QA Three 2.0

Back in December 2012, I blogged about "version 1" of the QA Three (found here). Just over a year and a half later, I would be bidding farewell to yet another formed triumvirate that filled the void since the start of 2013.

When Jamie left, Tristan and I didn't stay a duo for long, since Boom had joined (or rather re-joined) our ranks. While the feeling wasn't quite the same, it helped filled the void. But we took another blow when Tristan had left, so that left Boom and I shorthanded again. Towards the middle of the year I made updates to the QA skills test and accommodated Maxine, an intern who stayed with us through the course of May.

The following month, I had made perhaps the best decision of endorsing Jed for initial interview even after failing the skills test. Why did I do that? He impressed me, plain and simple. And to everyone's surprise, he passed! And so another triumvirate was established. We kept it tight throughout the rest of the year. In the final quarter of 2013, I assumed the leadership position after JD transitioned to business development status.

Come 2014, we opened our doors to interested interns and since I was handling the recruitment of them and doing the interviews, we took in two so far - Issa and JM. And they've been doing the best of jobs in helping out our little portable bunch.

As they say though, these things don't last forever. Earlier during the year, Boom had said that he had plans of resigning to look for better opportunities. His last day was yesterday, so that meant our trio would be trimmed down yet again. I've been grateful to him and Jed for the hard work they put in, and I'm going to miss him. But I know that the memories we've shared together will always be with us. So here's a cheers to Boom on his new adventure, and I'm looking forward to seeing how my team develops this time around!

Doctor Who Party

Last July 19, Kai and I attended a Doctor Who Party. Why? No particular reason. I guess you could say that it was a way we could appease our curiosity and interest of meeting up with other Whovians. Admittedly, I haven't been as immersed in the series as the rest of those who attended. They are hands down some of the timey-wimey wibbly-wobbly bunch of hardcore Whovians I've chanced upon meeting.

But I guess in some way, it's a self-boost to try and watch more of the series to better understand everything, especially with the onset of the 12th Doctor, Peter Capaldi and the exit of Matt Smith.

So let's get back to the party a little bit. To mine and Kai's convenience, the venue was doable, hence our confirmation of attending said party. Where? The Residences at Greenbelt which, ironically, sits just a few minutes walking distance from my office! It was a little "social hall" or function room, which was quaint but spacious enough to shelter at least 50 people for a few hours to have some fun (which we did). So in a way the space was perfect for a get-together.

To prepare for the occasion, I dressed up a bit with a little crossover-inspired wardrobe: grey Chucks to represent the 10th Doctor, a bowtie for the 11th, and a trench coat that reminded people of the 1st Doctor. Paired with my 11th Doctor Sonic Screwdriver, I couldn't possibly get lost at the party! The trench coat was actually recycled from my Sebastian Michaelis cosplay a few years ago, so I'm just happy it still fit me the way it did. 

Of course I wouldn't be the only one in "costume" at the party! We had ourselves a nice round of Elevens present, a stray Tenth, a Queen Victoria, some Rose Tylers and some Donna Nobles. And a Tardis!

And yes, there was a Sherlock present! Meet my friend Vinni (right). He's got a british accent down pat, mostly because he reads lots of Shakespeare out loud it's fun.

Since there was a Tenth and Eleventh doctor present, I bugged them into recreating this scene Vinni showed me on his phone with their Sonic Screwdrivers. Thanks to Dan (left) and Adrian (right) for obliging my request! Not as accurate, but so worth it!

 

Shirts and Headphones

To further commemorate my new laptop dubbed Jarvis, here's my first "official" picture taken with his trusty internal webcam, sponsored by Acer Crystal Eye. What's so special about this particular picture, you ask? Two things, so technically speaking, the peace sign I'm making has its double meanings.

The first is to chronicle the lilac polo t-shirt I got as a souvenir from my Auntie Lynda, who was visiting from Los Angeles for a few weeks here in Manila. This particular shade of purple reminds me fondly of a shirt that one of my favorite college professors often wore (shout-out to Ma'am Jess!). And considering Kai's favorite color is purple, it helps to have one that's easier on the eyes. I'm starting to see a pattern inthe polo t-shirts I acquire; they're all pastel or dark.  

