Meeting family

I feel like a zombie.

If zombies can feel anything, which they don't, cause they're dead.  So I don't feel like a zombie (though I probably look like one), but I'm feeling pretty dead either way.  

I'm tired, and sleepy, but I'm still not getting much sleep these days.  Whatevs.

Anyway, a few days ago I got to meet a few relatives for the first time.  Being my generally anti-social self, I wasn't much into meeting people so I got preoccupied with trying to blend in with the stairs.  Hehe.  I wasn't completely silent though.  One topic that really piqued my interest was our genealogy.  Like a friend has repeatedly told me: every family is dysfunctional in its own way.  The dysfunction on this side of our family has made it so that I've been unable to confirm some stories passed down from my grandfather.  It's always been interesting to me, like a little mystery waiting to be solved.  

I always answer that I'm Filipino when asked, but sometimes I get asked if I have Chinese blood and I don't know what to say.  It's common in this country to have a mix of Chinese or Spanish ancestry, but I have wondered if there was an actual truth that we have it in our family.  The even weirder question to me is if it was true what I once heard that there's Portuguese blood up our family tree.  That's weird to me in a sense that I never even read that there were Portuguese in this country back in the day.  Obviously, it's not impossible, just not expected.  

It was fun for me to hear, now with confirmation, some of the things that I kept hearing when I was a child: that our my grandfather and his brothers looked like movie stars and that they were very proud.

Perhaps the greatest mystery now to me is that during this meeting there is still no one who can say what my great-grandfather's name really is.  How odd is that?  And that is particularly important because it's related to another juicy tidbit of our family's history that needs to be confirmed.   This is like old-people gossip.

SyFy's Z Nation

I can't sleep.  Dammit.  Like every freaking piece of my body is ready to sleep except for my brain.  I tried to lull myself to sleep by reading creepy stories on Pinterest but I ran out of batteries so I got up and opened the computer instead.

Speaking of all things creepy, recently I was able to watch SyFy's new zombie series Z Nation.  I've only seen a couple of things from SyFy but that was enough to make me feel worried about this.  But that's not going to stop me from seeing this but I can't help myself.  Because, zombies.

The first episode didn't endear itself to me but it did show potential.  The acting wasn't good, and I didn't know if that was intentional.  I didn't  actually have an idea what they intended this show to be.  It was like 'Oh we're doing a story, about zombies, wink wink'.  It didn't entirely sit well with me because I'm serious about this shit.

The second episode tipped my opinion towards the negative side of the scale.  The episode's big mission for its survivors was like a non-event.  It didn't make sense to me in a lot of ways.
They make this elaborate plan to get a truck with fuel by distracting zombies that were already distracted to begin with.  What in the hell did I miss because it absolutely did not make sense?  It's like they were trying to accomplish a simple task in the most difficult way they could think of.

And they're breezing past zombies.  Lots and lots of zombies.  This bothered me because there had been fast zombies in the previous episode and all of sudden the zombies are slower and less responsive than snails.  I looked it up and somebody said the older zombies are slower.  I'm pretty sure there's a hole in that theory somewhere.

I don't get why some people discussing this could even say, "Oh, you're really looking for logic in a zombie show?"  Yeah, I fucking do.  I fully expect them to remain true to their universe, and why the hell not?

The characters are still less important to me than what they're driving.  I can't wait to see them go.

And I didn't catch where the setting was so I'm so somewhat confused on the use of western music.

They did manage to surprise me a couple of times.  I suppose if they were going for something less serious they're more able to sneak in something a little unpredictable.

Overall it's not that horrible.  It's not so different from the horror movies that get the 5 or lower rating on IMDb.  I'll probably follow this series still to see if I like where it goes.

Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends

Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends is rounds up the Rurouni Kenshin live action movies, providing the conclusion to Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno.

The live action trilogy puts into focus the samurai and assassin Kenshin Himura, his resolve to renounce killing and his struggles to truly realize that ideal.  But he's not the only one with difficulties realizing their future in the changing landscape of Japan.  The pull of the past and the push of ideologies clash not only within Kenshin but with others like him struggling to find a place in the new era.

The Legend Ends is fitting ending to the series with Kenshin's own conflict mirroring that of this new Japan.  It's not without it's pains and self-doubt, but it carries on.

The film maintains the same style and aesthetic of the previous film.  The tone and color suits the era and sets in various scenes seem small but feel larger.  It has that contradictory feeling of being detailed, yet simple.  It is this theme which is repeated in various aspects of the movie.  Even their clothes and tools exhibit this quality with the presence of varied textures in simple shapes and materials.

The fight choreography is the same, suggesting a realism to the otherworldly fighting skills of the characters.  The difference perhaps is the the grittier and bloodier fight scenes.  I was half-expecting the typical fight sequence played out in other comic book movie incarnations but it still has managed to be a bit different from the norm.

There isn't much to be expected in terms of character development.  Only Kenshin being the title character had this opportunity.  Trying to fit as much story and characters from the source material makes this film suffer in this area.  Even the more prominent antagonists from the previous film got only a one sentence back story.  The most some of the antagonists had was a mere few seconds of camera time.  I think this is regrettable as there are so much more to these characters.  In this sense I feel that the movie has bitten off more than it can chew.  This is to give way to the bigger story and some of the most anticipated fight scenes.  Due to this, a person without any knowledge of the manga or anime may find this unsatisfying.

Additionally, they were a few things that are not stated only implied, leaving viewers to make their own assumptions to the how's and why's. But I don't think this keeps anyone from understanding the story as a whole.


Even without much character development, this film does succeed in tying together the whole story.  Even with its weaknesses the entire series is still to me one of the greatest adaptations.  The director and entire production's ability to give this a realistic take was something I haven't thought possible.  I owe it to them to change my perspective of what could be, and isn't that what film is about?

