Paradiddles

cherry blossom season review

2009-04-23T10:23:00.003+09:00

shouldn't be doing this right now

2008-08-01T20:28:00.003+09:00

but I still am. Writing in this blog.

Now why am I prohibiting myself from updating this update-hungry blog? It's because I should be doing more important things. Like preparing the percussions that I'm gonna do this weekend at church. Or at least moving my butt and burning some calories outside jogging.

But no. I'm here stuck in front of my laptop, doing my website rounds going through gmail, twitter, facebook, friendster, multiply, yahoo mail, and just now -- just to add to things that could distract me -- plurk. Then there's one more. Because I still can't pull myself away from my computer, I decide to revisit this blog.

Hopefully, this will be the last of them websites -- at least for the next hour! I really need to get moving. At least eat dinner.

Good luck to me.

Snowboarding Sunday

2008-02-07T00:13:00.000+09:00

Went snowboarding last Sunday with Just, Jocky, and Edsel at Hakuba Goryu in Nagano. The snow was fantastic--best snow ever! It snowed nonstop making even the bottomest slopes fluffy with fresh powder.

Justin and I tried out the different courses and in our adventure ended up at the other side of the mountain, in the neighboring Hakuba 47 resort. To return, we had to go through three slow lift rides and cross over from the very peak. And then from the top, we then had to go down using the grand prix course, which meant we had to literally step off a cliff and slide in near vertical terrain to reach the kinder slopes below. Talk about intimidating! Thankfully the steepness didn't continue for very long and soon I was back on gentle slopes again. Weee!

There's one bad thing about gentle slopes, though. The big crowd. The place was like an obstacle course of people. I had three collisions with other boarders (the first was my fault!)

Alas, all the snow also made the ride home so terribly slow. Even though the bus left the resort on schedule at 4:05PM, we were almost three hours delayed at 11:40PM when we stepped off at Shinjuku.

Good thing I can look back at this little trip and easily recall not the bad bus ride, but all the powdery snow! It made all the negative things worth the trip. It was a dream come true.

Awesome day.

Photos here.

Mogusaen park

2007-12-04T09:46:00.000+09:00

Autumn is park visiting season. Here are pictures from Mogusaen, one park I visited with coworkers and friends. Thanks to its proximity, being just a few minutes away from where almost everyone lives, a pretty big group got to take part in this fun trip to the pretty park.

Almost everyone brought a camera, so more should be popping up!

Arlan's
Some of Justin's

a happy movie to end a happy day

2007-11-19T13:30:00.000+09:00

After being at church the whole day playing percussions and meeting up with the Pinoys at the Filipino Christmas party, all I wanted was to crash into bed when I got home at around 7 PM last night. But last night also presented a rare opportunity for me and my roomies to do some in-house movie watching. (Roomie L actually still needed some convincing, but anyway...) so together, over potato chips and Boy Bawang, we watched Hairspray in my boom-box-connected laptop.

Loved loved Hairspray! Especially loved the music, the dancing, and the colors! Of course, can't help but compare it with the actual musical, which I watched here in Tokyo some months back. The movie was a few songs and scenes short, but it was still great.

princess mononoke

2007-10-08T23:00:00.001+09:00

princess mononoke, originally uploaded by jemione.

I have been a fan of Ghibli movies ever since I chanced upon My Neighbor Totoro, which turned out to be my second Ghibli film, next to Graveyard of the Fireflies. Graveyard was too sad, and when I watched it I didn't know that it was from Studio Ghibli, so it didn't turn me into a fan. Anyway, thanks to my former roomie Tinats and her collector coworker, I was able to watch at least four more from the Ghibli camp. I loved all of them. So today, I decided to start my Ghibli film collection! My first purchase was Princess Mononoke. Bought it from Shinseido in Nagayama for around 4k yen. Got a 3-DVD set, with one DVD for the film and the other two as special add-ons!

seven from the eight floor

2007-10-04T01:57:00.001+09:00

seven in the elevator, originally uploaded by jemione.

This elevator shot of me and six of my coworkers was taken at around 10PM earlier. My office had a hello-and-goodbye party for Berns and Reghz at Doma Doma resto in Seisekisakuragaoka. I think the party was not yet over when we left, but me and my project-mates Kelvs and M had to go because some work were still waiting at the office.

Latest J-Drama: Proposal Daisakusen

2007-10-03T11:33:00.000+09:00

I enjoyed this series a lot. It's a love story and a tale of friendship among five childhood buddies. It sure is a tearjerker but heavy drama it definitely isn't as it had lots of funny moments as well. I loved how its sweet and touching story made me cry and made me kilig at almost every episode! Hahaha!

And the casting was perfect.The lead guy Yamapi, aptly displaying much more emotion than other dramas of him that I watched before, was handsome as usual, and yes, sexier too! Chemistry with the pretty Nagasawa Masami was great. Everyone in the cast acted well.

Only one thing I didn't like was the ending, which was waay too abrupt for me. But that shouldn't stop you from watching this winner!

weekend jamming

2007-10-01T20:22:00.001+09:00

Last Friday night, my housemates and I were finally able to get together to play the musical instruments in the house. Then on Saturday night till morning, I was on another in house jamming session, this time with Tid and Alvin on the instruments and vocals, and Justin, Khen, and BJ as our patient audience members. Haha!

djembe

2007-09-22T01:01:00.000+09:00

These were my "toys" last weekend. First time for the djembe to be on stage!

Last weekend was actually the second time in my whole life to play the djembe. (The first time was during choir rehearsal two weeks back.) I like its very deep bass sound.

In other news, tonight's Marimar was another fantastic episode (link to YouTube)! I actually cried out in disgust during a scene. The previews for the next episode looked exciting as well, but I have to wait until Monday.

blueberry jam toast

2007-09-13T23:06:00.002+09:00

blueberry jam toast, originally uploaded by jemione.

My house mate Reghz had this for dessert tonight. When she went for seconds she also made one for me. We ate our treats while watching Marimar episode 23 on YouTube. The toast was heavenly (you're great, Reghz!). Marimar was pretty enjoyable too. Angelica's evilness went up by one notch (poor Inocencia!), and Marimar is pregnant!

*09/14/07 - updated image

Friday night

2007-09-01T00:50:00.001+09:00

Just watched The Fast and the Furious Tokyo Drift. It was awesome! Makes me wanna go back to my Need for Speed. Loved the cars, the chases, and the place. Shibuya looked great! Shibuya really is a fascinating place, especially at night with all the lights.

Also watched Marimar episode 15 through YouTube. What an unbelievably stupid episode! Is Marimar that dumb that she can't open car doors from the inside? And how does a vehicle whose engine is not even running get to emit smoke?

omiyage

2007-08-22T21:59:00.000+09:00

Earlier today my manager brought this leaf wrapped goody from his recent trip to the Japanese countryside. He said it came from a church on top of a mountain named Ontake-san. I don't know what it's called though. But it was tasty! Inside the white ball was a sweet filling probably made from beans. Itadakimasu!

where the heart is

2007-08-14T18:18:00.000+09:00

It didn't dawn on me how much I missed the Philippines until I was actually there already. I missed home, but I guess I kinda enjoyed being in Japan also. Still, I'm happy to realize that nothing beats being where you truly belong. For my case, that's in messy, stormy, crazy, beautiful Pilipinas.

Every day of my very short nine day vacation was fun. I met with friends, went on a Boracay adventure (and what an adventure! Maybe I'll write something separate about this), caught up with some more friends, and bonded with my family.

I also had a nice enough haircut and hair pampering. The result (not as fabulous as expected! Hahaha!) surprised a lot of people but it was OK, right? Right. Thank you. Hehe.

I'm glad I went home.

Hairspray in my head

2007-07-28T23:16:00.000+09:00

My song of the week is Without Love, from the Broadway musical, Hairspray. And it was stuck in my head because 1) I watched the musical last Sunday (starring the Broadway cast! Coolness!) and 2) After watching it, I searched for Hairspray videos in YouTube and the first videos that I chanced upon were performances for Without Love. I never had time anymore to watch any other number, and this was one fine number anyway, so I got stuck with it.

By the way, last Sunday's Hairspray was like wow! I really enjoyed it! The music was great and the dialogue was very funny! The performances were excellent too. Link was hunkalicious. I also found last Sunday's Seaweed better than the Seaweeds that I watched from YouTube (some of which featured the original one from Broadway).

It was also interesting how they got the audience involved for the last performance. During the intermission, they taught the audience some dance steps and so during the last performance, everyone was asked to stand up and join the cast in dancing. It was fun!

The movie is not yet here but I heard it's good, so I'll try not to miss it.

Without love
Life is like the seasons with
No summer
Without love
Life is rock 'n' roll without
A drummer

Darling, I'll be yours forever
'Cause I never wanna be
Without love
So darling, throw away the key...

--Hairspray

Harry Potter reading mode is currently paused at chapter 6 because...

2007-07-22T01:49:00.000+09:00

My roommate Laiza and I went salsa dancing tonight! Headed to Roppongi right after work, and were able to catch the ending minutes of the dance lessons at the salsa club. When the lessons ended, the lights were dimmed and the music started. Laiza and I were almost immediately on the dance floor, as two guys offered to spin us to the pulsating Latin music.

It was a fun night of hip shakin' with different dance partners. It was also some three hours of trying not to step on other people's toes. I was such terrible salsa dancer! I don't think I really got the moves right. But at least, I think I kinda got the feel of it...

Anyway, I'd love to go dancing again. I'll master that twirl!

