Seashells of Island Angel

Deo's Tarp

2009-10-31T12:23:00.002+08:00

Halloween Shmalloween. That's for the westerners! Should we even yield to this foreign culture? Sheesh.

So the days of the souls and saints is nearing and I felt obligated to replace Deo's old tarpaulin that was given to his funeral by the TriAD (Triathlon Association of Davao). Sure we can still hang it but not in the center anymore. So I gathered Deo's pictures and scanned them and opened my Adobe Photoshop CS2 and listened to a song for an inspiration to follow.

I made a very unsatisfying work for my first try. I was too pressured but I wanted to do it for him. He used to tell me to "get up, do something and make me proud". I want him to be proud of me and I know he wants to be. So I made a new one which took me 3 days to finish and now I'm more than satisfied.

I should be going by now to help my family setup stuff at Deo's grave. I'm not gonna be expecting anyone anymore. I've done that and they all broke my heart. So good riddance to them.

I can only hope that my brother would be more proud of me when I set out my future plans soon, not just on my tarp.

JO~! nothing.. XD ahlabu XD dun hit me on the hed for saying it XD

Venting Off

2009-10-22T23:21:00.003+08:00

Do you remember your dreams in life? Your plans in the future? Your goals and your wishes? Did you ever consider the possibility of forgetting them?

Of course you'd say "How could I?" or "Are you nuts?", even I would smirk at ya for it, but believe it or not I forgot mine.

It all started when my mum asked me "What's your plan?", and my answer was "I dunno." And for a long time now, I am still dumbfounded. Out of school and jobless, I am living a lazy life.

When my mum asked me again--and this time "What do you really wanna do in your life?"--I almost wanted to say "To sing with a band", but I kept my heart and I even joked about it.

Of course, who would make a living off of music except the most talented ones? It's a selfish dream and it won't benefit my family, but deep within me you have no idea how I wanted to reach that dream. But it's foolish, so I considered going back to school. Will I even finish it?

If I go get a job, where should I begin? Even my boyfriend undermines me if I could even get a job and maintain it.

I'm trapped and I wanna pull the trigger in my head and end it all.

I sound like a fucktard, but I'm just very depressed and confused that my lil bro said, "I didn't know you were this fragile."

And somehow he's the only one who understood me in this.

Ondoy

2009-10-11T10:21:00.002+08:00

There was a time when I was going home for the summer from Zamboanga to Davao. I was aboard in a Sulpicio Line filled with MT interns from Laguna. I talked to some and they were intrigued of how diverse Filipinos are. They met Cebuanos, Chavacanos, and Illonggos along their route. And in between the lines, they somehow undermined and discriminated them. Oh I know how they talk proudly because they speak the national language (tagalog) and actually live up north where the capital is. I even remember one dialogue from all their bragging.

Intern: But you know, if the whole Philippines would be flooded, I think Metro Manila will survive.
More Interns: (laugh) I think so too.
Me: (nods) But do you know that Davao City has never been hit by storms and typhoons? (smiles)
Intern: Really?

Now, I just smiled whenever I think about that of how surreal that was. And now, the whole Metro Manila is in flood from Ondoy's rain with streets filled with trash and mud. It was a bittersweet for me. Bitter because a calamity caused this country a tragedy. I cried hearing stories of loss, isolation, and struggle. Everything washed away by a 9-hour storm rain which is equivalent to a month of rain.

Sweet. Somehow, there's a little darkness inside me that beams through. I admit that I live luckier than the rest up north. I remember those Laguna MT interns and how Ondoy practically kissed their a$$e$ for the irony. I think it served them right and they oughtta go back to their provinces where the grass is literally greener and the air is technically fresher.

I know it's not right. I dunno why I have a little evil in me.

My primary concern though were the pets and animals. Somehow, the reports are really minor when it comes to them and I really hate it.

Pepeng has now overstayed in northern Luzon because of Quedan and more places have been flooded gravely while landslides occur almost in every major roads. All that happening while me and my family just drank tequila for 2 birthdays. Yes, I feel luckier here down south.

I'm not saying we didn't help. Of course we did. And the help is coming in great numbers for them too. But don't you think they oughtta help themselves too? I'm just looking at both sides of the coin. I just hope the victims don't get whiny and get the special treatment way over their heads.

There are still stories of loss I hear for the victims of Ondoy, and yes I feel for them. It's tragic, but we oughtta learn from this tragedy--and that is to rise up again and never give up.

Love is Dog

2009-09-06T00:01:00.002+08:00

It's funny how it took me a really long while to realize that I never chose a Basset Hound right from the beginning.

The first time I saw Mojo was when I finally got home from my parents' one-year exile in Zamboanga City. I heard his baying bark and I instantly saw his face when he peeped through the fence along with his housemates Mocha and Chay-Chay (Mocha's daughter). I walked into the house and he instantly jumped on me and I was scared because I've never seen a purebred before.

Then Deo said that it's okay and that he's friendly.

Yep, I never chose a Basset Hound. The Basset Hound chose me and I even felt the pressure more when Deo died.

And so I took the responsibility of it and loved and cherished Mojo and even planned to continue what Deo decided before. But then I began to wonder, how could I love someone if I don't even know anything about him/her?

That took a real blow on me when Mojo was diagnosed of UTI and I had to admit him to the vet. I knew then that I have to have more knowledge. And so I did and I even learned from others as well.

Then it struck me that all this time--the care and the attention that I gave to my hounds is much more like love in a relationship. In order to love, one must know the personality of a person. In my case, the temperament of my hounds is one thing I learned by observing them everyday and everywhere they are. What's even more interesting is the fact how different each of them in a pack! They never cease to make you smile everyday.

Then, their needs. For two people in a relationship, their supply and need for love is constant in order for the relationship to work. Of course, relationships are always work. For me, their needs for nutrition and exercise are very much important. And also, tummy rubs! Teehee!

Finally, there's patience, endurance and perseverance. The will to withstand obstacles is a test of how strong their love is. In my case, my fight for their place here in the subdivision and the strong winds of unpredictable weather is my will for them.

And so with my title today, "Love is Dog."

Dog is a representation of love. If you wanna know what love is, try a dog in your home. But I was even luckier, because right from the start I didn't chose the Basset Hound. It chose me. Love chose me.