Share a Coke

A couple of months ago, the Coca-Cola company released their Coke with interesting, new labels.  Along with price increases and a reduction in size in their Coke Mismo line, these new bottles sported labels that said, "Share a Coke with" and a large print of various names.

Wow, that's so ridiculously creative.  Now everyone is clamoring to find a name.  Although that's funny considering it says "Share" on the bottle.

The range of available names is interesting.  Aside from individual names on small bottles and cans, there are also more generic labels like Mommy, Daddy, Lolo, Lola, to BFF, VIP, Cutie, Hottie, to terms of endearment like Love, Babe, and Pangga.

Well, that's cute!  You can give one to someone you like and be totally sneakily flirty with them!

Then I realized what was written on the cans next to it.

On Facebook, I once saw a list of names that was supposedly printed on Coke labels here.  These were, according to one commenter, common names in the Philippines.  I never find my name on souvenirs, or anything, so I don't really count on finding my name on this but this is ridiculous!

Really???  How many people in this country is named Phat? Or Rhen with an H???  How can these be common names?  They're not even common spellings! At least it can be argued that Phat is an actual word.  

Oh, well.  

Love. Love. Love.

Movie: Maleficent

I remembered that recently during the trailers when I was in the cinema for Rurouni Kenshin, I saw a trailer for Beauty and the Beast.  While churning out fairy tale-based movies isn't new in Hollywood, these fairy tale flicks in recent years had been given the special effects, mega bucks treatment and a few twists along the way.  

A few months ago, I saw Maleficent...

Maleficent  (2014, Action|Adventure|Family)

The Prince is so non-essential to this film, he isn't even on the promo material.

One of the fairy tale villains, Maleficent is a that fairy lives in and guards a forest kingdom full of magical creatures. In her youth, she befriends a human, Stefan, from the next kingdom but when they were older he had left her to pursue his ambitions.  The neighboring kingdom's king seeks to acquire the magical kingdom but was thwarted by Maleficent and her powerful allies. Stefan sees this as an opportunity for himself to gain favor with the king and so returns to Maleficent.

Among the Hollywood fairy tales that have come out in recent years like Red (Red Riding Hood), Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters (Hansel and Gretel), Snow White and the Huntsman (Snow White), Jack the Giant Slayer (Jack and the Beanstalk), Maleficent was the most geared for children.

Obviously, the biggest selling point of this film was Angelina Jolie.  While the movie itself needed a big star to carry the title role, she was also a big draw for anyone beyond high school age.  She's the reason I watched this, and I suspect the same reason other non-child carrying patrons in the cinema had to see this.  

Elizabeth Olsen as Aurora was charming on screen yet the character itself was a little daffy. While I understand that the movie is Maleficent so the movie should revolve around Maleficent, it's still a shame that not much value was given for the other characters.  

The King was nutters, and the Queen was a footnote.  The chambermaids had more screen time than her.  The fairies were a tool in this movie, given no further value than to move the story along or to give the required comic relief.  The Prince was, well, they're not really given much value in fairy tales to begin with so I guess there's nothing lost there. 

The pacing is okay but I feel that the story itself drops as if to prepare for the action.  Remember the prince?  Yeah, I guess that's what the film makers thought as they shoved him in there. 

It's a visual treat, and meets the 'standard' points of a Sleeping Beauty story, tries to be different, but essentially isn't all that satisfying.

Spoilers ahead!

Among the things that didn't sit well to me was the third fairy's missing gift.  I guess her gift should have been 'sensibility' which our dear Aurora was lacking. Aurora, you're willing to just leave your aunts for a godmother you've only actually recently met?  Gosh, I know your aunts are bonkers and can hardly feed you, but they mean well, and spent years taking care of you and in a moment you just decide to leave them?  And your Dad, I know he was an egotistic jerk but he still died.  Your mom, did you even ask for her? Well, I guess if the film makers forgot about her you can too.

Why give Aurora to clueless fairies?  And where did they live because it seemed to me as if they lived closer to the Maleficent's forest than to the castle?  You're afraid that a opponent's curse to your daughter might occur, so you send her away to live with fairies you barely know, to a place which might actually be closer to the forest where your opponent lives?

Movie Night: Monsters

I haven't been updating my IMDb account.  Which is stupid because now I'm spending more time browsing movies because I can't remember the things I did see.  I found notes here and there about some things I've seen, and I found this.

Monsters (2010, Drama, Sci-fi, Thriller)

An incident occurs near the coast of Mexico and soon after gigantic alien life forms appear wreaking havoc across the country.  Andrew is a photojournalist, banking on shots of the alien to save his job, and Samantha is his boss' daughter, alone and far from home.  Andrew reluctantly agrees to find, and then escort, Samantha back home to the United States.

In its IMDb page, Monsters is categorized as a drama, sci-fi, and thriller.

To me, it's a weak romance set against a backdrop of giant octopuses.  Or was it squids?  The monsters do somewhat play a role to prompt action from the characters but them being monsters doesn't really affect the story.  If you took out the monsters and replaced them with 'war', or 'radioactive bananas', you can still have the same story.

You'd think the tentacled monstrosity would ensure a fast-paced, thrilling experience.  That didn't happen. Sure, there were some moments where something starts to happen, but no sooner than it started it's over.  So this was pretty uneventful.  What kept me through this was the hope that the protagonists would die.  (If somebody ever reads this and thinks that's awful, comfort yourself in knowing that at least I didn't say hentai. Oops, I just did. Lololol.)

I've never seen two characters more apathetic to the dawn of the end of the world.   Their circumstances seemed no more than an inconvenience and their relationship to this reality and to everyone else was shallow.   While Samantha and Andrew drone on about the futility and monotony of their well-off lives, their characters are brought closer together.  I can see it, I hear, it's happening on screen, yet I still couldn't believe it.  I looked at them and I thought, 'Yeah, you're gonna break up and break up fast' and they're not even together yet.

