tHe wedding siNgeR

Yeah this movie is almost a classic and last night was the first time ever for me to watch it.

Nevertheless, I already heard “grow old with you” a thousand times and I like it. The music and lyrics are cool but I never really got the chance to appreciate it more, until I watched that scene of the movie where it was actually played..

Napa sh*****t ako.. (as in yung mahaba)..

Muntik na kong maiyak (I am getting more and more emotional nowadays). Probably normal.. I’m really an addict when it comes to ultra-mushy stuffs..

I know a lot of people who avoids mushiness when they’re brokenhearted or simply loveless (in fact, I was one of them). But later on, unbelievably I realized that I am still feeling good hearing those cheezzyy songs..

Maybe it’s just nice to know that even though love doesn’t really work for me, it still exists. And most people I know, those that are close to me, are feeling it now. Knowing that they’re happy, and that love really moves around them.. that is just wonderful.

i miSS wAffLe tiMe

introducing my new craving object..

cutie little fishy waffle..

with extra creammmy filling..

piNk oR bLuE?

I have been trying to change my blog template into something else. You know, incorporate that picture here. Diba para medyo dramatic effect.

pReseNtiNg…

ADOBONG PWET NG MANOK
(you guessed it right, dear friends, another cooking blunder ahead!) 

Pero mukhang masarap diba? Kasi masarap talaga! Hehehe.

Inspired by ate sally’s approach on cooking adobo, I was thrilled to cook another one, but this time, CHICKEN ADOBO naman.

I wanted a chopped chicken meat coz it’s a little tedious to eat big chicken with bones via chopsticks.. but honestly, so it would be easy for my teammates – akiko-san and jess-san to grab one.. since I will be bringing them tomorrow and BRAG.. hehehe. It will be akiko-san’s first time to eat adobo so I betcha make it flawless.

I found the perfect chopped chickens. They were the last one there in the supermarket’s chicken section. I hurried to my dorm and started with the cooking.

There, I put on the water, vinegar, garlic, onions, pepper.. I waited for a few moments then finally threw the chickens in the casserole.

Then picture picture. I.just.can’t.avoid.it.

I realized I put too much water on. So I have to lessen it. After I removed the excess water, I again put the vinegar and some pepper coz I thought that the “timpla” would change (as if it’s already ok).

Then I began to wonder why are there some unusual parts sprouting in my chickens. Didn’t bother at all. I still went on.

Then Rea-san came along.

Rea: (laughs) ANO YAN, TINOLA?
Joane: (laughs) Adobo yan noh.

Rea-san says we have a different cooking approach on adobo.

Rea: pero amoy pa lang adobo na.
(Joane giggles)

Rea: (tingin tingin) nyeh.. ba’t ganyan?
Joane: oo nga eh, ano kaya yun..?

Rea: ay.. PWET yan.. Ba’t puro pwet binili mo?

And I froze.. I realized that indeed, PWET nga.. huhuhuhu.. why o why.. I’M SO TANGA TALAGA.. then I thought, I eat pwet naman so pwede na.. OMG, I eat chicken pwet but once in a dish only (whether prito or whatever).. but again no worries, I would still eat the damn thing.

But then I worried about tomorrow, if teammates see those unusual sharpy parts (and holes!), they might say yuckiee.. so I grabbed all the chicken meat out of the casserole and cut them all in smaller pieces.. you know, eliminating the unwanted sights.

Now the little chickens looked fantastic.

I waited so long after I put the soy sauce. Then wait again, until the tasting time came, super SALTY. Sumobra ako ng lagay ng toyo. (Parang yung nagluluto, sobrang matoyo!)

Then I would continuously add vinegar until my vinegar becomes like that in the picture. In other words, muntik nang maubos ang suka ko.

Rea-san came along again, yeheey.

Joane: (excited) Taste it taste it..
(Rea-san tastes)

Rea: ang asim.
(JOANE CRIES)

Rea: pero gusto ko yung ganito. Yung maasim.
(Now I am jumping with joy)

Ako rin, I love the sour taste. So mukhang ok na yung adobo ko. Congrats daw. Good luck na lang talaga. Now I am not sure if I would still let teammates taste it.

Madali lang magluto ng adobo. Ewan ko ba kung bakit parang napakacomplicated niya pag ako nagluto. Hay naku, bukas mag bacon na lang ako.

the sexy cooking master at work. hehehehe.

MT. FUJI conquered!

Giving our most PALABAN smile on top of Mt. FUJI.
Team Musashi
Jess (the leader), Nila (the mother), Joane (the.. duh..?), and Eric (our official photographer)

Fabulous photos here are from Eric. Visit his site - http://flickr.com/photos/akumach - for more!

Fun.. Fearless.. Breathtaking.. Electrifying..

Mixed emotions are felt days before my historical climb.. Sweat and desperation and determination on our journey up.. Indescribable feelings up above, and now, the excitement and happiness of achieving such a major milestone still linger. It is one of the most memorable experiences so far. I am not a mountaineer. I have never climbed a single mountain either. But I am so up for adventures. That’s why when Nila-San proposed this activity I agreed to join. There are some hesitations at first, since I am really concerned with the budget. But, I tell you, when you’re up there, you’d say it’s all worth it.