Taking advantage of clear weather after many rainy nights

2007-07-18T22:09:00.001+09:00

Just got back from jogging around the nearby track oval. But was too absorbed listening to music that I can't remember if I jogged nine or ten rounds! (It was 630 m per round.) Anyway, that was a good 40 minute workout.

Gonna have dinner now!

under construction

2007-07-17T02:17:00.000+09:00

Just upgraded to the new blogger template so now my old template is gone. While I think of what to do next with the looks of this blog, please bear with this boring template called Dots.

sushi happy at the tsukiji fish market

2007-07-17T00:26:00.001+09:00

sushi happy at the tsukiji fish market, originally uploaded by jemione.

Had breakfast last Saturday at Daiwa inside the famous (world's largest) Tsukiji fish market. Nothing like the freshest sushi! Mmm-mmm-mmm! Ordered the sushi set and discovered my new favorite, the eel (anago) sushi. Waited in line for ten years but it was all worth it!

P.S. As usual, more pics to come later. ;D
Seems like Ramil has uploaded his Tsukiji set. Enjoy the pics! link

My six weird things

2007-07-09T20:36:00.001+09:00

Tagged by former roommie Meema, I'm now listing six weird things about me.

1. I'm inflicted with what my coworkers call "spontaneous dancing syndrome". Sometimes, when some danceable music is drifting in the air, one minute I'm standing still and the next, I just find myself moving to the beat. Then come the stares from my friends. So I immediately stop.

2. I fidget even when I'm not nervous. When my nails have started to grow even a few millimeters longer than what you can call trimmed, my fingers can't help but fidget with them.

3. I download MP3's, then buy the CD. But I don't play the CD, or open the packaging, because I have the music already. So now I have this small, but growing collection of unopened CD's.

4. My hands are too small. They are. You'll agree when you see me.

5. Once, I wore an evening gown on top of a mountain. And this was not the civilized kind of mountain top. Oh no. It was mostly rocks and some dry grass and all sky. I was actually on a camping trip. At the peak I changed into this glittering gold cocktail dress with a slit at the side that went up to the middle of my left thigh. Pictures were taken, of course, so I could have evidence. They're currently being kept safe somewhere, heehee.

6. I dot my small i not with a dot, but with a tiny circle. I think this started in first year high school, if not in elementary. I wanted to make my dots bigger, because I can't see them. So I turned them into circles.

That's it. Now I'm tagging you, yes, all five of you my dear readers, if you haven't done this before. Ayt!

pics update

2007-07-03T15:33:00.000+09:00

I have finished uploading the pictures that I took from my latest hiking trip.

Here they are. Enjoy!

Hopefully, I can go climbing again on July 28. It's going to be a medium-height one (around 2100 meters) in the Niigata region, which is much farther than any of my previous expeditions. I plan to bring my new lens (finally have the Nikkor 18-200 VR--yay!), so hopefully everything goes well (the weather, transportation reservations, the group to accept me, hehe) so I can finally shoot the mountain landscapes that have been eluding me all this time.

Why going down the stairs last Sunday was again making me squirm with the pain coming from my quads

2007-06-26T16:44:00.001+09:00

Nekko peak from somewhere near Mt. Azumaya's summit, originally uploaded by jemione.

They always hit the quads the hardest! Anyway, it was because I climbed Mt. Azumaya (Azumayasan) and Mt. Nekko (Nekkotake) last Saturday with Souma-san and friends. The mountains were located at the border of Gunma and Nagano prefectures, around three hours away by super fast (average 130kph) Toyota rental car from Tokyo. The climb was hard work, of course, taking us around six hours climbing and going down the two neighboring peaks, but it was very rewarding because of the spectacular scenery. Mt. Azumaya had a trail which was mostly open and grassy, so even from the base, looking at its big yellowish-green triangle shaped form sitting against a perfectly blue sky, the view was quite stunning already. And there were so many flowers! For Mt. Azumaya especially, it felt like climbing a huge garden.

Mt. Nekko was a little more difficult to climb because some parts were almost impassable with heavy mud, but the way down was different, so it was OK. Downwards was also very pretty. The vibrant greenery made the trail really interesting, adorning the path with different shades of green, and dotting the way with lots of orange, thanks to the flowers!

The peaks were mostly rock. And that's good because they offered unencumbered 360 degree views of the surrounding mountains and the clear sky. A famous active volcano, Mt. Aza-something, can be seen from Mt. Nekko's top.

After the climb, we had dinner at a Chinese resto and then after that was the unavoidable onsen trip. But I'm beginning to love the onsen now, so i stuck around. The place was a bit crowded, and I may have even seen a person I knew from church (weird!), but it was a huge facility, so it was fine. Aside from the hot baths, there were also different kinds of spas, the normal super hot one with the glowing rocks in the middle of the room type, and the mist spa. What was really cool was San-san was kind enough to show me around them, as I haven't tried any of them before. I went home refreshed. The pains will hit the quads the next day but I can't complain because this was one super enjoyable Saturday.

P.S. more pics to follow!

adventure in my new kitchen

2007-06-20T12:57:00.001+09:00

the tofu added in, originally uploaded by jemione.

last saturday, i cooked tokyo-style adobo. i called it tokyo-style because all the ingredients were from here. i followed a recipe given to me by a filipino friend who loves to cook, kuya ian. i rarely cook and have never made adobo before, but decided to give it a try as some friends were staying over for dinner at my house. i think it turned out OK. But i want to try it again, adding my own tweaks next time. for now, here's version 1.

Ingredients:
1/2 kilo chicken lollipop (or desired chicken or pork part)
1 cup regular kikoman soy sauce (or other soy sauce if not avlbl)
1 cup mizukan vinegar (or other vinegar if not avlbl)
1 cup mirin (japanese sweet cooking wine; or replace with water with 2 Tablespoons sugar if not available)
1 large clove of garlic (skinned, not chopped)
1 tablespoon chopped basil
1 tablespoon whole pepper corns
5-7 pieces Laurel leaves.
5-7 small dried chili (optional)
1 block of Tofu (about 1/4 Kilo) (optional)

Directions:
Pour everything in a pan. Simmer for 1 hour. Remove chicken pieces from stew and fry. Pour back the stew on the chicken just before serving. Add garnish if desired. Serve with rice, salad, or vegetable dish.

Serves 5-6 people.

pictures here :)

how much of the philippines i have been to

2007-06-18T17:49:00.000+09:00

not much!

My Lakbayan grade is C!

How much of the Philippines have you visited? Find out at Lakbayan!

Created by Eugene Villar.

finally got to do my laundry last night

2007-06-14T21:15:00.001+09:00

actually, it wasn't like there was a big mountain of clothes waiting to be washed already, but i'm a bit relieved my laundry pile got flattened last night. i just don't want any clothes piling up on me. so yeah, i'm glad i finally had some free time to do my laundry, because these past few nights (and days) were just one activity after the next.

started last friday. my office had a welcome party for our new employees. it was actually just dinner, but was filled with enough drinks and food we got to go home a little past the last train's schedule already, which was around 12:30.

me with friends from church

then on saturday, i had to get up early to attend a church mate's wedding. it was a very nice wedding. it wasn't fancy and with only the couple's closest family and friends present, was really simple, but was a beautiful wedding nonetheless. All of the music, except the exit march because the musician was suddenly nowhere to be found, were played and sang live. At the reception, which was at the church hall downstairs, there wasn't any waiters so i helped a little with the drinks preparation. the food preparation was also through the efforts of some church friends. but the food was wonderful. there weren't many dishes to choose from, but everything served was great. there were the most intricate hors d'oeuvres and an actual sushi bar, where you can pick your sushi topping and the sushi man will scoop a fistful of rice and whip up your sushi for you.

a quick pose on the dance floor

then saturday night was dancing night, my first time to go clubbing in hip roppongi. my friends and i went to a hip-hop place, so i guess that's why there were many blacks. the place got packed by around 2AM, and even around 5AM when we finally called it quits, there were still a handful of people on the dance floor. dancing was lots of fun. my feet were sore for two days after that but i guess it comes with being on the dance floor for almost five hours straight.

then sunday, i just went to bed as soon as i got home. but actually i got home around 9PM already, because the whole day i was at church. in the afternoon, i attended the singles fellowship for the first time. met lots of new people. during the rest of the day, i tried to catch some sleep, but mostly failed. so i was dead tired when i got home.

then monday. the house was kinda busy with a guest. i guess i just forgot to do my laundry.

then tuesday, the house was very busy because we had peejay's farewell party.

so finally wednesday, everything was back to normal.

red hot chili peppered

2007-06-07T17:24:00.000+09:00

Last night's RHCP concert in Tokyo Dome was my first (and hopefully, not last) concert here in Japan. I love RHCP, so i absolutely enjoyed it! I never thought I could hear Higher Ground live with so much energy. It was my first time in Tokyo dome, and it was surprisingly huge inside (probably at least 4 Araneta Coliseums could fit in there). And it was packed, so you could only imagine the energy with everyone jumping to Can't Stop and Around the World among other songs. There were some pleasant surprises too, when Chad Smith played jazz and Flea accompanied on the trumpet; and when Flea joined in at the drum set to soup up a drum solo during Hump de Bump. The video screens and the lights were also fantastic. Rockin' night!

ghibli goodness set in my hometown

2007-06-05T12:30:00.000+09:00

That's the anime 耳をすませば (Mimi wo sumaseba/Whisper of the Heart). I loved it! It's a sweet love story. Great artwork too, with very detailed renderings of buildings and streets. The setting was also quite interesting for me, because it was set in Tama City, and that's where I live now. The town part of the city shown in the film was in Seiseki-Sakuragaoka, and that's my town! Although there were of course a lot of differences already, because the movie is more than ten years old, it was cool to be able to identify some of the places and say that they actually looked very familiar. I can even relate to the difficulty one character was having with biking up the hills around here. And I could totally identify with the ever-present Keio train in the movie, which actually hasn't changed much.

