Today marks the last day of the 2011 calendar year in Canada! For me, it's been quite a... normal year? I met some new people, graduated from biological sciences, went camping for the first time without adult supervision (lol wasn't a beer party at all! more just to enjoy the environment) and got into the education program at UofC.
I don't recall making any resolutions for the year, so I cannot say whether I met them or not... though, I might make some realistic ones for tomorrow.
For the world... where there was the 9.0 Tohoku earthquake in Japan, Arab Springs and Occupy moments to name a few events. Also I read in the paper of all those deaths in the celebrity world.
And now to the entertainment world, or what I view as entertainment: Gintama's "5th" season started (in quotes because apparently it's a brand new show, Gintama' instead of Gintama [note the apostrophe] )!
And for my Top 5 Dramas of 2011 (won't go into detail). This year was the year of sequels for sure!
In order, starting from my favorite one
1) JIN 2- great medical series. One of my all time favorite dramas
2) BOSS 2- great detective drama! Some of the cases are pretty clever!
3) Good Life ~Arigato Papa. Sayonara~ (Good Life~ Thank you Papa. Farewell~) - as mentioned in my previous drama post why I like it/recommend it!
4) Control ~Hanzai Shinri Sousa~ (Don't know the english translation...) - another detective drama. Not as intricate as BOSS, but really nice to watch.
5) Diplomat Kuroda Kousaku - a thriller and a good one at that. Had me on the edge of my seat for the most part of the drama series.
Well that's it for now! Happy New Years Everyone! No pictures for today =P
Saturday, 31 December 2011
Wednesday, 28 December 2011
David's Top 5 Tear Jerking Japanese Dramas
For those who don't know me that well, I like watching Japanese dramas during my free time. I prefer watching them over American TV shows, save Big Bang Theory. =P
I do occasionally watch Taiwanese or Korean dramas, but I prefer Japanese dramas since the season is shorter (10-11 episodes) compared to Taiwanese or Korean (14+ I believe) and each episode is shorter (45 minutes vs 1 to 1.5 hrs). This way, I find that there is less filler and they normally get straight to the point!
Why start with my top 5 Tear Jerkers? The reason being is that I normally don't watch these dramas for I find some of them to be very emotionally draining. At times, I come very close to tears, and this being said due to the fact that I haven't shed a tear for about 9 years now... Also, I was listening to a theme song last night as I was falling asleep, which inspired me to start these series of blogs!
Anyways, I want to finish off on a happy note with my Top 5 Inspirational Dramas, or something along those lines on a later date!
How do I pick these 5 tear jerkers? I guess those that were the most draining to me and that left an impression on me.
KEEP IN MIND THAT THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPHS WILL HAVE SPOILERS! Just read the title of each drama and skip the paragraphs if you're interested in watching them!
This list will be in order, starting from my 5th choice and finishing with my 1st choice. Synopsis are retrieved from drama-wiki (wiki.d-addicts.com). All images are also taken from drama-wiki.
At number 5: Beautiful Life
Starring: Kimura Takuya and Tokiwa Takako
Synopsis: Kyoko, a young woman with an unhindered spirit despite being physically bound to a wheelchair due to illness, and Shuji, a stylish and popular fashion magazine hairstylist, are brought together in a fateful traffic incident. Despite their confrontational meeting, they soon find themselves falling in love, with Shuji drawn to her courage and enthusiasm and Kyoko attracted to his ability to look beyond her physical limitations and into her heart. However, Kyoko's protective older brother and her worsening condition begin to test the bounds of their love for each other and threaten to end their beautiful life together.
Rationale: This drama had really high viewership (41.3%). I'm assuming its due to the fact that Kimura Takuya was the main star of the drama. Anyways, I didn't expect it to be so sad since I watched a bunch of sad dramas before this one. It's pretty much a love story between two people, but one of them has a terminal illness and is expected to die. What really got to me was the last episode, where the main actresses (Tokiwa) playing the role of Kyoko passed away and Shuji was applying make up to her face to prepare her for her funeral. The words he said to her and the lack of words at times made it really did the trick. It was a tearful moment, yet peaceful, as strange as it may seem. Shuji took great care of putting the make up on Kyoko despite how distraught he was probably feeling inside.
At number 4: Shiroi Haru (White Spring)
Starring: Hiroshi Abe and Ohashi Nozomi
Synopsis: Former yakuza Haruo is finally released from prison after completing his sentence. With nine years worth of prison gratuities in hand, he stops at a restaurant to enjoy a good meal, but all of his money ends up being stolen. With nothing left, he spends the night at a net cafe, and he manages to look up his old friend from his yakuza days. When Haruo visits the next day, he learns that his old girlfriend Mariko was living with another man, but later died of illness. Haruo, who had committed murder 9 years earlier to earn the money for Mariko's medical treatment, is shocked and angered. He decides to track down that other man, who runs a bakery with his wife and daughter Sachi. Haruo later runs into Sachi at the park, but he has yet to find out the truth about her.
Rationale: Great story line. Hiroshi plays the main star, Haruo, the ex-gangster. He wanted revenge since he thought that the money he made for his hit job went to Mariko's "husband" aka the baker (I don't think they officially married). As he was scheming in the park, he met the main actress (Ohashi) who plays the young daughter of the baker. Throughout the series, the two of them grew closer and closer. Haruo even starts working at the bakery! Very soon, Haruo realized that Sachi was actually HIS daughter, but doesn't tell Sachi, but of course... Sachi figures it out in the end. Initially, he wanted to fight for the custody of his daughter, but realized that it was best for her to stay with the baker.
The drama overall was beautifully written, until the last 10 minutes of the final episode where they didn't know what to do with Haruo after he acknowledges the baker to be Sachi's "real" dad, so they killed him off. What makes this a tear-jerker is that it was painful to see Haruo realize that Sachi was in fact his daughter, yet she didn't initially know that he was her father. Also, the supporting actors and actresses' characters were developed with a similar notion to Haruo, in that their families were not as whole compared to others.
Coming in at number 3: 1 Litre of Tears
Starring: Sawajiri Erika and Nishikido Ryo
Synopsis: 15-year-old Ikeuchi Aya was an ordinary girl, the daughter of a family who works at a tofu shop, and a soon-to-be high schooler. However, odd things have been happening to Aya lately. She has been falling down often and walks strange. Her mother, Shioka, takes Aya to see the doctor, and he informs Shioka that Aya has spinocerebellar degeneration - a terrible disease where the cerebellum of the brain gradually deteriorates to the point where the victim cannot walk, speak, write, or eat. A cruel disease, as it does not affect the mind in the least. How will Aya react when told about her disease? And how will Aya live from now on?
Rationale: This was my first tear-jerker, though I didn't find it to be sad. I found it to be quite inspirational actually since Aya never gave up on life, despite having that debilitating disease. However, since most people view this as a tear jerker, I decided to place this drama in this category. And a side note: Sawajiri looks SO MUCH better without heavy make up...
Anyways, it was tearful to watch Aya as she went through life, getting weaker and weaker as each episode went on. Like any normal teenage girl, she wanted to fall in love and spend time with her friends, but she couldn't due to her disease. As time went on, she began to lose more and more motor abilities. Also, she started losing friends since they couldn't adapt to her needs. Despite her setbacks, she had a core group of people that she could rely on, including her family (mother, father, sister and brother) and her good friend Asou Haruto (played by Nishikido).
Looking back, what really got to me was not her death in the last episode, but rather what she wrote in her diary. She wrote about her life, her daily struggles, her feelings and many other things. What made me come close to tears were her last word: Arigato. Despite the having the fear of death knocking on your front door, she was grateful for the life that she had lived.
The silver medal goes to: Good Life ~ Thank you, Papa. Goodbye~
Starring: Sorimachi Takashi, Igawa Haruka and Kabe Amon
Synopsis: The basis for the drama is the novel “Kashikogi” by author Cho Chang-in, which has sold 2 million copies in Korea since its publication in 2000. It has already been adapted as a television drama and a stage play in that country. On February 4, Shogakukan is publishing the book in Japan under the title “Good Life.” Sorimachi plays the part of Daichi Sawamoto, a newspaper reporter who has always prioritized his work over his family. When his wife suddenly leaves him, he finally notices the love he has been receiving from his son. Just as he decides to answer back, it is discovered that his son has leukaemia.
Rationale: While watching these drama, I realized that the story I wanted to write (A Father's Pride) was actually quite similar to the story line in this drama, in that the father was a workaholic, but through time realize what love is from his small child. Anyways, I was expecting it, since the child had leukemia and they couldn't find a bone marrow donor for his child. I was expecting the child to die, so I got myself ready for it. It was strange though, since it seemed like the son was going to die in episode 6 or 7, when there's still 4-5 more episodes left!
Waku (Kabe), didn't die though. They managed to find a donor and Waku quickly recovered from his cancer. What was ironic though was that the father discovered that he had advanced Pancreatic Cancer and was not expected to live for more than half a year. Realizing the love his son showed him, and the love he wanted to give to his son (for he had a tough childhood due to the fact that his mom died young and his father went bankrupt and tried to kill the two of them). Daichi could have extended his own life span by receiving treatment, but he decided not to forgo it because he wanted to spend whatever remaining time he had with his son.
