June weekends in 2007 2/2

     

The last weekend of June 2007 is not over, but again on Friday I received an unexpected call, I had posted in an album here some pictures I had taken during my first ever Enchanted Kingdom trip, way back in 1995 if I am not mistaken. Yes, surprises of surprises, Nina - my dorm mate and friend who, along with Frank accompanied me to EK, was in town and proposed meeting each other that night. Since I had a scheduled gimik with Dingdong and some ex-officemates, I had to move it to a Saturday.

Supposedly we were going to Zirkoh at Greenhills (?) but it didn't push through. Too bad since I had egged on Janine (ex-officemate who provided the "Do You Know" song link) to go to our former office. Since the plan was scrapped, I did not go anymore to Ortigas..but Dingdong said that the plans changed and that he and his girlfriend, plus the friend of his gf, planned to have dinner and see Transformers. Coolness!

I was going to see Transformers the next week with some officemates, but hey, this gave me a good excuse as any to go ahead. They popped at Bubba Gump at around 11:15 pm, I joined them for dinner (Makati is really small, I even saw a couple of my current officemates there)  and at 1 am, we trooped to Greenbelt 3, where I had the time of my life watching on the big screen all the beloved characters. Ah..it would be great to have that Camaro on my side anytime...*Sigh*  At 4 am, with eye bags and bleary eyes, I said goodbye to Dingdong and his Pam...and to her friend Jackie.

It was amusing to realize that Nina and her sis-in-law Manichel, both of whom I would meeting for brunch in 6 hours, would also be from Pagadian, the same as Dindong's Pam and Jackie. I revisited Pagadian by asking them during dinner (and nibbling on Shrimp Shack Pasta with delicious feta cheese and medium-sized shrimps) if the tricycles were still the same (tilted by 45 degrees, you felt like you were to zoom off the planet when you rode one); if Hotel Camila where I stayed was still there, with Sunburst restaurant with its delicious beef tapa was still around; if there were still live crabs being sold at the airport, and if the restaurant named Tru Lab, which was sitting in the middle of a fishpond was still merrily serving its customers good fresh seafood (btw, the letters in Tru Lab stand for something.....which I have forgotten...but I think it was for a cooking method, ingenious eh?)

 At 10 am that day, I blearily looked at my cellphone since I had asked Nina to give me a "miss call" (so that I would be able to wake up to meet her)...*guffaws* We three met at Greenbelt 1 at Delifranz, where we were also talking animatedly about previous roomies and the life we had after we left the dorm. Her sis-in-law was training to be an officer at BPI Head Office, and I had the idea of asking her about loans since I was interested in slaving away for a condo of mine here in Makati. After two years of paying rent, I finally realized I would be staying a little longer in Manila..so I made the decision.

We finally decided to have lunch, and I dragged them to Italianni's, where we had penne fergure and a classic pizza along with grape fruit shake, a soda and iced-tea. I remembered that Italianni's had a P500 discount coupon for a P1K meal, but I had given it to Dante when I met him for lunch earlier that month...so I had to content myself with the 20% discount card. btw, they will be changing that card effective July 15, 2007 - it won't be transferable anymore.

We continued reminiscing over the other roommates we had, and we were surprised when our waitress Mavy spoke to us in Bisaya...hahaha! another Bisdak in Manila. We introduced ourselves to her, by saying Tuguegarao, Pagadian and Cebu while pointing to each girl separately. Mavy, was a very nice waitress and gave us very good service, and even took our picture posted somewhere on this page.

Nina is quite talkative, while Manichel was quieter. A variety of subjects were bounced back and forth, and we giggled as girls are wont to do. 

We swapped phone numbers, and since I was planning to visit a couple of brokers that day, I first went off to doze for a couple of hours more then came back to visit a broker we girls had passed by when walking back from Italianni's.

I talked to two brokers. While Ayala development is really good if you want to invest, for the life of me I could not really appreciate the location of their Columns. I text-ed Sir B, who agreed with me that it wasn't the best of locations (corner of Pasay Road or known as Arnaiz and the Amorsolo street, which is already Makati Cinema Square).  The Residences showcase was on the top of Greenbelt 3. Unfortunately, no studio units were left in the first tower, and its only the third tower which has 9 units left...and just thinking of the price made my eyes spin for a little while.

