Anyway, I had an advanced birthday party last Saturday (Dec 6) where Andrea, Aiee, Gloria, and Missy came. We watched Kill Bill after eating, had fun with the magic candles on my cake,and I made them try the Aloe Vera juice I got from Uno's...success! I think Aiee now plans on buying some :)

Then yesterday (my official birthday), I gave a small office party for the gang here. Mato and Kuya Bert brought Pancit Malabon, Puto, Crunch Cake and softdrinks and we made a heavy merienda of the food in the pantry. Later that evening Mato and I heard mass; and after that Jude and Tita Dianne treated us to a fine dining experience at Pepato's in Greenbelt. I loved it *_*.

Pepato's had a gold and silver motif; a large curving staircase by the entrance where the steps are made of glass slabs and these golden crystals are arranged in patterns on the wall by the bar. Something about the place reminded me of a beehive. A very fancy beehive.

And dinner there was great. I usually order Chilean Sea Bass since I don't do steak, but this time I had a Fillet Grouper for a change. It was pretty good...it came with green string beans and this delicious mushroom based sauce that tasted like gravy. We had 4 kinds of dessert and just shared. A slice of white chocolate tiramisu which was 'on the house', baked chocolate cake with cheese flavored ice cream, sugar free lemon sorbet and almond mascarponi (not sure if I spelled this right) with cheese cream inserted into the wafers.

Tita Dianne also gave me this book by Jude Devereaux. I'm not familiar with Devereux, but "Holly" looks very nice; it's hard bound and the cover is Christmassy. I just wish I had enough time to read this month-but I don't know how long it will take me to draw as much as I want, read as much as I want, get both my work on the Forbes newsletter, as well as the Christmas shopping, done without stressing out and getting sick.

But it was an altogether good birthday, and I had a lot of fun. Makes growing old not so bad.

Thursday, December 4, 2003

I've recently been watching Ranma 1/2 on AXN and I find it even funnier this time around. The thing is, watching it again reminded me why it was never (and never will be) my favorite Anime. I enjoy it a lot but there are certain things about it that I don't like. Why does Ranma have to win all the time for instance?

No, I'm not referring to how he wins all the duels and martial arts riffraff - I understand that as the hero of the show, and that as a damn good fighter, he's bound to beat anyone who even dares to challenge him in that category. I'm talking about beating everyone in their own game. Like, I just watched an episode where this French boy comes in and defeats Ranma in an eating contest; and of course, Mr. Saotome has to get revenge because he just can't stand to lose >_<.  I just don't see why even a food contest has to be something Ranma wins in. Shouldn't other characters be better than him in different ways, if not fighting? I mean, even if Ranma can defeat them because fighting is his forte -  why can't they at least be better in other ways? No, Ranma has to win everything. Cooking, beauty contests, etc...I just don't understand this. I think he'd be even more admirable if he didn't have such an ego. 

Then there's this whole attraction thing. Can anyone explain to me why all the cute guys are in love with Akane? She's cute, but then so are Shampoo, Ukyou, Kasumi and Nabiki. In the looks department, I'd say Kasumi and Shampoo rate the highest. When it comes to personality I'd say Ukyou and Kasumi. Okay, so Akane's the 'leading lady'...but leading ladies are usually made to be a bit more special than the rest; or special in at least one aspect. Take for an example, Mokuren from Please Save My Earth. Obviously she wasn't only the prettiest among the girls, but the nicest too, and she also had these powers. A heroine doesn't need to be the best looking, but she should stand out in some way. Akane is not the prettiest. She is not the nicest. Not the most intelligent. Not the best warrior...

I understand why Ranma likes her...but why is practically every male in Ranma 1/2 obsessed with her?! You have Furinkan High's male population. You have Kuno (the richest and cutest, IMHO). You have Ryoga (second to Ranma in strength, I think). You have Mikado Sanzenin....Shinosuke, Prince Keiran from the first movie...Prince Toma from the second...heck, she even snagged Tsubasa, who was supposed to like Ukyou! 

I don't think she's a bad character, and I have nothing against her...but what exactly does Akane have (asides from being Ranma's love interest) that the other girls don't?

 

Sunday, December 1, 2003

So last Saturday I went to SM Megamall with Andrea to see this movie called Star Runner. I don't think she liked it that much, but the audience seemed pretty happy after the show. I thought it wasn't so bad, but then again there are a lot of corny movies I enjoy^^;;. 

I really like Vanness Wu anyway- he was adorable in it. The Korean actress was ok, but I think he looks better off with a younger woman by his side- kind of like how he was in Meteor Garden. I'm not much into the F4, but there was this scene there where his character jumps into a lake to fetch his girlfriend's violin and I just couldn't help but like him after that. In any case, I think I can understand why the masa enjoyed it. It was predictable enough and there were a lot of kilig, dramatic moments, even during the fight scenes. The big boxer he fought in the final round looked eerily like a buffed up version of Jerry Yan, though O.o In any case, thanks for the free tickets, Tina! 

And then the following day after hearing mass, I went to Figaro's near my place to get a glass of Cappuccino Frost. Afer that I visited Uno Mart, the Korean grocery store along Annapolis street. I bought myself a carton of soya milk, aloe vera juice and this bottle of rice beverage that looked like a cross between milk tea and yakult. The aloe vera juice was great. Best tasting juice I've ever had. When I first tried it back in that Asian Food Expo last July (August?), I thought I'd never have it again. Won't wonders never cease? On the other hand, the soya milk was ok...I think the ones sold in stalls at Virramall are better though. And the rice beverage was...ewww. I bought 3 more bottles of the Aloe Vera juice today. 

Right now I'm looking at this Kaikan Phrase manga Andrea got me from the States. Sakuya and Aine have a little boy named Shion now. He's really cute, looks like Sakuya but has his mothers eyes. Speaking of which, I've really got to update Love Melody and Mirage soon. Mirage can wait for a month or so, but I now have this Sakuya/Aine CG and a couple of scanlations to put up in Love Melody.