Orange-Colored Room

Mood: grateful

Music: Do As Infinity - Need Your Love

General smell: of my cousin Tara’s gift, nice lotion she bought in London. Weebee.

Well, I did make a wishlist… so now, while my wishlist consisted of stuff that I mostly did not get, there are other certain things I find that I’m more thankful for:

1. That my family can at least have three square meals a day. Mom and I decided to do this little thing of driving around the city and giving out little packages of food. I didn’t realize there were so many hungry people on the street before. True, some of you might quickly utter cries of "syndicate!", but well, we can’t tell, so we just try to help who we can.

2. That somehow Mom and I get along, even for one day in the whole year. Anyone who knows me up close and personal that Mom and I get along like a dog and a cat in a small cage. So yes, that’s a big thing for me. Even bigger than the fact that she DID get me something I wanted for Christmas…

3. A better MP3 player. Yes, it’s material, yes, it’s superficial and shallow. But for someone like me, for whom music matters, this is a BIG thing indeed. Even better, Mom gets an mp3 player herself.

4. Nice surprises on the most magical day of the year. Like hearing a really, really good choir in the Christmas Mass. Like figuring out that my family is big, but just spread out, and a lot of them can make good friends. Like figuring out that I am really, really blessed.

5. Having great old friends, and great new ones too. This is self-explanatory. You people have made me who I am today, and I hope we keep growing together.

6. Having something some of the richest people don’t have — the capacity to still smile and a good night’s rest.

7. Having a little Baby love me so much to give me such a day — and life— to be thankful for. Again, self-explanatory.

That’s my thankslist for this year. I hope you guys try to make thankslists youselves. It’s a mood booster, believe me.

Well, it’s about time I have to go. I have to get ready for my cousin Tara’s birthday bash tomorrow, and I’m wrapping her gift in leftover Christmas wrapper. ^________^

========== MERRY CHRISTMAS! =============

Mood: hungry

Music: Hitomi Takahashi (I think) - Bokutachi no Yukue (Gundam SEED Destiny OP)

Eating: chestnuts. mm-mm.

Looking for: that damn Anne Rice book I bought  a month ago on a book buying spree… where in the blue blazes is it?

I finally got enough time to post a blog entry after… more than a couple weeks? @_@ I HAVE been busy, I promise… More tired than busy, actually… Christmas shopping is taking its toll on me tired feet and always-puyat eyes… I look like that girl in the Stresstabs commercial already. Mom’s Christmas list is never-ending. @_@ and I just remembered that I have no gift for my beloved best friend yet…*breaks into hysterics*

*calms down* anyway, I’ve been thinking about moving my journal to Blogger… why? *thinks*  I think if I review my HTML, I can actually make my blog look better… or at least different. :p but then again, I’ve been so lazy, so what’s the diff?

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At work…

I’ve made a lot of new friends, and well, things just keep getting crazier and crazier… I think Sir Paul (one of our trainers) unwittingly picked out all the mentally insane applicants and signed them up. myself included. We have ‘transforming’ robots, machine men and even a terrorist. On the plus side, all of them are very talented artists, and some of them are talented musicians too. ^__________^

And last Friday I just witnessed one of our superiors pretend to lick off the Christmas ’snow’ decorations in front of our window. I personally will put that under  "Things I Might Want a Mind-Wipe For". -_-0

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I made a Christmas wishlist… check it out on http://sylvaene.deviantart.com .

Anyway, that’s it for now. I feel sleepy——- *falls asleep*

Mood: semi-bored

Music: Tamaki Nami - Believe (Gundam SEED OP)

I know it’s been a while… I’ve been busy with my new job… I’m happy to say that it’s everything I’ve ever dreamed of and more. ^_^ I’ve been so giddily happy ever since I started. I’ve never been this eager to show up at work before, and the company (at least most of it) has been great. (Teddy and Jerwin: hindi kayo yun. JOKE! Enjoy akong kasama kayo ^_^)

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In other news, one of my new officemates has inspired me to restart my Gundam collection. I just bought a Strike Freedom…. and I have a feeling that all I want for Christmas are Gundams, Gundams and more Gundams. (Wishlisting the Strike Rouge and the Infinite Justice Gundam. I want the Gunner Zaku Loony Maria Custom too, hehe ^_^) anyway, moving on, I kind of have to save up for other stuff too. Like gasoline for the car. ^_^0 I’ll save up for gadgets (aka the Samsung E730 and the Sony PSP) when I get my real salary.

well, at any rate, I have nothing really more to say. Not here anyway, heheh. I’m just really happy that I’ve gotten the job I’ve always wanted.

