I live on a farm?? (笑)

My family has been growing some vegetables lately (笑)

And we managed to harvest some green bell peppers and cherry tomatoes (^^)

We also have some eggplants and another variety of tomato growing on our property, but sadly, the squirrels and other animals seem to be eating them, even before they ripen! (>_<)

We set up a fence recently, so I hope it helps~ One of the white eggplants seems to be swelling up nicely, so if the squirrels leave it alone we might be able to harvest it. (笑)

We have some guests over at our house today, apparently some friends from my mom and aunts' childhood. They've been chatting nonstop since lunchtime, I guess they've been catching up on all those lost years. (笑)

Might be going someplace this weekend~

Hopefully it's interesting? (笑) I think we have plans to drive up to either Philadelphia or Atlantic City, whichever they decide to hit first. My aunt finally got some vacation time, so she's particularly cheerful today(^^)

Ja, I need to take a shower and sleep now (笑) It's gotten so late and I had to wash a lot of dishes from our meals today (^^;)

Until next time~

I will take photos! (笑)

UP Diliman!

Last week, one of my uncles took me out to UP Diliman, to talk about things, walk around, and take photographs.
It was actually a pretty fun day, and I'd never been able to walk around UP like this before, so it was really an experience.



We had dinner at Tomatokick afterwards. Up there is their stuffed tomatoes. You can't tell from the photo, but I think we ordered a little too much food. We were very full by the end and almost couldn't finish our orders. (笑)

I hope to go out with my uncle again soon, this was a very fun time.

THE NUTCRACKER!

Oh, ballet~! How I missed you~ ♪


I can't believe I was able to catch The Nutcracker last night! (笑)
The performance was amazing, to say the least. I'm really glad that Ochibi and Kin-chan invited me to watch, as I had nothing better to do anyway, and this felt like the chance of a lifetime. And I was glad, too. (^^)

Some random moments after the performance:


Me trying to pose against a backdrop of Lisa Macuja. I never made it to toe shoes back when I was still taking ballet, so this pose was difficult to hold, and had to be repeated several times. (笑) My ankles will never be the same way again. (^^;)


Kin-chan, Ochibi and me against one of the curtains of the ALIW Theater during one of the intermissions. Now that they had seen part of the ballet for themselves, my old ballet training was so much more evident, according to them. I kept getting teased all night.(笑)


After the performance, we went to CCP in order to buy Fanta from the gift shop. I had told Ochibi about it some time back and now that we had the opportunity, we got her the Fanta she always wanted. I ordered a Dr. Pepper, and regretted it: it really tasted like medicine! I will never drink it again. (>_<);;


One of the best moments of the evening: Kontra-Gapi's performance at the CCP Night Market! As it turns out, every first Saturday of the month, CCP holds a Night Market. Sometimes there are guests invited to perform, and we saw Kontra-Gapi that night. Kontra-Gapi stands for Kontemporaryong Gamelan Pilipino, and they're an ethic music and dance ensemble from UP Diliman. Their music was wonderful, and it was a good end to a culture-ridden night. (笑)

Although they wanted to pressure me to dance. (笑)

And before I forget:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NIOU MASAHARU!
Your trickster ways will always live on in my heart.

WakuWaku's First Anniversary!

A big thank you to Kuya Joma for inviting us :D

We really enjoyed their tea time, snacks, and fun games.




It was really cool, despite the major pressure put on me (and pressure I put on Kae) to sing at the event. (笑) ごめん、けいーちゃん～

There were major moments of hilarity, like when Kae was thrust into a game of Pinoy Henyo with Miguel Mercado, a very popular cosplayer who had been invited to the event, along with Jin Joson. Our friend Leslie was incredibly starstruck. (笑) She's been a big fan of Jin since forever. She looked ready to pass out. :))

Some priceless moments of lulz during Kae's game of Pinoy Henyo with Miguel:

Miguel: "Does it have to do with Japanese culture?"
Kae: "Yes."
Miguel: "....porn?"
Everyone else: *bursts out laughing*

Miguel: "Does it have anything to do with food?"
Kae: Uhhhm. Pwede. Yes?
Miguel: "....Malaki? Masakit?" (...Big? Painful?)
Everyone else: *starts laughing again*
Kae: *while laughing* No!