After visiting showplaces for The Columns (another Columns is at the back of RCBC Plaza, and this is the only one which can really use the address of Ayala  since its at the corner of Buendia and Ayala Ave)...and The Residences, both Ayala development projects, I finally succumbed and went back to Bizu, where I bought a variety of macaroons and munched on them happily all the way back home since I didn't want to think of the debt I would be racking up. Oh well, another day, another weekend...and its July 2007 coming up the corner.

 

 

 

 

 

June weekends in 2007 1/2

Aside from weird working hours (trying to catch people not only in Asia, and Europe but also NA and goodness knows where else), I actually had a much better June 2007 than I expected. There were some difficult times (not related to work) but all in all, not a bad month I should say, especially since some rains did fall and helped cool a little bit the baked earth or asphalt of Makati.

The beer party at AIM for the new batch of hopeful MM students (batch 2008) is one affair that I try to never miss. Not only is it a good way to see a couple of my batch mates, it is also an easy way to keep in touch with the MM network and AIM professors. In fact, come to think of it, it seems to be always three people of the MM05 who pops out without fail, one of which is constant...yep...me!

This year it was Jobet (lawyer) and Shan (marketing) who were the familiar faces. Sir B didn't show up (he probably was swamped with work and since his birthday was coming up - he could be excused), and neither did Cathy and her husband Navneet. In the picture somewhere on this page, Professor Gavino is sitting beside me...and on the other bench are Shan (red shirt) and Jobet.

I still got to meet with the assistants Queenie (in light blue) and Weiss who were always very nice and helpful to me, even now when I am out of the august halls of the AIM dorm and campus.Queenie was tipsy with a couple of tequila shots..and I left the party shortly after the picture was taken but had to come back afterwards after checking the email at the library and finding out that Jasper (my MM classmate who is in Singapore) wanted me to meet up with his best friend (a guy I saw at his wedding but whose face I could not remember anymore). Apparently, Jasper was sorry that he had to miss the party since he longed for the occasional beer and talk during these activities. Nakaka-miss ang Pilipinas daw...

On June 11 (Monday), which was swapped for the official June 12 Independence day by GMA, I met up with people I formerly worked with in Ortigas. Dante, our QA guy who now works in Makati treated me to lunch at Sugi. Thanks to him I had my first taste of parsley tempura - a dish I was really curious about since Ms. G had looked for it in vain the night she and Sir B treated me to dinner. It was the first time I ate tempura without thinking about the calories and fats...thanks to the parsley!

Dante and I talked and talked (hey, he is a Gemini if I am not mistaken) and after patting our stomachs, I treated him to a different kind of iced tea and my fave macaroons at Bizu's while we continued talking on a variety of subjects: money, realty, Ayalaland, condos, love-life, career, food, his company, cellphones, computers etc. The last time I had a taste of the heavenly macaroons at  Bizu when my MRR (thesis) adviser Prof Coloma gave a boxful to me as a gift. It is still as yummy as ever!! Unfortunately I completely forgot I had my smaller camera in my bag due to the sight of so much beauty..I mean food..in front of me during the whole shebang that I was not able to take a picture of us after gorging ourselves, which was still going on 4 hours after we started talking.

Daryl (I sometimes call him fondly as Daddy Daryl), who was my team lead for a couple of assigned software projects, and who is working for another company in Ortigas met up with me later that night in Shakey's Ortigas. Oh, my goodness...another Gemini! How amusing.

We talked and ate and talked and ate since he was famished, after playing Dota no less...tsk..tsk...and at his age too! 

It was his birthday and he had so many debts to pay to me, I wonder if he could ever get himself out of the hole he had dug! See, I used to tell him that for every bug I saw in his programs he had to treat me to merienda and since he was "game" well...too bad I was a good bug catcher *ehem*. Subjects we touched on included the food (it seems to be always a common topic in my conversations with people), his kids and his wife (who was due to return from the US..and he was excited about her and of course the pasalubongs), his work at the company where another developer of mine also had moved earlier to.