The last couple of episodes made the drama so sad. To see the father in pain, but trying to bring what happiness he could to his son. When the father realized that he couldn't live normally and needed to be hospitalized, he used the old "I'm-tired-of-you-so-screw-off" technique by telling his son he didn't love him anymore and that he should go live with his mother. Sorimachi did an excellent job in portraying the pain while trying to hurt his son's feelings, in hoping that his son would forget him. In the end though, the mother (Igawa) and Waku managed to find where Daichi was hospitalized (since he sold his belongings and placed his condo for sale). Daichi reconciled with his wife in a touching reunion where he spoke of how he first fell for her. Also, we see the entire family enjoying the last couple of days that Daichi had left. The producer/director/whoever put it together finished the series nicely with a smiling Daichi in his wheelchair as he passed away peacefully watching his son play on the beach in front of his hospice.
And the top Japanese Tear jerker is: Sekai no Chuushin de, Ai wo Sakebu (Crying out Love, in the Centre of the World).
Starring: Yamada Takayuki and Ayase Haruka
Synopsis: "I thought I might be using a lifetime's happiness in a moment. I was that happy and she was that beautiful." A young boy stands on the red earth of Australia under its blue sky. It is 17-year-old Sakutaro Matsumoto. His time with the girl comes back to him. The colored sand runs through his hands and a tear appears on his cheek. He wakes up. It's 2004 and he is 34 years old and in Japan. He thinks "I have been in a world without her for 17 years." Returning home to see his old high school for the last time before it is demolished, Saku confronts anew the loss of the love of his life, Aki, to leukemia 17 years ago. Now a medical researcher at graduate school, he has been living as if half of him died with her since then. Based on the bestselling novel that sold over 3 million copies, the past and present come together in this love story that is both pure and sad.
Rationale: This takes the top spot on my list without any doubt. We start off at the present with a 34 year old Matsumoto (not played by Yamada) still grieving about the death of his girlfriend. He keeps a vial of her ashes with him at all times to remind him of her. After finding out that the city was going to demolish his high school (where he met Saki [Ayase]), we're taking back to the past, where he first met Saki and where most of the story takes place.
It's a really simple story, but so sad and so pure. What also made it so sad was the OST that accompanied the series.
The main theme of this drama. It really drives straight to the point of being a pure and sad love story.
What really tugged at my heart strings was when Saki wanted to go visit Australia since she was unable to visit the country with her classmates during their graduation trip. She really wanted to see Australia, to be able to stand on Uluru (the red rocks in Australia aka: Ayers Rock), which was considered to be the center of the world before she died. A very weakened Saki collapsed at the airport, while Matsumoto (Yamada) grasped her, crying, telling that she will be alright. To Saki, who was starting to pass away, she thought that the airport was Heaven (for she never really believed in an afterlife), and that she was happy to have met Matsumoto. These 10 minutes or so were so heart-wrenching that I had to look away from the screen.
After watching the drama series, I went to Chapters and bought the book that it was based on. I also watched the movie adaptation of the series (the movie being a couple years older than the drama). I wasn't satisfied with the ending, for Matsumoto seemed like he couldn't move on from her death. The special episode that came out did her justice (and had somewhat of an ending that was similar to the novel).
In the special, it was a recap of the entire series, but in the end, the 34 year old Matsumoto walked onto their high school's rely track. He remembered how Saki always loved to run. He took out his vial and uncorked it to release her ashes into the sky.
Well that's it for now! Took longer than I expected, but it felt good to write this blog! My next topic will probably be my Top Japanese Medical dramas!
I do occasionally watch Taiwanese or Korean dramas, but I prefer Japanese dramas since the season is shorter (10-11 episodes) compared to Taiwanese or Korean (14+ I believe) and each episode is shorter (45 minutes vs 1 to 1.5 hrs). This way, I find that there is less filler and they normally get straight to the point!
Why start with my top 5 Tear Jerkers? The reason being is that I normally don't watch these dramas for I find some of them to be very emotionally draining. At times, I come very close to tears, and this being said due to the fact that I haven't shed a tear for about 9 years now... Also, I was listening to a theme song last night as I was falling asleep, which inspired me to start these series of blogs!
Anyways, I want to finish off on a happy note with my Top 5 Inspirational Dramas, or something along those lines on a later date!
How do I pick these 5 tear jerkers? I guess those that were the most draining to me and that left an impression on me.
KEEP IN MIND THAT THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPHS WILL HAVE SPOILERS! Just read the title of each drama and skip the paragraphs if you're interested in watching them!
This list will be in order, starting from my 5th choice and finishing with my 1st choice. Synopsis are retrieved from drama-wiki (wiki.d-addicts.com). All images are also taken from drama-wiki.
At number 5: Beautiful Life
Starring: Kimura Takuya and Tokiwa Takako
Synopsis: Kyoko, a young woman with an unhindered spirit despite being physically bound to a wheelchair due to illness, and Shuji, a stylish and popular fashion magazine hairstylist, are brought together in a fateful traffic incident. Despite their confrontational meeting, they soon find themselves falling in love, with Shuji drawn to her courage and enthusiasm and Kyoko attracted to his ability to look beyond her physical limitations and into her heart. However, Kyoko's protective older brother and her worsening condition begin to test the bounds of their love for each other and threaten to end their beautiful life together.
Rationale: This drama had really high viewership (41.3%). I'm assuming its due to the fact that Kimura Takuya was the main star of the drama. Anyways, I didn't expect it to be so sad since I watched a bunch of sad dramas before this one. It's pretty much a love story between two people, but one of them has a terminal illness and is expected to die. What really got to me was the last episode, where the main actresses (Tokiwa) playing the role of Kyoko passed away and Shuji was applying make up to her face to prepare her for her funeral. The words he said to her and the lack of words at times made it really did the trick. It was a tearful moment, yet peaceful, as strange as it may seem. Shuji took great care of putting the make up on Kyoko despite how distraught he was probably feeling inside.
At number 4: Shiroi Haru (White Spring)
Synopsis: Former yakuza Haruo is finally released from prison after completing his sentence. With nine years worth of prison gratuities in hand, he stops at a restaurant to enjoy a good meal, but all of his money ends up being stolen. With nothing left, he spends the night at a net cafe, and he manages to look up his old friend from his yakuza days. When Haruo visits the next day, he learns that his old girlfriend Mariko was living with another man, but later died of illness. Haruo, who had committed murder 9 years earlier to earn the money for Mariko's medical treatment, is shocked and angered. He decides to track down that other man, who runs a bakery with his wife and daughter Sachi. Haruo later runs into Sachi at the park, but he has yet to find out the truth about her.
Rationale: Great story line. Hiroshi plays the main star, Haruo, the ex-gangster. He wanted revenge since he thought that the money he made for his hit job went to Mariko's "husband" aka the baker (I don't think they officially married). As he was scheming in the park, he met the main actress (Ohashi) who plays the young daughter of the baker. Throughout the series, the two of them grew closer and closer. Haruo even starts working at the bakery! Very soon, Haruo realized that Sachi was actually HIS daughter, but doesn't tell Sachi, but of course... Sachi figures it out in the end. Initially, he wanted to fight for the custody of his daughter, but realized that it was best for her to stay with the baker.
The drama overall was beautifully written, until the last 10 minutes of the final episode where they didn't know what to do with Haruo after he acknowledges the baker to be Sachi's "real" dad, so they killed him off. What makes this a tear-jerker is that it was painful to see Haruo realize that Sachi was in fact his daughter, yet she didn't initially know that he was her father. Also, the supporting actors and actresses' characters were developed with a similar notion to Haruo, in that their families were not as whole compared to others.
Coming in at number 3: 1 Litre of Tears
Synopsis: 15-year-old Ikeuchi Aya was an ordinary girl, the daughter of a family who works at a tofu shop, and a soon-to-be high schooler. However, odd things have been happening to Aya lately. She has been falling down often and walks strange. Her mother, Shioka, takes Aya to see the doctor, and he informs Shioka that Aya has spinocerebellar degeneration - a terrible disease where the cerebellum of the brain gradually deteriorates to the point where the victim cannot walk, speak, write, or eat. A cruel disease, as it does not affect the mind in the least. How will Aya react when told about her disease? And how will Aya live from now on?
Rationale: This was my first tear-jerker, though I didn't find it to be sad. I found it to be quite inspirational actually since Aya never gave up on life, despite having that debilitating disease. However, since most people view this as a tear jerker, I decided to place this drama in this category. And a side note: Sawajiri looks SO MUCH better without heavy make up...
Anyways, it was tearful to watch Aya as she went through life, getting weaker and weaker as each episode went on. Like any normal teenage girl, she wanted to fall in love and spend time with her friends, but she couldn't due to her disease. As time went on, she began to lose more and more motor abilities. Also, she started losing friends since they couldn't adapt to her needs. Despite her setbacks, she had a core group of people that she could rely on, including her family (mother, father, sister and brother) and her good friend Asou Haruto (played by Nishikido).
Looking back, what really got to me was not her death in the last episode, but rather what she wrote in her diary. She wrote about her life, her daily struggles, her feelings and many other things. What made me come close to tears were her last word: Arigato. Despite the having the fear of death knocking on your front door, she was grateful for the life that she had lived.