When it was all over, we got to keep our teacups from the event. I had made a poster for Kuya Joma, and he asked everyone to sign it before they left. I'm pretty much proud of my handiwork.(笑)

Until the next event, Kuya Joma! Wakuwaku!

Grimualdi's Pizza!

2:05AM @NJ


Last night we went to Brooklyn to visit some relatives (^^)
We had the famous Grimualdi's Pizza for dinner~

It was delicious~ but heavy (笑)

Before this, though, we ate at a Japanese restaurant for lunch. I definitely enjoyed that more; I didn't feel sick after. (笑)

New York!

12:44AM @NJ


Went into New York City for the first time yesterday. It was an interesting trip, though some parts of New York still seriously remind me of home for some reason. Some things are just the same.

LIKE THIS SANRIO STORE (^^)

Sadly, I couldn't go in; we didn't have time. (>_<);

We had lunch at Yoshinoya~ Though it isn't the same as back home, it's more of a rice bowl place here. Then again, I have never tried Yoshinoya back home.


We went to many places, other toy stores and such. It was really cold!!!
What I did find enchanting about the city, though, was how their sidewalks seriously glitter at night.

Bored~

3:40AM @NJ

おはようございます！（笑）
A little Ouji moment up there for me.（笑）

We went out a couple of days ago and I saw this:

Ochibi and Kin-chan would have gone crazy if they saw this.（笑）Fanta!


The sunset for the day. I'm surprised to see the colors so clearly. Will try to take another photo when I have the chance!

I'll go and sleep now. Haha!
おやすみ～

Finally in New Jersey!

Timestamp: 3.21AM @ NJ


God, that trip was maddening. (O_O)
Basically, we left the Philippines on Oct 17 at 6am, and the flight took us to Beijing first. From Beijing, we took another plane to New York where we were picked up, and that's the overview of the flight.

I'm not so sure I'm too thrilled about travelling this far. I was happier during the stopover in Beijing. (^_^;)

Here's a basic transcript of my thoughts during the flight.
----------
Oct.17: 8am Beijing Time

Breakfast was finally served on the plane. I was starving and basically didn't care anymore. Once again, China proves that mushrooms save my life.

Oct 17: 12:30pm Beijing Time

The flight to Beijing took longer than I'd expected. The moment I step off the plane, a blast of cold air hits my face. My first thought: "Where the hell is the aircon?" You can't tell from the picture, but it was that cold. (O_o)

Since I had some excess Chinese currency from my trip several years ago, my mom and I decided to spend it right then and there. Airport shopping!! Managed to get some nice things, actually.

Funny moment at the airport though--I left my jacket in one of the waiting areas! I realized it when we were in line to board the plane. I ran at full speed to get it and skidded like an idiot on the tiled floor.
One of the female maintenance staff saw the whole thing and laughed. It wasn't a mocking laugh, it was actually quite a nice laugh. I'm glad I made her day. I guess she doesn't see things like that often. It was actually the first time I felt good about the trip.

I had some misgivings when I heard some Americans complaining about a lot of things while we were in line, like how when we were called to board, they didn't call us by section. I distinctly heard one of them say, "Well, that's dumb." Hmm. Not a very good impression on me, really.

Though there was a nice story from some woman behind us in line. She was telling her companion about how some stranger was asking around and flashing a passport at them asking if they knew the person on the passport. It was apparently a lost item and the stranger was trying to get it back to the owner. The lady commented how lucky the person who lost the passport was. There were still tickets and other things inside. I would have to agree.

Oct. 17: 2pm Beijing Time

On the plane headed for New York. Lunch was just served and I am so glad I grabbed the seafood option, I don't think I'd felt this satisfied about a food choice in a while. Still have an unpleasant feeling in stomach though, that has nothing to do with food. Hm.
Being in a plane full of Americans is starting to make me feel uncomfortable. People all around keep either socializing (not too bad) or just butting in among others (kind of bad).

Oct 17: 5pm Beijing Time
Karate Kid just finished airing as an in-flight movie. I'm glad they cut out the bad parts though. I wasn't too fond of the movie, but hey, it reminded me of home nonetheless. Was thinking of doing some Tai Chi in the back of the plane but was worried that I would attract too much attention/get picked on by the Chinese on board the flight.

