Blog 218 > Endless Jumong, Autumn & Me

Konnichiwa minna-san! Greetings, my Tingling, Trembling and Tumbling Toyboxers! Well, enough of the pompous pleasantries. Let’s get to the point. Are you ready? Ready to withstand another soul-smashing tsunami of spellbinding anime, American sci-fi, Hong Kong classics, Japanese comedies, and Korean epics? Ready to digest rock bands, canine menaces, cute costumes, and mouth-watering waves of food-food-food? Ready to battle an unimaginably monstrous mega-cast equaling fifty or more mere-mortal posts? Not yet? Then please leave the battlefield, hehe. But if you are, better polish your psychological shield and sharpen your cultural sword! Prepare to engage! On with the show!

From Autumn to Halloween

Ah, yes, from Autumn to Halloween, let’s navigate through the next 18 days of September and 31 days of October. Alas, a 49-day odyssey through overstated subtlety and understated ecstasy. Abandon hope all ye who enter here!

13 September 2009
Sunday. Somehow, got up 730am. While doing the laundry, worked on Blog 217. Chat too, lol. Napped 1230-230. More chat, lol. Replied to blog comments. Then back to work on blog. Tread w “True Blood” 5/xx. Even more chat, blog, etc.

14 September 2009
Monday. Home. “Ouran” 1/26 (finally started it). LOL, boy is a girl! Opposite of “Maria+Holic”, hehe. Finally installed the magenta ink I received today. Gahhh, when I uncapped it, it splattered! Damn! Luckily, the lemon degreaser I used on my foos table was able to clean the ink from the carpet and my skin. Gah. Tread w “True Blood” 6/xx. Worked on Blog 217 again. While I chatted till 1030pm, lol.

15 September 2009
Tuesday. For lunch, decided on “Burger King” in the Outlet Center food court. Oops, we parked at the wrong end, so we walked-talked across the mall, hehe. But it was fun! Home. “Ouran” 2/26. Near tears! Already? So soon in the series? Tread w “True Blood” 7/xx. Worked on Blog 217. Then sketched a cute little doodle based on our discussion, hehe. More blog work till 11pm.

 

 

 

16 September 2009
Wednesday. Hehe, decided to wear my pink shirt w black striped tie. Why not? Left at my usual 4pm. “Ouran” 3/26, lol. Later, 8:30pm chat. Then skipped my tread-run to finish Blog 217! Hey! Finally done! At 10:45! But we continued to chat till midnight.

17 September 2009
Thursday. Heyyy, visited Kris-chan’sBento Bako Weekly“, lol. Left 4pm. Home. Heyyy, Guiness is back! “Gundam Wing” 21/49 w dinner. Napped 6-7pm w Guin, aww. Hmm, Lois’s Facebook comments; offended by my Blog 217 statement about “one girl’s pain, is another’s panic, is another’s pleasure”? Later, tread w “True Blood” 8/xx (still too slow). Then 10pm chat. Till 11pm, hehe.

18 September 2009
Friday. Then after her meeting, 12:30 lunch at TGIF! Mmm, Jack Daniels appetizer sampler and mozzarella sticks! Vanilla cheesecake plus free vanilla ice cream! Haha, photos too, lol. Otsukaresamadeshita! I said it right! Asked her to “Kabuki”? Nahhh, we were still too full from TGIF. And tired, lol. Hugs. Ah, home. Guiness! “Gundam Wing” 22/49. Napped 6-8pm? Tread w “True Blood” 9/xx. WTF? Sam the dog? Dumb. Revealed too late in the series. Should’ve happened in the first few episodes. Forget it. Forget the show. Chat 10pm-130am! Happy Birthday!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

19 September 2009
Saturday. Wow, got outta bed 10am! Then as usual, let Guiness outside into the backyard. Sunny! “Gundam Wing” 23-24-25/49 (finished [36] first-half of season; 4 of 5 stars!). Ah, groceries! Through her influence, bought tons of fruits (apples: 3 granny smiths, 3 fujis, 3 braeburns; group of 7 bananas, 7 peaches or nectarines) and veggies (celery and lettuce), not to mention, generic low-sodium vegetable juice, lol. Right after that, decided to get a car wash, finally. Napped 3-5pm? Chat, lol. Then 6pm dinner. Since “True Blood” failed, tread w “Trinity Blood” 1/24? (again). Yup, stopped the “True Blood” crap, lol. But wait, after browsing through my Amazon lists with DivX players, decided to check my DivX player. Heyyy, the “Jumong” SRT subs work on my newer (exercise-room) player! Nice. Thank you Amazon! More chat. Till 1am, hehe.

 

Mobile Suit Gundam Wing (1995) [36] and [40]. As of 19 Sept, my 36th anime title-or-season of the year. First half of 49-episode series, 4 of 5 stars. As of 13 Nov, completed the second half of the series, my 40th anime title-or-season of the year, 3 of 5 stars. Overall 3 of 5 stars.

 

 

 

 

20 September 2009
Sunday. Whoa, up 730am! Finally applied Soft Scrub Bleach to the shower tiles. For breakfast, had an apple, banana, pecan spinwheel and yogurt, lol. Did more soft-scrubbing to the shower. Then with her hard-drive situation in my mind, decided to back-up my iMac’s Windows XP files (19GB) to my WP Passport portable USB drive. Followed with some blog comment catch-up. From 1-3pm, watched my Netflix of “In the Mood for Love” (2000) plus extras. Wow, 5 of 5 stars! Maggie and Tony remind me sooo much of her and me! Uncanny! I mean, how did I avoid watching this? Since I already watched “2046” before, how? After meeting her, must be fate? Later, chat while she was studying at the library. Meanwhile, during our chat, ordered “Battle Angel”, “In the Mood for Love” and its sequel “2046” on Amazon, lol. Lunch w “Ouran HS Host Club” 4/26. She finally left the library at 7pm. Watched more extras from “Mood for Love”. Then tread w “Jumong” (2006) 1/81 (started, 1st half hour). Later, study/chat, hehe. Till 12 midnight.

 

21 September 2009
Monday. Home. Dinner. Celery and lettuce for salad, along w my leftover roast beef sub. “Ouran HS Host Club” 5/26. Napped 6-820pm? Tread w “Jumong” 1/81 (2nd half). Afterwards, chat 10pm-12midnight, hehe.

22 September 2009
Tuesday. Heyyy, wore my blue shirt and purple-blue-striped tie! So I left around 4:30pm. Well, at home w Guiness, I got her call at about 5:20pm, while she was at the parking lot, lol. Basically, she wanted to tell me in private what happened at her meeting. Wow, awesome! That’s the news she wanted to share w me. Dinner w “Ouran” 6/26. Then later, 6-645, chatted w her while she was in class, lol. Tread w “Jumong” 2/81 (1st half). Ah, bills bills bills. Hehe, another chat 920-11pm.

23 September 2009
Wednesday. Around 4pm, my car engine slowed way down. Light indicator: “Service Engine Soon”. Damn, maybe the air intake duct again? Damn. So took the local roads from work, down Warm Springs, all the way to Gibson, then Henderson Nissan dealership at the Auto Mall. Like before, tightening the air intake duct took a quick 15-minute fix! Wow! Dinner w “Ouran” 7/26. Napped 6-7pm. Then around 7pm, she called! She finished her exam! Congrats! Told her it was nice to hear her voice. Tread w “Jumong” 2/81 (2nd half). Later, chat from 915 to 11pm, hehe.

24 September 2009
Thursday. Happy Birthday, Joel! Yup, last night, sent him an Amazon gift email, lol. During my morning commute, noticed the 630-640am sunset in my rearview mirror, aww. Yup, early to office, 640am! Home. Guiness! “Ouran” 8/26. Chat, during her class, lol. Sorries over my earlier behavior! Meanwhile, I continued work on my web “triDocs”, lol. Tread w “Jumong” 3/81 (1st half). Chat from 9pm-11pm.

25 September 2009
Friday. Came to work early, at 645am. Because I arrived early, left early, at 3:45pm. Home. Guiness! “Ouran” 9/26. Later, chat 530-6pm. Tread w “Jumong” 3/81 (2nd half) from 830-930pm. Chat again till 1030pm. Hmm, did she fall asleep? So after an hour, around 1130pm, I wrote: “Sweet dreams.” Aww.

26 September 2009
Saturday. Up 6am. Because of air intake duct issue earlier this week (Thurs?), took the car to Henderson Nissan. Also decided to do the intermediate maintenance ($331.99, ouch). Waited from 8-10am, but did some web “triDoc” work. Afterwards, groceries ($108), including tons of veggies (2 celery stalks, 2 lettuce heads, 3 tomatoes, bag of carrots, container of grape tomatoes) and fruits (10 nectarines, 10 fuji apples, bag of 12 granny smith apples, bunch of 10 bananas). Whoa, 40+ pieces! Hehe, chat from 11:30-12:30. Whoa, napped from 12:30-3:30. Three hours! “Ouran” 10/26. Then intermittent chat throughout the day, as she studied. Later, 530pm tread w “Jumong” 4/81 (1st) since I was going out soon. Then 7pm, sent a bye-bye hug and signed off chat to take a shower, get changed and head to Coley’s “Beatles Rock Band” party! Wow, 730pm till 130am! Six hours! Not just Coley in his orange Sgt. Pepper’s costume (as John Lennon?), but also Vu, Bliss, Sam, Thomas, Andres, Edward, and of course, the cute Kate! Not to mention a dozen or so of Coley’s Asian students, lol. Funny that we rotated through the Beatles songs at least 2-3 times before we got tired of it about halfway thru the night, enough that Vu switched it back to regular “Rock Band”, haha! No complaints from me! Wow, I probably sang about a couple dozen songs! Including “I Am the Walrus” a couple times w Kate, haha. Not to mention, my favorite grunge tunes like “Man in the Box” (Alice in Chains) and “Alive” (Pearl Jam)! Loved singing “Wonderwall” (Oasis) too, but failed “Jane Says” (Jane’s Addiction), haha. Too high! My throat was scratchy and dying by then! Luckily, at my desperate request, Bliss and Kate saved me on that “Jane Says” song, aww. Vu and Kate left about 1230am, but I finally left 130am. Wow, home by 2. Bed by 230am. Whew.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

27 September 2009
Sunday. Somehow got up at 730am, lol. After a mere 5 hours of sleep, lol. Grocery shopping. Tons of fruits (10 bananas, 10 nectarines, 10 oversized Fuji apples, bag of 12-13 Granny Smith apples), lol. Laundry day. Called to tell my parents: “Happy 40th Anniversary!” But left the message instead. Oh well, lol. Put together a new Excel spreadsheet and line chart of my various savings and credit account balances. Interesting! Not great, but not as bad as I thought. “Ouran” 11/26 (aww, almost cried) and 12/26. Napped 1230-215pm. Heyyy, opened my last two-pack wrap of Strawberry Frosted Pop Tarts! Wow! While I still have some left at the office, my 3-year Pop Tart phase is drawing to a close! Chat from 230-430pm. Heyyy, Mom and Dad called back! Wished them a Happy Anniversary, talked for a bit. Till 5pm. Later, chatted from 630-8pm. Tread w “Jumong” 4/81 (2nd half). Even more chat, lol. Till midnight. Aww.