The silver medal goes to: Good Life ~ Thank you, Papa. Goodbye~
Starring: Sorimachi Takashi, Igawa Haruka and Kabe Amon
Synopsis: The basis for the drama is the novel “Kashikogi” by author Cho Chang-in, which has sold 2 million copies in Korea since its publication in 2000. It has already been adapted as a television drama and a stage play in that country. On February 4, Shogakukan is publishing the book in Japan under the title “Good Life.” Sorimachi plays the part of Daichi Sawamoto, a newspaper reporter who has always prioritized his work over his family. When his wife suddenly leaves him, he finally notices the love he has been receiving from his son. Just as he decides to answer back, it is discovered that his son has leukaemia.
Rationale: While watching these drama, I realized that the story I wanted to write (A Father's Pride) was actually quite similar to the story line in this drama, in that the father was a workaholic, but through time realize what love is from his small child. Anyways, I was expecting it, since the child had leukemia and they couldn't find a bone marrow donor for his child. I was expecting the child to die, so I got myself ready for it. It was strange though, since it seemed like the son was going to die in episode 6 or 7, when there's still 4-5 more episodes left!
Waku (Kabe), didn't die though. They managed to find a donor and Waku quickly recovered from his cancer. What was ironic though was that the father discovered that he had advanced Pancreatic Cancer and was not expected to live for more than half a year. Realizing the love his son showed him, and the love he wanted to give to his son (for he had a tough childhood due to the fact that his mom died young and his father went bankrupt and tried to kill the two of them). Daichi could have extended his own life span by receiving treatment, but he decided not to forgo it because he wanted to spend whatever remaining time he had with his son.
The last couple of episodes made the drama so sad. To see the father in pain, but trying to bring what happiness he could to his son. When the father realized that he couldn't live normally and needed to be hospitalized, he used the old "I'm-tired-of-you-so-screw-off" technique by telling his son he didn't love him anymore and that he should go live with his mother. Sorimachi did an excellent job in portraying the pain while trying to hurt his son's feelings, in hoping that his son would forget him. In the end though, the mother (Igawa) and Waku managed to find where Daichi was hospitalized (since he sold his belongings and placed his condo for sale). Daichi reconciled with his wife in a touching reunion where he spoke of how he first fell for her. Also, we see the entire family enjoying the last couple of days that Daichi had left. The producer/director/whoever put it together finished the series nicely with a smiling Daichi in his wheelchair as he passed away peacefully watching his son play on the beach in front of his hospice.
And the top Japanese Tear jerker is: Sekai no Chuushin de, Ai wo Sakebu (Crying out Love, in the Centre of the World).
Synopsis: "I thought I might be using a lifetime's happiness in a moment. I was that happy and she was that beautiful." A young boy stands on the red earth of Australia under its blue sky. It is 17-year-old Sakutaro Matsumoto. His time with the girl comes back to him. The colored sand runs through his hands and a tear appears on his cheek. He wakes up. It's 2004 and he is 34 years old and in Japan. He thinks "I have been in a world without her for 17 years." Returning home to see his old high school for the last time before it is demolished, Saku confronts anew the loss of the love of his life, Aki, to leukemia 17 years ago. Now a medical researcher at graduate school, he has been living as if half of him died with her since then. Based on the bestselling novel that sold over 3 million copies, the past and present come together in this love story that is both pure and sad.
Rationale: This takes the top spot on my list without any doubt. We start off at the present with a 34 year old Matsumoto (not played by Yamada) still grieving about the death of his girlfriend. He keeps a vial of her ashes with him at all times to remind him of her. After finding out that the city was going to demolish his high school (where he met Saki [Ayase]), we're taking back to the past, where he first met Saki and where most of the story takes place.
It's a really simple story, but so sad and so pure. What also made it so sad was the OST that accompanied the series.
The main theme of this drama. It really drives straight to the point of being a pure and sad love story.
What really tugged at my heart strings was when Saki wanted to go visit Australia since she was unable to visit the country with her classmates during their graduation trip. She really wanted to see Australia, to be able to stand on Uluru (the red rocks in Australia aka: Ayers Rock), which was considered to be the center of the world before she died. A very weakened Saki collapsed at the airport, while Matsumoto (Yamada) grasped her, crying, telling that she will be alright. To Saki, who was starting to pass away, she thought that the airport was Heaven (for she never really believed in an afterlife), and that she was happy to have met Matsumoto. These 10 minutes or so were so heart-wrenching that I had to look away from the screen.
After watching the drama series, I went to Chapters and bought the book that it was based on. I also watched the movie adaptation of the series (the movie being a couple years older than the drama). I wasn't satisfied with the ending, for Matsumoto seemed like he couldn't move on from her death. The special episode that came out did her justice (and had somewhat of an ending that was similar to the novel).
In the special, it was a recap of the entire series, but in the end, the 34 year old Matsumoto walked onto their high school's rely track. He remembered how Saki always loved to run. He took out his vial and uncorked it to release her ashes into the sky.
Well that's it for now! Took longer than I expected, but it felt good to write this blog! My next topic will probably be my Top Japanese Medical dramas!
December 27 2011
Late post for yesterday!
What a busy day! I got up early to go swim and then came home home to play some Zelda. Quite soon after I began playing Zelda, a couple of friends/bros came over and then we left to go eat Indian Cuisine at Taste of India (I believe that's the place... its at Coral Springs, near McKnight Blvd). To me, it was the best butter chicken I ever had at an Indian restaurant!
After eating, I went to go pick up my car and went to Ikea Chinook to see what deals were left after Boxing Day. I haven't been to Ikea in about a decade, since they moved from the NE to the SW. However, this Ikea was intense! There were many different types of showcases displaying different types of rooms (ie: Kitchen, Bedroom and simple small house format). At Chinook, there weren't that many sales that were of interest to me. It was busier than what I'm normally accustomed too, but no where near what Boxing Day was!
After window shopping, we left to go eat at Boston Pizza near the University. It was a quiet night. I guess a lot of people were recovering from Christmas shopping and Boxing Day. =( Or that it was a Tuesday and we went pretty early...
After dinner, I met up with a couple of other friends and we went to Vicious Circle to just talk and hang out. Soon after, we ended up at Dessert House for some dessert.
AND that wraps up my day! My legs were so tired that day, that I ended up with shin splints as I walked towards my car to drive home. =P It was a fun ride indeed...
For today's picture (yesterday's picture)
Dessert at Dessert House. One was durian and the others are strawberries.
To finish off the post, for tonight, I'm planning to start a review blog to change things up! For today's review... My Top 5 Teary-eye Japanese Dramas.
What a busy day! I got up early to go swim and then came home home to play some Zelda. Quite soon after I began playing Zelda, a couple of friends/bros came over and then we left to go eat Indian Cuisine at Taste of India (I believe that's the place... its at Coral Springs, near McKnight Blvd). To me, it was the best butter chicken I ever had at an Indian restaurant!
After eating, I went to go pick up my car and went to Ikea Chinook to see what deals were left after Boxing Day. I haven't been to Ikea in about a decade, since they moved from the NE to the SW. However, this Ikea was intense! There were many different types of showcases displaying different types of rooms (ie: Kitchen, Bedroom and simple small house format). At Chinook, there weren't that many sales that were of interest to me. It was busier than what I'm normally accustomed too, but no where near what Boxing Day was!
After window shopping, we left to go eat at Boston Pizza near the University. It was a quiet night. I guess a lot of people were recovering from Christmas shopping and Boxing Day. =( Or that it was a Tuesday and we went pretty early...
After dinner, I met up with a couple of other friends and we went to Vicious Circle to just talk and hang out. Soon after, we ended up at Dessert House for some dessert.
AND that wraps up my day! My legs were so tired that day, that I ended up with shin splints as I walked towards my car to drive home. =P It was a fun ride indeed...
For today's picture (yesterday's picture)
To finish off the post, for tonight, I'm planning to start a review blog to change things up! For today's review... My Top 5 Teary-eye Japanese Dramas.
Monday, 26 December 2011
Boxing Day!
For Boxing Day, I decided not to go out among the throngs of people and hectic parking lots. I stayed home and... played more games. =P
Zelda is getting harder, but it is still enjoyable. After playing about 4 hours or so, I took a break and helped my parents and brother make dumplings for dinner. Here's a picture
Sunday, 25 December 2011
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas!
It has been a brown and windy (at night) Christmas this year! I don't remember how it was last year...
Today was awesome though! A full game day! Spent time on Zelda and on Starcraft 2! I can't remember the last time I spent so much time gaming in a single day...
Since I had a Christmas Dinner yesterday, I didn't have one today =(.
As for today's picture
The moisturizer I use to keep my skin moist. I been having lots of dry skin (eczema I believe?) this year. I believe its due to sitting too long in the hot tub after I swim, and not putting moisturizer right away =(
It has been a brown and windy (at night) Christmas this year! I don't remember how it was last year...
Today was awesome though! A full game day! Spent time on Zelda and on Starcraft 2! I can't remember the last time I spent so much time gaming in a single day...
Since I had a Christmas Dinner yesterday, I didn't have one today =(.
As for today's picture
Saturday, 24 December 2011
Week in review
Haven't posted in a while! It's been quite the week.
Monday: got up early and went to go swim. After swimming, I went home and studied some GMAT material. Once that was completed, I played GT 5 on hopes of getting the Red Bull x2010! I wasn't able to do it, but my brother was able to.
Tuesday: Similar to Monday, except I had the chance to grind with the x2010. What a beast of a car... Almost 500 km/h!
