* Creating Enchantment *

Matapos kong panoorin ang Beach Boys, hindi pa rin ako nakuntento at dali-dali kong sinimulan ang Dream Again kung saan bida muli si Sorimachi Takashi (ng buhay ko ;)). Tungkol ito sa isang “retired” professional baseball player na nais matupad ang kanyang pangarap na makapaglarong muli ng baseball, ngunit bago pa man siya nakagawa ng kahit anong hakbang upang mapalapit muli sa kanyang pangarap ay nabawian siya ng buhay. Kung kaya’t nang siya’y maging ispiritu na lamang, sinabi sa kanya ng “heaven’s guide” na maaari siyang bigyan ng isa pang pagkakataong mabuhay para matupad ang kanyang pangarap, ngunit sa katawan na ng ibang tao, at hindi niya pwedeng sabihin sa kahit sino kung sino siya talaga kasi kung mangyari ‘yun, ay bigla na lang siyang mawawala at ‘di na makakababalik muli.

Mag-E-English na’ko dahil medyo mahirap mag-fangirl ‘pag Tagalog. Hehehe.

Sorimachi Takashi is a little older in this drama (of course, since it was shown only last year) as compared to Beach Boys and GTO, which were shown in the late 90’s. So naturally, Sorimachi Takashi looks slightly different. He doesn’t have that kind of face some actors have where their age doesn’t show. But I think Sorimachi-san pulls the early 30’s off well. He looks just right–too old to be a teen idol, but young enough not to be labelled an old man. Hence, I still like him. Anyway, this drama is also a bit different from those I usually watch, which are school dramas (as in dramas set in high school (college, tops)). This one is about people who work in the office, and about, er, sports, which if you know me, you know I’m really not interested in. But it seems that Sorimachi Takashi and sports are an inevitable combination since all his roles involve showing off his physical strength somehow — he was a professional swimmer in Beach Boys and a karate expert in GTO. I guess they’re really banking on his physical skills ‘eh? Why would anyone cast Sorimachi Takashi and not have him do lots and lots of physical activities? That would be a complete waste of talent.

Anyway, I’m getting off-topic again (although since I’m really just spazzing about Sorimachi-san then I can prett much say anything I want). The point is that I realized that I would probably watch just about anything if it has one of my favorite actors in it. I actually attempted to watch The Ring again, just so I could see Matsushima Nanako. (Note: I only saw the first 15 minutes. I got too scared and turned the TV off after that. I guess I’m still not over that movie, after 5 years. Haha!) Although I’m doubting if I can take Fulltime Killer and that other Sorimachi movie that’s set in traditional Japan (like the Tokugawa era or something). I guess we’ll see in the future.

So far, I’m liking Dream Again. It’s probably something that a lot of other people will find boring. I’m already on Episode 6 and there are so far no big scandalous memorable scenes, or anything really really funny. There’s nothing all that notable about it and if you’re not a Sorimachi Takashi fan, you probably wouldn’t be all that interested. But I’m not saying that it’s a bad drama. Actually, the conflicts that they thought of are pretty good– how the new person Sorimachi-san becomes is this “evil” company president who his lawyer ex-girlfriend goes up against in a lawsuit, how he suddenly gains an illegitimate daughter, and how he’s suddenly so out of shape to be able to qualify for any pro baseball team. It’s all very interesting and fun to watch, but I guess because it’s a lot more serious than GTO and Beach Boys then it doesn’t really give a lot of chances for me to spaz like a ditzy fangirl. But oh well, I love Sorimachi Takashi anyway.

I love dramas. And I realized recently, that I love different kinds of dramas, too. I used to think that I only liked those that involved love stories, but after watching Beach Boys, which hardly has any romantic arc, I discovered that I could like stories that don’t involve love as well. (And that dramas that are only about love stories can get boring after a while, too.) I’m really liking how I’m finding out more and more things as I watch more and more of Sorimachi-san and Kubozuka-san and Tamaki-san and Yamapi-kun (Yes, he’s kun because *sigh* he’s unfortunately younger than me). I’m happy I’m a fangirl.

What, you thought I forgot? OF COURSE NOT!

Takeshi Yasutoko turns 22 today!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the BEST Inline Skater in the World!

Tanjoubi Omedettou Takeshi-san!

P.S. For updates on him and his brother, the other best Inline Skater in the World (hehehe), see the Yasutoko Brothers Blog! (It’s in Japanese, though.)

First of all, credit where credit is due: Photo manipulation was done by my friend Dyeane. Thanks so much!