28 September 2009
Monday. Heyyy, didn’t wear my elbow pad for the first time in weeks! But then, garage, 7am “Service Engine Soon” again? Headache too. Texted them, asking to pick me up. But they were tied up. In fact, I decided to skip the shuttle and stay anyway, in case it was a quick fix. Which I expected. And which turned out to be the case. Done 830. Work 9am. “Ouran” 13/26. Napped 530-730pm or so. Chat 8-930pm while I uploaded “Rock Band” photos, hehe. Thus no tread.

29 September 2009
Tuesday. Home. Guiness! Texted her: Good grape luck! “Ouran” 14/26. Hey, for easier image-copy-pasting w my web-help project, installed Office Enterprise 2007 on my iMac’s Virtual XP. Also moved files from XP to iMac to make some room for disc burning. Tread w “Jumong” 5/81 (1st). Chat from 930-1030pm.

30 September 2009
Wednesday. Early to work, 645! Chilly for the first time! Got texts from Lisa: She may be picking up Guiness tomorrow night! Home. Guiness! Another huge salad dinner again, mmm, w “Ouran” 15/26. Followed by nap 6-7pm. Tread w “Jumong” 5/81 (2nd). Chat from 845-10pm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

01 October 2009
Thursday. Whoa, got to work early, 645am? Then to celebrate Melanie’s b-day, 12 noon lunch at “Kabuki”! Sat in the bright sunny patio, met her friend and Muay Thai fighter Patti, ate colorful sushi “Sunkist” (Patti) and “Firecracker” (Melanie) which made my salmon California rolls look sooo plain, lol. Afterwards, walked two feet away to the “Yogurtland”. I didn’t get anything, but the do-it-yourself process was intriguing! Hehe, took final photos, then about 1:30pm, drove Melanie and myself back to the office. Yup, back to reality. Home. Lisa already at the house to brush and bathe Guiness. Mmm, my 3 Oreo+Cheesecake blizzards! Plus ordered Papa John’s pizza plus Cinnamon Pie! Mmm. Somehow I even took a mini-nap before Lisa inevitably left w Guiness about 7pm. Awww, his last day! Super-brief chat w LovelyDuckie-chan, lol. Tread w “Jumong” 6/81 (1st). Then chat 930-11pm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

02 October 2009
Friday. Wore my elbow pad again, bahhh, lol. At 12 noon, lunch at the “Galanga” Thai Eatery. Wow! Tasty Pad Thai and Peanut Curry. Delicious! Finally decided on Outback Steakhouse, since she wanted “quiet and cozy” and hadn’t visited it before. So I suggested it and we got there about 5:30pm, lol. Nice chat. Until the check came. Apparently I lost or misplaced my credit card! I was so flustered! But after calling to ask the “Galanga” place, she calmed me down and reminded me that I used my card to order pizza yesterday! Whew, felt so much better. We finally left 7pm or so. Dropped her off at her car at the office parking lot. Home. The neighbor’s wife found and gave me the foosball score markers for the table, lol. But told her I already bought new ones from Amazon. Then I asked her and her kids to take a look at my cleaned-up foosball table (one kid said “Whoa!”). Later, realized her markers weren’t complete anyway. Oh well. Napped from 7:30-9:30pm. Then we chatted till 10:45pm. Thus no tread. Finally went to bed at midnight or so.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

03 October 2009
Saturday. Happy Tsukimi (based on an earlier chat), hehe. Up 8am! Somehow felt like searching for “In the Mood for Love” wallpapers and other images. “Ouran” 16/26 (whoa, moved to near tears). Heyyy, a surprise discovery, downloaded “Clone Wars – S2” episodes 1-2! Grocery time from 11:30am-12:30pm, tons of fruits, veggies, even a couple of Asian DVDs (“Forbidden Kingdom” [2008] and “Memoirs of a Geisha” [2005]), hehe. Chat while having lunch, salad and slices of leftover pizza, hehe. While we chatted throughout the day, each did our respective house-cleaning, lol. I did my laundry, vacuum, washing Guiness’ intensely smelly blanket, the same one knitted by my Mom, lol. Finally moved out the various plastics bins to keep Guiness out! Yup, my anti-Guiness defense walls (around my iMac desk area, and at my bedroom door), haha. Meanwhile, we chatted and chatted all day. Then at around 7:20pm, she decided to call my cell. And we talked and talked. Fortunately, we picked up our Gmail chat at 9pm, lol. And we chatted and chatted all night, as I moved myself and my work laptop from the couch to the kitchen table, back to the couch, then on the floor, lol. Chatted till 12 midnight! Thus no tread.

04 October 2009
Sunday. Hmm, restless sleep. Not really dreaming, but waking and falling back to sleep, thinking about her. Ah, finally found time to replace the ceiling air filter. Dusty! Fiddling and fixed the main light timer. Vacuumed the dust off the exercise-room treadmill and fan. More dusty! Aww, chat during lunch. Napped from 1:30pm-3pm. Heyyy, from 4-5pm, watched my downloaded “Clone Wars – S2” episodes 1-2 of 22 episodes (?). After that, decided to watch one of the DVDs I bought yesterday, “Forbidden Kingdom” (2008). Not bad for a second viewing! Till 7:30pm. Tread w “Jumong” 6/81 (2nd) and 7/81 (1st) till 9pm. Yup, two half-episodes, but still 1.25 miles treading plus interspersed biking. Aww, followed by chat from 9pm till 11:30pm.

 

05 October 2009
Monday. Based on last night’s chat, wore my blue shirt and blue-purple diag-striped tie, lol. Heyyy, radio station FM 107.9, “The Alternative” began its commercial-free Mondays. Sweet! “Ouran” 17/26 w huge bowl of salad again. Ham shreds and ranch dressing, mmmm. Chat. “Jumong” 7/81 (2nd) and 8/81 (1st) till 9pm! Wow, 2 miles, 360 calories! Even more chat till midnight, lol.

06 October 2009
Tuesday. Left eye was a bit red, runny nose, allergy? Left 4pm, left eye bothering. “Ouran” 18/26. Nap 6-8pm. Chat. Tread w “Jumong” 8/81 (2nd). She went offline 1030 (fell asleep?). Resumed till 11pm. Hmmm, Vacation Mondays? Again?

07 October 2009
Wednesday. Left 4pm, eye bothering. Vons, green and red grapes, lol. “Ouran” 19/26 w huge salad & BBQ meat, lol. Nap 7-8pm? Brief chat. Tread w “Jumong” 9/81 (1st). Eye bothering less. Chat till 11pm?

08 October 2009
Thursday. New clock alarm setting at 4:27am. Still somehow got up 4:30-5am. To work 7am. Left 4pm. She says she won’t be online tonight? “Ouran” 20/26. Overnapped 8-9:45pm. Brief chat before run. Tread w “Jumong” 9/81 (2nd) from 10 to 10:40pm. Then chat after run, 10:40-11:15pm.

09 October 2009
Friday. Second morning of new alarm: 4:27am. Early to work 6:30am! Dark and gloomy! Haha, 5:30-7:30pm Outback (appetizers+soup) dinner again! Afterwards, during drive back, she said she liked my voice (so I sang ABC’s), dropped her off at office parking lot. Nap 8:30-10:15pm (?), overnapped. Emails. Replied. Fallen for her. Tread w “Jumong” 10/81 (1st, 2nd). Two miles, from 11:30 till 1am.

10 October 2009
Saturday. Up 9am or so. Thinking of her all night. Laundry. Small bathroom, soft-scrubbed the tiles. Chat 10:30am (?) till noon. Lunch chat till 12:30pm. Groceries 1:30-2:30pm. More chat till 3:30pm. Nap till 4:30pm. Finally decided, Fettucini cooking! My first time! Boiled water, add salt, pasta, oil, stir for 15 min. Classico Italian Sausage sauce in microwave. Pics. Done 5:30pm! Mmm, ate tasty bowl. We chatted briefly till 6pm. Intermittent connection. Tread w “Jumong” 11/81 (all), 7-8:15pm (?). Two miles, 360 cals. Replied to emails. Chat from 9:30pm-12:15am. Wow.

 

 

 

 

11 October 2009
Sunday. Up 9am or so. 8am? 9am? Brief chat 10:45-11am. Bills! Lunch time. Mmm, fettucini leftovers. Saved some for Monday, hehe. Watched extras for “Forbidden Kingdom” DVD I got last week. Till 2:30pm. Chat 3-4pm. Watched “Battle Angel” anime DVD 4-5pm (finished [37]; 3 of 5 stars). Sentimental (manga) but still lacking. Afterward, 5:30pm, watched “Densha Otoko” (2005) film (from Netflix) w my big chicken salad. LOL, funny, condensed version of series! So I stopped after the first 20 min to save for later download, save it to watch w her. Planned to mail it back to Netflix. Burned “Haruhi – S2” DVD. Added Amberlin and Butterfly Boucher to my iMac’s iTunes list. Amberlin amazing. Tread w “Jumong” 12/81 (all). Two miles = 360 cals. Random biking = 200 cals. So 360+200=560 plus 280 (another 50%) = 840 cals. Chat 9:45pm till midnight.

 

Battle Angel – OAV (1993) [37]. As of 11 Oct, my 37th anime title-or-season of the year. Two-episode OVA, 3 of 5 stars.

 

12 October 2009
Monday. No radio, no 107.9, instead played one of my burned Amberlin CDs in my car! “Ouran” 21/26. Download of “Densha Otoko” film done! Burned to disc. Mailed out “Densha” Netflix DVD in the morning? Then watched first 20 min again, lol. Browsed, searched Amazon. Ordered new Philips DivX player for living room! Tread w “Jumong” 13/81 (all). Two miles, bike, 350+350 cals. Chat 9-9:40pm.

13 October 2009
Tuesday. Left 4pm. “Ouran” 22/26. Napped 6:30-8pm. Tread w “Jumong” 14/81 (all), bike only, 14.5-15 mph = 700 cals. That night, no chat. Tried something new: Set my bill reminders on Google Calendar. Till 11:30pm.

14 October 2009
Wednesday. What the fuck! On my way from my car to office door, pulled out my keys and realized I lost my key fob! Dammit! Fuck! Not in pockets, not in car. Heyyy, the fob was found a couple hours later! Left 4pm. Vons groceries, got more grapes, 6 lbs! “Ouran” 23/26, big salad w turkey coldcut slices. Set up new DivX player, 7pm. Tread w “Jumong” 15/81 (all). This time, something else new: Decided to lower tread grade/slope to 1.5% (instead of 7.5%), in case I run w her in a couple months. Tread 1.25 miles = 200 cals (instead of 225 cals w 7.5%); bike 25 min = 300 cals. Chat 9-11pm. Added more bill reminders to my Google Calendar.