So after writing I looked at the comments, which I usually do after watching a movie I have a mental comment on.  Supposedly, this was an intelligent film, with symbolism and shit.  Nah.  Maybe I get it, maybe I don't.  Either way, this was clunky, symbolism or no symbolism.  And if they want a metaphor, well, this movie is a metaphor for how I feel about it.  Lol.

I like reading comments on articles and on boards.  Usually when I see a movie that I have a mental comment on, I'd look it up just to see what others said.  Sometimes you realize something, sometimes somebody points out something you have totally missed, sometimes somebody says something that changes your mind completely.

I like that.  I like learning from that.

I read some of the threads on IMDb for Monsters, and honestly I was bothered.  We all have our opinions and I know my opinion of the movie seems to be in the minority, but while that disappoints me I accept that and I'm okay with it.  What bothers me is reading somebody say that,

I was absolutely engaged by the love story in this film.

What.  Scratch that, I'm not bothered, I'm deeply disturbed.  Think about it, this guy could go out there and date someone and carry this strange idea of a romance and I'm thinking, 'No, no, no. I want to help steer you in the right direction!'  Hardly any woman with a sound mind is going to think that there's a great love story in there.  Hell, even Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows had a better love story told in a few minutes than this film for it's entire duration!  There are a gazillion movies and tv shows that have better love stories, and a lot of them aren't specifically classified as romance, so why? Why?

I didn't ask why.  I just sit here wondering if I missed something.

Because - Spoiler Alert- the Protagonist Guy in the movie Monsters clearly was bad news: his biggest job was simply to get his boss's daughter's ass on a ship back to the United States.  What does he do?  He drinks the night before, sleeps with a prostitute, and gets robbed.  The boss's daughter misses the last ship, which was mentioned to them the day before, was the last and only ship to sail out of that area.  When ticket man tells him that the only other way to the US was through the dangerous restricted area and would cost him a ton more money, he throws a hissy fit at the notion of paying more because he's now broke due to being robbed.  Seriously?  And the girl clearly has issues to not see that as freaking neon sign to stay the hell away.

Sometimes I don't really get people.

Globe Slipstream Event

I have no idea what this event was about initially.  My sister was told about this thing by a friend and I just tagged along.

The Globe Slipstream event was held in BGC on August 31, 2014.  We arrived late in the afternoon so we didn't get to see the other stuff like the celebrity go-kart.  We only got to see a bit of the race thing.  There were booths scattered with various exhibits and purposes like where you can try out a simulation, see the latest Huawei devices, or ogle a pair of Ducati bikes.

There was a meet and greet session with Marlon Stockinger.  We didn't have the ticket/band/whatever for this.  Eh.  I didn't mind, I don't go crazy over these things anyway.  I did hear that one of the girls really went for it, hugging him and saying "I love you" to him.  Wow.  Go, you!

One of the major highlights of this one-day event are the performances of various musical acts.   There were freebies given away for all ticket holders like raincoats and light-up thingies.  The raincoats were light and huge, big enough to fit a person with a backpack.  They had them in blue, red, yellow and black.  My sister got yellow, and I would have gotten it too, except it would be weird if we both wore yellow.  That, and we'll look like the MMDA.  So I got red instead.  Some people got black, but I thought since it was made of light plastic it's going to look a bit like garbage bags.  I saw a lady wear her black raincoat when a slight drizzle fell and she didn't look as much like she was wearing garbage bags.  She looked like a serial killer in a slasher movie.

I have no idea what the "18 yrs old" was pertaining to.

I have never seen this light-up band thing before so when I saw it on somebody else I'm like, 'Huh, it lights up.'  I fumbled to put on mine and I was amazed- it has an on and off switch!  Damn, I'm so out of sync with what's going on with the world.

Voltron!

The same goes for the music.  I looked at the ticket to see the acts performing and I thought, who are these people?  I'm only familiar with Up Dharma Down and even then I don't really know their songs except for "Tadhana."  I've heard of Yolanda Moon from Yahoo! Philippines, I think, and have never heard the main acts before.

Yolanda Moon bathed in light.  

Up Dharma Down.

The first band we heard was Autotelic and they were okay.  Yolanda Moon was, well, I don't think this was the venue for them.  Their music doesn't prompt anybody to get up, and their lack of connection with the audience didn't help to keep them from sitting down.  People went wild for Up Dharma Down.  I was bit surprised because those who were yelling for the band looked like they were ten years old when the band first came out.  Good for them. The main acts were... Well, we didn't sit around for them.

All in all, while the music was good, it wasn't a heart-pumping music event.  Or maybe it just takes a lot to move me.

Suzuki-san Carinderia and How to Commute There

I believe this place was featured on tv years ago.  I'm not really sure, but then how many carinderias do you know offer Japanese food?  I wanted to go, but I didn't catch the address so I had no way of knowing where it was.  A couple of months ago this was featured in a late night program.  Then more recently it was feature in a segment in late night news.  My sister suggested that we try it so, now that I have someone to get lost with, it was only a matter of finding how to get there.  Here's the address:

Suzuki-san Carinderia
549 Vicente Del Fierro St (at Bato St), 1012 Manila, Metro Manila Philippines
Directions to commute there are at the bottom of this blog post or click here.

The Area

I don't remember if I've been to Tondo before but it has always been a stereotype that Tondo is a rough place.  The first I noticed when we got here was that it looked like a nice street.  It looked pretty quiet actually.  The Blumentritt station area looked way more chaotic than this.

The place is packed.  When we arrived there was a group of people standing outside.  Wow, it was my first time to see a carinderia with seat waiting.  We arrived at past six, and this seems to be their peak time because in the two hours we spent there no seat was left empty for too long.

The Food

We had gyoza, beef teriyaki with rice, beef ramen, and okonomiyaki.

