Swallowed Alive

If I did not have all the diversions I've been giddy about in my past entries, I would probably be swallowed alive by school work and the pains that come with it.

There's a little over a month left before sem break (something I'm totally happy about by the way) and things are starting to... build up? Okay, let's stick with that term. I feel the deadlines of projects looming over my head. I shall use this entry to try to make sense of all of them.

Okay what's due next week...

Monday: Psych Experiment... I have to look for another experiment. This class is wearing me out.
Tuesday: Batang Rizal Reaction Paper
Wednesday: Spanish Activity Lesson 4
Critical Review... I'm doing Letters from Iwo Jima. WOOT! Okay must remove all biases from my system.

Okay that seems doable. As for the long term ones:

Filipino: Storybook
Feature Writing: Revised articles for submission
Infotech: Magazine
Newspaper Practice: Newspaper... okay no word on this one yet but I know we will be making one.

The planning stage has already begun. It's driving me a bit mad. Thinking about the workload drives me mad. But we will eventually have to get around to doing it so might as well dive head first into it.

If I weren't getting decent grades for these stuff I probably would have lost it more. Okay... must work hard... must do my best. Ganbatte! Jeez...

Good luck Journ peeps! May we come out of this unscathed.

So Be It

I created a livejournal account to separate my fangirling from this personal blog. I thought it would work out that way. I guess the line separating my "rediscovered" love for the Japanese culture (okay my love for Arashi, other JE boys and jdramas to be specific) and my "real life" seems to blur out on its edges.

The people I know find it bizarre. They can't really get why I'm so into this. Here you have a Filipina who was crazy over anything Western. I reveled in Orlando Bloom (okay I still do), Christina Aguilera, etc. Western movies were the only thing I'd watch.

I tried to shy away from the Asian culture. The invasion of dubbed Korean shows was too much for me. I can't stand dubs because I'd rather hear the real actors and actresses say their lines. I would rather have subtitles.

I found it all "baduy" and stuff. Pardon the term but when you grow up in my home you'd get what I mean. I just could not understand it. It was something so foreign to me despite of the fact that the Asian countries were closer (well duh) than the Western mindset I carried throughout most of my life.

Don't get me wrong I was into the Meteor Garden fever way back. Much to the amusement and slight chagrin of my father. He would not let me hear the end of it I tell you. I also had a brief affair with a few anime series but that was rather fleeting.

So what happened now?

I have no idea.

But I do have something to tell you guys: Wakarimashita or I understand.

I can get why you don't get it. Huh?! HAHA I understand that you won't get my fangirling. Am I trying to justify it? Yes. Looking for acceptance? Maybe. Forcing you to like it too? Definitely not.

I've decided to enter this on my own. Call it the Jun-bait (this whole thing started with HYD anyway). Call it whatever you like. I just got into it and I know this isn't some temporary thing now.

It's a great de-stressor for me. When you see me smiling rather foolishly that would probably be connected to Arashi or Hana Kimi or Yamada Taro. I've found a good source of happiness. It's a warm and fuzzy, sometimes a "kilig-driven" place.

Who knew I'd turn out this crazy? No one probably expected this, I was the self-proclaimed Westernized girl. I have shifted gears and turned completely around. Definitely no regrets. I'm having the time of my life right now. I've even gotten a few people hooked into a few stuff and that makes me happy too. Maybe I'm not so crazy after all.

An Afternoon In Ikemen Paradise

The recipe for a fun afternoon would include:

1. A group of crazy, fun, and insane ladies (huwat!! LOL)
2. Great food (yummy pasta and cheese sticks)
3. Oguri Shun (topless 0.o), Ikuta Toma, and the pretty Kitchie Nadal look-alike (I beg to differ though) Horikita Maki.

Welcome to Ikemen (Hottie) Paradise!

I have introduced a few of my friends to the beauty that is HANAZAKARI NO KIMITACHI E, that's Hana Kimi to you. A Japanese manga that was turned into a Taiwan drama and now it is out as a Japanese drama.

For those reading this at LJ, you probably already know the story and you're way ahead of me because I just finished watching episode 5, another great one I must say, so please bear with this entry. I shall put the synopsis here that I credit do DramaWiki.

