarter life crisis (25 y/o in 2009!!!). Thank you again for all the people who spiced up this year for me and here’s to being 25 (gasp!) in 2009!

grade school: full-circle moments

a lot has happened and sadly i don't have much time to blog about every single thing, hehehe. i had two sort of full-circle moments, deemed them as such because they are memorable experiences in grade school and just got reminded on them recently...

Aoshi Shinomori: not fangirling again...i think...
Minami and I were chatting a few weeks ago and we suddenly got into Rurouni Kenshin mode...this anime in particular has a special place in my anime obsession, since it's probably the first one that i really got into and it paved the way to my Laruku obsession (which i won't go through at length here hehe). I mentioned to her that I've read this fanfic before (haven't read one in a while) on my favorite RK character, Aoshi Shinomori, and his supposed love interest, Misao, and how I really loved it but sadly I didn't get to finish it. And surprises of surpises, Minami knew that fanfic! Imagine, I don't even remember the title of the fanfic, and this was almost 10 years ago! Kinda surreal, I remembered reading it (we're still living in Makati then) and really got emotional over it. And I'm going to go through the same experience again since Minami managed to find it online!

So now, I can't get over Tin Mandigma's Of Love and Honor, and I was surprised that it was written by a Filipino (well I was in grade school then, didn't even bother to research the author, shucks). Sadly, memory served me right and she wasn't able to finish it :( hay oh well, still loving the fact that I get to get back to it again (and just imagine how it would've ended, hehe)

Third Eye Blind: i think i played it once in my Walkman...
Got to watch 3eb at Oktoberfest last Saturday and it was a blast!!! I won't start ranting on how the event was slightly (well, not slightly) mismanaged and how I imagined a dozen of bad things happening to me and my friends that night. This is the most that I've toiled just to watch that band, I was willing to give up and sue San Miguel in case they don't give me my refund, but thank god someone let us go through gate and we even managed to secure a good spot...which we wouldn't probably have gotten if we managed to enter the usual way, hahah

I liked 3EB but I wasn't that much of a fan compared to the company I'm with that night...and now consider me a convert. I still had a hard time juxtaposing the present Stephan Jenkins on stage and that version of him in their Semi-Charmed Life music video, and I don't get his concert choreo but hell, he can do what he wants. They played A LOT of songs, I really got my money's worth (although I wasn't thinking the same thing 30 minutes before they played). And I really get a kick out of reminiscing how young we were when they hit it big, and those old music videos that we got to watch the first time before because cable was the "wave of the future" back then, hahaha. They played some new songs for their upcoming 4th album and they were great!

my Hyde draws a dream...

okay, the title is my flimsy attempt to connect my dream of Hyde (frontman of L'arc~en~Ciel) to one of the band's beautiful songs (My Heart Draws a Dream). anyway, had this very weird dream about Hyde (it's actually the first time i've dreamt of anything related to Laruku...hmmm...)

somehow i was in a Laruku concert being held in daytime, but i was backstage (i don't know what i was doing backstage, but at that moment is still feel like a fan, so i doubt i was part of the concert production...maybe i won a meet and greet thing.) anyway, it was an open-air concert, but the stage was shaded. suddenly, while they were playing, sprinklers overhead the stage suddenly came on to put a faint rain/misty feel while performing (which is weird, god forbid they don't do that, and their instruments will be damaged). and then i was surprised that the audience were all wet, i just then realized that it was actually raining hard and people were all scrambling (which is not realistic, if im in a laruku concert, i'll be willing to get pneumonia just to hear them, okay stop with the obsession) to grab cover.

next thing i knew someone told me to go through this narrow railing, and i just agreed to go...and then hyde just showed up alongside me, walking very fast (i assumed he wants to go backstage and dry up), and then i just called him, and he looks at me, and then my brain went *shit* since i don't know what to say next with my barely recognizable nihonggo ability.... i said "sumimasen" which means im sorry in a formal manner, maybe i'm saying sorry coz im delaying him from drying up. i told him (in nihonggo, mind you) that i really liked the band...and then he said thank you (in nihonggo again), and then i proceeded on asking if the concert was postponed or delayed due to the rain (although i can't remember how i said this, since i only know the japanese word for concert and rain), and then he answered in a stream of nihonggo that i can't understand hehe (by this time we were both soaked), and i told him to stop, then apologize again, and explained to him that im not Japanese, and that im Filipino so i can't understand fully (delivered this in passable nihonggo), and suggested to him if we can converse in English instead.