After a while, another ex-officemate of ours and also one of my lead developers dropped by at Shakey's and munched off the remaining pizza. The two of us listened to Gio expound on how it was progressing in the company Daryl and I had left..but after a while, we really had to be shooed off by the waiter *grin*.

Luckily, Starbucks at Emerald Ave was still open and so we walked over there. They had drinks, I did not..since I was stuffed to the brim at that point. Lately, I have been able to control my appetite during night times, so my stomach has adjusted its growlings.

To their credit, they did offer to buy me something to drink (aaah! its so nice not to be the boss anymore..that way you can always sit back and wait for them to offer, unlike before, when you were expected to fork over the money hahaha!). More talking till around 2 plus in the morning, where this time, it was the Starbucks' guard who marched us off the premises. Oh the shame of it *grin* but time really flies when you are with friends...

Middle of one week, if you will recall, I attended the Japanese film festival Eiga Sai at Shangri-la Mall, Although the picture we took of the initial party was blurry and incomplete with the members of the J-club (Japanese club), I will include it here since I had really enjoyed Kamikaze Girls. 

Two Fridays ago, after attending my first origami session with some officemates, I got a totally unexpected call, saying to come over, again to Ortigas and this time it was Congo Grill at El Pueblo (?), where apparently somebody had the outrageous idea of treating people out to dinner/drinks and good ole chikahan. I don't know what Gio had for lunch or breakfas that day, but it certainly turned out lucky for us....*prays to the good Lord to have him do the same thing again hehehe*

There was another invitation at an earlier hour - a despedida for an officemate of ours who was going to be working in Singapore, but since I had a phone conference on Friday (as usual!), I made the choice of going to Ortigas - if the guys would not mind my being late.  Since they could start on Congo Grill's famous dish - the sizzling sisig - without me...it was all I could do to not drool in the taxi while thinking wistfully of the dinner plans.

Since I was in a rush and Friday is such a bad time for Makati in getting taxis etc. I totally forgot my camera (hence no pictures inserted in this blog of that particular occasion), and a good thing too, as some guys (whose name I will kindly not mention anymore but they know who they are!) got a little bit tipsy and provided some hilarious moments.

Gio, Sam, Dean and Redgie were drinking merrily and again there were topics which were funny, topics which were touchy, topics which were inane, and topics which..well, are fodder for spirited discussion especially if mixed with beer and pulutan.

I really should not get into a discussion with guys who have been drinking beer for quite a while..but then, its so nice needling them, I just can't help it!

TBC...

Personality Profile: Extraversion

I just took a personality profile test a couple of minutes ago..and there were some sections wherein I completely agreed, and sections wherein I went off and said - 'who me?'

And why am I posting this part? Because I felt it was more in sync with what I thought myself to be (needless to say, I will hide somewhere or maybe post later what the other sections said about me hehehe).

Introduction to Extraversion

Some days you want to hang out by yourself, not answer the phone, and make the world go away. The next day you e-mail everyone, schedule lunch with a friend, and try to find an evening gathering to take part in. It may be the phases of the moon, or something you ate; some days are just like that. In actuality, your desire to be with others or to be alone reflects something deep in your personality. Some of us are more comfortable by ourselves or with one or two friends, while others of us crave the crowd and can't stand it when the house is empty or the phone doesn't ring. The following paragraphs describe your fundamental desires about being with other people; whether you are generally an outgoing person or more reserved, if you seek adventures with others, if you tend toward assertiveness or kindness.