There were only four of us – Nila-San, Jess-San, Eric-San and I. I guess we are all first timers in climbing such a high mountain. So that adds to the pressure. We researched for some preparation stuffs and all. Asked fujitsu friends for some advice since majority of them did it already. Shopped for items and kinda prepared our body as well (although I believe mine is really not that prepared, read on).

Climbing Mt. Fuji comprises of 10 stations. The first five stations can be reached by bus. Thus the first stop really is the 5th station. And the next stations from thereon, by feet. Plainly there are only 3 station stopovers – the 7th, the 8th and the 10th (the summit). The 7th and 8th includes those 7.5th and 8.5th , a few meters away from the 7th and 8th respectively. These are where climbers stop to take a rest in the benches provided, sleep in the oh-over priced lodges, eat or just answer the call of nature. The 6th and 9th comprise of only just markers. I am not sure how distance was divided among these stopovers, but I must say, it was really really far from one station to another, so I had to force myself to pee on every station stopover. Most climbers start at 6pm, and get on top at 4-5am to catch the sunrise. They say it takes 8 hours to get there. But since we are all beginners, we chose to start climbing at 4pm.

New Bag.. New Shoes.. to be murdered soon..

After roughly 7 hours of travelling by train/bus from Musashi-Nakahara, we reached the 5th station of Mt. Fuji. This is the starting point. We rested there for a while.. took some pictures and bought our “tungkod” (will be referred to as the magic stick from hereon) from the souvenir shops there. I would say, this magic stick is my authentic proof that I’ve been to the top since this stick is stamped as we reached each station.

It was already cold in this station. I thought that this station is not the half of the mountain yet. I am not sure. Maybe I’ll google it later.

Climb Date – August 18-19, 2007

5th Station – The TEAM MUSASHI Ascending

It was, as said by many, the Mt Fuji climbing season. That is why there were a lot of people there. It was like some party or concert is going on. We noticed some people lying in the grass, as if sleeping. Some foreigners are sitting in the stone benches with no shoes, and some have dirt on their faces. These people, I supposed, had just finished the climb. There were also some group orientations being held outside the few buildings (there were establishments – probably hotels, restos and stores). Based on the orientees’ attires and faces, I would say that they also are ready to climb.

After some pics, Jess, who took over the role of the leader, told us that we should join this one group near us, whom call themselves as Group 116(?). I am not sure - it was Jess who always does the chismax task with the climbing groups and their Japanese leaders. Hehehehe. When we saw the group getting up, it’s time to head for the climb.

Smile all we want.. This is just the start

7th Station

The Dark Climb

It was 430 when we started to climb. It was getting darker and darker so we held our flashlights out. I already felt my legs complaining when we are walking in the steepy muddy road. When we reached the 7th station though, we felt so delighted coz it meant that we could do mountain climbing.. It was like surviving the 1st stage of some test.
 
Here comes the rain

Then there it was, the unpredictable weather condition as told by the friends. After we had our magic sticks stamped, we felt little raindrops. And after a series of arguments (like we were ready to go on and wear our poorly prepared 100yen-worth rain gear), we finally decided to stay in the lodge, rather than get our legs wet and let hypothermia attack us. It was a good decision coz while we were enjoying our dinner in the lodge it rained pretty hard.

The Overpriced Lodge

.. But it was hell worth it. I felt the Pinas’ style of overpricing some things when peak seasons arrive. It was a bit overpriced. I have to borrow money from Nila-San since it never occurred to me that the money that I thought was more than enough is clearly not enough. However, as said, it’s a good decision we stayed in the lodge. Because aside from the fact that it saved us from the heavy rainfall, it gave us enough time to rest and get ready for the “battle” waiting for us above.

It was not your typical hotel-type of lodge with bed and bath and aircon or fan (that’s already soshal compared to this one). We had our dinner Japanese style in a small common room. Think of Mr. Miyagi’s (?) Japanese house in Karate Kid. Here, there were like a couple of adjacent double deck (again) Japanese-style beds (that is, double deck with under bed that has no bed feet, in other words, “lapag na merong taas”) covered by curtains around. And from our place, we could see a lot of feet below the curtains, which means, those are our sleeping areas. And I assumed too much, we’re not going to sleep there. My hopes got up when the owner lead us to this door. And I thought inside would be our bigger better sleeping area. But again, I assumed too much. The doorway is just the walking space. Right after that mysterious door, are again series of Japanese double decks where hundreds of people were sleeping, like sardines! I didn’t bother to count those people, there were just a lot of people inside that big dark room. And straight into this door is our sleeping area – an area for sleeping – just sleeping – no standing, no sitting (you can sit but your upper body should bend forward). No other normal human activity that is done in a normal sleeping room can be done in there – just sleep. We were four yet we were provided only 3 sleeping place! Ms Nila and Jess didn’t sleep. Eric, on the other hand was the first one to lounge our humble sleeping area. I, trying not to care at all, followed. But truly, I didn’t care on the sleeping area. All I wanted that time was rest and a good night sleep.

8th Station

Starlight.. Starbright..

