ratatouille

watch it! for me, it was the best movie i've watched so far this year! ;)

it elicited mixed feelings and reactions from me. that's what usually makes me love a movie, a song, or a book or anything!

it made me laugh. it gave me a lump in the throat. it even made me scream once although it's not a horror movie. i was just taken by surprise. hehehe. the best feeling? laughing while having a lump in the throat! :p it was a first for me!

to quote suzie q's favorite line in the movie:

if i don't love it, i don't swallow! wahehehe. :p

best movie for the family! i hope there's a ratatouille restaurant opening. but i don't wish for a rat chef mind you! :p

nihon turipu apr 21: such a gay day!

i used to highlight in earlier posts either how early or late i woke up in the days during my japan trip prior to april 21; but this date, it'll be different. i neither woke up early nor late because i slept way way past a decent sleep time hour and so i woke up later than late! :p

from my dinner with the friendships tokyo edition on the 2oth, i went straight to arty farty in shinjuku to party and disco with a friend, who turned out to be a party animal after i left him to fend for himself in 2004! you see, i discovered this multi-colored-eyed (his eye color change depending on many things like surrounding light or his mood) brown-haired hansamuna otoko no hito in 2004 and trained him to full beauty-hood that led him to spread his wings and fly! teehee! i danced all night until, hmmm maybe, around 5 am with roland, kazuya, shinichi, and, of course, the unforgettable jun! :p why unforgettable? well, you'll find out later! hehehe.

despite having not enough sleep and being exhausted from my travel from osaka to kyoto to tokyo the day before, i danced like crazy because i knew that my trip would be ending soon! talagang sinulit! sayang ang ginastos lahat lahat eh! hahaha. and because i danced like there was no tomorrow, roland would regularly tell me of people who were checking me out. pero wa care ako! sometimes kasi, i get too carried away in dancing at wala na akong pakialam sa mundo because i become music itself. charing! may ganun ba? :p but one japanese guy was too good to be ignored. well, at least for roland at first. roland kept telling me that the guy behind me kept looking at me. when i turned around. holy mama of creation! one of the handsomest japanese faces i've ever seen in my life in a black suit with the tie loosened was hurriedly looking at the space above me at the instant that i turned to look at him. there was one problem though. he was too tall for me! wehehehe. i think he was about 6 feet tall. those who know me know my preference for diminutive beings. hehehe. :p

i turned back to roland and told him that the guy wasn't looking at me at all. roland told me that he would look away each time i face his direction and that he'd be observing me every time my back was to him. ging gang gooly goodness gracious! i started becoming conscious. di na ko makapag-sayaw ala shakira! naging mahal at mura na yata yung steps ko after that. and the naughty roland would be pushing me towards the guy. ano yan? nasaan na ang ating mga holding hands ha??? ooopppsss wrong revelation! :p

i tried to be brave but di ko kinaya ang kaguapuhan nya. i tried to dance with him but only for a very short while. naisip ko kasi: am i worthy? nag-dive ang confidence ni emman. hehehe. so i went on dancing with my friends until some other guys, or gays whichever they were, joined us. one of them was a half japanese half pinoy who only knew filipino curse words because he already grew up in japan. another one was ian, a fellow half filipino half filipina, na ni-reto ko kay jun which, later, i regretted of doing. crush ko kasi si jun because of his childish antics. lalo pa akong na in lab dahil talentado pala sya! :p

sometime when i took a break outside the bar, i met the tall handsomest guy ever. i mustered all the mustard-like confidence i could and smiled at him. we talked for about 15 seconds. unfortunately he was going home because his friend was going home. and in a quick instant, time was suddenly frozen or at least i had the movie-like slow motion moment, he hugged me! gosh! it was the best hug of my life! haaaaayyyyy. that was it. he walked away, waved and smiled while i could only look on, melting like ben n jerry's chocolate fudge brownie ice cream! yummy! :p

you cannot blame me for not being able to get his number or email or you could say for letting the moment pass by. i was too mesmerized to do anything. and i guess he was also boyishly embarassed at what he did. oh my god. kinikilig na naman ako ngayon. tinatamaan ako ng arrows ni cupid! :p

enough of him na. sumasakit lang ang dibdib ko. :p

at around 5am, the same gang with the addition of ian, went to jonathan's, a 24 hour restaurant. duon masyado nang kinareer ni ian si jun! hmph! well, kasalanan ko naman kung bakit sila naging close. after having breakfast, we all went for karaoke. ang gagaling kumanta ng mga hapon! lalo na si jun. when he sang an emotional song, ian and i were looking at him with our jaws open! kaka-in love!!! i discovered that jun has a band. and i later discovered when i was in singapore already that he is the vocalist and guitarist of the ogs band with a number of screaming fans to their name! gosh! celebrity pala sya. hihihihi! :p one to-do thing ticked! ;)


i just have to mention that i sang islands in the stream with roland. hmmm, ganun kaya kami?