When it comes to Extraversion you are:

SOMETIMES OUTGOING, SOMETIMES RESERVED

WORDS THAT DESCRIBE YOU:

Moderate Amiable Laid-back

Temperate Relaxed Poised

Civil Uncommitted Pleasant

General Description of How You Interact with Others

Lucky you! You enjoy your own company as much as you enjoy the company of others. You are a great conversationalist and thrive in the wonderful kinds of connections you know how to have with your family and friends. You also equally enjoy your own company, whether sitting in a favorite chair with your book and soft music playing or meandering in the woods by yourself. You like coming home to your family or your roommate; but if no one is home, you find quiet, solitary time to be just as pleasurable. What a great combination to enjoy being outgoing and to be just as comfortable being reserved. Lucky you!! Because you are so amiable and relaxed, you are comfortable with almost any group of family or friends. Whether they are pumped up and lively or calm and subdued, you remain at ease. If someone needs to take over the conversation, you are comfortable taking the lead; you can also lay back and let someone else be in charge. If the conversation gets rowdy, your moderate demeanor will often draw it down to a more temperate level. If someone in the group loses their cool, you will most likely maintain your poise, and if they get nasty you know how to keep a civil tongue. You may find yourself out of balance on occasion. If you're alone too much, you may need to get in touch with someone. If you spend too much time with your family and friends, you may need to sneak off for a day by yourself, to putter and read and clear your head of the noise of too much conversation. When you're at your best, you live with a rhythm of time with others, time alone, time with others, time alone It's a satisfying, comfortable balance. Lucky you!

Negative Reactions Others May Have Toward You

You may occasionally run into problems with other people. Since not everyone is as balanced as you are, close friends and family may get frustrated with you, or you with them. They may be more sociable and outgoing, and find you too laid-back and relaxed. They want conversations to be lively and passionate while you keep things amiable and civil. Or others may be more quiet and reserved than you, and when you're in one of your more animated moments they may wish you would back off. You may be ready to put more energy into a conversation than they are comfortable with. And your balance may be a problem. Other people may be consistently more sociable or more reserved than you, and find you to hard to read, some may even say you ride the fence. Others may find themselves envious of your ability to be outgoing at times, and at other times comfortably reserved. If you pay attention to pick up these cues you will be in a better position to know how you want to interact with such folks.

Positive Responses Others May Have Toward You

Most people will truly appreciate your flexibility in social situations. They will like you for your amiable warmth and your willingness to engage, and for your ability to sit back and let others take the lead or the spotlight. They will appreciate ways in which you temper what could become intemperate moments; by remaining poised and relaxed when others; temperatures are rising, you keep things civil and sane. You are as good at listening and following as you are at talking and leading, and people will often appreciate your ability to adapt to the situation. Because you are sometimes outgoing and sometimes reserved, you will make most people comfortable in your presence, and they will truly enjoy your company.

Eiga Sai 2007

Start:	Jun 20, '07 7:00p
End:	Jun 26, '07
Location:	Shangri-la Plaza at corner Shaw Blvd and Edsa

at UP Film Institute: July 2 to July 5
at CCP: July 4 to July 8

showing of Japanese contemporary films c/o the Japan Foundation, Manila
website: www.jfmo.org.ph

Eiga Sai 2007: "Kamikaze Girls" (Shimotsuma Monogatari)

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Comedy

Just came from Japan Foundation's showing of Japanese contemporary films for 2007. This evening, the first offering was "Kamikaze Girls" and it was shown in Shangril-la Plaza at Crossings. They will have more films till Tuesday of next week, but for those who can't make it, these films will also be shown in CCP and UP Film Institute.

Lifted off from their brochure:

Format: 2004/HD or 35 mm/ 103 min./Color
Director: Tetsuya Nakashima
Japanese Release: 2004

Synopsis:
Momoko (Kyoko Fuduka) escapes from the boredom of her life in her humdrum rural hometown Shimotsuma by swathing herself from head to toe in doll-like "Lolita" garb. One day she meets her diametrical opposite on the fashion scale, the surly black lipstick biker chick Ichigo (Anna Tsuchiya, winner of 2005 Japan Academy price for best newcomer) who takes a liking to Momoko's unexpectedly gutsy nature and the two form an unlikely alliance.

Momoko consoles Ichigo after she suffers a broken heart at the hands of the local pompadoured lothario and uses her embroidery skills to embellish Ichigo's biker uniform for the graduation ceremony of a respected senior. In return, she takes Momoko to the best Lolita boutique in the city where her sewing skills gain for her a chance to work for her favorite designer. However, Ichigo's fellow delinquents don't take kindly to her friendship with Momoko, which leads to a final showdown with the gang boss. Severely outnumbered, Ichigo looks doomed until the loyal Momoko rides to her rescue. A mildly surreal, frenetically comic journey into Japan's youth subcultures based on a graphic novel by cult manga creator Novala Takemoto and directed by TV commercial Tetsuya Nakashima.



