A Snowman Story

This is a real story but since we've always loved fairy tales, we'll start it with once upon a time. Here it goes.

Once upon a time (June 14, 2010 to be exact) in a not so far away land, Shirl was ransacking her drawer in search of paper clips, or was that ribbons something. As she was going through her stuff, she found one of her Kera plast air-drying modeling clay packs already opened and starting to dry up. Not wanting to waste it, she decided to sculpt something awesome like a mermaid or a dragon. However lacking skills, Shirl decided to create something nice instead.

She was really happy about her snowman and named him Chico. After that, Chico went to her toy display cabinet and had been forgotten.

Five months later (November 29, 2010 to be exact), their aunt from Australia came to visit and brought them a snowgirl. The snowgirl was supposed to go on their Christmas tree but Shirl had a better place for her.

Shirl was so thrilled and introduced the snowgirl to Chico. It was love at first sight. Shirl put the snow couple back in the display cabinet and both lived happily ever after.

Happy Holidays everyone! May love be your gift this Christmas and your blessing all year through.

My Phone "S" QV27 Duo

This was my old phone.

Every one close to me had been pleading me to buy a new one. There were days (mind the plural) when Naldo wanted to throw it and I was like "Nooo!"-LOL! I admit it looks a bit shameful but it was working fine and I'm not really a cellphone person, so I didn't mind. Yes, I'm real and I'm not from another planet. I do love gadgets but I prefer Xbox and Playstation 3 over cellphones. I think I've had this phone for a thousand years then two weeks ago, its lights died. So I had to buy a new one.

I got the My Phone "S" QV27 Duo. It's only PhP4790 (US$108). It's the cheapest phone I can find that looks "girly".

I'm not gonna be talking about it as if I'm a manual, I'll only show you the things I like. First, I really love the cellphone itself. It's cute and compact. It has crystals on it and it even has a mirror. It truly is a cell phone for girls.

Plus it matches my laptop. ♥♥♥♥♥

Second, I love the packaging. It's pink and it says S on it. S for Shirl- Yay! LOL! The phone comes with the basics: manual, charger, earphones and product cds.

The phone is very user friendly. I was able to use it and customized its settings without reading the manual. FYI, it's not wi-fi ready so if you're an "internet-via-cellphone" person, then this phone is not for you.

If you want to know more about MyPhone, please click here. By the way, it's PhP4999 online. The price I gave above was the store price. =)

That's it! Have a great day!

Here's for Anonymous regarding question where the memory card is.

From page 12 of manual: "Open the back cover to take out the battery, release the T-flash card lock, insert the T-flash card into its slot, and restore the lock and the battery before restarting the mobile phone."

tags: gadget, gadgets

A Surprise Gift from NHK World

Yay! We received a package from Japan today. It's a 2011 Calendar from NHK World. We were so surprised! I know it's just a calendar but it's from our favorite tv network so it means a lot. It's a sure keepsake!

By the way, just in case you haven't heard of NHK WORLD, it's the international broadcasting service of NHK or Nippon Hoso Kyokai. Its programs are mostly about Japan. To know more, please drop by their website.

It's Channel 68 on Global Destiny cable tv (Philippines) - not sure if it's the same on other cable providers -- probably not. They have a lot of great programs. Our personal favorites are Begin Japanology, At Home with Venetia in Kyoto, Tokyo Eye, Journeys in Japan, Tomohiro's Railway tour of China, Today's Close-up, Japan Unlocked, Professionals, and NHK Special. They have a lot of nice shows. Sometimes they have a special program or a special series that will only be aired on a certain week. Everything is worth watching especially if you love Japan like we do.

Please check the channel some time. Their TV schedule is here.

Arigatou Gozaimasu! =)

Fruits Basket

There's a rumor going on that there will be a Hollywood remake of Fruits Basket. Hope they make it close to its manga. Anyway, here's a photo-quote from the anime.

How to change Eee pc desktop wallpaper / background?

Here's a step by step instruction on how to change the wallpaper of an Eee Pc laptop. =D

Step 1: Click on the Dock. (little bar with arrow pointing down on your desktop)

Step 2: Click on Eee tools.