"The drama is based on the popular manga of the same name by Nakajo Hisaya, which has already been dramatized in Taiwan. Horikita plays the protagonist Ashiya Mizuki, a Japanese girl in the U.S. who one day sees the young athlete Sano Izumi (Oguri) compete in the high jump on television. She begins to idolize him, and decides to move to Japan to attend the same school as him. However, Izumi goes to an all-boys school, so Mizuki disguises herself as a boy to achieve her dream of being with her idol."

We had a little post-birthday celebration today despite the horrid weather. This has been postponed and today was the last straw. Nikki, Apa, Edree and Ana were able to make it. I knew this was the perfect opportunity to introduce them to this wonderful drama.

Apa's a huge Shun fan. She just had to see this. Nikki, Ana and I think Edree as well fell in love with Nakatsu (Ikuta Toma). Fall in line ladies. I'm the leader of that pack. HAHA

I enjoy watching Japanese dramas that revolved around high school adventures. They have this very unique way of talking about teenage (mis)adventures. It's funny, strange but hilarious nonetheless.

The appeal of Hana Kimi for me is the whole "She's The Man" sort of thing going on. Ashiya's a girl who's roommates with Sano. So Amanda Bynes and Channing Tatum! HAHA

I enjoy the fact that the students have no idea that she's a girl. I'm waiting for the big revelation. I wonder how that's going to come about? That would but Nakatsu out of his misery.

Nakatsu's a definite pull factor for me. Toma's hot. He was hot in his short stint in Hana Yori Dango 2 but he looks so much better here. But I really pity the guy. Mizuki got him all confused about his identity. Put him out of his misery already. The "guy" you have feelings for is actually a girl. Don't worry Nakatsu you're HOMO JANAI.

Minami's hot too. Oscar's creepy and hilarious. I just want to hit Hibari with a stick. HAHA Dr. Umeda's so cool! I think Sekime's cute. Their uniform bothers me but they're hot so that's okay. Seriously, blue and purple and it's plaid... I can go on and on about this but I don't want to bore you. Just watch it yourself.

Who do I want Ashiya to end up with? Since she flew all the way from America to be with him it would have to be Sano right? But Nakatsu has stolen my heart as well... poor guy. He should at least be given a chance. I did not answer the question did I? As long as she ends up with one of them then I'll be happy. What if she ends up with Oscar or Minami? HAHA

Oh I almost forgot. I just have to include this, look for lonelyxmee over at deviantart she has this hilarious Nakatsu .gif! This is it:



Ja ne!

A Writer's Conundrum

I am a writer. I don't know how good I actually am. I just acknowledge that I am one. I play with words. I try to construct coherent sentences and works from ideas that flee faster than a man who tries to get away from the husband of the woman he was having an affair with. Okay long analogy...

As I was saying... I've been doing this for as long as I can remember. It is a passion I feverishly pursued. I figured that since I enjoyed doing it I might as well try to make a living out of it. How hard could it be? An old mentor told us that we had to choose jobs we enjoyed so we did not have to work a day in our life. Honestly, how hard could it be?

Journalism and the whole college experience became a rude awakening of some sort. I still love what I do. I enjoy the course because I actually get what we're doing and talking about, although the application falls short occasionally.

The deadlines have never been my best friend. They hunt me down until I'm forced to write a mediocre piece because procrastination decided to accompany me as well. It's a lethal combination. Procrastination and deadlines... they're a nightmare.

Just recently we were faced with a seemingly impossible but at the same time doable task. For a veteran it would probably be a piece of cake but for newbies like us it was a horrible dream we wanted to run away from.

We were asked to write a news article on three press statements issued by the President Arroyo but we had to research and write the article in a span of three hours (our class period).

What made this horrid was the fact that our class was six to nine in the evening on a Saturday. That would mean that:

1. We had to hurry to the library to try to use the "free internet" before the library closed at seven.
2. We had to transfer to an internet cafe after that.
3. I had only 50 pesos with me. Good thing the printing and computer rental only cost me 24 pesos.
4. We had to come up with a decent piece in that short span of time because he tore our last one to shreds.

Nightmare is the only word to describe it. A friend of mine finished her story in less than 30 minutes. Don't ask me how she did it. I have no idea.

That was a horrendous experience but I know those deadlines come with the job. I can't help but ask what I got myself into...