15 October 2009
Thursday. Home. “Ouran” 24/26. Napped 6:30-8:15pm. Tread w “Jumong” 16/81 (all) at 1.5% slope. Tread 1.25 miles = 200 cals. Bike = 50-60 min = 600-700 cals. Bike 12 cals/min. Chat 10-11pm or so.

16 October 2009
Friday. Early to the office: 6:30am! I left 4:15pm. Long day. Crashed into a nap 6:30-8:30pm. Text, pix, chat till 9pm, lol. Tread+bike w “Jumong” 17/81. Two miles! Tread: 1.5% grade/slope, 2 miles @ 7.5 mph = 17 min = 300 cals = 18 cals/min = 150 cals/mile. Bike: 10 miles = 38 min = 500 cals = 13 cals/min = 50 cals/mile. Total time = 55 min over 75 min period, 9:15-10:30pm. Aww, more chat 11:30pm-1:20am.

17 October 2009
Saturday. Up 9:30-10am. Chat. Breakfast w “Gundam Wing” 26/49 (starting 2nd half; while 1st half, 25 episodes, was [36]). Added Amberlin tracks to my home laptop iTunes, yeah! Awesome band. Groceries at 1:30pm. Removed my closed Borders credit card account from my list, confusing! Wow, at 2:30pm, after her meeting, she visited my house! We watched the Japanese film “Densha Otoko” (2005) while laying on the floor against the pillows and couch. Ate grapes. Sooo comfortable as she lay her head against my shoulder. Sooo adorable when she napped for a few minutes. Or when she sat up and recognized one of the plazas in Tokyo, lol. Watched it from about 3-4:30pm. She left about 5pm. But after she got home at 5:30pm, we continued to chat a bit online, aww. Salad dinner w “Gundam Wing” 27/49. Journal catch-up. Tread w “Jumong” 18/81, from 8:15-9:30pm. Tread: 300 cals = 2 miles = 17 min. Bike: 470 cals = 10 miles = 35 min. Chat from 9:30-10:40pm. Napped till midnight. Dozed off again. Overnapped till 1am, bah. I think I waiting for my Trend Micro to finish updating?

 

Observation. Having seen both, I still think that the “Densha Otoko” (2005) TV drama starring Misaki Ito is significantly more entertaining and emotional than the “Densha Otoko” (2005) film. Significantly.

 

 

 

18 October 2009
Sunday. Up 9am. Laundry! Extended monitor! Yup, decided to bring my HP desktop monitor to the kitchen table to attach to my Dell laptop, lol. Breakfast w “Gundam Wing” 28/49. Chat 11-11:45am. Continued chat, hehe. Mmm, big chicken salad lunch 1pm-1:40pm w more “Gundam Wing” 29/49. Chat resumed, lol. Napped about 4:30-5:45pm, during which she sent me a Pocky pic from her iPhone, lol. Brief 7:30pm chat. Tread w “Jumong” 19/81, from about 8-9:45pm. Tread: 2 miles = 300 cals. Bike = 500 cals. Total = 800 plus 50% more cooling-down burn = 1200 cals. Even more chat from 10pm till 12:30am.

 

 

19 October 2009
Monday. Up 5:15am. Breakfast w “Gundam Wing” 30/49. To the office 730am. Home. Dinner w “Ouran Host Club” 25-26/26 (finished [38]; 5 of 5 stars, aww, touching ending!). Tread w “Jumong” 20/81 (all; bike only) (finished my self-defined “Season 1”), from 7:15-9pm, 735 cals. Chat.

 

Ouran High School Host Club (2006) [38]. As of 19 Oct, my 38th anime title-or-season of the year. Full 26-episode series, 5 of 5 stars!

 

 

 

 

 

 

20 October 2009
Tuesday. Fuck! Woke at 4am the morning because of a god-fucking cramp in my right-leg calf muscle! So instead of 5-5:30am, got up at 4:30am, trying to massage and shake the pain away. Breakfast, shower, dressed, got ready, left 7:45am, arrived 8:15am for our company’s User Conference! UC Day #1. Yup, as greeter and room monitor. Fortunately, my leg ache faded in a few hours. Occasional texts between my cell and her Yahoo IM, hehe. Long but interesting day. Till 5:30pm. Home 6pm. Big salad dinner w “Haruhi – S2” 2-3/14 (“Endless Eight”) till 7:45pm. Wow-wow, opened my email to see Apple’s brand-new 27-inch iMac! Damn! Worked on journal. No tread, to rest my calf muscle. Wow, watched first 20 min of “BSG – The Plan”! Wow! No chat that night.

 

 

 

 

21 October 2009
Wednesday. Up 5am, dressed up by 6:30am. Breakfast w “Haruhi – S2” 4-5-6/14 (more “Endless Eight”, lol) till 8am. Then left for the User Conference. UC Day #2. Since I’d be there for only a half-day (half-vacation), actually decided to go with blue shirt (no tie), black slacks, and black blazer w brass buttons. Slick! I mean, both Mary and NaTasha complimented me, hehe. Saw Kelly (from IBM) again, haha. We couldn’t figure out what was so funny during our Training class back in March! Nice to see her again. Stayed from 8:30-11:45am. Then left to pick her up from the office to go to Borders. But first, we visited the Apple Store to see the new 27-inch iMac and wireless touch-mouse, wow. Then walked back to Borders. Finally found an open table. Nice long lunch (with fruits? grapes? plus a couple pastries from the UC, lol). Yup, Apple plus Borders from 12noon-1:30pm. Back home 2pm. Random chat from my Yahoo at home to her Yahoo at work, hehe. Napped 4-4:20pm. More chat till her 5pm class. Dinner w more “Haruhi – S2” 7-8-9/14 (wow, finally ended “Endless Eight”!). Brief chat. Tread w “Jumong” 21/81 (all; started “Season 2”). Tread: 2 miles = 300 cals. Bike: 500 cals. From 8:45-10pm. Plus peeked at the first 5 minutes of my downloaded “Blood – The Last Vampire” (live action), wow.

22 October 2009
Thursday. Ah, arrived at 7:30am to an empty office building, hehe. Due to the User Conference. Left work 4pm. Dinner w “Gundam Wing” 31/49. Napped 6:30-9pm. Chat till 9:40pm. Tread w “Jumong” 22/81. Tread: 11 min, 1.3 miles, 200 cals. Bike: 45 min, 12 miles, 600 cals. Then chat 11-11:20pm, hehe.

23 October 2009
Friday. Breakfast w “Gundam Wing” 32/49. Office at 7:30am. Later, Outback w her, 5:30-6:30pm. Mmm, coconut shrimp, French onion soup, salmon! Back home around 7pm. Brief chat. Napped 7:15-9pm. Up a bit. Then napped again 9-11pm, lol. Thus no tread. But some work on typing up journal. Meanwhile, for the past week, still listening to Battlestar Galactica (BSG) soundtracks (since 10/18), Plumb (since 10/18), Amberlin (since 10/17) on all 3 of my iTunes (iMac, home Dell laptop, and work Dell laptop), hehe. Journal-typing till 2:30am. Bed about 3am.

24 October 2009
Saturday. Up 9am. Chat. Breakfast: Bagel, apple and anime. “Gundam Wing” 33/49. Decided to skip Lowe’s (thought of canned air and multiple sockets). Vons groceries (got multiple-socket surge protector). Continued chat 11am-3pm. “Gundam Wing” 34-35/49. Cleared out the numerous blog items in my Google Reader, whew. “Clone Wars – S2” 3/22(?). Bills bills bills! Tread w “Jumong” 23/81 from 8:30-10pm. Chat till 11pm. Then decided to watch “BSG – The Plan” (4 of 5 stars) from 12-2am! Not perfect but not bad at all! Afterwards, browsed through Amazon for glass L-shaped desks till 3am, lol. Hmm, instead of using the kitchen table (for the past month)?

 

 

 

 

 

 

25 October 2009
Sunday. Up 9:30am or so. Checked Gmail and cleared more from Google Reader. Otaku Dan asked where I’ve been, lol. Chat. “Clone Wars – S2” 4/22(?). Cooked fettucini! My 2nd time in 3 weekends! From 11:30am-1pm cooking! Ah, saved some pasta for tomorrow’s lunch. Some grapes too, of course. Nice call w the parents. She left about 1:40pm to do her groceries. Meanwhile, did some more Amazon browsing for external hard drives and headsets, hehe. Decided to continue “Haruhi – S2” 10/14. Chat 5pm till treadmill. Tread w “Jumong” 24/81 (2 miles = 300 cals) from 6:30-8pm. Back to chat, hehe. Till 10:30pm. Hmm, why have I been using my kitchen laptop more often than my iMac?

 

26 October 2009
Monday. Left 7:05am. But halfway to work, realized that I almost forgot my fettucini lunch! So drove back home by 7:25am. Then drove back to work by 7:45am. Gahhh, annoying! Then 11:20am lunch downstairs. Mmm, fettucini w Spicy Tomato & Basil, but I think I like Italian Sausage better. Hehe, while I heated it up, NaTasha was surprised that I cooked it myself. Nah, not the sauce, just the pasta, lol. Left 4:30pm. Dinner w “Haruhi – S2” 11-12-13/14. Almost done. Then tread w “Jumong” 25/81 (2 miles = 300 cals) till 9:30pm. Brief chat till 9:45pm. Created her “To-Do List” and my “To-Watch List”, lol.

27 October 2009
Tuesday. Breakfast w “Haruhi – S2” 14/14 (finished [39]; hmm, okay, not bad but failed expectations, 3 of 5 stars). Whew, getting cold! Left 4:15-4:30pm. Wow, freezing outside! Even texted her, lol. Dinner w “Goong” 1/24 (started; not too bad, Kris-chan recommended it). Tread w “Jumong” 26/81 (2 miles = 300 cals). Hmm, laundry my 80’s shirts for Melanie’s Halloween Party? Chat. Sweet. Warm.

 

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (2009) [39]. As of 27 Oct, my 39th anime title-or-season of the year. Season 2 with 14 episodes, 3 of 5 stars! Can I hit my typical target of 50 anime by the end of the year?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Observation. The infamous “Haruhi 2 – Endless Eight” arc. What’s the big deal? When you strip away all the impatient whining and restless ranting of short attention spans, it is incredibly unique. I remember an episode of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” which follows a similar premise, looping through time for 17 days. But with the “Star Trek” episode “Cause and Effect“, you never get the feeling of “endlessness” depicted in this 8-episode “Endless Eight” sequence. Genius? Tragedy? Insanity? Or dare I say, esoteric art? If you’ve seen a favorite film at least 8 times, and have always found something new, then maybe you shouldn’t whine so much, hehe.

