US Trip Abridged 2.0

So after many, many, many months of procrastinating, here's part 2! This tackles the second half of our US Trip last August, and I wanted to get his done and out of the way considering we have another upcoming trip to Canada in a few days and I didn't want them to clash. Besides, the longer it takes for me to delay this, the more I'll forget to type anything decent to owe the experience any justice at all.

My family's second half of the vacation had us leaving the busy city of New York City to the very hot place that was the country' capital, Washington D.C.! But that includes a side-trip (at least for me and my folks) to New Jersey while my siblings opted to stay an extra day in New York for their own personal reasons.

My internet was acting up so I'll have to upload the rest of the pictures another day.

14. Atlantic City, New Jersey

Atlantic City! This was where the firsts started, though technically not my first casino area since Las Vegas during one of our previous US trips. And before you ask, NO I didn't end up gambling, but I do remember spotting an American Idol game. My parents had some friends in New Jersey, and we stayed with one of them for an evening before they helpfully dropped us off at the train station to take the Amtrak in Pennsylvania to Washington where we'd be reuniting with my siblings. 

15. Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C.

The capital city was hot, but the travel there was worthwhile with the Old Town Trolley service that was the nice, rustic equivalent of bustling New York's HOHO (Hop On-Hop Off) tour buses. One of our first stops off the trolley was visiting the Lincoln Memorial. And boy was it a beaut! Considering we've seen this on many different occasions in the movies is a big fulfillment on its own.

16. US Capitol, Washington D.C.

The drop-off point of the trolley at the US Capitol was on the other side of the entrance of the inside tour, so we found ourselves making the LONG trek around. And in that heat? I was just depressed that I had to empty out my canister due to security protocol of touring the Capitol. The cool part though was that there was an awesome room we were in that could bounce off sound (even whispers) off the floor from one side of the room to another.

Oh, and did I mention that the area we toured was underground? Check out this high ceiling!

17. White House, Washington D.C.

The iconic White House beyond the perimeter was about as close as we could get to the structure, but that didn't really stop us from getting any pictures taken!

18. American Art Museum, Washington D.C.

A gaming exhibit is always a grand adventure, so we were able to head in and have a quick look around. Funnily enough, there were several exhibits that let you play some games. Pacman, Super Mario Brothers, Flower and Monkey Island to name a few.

19. Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, Washington D.C.

If you've seen Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian and Transformers 2, then you'll recognize the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. The museum space itself is pretty big, considering the amount of exhibits you'd find there. I wanted to go on the Flight Simulator but I couldn't coax anyone to go with me, so I settled for taking a little tour around instead. Funnily enough, Dad found this picture of one of the Philippine Airlines plane models.

20. Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, Washington D.C.

Another of the featured museums in the Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. This one played up my alley much better since I enjoyed looking at wildlife, getting lost a bit to venture around and learn about some thing or another.

Mother's Day 2013

This weekend, my mother and siblings flew off with the rest of the Monsods for Bali, Indonesia for a short vacation. I chose not to go so I could utilize my vacation leaves fully for our upcoming family vacation to Canada to visit our relatives in Winnipeg. Because of that, Dad and I are home alone during Mother's Day weekend. 

So to commemorate the day, I decided to do a little celebration of my own! Here's a picture of my Mom and I in the Philadelphia train station, waiting for the Amtrak to head to Washington during our August 2012 trip to the US.

And since I was in the area, I also took the liberty of paying a visit to my grandparents at Loyola Memorial Park. While the gesture isn't that spectacular, I'm glad I was able to get some roses for grandma despite the dreary weather conditions of rainfall in the area. :)

Typograph Layout

Theme Name: Typograph

Source: BTemplates.com

Link: Typograph_Template

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.

My New Lappy

My first post using my new laptop! After the whole escapade of my desktop laptop Tony dying, I was already on the hunt for a new one. Owing to the need to help with the capabilities of my return to the coding scene (no, not professionally, just as a hobby surprisingly enough), I began scavenging around for a powerful laptop from a reliable brand.

After browsing several electronic and PC-related shops, and even the Best Buy websites, I finally decided on one. Another factor that came into my decision was geared more on how much I can pay in a span of around one to two years.

If I've learned anything about the value of a good laptop, is looking at the reviews and seeing if it's cheaper abroad. Luckily enough, my dad was due for a San Francisco flight a few weeks back so I took the chance and asked him to get it for me.

And so, lo and behold, my new laptop! My new Acer Aspire M5-481PT-6644 Ultrabook!

Here's the specs:

• Intel Core-i5 processor
• 6GB RAM
• 500GB HDD
• Windows 8 65-bit OS
• Touch screen

Bench

After several trips to the department store to purchase a good number of jeans, I still find myself with a great deficiency of them in my closet. Sometimes they get misplaced in other closets, or sometimes they may even be gone as far as I'm concerned. But it's that time again when a Sunday afternoon of 40 degrees Celsius calls for a trip to the mall to leech on airconditioning and get new jeans.

For quite a while, my mom and I have been supporters of Jag for all the comfort, but I decided to go a different route this time around and browse at HerBench instead. Now, there are probably two reasons why I wanted to try it out: 1) Adam Levine is a model for Bench and 2) my girlfriend owns a pair. So I thought, "What the heck?"

To my sweet surprise, the price of their jeans were easier on the eyes than the other brands, so it helped with coaxing my mom to try some as well. So with my two pairs of jeans purchased for a good price of roughly Php900 each, I came away happy.