and this is when the weirdness begins...

so he spoke in English, and i didn't get what he was saying, but the gist of it was the concert is over due to the rain, and then he spoke again of other things in a serious tone (forgot what it is) and then i stopped him again, since i can't understand his english (damn, im a demanding fan, i surely wont act like this if it was real) and asked him if he can write what he's saying down on paper (since it sounded important). he then wrote (magical paper and pen appear) but i can see that he's having a hard time writing in English (in reality, hyde took some english training, and he also went to London, so i don't know the extent of his english ability) so i stopped him again and explained to him (in nihonggo) that why won't he write in hiragana and katakana since i can read it and just have it translated.

so he then wrote in japanese and suddenly he went by my side (heart palpitation overload na to) and then SANG what he wrote, pointing the characters as he sang it. and what makes it weird is that what he wrote meant something like there is war happening, but it's okay since there is a swimming pool.

HUH?

so there, it ended that way, with a note of confusion, remember this is a weird, and a highly unrealistic dream, since there's no way Hyde would write something as ridiculous as that.

although i kind of relish the fact that i may have inspired him suddenly to write a song (albeit a weird one), maybe i read the paper wrongly since we're still under the rain...the characters might be blotted by then

L’arc~en~Ciel – my HK experience (L’7~Trans ASIA via PARIS~)

Finally, the day I’ve waited for two months has passed – May 24, 2008 – Laruku’s first concert in HK, which was relatively cheap and therefore a big yay! for me. Finally went to Asia World Expo to watch my favorite band perform live onstage. Now, on fangirl mode:

The concert was a BLAST (insert all other possible superlatives J )!!! It’s a good thing that I’m as prepared as I could be…mastered the reported set list (although it was not fully followed but that’s okay) and watched (and re-watched) as many of the past Laruku concerts, even observing the choreo of the audience (don’t want to be left out). It was a surreal experience, there are times during the concert that I can’t believe that I’m really watching them, and then I’ll shift my focus on the screen on the side and see Hyde’s face and then it’ll hit me. It was pure adrenaline for two hours, I spouted of lyrics which I hoped were right but don’t care eitherway.

Thank God I didn’t cry, or else I’ll be a wreck…although I really thought I would cry before I even left for HK. When I heard the opening notes for Get Out from the Shell and THEN saw their silhouettes, my eyes suddenly filled up…shet, silhouette pa lang yun…and then I just covered my face for a brief moment to stop them from spilling out. Then I realized that I would really succumb to tears if I suddenly get emo while they’re playing, so I consciously tried not to get all melancholy while watching them.

Also got to meet a friend from the Twilight group (sa HK pa nagkita! Haha) and other Filipinos who love the band. It was so great! I spent a lot from the merchandise but I don’t care…too bad they ran out of the free fan from the Kiss album…Hyde was hot there.

General highlights:

Now I realize that the right arm movement choreography was no fake, people really do it in their concerts…then I discovered that their fingers move when making the forward motion instead of being tight-fisted…crap I can’t explain it well here. Where did they get that much energy? I mean I’m pumped up during the concert but I can’t make my right arm do that motion for a whole song…nangalay talaga ako, hehe

I love the impromptu audience wave during the intermission, hehe. And I think we all did it more than 10 times from opposite directions, with the whole arena clapping after each successful wave is done…I don’t think that’s possible in a concert in the Philippines, hehe

I really lost my dignity for two hours, well it was slightly dark and no one knew me so I guess it was a clear enough chance for me to go crazy.

HYDE is HOT!!!

Song highlights:

Get Out from the Shell – this is a great opening for the whole concert, and I remembered this song since I saw it used in a commercial for a car years ago. I wasn’t a fan then, but I already recognized the name of the band due to Rurouni Kenshin. Kind of a full circle moment right from the start.