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The grass may be greener on the other side, but it’s just as hard to cut. - Little Richard

Mood: tired, but happy

Music: Nami Tamaki - Reason (Gundam SEED Destiny ED)

First week at work. ^_^

While there has been quite a lot of minor inconveniences (one of them my best friend Gerry getting kicked out of her place beside me by an inconsiderate boor of a newbie,) my first week at Toei was great. Most of them are friendly (I think it has to do with my being female in the holy citadel of men), and the working environment is hilarious. I consider working in a place where a whistle ringtone can set off a bird-call session a good thing. Haha. We’ve got pretty good incentives, and though there’s a clause in the contract that binds us to Toei for two years, I don’t really mind it. It’s what I really want to do. (Some of my ‘artiste’ batchmates, however, are not so sold on being an animator, I guess. They got so nitpicky about the contract clause that the head honcho had to give them an ultimatum.) Anyway, right now, we’re just busy doing manual drawing. We move on later to digital when we’re quite ready. Hopefully, I get used to the workpace so much so that I don’t have to sit thru all six months as a trainee. I could still dream.

People reading my blog are probably asking themselves "why is she compromising her art style to make a few bucks doing someone else’s animation when she could be designing web pages/editing videos/making comic books, which earn quite a bit more? And she gets to do things at her own pace?" Considering the artiste contract uproar this week, I found myself asking that same question. I COULD develop my art style outside, take on a few freelance jobs, and come up with a comic that could develop into my own anime series, eventually. Why start as a drone in an animation sweatshop?

I guess I have no other real answer other than this: I want to know how it feels like to really, really start from rock bottom. I guess I just want to know how it is, to work thru the week, receiving orders barked at you by a boss, getting into the nitty-gritty of everyday life as an animator. I want to feel how it’s like to really work. The past two years left me with a chunk of (easily expendable)  money and an even bigger chunk of frustration and longing over not really working, and working hard just to get peanuts. Now I get to work at what I really like, and just happen to get compensated for it. Yeah, I can say goodbye to my Saturdays in six months, but at least I know what it feels like to actually have to interact with people in a working environment. And being a drone is cool for now. ^^ I personally think I’m the best kind of drone there is.

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Mom got me hooked on watching the Iglesia Ni Cristo Channel. For some odd reason, watching small-minded religious personalities insult and find fault with other religious personalities makes for good amusement. I’m no John Paul II, but it would be safe to say that choosing to stay out of the crossfire is the lesser evil in this equation.

No one said anything bad about watching from the sidelines, though. Cable sure is fun.

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Well-behaved women never make history. - Maria Shriver

Music: my mother’s incessant nagging

Mood: bored

On a side note, "My Mother’s Incessant Nagging" would make for an interesting band name. Imagine the mp3 file names.

It was my birthday yesterday, and I’m happy to report that I got my dream job. Toei called me and told me to report yesterday, October 17. So me and my best friend Gerr went on down. We were giddy, happy…

And the only two girls in the batch of trainees.

Not that I minded that. But then, Mr. Manager sits down with us in the theatre, with some bad news. He said that Mr. Palabrica (our trainer, I think) is still, well, stuck in Japan. In short, they’ve moved our starting date to next Monday, October 24th. Blessing in disguise, considering that I have an extra week to slack off, and not feel guilty. Heheheheh. Then again, I have time to have the car tuned up, and more time to spend with my friends before I take off.