i think we left at around 9am. i got to lily's place at past lunch time. when i got there nagligpit pa ko. i asked them to let me sleep for a couple of hours. at 630, i was meeting roland again for dinner. i think i slept at around past 2. i planned of waking up at 4 so i could do some hasty pasalubong shopping as i hadn't done it yet.

and tadaaaa! i woke up past 630! panic full mode!!! was it 630 miss lily? i can't remember na actually. pero i called up roland and apologize profusely but he was also very late. hehehe. good thing na lang.

then i met him, rob, kiyo, and kazuya at shin-yokohama for the best katsudon meal i've ever had!


rob gave me a naughty calendar from club one seven. and roland gave me a box of ROLAND something. hehehe. i forgot what that food's called. it was like a breakfast cookie or something. para daw di ko sya makalimutan! haller! so hindi ko ba kakainin yun? hmmmm... pero tingin ko gusto nyang kainin ko yun so he'll live in my body forever and ever! pero ilalabas ko rin sa cr noh! har har har! :p meanwhile i was very flattered with the very friendly and jovial kazuya because he kept referring to me as sugoi omoshiroi or amazingly interesting! aba syempre di sya ma-amaze at ma-interested, eh, kinukuento ko ang mga beauty pageant stories ng pilipinas! :p

when we separated ways, it was roland and i on the train platform saying our goodbyes. hay. tagal na naman naming di magkikita. he boarded the train opposite mine. while the train wasn't going yet, people were looking at us kasi we were like children who played hide-and-seek with our faces from the train windows. para kaming nag-bubulagaan! hehehe. anyways, that was both a fun and poignant time. :) and :(

apr 21 was ending. though it was a super happy and gay day, i was sadly packing my suitcase at lily and lloyd's place. thanks lily. nakitulog pa ako. the next day, i was flying home.

mother teresa

a look at a surprising contradiction yet inspiring nonetheless:

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1655415-1,00.html

i never imagined the mother teresa we come to know as an epitome of selflessness, love, and piety, could be suffering from inner turmoil. nevertheless, we can draw inspiration from all her works and from how she eventually understood her inner doubts.

masters

congratulations

to

rhyze and gly! :D

ah murag kasal. hwek hwek hwek!

happy for you for getting your master's degrees!

mwah!

the importance of grammar

masyadong makabagbag damdamin ang previous ko na post. haluan natin ng medyong nakakaaliw na chika.

my friend elmer is one of the best writers and speakers (with perfect grammar) i know. one time he was the grammarian in our toastmasters club meeting. when he talked about grammar, he started by asking: "is grammar important?" then he went on saying na not really. he claimed that you can talk anything you want. with a few key words people around you will understand. you don't have to phrase your sentences in perfect grammar. he started giving examples. until he came to some examples of giving similar phrases or sentences that actually mean differently with how the tense or the number involved make the supposedly "similar" statements different. so grammar is important in conveying correctly what we want to convey. it allows the receiver of the message to actually get what you mean and avoid any misunderstanding.

kanina sa office at around 8pm. gutom at pagod na ko pero nung narinig ko ang boss kong nagsabi nagtanong sa team lead ko na "can you check the weather..." hanggang duon lang actually ang nag-sink in although may blah blah blah pa yung kasunod. naisip ko? ha??? check the weather? para saan???? at naisip ko na ahhhh he must have meant "can you check whether this or that..." hahaha

ayan, kaya dapat maingat sa grammar. although ako po, medyo pag pasensyahan nyo na. usually di ko na ni-re-review ang mga posts ko. when i read them the next day, ang daming mali. at ayoko nang i-edit pa kasi tamad eh. asus, actually alibi lang to noh. kulelat talaga ako sa grammar. kaya eto nag-ta-tagalog na lang ako. para di masyado halata!