Driver’s High – second song and will always be a staple in any Laruku concert…one of my favorite songs…and I was really on a high and so happy when all the fans jumped and screamed during Crash! And Flash! parts, hehehe. Of course I jumped (and screamed) with them and was a bit happy that those in the arena are familiar with the concert choreo (that’s what I use to term them)

My Heart Draws a Dream – this is my latest LSS from the Kiss album and I always get goosebumps from this one. I said to myself when I first heard this song (knowing that they will perform it) that this is the other song that will potentially reduce me to tears (aside from their last song in the list, Anata). True enough, my eyes filled up again when they sang this, especially when they let the audience sing the line: yume wo egaku yo…of course I sang with them, waving my right hand to the beat, got all emo but still did not cry. My favorite was the ending part because it reminded me of the ending part of Fourth Avenue Café.

Revelation – I love this song because of the slightly metal rock slant to it, and I love the audience participation again, especially when Hyde made us jump a couple of times. I was pretending I was Yukihiro the whole time although I knew that I sucked at playing the drums when I tried it before.

Stay Away – one of my favorite songs…I would have to say that when I heard this song I really confirmed that I’m a Laruku fan. And they did it in Formation A (I think) wherein each member gets to sing a part of the song so it was so cool…I almost hoped Hyde would dance like he did in the music video.

Honey – My bro’s favorite song…this song was memorable during the concert because the dude who was standing at my back was just steady throughout the concert but got really hyper and sang a lot during this song…so I guess that’s his favorite, hehe.

Link – another recent LSS from Kiss album…I expected that there’s going to be a clapping sequence like in their music video but I guess it’s not that widespread since a few people did the clapping part (including me, hehe)

Anata – wow I love this song, this is on of my favorite ballads of Laruku (next to White Feathers which is still my favorite Laruku song, and Hitomi no Juunin) and I’m glad they sang it instead of Pieces (which I thought they would sing) since I’m more familiar with the former and therefore I easily sang the song. Again, when they let the audience sing the chorus my face crumpled again, letting myself be in emo mode (coz then I just suddenly realized that this could be the ONLY time I’ll get to see them live), but thankfully did not cry. But my hands were shaking so much…

Band highlights:

Crap I really love this band! I don’t know what their image is in Japan, but I really love their work. And these guys are almost in their 40’s! I love it!

Hyde – where do I start? The moment I saw him I was so stoked (rarely used that word) that he’s sporting my most favorite hairstyle of his…and the bangs! He was so cute when he was really struggling with his Cantonese MC, and what’s really great is that he really tried to perfect it. Hay, he really has charisma, there’s no way to say it fully, he definitely has this pull (over my heart? Haha) And his movements! I won’t elaborate or else you’ll think I’m sick…but he’s…wow…(is it obvious that I love him?)…and his voice…grabe, yun lang! You could really feel his emotion on every song, with every gesture that he does. I was planning to write longer about him in this, but then again, it’s really hard to express it in paper. Did I mention that he was hot?

Ken – he’s my second fave member of the band since he made the music for White Feathers hehehe. I love it when he threw his paper (containing his MC script) out of frustration since he cannot pronounce the words correctly. He’s such a rebel, hehe

Tetsu – and his trademark banana! The moment he emerged from the side stage for his MC, bringing a banana, I suddenly shouted, “Tetsu! BANANA!” which actually sounds weird if taken out of context. Asa pa ko na umabot sa kin yung saging di ba? And he was really moving a lot on stage, really glad that I get to see his concert moves recreated live (as opposed to watching them on tv)

Yukihiro – I also love this guy and his reserved manner, man he kicks ass on the drums!

So there, that is my first (and hopefully not last) Laruku experience…I do hope I will have another chance to watch them, but I was already glad with this one since I already eliminated all hope before that I will get to watch them live. I’m really happy that the organizers priced the tickets the way it was, it is of great help for people like me. I was still shocked after the concert, I kept kicking (even two days after the concert and I was already in Manila) and asking myself, “did I really get watch them live?”. I laid down all of my merchandise and watched their 15th anniversary dvd the moment I got home and suddenly got all emo again.