28 October 2009
Wednesday. Up 8:30am. Vacation Wednesday! Jaw still sore but okay. Like I said, felt like an over-extended muscle that just needs time to heal. Then 9am chat after I sent a text to her. Around 11am, took out all the house trash! Worked on journal. Needed to catch-up. Hmm, leverage journal for my blog too? Chat. More journal. Lunch w “Goong” 2/24. Still not a great K-drama, but okay. Ahh, Amazon, intriguing DVD binders? She left 4:45pm for her exam. Browsed Amazon for knitted beanies? Ah, ordered the classy-looking leather-ish DVD binders! Since spending $50 to store 150 DVDs in binders is cheaper and more compact than $100-150 of cases to store the same amount! Napped 6-7:30pm. Hehe, her call woke me up. Decided not to tread. Instead, cleared iMac hard-drive space and virtual XP space, burned Asian dramas to DVDs, cleared more XP space by moving these files to iMac space. Ah, she was back 9:45-11pm. Ordered a brown beanie to match my brown jacket and brown moccasin shoes. Plus ordered my 3rd Lasko portable electric heater. Nice.

29 October 2009
Thursday. Happy Birthday, Jeff! Heyyy, found a decent table on my neighbor’s curbside! So why not grab it? I was looking at tables on Amazon anyway, lol. Ah, back to work. Home. Ah, Lisa had already stopped by, took her books and ivory coat. Laundry: olive bed sheets. Dinner w “Goong” 3/24. Halfway through, napped around 7:30-9:30pm. Must’ve finished “Goong” afterwards. No chat. No tread again. But played w my foos stats on Google Docs till 1:11am, lol.

30 October 2009
Friday. Brrr, another cold night and morning. Hmm, should I wear a black outfit for the Halloween office lunch? Matrix style? With my air gun? Nahhh, maybe not. Just blue jeans. Especially when I’m going to be running around and printing. In prep for the office move, extracted my personal 20-inch Dell monitor out of my cube and carried it to my car. Haha, Paul jokefully shouted, “Stop thief!” Noon. Halloween lunch! So I went downstairs to check it out. Pizza! Kids kids kids! I passed out candy. Took photos too, haha. Relaxing after-work chat. Aww. Till 6pm. Home. Cleaned up the curbside table. Moved my laptop and monitor onto it. Chat 8:45-10pm. Done 10:15pm. No tread for the 3rd night straight.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

31 October 2009
Saturday. Up 5am! Happy Halloween Saturday! Breakfast w “Outlaw Star” 6/26. Readied for Melanie’s math study at Barnes & Noble by Seafood City. Yup, location was my suggestion since I was in the mood for Jollibee Filipino food. Especially if she was paying, hehe. Arrived at Barnes & Noble by 9am. Found Melanie, met Brad. Surprised how much geometry, trigonometry, algebra, calculus, probability and statistics I still retained! (But not matrices, lol.) Impressed Brad too. Dozens of math problems till noon, wow! Most of which I just looked at for a few seconds, before finding a solution or direction! Afterwards, Melanie paid for our Jollibee lunch. Mmm, ChickenJoy, Palabok, Shanghai Rolls (lumpia)! Lunched 12:15-1pm. Including food photos, lol. Then we finally left. Groceries 1:30-2:30pm. Afterwards, checked emails, torrents and Amazon. Browsed for desk chairs? Napped 4-6pm. Chat till 7pm. Salad dinner w “Outlaw Star” 7/26. Brief chat. Then tread w “Jumong” 27/81 (2 miles = 300 cals, bike = 500 cals) from 9-10:30pm. Wrote an email to Kris-chan about 11:30pm. Another chat till 12:30-12:40am. Started filling my new DVD binders (received them yesterday?), plus DVD burning. Till 1:10am. Stayed up till 3am. But due to Daylight Saving, actually 2am, lol.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Goong to Jumong and Beyond

Ah, this time, from “Goong” (2006) to “Jumong” (2006), let’s weave our way through my week-long email exchange with Kris-chan, author of her “Bento Bako Weekly” column. Why? So we can see how much I was disappointed by “Goong” yet utterly amazed by the epic “Jumong”!

 

 

 

 

 

27 Oct 2009

Kris-chan @xJAYMANx: In case you’ve been wanting to buy any of these. They do have Jumong. I just ordered Goong/Palace. ^_^

xJAYMANx @Kris-chan: Hey, thanx! Actually, it’s a coincidence since I started downloading “Hana Yori Dango” last night. I even peeked at the first 5 minutes of rich kids and limousines, lol. Seems to be very “Ouran Host” like! Hey, I might’ve mentioned I already burned “Jumong” and “Goong” to disc. Oh man, “Jumong” was exactly what I was looking for to continue my “Damo”-style craving for ancient wartime dramas. Awesome, already up to episode 25 out of 81. Makes my nightly treadmill runs sooo much easier, lol.

Kris-chan @xJAYMANx: Oh, well, I have (most of) it burned, too. But it’s a good show, a fantastic production. And it was on sale. I kind of just wanted to support the distribution company, so they’ll keep licensing that sort of thing over here… By the way, when will you have a column again? I miss them… Speaking of columns, I missed my Girl G33k blog this week, because I ran off to get married. ^_^ I did get a Bento Bako out, though! I made an indirect reference to you, lol. You and your silly Moon Phase.

28 Oct 2009

xJAYMANx @Kris-chan: Haha, Kris-chan, r u crazy? If I’m supposed to believe u got married, I’m also supposed to believe that u still needed to get your blogs and articles out? What kind of priorities do u have, hahaha. Yeah, Skip Beat is still on my list, but haven’t moved in that torrent direction yet. Though I do have a question: I’m planning to download the Korean “Boys Over Flowers” after I download the Japanese “Hana Yori Dango – Season 2”. Have u compared the two Asian versions yet?… Oh yeah, congratulations! I think… ^_^

P.S. Heyyy, Kris-chan, just finished “Goong” episode 1 last night. A little slow, but not bad… Now I see where “Jumong” got some of its locations and archery scenes from, haha. “Jumong” is way cooler, like “Goong” injected with a shot of “Lord of the Rings”, hehe.

29 Oct 2009

Kris-chan @xJAYMANx: Heh, well, my Bento Bako post I had been working on for over a month (along with the one going up next week). But yeah, I’ve been really busy with getting that together, and wedding crap, and haven’t been watching much anime lately…so I haven’t had anything to review anyway! I just finished the AIR movie though, so maybe I’ll get that up for next week. ^_^ My priorities are…well…. I mean, the wedding didn’t take much work, since it was really small. And I didn’t work on either website during the days we were gone. I did the Bento Bako post well before hand… I tried some Japanese food for the first time. Turns out I don’t like salted plum rice balls (when they say salted, they mean SALTED). I liked the curry sauce (it was actually kind of sweet in a way), and I LOVED the Tamago (egg omelet). I didn’t eat any sushi (I don’t like fish), but I did eat some veggie Maki-Zushi which was really delicious.

I was talking about the Skip Beat manga, lol, but the anime is good, too. I hope it gets another season. I thought there was going to be a live action from Taiwan but…I haven’t seen anything about it since I saw an announcement about it. I wonder if it was ever made, or if it’s going to be? Because I’m ready to drool over some hot Asians again… And I’m sorry, I don’t know anything about Boys Over Flowers; I haven’t seen the live action, or the anime, or anything. It’s certainly something I plan on getting to eventually, though. Just threw the anime on my Netflix list… Yeah, Goong is a little slow at times. It probably could have run a bit shorter and been OK. But the production value is so high, you tend to forget the pacing… I’ll get to Jumong someday, too. I was just way overwhelmed by the number of seasons and discs there were, so it will have to wait some time, until my Netflix clears up… And thank you! I mean, things don’t really feel any different, because we’ve been together for so long, and have been living together for 4 years or so. But now we can get a tax break. ^_^ How is your autumn of Autumn coming along?

30 Oct 2009

xJAYMANx @Kris-chan: Happy Halloween!… Ah, no worries! After 5 years together, my ex and I had a small wedding too. In Vegas. Not as small, but small. Did u eat those onigiri correctly? Just teasing, but when I take a bite of rice, I only bite a little bit of the salted umeboshi to balance the rice. Little bit of umeboshi at a time, not all at once. Otherwise, saltiness can be too intense, hehe. Mmm, onigiri. Simple yet tasty. Especially when Autumn-chan makes them. Hmm, if not sushi, have you tried California rolls? Those are just as tasty too. Yeah, up to “Goong” episode 3. Still pretty slow. Especially when the characters are sleepy after their ceremony, lol. Well, I think the production value simply enhances what’s already there. In this case, it might actually enhance the slowness. Just as high production value would enhance the action in a action-based series. This might be bad advice, but if u downloaded or burned the first episode of “Jumong”, just watch the first 15 minutes to get a taste. Can’t hurt. Then u can drop it, continue, or do what u want after that. I won’t bother u again, lol. Ah, Autumn-chan. She’s been swamped by both work and classes, so I’ve been supporting her as much as I can, while trying not to be selfish with her limited time. Which can be frustrating. But understandable. Not just me, she thinks she’s selfish too. Eventually, when her last semester ends, she should be more free and flexible. Otherwise, we chat almost every night. Plus telling her “Osaki ni shitsureishimasu” (I’m finally pronouncing it to her standards) or telling each other “Oyasumi”. Which is always comforting… Haha, hot Asians… ^_^

Kris-chan @xJAYMANx: Yes, Happy Halloween! Will you be doing anything? I don’t know that we will, but I have a costume anyway, which I can just wear around the house, lol… No, no! I totally only took a little bite of the plum with some rice. I chewed it for a couple of seconds, then spit it out. It was VERY salty. The rice itself was salty too. I’ve had regular plums before, and I liked them. I guess something about the salt and the tartness of the plum just didn’t work for me… Isn’t a California roll sushi? What I basically mean is, I don’t like seafood… Well, I hope Goong doesn’t disappoint you! I’m afraid it will likely remain at that slow pace. It annoyed me on occasion, but it didn’t turn me off. I still really enjoyed it; it’s a lot better than most of the stuff on TV here, at least… Haha, no…I’m afraid to even glimpse at Jumong. If it’s that good, I might abandon everything else and just absorb myself in it, which would be bad, lol. So I’ll wait until I have the time to devote to it.