But my ride to dreamland was suddenly cut short by Jess and Ms Nila. When I woke up, I could hear clutters from our next bed neighbors. Jess said that we have to get going, since most of the climbers around us are going.
 
When we went out, there’s no more rain. And I thanked God for answering my prayers. Yes, that was the time when this whole spiritual me started. I looked up the sky, and IT WAS ONE OF THOSE RARE MOMENTS WHEN I TRULY APPRECIATED THE STARS.. They were soo beauuuutifuul shining up there! It was like I was so near them and I can hold and catch them. And for the first time in my life, I saw a real falling star. It was short though, and really brief, wasn’t even able to make a wish. Coz it was gone when I realized I have to make a wish.

I want to stare at the stars a little longer. But the pressure of the many people around, lining up the trail didn’t allow me to appreciate the beauty up above. 
 
The Rocky Roads

On a computer game level, this is the start of the difficult stage. This is where the steep small trail becomes steeper and smaller, and the big rocks start to participate. Since I still had a lot of energy after the 1 ½ - 2-hour rest, I loved this rock-climbing portion. So since this part, I covered the front position of the four of us. I guess there’s a purpose behind our positions. I am on front, Eric on back. We are the light bearers. Though our lights might have a little use at all since the headlights of the other climbers could still cover us up. Ms Nila was behind me, and Jess behind her (to push her upwards). There were a lot of people on our front and back. So there was really pressure on our part to move since most people at the back would hurry to go up. We were, as Ms Nila would say it, climbing ala spiderman.. and one nasty old man stepped on Ms Nila’s hand! I saw it since I randomly turn to provide some light. It’s funny though, coz it was Ms Nila who says, “I’m sorry I’m sorry”, while tapping the guy’s other leg. And that rude guy didn’t even bother say I’m sorry, or sumimasen, or other international version of I’m Sorry. But it didn’t bring Nila-San down. Life goes on. And so does the climb.

After the Rock Climbing

Full Battle Gear

There’s the stopover. Ms Nila insisted on treating us to coffee. Bad me, I declined the offer coz I’m afraid I might feel the urge to pee when we were in the middle, since I just finished peeing. But later on I really regret on not accepting this coffee offer (again, read on..).

Here, I felt that the temperature was beginning to drop to below-zero. It was getting really cold. This was the part when I wore that leggings I wore last Christmas party (good thing I brought it) under my maong pants. I also wore the extra socks I had as second layer for my feet. Before this stopover, I also felt that my breathing becomes really really slower. 

This was the last stopover before the summit. Which means, after we take off from this stopover, there is no turning back. So I inhaled some oxygen from my portable oxygen, ate some kitkat (for energy they say), put on the last jacket that I have. And then, there, we’re off. 

Our last stop over.. It's getting colddder

9th station – The Agony begins

It gets colder and colder as we went up. This was the time when I said I couldn’t take it any longer.. Unlike my three buddies, I never really had first hand experiences on this kind of almost zero-degree coldness. For some it may seem that the temperature there is just nothing. But for tropical babies like me, the winter setting is like by far, so unknown. I couldn’t even tolerate cold waters (unless I have no other choice) when I take a bath in the morning. This station somehow told me that I have a cold-phobia (is there a word for that? I think there is, just didn’t bother to research). My uber longing for snow faded at those moments.

I could hear the Japanese cheerleaders along the way. I think they’re the “tour” guides of those groups of climbers that we saw earlier. They were really great. While almost all of the climbers, myself included, don’t have all the energy anymore to talk and speak, they were still there, shouting and cheering (in a high voice) “gambarimasu achuchuchu..” to the climbers. Though I really don’t understand what they’re saying, just the “gambarimasu” (“do your best”) obviously.. Their cheery voices helped somehow.

But after some time they stopped. And again, I felt so tired, sleepy.. and I was really losing my breath. The trail’s traffic becomes heavier. The heavy traffic was a good thing since it slows the pace, therefore an opportunity for rest. But during those traffic times I found myself sleeping right there! Standing position! OMG! That feeling of heavy sleepiness (like that thing that I felt on college days when I was cramming for exam the next day, fighting sleep, and still end up sleeping) – I felt it right at those moments. It was really a dangerous one. I was already sending “I hate Harry Potter” signals everywhere (just that time, but I love him still) ..for making my nights before the climb never-ending, thus causing my lack of sleep. And there, I regretted my refusal of Ms Nila’s free coffee offer. 

I was closing my eyes along the way, but, as Eric would say it, we’re holding on for dear life now, since the dark cliff on the side awaits us otherwise. So I forced my closing eyes to stop closing.. At first I started thinking about the energy-boosting thoughts, like cheering, badminton, basketball, volleyball.. but then it would still end up on looking forward to sleep again (since these activities are always followed by sleep).. Then I thought about my current issues.. and the sad issues.. just to keep my mind busy thinking (just like those thoughts that float around when insomnia attacks).. BUT NO USE.. After all those “cheering” thoughts, I became really spiritual. I took my rosary from my pocket, put it in the side pockets of my jacket, and started praying the rosary! OMG! (Oh My God..). I was really calling God that time. I was calling the Saints, my Dad.. asking to give us strength and asking for help and really begging to grant me back my always-energetic mind and body. 

pagod na ko.. hindi ko na kaya.. waaaah!

