The joys of origami

26Jul09

For a few weeks now, I am rediscovering the joys of origami, the Japanese art of paper folding. I used to know how to make a paper crane, even attempted to make a thousand paper cranes like what a character in the book Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes did, but I never got around to finish this project. Then I moved on to other interests.
But on a recent visit to National Book Store, I saw some origami books on display. The books have colorful, attractive covers and are rather inexpensive. The catch: the instructions are in Japanese, and although I am learning Nihongo, they are still beyond my comprehension. However, the pictures seem adequate enough for me to follow, so I bought one book, たべものをおる, to try out.

Origami book and paper

So far, I can do pineapple, tomato, carrot, mushroom, candy and candy cane, and hotdog sandwich. I have not even done everything in the book and I already bought my second origami book, Origami with Dollar Bills. My nephew Ace and I use play money though

My second origami book is a steal at Php50

Cutting 6 by 6 paper is a de-stressing activity in itself, but I am glad to finally find the paper available at NBS. I hope to post my finished projects here. Got origami tips and tricks? I will appreciate some. ありがとうございます！

Filed under: Books, Languages, My Favorite Things, Nihongo   |  7 Comments
Tags: たべものをおる, origami, Origami with Dollar Bills, 折り紙

Three places I wish to be this week

21Jul09

Iwojima, Japan, to get a good view of the century’s longest total solar eclipse, July 22. Even Shanghai, China would be a great place to be tomorrow between 8:40 AM to 11:00 AM.

From www.nasa.gov

San Diego Comic-Con 2009. To the fortunate ones who have tickets to this event, I envy you. Filipino comic book artist Leinil Francis Yu will be there on Thursday, July 23 for a free-for-all discussion with fans and aspiring artists.

I wonder if Renato Guedes, whose work on Action Comics I adore, will be there?

Either of the two cities where Green Day will be performing this week. I have yet to get the 21st Century Breakdown CD. おかねじゃない

Filed under: Event, Lists, Places   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: Green Day, Leinil Yu, San Diego Comic-Con 2009, total solar eclipse

East meets West at Dolcelatte

18Jul09

Heavy rains could not keep me from meeting my good friends for dinner at Dolcelatte, the cafe and gourmet bakeshop located at the C&E Information and Resource Center. The first time we ate at Dolcelatte was a blast! We had a five-course meal and even got to chitchat with Executive Chef Pablo ‘Boy’ Logro, who was featured on QTV’s Secrets of the Masters weeks after we met him. Chef Boy speaks Japanese and French, and tells interesting stories about food and places he had been to. He is such a jolly person that I could not help but think that it is his positive disposition that leads to the creation of such sumptuous dishes.

Red, white, and blue

We were surprised when a guy in a white shirt approached our table to give us a little orientation. It turned out that the restaurant was having cocktails taste testing that night. We were to start at the stronger concoctions, e.g., martinis, mojitos, and margaritas, then move to the non-alcoholic ones. It was a good thing then that I had my dose of caffeine before I left the house.

From July 2009

From July 2009

From July 2009

From July 2009

Cocktails are a study in color: red, watermelon; green, apple or kiwi; blue, lychee; and white, white choco martini, which unfortunately never reached our table. Our hands down cocktail winner is the spicy mango margarita:

From July 2009

I also like the minty flavor of this mojitos:

From July 2009

Dolcelatte のたべものはおしいです

Anna, Laya, and I all ordered pasta: ham pesto, chicken alfredo, and Japanese spaghetti, respectively. My Japanese spaghetti was cooked by Chef Logro himself. Shiitake and button mushrooms, chicken strips, dried seaweed, rice wine, and Japanese soy sauce: とてもおしかった！The manager also recommends pasta arabiata.

From July 2009

Bel had this chicken teriyaki:

From July 2009

Dolce and latte

Dolce is Italian for “sweet” while latte is “milk,” though it is often taken to mean espresso mixed with hot or steamed milk. For dessert, we wanted tiramisu, but it was not available so we had blueberry cheesecake and the highly recommended mango candy.

From July 2009

From July 2009

おなかがいっぱいでした。Moreso, my heart was full, talking and laughing with my friends. To Chef Logro and everyone at Dolcelatte (a big shoutout to Nieves, jill of all trades, master of every single one of them):おつかれさまでした。じゃまた。

Filed under: Food, My Favorite Things, Places   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: blueberry cheese cake, cafe, Chef Pablo 'Boy' Logro, chicken alfredo, chicken teriyaki, Dolcelatte, fusion restaurant, ham pesto, Japanese spaghetti, mango candy, martini, mojitos

Meeting the one who dares to be the voice of our generation

11Jul09

SM North Skydome is turning out to be such a memorable venue for me. Last May, I got to see American Idol Season 7 winner David Cook there when he promoted his and David Archuleta’s Manila concert. Last Friday, I got to actually thank Ely Buendia, the man who has written many of the songs that mean a lot to me. Soundtrack of my life, I regard those songs.