Gyoza takes a while to make it seems, so next time we're taking one out it's probably better to order it while you're eating to save time.  For Php70 you get 5 pieces and a dipping sauce.  The gyoza wrapper had a crunchy bottom and was soft everywhere else.  My sister was a bit perplexed why I wanted this when it was just a dumpling; you can just get siomai anywhere.  But I don't think that this is like siomai.  The meat filling tastes more, well, meaty than the average siomai, with little squares of some cabbage looking thing.  The sauce does taste like the typical spicy soy sauce you get with siomai, though.  And anyway, I never had this before so I wanted to try it.

Beef teriyaki with rice.  This looks like very thin slices of meat with very thinly sliced cabbage on the side plus a plate of rice and costs Php98.  The serving is ample for one person, and might even necessitate an extra serving of rice.  We shared every dish we ordered but decided not to get extra rice since we already ordered a lot.  The taste is okay.

Beef ramen.  So I was hoping to get pork ramen which was written on a cartolina posted on one wall, but I forgot to order it and went for beef ramen instead.  This costs Php98 pesos, and it's big enough to share.  The broth is a little bland for my taste, especially since the noodles are fat, but there was plenty of thinly sliced meat though that looks like it was cut in the same manner as the beef teriyaki.

Okonomiyaki.  Their okonomiyaki is I guess the standard okonomiyaki- that is, without noodles, and I never had okonomiyaki without noodles.  It's not as good as the one I tasted in Little Tokyo, but it's close, and at only php60 it's less than half the price!  For me, this was easily the best dish we ordered.  Delicious and cheap!

I was only sad that since we spent a few more hours out before going, our takeout suffered a bit.  Next time I go there I'm planning to bring an insulated lunch box so I can keep my okonomiyaki takeout in all it's freshly cooked glory.  Mwahahahaha.

Every table is provided with a pitcher of cold water, though we didn't drink ours since we had brought Cokes.  I heard somebody ask for mineral water but I have heard a waitress offer it or other drinks to anyone upon ordering.  My sister said they're probably more focused on the food.  Since it is a carinderia, providing the pitcher of water was probably the standard anyway.

My sister really liked the experience and so did I.  The price really makes a difference.  Elsewhere, we wouldn't order as much because of how much it would cost us.  But here we had a filling meal and a takeout of gyoza and okonomiyaki for only Php456.  You can order a lot and taste a lot in just one visit, which is also what I think everyone else is doing because the orders just kept coming.

There were things I hope they'd changed like the menu.  A consistent menu would be nice.  Apart from the one posted on the wall, there were two types of laminated menus. I wish there was a consistency in the menus for easier ordering.

One more thing to note was the waiting time.  In comments I've seen online, the most common complaint was how long it took them to wait for food.  The waiting time for our meal wasn't that long, it was just our gyoza to go that took a long time.  Personally, I don't mind.  Like I said, it seems that everyone was ordering a lot and the waitresses looked at wits' end just trying to keep up.  I do hope they'd eventually be more systematic in the ordering of food and in the roles of their staff.

The staff were nice, even with the mayhem.  Especially the Japanese owner!  He was exactly like I saw him on tv.  He such a character, and very talkative, but since his Filipino is limited it involved a lot of pantomiming.  I am happy to note that after this experience I am now well versed in pantomime. Lol.

I heard somebody waiting for a table say, Hindi siya ang nagluluto, after they saw him sitting in the counter.  (It's true, we didn't see him cook but the one of the guys cooking was Japanese, I think, because they were talking in Japanese.) It seems they too sought this place after seeing it on tv.

I think a lot of people came here after seeing it on tv.  There were patrons parking their cars on the street, then standing to wait for a table.  How many carinderias can boast of a diverse clientele?  At the same time, given that it is a little out of the way of mass transport systems, it was understandable that the people with cars were the most likely to find this place.

It was a good experience and a great way of trying out different dishes at without breaking the bank.  If anyone is too picky about the "service" though should probably look elsewhere, like fast food. When something is really cheap expect that something's got to give.

So, directions.

1.  You have to be able to get at the LRT1 Bluementritt Station.

Depending on where you are, there are many ways to get to LRT1 Blumentritt Station.  If you are coming from Edsa, there's an LRT1 station near MRT1 Taft Station.

I had something I needed to do in Legarda, Manila first so from there we boarded the train at MRT2 Legarda station and got off at the last stop, MRT2 Recto Station.  The MRT2 Recto Station is connected via walkway with LRT1 Doroteo Jose Station.  From LRT1 Doroteo Jose Station, we boarded the train and got off at the LRT1 Blumentritt Station.

2.  Go down at the road level and cross the street towards Goldilocks.

Beside Goldilocks is a street that looks like a market.  Walk through this street until the intersection where the road crosses the PNR train tracks to the right.

3. Board the "Blum" Jeepney

There are jeepneys lined up in front. Supposedly, these jeepneys' routes are Blumentritt-Balut, however "Blum" is the only thing written on the signs.  Tipid.  Anyway, you can tell driver to drop you off at Vicente del Fierro Street, corner Bato Street. Fare is Php8.50.

4.  Get off at Vicente del Fierro Street, corner Bato Street.

You'll know you're close to your destination when you pass the rotunda.  It's a small rotunda but not hard to miss. You can get off in front of Bato Street and then walk in the same direction of the jeepney to Suzuki-san Carinderia.  It's very close, like 10 steps or something, and you can actually get off directly in front of it if you choose but if you're worried you might miss it it's better to just get off at Bato Street.

5. Going home: Getting back to LRT1 Blumentritt Station

Just ride the "Blum" jeepney.  From Suzuki-san, cross the street back to the side where you got off initially, board the "Blum" jeepney and it will take you back.  Then walk back though the market to the LRT1 Blumentritt Station.

BDJ Fair 2013

This post is so last year.  Hehehe!  It literally is.  I found this sitting in drafts and I thought of posting it anyway.

At some point, I'll get the hang of planning.  That's the reason I still get planners even when I end up with dozens of blank pages by the end of each year.  Gotta keep trying.

