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)
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