The second is to chronicle (and put into perspective), one of my more personal but very much worth it purchases to date: an Elephant Masterpiece Headphone from Data Blitz!


Frequency Response: 20Hz-20kHz
Impedance: 60ohms
Sensitivity: 115dB
Max Input Power: 5mW
Technical Specs:
Audio: 40 mm handmade drivers
Don't worry if the technical stuff confuses you. The sound is awesome and is pretty well priced at Php595. Pretty good too since it's collapsible into a nice neat soft case that comes with it. And the cord is durable, so it's sure to last.

Counting to 12

Somehow I wonder a year is really about to pass. The frequent hours I spend in my job testing games (the misconception is still thrust in there somewhere) has accumulated to 11 months and counting. Before I know it, May 2 arrives and I'm back at square one, with a year of experience under my belt. Around this time, I start looking back on the months that were, and wonder if I did everything I set out to do before I reached the 1 year mark.

My first job at Anino Games is turning out to be well worth the decision. I have a blast coming to work everyday, despite having to wake up super early than I would prefer. I get to chat up with old and new friends, at times working alongside them on the projects I get assigned to. I learn new things as more days fly by, and in turn I teach what I know to those who need to know. I work my "Excel magic" where applicable and help out in the processes wherever applicable, which is always a great feeling.

I guess I can give myself a pat on the back for the great evaluations that made me a regular last November, but I also have to thank the people around me for inspiring me to always be at my best to keep my neck over water. Here's to a few more years testing games and (hopefully) climbing the career ladder in time!

QA Three

I love being part of the QA Team. While it comes with understated salary digits compared to the rest of the developers, it's an often very misunderstood and underestimated job by those outside the gaming industry it makes having the job that much sweeter.

The opportunity to be a part of Anino Games way back in the summer of 2011 gave me a first-hand experience to what my first job would be like a year and a month later. My practicum with the company earned me rare opportunities to take command of a handful of people in the absence of someone more experienced. The wonderful irony of training real employed trainees when there wasn't any salary for the effort. It was felt.

Anino similarly provided me with a pool of friends that will be cherished forever. The opportunity to work with much of the same band of people I did back in my practicum days was priceless. These small friendships quickly evolved into posse's that shared meals together.

My other cohort in the QA Department is Tristan. He's a few months my superior, but I'm just as amazed at his diligence, despite having various complaints. He gets the job done somehow. We became a duo team-testing several projects together, so we quickly understood how the other works. I couldn't have asked for a better teammate. Especially when you take into consideration his excellent magic tricks and innate designer/programmer prowess.

3 months ago, I had the fine and wonderful opportunity to work with Jamie, an OJT who stayed with Anino after my departure to complete my senior year. When I rejoined the company last May, I heard stories of Jamie mostly from Bea (her teacher who urged Jamie and her friend to apply) that involved interesting comparisons to myself in terms of capabilities. I recall Bea fondly likening Jamie and I to Brawlers or Berserkers who could do so much in the world of D&D.

Meeting her personally last September/October was somehow pleasing. These past 3 months gave me the great chance of watching her work, interact with her and have a sense of what Bea was talking about. Tristan and I were eternally grateful that she was there to shoulder the workload.

It was ultimately a give-and-take between us if I considered our professional relationship: I taught Excel tricks, she taught Cinematics. Timing couldn't have been better.

Together, the 3 of us comprised what I fondly called "the QA Three", inspired by Thor's "the Warriors Three". Towards December, we began planning dinners along with our resident engineers, Fix-It Felix and Marvin the Martian.

Overall, I'm a bit bummed out that the QA triumvirate disbanded last Monday due to Jamie's contract ending after the company Christmas Party. But we all definitely came away with awesome, unforgettable memories we'll cherish forever.