My review:
After reading the synopsis above, my idea or impression of what the movie was going to be turned out to be quite different in reality. I don't know if it was the subtitles misleading me.

However I do know what I like and enjoy, and this film has all the trademarks of what I expect from Japanese comedy films - I would not know the film terms, but there is a section of some anime to explain the story (kinda like the "Kill Bill" movie), there is the section of flying cabbages, head on collision and Momoko floating around (kinda like the "Kung Fu Hustle" movie), talking to the camera directly to explain the situation, exaggerated and ludicrous love scenes etc.

The costumes made my eyes spin..all those laces and frills and curls and blonde hair dyes and biker chick fashion...on an aside, I wonder why in the world Japanese clothing seem so outlandish nowadays..and to think they really had a nice sense of kimono fashion before..oh well *shrug*

But the twist and turns of the story were fun and unexpected, although a bit obvious to an old hand at Filipino dramas like yours truly. Again, the friendship between these two unlikely girls is at once funny and touching. And the scene where Momoko lectures her mom on happiness and not giving up on it makes you think again of how a parent lectures their young..this time its just the younger person doing it...ironic eh?

That pompadoured guy made my eyebrows rise to the heavens...but its something I would expect from a manga drawing. All in all the characters are over the top sometimes, but this is what you can expect from a comedy story like this. There is a good mixture of shots flowing in and out..so its not boring, since the shift from one scene to another used different techniques but I suspect its what made my headache pop out (or it could be the lack of food before watching the movie).

It is a happy ending of course (for awhile though I thought the opening scene of our Rococo-era-loving heroine flying upward into the heavens meant her early demise) - for almost all characters concerned, from her obaa-san (grandma), otou-san (father) and the other main characters (her okaa-san or mom didn't win the beauty contest though, which made her dad really happy..nope, they were already divorced)...all in all not a lot of loose threads to make you unhappy with the plot...some yakuza, yanki, finger-cutting, vomiting ala anime style, pink outlandish bentos and food..

See I've just joined a Japanese club at my current company, and though it was because of love of anime and manga, I'm glad I didn't pass up the opportunity to watch this Japanese film festival.

Personally I would have enjoyed a whole week of Kurosawa-sama's films (think "Ran", "Seven Samurai", "Rashomon" etc.) which I have always loved even before I fell in love with anime. Picture a purring cat...but I just found out that contemporary films are also quite good..quite unexpectedly I must admit.

Other movies coming up this week (I don't know if I can view the others though, I prefer sleep and food):

* Shangri-la (Togenkyo No Hitobito)
* Blue Spring
* Out of this World
* Hotel Hibiscus
* Inochi
* No One's Ark
* The Stars Converge
* Harmful Insect

Japan Foundation Manila Library - Manga Collection

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Books
Genre:	Comics & Graphic Novels
Author:	different authors

I've just read that JFM has increased its collection of books and will begin lending these out soon...yehey! Approximately 80 titles/900 books of Japanese manga and 100 J-Pop CDs have been acquired to add to their collection. Some of these manga I have either read or seen the anime. I will only list here those which I am familiar with and I will not review each and everyone in detail but at least will give you an idea of the story. There are other sites out there in the wide world of internet who can give more in-depth reviews (besides, I have lesser time nowadays).

* Slam Dunk
I saw the anime and read some of the manga. This falls under the sports manga genre. Hanamichi Sakuragi joins Shokoku high school basketball team. this is a very hilarious anime series which was responsible for my learning basketball terms and there were times during my grad school days wherein this was a big stress-reliever for me as I kept laughing my head off on their basketball antics. I'd recommend it for boys...and girls (who are a bit more sportsminded) but for me the lesson here is more about friendship and determination. *giggles girlishly*...gwapo ni Rui-san..hehehe...oi, pero di yan yung reason I am recommending this ha!