5 Year Buddy

My first laptop (not including the hand-me-down Compaq laptop I used until high school) was a 14 inch HP dv2000 laptop. It was my chosen graduation gift from high school in the whole threshold to college, and with a course like Computer Science, it sort of demanded me to have a laptop of my own with better capabilities. At the time, it seemed to have been a decent choice, but it quickly became a let-down, what with its default OS to be Windows Vista, and had I known that it would end up causing me problems down the line, I would have chosen a different brand or model altogether. But, needless to say, it served it purpose well.

Of course, you'd imagine why I'd be writing up an entry like this. Well, the answer to that is simple: I've laid it to rest due to its inability to boot up after 5 years of servitude and neglect. I guess part of the reason why it died on me was the fact that it got demoted to being a mere desktop laptop that stayed home, was constantly plugged and hardly ever rested (yeah probably my fault) ever since I got my little Acer Aspire One netbook for more convenient portability in my final year of college. AND considering I've gone through three batteries for said HP laptop, I wouldn't be surprised it failed me over time.

But to commemorate how it still means something to me, I wanted to give you a little glimpse of the good and bad times I had with my 5-year-old HP that I originally named Roy, but just recently named Tony. Because it's Tony (yes, named after Tony Stark), I can be a sadistic little ass and point out that his Arc Reactor gave out and couldn't revive him or that he didn't have a Jarvis to do any repairs. Phrasing things like that puts me more at ease about the loss, at the very least.

Tony has been my reliable buddy throughout my first three years of college, when coding assignments were rampant. He helped me out of a dozen pickles, but that came with the consequence of lugging him to school, and he wasn't exactly the lightest laptop around. It was for that purpose that my mom bought a special backpack for me (with its separate laptop compartment) to transport my laptop to and from school as I frequented commuting rather than driving (since I wouldn't be driving until second year). Yeah it put pressure on my body for the extra weight, but well worth it considering my need for it half the time.

I suited Tony up with a few other armaments, including several OS upgrades to Windows 7 and Ubuntu to help me out whenever and wherever necessary. Because he had an optical drive, I managed to burn DVDs as necessary, and even play some PC games for a time with him. He definitely gave me the best and easiest time with things, until I up and decided that I needed less weight to carry. Yeah he ended up staying home after that, but that didn't mean I discarded him completely. He still had much more to offer me and I'm just glad that he was able to provide for me the needed help whenever he could. I'm happy to have had Tony to support me, but now I'm ready to say goodbye (which I already have) and move on with my netbook Bruce (yes, after Bruce Banner. Ain't I creative?) until I can save up for a more powerful unit. Until then, pocket netbooks FTW!

Pet-Project: Website Coding

So before March comes to a close, I decided to share one of the little activities I've been busying myself lately (that has little to do with work mind you). This is actually a little pet-project I do, though the goal isn't so much as publishing it to the web but still shows up on a web browser. Forgive the irony, but I'll get to answering that weird quip in a second.

I don't often mention that one of my absolutely favorite hobbies is to write stories in the form of roleplays, but when I do, it's always in relation to Kai and we do take some pride and effort to doing it whenever time allows us. Since we've expanded our repertoire of story worlds and universes real and fiction alike in which to portray characters and weave a story of our own, I have this little (okay, maybe not so little) tendency to keep things to some order, so I wanted to have a little space, even just internally, to keep things on record.

While we have the luxury of Dropbox and Evernote besides Blogger (duh) to keep track of some stuff, I wanted to actually apply some of the things I learned (okay fine, mostly self-study) to good use. But then again, there was just that excuse to make the experience a bit more interactive than just clicking on files that probably didn't make as much sense without visual prompts and stuff. Haha.

At the end of it all, I might end up inspired to make my own site again, to which I owe myself of nearly 4 years ago a pat on the back for chronicling this entry else I would have forgotten that title.

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!

Tactical Decisions

Over time, I think the longer games take to get from start to end, the more I get immersed and enticed by the story and gameplay to effectively enjoy it. Needless to say, I still have much to expose myself to, but the experience I take away from coming across such titles and playing them has not been such a waste of gaming time (at least in my opinion).

This post will give you an overview of the titles that I've managed to have the privilege of playing over the years, and maybe when time permits me, I'll come back to this topic every now and again to talk about them more in detail. We'll see.

RPG-Strategy games always give me the best thrill, since it puts your skill and tactical sense (at least in the sense of decision-making) to the test whenever you make a particular action or move to advance. Grinding levels and coming up with effective strategies to win are the kind of stuff I humbly enjoy indulging myself with. It keeps my brain active, so to speak.


1. Pokemon (Nintendo - GB, GBA, DS)


I've been a fan of the series for the longest time, and I always made it a point to take the effort of playing several versions whenever I could just to re-live the experience of at least pretending to be a Pokemon Trainer, catch and train Pokemon and rise through the ranks.

Found on your left is a little collage of the titles I've personally played through. You'll notice I haven't even touched on the 5th generation titles (Black and White), but maybe someday I'll get to that. Someday.

This spread of titles should give you a rough idea how young I started playing games too actually! I remember playing Pokemon Blue on a Pink Gameboy Pocket, Pokemon Yellow on a Yellow Gameboy Advance, Pokemon Sapphire on a Gameboy Advance SP, and Pokemon Diamond, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, Pokemon Platinum and Pokemon Soul Silver on a Blue Nintendo DS Lite.


 2. Suikoden II (Sony - PS1)

For the longest time, my family owned a little Playstation 1 console. I think I was in 6th grade or so when we had our parents buy this game for us. I tried it out and found myself hooked.

The story, collecting the Stars of Destiny, it was a fantastic RPG-Strategy that I believe to be the best in its series, even outclassing its successors Suikoden III-V.