For a few years now, the company behind the Belle De Jour planners holds an event they've dubbed the BDJ Fair.  In these events they sell their planners at 20% off so that's a good enough reason to go.  There's a bunch of other activities too like tarot reading (which seemed like a big draw judging on the lines from the previous fairs I've been to), wall climbing and bungee jumping.  

From the two times that I've been to the fair that was held in MoA, I'm confused at the wall climbing and bungee jumping thing.  It's a mall so obviously there are a lot of people from all the floors around the area just gawking.  But it didn't seem to bother the participants so who am I to talk?  I did notice that some girls on the bungee jumping area were self-conscious about flailing in the air. 

Because we arrived late, I missed the talks my sister signed me up for and a lot of the booths had already closed.  We tried our hand at the DC booth.  In the time I was in line I saw two people get free shoes.  How many other people got free shoes this whole day?  The game was to toss ping pong balls in three shoes.  My sister got two balls in and got a sticker and sock.  I was awful, I didn't get anything in.  I didn't even get a sticker.  Wtf.  

I tried another game.  In this game you smell the contents of the bottles and remember the name of the scent of each, turn around while they mix it all up, then you try to rearrange them back by associating the name with the scent.  You're supposed to get four of them correctly to get a chance to draw a prize.  I got three.  *sigh*

So I walked around to the talk area to listen to the guest speakers.

At the end of the talk they announced winners of another round of raffle draws among the seated audience of the talk.  There were a lot of winners, so many that I was yelling in my head to my sister, "Ang dami na nyan, pag hindi ka pa nanalo!"  She had two namesakes, that made me freak out more, then they called her name!  She got free shoes!  More yelling inside my head!  

DC was awesome.  So many free shoes and stuff!  

After the talk I took my sister to the scent game booth.  She tried it and got 4 scents correctly.  She picked a prize and got one bottle.  

Wow.  I didn't get a single thing.  

The loot bag wasn't as good as the previous year's

We met my sister's friend who was with her friend and eventually ended up in Bulgogi Brothers and got to avail the discount voucher my sister got in the loot bag.  

No pictures of the food though but we did get the pork belly and bibimbap.  At least now I know what kimchi tastes like. I've been afraid to try it because I thought it would be gut-wrenchingly spicy.  And the pork belly was good, like how in the world 

A Comment on Commenting

For all the good that the internet has brought, now and then I curse at it for the trouble it has wrought.

Seriously, wtf.

I was originally opting to comment on something on IMDb.  While I've been a member of the site for a couple of years now, I've never commented on anything.  So today I was browsing a page of movie I'd like and I thought I'd just react to something and was a little surprised that I had to be 'verified'.  Didn't I go through that before? There was small link to terms and conditions below the verification button so I clicked on it.

Part of what was written referred to was submissions, and I quote,

"materials, including but not limited to questions, comments, suggestions, ideas, plans, notes, drawings, original or creative materials or other information, provided by you in the form of e-mail or submissions to IMDb are non-confidential and shall become the sole property of IMDb"

which looked like your standard legalese, but to me it sounded like, "Mine! Mine!  All mine!"   I didn't know you could "own" comments, and even ideas, like what, if we write something down there we can't post the same thing anywhere else?  Gosh, that sounds absurd, and I'd like to think that that's not the case and it was only written as a precaution and a way to protect themselves.  But in this increasingly litigious society I'm not sure anymore.

So I thought I'd go a different route and comment instead on the blog whose link was posted on the thread I wanted to post to on IMDb.  I type in what I want to say and I was about to hit "Submit" when I realized there isn't any "Submit" button.  There was no option to comment as an anonymous user.  Okay.  Not my blog, not my choice.  I clicked on the "g" icon.  Up pops a Disqus box wanting to connect using my Google account.  I accept but then it wants more.  It wants me to register before I can post anything.

I think I had a Disqus account before, which I had obviously forgotten because I only ever used it once.  That's a very good reason for registering with social media on Disqus, one might point out.  While there are benefits to interconnecting accounts, there are also reasons to decide against it, like problems logging in.    Keeping multiple identities on the internet seems to be getting increasingly difficult, and frowned upon.

I gave in.  I registered.  At one point, I'm given the option to follow other commenters.  Really?  Even commenting has turned into its own social media.  And the first thing I've noticed upon registering was that for some reason the comment I had typed had disappeared.  Well, great, that totally negates the process I just went through.

Envy the Selfie

Mona Lisa knows how to selfie more than I do.  See more on Know Your Meme

A couple of months ago, the Philippines made it to the top spot of Time's Selfiest Cities of the World.  Specifically, Makati and Pasig did.

I'd just like to point out:  It is a testament to the lack of foresight of our previous governments that the Makati-Pasig-Manila map looks like the hot mess compared to the neat looking grids of other cities.  It looks like a depiction of the zombie outbreak in a Resident Evil movie.

How in the world do they do it?  I don't even like myself enough to take my own photo, let alone to upload one.

When we went to EK last March, I kept taking photos of surroundings.  It seemed weird but I figured I might actually be able to use one of these random photos later on.  And if I don't do this I'm more likely to go home without a single picture taken with me wondering why I even bothered to bring a camera in the first place.

I must have looked weird or something because my friends started offering to take my photos.  I think I have about three photos of myself from the whole trip on my phone and two dozen photos of the view from the top of the ferris wheel.  Plus about a couple dozen more of other random things that also didn't have my face on them.  The thing is, every time they offered to take a photo of me I had to restrain myself from actually saying "No" so I wouldn't seem weirder than I already am. I probably look like an idiot taking photos of random things instead of taking selfies like everyone else.

Not having photos of myself is not a problem or anything.  That is, until I look back and realize that I literally would have nothing to show for some years of my life.  This year Facebook launched a neat feature where you could see a slideshow of your Timeline.  It was interesting and I had thought of trying it, except that I have nothing on my timeline.

