The epic First Term Grand Slam

KWATRO.
(with hagod)

When I came in as a grad student in DLSU, I was psyching myself that a 3.0 or 3.5 final grade is "high enough". Since a 2.0 kind of equates to a 1.0 - anything lower than that and you have to retake the subject.

So, imagine my surprise when I opened MLS this morning and saw that BOTH of my subjects got a FOUR POINT ZERO. Tears of joy. Previously unknown [bad] dance moves emerge. Sheer bliss.

The Stat grade was something I wasn't expecting at all. Just last night, I was musing that I will be happy with either a 2.5 or a 3.0, because even if I did really well in my finals (I got a perfect score), I have no idea how midterms went down.

Anyway, this means that I officially have my Friday nights back (WOOHOO!) - I can once again attend Friday practices until December, and I have a (OMGWHUT) 4.0 GPA.

Slap me, this must be a dream.


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In hopes of refreshing my RK quotient, I watched the Rurouni Kenshin movie (―維新志士への鎮魂歌) last night. I always thought it was an awesome movie, primarily because of the Hitokiri Battousai flashbacks that were replayed seven or eight times (hahaha!). 
Hitokiri Battousai's like my husband from another life. HAHAHAHAHA /ehem

Busybody

I should really work on regularly updating this.

Been really busy with everything, basically (haha, that's a nice way to put it). It's finals week in school, plus I'm getting one task after the other in the new job. I'm okay, so far...I just have less bulakbol time (le sigh).

Anyway, onward to the updates!

Had a photoshoot at the SDA Building of DLS-CSB. It was my second time coming here, and shooting there was...well...quite a pleasing experience. There was a lot of natural light, lots of angles, lots of interesting things. The photos will be used for mock-ups for one of my finals.

I realize that there are still a lot of things that I need to learn about photography...like using light effectively, among other things. Everything I know in photography I've learned by observing how people do it; I was only "formally" trained once.

Speaking of finals, I also took my final exam for Stat last Friday. I was the first one to submit (aside from finishing, I was getting really restless, plus my right shoulder hurt so bad that I couldn't continue), and I was told that I passed (which is great, cause you can only either pass or fail). All that sisig-na-ang-utak-ko moments were worth it.

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I was sort of out of the loop this weekend, so you could just imagine my shock when I learned that the new RuroKen anime will only have the Kyoto arc animated, so far. So much for all they hype and the beautiful Newtype spreads (specifically Kenshin/Tomoe, which was the biggest hint the Internet got so far that the Jinchuu arc will be animated). The picture above isn't even enticing me one bit, but I'm going to give Aniplex/Studio DEEN the benefit of the doubt and treat this as a draft, for now.

The only way I could make sense of all the Jinchuu arc hype prior to the above screen grab being published is that the "new" Kyoto arc will serve as the foundation for the animation and, eventually, the showing of the Jinchuu arc. The Kyoto arc is is the pivotal arc of RuroKen, IMO, in the sense that this is the arc wherein Kenshin doesn't have to go all Battousai and stuff to defeat Shishio (prior to that he always had to); aside from that, Jinchuu is the next arc after Kyoto.

Having said my speculations, I cannot deny that I am so disappointed with this announcement. So much for all the "OHMAYGASSSHHHEEEEPIIIIIC" reactions when the Kenshin-Tomoe Newtype spread came up. Whoop dee doo.

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Other things: I have neon green nails, I'm working on character looks for Unforgiven using DreamSelfy (hahaha!) and I may be going to a celebration dinner this Sunday...

I'm crossing my fingers that this won't be the only post that I make this week.

Taking everything in stride

Just for fun, I'm posting this amusing RuroKen fanart. This has no connection to what I am about to post. I just like it. XD


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Here's what's keeping me busy as of late:

• The new job. By midweek of my second week (which is this week), I'm already making lists of things to do. That's a great sign. I like making lists and checking them out with my highlighter. I like being kept busy. Exciting things are coming - things that involve one of my biggest passions: writing. I'm blessed to be in the cusp of it all. 
• Studies. Finals week is two weeks away. The IMC plan is coming together smoothly. Stat...I'm not so sure how it will come together. It will, one way or the other.
• Enrollment for second term happened this week! Lesson learned: online enrollment for grad school isn't as competitive as the one for undergrad. Having said that, I think it's still imperative to get a head start; never settle for enrolling on the second day lest you lose the classes you need to enroll in.
  