On to the next ghibli!

the pictures from the latest weekend that I had to blog about...

2007-06-01T19:38:00.000+09:00

Yesterday, I uploaded the shots that I took from the mountain climbing trip. I'm still fixing the pictures from the jazz event. Earlier today, Ish-chan sent me a link with the pictures from JR's birthday dinner.

I'm thinking of buying a new lens for my D50. Because I'm only using a 50 mm, sometimes it's really frustrating to not be able to get the wide shot or the close-up shot that I want. So, I'm considering getting the 18-200 VR Nikkor. It's gonna leave a big dent in my wallet, though. That's why I'm still kinda hesitant. But I'm very tempted. Like last weekend, there were so many times I wished I had a more flexible lens!

a holiday by the riverside

2007-05-31T15:48:00.000+09:00

around a month ago, i spent a holiday to picnic with some of the filipinos from church. we spent the whole day eating, cooking, chatting, taking pictures and playing games beside the tama river. thanks to this activity, i was able to get to know more the friendly folks from church. it was tons of fun. check out the pictures!
link 1
link 2

spirited away in my apartment

2007-05-30T12:39:00.000+09:00

Two nights ago I got to watch Spirited Away, another amazing film from Studio Ghibli. I loved it! Watching it transported me again to another world with really interesting characters and the most stunning landscapes. Like in Howl's Moving Castle, the artwork was beautiful. Later I learned that this won an oscar for best animated film and is the highest grossing film in Japan. It just tells how fantastic this movie is. I'm glad i got to watch it! Thanks Tinats and Tinats' coworker for sharing all the Ghibli goodness!

one of those weekends i just had to write about

2007-05-29T14:24:00.001+09:00

Yay, another blog post! I really missed blogging. Now, this time, what made me write was my busy but fun weekend. Here we go.

So my weekend activities started last Friday. My coworkers and I celebrated JR's birthday by having dinner at Gyu-kaku, a yakiniku (cook your own korean barbeque) restaurant. According to Kiyota-san, Gyu-kaku is not a real yakiniku restaurant because the meat is different (cheaper?). But the looks of the food and the place were kinda the same as the real yakiniku resto, so I dunno. Anyway, the food was OK--tasty if given the right sauces--so I didn't mind it being cheaper. And speaking of cheap, it was really cheap, relatively. We thought we'd be paying at least 3k yen each but in the end, the nine of us shelled out only a little more than 2k, all for ten people (following the japanese tradition of treating the birthday celebrant).

Right after dinner was karaoke. Not everybody joined though. Only the ones who were really into it participated. But it was also good that way because the ones that remained were the ones who were really willing to belt it out until the end, which was around 4 in the morning. So it was a very enjoyable karaoke. We tried the medley mode, and discovered that we know our carpenters (but not very much bon jovi!)

Then Sunday came and it was time for my second mountain climbing trip in Japan. Peejay and I joined Souma-san and his friends and together we climbed Mt. Arafune (Arafuneyama) in Genma prefecture. It was my first time to go outside Kanto to do non-business stuff. Jump off point to peak was around three hours long. Going down taking a different path took one hour. The climb was not very difficult, but of course was still tiring. The trail reminded me of Mt. Ugu, because of the pine trees and the cool air. The view was spectacular. Near the peak was a viewing deck, which was on top of a huge huge wall of stone. This was where we took our "view from the mountain" pictures, and of course, our jump shots.

After going down Arafuneyama, we headed to a farm which was famous for their cows and dairy products. It was a short but pretty enjoyable detour, as we got to eat their famous yummy soft cream (a.k.a ice cream) and take in the views of beautiful green pastures, colorful park-like sitting areas, and a road lined with pretty pink flowers. There was even a brook with goats grazing nearby. I enjoyed the view while standing on a wooden bridge which led to a deck going to the ice cream parlor. It was a lovely place and gave a very relaxing atmosphere.

But the real relaxation was to come after, because our next stop was the public onsen (hot springs). It was my first time so initially I was very hesitant to try it, getting naked with everyone in there! But my companions (except PJ) seemed fine with it. It seemed like such a normal post-climbing activity to Souma-san and friends. Also, I thought, there's no reason for me to be embarrassed because my female companions can still be considered strangers anyway. The idea of a hot bath wasn't such a bad one either. And so in the end, I convinced myself to go. And wow! I didn't regret it. It was very relaxing and refreshing. It was definitely weird at first--I was almost laughing at myself with embarrassment. But after seeing how normal everyone was acting--chatting and walking around in their birthday suits, I soon got over it, and I was able to enjoy the hot water, and the company of Meg-san and Ari-san, who have become less than strangers already.

After onsen and enduring heavy traffic in the super highway on the way back to the train station, PJ and I rushed over to Yokohama to watch some friends perform jazz music--my first time to go to a jazz club. We were late though. We missed the first set but good thing there was another set, and we were able to catch that one. It was a night of really good jazz and blues. It was also a sort of gathering of the band members from church, as a lot of the musicians and singers were there, partly to show support for Kozue's trumpet debut and partly to celebrate Sumiko's birthday. But another star of the night was Ozcar, Kozue's friend the sexy sax player. He was fantastic. Actually, everyone performing was great. But the sax just brought something else to the sound of the band. And he was cute. Wonderful night!

So I went home super tired, catching the second to the last train of the day. Then, I poured my remaining energy to the mostly uphill biking that I had to do from the station to my house. And then, the super fun weekend was over.

P.S. more pictures to follow. ^_^

found a friend!

2007-03-06T13:24:00.000+09:00

Stumbled upon my college buddy Finley while filming the costumed people in Harajuku around two months ago. What a nice surprise! Last time I saw Fin was maybe around three years ago so it was really cool to meet him here! :-)

now i know how to put back the chains on a bike

2007-01-26T18:49:00.000+09:00

This morning i was very late for work because my bike got dechained. I tried standing up while pedalling on an uphill road and just as the road was about to level off the pedals lost power. It was my first time to be dechained so i didn't really know what to do, but after a few minutes of tinkering with the chains i was back on my wheels again. I'm just glad i was wearing gloves (can't go biking these cold winter days without them!) so my hands stayed clean!

a 9 PM jog

2006-12-28T10:42:00.000+09:00

Jogged for around 50 minutes last night. I took the path beside tama river and headed westward, crossing the highway and the train track, and finally turned around when I reached another highway. My main motivation was so that I could eat the polvoron that my mom made. They were really good! I may have eaten a bit too much actually. Therefore jogging was a really good decision.

what rain?

2006-11-19T23:59:00.000+09:00

What a day! It rained all throughout but it was all fun as Hisumi-chan showed me around Shinjuku, including a food trip and a live music event at her school, the 29-floor Kogakuin University; plus some shopping for (my) winter gear and (her) job hunting outfit. After parting ways, I was back in Shibuya. While looking for the Yamaha mega store, I stumbled upon Shibashi, another musical instrument (mega) store, and soon after, found myself trying out (and then dreaming about having) one of their Pearl electronic drumsets. I missed making noise, hehe. Back on the rain soaked pavement, I then headed for nearby Tokyu Hands, and out of curiosity, did some window-shopping. I found weighing scales! And not so expensive ones too. I'll be buying one soon.

(Some pics here.)

Yokohama (part 2)

2006-11-17T00:46:00.000+09:00

The other part of sea paradise was the (non-sea creature related) rides, the coolest one for me being the one called Blue Fall. It's a tower which takes you 350 feet up strapped on a seat, lets you enjoy the breathtaking view of Yokohama for a few seconds, and then drops you to free-fall screaming down to the ground. It was awesome!

There was also a big roller coaster. Its size doesn't break any record but it was the biggest roller coaster that I've seen, so I didn't pass up the chance to experience it. It was a pretty cool roller coaster actually, because more than half of it stands above the sea.

A pleasant experience my friends and I nearly missed was the dolphin fantasy. It was located in a small building in the middle of the park, but it looked like an ordinary store, we didn't think it was anything special. But good thing we were curious enough and so we got to experience walking under yet another big aquarium, but this time with the company of dolphins. Inside, the building was a tunnel-like structure, and gliding over our heads were colorful fishes and the dolphins. Then at the end of the tunnel was another aquarium, this one housing a lovely white whale.

Because we tried to finish all our sea paradise activities before lunch, when we had our lunch, it was was past 1pm already. We happily ate inside the park. Mark and Meema shared a pizza while I had a Popeye salad so called because the greens were spinach leaves. Loved it!

(Next in this series: Osanbashi pier, Chinatown, and more. To be continued...)

Yokohama (part 1)

2006-11-13T00:50:00.000+09:00

My first saturday here was spent sight-seeing yokohama, a city already outside of tokyo and around 2 hours away from where i live, which is fuchu city.

First stop was the Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise, one of japan's largest aquariums. Inside the aquarium complex was a huge tank, more than two floors high and housing at least three huge manta rays (see previous post) among the many other colorful fishes.

Going up to the 2nd floor is through the escalator which cuts through the aquarium. Folks have a closer view of the creatures because the escalator is underwater! On the right above are Mark and Meema, the subjects of my many other photos from that day (not all have been uploaded, though, so just continue to check my flickr for updates.. sorry ^-^;;).