I was really really praying so hard because, I felt that I could not move on any longer.. This was not an exaggeration. It was like the freezing temperature really SUCKED up all the energy left in me.

9.5th Station - Sunrise

Ms Nila noticed my sleeping eyes. So she called my attention and asked me to look for her camera on her backpack to keep me occupied. We could already see the horizon. And we could see that it was getting brighter. If I were an addict (as in drug addict) and very high of hallucinations, I would probably think of the clouds as a soft fluffy bed.. then I would jump there! Good thing I wasn’t. We were already on top of the clouds that we could see the fine line of yellow and orange and whatever color in between.  And we could sense that the sun will be rising soon. The horizon was another beautiful site, Eric, our official photographer expressed his hunger for such a beautiful and rare subject, and so we stopped, just like some of the crowd.

At that moment we could already see the summit right above us.. and we could see people lined up like ants going up the hill. There were however, people on the trailside, resting and probably just waiting for the sunrise. The trail traffic gets even heavier, until it halted.

I heard the crowd in their awwws and wooows.. I turned around and there it was – the upper portion of the sun starting to go up the horizon.. again, another beautiful site. Most people started taking pictures, videos etc. I didn’t bother to bring out my palm cam because of its inability to take pictures with the light of the sun in front (I am not sure of the photography term). Ms Nila lent me her cam. I took the video, and also took some shots of the sun fastly rising up. It really was an enjoyable view. It was like hope.. you know, as discussed in our high-school reading assignments, sunrise symbolizes hope for the many. And yeah, it probably brought hope (and warmth!) to me.

10th Station - The Final Chapter

As soon as the sun settled in its position, we continued to ascend. Up there we reached the summit marker. Haaay.. I finally sat down for a while. Eric was taking haggard pictures of us.
 
We entered the gate-like marker entrance. Saw the temple, but we were so tired to enjoy the view. We just had our magic sticks stamped, then looked for a sleeping area. Amidst the impossible location, there were still establishments above. There’s a resto and lodge(?) and some vendors on the side. It was like Hogsmeade (hehehe.. see, the Harry Potter fever is still fresh to me).

Then there’s this resto with a rather unfamiliar setting. Instead of tables, it has square bed-like seats (just seats and no tables). We thought we could take a rest there. We didn’t even bother to buy food. We just sat down and took a rest. I was able to sleep while sitting. Then Ms Nila, woke me up and asked me to look after her bag since she’ll go to the CR. Then I saw Eric comfortably lying down on the other square-bed.. ahhh I didn’t hesitate, I quickly picked Ms Nila’s bag and our magic sticks then threw myself down on the next big space on that square-bed.. and slept.

After barely unknown hours or so, I thought I dreamed about someone was hitting me. And indeed there was, the storeowner was tapping my foot SOLIDLY. Jess was laughing it off on our way out. He said that he and Eric received one “tapping” only, while I received many. Hahahaha. Maybe I wasn’t able to wake up on the first tap, so that lady gave me those hits.

That lovely rest gave us energy to enjoy the summit. You know, pose, take pictures and just spoil ourselves with the breathtaking view above.

Now I know why they say that once is enough. I thought I could do it more than once, but now I am not sure. Maybe I could, with enough rest and enough preparation, I think I could do it. But again, I am really not sure.

Soaring high on the Tallest Place in Japan!

Epilogue - The sliding path

The path downwards was different than the one up. It was plainly like a steepy zigzag dirty road. I thought I had a lot of energy going down. I also didn’t bother to worry about my color. Though I had put some sunblock on before our descent. As cosmo beauty editors say, Five hours (or more) of sun exposure should be accompanied with sunblock re-application - especially on the face. Oh I didn’t worry anymore, I embraced the sunlight and the melanin (and warmth) that it sends! Woooh! I JUST LOVE THE SUN.

The Conclusion

What can I say.. This is the BEST EXPERIENCE so far..

I am giving a lame conclusion since there’s no more time for this. I just want to share that there should really be preparations done before this climb – not to mention the budget plan. It was really a tedious and tough experience. Until now, I can still the pain on my knees and feet. And the almost red and tired eyes I had back there on top are still obvious I think.

But what the hell, having been on Japan’s tallest location, I dare shout out loud.. for the nth time… IT WAS ALL WORTH IT! and I AM SO GLAD WE DID IT!

The Deathly Hallows

Almost 5 days I finished it… reading in the train, in the office, while walking, while waiting for the laundry, while eating.. Oh I am such an addict. And I look like an addict now - Red and Baggy eyes due to the constant reading till morning before sleep (I never put makeup anymore just at least to conceal the eye bags coz I always get up late.); Skinny coz I never ate the right dinner - just a burger and snoopy cereals every night this week coz I'm in dire need of time to juggle harry potter and chores (I have no idea why I always have to do some chore almost everynight).

I would agree with kel, I am so damn glad that we are born in the Harry Potter generation. It's a classic in the making. And as also said, I will surely let my kids read it.

