* Creating Enchantment *

Why do people sometimes think that pointing out how your problems are no different than anyone else’s problems will actually make you feel better?

I really hate it when people say something like “That’s nothing new. I’ve heard worse stuff than that.”

Why are you supposed to feel better when you find out that other people have it worse? It doesn’t make your situation any less bad. Nor does it make it any easier. So what if other people have gone through what you’re going through? Does that mean you can do away with your own problems? Why the need to point out how trivial people’s problems are? Whatever it is, big or small, everything that happens to a person is part of his/her life, something that makes him/her who he/she is. So please don’t dismiss it as something like a statistic you read off of a newspaper.

Example: Say your friends who are in a relationship break-up. They’ve been together for years, and then they fight, and then they break-up. Everyone knows that relationships don’t work out sometimes. Millions upon millions of people have experienced heartbreak ever since the world began. But so what? Will that information make your friends feel any better? Will it make them kiss and make-up with their boyfriends/girlfriends and forget they ever fought? I don’t know about you, but I think

OF COURSE NOT!

It doesn’t help at all. It even only makes it worse because you’re just making that person feel stupid for reacting the way he/she is reacting. You’re making it appear that his/her feelings don’t matter in this big complicated world. He’s just another person, there are at least 6 billion others, so why should he be any different? Why should he be treated special?

It’s the worst way to “comfort” someone, if that is your intention when you try to point out that other people are in worse situations. Nevermind that you have nothing to say or do but nod your head or shrug. That gesture at least shows sympathy. Or if not that, honesty, that you don’t know what to say or have no idea how he/she really feels.

When I think about it, it’s all Tamaki Hiroshi’s fault. I mean, why doesn’t he make more dramas/movies?! After Waterboys, it was a long time before I ever saw him again. 3 years to be exact (Waterboys is actually a 2001 movie, but I didn’t see it until 2004). Of course, this could partly be attributed to my having dropped out of the Japanese/Asian entertainment fandom (or the world, actually :P) due to my lack of a computer (Yes, I’m going to mention this in all my entries. I’m that frustrated. Hehehe.), but after having researched more about him and finding out that Nodame Cantabile is really the only major thing he’s done for the past few years, I’m thinking that it’s really his fault.

Or it could be Yamapi’s (Yamashita Tomohisa) fault, for being virtually everywhere. I mean, when I first saw him in a J-drama (Proposal Daisakusen), I thought he was just an actor. But after just one Google search, I find out he’s also (not just a member) the leader of NEWS (Japanese music/idol group aka “boyband” to you Westerners/Westernized). Not to mention that Proposal Daisakusen is already his nth drama.

So really, its both their faults, for both being uniquely irresistible. And I use the word “uniquely” because I’m having the same problems with them as I do with J-dramas — I can’t choose which one I like best! They’re too different! (But in a really good way.)

Still, I’ll try to compare them just to see what the final verdict will be, even if it’s going to be really difficult to rate them. I think this is just like that ice cream and pizza dilemma*. -_- (*You’ll have to ask my sister about this one.)

ON BEING “SINGERS”

Yes, I put “quotation marks” there intentionally because admittedly, both of them are not the best examples of people who have this talent. Still, they’re not completely hopeless. Both can usually sing in tune, however from listening to their music, I have to say that Tamaki Hiroshi’s solo ballads can get quite boring (and somewhat redundant), whereas NEWS is endlessly entertaining with their variety of songs, and Yamapi is successfully able to stand out while still complimenting the other members.

Verdict: Yamashita Tomohisa

ON ACTING

On the surface, it’s Yamapi who’s done more projects and has become more popular in the acting world, with several dramas (and countless advertisements) under his belt. However I believe in “quality over quantity”, which is why I have to say that as an actor, Tamaki Hiroshi is the better man.

