Not exactly one, but I do enjoy sci-fi flicks, and figure that many of the things in modern life/entertainment have references to this title so I decided to see the STAR TREK movie.

Not bad at all. I actually was amazed by the geekiness I think I am going to try on some of the dorky, emotion-deviod lines in the office and see it if clicks.

Excited about Inglourious Basterds Finally, a WW2-movie with no-nonsense violence and gore. (sort of like, a 300-meets-WW2, or a WW2 gun-fu movie LOL)

Could have been a non-American unit though. (the title spelling suggests English-english?) Oh well... They're the one making the movies anyway.

Who Dares, Wins!
----------------------
The other night I had the chance to play and finish Call of Duty 4 : Modern Warfare (on the PS3 port, thanks to ) and uh... what happened to Sgt. Jackson and the rest of the devil dogs...is driving me paranoid.

I know it's just a game... but the threat...is...very...real. (*don't blame me, I was born about the same time when Chernobyl blew up ) What if some idiot out there is actually thinking the same thing?

Sweet vengeance in the end, yes. I wish the Special Air Service did have more European arms in the game though, like AUGs, SA-80s, FA-MAS, those kinds of things... (or I just wasn't searching the dead tangos) No big deal anyway, I just think the SAS should feel more European.

Sasahama
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Today a client invited us to lunch at Sasahama.

Outside, it looks like a generic family house but when we stepped in, the place was really spacious. (but it still looks like a family home) The place is really famous among expatriates.

For me though, it was another fun but weird experience. The servants wore them kimonos (I dunno if they're the real deal, but they're a lot better than the clip-on varieties I see in other restaurants) and spoke Nipponese too. The place probably is a private home refurbished to accommodate a restaurant, the dining tables were all over the place, a sushi bar near the door, a booze bar in the middle section (with a TV set constantly tuned in to NHK world), ukiyo-es on the walls, even on the lavatories and a small library with Japanese reading articles. (sadly, no manga or anything of that sort )

When the waitress gave me the menu (with English subtitles), the client was explaining to me what kind of food the item represented. (actually, I knew but I wanted to hear a commentary) Gyudon first comes to mind but when I looked at the price it was a bit too steep The host really recommended it though, but I don't want to burn a hole in his wallet so I settled for the cheap, good old Katsudon instead. Again, a load "whoa" was heard from my expat company. (and they kept making "strong man" gestures afterwards... does that mean it takes a real man to eat the thing? ) I've no idea, I frequently order katsudon, but now I am thinking that there maybe some weird connotations to it. O_o

Took a while to arrive really, I was told by the host that it takes time to prepare. When it finally arrived though, I was surprised - the thing was in a ridiculously large bowl. I am used to them small kiddie-sized bowls they serve in restaurants so the thing was more than I could eat.

I was really excited though, so I had to say "itadakimasu!" out loud. (and another "whoa" again, with my master telling our clients about my weird exploits a few months ago) The food was great. Lots of eggs, onions, the rice was good too. (though I burnt my tongue as the food was really hot ) In addition, there was a side dish of really bad-*ss spicy pickled veggies, a large bowl of miso soup and a few chunks of pineapple. In the end, we were stuffed to the gills.

To shove it all down I grabbed a glass containing what seemed to be iced tea and gulped the contents only to find out that the thing tasted a bit weird... I now realize that the batch was tea... Th real tea, not the sweetened ones we can buy in PET bottles.. The ones they brew from leaves...Only chilled. I wanted to ask for sugar but seeing them laugh and enjoy the weird concoction...uh well....Bottoms up.

We thanked our hosts and parted ways afterwards. I loved the experience overall. There was even a small grocery with the much coveted original Pocky LOL (like Sakura's)Now I am thinking if I should have gotten noodles instead. Oh well~

Apparently at work, the year ends in March and starts in April. So they have this running tradition of having a party at the end of the day to celebrate the past year and start the new one. One from the management who was Japanese (they're really nice, they give us manju cakes and meat-flavored confectionery), was invited to share a thought to start the new year. He took out a piece of paper and the word "Ganbarimashou!" was written on it and he explained to us its relevance in the work that we were to undertake.

After that, of course like school, they always hit on n00bs. So they had us say something in front of everyone one n00b at a time. When it was my turn, I don't know what came in to me but I suddenly clenched my fists, raised them high up and screamed "Ganbarimasu!"