  For next term, I only enrolled in one class:
  
  
  
  I only enrolled for a Saturday class next term, and will concentrate my efforts on adjusting/doing well in the new job. Once I've earned my keep and successfully assimilated myself, I will revert to two subjects in one term.
• More classes - in church, that is. Class equates to a chock-full of readings packed in seven sessions. This coming Sunday will be the sixth (hurrah). 

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All of that pretty much explains the lack of posts. But an approaching finals week also means approaching vacation time from school! Hopefully there will be more posts by then...like, the everyday kind of posting.


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Manang Brooke Fraser's concert will be this coming Tuesday, but she tweeted that she's been advised complete vocal rest plus antibiotics, leading to the Singapore gigs getting cancelled. 

I really, sincerely hope that this wouldn't lead to the unannounced gig here at Alabang to be cancelled too. =/

The iris, it thrives in the rain

For someone who's not working, I'm kind of sort of very very very busy right now.

I'm just saiyan saying. (LOL sorry I can't help but make the reference.)

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Here's what I've been up to:

I did a rewatch of Rurouni Kenshin Tsuiokuhen. Why did I do that? I don't know. Maybe it had something to do with the 15th Anniversary...but I decided to indulge myself.

What happened? Oh, well, pretty much the same reaction when I watched it for the first time. I CRIED. Being a hardcore Kenshin x Tomoe shipper (never was for KxK, though I admit that the nighttime-fireflies scene struck a heartstring or two...), this OVA was basically my most anticipated part of the RK series, until it was doused in cold water when it became evident that the Jinchuu arc won't be animated (but the reanimation solves that problem, oh sweet rapture!).

Another thing that I love about this OVA is the blood. I remember when I first watched this, I was going "OHMAAAHGAAAHHHHDDDD" at the bloodwork that was happening. It's quite on the extreme side, but then again that plus the animation (including character redesigns) looked very realistic. I'm not sure if the key to fully appreciating this OVA is a good background on the anime series...but if you were to ask me it would be best if the non-RK fan will watch a major fight in the anime prior to watching the OVA so he'll be able to see (and appreciate) how striking the difference is with the rurouni and the hitokiri. Just my two cents.

Also, they symbolism. OMG THE SYMBOLISM. The top, the differing tastes of sake, dead bleeding Kiyosato with a buddha at the background...and more...when I first watched this I couldn't understand a lot of these things; though now I understand most of them  I sometimes feel that I'm still scratching the surface...

Okay enough about the serious stuff! The reason why I cry everytime I watch this is because of this scene:

Randomness

My favorite yet overused blog title. Yes, yes.

And here we go.



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I have been on leave since yesterday.

I ate at the former Jo'nis for merienda when I went to Makati yesterday. Their puto bumbong, was super special awesome.

It's the kind of puto bumbong that will induce a reaction as epic as the not-so-extreme reactions from Yakitate! Japan (i.e. forgetting your name, being transported to a better place for a few seconds but absolutely not changing history or going on a field trip in space riding a train).



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Pansin ko lang na nauuso ang mga remake/remaster/rehash/whatever you wanna call it sa mga anime ngayon. Two years ago FMA Brotherhood started. Last year was Dragonball Kai. This year we're going to have this:

RUROUNI freaking KENSHIN!!!!!!! This calls for a keyboard smash of happiness!!!!!!! L;JE4FOJIOWNVOAEWNVCIOWEFOIACNEWFWA!!!!!!!

It wasn't until yesterday that I learned that RuroKen was cancelled/cut short due to the filler episodes. Well, I wouldn't blame the Japanese viewers back then...by the time it got to the Feng Shui arc it was utterly ridiculous that I wished for Shishio to come back to life so Kenshin could fight him again. But now that it's back...and it's been confirmed that the Jinchuu freaking arc will be part of this new anime, I'm like OHHH EMMM GEEEEEE. If the art and music will be as beautiful as it was in the original, there will be more shaking and crying from my end. LOL


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And to end this post, I will direct you to this awesome video.