I know I’m plodding along, but my anchor’s weighed, and my sails are at half-mast. I’m almost out of port. ^^

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Oh, and on a side note, I got a haircut. I’m so tempted to put pictures here, but I’ll hold it off until my friends and I next meet. I suddenly remember my friend BJ’s remark when he last saw me: "I can’t believe it. You guys haven’t changed since the last time I saw you." Hehehehheheheheh.

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I’m becoming a badminton addict.

It’s true. I find myself meandering about in a trancelike state in a sporting goods store (!!!!) looking at racquets, itching to buy a canister of Gosen shuttlecocks, or fingering the Yonex badminton shoes. I usually steer clear of the sporting goods, but now I found a reason to go. I like playing so much. ^_^

Funny though, was this conversation I overheard between two kikays taking a rest on the bench after a game:

Kikay1: Oh, let me tell you na about that time I was in, like, Nike…

Kikay2: O, what happened ba?

K1: I was looking kasi at the skirts kasi they were on sale eh… grabe, you should’ve bought! so mura! anyway, there was this medyo old lady there…

K2: Oh? What was she doing there? Don’t tell me she was looking at skirts din!

K1: No naman, sobra ka! (laughs) she was looking at shoes and she was making piga the salesperson. You know, asking him questions about badminton shoes. She was like, saying: "Totoo bang badminton shoes yan? How can you tell?" The salesguy was like, soo inis na! He was saying, "eto nga po yung badminton shoes namin…"

K2: Really? (flips her hair… I’m not kidding) What happened na next?

K1: Well, she made bawi na lang, she said, "Ay, wag na lang, I’m fine with my Shox…" (makes big kikay gesture) HELLO?! Who wears Shox to badminton? Nagtinginan na lang kami nung salesguy and I smiled. Hello, wala naman pala siyang alam sa right equipment for badminton!

Okay, backgrounders all around… For those who are scratching their heads, Nike Shox is the ultra-bouncy shoe that Nike developed for basketball. All that aside…

I know that if you play at a regulation badminton court, you have to wear at least comfortable athletic clothing and non-marking rubber shoes. It’s as much for the Taraflex floor as it is for you. Yes, that’s a given. I didn’t read in the rule book, however, that you had to EXACTLY wear badminton shoes. Okay, maybe that medyo old woman in the Nike store didn’t exactly know what badminton shoes were, but does everyone? And personally, if all that salesguy could say to all those woman’s questions was "eto nga po yun eh" ("This is the badminton shoe"), would he even make a sale? He’s a trained Nike employee. Shouldn’t he know what makes a badminton shoe different? Even more so, why does that woman deserve the mockery? So what if she uses Shox? As my mom says when she tries justifying her game: "Pare-pareho naman tayong nagbabayad ah. Ano ngayon?" ("All of us pay to play in the courts anyway. So what?") As far as I’m concerned, that woman is wearing rubber shoes, and she can play wherever court she wants. Well, except maybe if she were to enter the pro league.

And I think if she were, she’d know what a badminton shoe is.

I’ve been trying to convince myself that the young Pinoy isn’t as self-centered and materialistic as everyone thinks they are. I’m having a hard time doing it.

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Oh, and I’m finally listening to Zone’s Good Days.Good song. ^^

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Quote I Love:

A dog wags its tail with its heart. —-Martin Buxbaum

Listening to: Express Love - Initial D 3 OST

Mood: particularly choco-happy

Am peppered with mosquito bites. Ow.

Today In the Weird and Wonderful:

Saw this at my local supermarket. These are times you have to be thankful you have a camera phone.

What exactly it does? *shrugs* Maybe it’s to help those comeback lines surface quicker in your brain.

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On the badminton court:

One of Mom’s friends bought a new Yonex titanium racquet, and GAWD it feels so good! It’s so light, and really actually helps your game. I did a little more running around than usual when I had my turn at using it, and now I realize why I haven’t been able to smash with my other racquet. Mom just ordered me one, which makes me a happy little player indeed. ^_______^ I just had to share this.

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Initial D Update:

Myogi Conquered!