ang oa ko noh? hehehe. the nerd of me! hmph! :p

kina-career ang trabaho

hahay, late na naman akong nakauwi. 2 weeks na akong mega busy. to the point na pumapasok pa rin kahit may sakit. eh pano ba naman? ung mga counterpart engineers namin sa france, bakasyon nang bakasyon. tig two weeks pa. isa lang matitira then the next week sya naman ang mag-le-leave at papalitan lang ng iba. at itong boss din namin dito, aba, feeling ko nagpapasikat. kabago-bago pa lang kasi eh. so dapat mega ganda points sa mga nakatataas. hmph! supposedly last week pa ang release pero ngayon may problem. next week na naman. kanina may problem na naman. mega escape na nga ako kanina kasi pagod na at gutom, hinabol ba naman ako ng tawag. una sa taxi. then pangalawa nung nasa bahay na ko. pero in fairness, hindi na masungit kung makipag-usap sa kin ang boss ko ngayon. unlike dati na parang tigre pag kausapin ako.

which brings to my next point. dahil sa kasungitan nya, wala akong ganang mag-trabaho. nag mega apply ako actually. ang dami din namang tumawag. medyo marami na rin akong phone interviews. pero lahat binagsak ko! yung 8+ years experience ko sa c++ ay walang sinabi sa mga kailangan ng mga nag-interview sa kin. pero actually hindi ako sa interview bumagsak eh. sa exams lahat at sa isang mega technical interview.

nakaka-depress. feeling ko ang bobo ko na pala. 8+ years wala akong binatbat!

ang mga tinarget ko na investment banks, wala ni isa nag-contact. hindi talaga ako qualified dun with my background. hindi masyado masakit kasi wala lang talaga ako nung kelangan na mga skills.

second merong isang startup na financial company. over the phone ang technical interview. my gaaddd!!! super technical talaga. sa third question pa lang, ayoko na. buti na lang hininto na namin. di actually masakit kasi nagdadalawang isip ako sa isang startup. baka dun na ko mamatay sa opisina nun sa mega ng trabaho.

third sa lta. gusto ko dito dati kasi government office. maganda ang perks and benefits. buti na lang di ako swak actually sa hinahanap nila. di ako puede sa security and crypto. di ako puede component level programming. at lalong wala akong experience sa .net. buti na lang kasi sabi nung manager usually 11pm umuuwi karamihan ng tao nila. di ko na binenta actually sarili ko. so ok lang.

fourth sa borland. hmmm, medyo half-hearted yung application ko dito. tatlong positions ang pinag-submitan ng dalawang agents sa borland. sinubmit ko pa ang resume ko sa isang kakilala. may edge pa sana ako dun sa exam na puro essay. inansweran ko halos lahat kahit di ko masyadong alam ang concept. na-dedo yata ako dun dahil lumalabas na nag-gue-guess lang ako ng answers at mali mali ang pagkaintindi ko. totoo naman. although, hindi naman ako totally naghahangad na mag-work sa kanila, parang bruised lang yung ego ko na hindi na ko tinawagan after nung exam.

fifth sa ea games! wow! ea games! naisip ko agad playstation, psp, nintendo ds, at pc games. bigatin. na-excite akong isipin na eto na yung chance kong makagawa ng games. hmmm, pero nung pumunta ako sa office nila, di ko na-typean. maganda actually ang office pero yung mga tao parang hindi ko feel. at ang exam pa, mega hirap! pinag-code ba naman kami nung mga itoa at atoi functions at mga binary search tree functions. plus nagtanong pa about mga running time. gusto ko nang itigil actually. at nung sinabihan akong time na, well, ang saya ko. walang follow up call. ok lang. hindi masakit.

sixth sa isang japanese company. gusto ko dito! sobra! konti lang sila sa office pero napaka-homey. naalala ko yung vicon and nec. parang pinaghalo nung dalawa. maliit na japanese firm. mabait ang manager. obviously sa interview, gusto nila ako. may take home assignment daw for the next na evaluation. kinindatan pa ko nung HR na kayang kaya ko yun. team lead yung position at visual c++. naku, my skill sabi ko! nung inemail yung assignment, nag-panic ako! drag and drop mechanism between splitter windows! gosh! di ko na-implement ang drag and drop dati sa project. pano ko sya magagawa in one week??? humingi ako ng extension. binigay naman. lumampas pa rin ako ng ilang oras sa extended deadline. tumawag ang agent at sabi na inaantay nila ang assignment ko. lahat nakapag-submit na daw at ako actually ang kanilang gusto sana. buti na lang nagawa ko. hay, kaya ko palang i-implement ang drag and drop. but sad to say, hindi yata at par yung implementation ko sa ibang candidates. eh, pano ba naman? spaghetti yung code ko dahil sa kaka-trial and error ng mga mfc functions. :( eto medyo masakit. gusto ko sana yung company kahit alam kong di nila kayang tapatan ang benefits ko ngayon.