* Naruto
I saw some anime eps, its still going on, but I have not read the manga or translations. I am familiar with the characters though. The unlikely hero is Naruto Umazaki, a hyperactive ninja who dreams big. He wants to become his village's strongest ninja. Other characters are Sakura and Sasuke, other ninjas in his village. I like Naruto's spirit..the "never say die" thingie and his friendship with Sakura and Sasuke..even if sometimes things get bad, he is still a great optimist. The anime now is filled with filler eps but the manga is still ongoing. Lesson here is friendship among unlikely people. While I have not seen all eps, its also action-packed, hence my colleagues before who had children also watched this...pero ang dami ng eps sa anime..mauubos pera mo sa pag collect nila. I'd recommend this as good reading for elementary students - siguro boys mas gusto to coz of the ninja-action...

* Honey and Clover
I have not seen the manga being sold here, but I will check out a newly-heard (for me at least) store in Robinson's Galleria one of these days and see if they are selling these. I have seen a lot of the anime eps. This is a story of a group of art college students and how they deal with love, graduation, job hunting and discovering themselves on their journey. I think more mature individuals would appreciate this..for high-school student ages and upwards but its geared towards young girls (shoujo manga).

(intermission: there is what you call "shounen" manga and "shoujo" manga. The first is for young boys and the latter is geared towards young girls)

* Death Note
I've been meaning to watch the live action movie and the anime..but sadly only managed one ep. I've heard its good though - this from my other anime-crazy ex-office colleague who has the patience to download anime eps. Its about a high-school student who picks up a supernatural notebook by accident, but guess what, its the God of Death's notebook..so..as you can imagine, if you write somebody's name on it..ayun..dedbol yung tao..hehehe...its not horror though, but I would think this is better off being read by older children...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
While this was not in the list of the article about what JFM acquired, I would like parents to be careful if they get hold of "Yami no Matsuei" or Descendants of Darkness. I personally like the story very much (I read the complete translations and the manga is unfinished, plus I've seen the anime) and its wonderful manga art too..but the hints of male-male relationship may be a bit difficult to explain to younger kids. Its not drawn for all to see, but there are hints that there is some sexual tension going on...well maybe kids may be too young and innocent to pick up on it, but let me tell you that the first time I found out that there were stories like this.

I was a bit shocked and could not imagine myself reading it. There is what you call "yaoi" or yung straight out na male-male and there is "yuri" which is of course female-female. For the translation of the manga (not yet being continued by the author, this is the site -> http://www.theria.net/archive-top.html)

Later on I did force myself to read this and Gensomaden Saiyuki (4 males, but its not an orgy, its more of friendship though fanfics make it a pairing between Sanzo and Goku, and a pairing between Hakkai and Gojyo) and it wasn't so bad, but this will depend really on you and how open-minded you are.

YNM is about the life of a particular shinigami (guardian of death) who works in a department under the King of the Dead. Weirdly though, it reminds me of X-files because the main characters are agents who try to unravel these mysteries of dead persons who wind up in their department when its not their time to die. The main baddie-boy (who looks very handsome) Dr. Muraki seems to have set his yes on the main shinigami Tzusuki, who sounds scatterbrained and just has his eye on sweets, but is actually very powerful. So... imagine the hints on Muraki and Tsuzuki, then Muraki and Hisoka (his young partner murderered and cursed by Muraki), Tzuzuki and .....well you get the idea...

Oh yes, for the other story which I like - Gensomaden Saiyuki has very nice music...sometimes the anime eps are of poor quality but overall not bad, and its based on the classic story "Journey to the West'....remember the monk, pig, monkey king and ...the river-monster or kappa if I am not mistaken. Its more about friendship between these 4 unlikely group of characters, and you have the usual characters of a broody person, a hyperactive person, a calm person and the perverted playboy...hahaha..go figure. They go on a quest to stop the awakening of this monster..and they ride on a jeep which turns into a dragon..and there is some reinarnation, plus the Goddess of Mercy seems to be a hermaphrodite with a great sense of humor...really, I cannot explain it to you unless its a more detailed chat. Anyway, in the anime, there is no all out relationship..its just they get teased by each other on the pairing...and since Goku seems so attached to Sanzo sometimes if you have a naughty, imaginative mind...you would think something is up...but I think its really more of playing to the gallery. Being the logical person that I am..I was shaking my head at first - why on earth don't they just take the airplane to the west if its such a big thing to stop the monster? ewan...this and the Gold (unlimited ba?) credit card of the monk in a setting which looks like old medieval China (do they have electricity here) is just something you can pass off as one of the wonders of manga.