I could still remember when I first watched the Star Wars trilogy. I guess I watched it for 3 consecutive days in our now extinct betamax. I was just a kid back then. I didn’t really understand some part of the story but it just became an instant favorite. And until now, I am still dying to take hold of all the Star Wars Saga (original DVDs), I still wasn't able to buy them.

The Harry Potter effect is also the same as that of Star Wars. Except that it was the book that made me felt that. It was really the best. Good thing I read the Book 6 again before going into book 7 - makes me appreciate the last book more.

Couldn't continue with the Book Review anymore. I am always logged in in the Harry Potter forums (Verisaterum) anyway. There are a lot of ideas there. Join the fun!

I’M IN LOVE WITH HARRY POTTER… AGAIN!

 A few years back I read the 6 books consecutively - no breaks - one book after another. When the 7th installment has been released, I waited for the free ebook (or some angel to lend me an original one). Mam Rhea gave me an ebook and Mam Nila lend me the hardbound one. Splendid! When I started reading the book, I stopped on the portion when Hermione mentioned the horcruxes. I thought I should read the Book 6 again coz I cant seem to remember some details.

Ayan, I read and finish Book 6 (skipping some chapters). I am completely staying super late at night, the latest as of the moment, 2 in the morning (on a workweek). SO Now, I am finally in Book 7. Waaah they were right, full of action, and I cannot wait to finish it all. But. I have to sleep since it's a workday the next morning. Pero matigas ang ulo ko. I still stayed super late pa rin… The earliest sleeping time I had so far was 12:30… I need to finish the book TODAY coz I always wake up late. I had to skip some morning rituals (aka makeup) just to be on time at work. And I am starting to look like a zombie at the office!

the toKyo haNAbi (firewORKs) fEStivaL

After 1 ½ hour walk from the tabehodai place, we finally reached this Tokyo park where we will join the rest of the Japanese tambays (and other foreigners) to witness the seasonal hanabi festival. Para shang pyrolympics, but this one’s a complete fireworks showcase for an hour. Unfortunately, we arrived in the park a little too late (at 4pm… haller the fireworks start at 7, and we’re still late?!) so we really didn’t find a good place.

I was trying to take pictures using my palm. And it’s really not so nice to use it for fantastic pictures like those of the hanabi fest. Aside from the view blockers (the light and the trees), the unavoidable delay after you click makes it really hard to capture the moments.

Anyway, here are some of my poorly photographed pictures.

voLtesssss V

Forgive me for the crappy title. It’s just what I thought about when my fellow FUJITSU Mla counterparts and me had a whole-day gimmick yesterday. It’s like all friends who came from different fujitsu offices in Japan took a weekend off and meet altogether (parang “lets volt in” ang dating, hehe corny). I really had fun yesterday. My last workweek was actually filled in with lots of excitement of meeting them.

We went to this yakiniku resto for lunch at Ginza and availed their Tabehodai promo for 1000 en. It’s an eat-all-you-can promo. Yeah my insides were dancing the conga again when I learned about the lunch surprise! We could get all the meat and stuffs we want, cook the meat (via the grills in the table), and eat them with anything we want for one hour. Waah it was so overwhelming.

Approx 40 minutes later (and after 3 rice bowls), I told myself - enough, I reached my limit already. So maybe its time to switch to dessert, and I strongly did. Ayan, a couple of minutes to 1hour, I was already joking that my stomach was now equally leveled with my boobs.

Anyway, I still need to get some pictures of weserv friends from our official photographer, eric. I’ll post more pics later.

neVeR evER quit

And that, my friends, is my ADOBO!

Yipeee! It’s so delicious!!! Not thrown in the garbage anymore!

This afternoon, I was about to buy the snoopy cereals for dinner (too lazy to go out nor cook later on) when accidentally bumped at jay and glenn once again… and found myself shopping for meat again! Why oh why should I always give in to the muscleman’s convincing powers? This time, I shopped for adobo ingredients – toyo, suka, pepper…

Seems like it was so worth it!

sNoOpy cEReaLs sAved mY diNneR

Not all experiments succeed. I just got lucky the first time when my beef casserole look-alike dish turned out to be delicious.

And the chili beef look-alike dream made its way to the garbage, LITERALLY! I am assuming too much. You know, I just imagine how the actual dish look like. I, then, in a way make the beef I have look like that. Now I know that the “don’t judge a book by its cover” quote also applies to food! Haay. I didn’t bother to taste the food while cooking since I feel that it will turn out to be so fine. But ugh. The taste is not so right. What a pity, I really prepared this time pa man din. You know, bought ingredients (tomato sauce with real tomatoes to name one), and I even borrowed Mam Rhea’s fabulous Teflon.

When I realized that no matter how many cheese I put in there and the taste won’t still be like what I expected, I switched to snoopy cereals. Good thing I bought it still when I shopped for ingredients.

Next time I’ll try following recipes na nga.

thE aMaZing woRLd of jaPaN

I’ve been here for barely a month. And in the earlier parts of my stay, I have been consistently taking time to appreciate (and that includes taking pictures) the wonderful things around me. Well, I don’t have any other countries to compare Japan to except the Phils. I actually thought about comparing it with Hongkong and China but ditched the idea since I’ve been there for 3 days only, so I really didn’t get the chance to look around and enjoy the sceneries. And since my shallow self gets really amazed on some unusual stuffs that I see around, I made this list of these amazing things on my way home this afternoon.