ang huli yung pinakagusto ko sa lahat. ang autodesk. dumaan ako sa matagal na screening. isang 1 hour phone interview tungkol sa project ko dati. grabeh ang pag-gisa sa kin. buti na lang nasagot ko lahat. next 1 and a half hour phone technical interview. ay, eto inisip ko baka di ako pumasa. super hirap. pero ini-schedule nila ako ng final screening which composed of three parts. hanggang first part lang ako. technical exam. meron multiple choice about c++ concepts, multiple choice about mfc, and determining the output ng c++ code. inisip ko baka mababa lang ako dun sa concepts and mfc kasi nakalimutan ko na. medyo confident ako sa code. pero baligtad ang kinalabasan. ang taas ng concepts at mfc ko. bagsak ako sa code! dun ako mega disappointed sa sarili ko. di ko inakala na ganun ko ka hindi nakuha yung mga outputs nung code. nakita ko yung mga tricky statements pero bumagsak pa rin ako? napaisip tuloy ako if tama ba yung answer sheet nila. kasi naman halimbawa yung operator- nila eh addition ang ginagawa sa loob. pero hindi ko tinry i-refute yun kasi baka isiping nagmamarunong lang ako. kahit yung manager medyo na-disappoint. ang taas daw ng expectations nila kasi ok yung first two screenings ko. at pinapapunta lang nila sa office nila for the final three parts ng screening pag sure na silang malaki ang chance na matatanggap. pero nakakatakot din actually ang second part nung tinanong ko kung ano yun. ang sabi eh design walkthrough. ngak! parang bibigyan yata ako ng design problem at i-so-solve on the spot. in a way, parang ok na rin kasi baka atakehin ako sa nerbiyos kung umabot ako dun. pero ang ganda dun sobra. may mga naka-shorts lang. yung iba mga 11am na dumating. ang autodesk ay isa sa 100 best employers in 2006 sa US. wear anything you want ang isa sa mga policies nila. handa na sana akong naka-casual dress parati. hehehe. nagawa pang magbiro kahit bigo! :(

hay, ayaw ko munang mag-apply. hindi na yata ako puede sa development. pero inisip ko in a way they all lost a potential very good employee. nag-trace ako nung lahat ng mga projects ko dati sa entire working life ko. wala akong boss na naging unsatisfied sa performance ko. nakapag-deliver ako ng mga software of high quality! naks! nagyabang. pero totoo naman. ang hirap lang talaga pala ng screening ng mga companies dito. actually lumulusot ako sa interview. pero pag may halong mega technical, medyo pumapalya na ako. kailangan ko na yatang mag-review. pagpatuloy ko pa ba ang development? or stick na lang ako dito sa validation?

sa bagay, maganda rin ang future ng validation. at siguro stick muna sandali dito sa kumpanya ko ngayon. nagiging mabait na sa akin ang boss ko. at pinaparinggan pa nya ako ng team lead role sa validation. ayan! yung mga nag-deny sa kin, ay wala, they lost what could have been a valuable engineer. sa susunod dapat nagtatawag sila nung references ko. or kahit dun sa mga dati kong managers or supervisors. medyo kampante ako na puro papuri ang maririnig nila except na lang siguro na distracting ang exotic na kagandahan ko! hehehe.

hahay ulit. kakapagod tong sobrang subsob sa trabaho. affected na rin ang social life ko. di ko na maatupag ang aking dearly beloved fwends. sa office, pinapaalis ko agad pag gustong makipag-chikahan. sorry janz and neil. i'll make it up next time. hahalikan ko kayo. di na rin ako makasama sa lunchout ng aking pinakamamahal na mag sweethearts. sorry sue and johnex. sama na ko ulit two weeks from now. hehehe. mahal ko pa rin naman kayo. at di ko na maatupag ang aking mga crush. nagkawatak watak na sila sa aking isipan! :p

depressing ang stress at ang ma reject ng maraming beses especially nung dalawang kumpanyang gusto ko. pero sige lang. hindi siguro talaga ako dun dapat.

it's time for plan b. ay plan c na lang pala! :)

