Salamin - Trivial Stuff

I Knew It!

nospam@example.com (kathy) — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 08:43:13 -0600

Oh yes. I can be fun and trivial too. My way of relaxing on a Friday night, after a lonnggggg and exhausting, demanding week at work.

I found this cool site through my wicked sister Lai, who's now back to blogging after a long hiatus. Welcome back, Evil K.

So, you want to find out who my celebrity look-alikes are?
Continue reading "I Knew It!"

Let's Hear it From Ms. Hyde!

nospam@example.com (kathy) — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 18:47:21 -0600

I don't have to convince anyone about my being weird. My wicked sisters are totally convinced that their Ate is one of the weirdest persons on the planet. Read on to know why they thought so.

Lest I forget, this is in response to SexyMom's tag (also known as a meme): write 6 weird things about yourself.

Continue reading "Let's Hear it From Ms. Hyde!"

Goin' Loco Over Choco

nospam@example.com (kathy) — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 15:42:38 -0700

A few photos taken at our Christmas lunch at Cafe Elegance in Ninomiya.

It just looks too nice to drink.

A Visit from the Programmer

nospam@example.com (kathy) — Wed, 27 Dec 2006 22:49:22 -0700

Found this on the web. Just cute. "A Visit from St. Nicholas," with a twist. I'm dedicating this poem to the super-programmer in the house, ol' Baggy dudes.

Twas the night before implementation and all through the house,
not a program was working, not even a browse.
The programmers hung by their tubes in despair,
with hopes that a miracle soon would be there.

Continue reading "A Visit from the Programmer"

Trigger Happy Me

nospam@example.com (kathy) — Sat, 15 Apr 2006 21:12:22 -0600

Happy Easter Sunday!

I'm really into shooting flowers nowadays. Maybe I'm just happy with spring finally being here and all. I am really getting hooked. Everywhere you look there are so many flowers, from the lowly dandelions to the regal-like tulips. I really need a better camera - but in the meantime, here's what I am getting from our Canon Powershot S45.

Sobrang daming flowers, nakakagigil. Rarr. Indulge me while I fill this page with flowers. Just for now, ne?

Ever wondered how the tulip looks inside? Here's peeking into the tulip's "reproductive organs" hehe. Embarrasing for the plant.

The orange was screaming so loud at me, I just had to take a pic! One of the marigolds found at Matsumi Koen in Amakubo, Tsukuba.

Open wide! One of the marigolds found at Matsumi Koen in Amakubo, Tsukuba.

Di ba ito yung dandelion na pinagkakaguluhan ng mga prehistoric animals sa Ice Age? In Japanese, this is known as "tampopo" (thanks to Aya chan for the translation!)

Danda ng white daisies! Kuha rin to sa Matsumi Koen.

Here We Go Again!

nospam@example.com (kathy) — Thu, 06 Apr 2006 05:46:55 -0600

Well, Baggy has almost finished playing FFX. I wanted him to finish the game ASAP so that we can resume playing FFXII. As it turns out, finishing Jecht off is not so easy. It hadn't been easy the first time, but at least back then we spent many hours building up our characters' strengths and powers. This time around I think Baggy rushed things a bit too much. His characters still lacked the powers to finish off the last and most crucial battle of all.

Sigh. By the looks of it, it seems that I may have to wait far longer than I expected.

And so we meet again, Sir Jecht.

Yuna and company listen intently to Jecht's revelations.

The company's all here! From the left: Sir Auron, Wakka, Yuna, Tidus, Lulu, Kimahri, and Rikku.

Tidus: Let's end this!

And so we meet again. Good luck na lang sa inyo mhahaha.

Back to Gaming...(sort of)

nospam@example.com (kathy) — Tue, 21 Mar 2006 04:42:53 -0700

The last game I've ever played on PS2 was Final Fantasy X (FFX), about four years ago. That was about the time when Aya was born. Since we had to spend many a night wide awake tending to her, we were able to finish the game spending a lot of time up to the wee hours of the morning. As a newborn baby Aya would just sleep clutched in our arms (of course we had to take turns). It was as much fun to watch the game as playing it.

Here's the cover of the just-released Final Fantasy XII.

After that, well, we just became too busy to play anymore. Baggy went back to Osaka to resume work, and he brought the PS2 with him. That was one of the reasons why I didn't get to play anything else since then. When he finally joined us in Tsukuba, of course he brought the PS2 back with him. But since then the PS2 had been tucked inside the AV board, hidden from sight. It was only when we had our cable upgraded to digital did we finally take it out of its hiding place, and only because the digital tuner set top box was too big to place on top of our tv. The only place to put it is inside the AV board. So the PS2 had to be displaced outside.

Since Baggy joined us in Tsukuba, he had been quite busy with FAST affairs. Now that he has already passed on the responsibilities to somebody else, we can have our weekends back. Yay!

Anyway, to make a long story short, the temptation proved too much to resist. Pretty soon Baggy and I were twiddling the controllers again. At ang kunsintidor na tatay, tinuruan pa ang anak na si Aya. Kaya ayun, marunong nang maggalaw-galaw ng controller. In fact for the past week Baggy has been playing FFX all over again. I've lost interest in FFX and really wanted to play something else. Coincidentally, Final Fantaxy XII was just released last March 16. We saw the full motion video being played at the electronics shop nearby, and oh boy, it was damn gorgeous. It was all we could do to keep from buying it. Suckers. Hehehe. But the graphics are really awesome. That's about four years of improvement from the last FF we played. We skipped the online game FFXI, so I can't tell if there was something extra we missed between FFX and FFXII.