Funny tidbit about this game though. The long cutscene with the credits that comes a little after the Hero and Jowy jump off the cliff together made me think the game was done. How silly was I as a kid?

 3. Breath of Fire IV (Sony - PS1)

This was another title that seemed to have been gathering dust in our little pile of games before I pulled it out and set the CD into the console. Not really aware of the previous titles before it, I played it blindly, as I did most every game.

This one, however, I got some help from my cousin Dabz. He and I were both playing it at the same time and he took the liberty of printing out (yes, printing out an entire booklet) the walkthrough. Oh the thickness of that.

But all the same, this gave me the same awesome sense of uber awesomeness that Suikoden II had, and the many possibilities the story held was something I wasn't ever gonna forget anytime soon.

4. Fire Emblem Awakening (Nintendo - 3DS)

My latest fix. To be completely honest, I never followed the Fire Emblem series until now (then again if you consider the previous two games, I seem to be charting my own course of loving sequels to beginnings). So when I tried out the Game Demo on my 3DS I just knew I had to get it once it was released.

Currently I'm well into playing the game, and at this point in time I find it worth every cent of the price I paid for it. The graphics are stunning, the story is epic, the tactical gameplay is a breath of fresh air and the grinding is always so fun!

So that wraps up my post of RPG-Strategy Games brought to you by yours truly. Maybe someday I'll go into more detail about them and give my reviews. :) Who knows?

That Same Old Testing Thing

I actually typed up a quick entry about this some time ago but I decided to take it down. But since it's gone online (this was a different article altogether), guess now would be the best time to promote it!

So Sir Mac (our Operations Manager) invited us developers to submit any blog entries to post to the website whenever we wanted. Since a tester-themed entry was long overdue (and that was about the only topic I could deliver anyway), I decided to give it a shot.

And it got approved! If you guys wanna have a read (and see my smug picture to boot):

That Same Old Testing Thing

Samsung Galaxy S Duos

Since I started blogging, I've been through 4 phones that barely last a year. Let's have a quick recap, shall we?

• 9/5/2009 - Blue Nokia 2680 (9 months, 1 day)
• My New Gadgets
• 6/6/2010 - Black Nokia 2690 (1 year, 11 days)
• Atarashii Denwa
• 7/17/2011 - Black Samsung Champ Duos (1 year)
• New Phone
• 8/17/2012 - Black Samsung Galaxy Ace (6 months)
• New Phone (Yet Again)
• 2/16/2013 - White Samsung Galaxy S Duos 

This is the first time I've applied for a Data Plan and paying for it at my own expense, so it was pretty important to me that I got a phone that would last me longer than a year without fail. This was one of the phones that came free with my plan, and I'm quite happy with my decision!

This is my first white phone ever, so it couples well with my current White iPod 4th Gen Touch. 

When I obtained this phone, I was on a current shipping fixation that will probably last for the next few months as long as I live. If you don't know what the term Shevine stands for, it's basically a pair-up of two coaches from NBC's reality singing competition, The Voice. Which two artists you may ask? Blake Shelton and Maroon 5's front man Adam Levine! 

(Get it? Shelton-Levine? Shevine? Yeah, of course you do)

So it felt appropriate that to celebrate my fandom of their awesome bromantic pair-up, I decided to dub my phone Shevine. I will love this phone to death and enjoy the many wonders of it in the coming year(s). Data plans FTW!

New Layout

The new year called for an overhaul of the blog layout, so I went searching and decided to go to more simplistic ones and chose this one. Moving forward, I may or may not revert to some previous ones, if only to chronicle them much like this so that when I want to jump back to a layout it'll be easy to retrieve. :)

Theme Name: Mad

Source: BTemplates.com

Link: Mad_Template

Grave Mania: Pandemic Pandemonium

I would be lying if I mentioned the fact that this entry is just an addition to the raving reviews of this game already out on the web. Of course it would not be as simple as that. Not when I'm part of the development team that brought this game to fruition.

So to salvage what sanity I still have after divulging that fact, let's move on to the (hopefully) impartial review of the game!

Grave Mania: Pandemic Pandemonium is the second game in the series following Grave Mania: Undead Fever. This time around the resident Locas (that's actually their last name!) Bonnie and Johnny expand their zombie-subduing and whacking-to-unconsciousness expertise to a global scale as the zombie pandemic spreads overseas. This time management game is fast-paced, catering to both novices and expert players where difficulty is concerned. The zombie theme is depicted in a less-than-gruesome tone, right up to the finger puppet cutscenes that move the story along.

This second installment tackles the search for the source of what started it all: the cake that turned people into zombies! While it maintains much of the first game in terms of gameplay, it attempts to bring some subtle, welcome changes that is sure to keep you coming back for more.

On a technical note, succeeding porting is under way, so expect the game to come out on the Mac, iOS and Android devices, as well as localized into several languages. Towards the end of PC development, I found myself taking over where Jamie had left off. That included cinematics (where I had close to little knowledge about but managed to survive thanks to her workshop and my badgering while she was working her stuff) as well as QA lead for the project, but it wasn't a job I couldn't handle. Now with the game finally released (and managing to remain on the Top 10 Time Management Games and Top 100 Games (#2 and #25 respectively as of 2/12) on Big Fish Games!), it's all about looking ahead, finishing strong and pave the way for a hopeful trilogy or third in the series! Team Loca fight!

Try it out/Download it here!

On Rurouni Kenshin + Movie Review

(My apologies for the uber lateness of this, but I was, quite honestly, lazy and caught up with other things to actually continue what I started. Ba humbug)

December 2012.

