japan pics

no post lately as i'd been busy with uploading more pics at my multiply site due to popular demand! hehehe... actually, i already uploaded about 204 pictures there but since there were some requests to add more, then i'd been editing some captions here and there, and selecting those photos which are worth sharing. i couldn't share all as it would drive multiply crazy having about 1400 pics uploaded at one time! yeah i have over 1400 pictures during the trip. i only uploaded only a little less than 600 shots. they're the interesting ones naman. so visit my multiply site at www.emmanv.multiply.com for the pictures.

tataaa...

nihon turipu apr 10: lone wanderer started to wander

this day started my lone wandering in the different sites of nihon. from nagaoka, i went to niigata. tooooooooooooo cold! but the place was beautiful! it was like tokyo minus the crowd.

the sakuras lined along the canal are found at the back of the nagaoka station. my friends who lived there didn't know about it but the gay who stayed there for a night only discovered the beautiful blossoms! and what else did i discover there? well, nothing much except that a lot of young guys were stealing glances at me.

oh, no wonder! i was a fashion victim again! ang lamiiiiiigggggg super! nakangiti yan jan sa baba pero numb na ang kamay. i had to wear everything i had in my day travelling bag. in niigata, i went to their observatory to observe. ano pa nga ba? hehehe. i walked for about 30 to 45 minutes from the station to that building behind me.

career change

i've been contemplating it for some time already. there are signs! ang dami kong pinagpipilian ngayon. the opportunities are just right in front of me. all i have to do is choose. but alin ba dito?
1. technical/application/production support (nandito ang moolah eh)
2. qa tester or qa lead for a gaming company (huwow!!! i'll get paid for playing games in all imaginable consoles and platforms! waaaahhhh... this will be a dream come true!!! yeah, there's an opening!!! kaba. kaba. kaba.)
3. software engineer with 75% travel overseas (frequent travel??? frequent travel!!! FREQUENT TRAVEL?!?!?!)
4. google (need i say more??? they're opening an r&d here!!!)

so alin ba jan? ha? can't i just be a game tester at google travelling 75% of the time and paid like an application support in a swiss bank??? waaaahhhh, libog! ahhh, sa mga tagalog, i mean libog to be gulo sa isip!

gosh! i have to decide! az if matanggap noh? :p

bye bye love

hay, he's out. i saw it coming, though. and i'm not sad unlike when elliott was booted out last year. siguro na rin because the four left are very deserving to be in the top 4. anyways, i'd like to retract what i wrote kaninang madaling araw na i'll die if chris is eliminated! hindi pala puede! aside from hindi pa ko ready, sino mag-aalaga kay chris pag wala na ang soulmate nya??? :p

so it's down to four. the three divas and the beat boxer. i'm expecting even more votes going in as the four are really good! go jordin! and melinda! and blake! and lakisha! hehehe. sino ba talaga? :p

to chris, don't worry. you're my american idol! heck, you're my universal idol! my galactic idol! i love you TOO! mwah! :p

joke muna

hihihi... wala lang... read these from one of the mailing lists i subscribe to... tawang tawa ako sa tatlong to! :D

Isang pangit na babae, hinoholdap
Holdaper:Holdap ito!Akin na gamit mo!
Babae (sumigaw): RAPE! RAPE! RAPE!
Holdaper:Anong rape?Holdap nga to eh!
Babae:Nagsa-suggest lang.

Pare 1:Pare parang malalim ang iniisip mo!
Pare 2:Nanaginip ako kagabi kasama ko 50 contestants ng Ms. Universe
Pare 1:Swerte mo! ano problema mo?
Pare 2:Pare ako nanalo!

Sa isang mumurahing airline:
Stewardess:Sir,would you like some dinner?
Passenger:Ano ba ang mga choices?
Stewardess:Yes or No lang po

nihon turipu apr 9: the start of the vagabond life

this day marked the start of my vagabondish trip: wandering from one place to the next, crashing at friends' places or wondering where to wander or, worst, where to sleep next! hehehe. i went to nagaoka to visit two very good friends, mae and rizza. :)

and i got to see my grown inaanak, danna, once more. how the time had passed!

i stayed at rizza's place and slept a bit earlier than usual (12 midnight ms rhyze?) to prepare for the big things the next day. there were five things that were extra memorable this day:
1. it was the first time i boarded a shinkansen (bullet train) which had comfier seats than airplanes.
2. i got to see mae, danna, wawang, and rhyze.
3. i discovered that a walk along eerie dimly lit streets on a very cold spring night will make you blow cold steam from your mouth as if you're smoking just to keep yourself from getting scared.
4. i discovered that japanese men never check out on you (your eyes, lips, face, body, legs, etc) no matter how hot you are! :p
5. the best itlog maalat i had in my life was had at mae's house during dinner. it was courtesy of ms rizza!

i'll stand by you

- by the pretenders -


Oh, why you look so sad?
Tears are in your eyes
Come on and come to me now
Dont be ashamed to cry
Let me see you through
cause Ive seen the dark side too
When the night falls on you
You dont know what to do
Nothing you confess
Could make me love you less

