mini blogging

i've been working really hard the past few weeks and stressing over a lot of things in the office. so as soon as i left work yesterday (which was a saturday, i know), i've decided to try very hard to enjoy the rest of my weekend and really take my mind of work.

not sure if trying hard not to think about work counts as not thinking about work though. oh well... 

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since the last blog post, the 30-day blog challenge which i failed miserably, i've had the opportunity to visit our Berlin office and stay there for 2 weeks. and since it has always been my goal to do some sort of European tour before i turn 30, i tried to make the best out of it.

the trip was a bit of a rush and since i was there for work and limited visa time, i really did not have time for a tour. but then i thought, if i could just see Paris, then i'm good. and with a little push from my friends, especially from K who researched flight, tour and hotel options for me -- i had an expensive, impromptu but very much worth it weekend trip to Paris.

it was sometimes lonely and scary to travel alone, but most of the time i was lucky. my colleagues in Berlin really took care of me and tried to keep me company if they can. in Paris, it just so happened that a high school classmate who is based on the US was spending that same weekend there, and so we met up. it was cold and snowing, i loved it!

memories from that 2 week-long trip now up on my wall

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the past few months, i've already received a number of postcards from my friend M in Singapore. 2 of those are also up in my wall (in the pic above) and the other is in the office.

i repaid her by sending her postcards when i was in Berlin and Paris also. 

i love sending and receiving postcards. the message itself almost does not matter. it could be a bunch of nonsense. but just thinking of how much that message has to go through to get to you, it makes it so much special.

not to mention it's always better to see something else in your mailbox other than bills.

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i finally finished reading Neil Gaiman's Sandman! (okay fine, not yet done. i still have a few pages to go through in The Wake. but that's negligible, right?)

i love Neil Gaiman's work, and Sandman is the first graphic novel that i really appreciated. the other day, M had this as her status message, one of my favorite lines from the series:

Sometimes you wake up,
Sometimes the fall kills you.
And sometimes when you fall, you fly. 

then i just saw Neil Gaiman blogged about this same line. he saw it tattooed on some woman's shoulder blade, while he was in Australia.

i wonder how it feels to have your own words inked forever on some stranger's skin. a stranger from the other side of the world, nonetheless. 

Seoul

Day 18 » A photo of somewhere you’ve been to.

I had the opportunity to visit Seoul, Korea last March, a week after my birthday. I was there for a business trip, and so unfortunately, i was not able to go around and do touristy stuff.

When i went there, spring was just about to start. So it was pretty cold, around 4 degrees, which is the coldest weather i've experienced. I remember regretting missing the winter season though, as i've never seen snow.

But lucky me, it started snowing on my second day. According to the colleagues i visited there, it rarely snows in March. So i guess i was really lucky. Unfortunately, i was not prepared for snow. The only shoes i had with me were these heeled suede shoes. 

I kinda regret missing the chance to see just how beautiful Seoul is. I don't think i've seen even one-tenth of it. Hopefully, i'll get the chance to go back and have a proper look.

it's too hard to choose just one

Day 17 » Your favorite movie.

I don't know what's my favorite movie anymore. There's a lot that i like and can watch over and over again but nothing really sticks out as my favorite movie of all time.

Well, i think i can say that my favorite movie is probably here somewhere.

Hmm.. okay. Maybe that's quite a big selection. So maybe my favorite movie is here somewhere.

Throughout college and early 2000s though, i thought My Bestfriend's Wedding is my fave. It was one of the first DVDs that i bought. I've seen this movie countless times, and i've almost memorized the dialogue. But it's my favorite because no matter how many times i've seen it, that boat cruise scene still makes me cry.

So far, 500 Days of Summer is becoming something like that. I've seen it 6 times already, 3 of which was from the movie theater. The scene by the bench still makes my heart ache. Same thing with the Korean movie My Sassy Girl and the "I'm sorry" scene. And Bridget Jones's Diary. And Moulin Rouge. And Lost in Translation.

Ah, this is so hard. I love movies so much i don't think i can choose just one.

two me's ago

Day 16 » Another picture of yourself.

It's my dad 60th birthday on Saturday. And so i've been asking my friend J to scan a lot of pictures for me so i can make it into an AVP. Some old pics of mine got mixed into the pile as well and so i've rediscovered old memories like this one.

This picture was taken inside our old house. Before my parents were able to buy our own house and lot, we were renting this old Spanish style house. And yes, there was a grotto inside the house, in the sala area. It would have been very nice house, if it was maintained well. It got demolished after we moved out.

Apparently a grotto with a pond in the sala area is not the only weird thing in this picture. Looking at it now, i can't help but think, "why the hell am i wearing the same thing as the sofa cushions?!"

arigato gozaimasu, japanese tv!

Day 15 » A TV show you’re currently addicted to.

Well, it's not just one show that i'm addicted to. I'm currently addicted to japanese dramas or jdramas.

Strictly speaking, the first jdrama that i saw was Nodame Cantabile. And as much as i loved Nodame, the one that really got me addicted on the genre was the show Zettai Kareshi. In fact, i discovered Zettai Kareshi because of Nodame.

Photo credit: http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Nodame_Cantabile

Since we liked Soshi so much from Zettai, we looked for his shows and discovered Hana Kimi. From Hana Kimi, we liked Nakatsu and looked for his shows. Then we discovered real-life Nakatsu has a real-life bestfriend, who i now have huge crush on, and we've started watching his shows as well.

So since seeing Zettai last August, i've already seen and finished 8 jdrama series. The last jdrama that i saw is this show Voice, which is where K and I got the idea to play Pinoy Shiritori.

I got addicted to jdramas so much that i'm able to finish the whole series in just 2-3 days, and that's considering that i only just watch them after work. So a while back, i've taken a 3-week hiatus from them. And now, i try to limit myself to just one series per week. Oh yes, control!

I love jdramas because they are short (usually just 11 episodes) and are very well made even if it's just for TV -- the acting is good, the soundtrack is nice, and the stories are well thought of.

Anyway, next in the pipeline is probably another of Yamapi's show called Code Blue. I hope it's good. But with jdramas, i've never been very disappointed so far. And knowing that Yamapi is there anyway, i don't think i'll regret it. :D

http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Code_Blue