You know how good that feels? So good.

Look Up

2009-08-15T18:55:00.003+08:00

Yeah, so I finally decided to make a new header for my blog. I added in Mocha in the picture now. After all, she is family.

I figured that this blog hasn't been able to put into full capacity just yet as I have discovered what this opportunity stands for me. To talk about our dear loved ones and onto those who had already passed is not a luxury we have. Because of our daily musings and the ever famous "job", we have neglected to see what we have right now and what was.

To remember how it was to smile with them is a memory worth for eternity. And even though I rarely believe in forever (because of a broken heart years ago), I yield my eternal time with those dear to me--in good or in bad, onto the living and those who've passed.

To see them under the earth is grief beyond I know, but to reminisce the life they lived is a memory imprinted in my heart forever. To Deo and Mocha, you will never be forgotten.

R.I.P. Mocha

2009-08-15T12:33:00.005+08:00

Yesterday morning, we discovered the lifeless body of my ever so sweet mongrel Mocha. She was Mojo's mistress and was the first for Mojo in everything before Pazzy came.

We were not sure what caused her death. All I know that she hasn't been eating well for the past 2 days before her untimely death. I was thinking that she's gonna hold out since she's not a pure breed, therefore she has more increased chances of surviving anything than my purebreeds. I planned to buy some supplements and medicine by the weekend.

At the second day, I was really getting worried. She couldn't get up. She ate a little while still on her tummy. I was really hoping that she's gonna hold out.

We never heard her cry in pain. Silently, she passed away and I was in tears. She was only 7 years old.

For the first time, I dug the earth in our kennel to bury her. With the help of my lil brother, we only managed to dig 3 feet (the clay soil underground was heavy and it's getting really hard for us to dig deeper).

I said my apologies to her for all the sins I have done to her. She was the sweetest dog ever. I trained her to chase cats back in Cotabato. I'm gonna miss her so much. We said our prayers (I know it's too silly for others to understand why I am praying for her soul, but she is also God's creation and I value her so much) and let her rest in peace. We put a white stone on top of her grave and a stick with her collar tied tightly was hammered on the earth.

She was always there. With that, I'm gonna miss her so much. My young brother Deo will be surprised to see her up there now.

Mocha, forgive me if I wasn't able to save you. I love you so much. Rest in peace.

That Triathlon Plug

2009-07-26T22:34:00.002+08:00

For the past few days, I've seen the commercial plugs for the Ironman 70.3 Philippines. I can't help myself but get teary-eyed whenever I see the plugs.

As you know, my late brother Jo was a triathlete and his hero was a very inspiring cyclist Lance Armstrong. Before he left this world, he was about to talk to one of the heads in his university to talk about a very rare scholarship for varsity cyclists.

I remember he showed me his medals, trophies and newspaper pictures and articles regarding the name he made for himself, but he knows it wasn't enough. That's why he wanted a scholarship.

I remember how he told me how his weakness in his every triathlon race was swimming. Cramps run in our family--may we be athletic or not, it still occurs. So yeah, it was pretty difficult for him to swim sometimes.

If he were alive, I wonder how his face would look like when he sees that triathlon plug. Would he smile and get excited and guess around with us who among his friends would join the race? Or would he frown and raise his eyebrow like he would do so as to spread his sarcasm over us and tell us that he's far from qualified to race?

And that's when I'd hold back my tears because I wouldn't know how he would react if he knows about that triathlon plug. How would I know? He's not here anymore.

And because of that.... I dunno. He'd always surprise us. It's already been 2 years and I really wish that he is still alive to even make a try on that race so that at least for once I'd get the chance to see him race.

I just miss him so much... I wish... I wish... I wish he's still alive because it's great to be alive... But what can I do? I can only wish so hard and end up with nothing but tears.

Going Psycho

2009-07-21T19:57:00.002+08:00

I'm really not sure how it started, but I bet it's when I saw the OVA series of Samurai X that I discovered my love for gory and psychotic animes and mangas.

The series itself has very graphic images but the psychotic side of it wasn't even very obvious. I later found it mildly insane when I watched it again and finally got the essence of the story deeper than the first time I saw it.

But it was only a few years later that I found how interesting the psychotic mangas and animes were when I found the Taiwan TV drama "MARS" and then read the manga of it by Fuyumi Soryo. It's romantic and heroic in a very dark sense with obvious hints of violence and psychopathy. I think because of that flow in the story I was very much interested of it.

Then I remembered "School Days". It was mentioned to me a year ago by my chatmate from Portugal (who happens to be a great guitarist on YouTube and fan of animes) that a recent anime craze made Japan a little tense and it was because of this anime, "School Days".

It's very highschool-ish, which is a little downfall for me because I've kinda outgrown that part of me, and very cute that at the first few episodes of the anime and manga I was waiting for a little miracle turn of the story.

In the manga, the psychotic part was surprising because my fave heroine died. In the anime, it was very much insane. It wasn't even short-lived unlike from the manga. It's more sick and I pretty much enjoyed it.

I mentioned my euphoria with "MARS" and "School Days" to a few people and that's when I realized that I wasn't flowing with normal genre of anime/manga that people generally look into. That's when I realized that I am into everyday-life psychotic animes/mangas. Evidence of my love for it is my addictiveness with "Mars" and even making a new sig inspired from "School Days".

I don't even know if indulging to psychotic manga/anime is bad for me. Honestly, I am really enjoying reading and watching them that I find hentai nowadays a little boring. It's funny and weird. A new side of me opens and I don't even know if I am going psycho because of this.

I certainly do not have psychotic urges (except for the fact that I find the idea of killing my ex-boyfriends with a butcher's blade very tempting), but I smile whenever I think back of the stories I've read and watched.

Right now, I just finished the first book of "Higurashi no Naku Koro ni: Himatsubushi" and I plan to read the others as well. A few people suggested me to read "Elfen Lied" but I got bored (I'm really sorry but I really was. I even find it a bit dull and the story kinda stalls for some reason).

I also just finished "Yellow Hearts" which is very adult (the hentai feel is almost as if the manga is really hentai but it wasn't) and the psychotic side of the series is not obvious. I still enjoyed reading it though because it involves a rock band, people connections (like she was the ex of this guy who happened to be the killer of her boyfriend now, etc., etc., etc...--that kind of connection) and uhm hentai. LOL! I thought it was really pure psycho manga when I clicked it. I was wrong but I still enjoyed it.