I'm a writer. I love it with my heart and soul. It is fulfilling but seriously what did I get myself into?!

You Have To Love Your Best Friends

Okay I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS! I love it so much that I will cross post it to every blog account I have... HAHA

It was part of a birthday greeting of my best friend Rianne who's in Australia... she's an Arashi fan too but her scope's a little wider than mine for it spans the Taiwan and Korean culture... aside from the Japanese one.

Thanks BEST! This was the first time I saw it... on a little hiatus because of exam week... gaah! Wish me luck! -_-

Oh... here they are... LOL

Before It Gets Lost Completely: Like Father, Like Daughter

I have no time. People should never say that because all of us have time. It is all a matter of priority. I have been trying to be "practical" and "smart" (not sure about that one) by staying away from some of my online activities. It's hard but I have been doing my best. Although there are some aspects of my online life that I could not really get rid of... you could ask me what those are but they're probably of no interest to you that's why I'm not putting it down.

I'm buried underneath all the school work. I have exams next week and I've been trying to keep my cool about that. I'm taking the time off tonight or should I say I'm giving the nights to myself. I just want the prelims to be over with. Please let it be next Thursday! But wait! I would probably still have exams on the Saturday after that... I just have a little thing on Thursday and Pia's coming over on Friday for... she's knows what we're going to do. She wants the prelims to be over as well.

The topic I'm going to tell you about has been in my mind even before I began this new blog. It started out as this:

"That means you're a wise ass..."

Okay, that quote got buried under too much activity so before it completely flies off my radar, I wrote it down here now.

You would expect to hear that from a close friend who does not give a damn if they hurt your feelings because you know each other too well. Those kinds of conversations and words are natural. You let those slide. You would not expect those words from a parent now would you?

Those were the words of my father from a conversation I can't even remember now. It has escaped me... 0h well. The main focus of this entry is my unconventional father. He's quite a character.

How many girls would be called wise asses by their own dad? Okay we were kidding around that time but I know for a fact that there are a few dad's like that.

And I have begun to realize how similar I am with my father. The hearty apetite, the potty mouth (okay his is MUCH MORE dirty than mine), the perspective (okay he influences me a lot with regard to this one), the bourgeoisie tendencies, the talkativeness... let's just say that I look up to my father and I'm discovering how much of myself was taken from him.

It's fun to grow up in a household where your father is sometimes more childish than you. He has a very childish sense of humor sometimes that it can actually drive anyone insane. How many children can say that their father out of whim answered the phone and said: "HALLER"? It was a good thing that Pia was on the other line and when he handed the phone to me both of them were laughing so hard.

He doesn't care what other people say or think about him. My dad remains the same opinionated and loud person that he is. He's so comfortable in his own skin. He's one of the smartest if not the smartest person I know. It's such a daddy's girl post this one. I can't help it. I love my dad. He's insane but I love him nonetheless.

Dreams And Scribbles: A New Beginning Indeed

Out of a whim I made this new blog and I started thinking of a new blog name. I came up with this:

Welcome to Dreams And Scribbles!

Origin of the blog name:
Part Arashi inspired (ARASHI for dream!), part dreamer tendency (yes, I'm an idealist), and part divine intervention (I think God wanted me to name this blog this way).

Reason for the blog name:
I needed to find a name that would encapsulate my indulgence in random musings, hopes, frustrations, and ideas. A place for Scribbling Dreams, that was what I needed.

I wanted a new beginning for some reason. Life gave me one. I can't argue or change any part of it. This blog is part of that irreversible change.

Too bad it had to include my hard disk...

My hard disk crashed this morning. I was so devastated. It was such a big blow to my lazy nature. I kept putting off the archiving of the files that already fit in one DVD and then this happened.

I lost my bookmarks and links for downloads, a bunch of Arashi downloads that I now have to look for again, a few school files that I luckily submitted already, mp3s, Yamada Taro and Bambino episodes I just downloaded, personal pictures (lost the Intramuros pictures!) and a bunch of other files.

I was floating through my morning. My mp3 player and Mae's ElleGirl diverted my attention from the mishap. But the words "IT DIED" were resonating in my head all day.

Life gave me the new beginning but it served a harsh curve ball as well. It was not wasted on me though. I learned my lesson. Now with a "new" PC and new blog, I shall forge a new path in real life and in my online life as well.