These were just some of the creatures featured in sea paradise. Compared to the animals in tokyo sea life which i visited a few months ago, the animals here were bigger, especially the sharks and the turtles! Also there were more giant crabs here.

Plus, there was a really entertaining marine animal show! It was my first time to see a show of this kind. It was filled with awesome stunts and funny tricks from dolphins, sea lions, walruses and a beautiful white whale.

(to be continued...)

back in japan!

2006-11-01T13:07:00.000+09:00

Wow! Can't believe it's been one week and two days already since I got back here in Tokyo. Been really busy with work on the weekdays. And my first weekend here was spent on sightseeing the beautiful port city of Yokohama (more about this later) and getting lost in posh Daikanyama (later also) while looking for Tokyo Baptist Church. I've tons of pictures to process (each one to convert from RAW to JPEG). In the meantime, I'm sharing this pic of a huge ray (it's at least 6 feet wide) from the Yokohama Sea Paradise.

giant ray, originally uploaded by jemione.

Exultate Justi

2006-10-10T20:14:00.000+09:00

last night i had an unusual LSS. can't get the all-latin song exultate justi out of my head. it was one of the concert pieces which our choir sang last sunday. among the repertoire's nine songs, it was the one piece that i studied the most, being a song with very unfamiliar words and tricky timing. and i can even say i was able to memorize it by heart. now apparently my head wouldn't just let it go.

here are some pics from the night of the concert.

blackout and boggle

2006-10-09T14:29:00.000+09:00

blackout and boggle, originally uploaded by jemione.

What I did the evening the super storm Milenyo hit us--played boggle with my siblings and my mom till we ran out of candles.

trying to go traditional

2006-09-25T18:25:00.000+09:00

This weekend I studied Steve Smith's Drumset Technique DVD--well, that is, the very first part of the video, which dealt with hand techniques. I tried my hand (literally) at his traditional grip. However, found out soon enough how difficult it was! I practiced for more than an hour but I don't know if I improved at all. In the first place, I wasn't even sure if I was doing it right. I may need a real life teacher for this one.

Jack's back

2006-09-22T10:09:00.000+09:00

Started to include the tv series 24 in my watchlist. Since grabbing awards from the latest emmy awards, 24 has gotten my interest again. So last night, I picked up where I left off, and started season 4. I have to say, it was pretty good. I can immediately feel the action and excitement. Go Jack!

swing boy

2006-09-21T22:25:00.000+09:00

Last night, I watched my bro Carlo compete in a dance sport event. I have to say he knows his ballroom, specifically cha cha cha, rhumba, and foxtrot. And boy can he get his hips shakin like jello. I wasn't able to compare his dancing with the other competitors because my eyes were glued to my camera, and my camera was focused on him and his partner. But they won first place, so my attention was focused on the right couple after all, hehehe.

swing girl

2006-09-20T12:17:00.000+09:00

Finally, I was able to watch Swing Girls last night, a really nice Japanese movie about high school girls forming a jazz band. I have to say thank you to Tid for recommending it because it was very enjoyable and the music was great. I had actually been wanting to watch it for weeks now but no sibling was available to see it with me, and I don't like watching movies alone. Hehe. And also since the movie was about jazz, I was very much wanting to watch it with at least my sister or youngest bro, members of my family who I share the love for creating music.

So later that night, after the movie had already ended, the movie still had me in a jazz mood I just had to play Miles Davis' The Birth of Cool album while having my daily devotion sitting on a cushioned chair with my feet propped up on the bed. It was a cool swingin' evening.

at the city of majestic waterfalls

2006-09-08T12:30:00.000+09:00

Third day (08/27) in Cagayan de Oro my family and I visited two beautiful waterfalls in neighboring Iligan City. First one was the super tall Maria Cristina falls, which I heard provides the electricity for Mindanao. It was the highest one that I've seen. But there wasn't much to do at the place except take pictures because the falls was enclosed by a powerplant. Still it was nice to witness water so powerful and so tall!

After a nice lunch by the seaside, we headed to Tinago falls. True to its name, it's a bit "tago" (hidden). It was tucked in a forest which could only be reached by going down this 360-plus steep steps of stairs. But it was one piece of nature that's really worth uncovering. It was lovely! It was pretty tall also, maybe at least 100 feet, but still way shorter than Maria Cristina. And it was wide! And very approachable--anyone with the provided life jacket can ride the available bamboo barge and approach the rushing water, and even enter the caves behind it (though I never got to try them, beause I took pictures instead, hehehe). Then in the middle, catching the charging white water of the main falls and the slower flowing water of the smaller falls surrounding the big one, was a magnificent blue lagoon, a wide circular pool of calm blue water.

Cool places to visit when you happen to be in Northern Mindanao! :)

More pics here.

shot the rapids

2006-09-06T16:28:00.000+09:00

Day 2 in CDO (Saturday last week) was the highlight of my vacation--I went white water rafting! Rode a jeep from the heart of the city (where my family and I stayed), and around 30 minutes later, I was at Cagayan de Oro river. Soon after, everyone was putting on their life jackets, helmets, and storing precious stuff at water-proof bags. After a short orientation by one of the guides, we boarded our boats and glided to the river's center. Then not 200 meters from where the paddling started, was already the first of 14 major rapids that we were to encounter in our 3-hour trek down the wide river which divides the provinces of Misamis Oriental and Bukidnon. The trip wasn't straight paddling though. There were ample rest periods to enjoy the wonderful view provided by huge rock faces and lush greenery by the riverside, and very clear weather. And at the river's calmer portions, we got to swim in the cold but refreshing water. There was also a side trip to a cave, which we entered and exited by floating in our life jackets. But riding through the rapids was the most fun. While our two boat guides worked hard to steer our rubber raft of seven people, the rest of us five paddled with all our might to push the boat forward. Of course everyone gets wet in the process. But how great it felt to be carried over rushing water! Add to that avoiding islands of sharp rocks and steering clear of walls. What a rush! T'was an adventure I'd definitely love to do again. :)

at the city of golden friendships

2006-08-25T19:06:00.000+09:00

So here I am in an internet cafe in Cagayan de Oro City on the first day of my vacation. I have a 30-minute window before I join the rest of my family and head to the night market so I'm taking this precious chance to charge my ipod. I unintentionally drained the battery earlier today and I have no AC adapter so my only chance is through the usb drive. And since the computer is connected to the internet, we might as well blog!

So here I am blogging. First day's good so far. For lunch, we got to try the salads and pasta at Bigby's. The food was great! We were also able to explore Lim Ket Kai mall, which is a huge complex housing more than enough stores and restos to satisty all your "malling" needs.

My 30 minutes is almost up so I have to go now. Tonight it's dinner time at the night market!

thankful they are fading

2006-08-16T16:09:00.000+09:00

My weekend adventure (see preceding post) actually brought to my body three different kinds of pains that are only now beginning to subside. First is the muscle soreness that made almost every movement, especially going down the stairs, the utmost torture. Second are the effects of brushing my left hand with stinging leaves and an unfortunate encounter with a wasp colony. My right hand got swollen and even a slight touch on the back of my left hand sends a jolt of excruciating pain. Third, was a small wound nearmy right jaw, a sort of puncture I got from having my jaw landing down on an upright talahib stalk during one of my many slips going down the mountain.

But thank God all of them are starting to heal already... I'm starting to feel normal now... and can even walk straight already!

weekend activities

2006-08-16T15:55:00.000+09:00

Last weekend I climbed Mt. Sembrano in Tanay, Rizal with the Wannabes and some folks from Habagat. What a climb! It wasn't a piece of cake and the weather wasn't perfect, but I enjoyed it a lot.

Almost every part of the trail was going upwards. The beginning part was especially difficult because the road was angled high and it gave a shock to my unexercised body. There were also parts that were really steep and required me to use both hands. But after 4 and a half hours of walking, climbing, crawling, resting, and almost having cramps in my thighs, I was finally at the summit. Then, for dinner it was pasta and fried chicken. It was fantastic! Aaron must have already perfected his pasta recipe.

It rained hard in the middle of the night and the rain did not stop until around 9 AM the next day. But I stayed dry all throughout, thanks to my tent. It was a very comfortable night for me, despite the rain and the wind. Actually, the bad weather may have heightened the comfort that I enjoyed. Because the elements were wreaking havoc outside while I was warm and dry inside, my 2-person tent felt like a 5-star hotel suite. What a nice feeling!

The descent was difficult but unexpectedly lots of fun. The rain the night before made the trail the most slippery I've ever encountered. I actually broke my record for the most number of times I've fallen flat on my butt in a span of 3 hours. Then there was this part which was so slippery, I just went down on my ass and just pushed myself to slide a good 50 feet down the mountainside slope. But it was fun, mud and all. My knees also didn't hurt even once, so one big hurray! for that too.

At the house at the base of the mountain, we had chicken tinola which was cooked especially for us. It was great! I was also able to take a bath at the house, which had a shower, mind you. We took our time to rest in the house and I was able to recharge my batteries well enough for my next activiy. 'Coz when I got home, it was straight to choir practice, then a night out with my church friends to celebrate Joshua's birthday. What a fun weekend!

a carpet for the drum set

2006-07-24T11:16:00.000+09:00

One cool thing about my being back is that I get to play drums again. And I was able to play at church too, for two straight sundays now. Ureshikatta! (happiness!) I have to add some improvement to the setup at church though. The kit needs to be placed on a carpet or any kind of huge cloth, because the drums keep sliding away during play time!