Finally beat that damn boy Shingo. Who knew it only took a couple of fog lights to beat him at a night race? ^_^ on to Usui now… This Toru guy’s kinda cute. ^^ too bad he beat me. T_T well, I guess have to get used to the new track all over again…

Oh yeah, on a side note, I got curious and tried Wangan Midnight (that’s Maximum Tune to guys who can’t read kanji). I tried to give myself maximum handicap for it (using the Silvia, my worst compatibility car, on manual transmission), and… won my first race. o.o It’s just too bad that I can’t afford to get a Wangan Tuner Card to store my data, it costs twice as much as Initial D. Oh well, not like I can afford to play Wangan Midnight a lot, since it’s expensive, and those racer wannabe guys hog it all the time. And my friend/racing mentor CD is right. It’s right smack in between Battle Gear 3 and Initial D in terms of game vs. real-life ratio. (okay, I think that’s enough gamegeek talk for one night.)

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Birthday Schmirthday.

My birthday’s coming up… and I don’t have money.

My family and friends ask me what I’d like them to give me this year, but my mind’s been sooo preoccupied with waiting for that final call from Toei (they said they’d call us when the slots are filled and ASAP report for work.) I HAVE been seeing stuff that I’d like (surprisingly enough, I’ve been to Comic Alley and I find that nothing interested me enough to covet it), but most of them are waaaaaaaaaaaaay beyond my price range, like, say, a PlayStation Portable or a Samsung D500. So I’m sticking to the Intangible Yet Precious category, like being able to hang out with all my friends at a mall, or finally mastering the drawing style they use for Final Fantasy character illustrations. Hopefully, I get these at least. Or maybe a whole day’s worth of sleep, like something more than 10 hours’ worth.

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If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun. - Katharine Hepburn

Listening to: nothing yet… still looking at my playlist. or Limewire.

Mood: tired… but energized by the mighty cream puff

Isn’t he adorable? ^___________^

Played badminton today… it’s kind of hard playing sub for four middle-aged women who keep taking breaks on a turn basis. And I have to keep playing for an hour. *falls flat on floor* On the upside, Mom bought me that L’Oreal Architect Wax I’ve been eyeing for months now. *small vanity devil speaking* now I can get that spiky look I’ve been dying to get for months! Mwahahahahaha!

She also got me lots of National Geographic magazines (back issues… I don’t think I can afford a subscription *cry*). Guess she got tired of me complaining that there’s not a thing to read in this house.. And it’s kind of true, considering it’s been months since I’ve last bought a book (eyeing Pratchett and Gaiman’s Good Omens this time), and I’ve read everything in this house. I’m not kidding. I’ve read and re-read every article in old newspapers. I’ve reread my pocketbooks. I’ve even resorted to reading can labels just so I don’t get bored. (Sad, yes, but did you know that they put sodium citrate in your canned mushrooms?)

Why am I bored? Because I’m waiting.

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I went to Rockwell with the good ol’ group to celebrate Nick’s birthday, and had lots of fun playing games and singing karaoke. (On a side note, I think I’d like to learn the drums. It just might be my instrument. Failing that, I can always go back to violin lessons. Oh well. ^_^;) It’s been a while since all of us got together, and needless to say, it was one of the best Sentai/Eternal Dreamer outings we’ve had. ^_^

I’ll be holding a Final Fantasy Ace-2 game sometime this October/November (cheeesy)… I just have to get the schedule of my players straight. I don’t want it to drag on for a whole two months, maybe I can make it so that four meetings is all it takes to finish a game. ^_^ I’ve given up on using existing worlds, so I’ve gone and made my own.