Yamapi’s roles, despite already having so many, are still mostly the same — he’s either the cool stoic guy, or the crazy weird one. At times, he pulls it off, but mostly he just looks as if he’s just banking on his cuteness (not that this is a bad thing ) to make the scene he’s in work. He’s always just looking cool (even when he’s not supposed to be, like in Nobuta wo Produce), I haven’t so far seen him really get into character and lose himself in it. No matter what role he plays, he still looks like the same Yamapi who also sings and dances in the NEWS MVs to me.

Whereas Tamaki Hiroshi, with the variety of roles he’s played, I think, has proven that he’s not just a pretty face. He was my favorite in Waterboys for being the loud, outgoing somewhat-pigheaded jock. But amazingly, despite that role making an impact, he manages to make you forget that that was him, when you watch him as the cool, talented, albeit snobbish (and somewhat elitist and vain) music school prince, Chiaki Shinichi (I love this name) in Nodame Cantabile. And then, just when you’ve fallen in love with him in that role and wish he’ll play it forever, the moment you see Tada, Kimi o Aishiteru, you’ll suddenly come to a stop and be endeared with the image of him as a shy, quiet and withdrawn artist (photographer). All the roles are uniquely Tamaki Hiroshi, but still very different with each other, it’s like you can fall in love with him over and over but it’ll be different every time.

So, the verdict is: Tamaki Hiroshi

AS A MODEL / OVERALL STYLE

It’s actually only Tamaki Hiroshi who has “model” written on his profile (at least in Wikipedia), but as Yamapi’s done so many advertisements and modeling jobs (just check out all the magazine scans of him), I guess you can say that they’re both models. And they’re both pretty good at it, I guess, being good-looking and all, however as Tamaki Hiroshi’s the taller one (by 5cm), and has the better build (At least to me, I’m aware that not all of you will share this opinion), plus he’s done runway stuff (or maybe I’m just not too informed. Has Yamapi done runway modeling?), so…

Verdict: Tamaki Hiroshi (Note: I also like his style better. Yamapi’s cool, but sometimes the clothes he wears are out of this world! I like Tamaki Hiroshi’s more conventional one (though I’m aware that he has his share of crazy outfits, too). Oh, and also plus points to him for being able to pull off several hairstyles–he had an afro, and was bald in Waterboys, had that cool windblown hair in Nodame Cantabile, and down-to-earth boring haircut in Tada, Kimi o Aishiteru. Yamapi’s hair has been the same in most of the dramas and MVs I’ve seen him in.)

IT’S WRITTEN IN THE STARS

What I mean is…

Tamaki Hiroshi - January 14, 1980 - Capricorn
Yamashita Tomohisa - April 9, 1985 - Aries (Note: He has the same birthday as my Mom)

Okay, at this point, you might say I’m biased if I say Tamaki Hiroshi again, but I can’t help it! I’m a Virgo, and the stars say that I’m most compatible with fellow Earth signs, which include Taurus and Capricorn. Fire signs such as Leo, Sagittarius and Aries are bad for me, the stars say. And, Tamaki Hiroshi is older than I am (although I’m only ahead of Yamapi by 7 months), which I consider to be a good thing.

Verdict: Tamaki Hiroshi

WHAT’S IN A NAME

So for those of you don’t know, I have a name fetish. What’s that you ask? Well, that’s just like a foot fetish, except, it’s with names.

Between 山下智久 (Yamashita Tomohisa) and 玉木宏 (Tamaki Hiroshi), I like the kanji of Yamashita Tomohisa better. Tamaki Hiroshi just seems too simple and common. Besides, Yamashita Tomohisa is a lot more fun to say, and “Yamapi” is a really cute nickname. XD

Verdict: Yamashita Tomohisa

QUIRKS

I like it when guys are quirky. What I mean is, I think it’s cute when they show their funny/playful/clumsy side. And I daresay that both of them are really fun to watch! Tamaki Hiroshi can really pull off that I’m-originally-a-manga-character-expression whenever he screws up his face in Nodame Cantabile. It’s so funny! But, on and off camera, it seems that Yamapi is the one who’s more animated. I mean, he acts cool most of the time, but there are times where he just says stupid things and does funny gestures you can’t get enough of. I definitely will never get tired of that “Yay!” he says in the middle of NEWS songs, and “Nobuta Powaa!!” and “Hallelujah Chance!!” are show-stoppers.