This post is to remind myself to find one for the church kit. Ijou desu (that's all). Back to work!

soba with lots of chilli

2006-07-01T21:22:00.000+09:00

This dish made me cry. The chilli powder combined with the teaspoonful of wasabi that I added to the hot bowl was probably too much. As I was eating this, I had to wipe my tears quick lest the elderly woman who was finishing her meal nearby think something was wrong. But nothing was wrong, I was just enjoying my bowl of soba.

at the Tokyo Sea Life Park

2006-06-24T03:47:00.000+09:00

Last Saturday was a fun weekend for me and a friend with the fishes of the Kasai Rinkai Suizokuen . It was my first time to see a shark and a penguin and many other interesting marine animals. The park was a huge place filled wall to wall with every sort of sea-related creature. Had a great time as I was shutter happy once again.

Went there right before lunch hour so by the time we arrived at this "tuna theater", a super wide wall of an aquarium set in front of an amphitheater-like seating area, I was already hungry and actually couldn't help but wonder how wonderful a meal the heavyweight fishes would make.

More pictures here.

hello oven toaster

2006-06-22T23:59:00.000+09:00

Took home an oven toaster yesterday. Got it from a colleague who was moving away after staying in Japan for two years. It can't fit in my tiny kitchen anymore so I just placed it on the floor in the bedroom/dining area. But that's not really a problem because now I've got a new oven toaster. Whee!

dinner for one

2006-06-19T22:51:00.000+09:00

This was last night's dinner--cold zaru, er, plate (no zaru in the house!) soba with lots of nori and lettuce salad with egg. Then I just added the leftover fish from lunch. It was pretty much a repeat of yesterday's breakfast, except for the fish. But it was one meal I won't mind having again. It was goood. :)

new favorite jdorama

2006-06-18T17:21:00.000+09:00

Just finished watching Densha Otoko (Train Man). Really enjoyed this series. It was very funny, especially the alternate ending/special episode. Easily one of my favorites now. Another special episode might be coming in September this year... I can't wait! ^^

Official site (in Japanese)
English info

mystery balls for dessert

2006-06-17T01:40:00.000+09:00

I had these for dessert this evening. I bought them from the supermarket on my way home without knowing what they were. The glossy balls looked intruiging and I felt like going on a food adventure.

Now, I've eaten all of them already, but I still don't know what they are. I've tried translating the label but all I got was that they were some kind of pastry. And from the ingredients, they're made of flour. They're very good though--loved them! They turned out to be sticky flour balls covered with a really sweet paste. They're a bit too sweet so I scraped off some of the sticky covering. But how addicting these balls were! I ate them while watching magnificent Argentina demolish Serbia and Montenegro. The game's decided now and the balls are all gone.

Eat out pics

2006-06-05T12:35:00.000+09:00

Top to bottom:
1. Me at the kekkon omedetou (contrats-to-the-newly-weds) party last Friday in Nagayama.
2. Astra people and significant others at the same party.
3. The pinoys having okonomiyaki or Japanese style pancake (taken on May 27).

new experiences

2006-06-01T18:37:00.000+09:00

Monday to Wednesday I attended a seminar in Hachidoki, around 1.5 hours away by train from my place. I got to experience new things, like getting pushed and squeezed during morning rush hour in the express train on the way to the big (huge) train station in Shinjuku. The mass of people during rush hour is incredible. In every train stop, people just keep on coming in and when it seems the train car couldn't take any more passengers, somebody from the outside pushes the people by the door to get everybody to fit inside.

Trying out monja was another new experience for me. On Tuesday, Souma-san treated M and I to drinks, monja, okonomiyaki, and yakisoba in Hachidoki, where there was a street filled with monja restaurants. What is monja? I don't know exactly. It's a gooey mix of different ingredients for you to cook (or you can have the waiter cook it in front of you) on a big hot plate which takes up most of your table. What was in our monja? I recognized tentacles, so there was probably octopus. And I guess there were some vegetables in there too. It tasted okay. But I guess it's not food to make one satisfied, but more of food for group discussions, because everybody gets to share the one big liquid "pie", and you can only get a tiny quantity at a time. Also, you can only scrape off bits from the edges, because the pie is hot and still mostly liquid except at the edges, and you are only given a tiny (super mini) spatula for your spoon. It allowed plenty of time for talking.

The okonomiyaki was good. And I was able to flip it successfully (whew). I also got to try jasmine tea. It's better than oolong tea, but it's more expensive.

an eventful Friday lunch hour

2006-05-26T17:36:00.000+09:00

During lunch break today I went home again. Since Monday this week, I've been returning home during lunch hour to cook my lunch and save money in the process. I also go home to make the most out of my host's fabulous kitchen (a really cool kitchen--roomy, well stocked, and has all the appliances and utensils and gadgets) which I have only until the end of the month to enjoy.

But lunch break today was a bit different. I had company. First, my host Kei-san came. I think he was a bit surprised to see me. But I don't think he minded seeing me. We exchanged a few words then he left soon after.

Right after Kei-san was gone, another visitor came. It was Kei-san's mom. I was really surprised. And apparently, Kei-san's mom was too. I can tell because she asked lots of questions. The difficult part was her questions were in Japanese. Thankfully I was able to understand her (I think), but I had to speak in Japanese as well. And it wasn't easy at all to do. My unprepared mind was almost in panic scouring for vocabulary words from my past Japanese lessons. At one point a few moments upon first stumbling upon each other, she asked when I arrived. But instead of saying the Japanese for Tuesday (Kayoubi), I blurted out Mokuyoubi, or Thursday.

When Kei-san's mom left a few minutes later, I made a mental slap of my head when I remembered that Tuesday is Kayoubi. Now I misinformed her. Sorry about that. I really have to step up learning the Japanese language.

Perfect Timing

2006-05-23T13:18:00.000+09:00

Not really. Still, it was a nice photo, don't you think so?

This one was taken this last weekend (May 21) at the Shinjuku Gyoen park. It was a huge garden, and a major attraction for photographers because of the many colorful flowers in the Frech formal garden area. I have no pictures because my camera's not working and only during the day this picture was taken that it was brought to the store to be repaired. =(

But that didn't stop me from enjoying the place. It was as closest to nature as I can get, and a great place for a jump shot!

Eating and jogging and eating

2006-05-23T00:19:00.000+09:00

To ease the guilty feeling brought about by eating piaya and caycay at the office, I went jogging this evening, my first official jog here in Japan not counting the running spurts that I have done on my way to work in the past week to avoid being late. Jogged for around 43 minutes around the area where I'm staying right now, which is in Tama City, Tokyo. The place is great for jogging. The weather is cool and there's ample space for pedestrians by the roadside and also walking pathways beside the river. I went towards the side of the city I wasn't familiar with, and stumbled upon the Nagayama train station, which I've been to before once, but I reached it by bus. I explored the area and then turned back to go home.

When I got home, I had lettuce salad in olive oil and tortang talong cooked sans cooking oil.

Two weeks ago in Mt. Cristobal...

2006-04-11T14:55:00.000+09:00

I took pictures of the local scenery, which was mostly ferns and moss--and found it fascinating! The mountain was a lush tropical forest, and it felt great to be surrounded with greenery almost every step of the way.

I also met cool new people, fellow lovers of the great outdoors. The total attendance was around 60. Some of them became new friends!

I learned that I need to go back jogging! The climb wasn't supposed to be very tiring (based on what I remembered when I last climb Cristobal two years ago), but it just sapped me of my strength. It was exhausting.

Still, I had tons of fun! I also learned that tomatoes can a good tinola make. Surprising but true.

More pictures here.

remembering what I did last Monday

2006-03-24T10:48:00.000+09:00

A few minutes ago, as I was recording my tasks for the week in our office "work monitoring system", I noticed that I signed out relatively early (around 6:30) last Monday. However, I can't, for the life of me, remember why. Did I go jogging after work? No, I did that on Tuesday. Did I have a date? I would have loved that, but no again; nobody to date. Oh, now I remember! I went to a pre-climb meeting, to plan for the climb I'm joining this weekend. Now, why did I forget that, when I drove all the way to Makati just to get there? I guess my brain's not yet fully functioning this early in the morning. Or it must be this headache I'm experiencing right now, messing with my memory!

Mt. Batulao

2006-03-19T02:03:00.000+09:00

After many weeks of not blogging, finally something made me write again. And it was my most recent climbing trip that made me do it. You see, after many "inactive" months, I was once more able to conquer a mountain, this one called Batulao, in nearby Batangas province.

I went with a different group this time. And so for the first time in a long time, I was a "guest" again, with former labmate Leo and his gracious officemates as hosts.

The trail leading to the camp was easy enough, but except for a tree or two, most of it was exposed under the burning sun. And having neglected to put on sunblock, I got an unexpected tan. I actually got much darker and it's safe to say I--most unfortunately--got fried during that weekend.

Climbing from the camp to the summit was the hard part. The way that lead from the camp going up to the summit contained the steepest parts of the trail. A lot of times, the only way to proceed was to use all four limbs and kiss the wall. Some parts, because of the dry loose earth, had become slippery and it was hard to look for footholds.

I didn't expect it to be the tricky and challenging ascent that it was, but I gamely took all the experience in. I knew it was part of the adventure, even if your very life depended only on the grip of *the tip* of your shoes as you step from one tiny foothold to another. Besides, I thought, the descent was probably more scary, because at parts the soil had become so loose the trail would surely be dreadfully slippery going down. (Thankfully, it wasn't! Though I had to slide down on my butt from time to time, but with the big help of my trekking pole, going down turned out to be manageable enough.)