This new side of me is very challenging but enjoyable. I'm waiting to find out how much I could take psycho anime/manga. For now, I read and watch on.

Update #4

2009-07-19T10:05:00.003+08:00

I know what you'll say.

"Hey, why aren't you blogging anymore?"

It's not my fault if my compooper just gave up! Worst part is, the OS (operating system) doesn't boot at all and keeps a DOS prompt message up saying, "Error loading operating system..."

My computer finally gave up on me and I had to have it fix--meaning, REFORMAT. It hurts but I have to.

In other news, I think I'll be lying low on RF Online for a while and will kinda concentrate at Rohan for MONEY purposes. The PHP trade in Rohan is VaVaVoom! You get what I mean. LOL!

My Basset Hound pups Dos and Tres have finally found new homes! Dos is now Hershey while Tres is now Lemon. Both of my friends are happy with 'em. I still need to find a new home for one last pup Quatro.

Juno will be moved again. After my grandparents' major fight (which they had to separate the dogs), I took care of her. My mum finally decided to bring her to her workplace with a very big yard (like really big, I don't even know why they have that so much space). It'll be good for her.

Since my computer's reformat, I have now a new Photoshop CS 2. I was about to cry cuz I know that I'd have to say goodbye to my old PS 7 so that my computer will be fixed. CS 2 is better than PS 7, I know that, but I can't help it if I love my PS 7 more than this CS crap. I just hope I won't be lazy.

Next post will be something interesting, I promise. I will have to talk about the neighbors here (you don't know how much I wanted to talk about them and their issues regarding my hounds) and also old broken hearts (yeah, I had the chance to look for my stuff and I surprised myself).

For now, lemme just fix my computer a lil bit and I hope I'll catch up again soon.

Hero

2009-07-08T20:55:00.004+08:00

Have you seen Juana Change's "Bayani"? Here, take a look:

Deep, huh? That is the current situation of our country the Philippines right now. I almost burst into tears when I saw the ending of the video.

From the last time I heard from our president, she was even proud that we are one of the leading countries to send workers abroad. How can we be fucking proud with that? We sacrifice the best of our people and make them servants abroad just to send money back home for their families. And the ones left behind are the idiots who know nothing otherwise to vote wisely.

How long are we gonna keep this up?

Since the beginning, I've never liked the idea of going abroad just to work. Why can't our country provide jobs here for our fellow countrymen? How long are we still gonna owe the World Bank more money even before our babies are brought to this world? How long are we still gonna send our hardworking citizens abroad just for fucking remittances to survive poverty?

Do we really need a hero on this age of corruption, fraud & poverty? Why do we keep on reaching out to the sun in the sky for a certain hero rather than doing what we ought to do right here right now?

My lil bro Lex asked if anyone from the government had already watched Juana Change's video "Bayani". I told him that even if they did, they have already mastered the power to ignore on these kind of things. Sick, huh?

And so we divert ourselves to cheap entertainment.

====================================================================

*"Bayani" is a Filipino term for "Hero".

*If you didn't notice, the man who appeared shining at the ending of the video is the country's national hero Jose Rizal (the book he's holding with the word "Noli" at the top indicated that it was Jose Rizal's "Noli Me Tangere")

MARS

2009-07-06T09:07:00.006+08:00

I just finished watching the Taiwan TV Drama "MARS" and the ending was a little unsatisfactory. I mean I wanted more for an ending (my lil bro Lex said he wanted to see the bisexual effeminate sociopath dead or get killed. LOL), but the mention of the "end of the world and will be ruled by Mars" rumor was a little nostalgic for me and I knew that their love will live on happily after that. It made me remember all that they've gone through, and it was like they've been to hell and back for so many times. They even gave up for a couple of times, but somehow before they could admit it, it was as if they were destined to be together: the playboy and the shy girl.

Both arose from tragedies and still sufferring from the after effects, but their love grew stronger.

What they have gone through is no joke in the fictional world. Ling (the lead male character starred by Vic Zhou) had to overcome the psychological injuries he bore since his twin brother's suicide. Entering the state of false death is not some matter to be laughed around. Seeing the death of his twin brother traumatized him a lot. It was like he saw himself dead. Since then, he broke all the mirrors he comes across to and was brought to a psychiatric ward for his worsening condition.

The story progresses when old high school classmates appear in the series which made Ling and Qi Luo's love put into test.

I love their love. And eventhough that somehow the story was kinda one-sided for Ling's part in the beginning because of his life story, just before I knew it, Qi Luo's story was then revealed. A victim of sexual harassment in the school by an english teacher and of rape by his stepfather.

Their experience is just...wow. Yeah, I mean what if those were real? How will they keep sanity then?

The appearance of the very villainous bisexual effeminate sociopath Tong Dao was really dark, mysterious and creepy. He was like "The Joker" in "Batman" but in more realistic and teenage world. He tries to bring the evil nature of Ling which was a side of him that he wants to be gone. Tong Dao even tried to kill Qi Luo for Ling to lose sanity and becomes his only companion.

But this character's darkness didn't seem to last. At first, he was really scary, but throughout the end of the series, he becomes annoying. Eventhough he was the cause of the greatest tragedy that happened to the couple in the series, he was still annoying for me. Somehow, he lost his darkness. Maybe it was meant to be? Ionno, but it was such a waste for a very effective villain.

Da Ye & Qing Mei together? So cute! And I'm glad Ling apologized to her for his playboy ways back then which she quickly warned him not to remind her of it since she had long forgotten them.

All in all? Great although there are some minor flaws in it. But what do you know, I'm watching it again right now! LOL! Don't blame me. Blame Fuyumi Soryo. He started the manga series anyway.

XD

====================================================================

*You should also listen to their opening theme "Ling" (Zero) by Alan Kuo. It's awesome.

*Oh, the actors in this drama are really good too!

Feeding My Drama Addiction: Mars

2009-07-05T04:18:00.002+08:00

I am currently feeding my drama addiction--Asian drama addiction, that is. Well, given my interest in rewatching BOF, HYD and recently "Meteor Garden"--the Taiwan adaptation of HYD manga series.