I learned about Pupil’s Wildlife Special Edition launch from Tina-chan. We easily decided on going despite her having an org orientation on that day and my having Nihongo final exam the following day. I left the school around 5 PM, and told Tina that I would probably wait in one of the coffee shops in Sky Garden. Once in Sky Garden, I remembered our DC meet-and-greet experience, so I decided to buy the CD and just wait inside the venue so that I could get us good seats. The Dorques was doing soundcheck when I got in. Then, rain fell heavily, and with heavy rains came terrible traffic and delay in schedule. It was a good thing that I brought all my Nihongo study materials with me.

Pupil of course is worth the wait. Yan Yuzon must be one of the warmest band members I’ve ever seen. He got the party started when he invited the audience to come closer to the stage, which of course we gladly did. Ely did some neat dance moves (Note to self: Look for videos of Ely dancing). The band performed not only songs from Wildlife but also from their first album Beautiful Machines. すごい！

What almost ruined it for me was the two annoying guys who kept shouting “Alapaap” when the audience was asking for an encore. I really wanted to scowl at them for being immature. Hay naku talaga!

To my pleasant surprise, Pupil did my favorite Michael Jackson song “Man in the Mirror.” とてもたのしかった！

Ely playing MJ's "Man in the Mirror" on guitar

"Man in the Mirror": Ely on guitar, Wendell on vocals

Remember my 100? Realizing 38.1, I am starting to believe that everything is possible.

Thanks, like really, Ely! And thanks for the pictures, Tina-chan!

Filed under: Event, Music, People, Places   |  6 Comments
Tags: Dok Sergio, Ely Buendia, Pupil, SM North Skydome, Wendell Garcia, Wildlife Special Edition

Inspired by Lola Techie

05Jul09

Did you notice the Twitter feed on my sidebar? That is inspired by Lola Techie whose billboards are very visible lately. Teacher Je and Teacher Joyce told me about the TV ad, but since I am on TV diet, I did not see the ad until today. I looked for it in youtube where one can find videos of almost anything, and voila: I became a fan. This is perpetual learning, folks. One is never too old to learn something new.

Filed under: TV & Films   |  1 Comment
Tags: Lola Techie, Twitter

The Coffee Press turns one

05Jul09

It has been a year of sporadic blogging for me. I would say that time flies, but I like how Youn Ho, one of my former students, put it: time flows like water. So to all my caffeine- and noncaffeine-addicted friends who drop by to check what’s brewing in my head: many thanks. Thanks also to those who just happen to click a link that leads here: どうもありがとうございます。

Filed under: Event   |  3 Comments
Tags: blogging

What’s your dream wedding?

27Jun09

I got a wedding invitation through the mail, and it always makes me happy (1) to get something else from the mailbox other than billing statements, and (2) to get invited to a wedding. I like going to weddings. It amazes me how a couple can plan and pull off their dream wedding, especially if they really do the planning and coordinating by themselves. The couple who sent me the invite are hands on in planning their wedding, and I am sure they will have a wonderful wedding.

What’s your dream wedding? Funny enough, the first time I thought about this was in high school when we were asked to design a wedding invitation complete with an entourage and all. Since I was into watching MacGyver at the time, I put Richard Dean Anderson’s name as my groom. I did not think much about it thereafter. But now that a number of my friends are tying the knot, and not a few are bothered that I am still single at my age, so I sometimes get asked this question, to which I would answer that I want a “come-as-you-are” wedding. Guests could come in their favorite, most comfortable get up, and have all the good food and great fun that my groom and I could afford. And now that I think about it, I would definitely like to have soba, maki, and tempura in the menu. Pizza and pasta. Kebab. Blueberry cheese cake and chocolate muffins. Bottomless drinks! And probably a videoke machine

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Tags: dream wedding

Japinoy.com POW: Ai

27Jun09

Filed under: Japinoy.com POW, My Favorite Things   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: Hello Kitty

Japinoy.com POW: Ki

03Jun09

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Tags: Japinoy.com, Namiseom, South Korea

My David Cook experience

18May09

Skechers gave away free posters and buttons. Yey!

What did it take me to get to fangirl heaven? Let’s see: cut back on coffee to defray ticket cost, took half-day off work to be at the meet-and-greet (more scream-and-wave, as a fellow David Cook fan called it), bugged people who possibly know somebody who know somebody who could help score me  entrance to the noontime show Eat Bulaga (to no  avail), missed my Saturday classes (ごめん、先生!）to catch up on some zzzs and have the energy to stand, bob my head, wave my hands, scream, shout, and sing at the top of my lungs.

So was it worth it? Definitely. Will I do it again? Absolutely, except maybe the missing classes part

Because David Cook rocks! Amazingly. Soulfully.

The David Cook Official people lovingly indexed all the articles, radio interviews, videos, pictures, and whatnots here. And here is my not so good video of DC covering Collective Soul’s “The World I Know.” (Moments like these make me wish I had better gadgets. Oh well.)

What is left for me to say? Salamat po so much, DC. You gave us a night that would linger on indefinitely.

Filed under: Event, Music, My Favorite Things, People   |  4 Comments
Tags: David Cook in Manila