When Scott and I were first dating, I was still in college. We only saw each other on weekends. I would drive out to see him (we lived about 40 mins away in different cities) after classes on Friday, and stay until Sunday, then go back to school. I don’t think we talked just a whole whole lot during the week, because he worked all day, and I had classes, then homework, and sometimes theatre crap. So I get the being busy thing… What does “Osaki ni shiklajdiohjdisdi” mean? I’ve heard “Oyasumi” …that’s goodnight, right?… And yes, hot Asians! They make everything better. ^_^

31 Oct 2009

xJAYMANx @Kris-chan: Konnichiwa, Kris-chan! Happy Hallow’s Eve! Still 11pm in Vegas. Nah, too dead tired to do any trick-or-treating. Instead, woke up early to help a software coworker at 9am study for her math exam (her last of several exams, applying to be a teacher when she leaves our company soon). Man, I can’t believe how much trigonometry, geometry, algebra, logarithms, statistics and calculus I still retain from high school Mathletes, AP Calculus and college, haha. Melanie and her friend Brad were shocked at how I could look at a graph, function or equation for 2-3 seconds and guess correctly. Several dozen problems for 3 hours. Flew by. My brain hasn’t been so math-fried in ages, lol. But enough about my math skills…

Maybe it wasn’t the best or typical onigiri? Who knows? Typically, California rolls are made with tasty crab meat. Mmm, unfortunately, I guess you wouldn’t really know. Ahh, seafood. I miss Red Lobster’s salmon and lobster… No worries, I’ll stick with “Goong” for now. While still mixing my Netflix’s of unfinished “Gundam Wing” and “Outlaw Star” along the way. Still treading to “Jumong” episode 27. So while it makes exercising fly by much easier, it never really drowns out all other shows or anime either, lol. I mean, I can ship you a disc copy of the first 12 episodes as an early Christmas present, if you’re willing? Somewhere in Texas, right? Free of charge.

Ah, yes, “oyasumi” is “good night”. A little bit different from “konbanwa” (also “good evening”). While “konbanwa” is more for greeting, “oyasumi (nasai)” is more for departure, like the end of the night, before going home or going to bed. Meanwhile, “osaki ni shitsurei shimasu” (“excuse me for leaving before you”) is typically said when leaving the office earlier than other coworkers. And their reply would be “otsukaresama deshita” (literally “you must be such a tired person!” but translated as “thanks for your hard work!”).

01 Nov 2009

xJAYMANx @Kris-chan: P.S. Well, I gave “Goong” another shot w episode 4. While the brotherly intrigue is getting deeper, I think it’s time to switch gears w “Hana Yori Dango” (Japanese version) anyway. Sorry. I’ll come back to it in 3-4 weeks (since “HYD” S1+S2 has 20 episodes plus a film)! ^_^

Kris-chan @xJAYMANx: Aaaaah! I hate math… I am SO terrible with numbers. It’s funny, because my mother is a math teacher, and my father is all into science (he’s a uh…chemical engineer maybe?), but I’m AWFUL with both subjects. I don’t remember any math from high school or college, and in HS, I went all the way up to AP Calculus, and was taking some Calc in college too (it was a class called uh…business math or something… it was the next one up from Algebra, and I had to take it). Much, much better with books (fortunately my boy is excellent with numbers). ^_^ But that’s awfully nice of you to help your coworker study.

Maybe the onigiri was off. Who knows… Anyway, totally against sea food here. Only fish I eat is tuna fish, out of a can, and mixed with boiled egg, relish, miracle whip, and a touch of mustard. I’ve thought about giving salmon a try, since I hear it’s very good for you. But there’s no way I’d eat it uncooked. Anyway, I had an opportunity to try new food, and I’ve been wanting to try Japanese for a while, so I ordered various things to taste. Scott hates that kind of food, so I can only ever order it in for myself… I’m sad you’re not enjoying Goong like I did. But I can’t deny its slow pacing. Haha, you don’t have to send me any Jumong! I promise I’ll get to it! It’s just that my Netflix currently has 426 DVDs in its queue. I’m going to start the Beserk anime tomorrow morning… By the way, been meaning to say, feel welcome to add me to your Facebook, Netflix, or whatever you’d like.

Oh! I’ve seen “osaki ni shitsurei shimasu” translated in manga and anime. Usually as “I’m leaving first.” It’s one of those funny sayings like “Please take care of me,” when a character visits someone else’s house. Unfortunately they don’t explain those sayings very well, so the cultural aspects sort of pass me by most of the time. I kind of just assume that the Japanese are exceedingly polite (which they do seem to be).

02 Nov 2009

xJAYMANx @Kris-chan: Thanx Kris-sensei, although I feel bad for Melanie since she didn’t take calculus or probabilities in high school. So she’ll have a really tough time, even if the passing grade is 50% of 50 questions… Ah, as a Filipino, I grew up on seafood. Mmmm. So it’s not a big leap to enjoy Japanese dishes… What?!? Umm, 426 in your Netflix queue? Actually, here’s an idea. In case the 81-episode “Jumong” is too large a main course, what about the earlier Korean TV drama “Damo” as a 14-episode appetizer? Many of the same historical, stylistic and cinematic themes are presented in it. And much quicker to enjoy, hehe. If you enjoy this Korean appetizer, you’ll definitely be ready for the full course, haha.

While I rarely check my Facebook or Netflix pages or friends, there’s nothing stopping you from adding me either. I have an inkling that you’ve already verified the existence of my accounts… Ahh, I’m sure you’ll get the hang of the Japanese culture. For me, after watching anime and Japanese drama on Jap-audio and Eng-subs, almost non-stop since 2006, you can’t help picking up the sayings and holidays and foods. Even the mentality. Both the good and bad. Both admirable and repulsive. Fortunately, it prepared me. As if I was meant to meet Autumn-chan. ^_^

P.S. Would you mind if I reprinted excerpts or entire sections of this email discussion in a future blog post? Anything I shouldn’t mention? That is, if I ever make another blog post, of course.

“Ja ne!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In fact, due to the overwhelming international success of “Jumong“, not only has Hawaii declared a “Song Il Gook Day”, “Jumong” is aired in Iran with ratings of 70-85%! Unreal. I’ll even make the following recommendation: If you only see one Korean drama in your lifetime, then let that drama be “Jumong”. I mean, if “The Lord of the Rings” film trilogy was toned down in special effects, yet stretched out into a day-to-day yet emotionally-wrenching 81-episode epic odyssey, wouldn’t you watch it too?


So my Treasured Toyboxers, did you survive? Did you withstand the soul-smashing tsunami of spellbinding anime, American sci-fi, Hong Kong classics, Japanese comedies, and Korean epics? Did you digest the rock bands, canine menaces, cute costumes, and mouth-watering waves of food-food-food? Did you battle the unimaginably monstrous mega-cast equaling fifty or more mere-mortal posts? You did? Then I applaud your strength and stamina! Likewise, let’s thank the glorious girls who graced our gleaming mega-cast. Thank you, Maggie, Kate, Bliss, Melanie, Patti, Lisa, Alita, Hermes, Misaki Ito, Haruhi Fujioka, Tricia Helfer, Grace Park, NaTasha, Haruhi Suzumiya, Song Ji-hyo, Anna Tsuchiya, Kris-chan, Duckie-chan, and of course, the adorable Autumn-chan.

Till next broadcast. Peace. Out.

 

49 thoughts on “Blog 218 > Endless Jumong, Autumn & Me

  1. Tired eyes- at first I thought you went and did some cosplaying in some Korean cultural village, haha- first pic, guy in blue:D

    Hmm, TGIF… I love their vodka-laced Chocolate Mudslide. Do you have it there too? Can’t say much for their other offerings though.

    Endless Eight- I won’t say too much about this one, haha. Only have myself to blame for watching every episode from start to end hoping for something new in each ep, after all.

    P.s The move is official- you might want to relink to aprilius20.com;)

    P.p.s Grace Park in the first pic- I wants, lol.

  2. @A20-man: Hey, been a long time! Hmm, dunno if I should be offended or not by the mistaken identity, but I’ll forgive u anyway. Hmm, Mudslide sounds familiar, not 100% certain, but we probably do. I’m more of the Strawberry Slush type.

    Why does everyone “hate” the Endless Eight so much? I must be more patient and broad-minded than most. But u have to admit, it was a different visual interpretation each time. And while it would’ve been easy to let the production quality slide (a la “Evangelion”s weird-ass final episodes), I was incredibly impressed how the quality remained high. As if 8 different directors were given the task of portraying the same episode. My only disappointment is that it could’ve been done in 3-4 episodes (with the same final relief of escape), and that 4-5 episodes of fresh material were “stolen” from us. Oh well.

    Yeah, I noticed the new blog! Very Mimi-chan-esque! In fact, why not replace the flowery headers with flesh-filled scenes of Grace Park? You’d have my “endless” approval, lol.

  3. Omg… Mega post indeed. Lol..

    I remember bringing the whole family to watch ‘In The Mood for Love’ years ago. Whole family ended up falling asleep.. In the cinema. -.-”
    Lol…

    Forbidden Kingdom and Memoirs of a Geisha, both I enjoyed. Am looking forward to read what you think of em.

    Stopped after 03 October 2009, -.-”
    I continued reading, but the brain wasn’t registering the words anymore. Lol!
    Maybe later after a break. Xp
    .-= blur´s last blog > Anime Hanabi Festival 2009 – Post 3 =-.

  4. Haha, long time indeed! Oh, forgiveness accepted, hehe. Although I’d recommend being flattered, haha- that is a movie star after all, innit? But like I said, I was quite tired when I saw that pic:P

    Lol. I had to google ‘Strawberry slush’. I’m guessing that it’s some sort of blended drink?

    I don’t hate Endless Eight. In fact I think KyoAni was rather brave to actually animate it the way they did. As mentioned earlier, I only have myself to blame for watching them all instead of skipping to the last E8 ep… then again, there really wasn’t much difference in terms of visuals- unless you count the different swimsuits on display every time, haha. My guess as to the true reason Haruhi subconsciously enforcing an endless Summer hit close to home, although I still don’t know whether to be delighted with myself for it or not:D

    Yup, Mimi-like indeed! I’m using the same theme she and Chun at puppy52art.com are using. I’ve had my eyes on it for some time now;) Grace Park as my header? Haha, we shall see. I haven’t decided yet. Btw, speaking of Mimi, what happened to her site? Clicking on her link takes me to an empty page titled MIT Anime Club, with a “Not Found” message.
    .-= aprilius20´s last blog > Bad Weather =-.

  5. @Blur-man: Heyyy, what else did u expect? Monster mega-cast, of course!… Ah, I wouldn’t suggest “Mood for Love” as a family film, lol. Obviously, it’s more of a single’s or possibly a couple’s “tragic love” flick. Oh, I already saw “Forbidden Kingdom” (twice) and “Memoirs” (once). Both 4 of 5 stars. Sorry if I was unclear about that. Yeah, not perfect, but not bad at all! Haha, so u “stopped after 03 October”, that’s pretty funny. I guess u withstood only half of the mega-cast tsunami. But I’m quite impressed u survived that far! Kudos if u survive a second attempt, haha… Now imagine my perspective: Actually composing this monster, and surviving it!