So I enjoyed it alot and to my surprise, I find Vic Zhou (the actor who played Hua Ze Lei) rather very attractive now than before. I was so into Dao Ming Se & Shan Cai pairing that I closed my doors to any Hua Ze Lei & Shan Cai shipping. I mean, I already love the story. Why should I want it any other way? I was very religious to it not knowing that Vic Zhou is actually more handsome than Jerry Yan (the actor who played Dao Ming Se).

And he keeps popping out of nowehere in the series which made it rather infectious and had me more curious of him than ever. So I searched the Tube for any movies or dramas that he had starred on, which were very interesting (especially that one Japanese movie he starred in called "Tea Fight").

What made it more intriguing is that I found a series which he and Barbie Xhu (Shan Cai of "Meteor Garden") starred on together! I was so shocked. The series was called "Mars" which was also an adaptation from the manga of the same title. It's a story of a shy artistic girl, Qi Luo (Barbie Xu), approached by the care-free and play-boy Chen Ling (Vic Zhou), who asked Qi Luo for directions to a hospital. In a split-second Ling forgets what the hospital name was. Hurriedly Qi Luo draws a map for him, unknowing that she was drawing on the back of one her drawings. Ling thanked her but she ran off before she could hear him, he then noticed the picture and was touched. The next time they had seen each other, Ling told her about the picture but Qi Luo ignored him and said he could keep the picture. Ling was very touched by the picture and that drew him closer and closer towards Qi Luo. But his past comes back to haunt him when a new student arrives as well as Qi Luo's past comes back. Feelings will collide when you have a jealous ex come to stand up and fight for Ling against Qi Luo and a known admirer confesses his feelings to Qi Luo.

Not very much appealing with the overview, isn't it? But when I started watching it, it got me hooked. I mean, it maybe is an another story of a playboy finally falling in love but somehow it never cease to capture my heart everytime. Because in real life, you rarely see them around.

Okay, back to the drama. So there I was with my eyes glued to the screen waiting forever for MSN's SoapBox to buffer every part of each episode (By golly, it takes forever for this player to buff! It could've been much easier to watch it if it was uploaded to a different player like from Veoh, LiveVideo, etc. Anything except SoapBox), the scenes became pretty familiar to me.

I then searched the internet and found out that this series was aired on QTV before, which is a channel owned by GMA-5.

Still I continued watching it. Turns out that this series is actually darker and a little mature in content because it involves critical issues that may not be able to handled by teenagers such as suicide, violence and psychopathy. The coming episodes become darker and depressing and it felt like a black hole was seeping them away from happiness and love, which actually for a little while becomes a little suffocating and a little boring but still curious of what's gonna happen next.

What I like most about early 90s manga is that they always make space for humour in their pages which is awesome because TV adaptations still put them in between episodes. It makes it even more interesting to watch and it builds the characters more.

Right now, I'm halfway in whole of the series. Usually, I'd finish this by 1 or 2 days, but MSN's SoapBox is so uber slow in buffer. It may take me a long while I guess.

After I'm done, I'm planning to read the manga online or blog the story of the TV adaptation one. Either way, I'm still gonna be sharing it with the rest of the world.

My Very Old Art Program

2009-07-02T23:13:00.002+08:00

I recently scoured the forums of Rohan Online Philippines and saw some people posting up their artworks. I was so excited to share mine as well, so I did all that "copy-paste" stuff to share my world.

But I know that on the other side of myself, I knew I wouldn't get much appreciation as what my family and friends would give to me. Strangers oftentimes open my eyes to what is really behind all of it. But sometimes I think to myself that what other people say will really matter after all?

Yes. No. Maybe. Perhaps. I don't really know. I only have my knowledge and my very old art program.

How old? Like I've been using this since Deo was still alive: Adobe Photoshop 7.

A lot of people had already told me to update my photoshop when CS 2 came out. I was like "okay sure", whatever. The fact is, I dun wanna.

I dun wanna.
I dun wanna.
I dun wanna.

Why? Because I am so much happier with my current one than the new one. I've heard from my Photoshop teacher before that CS versions make you a lazy digital artist. One click here and one drag there and--tada! And everyone else thinks you're a great digital artist when you didn't even sweat a thing for it.

I don't want that. I want it that whenever I post a work of mine, I know the inside and out of each layer I have used for a certain piece. I want it that whenever I look at it, I know how hard it is to try to find the matching colors and textures and filters just to come up with a piece. I want it that eventhough I had given all my hopes for a certain unfinished work, I know that I can still work on it harder than ever.

I always and always push myself to the limits on my Adobe Photoshop 7--my very old art program.

My teacher also said to me CS versions are a great room for growth and business. Maybe, but I can't help the fact that I still love and adore and use to my heart's content my PS 7.

I'm still having doubts whether I should update or not since I know I haven't used my PS 7 to its full capability. So maybe I'll stick with this for a while and maybe download CS 4 soon--in 48 years? LOL!

Helpful Basset Info

2009-06-29T21:56:00.002+08:00

I found this on the description of a video from YouTube which surprisingly taught me more of my fave dog breed. To all other hound-owner beginners out there, this should work more for you:

The Basset Hound is a short-legged breed of dog of the hound family. They are scent hounds, bred to hunt rabbits by scent. Their sense of smell for tracking is second only to that of the Bloodhound. The name Basset is derived from the French word bas, meaning "low", with the attenuating suffix -et, together meaning "rather low".

Basset hounds are commonly brown and white and most often spotted, but also exist in a variety of colors.These dogs are around 1 foot in height at the withers. They usually weigh between 35-70lbs. They have smooth, short-haired coats but a rough haired hound is possible. Although any hound colour is considered acceptable by breed standards.

Bassets are generally tricolor (black, tan, and white), open red and white (red spots on white fur), closed red and white (a solid red color with white feet and tails), Honey And White (honey coloured back, light brown spotty nose and legs, light brown tails with white tip) and lemon and white. Some Bassets are also classified as gray or blue; however, this colour is considered rare and undesirable. They have long, downward ears and powerful necks, with much loose skin around their heads that forms wrinkles. Their tails are long and tapering and stand upright with a curve. Some prefer that the tail be tipped in white. This is so they are easily seen when hunting/tracking through large bushes or weeds.