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napahaba na nitong monologue ko. puede nang maging piece sa linggo ng wika! :p

mainit na talakayan

a filipino writer had created quite a stir recently earning the ire of a lot of OFWs. i wanted to share my views as well about her distasteful articles, letters, and personality; but i read this blog and it says it all:

http://whatdowecare.blogspot.com/2007/08/regarding-malu-fernandez.html

i've heard of some who are not totally disagreeable to what she wrote, claiming that she has the right to pen her opinions. to this i say that everybody else has the right to judge her in turn.

and what a stir she'd indeed made. i'm not sure if this is her real public apology letter; but she surely reaped ugly consequences:

http://www.geocities.com/fernandez_malu

vanity is my favorite sin - the devil's advocate

You Are 50% Vain

You're a little vain, but more than anything you have a healthy amount of confidence. Thinking the world of yourself is great. Just don't think less of those who aren't as pretty as you!

How Vain Are You?

nihon turipu apr 20: memoirs of a geisha

i was already panicky! not paniki mind you. may kaitiman ako pero pasado pa rin ako sa pagiging angel because of my angelic nature naks! naalala ko lang kasi ang isang story that went:

a black baby is given a pair of wings by a fairy. the baby asked, "does this mean i'm an angel?" to which the fairy laughed and said, "ambisyosa ka! paniki ka!"

hwek hwek hwek. anyways, before i chatter only nonsense here, let me go back to my japan account.

i was already panicky! it was already the 20th. i was 2 days away from going home. :( there were a gazillion things i still wanted to do! :( like:

1. go to koyasan and spend overnight in one of the buddhist temples, wake up at dawn and pray with the monks, and have vegetarian meals at a minimum whooping cost of 9,000 yen (lunok)
2. go to himeji castle, the biggest and most beautiful castle in japan (sigh)
3. go to odaiba, my favorite place in tokyo (sigh)
4. do some souvenir shopping (panic)
5. go back to nagaoka to say goodbye, beso-beso, and hug mae, danna, and rizza (sakit sa dibdib)
6. go back to kyoto and be a maiko or apprentice geisha for 2 hours for a minimum whooping cost of 6,500 yen (waaaahhhh)
7. go back to kyoto to visit fushimi inari

and the list can go on!

but i could only do one due to my limited time, depleting moolah, and reserved plans for the night and the remaining next day (ahem!). i really wanted to be a geisha. i was already prepared of withdrawing money from either my credit card or atm; but i thought against it because with the little time i had left, i wouldn't be able to enjoy my being a maiko for a day. balak ko talaga kasing maglakad sa daan at ibent ang aking mizuage. i was already imagining my sales pitch to handsome locals and foreigners:

sumimasen. mizuage o buy-shimasen ka? watashi no mizuage ha oishii desu. onegai shimasu! big discount if hansamuna hito ka!

hehehe. sa mga marunong mag nihongo jan, pasensya na. tagpi tagpi lang ang alam ko! :p

anyways, i decided of going to fushimi inari instead to trace the trail where sayuri of memoirs of the geisha ran. it was a good decision! grabeh!


the orange torii was everywhere in all sizes. this was where the child sayuri in the movie memoirs of a geisha ran through. i can't recall the exact scene, though. i tried to imitate the running of sayuri but everytime i finish setting up my camera on a tripod and go inside the torii, people would be appearing from everywhere. eh, mahiyain ako so i ended up with half baked acting. di puedeng maging artista si emman.

the place was very big that i spent almost 2 hours there roaming around. well, torii galore lang naman ang meron dun but i still found it mesmerizing.

after sa pag-career ko ng pagiging photographer and model at the same time from all the photo shoots, i surveyed the neighborhood restaurants to sample their local dishes. i passed by one restaurant to the next contemplating on having an unagi don (eel meal or ill meal if u don't like it hehehe) because i haven't eaten one yet. i ended up in a restaurant at the middle of the lined restaurants just because the very old lady who was there smiled at me. her unagi don was more expensive than the ones in the other restaurants i passed by; but my heart melted to the old lady's, somehow, imploring smile. there weren't any customers kasi sa restaurant nya. but good thing was, i wasn't disappointed with my first ever taste of eel. :)


from osaka then to fushimi inari, kyoto, i was then headed to tokyo. it was really a blessing that i had a japan railway pass. it allowed me to travel great distances in a few hours only via shinkansen or bullet train.

eto ang babaeng walang pahinga


dahil sa sobrang nasanay na sa lamig, nainitan na ko during lunch time. confi na ulit mag sleeveless si emman kaya ang mga haponeses ay nakatingin sa akin. i was actually walking like that in fushimi inari. ;)

when i arrived at tokyo at night, i met up with lily ann, lloyd, and tess at the tokyo tower.