So let the list begin…

1. The Incredible Washing Machine. Please refer to my previous entry.

2. The “flushing sound” and “powerful deodorizer” buttons in the office toilet. Though I really don’t know what it is really for, I just assumed that it just allows you to do your “thing” in the toilet DISCREETLY. You know, in times of emergency, when Diatabs and Imodium are nowhere. Heheheh.

3. The Blind Trailways. All their sidewalks, streets, and all other public floors have this yellow thingy on them. When I asked jess what is it for, he said that it’s for the blind people. So they could “see” what’s ahead of them (e.g. pedestrian crossing ahead, stairs ahead, cliff ahead, etc…). The good thing about this is that they allow the blind people to move independently, and perhaps still work despite their condition.

4. Japan Railways! As previously said, all Japan Railways are interconnected and seems to be perfectly planned. It just shows that they really give utmost importance to transportation, thus mobility.

5. Free Ooron Tea, Green Tea…
6. Free Miso Soup every lunch time.

7. Their practices for Environment Protection. Recycled everything (tissues, papers, cups, I can’t name others). I also need to mention their special setting on using air conditioners in the office. For the fujitsu offices, even if it is REALLY REALLY HOT outside, their air cons are still set to a hotter temperature. Well I really don’t understand the real explanation behind this concept (as told by my boss, unfortunately my mind wavelength wasn’t really able to follow, hehehe). Just based from my understanding (forgive me if what I’m saying here is wrong), they do not do this because the air con system boosts out some unknown energy (?) that is bad for the air, when set in a much lower temperature during the hot summer days. But boss also says that only companies (offices) do that. The malls (and perhaps other relaxation places) don’t since they’ll run out of business if their malls are as hot as the temp outside.  

8. Vendo Machines everywhere.   

9. The freedom of gadget exposure on public places. I can listen to my shuffle (while it just hangs on my neck). There’s no fear of snatchers and pickpockets.

10. The Japanese Fashionistas. I often find my eyes glued to Japanese women in their japorms (and sexy!) outfits. Most are good on makeup too!

11. The Free OPURO!

12. The fabulous dorm. Although mam rhea told me that our dorm is way too poor compared to other fujitsu dorms, I still feel it’s posh! My point of comparison is the LB dormitories. Hehehe. Maybe that’s why.

Right now, my amazing list consists of still 12 items. I haven’t really explored the whole japan world yet.

On the contrary, it doesn’t always seem to be so perfect. I found myself making this list as well. This mainly consists of the annoying ones.

1. Public Toilets. Although they’re still clean, I’m just not used to peeing on the toilet-floor (parang ganun).

2. The EXPENSIVE parlors! Come on, don’t they have cheaper pedicure, threading, wax, foot spa, massage and other parlor services around here??? The answer is No. None. Nada! And it makes me sick!

3. Of course I need to mention those expensive stuffs in the malls!

4. Cosmo-less shops! I miss my cosmo mags…

5. And lastly, that constant battle for longing ness and sadness almost every night. I guess this is different. I never felt this one last year since last year’s trip was mostly filled with excitement. And well, I have no special someone last year. I never felt that “missing you” syndrome ever. I found myself always sad, always tossing and turning in bed, not because he’s far (distance is not really a problem for me) but because of the very complicated situation. I thought about ending it sooner, because of the fear of hearing the final verdict when I return, not to mention the fear of being dumped.

Oh well, the lists prove it all. There are more amazing stuffs to enjoy here than that of the stupid and worthless ones to be fretting about.

a nEw stAR… este… chEf is bOrn!

Call me illushonada or something, but I feel that I have a hidden talent for cooking! =P I cooked my dinner again today. I still used the beef that I bought with jay, but this time, there’s a twist. I thought about this ulam that my mom cooks back at home. I don’t know what’s it called but all I can remember is that it’s some kinda white beef. I felt that I can cook that thing tonight. Hehehe. This is a different adventure this time.

So I stole some small ingredients in the kitchen, you know - salt, pepper… I haven’t bought those yet coz I thought I don’t need them. Shhh… onti lang naman mga ninenok ko… then mixed the fried beef with milk … and voila…

beef casserole ala jôanĕ.

i know this is too easy… but for me it's like blood sweat and tears… hehehehe.

 Haay… It doesn’t end there again… I don’t understand what’s with this cereal that I have to eat it always afterwards. I’m supposed to reserve this big one for breakfast. But again, my royal pets in my stomach crave for snoopy cereals! So ayun, I ate it all again… all of it. Hay naku talaga. Maybe next time, instead of milk only, I’ll try mixing these cereals with my dish.  

again… gone in 60 seconds… all of it…

tHe oFuRo eFfect

Despite all those stuffs that I eat, my weight is always the same. Macho papa (muscleman jay) tells me that the .5kg that is lost after opuro is just the dried sweat (in tagalog, “natuyong pawis”). I’m not sure if he’s serious. But I believe him (I am always gullible). Add the fats that are being burned in the morning/afternoon walking, equals a healthy diet! Nah… it’s just me saying that it’s healthy. But still, walking is indeed healthy! Imagine walking everyday from EDSA-Ayala McKinley to the Fort (the part where dancing policeman is always spotted). Do that twice a day – that’s a good exercise!