The breed is also known for its hanging skin structure, which causes the face to occasionally look sad; this, for many people, adds to the breed's charm. The dewlap, seen as the loose, elastic skin around the neck, and the trailing ears, help trap the scent of what they are tracking.The Basset Hound is a large dog with short legs. They were originally bred to have osteochondrodysplasia, known as dwarfism. Their short stature can be deceiving; Bassets are surprisingly long and can reach things on table tops that dogs of similar heights cannot. However, because Bassets are so heavy and have such short legs, they are not able to hold themselves above water for very long, and should never be made to swim.

The Basset Hound is seen as an especially friendly breed. For this reason they are an excellent pet for children. Bassets "forget" the training when a reward is not present. Bassets should be on a leash when out on walks.

Bassets might howl or bark when they want something or to suggest that they think something is wrong (like a storm is coming). They also use a low, murmuring whine to get attention, which sounds to many owners as though their Bassets are "talking." This whine is also used by the hound to beg (for food or treats) and varies in volume depending on the nature of the individual hound and length of time it has been begging.

Cool, huh? I'm glad I found it.

Passing Celebrities, Transformers 2, New Ships, Puppies & New 2010 Movies

2009-06-29T04:39:00.003+08:00

On Passing Celebrities...

I would to extend my condolences to the families of Michael Jackson and Farah Fawcett. The world has lost precious beings. May they rest in peace.

~~~~~

On Transformers 2...

It... was... AWESOME! The only thing I didn't like was the very short fight scene between Optimus Prime and The Fallen. Like FOR REAL PEOPLE--get meh some medium-timed climactic fight scene! What was Michael Bay thinking? Why all of a sudden that it was that short for a very anticipated movie? Sigh. Well, that's the only thing I didn't like. All in all, it was so AWESOME! Shia becomes hotter, as well as Megan.

The sequel is rather more human than the first. I think this has matured and I predict that not everyone will like this film. Still, I think it's awesome.

It's just that scene.... LOL! Yeah it's quite bothersome for my part cuz I've always expected more of that scene. Yet again, I can forgive Mr. Bay for it since Shia and Megan has inexplicable chemistry on screen. I love it.

Go watch the film BTW, and make sure you go early cuz the cinemas are stacked with people in lines. Haha!

~~~~~

On New Ships...

Currently shipping ZuTara (Zuko/Katara) of ATLA (Avatar: The Last Airbender) and SamxMikaela (Sam/Mikaela of Transformers 2 starred by Shia Labeouf & Megan Fox respectively).

Yesh, the hunt is on for fanfics, fanarts and fanvids. Weeee~!

~~~~~

On Puppies...

After the kennel was built, Dos finally found a new home! My long-time friend (since grade school) Nancy buzzed me for drinks when I convinced her to buy one of my pups.

Cuz for real, I need to place the pups on new homes before they turn 5 months old! They just turned 4 and already I am experiencing the fast decrease of my hounds' alloted stocks of consumption. Seriously, it's a pain for our pockets to further keep the pups (since my grandparents were in a fight and my grandma returned the Basset Hound Juno to me and my senior mongrel Mocha as well). I was keeping 9 dogs! And not just any 9 dogs--nine loud dogs, especially the little ones.

I have one more grade-school friend who contacted me and she's interested to get one too. A customer texted me and he wants a hound for his family.

I am so relieved! And these pups will be in great care in the hands of these people. I just know.

After that, no more breeding. I will now concentrate on taking care of what I have.

~~~~~

On New 2010 Movies...

Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Last Airbender and Ice Age 3. Three movies I am waiting to be released next year.

I've been waiting on Narnia 3 like FOREVER! How will Fox pull this off after Disney dropped the franchise? I hope Walden made the right choice.

And Oh... Em... Gee... I am so in *squee* mode after watching the teaser trailer of "The Last Airbender" by M. Night Shyamalan. This is based on Nickelodeon's Emmy Award Winning Series "Avatar: The Last Airbender".

And I kinda hate James Cameron for not letting go of the movie title "Avatar" (since he also has a movie named "Avatar" with a different story). Such a name waster. I just hope Shyamalan can pull this movie off so he can show to Cameron that it was so worth-it if he had just let go of the "Avatar" title.

This goes to all the sceptics out there too! You think this kind of story is easy to film and shoot and say "Oh great, lousy director and sucky cast. What's next?", huh? I believe this will give justice to the series. Cuz if Shyamalan won't be able to pull this off, he is failing her daughter himself (since it was his daughter that inspired him to make this into a movie).

So don't you worry, you scumbags who feel that the world has ended just cuz of your cheap alibis to judge a film, cuz 2010's coming and that will be the final hour of how this movie is going to be awesome. And with that, you can forgive Shyamalan and the cast and shamelessly whip yourselves to your momma for not shutting the fuck up. Until then, I lay my hopes for Shyamalan and into the movie.

I do hope this movie is gonna be big, cuz it will be oh-so-big for me and my bros. LOL!

Ice Age 3 is gonna be big too! Aaaaaaaaaack! I am so excited!

Hana Yori Dango / Meteor Garden / Boys Over Flowers

2009-06-15T01:18:00.002+08:00

From Wikipedia.org

Boys Over Flowers (花より男子, Hana Yori Dango^?) is a Japanese shōjo manga series by Yoko Kamio. It was serialized in the bi-weekly anthology magazine Margaret, which is aimed at high-school-age girls. The manga series ran continuously from October 1992 to September 2003, and was collected into 37 tankōbon volumes. In 1996, it received the Shogakukan Manga Award for shōjo.

Oooooh, big deal. Well, yes it is.

Recently, ABS-CBN has bought the rights to Korea's popular drama this year called "Boys Over Flowers" which is an adaptation of Yoko Kamio's "Hana Yori Dango" in Japan.

My first encounter with Yoko Kamio's famous work was when I was a DJ in M.O.R. Cotabato in 2002 to 2003. ABS-CBN then bought the rights to Taiwan's adaptation of HYD (Hana Yori Dango) called "Meteor Garden" and their TV ratings sky-rocketed! That was their first try on airing Asianovelas and quickly made a mark in Philippine TV History (for making the Filipino audience get hooked to another foreign dramas aside from mexican and Spanish dramas).