and dinner with the friendships, tokyo edition: lily, lloyd, jay, tess, and grace. thanks guys for the hospitality and wonderful company. (singhot, hikbi)

after whole day of travelling and good night of dinner and chatter with the friendships, i went home to the open arms of a disco bar and partied all night until the wee hours of dawn with who else? abangan na lang sa apr 21 story! :p

the filipino name generator

dongky sent to the friendships mailing list this funny filipino name generator. he included in the email the "equivalent" filipino name of my name. :p

Emmanuel Villaceran (M) - Manuel Allan Pangarap Callangan
Emmanuel Villaceran (F) - Evangeline Pilar Little Flower Quililan

tama bang may Male at Female version ang name ko???? wala bang girlalou? hehehe. medyo swak sa akin ang name ng Male kasi mahilig akong mangarap. at hindi rin nalalayo sa pagiging true ang Female version kasi may tinatago akong little flower! wehehehe.

hmmm, what if i change my name according to the name generator's suggestion? ma-try nga ang iba't ibang combinations. and makapili alin ang super duper swak sa personality ko. :D

Emman Villaceran (F) - Evangeline Pilar Little Flower Quililan
Emman Villaceran (M) - German Allan Pangarap Callangan
emms villaceran (F) - Estrella Pilar Little Flower Quililan
emms villaceran (M) - German Allan Pangarap Callangan
emmanuel pescador villaceran (F) - Evangeline Xalbadora Little Flower Quililan
emmanuel pescador villaceran (M) - Manuel Pedring Pangarap Callangan
emman pescador villaceran (F) - Evangeline Xalbadora Little Flower Quililan
emman pescador villaceran (M) - German Pedring Pangarap Callangan
emms pescador villaceran (F) - Estrella Xalbadora Little Flower Quililan
emms pescador villaceran (M) - German Pedring Pangarap Callangan

for sure ayokong maging pedring at pilar. mapili na nga ang evangeline xalbadora little flower quililan. just call me little flower for short. kasi makipot ako! har har har! :p

try it out at http://rumandmonkey.com/widgets/toys/namegen/6547/

nihon turipu apr 19: let there be peace and party afterwards!

at this point of my travel tale, i won't post the map of japan anymore to show where i went next because from this day until i went home, i only had to go back to a few places that i'd been to before.

like the previous day, emman was up at around 5 am. you can conclude by now that the place i was staying for two nights is a place that closes and shoos away their customers at 5 in the morning!

here's a blurred photo i took of an otherwise bustling hakata city had it been later than 5 am.


at past 7 am, i was headed back to hiroshima. i was there two days before but had to go back for two reasons: the a-bomb dome and the best okonomiyaki.

i got to the peace memorial park, where the a-bomb or atomic bomb dome still stands as the symbol of hiroshima city, at around 9 am. i only took pictures of the place, its structures and symbols with nary me in them because aside from being too exhausted from having less than 5 hours sleep and walking for 30 minutes from the train station to the park, it just didn't feel right to be posing ala-beauty queen flashing a fake smile and voluptuous body. :p i felt that the place which was nearly wiped out by the atomic bomb had to be "felt" and reflected on. yeah, i had some drama moments there.

being there also amazed me at how the japanese citizens are the number one tourists of their own country. it was early in the morning but there were groups of school children and groups of adults touring around, examining the surroundings, and seriously talking about what they see.


aside from the a-bomb dome, hiroshima is famed for its okonomiyaki. i already had a yoshinoya breakfast. despite being full, i still had to have a taste of the okonomiyaki which was cooked right in front of me! waaahhhh, i just had a mistake of saying yes when the cook asked me if i wanted soba or udon. i really thought that that was a basic ingredient to the dish. grrrr! it turned out to be an add-on. i ended up paying more and having a 3/4 of the original size leftover! but it was worth it! yummy!