On one hand, I don't mind.  I hardly use my Facebook, I hardly have anyone there, nor do I post anything other than game posts and a couple of things that weren't even related to me.  On the other hand, I want to look back to this time in my life when I'm older and think about what I'm doing at this time.  My mind will forget so I would want something to help me remember.

While hundreds of selfies sometimes weird me out, I'm partly amazed and partly envious at their ability to look at themselves and accept what they see.

Ramen Nagi

Last May, I think, my friends and I had lunch at Ramen Nagi in SM MoA.  Goodness, why do I have so many food pictures lying around?  Anyway...

It was a very hot day so sitting outside was out of the question.  We waited a bit to get some seats, which is a pretty common thing, but the dining area inside was small.  Seat sharing seemed to be a pretty common thing here.  I don't really mind; it was just that at the time another friend was coming later and I was anxious she wouldn't get to sit with us.

Coming in the shop we were boisterously greeted by the staff.  It was startling.  And they did this every time somebody came in and somebody went out.  It was cute, and slightly unnerving, like, 'Please don't yell at me so suddenly, so says my poor heart.'

They have a different ordering process.  If you're ordering ramen you have to fill up a form.  You can sort of customize your ramen.

Saguting maigi.  Walang kopyahan.

Ramen Nagi is too expensive for me, I think it cost me somewhere around Php500 for a bowl of ramen and a drink.  The bowl is huge.  This was bigger than the ramen I had in Yamazaki but I was able to finish this.   The broth is milky in color with a slight thickness.  My friend prefers this to the one we had at Hokkaido Ramen Santouka.  In looks and taste, they are close but I found this to be less flavorful.  I'm not sure my submitted checklist had anything to do with the overall taste though.

My friend, who came in later, sat next to me as the people who occupied that table just left.  She shared that table with a man who had a beer with his ramen and then left.  I'm not a beer drinker, I don't drink alcoholic anything, but I'm intrigued at the combination.

Their menu is somewhat limited, but there are other options for people who don't want to eat ramen or just wanted something smaller.  My friend had this bowl of rice, I think, but I forgot what it was.  It looks good though.

Coke included for size reference.  Cute bowl. Para sa mahinhin kumain.

I was pretty sure I've somehow heard of Ramen Nagi before.  When I came home I looked through some old newspapers and realized I did read about them before!  They got mentioned in the newspaper, along with a few other restaurants, in an article about Ramen.  In the article though, what they listed as Ramen Nagi's contender was the Black King.  That's squid I think, I'm not sure I want that but I'm putting it on my list on things to try if I had money to blow.

Enchanted Kingdom Trip

Months ago, I went to Enchanted Kingdom with friends.  Enchanted Kingdom is a theme park that opened years ago.  And I'm probably the only person I know who hasn't been there.  When my friends suggested going to Enchanted Kingdom there was no way I was going to pass that up.  I've planned to go there a few times before, but no plan has ever materialized except for this one.  Other than wanting to see it for the first time, I might actually ride a roller coaster.

I have never been on a roller coaster before.

Save for the carousel, I don't remember experiencing that many rides when I was a kid.  I don't even remember riding the caterpillar.  What I do remember is riding a ferris wheel in high school.  

Our school had this major event and decided to rent out a ferris wheel.  It wasn't even that tall.  But it was a spectacle for us because our school was pretty conservative and we never had that treat before.  So anyway there was this long line to the ferris wheel.  They had some rule, I forgot what it was exactly, but I do remember that the younger kids can't ride by themselves.  I was hesitant to line up because I have a fear of heights and I don't remember trying it out by myself before.  Finally, I decide to line up.  I found myself lining up behind a couple of younger kids.  They turned to me and asked if I could sit on the ride with them.  I said okay.  Why not?  It wouldn't be too much of a bother and I'd be happy to let them experience the ride, too.  When it was our turn, the three of us sat in one car or whatever that's called with me seated in the middle.

It was the scariest ride of my young life.

Both girls were screaming their heads off beside me interrupted only with cries for their mommy.  I was terrified by the screaming!  My eyes were closed 99% of the time.  

When it was over and we got off the seat, they turned to me and said, "Thank you" like nothing happened and went about their merry way while I tried to recover from the mini-heart attack.  Dammit.  You scarred me for life. 

So, no roller coasters for me.

On the day of our trip, we went to the JAC Liner bus terminal at Buendia (I think) to board a bus for Laguna.  The bus ticket cost Php61.  We got off at Walter Mart and rode a tricycle to Enchanted Kingdom that cost us Php20 each.

The entrance fee was Php600.  Our first stop was leaving our bags at the lockers.  The locker had a rental fee, which I'd forgotten how much.  From there we went to the Rialto Theater.  It was incredibly hot so the theater was the best place to be in at the time.  The Rialto was showing some clips of Ice Age 3 in 3D.  I have bad eyesight so this is experience is a bit marred for me.  Other than that, I was okay with it.

I was a little disappointed that this wasn't a real beverage shop

Souvenir shops everywhere

4D Theater cost us an additional Php50.  We were shown a summarized version of Wizard of Oz- just a heavily cut-up version of the movie.  We were given 3D glasses so I think the movie was supposed to be 3D but it looked like they 'forced' this old movie to look 3D.  And the 4D part was just the audience getting fumigated!  Hahahaha!  Kidding. Really, it was some sort of air thing being blown through pipes that smelled a lot like those water things sold at malls. Humidifiers?  Rialto was better in my opinion.

Rio Grande was the ride we packed bags for.  We had a change of clothes just for this. I loved this ride the most.  You get bumped around, and it still feels relatively safe.  And you get wet!  Though as my friend pointed out, chances are the water here hasn't been changed since the ride was built.  Fun!  We tried this twice.  It was a short ride, far shorter than the 10 minutes spent lining up for it.  If it weren't for the line, I would have wanted to get on it several more times.