It's not very often that Japanese movies get shown here in the Philippines, so when SM Cinemas managed to get ahold of the Rurouni Kenshin live action movie (with awesome petitions from Filipino fans!), there was no time to waste when getting tickets were involved.

The initial showdates spanned about a week, so watching the movie within that time seemed to be an absolute must or dare to waste seeing your childhood come to life on stage. Considering this too had been part of our childhood, Kai and I were among the many fans who would stop at nothing to ensure that we had seats.

Amuse Philippines, a fangroup of the Japanese group Amuse (agency of the lead actor Sato Takeru) made arrangements to do block screenings for the weekend showing at SM North Edsa. We immediately jumped at the opportunity and made our reservations. After I made the necessary bank deposits, disaster struck.

Early that week, Kai had gotten into an accident that, put it simply, rendered her unable to walk and had to use crutches for almost a month after that. This meant that we wouldn't be able to make the Saturday showing we had reserved for. We ended up giving the tickets up to our friends while I spent Saturday keeping her company.

When Sunday came along, she had insisted to go and watch it, against my better judgement. Needless to say, I purchased our tickets on SM Cinema's website, and we went on our way (one of the few times I brought the car) to SM Marikina.

Not surprisingly, it was everything we expected and more. The action was breathtaking, the fight choreography was orchestrated brilliantly, and the actors were spot on to the dot of the I. Their portrayals spoke volumes of what the manga started off with, and Sato Takeru, the actor for our favorite Himura Kenshin/Battousai embodied the character to perfection.

It was full of comedy and action just as the original work from the manga to the anime depicted, and watching and experiencing it in its raw, Japanese form was perhaps the best part of it all.

Kai and I were happy campers and it was well worth the trip... if it wasn't such a hit and the showdates extended for about two extra weeks. (xD)

But I give a toast out to our collaborative effort to bring Rurouni Kenshin to the Philippines, and here's to hoping for future titles to come to our islands in the South East.

Tidbit #14

(This tidbit is basically a rehashing of this previous post, but I guess I wanted to revive it for a bit and give it a bit more depth than I first intended. But if anything it'll just be a short (if not shorter) little post, I promise.)

Everytime I come out of watching movies or shows on TV, I usually find myself coming away with some sort of acquired accent. More notably, I come away with accents of actors I particularly like and enjoy, and the rough result is history.

The one who hears this most often and in passing of course, is my girlfriend. She and I share the same tastes, so whenever I go ahead and break out on of my pseudo-impressions, she'd end up laughing, squirming and squealing.

Some examples?

• David Thewlis' Remus Lupin (Harry Potter movies)
• Joe Walker's Dolores Umbridge (A Very Potter Sequel)
• Alan Rickman's Severus Snape (Harry Potter movies)
• Hugh Jackman
• Blake Shelton
• Gordon Ramsay
• Andy Serkis' Smeagol/Gollum (Lord of the Rings movies)
• Ian McKellen's Gandalf (Lord of the Rings movies)

You can imagine. xD

And I decided to stop all the birthday greetings (and clean up majority of my posts in that light) so my labels don't bleed as much. Haha!

Review: Les Miserables 2012

The Golden Globe for Best Musical, Les Miserables (2012). There were two reasons why I looked forward to watching this in the theater:

1. I'm a sucker for musical-movies (i.e. Sweeney Todd, Rent, Phantom of the Opera, Chicago, Hairspray)
2. I'm a major Hugh Jackman fan

When advertisements came out for this movie, it had slipped my mind that a movie version of the epic classic had already come out previously (starring Liam Neeson, Uma Thurman and Geoffrey Rush) in the late 90's. I never had the chance to watch that. Admittedly, I never picked up the book due to its daunting thickness as a literary work. I didn't have the privilege of others to have to read it, and somehow I regret it.

But for me that doesn't really matter. It helps me become unbiased and critique it as an art piece than an actual adaptation. I had the privilege of listening to some of the tracks included in the soundtrack prior to watching the movie, and I had chills hearing some of them, notably praising one particular actor I had not known to have a smooth baritone voice. Yes, I'm referring to Russell Crowe. This Maximus who portrayed Javert surprised me vocally, but could not impress me more in his portrayal of the pursuing a bringer of the law. Despite all the bashing against him, I think he did a swell job.

Another of the standouts for me was, of course, Anne Hathaway's Fantine. I would be lying if I said I didn't get chills seeing the desperation and distress she was conveying, and I think I felt the breath knocked out of me when she sang I Dreamed a Dream. Kudos to her, and much more so for winning a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress for it.

And of course, there's Hugh Jackman. Hands down, he made the perfect Jean Valjean. Pair that with the fact that he sings so effortlessly, emotes so naturally, it would seem as if he internalized with the character. I remember hearing him portraying Peter Allen in The Boy From Oz, and this project, for him, just fit something he could not be more perfect and more comfortable with. When Broadway meets Hollywood.

Others include, of course, Sacha Boron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter as the quirky duo of Mr and Mrs. Thenardier. Their quirkiness ooze the weirdness and silliness resonated by their characters they could not have fit them any better.

Overall, it was an ensemble cast that exceeded all expectations. Every scene kept you on the edge of your seats and challenged your tears to fall at every turn. In summary, I'd like to share the new synopsis from Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway presenting their movie at the SAG-AFTRA Awards:

"Wolverine is being chased by Gladiator, Catwoman gets knocked up and for some ungodly reason goes to see Bellatrix Lestrange from Harry Potter and Borat. Then Wolverine agrees to raise Catwoman's baby, and she grows up to star in Mamma Mia!"

