Can't Get enough of Jack

I just can't seem to get enough of Jack Johnson! His kind of music is the best for the rainy Manila weather. Some of his better songs include: Better Together, Upside Down, Banana Pancakes, Never Know, Good People... I don't mind listening to him all day! I love his feel good music!!!

Japan family reunion... finally

In 1999, My good friend, Z and I decided to sign up for a two-week Japanese exchange student program just for fun. The 15 students who were chosen to partake in the program were sent to different Japanese families as homestays.

The process of assigning the students to the families was actually kinda simple. Pictures of the applicants gets sent to the Japanese families. From there, the Japanese families will select the student they want to "adopt temporarily" (reminds you of mail-order brides doesn't it ;)).

My friend and I were really lucky! The family who chose us wanted willing to adopt" 2 kids and by some stroke of luck, they chose me and my friend.

The experience was really enriching and touching despite the language barrier (The only words that we knew were: kore, meaning this and daijobou, meaning ok). As expected, I made a lot of mistakes which you kinda only see in movies, but it's cool.

When it was time for us to go, our father, who was always quiet and reserved, broke into tears and said that all the homestays never really go back and visit them, nor even write them a letter. We'll go and forget them, just like everyone else. It struck me that they really cared for us, and wanted to see us again. I didn’t think that they really took us seriously (all we did was make sign languages and some silly stuff), hmm… or maybe it was just the alcohol.

I tried writing them a letter before but I guess that their English was really bad. Last year, I tried calling them up but there was no one answering their phone.

I’m really glad that I’ll get to meet them again this year! I guess I’ll have to prepare the things that I’m gonna say… in Japanese. I’ll have my ever faithful dictionary with me, of course.

Can’t wait to see them! I’m so excited!

Daily Blahs

These past few weeks, the weather here in Manila is really bad. Everyone’s getting sick because it’s too erratic. I’ve already caught this really bad cough and I can’t sleep well without taking benadryl.

Lately, I’ve also been playing a lot of Andy Lau’s music. I found them stashed away with all my other CDs back when I was collecting Chinese CDs. I was hoping that it would put me right to sleep but, he was just too noisy.

Well, this week, there are a lot of good movies showing in theaters. There’s Nacho Libre (some people find Jack Black annoying, but I love him!!! He’s really arrogant and silly!) and Lady in the Water. I’ll probably have to sit this one out tbough, because I have to get all the rest that I can. I’ll be off to Japan again next week and I don’t want to travel while I’m sick.

Speaking of Japan, I’m so excited to go!!! I’m looking forward to buying an entry level SLR camera. I’m just not happy with my point and shoot T-33. It’s just too limited. I hope that it’s a lot cheaper there than here in Manila. I’m torn between getting the Canon Digital Rebel XT and the Nikon D50. No need to buy really expensive cameras yet since I’m just starting out.

Nagoya

I love Japan because everything's just so cute... well, except for the prices.

During my trip to Japan this year, I was fortunate to have the time to visit Nagoya Castle. It's about an hour from the airport if you ride the express train. The weather in Japan at this time of the year is hot and humid so, even after just an hour of touring the castle grounds, we were already lethargic.


















I think that this is the castle where they shot a part of "Shinobi"
















The castle is famous for the golden dolphins made of 24K gold which adorn the castle's roof.















Outside the castle, there are peddlers, selling small trinkets, who are scattered along the streets.

We also saw a lot of sumo wrestlers within the vicinity because of a match happening in the center just across the castle.

Coffee really helps!

I'm willing to try just about anything to prevent my migraine headaches from attacking. Some people might find it absurd but I'm not kidding nor even exaggerating
when I say that whenever my migraine headaches attack, I feel completely debilitated. I can't even take a nap because my headache prevents me from doing so.

Coffee is not in my favorite beverage list. In fact, I don't like coffee. However, I found out that drinking coffee whenever I feel a migraine coming really helps... a lot. Coffee won't probably make it in my favorite drinks list but you'll probably catch me drinking coffee more often.

Boracay!

There’s a saying here in the Philippines that “what goes on in Boracay, stays in Boracay.” This is probably why Boracay has become a very popular hangout for the kids and the yuppies.














There are two ways to get to Boracay. One is through Caticlan and the other is through Kalibo. If you’re going to Boracay via Kalibo, you have to take a 3 hour bus ride, then ride a bangka (boat) to Boracay island. Going through Caticlan is more convenient since you only have to ride a bangka to the island, which will only take around 30 minutes.














We went to Boracay via Caticlan. Since Caticlan airport can only accommodate small planes, we had to ride a propeller plane.


















There are many things to do in Boracay.














You can go island hopping. There are a lot of small islands near the vicinity which are worth visiting. Of course, you have to hire a bangka to go there. You can hire a bangka for as low as 2,000PHP per day. If your crowd is not big enough, you’ll have to go island hopping with strangers.

















The current is really strong so it’s not really that safe to swim if you’re a mediocre swimmer.














It’s cool to see peddlers in the middle of the ocean. They sell coconut juice and ice cream while battling the currents to get to bangkas stopping in the middle of the sea.

















A lot of kids also get wasted in Boracay. There are a lot of bars where you can hang out. You can even bring your own alcohol if you want to save money.















Getting Henna tattoos is also very popular in Boracay. Bob Marley is considered an icon there, so a lot of people get Bob Marley tattoos and Afro braids. This hideous tattoo of Bob Marley costs 1,000PHP (20USD).




























There are a lot of other things to do in Boracay. You can go scuba diving, pig out, sunbathe… you can even cross-dress… what goes on in Boracay, stays in Boracay, anyway!

Something to think about...

This woman is quite a looker isn't she? It would be very easy for a guy to fall in love with her, since a lot of guys go for pretty girls regardless of what's in store for them. Honestly, I think that a lot of guys would rather go for a difficult but pretty girl over a nice, average girl.

However, if the girl in the above picture were gay, will a lot of guys still go for her?

If I were a guy, would I go for her? Hard to say... she's really attractive. But, I'm not really a guy and I don't know how guys think.

Will guys go for gay girls who are really attractive and would they prefer them to real girls who are not as pretty?

The 3 Cs

I love eating so I always forget that there are some food that I should stay away from. The three things that I should stay away from are: chocolates, cheese and citrus fruits. The doc told me that these are triggers for migraine. Chocolates and citrus don't always make my head ache so I don't really stay away from them. The cheese, though, is a killer.

Awhile ago, my friend and I went to CPK to grab something to eat and we figured that the 5 cheese pizza with tomatoes looked real good. I love tomatoes so, I eat almost anything with tomatoes in it. I was just finishing my third slice when I felt the migraine coming. Uggh, too late! Such a waste, since the pizza was really good. Now, I have to spend the rest of the night with a headache just because I love to eat.