[She's a great artist! Check out her gallery! She didn't have a lot of time to do this though so it's not that polished. I think she did this in about 10 minutes and mostly because she probably felt sorry for how bad it was when I tried to do it. Hehe.]

So anyway, let me tell you what brought about all these.

I was reading a review for the J-Drama Last Friends, and it described Nishikido Ryo’s character as someone who makes a 180-degree turn all in one episode (and it was the first, too) –he starts out as a patient, loyal boyfriend, and then turns into a rather abusive one.

The site had screen caps of it, and one in particular showed Nishikido-san in a light I’ve never seen him in before. Of course, I’ve had very limited exposure to him (I mostly just see him because he’s in a lot of the videos that Yamapi is in, and well, of course, my attention then would be on Yamapi ) so far, but anyway, he looked really different from the somewhat cheery, goofy character that he is when he’s with NewS.

Look:

Nishikido Ryo as Oikawa Sosuke in Last Friends

He kind of has a dark aura surrounding him, doesn’t he?

Anyway, I showed it to my sister and she said that he looked like an anime in that picture. So I looked at it again and a thought crossed my mind — he didn’t just look like an anime, he looked like a particular anime character:

Light Yagami from Death Note the Anime Series

Okay, so the hair color is different, but there is definitely a similarity in expression and like I said, in their aura. So then I wondered, what if they got Nishikido Ryo as the actor to play Yagami Light in the Death Note movie?

Don’t get me wrong, I love love love Tatsuya Fujiwara. I think he’s a great actor, and he’s cute to boot. But it never hurts to think of them “What If” questions, and this is also for those people (because I’ve seen a lot on the net) who think that Tatsuya Fujiwara looks too girly (or not handsome enough) for the role of Light (Note: I don’t agree with them).

(Click here to see original poster.)

So, yeah… I’m just wondering is all. I haven’t really seen Nishikido Ryo acting, so I can’t tell if he’d make a good Light Yagami, although he certainly seems handsome enough (at least, in my opinion ). What do you think?

Thanks to my brother who’s home from Japan, for the summer, the gadgets in our house (my computer included) didn’t just (finally) work the way they’re supposed to, but I had a pretty eventful week/weekend as well. So, this will probably be a long post.

Short background: My brother works for a Japanese Company, so that’s (Japan) where he’s been living for the past year or so. He gets to come back home sometimes, but it’s usually just for a week, which is why a lot of stuff happens within the week he’s around.

(Note: It’s the same case with my sister who’s currently living in New Zealand, and gets to visit us only once or twice a year, and also only for a short period of time.)

Let’s start at the beginning then, shall we?

Nintendo DS Lite

My brother bought me one from Japan! (This has a somewhat funny background story on it, click here to find out.) He already installed the Japanese-English Dictionary I wanted (Wahoo! I actually have a denshi jishou (電子辞書)! I’ve always wanted one of these.) and some other cool games (e.g. Elite Beat Agents). I’m really enjoying myself, even if the games are still few. One problem though: I said before that I didn’t want to buy any game consoles because I wanted to spend my free time reading books (because that’s the way to improve one’s writing!), but weh, I guess my geeky side got the better of me. Besides (and yes, this is my excuse, which I consider to be valid) it’s not just a game console, it’s a dictionary, too! It’s educational!

The best part really, is the fact that it’s the Crimson & Black Model, which I just really really love! Mostly because I love red and black, but also because I don’t see many DS Lites that are of that color here in the Philippines. That does pose a bit of a problem though–I can’t find a nice case for it! All the ones I see are light blue, silver or pink. I can’t find any red ones, and I really really want one right away because I’m afraid it’ll have scratch marks on it (and I hate scratch marks ). I know, I can always choose a black cover, or a white one, but… but… Black and white are boring. I want red! XD

Summer Outing #2

Me and My Family (sans sister) at the Patapat Bridge, Ilocos Norte

This summer, my mom wanted to go see the Blue Lagoon (in Maira-Ira, near Pagudpud in Ilocos Norte), so she booked us some rooms in Fort Ilocandia Hotel in Laoag City. We were there from April 30 until May 3, and it was great!