Clockwise from the left: Nikka, Tristan, JD, Jamie, Me

The best memory we'll take away aside from the various dinners would be the QA Shakey's Dinner we financed last December 13. Our QA department comprised of our QA Director JD, Senior QA (now Associate Producer) Nikka, and the QA Three (Tristan, Jamie and myself), so we decided to have a dinner to have a long overdue celebration of mine and Tristan's regularization status with the company, as well as Jamie's farewell party.

Good luck to Jamie wherever she may go, and best wishes to our little QA family in the coming year!

Christmas Party

I never associated Mondays for Christmas party dates, but my company never really followed much of the status quo these days, so I suppose I could forgive the oddball date. That aside, I've been with Anino Games for 8 months now and counting, and might I saw what an interesting first few months it's been.

That aside, I just wanted to share how my first experience went. As far as Christmas parties are concerned, exchange gifts were seldom omitted, so AGI wasn't any different. We used trusty Elfster for the drawing of names, but the only complaint I had was that the names were re-drawn 3 times. Ah well. There was a raffle and I was asked to play the host for the event. On top of that, I joined the Talent Competition instead of the usual Annual Newbies Presentation since there weren't so much this time around.

I must say though: The food was great, I got the right gift for my "baby", I got an awesome gift from my "Santa", I had tons of LOL moments and my group (STAB composed of Felix, Nikka, Kem, EJ and myself) bagged the award for Best Presentation. :D Yup, this was a party of firsts to remember.

22nd Birthday

Two Saturdays ago was the day I turned 22. I remained in the dark with about as much as what I wanted, which I guess warrants the usual dinner party at home. The only difference, I guess, was the presence of mutual friends with Kai. So it wasn't so much of a waste.

As Saturday came and gone, I had yet to confide what I wanted from my parents. It hit me the following day that I wanted new glasses. And the rest, while not exactly history yet, is still in its festering stages.

But let's go back to what I received to save us all from my ranting. God knows I would. So my haul was different from past years without the usual wishlist to choose from. But the gifts rocked in their own way for being so different and unpredictable.

So this year, I got myself a Pikachu stuffed toy and a Challenge Accepted Meme Shirt from the Binamiras, a black paper pad from my nephews (c/o their mom), a Genius Voodoo Doll from TC and Kay, an Adidas Star Wars Jacket from my Uncle Noel and Auntie Shirley and a Harry Potter 1 book from Kai.

Last Wednesday, I received the glasses I had bought for myself that served as my parents' gift for me. The frames are Exte, and our favorite optical shop, Executive Optical, was the usual niche for eyewear of the family. :)

Happy Teacher's Day~

So today is World Teacher's Day.

My academic upbringing, until now, has me meeting numerous individuals designated as teachers, allotting a lot of their time and effort to impart their knowledge onto us students. But something that's interesting is my little ability to be a different kind of teacher's pet.

Growing up from elementary through to college, I had a knack of befriending them outside the classroom. From frequent acknowledgments passing them by in school, to small talks about random topics, it's a real treat knowing that they're more than just teachers; they're people like us so getting to know them just a little bit more outside their facade as educators.

So here's to all the teachers who've touched my life. I'm grateful for all of you, helping me to become the kind of person I am today~

Celebrations?

So today I was invited to tacos (yes, tacos) by my girlfriend after our 3-4:30pm classes. She and her thesismates had just finished their thesis defense and wanted to celebrate. So three of them - excluding the fourth member for reasons disclosed - decided to have a little get-together at one of the houses for tacos. xD

It was a funny thing because Kai's groupmates were the one who invited me so I feel involved in some way so yay~ Spent the afternoon having tacos and drinking Coke and playing Angry Birds on the PC until around 7-ish when we came here to the house.

Rested a bit before taking Kai home. It's these spontaneous outings that are good, I think. :)

Block Outing

ブロック外出。（ぶろっくがいしゅつ）Burokku Gaishutsu. trans. Block Outing.

So these will be one of the few blog entries that aren't so random; quite true to life if I should say. (^▽^;) And with that being the case, I believe that it's only fitting that I give a more or less thorough explanation, which I don't think I've been able to do with my blog entries these days. I'm beginning to neglect the reason I started a blog, so here's my poor attempt to get back on track for a change.