And I always end my day with Opuro and then see how much I weigh before I go to bed. It’s always fixed to 49.5kg.

Anyway, I’ll check later how much I weigh. My mom is now worried when I told her I think I’m getting thinner coz some of my pants start to turn loose. And then she tells me to buy vitamins etc… Just to tell mother, I’m not trying to lose weight. And I’m not bragging about my weight either. I’m just amazed how healthy it is to live here. If you’re health/figure conscious, there are a lot of ways to maintain your health/figure – you know – forced walking, free opuro, clean air…

LooK mA! i cAn coOK! i cAn dO thE lAundRy… i cAn…

How time flies. I’ve been here for more than two weeks. Good thing I’ve survived the fear of doing everything independently in a foreign country. It’s almost the same as living in an apartment/dorm back in manila. 

Except that the laundry shops in the Phils are benefiting so much from lazy dormers like me. Here, I love doing the laundry! Well, it’s really the washing machine that I love. When I learned how to use it, the next day, even if I had only a single pants and blouse in my hamper, I still did the laundry. Mam rhea said it’s just the beginning. Maybe she’s right. But it really amazes me how things work here. 

Now this is really something – I cooked my dinner! I thought my cooking capacity is just special pancit canton, fried eggs and hotdogs. But take a look at this one here.  

my first ever cooked dinner!

… gone in 60 seconds…

Last night, when I unfortunately bumped through 2 of my weserv friends in the train, I was forced to go shopping with them. And the shopping refers to “pamamalengke” (shop for meat, fish and other wet food products). Jay convinced me to buy this already marinated packed meat (alright alright, I just fried that thing up there, but still… I cooked!).

So today, I’ve got no choice but to cook it since it will be a waste of money if I don’t. And since I don’t have the tools yet, I went shopping again in the 99 store and bought these kitchen and cooking stuffs – casserole, cooking oil, etc… Anyway, I didn’t regret buying these stuffs. After all, I feel that jay is right; cooking for dinner (or maybe for lunch someday) is a great way for me to save 500 yen (or more) a day. And it’s a great way for me to learn cooking. Maybe next week I’ll start cooking some special recipes (e.g. adobo, sinigang). Well well I’m dreaming too much. 

enjoying my own cooked oily dinner… nasobrahan ata ng mantika… pero masarap pa rin…

It doesn’t end there. Unfortunately I felt so bitin. So I still ate this cereal and milk combination that I bought for breakfast tomorrow. I thought, I don’t eat breakfast naman so I might as well advance the meal… haay I am so baboy.

tHe pubLic bAth exPeRiencE part II

When mam rhea gave me a tour of the dorm, I could never forget what lies beneath the 2^nd floor – opuro (a public bath). And since I enjoyed my onsen (public bath din) experience last year, I could also never forget my determination to try this one here the moment I saw it when I arrived.

So now, there I was again. Hehehehe. I went to this opuro wearing my bathrobe and undies on, I brought a towel and also a basket full of bathroom goodies. 

I got nervous the moment I entered through the door and saw four slippers outside the 1^st room, which means, there were already four ladies in there (in the nude!). Then I entered this some kinda storage room with sinks. Hmmm… I was a little hesitant to really enter the real “woman forest” room and take my bathrobe off…As I remove my undies first (still with the robe on), I thought… hmmm maybe I could just brush my teeth first, just to get rid of the nervousness. So there I brushed my teeth. And then, someone came out… and OMG, she’s totally bare! I finished brushing my teeth, and then someone came out again, and another OMG, she’s also bare! So there, without hesitations, I thought… it’s time…  

When I removed my bathrobe, I think I heard someone sing in the background,

“I’mmm… every woman… it’s all in mee…”

Hehehe… I entered the room and showered + soapy soapy first. I was thrilled to soak myself in the real hot bath tub. So when I’m done, I went straight ahead to the tub. And wow, it felt so great. It was very very hot and steamy. Hehehe. I couldn’t last 5 minutes in there! I was like, shower and then tub, shower and then tub. Haay. Maybe a little time I’ll get used to it. Anyway, some interesting fact – I weighed myself first before I went in there, I was 50kg. And then when I got out. I was already 49.5 kg.

still hot and steamy after the controversial bath… :)

fEeLing LoSt aGaiN

Ang sarap mag bike!

Mam rhea lend me her bike and there I was, getting really excited and giggly on riding a bike in the nakahara streets. I was looking for the boys’ (eric and jess) dormitory coz I told them I’d go to their dorm to copy pictures for my site. 

I don’t know where the dorm was. I just have a map of the nakahara area in my possession. So there… it was a little dim already and the wind blowing my hair really felt so great. I found the dorm after almost an hour of going around the streets. But hell, having no communication at all in a foreign country sometimes sucks, coz they’re not there. 