Oct 17: 9pm Beijing Time
Dinner was served. I got too lazy to take a photo, plus I was hungry and I couldn't find my phone. Muh. I had spaghetti then. It was surprisingly good. Or maybe I was just starving like whoah.

I also somehow got roped into a Tai Chi conversation with two foreigners in the back of the plane. I was amused.

Oct 18: 12mn Beijing time
Getting very close now to New York. Only two more hours from this point and then it's all bright and sunny 2pm instead of dark 2am. I'm getting a little more worried , definitely. It struck me again how much I missed everyone.

Also, about 90% of the Caucasians on board the flight were strangely overweight. Erm. Just an observation. A disturbing one.

Oct 17: 3pm NEW YORK TIME.

FINALLY got out of the airport. Getting rushed off into a car to my aunt's house now.


Driving wherever. I have no idea how this will turn out, but I hope it's going to be enjoyable at the very least.
----------
And there you have it. All my woe and all my nightmares during the flight.

I hope I blog about happier times in New Jersey.
Hope to hear from you all!

A taste of the 70's

During History class today, a group had a report on life in the 70's.

In order to give us a genuine experience of the time, they gave us Coca-Cola and Chippy. Apparently, these were luxuries back in the day.

Of course, I stole an extra bag and brought it to share with people at the Toujin Pillar. (笑)

Chippy is always good. (^^)

Descpicable Me!

Watched it in 3D last night!

Awesome movie, made us all laugh like crazy. I haven't gone to the movies in a while, it was kind of refreshing to get out and go to the mall.

And since we were in Shangri-la, I got to get noodles at my favorite noodle stand there. I love these kinds of food stalls, I swear. Its like street food, only cleaner.

Now that I think about it, I kind of miss hanging around a mall. But first I need money to spend. Muh.

Hopefully I will be able to do this again soon! I miss the arcade too. (笑)

EA's Birthday celebration (笑)

Last night was EA's 19th birthday! Earlier that afternoon, he had pizza and coke delivered to our Toujin hangout. We kampai'd. (笑)

Happy birthday, EA! No one could ask for a better guitarist for our band.
...Just work on getting past those TV-sizes, okay? (笑)

On a side note, it rained quite heavily that evening. While waiting to go out, I danced in the rain for the first time. (笑)It wasn't very long, but it felt awesome. (^^)

We were supposed to watch Inception, but I wasn't allowed to go out for a movie. However, I did manage to hang around with EA, Geline and Anna at Eastwood.

We knocked ourselves out at the arcade and ate dinner at a Euro-Japanese restaurant, Mr. Kurosawa.

The food is awesome, though, I will have to admit, rather pricey. (>.<) The sushi platter had a bunch of things I'd never tasted before, like octopus and SEA URCHIN!


I like sea urchin nao. (笑)
But, like genuine takoyaki, it will definitely be a rarity here. (笑)

I also got to drink sake for the first time. Strawberry-flavored sake! I wish I had taken a photo.(笑)

I'm a very careless drinker though. (^^;) I gulp instead of sipping. (笑)

It was a very fun night and I hope to spend more time with everyone soon~♪

BEST DAY EVER

So, today was supposed to be my registration for classes and for the school year--I didn't succeed in getting the teacher I wanted, BUT! There is a way, and I will make sure I get out of the nightmare prof's class. (>o<)/

But nevermind about all that. I HAD DINNER WITH THE SENPAIS LAST NIGHT. (^o^)/
And it was FUN.

It's practically the most time I've spent out of the house since I recovered from chicken pox but it was amazing. I mean, for one:
I managed to see Kin-chan on her second day of college. She looked like she was enjoying herself, and I was glad to see that she was adjusting to life. She's leaving for Abra on Friday, so I really was glad to see her before then.

I was surprised to see that she'd cut her hair, but well, she's happy.

Anyway, as you can all see from the opening photo way up there, the senpais and I had dinner at Pepper Lunch (Where else? We always seem to eat there, I swear--not that I mind. Haha!). It was funny to see Martin in work clothes--but it didn't help that everyone else there seemed to be in black-and-white while I was in YELLOW AND RED, in full-blown color. I wanted to hide under the table later on, haha.