    @A20-man: Haha, I’ll think about it. After all, Daeso (in blue) isn’t the nicest villain in the epic… Yeah, it’s kinda like a tropical-fruit smoothie type drink. Although my fave is the super-sweet bright-red strawberry slush at Outback Steakhouse. Without alcohol. Maybe that’s what I was thinking. Eh, nothing wrong with strawberries. At least “Devil May Cry”s Dante likes strawberry sundaes, doesn’t he?… Hmm, “Endless”, delighted or not? I guess u can be proud of surviving it? Of being a hopeful soul? A more patient soul? Well, unless u hate those parts of yourself.

    Yup, not difficult to recognize that Mimi-Puppy theme! But like I told Otaku Dan: “Well, [Mimi-chan] was always protective of her real-life identity from the online world. Maybe real-life and cyber-life finally collided (again), and she was forced to take down her sites. Or maybe in the MIT world, she really has no time to update her sites. Who knows? Perhaps it’s the former more than the latter. Yeah, weird. Yet if you think about it, not so weird. For her.”

  6. He’s one of the bad guys? Haha, my bad, then. Not many people like to be compared to villains. Daeso. Hmm. Kinda rings a bell… ah, of course. There’s this Japanese store called Daiso, haha. I think they mostly sell cheap stuff- ‘500yen for everything’ is their motto, I think.

    Oh, I like strawberries too. But I don’t think I’ve ever had a strawberry as a strawberry in itself, if you know what I mean. Always had them sticked onto/into something, whether on a cake or as toppings on a Sundae. Dante likes strawberry sundaes? I didn’t play the games so I wouldn’t know, lol.

    Proud of surviving Endless… well, not really. I tired to marathon it, but got tired somewhere around the 5th or 6th episode, and resorted to extensive use of the fast forward function:D Haha, no chance of hating bits of myself. The narcissist in me won’t allow for it, haha. Temporary irritation, maybe. Only the extra bits of meaningful conversation in the various identical episodes kept me sane/from keeling over that night:P

    Hmm. Regarding Mimi, I dunno. I’m not in contact with her so I wouldn’t know (You’d probably know more), but to me it kinda seems like she shut down angrymimi.com, tried to shift it to mitanime.com, but screwed up somewhere. On the other hand, whoever’s in charge of mitanime.com doesn’t like her and messed everything up- and in the process messed up their own site? Wait, that doesn’t make sense, lol. Enough speculation from me^^;
    .-= aprilius20´s last blog > A Miniature Akallabêth of Sorts =-.

  7. @A20-man: Hmm, I guess I might be cheap enough to be compared to “Daiso” instead of “Daeso” then? No worries, I don’t play the “DMC” games either (just a short while years ago), but his “strawberry” character trait is included in the anime. Blueberries and cranberries aren’t bad either. But I wonder what blackberries taste like. I don’t remember if I ever tried it, lol… Ahh, didn’t marathon the “Eight”. Not that I wanted to, just didn’t have time. But I did manage to survive it (lemme check above) in 3 sessions over 2 days. Not too bad. As for Mimi-chan, I’m not too concerned that anything “got screwed up”. Just the natural progression of drifting away from the less urgent things. Such as blogging. About the less urgent things.

  8. I read ebithing~! But partly because I was wondering what on earth ‘tread with ‘ meant; figured out halfway through. =)

    Conclusion: Jay-san has a fun life meeting with people and eating nice stuff. :) The style reminds me of Twitter, except somewhat longer. :D

    And hrm. I just get ‘Site Temporarily Unavailable’ when I try to access Mimi’s page…the price of fame is trolls, and I’ve seen a few around her site. Maybe, like Jay says, she just got tired of it all and drifted away. =)
    .-= jenn´s last blog > Manga loot – 22 volumes~~ & Viva la Vida =-.

  9. @Jenn-chan: Awww, thanx. Really? Read everything? Are u saying I could test u if I wanted? Haha, yeah, lots of personal slangs and shortcuts as I collect and recollect my events and thoughts of the day. Hope it wasn’t too enigmatic. But comparing a Toybox mega-cast to Twitter? Blasphemy! Nahhh, just kidding, I know exactly what u mean. Instead of peppering thoughts throughout the day, throughout the months, without any structure or direction, I gathered them in one mega-cast. In fact, there seems to be more of a textured impression, progression or atmosphere when thrown together, don’t u think? As for Mimi-chan, yup, everyone notices the obvious vacancy and unavailability of her sites. Whether it’s the effect of trolls or super-intense MIT course schedules, it’s safe to say that blogging isn’t (and shouldn’t be) a high priority. Btw, thanx for the “Viva La Vida”, hehe.

  10. Sooooooooo slow with the Ouran! One episode a day! I tend to go one disc a day. I finally sat down and really started Romeo x Juliet. Still on the first disc and already crying. I love it sooo much.

    Burger King! BLECH. :( I hate Burger King. What-A-Burger for me!

    Yay for visiting my site!

    YES. Forget True Blood. Seriously, there are WAY better things to be watching. Like Ouran!
    Trinity Blood is not an acceptable replacement!
    Macintosh apples are the BEST.
    V8 makes some very delicious veggie and juice drinks.

    Cost us about as much to fix our TV last week as it did to fix your car. $100 just to get someone to drive to our house. $80 labor. The rest was the part, plus tax. Plus side – cute Asian repair boy (bonus: he wore glasses).

    Beatles Rock Band party looks fun!
    *heart* Papa John’s. But Scott doesn’t. :(
    How can you nap for 3 hours in the evening, but still go to sleep at night?

    I am very happy that you enjoyed Ouran. Isn’t it super great? :)
    I am still disappointed that you were disappointed with Goong (so far, anyway). I finally sat down and completed it over the weekend. Heartbreaking but happy at the same time.

    Oh my gosh, that was so long!
    .-= Kris´s last blog > Last Quarter =-.

  11. @Kris-chan: Hahaha. Well, u know how the saying goes: “Why end it prematurely when you can prolong the pleasure?” Okay-okay, maybe I made that saying up, but still, the point is valid. Why speed thru a great series? Why not make it last? And in turn, why not remember the enjoyment much longer? And it doesn’t just apply to anime either, if u know what I mean, hehe. Oh wait, you’re married now, so it probably no longer applies, haha! Kidding!

    Ah, yup, “Bento Bako”. That was September 17th, right? Well, I don’t think I visited since then. Sorry! Haha, Macintosh Apples? Don’t u mean, Apple iMacs? But actually, I drink a generic brand of V8, just easier to write V8, lol. For me, I add two squirts of tabasco sauce to my low-sodium veggie juice, and the extra spiciness is great!… What kind of TV? My Nissan Murano needed a 15,000-mile or 30,000-mile maintenance, hence the cost. Is it an HDTV? Can’t afford one yet. It was either an HDTV or an iMac, but not both, lol… Mmm, Papa John’s.

    Well, I guess I’m used to it. I think I mentioned my naps above quite a few times, right? Let’s say my nap is 6-9pm. Sometimes, I do the treadmill or some computer stuff for a couple hours. Then go back to sleep from 12am-5am. Easy. While it sounds odd, the total sleep time is still only about 8 hours… Haha, yeah, “Ouran” definitely earns 5 stars. Just like most “reverse harem” series, hehe. So how would u categorize “Maria+Holic”? Would that be “harem” or “reverse harem”?

    P.S. “Oh my gosh, that was so long!” Why thank u, I guess I’ll take that as a compliment.

  12. Eh, I don’t like to drag my anime out too long, or I forget things that happened! The more I watch at one time, the more I’ll remember from one episode to the next. If it’s that great, and I want to make it last, I just watch it again some other time!

    No, I mean Macintosh apples! They’re little red apples, and they’re very, very sweet. One of my jr. high teachers used to bring them to class for us to eat. Sooo yummy. Oh, my mistake! I think it’s actually spelled McIntosh.

    Anyway, I like the strawberry kiwi V8 juice. Also their berry fusion blends are delicious. If I’m gonna be healthy, it might as well taste good!

    Our TV was a Samsung HDTV. The circuit board inside got fried, and the TV wouldn’t turn on, so they replaced it.

    I can’t nap. If I’m REALLY tired, it usually just makes it worse. I tend to go to bed around 1 am, and wake up around 8:30 or 9 am. No naps for me.

    Somebody’s mind is very dirty tonight!
    .-= Kris´s last blog > Last Quarter =-.

  13. @Jay: LOL, I didn’t mean it that way either. Just a random,by-the-way, mildly interesting fact I spontaneously decided to share, haha.

    Oh right. The DMC anime. MY DMC-playing friends were ecstatic when they first heard of it, but I was totally lost- “Huh? DMC? Wuzzat, Detroit Metal City?” although I’ve never watched that one either:P

    Blueberries are gorgeous! Especially when mixed with cheese. Just love blueberry cheese tarts:D Cranberries- I think they’re a little more sour than straw-B’s. Blackberries, huh? Come to think of it, I’ve no idea either… unless they taste like those black coloured jelly beans. Then again those beans all taste the same^^;

    @Jenn: Haha, same here. Spent half the post with a giant green question mark over my head before I finally figured out what it meant. Watching anime while on the treadmill- how luxurious, lol
    .-= aprilius20´s last blog > A Miniature Akallabêth of Sorts =-.

  14. @Kris-chan: Ahh, no worries. I guess I can truthfully say that I have better memory than u, lol… Haha, I knew what u meant. Hmm, I’ll have to try those apples some time. So far, Fujis have the right blend of tart and sweet. (Tart and sweet: Insert your own joke here.) But if I saw a free basket of Mac apples and a free basket of Apple iMacs, guess which one I’d grab first… Hmm, I’ll have to try those V8 blends too. But sooo expensive compared to the generics! Really? Samsung? I’ve actually come closest to buying a Samsung LN46A650 46-incher. Still in my Amazon Wish List. Not to mention the new 27-inch Apple iMacs w wireless keyboard! Wow. But I’ll have to manage w 24-inches for now, lol. Though I might grab the new wireless keyboard instead. For Christmas? Awww, too bad. Naps are one of my few “free luxuries”. Well, besides my “dirty mind”, hehe.

    @A20-man: No worries. Haha, “DMC”, don’t forget the old-school rap-group “Run DMC” from the 90s. I don’t even know who “Detroit Metal City” is. Some J-Rock band? Yeah, blueberry bagels and pancakes are pretty good. Might as well throw in blueberry Pop Tarts too, before I switched from Pop Tarts to healthier fruits. Ah, true, cranberry juice is rather sour. I don’t really notice the sour in cranberry bagels though. Just looks tastier. Whatever the berry.

    P.S. Not just Jenn-chan, but u too? “Tread with”? Then what picture did u have in your head?

  15. Long time no see, buddy. *hugs* My laptop died, hence the sudden disappearance save the few automatic Uncharted 2 tweets every now and again.