Back then, eventhough it was my job to be "involved" with all the F4 craze, I was already hooked before I could even say yes to dissolving myself in it. The attractive looks in the cast is just some extra bonus of loving this show. I was so much in love with the story.

Because of my addiction to "Meteor Garden" back then, I later found out that the series was just an adaptation from Yoko Kamio's HYD.

After the craze, I went back to my hometown and my life continued its course.

And now, when I heard of Korea's "Boys Over Flowers" as an adaptation to HYD too, I knew I had to watch this. Somehow, another revision of one of my favorite and beloved stories interests me.

I went on the prowl for cuts and episodes on YouTube. Sad to say, not many episodes were uploaded since they were put down due to copyright infringement.

But hey! YouTube's not the only online video streaming in the world! I head on to Veoh.com and I was more than happy to watch the series three times eventhough the site eats a lot of my bandwidth (which means cutting off any processes on-going just to preserve buff for Veoh's videos).

Yes, I'm done watching it. I've watched it three times. And I still plan on watching it. The plot keeps getting better and better every episode.

And because of my amazement to this story, I've decided to watch the HYD TV series from Japan. Sure it was oddly different from BOF and MG, but I don't mind at all. Each adaptation should be different and that's what makes it more interesting.

Right now, a rumor was spreading across Asia about China also doing an adaption of the series and it's gonna be called "Meteor Rain" or "Meteor Shower". I have yet to wait for this and watch their version as well.

Soooo....

2009-06-01T23:54:00.002+08:00

Hey ya! Ya I know, it's been a while. Like a REALLY looooooooooooong while. My bad.

I'll be posting some stuff real soon. So I'll just do a quick recap.

Rest in peace to my grand godmother Felicisima "Tiya Inday" Garces. She took care of me and Deo when we were little. I could never forget her. Her warmth and love was always sincere and I've always cherished it.

I've been rekindling my love for the Hana Yori Dango series ever since the Korean adaptation of it "Boys Over Flowers" showed in ABS-CBN. I've already finished watching it three times! LOL! I have always loved the story ever since I watched the Taiwanese adaptation "Meteor Garden" way back. There is a rumored 4th adaptation from China and I can't wait. LOL!

New shipping: SoEulmates. So Yi Jung (Kim Bum) and Chu Ga Eul (Kim So Eun) of Korea's "Boys Over Flowers" series. I even have their 5-minute Samsung commercial on my phone which took up alot of space, but it sure is worth it. Aah... The playboy falls for the nice girl. That's why "Cruel Intentions" is my fave movie. Haha!

Lee Min Ho is hot. LOL!

I've been contacting some old friends as well and it's nice to know how they are doing. Tee hee~!

I've also been playing Rohan Online Philippines as a Support Priest. It's a nice game. RF Online is still my number one.

Puppies are growing! Aaack~! Still now homes for them though. Gyah~! After this, I'm not gonna breed anymore. Planning to neuter/spay my hounds for good.

That's it for now. I'll post something meaningful next time.

Anyong~! (Goodbye in Korean XD)

Let's Get Random!

2009-03-23T13:59:00.004+08:00

L-carnitine, babies, puppies, future plans, etc. These are just a few things I'd like to blog about now.

It's funny how commercials and advertisements nowadays are very much creative. Sometimes you couldn't get a clue what they are endorsing until the product appears on screen. But you know what's funnier? Beverages packed with L-carnitine.

Seriously, what is it with L-carnitine? Do Filipinos are really that desperate to stay slim? And now this chemical is found in most beverages according to their commercials. My family was shocked to see a certain drink that has now endorsed of an added L-carnitine mixture. My lil bro Lex then started to immitate these L-carnitine commercials but with other beverages. We just started laughing. In fact, he even included some even random stuff like:

Tortang Talong! Now with L-carnitine!

You get the idea. And yes, we now make fun of L-carnitine.

Don't ask me if I have tried it cuz seriously, it didn't work for me.

BUT yesterday we were at the baby stuff department at SM. Mum was buying a gift for her employee because she just have a baby. At first, everything there was cute and soft and very pricey. Me and my lil bro just went on pressing buttons on baby toys and touching soft clothes here and there, then I began to feel a lil bit--weird.

Yes, weird. My mind went on playing tricks on me and I was caught totally off guard. I started to think about my batchmates in elementary, high school and college. Some got married. Others have babies on their Friendster profiles. And some others actually have JOBS and living! Then I took a peak of myself. What have I done lately? Playing RF, breeding dogs, still at school and jobless. I dun even have a baby and I was at the baby store.

Okay sure, it wasn't for me but that situation yesterday was trying to tell me something. Get a move on and start earning? I started hating babies. They may be cute, but I am not ready for something like that. I dun want my whole world to collapse for these cuties.

Maybe I am too selfish? Still on that "single" track? I have no idea. All I know is that I'm not ready and yet the world is trying to tell me to get a kick of it. I dun even know if the baby will live under my care and my mum had already told that to me like a couple of times and it just fucking hurts!

Okay, I won't go on. This is just too painful.

AND the puppies just turned 7 weeks old and growing so uber fast! I actually think they are much cuter than the first batch. I will post pictures soon.

I also mentioned to my mum that I do have plans in the future--near future, if I could get it nearer to me. When (and that's a big WHEN) I get a job, I'll save it and then rent a house. Just a small house but with a big yard. Then Ima get my dogs (Mojo, Pazzy, Paulie, Princess & Mocha the mongrel who is staying at my grandparents' for a while) and live in that rented place. And if I could earn more, maybe I'll get my own.

But this kinda sounded impossible since I have to get a job firs. I am an undergraduate and it's tough.

For now, still thinking of what to do.

Eternal Sunshine for the Avatar Finale

2009-03-18T08:29:00.003+08:00

I didn't know that Avatar had already finished it's story last year. The site that we used to watch Avatar streams had somehow stopped updating and we thought that Nickelodeon hasn't released anything yet.

Or so we thought.

I opened a new thread at RF Philippines forums just to check if I am not the only one watching the Avatar series. To my surprise, there are those who enjoy it and I am very much glad that I created the thread. Then a fellow forumer gave a site where you could watch updated Avatar streams. I instantly clicked on it but it had poor video edits and cuts. There was another Avatar streaming site included in his link list so I tried my luck there.