Don't let the title deceive you; all we did was have lunch out (which we haven't done in a while, quite miraculously), and it really got me to realize a few things. But before I go to that, I need to hit rewind for a bit.

The setting right now is that we're juniors; third year college students who started off being one big ol' block comprising of 28 different personalities. I can still recall the humble beginnings when not everyone was quite that open with one another and just went their own way; a time when block unity held no meaning. But towards the end of that first year we interacted as a block and we got to know one another... to an extent.

Come second year (or even towards the end of freshman year) that number dwindled down to 26 when Jomar and Bok left for their own personal reasons. It quickly chopped off another one when AM shifted out as well. By around the summer of third year - or somewhere around that time - the block count dwindled further to 22 when Beau, Bea and Top shifted out as well.

Towards the end of second year Gie headed to Korea for an exchange program similar to the Junior Term Abroad or JTA program that Ateneo promoted that several of our blockmates availed of and proceeded to do so by the start of third year. Ben and Paul headed to Hong Kong, Tiff and Joyce to France and Jason much later on to Japan. Upon Jason's departure, the block count that remained dwindled further to 16.

Out of this 16, the 11 (Me, TC, Lev, Izza, Kim, Gabby, Robert, Vincent, Dar, Neil and Maan) of us, along with Beau, Bea and AM had lunch at Shakey's along Katipunan, which ultimately became a blowout care of Maan, who shared quite the not-so-shocking news, which, to some extent of privacy, I shall sum up to the fact that that number 16 of Block N is now 15.

。・ﾟﾟ･(≧д≦)･ﾟﾟ･｡

Much that we expect our six currently-out-of-the-country blockmates to eventually come home in the coming months.... it's really sad to think about it, really. But what shouldn't be forgotten is the fact that amidst all this, there will always be the memories shared, however brief they may be. And I think that's the best thing to hope for.

Regardless of the choices we make that may lead us astray, the friends we've made along the way will always be there.:*:・(￣∀￣)・:*:

I've taken day-to-day pictures up until my second year, so I've got a whole bunch of pictures to look back on. Maybe when time allows it I'll make a video compilation of it..... before I get a job graduation! ♪(*^ ・^)ノ⌒☆

Saishuu Henkou

最終変更。（さいしゅうけんこう）Saishuu Henkou. trans. Last Minute Changes.

Yesterday I spent the afternoon and evening with Kai. Our original plan was to go to the ToyCon but when we were in the area of SM Megamall, it was deathly traffic and there was full parking everywhere. Considering it was Father's Day this was kind of expected so we gave up and decided to go elsewhere; elsewhere being Eastwood!

--Apology to a few of our friends expecting us/hoping to surprise us there at the venue! There'll be other events for sure!

I drove this time around and had to get directions from my mom how to go here and there. I picked up Kai from Greenhills along the way so it's experience points for me hahaha!! So yeah, we went to Eastwood instead to watch Toy Story 3!!!!!

We hung around the 'old' Eastwood area (CitiWalk if you will) and had snacks at Dairy Queen and caught the 5:40 showing, then had dinner at Teriyaki Boy. Ah the craving for sushi. ~u~

And then pictures to celebrate the evening before I finally took Kai home. Lost opportunities came along, but all the same, we enjoyed things because we had each other to spend time with.

Hyouban

評判。（ひょうばん）Hyouban. trans. Reputation.

Some random entry this time around. For lack of a topic to talk about, I turn to reputations. You never truly know how far your name has gone and who knows who you are and what exactly it is that strikes them about you until someone points it out to you. Sometimes it takes connections, other times just sheer luck, or ultimately, out of your own efforts to build a reputation.

Most of the time, we just end up surprised, I'd say. There can be so little opportunities to make yourself known to those you find near impossible to reach (the famous people you admire, for example) that sometimes they just come and go without you really noticing. When we grasp that opportunity and do make something out of it and be recognized, then I say that's a life worth living.