Wednesday: started off the same as the two other days. In the evening, I went to Toad and Turtle again. There was quite a bit of us today so I ordered a set of suicide wings again... Unfortunately only 4 were interested in eating those wings... So I had to eat three again =(. Lol a friend managed to eat three as well, but seemingly without the painful consequences that I had!
Thursday: similar to the other days. Stayed at home to play games once again. I don't recall doing anything out of the ordinary.
Friday: started Zelda Skyward Sword ! So fun! I also went to Costco in the afternoon to order a new pair of glasses. I don't like them as much as my old pair unfortunately. =( In the evening, for Bro Night, we went to Cattle Baron for dinner. I ordered a rack of lamb and it turned out to be pretty decent. I wished I ordered something with more meat though....
Well that's it for now... My hands are cramping from typing on my phone
For today's picture... A picture of another piece of dessert taken on Wednesday at Toad and Turtle. I used the flash option this time, not to good effects though...
Monday: got up early and went to go swim. After swimming, I went home and studied some GMAT material. Once that was completed, I played GT 5 on hopes of getting the Red Bull x2010! I wasn't able to do it, but my brother was able to.
Tuesday: Similar to Monday, except I had the chance to grind with the x2010. What a beast of a car... Almost 500 km/h!
Wednesday: started off the same as the two other days. In the evening, I went to Toad and Turtle again. There was quite a bit of us today so I ordered a set of suicide wings again... Unfortunately only 4 were interested in eating those wings... So I had to eat three again =(. Lol a friend managed to eat three as well, but seemingly without the painful consequences that I had!
Thursday: similar to the other days. Stayed at home to play games once again. I don't recall doing anything out of the ordinary.
Friday: started Zelda Skyward Sword ! So fun! I also went to Costco in the afternoon to order a new pair of glasses. I don't like them as much as my old pair unfortunately. =( In the evening, for Bro Night, we went to Cattle Baron for dinner. I ordered a rack of lamb and it turned out to be pretty decent. I wished I ordered something with more meat though....
Well that's it for now... My hands are cramping from typing on my phone
For today's picture... A picture of another piece of dessert taken on Wednesday at Toad and Turtle. I used the flash option this time, not to good effects though...
Sunday, 18 December 2011
*wheeze wheeze*
Today in Karate, we did conditioning for the last half an hour or so of class. All I can say is that I was exhausted to the point that I was feeling light headed (T_T). Sad thing perhaps that I wasn't able to do all of the exercises while most of my fellow classmates could (including those that were younger/in a lower belt level than me). Guess like this is definitely a wake up call to get back into SHAPE. (Been saying it for 5 years now though...) I've been going to LC in the morning to go swim though! It's really quiet in the winter compared to the summer.
Anyways, onto other news... played some SC today. Had a pretty good streak. I wish I could say the same for LoL...
As for today's picture of the day:
I've been practicing Christmas Songs to play at the hospital when I volunteer. Every year, my ability to sight read these songs gets worse and worse =( (grammar sounds weird here...). Note to self: maybe its high time I get started on practicing the piano again...
Ah, so many big promises... let's see how many I can keep this time! Could be a New Year's Resolution...
Anyways, onto other news... played some SC today. Had a pretty good streak. I wish I could say the same for LoL...
As for today's picture of the day:
Ah, so many big promises... let's see how many I can keep this time! Could be a New Year's Resolution...
Wednesday, 14 December 2011
Keeping it short!
Blogging on my phone since I'm playing SC at the moment! Normal day. After swimming at the crack of dawn, I went home and did some GMAT studying. Once that was done, I finished watching my drama. Predictable ending, but a decent series overall. I went out later to eat some pho and chicken wings! Got to burn them off tomorrow morning!
As for today's picture:
taken at toad and turtle. Cheesecake that a friend ate!
As for today's picture:
taken at toad and turtle. Cheesecake that a friend ate!
Monday, 12 December 2011
Slept in...
I was planning to go back to LC again to go swim in the morning... but I slept in...
I woke up at around 7 AM... the time I usually leave to go swim... Oh well, there's tomorrow!
Anyways, I got quite a bit done! Finished sentence correction 2 for the GMAT, went over my car manual, read some Maclean's, got in the entire Renho Arc in Gintama (awesome series!!!!!!) and two episodes of my drama!
I guess I should sleep earlier tonight so I can wake up early tomorrow! (6 AM is the goal!)
As for today's picture
Took this picture a couple of weeks ago when I got my Sun Dragon! (Quite rare to hatch!). As of date, I have two of them =P
Unfortunately, I don't have the moon dragon yet =(
I woke up at around 7 AM... the time I usually leave to go swim... Oh well, there's tomorrow!
Anyways, I got quite a bit done! Finished sentence correction 2 for the GMAT, went over my car manual, read some Maclean's, got in the entire Renho Arc in Gintama (awesome series!!!!!!) and two episodes of my drama!
I guess I should sleep earlier tonight so I can wake up early tomorrow! (6 AM is the goal!)
As for today's picture
Unfortunately, I don't have the moon dragon yet =(
Saturday, 10 December 2011
Semester is over!
Today marks my first official day of break! This week has been a bit more hellish than what I'm normally accustomed too: 4 finals and a paper. Some people had 3 presentations on top of that! >.> I was lucky that all my presentations were completed the week before! =)
After I finished my paper, I immediately booted up my playstation 3 and started campaign mode on Modern Warfare 3. I could only play hr shifts since I get motion sickness after a while =(. Besides CoD, I also played a bit of SC2 to get my fingers warm again for 1v1 (sometime later next week).
Besides gaming, I also watched a drama special: Freeter, le wo kau. To give you a bit of background info, the drama series is about a late 20 year old man living with his parents since he's not able to land a job as an accountant. He's lazy and picky, thus finding it difficult to stay in a job for a while. At home, his father would constantly belittle him and soon after, the main character finds out that his mother is suffering from depression. Eventually though, he managed to land a part time job at a construction firm. Initially, he didn't like working physical labour, but after a while he started to enjoy his job. Also, he met a girl there and they struck up a friendship, that eventually became romantic (at the very last episode of the series).
So at the end of the series, the main character gets a full time job at the firm as an accountant, bought a house for his parents and found love (it was really platonic...no hand holding even!). Also, his dad nagged less and his mom was recovering from her depression.
The drama special then takes place a year after the drama series ended. In the special, it dealt with the relationship between the main character and his girlfriend since its been a year since he last saw her. Pretty much, the special talked about things like love, happiness, and status. What really struck me was what it takes to be happy. Its true that I seen many drama series that dealt on finding happiness, but somehow, this special really had an impact on me. Perhaps, finding happiness is not as hard as it seems, if you're true to yourself.
So to end of this post, here's a picture I took on Thursday at the Taylor Digital Family Library (4th floor).
After I finished my paper, I immediately booted up my playstation 3 and started campaign mode on Modern Warfare 3. I could only play hr shifts since I get motion sickness after a while =(. Besides CoD, I also played a bit of SC2 to get my fingers warm again for 1v1 (sometime later next week).
Besides gaming, I also watched a drama special: Freeter, le wo kau. To give you a bit of background info, the drama series is about a late 20 year old man living with his parents since he's not able to land a job as an accountant. He's lazy and picky, thus finding it difficult to stay in a job for a while. At home, his father would constantly belittle him and soon after, the main character finds out that his mother is suffering from depression. Eventually though, he managed to land a part time job at a construction firm. Initially, he didn't like working physical labour, but after a while he started to enjoy his job. Also, he met a girl there and they struck up a friendship, that eventually became romantic (at the very last episode of the series).
So at the end of the series, the main character gets a full time job at the firm as an accountant, bought a house for his parents and found love (it was really platonic...no hand holding even!). Also, his dad nagged less and his mom was recovering from her depression.
The drama special then takes place a year after the drama series ended. In the special, it dealt with the relationship between the main character and his girlfriend since its been a year since he last saw her. Pretty much, the special talked about things like love, happiness, and status. What really struck me was what it takes to be happy. Its true that I seen many drama series that dealt on finding happiness, but somehow, this special really had an impact on me. Perhaps, finding happiness is not as hard as it seems, if you're true to yourself.
So to end of this post, here's a picture I took on Thursday at the Taylor Digital Family Library (4th floor).
Monday, 5 December 2011
Last Week of Classes!
Urg, so sick of studying for these courses >.>. One exam down, 3 more to go! (Plust one more paper! >.<)
Today's exam was... interesting. First of all, its an open-book,collaborative/group exam that consisted of, supposedly 41 m/c and 1 written question. Well, the m/c portion was cancelled since there wasn't enough answer sheets for our test.
Not enough answer sheets? Well our m/c test isn't your regular fill-in-the-bubbles exam. It was a IF AT type m/c test or in other words, Immediate Feedback Assessment Technique test. What you do is scratch what you think is the right answer (kinda like lottery tickets). If you were correct, you should see a star underneath the scratch-away stuff. If not, you would have to try again until you get the right answer. So in other words, you get partial marks. For our exam, if we had to guess twice, we got 0.5 of a mark. Three guesses and that's 0.25. All four guesses meant zero percent.
Like stated above, the professor cancelled the first part of the test by giving us full marks on that section! =) All we need to do was to work on the written section (as a group). We had to pick a pre-selected question and rationalized why we thought the answer was what the answer is. Also we need to explain the "2nd best option". I thought this section went quite well! We'll see in a bit =P
Here's a picture of the IF AT test sheet =P
Yay! Got the first question "right".