It also didn't help that yellow and red seem to be the colors of the Pepper Lunch logo. (^^;)

Do I look like the endorser of Pepper Lunch now?

ALIVE~!

I was able to go out today, after two weeks of being confined to my bedroom!
It was great...I was a little paranoid at first about going out, but my mother insisted that I needed fresh air, so I went.
The chickenpox has faded away by now, and I was taken around Eastwood to go shopping for some clothes. I snuck off to one of my favorite stores to look for an accessory to buy as a souvenir, since I felt that I was in need of a new ring. Sadly, there weren't any nice rings on display, but I spotted a necklace I hadn't been able to buy once. So, I got it. I'll put up a photo sometime, haha.

We ate dinner at a Chinese restaurant before going home. I swear, as much as I love Japanese food, Chinese food really fills you up! It is my second favorite cuisine. I have never been so hungry before in my life, my mother and aunt were alarmed at the amount I was eating. I had pork dumplings, a beancurd roll, some noodles, and even char siu bao (siopao). Still though, one thing made me sad. Every time I go to a Chinese restaurant, I always make sure to order buchi for dessert. I really love it. However, this time, since my mom and aunt were picking on me for how much I was eating, I hesitated to order one.
This is the first time I have not ordered buchi at a Chinese restaurant. (T_T) I feel sad about it. I love buchi.

I have a bad feeling that this will be my next food craving. Before it was takoyaki, and now it's buchi!! Will it ever end~

P.S. Buying a frilly shirt merits this kind of randomness. ACE ATTORNEY FANS UNITE!

My chibis and Okonomiyaki ♪

Today, I had to go to supermarkets and check stuff (aka i wasn't required to go to the office), but also decided to hang around with Ochibi and Kin-chan since they live in the area anyway. (笑)
We had lunch in Ali Mall and moved over to Gateway so that I could go to Timezone. Ochibi gave me her Timezone card (because she wasn't really a Timezone player and had no use for it, plus it was just given to her) so that I could play. Hahaha. I really should come there more, it can be a bit of a workout and it's fun too.

I managed to arrive at class on time despite my leaving Gateway rather late (as in thirty minutes before class time), but I was unbelievably tired and unfocused. I'm not sure what was wrong with me at the time.



When I got home though, I experimented in the kitchen and made okonomiyaki. It turned out quite successfully--I just need more ingredients to experiment with, but it's all good. (笑) Another way to force me to eat vegetables. Maah, I'm a little worried for my work tomorrow and my presentation for class. I'm not quite done with things. When did I become such a crammer? たるんどる！

EPIC WAGYUU BEEF ♪

It was our classmate Kay's birthday today, so she took the entire class, including sensei, out for dinner and to do random things! (笑)
We ended up driving all over Makati in order to look for a decent Japanese restaurant, and then ended up eating in "KAI", a rather swanky Japanese restaurant, more fine dining than what we ever expected. AND WE WERE ABLE TO GET A TASTE OF WAGYUU BEEF.

Which is probably, like, 87532721 times more expensive (probably) than any yakiniku plate ever? But so good. And you cook it yourself on a hot plate.

Poor sensei though. Both hot plates were on either side of her and on one side, we were skilled at using the hot plate, while the other side was not. The fat from the beef either kept spitting at her, or the fat would drip into the flames causing the fire to suddenly go up in a whoosh. She was started to get too scared to use the hot plate. (笑)

Afterwards though, we walked around and eventually found a Timezone arcade, where I danced several rounds of DDR and Dancefreaks, then tried my hand at Drumania (7th mix). I think I may get the hang of drums eventually, but it will take time. At least I'm getting better at DDR.

It was a very fun evening. FEAST YOUR EYES ON THE WAGYUU BEEF AND BURN WITH ENVY MUAHAHA.

/kidding. XD

I might be quite busy at work tomorrow. Maah!

MOTHER'S DAY~

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAAAY~

We had incredible food today~ ♪

Paella~ ♪
Barbecued Chicken~ ♪

and CAAAAKE!!!! (笑)

I'm so happy. And full. (笑)

I was able to behave for my mom today, so I guess she was happy for the most part. Fixing my room this morning in a rush was a bit...sudden, and a change in my plans. I had planned to make her breakfast, but...turns out she only wanted to eat fruit because of our big lunch. (笑)

Today was good nyaaa. And I can now bring paella as my food when I go to work. Hee~ ♪

Election day tomorrow! I hope everything goes well.