Nevertheless, it was very liberating. Driving very fast… and thinking about all the good stuffs…

thE wELcomE pARty

I have never expected such welcome party. OMG. I was really overjoyed with what my Japanese Colleagues have prepared for us (Jess and I). We were having such a stressful time installing and configuring the database and application in our test server at the other fabulous office yesterday. When we went back to our original office, we just stayed in our temporary abode for several minutes, and then akiko-san (our team lead), called us, and led us to their meeting room. She told us that we will be introduced to her group. Outside the meeting room she told us not to worry. They’re only a few of them. When we entered, OMG, it’s like the whole DIVISION’s there! Grabe. That was just the start.

Afterwards, Amane-San (our project leader) told us to wait for a little 10 minutes then we’ll walk to the resto. Amane-San kinda reminds me of Sir Donn, my former super teammate – I said super coz sir donn is really good in every techie thing. And well, they were a little alike in some mannerisms etc. Amane-San was really the serious kind. But he gets a little cooled down when his wife is there and when SDMO boss teases him.  

Part I

So there, we walked to the resto – a nice Japanese resto. Initially there were 10 of us I think… then some would arrive… I was asked if I would drink, I told them, just orange juice. And then sdmo boss was like laughing and he ordered orange juice as well… with vodka! I felt a little bad for not ordering beer coz everyone, including akiko and amane-san’s wife, ordered beer. And as jess told me, its part of their culture. They ordered a lot of bottles and someone would pour something on everyone’s glasses – parang tanggero ang dating. So due to the bad feeling of not drinking beer, I just told them, I am not a good drinker, but I can drink. I drink as much as I eat. And there, Amane-San was like, “really? You can drink that much???” As you know, he and akiko witnessed my eating powers. Sdmo boss asked me what drinks can I drink, they enumerated gin, vodka, chuva, blahblahblah. Basta all I can remember was that I told them about the great galera mixed drinks, and then there sdmo boss ordered orange juice again for me, this time with gin! And then another one with Vodka! Waah! I was really afraid I might get drunk… I’m so plastic I’m really not a good drinker. And now everyone knows the “Omori” episode (as told by Amane-San and Akiko-San) – that “a hearty lunch” entry down there. Omori means many, more — More rice, more food… so then they would place the food plates in front of me. Haay it was very overwhelming, but heheheh the food was really delicious! Good thing there are a lot of food, I just balance the drinks with meat. I felt the tipsyness but I was able to handle myself well. Buti na lang.

Everyone wants to know us. Jess and I were separated, and they shuffle seats so everyone could socialize with us. Hehehe. I have my translator, amane-san and his wife. They just got married 3 months ago. OMG. The wife is really pretty. She looks like a filipina. But she’s 100% japanese. And they were joking that yoko-san (the wife) and I are sisters (coz we look alike DAW ha!)… heheheh I’m pretty too then. The Japanese people are really frank when they like people, hehehe. Unlike pinoy guys, who wouldn’t tell you right in your face that “your cute, your eyes are so shiny and your smile is so nice”. Hehehe I was really surprised on that comment. Very flattering. I noticed also that they were so close. Ahhh. Everyone came from Okinawa Japan (that’s the part of japan closest to Philippines). And they worked with each other for about more than 10 years I guess.

Anyway, they made a welcome toast for us. And as the end of the dinner reaches, everyone made their welcome speeches. Grabe talaga… it was very heartwarming. And after the dinner, I thought again, I am really so lucky.

Part II

Gambatte - (Japanese) I will do my best: (Gay Linggow) Gud lak! Illushonada!

So we went to this videoke bar. And waah OMG, I couldn’t help it. I sang! Hahahah. And again, more martinis. Haaay. But good thing, there’s pulutan to help me balance my drinks. I was seated beside yoko-san and sdmo boss. Sdmo boss tells me that he’d go to weserv mla and replace our president hahahaha! And he was joking about the dm (division manager), who was singing his heart out there. He was always pointing at DM, and says, “division manager. division manager. Tsk tsk tsk.” I thought my singing wasn’t terrible, coz they were telling me I’m good daw. Naks! I sang the first easy song – crazy for you… then there’s Jennifer lopez’s waiting for tonight (oh hoow!)… yung mga madadali lang kinakanta ko para keri ng powers hehehee. jess sang a lot of senti songs, as mam rhea told me, jess is really senti. Then my finale – total eclipse of the heart – shet! The first part’s ok… but when I reached the high parts, the “… together we will make it to the end of the night… your love is like a shadow with me all of the time… I dont know what to do I'm always in the dark… …I really need you tonight…”  … hahaha it was not my singing style. I sang like this:

“… together we will make it to the end of the night… your love is like a shadow with me all of the time… I dont know what to do I'm always in the dark… … I … GAMBATTE!!!”

hahahah! It’s like I hung myself right there. Sdmo boss and yoko-san says go go you can do it… pero aza pa! Hahahaha.. buti na lang me mababang part… at least yung mga huling part maganda na boses ko hahaha! Ayun, it was really a wonderful night. We weren’t able to catch the train, sdmo boss told us at first that we need not worry, coz amane-san and his wife will take us home via cab.

Haay. Party officially ended at 1:30 am. Sobrang saya!  

on my left - sdmo boss: on my right - my sister (hehehe)