What I like most about taking trips/vacations with my parents is that they can plan a really balanced vacation–what I mean is, they plan the itinerary such that there’s enough time to see the sights, and relax, I mean, really relax, as in, the type of relaxation that borders on boredom. Hehehe. No, seriously, what we did was to stay at the hotel for the entire first day that we were there. We did nothing but sit at the cafe, and stare at the beach. And then on the next day, we hired a van to take us to the Blue Lagoon and some other famous tourist spots in the area (e.g. Bangui Windmills, Patapat Bridge, etc.). By the 3rd day, we again, had nothing planned but the flight back to Manila later in the evening, so we were able to rest from the tiring trip of the day before, and do whatever else we wanted to do again, i.e. swim in the beach/pool of the resort, order more room service, etc.

It was a really fun trip, never mind that it wasn’t exactly a new and exotic place (We went to Ilocos in 2000 too.), I don’t think there’s anything wrong with repeating going to a place anyway, especially when your main objective is to relax.

Party! Party!

My aunt, nephew and brother, tossing around a balloon outside our house.
(I’m somewhere in the background, eating cake. Ahehe.)

Although my mom and brother’s birthday’s been long past, we celebrated it anyway yesterday (because that’s just how we are–we celebrated New Year on January 15 this year even, because we were in Japan on January 1), by having our relatives visit our house for dinner.

No, I didn’t help that much with the preparation, but I was the one who bought the gifts for my nephews (It’s their birthdays too–there’s 2 of ‘em), and the dessert (Braso de Mercedes galore!).

The food was great (as always–my aunts love to cook), and it was actually quite fun. Don’t tell my relatives, but I like it better when we’re the ones who host the get-togethers, because 1) there’s a bigger chance that the relatives I don’t like won’t be there, and 2) if there are people who I don’t like who come, my room where I can hide out in is nearby :P.

It’s kind of funny how my brother was really the “life of the party”, though. Everyone wanted to talk to him, and they asked him about a variety of stuff too–his life in Japan, his work, his new hobby of photography, his experience in the Tokyo marathon, his recent snowboarding injury, etc. I mean, it’s supposed to be natural since he is the birthday celebrant (and a “balikabayan” at that), but I can’t help but remember that when my sister was home last January and we were also celebrating her birthday (this time, it was an advance celebration because her birthday is technically during February), our relatives didn’t ask her that many questions. Sure, they asked her how she likes New Zealand, but other than that and a couple basic of questions about work, the only other thing they asked about was if she had a boyfriend already.

Personally, I think it’s unfair, and I’m beginning to think that maybe people have double-standards about migration too. Of course it could be that it’s only applicable to my family (although I’ve observed this from some other families as well), but it seems that if a single woman migrates to another country, people assume that she’s there to find herself a husband. But if a single man goes to another country, they think he’s there for fun, or for work.

Then again, it could also be that because my brother’s always been more friendly than my sister, maybe my relatives just feel more comfortable asking my brother about various things. I really don’t know since I’m their sibling, and since I get to talk to them more often than our other relatives, I don’t ask so many questions myself.

(Note: I do like something other than the food whenever our family has get-togethers though, when we sing Happy Birthday, we’re always in tune! Hooray for not having anyone tone-deaf in the family! Hehehe. )

Back to the Routine

What I hate most about vacations really, is how it’s so hard to go back to the routine you had before you took your vacation. I go back to work tomorrow (technically later but I haven’t slept yet, so it’s still tomorrow to me), and as excited as I am to see my officemates again and find out what’s happened in the days that I was gone, I can’t help but think that I’d still prefer a nice lazy day to a busy work day any day. (This is a sign that I’m getting tired, I just used the word “day” 3 times in the same sentence.)

One thing I do like about my old routine though, is that I’ll get to watch J-Dramas again! Yes, I’m aware that this isn’t work-related, but I don’t really like watching TV during vacations because to me, TV is the way to unwind after a hard day at work. If I’m watching TV while I’m on vacation, then instead of feeling like it’s a vacation, I’d feel more like I’m just killing time ’til I have to go to work again the next day.

I’ve just finished watching Dragon Zakura, actually. (I finished it just when my cousins arrived at our house for the birthday party. Okay, no, that’s a lie. They got here before I finished it, but I didn’t leave my room until the last episode finished. Yeah, I’m a lousy host. XP) I might post something about it later on. In case you’re curious, the next drama in line is Orange Days. Another old one, but it’s also another one that I’ve had many friends recommend to me, so… I do feel a bit sad that it’s not a Yamapi drama, but it does star Tsumabaki Satoshi–another face I miss, so it shouldn’t be too bad.

Just in case though, here’s something that’ll help me remember Yamapi, and it’s quite timely for us in the Philippines, too.

Summer Time by NewS

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.

(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!