^_____^b

Monoomoi ni Fukeru

物思いにふける。（ものおもいにふける）Monoomoi ni Fukeru. trans. Lost in Thought.

It's the start of the second week of my three week vacation. Then I asked myself: What should I do with my time? Like vacations spent before I'd enter a habit of chucking away a bedtime and sleep whenever I feel sleep coming to me. So sometimes I'd end up sleeping well past midnight and even into the wee hours of the morning.

I suppose it's about time to kick that habit and learn to start sleeping at the appropriate time, so Kazuo and Yukio tell me. While I don't have much anything to do I should learn to sleep at the right time and get the right amount of rest. At least at this point I can still decide when I can sleep but once school restarts on the 15th I'm a dead duck with an uncertain bedtime.

FotoCanvas and Audacity have been frequent programs I've had open on my laptop as of late, doing some TeniMyu-related stuff such as making background strips (for the lack of a proper term) and fandubs (today I did Shizukanaru Toushi and Tensou Sentai Goseiger ).

Here's a few samples of said background strips I've finished doing if you guys want to have a look see. Be sure to credit though. I spent quite some time putting that together.

EDIT: Pictures have been uploaded! Click on the labels below the pictures for a larger size.

Seigaku 5th Cast

Hyoutei A Cast

Rikkai A Cast

Shitenhouji A Cast

The album's here: Tenimyu Photobucket Album

So that's about it for this post, I guess. I should try getting to sleep now.

And it's raining outside. Looks like the rainy season's finally starting to settle in here in the Philippines. And about time, too.

Kangae wo Haikai

考えを俳諧。（かんがえをはいかい）Kangae wo Haikai. trans. Wandering Thoughts.

For the lack of anything else to do (and procrastinating while doing so), I decided to type a random entry today about my little inquiries concerning the group of people I've been a fan of for almost two years: the group that is TeniMyu. With the 21 musicals they's done so far (not counting Dream Live 7th that just finished its first run in Kobe), it's a wonder how close all those actors get in the time they spend with one another.

I was talking with Toru yesterday and he says he's quite a big fan of the franchise and was lucky enough to have watched a few musicals when they came out; particularly when Seigaku 4th cast took the stage (that's from Progressive Match Higa - Dream Live 6th).

He and I were talking about this little collage I made of TeniMyu that Yukio asked me to do for him composed of different pictures of the actors. Doing that little project helped me realize one thing: IT STARTS AND ENDS WITH TENIMYU. I've noticed in the line of musicals, dramas and what-have-you that goes on in the entertainment buzz of Japan, it all leads back to this musical where a grand cast of about 133 people (I counted xD) have starred in.

Putting into consideration the other projects these actors engage in before or after their time as part of the TeniMyu cast, it wouldn't be a surprise if they become the center of interconnections in the J-drama world. Each individual actor pulls in others not part of the TeniMyu franchise, and in contrast end up expanding their connections in the long run. A nice system, I'd imagine. ^___^b

Here are a few examples:

Shirota Yuu (but of course he gets first dibs!), 2nd cast Tezuka Kunimitsu, starred in quite a number of J-dramas and still continues to do so even today! Some of the dramas to mention would be: Team Batista no Eiko, the Koshonin franchise (series and movie), Rookies (and its movie Rookies: Sotsugyou) and Samurai High School (aka Samurai Seventeen).

Aiba Hiroki, 2nd, 3rd and for a short time 5th cast Fuji Syuusuke, has a few of his own movies and series to brag about: Sukitomo, Tadashii Ouji no Tsukurikata and as Ikenami Ryuunosuke in the popular sentai series Samurai Sentai Shinkenger.

Watanabe Daisuke, 4th cast Tezuka Kunimitsu, is best known outside the TeniMyu universe to replace Kato Keisuke as Saki Giichi in the Takumi-kun Series movies 2 and 3. He stars opposite Hamao Kyousuke, 4th cast Kikumaru Eiji, who plays Hayama Takumi, as well as Agri in the newest sentai series Tensou Sentai Goseiger.