The office is coooold~

It was so cold in the office today!! (>_<) And I was all alone too! Greetings from the cold and lonely office, everyone!! (笑)

I mentioned before that I no longer hitch with Raizza in the mornings since she's done with her internship this summer--Chabeli is actually done as well, so only the latest intern, Tanya, is my companion in the office these days, and today, she wasn't here (>_<) She apparently went to Zambales.


This was comforting though, haha. When I was on my way to work, I passed by the KFC branch in the train station and picked up a mini-bucket of their Chewy Cheeze! It was nice to have that morning. It really feels like comfort food (笑)

Though, I still very much crave for Takoyaki these days. Where will I find a decent, nearby place that sells it?! /craves.

Much later today though, Kin-chan met up with me to watch a play, "The Diary of an Ajejenean." It was a pretty epic comedy about Jejemons and Conyos, terms which are actually difficult to explain in one go, so yeah. (@_@) /is too lazy to further define.

It was quite enjoyable, though obviously a bit of an amateur play, but it was for the benefit of The Philippine Cerebral Palsy, Inc, so it was all good. I really feel for people with cerebral palsy, it's horrible not to be able to control your body properly, I know firsthand how that feels.

Kin-chan and I ate at Mushroom Burger on Katipunan afterwards. The place isn't so bad, and it's a lot less crowded, I expect, than Jollibee or McDonald's.

It's sad though that Ochibi wasn't able to come with us. She was still feeling down, so I didn't push her any further. I decided to visit their house tomorrow instead.

I hope all goes well.

Dou, tensai teki? (笑)

What you see before you is my prize from today's little Kanji exercise, sponsored by presented by my classmate Kay. Admittedly, i didn't study for the exam and yet recognized a total of 24 kanji combinations, winning by only 1 point.(笑)

ROYCE CHOCOLATE FROM JAPAN (^o^)/ ♪

And as though that wasn't enough, Kay was so bored when we got out of class that she invited me and Sensei over to Chocolate Kiss in UP, since Sensei was going to UP anyway. She said it was her treat.

Sensei and I were very overwhelmed. (笑) I ordered pasta and a cake (>_<)



Hmm, I actually expected a much lighter cake than this, but it was quite good. It's called the Kahlua Butter Cake, but I expected the cake to be the usual yellow butter cake inside. Apparently I didn't read the description carefully enough. Haha! Despite me not being a big coffee drinker, I do enjoy coffee cakes. (^o^)

Saa, It was a good day. I came home late, but well, it was pretty much worth it. (笑)

Cake~

今日は、ライッザとチャべりとシュガーハウスに行った～
Today Raizza, Chabeli and I went to Sugarhouse.

It was a bit of a walk, but it wasn't that far at all, perhaps 5 minutes? I immediately ordered my favorite cake, Lemon Torte--I was lucky because there was a 10% discount on it, since it was the cake of the month. (^o^)/

おいしかったです！！甘すぎ～！♪　
It was delicious! So sweet~! ♪

I haven't eaten lemon torte in a very long while. (>_<) I should really watch out for my sweet intake though!

Recently, I've been slacking off in studying Japanese... In the words of Sanada Genichirou-- たるんどる!

頑張ります！！

Tadaima~

Holy Week has concluded!

Happy Easter, everyone!!! (笑)

The last couple of days have been filled with lots of food!! (笑)

Vegetable pizza (>_<) And delicious Easter lunch~

On a random note, my return to the internet was less than pleasant.
As most of you may not have known, I got an F in Theology, aka Fr Dacanay's class. So, obviously, I'm risking getting some privileges taken away from me; one of those privileges being free use of my laptop.
I don't know exactly how to negotiate my way out of it; either way, I give up something distinctly important to me. My mother is actually implying that I give up my social life, i.e. I don't go out anymore, I go straight home and study all the way till I graduate. Which, of course, is a very unfair thing. (>_<)

I can probably try my best to get out of it by officially adopting a study habit of studying for two hours every time I get home. And maybe keeping my room clean and organized.

I hope things will be fine. (T_T)