New Tricks

Work has always been a place of learning beyond the classroom. Not everything you take in with you from the scholastic walls of your university are necessary or essential tools, after all. Coming from an Interactive Multimedia specialization of the Computer Science degree, I wondered idly what I took away from it. Let's consider my electives:

• Object Oriented Programming for Mobile
• Graphics Programming with XNA
• Game Design I
• Game Design II
• Human-Computer Interaction

When it comes to programming, I don't often retain any lasting methods or practices for the lack of doing so. My efforts coming away from these were more on the conceptualization processes of things, so there was little to no exposure of taking away with me any real skill to apply.

Luckily, I was given the opportunity by one of my (former) officemates to learn the ways of creating cutscenes (cinematics or animation). I'm happy to report that I'm putting the training to good use and learning more along the way. Hopefully when all things are said and done, I've done Jamie proud.

Annual Bingo

Yesterday was the Annual Aquitania Bingo; a friendly and rousing game of calling out numbers, covering cards with seeds and angrily protesting when someone other than yourself called out "Bingo!" first. Always a lot of mess of good fun, especially when you end up winning. I've happily managed to win a total of 4 games (2 regular games and 2 whiteout games), which is more than enough of a good thing. I just barely missed the winning the blackout by one silly number. That O75. -.-

Ah well. The good news is, 2013 is young and fresh. Hopefully things pull through and greet us with more luck and good fortune in the future. :D

Me Party

The first week of January always has those days immediately after New Year's Day having to come back to work. Not surprisingly, half of the office was still on leave for vacation, and won't be back until next week. I wasn't expecting to be completely deserted like I was in the last week of December prior to the 2-week Christmas break since the other half of the QA Two (Tristan) wasn't coming in for work.

Today, however, was a different story. Tristan called in sick, so much like a deja vu moment, I found myself remotely alone in my little corner.

The status I set up on my Spark Messenger earlier?

I'm having a Me Party~

It wasn't all that bad. Company would have been good though. But regardless, things seem to be looking up, so here's to regaining my momentum with work coming into the new year!

New Consoles + Poker Tourney

So for Christmas this year, I asked my parents for a new gaming console: a Nintendo 3DS. My Dad had a flight to Canada (Vancouver and Toronto) and would be staying there over Christmas. When he FaceTimed with us during Christmas Eve, he asked me what the difference was with the 3DS XL. Of course, there was the size but otherwise it was pretty much the same. What I didn't expect was when he came home last Friday, I found a box outside my door bearing the label: Nintendo 3DS XL!

It was more than I expected but I'm glad I have something original and huge to call my own and to take care of like a child. Haha. It was apparently on sale for Boxing Day so hoorah for the upsize! 8D Of course, the first game to grace my new console is my very awesome Nintendogs + cats: Golden Retriever & New Friends game. :D

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I'll dump in the New Year post here as well since the Internet connection on this laptop was pretty shaky for the past few days. So it was a first for Kai to have spent New Year's Eve with us, and was in attendance for the celebrations on New Year's Day when everyone was wearing green. Also held on this day was the annual family Texas Hold 'Em Poker Tournament!

This year, a total of 16 participants joined gunning for the top prize. After last year's near-break of placing 9th just before the final table, I joined the tournament with little to no expectations. Lo and behold, I reached the final table, knocked out the reigning champion and made it all the way to the Final 3, placing 3rd overall! Now that is how I want to start 2013! Below is a snapshot of the obligatory awarding ceremony photo-op. Do forgive the poor quality of the photo though. Will replace it with a clearer one once I find one. xD

Now with talks of rescheduling it to be done on my birthday henceforth, I'm hoping that my luck will carry over and send me straight to the top! Fingers crossed!

Christmas Shopping

So because it's Christmas Eve and all, I just wanted to  share a little fun thing. Ever since I got into the Sentai trend two years ago, I've always wanted to come away with something physical, and what better way to do that than by expanding my already growing collection? 

If you may remember, I managed to get the Legends Mobirates some months ago (this post). Treating myself to a Christmas present, I was lucky enough to find the original Gokaiger Mobirates on sale at Great Toys Online Annapolis Branch for P3800! :) 

Christmas has come early me thinks.

The Gokaiger Mobirates comes with a few extra goodies: Gokai Red, Shinken Red and Go-On Red Ranger Keys! :) Finally, a Gokaiger Key. TuT

So below, you can see my growing box of Gokaiger merchandise. Two Mobirates and about 33 Ranger Keys, with a few duplicates that I don't really mind anymore. Merry Christmas!! :)

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. :)

Accidental Twins

I've been badgering about this on my blog for some time now, but it wouldn't hurt to bring it up again, just for old times' sake.

After a quick search I realized that the last time I posted a picture of myself getting a haircut was more than a year ago (September 2011), without so much as a picture for comparison with Yuya. Now though, I've come bearing such a picture for you all!

When I finally decided to get myself a haircut, I decided to want to bring a reference picture this time around. While I was there, I was having a talk with the guy who was gonna cut my hair and I pulled out my iTouch and showed him the picture. After he commented on how good it looked, he began combing my hair and asked "Ikaw ba yan?" (trans. Is that you?) I laughed and corrected him, saying that it wasn't.

Funny how accidental twins can come about, eh?

Birthday Celebrations

I normally don't splurge on giving gifts to someone, but I've known for some time that Kai is always worth spending for. Perhaps it's the whole "first love" magic of sorts, but somehow turning 22 is a big deal. So for whatever reason, it's my way of saying a wide array of things at one: "Happy birthday", "I'm sorry", "You deserve it" and most importantly, "I LOVE YOU".

So let's have a breakdown of the things I got her!