Finally, we reached the top alive and well after almost an hour climbing from our camp. The breathtaking view at the summit was well worth all the difficulties. We reached the peak just as the sun was about to set, and no time was wasted as we tried to capture the moment on our digicams. We had to go down before it gets dark, though, so after some jump shots, we headed back to camp.

Nighttime at the camp was dinner and socials. And for the first time in my entire camping history, I cooked a meal. I prepared penne with sardines in red sauce. It was a success! And the others seemed to agree. (You gotta love the the effects of having tired bones and muscles and high altitude!)

We went down the next day. But what torture the homeward hike was! The sun seemed hotter, and the trail had more upward slopes than downward ones. My skin was a roasted brown after that trip. Well, I had lots of fun though. I enjoyed the climb a lot, and a lot of that had to do with the right mix of thrills, hardships, and relaxation that Mt. Batulao provided; and the company of a fun bunch of friendly adventure-seekers.

"Pride" proud

2006-01-23T15:14:00.000+09:00

"And I... was born... to love you,
With every single beat... of my heart..."
--Queen (I Was Born to Love You)

This song by Queen is still ringing in my ears as I've just only recently finished watching the Japanese drama Pride. And I must say what an enjoyable series that was! I loved the chemistry between the leads, the kakkoiiii KimuTaku and the pretty Takeuchi Yuko. The story was great, and the storylines about the other characters were engaging too. And the Queen themes (We Will Rock You, We Are the Champions, Too Much Love Will Kill You) weren't bad additions either, as the soaring tunes mixed really well with all the well-acted drama.

Haven't really watched a lot of jdoramas (just three so far including this one), but after learning terrific Japanese-made shows like this exist, I think I'm going to get hooked with jdorama now. And if I don't find other jdoramas to watch, I wouldn't mind watching Pride again.

smile for the camera

2006-01-04T18:26:00.000+09:00

Photos courtesy of Peejay and Pat. These were from last December, when I was still in Tokyo. My trip has been cut short so I've been back here since Christmas.

Imperial Jump

2005-12-19T12:08:00.000+09:00

My first post from Japan. This one was taken outside the Imperial Palace.

Friday lunch

2005-12-05T10:17:00.000+09:00

Friday's lunch was at Cas in UP with my officemates. Mine was the spanish omelet on the left. The beef and veggies was Tid's. Loved my meal but Tid didn't looked thrilled about hers.

maybe next time

2005-10-26T13:59:00.000+09:00

Because of the upcoming long weekends, the office higher-ups have decided no one can go on leave next week unless we give them compelling reason why we deserve to be gone from work for five straight days. Since I won't be able to justify four days of mountain climbing, I've decided to skip Mt. Halcon.

But I'm not so disappointed as a bit relieved. With it's own rain-soaked weather and abundance of miniature bloodsuckers called limatiks, Halcon is one bad ass mountain. It posed to me such an intimidating challenge that, truthfully, I'm not so regretful to have missed the chance to conquer it.

It remains though as the mountain to beat. But the time to do that is not now. In the summer, maybe.

Videoke

2005-10-24T19:17:00.000+09:00

Friday night, after a really good tuna, salmon, tofu and salad dinner at Soul Food and my first ever DOTA session (tons of fun!), I went to videoke with Che, Ades, and Jorel. It was around 12:30 am. When we decided to call it quits almost four hours later, Jorel had already dozed off and I had run out of voice that I was actually whispering already through the last couple of songs. But, I was still singing! Or trying to. Heheh. What can I say, I love videoke.

Doubt

2005-10-13T14:02:00.000+09:00

I know I've signed up for the climb and I'm fully aware that this one's definitely not going to be a walk in the park. But with preparation and good weather, I know i can do it.

However, if the weather gets bad, I'm out.

Goal

2005-10-12T19:13:00.000+09:00

Now I have more reason to jog and climb stairs. It's because i've signed up for a climb which will happen at the end of this month. I'm going mountain climbing! This time it's not just to any mountain though, but the treacherous Mt. Halcon, 3rd highest in the country and they say the most difficult. Undoubtedly it's going to be challenging as hell so I need to be fully prepared. And right now, I need to go jogging. So hopefully the rain outside lets up soon so i can head to the acad oval and jog already.

got milk

2005-10-03T19:00:00.000+09:00

Today I learned that skim milk is equivalent to fat free milk, which is calcium-rich milk with less than 0.5 g of fat per 8 oz serving.

And it's very useful news because last week I decided to incorporate milk into my diet, but found myself a bit lost at the grocery store when choosing what milk to buy. There were whole milk, soya, reduced fat, lite, 98% free, fat free, skim. I wanted the not fattening and least-damaging-to-the-wallet kind. (The latter rule was a bit more challenging because the price tags were missing.) Finally I settled for Cowhead fat free. (Earlier today I learned that the fat free kind was a good choice but the Cowhead brand was too pricey.) I didn't touch the skim milk labeled varieties because I didn't yet understand what they really were. But now I know -- skim milk is good. And that's great news because it has opened up more options, and cheaper ones too.

Another healthy option: reduced fat soya milk with no sugar added. Sounds expensive, though.

fixed

2005-09-28T19:05:00.000+09:00

So my blog template going bonkers was Blogger's fault after all. Nearly went haywire trying to find any errors in my template only to discover that nothing's wrong with it! Good thing Blogger has already provided a way to handle this issue. Yey! I'm back to normal.

And sorry if i haven't been blogging. Aside from being a first time bridesmaid and trying to lose some weight for the wedding, not much has happened in this past month.

I'm feeling like posting more often now, though, now that my template's fixed already, even if *still* not much is happening.

eyes almost shut

2005-08-28T00:24:00.000+09:00

Last night, I drove home squinting. I was so tired, it was all I could do to keep my eyes from closing. I also tried shaking my head, and pumping up the radio, which worked to keep me awake. But because my eyes had become so tired, it had become difficult to stare at the road and bear all the road lights, which by then had seemed glaring and just too bright and painful to look at.

I slept without changing and woke up at 1 pm.

chance

2005-08-26T19:31:00.000+09:00

This morning I had an upset stomach. A real one! Recently, faking one so I could skip work had *crossed my mind*. Well, what do you know.

But I really needed to skip work. You see, my driver's license is already two weeks past its expiration. And the penalty fee is not going to get any friendlier the more I put off renewing it. However, I was also wishing I could renew it without having to waste a vacation leave, which I'm saving for a real vacation.

Well, this morning I became sick for real. Fortunately, even though it seemed at first that I would be stuck at home, it was a good thing the upset stomach was still bearable enough to let me get out of the house and drive and have the renewal, the majority of which just consisted anyways of hours of sitting around waiting for my name to be called. It was still uncomfortable though - definitely too uncomfortable to have to be working with at the office.

So I called in sick (for half a day) and made good use of my time. :D

back to jogging

2005-08-23T22:57:00.000+09:00

Happy that I get to jog again last night. After more than a month's break from doing any form of exercise, I'm trying to jog again. Yesterday night, when the day-long heavy downpour finally ended, I took my chance and headed to the acad oval. It was a bit dishearting to find the jogging track empty save for some guards and one or two joggers, but the transformed weather, which had become quite welcoming, was irresistable. The slight wind was providing cool, refreshing air that was just energizing. And having just recently obtained a new watch bought specifically for jogging purposes, and also having two knee guards now to support each knee, I knew I it was a great time to jog.

So I said a prayer for safekeeping (the road was well-lighted and the guards were conspicious enough, but you never know...), and jog I did , and enjoyed it too. The weather remained friendly, I got to cover two rounds without my knees feeling any pain, and I got to exercise. Woot!

numb

2005-08-14T14:11:00.000+09:00

After more than a month of not playing the drums at church, I got to play again this morning.

But since I haven't been practicing much lately, my right hand got tired sooner than it should. Meaning, the songs weren't over yet but my hand was already giving up. There came a point where I was barely holding the stick anymore, but with half-curled fingers too tired to wrap themselves more tightly around the stick, I was just supporting the stick to prevent it from flying off of my already numb hand.

Gratefully, no stick came hurtling off of the drumset (which had happened before, with no spare sticks, in my drumming days of many many months past). And maybe the tempo slowed down a tiny bit because of my getting tired. But, at least, there weren't any show-stopping blunders. (I can't exactly remember when or how bad, but somewhere in my drumming days past, there was at least one of those too.)

Well, this should remind me to practice more often...

E.E.E and KTV

2005-08-14T00:21:00.000+09:00

Yesterday night turned out to be an eventful evening after all. I had dinner with my college batchmates at Marina, a seafood resto along Timog Ave which served wonderful baked oysters. Afterwards, we were off to IO KTV for hours of singing-our-hearts out fun! We had lots of munchies too. I loved the big fries and the sisig. And Marvin paid for at least half of the bill. Another fun night!

rain rain go away

2005-08-12T19:58:00.000+09:00

I'm a little jealous of my brother Moti. This afternoon he called me to ask what time i'm going home. He was planning to go home very late, around 1 am, and he was hoping he'd have a ride. Of course it meant he was hoping I'd go home very late as well. In previous Fridays, me heading home very very late was expected, because I usually still have work. Yep, tons of work to finish. And in much much earlier Fridays, my brother asking me would be a formality because during those days of not much heavy Friday night work, there's usually a night out, be it super a extended dinner, videoke, movie, party, or just a chill-out session at starbucks.

But as of this moment, I have nothing lined up for tonight. So most probably i'll just end up going home earlier than usual. Not a problem really. It's just that my brother is going to play basketball! His affair tonight is at least three fun hours of shooting hoops, a sport I just never grew tired of playing. It made me wish I could play too... right now, of course.