Flying Fiesta are just swings spun around.  Seems fun, like a big spin dryer after getting wet.  And I love swings, so I was absolutely confused that I went from "Wooohhh!" to "Whoaaaaaahh!" midway through the ride.  Like panic quietly crept in.  One moment I was happy and then I had looked down and I was quiet from that point on.

The Ferris Wheel.  I thought it was safe enough to get back on this.  Then way up there I realized I was scared of heights.  The winds added to my discomfort.  At least my friends weren't screaming, so that definitely helped eased things a bit.

Space Shuttle.  Thinking about it, it doesn't really seem that big.  On the website it says that this ride is two minutes long.  As squeamish as I am about getting on it, I've already decided that I will.  Although I've wondered if I should have gotten those short-term insurance policies first.  Only two of us were getting on it.  I was wearing slippers and honestly one of my biggest fears was that they'd slip off my feet and fall on the roller coaster tracks.  I've seen way too many Final Destination movies to know where that shit is going.

Not that huge when you think about it, but I'd rather not think about it.

We got to our seats and I pulled down the harness thing and I looked over to my friend.  I realized that she pulled it down lower than I did mine so I pulled mine down again.  I couldn't breathe, so that seemed just about right.  As we were slowly rolling backwards, people started singing.  I watched people in the rides do this while we waited in line.  It was a shame that I didn't ask what it was for, if it actually helped with the nerves, because really, I was tempted to belt out "Let it go! Let it go!"

I considered if I could go through it without screaming.  But when it started, I just felt that if there was a moment where it was necessary to express myself, this was it.  I was going to explode if I didn't.  I could feel myself upside down, my feet off the ground, and I was thinking 'Hell, no!  Feet to floor!  FEET TO FLOOR!"

Up there, I had a dilemma.  On one hand, I wanted to push the harness away from me to sort of 'flee', on the other was the obvious consequence that if I did I'd fall splat on the ground (not that I could, but that wasn't the point).  Kudos to my wonky brain for the epiphany during a roller coaster ride that I really do actually avoid 'facing my problems'.  When it slowed to a halt and we got off the ride, I was still slightly disoriented.  My throat felt dry, but that's probably because it was practically air-dried from being wide open, screaming, the whole time.

We had dinner afterwards.  Food costs more here if you compare it with the same stuff you'd get at the malls.  I went to Dairy Queen and the staff was giving me funny looks.  Then I realized I forgot to brush my hair after the roller coaster ride.  Hehehe...

Afterwards, we took one more ride before going home, Anchors Away.  This should be a cinch after the roller coaster, right?  Nope.  The higher I got the more scared I became.  The teenagers were crazy-screaming in glee the whole time and I was super quiet.  It was like riding an elevator.  I was getting this queasy, funny feeling the whole time.  I can't understand it.  In theory, with the back and forth movement, this should be just like riding a swing.  And it's made better by what my friend told me, "What if someone from the other side (who are facing us) vomits?" Lololol.

I didn't get any souvenirs because everything seemed way to expensive.  I did buy freshly baked buko pie right outside the park.  (My family said Collette's was better, but this was good.)  We decided to go back to Ayala via the EK shuttle.  The tickets cost Php150 each.  Although it cost more than going back the same route by tricycle and bus, it did seem to be the safer option since it was a bit late.  We did have to wait a bit, because it doesn't leave until the fireworks are over.

So, there.  My first trip to Enchanted Kingdom and my first roller coaster ride.  I'd do it again but I would sing "Let it go!"

Review: Hokkaido Ramen Santouka and Yamazaki Ramen shop

I have a fascination with ramen.  After so many instant noodles in my life eventually I just had to wonder, "What does real ramen taste like?"  I didn't jump on the chance to try it until early this year, but I wasn't able to post it at the time, so here it is:

Hokkaido Ramen Santouka

I met with couple of friends in Mall of Asia back in January and we had lunch at Hokkaido Ramen Santouka.

I can't remember what we had..

I think we had the Shio Ramen.

Santouka has different ramen bowl sizes, which is perfect for light eaters.  We got the small bowl of what I think was the Shio Ramen. The broth is a little milky in color, a bit thick, and flavorful.  It has pork, bamboo shoots, nori, though I can't remember how the noodles were. I do remember that it was delicious and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

We ended the meal with delicious mochi.  I forgot what flavor I got, but it's that one with the complicated name.  If you see it, you can't miss it.

Yamazaki Ramen Shop

Last April, we had lunch at Yamazaki in Little Tokyo, Makati.  The ramen shop shares space with a Japanese grocery and its interiors are simple.  But it does seem authentic, if only based on the number of Japanese patrons.

The menu didn't have any pictures on it so it looked about as appetizing as our electricity bill.  If you're not familiar with the names of food you're going to need a lot of help from the waitress.

Two of us got Shoyu Ramen (soy sauce) and another friend got Katsudon.  Yamazaki's ramen doesn't have different sizes but their bowl is bigger than the small bowl we had at Santouka and significantly cheaper at only Php180.

Shoyu Ramen definitely strikes me as the model from which instant noodles were cloned.  It has a clear, brown both, and firmer noodles that look a lot like the instant variety, probably a bit bigger.  The broth was tasty, and I almost forgot it was soy sauce.  The bowl has a slice of pork, a fishcake, a piece of nori (I think), and green onions.  With a bigger bowl, the toppings seem a bit sparse.  After some time you'll find yourself swimming in almost nothing but broth and noodles. But it is filling.  I couldn't finish mine.  Or maybe I just felt full faster since I was eating so slow due to my terrible chopstick skills.

I can't really compare Santouka with Yamazaki.  It's like comparing oranges and lemons.  If I have money to blow, I'd definitely try Santouka again.  For value for money I'd go for Yamazaki again, although I'd definitely try something other than the Shoyu Ramen.

Not really ramen-related but after our Yamazaki lunch, we went to Banapple to chat.  I had the Warm Shoofly Pecan Pie with their tea.  The tea is good but the pie is a little too sweet for my taste that I ate it very slowly, which was fine anyway, since we spent a long time chatting.