I found a cool website made by a gamer already playing FFXII. You can find his review of the game here. We have completed as much as he (the gamer) had already, actually up to fighting the T-Rex. In my play, I got too cocky as well and tried to take on the T-Rex. Big mistake! Anyway, since everything is in Japanese, progress is a bit slow, because I had to take a lot of time trying to understand the dialogues and all. Playing the game is easy enough, but we'd really like to follow the story line because that's part of enjoying the game, too.

Signout na ko para makapaglaro ulit...hahahaa.

Wacky!

nospam@example.com (kathy) — Thu, 22 Sep 2005 10:52:57 -0600

Enough of the serious side for now. I have the wackiest sisters on earth; whenever I'm with them I can let down my guard and just be plain old me. We still sneeze at each other's faces whenever we could. We still dry our wet hands on each other's unsuspecting backs. We still observe other people and laugh about their appearances. We still communicate in our special language and sisters-only words. Baggy sometimes couldn't understand what in the world we are talking about. We are all Daddy's girls.

Miss you both, you wicked sisters.

Lai, hindi balanced. Karen and I still need an additional little head to insert between us

Frozen Week

nospam@example.com (kathy) — Fri, 06 May 2005 20:18:00 -0600

Golden Week, at least for those who love going out of town, is a rare opportunity in Japan to travel, either within the country or abroad, with a full week's long vacation at disposal. When we were "young and full of hope," (as Dr. Manlapaz used to say), we used to travel during GW, reaching farflung places such as Amanohashidate and Miyajima in Hiroshima. But that was before, when we could just pack our things into one tote bag and just go at the spur of the moment. Since Aya was born, our GW holidays are spent mostly at home, or going to nearby places. Children change everything, don't they?

A simple way to celebrate Kodomo no Hi

This year we didn't go anywhere at all, except to Mt. Tsukuba, which is practically within the neighborhood. But to our surprise, even the trip to Mt. Tsukuba took all of two hours going to the top, as there were actually many cars going up the mountain, all moving at a snail's pace! We took the cable car (of course), and waiting for the next car to arrive took only five minutes or so. We were surprised, though, when we got to the top - there was a long queue of people waiting to get on the cable car going down. It was probably the crowdest time on Mt. Tsukuba that I ever saw, among the times that I went up there. It took us 30 minutes of waiting on that line before we got on the next "kudari" car!

Years ago, GW was a perfect opportunity to catch up on some reading, to do some extra work on research and the like. But that was before, when time was something we can dispose of at our own leisure. I brought home some materials I had hoped to work on during the holidays - but no dice. I have two papers, a patent proposal, and a book chapter to write, on top of that two conferences in July (one in Singapore and one in Kyoto). If I had my way, I would be working full time on those holidays so I could get some tasks finished. Well, as it turned out, I was delusional to think that I would ever get some work done during GW.

We bought Aya a Pooh Bear cake on Kodomo no hi (Children's Day, May 5), and just to perk up things also poked three candles into it for Aya to blow. Her birthday isn't until next month, but what does it matter. She was all smiles. She would probably remember it for all the GWs to come.

It's frozen week at work, but GW resonates true to its name when spent with the family. That's time well spent.

A Successful Human Cloning

nospam@example.com (kathy) — Mon, 28 Feb 2005 07:12:05 -0700

This picture dispels any further arguments as to whom Aya took after.
Of course, now we have to deal with the argument regarding who is trying to "outcute" whom.

1973 and 2003 versions of the same loveable munchkin.

It's alive!!!

nospam@example.com (kathy) — Tue, 01 Feb 2005 04:40:34 -0700

Yesssss! Buhay na po ang aming blogsite. I've been thinking about having this in our site for quite a while now, although we never really got around to doing it until now. I've had my reservations about blogging online, because I also keep a private "electronic" diary which is of course where I pour all my thoughts and ideas and what-have-you. My sister tells me it's sort of therapeutic (at least for her)--in this wired world, it's the closest thing to having a 24-h online friend who will listen to all your woes and joys.

Let me explain the name for this site (for the sake of any non-Filipinos who happen to drop by). "Salamin" is a Filipino word that means both "mirror" and "glass." Blogs are like that, mirror reflections of what we are, what we think.

Singapore looks inviting!

I've just submitted my abstract online to the ICMAT-IUMRS-ICAM 2005 conference which will be held in July in Singapore. I was thinking about not going anymore, but then I finally got some noteworthy results some two weeks back. I consulted our group leader, and he gave me the go-ahead to write the abstract. Here's the url of the conference: http://www.mrs.org.sg/icmat2005/

Notification of acceptance of abstract will be within this month. Here's crossing my fingers!

I Knew It!

nospam@example.com (kathy) — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 17:00:00 -0700

Oh yes. I can be fun and trivial too. My way of relaxing on a Friday night, after a lonnggggg exhausting, demanding week at work.

I found this cool site through my wicked sister Lai, who's now back to blogging after a long respite. Welcome back, Evil K. Want to find out my celebrity look-alikes?

http://www.myheritage.com

So, according to the result above, I bear 70% resemblance to LARRY KING. Not bad. I have long fantasized being a broadcaster, lol. Hey look, we wear the same spectacles! And man, look at those foreheads! I really should ease up on that shampoo I'm using.

Thanks to my hairstyler at my favorite J-Cool beauty salon, I could almost pass off for a redhead like JULIANNE MOORE.