    You’ve been gone for some time as well. Whoa. That girl has some crazy, sequined eye makeup going for her. I still haven’t bought Rockband 2 or Beatles Rockband. As of right now, my mood is geared towards killing things with guns or melee weapons.

    It looks as if things are going smoothly with Autumn-chan.

    My Seafood City Market doesn’t have a wide selection of Pocky like that. I have to go to a Japanese market to get a sizable variety of snacks and candies.

    I really love Ouran and wish they would make a second season of it. I wish some reputable company would make figures of the characters, too^^
    .-= Jem´s last blog > =-.

  16. I don’t know much about Detroit Metal City. It’s some sort of anime, that much I know. The intro on wiki is a little odd: “In stage costume he is Johannes Krauser II, rumored to be a terrorist demon from hell, to have killed and raped his parents, to wield his giant death penis with abandon, etc. etc.” Uh. Weird. Interesting thing is that there seems to be a live-action movie starring L (Matsuyama Kenichi)…

    Gahh, all this talk about food is making me hungry… I still haven’t had breakfast. Or lunch:( “Whatever the berry” eh? That include J-pop band Berryz Koubou? lol

    Oh, ‘tread with’. Had a mental image of you on a treadmill with a widescreen TV in front of you. Did I get it wrong?
    .-= aprilius20´s last blog > A Miniature Akallabêth of Sorts =-.

  17. @Jem-chan: Awww, thanx, here’s a {warm hug} for u too. Sorry about your dead laptop, though I can’t say I’m sorry for having to “suffer” thru your auto-tweets about $50K gains, lol. So what’ll your next laptop be?… Yup, I was gone for about a couple months. Couldn’t help it. Some healthy distractions. As well as stressful ones. Haha, yeah, that’s Kate in her 60s-style eye make-up. Which might be as deadly as guns? Think so?

    Yeah, Autumn-chan, “going smoothly”. And slowly, for now. Thanx. That is, when classes and work aren’t peeling away our time or energy. But my understanding is that these Pocky selections are more pricey at Japanese markets than our (Filipino) Seafood City markets. Or maybe it’s a Vegas phenomenon? Since Vegas doesn’t really have (or I haven’t seen) “huge” Japanese markets yet.

    Hehe, I wouldn’t mind another season of “Ouran”. But where else can they take the story? I mean, they did a pretty darn good job exploring the first season, didn’t they? But figures? I guess some folks can’t get their sticky fingers on “enough” figures, hehe. {Wink-wink nudge-nudge.}

    @A20-man: Hmm, “Detroit Metal City” anime? Never heard of it. But I’m not surprised that the “L” actor is starring in it. He tends to grab the odd off-beat roles anyway. Which probably fits his acting style best… As for berries, if this Berryz Koubou (whoever it is) looks anything like Halle Berry, then I don’t mind one bit! Tasty indeed… Ahh, I wish it were a wide-screen! But it’s a TV nonetheless. So how is that “tread with” image confusing to understand? Seems like u understood fine.

  18. They’re some sort of J-pop group- like Morning Musume, but on a smaller scale- something like that. Ah, Halle Berry- I’d forgotten about that one. Most berrilicious indeed:D

    How did I misunderstand? Hmm, that’s probably because I don’t exercise. Well, hardly ever, since I barely gain any weight. Plus to me exercise=tiring+boring, so I can’t imagine others doing it while doing something fun at the same time. Tread? Tread? Tread? Eh? Took me a while to realize, ala Tenma-chan:P

    p.s. Papa John’s, eh? Had it a few nights ago- not half bad. Tasted like a cross between typical American-style pizza and traditional Italian pizza, haha. By the way, did they serve the little green peppers too?

  19. @A20-man: Ah, yes, berry berry nice… But you’re right, exercise in the traditional-treadmill sense is quite uneventful. Hence, the injection of some audio-visual entertainment. Namely, anime (e.g. “Ghost in the Shell: SAC”), J-drama (e.g. “Gokusen”), K-drama (e.g. “Jumong”), and other Asian delights! And voila, the uneventfulness is reduced to bearable levels… Yeah, my metabolism was pretty high thru high school and part-way thru college. But after graduation, that’s probably when most metabolism rates begin to falter and plummet. Be mindful of the hypo-metabolic “Force”, young padawan. Unless your parental genetics foretell a more favorable metabolic future.

    P.S. Yup, green peppers. Little convenient tubs of garlic butter. Do they offer the cinnamon pies as well?

  20. Did you work out at the gym or at home? I can just imagine hordes of um, fellow gymmers crowding around your treadmill to watch the shows, haha (if it was the former).

    Worry not, sensei (or whatever padawans call their teachers)- I have a wonderful technique at my disposal. Every time I think I need to lose some weight I just skip one or two meals a day and sleep whenever possible. It works wonders:D

    Hmm, cinnamon pies. Nope, they didn’t dole them out together with the pizzas. I didn’t really check the menu. Sounds tempting though:3
    .-= aprilius20´s last blog > Natsu no Arashi: Quantum Physics for Amateurs =-.

  21. @A20-man: Heyyy, Happy American Thanksgiving! Haha, well, the treadmill and stationary bike are safely and securely located in the private confines of my comfy home. Sorry to disappoint your high expectations of other oxymoronic “otaku gymmates”, lol. Although Autumn-chan did introduce me to some unexpectedly exhausting racquetball not too long ago (Nov 15th). Wow, despite treading every night, there were some leaping and lunging muscles I hadn’t used in ages, lol… A-ha! I use that “deprivation” technique myself. Just skip, reduce, or sleep thru dinner! But then again, who’d want to sleep thru cinnamon pies?

  22. Happy Thanksgiving to you, too! But why the ‘American’? Is it celebrated on different dates worldwide? I guess you’ll be hitting the stores for ‘Black Friday’- haha, that’s pretty much all I know about ‘American’ Thanksgiving ;)

    Hmm, too bad. I was already imagining a scenario where the muscle-bound gym trainers try to stop the ‘otaku gymnates’ from watching the tube, and getting run out of the place, haha.
    Racquetball? I’ve heard of it somewhere… sounds a lot like squash, though. Never could differentiate the two. Which reminds me, I haven’t played a good game of badminton since leaving high school… ah, the memories :(

    Who would indeed- I’d rather go for my blueberry cheese tarts though :D
    .-= aprilius20´s last blog > District 9: How to raise a prawn and cuss like South Africans =-.

  23. @A20-man: Hey, thanx! Ah, well, I only know that Canada celebrates Thanksgiving in October, and Japan celebrates Labor Thanksgiving in November. But if we go by the United States definition, I doubt that every other country recognizes the original 17th-century festivities between the founding American colonies and the Native American Indians. Haha, as for Black Friday or Cyber Monday, I guess I’m pretty “un-American”.

    Hmm, muscle-bound trainers and otaku tube-watchers? Sounds like another desperate-yet-glorious episode of “School Rumble”… Haha, I had to search Wikipedia for “squash”. But intriguingly enough, they’re actually pretty similar. Except for the racquet shape and ball size, as well as the court markings, they both have the same basic 4-walled structure (w glass, etc). So I can understand the confusion. Though I wonder how Zetsubou-sensei would despair at the so-similar-yet-different details between the two! Like the so-similar-yet-different details between C*ke and P*psi? Yet quite dissimilar from badminton, I’m afraid.

  24. Looks like both of us went through a blogging hiatus *3*

    I think there are about 3 Jollibees in San Diego, one of which is in a mall with Red Ribbon and Chowking, hahaha. I love love love their mango peach pies!

    Also, I loved watching Ouran High. I’m usually not one for series like Ouran, but it tore at my heartstrings at the end. Plus, the Hitachiin twins = <3
    .-= Lene´s last blog > What’s in your bag? =-.

  25. Sorry Goong was a failure for you! I love the manhwa but I haven’t seen the live action. The only thing I really knew about the live action was what I read on Wikipedia, they made it sound like the live action was even better then the original material. I was debating trying it out but I think Skip Beat! will still be my first live action series! Speaking of, I get the next chapter of the manga in a few days!! /cheer

    Since you last posted I’ve started watching Dexter (love it) and a couple days ago I started reading those Twilight books. I’m a little old for them but I still find them interesting. I plan on going after the books Trueblood is based on next kind of like a vampire marathon. The Twilight books are quick reads, I started Friday and I’m on Book 3 of 4 so I should be on Trueblood before you know it. I plan on watching the Trueblood series too. I’m also completely addicted to Puzzlequest on my DS.
    .-= lovelyduckie´s last blog > Puzzlequest: Challenge of the Warlords =-.

  26. @duckie:
    I skimmed through some pages of the Goong manga, and the characters seem a bit more…animated in the manga than they are in the LA. Shin, for example, is almost entirely devoid of emotion. Though…perhaps he’s supposed to be? The girl playing the heroine (Shin Chye Kyueng? I can’t spell it) is AMAZING. She’s absolutely hilarious. The supporting cast, specifically the royal family (especially the Queen Mother) is really great, too.

    WHERE IS THE SKIP BEAT LA? I haven’t seen hide or hair of it. Did they make it? I desperately want to see it….
    Also, YAY for a new chapter in just about a week! I’m super excited. I can’t wait to see what Ren tries to do…or fails to do. I have some ideas about what is about to happen. ^_^
    .-= Kris´s last blog > Last Quarter =-.

  27. Labor Thanksgiving? Never heard of that one. Sounds as if they’re trying to say “we’ve worked you like mad, so thanks and have a day off, and oh, don’t be late for work tomorrow’, etc. Never heard of Cyber Monday either, but it sounds interesting:)

    Zetsubou-sensei: “The similarities in dissimilar games are confusing us commoners! Zetsubou shitaaaa!” or something like that, lol.

    Haha, I don’t think you’d get sued for libel for saying that Coke is pretty much the same as Pepsi. Then again, better to be safe than sorry^^; Badminton? It’s the only racquet-based game I play (and play well)- which is why it came to mind;)
    .-= aprilius20´s last blog > District 9: How to raise a prawn and cuss like South Africans =-.

  28. @Lene-chan: Hehe, yeah, I think my 2-month haitus could be more “risky” than your 1-month haitus, lol. Hey, our Seafood City sounds just like your mall, with the Jollibee, Chowking, grocery store, and little shops. Ah, haven’t tried the pies yet. But gotta love the Chickenjoy and Palabok! Awww, glad u liked “Ouran”. Although Kris-chan recommended it, my anime tastes are quite broad too, hehe. Still, it was a pretty well-crafted romantic comedy after all. So it was an easy 5-star winner. Yeah, it was “in the bag”, so to speak, lol. Get it? Bag?