Step 3: Click on System settings. (system setting dialog box will appear, it will take a little bit of

time if it is your first time opening it.)

Step 4: Click on browse and locate the folder of your preferred desktop background then click

OK.

Step 5: Enjoy a new view!

Full Metal Panic

Here are quote-clips from Full Metal Panic.

Meanwhile, cheer up! =)

Woe is I

I went to Booksale yesterday and found the third edition of Woe is I: The Grammarphobe's Guide to Better English in Plain English. Its author is Patricia T. O'Conner.

It's simply a book on grammar but like a funny and cooler version. "O'Conner unscrambles the most complicated problems in simple, easy-to-understand language. No, you won't run into the scary terminology that made you want to skip your high school English class."

I got this for only Php165, which is Booksale price. I don't know how much it is brand new but I'll be heading to the larger bookstores to find out. There are also three other books by her that I want to buy.
1. Words Fail Me: What Everyone Who Writes Should Know About Writing
2. You Send me : Getting it Right When You Write Online
3. Origins of the Specious: Myths and Misconceptions of the English Language

I do NOT have very good grammar, so this book is an awesome help. It is definitely worth the money, time and space in the book shelf.

Hmmm... I wonder how many grammatical errors I've made on this post not to mention the whole blog. Gosh! (*Shirl*hides*in*shame*!*She*reads*her*Woe Is I*to*earn*a*lil*bit*of*dignity*.)

Meanwhile, enjoy your Saturday everyone!

p.s. An interesting fact about October 2010 is that it has 5 Fridays, 5 Saturdays and 5 Sundays, all in one weekend! It happens once in 823 years. Pretty awesome huh?

---end of Woe is I post

The Best of Anime 2010

Naldo and I were at the SMX Convention center again but this time we were there for "The Best of Anime 2010". Entrance fee was PhP100 (like always). Inside were booths selling toys, action figures, genki hats, wigs, contact lens, costumes and anything anime-ish.

We only got to watch the band called "Bandersnatch". We liked the songs they played especially the third one (can't remember the song but if you do please post in the comments box below).

The highlight of the event was of course the cosplay competition. We really liked the hosts this time because they really know their anime and to us that's important when hosting such show. The male host a.k.a "Kenkoy" was awesome at being goofy. He got the crowd going by making "sound effects" for the cosplayers. :D

Here's a slideshow from The Best of Anime 2010 at SMX. (Sorry for the bad quality but we had to compress it for faster upload.)

After the event, we went to Manila Book Fair. Like yesterday, we did NOT have to pay the entrance fee. (Hmmm... maybe arriving late is a grand entrance... -just kidding! :D) We got two more books. The Banana Recipes is only PhP20. :-)

p.s. If you're one of the cosplayers (slideshow above) and you'd like to have a copy of your photo, please let us know via comments box (below) and leave your email ad. We'll be happy to send you original/uncompressed copy of it. :-)

---end of post: The Best of Anime 2010 SMX

Manila Book Fair 2010

Today, Naldo and I went to the 31st Manila International Book Fair at SMX Convention Center (beside Mall of Asia). It's a five-day event which started last Wednesday (September 15).

It was our first time to attend it and it's probably the largest book fair we've been to.

There's no entrance fee (because we arrived past 7 p.m.) +++ a lot of books are on discount. It's the perfect place to be. We were there past seven pm so it wasn't that crowded. :D

It's nice to see kids read. ♥♥♥

I look like I'm about to get swallowed by the shelf. :D

Here are the books we got. Both are by Reader's Digest: The Wildlife Year is only PhP295 and How Was it Done is PhP300. That's pretty cheap for good books eh? ♥

If you haven't gone to the book fair yet, tomorrow will be its last day. +++The Best of Anime 2010 (a cosplay event) will also be held tomorrow. ♥

Hope to see you there! Have a great weekend everyone!

---end of post: Manila Book Fair 2010

Hamlet's Chocolate

Are these chocolate covered potato chips or not? That is the question.