Tardis Pendant (The Blue Box by Tuxessories)
As she is a big fan of Doctor Who, I thought getting this for her would be a great way to start things off. The squeal was priceless. xD

Pink Galaxy Pocket (Android Phone, split w/ her mom)
After having a trusty XpressMusic Phone from Nokia for the longest time, it was time she moved forward with the times. This was actually because of the commercial we kept seeing on TV, and it was relatively cheap compared to most phones out in the market. Sweeping SM Marikina stores, we stumbled upon a pink version of the phone. Convincing her mom to half the expense, I paid for it for the time being and the rest is history. Happy Kai, happy me.

Severus Snape Lego Keychain (Hobbes & Landes)
During one of those long nights when I had to wait for my mom before going home, I decided to do a little bit of exploring around Greenbelts 1 & 5. One of the little shops I discovered was the hobby store called Hobbes & Landes. During my sweep of the place, I wondered what would make another fantastic gift for Kai and initially I found nothing. But all that changed when I spotted small Lego figurine keychains of several key characters. Among them hung three pieces of SEVERUS SNAPE ones. Inwardly, I spazzed. He was the only remaining Harry Potter character on display and both of us are, to this day, mega fans of Snape. So I snagged it off the shelf and paid for it.

Purple Hard Storage Box (Tickles, c/o my Mom)
My mom asked me what would be a good gift for Kai as she planned to get something as well. Originally, I had suggested to get a book. Kai had been eyeing Mitch Albom's latest book, The Time Keeper for some time, and I thought that would have been the perfect gift. But it was out of stock in the bookstores I went to. I was willing to shell out the excess of my mom's ceiling price but I lucked out.

Instead, I came to browse through the Tickles stall in Greenbelt. I thought a pillow would suffice, but as I was browsing the designed that were behind the counter, my eyes found these neat boxes! I remembered how Kai always complained where to store her wires, so I though it was PERFECT. It fit the price range my mom was willing to pay so it made the choice even better.

Om Nom Doll (Clipper)
The adorable green creature in Cut the Rope named Om Nom became a fast growing fad. Clipper was one of those stores that sold odd ball merchandise that bordered on cute and squishable. This wasn't any different. This sudden purchase when Kai and I were together comes with some sort of explanation. Since Kai is allergic when in prolonged contact with anything with fur, this made the perfect bed companion (when I'm not around) for her! She immediately took to it and was lovingly scratching Om Nom, much to my amusement.

Belle de Jour Power Planner (Fully Booked, paid remaining price)
Kai has always enjoyed having the BDJ planner. One of the perks this time around was a coupon that we plan on using up for our 5th anniversary next year. I paid for the rest of the overall price for her, so she felt pretty safe and content having it on hand.

And moving beyond the physical, material gifts, there were two extra gifts I gave her: a Yakimix lunch treat and agreeing to see Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2 with her. A buffet is a grand luxury I'd avoid except on special occasions and I've been wanting to take her there so doing so to celebrate her birthday was very much worth it. Plus since we dined there on a weekday, we managed to enjoy the Eat & Drink All You Can! :D Truly a grand experience.

I LOVE YOU KAI! NOW AND FOREVER~!

The Ramsay Effect

Last week I spent the first half of the long weekend with Kai. She was staying over at her relative's place with her mom in the Greenhills area, which made easy access to the Promenade, an establishment that housed several restaurants, a movie theater and several stores, including an epically huge Fully Booked branch. 

One of the reasons why I love going into bookstores is because you never know what you might find, or what catches your eye when you pass through the aisles. As we made our way to the third floor to locate the mangas, I spotted a book that had Gordon Ramsay's face plastered onto it, which effectively made me halt and nick it off the shelf to inspect it. Surprisingly, it was an autobiography. 

Kai and I are big fans of the Chef after watching several of his shows (Hell's Kitchen, Masterchef US, Kitchen Nightmares US, The F Word) on TV or other media. So this was definitely one of the primary reasons we wanted to have a better standpoint on his he grew up and how he became the sensational man who confuses me with his dexterity. I mean he slices and stuff with his left hand, but eats in a right-handed fashion (must be upbringing I figure).

Why the sudden topic, you ask? Well, that's because it's his birthday today!! So many birthday wishes to him~ :D

Tidbit #13

Time to revive this again! After 2 years, I think bringing in some tidbit posts will warrant me some quick snippets of posts while I figure out what more to do for the blog without having to upload any pictures.

I'm continuing where I left off with the number count from before, so here's Tidbit number 13.

My officemate Felix and I started this little thing of trying to get in sync with one another and greet each other at around the same time with the phrase "Harro~". Naturally, I take this with me outside the workplace and so one time, Kai and I were settled in the den playing Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Wii game and while I was controlling Harry moving about the castle, there were voice overs of students you'd bump into or pass by who would greet you. I decided to insert the greeting Felix and I use and we end up with this witty exchange:

Random student: Hi Harry!
Me (as Harry): Harro~
Kai (as Random Student): Professor!! Harry's an imposter! He's talking in Japanese!

xDDDD

New Shoes~!

Whenever I shop, it's always a rarity that my journey into the department store of a mall would end up with me purchasing shirts, shoes or any clothing apparel to stuff into my closet. But when I do, I make it a point to find something that I'd end up using in the long run; shoes most especially. This was probably why I chose these awesome slip-on leather shoes from Salvatore Mann. I wanted to look for a pair I could wear for an upcoming wedding, so I might as well find a pair that I could use repeatedly. It's a fun line between formal and casual, so I can wear it on most any occasion - functions, dates, work. Have a peek below at my black leather shoes~

US Trip Abridged 1.0

I haven't been a good blogger since my trip to the US. Of course, there were a lot of issues that surrounded the lack of posts - the near immediate return to work days later, the need to upload the mass of pictures taken to Facebook, and reviving roleplaying with Kai. So to make up for it, I've decided to just wrap up the trip into two posts and hope that it counts for a good recollection piece looking back. Some memorable pictures surely to be included below!