Thursday, 1 December 2011
Christmas Songs!!!
After getting home from school today, I looked up for some Christmas songs since I'm getting tired of listening to the commercials >.>.
Anyways, here's my current list of Christmas songs! Listed in the order shown on my iTunes. [30 songs, 1.8 hours... good enough for a car ride to school and back! Or through Calgary Transit!]
Michael Bublé's Christmas album (not in the order of the official track list I believe)
1) All I Want For Christmas is You
2) Ave Maria
3) Blue Christmas
4) Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
5) Cold December Night
6) Frosty The Snowman
7) Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
8) Holly Jolly Christmas
9) I'll Be Home For Christmas
10) Jingle Bells
11) Mis Deseos/Feliz Navidad
12) Santa Baby
13) Santa Claus is Coming To Town
14) Shout Out: Merry Christmas
15) Silent Night
16) Silver Bells
17) White Christmas
18) Winter Wonderland
19) It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas
20) Justin Bieber - Mistletoe
And a bunch of BoA songs
21) Meri Kuri (2005 Winter Mix)
22) First Snow
23) White Christmas
24) The Christmas Song
25) Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer (Japanese-Korean-English version)
26) Meri Kuri
27) Meri Kuri ~BEST & USA Version~
A couple of alan songs
28) Diamond (not really Christmas themed... but I like it =P)
29) Kanashimi wa Yuki ni Nemuru
One Namie Amuro
30) White Light
Why so many version of Meri Kuri? Well it's a classical piece that is, I have to argue, one of BoA's more well known songs. I can't find the thread on the BoA forum I go to, but when the Japanese public was polled of what songs they play/think about during Christmas, Meri Kuri is up there. =D
Also, it's interesting to compare the original Meri Kuri, to the one she sang recently (Best and USA version). The original Meri Kuri came out in 2004 I believe (When she was around 18), while the newer version came out 2010 I think. (As you can tell, I'm not a really big BoA fan anymore.) There's a slight difference between the two versions, but both are enjoyable! I find that her voice has gotten a bit weaker during the years, or maybe its because the bgm was different.
Here's a picture of my own copy of BoA's Meri Kuri. This is the Japanese version of it. I also have the Korean version. It has the same picture, just in a different case (long plastic case)
Anyways, here's my current list of Christmas songs! Listed in the order shown on my iTunes. [30 songs, 1.8 hours... good enough for a car ride to school and back! Or through Calgary Transit!]
Michael Bublé's Christmas album (not in the order of the official track list I believe)
1) All I Want For Christmas is You
2) Ave Maria
3) Blue Christmas
4) Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
5) Cold December Night
6) Frosty The Snowman
7) Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
8) Holly Jolly Christmas
9) I'll Be Home For Christmas
10) Jingle Bells
11) Mis Deseos/Feliz Navidad
12) Santa Baby
13) Santa Claus is Coming To Town
14) Shout Out: Merry Christmas
15) Silent Night
16) Silver Bells
17) White Christmas
18) Winter Wonderland
19) It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas
20) Justin Bieber - Mistletoe
And a bunch of BoA songs
21) Meri Kuri (2005 Winter Mix)
22) First Snow
23) White Christmas
24) The Christmas Song
25) Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer (Japanese-Korean-English version)
26) Meri Kuri
27) Meri Kuri ~BEST & USA Version~
A couple of alan songs
28) Diamond (not really Christmas themed... but I like it =P)
29) Kanashimi wa Yuki ni Nemuru
One Namie Amuro
30) White Light
Why so many version of Meri Kuri? Well it's a classical piece that is, I have to argue, one of BoA's more well known songs. I can't find the thread on the BoA forum I go to, but when the Japanese public was polled of what songs they play/think about during Christmas, Meri Kuri is up there. =D
Also, it's interesting to compare the original Meri Kuri, to the one she sang recently (Best and USA version). The original Meri Kuri came out in 2004 I believe (When she was around 18), while the newer version came out 2010 I think. (As you can tell, I'm not a really big BoA fan anymore.) There's a slight difference between the two versions, but both are enjoyable! I find that her voice has gotten a bit weaker during the years, or maybe its because the bgm was different.
Here's a picture of my own copy of BoA's Meri Kuri. This is the Japanese version of it. I also have the Korean version. It has the same picture, just in a different case (long plastic case)
Tuesday, 29 November 2011
EEEL is sooooo nice
Second presentation done! Just one more to go and I'm done all my presentations for this semester! Just the finals and 401 paper to do =P and readings...
Anyways, I had some free time between my 401 seminar and 403 class since my brain just went into shut down mode (was working on my 401 paper...). I decided then to go visit the EEEL building that's outside of ICT.
All I can say is, that's it's soooo nice. I wish I was in first year again so I would be able to have my chemistry labs in that building!
Here are some pics of that place
So high tech!
Anyways, too lazy to post those songs... maybe Thursday? =P
Kinda feel empty without that game though... =(
Anyways, I had some free time between my 401 seminar and 403 class since my brain just went into shut down mode (was working on my 401 paper...). I decided then to go visit the EEEL building that's outside of ICT.
All I can say is, that's it's soooo nice. I wish I was in first year again so I would be able to have my chemistry labs in that building!
Here are some pics of that place
Anyways, too lazy to post those songs... maybe Thursday? =P
Kinda feel empty without that game though... =(
Monday, 28 November 2011
JUST TWO MORE WEEKS OF SCHOOL FOR ME
Like the title says, just two more weeks of school for me! This week is the last week of instruction and next week will be my exams =P. That means, I have a lot of work to do this week... such as readings (almost caught up!), a paper (due next Friday, thank gosh) and two more presentations to go (Tomorrow is 401 and Wednesday is 403). I swear, once school is over. I'm going to spend my first week playing GAMES and rotting my brains out... to a certain extent of course.
Today was a typical Monday. Went to my educational psyc seminar to write my last response! Thank goodness. Those responses aren't the most fun thing in the world. =P After that, I had a quick group meeting for our 403 presentation. Time to find myself a toilet paper roll and make a microphone out of that =). As for 401's lecture today, we ended up designing a final exam question for "Teaching". Hopefully our question was alright...
And now I'm home working on homework. Oh joy... Well off to sleep soon since I have volunteering tomorrow morning!
As for today's picture of the day
A picture of a cubicle at Social Sciences (2nd floor). I sit here whenever I can't get a spot at the picnic tables. =( The book (Engaging Minds) is for 401 and that is my ol' trusty macbook pro. Despite having an iPhone and a Macbook Pro, I am not a hardcore Apple Fanboy. I enjoy using their products since they're easy to use, but I would not go out and buy all their latest goods since I simply cannot afford to replace my products year after year, after year...
As for today's 30 day song challenge: Day 30 (LAST ONE): my favorite song last year at this time.
Well I can't use Smile Again... so...
Jyongri - Maybe Someday
Couldn't find the MV for it =(. It was a decent MV I must say...
Anyways, I wanted to list all the songs I used for the 30 days, but I'm too tired to do it tonight, so I'll do it tomorrow night! Good Night World!
Today was a typical Monday. Went to my educational psyc seminar to write my last response! Thank goodness. Those responses aren't the most fun thing in the world. =P After that, I had a quick group meeting for our 403 presentation. Time to find myself a toilet paper roll and make a microphone out of that =). As for 401's lecture today, we ended up designing a final exam question for "Teaching". Hopefully our question was alright...
And now I'm home working on homework. Oh joy... Well off to sleep soon since I have volunteering tomorrow morning!
As for today's picture of the day
As for today's 30 day song challenge: Day 30 (LAST ONE): my favorite song last year at this time.
Well I can't use Smile Again... so...
Jyongri - Maybe Someday
Couldn't find the MV for it =(. It was a decent MV I must say...
Anyways, I wanted to list all the songs I used for the 30 days, but I'm too tired to do it tonight, so I'll do it tomorrow night! Good Night World!
Sunday, 27 November 2011
Long Day
Started of my Sunday like any other Sunday. Went to karate to train and teach, but boy was I stiff today. I do not know why I was so tired today as well...
Anyways, after karate, I went home and got more readings done. Just the last chapter in EDUC 402 (long one it seems...) and a couple chapters for 404. Loads of work to do this week since its the week before my finals!
Besides readings, I helped my dad install a windshield heater for my mom's car. It was actually harder than I thought it would be, but we got the job done (or more like my dad did. I just stood there mostly holding the light for him =P)
Anyways, for today's picture of the day...
Honda Integra/ Acura RSX/ DC5, whatever you want to call it. I started to have respect for this car after a friend of mine bought his a couple years back. I never understood the hype with the RSX, but now I admit, its a pretty nice car for its price and what you can do to it is pretty amazing with a bit of elbow grease.
As for today's song of the day: a song from my childhood
No need for an explanation =P
Saturday, 26 November 2011
TED Talks and Readings...
Volunteering was quite interesting today. Near the end of my shift, I was playing Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring (J.S. Bach), when I noticed that a caretaker was listening to me play. After I finished playing, he asked me to play the song once again, in which I complied. After playing the song a second time, he asked if he could play a duet with me with his violin. At this time, another gentleman was listening to me and ask if he could join us with his guitar. So in the end, we had a little band going along at the corner of the west entrance of PLC. It wasn't a very smooth performance, but nonetheless, it was quite good for our first time!
Work was the same old, so nothing too exciting happened.