Verdict: Yamashita Tomohisa

FINAL VERDICT: It’s a TIE!

I swear, I really didn’t mean for this to happen! But they both got 3 points out of 6. Okay, I guess it wasn’t a very good idea to have an even number for the categories, but I can’t think of anything else! Can you? Okay, I’ll think of something else to compare them on, but for the moment, I guess I love them both the equal amount! Hehehe.

I’m entering the J-drama fans scene late, as I’ve only had my own computer for a month (Wow! It’s been a month! (Actually a month and 2 days)). And I don’t really want to watch the new dramas anyway, because waiting for episodes is just . I mean, it’s really hard for me. I’d much rather do all the waiting now, and then watch it in a marathon a few months from now. I don’t care too much about being updated anyway, since I only really have a few friends I can talk to about this stuff. So yeah, haha I’m really just doing this for me.

Anyway, I think writing a review would also be pretty useless since most of the people have seen the dramas anyway and have formed their opinions about it, so this is really mostly just a reaction.

NOBUTA WO PRODUCE

So after discovering Yamapi on Proposal Daisakusen (Yes, I saw that before I saw this one. See, I told you I’m watching these things late and so not in the order they came out :P), I began mentioning his name like crazy, and whenever I did, people kept recommending this drama to me. And that’s why it’s my first ever torrent-downloaded drama. I’m quite proud of myself, honestly. Because the torrent world is so weird, isn’t it? There’s so much stuff you have to know about codec and others. And then the Asian drama torrent world is even weirder, because there are soft-subs and hard-subs issues involved. Anyway, I managed to figure it all out (I think) from reading pages and pages of text -_- so I was able to watch this drama uninterrupted.

And after that somewhat crazy (and useless (I don’t need to justify why I watch dramas! XD Wala lang, gusto ko lang mag-share)) background, here’s what I think:

[BTW, you have to have already seen the drama (or don't mind knowing spoilers) to read this, because I might mention some spoilers along the way.]

The beginning was actually a bit dragging. I didn’t want to admit it at first because the 3 main characters– Shuji (Kamenashi Kazuya), Akira (Yamashita Tomohisa), and Nobuta (Horikita Maki) are all so cool. (Okay, I didn’t really want to use the word “cool”, but there’s no other translation for kakkoi :’( ) But really, because the first episode is mostly just expository, there isn’t too much story in it, or too many events happening. Although it wasn’t that boring, because I still watched all of it. Besides, the ending line “We didn’t know then that we would eventually come up against the most evil of all.” was enough to keep me interested until the end.

The series picks up around the middle of Episode 2, when Nobuta goes to school in her own clothes. It’s the first time you’ll see Horikita Maki’s entire face, and the first time the 3 main characters really look like friends. After that, it’s a thoroughly enjoyable drama that you’ll stay up until the wee hours of the morning just to see what happens next.

What I like most about this drama is how it was able to use such a simple theme– friendship, and use it in a not so simple way. Unlike when they tackle friendship in some other shows (Mojacko, for instance. Although in fairness to that anime, it was really made for kids.) and it makes the characters seem corny and too sentimental, in this drama it was really nice how they showed how people can do things for other people and not get too mushy about it.

The only thing I don’t like were the weird unexplained scenes that didn’t seem all that relevant. I’m talking about the last 2 episodes, because those really have some weird stuff going on. @_@

First, the way they ended the issue with Kasumi (Hiiragi Rumi) was really weird–they all had the same dream wherein she leaps to her death, okay. That can be unexplained. Sometimes weird things like that just happen. But why did there have to be a mark on the ground floor of their school that seemed like a person did jump? They didn’t say whether another student did commit suicide or not. And I think that if it was going to be that open-ended just to make things more mysterious, I think the part where the four of them had similar dreams is mysterious enough.