Note: I have a travel log which I immediately filled out 30 minutes after the concert (I was still in the arena)…I can’t believe the stuff I put in there, hehe

HK Trip Day 3&4: "Please mind the gap"

The last two days of the trip are more nostalgic than the first two...but of course, day 3 is the Laruku concert, the ONLY reason why I went to Hong Kong in the first place. I'm reserving my Laruku rants in another entry (because some might not be able to handle me in fangirl mode, haha). So here's what happened for the last two days:

Day 3: Lantau (HK Disneyland and Asia World Expo)
Woke up that day surprisingly not as sore as I thought I would be, given the torture that I encountered yesterday. My first thought when woke up, "shet, this is it, i can't believe it". I was so groggy on our way to breakfast (we spotted a KFC around the area and trying to look for it), but my excitement is already starting when Tim is singing the opening lines to "Stay Away"...it's a good thing the Balmater sisters didn't get annoyed, although I warned them that I might probably wake them up and cost them a good night's sleep once I get back from the concert since I would probably rant.

Went to Disneyland! We all reverted to our childhood selves (asal bata talaga I swear). I really believe that our generation is the Disney generation (although I might get disproved on this). We split into two groups (Tim and I, Balmater sisters) since Tim and I have to breeze through Disneyland in order to go to the concert hall early and not run out of concert merchandise. In all fairness, it was still a blast! We got to see most of the shows (Lion King was great! I sang through the whole show) and took a lot of pictures (although I doubt they would compare to the amount of pictures Rosemae has, hehe). Still got tired from all that walking but at least you get occupied from looking all around you that you don't feel it. I really loved the It's a Small World, which is basically just the song sung by dolls in different languages. But damn, the dolls were so nice! I wasn't a girly girl when I was young but I would love to take all of those dolls home with me. Alice (in Wonderland) was such a trooper and consented to join me in my "vaca" pose. She was so in character I ended up executing a curtsy after shot (wtf?).

Did some wardrobe change after (concert outfit!), then asked the guest relations of the park for cheaper directions to Asia World Expo for the concert. He gave us a cheaper alternative but he didn't tell us we would emerge from the Tung Chung station with a mall that has a lot of factory outlets inside! Thankfully I was able to restrain myself, hopefully I can get back to that mall. Went to the mall's food court and bought chicken wings on rice noodles (we didn't stop to eat in Disneyland). Used a fork on this one because it will take me til Christmas if I try eating with chopsticks.

laruku time! will expound on my next entry read about it here

Went back to the hostel exceedingly exhausted, was able to catch the sisters still awake since they just came back 30 mins ago from when I returned (all that shopping I guess hehe). Roxy and I chatted til 3am talking about our days, mainly of our conspiracy theory regarding Disneyland. Seriously, I really think they are on happy pills.

Day 4: Last day - Mongkok and Lantau (HKG)
Last day of the trip! We grabbed a quick breakfast at KFC again, since we really liked their breakfast meals the day before. Then we dragged our bags around to the MTR to catch the Airport Express. It was a great experience, bitin sobra. The ideal situation would probably be a 4d/3n trip, booking the first flight out and last flight in. I had so little time to shop and we weren't able to maximize some of our stops. We didn't get to eat at the Maid Cafe at Causeway Bay, or grab a more upscale dinner at Tsim Sha Tsui (which we were planning to do). I didn't even get to eat the street food! I never thought that I would really like the place (since I generally prefer to travel to more exotic areas), but I really want to go back...sa may New Territories naman! Haha

more pics here

what sickness?!?! i have to start my countdown!!!

just got well from German measles...i swear my body's pretty much screwed up lately...I've even cancelled an outing for fear that something might happen which will make my HK trip less fun...but anyway...

waaaahhhhh a few days more to HK!!! just a week when i'll see my beloved Laruku!!! i really can't contain myself, haha. weeeeeeeeee!!!!!!

by the end of this trip i suspect i'll go broke for a while, i think it's inevitable...

speaking of other trips, i'm gonna do another snorkeling trip in Batangas the weekend after HK weekend (i hope it doesn't rain!)...and we just booked flights to Kota Kinabalu! all of these Cebu Pacific promos are making me reach the poverty line

all systems go!!!

concert ticket: check
airplane ticket: check
hostel: check
itineray: almost check

had a tense 5 hours last tuesday just to get the concert ticket, it wasn't the one i got, but at the end of the day i was just glad that i'll be able to see my beloved Laruku...

i'm sooooo ready...Hong Kong... here i come!

i didn't believe it could be possible but...