Truth is, if not for the cat-and-dog weather, I'd be dribbling to the parking lot halfcourt already.

OK Sunday

2005-08-01T00:19:00.000+09:00

A few good things happened today - enough good things, actually, to make today one of my better days.

First, even though I was just in time for church when I should have arrived much earlier because I had to replace a guitar string that I snapped yesterday, it turned out I didn't have to. A new string was already fixed in place and the guitar was even tuned already.

Second, even though the guitar was tuned one key lower that the other instruments, and despite finding out about this too late, meaning I was actually already playing on stage, I was able, for the first time in my life, to transpose the chords on the spot. Being a far from good guitar player, I was really happy I pulled this off, because it can get really confusing! And good thing my bandmates were the most helpful, adjusting to me for the first song. Afterwards, though, it was either my way or the right way. Fortunately, I didn't mess up.

Third, I got to do some work at the office and help teammate Jon a bit with some debugging.

Fourth, I made it in the closing hours of the SM sale! And I got to buy some clothes and even a cardigan that I need for a friend's wedding.

Last, when I returned to the office from shopping, two heavy sticks of the most delightful Dannylicious barbeque, picked up and paid for already by my boss, were waiting for me! Yeah!

Nina Live

2005-07-15T19:18:00.000+09:00

Nina rocks! Today, I listened to Nina's live album for the first time and I loved it. With a great selection of songs, and Nina's pleasantly powerful vocals that just fits the songs very well, I couldn't help but enjoy the music and sing along!

Different

2005-07-14T21:17:00.000+09:00

I had a feeling while driving to work at the start of the day, as I was trying to manage the busy road of buses who are supposed to stay in the rightmost lane but keep hogging the middle lane, unpredictable jeepneys that are speeding one second and lurching to a stop with nary a warning the next (no thanks to their ever-absent brake lights), and rushing cars determined to pass them all, when, amidst all these road rage-inducing madness, not to mention the tangles of free for all intersections, all I was feeling was a great need to close my eyes and doze off, that for this day, getting on the ball at work will be tough indeed.

True enough, despite having tons of important work to do, I was still sleepy most of the day. And spaced out. Something's wrong. I hope it's only a one-day thing.

Fancy Gem Biscuits

2005-07-13T22:30:00.000+09:00

Came across this photo in flickr, and immediately, I was transported back to the time when I was still playing agawan-base with my elementary school friends. After school, I'd have these and eat the biscuit part first, then have the sweet colorful tops for later... just like saving the best for last.

I wonder if I could still get me some of these...

crazy taxi

2005-06-28T22:53:00.000+09:00

Nearly had a car accident this morning. I was already inside UP, and was following a taxi. But as the taxi was about to turn left going to ISMED, it suddenly jerked to a stop! Vehicles are supposed to make a full stop at intersections and I was fully prepared for that. But the taxi's sudden change of speed would catch anyone off guard.

Good thing I reacted just in time, and was able to stop immediately, while quickly glancing at my rearview mirror to check if anyone was following (no one was). Then I blasted my horn to show the idiot taxi driver that his sudden stopping nearly caused a collision.

Then something flashed on me. Suddenly, I remembered my previous car accident, where a crosswind I was following suddenly reversed and ruined my hood. Something told me the taxi was going to do a crosswind. Without hesitating, I quickly checked my rearview mirror again to make sure I wasn't going to hit anything then I reversed my car in an instant. And surely, as soon as I had moved a couple of inches, the taxi was already lurching backwards!

Realizing that the taxi driver's still unaware of my presence or something is very wrong with him or his situation with his passenger that he's stupidly ignoring me and my close distance, I backed up some more. And then his car was reversing again. This was really puzzling - and kinda alarming - because in front of him was a clear and obstacle-free road but he seemed like he's trying to wiggle out of the corner by jolting his way backwards without any regard if he'll hit anything in the process.

Finally he managed to move forward and quickly took the opposite lane - must be to stop eventually at the other side of the road.

As I went pass the taxi, it hit me that I had just barely avoided certain disaster. And as I breathed a sigh of relief, I knew, God saved me again.

dialled the dentist

2005-06-24T20:37:00.001+09:00

After nearly a year now of daily enduring bursts of painful sensations that one busted molar has been giving me, I've finally made myself do something about it. I know, I've waited six months. But the pain wasn't so bad six months ago. Unfortunately, I've allowed it to evolve into the kind I cannot live with anymore, for the busted tooth been giving me pangs of the most unwelcome and excrutiating pain I can feel down to my toes.

So just now I made an appointment with the dentist, and tomorrow I'm heading to his office so he can end this misery. I can't wait!

jump for joy

2005-06-08T19:31:00.000+09:00

Hats off to Jonny Hat, who apparently loved my jumping shots just enough to donate real Euros to my flickr account, now making me a pro Flickrite! Cool! And of course, my jumping shot "models"--Tid, Khen, Peejay, Pita, Von--have a lot to do with the great pics. So thanks all!

Now I'm *really* missing my camera, which is currently touring Europe with my sister.

Oooh, when it lands in my hands again, it shall be on fire! Mwahaha!

thankful

2005-06-05T20:23:00.000+09:00

I will give you thanks, for you answered me;
you have become my salvation.
Psalm 118:21 (NIV)

Couldn't have done it without you. ;-)

Lunch

2005-06-02T21:41:00.000+09:00

I joined Tid, Khen, Peejay, and Ades earlier today for lunch. I already had my usual packed lunch with me but could use some change of atmosphere so I decided to go with them to Casaa. We learned soon enough, though, that U.P. was in the thick of enrollment, so we found Casaa crowded--way too crowded to be risking waiting for a table given our limited break time. So we immediately transferred ourselves to Khas, which, albeit much more crowded than usual, still appeared to be able to accommodate us.

But how wrong we were.

Obtaining a table was easy enough. The frustratingly difficult part: getting through to even one waitress. It took us ages--at least three times asking for the menu and then three times being acknowledged that "yeah, it's coming", before having our tiny request pushed at the back of their minds so we had to ask them again--before we were finally able to get hold of a pair (which we realized we didn't need anymore because the waiting has made us recall our usual orders and that's what we're going to order to save precious minutes). And then we had to endure another millenium of waiting before the orders arrived. (A few minutes after our orders were taken I was so hungry already I went ahead to munch the bread that I'd brought along.)

Good thing the food seemed pleasant enough. Well, I really couldn't tell for sure, because I brought my own lunch, but everyone was instantly busy devouring their meals the second the food was put on the table. Could just be the hunger though...

Another plus was the food was cheap.

We could be definitely be back at Khas again, but definitely not during these kind of days.

a welcome weekend

2005-05-30T23:43:00.000+09:00

Shuumatsu ha dou deshitaka? (Musta ang weekend?)

I had a good one.

Friday night found me, Khen, Rose, Pita, Tibo-san, Mam Ken, Jon, Von, Peejay, and Tid at Tid's new crib, seven floors above and more than twice bigger than her previous residence. Tibo-san provided the junk food and drinks; everything else--guitars, songbook, playstation, violin, the couch, spectacular nighttime view of Katipunan Ave.--was courtesy of our gracious host.

Upon getting ourselves settled, the drinks were prepared, a tekken tournament was initiated, and the first song in the mellow rock songbook was played. As there were hundreds of songs, and since we were going through the songs one by one--yes, page by page, skipping only the overly boring ones--our night didn't end until 4:30. Our competitive spirits also didn't help to shorten the night, for the tekken fights stretched out until everyone was ready to admit that Pita was the best among us.

I tried tekken too, but against Peejay, Von, and Tid and not Pita because he'd gone home already and he'd already built up his mean reputation that I didn't dare play against him for fear of some major butt-kicking.

A lot of times I can be found strumming one of the guitars, but mostly what I did for the night was lots of singing (surprised? hehe). I also tried my hand at creating decent music with the violin. But alas, I realized that decent violin music are not created by first time violin players. The violin was such fun, though, and I don't mind learning it at all.

When everybody has left, I remained behind and crashed on Tid's couch only to be woken up with barely an hour of shut-eye. My dad was calling and urgently needed me back at home because he just got into a car accident (again!) and he'll be needing two vehicles so he could still go around while the damaged one is being fixed.

So *right away*--which surprised my dad--go home I did, and then continued my interrupted rest, and then learn, when I woke at around 4pm, that I'd nearly missed another day! But what a restful sleep that was...

The rest of my Saturday afternoon I revisited the piano, and tried Pachelbel's Canon in D. Oh, how frustrating it is to play the piano when one's not good at it at all! But I love Canon in D so much I just know, with tons of practice, someday I'll be able to play it. It'll be my latest piano masterpiece -- mwahahaha! (Tin, you're probably laughing up your sleeve at me right now!)

Then, a short while later I arrived late for choir practice. It seems I've been terribly oblivious (for this was supposedly going on for three montsh already) that Saturday choir rehearsals have moved its starting schedule one hour earlier. So, I was an hour late. (Too bad, I would've been just right on time by the old schedule!)

After choir practice was another rehearsal, this time for the band for tomorrow's praise and worship. I was supposed to be the drummer, but ended up as guitarist because nobody else was available. Hmm... I probably have already sensed this all along, because I didn't go through my usual practice session at home and actually forgot to bring my drumsticks with me. Good thing I had some sort of practice from the previous night's songbook session.

I got home around 9 with the house still almost empty. So with almost nobody to bother with very loud music, I hit the drums.

So that was my Saturday.