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Speaking of games, I’ve entitled my blog entry that because it’s my favorite Initial D song. (Yes, I know, I’m a bit behind in racing game trends… -_-; well, it’s the first time those boys left the Initial D machine alone. They’re playing Wangan Midnight now.)Started playing Initial D this week, and I have an AE86 card. ^_^ I love the handling, it feels just like my own car… (damn, have I gotten THAT used to Pawis Steering? ^_^;) To those playing, I’m doing the Legend of the Streets (as is the usual. ^_^ I don’t think I can do Bunta Challenges yet), and I’ve beaten Iggy on Myogi on my second try. I can’t beat Kenji yet… he beat me once, but I found that my Timezone card had no money in it. Y_________Y so not today, I guess. I really hate it when Kenji mocks me.) But at least I have new wheels. I’ve noticed some guys who watch me scoff at my apparent ignorance of the View Change button (case in point: I’ve heard "Bakit hindi kita yung kotse?" more than once today, and it wasn’t nice how they said it), which is usually the first thing they hit once the race starts. Well, yes, I know, you choose the nice cars so that you can actually see them in action, but for one thing, I have what I think is the oldest model car in the game. You don’t want to see that. And besides, I’ve gotten so used to actual driving that I make mistakes in calculation when I use that visible car view…

Not to scoff at them, of course. *evil chuckle*

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Listening to: Ken Matsudaira - Matsuken Samba II

Mood: whimsical and sugar-high

Believe me, there is a perfectly good explanation for all this.

Before anything else, though, let me just greet my friend Nick A HAPPY BIRTHDAY! His birthday’s this Monday… and this blog post is dedicated to him. He’s the guy who taught me to appreciate the whimsy in life. Bless ya, pal!

Anyway, I said there was going to be a perfectly logical explanation for this picture, so let me get to it now.

Mom’s office is having a show tomorrow evening, and I watched the rehearsals. There was a particularly refreshing little production number that stood out from the rest, and well, I got curious about the song that they used. As it would turn out, it turned up on LimeWire, and now I find myself addicted to "Matsuken Samba II".  xD It’s a very lively beat, and quite contagious, as I find out that it’s quite a hit with a majority in Japan. It’s performed everywhere, from preschools to office "singing opportunities". I say perform, because it’s hardly likely that anyone can just sing it, and more improbable that anyone would want to just sing it. xD

What strikes me as more interesting, though, is the singer, Ken Matsudaira. Ken Matsudaira is best known for his roles in jidaigeki, or Japanese historical films. And if you’ve seen Seven Samurai or anything like it, you’d know how serious those things are. He also appeared in a series set in the Tokugawa era, where he portrayed a shogun who dons common folk’s clothing and delivers justice. He usually portrays stoic, seemingly infallible characters for whom money or beautiful women hold no allure when the nation’s needs are calling. It’s something, I understand, that Matsudaira-san has been doing for over 25 years now.

As The New York Times put it, it was like Americans waking up to find John Wayne has transformed himself into the Cowboy of the Village People. "Matsuken"-san is now a hip-jerking, samba-singing samurai in a gold kimono, escorted on stage by "geisha" in multicolored, sequined kimono, toting tinsel-encrusted pompom sticks. And the Japanese people (with the exception of a few shocked, middle-aged salarymen) love it, most of all by Tokyo’s Shinjuku 2-chome district, who have taken to "Matsuken" with all the ardor a gay community can give. Not that Matsudaira is gay, but it’s the image of sequin-clad "Matsuken" that they cling to, I guess.

… And they love him so much that they released a special edition "Real Action Hero" Ken Matsudaira-Matsuken Samba action figure (shown here). I showed this to my friends, and they agree: it looks so much like him it’s creepy. To my toy-freak friends: I’m not sure if it’s fully articulated, but it can strike Matsuken’s poses with frightening accuracy.

… see if you can tell the difference.

All this only goes to show how bored I’m getting recently. ^_^0 I really should get a job.

Do As Infinity
1999-2005

Listening to: all my Do As Infinity Songs
Mood: depressed, yet hopeful

When I first decided that i wanted to post something about Do As Infinity dissolving, I thought i had a lot of things to say. Now that I’ve started, I can’t seem to find the right words to describe how I’m feeling.