Secondly, the ending was really bad. I mean, I could forgive Lovers in Paris for its weird ending, since it just sort of suddenly implied that it was all a dream. But for this drama, I think the ending may have ruined the whole thing. What was the point of having Shuji move to a different place if Akira was still going to be there anyway? I’d thought that the internal struggle of Shuji was that although he was so cool on the outside, in reality he didn’t know who he really was. And I’d thought that the point of “producing Nobuta” was for him to know himself better, and eventually find himself, so that he can “become a good adult”. So, having Akira beside with him in the new school wouldn’t accomplish that at all. Plus, having only Akira with him and not Nobuta as well made it even worse.

Okay, if the point was so Nobuta could be more independent, then fine. Shuji having moved was a good way to show that they were really able to help Nobuta come out of her shell and handle herself. But having Akira move to where Shuji was just showed that it was only Nobuta who’s able to handle herself, and the two boys still needed each other to go through life, which is just so wrong. Was Nobuta really the only character that had to develop?

The ending scene where Shuji and Akira are playing at the beach and Akira thinks, “We can live this life together, wherever we are.” is just, well, for me, it just sent Shuji’s character right from the beginning of the drama where he didn’t know anything yet. I mean, yes, it’s good to have your friends with you, but if the point was really that they could still be friends “wherever they are” then wouldn’t it had been better if they just had a mini-reunion or something, instead of having one of them follow the other to the the same school? Not to mention that it’s a bit weird to have just 2 of the main characters at the ending scene. As much as I love Yamapi and Kazuya-san, I don’t think any drama deserves to have a weird ending just for fan service or whatever. Really, it was disappointing.

Oh well, save for that ending, the drama isn’t all that bad. In fact I really really liked it, until that part where Shuji saw Akira in the same classroom in his new school. So, again, I’m going to do a little editing in my head and convince myself that that was just an outtake. The real ending was when Shuji said “The next Kiritani Shuji, no matter what happens, will not fall.“

And then he goes into the classroom of his new school, and then the screen fades into white. (While I was watching it, I honestly thought that this was really what was going to happen. I furrowed my eyebrows when the line “Please take your seats.” was said by the teacher, and when Shuji went inside the classroom and introduced himself, I felt that something was really wrong.)

With that new ending in mind, now, I think this drama is really really nice. Nobuta Powaa!! XD

Nais kong masanay magsulat gamit ang dalawang wikang naniniwala akong pareho ko nang alam na alam. Ang isa, dahil nagagamit sa pang araw-araw na usapan (ito ‘yun), at ang isa naman, dahil nagsososyal-sosyalan ako ‘pag may kasamang ibang tao (No, that’s not true, I’m only making biro you know). Kung kaya’t napag-desisyunan ko na ang susunod kong mga isusulat dito ay gagamit ng parehong wika. Hindi ko na lalagyan ng pagsasalin ang mga ito. Malaki kasi ang posibilidad na ang mga isusulat ko sa wikang Filipino ay tungkol sa mga bagay na ‘di naman nakaka-interes sa mga hindi nagsasalita ng Filipino. Pero kung ang gusto mong paniwalaan ‘eh tamad ako, kaya ayokong magsalin ng mga isinulat ko, pwede rin naman. Hehe.

Kung nagtataka ka kung bakit ko ito naisipan, ‘yun naman ay dahil ayaw kong mawala ang mga bagay na natutunan ko. Oo, ibig kong sabihin na madalas ako nagsusulat gamit ang Filipino dati. Nung hayskul (at oo, Filipino ang salitang “hayskul”, itanong mo pa sa kahit sinong guro sa Filipino).

Nagsusulat ako noon para sa pahayagang Filipino ng eskwelahan ko. Mas-masaya kasi magsulat ng Filipino nun ‘eh, lalo ‘yung mga maikling kwento at tula. Simple lang ang mga salita. Halos lahat magka-sukat at magkta-tugma. At mas-makatotohanan ang dayalogo ng mga tauhan sa maikling kwento. At sa Filipino, pwede kang mag-English paminsan-minsan. Pero sa English, ‘di ka pwede mag-Filipino. Kasi kung gawin mo ‘yun, it’d sound so kakaiba like this, right? ‘Di kagaya ng kung sabihin kong “Hindi naman gaano weird ‘yung ganitong sentence, diba?”