after hiroshima, i went all the way back to osaka to meet my gracious and beauteous osaka host, lola kay, and three other gorgeous lasses, lola idel, lola rose, and lola anna mae. unfortunately, lola idel was sick and lola rose allowed herself to be enslaved by her boss in ways i cannot imagine! hehehe. so the three girls, moi, kay, and anna mae, had ramen in a ramen house with a cute guy whom we kept calling for water, soy sauce, more orders, and what nots! but he would send another guy instead to do our bidding! grrrr... and the fun part of our dinner was talking in japanese to the guy asking for their part time job! he was smitten right then and there by us ladies! :p

afterwards, us ladies went down to an empty bar and danced until past 11pm. and it was a thursday night! para kaming mga baliw sumasayaw sa dance floor na kaming tatlo lang! but it was fun beyond craziness! ;)


idel nikuyog unta ka! naka-harvat mi didto girl! :p

nihon turipu apr 18: going dutch

at 5 am i was already out in the streets of hakata. i had a glimpse of how southern japan's metropolis feels like at the break of dawn in springtime. it felt cold but not indifferent. it felt serene despite the concrete structures that surrounded me. or maybe it just felt wonderful to be fully awake at 5am, solitary in streets that are bustling during daytime.

ang nasabi ko talaga: wow! ang aga ni emman! :)

when i got to hakata station, i also saw some disturbing scenes. the train station was littered with vagrants sleeping on boxes laid on cold floor. the exploratory nature in me actually had a crazy thought of trying it out myself in the coming night: sleeping on the floor at one of the nooks in the train station just to have a feel of it, to experience it; but seeing a police officer harass one of the homeless and the latter fighting back to get more sleep, i reprimanded myself for thinking of such silly thoughts. i should be feeling compassion for those people instead of feeling adventurous. well, that's contrast for you. japan, despite its affluence, cannot shelter everyone.

i stayed at mister donut for over an hour waiting for the train station to start operating. in 2 hours time, i was already aboard a rapid train going to huis ten bosch, the farthest i got to southward during my solo trip in japan.

since the south was the warmest part of japan at that time, i changed into something daring. hehehe. i wore a sleeveless shirt, my pajama-like trousers with leg warmers underneath, a pair of violet toe socks, and slippers. yeah, nabuang si emman for a while. when i got off a the huis ten bosch train station, ay naku, it was the coldest ever, as in EVER during my trip there. it was raining hard and i think huis ten bosch was on higher altitude. so emman changed again. this time full gear. i had layers of clothes! sleeveless shirt underneath a long sleeve shirt underneath a jacket underneath a trench coat! asa ka ana! :p


since it was raining, i bought an umbrella. when i set off towards the huis ten bosch park, ay naku, i knew that the rain and strong wind wouldn't deter me from exploring the whole place. the place was spectacular! it was a true dutch sight!

below is the huis ten bosch palace which is a replica of netherland's queen beatrix' palace. huis ten bosch, by the way, means house in the forest.

the goddess and her windmills.

gosh! the most expensive solo meal of my life! but it was all worth it: beef steak, strawberry white chocolate mousse, sparkling wine, and all!

an aerial view of huis ten bosch. how did i take it? i flew of course! :p nah, it was taken in the tallest building there which was a clock tower.

huis ten bosch wasn't just dutch structures and flowers. it was an amusement park at the same time. i went into a lot of museums including a teddy bear museum and a bell museum. there were also some virtual shows. the most unforgettable one was a galactic virtual show where the audience are participants themselves in the movie. before the show, we had our faces scanned. we were not allowed to smile or make any funny or weird faces. so emman, instead, made a maldita face by raising her left eyebrow.

movie time, i was looking what character i portrayed. and my ging gang gooly goodness gracious! my face appeared as one of the guardians/defenders/warriors of that galactic story! ang masakit ay lalaki ang role ko! waaaahhhh! at ang mas masakit pa, yung katabi kong hapon na lalaki ay babae sya sa movie! nakasaya sya! gosh! pero buti na lang leader kunyari ako nung tropa ng mga warriors! and in the end i saved the day! charing! :p yeah, being a guardian was better than those other roles na receiver or other ek-ek na puro chika lang ang ginawa during the entire movie, while my face was careening here and there in the screen aboard a motorcycle like vehicle that flies. i was pursuing the enemies and trying to save the entire galaxy! o diva! hehehe.

huis ten bosch is one place tourists shouldn't miss. you'll get a glimpse of europe. plus there are lots of fun things to do there. oh there was also an open zoo nearby where one could feed the animals roaming around. mga deers na naman! but there were other animals. i wasn't able to go because it was raining damn hard! at least i'll have reason to go back! teehee! :p

when i went back to hakata at night, i was dead tired that i slept right away in.... hmmm... wherever :p

ay ewan ko sayo!

minsan masyado na yata akong nagiging assuming. dahil may ginawa lang ako para sa iba, iniisip ko na gagawin din nila sa akin ang kagaya ng ginawa ko! hmph to him! and hmph to myself na rin for expecting too much!