Effective September 30, 2005, Do As Infinity will dissolve, ending 6 years of making good music that has somehow become the soundtrack of my life among other things. Why they’re dissolving eludes me, but it seems that all of the members have decided to go their separate ways. I read somewhere in a forum that one girl cried for an hour when she heard the news. I don’t know if I can get all choked up like that over this, but one thing’s definitely for sure: they have been the only band that i actually "fan-girled" over. I first thought that if i didn’t listen to any of their songs for a while i’d be safe from getting depressed, but every time i hear another girl sing another song i find myself wishing that her voice was deeper, that the song had the familiar strains of a guitar i knew, and the words a little wiser. So i just decided to embrace it and just play every song that i have of them, and while i know that i will never hear a new song from them again, these songs in my playlist will always be Do As Infinity. Besides, every time they run the acknowledgements on the CD, they always say that Do As Infinity is made up of Tomiko, Ryo, and ALL SUPPORTERS. I guess that makes everyone who ever listened to them, everyone who’s ever liked them a member of Do As Infinity, and I guess it’s hard to dissolve more than a million people who listen to and love them, right?

Tonko-chan will be starting her solo career, and Ryo-kun has already come up with his new band, and i guess as part of Do As Infinity, i’ll have to move on as well. The most i can probably do right now is thank all of them for their wonderful music and wish them luck. I’ll still try my best to support them, but i guess it won’t be the same.

Ja, otsukaresama, Tonko-chan, Ryo-kun. Mata ato de ne. Domo ne.(Well, good job, Tonko and Ryo. I’ll see you later. Thank you.)

Listening to: Do As Infinity - Treasure Pleasure

Feeling: chattering cold.

The past few days have been quite cold, and that’s not without reason, I guess: It IS September. The chill has been quite biting, especially in the early morning, and since I keep forgetting to bring a blanket with me when I go to bed, I often find myself waking up in the middle of the night with my toes numb and my lips trembling. I guess it’s okay, since most of me’s built like a baby seal.*lol*

With Christmas (and my birthday) almost at hand, I’ve been racking my brain trying to find a business I can get my grubby little flippers on to have at least extra cash for those well-meaning people who give me picture frames, scented candles and porcelain angels (insert quiet little sigh here.)

If you guys are wondering why my journal entry’s entitled such, it’s because of a little bit of good news that I encountered last week (and probably a bit of good news that will drain my wallet.) My friends know how much of a Drum Mania freak and Do As Infinity freak I am, and now at Megamall I’ve found something that gives me fixes for both addictions. Contrary to popular belief, there IS a Do As Infinity song on Drum Mania 10! ^________________^ (to those not in the know, Do As Infinity is a Japanese rock band fronted by gorgeous vocalist Tomiko Van and superb guitarist Ryo Owatari. They’re one of the delicious little secrets Japan keeps from the rest of the world. I could write a thesis on why I like them and why I think they’re better than most artists I know, but I’ll do that next time.)

It’s called "Honjitsu Wa Seiten Nari", which roughly translates into "Today We’ll Have Fine Weather". For my Gitadora-addicted friends: look for the kanji for "hon" (same one as in the kanji for "nihon") at the song selection stage. (Actually, look for the song that has the reverse kanji of "nihon" — that’s "honjitsu".) All that aside, it’s an upbeat song, very very rambunctious— the kind of song I know my friend BJ will like. While it’s not Tonko-chan singing on the Drum Mania short version (a disappointment to me), if you close your eyes and imagine hard enough, it gives way to your fantasies of playing for one of the better bands in Japan. Then again, closing your eyes won’t help you play the game. >_< ANYway, I like the song for a better reason: It also serves as one of my mantras. Again, it’s one of those songs that pick you up after a long drawn-out period of depression: there’s one line in the verse that says "don’t mind the tears that flow, stand up for your life!" In a nutshell, it’s the musical version of an upper, made better and, well, without the nasty side effects. But take note:it IS addicting. And right now, with everything looking cloudy on the homefront, and to take my impatience off my mind, I tell myself this: "Honjitsu wa seiten nari".

Itsuka, mainichi wa seiten nari. ("One day, everyday we’ll have fine weather.")

Eat that, bitter chill.