They look like Pringles potato chips, don't they? Naldo and I thought so too. Haha! Actually they're just milk chocolate with krispies, no chips. The chocolate tastes like Nestle Crunch but crispier. +++ We ♥♥♥ the tray. It's so neat and perfect for sharing too.

By the way Hamlet Chocola's is made in Belgium. It's available in two other flavors: crispy caramel and crispy mint (maybe there's more but those were all we saw). We bought it from SM grocery and it's PhP199 a box.

That's all for now. Have a chocogreat day!

*all photos taken by Naldo

tag: food,chocolate

Godeater

Godeater is a role-playing game (RPG) unfortunately we can not understand Japanese. I'm surprised how Naldo and I are on Level 4 now. For some reason, we can't seem to wait for the English version. Good thing the game is really easy. It's got multi player mode like Monster Hunter. You get to create weapons from monster parts. You get to change your hair style and outfit, buy and sell items, re-take completed missions, etc.

While on single mode, you can take missions alone or with AI friends. In most missions you can choose your companions but in "storyline" missions, they're assigned. Another good thing about the game is that when you get knocked-out, your friend can revive you. When the whole team gets knocked-out, only the player/s will get revived and the player/s will have to revive the AIs. When on multi-player mode, only the leader can take the mission. By the way, we also like how they made gathering easy with the sparkles.

Here are some of the commands: (note [] is square, sorry don't know how to do the keyboard shortcut)

O = yes/ pick up sparkles

X = no/ return

Attack:

[] = slash/pierce/fire (type of attack depends on weapon used)

▲ = dash+slash

X = jump

X + (attack buttons [] or ▲) = for "aerial" attacks as there are flying monsters

R + [] = weapon attribute (depending on weapon used)

Hold [] = charged slash (depending on weapon used)

Others:

R + analog = run

O = dash

R + O = defend/shield

Hold ▲ = god (for stronger attacks) & collect monster parts

R = change weapon blade to barrel or barrel to blade

Hold L= aim

To open item pouch:

Select, then L or R to choose, [] to use

There are still a few tricks we're trying to figure out, so we're pretty sure we missed out on things. Please feel free to share what you know in the comments box below. Thanks!

I love how my avatar looks like me. Just wish i could change hair color just like her. Anyway, here's a video of screen shots from the game play. Hope you enjoy it. Have fun playing Godeater!

end of post: Godeater

Persona 3 Ending

Although it was like fighting 13 arcanas, defeating Nyx was easier than I thought. The persona abilities: "mind charge" and "salvation" really came in handy.

After defeating Nyx, Tartarus disintegrated and everything returned to normal. Everyone except Aigis seemed to have forgotten about the dark hour and their friendship. But during the graduation ceremony while Mitsuru was giving her valedictorian speech, she and the others remembered their promise. They all gathered at the school's rooftop.

It's been a while since I finished a game. I always look forward to the credits. It's like the trophy. Lol! :-)

Don't ever let the darkness take over your heart. :-) Happy September every one!!

PSP Skin/Cover (Cheaper)

Hello every one! Don't you find it funny when you find things you're not looking for anymore? We do. :-)

I think it was only weeks ago when Naldo and I bought a skin for my PSP. Yesterday, we found one that's not as expensive.

This PSP deco skin is by Caliber. It's only 66 pesos so the quality is not as good as the ones by Ideaskin (refer to previous post here).

But it'll do specially when you're just trying to cover chipped paint. We got this from Japan Home Center - Cash and Carry Mall. Not sure if they have it in all their branches but you can always check. They also have skins for Nintendo DS and I-pod. Hope this post helps. :-) Peace!

Sipahh Straw

I love anything strawberry. So when I came across this strawberry-flavored straw, I was like "EUREKA!".

On the packaging it says, "A great Australian invention." and at the back it says, "Dip a Sipahh into a glass of cold milk, sip and say... Ahh!". I did exactly all those. Lol!

So what happens the moment you sip is that the beads inside the straw give the milk the flavour. Each pack has 5 straws and each straw is used once only. It comes in different flavors. Prices may vary in different stores but this one I got for PhP35ish from SM Hypermarket-Milk Section.