L'arc en Ciel is coming to HK!!!

L'arc en Ciel Tour 2008

this has GOT to be one of the highlights of my year!!! waaaahhhh I have to go...once in a lifetime chance, and the tickets are cheaper than what I expected. it's now or never!!! this is one of my BIGGEST wishes in life!!! shux, can't contain the excitement!!! i think...or better yet...i KNOW i'm going to cry in this concert...especially if they sing White Feathers (although I doubt it, but I can hope can't I?)

MUSIC!!!

The few days leading up to Christmas has been too much music-filled, I must write an entry dedicated to my love of music, partly chalk it up to the VH1 specials that I’ve been watching lately, hehe

Jpop/rock…sugoi!!!
Ask me the foremost thing that Japan’s been blessed with, and I would immediately say that they have the best rock bands I’ve heard! I may seem biased in this regard but what the heck, this is my blog. I watched my favorite band, L’arc en Ciel’s (or Laruku) 15th anniversary special at Wowow last Saturday…grabe, man, it’s the first time I became too involved in watching a concert on TV… I almost cried when they performed my favorite song White Feathers…sobrang ang drama talaga ng song na ‘to, to think that I’ve never seen them perform it on stage pa…surreal

Hyde’s vocals are so dreamy, exag talaga sa high notes! When he sang Niji (this is the opening song of Samurai X the movie din), as in hands-down na ko sa boses niya! Tapos ang cute pa niya when he was coerced to dance on stage. At saka type ko yung last black outfit niya (obvious ba na crush ko siya?) Astig ng hair ni Yukihiro, hanep ang palo. Ken and Tetsu as usual grabe ang appeal (I love Ken’s guitar, ganda ng graphics). I think I’m gonna die (figuratively) when I get to see them perform live (as I usually lament, kelan kaya un?!?). They’re getting old na, huhu…

Slight OT: I told Dale before that Raimund Marasigan (Sandwich) reminds me of Hyde, tapos sabi niya dati layo daw…well recently sabi niya na baka nga, kse may isang time na nagperform siya na may bat wings (wc was Hyde’s costume sa Grand Cross concert in ’99), tapos lagi din siya naka-eye liner (na kinda uso din kay Hyde since before) haha, galeng ko talagang pumansin.

Bring on the Motown…

Although Motown is not a genre (it’s a record label), I believe that it has it’s own style kaya parang genre na rin ang turing ko dito…I bought this 5-cd set of Motown songs (100 songs in total), for only 850 pesos…that’s like the best bargain to date. Dami kong na-discover dito, although I know the usual hits (lalo na if you’ve watched Sister Act), ang dami kong mga bagong lss… Dalton Boys’ Take My Hand, The Contours’ Do You Love Me (shempre, this is the ending song sa Nonstop! I love the boom-boom part nung bass vocal), and Edwin Starr’s War (WAR! Ugh! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing!!!). Sobrang natuwa din ako sa Love Machine of The Miracles and Super Freak by Rick James (kinda popular na to).