After work, I went home and finished reading chapter 10 of my Psyc textbook. Near the end, nothing was being absorbed, but I just wanted to say that I finished the chapter... so I trudged on. After doing my reading (for last week), I went ahead and watched the 4 TED talks for 401. I really enjoyed the classical music one, since I have some experience in Classical music myself!
Here is the classical music one! It's about 20 minutes long if you're interested in watching it! Zander has an interesting personality which made this talk engaging throughout the entire 20 minutes, for me anyways.
Anyways, no picture today! Too lazy =P
For the 30 day song challenge: a song that makes me feel guilty...
Sergei Prokofiev - Diabolical Suggestion
This was my... List D (?) for my ARCT... I wish I spent more time on this piece. I could play at around 80% speed of what the guy was playing, but it was all notes (and wrong notes at points!). I want to take this piece up again... but I CAN'T FIND MY SHEET MUSIC FOR IT =(
Friday, 25 November 2011
FRIDAY! ONE MONTH BEFORE CHRISTMAS!
Another Friday! Started off this morning with my 404 presentation... the first quote for me was a gong show, but it got better by the third one =P
After coming home, I helped my dad change the winter tires on my mom's car =P. It should be ready for the winter now!
For dinner/bro night, we went to Sushi Ichiban to celebrate a bro's birthday! Here's a picture of Ikura (Salmon Roe) that I ate. Nobody else likes it since its so salty and fishy...
As for the 30 day song challenge: a song that I wish I could play
Volodo's version of Mozart's Turkish March. I was able to play about the 25% of the notes (4 pages out of the 13 i printed out). Mind you, its notes, not music...
So hard, especially near the end >.> Ah, maybe one day!
After coming home, I helped my dad change the winter tires on my mom's car =P. It should be ready for the winter now!
For dinner/bro night, we went to Sushi Ichiban to celebrate a bro's birthday! Here's a picture of Ikura (Salmon Roe) that I ate. Nobody else likes it since its so salty and fishy...
As for the 30 day song challenge: a song that I wish I could play
Volodo's version of Mozart's Turkish March. I was able to play about the 25% of the notes (4 pages out of the 13 i printed out). Mind you, its notes, not music...
So hard, especially near the end >.> Ah, maybe one day!
FRIDAY! ONE MONTH BEFORE CHRISTMAS!
Another Friday! Started off this morning with my 404 presentation... the first quote for me was a gong show, but it got better by the third one =P
After coming home, I helped my dad change the winter tires on my mom's car =P. It should be ready for the winter now!
For dinner/bro night, we went to Sushi Ichiban to celebrate a bro's birthday! Here's a picture of Ikura (Salmon Roe) that I ate. Nobody else likes it since its so salty and fishy...
As for the 30 day song challenge: a song that I wish I could play
Volodo's version of Mozart's Turkish March. I was able to play about the 25% of the notes (4 pages out of the 13 i printed out)
After coming home, I helped my dad change the winter tires on my mom's car =P. It should be ready for the winter now!
For dinner/bro night, we went to Sushi Ichiban to celebrate a bro's birthday! Here's a picture of Ikura (Salmon Roe) that I ate. Nobody else likes it since its so salty and fishy...
As for the 30 day song challenge: a song that I wish I could play
Volodo's version of Mozart's Turkish March. I was able to play about the 25% of the notes (4 pages out of the 13 i printed out)
Thursday, 24 November 2011
Bleh...
So tired today >.> Only got 3 hours of sleep last night (which I guess is a lot compared to some people...) I can't imagine pulling an all-nighter =(
Anyways, today was another ordinary day. After school, I went home and took a nap after finishing reading one of my textbooks for school! =)
As for today's picture of the day
Matcha Cappuccino! Pretty much, it's green tea, but with milk.
As for today's 30 day song challenge: a song that i can play on an instrument.
Well I have been playing the piano for the past 19 years. Here's a song that I started playing about... 11 years ago?
W.A. Mozart's Rondo Alla Turca
Anyways, today was another ordinary day. After school, I went home and took a nap after finishing reading one of my textbooks for school! =)
As for today's picture of the day
As for today's 30 day song challenge: a song that i can play on an instrument.
Well I have been playing the piano for the past 19 years. Here's a song that I started playing about... 11 years ago?
W.A. Mozart's Rondo Alla Turca
Wednesday, 23 November 2011
Suicide Wings are sure hot!
Besides being another ordinary day, I went to Toad and Turtle for a bit of dinner after school. Toad and Turtle is pretty much a pub (I think, by the way it was set up). Wings were 30 cents on Wednesday, so we ended up ordering about 70 in total for the four of us. For my first order, I decided to order 10 Suicide wings...
They. Were. So.... HOT. I haven't eaten such spicy foods in a long while. My stomach was flipping around the entire time and my tongue was on fire! At times, my whole body was shaking. As one of my friends nicely put it, "David, you just killed 4 people today."
Here's a crappy picture of those suicide wings...
When those wings arrived at our table, the smell of "hotness" just overwhelmed our nostrils...
Anyways for today's 30 day song challenge: day 25- a song that makes me laugh...
Songs dont make me laugh... but this one is an exception lol =P
Lol, the magic of autotune!
Tuesday, 22 November 2011
OMG
I didnt realize it was this late! I was playing SC for the last hour. =P
Anyways, nothing really exciting happened today. So therefore the picture of the day is... nothing >.>
30 day song challenge: a song that i want to be played at my funeral:
The old classic: Chopin's Funeral March (some sonata, but I don't remember the key... lots of flats i believe though)
Anyways, nothing really exciting happened today. So therefore the picture of the day is... nothing >.>
30 day song challenge: a song that i want to be played at my funeral:
The old classic: Chopin's Funeral March (some sonata, but I don't remember the key... lots of flats i believe though)
Monday, 21 November 2011
Genius Nap
Normal day once again... except I didn't START ON MY 403 PAPER YET >.> (Due tomorrow...)
I'll do it tomorrow morning... too tired to work on it now. Good thing its only 2 pages double spaced...
Anyways, during my break, I was at the picnic tables. A friend of mine brought up the topic of Genius Nap, which intrigued my curiosity. Apparently, Thomas Edison didn't really sleep... he took naps instead (20 minutes was it?). To wake him up/prevent him from sleeping too long, he would hold ball bearings in his hands. When they slipped out of his hands, he would wake up! Very interesting story!
Thus, the picture of the day is:
credits: http://0.tqn.com/d/inventors/1/0/c/C/edison2.jpg
And now, time for a special presentation! I present to you: BoA's new MV: Milestone
The MV has a really interesting theme associated with it. Throughout it, you see BoA in a couple of different scenarios, but in each one, she's alone. It makes me wonder, what kind of Milestone did she achieve? Why is she alone? All in all, the video was well done. It has an ethereal feeling to it, especially at 2:47 to the end. (If anything, do listen from 2:47 to the end. She did such an amazing job singing the chorus, that I repeated this 30 secondish section for about 8 minutes straight). I don't like the abrupt end to this song, but the song overal has started to grow on me.
By the way, she has very long-looking legs! =P
Now, time for the 30 day song challenge: a song that I would like to be played at my wedding.
Hmm, how about this one?
alan - Nada Sou Sou (Chinese Version)
Nada Sou Sou has been covered by MANY artists (at least 41 artists according to wikipedia). It's a really pleasant song to listen to, so I do recommend that you listen to it. If you enjoy it, there's an english version for you to listen to ^.^
Why I would like this to be played at my wedding? Well the literal translation of Nada Sou Sou is 'Tears for you". I feel like a really good relationship is one that goes through a lot of hardships, but is able to survive through it and become stronger (thus the tears). Lol, all I have to hope for now is that my future fiancee/wife would accept the song.
I'll do it tomorrow morning... too tired to work on it now. Good thing its only 2 pages double spaced...
Anyways, during my break, I was at the picnic tables. A friend of mine brought up the topic of Genius Nap, which intrigued my curiosity. Apparently, Thomas Edison didn't really sleep... he took naps instead (20 minutes was it?). To wake him up/prevent him from sleeping too long, he would hold ball bearings in his hands. When they slipped out of his hands, he would wake up! Very interesting story!
Thus, the picture of the day is:
And now, time for a special presentation! I present to you: BoA's new MV: Milestone
The MV has a really interesting theme associated with it. Throughout it, you see BoA in a couple of different scenarios, but in each one, she's alone. It makes me wonder, what kind of Milestone did she achieve? Why is she alone? All in all, the video was well done. It has an ethereal feeling to it, especially at 2:47 to the end. (If anything, do listen from 2:47 to the end. She did such an amazing job singing the chorus, that I repeated this 30 secondish section for about 8 minutes straight). I don't like the abrupt end to this song, but the song overal has started to grow on me.
By the way, she has very long-looking legs! =P
Now, time for the 30 day song challenge: a song that I would like to be played at my wedding.
Hmm, how about this one?
alan - Nada Sou Sou (Chinese Version)
Nada Sou Sou has been covered by MANY artists (at least 41 artists according to wikipedia). It's a really pleasant song to listen to, so I do recommend that you listen to it. If you enjoy it, there's an english version for you to listen to ^.^
Why I would like this to be played at my wedding? Well the literal translation of Nada Sou Sou is 'Tears for you". I feel like a really good relationship is one that goes through a lot of hardships, but is able to survive through it and become stronger (thus the tears). Lol, all I have to hope for now is that my future fiancee/wife would accept the song.