Sunday morning found me unusually early at church because we were supposed to do some last minute rehearsals, this time with the drummer, Carlo. But the keyboard person, Tin, and the leader, Ate Darlene, were late, so Carlo and I practiced on our own first. When the band finally got its members all present, it was almost time for sunday school. So after going through a few of the songs, Carlo and Ate Darlene were off to their groups. Since my sunday school leader and classmates were all still in Europe, I spent the next 30 minutes in fun conversation with Tin.

So the morning proceeded with church activities. After lunch, Carlo, Moti, my Mom and I tried out the still-untouched Monopoly game board that I bought two weeks ago. We had a great time, although we had to end the game after only one hour of playing because my brothers and I had to go to the usual Sunday choir practice.

I went home right away after choir practice, but only to find out that I had been locked out of the house. I was alone and hungry. But I had transportation and good thing Tin hasn't yet left the church and was still jamming with Ate Bhoom. So I went back there to pick her up. But before we left I can't resist but to jam with them some first (the guitar was already locked away, and Ate Bhoom was already happily seated on the drum throne, so I was left with taking over Tin's other role as the singer! Hehe, no choice.) Afterwards, Tin and I went to starbucks and, over coffee and ham and cheese croissant (yum!--I always remember a certain person whenever I order this) continued our morning chat. I learned a lot about Tin, but despite her saying afterwards that I had been a good listener, I still think I blabbed more about myself than listened. I just hoped she enjoyed our little yack fest as much as I did. ^_^

After dropping Tin off at Bayan, I went home for a quick dinner and headed to the cinema to watch Madagascar. It was a fun movie, and had its hilarous moments, but the story was so plain. The moviehouse, though, is still the place to watch it because one would surely be missing the outstanding graphics if watched at home through the constricted frame of a TV.

After the movie, I went straight back home, and after only half a chapter of The Dawn Treader -- quite an interesting read, if only I wasn't so tired -- was off in dreamland.

decisions...

2005-05-27T19:45:00.000+09:00

I'm sitting here, still at the office, but doing nothing in particular. I'm in a state of confusion, and have been the whole day, trying to decide on what I'm going to do this evening, tomorrow, and the future. And although I've somewhat reached a conclusion, I still can't say that I'm fully convinced of the choice I made.

See, I've decided to skip tomorrow's climb to Mt. Daguldol. Because of that, I don't need to go anywhere tonight to buy food and gear as part of preparing for tomorrow. And also because of that, my budget for the climb is now free to be spent on something else, like a pair of new rubber shoes, which is not an urgent need in at least four months but will only be available in its ultra super low priced form (that's a 70% slash) for just four days (and that's today until the end of this month!)

But a part of me still wants to go. I haven't actually told those who'll climb that I'm in, so I have nothing and no one to back out from. But mentally, I've been preparing for this climb. Now I feel like I'm backing out from myself, like I'm leaving an eager and expectant part of me in the air, leaving that part of me dissapointed and crushed.

And why the change of heart? Why, the rain mostly. The daily afternoon rains has been making me lethargic. And today its full effect was upon me. I can't even think straight.

But I've made my decision. I'm not going anywhere tomorrow. Now, I hope I can decide on where to go for dinner tonight.

Pangasinan behind the scenes

2005-05-23T20:16:00.000+09:00

Yes, I know, this post is about something that happened ages ago. But somehow, despite being happily in draft form for almost a month now, this entry didn't want to stay like so forever. So here it is, better late than... Oh yeah, there's a reason it was hidden. It's boring.

As you can see, it's actually just more pictures from the Pangasinan trip. But not the usual ones. Just pics of trip's photographers caught on still camera while doing their jobs. OK, now I think it's a bit interesting. I just noticed that there was always somebody who manages to take behind the scenes shots of other people taking pictures of other people. Mostly it was PJ, who took the first photo, capturing me photographing other people. I also remember myself doing it once during the trip: shooting peejay while he was shooting... me (shooting him. That should count!) But there's one more person, I'm just not sure who, who caught PJ taking a picture of other people (me again, actually). Pics 3 and 4 illustrate.

Bolinao

2005-05-08T20:58:00.000+09:00

Second day of the Pangasinan weekend was Bolinao day. 14 beach lovers in four vehicles headed out from a hotel which fronts the Hundred Islands in Alaminos, to Patar Beach, a long strech of almost-white sand which fronts coral-rich sea.

After waking up Sunday morning with far from enough shuteye (with the activities of the day past and the activities still ahead, three hours is never enough), I, with the rest of the gang, packed, checked-out, made a stop at McDonald's Alaminos for our packed lunches, set the plan to go to Patar Beach (ah yes, the actual destination was not known until right before we stepped onto the highway to Bolinao!), and then drove for more than an hour and a half through long straight roads and climbing zigzag roads, and then through a seemingly endless stretch of patience-testing dirt road to finally reach... China, er, Bolinao's Patar Beach.

The beach, though, was well worth the troubles. The place was a nice long and wide stretch of fine clean sand expansive enough for us--and many others, if them others had wanted to--to play frisbee and football. Sand also stretched way into the water, offering our feet soft ground to lazily wade on. And after just going a little deeper into the sea, the sand is soon replaced by lovely corals.

And the water. Cold but not too cold to make you shiver, the water had just the perfect temperature to give the perfect refreshment under the burning hot sun. Also it didn't burn my eyes much. Somehow, it wasn't as salty as ordinary seawater.

We enjoyed Bolinao till almost late in the afternoon, then it was time to go home... already. We were just happily playing and eating and relaxing and soaking up the sun and then it was time for the six hour drive back to Quezon City... already! I haven't had a decent night's sleep--not even a decent amount of daytime shuteye--in three straight days and yet I have to be driving--again!

Then a slight change of plans from some of my passengers. My brother and his friends, who travelled with us going to Bolinao and were going to ride with me again going home, weren't ready yet and needed at least a couple of hours more. (Some were so not ready they were postponing their departure until two days later.)

Turned out I could snatch a few hours of badly needed slumber before hauling through the highways again. And I actually got 5--just enough.

What a great day!

Hundred Islands

2005-05-08T14:06:00.000+09:00

Ah, hundred islands--where the Astra gang spent its Saturday during its weekend expedition to Pangasinan last week.

After going around the islands, with Khen's friend the boatman bringing us from island to island and introducing each one to us (apparently, every tiny island has a name), we finally made our home on Scout island, a nice little patch of land with a mini cave and, more importantly, trees to shade our camp from the scorching sun.

But our tiny little island had more to offer, we soon discovered. Aside from its stone canopy that provided us shade while wading and swimming near the shore, its small patch of cream colored sand, we were delighted to learn and play with, was of the fine fine kind.

Beach bound

2005-04-29T20:04:00.000+09:00

Well, it looks like I could be trusted to drive with the rest of the 16-wheeler trailer trucks and mountain-bound buses of the north luzon express way and the national highways of Pangasinan after all.

When I asked my dad again last tuesday night, he didn't say OK. But instead he just said the tires needed some checking first. Then, that's it. He said nothing much, and it was my turn to speak already. The way my dad was talking, it was like it's already set: I'm good, i.e. I can leave with his 2.5-L AUV and drive 600 plus km without his guidance. After that I remember telling him more details about the trip, like how many people have confirmed their participation (14 beach hungry guys and gals), and then the time we plan to leave (around 8pm). But it was like he didn't even had to hear them. After our short conversation, I was convinced he was convinced I can handle it. Cool!

So the gang's all set now. Pangasinan here we come!

Pangasinan plans

2005-04-26T20:11:00.000+09:00

The office is abuzz today with talk about the coming trip to Pangasinan. The trip's this weekend already, and the plan is to go to Hundred Islands, then to Bolinao. Ades and Khen are cooking up the menus already. Pita's new snorkeling gear is on standby. BJ's new 7.1 megapixel camera is waiting to take fresh jumpshots. The hotel's been reserved, too.

The only thing that remains to be ironed out is the transportation, because my dad hasn't yet actually given me the full go signal to use his crosswind. He's about halfway to consenting: he said I can use the vehicle only if I'm not going to be driving at night. But we're scheduled to leave on Friday night.

Some persuasion is at hand. Gotta make full use of what remains of my safe and defensive driver image. Wish me luck.

Puerto pics

2005-04-22T19:52:00.000+09:00

Took this after doing some shopping on my third day at white beach in puerto galera last week. Went there this time with the whole office (on a trip where everything was paid by the office--yey!) This was the most colorful sunset during my stay there. Must be the on-and-off rain during that day, which only finally stopped falling just before the sun began to set.

Here's me with some officemates who are about to go snorkeling. I was only able to go the following day, because as of the moment this picture was taken, I was still having my period. Yep, the timing couldn't have been any lousier.

Ah, so what to do when the rest of them are happily checking out the corals and you're left alone with a friend who's not really into following fishes around but has a brand new digital camera and would gladly put the said camera into good use? You got it: snap away!

Sometimes, I just love it when somebody else is doing the picture taking. And in this trip, there were four others who brought their cameras along. Yey!

But behind the lens is a nice place too.

the view from halfway up mt. malasimbo

2005-04-14T03:41:00.000+09:00

from my puerto galera weekend with my mountain climbing buddies last April 2-3

hut chairs flowers sky

2005-04-14T03:39:00.000+09:00

Talipanan beach, Puerto Galera

Amos Lee

2005-04-06T19:57:00.000+09:00

Heard his songs for the first time today. I only got to listen to three of them, but instantly liked them. I liked his laid back, jazzy sound. The lyrics are good too. Now I want to hear the rest of the album.