Disappointed lang ako dahil walang Shop Around of The Miracles, at I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch) of Four Tops, kumpleto na sana kung andun din un…

Novelty naman…

My bro gave me for Christmas my most recent obsession…Michael V’s The Bubble G Anthology album…haha ang laki talaga ng range of songs ko… so I spent my Christmas finishing this Jdorama (Hana Yori Dango, which is the Jap Meteor Garden kumbaga) then onward to Michael V’s videos. Hahaha sobrang laughtrip, although I’ve watched most na sa Bubble Gang, sobrang todo kanta pa rin ako. When Michael V started spoofing the theme songs of GMA’s primetime shows, I had it in my mind that they should compile everything to make more profit, and here it is! Hihintayin ko na lang din ung video compilation ng Sexballs, hehe. Iba talaga si Michael V, mahirap pantayan…sa bawat spoof niya, obvious na pinaghirapan talaga. Hindi lang basta nagsasaksak ng bagong lyrics as long as pareho yung count, he really makes sure that the spoofed lyrics would sound like every syllable of the original lyrics. Favorite video/song is Chaka Niya (spoof of Sa Kanya by Sharon Cuneta)…bagay sobra.

Yun na, my family performed as usual sa Xmas party sa Tanglaw kagabi…my dad on drums, Ate and Dale on vocals, Dale din sa guitar, tapos ako sa piano (yeah, if u know us and the instruments we usually perform with, sobrang nag-iba ang line-up namin hehe). Buti na lang di ako nag-violin, andun pala ung teacher ko, sobrang macoconscious ako pag ganun, hehe.

hideto takarai's birthday!!!

today is the birthday of one of the coolest rock singers that i have ever known!!! omedetou gozaimasu hideto takarai-san (lead singer of my favorite jrock band, L'arc en Ciel) !!! totemo suki desu!

nakita din ang calculator ko, super thanks to the janitor who saw it on the floor and gave it to my friend...hay, ngayon ko lang na-feel na may sentimental value talaga itong calculator ko...

ten visited me yesterday for catching up and watching Pride and Prejudice (again), wc obviously she loved...hay, pinagalitan pa ko dahil na-awaken ko na naman daw ang romantic side niya (kinda cynical na kse siya abt love ever since stepping into college)....un lang... planning to do an entry in memory of valentine's day, bwehehe

weird day + wish list

Yesterday was a very weird day…basically because the clock in my parents bedroom (where I stayed the whole day yesterday watching TV) has dying batteries, which I didn’t know. Therefore, when I woke up and asked for breakfast, it was almost lunchtime. That’s why when I went to CETV to watch Mars, the program was almost done. That’s why when I watched American Idol I thought it was an early show since it was 2:30pm in the clock. That’s why I put off taking a bath for a long time even though I felt that most of the day has gone by. By the time I took a bath (accdg to the clock it was only 3:30) I looked at my cellphone and it’s already 5pm! So that’s why I felt so gross…haha. Anyway, yesterday was a very unproductive day since I had no sense of time so all the things that I planned to do is way out of schedule. Btw, here’s one of the things I’ve been waiting to feature here:

Wish List / Things I Want to Do Before I Die:

1. Scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef
2. Go cherry blossom viewing (o-hanami) during the cherry blossom season in Japan.
3. Meet Oprah
4. Meet Nelson Mandella
5. Have dinner with Johnny Depp
6. Own a Scottish castle (preferrably wid no ghosts)
7. A boat ride in the Amazon river
8. Swim under Angel Falls
9. Ride a motorcycle by myself
10. Dub an anime or an imported telenovela
11. Watch Les Miserables and Cats in Broadway.
12. Jog in Central Park
13. Join the Amazing Race
14. Get all the tulips i can get in Holland.
15. Stroll anywhere in New Zealand.
16. Wear the crown jewels (even for 5 seconds)
17. See the setting of Anne of Green Gables (Prince Edward Island)
18. Perform in a rock concert, preferrably wid L'arc en ciel or Ricard Samborra (Bon Jovi guitarist, tapos kakanta kami ng Livin on a prayer hehe)
19. Tour Ireland and Scotland
20. Sing with Clay Aiken
21. Meet Won Bin and Vic Zhou
22. Ride a horse ala Marlboro commercial
23. Own a deserted beach cove
24. Use different colored contact lenses (although I don't need them) every week.
25. Own a Siberian husky

Looking at this list, I know that some could possibly come true while some absolute can’t (like owning a Siberian husky…that means if I want to live here I must delegate a non-stop aircon room for the dog…). And that I have to be rich…or just plain lucky…