Furukawa Yuuta, 4th cast Fuji Syuusuke, starred in Fuuma no Kojirou and its musical counterpart, and will become a Kamen Rider in an upcoming Kamen Rider Trilogy movie.

Sakamoto Shougo, 4th cast Echizen Ryouma, won the role of Ciel Phantomhive in the first Kuroshitsuji musical, starring alongside Aoyagi Ruito, Original Hyoutei Cast's Mukahi Gakuto and Uehara Takuya, Shitenhouji A Cast's Oshitari Kenya.

Saito Takumi, Original Hyoutei Cast's Oshitari Yuushi, is most famous for his sash of yaoi movies, co-starring with Aiba Hiroki in Sukitomo, with Kotani Yoshikazu, 2nd cast Kawamura Takashi, in Boys Love.

It's sometimes interesting as well that there are some J-dramas or J-movies where the main cast is composed entirely of TeniMyu actors!!

Here's a few I know:

Tokyo Ghost Trip

Yagami Ren (Original Rikkai Cast's Yukimura Seiichi), JURI (Yamabuki's Original Akutsu Jin), Takiguchi Yukihiro (3rd Cast's Oishi Shuuichiro), Kiriyama Renn (Original Rikkai Cast's Marui Bunta) and Baba Ryouma (5th Cast's Tezuka Kunimitsu), plus Shindou Gaku (Rokkaku's Kurobane Harukaze)

Takumi-Kun III: Bibou no Detail

Watanabe Daisuke, Hamao Kyousuke, Takiguchi Yukihiro, Baba Ryouma, Acaba Mio (Rikkai 2 Cast's Marui Bunta), Saito Yasuka (Higa Cast's Hirokoba Rin) and Bishin Kawasumi (Shitenhouji B Cast's Zaizen Hikaru)

Cafe Daikanyama

Aiba Hiroki, Baba Toru (Original Rikkai Cast's Yagyuu Hiroshi), Kiriyama Renn and Ookawa Genki (Original Rikkai Cast's Kirihara Akaya)

Life must be a hoot for them. xD

Blogging Bug Part Two

I seem to have been doing this a lot, but I find it a tad bit difficult to sleep lately. And while some people would scold me for that, I guess it's just because there are a couple of things that just don't want to go away. And it's not something an instrumental playing over and over will cure, either.

So what am I talking about this time? Well, I just up and realized that one day when I do travel on my own with Kai, I'd want us to escape to Japan and never come back. Harsh as that may sound, I'm semi-serious. (I talked about it briefly here in a previous entry: Japan!) Besides, I'm sure we could ask some of our friends there to help us find a place to stay - house-hopping isn't such a bad idea~ - and we'd be experiencing a culture we've admired for so long first-hand during our stay. ^^

I actually came online hoping that one of our friends would come online for a little bit. What you do with friends who have ESP, I have no idea. But I told myself I'd only be staying for 30 minutes before I tried to get some sleep again. A lot on my mind came up earlier that I burst into tears, actually. ^^;;

Well. that's about it. Happy Labor Day to everybody. Just a few more weeks of summer classes. ^^v

The Blogging Bug

I was browsing through my LiveJournal account (friends only!) and realized that I had more tendency to type up an entry about any subtle happening if I was in the mood for it. Where did those days go? ;A; I wouldn't really blame school to be a factor because a number of the entries I typed up detailed events (usually conversations) that happened back in high school.

Maybe I should start trying to do that again. Make this blog as active as I could. Take some pictures here and there. ^__^ (I was inspired by the J-Actor blogs I've been following xD)

Starting right now.

Earlier the second power out happened. It's such a pain because it cuts off the conversations I have with Kai and some of my Japanese friends. Today I was chatting with Yukio. He was telling me to sleep early (he and his friends care for us that much ^^b), and I was trying to make plans with Kai for tomorrow. But the power out happened, so I wasn't really able to finish conversation with either of them. *le sigh* These power outs come in the most uncanny timing. In the middle of the night.