Hope every one finds joy in the simplest of things. Have a great Friday!

Re: the HK Tourist Hostage Incident in Manila

The only things Naldo and I know about the hostage incident are what we've read on the news and seen on television reports. It's always so easy to say things but we always choose not to be judgmental against anything or anyone we have no complete knowledge of. What we'll openly say though is that we are truly crushed by this tragedy. It may not do much but we pray for all the victims and their families.

Here's a little photo clip from Trigun. We are also trying to find a place where there'll be no stealing, no killing, where humans can actually trust each other.

LOVE AND PEACE EVERYONE!!!

Fish Eye No. 2 Pink

I've been eyeing this camera for so long but I could not seem to find it anywhere (and I've searched as far as Singapore for this one). Just when I GAVE up, we found it. I love it soo much! It's so lightweight and pink! I can't wait to try the red scale film on this one. Oh and yes, it's a lomo camera and it uses film. You may find that a disadvantage but I don't. It feels nice to be away from the digital world once in a while. Hmmm...now it's time to revive Naldo's scanner. :-)

PSP Skin

Yay! Today, Naldo and I got a new skin for my PSP. This one is by Ideaskin. We got it from SM Mall of Asia Department Store- toys section. It costs PhP349. They have assorted designs available for both PSP2000 and 3000. Mine is supposed to be 2000 but I didn't like the options. So I got the 3000 instead. The skin fits pretty well except for the (home-select-start) button area where there's just a tiny bit of silver exposed. But it doesn't matter, I really love my PSP's new look. By the way, the skin's use life is 12 months.

Happy gaming everyone but not too much! :-)

p.s. For a less expensive PSP skin, please click here.

Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil

"Fail? I don't do fail." "

"Oh biscuits!"

We love love love this cartoon! It's about Kick, a young boy who aspires to be the greatest dare devil in the world. So he's always doing dangerous stunts. Unfortunately, his brother Brad /slash/ THE villain is always in his way.

This cartoon spells awesome and rock and roll all together. It's on Disney Channel Asia - Saturday and Sunday at 4 p.m. :-)

Toffifee

Toffifee is "A Hazelnut(10%) in a Caramel cup(41%) with Hazelnut Chocolate filling(37%) topped with Chocolate(12%)". We discovered it two Fridays ago and we just finished a box. It's as good as it sounds. You might want to try some. It's available at SM Grocery Stores. Have a sweet week every one!

p.s. Toffifee is made in Germany. :-)

Persona 3 Answers

Here are the answers to some of the Persona 3 questions. These are in order. You can print this page so that you don't have to check Google all the time. This list is not complete but should be enough to raise your charm. So focus on courage and academics instead. :-) (note: Please save your game every time and please read the comments below. It's weird but there might be different versions. So if a certain answer worked or did not work for you, please leave a message at the comment box below just to help the other players. And if a certain answer did not work for you, we'd like to apologize ahead. Thank you!)

Q: Taira No Masakado title claim for himself

A: Imperial prince

Q: Natural magic used to find water sources

A: Dowsing

Q:Some Europeans call this creature "devilfish"and refuse to eat it

A: Octopus

Q:Who established the Kamakura Shogunate?

A: Minamoto No Yoritomo

Q: Which is an example of comma splice

A: I went, I learned.

Q: What law served as a foundation for the development of feudalism?

A: Konden Einen Shizaihou

Q: What is the mystical study of Jewish texts?

A: Kabbalah

Q:What do you call the phenomenon when electrical resistance is zero?

A: Superconductivity

Q: Japanese phrase said before and after eating

A: Gochisou-sama

Q: Which book... magic... renaissance?

A: Hermetica

Q: Which of these is NOT one of Japan's prohibitions on nuclear weapons?

A: Can't let others produce

Q: Order of drinks at the club

A: ->Bloody Mary

->Margarita

->Screwdriver

->Oolong Tea

Q: In numerology, numbers 1-4 are called

A: Contractys

Q: Do you know why a matador's capote is red?