Jokes thru Text

here is where I will post jokes which I receive thru text messages. Nothing scandalous but maybe a hint of something naughty once in a while. I figured I might as well save some of the jokes I receive and share it...

Pinoy-style humor..paminsan-minsan or if may oras... (p.s. pati pagka spelling at tinamad na ako...sorry na lang po)...You are all free to share or post jokes which you may have come across here...siguro i-precede lang ng JOKETIME or something...para makita kaagad..

JOKETIME!

Aboard a plane.

Woman: Father, cud u hide dis new and expensive hairdryer under ur robe? I'm afraid customs will charge exorbitantly 4 it.

Priest: Ok my dear, but if dey ask, I can't lie.

Later at customs.

Customs Officer: Do u have anything 2 declare Father?

Priest: underneath this robe, I have an equipment designed for women, but to this date, remains unused.

C.O: hahaha! If u say so Father! Next please!   ;-)

Welcome to the Hyacinth Gardens

http://www.hyacinthgardens.com
I've always loved Jane Austen, even way back in elementary, when I first chanced upon "Pride and Prejudice" comics which was not drawn, more like a series of photographs.

Darcy and Elizabeth are one of my fave couples and since I felt I could only rely on my imagination (which is why I like reading more than seeing the movie adaptation) as to what the other scenes might be between these two lovebirds, I was very glad when I found out later about fanfiction devoted to our Prideful Mr. Darcy and our Prejudiced Ms. Elizabeth.

This is just one of those sites archiving some of the alternatve universe and canon fics about them. Enjoy...

VictoriasSecret.com: The Official Site of Victoria's Secret

http://www.victoriassecret.com
fave site for sales in lingerie, clothes, shoes and all things girly

maigo-chan's Ruroken Translations

http://www.maigo-chan.org/ruroken.htm
Rurouni Kenshin (Ruro-Ken) the first manga I ever ran after and saved my money for! Rurouni isn't really a word in the Japanese language..though it can be based loosely I suppose on "ronin".

Unfortunately... although there was an almost complete collection in Makati Cinema Square (of all places)..it was in Chinese! waaaaah!

I had to content myself by reading the translations..it was only later when I got a hold of the scanned manga...and its lucky this site is still up because when Viz usually churns out the English graphic novels, sites like these have to be taken down...

R K D R E A M S: Rurouni Kenshin Fanfiction Collection

http://www.rkdreams.com
I will probably sound like a broken record, but RK (or Samurai X as it was known here) was my first love when it came to manga and anime. Later on I graduated to reading fanfiction when the series ended and when the Revenge Arc didn't see the light of day. This particular sight has very funny stories (esp the "Mind of a Woman") dealing with Kenshin and Kaoru's love, Aoshi and Misao's (my two fave characters) love and all things which go "oro".

Blissful Ignorance Anime Fanfiction Archive, dedicated to Heero and Relena of Gundam Wing

http://www.blissfulignorance.com
When it came to mechas, I wasn't that far behind, although I was still more into historical stories like "Rurouni Kenshin" and comedy-action like "Ranma 1/2". Too bad my fave site for Ranma 1/2 and "Inuyasha" seem to be out of commission nowadays as it had the most up to date translations...

Anyways, for mechas you can't say no to "Gundam Wing" and with five cute boys - Heero Yuy, Duo Maxwell, Trowa Barton, Quatre Raberba-Winner and Wufei Cheng plus the one and only Princess Relena Darlian.....mix it up with some political drama and action...your anime experience will only be half-baked if you don't check this particular series in the Gundam Wing universe.