Then there was a loud "WHOA" Suddenly I felt I shouldn't have done that

When I lined up for the food, the Japanese staff came to me and asked if I spoke Japanese, then I explained that I just learned them from anime, manga and 'net life. The ensuing conversation was real fun though, they're about twice my age, so the only common ground we had was DORAEMON They keep on mentioning very unfamiliar titles, classics I suppose (*when they brought up Leiji Matsumoto's Uchuu Senkan Yamato I was about to blurt out Galaxy Express 999 as a counter, good thing they mentioned that title first else I would have embarassed myself by sayin the "999" wrong - turns out you say it "triple nine" ) For once though, I did get to use practically the things I used to say to net people and myself. (and subtitiles started to appear in my peripheral vision)

I now know first hand that the word "otaku", which a lot of people take for granted, is really derogatory. (their faces suddenly turned sour when I brought up the name of the event coming this weekend) Then I was told that Akiba is the place for the likes of me. (I don't know if I'll be happy with that comment ) They did tell me not to become too engrossed though. (*I guess it's that bad... But one of them knows Densha Otoko too good lawrd - and he aptly labels it an "otaku success story" )

Now after the long talk I returned to my seat to eat my dinner my colleagues bugged me with questions on what was the talk about. =_= I suddenly became the center of attention that I had to escape the situation. In my haste, I forgot to lock my drawers. Good thing I didn't see a memo on my desk the following day.

Oh well... I'll just scrap that plan of decorating my desk with figures of girls in birthday suits

PS: Yesterday I was given a DORAEMON toy by the people who publish the Filipino version of the title. I was trying to figure out how to operate the toy when the Japanese manager suddenly showed up in front of me and saw me playing with the thing. Now he must really think I am weird.

Shameless Org Alumnus Plug:

TomasinOtaku presents:


Nihon Nights 2 : "Ja-Fun" - where Philippines meets Japan
March 1, 2008 - Saturday
10:00am - 9:30pm
Engineering Sports Complex Covered Court
University of Santo Tomas
España, Manila


Contact DJ ( 0 9 1 7 5 1 4 1 7 0 7 ) for more details
_{or visit the... website.}

Random Thoughts:

--> Two months on, and still no clear future... I am now beginning to think that maybe there's this something I did in the past and I am now being punished for it. I know I tried every possible way to turn the tide and I keep convincing myself, but I can't seem to get my mind off the case for some reason... I know it's pointless, crying over spilled milk.... I don't know...

--> Marched off to Yuchengco Museum today, but I didn't go inside after being disappointed by the size of the place. (I was attracted because there was an M113 displayed outside) I didn't have money for the ticket anyway.

--> Last week I liberated two volumes of Keroro Gunso from a super discount book store for a dirt cheap price. (75% off good lawrd). Browsing at BookSale is always fun, once in a while you get great, rare finds.

--> I went today to see that Kalashnikov rifle I wanted and after a thorough inspection, I decided that I did not want it after all... Would have been fun having one though, if by chance there's a viral outbreak that turns everyone in your town into zombies and monsters you can play your own Resident Evil.

--> Found out that Bibliarch (but the price tags were from Fully Booked) carries a book that I have long been searching for. From an nearby used-books store, discounted book on Volkssturm was found. I hope the titles are still there when the time comes.

--> One of my devs was mysteriously moved to scraps. Gallery director restored order, but also had no idea about the relocation... Must be one of those bugs or glitches or something.

--> Plans of having my glasses repaired (damaged during a traffic accident) may not go through after all. I wish I lived long enough to avail of the optical benefits.

--> Playing the classic Playstation games again, thanks to the ePSX emulator + my uncle's laptop PC. (memorize ko pa rin yun Resident Evils LOL )

--> Behemoth big brother ate up all the chocolate-peanut-butter-ice-cream-cake thing early today while we were sleeping.

--> "Japan, Japan, Sagot sa kahirapan" (Japan, Japan, the answer to poverty. LOL)

--> 22 years on, people here in this country still don't get sick of them revolutions.... It's stupid already. Having those idiotic sequels just mean that people never learn. Crap. Don't discuss politics.

--> Wish would take that long due pic already.

--> Lady next door asking me do her daughter's school project because it involves research using the Internet. >__< How will she learn if she doesn't even try?!

<-- is losing it.