All in all, my family and I went to four states and a few more cities.
San Diego and San Francisco in California, New York, New Jersey and the capital city of the United States, Washington D.C. It was a mix of old, renewed experiences of familiar places and new, breathtaking experiences of uncharted territory and sorta familiar places alike. So let's start the show and tell!

This entry captures the first part of our trip, focusing on our New York leg. Part two will have some outtakes from our brief New Jersey stop, Washington and San Francisco!

1. In-n-Out Burger, San Diego

Our midnight snack on the LONG drive from Los Angeles to San Diego. Dad wasn't able to join the flight with us, so it was just my siblings and my mom who arrived. My uncle Patrick and auntie Rose picked us up at LAX, and the drive was epically long.

2. Times Square, Midtown Manhattan, New York

My last trip to New York was a good 8 years ago back in summer 2004. At the time, I went with my uncle Patrick and cousin Troy, who at the time had graduated from college. Back then, my fondest memory of this place in New York was buying tickets to see the Broadway show of the timeless 'Phantom of the Opera'! We watched it at the Majestic Theater, and without fail, the broadway was absolutely magical and breathtaking! Now if only I could have watched The Boy from Oz....

3. Bethesda Fountain, Central Park, New York

The iconic fountain; a backdrop in a lot of movies shot in New York City. The first time I saw this 8 years ago, it was as breathtaking as I remember it to be~ Considering we live across Central Park, navigating to this fountain wasn't so much an issue as it was a true adventure just getting there.

4. Empire State Building, Midtown Manhattan, New York

My first trip to New York didn't put us in the luxury of having tours. We made like anti-tourists and took the subway to directly go to places we wanted to see, completely missing out on seeing the Empire State altogether. This time around however, we got the opportunity to see it during our Hop On-Hop Off tours around Downtown.

5. Flat Iron Building, Midtown Manhattan, New York

The iconic building where I always remember the Daily Bugle from the Spider-Man movies. A fantastic sight both point forward and from the side.

6. Statue of Liberty, Liberty Island, New York

Always a majestic view, and another icon of the great city on the East Coast. This trip was my first time touching down on Liberty Island to see Lady Liberty up close, so it was a real treat to actually appreciate and learn a little more about her and her significance in terms of symbolism and construction.

7. Bow Bridge, Central Park, New York

That bridge they use in Central Park for a LOT of scenes in movies and TV series would most probably be this one. Recently, I saw this featured during Episode 5 of Doctor Who Season 7!

8. Imagine Mosaic, Central Park, New York

Truth be told, I've heard about this, seen this in pictures, but it was indeed my first time seeing this "in the flesh" near Strawberry Fields in the midst of the vast Central Park. :) Hard to imagine hoe much of an impact this mosaic is, and not many people know that it's actually to fuss over and take a picture by!

9. The London, West Midtown Manhattan, New York

GORDON RAMSAY'S RESTAURANT! First learned about this during an episode of the 12-Michelin star chef's 'Kitchen Nightmares US'. So it was an absolute MUST to go and find this place no matter what and just have a picture outside it! And by some awesome circumstance, I found it! The London Bar, which also houses other restaurants of the 12-Michelin Star superchef: Gordon Ramsay at the London and Maze by Gordon Ramsay at the London. Hopefully someday I'll be able to sit down at one of these restaurants and have a bite to eat. Someday.

10. Nintendo World, Midtown Manhattan, New York

Seated in the midst of Rockefeller Center lies a two-story wonderland that is Nintendo World! From Pokemon to Super Mario Bros to Zelda and the like, it's an AWESOME store that sells merchandise and gadgetry of Nintendo happiness.

11. FAO Schwarz, Midtown Manhattan, New York

Ever remember Home Alone and that Big Piano in the toy store in New York? Well... THIS was the place! It's HUGE and full of toys of all sorts, including a Muppet workshop, sweets and candies, and stuffed animals, figurines and merchandise of all sorts! Toys, toys, TOYS!

12. Castle's Exterior Apartment, Soho, New York

Exterior used for Richard Castle's apartment in the ABC TV series, "Castle". :) It was a special side trip I took with my good HS friend Rina, bringing us all the way down to Soho. Definitely worth the trip, though I was at one point unsure if it was the place. But from some fun angle, I confirmed it. :)

13. Belvedere Castle, Central Park, New York

Location indicated in the Richard Castle penned "Heat Rises" in the middle of Central Park. One of the last places my friend Rina and I went to spending the latter half of the day together. While having full intentions of locating it, we actually stumbled across it by accident since we were almost getting lost and I wasn't going to ask for directions when the adventure of finding it was still there. Fun thing to note about Belvedere Castle is that it's actually used as a weather station of sorts, so the forecasts come from here, though it's more catered to the skies over Central Park, rendering some weather forecasts irrelevant in other areas of New York City. Go figure.

See you all in part 2!

Tenipuri Season 2 Jackets~

So yesterday, Kai and I went out to locate a gift for her cousin Chloe, who turns 2 today. After careful consideration of where we'd be going, I decided to drive us off to SM North Edsa. There are, of course, several reasons why I take her there. 