pero tuloy pa rin ako! i'm sure i'll have a grand time with the others! phuket here i come once again!

ma-inggit ka na lang maging sino ka man! hmph! sumama ka dun sa kanya sa bangkok! grrr...

small world phenomenon: the emman connection

i'm enjoying recalling all the small world moments i've had since i started living in singapore. i have so many tales to tell. i remember even writing that singapore has become my island. recently, janz even told me that i can run for public office and win. well, we'll see. :p

there's just one experience i want to relay. being connected with me in one way or another has benefits of great magnitude! charing!

once, a friend of alvin, my hunk of a housemate, was lost in singapore. not really lost as to direction but lost in a sense that she did not know what to do.

she was at a place where she was scared to be although it wasn't really scary at all; but being new and alone in singapore for the first time, it's understandable. her only contact was alvin's house number. our house number. she didn't have any other numbers of her other friends.

she called up our house and was a bit panicky already with her situation. she needed someone to fetch her from where she was. hindi sa pag-bubuhat ng sarili kong silya but it was a good thing i was in the house when she called up. alvin's mobile was unreachable. sue, stan, and johnny didn't know her. hermes' and chrismael's numbers were unreachable as well. and i didn't have the numbers of her other friends.

well, emman thought. it's time to pull out the friendster connection list! hehehe. i recalled being introduced to one of my friend from nsp, cha's friend, juvy, whom i met one time with joan, the friend of alvin and who also happens to be a friend of the friend of alvin who was lost! ang daming friend! hehehe. so i got joan's number through juvy whose number i got from cha! friendster.com! :p and so she was fetch by her friends after i was able to call up joan!

emman saved the day! it pays to be connected with emman! wehehehe. :p

if you need something may it require to be done in africa, new zealand, tahiti or wherever, just call me! my fees are.... priceless!!! :p

small world phenomenon: better than ezra

i loved two songs from better than ezra: desperately wanting and good. but this post is not about those songs or about the band. this is about my newfound hunk and handsome of a friend going by the monicker of ezra! naks! magiging feeling na yun if mabasa nya to! kaka-add ko pa lang naman sa kanya sa multiply! :p hehehe

ez, huminahon ka. it's not all about you, promise. it's all about how the world has conspired for us to get together in the most extraordinarily small world way! :p charing! this post is, rather, about the thing that is better than ezra. it's the small world phenomenon that connects us.

i met ezra during my flight back to singapore january of this year. he was one of the flight attendants of cebu pacific. he looked very familiar. i didn't mind him, though, despite his good looks (charing! ayan guapo ka na ha. gibaligya jud taka ser) because i contented myself with thoughts that he was probably a schoolmate in college. besides i was to engrossed with some other being in my mind at that time. then out of nowhere he came up to me and said "emmanuel villaceran?". aba! full name basis ito!

i was surprised. and he narrated a litany of things that connect us! what amazed me was he knows a lot of things about me and i didn't even know what his name was! hehehe. (sorry ez, i really had a bad memory). he said we were schoolmates in high school. he went to our house once since his mother was of the same province as my father. and the shocking thing was his ex-girlfriend was the daughter of my mother's friend in the states. and that he knew that i met his ex-girlfriend in 2005! gosh! stalker ba ito? hehehe.

anyways, i thought it would end there. but i was wrong.

yesterday, my new officemate janz who used to work in nsp told me that israel sent his regards to me. he said israel is staying at the house where he is staying since his housemate is israel's friend.

yes. israel is ezra!

earlier ezra called me up to meet with him. he said he was bringing along the friend whom he's staying with, janz' housemate. tantantararan! when i met him, his friend lutchie looked familiar! she's the one whom i saw regularly near our place in cebu! ang liit na ng mundo ko talaga!

all throughout our dinner i found out that ezra is not just my schoolmate in high school but he used to be my classmate in elementary!!!! gosh! hindi ko talaga maalala ser! sowee... hehehe... he even described that i was a silent boy/girl/gay back then! kaya naging best in deportment! hehehe. he even remembered where i was sitting and who was sitting in front of me! gosh! nakakatakot na! stalker na talaga ito! hahaha... joke lang.... bilib lang ako sa memory ni ezra! and i felt envious that my classmates in elementary had a mini reunion at his house recently!

ang tanda ko na talaga. i don't recall any of them anymore including ez. hehehe.... sorry ser... sana i made it up with the mega dinner na napilitan kang kainin! hehehe. :p

it was a fun night! and looking forward to see you again! ;)