CSS Lip Dub
A bunch of pals from the UofC's CSS (Chinese Student Society) created a lip dub video! This video is for their current campaign: Lead the BlackBerry Messengers (sponsored by CampusPerks and, of course, BlackBerry.)
Very creative video. The timing of their lips and the music was spot on! Good job to whomever edited it!
You know what to do! Go watch the video and give it a thumbs up! =D
Very creative video. The timing of their lips and the music was spot on! Good job to whomever edited it!
You know what to do! Go watch the video and give it a thumbs up! =D
Sunday, 20 November 2011
Brother's Birthday!
Today marks my brother's 20th birthday! Otherwise, it was a typical Sunday.
After karate, I went home and worked on my presentations a bit and did some psyc readings for tomorrow. =( I have to catch up for the readings that I didn't do last week >.>
And sleep! I need to catch up on sleep. If I don't get my 7 hours of sleep a night, I get really cranky the next day (and tired!)
So off to sleep soon! Anyways, here is a picture of his cake!
As for the 30 day song challenge: a song i listen to when I'm sad...
well when i'm down, I would listen to ballads (like any of the songs i'm currently listening to... not sad though!) anyways, here's a typical ballad i would listen to
Koda Kumi - Moon Crying
I don't really like Koda's voice, but her ballad bgm is awesome! I don't think I heard a Koda ballada with a crappy background!
After karate, I went home and worked on my presentations a bit and did some psyc readings for tomorrow. =( I have to catch up for the readings that I didn't do last week >.>
And sleep! I need to catch up on sleep. If I don't get my 7 hours of sleep a night, I get really cranky the next day (and tired!)
So off to sleep soon! Anyways, here is a picture of his cake!
As for the 30 day song challenge: a song i listen to when I'm sad...
well when i'm down, I would listen to ballads (like any of the songs i'm currently listening to... not sad though!) anyways, here's a typical ballad i would listen to
Koda Kumi - Moon Crying
I don't really like Koda's voice, but her ballad bgm is awesome! I don't think I heard a Koda ballada with a crappy background!
Saturday, 19 November 2011
Nov 19
Now for today's post!
No work today, so I spent the time working on my 403 presentation. Afterwards, I went to a friend's house to help him move his old tank. It was quite heavy and it took a lot of work to move his stand out of the way. (I didn't do much work besides the moving part. He was the one that had to disassemble the stand =P)
After coming home, I started working on my 404 presentation. So many presentations these next coming of weeks (including a 401 presentation). Thank goodness though that I took biological sciences. I think it helped me organize my time better =P
Anyways, for today's picture of the day... I don't have one in mind, so I'm going to scroll around the net to find a picture that interests me.
A dolphin! I just typed in picture on google images, and I found this =P
Credits: http://www.webmastergrade.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Dolphin-Picture.jpg
As for today's song of the day: 21 - a song that i listen to when i'm happy...
Well, I normally don't listen to a song when I'm happy... I guess I normally listen to songs, when I'm doing homework (and that's usually piano songs) or driving/bussing to school. I guess this would qualify as a happy song, or that it makes me happy? (I don't think I used it yet)
Yuna Ito - Trust You. I couldn't find the MV for this song. It's such a shame, since it was really well made in my opinion. Anyways, enjoy!
No work today, so I spent the time working on my 403 presentation. Afterwards, I went to a friend's house to help him move his old tank. It was quite heavy and it took a lot of work to move his stand out of the way. (I didn't do much work besides the moving part. He was the one that had to disassemble the stand =P)
After coming home, I started working on my 404 presentation. So many presentations these next coming of weeks (including a 401 presentation). Thank goodness though that I took biological sciences. I think it helped me organize my time better =P
Anyways, for today's picture of the day... I don't have one in mind, so I'm going to scroll around the net to find a picture that interests me.
Credits: http://www.webmastergrade.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Dolphin-Picture.jpg
As for today's song of the day: 21 - a song that i listen to when i'm happy...
Well, I normally don't listen to a song when I'm happy... I guess I normally listen to songs, when I'm doing homework (and that's usually piano songs) or driving/bussing to school. I guess this would qualify as a happy song, or that it makes me happy? (I don't think I used it yet)
Yuna Ito - Trust You. I couldn't find the MV for this song. It's such a shame, since it was really well made in my opinion. Anyways, enjoy!
Nov 18th post
I was out till about 1:30 last night, so that's why I didn't post anything =(
Anyways, for "Bro Night", we went to go eat at Calgary court. 1/3 of the bros weren't present due to other activities or misunderstandings =P ahha
Here's a picture of our meal. We actually all got the same thing: Teriyaki Chicken. It was actually pretty good!
Calgary Court wasn't as busy as usual since it was so cold yesterday! =(
For today's 30 day song challenge: 20 - a song i listen to when i'm angry...
Hmm, I don't really listen to songs when I'm angry, but if I have to, I guess I would listen to this song
Ayumi Hamasaki - Voyage. I hope that this song would help me calm down =P
Anyways, for "Bro Night", we went to go eat at Calgary court. 1/3 of the bros weren't present due to other activities or misunderstandings =P ahha
Here's a picture of our meal. We actually all got the same thing: Teriyaki Chicken. It was actually pretty good!
For today's 30 day song challenge: 20 - a song i listen to when i'm angry...
Hmm, I don't really listen to songs when I'm angry, but if I have to, I guess I would listen to this song
Ayumi Hamasaki - Voyage. I hope that this song would help me calm down =P
Thursday, 17 November 2011
DONE MY PAPER
GRRRR! Just finished my paper! So tired >.>
Going to sleep, so I'll keep this short.
Here's today's picture
A picture of my desk with the articles I used for my paper =P
As for today's song of the day: a song from my favorite album
Hmm... my favorite album is BoA's Best & USA (strangely enough...) Since I'm tired, I did not acknowledge the fact that it's "a" song... so i'm going to put two up! =)
BoA - Eien
BoA - Sweet Impact
enjoy!
EDIT: Oh! How can I miss this one!
BoA - Do the Motion
This was when she changed from her "cute image" to a more "mature image".
Going to sleep, so I'll keep this short.
Here's today's picture
As for today's song of the day: a song from my favorite album
Hmm... my favorite album is BoA's Best & USA (strangely enough...) Since I'm tired, I did not acknowledge the fact that it's "a" song... so i'm going to put two up! =)
BoA - Eien
BoA - Sweet Impact
enjoy!
EDIT: Oh! How can I miss this one!
BoA - Do the Motion
This was when she changed from her "cute image" to a more "mature image".
Wednesday, 16 November 2011
99% DARK CHOCOLATE
A typical day in the life of David. Went to school, discussed about our group project for EDUC 403 and had EDUC 404 in the afternoon. Afterwards, I went to Market Mall for a while. Came home, ate dinner and watched another episode of Sket Dance.
I still got 5 (double spaced) pages to go in my paper that's due this Friday, but I think I can manage tomorrow =). It feels more like a science paper (since there's a research question, data, analysis/discussion, recommendation), then any of the other papers I wrote so far. For once, I kinda feel "at home".
Anyways, for today's picture of the day:
99% Dark Chocolate! After eating this, regular dark chocolate tastes too sweet! (Regular Dark is like 72%??) Anyways, I guess I can tolerate this kind of food because I swear I have no bitter receptors! When I eat this, I taste absolutely nothing in my mouth... though I often sneeze right after I start chewing...
The song for the day: a song that I wish I heard on the radio
This one is EASY
Rainie Yang - Yu Ai
I LOVE this song! One of my favorites from Rainie Yang. I first heard it on her drama, Hi My Sweetheart! (Starring Show Lo and Rainie) I'm usually not a big fan of Romance dramas, but somehow, this became my favorite Taiwanese drama to date! The lyrics are slightly sad, but enjoy the translations!
The weather outside the window, is like your ever-changing expressions.
It starts to rain and the rain cries with me.
It is blurry, but I don't want to see clearly.
Leaving you, I silently retreat.
I can't bare to tell our story.
My tears flow into my heart and I'm learning to give up.
Listening to the rain, the rhythm is distinct. Your breathing soaks my love like that
falling rain. I hope that rain will continue to pour.
Let me continue to miss you
Let my love become transparent
I fell in love with the courage that gave me "Rainie love".
The raindrops outside the window slowly accumulate
The moisture indoors are like my memories of my love for you
I hope that rain will continue to pour.
This secret of my rainy love will last forever
I believe that I will see the beauty of the rainbow.
The cold air, is suffocating and I cannot breathe.
Being the distance of 10.000 raindrops lets love fade completely away.
Leaving you, I silently retreat.
I can't bare to tell our story.
My tears flow into my heart and I'm learning to give up.
Listening to the rain, the rhythm is distinct. Your breathing soaks my love like the
falling rain. I hope that rain will continue to pour.
Let me continue to miss you
Let my love become transparent
I fell in love with the courage that gave me "Rainie Love".
The raindrops outside the window slowly accumulate
The moisture indoors are like my memories of my love for you
I hope that rain will continue to pour.
This secret of my rainy love will last forever
I believe that I will see the beauty of the rainbow.
The moisture indoors
are like my memories of my love for you
I hope that the rain will continue to pour
this secret of my rainy love
will last forever
I believe that I will
see the beauty of the rainbow.