Darth Vader in bandages and other musings

I'm incognito no longer. XD

Hellolehs, people who are reading this blog. Yes, I am alive.







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As an afterthought, if you will, of our karaoke gimik last Saturday, we were thinking about the state of the anime series that are being shown today and how they pale in comparison - plot and character-wise - with the anime that we grew up with. I agreed of course, but I was also quick to say that maybe that assumption comes with age (OUCH! HAHAHAHA!).

Still, if you really think about it (and I'm talking to my age group here, who grew up watching Dragonball Z, Sailormoon, Yu Yu Hakusho, Gundam Wing, Rurouni Kenshin, etc etc) the anime series that are dominant at this point in time are kind of, well...hmmm...let's just say that they're not groundbreaking, if you will. Most of the anime right now don't have a mind-shaking impact on its viewers, in my opinion. Mostly, all you remember are the bajillion jutsus that are accessible in Naruto. But I digress; the best way to illustrate this is through an example.

Best case in point for this argument: Rurouni Kenshin. If there was any anime that had a tremendous impact on my philosophy in life, it has got to be this series. Yes, the art is beautiful, the setting is wonderful (who wouldn't love watching flashbacks of the Bakumatsu era and the first few years after the Meiji restoration? COME ON!), the story is, well, what more can I say? But what made this series memorable (for me, at least) was the Shishio arc.

For the first time ever, I saw a bad guy - who kind of resembled Darth Vader with bandages - who could be a good guy! Shishio is a victim of the system, and as a victim who thinks he didn't deserve to be burned to (his supposed) death, he wants revenge. After all, he was in his own right, an honorable swordsman who succeeded Battousai as the hitokiri for the Ishinshishi.

Yes, his methods are extreme, but you can never dismiss his philosophy behind his actions: Darwin's famous idea, the survival of the fittest (the strong shall live and the weak shall die, Shishio always says). You can never dismiss his leadership potential, his charisma over his goons (the Juppon Gatana), and you can never, EVER deny that he has a point - that the Meiji government has done little to change the ailing society of Japan - allowing the country to be subject to foreigners, letting the gap between the poor and the abusing rich widen even more, and in a particular move that Kenshin even is subject to, the prohibition  of carrying swords in public, hence making the samurai nearly extant.

We all know what happens - Shishio burns to death. But dare I say it? Even his death was beautiful. It kind of came full circle when it happened - that the fires that first consumed him have exploded once again (as if in vengeance) - this time from within himself, his own body fat fueling the fire that made him end up in ashes. It was so extreme, and it had so much meaning that his death will be forever embedded in my mind.

Probably the closest (but still not close enough) I have seen this kind of villain in the anime series these past years is in Naruto, specifically with Nagato/Pain. But it's still...well...it wasn't as epic as the Shishio arc (for me). Though Nagato had similar intentions and extreme methods (being a victim, wanting to start a war that would end all wars or something?), the passion of his cause didn't really resonate to me as a viewer. Not as much as Shishio's, that is.

You can argue, of course, that there's nothing new under the sun (Naruto, after all, was inspired by Dragonball!), but hey, you can always make better what isn't new, right?







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I've been reading The Mists of Avalon for more than a month now. I owe my baptism of fire with the Arthurian legend to JM, with whom I watched the TNT rendition of this novel when we were fresh out of high school.

If you haven't watched it, GO FIND A COPY (I can lend mine but you'd have to promise to take care of it with your life). IT'S AWESOME. (Plus Hans Matheson is there, you gotta love Hans Matheson!)

If the movie was awesome, the book is a bajillion times more awesome - and this is why I sometimes prefer watching a movie first before reading the book, cause when it's the other way around I'm usually fretting about details in the book that I feel are important that get omitted in the movie version. Now that I'm reading the book, I'm getting the real deal.

Spoilers follow below.