In two days my siblings will be having their graduation party.... and I still haven't the faintest idea of what I'm wearing to the event. What's my desired profession, anyway? Does it even have a particular type of clothing? I have no idea. Hopefully I'll think of something before Sunday. In line with that, my mom told me to prepare something to say. So I was thinking of doing that now but my brain is starting to give me a massive headache to think straight so I'll probably postpone that to tomorrow.

Procrastination must run in the family.

Here's to hoping Kai and I get to go out and watch Iron Man 2 tomorrow. ^^

おやすみなさい～

(Good night~)

Japan!

Everybody's got plans to go to do whatever they wanna do after college. Bum around, find a job, travel the world, join a game show, what have you. Point of the matter is, there will always be that one ideal thing that a person wants to do; individually, with somebody they love or with someone they promised to do something with.

For my bit, there's only one general idea I want to do when I graduate from college: Go to Japan with Kai!!

It's a long-term plan. There's plenty to do and people to meet! If we're really lucky we can meet our favorite actors and get to see them during their projects which we're sure to look out for while we're there! I'd very much like to meet some of the friends we've had the privilege of chatting with online like Yukio, Kazuo, Tsuyoshi, Hibiki, Toru and Koji. @u@

For now we'll settle with chatting, and hope we get to eventually find our way over to the Land of the Rising Sun together. ^__________________^v

Reunions + Alice

So while I take a short break from reviewing for my Finals tomorrow, I wanted to make a quick entry on yesterday's events. Most prominently was the reunion with my grade school barkada. Kai was the one who organized the get-together, and it goes without saying that we're beginning to see a trend in these reunions: people are always late, we're never complete and there's always a consistency in the order which people get to the venue.

But before I go into the details of said reunion, allow me to take a little detour to discuss something else rather briefly. Alice in Wonderland. OMG. Kai and I watched it yesterday. We were about 30mins late since we were debating if we would still watch it despite having front row seats (which is bad for your neck), and ended up watching. It was my treat anyway. xD

And I've got to hand it to Tim Burton. The story was awesome and there was a great mixture of comedy, drama and subtle hints of romance. *coughIshipHatterandAlicecough* ^_____________________^

Truly awesome~ It was entertaining to recognize some of the voice talents (like Alan Rickman, Christopher Lee and Timothy Spall) as well as the cast members themselves (Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter and Anne Hathaway).

Anyway, that aside, back to the reunion! To put things simple enough, it's nice to see old friends again. xD We really need to work on punctuality and proper planning, though.

The Obscura Society

My high school barkada. These were the bunch of people I hung out with in my final year of high school. I miss these guys. We were a big group, but it was fun in the long run to have been able to involve myself with them and end up tight friends despite the lack of reunions (which we should start having again).

What really brought us together was perhaps Rina's migration to New York. Counting down to the day of her flight, we really bonded, from graduation practices until summer vacation before college started. We scheduled some sleepovers just to spend that much more time with each other.

To celebrate, here are a few pictures and GIFs that should give you a rough idea of the fun and randomness we had.

Taken last April 4, 2008, during our group trip to Manila Ocean Park, Cal's dad treated us out to Teriyaki Boy in SM MoA before we headed to Cal's place to sleep over.

This sequence of pictures depicts an epic chopstick battle between Cal (on left) and Rina (on right). Rina obviously lost. xDD

Taken last May 1, 2008, Mica treated us to lunch at Yellow Cab in Eastwood where we later on watched Iron Man. This sequence of pictures has Maru (on left) (who migrated to Canada) and MarMar (on right) doing the Caramel Dansen. xD This was epically and forever will be a part of the OS archive of silliness.

And to finish things off, here's a video I made for the group using Wonderful Days, one of the ending songs for the Prince of Tennis series:

Tidbit 016

When I was young and full of hope.....

I used to consume notebooks and filled it with stories in script format. The stories of which were of random, imaginative events that were centered around me and my circle of friends (barkada, as we call it) from grade school. Me, along with Kai and another of our friends Elena did this activity to our leisure.

I wonder where those notebooks are now...