Credits: http://tha2chocolixie.blogspot.com/2010/08/yu-ai-rainie-yang-lyrics-translation.html
I still got 5 (double spaced) pages to go in my paper that's due this Friday, but I think I can manage tomorrow =). It feels more like a science paper (since there's a research question, data, analysis/discussion, recommendation), then any of the other papers I wrote so far. For once, I kinda feel "at home".
Anyways, for today's picture of the day:
The song for the day: a song that I wish I heard on the radio
This one is EASY
Rainie Yang - Yu Ai
I LOVE this song! One of my favorites from Rainie Yang. I first heard it on her drama, Hi My Sweetheart! (Starring Show Lo and Rainie) I'm usually not a big fan of Romance dramas, but somehow, this became my favorite Taiwanese drama to date! The lyrics are slightly sad, but enjoy the translations!
The weather outside the window, is like your ever-changing expressions.
It starts to rain and the rain cries with me.
It is blurry, but I don't want to see clearly.
Leaving you, I silently retreat.
I can't bare to tell our story.
My tears flow into my heart and I'm learning to give up.
Listening to the rain, the rhythm is distinct. Your breathing soaks my love like that
falling rain. I hope that rain will continue to pour.
Let me continue to miss you
Let my love become transparent
I fell in love with the courage that gave me "Rainie love".
The raindrops outside the window slowly accumulate
The moisture indoors are like my memories of my love for you
I hope that rain will continue to pour.
This secret of my rainy love will last forever
I believe that I will see the beauty of the rainbow.
The cold air, is suffocating and I cannot breathe.
Being the distance of 10.000 raindrops lets love fade completely away.
Leaving you, I silently retreat.
I can't bare to tell our story.
My tears flow into my heart and I'm learning to give up.
Listening to the rain, the rhythm is distinct. Your breathing soaks my love like the
falling rain. I hope that rain will continue to pour.
Let me continue to miss you
Let my love become transparent
I fell in love with the courage that gave me "Rainie Love".
The raindrops outside the window slowly accumulate
The moisture indoors are like my memories of my love for you
I hope that rain will continue to pour.
This secret of my rainy love will last forever
I believe that I will see the beauty of the rainbow.
The moisture indoors
are like my memories of my love for you
I hope that the rain will continue to pour
this secret of my rainy love
will last forever
I believe that I will
see the beauty of the rainbow.
Credits: http://tha2chocolixie.blogspot.com/2010/08/yu-ai-rainie-yang-lyrics-translation.html
Tuesday, 15 November 2011
Japanese American Idol and WARMTH
After coming home from school today, I watched a singing contest show that is similar to American Idol (or I should say that American Idol is similar to this show since I swear that this show has been around for like 30 years now). I forgot what the show is called, but how it works is that somebody sings. Then the judges (I think they're hidden?) ring a set of bells to rate the performance. If it's a crappy performance, they ring two notes (or one sometimes i believe!) If its a good concert, they ring the bells for at least...11 times!
Today, there were some good singers and some bad ones. Apparently, they filmed this episode in Taiwan, for most of the singers there spoke Mandarin. There was this guy who had a frohawk/mullet, but he was a pretty good singer!
AH, here's the program: NHK Amateur Singing Contest
http://www.nhk.or.jp/nodojiman/
For today's picture
Yes! My heating vent that is near my study area! When I was young, I would curl up next to the vent (or even lie on top of it) to enjoy the warmth that comes from it. The sound of the air blowing up the vent was very soothing to me. Now a days, I would occasionally curl up, though more like place myself in a fetal position since i'm so big now, and lie there till the furnace stops working. I do this mostly when I'm bored from studying (which is quite often in the winter!)
Enough embarrassing things about me =P. For today's 30 day song challenge: a song that i often hear on the radio.
Well, I don't listen to the radio often, since I'm not really into western pop music... but I listened to it today and heard this song:
Drake - Headline
Besides seeing him in Degrassi, I don't know anything more about this guy...
Today, there were some good singers and some bad ones. Apparently, they filmed this episode in Taiwan, for most of the singers there spoke Mandarin. There was this guy who had a frohawk/mullet, but he was a pretty good singer!
AH, here's the program: NHK Amateur Singing Contest
http://www.nhk.or.jp/nodojiman/
For today's picture
Enough embarrassing things about me =P. For today's 30 day song challenge: a song that i often hear on the radio.
Well, I don't listen to the radio often, since I'm not really into western pop music... but I listened to it today and heard this song:
Drake - Headline
Besides seeing him in Degrassi, I don't know anything more about this guy...
Monday, 14 November 2011
Snow!
I think today marks the first day of a semi-snowstorm of the Fall/Winter (still early to be classified as winter) season. Here's a picture of it!
I'm tired so I'll keep it super short today T.T
For today's 30 day song challenge: day 16 - a song that I used to love but now hate
Well this is an easy one...
BoA - Everlasting. I don't necessary hate this song, but I gotten bored listening to it. I guess I overkilled it, because back in the day (before it came out), I would listen to the preview for hours everyday for at least one week. Talk about an obsession...
Sunday, 13 November 2011
Sunday...
Ah school tomorrow, and I haven't finished the first part of my 404 paper yet =(. Oh well, I have tomorrow morning I guess =P
Anyways, I had karate this morning. We worked on kicks today, but I felt like I haven't done them before! I was strangely stiffer than usual during those kicks.
Afterwards, I went to a friend's house where there was a "make-up" party. Essentially, they were advertising their products. There was a men's line that caught my eye, but unfortunately I don't have the funds to purchase their products =(. Maybe it is time to start seriously looking into a job... (like that's really going to happen now =P)
Anyways, for today's picture of the day:
This is the current background picture I have on my phone at the moment. (As you can tell, I'm getting pretty desperate for photos...)
As for today's 30 day song challenge: Day 15 (halfway there!): a song that describes me
Well... I really don't know the lyrics to the songs that I listen to, so I guess I'll stick to a piano song
Final Fantasy XIII - March of the Dreadnoughts. (I really like that crystal piano!) How does this represent me? I do not know!
Anyways, I had karate this morning. We worked on kicks today, but I felt like I haven't done them before! I was strangely stiffer than usual during those kicks.
Afterwards, I went to a friend's house where there was a "make-up" party. Essentially, they were advertising their products. There was a men's line that caught my eye, but unfortunately I don't have the funds to purchase their products =(. Maybe it is time to start seriously looking into a job... (like that's really going to happen now =P)
Anyways, for today's picture of the day:
As for today's 30 day song challenge: Day 15 (halfway there!): a song that describes me
Well... I really don't know the lyrics to the songs that I listen to, so I guess I'll stick to a piano song
Final Fantasy XIII - March of the Dreadnoughts. (I really like that crystal piano!) How does this represent me? I do not know!
Saturday, 12 November 2011
It's Saturday!
I don't know why, but today reminded me of the musical our elementary school put on when I was in grade 5. I recall wearing a white shirt and dancing in a dark gym. =P
Anyways, today was a typical Saturday. Went to volunteering and then work. After coming home, my dad tried showing me how to change the oil in the car, but in the end I didn't end up doing it. The reason being was that he was scared I'll screw up (ie: kick the jack or something along those lines), and have the car fall on me.
Well for today's picture of the day:
Another STi, I know, but it's so nice! Something about white cars with green rims =P.
As for today's 30 day song challenge: a song that nobody expects me to love
Well as you guys may have noticed, all the songs I posted (except for like two?) are in another language besides English. Normally I don't listen to English songs since I find that the lyrics distract me when I study. That's why I listen to songs I don't understand, so I won't pay attention to the lyrics.
Far East Movement - Rocketeer feat Ryan Tedder
I don't really enjoy it now, but I used to like it when it came out.
Anyways, today was a typical Saturday. Went to volunteering and then work. After coming home, my dad tried showing me how to change the oil in the car, but in the end I didn't end up doing it. The reason being was that he was scared I'll screw up (ie: kick the jack or something along those lines), and have the car fall on me.
Well for today's picture of the day:
As for today's 30 day song challenge: a song that nobody expects me to love
Well as you guys may have noticed, all the songs I posted (except for like two?) are in another language besides English. Normally I don't listen to English songs since I find that the lyrics distract me when I study. That's why I listen to songs I don't understand, so I won't pay attention to the lyrics.
Far East Movement - Rocketeer feat Ryan Tedder
I don't really enjoy it now, but I used to like it when it came out.
Friday, 11 November 2011
Remembrance Day
Today is the 11th day, of the 11th month of the 11th year of the 21st century. Also, it is Remembrance Day. On this day, we remembered to those who lost their lives fighting for our freedom, and to those who still serve us today. Lest we forget.
For "Bro Night" today, we went to Raymond's house to eat hot pot! I forgot to take a picture of all the delicious food we ate, but here's a picture of the cake we had for dessert. It came from T&T.
As for the 30 day song challenge: a song that is a guilty pleasure...
Hmm, I don't really have a song that is a guilty pleasure... unless you count this song? It has an interesting title:
The title of this song is:
For "Bro Night" today, we went to Raymond's house to eat hot pot! I forgot to take a picture of all the delicious food we ate, but here's a picture of the cake we had for dessert. It came from T&T.
As for the 30 day song challenge: a song that is a guilty pleasure...
Hmm, I don't really have a song that is a guilty pleasure... unless you count this song? It has an interesting title:
The title of this song is:
みんなでね ～PANDA with CandyBEAR's～
Cute MV!
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