Medyo naging mahirap din dahil aminin na natin, mas-nirerespeto sa Pilipinas ang mga pahayagang Ingles kaysa Filipino (kaya mas-malaki ‘yung budget nila para sa English newspaper. Totoo ‘yan, kasi kung ‘di totoo, bakit sila may scanner, kami wala? At saka bakit nung nasira ‘yung mouse nila, napalitan agad? ‘Yung sa’min hindi?! (wahaha lumang isyu :P)). Pero masaya pa rin kasi naramdaman ko na dahil nga hindi masyadong nakatutok sa’min ang administrasyon ay naging mas-malaya kami para gawin ang mga nais namin.

Kaya naman, titignan ko ngayon kung ganun pa rin ang mangyayari. Magiging mas-malaya rin kaya ang pakiramdam ko sa tuwing susulat ako gamit ang Filipino?

Did anyone know that there was such a thing? I sure didn’t. Not until earlier this morning when I looked around the Office of the Press Secretary’s Website to see if May 1 (Labor Day) was indeed kept as a holiday (and not moved around, like all the other holidays in the Philippines). Ironically, I didn’t see anything about May 1 in the site, but I did see something interesting:

(Click on the pic to enlarge.)

Turns out, this week (April 21-27, 200 is Hog Farmers Week! And since “it is necessary to focus attention on the role the hog-farming sector plays in accelerating the development of the livestock industry;” and I like pigs (and pork), I’m letting everyone (who reads my blog) know.

So if you see a hog farmer along the way then don’t forget to greet him/her! And in case you happen to be one, then I hope you’re smiling, because it’s your week this week!

Let’s all get into the Hog Farmers Week spirit!

(Click on image to enlarge.)

Summer fun! I just got back from our company outing, and it was great! We stayed overnight at the La Luz Resort in Batangas, and although it didn’t have the best beach in the world (mabato! masakit sa paa maglakad sa dagat!), the resort was pretty nice, and the food was delicious, so it was all good. Plus, the Management had finally come to their senses and scrapped the “games” (and other group activities, besides eating) part. I mean, having to do stupid things (like running barefoot on really really hot sand, whilst holding a spoon with calamansi on it) with people you hardly know (like people from the other departments) just sucks the fun out of the whole thing, right?

Anyway, we didn’t do much, which is just the way I like it. We got there, ate lunch, stayed at the room for a while doing nothing, swam for a bit in the beach (some of us went kayaking (is this a real verb?)), ate dinner, and then just hung out at one of the cabanas drinking, er, was it vodka and sprite? There were a bunch of other drinks, too (gin, i remember, and something else i’ve completely forgotten — not because i was drunk, i just wasn’t paying attention. wait, it was arctic!) and lots and lots of snacks (this, I was happy about ). But since I’m not really a drinker, I had more fun enjoying the conversation. It’s so fun being one of the few sober people in a group, isn’t it? Because you get to see everyone make fools of themselves, but you don’t have to share the embarrassment. Hehehe. Although it does get a bit messier on your end, because you’re the one who still cares if you get vomit all over your clothes. -_- Luckily, my officemates had enough sense not to drink that much, and even when some of them did eventually throw up, they always reached the bathroom in time.

I kind of get the whole “social relevance” (haha! what a term!) of drinking now. I mean, I now get why it’s a social event–because some people become more honest with themselves (and to other people as well) when they’re drunk, so it’s a way to get to know who the people around you are, really. This doesn’t mean that I like it now, though. I’m afraid my tastebuds just don’t find any kind of alcohol delicious, whether it’s mixed with sprite or juice or whatever. Mapait siya. At ayoko ng mapait. Period.