That's where I found out how the series ended and it was awesome. Seriously, pure awesomeness. That's where I started shipping another couple: Zutara (Zuko/Katara). They actually were never canon but they have extreme chemistry more than their supposed love affairs (Katara/Aang & Zuko/Mai). Expect me to fill this blog with Zutara wallpapers and fanarts posted soon.

This American anime series means a lot to me. Why? My late bro Deo actually introduced me to this series, and influenced and manipulated me to watch it. I found myself hooked a few days later.

And now, it has already ended and I am so happy with it. Aang finally defeated the Fire Lord Ozai and restored peace from a hundred-year war. Zuko becomes good and helped Aang through firebending and, by his birthright, becomes an honourable leader of the Fire Nation. Katara has avenged her mother (well, not so much but in a sense) and Sokka had finally freed his dad and Suki from Boiling Rock.

Now, my hopes for ABS-CBN to avail the Avatar franchise is soaring high and I wanna spread the fun of the Avatar adventure through my fellow anime lovers--just like how my late brother got me and my lil bro hooked to it.

*Sniff* I wish he could've watched it with us. He'd be blown away.

Here's the Season 3 Trailer to make you understand how blown away we were:

Thank You, Silvrette!

2009-03-15T15:13:00.001+08:00

Thank you so much, Silvrette!

RIP FrancisM

2009-03-15T11:47:00.003+08:00

I know I'm kinda late, but I still wanna express my condolences to the Magalona Family. The country has lost the King of Pinoy Rap FrancisM (Francis Magalona) due to Leukemia.

You will always be remembered as a legend.

Here's one of your most memorable songs that I love so much: Kaleidoscope World.

Lyrics:

So many faces, so many races
Different voices, different choices
Some are mad, while others laugh
Some live alone with no better half
Others greet while others curse
And others mourn behind a big black hearse
Some are pure and some half-bred
Some are sober and some are wasted
Some are rich because of fate and
Some are poor with no food on their plate
Some stand out while others blend
Some are fat and stout while some are thin
Some are friends and some are foes
Some have some while some have most

Every color and every hue
Is represented by me and you
Take a slide in the slope
Take a look in the kaleidoscope
Spin it round, make it twirl
In this kaleidoscope world

Some are great and some are few
Others lie while some tell the truth
Some say poems and some do sing
Others sing through their guitar strings
Some know it all while some act dumb
Let the bass line strum to the bang of the drum
Some can swim while some will sink
And some will find their minds and think
Others walk while others run
You can't talk peace and have a gun
Some are hurt and start to cry
Don't ask me how don't ask me why
Some are friends and some are foes
Some have some while some have most

The Mercenary Files

2009-03-11T19:32:00.002+08:00

Haiiiiiiii!!!! Long time no post! LOL! Yeah, I've been busy with school, hounds, and RF!

Yes, I'm back into gaming again and this time I decided to finally make a separate blog for it rather than posting it all up here. I think this blog deserves better and RF deserves a different blog. I think it's a cool idea though.

So go visit it now! click: The Mercenary Files

FINALLY~! Done All 7~!

2009-02-24T07:55:00.002+08:00

Yesterday dawn, I had finally done it! I had finally finished reading all of the 7 books of C. S. Lewis's "The Chronicles of Narnia" chronologically. I know some of the people at NarniaWeb.com would suggest me to read the books in their publishing order, but I wanted to understand the story more and I have no time for surprises and confusions. So I read 'em chronologically.

It took me a couple of months to finish reading the book because of my being busy for some time with school and hounds, but I managed from time to time to read a page or two, or even finish 2 chapters at once.

As you know, I got the book as an early Christmas gift and all 7 was bound together chronologically like in one book. I was excited to read it since I have always been curious about the 1st book in that order, "The Magician's Nephew".

The chronicles got me hooked. By the end of the first book, I was becoming more excited to read "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" which is the 2nd book in the chronological series. Soon, I was reading "The Horse and His Boy" with so much imagination and awe. Then I was beginning to be "into" with the characters. I've grown a little dislike for Aravis Tarkheena in the beginning of HHB, but that soon gradually changed since he saw the pureness of Shasta. It took her a little while for her to be which is kinda annoying. LOL!

My imagination for "Prince Caspian" was mixed since I've watched the BBC version and the Walden version and I had mixed them with my own. This continued at the "Voyage of the Dawn Treader" where things started to churn me up.

I'm a big Susan/Caspian shipper and eventhough I loved the original context of the books, I also love the movies that inspired from them. Anything Narnia is just insta-love for me. So when I read VDT, I was just completely surprised when the Lord Drinian (the captain of the ship) showed to Lucy and Edmund and Eustace where the ship had been to already when Caspian interrupted him when he mentioned Redhaven in the Seven Isles about the Duke's daughter:

"Squints and has freckles," said Caspian.
"Oh poor girl," said Lucy.

I went screaming. LOL! Because in the movie, Susan HAS freckles and she squinted before she kissed Caspian. Now I'm ever so curious how will they make VDT as a movie with this passage or will they just skip this one. Ionno, but I am still excited for the film in 2010.

The flirting scene between Caspian and Ramandu's daughter was just really brief and only by that it triggered the future of Narnia for Prince Rilian in the next book "The Silver Chair".

Things got pretty exciting for me in SC--especially for the first few pages. Trumpkin the dwarf as old and deaf is just the funniest thing I have ever encountered in reading books all of my life. That page alone just had me cracking up everytime I go back and read it again and again!

But besides that, it was a pretty wonderful adventure and I loved it. I think SC is my fave in all of the books in the chronicles. Why? Well, read the chronicles. You'll know why.

By the 7th book "The Last Battle", I was all hands down and no wonder this book won a Carnegie Medal (one of the highest marks of excellence in children's literature). The story is just exhilirating that it wasn't like in any books that I've experienced reading. I finished reading it for 2 days! If I had more time in our hands, I could've read it in like a day and even lesser than that. The story is fantastic. The only sad part about it is when our friends from the "Other World" made a remark about Susan. *Sniff*

I still consider Antoine de-Saint Exupery's "The Little Prince" as my favorite book but "The Chronicles of Narnia" by C. S. Lewis is definitely a new addition to my top fave list. It has a lot of lessons, may you be Christian or not, that you can teach to yourself and to kids as well.