1. It's a mere 10 minute drive (depending on traffic) from my house

2. It's one of the biggest SM branches in the country

3. It's got most everything we want there. 

4. It was one of my most frequented malls prior to the rise of TriNoma and the mall's massive renovations. 

Last Saturday, we went there for dinner, decided on eating at Sakae Sushi located at the Annex building. As I was waiting in line at the BDO ATM, we found, to our dismay, that it had closed down. I guess profits weren't exactly on the positive side for the conveyor-belt sushi buffet. Ah well, economy. Instead, she decided to let me decide where to go, so we traded the sushi buffet for a nice food-hopping at Burger King, then Yoshinoya, capped off with some books shopping at a booksale on our way back to the carpark. 

Yesterday's misadventures brought us back to a second visit to anime specialty shop Comic Alley. We actually passed by this store twice last week to look for the Shin Tenipuri jackets of the U-17 camp and the One Piece poster collection, only to find both out of stock. This week, however, we our lucky day! Not only were several things on sale, but there was finally stock of the jackets, and Ryouma's hat to boot! I snatched us those as well as the posters she was looking for last time, and her only exclamation after all this (besides the usual proclamation of loving me for all eternity) - "I finally have a Tenipuri jacket with my size!T^T" 

xD Pretty hilarious actually, but all the same, sweet. x)

It's just the jacket, and there isn't much talk about a set coming out anytime soon, but I AM hoping they put the black jackets out to production too! Anyway, pictures of the jacket and the hat below~

Since we were hungry, we decided to eat at someplace new! A little Japanese place called Katsutei, where their specialty was their Katsudon. Kai and I had the Katusdon and Pork Tonkatsu especially, and wouldn't you know it, they actually tasked quite swell! And at an affordable price to less than P200 for each value meal. Not bad (on my wallet)!

Purchase Arrivals

What a treat after a long day at the office today! After being swamped to my neck in Excel formulas for one of my projects, I get picked up by my dad, who earlier that day, informed me that my pre-ordered copy of Richard Castle's fourth book in the Nikki Heat series, Frozen Heat, arrived from his friend in San Francisco! It's unexpectedly thinner than Heat Rises, but I'm happy to now that at least I finally have it on hand~ As was in my previous post below, this was one of the two books on my pending reading list once I finish Fifty Shades Freed. We'll see how things go, or where I lean over to - crime/mystery or tragicomedy.

And while we're on the subject, Season 5 has already started! It was indeed worth the wait and the episodes so far have been epically hilarious and ingenious at the same time. Yei~

The second of that little package was the skin for my Galaxy Ace. During my stay in the US, I took the time to purchase my current phone online on Amazon. While I was there, I ticked off some accessories to accommodate it - screen protectors and this skin. The screen protectors that were with my Uncle mysteriously disappeared/haven't arrived yet, so I'll settle for the skin that my Aunt sent over.

Waitlist

I always enjoy a good read, especially if it's worth it. The character, the plot, the premise - anything that gets me to read (okay, might as well include the author in the selection process) a physical book is always a welcome thought.

Lately, my love for reading was rekindled some months ago because of the Nikki Heat novels. Since then, I have been with a book in my bag every step of the way; to the last Artemis Fowl book, the Fifty Shades trilogy and the pending list of books after that. Scheduled on my waiting list are two titles by no so unknown people: JK Rowling's new adult novel The Casual Vacancy and the latest Nikki Heat novel Frozen Heat.

Before I get to any of those though, a little book called Fifty Shades Freed still stands in my way. I hope I could get to finishing it soon. I'm still figuring out which among the two I read next.

Work, Play, Sleep

I have a routine five days a week - wake up at 5:30 (or 5:15 on Wednesdays), take a shower, get dressed, ride to Makati with my mom, work for 8 hours, ride home with my mom at an indeterminable time, go home, chat with Kai if it's still early, then sleep, of course. I neglect adding when I actually eat, but mostly because it's usually negligible, stagnant or on the fly. Whatever the case may be, rest assured that I don't go without packing in some food amidst all that busy-body cycle that encapsulates my week.

Fridays, luckily enough, tend to be more spontaneous if you take into consideration that it's become common practice for Kai to stay for the weekend, which ultimately means meeting up Friday after work to do whatever. As of late, Kai and I have been finding ways to pass the time, especially if we want to hitch a ride with my mom heading home. For quite some time we took a bus but both of us easily got dizzy during the hour long (sometimes longer) commute that we settled for just riding home with my mom for convenience's sake.

Recently, Kai and I discovered Wako, a Japanese Family KTV and Restaurant right along A. Arnaiz Ave. where I work. A fellow officemate of mine, Mawsi, brought up the place during one random conversation in the pantry while we were consuming our lunch. Very quickly, we became attached to the place since it housed a number of TENIMYU and anime songs in actual Japanese! So a return trip soon is surely in order!

As things are, I don't mind the tedious work schedule. It's all to work myself up to a regular spot (just like Tenipuri!) and rise through the ranks within my company. Fingers crossed!

New Phone (Yet Again)

So I've had this phone for about a month now, but I never really got the time to introduce it to you all. Meet my new-new phone, a Samsung Galaxy Ace. My dream phone that ended up to be a not-so-dreamy phone gave me some fun but with everything chugging along in technical advancements, I figured that getting an Android to couple with my iTouch was the better option than going for an iPhone altogether. 2 gadgets means more stuff for well, stuff.

So this lil' guy I named Shoryuu or as I jokingly refer to it, the BannerPhone. Half of the reason is because Mark Ruffalo playing Bruce Banner is my current wallpaper for it, while the other is just because I'd think the good doctor would make his own brand of phone to contest anything that Tony decides to develop.