    @Duckie-chan: Heyyy! Yeah, well, there’s a reason why “Goong” was only the 10th-rated, while “Jumong” was the highest-rated Korean drama in 2006 in Korea. In fact, just finished “Jumong” episode 50 of 81 with my treadmill. After 50 episodes, still epic! But why wait for any series to be your first Asian live-action series? In fact, it might be better to get used to the Asian live-action genre before actually watching a “good” series. Testing the water temperature before diving in, right? But I’m sure you’ve watched a few Asian films, haven’t u? Though I still need to check out the “Skip Beat” anime… Hmm, I’ve heard of “Dexter” and “Twilight” and tried the uninspiring “True Blood” TV series. Well, here’s a two-cent question: If you’re watching these Western shows, why bother with Korean or Japanese live-action? Then here’s my three-cent prediction: Maybe you’re too Western for Asian live-action? Haha, just kidding. Or am I?

    @Kris-chan: Okay-okay, I get the picture, lol. “Skip Beat” is still on my list. But gotta finish watching “xxxHolic” and “Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei – Season 3” first. Mixed in between “Jumong”, of course.

    @A20-man: Yeah, could be! I’m sure you can always Wiki “Labor Thanksgiving” and “Cyber Monday”, couldn’t u? Yeah, trying out “Wiki” as a verb. Like the pseudo-verb “Google”. Hahaha, I like that: The despairing similarities in dissimilar things! Or this one: The despairing verb-ification of brand names! Googling! Wiki-ing! Oh, the despair! “I think they Yahoo-ed the Sony-ing company!”… Yeah, I’d say Coking and Pepsi-ing are pretty much the same, lol.

    @Kris-chan: Ahh, while Coking and Pepsi-ing might be pretty similar, I can probably agree that Dr. Peppering is distinct enough from the first two to call it “better”. Have you tried the Diet Lemonade Sunkist? Mmm-mmm-good. Luckily, my current taste is water-water-water. Yup, water, the key to speedy racquetball recoveries!

  29. Jay, of course, I can never get enough of figures especially if there are none of the characters (effeminate, sexy men) in existence. I was just so hooked on the series that I would love another season, but I don’t know what would be explored. Perhaps, they could continue their story filled with adventures and hints of relationship formations. I really have no clue.

    There were some really good deals on laptops for Black Friday, but I couldn’t camp out in front of a store for hours to get those deals. Anyways, all of the data on my laptop was wiped and it’s working again…for now. Hahaha, yeah. I forgot to turn off my twitter notifications in Uncharted 2.

    I have never bought Pocky from a Japanese market. I’ve only been interested in getting Japanese candy because they tend to be inflated at everywhere else. I have sampled many different types of Pocky courtesy of mystery gifts from the good ‘ol folks over at Otakufuel.

    Everyone is super busy right now. We just gotta make the most of free days and relax. It’s a good time to be sharing all of that time relaxing with someone else xD
    .-= Jem´s last blog > Assembling a Nendoroid army =-.

  30. Haha, well, I could, but for some reason I find myself becoming increasingly reluctant to google the answers to my questions. Just a few days ago I suddenly fixated on which country Reykjavík is in- Finland or Iceland. Refused to Google it, but I couldn’t come up with an answer and finally asked someone else:P

    Coking.. Pepsi-ing… The former looks a little too close to ‘choking’, haha.
    .-= aprilius20´s last blog > ANBU and their dietary habits =-.

  31. Wow, the biggest post i’ve ever seen haha yeah, i’m late as always but who cares? haha told you! i care about your blog!

    Ohh i remember Gundam Wing, it was one of my favorites when i was little. haha Just good series at that time…Dragon Ball, Samurai X, Gundam Wing, Sakura Card Captor, Inuyasha, Yu Yu Hakusho, Ranma 1/2… Actually i think that the old Gundam is so much better than the Gundam Seed.
    Hey and Bleach?! Are you still watching it? where’s Ichigo? haha

    Ohh and christmas is comming! Woo! i hope to see another mega-post before christmas! if not, we can still talk on FB…

  32. @Mimi-chan, @Jem-chan, @A20-man, @Shagh-man: Heyyy, nice to hear from everyone plus the notoriously elusive Mimi-chan! Is MIT as ultra-intense as they say? But like Jem-chan noted: “Everyone is super busy right now”. Including myself. Which means that sadly, one last mega-post before the end of 2009 is a pretty slim possibility. So instead, here’s my recent email update to Kris-chan last week (Dec 16th):

    Heyyy, glad “Nana” met with your hesitant approval. (Again, Jap w Eng subs is the only way to see it.) But other than “Jumong” (up to ep 60 of 81), I’ve been enjoying “Hana Yori Dango” Season 2 (up to ep 3 or 4). The Japanese actors are still great (with a couple of recognizable faces from “Gokusen” and a supporting face from “Zettai Kareshi”.) Once I finish that, I’ll leap to the Korean version of “Boys Over Flowers” (finally downloaded one w Eng subs). Oh, and I re-started “Madlax” again. Yuki Kajiura always seems to add a mysterious almost mystical texture to a series. (Same as Yoko Kanno.) Hopefully, it does as well as “Noir”. No spoilers please, lol. Otherwise, it’s been a hella-busy work-on-weekends couple of months. Just released our new application version last night! Consequently, don’t think I’ll reach my 50 anime titles this year. Forty already but not fifty. (Unless I cram anime films instead of series.) As for Autumn-chan, we’ll see what we can do, hehe. Merry Christmas, if I don’t see u in a new mega-cast this month!

    Yup, so that’s it so far. Hope u forgive my abrupt shift in topics. Busily catching up on my one-month-behind “day by day” antics for November and December too. So we’ll see what happens. Oh yeah, before I forget: “Happy Holidays” and a “Happy New 2010!”

  33. @Jay-san:
    I JUST finished my 40th anime series of the year. I also watched 7 animated films, 4 LA series (3 Gokusen seasons, 1 Goong), and 4 LA (based on manga or anime) films. I might get another series in before the year ends.
    I may have missed something here or there, but that’s not a bad year at all. Plus the ton of manga I read this year.
    I’m thinking of doing a quickie review of the most recent titles I’ve seen, before the year is out. And then maybe after the first, highlight everything I watched this year.

    By the way, I tried to make some cream puffs this weekend, like in Zettai Kareshi. Mine didn’t look anything like that, lol, but they tasted great.
    .-= Kris´s last blog > Itazura na Kiss =-.

  34. @Kris-chan: Wow, in that case, if u fit one more, that’s 48 anime titles in my book (40 + 7 + 1). Nice job! Of course, with 40 titles, I’m willing to sacrifice 10 titles, if it means spending more time w live “Jumong” (equivalent to 4-8 seasons worth), live “Hana Yori Dango” (2 seasons), and especially Autumn-chan (priceless), hehe. So no loss here. As for cream puffs, who knows how they “really” taste; they’re pretty good actors, aren’t they? Haha, in any case, “Happy Holidays.”

    @A20-man: Hmm, year-ending, year-welcoming, or year-reminding, the next mega-post will be what it will be. Probably not attached to any typical holiday, release or event. As usual. Just a “stand alone complex”, eh? But meanwhile, don’t forget to a have a great holiday season. Already 2010? I smell a time machine “rumbling in a school” somewhere…

  35. Haha, I just need an excuse to post this pic I drew some time ago. Or copied, rather. -scratches head- the closest I could come to defining a SAC is ‘meme of unknown origin’. Time machine, eh? I think that one will come sometime in April, as it does every year;)
    Merry Christmas and have a great new year:D
    .-= aprilius20´s last blog > Confessions of an alleged Gothic Lolita =-.

  36. @A20-man: Hmm, sounds mysterious. Or rather, nebulous… In fact, I think you’re befuddling me more and more with each comment, lol. Hmm, “birthdays” as metaphorical time machines? Who’d be crazy enough to want that? Haha, thanx, enjoy a “happily despairing” and “school rumbling” New Year too!

  37. I’ve always wondered about one thing. Why do you always put three topics in one post?

    P.S. Was in the US in December….the food portion sizes still scare me.
    .-= The Envoy´s last blog > 2010 =-.

  38. @A20-man: Ahh, most likely. And thanx for the ShoutBox clarification regarding Gillette’s spokesguys. Tiger Woods I recognize, but Henry I have no clue, while Federer is who? Top hockey player? Maybe Gillette should try Schrodinger’s Spokesguy Box a la “Zan Zetsubou-Sensei”, haha.

    @Envoy-man: Why three topics? Haha, sometimes it’s five. But I think you’ll find my “best” answer so far on Blog 200 > Tasty Tales from the Toybox.

  39. If you’re watching these Western shows, why bother with Korean or Japanese live-action? Then here’s my three-cent prediction: Maybe you’re too Western for Asian live-action? Haha, just kidding. Or am I?

    You may have hit the nail on the head actually, that could be why. I’m a LOT more drawn to eastern anime than live action,
    .-= lovelyduckie´s last blog > 1/6 Asuka and Rei Figures (Kotobukiya) =-.

  40. @Duckie-chan: Ahh, really? I guess my 3-cent prediction was actually worth more after all. So here’s another question: If we put live-action aside for a moment, what Asian films do you love? Hong Kong films? Korean? Japanese?

    @TT-man: Hey, what’s up? Hope you don’t mind my moving your comment to my latest post. Thanx, everything is fine! Just busy with work and play, hehe. I’ll update your blog link soon. And what about yourself? Haha, why the sudden zeroes?

    @A20-man: Ahh, tennis! I see, I must’ve been thinking of Sergei Fedorov of the NHL. Federer. Fedorov. Simple mixup, eh? And French football? You mean rugby? I hardly pay attention to Western entertainment, let alone Western sports anymore. Funny, back in my school days, I used to follow ice hockey (the Wayne Gretsky days), tennis (John McEnroe and Andre Agassi days), football (Joe Montana days), baseball (Reggie Jackson days) even basketball (Michael Jordan days). I guess I grew out of sports? These days, as my anime pursuits are ebbing, my dives into J, K and HK live-action has been pretty flowing. Then again, if I throw a Schrodinger box over my TV, the quantum TV possibilities are endless!

    @Everyone: Well, Blog 219 mega-cast is still under construction. Hint: Zetsubou. ETA TBD, hahaha.

  41. Ah, a Russkie in the NHL? Interesting. They’re close enough, I guess, heh. Western sports? Does that mean you watch more Asian sports, like… oh, I don’t know… sumo? I’m not really interested in sports either- I just happen to read everything in the papers. Tennis I like, although I don’t play it; badminton I like, but the writing is generic crap; and footie… haha, I guess I should have said ‘soccer’. The rest of the world calls it football, except for you US of A’ans- soccer has the best writers, sadly:P

    Hey, if you throw a Schrodinger’s box over your TV, you might not even have a TV underneath it at all, haha:D
    .-= aprilius20´s last blog > Spice and Wolf II: Futures Trading, Medieval Politics, and Inter-Species Courtship =-.

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