A: To excite the audience

Q: What is the number one source of stress for women?

A: Husbands

*** Please save your game whenever you can from now on because the next question has been making a fuss quite a bit.

Q: Who founded numerology?

A: Moses (was the answer that worked for us) but for some, it's PYTHAGORAS

Q: What is superconductivity?

A: zero electrical resistance

Q:The Ohnin War was one of two incidents that triggered the Sengoku Era. Which was the other?

A: Coup of Meiou

Q:How many calendar patterns are there?

A: Fourteen

Q: Natto comes from soybeans,too, but how is it made?

A: By fermenting them

Q: Who was the founder of Theosophy?

A: Madame Blavatsky

Q: Which one of these things is not Arabic?

A: Wristwatches

Q: Enzyme to break milk...

A: Lactase

Q: "Fuju wa tsutomete"means...

A: "Winter Mornings are pleasant."

Q: What is the ancient magical text I mentioned today? (date 11/12)

A: Upanishads

Q: (Heian beuty lecture) Do you think the men did these thing?

A: They did both.

Q: Which allotrope is formed by three oxygen atoms?

A: Ozone

Q: Junpei asked: Do you know what she's talking about? (lecture on plural forms)

A: Cacti

Q: When did the Battle of Dan-no-una begin?

A: 1185

Q: Which element is found in ozone?

A: Oxygen

Q:Which rule realtes to Lornetz Force?

A: left-hand rule

Q:Translate the ff: "Fuju wa tsutomete".

A: "Winter Mornings are pleasant."

Q: Which plural is formed correctly?

A: Cacti

end of post: Persona 3 Answers

Another Ghibli Moment

Last Sunday afternoon, Naldo and I were out on the rice field taking pictures of God's hidden creatures. When suddenly this butterfly flew to Naldo and landed on his thumb.

It must have taken some liking for him because it chose to stay all throughout the time we were there. Well, it flew from time to time like when Naldo moved but it always managed it's way to us whether on him, on me or on the tripod.

Good thing I realized to take a video so we can remember the moment. After all, the scene is very "Ghibli-ish", don't you think?

Summer Wars (anime)

We just watched this two-hour animation film last night. It's awesome! Summer Wars is science fiction but it's very tangible in so many ways. It's about a high school student who got invited by his senior in school to help in celebrating her grandmother's birthday. We won't say anything else as it'll be a spoiler. What we love the most about the film is it's setting. Hope they make a live-action of this.

Thanks to Myke for this . :-)

Atashinchi No Danshi (live-action)

Atashinchi No Danshi or My Boys is a Japanese Comedy about a homeless girl named Chisato who spent years of her life hiding and running away from debt collectors. One day, she meets a rich man who offers to pay off her debts if she married him. She takes the offer after finding out that he only has a month to live. A month later, she finds out that he had more conditions than just being his wife. She also has to live in a castle named Trick Heart, be a mother to his six sons and complete different tasks with all of them. The thing is the sons despised each other and they definitely didn't like the idea of having Chisato as their mother.

We've seen this a few months ago- just forgot to blog about it. Notice the photo clip above. It kinda has the same motto as Gurenn Lagann, don't you think?

Anyway, it's a super happy series period. We loved all eleven episodes and we are definitely gonna have a Trick Heart Castle of our own. Yay to dreams!!!

And oh, Chisato is played by Maki Horikita, same actress who played Ashiya in Hana Kimi. She's sugoku kawaii!!!

So hope you find time to watch it. Just take it lightly... it's all heart. Have a fun, fun day!

Thanks to Pol for sharing this. :-)

Persona 3 (PSP)

Hello! Naldo and I have been playing Persona 3 for almost 4 days now. It's a very light/ stress-free RPG game. I like how the other characters be on auto during battle mode and still use the right magic or strategy. Aside from the battles, there are activities such as hanging out with friends in the game, working part-time or going to school. As for the school part, you have to answer questions like "Which of the following is a devilfish?" or "Where is the Kitora Tomb?", etc. There are even term exams which questions are fact-based. I just don't like it that my character gets to spend a whole afternoon making a wish when i still have a Junpei to date or Akihiko to train with. So little time, so much to do... Do you know that song by Arkarna?