International Buffet at Seasons, Waterfront Manila Pavilion

I don't get out much, so when my sister invited me to have dinner I thought, 'Sure, why not?' My sister bought this deal at Ensogo: International Buffet at Seasons, Waterfront Manila Pavilion. Originally priced at PHP1600 per person, I think my sister only paid half that?  I forgot.

I woke up late so I decided not to eat because we were going to dinner anyway and she'll be arriving soon. Soon turned out to be long, hungry hours as my sister ran very, very late.  I was starving.

I didn't want to eat anything because, hello! Buffet! I wanted to sample everything. *cough*glutton*cough* I don't get out a lot and I'm broke most of the time so sue me! And I think, I'm a fat girl. I can take it. Lol!

A plate and a half later, "I'm dying! I'm dying!" Wth, I needed a break! But there were more plates to go...

I enjoy Japanese pop music, I've watched their films and I absolutely love anime.  But Japanese food has left me confused.  I've eaten okonomiyaki before and really liked it, and there are some stuff from the Japanese buffet table that I thought was really delicious.  But for the most part it was "clear" and I don't know if this buffet is indicative of what the Japanese typically eats. "Clear" was the word that came to mind while eating all the nifty little creations from the Japanese table. And "clear" is not the type of food I'm most accustomed to. I prefer my dishes to scream "health problems" in my head while I eat them.

Not a fan of that white jelly-looking stuff.

My sister says the Vikings buffet has a bigger selection.  I wouldn't know; I've never been to Viking's.  Was I left speechless?  No, but I was full and, at that moment, satisfied.  Next time I should eat Japanese food first so the 'clear' taste wouldn't clash so much with everything else I've eaten.  The food setup needed a little work.  Some food tables looked a little sparse while others looked cramped.  While I mostly like the interiors, the setup of tables and chairs in relation to the buffet table seems a bit awkward.  The slightly elevated dining area on the side made the ceiling seem lower.   And don't sit near the posts or the glass wall.

After dinner, we explored the floor outside Seasons.  There was a little shop to the side of the lobby.  This little place says "Souvenirs". What would you think to sell in a souvenir shop? Keychains, magnets, bags, shirts, decorative shit?  Well, this little store thinks outside the box.

Oooh, souvenir shop!

It's closed, so I took a peek through the window.

Behold: Random Writings on Corporate Law. Because Writings on Corporate Law is the best reminder you can get of your trip. Obviously. And not just Writings on Law. It's RANDOM Writings. Imagine being the poor sap that gets this as a pasalubong.  Lol.

Well, of course they know their business better than I do.  Maybe they just have really intellectual clients who like to spend their spare time on brushing up on their English skills and whatnot.  Eh, whatever floats your boat.

We went to the casino!!

I don't have any other Casino photo.  Photos inside aren't allowed, I think.

And spent a grand total of ... PHP40!! Wahahaha!

Seriously, it was the weirdest shit I've encountered in a while.

When they called it an arcade it really was. It was like Time Zone with old, sad, sad people. Really. One woman was smoking a cigarette pushing buttons and if I could put subtitles on her it would've been like, "I've been here for a while. ~puff~ Shit ain't happening. ~push-push~  I'm so effin' miserable. ~smoke~."

We had no idea what to do or how to operate any of the machines so we walk around looking at the machines and these two women start glaring at us. The older one starts walking behind my sister while saying something I couldn't hear. I panic a bit and think, 'WTF! Stop talking to us!' My sister gets annoyed and confronts the lady. So apparently these ladies were paid to guard the machines.  When somebody who has been using the machine decides to take a break, they pay these ladies to stay with the machine to prevent others from using the machine and possibly hitting the jackpot.  They thought we were trying to swoop in on one of the machines.  When we said we were new here their demeanor changed and they left us alone.

We pick a machine, the PHP1 kind, because we are cheapskates. The lady who works for the casino shows us how it's operated. Instructions were: Pick button, push button. Seemed fairly easy enough.

Push, push, push.  "Are we getting addicted yet?"  No. It was pretty stupid just pressing buttons.  The guy next to us was shaking his head. Why? There was nothing he could have done to affect the outcome. I thought the catch of these things was the illusion that you could affect the outcome. It was a machine, programmed to not give you anything until some unknown condition was met. It would have been better if it had been actual roulette you could turn so you could at least think that you could do better next time depending on the force you exert on the roulette.

We could see how easy it was to lose money by just pressing buttons. My sister hadn't sat down for more than five minutes but there was no point in continuing so we decided to just explore the place.

Whatever idea I have about casinos came from movies and tv- rich and glam. Ok not really, they also depict the average person taking a whack at the slot machines. But I didn't think it looked like this. Ordinary, really ordinary people, gambling. Not that I'm dissing on anyone. I think anybody has every right to be here if they want. But I can't help but think, "Nooooo. That's money for food on the table you're spending. Don't do this to your family. Go home. Go home. Go hooooome!"

And the people on the slot machines are like tired, miserable souls. There was just something so inexplicably sad about them. About this whole place, really. I saw a woman digitally betting on a roulette. She won but she should since she bet on almost all the numbers.

The farther you go up the better the area was and I'm guessing the higher the bets.  While the lower floors could give you claustrophobia, the top floor had the most vertical space.  It was also brighter and there was entertainment and more uniformed personnel attending to the people.  One guy probably sat there gambling for a very long time because he had a guy massaging his back while his dealer looked close to dying.

After that we decided to go home.  We got out of the hotel and walked to the side just as as these two well-dressed ladies were walking towards the hotel.  They were followed by a man.  A very old man.  I was freaking out in my mind thinking, 'You're too old to take on those two girls!  You're gonna die!'  Well, I guess if he's going to go out, might as well go out with a bang.  Hehehe.

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I've been clearing and organizing posts and I found this post in draft.  I originally wrote this in September 2012.