Anyway, I guess now’s as good a time as any to tell you that I didn’t really like summer all that much until last year. I just didn’t (or don’t, because I still don’t like it) like socializing too much, and getting wet sand between your toes. Plus, I’m not that great a swimmer (I can hardly be called a “swimmer” even), nor do I look good in a swimsuit (and I’m not too keen on seeing other people in swimsuits either). But, probably from reading so many travel blogs, I began to appreciate the beauty of the beaches (and the Philippines in general, actually, but beaches are mostly our main feature, so…), and local tourism. And seafood and other local delicacies (I mean, those local to the province that the beach is in) aren’t bad either. I’ve even stopped caring about what the sun will do to my complexion. As long as I don’t get skin cancer or anything, I don’t care anymore if I’m fair-skinned or whatever. Well, I’ll never be fair-skinned anyway, even if I hide from the the sun for a year–some people are just born with this natural tan (especially in the Philippines), so it’s fine with me. So, I’m thankful that I’ve grown to like beaches, and summer (even if it’s irritatingly hot in this tropical country!), because since I already like rainy season, then now, I pretty much like all the days of the year!

Lots of stuff happened in the office today, in fact it was so busy, I think I spent more time standing than sitting, although I think that makes me luckier than the others, who spent nearly the whole day sitting down, processing as many documents as they can, while they still can.

Okay, a little background: Our team in the office uses a special software that’s unique to the company. Let’s call it Program X. Anyway, Program X is being upgraded to Program Y. And today was the last day for it. By Monday, Program X will be un-usable, and we should all be using Program Y. Hence, everyone today was trying to do as much as they can in Program X, so that by the time Program Y comes, there wouldn’t be any unfinished documents left.

It’s a little hard for us, letting go of Program X, since we’ve been using it for several years. I think that’s why some of us have got a slight case of separation anxiety. Hehe. Anyway, one of us suggested we should have a farewell party for Program X. It was really just a joke, but come 4PM, we realized we were all hungry, so we called and had some pizza delivered. And just like how we normally are when there are parties, we all ate at one table in the pantry. Sometime in between the meal one of us said, “Hey, the farewell party for Program X came true after all!“

Okay, if you’re not my officemate, you probably won’t be able to relate, but anyway, the reason I’m telling the story here is because I just want to remember these moments that happen in the office, as they don’t happen often. I don’t know, call me sentimental, but I feel really lucky to be working with such a friendly bunch. Although I know we all have separate personal lives, and that inevitably we’ll have issues with each other that’s work-related, I mean, nobody can always agree with everybody all the time, right? Still, I’m happy that there are at least times like these where we’re all getting along and having fun, which brings me to the next part of this post, our mini-photoshoot!

Don’t tell anyone yet, but I’m planning on submitting an article for our monthly department newsletter. I don’t even know if it’s going to be accepted and published, but I’ve showed it to the team and they liked it, so hopefully the people behind the newsletter will as well. Anyway, the article is really just a self-introduction of our team, containing our names, our designations, and a few sentences about our personalities. To make it look nicer, we decided we should put our pictures in as well, we’re introducing ourselves after all. And so, earlier today, we had a mini-photo shoot at the break-out room (it’s like an informal meeting room, with red couches, and a low glass table).

We took solo pictures of each member, and then one with the whole team in it. We just used my officemate’s cellphone camera, but I think the pictures turned out nicely (I hope. I haven’t actually seen them yet on the computer). Especially because coincidentally, the colors of our clothes complimented each other, and so did the red couch that we were sitting on.

Just like the with the Farewell Party (although the photo shoot actually happened first), we had a lot of fun just goofing around with our teammates, as if it was a team-building activity. I’m glad to know that we get along enough that we don’t really have to go out of town and hire some other company to organize “team building activities” for us just to get us to spend time with each other. Not that those out of town trips aren’t fun, too. But I’m happy we get to bond with each other, even within the limited space of our office building.