Lewis succeeded in making the chronicles as one of the greatest children's book of all time which can still be read and enjoyed by adults.

I'm just all lost of words for the Narnia chronicles. My love for the series is just beyond what I can imagine. Seriously.

I Salute "Slumdog Millionaire"

2009-02-23T16:59:00.003+08:00

No wonder the Bollywood movie "Slumdog Millionaire" won 4 awards at the Golden Globes [link] and 8 awards at the Oscars [link] this year. Really, no wonder.

When I watched the Golden Globes 2009, I was so excited for the movie "Revolutionary Road" with Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. The movie was phenomenal for me and it is already one of my top fave movies of all time. Actors' performances are effin incredible that I got myself sitting at the egde of our couch. It was a great comeback for the duo after their worldwide success from "Titanic" ten years before. Wow. Just wow.

That's when I heard the movie "Slumdog Millionaire". I didn't know about it till it won 4 awards from the award show! I was totally shocked! It even won "Best Motion Picture". I went like "Where the hell did this movie come from?"

So I had the chance to watch it and to my surprise it was fucking incredible. The story is great, the characters are fantastic, the ambience of the environment in the movie is wonderful, the cinematography and editing are exceptional. Me and my bro Lex just wow'd over and over and over again and throughtout the movie.

It's really a rare thing for me to appreciate Bollywood movies since they have too much singing and dancing that I dun understand why they have to put that style over and over again in a lot of their movies. I just think that it's pretty hilarious sometimes that I dun take their movies seriously.

When "Monsoon Wedding" was coming on Stars a few years ago, it was actually great. And now I got 2 Bollywood movies which are actually really great to watch.

So gratz to Slumdog Millionaire!

I Am Not A Tomboy~!

2009-02-18T09:14:00.003+08:00

It occur to me that 90% of the ladies I see are so feminine--may it be in fashions of sporty, work-related, student, club-goer, etc.. The other 10% are just plain tomboys. For the past few years, I've never encountered this much change in our city. That's what they say as "time's a-changin'." So it seems.

Now this never caught my attention quickly since I am comfortable (sometimes) with how I carry myself until I had the chance to contemplate on my past and onto the people I see passing by.

When I stepped into high school, my bestfriend was "floating" away from me and hung out more with our old nemesis in elementary school who became our friend then. She was more feminine than me and she carried out the same interests with her. At first, it was okay since my bestfriend and I were of two different worlds (she's a balladeer while I'm rocker, go figure XD) and I thought that maybe she could use some more feminine presence with her. Besides, I'm her bestfriend. There's no way I could be replaced (we've been bestfriends since we're 8 years old).

But as time flew by up to our senior year, I was completely left out from their outings and stuff. I didn't know about their dates, their guys, etc.. I was an outcast! I was erased from it all and my bestfriend allowed this to happen. I was sad and angry. My bestfriend in the whole wide world left me just because I'm not feminine enough.

But that's what I thought. There are times that she would just show up in our doorstep and cry out her problems to me. And as her bestfriend for years, I was there for her and lent a shoulder. She was still my bestfriend after all, but the fact of not knowing everything that is going on with her just completely drove me crazy that it came to a point that I expressed my anger to her and to her friend about it. I wanna be with them, but I know, even if they don't say it, I'm just not feminine enough for them.

We graduated high school and onto our own separate ways, but we contacted each other again and things went back to normal--well, kinda.

On my debut, I had it celebrated with a live reggae band. While we were on our way there, my bestfriend told me something that I should've known earlier than that time. She told me that her friend spread a rumor back in high school that I was a tomboy and that I had "romantic" feelings for my bestfriend and that I was jealous of our friend and also to my bestfriend's boyfriend at that time. I completely laughed my ass off. Me? A tomboy? What a ridiculous rumor.

But it turns out that it's not that ridiculous to their point of view. I wasn't "girly" enough, and I was more tomboyish with what I wear and how I talk and act. People received a different vibe from me to which I have never intended to send. I didn't care what other people think of me and so I continued with how I carry myself.

Maybe because having brothers influence me this much. I grew up in men's world not knowing that I am a lady. I was the guyfriend to every guy that I befriended in high school. No one took me as a lady in campus eventhough I wore a uniform skirt just like every other girl I knew there. I was just plain--different.

Now that I've grown up and ladies in feminity are growing more and more everywhere, I am left with my old tomboyish self but with growing lady-like basic interests. But because I'm different, I had myself thinking of the possibilities that I might be a lesbian or a tomboy.

Am I? Am I really? Am I sure? Maybe? I have no idea.

Yesterday, while my mum and I bought groceries for my grandpa in the hospital, we were in bad luck after finding out the flat tire of our 9-year-old Mitsubishi Adventure in the mall's parking lot. We tried our luck in girl power by working the jack underneath and unscrewing the bolts of the flat tire, but the jack wasn't high enough and the bolts won't even budge a little.

"Only a man can do that," my mum said and we were the only ladies around.

"Flat tire?" We turned around and saw a young man in his blue engineering shirt uniform. It was clear that he worked in the engineering department of the mall and my mum thought he was an angel. We know only can a man unbolt the flat tire, or maybe even help with our little jack.

So we asked him to do the job for us. He saw that the jack wasn't functioning high enough, so he told us that he'll be back with a much better jack. On his way, I saw him taking off his shirt. Ah, typical male Pinoy worker.

He came back with planks of wood since he couldn't find their jack. It was okay for us so long as it's gonna work. So he put planks of wood underneath the jack and had it levered up until it was high enough to change the tire. He unscrewed the bolts with ease and did the job altogether.

While everything was in progress, I noticed that sweat was starting to excrete from his skin and I found myself checking him out and his assets. LOL! This is embarrassing, but it was true. He wasn't that attractive but he wasn't that ugly. He wasn't really that built up, but he wasn't too sloppy in figure.

I don't really judge people by their physical appearance but the moment caught me off guard! He was so kind to us but the fact he's working on our tires half-naked and with skin shining with sweat, I just couldn't help myself. Thoughts came flooding my brain and I don't even want to write them now.

After it was done, my mum gave him a tip and said our thank-you's. My mum was so relieved that an angel passed by and helped us.

I was just relieved that I am not a tomboy after all.