Anyway, here's an edited video from the game. I laughed so hard... I couldn't get over it. Thought I'd share it with you. Have fun!

Typhoon Basyang's Melody

No one's whistling... that's all wind right there.

Eiga Sai 2010

The Japan Foundation Manila in celebration of Philippines-Japan friendship month held a two-week film festival of full-length Japanese feature films at the Shang Cineplex Cinema 4, Shangrila Plaza, Edsa.

Unfortunately we were only able to attend two days of it. Highlighted below are the movies we watched. :-)

Last July 4 was our first time to attend Eiga Sai and it was quite an interesting experience. On the way to Shang we knew that the movie we were after starts at 1:30. We CONFIDENTLY arrived at 1 only to read the sign "tickets no longer available" at the counter.

Twilight Eclipse and Toy Story 3 were also showing that time. So I was like "What the heck! We ran out of tickets?!?"

Deciding to watch the 4:30 movie, the ticket lady informed us that they'll only release tickets an hour before. We were confused but decided to wait. Silly how we didn't ask how much the tickets were because later we found out that it's free. Ergo, the sign. Ergo, the wait. Ergo, the long line. Golly!

Although we got good seats last time, we did even better today. :-)

Can't wait next year. A little tip - you have to be there two hours earlier because the line gets really long just for the tickets and there's another line for the seats. It's first come, first served unless you have complimentary tickets.

For more info on EigaSai 2010 and Japan Foundation Manila please check:

http://www.jfmo.org.ph/articles_arts-and-culture/film_festivals/arts_and_culture_film_festival-eigasai.php

*end of Eiga Sai 2010 post

Bakuman

I think Bakuman is an awesome manga. It's written by Ohba ,the writer who brought us "Death Note". Bakuman maybe shonen but as a girl, i like it a lot. It's serious. It's motivating. It's interesting... there's a certain "fun" to it that makes me want to read more. I'm on Chapter 60 now and I thought I should blog about it. I haven't skipped pages. I've read it with all my heart and I must say it's worth the time. I love how unbelievably humble and healthy-minded the characters are. It's nice to see good people in stories. It gives me hope that it's not just me wishing for people to be rivals and friends at the same time. I see campaign for peace behind Bakuman. Whether I'm wrong or correct, it's what I have chosen to see.

Anyway as for the art... I'm not really good at drawing so i don't think I'm reliable enough to say the art is good. But my artist friends say the art is great. So I'll take their word. It's also nice to learn a little about mangakas and the manga industry itself. Bakuman is about two schoolmates who decided to be mangakas. I won't tell more than that. After all, there's wikipedia for spoilers.

My favorite character in this series is Eiji Nizuma. If you read Bakuman, i think he might become your favorite character too. Anyway, I wish you find time to read it. Love and peace everyone!

:-)

Big thanks to Myke M. for introducing this.

note: We DEFINITELY DO NOT OWN the Bakuman poster image above. Thank you!

Hana-Kimi (Japanese Live-Action)

I totally enjoyed watching this live-action series. I thought it was INTENSELY funny. It's so filled with foolishness I want to try myself! The characters are soooo cute as if they came out of the manga. Shun Oguri is really one cute Izumi Sano. He's also the guy who played Shinichi Kudo in "Detective Conan" (live action). WARNING: This series is truly for the girly-girl hearted! One reason why I'm okay with Naldo NOT watching it with me. (wink!)

Anyway, there's a lot of posts about this already so there's really no need to talk much about it. However I'd like to share a few quotes I loved from it. There's supposed to be more but I kept on forgetting to "print screen" them. (Toinks! )

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

I wanted to watch it again just to get the quotes but still have two other series in waiting. Maybe in the future because I DO love to watch this again. And next time I'll get the funny ones, okay?

A BIG thanks to Pol who has always supplied us wonderful series.

If you need to know more about Hana-Kimi, the best site is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hana-Kimi

note: We do not own the images above. This is a fan-post. Thank you very much! :-)