I really do hope that the other people in our department will view my article as our way of reaching out to others (we’ve been accused of being snobs -_-), and not some form of vanity, though. I guess we can be easily misunderstood since we’re not really all that friendly, but in my case, well, it’s just because I’m shy! I mean, why would I talk to somebody who doesn’t even know me, it’s not like he/she really cares what I have to say, right? And okay, I guess you can say that blogging is the same thing–why write, when the people out there probably don’t care about who you are and what you think about things, right? But I think blogging is different in the sense that, because you have to deliberately read what’s written, then you have more control of what you’re going to do. Like, if you get bored with my post mid-way, you can just close the browser, or click on a link that gets you out of here. But if we’re talking with each other face to face and you decide I’m a boring conversationalist, you’d be rude to just suddenly stand up and walk away, right?

Anyway, I just wanted to post something before I go on my 2-day vacation (which probably isn’t really a vacation, considering it’s just for 2 days hehe) to the beach. Although that means no internet, no computers and no TV (can you believe it, the resort doesn’t have TV sets in its rooms? hehe, well, it’s supposed to be a getaway place after all), that’s really fine with me since there’ll be sun, sand and the vast ocean that connects us to the entire world.

Happy weekend everyone!

Well, I actually won’t be going until this Saturday, but I’m already excited. So I’m writing this entry. I’m unfortunate enough as to have this Saturday’s trip be my first summer trip of the year. And it’s a company outing, too. Hehe, no offense to my friends in the office–they’re a blast to hang out with, and I really enjoy spending time with them. I’m just not too crazy about the idea of going to the beach with 100+ other people (from the other departments) who I’m expected to socialize with, and I’m not too keen on the fact that we’d all have to follow the same activities, too (As in, we have to eat lunch whenever everyone’s eating lunch, and we have to stay within resort premises and all that stuff. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve no problem with following rules. I think rules are great. But I’d pick the laidback type of vacation where only a few people are going and you make your own schedule, and no one will force you to be friendly, any day. Hehe. 8-} ). That aside, I’m still quite excited, because I haven’t been to the beach we’re going to–La Luz Resort in Batangas. From what I heard from my other officemates who’d already gone (they just got back yesterday), and what I’ve seen of their pictures, it’s pretty promising.

Anyway, this entry is really a recommendation:

Summer Holiday (2000)

Starring: Sammi Cheng & Richie Ren
Directed by: Jingle Ma Chor-Sing
Nationality (as in, where this movie is from): Hong Kong

I saw this a few years back (2005?) and it’s one of my favorite summer/romantic comedies ever! Okay, quick summary: Sammi Cheng plays a city girl named Summer, who loses her job, and so goes to the beach that she and her cousin owns, planning on selling it, so she’ll have some money whilst she’s looking for another job. But when she gets to the beach, she finds out that her cousin’s already sold his half to Momocha (played by Richie Ren), a beach bum who has no intentions of selling the beach, ever. So Summer tries to convince him otherwise, and of course the two of them eventually fall in love.

It’s really predictable, I know. But it’s just so cute, that I still like it, even if it’s got a typical story. Plus, it’s meant to be a light comedy, that doesn’t require too much thinking. What I really like about it is that despite it being light and the events somewhat far-fetched (how much of a coincidence is it that the guy who owns half of the beach happens to be — oh no wait, I can’t tell you. That’ll spoil the ending ), it’s not at all stupid, or ridiculous (or, it’s a little ridiculous, but in a good comedic way). So I think it’s perfect the way it is. Besides, the scenery is just amazing.

The place they shot at was Laguna Redang Resort, Malaysia. Wah! I’ve only been to Kuala Lumpur (and for only 2 days ) so I didn’t know (until this movie) that Malaysia had such great beaches like these! Look!

Lovely water color! (Haha, water color :P)

So, for anyone who’s looking to see a nice, fun, and cute movie this summer, this is highly recommended!

Although I’m not really sure where you can get a copy of this. Maybe it’s in YouTube, or it’s probably in those places where you usually find other Asian media stuff (i.e. movies, dramas, music, etc.) since both main actors are pretty famous in the Asian entertainment scene anyway. If I know you personally, I can lend you my copy if you want.

Happy Summer everyone!

As for this, I just wanted to post it because their expressions are so cute! Hehehe.

Momocha (Richie Ren) and Summer (Sammi Cheng) in Summer Holiday