Ill stand by you
Ill stand by you
Wont let nobody hurt you
Ill stand by you

So if youre mad, get mad
Dont hold it all inside
Come on and talk to me now
Hey, what you got to hide?
I get angry too
Well Im a lot like you
When youre standing at the crossroads
And dont know which path to choose
Let me come along
cause even if youre wrong

Ill stand by you
Ill stand by you
Wont let nobody hurt you
Ill stand by you
Take me in, into your darkest hour
And Ill never desert you
Ill stand by you

And when...
When the night falls on you, baby
Youre feeling all alone
You wont be on your own

Ill stand by you
Ill stand by you
Wont let nobody hurt you

Ill stand by you
Take me in, into your darkest hour
And Ill never desert you
Ill stand by you
Ill stand by you
Wont let nobody hurt you
Ill stand by you
Wont let nobody hurt you
Ill stand by you

i've heard it twice on american idol already and love, love, love, love the song! maybe because i could have sung this to someone. awwww! but it actually goes out to all of you my beloved friends out there. MUWAHHHH!!! :D

here's a lovely video of this song! but oh, gosh, just great! two american idol hopefuls on it both of whom remind me of two other people i know so i find it quite weird; nevertheless, chris is oh so handsome! :D http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZ31Qgtym0o&mode=related&search=

and oh, i watched tonight's performances and was quite disappointed with jordin's performance. i'd been banking on her since she sang "i who have nothing" but tonight she was the worst! blake and melinda were the best! chris was adorable and i hope he stays. i'll die if he doesn't! hehehe. phil had a good voice but didn't like him. lakisha's was so-so. the latter two should go home. i'm still rooting for jordin! :p

memoirs of a "gay siya": straight

suzie: uhm, to starhub bldg...

uncle driver: ohkay... hmm, so your friend doesn't work with you?

suzie: sorry?

uncle driver: i mean, you don't work at the same place?

suzie: oh.. nope, i'm working at starhub.

uncle: straight?

suzie: hm yeah.. (sinabi ko na nga na starhub bldg e..)

uncle: oh really? i thought your friend was more of a girl rather than a guy!

suzie: oh you were asking if my friend was straight? i thought you were asking if we should go straight!

uncle: yeah, no wonder! but i think i don't need to ask. i know already.

suzie: ok. :)

________________________________

a verbatim et literatim retelling

of a timeless dialogue

written by

suzie cutie!

:D

a walk in an untrodden path

i walked and talked with a friend a while ago. haven't done that with him for some time now. it's refreshing to get to do that once in a while with people whom you connect with, with people whom you share your thoughts with, unbarred and spontaneous, and who, likewise, share everything about themselves with you.

we talked about how things here have become "the same" to past situations. it's actually just the monotony of everything. once you get so used to the place, everything seems routinary. even for someone like me who constantly seeks new things to do, new people to meet, and new ideas and emotions to explore, there comes a point when where i am becomes humdrum.

after i sent off my friend at the station, i continued walking on past the place where i live just so i could have an exercise, ponder on things i did this year, and reflect on what my friend and i talked about. i treaded the path i haven't used before. and i treaded it on a late night. it had helped me put things in perspective. there's still so much to experience.

i've known it like forever ago, but i have to be reminded of it once in a while because our zest for life tend to wane in the midst of perplexities and adversities. it's the same case as love that starts to lose its flavor when you don't see your beloved, but it still beats in you. it runs the risk of being lost when it shouldn't be because it's too lovely to be forgotten or cast away.

once, a friend told me that he planned on dying at the age of 40 because he didn't want to get so old. someone else once told me that 70 would be the right age for him to leave this world as by that time he would become bored with life. but i think that a thousand years to live wouldn't be enough for me to experience everything that there is. there is just so much. places to go to. cultures to experience. food to taste. songs to hear. people to love. people to hate. feelings to relish. there is so much that even in the things that may seem similar to us are not at all similar but vary in one way or another. for example, one's feelings for someone cannot be the same for another one even if you call it love for both. if we are able to relish our experiences, i think we'll be able to hold on to a life that's vibrant, never dull, and never boring.

when i went to japan, my senses were alive due to the new things that i was experiencing. when i came back to singapore, it was like i turned back to my routinary lifestyle. my senses became passive as everything around me was familiar. what i failed to realize was that even in a very familiar place, new things abound waiting to be done and discovered. even in your regular companions and friends, there are things that can be learned.

walking an untreaded path tonight reminded me of this. in a place that i've become used to, i can take on paths i haven't taken on. i can take a walk with old friends and discover things that are new with them. i can even dream new things. that would still be something new. there's just so much to do in life that not a thousand nor even a million years would afford me to experiencing.

nihon turipu apr 8: araw ng pag-ibig

SECRET!!! :p

hehehe. well, it was just an afternoon of coffee and strolling with roland at roppongi. a night of dinner with roland, nobu, and rob. and a late night of dancing at arty farty with (who else?) roland, kazuya, and hiroshi. i just met nobu, kazuya, and hiroshi that day. very nice gays indeed, not to mention, good looking! :D

L to R: moi, roland who doesn't smile coz he said
he looks better not smiling, nobu (good looking and
good natured), and rob the wacky