Archive for July, 2011

24 Jul

I’m Feeling Chatty Today

Posted by renxkyoko in mangas/animes, my life, Philippine Heritage, Random thoughts. Tagged: , , , , , , .

Hey, it’s me, renxkyoko iglesias !

It’s been a while , I know, but I have 2 jobs, and it’s been stressing me out. I mean , the second job at the clothing store has been stressing me out, that’s what.  It isn’t like Abercrombie or Forever 21 ( where I buy most of my clothes) where people can afford to  buy on impulse. We do get walk- in customers but they don’t really buy… they  just check out the stuff, look at the tags, and off they go. I don’t blame them. Ordinary t- shirts are over a hundred bucks each. WTH ! I wouldn’t buy, either. So, you ask, where do we get the sales from? From ” clients”, that’s where…. they come in with appointments… they either call to make an appointment, or we call , to inform regular rich customers about our new deals.  So, the phone calls that I make are actually the ones  that stress me out. I  have to make them come out of their mansions,  show them our stuff, and make the sale. Have I made a sale since the 2 weeks I’ve been working there ? Yes, I have, about $ 5,ooo worth. I should be ecstatic, but I’m not. Another month of this and I swear, all my hair will fall out, or I’ll  have a premature gray hair. Sheesh, this job is not for me. Seriously.  Good  thing I still have my day job at Baskin and Robbins.  Once school starts , I’m out of  BCBGMAXAZRIA.  Yep,that’s the name of the store. Quite a mouthful, isn’t it?

Oh, hey, in my previous post, I said we had a beach  property in Boracay Island in the Philippines. We just heard news that  a star-studded NBA teams ( like Kobe, etc. ) are in the Philippines , and  they are all now in Boracay ! !  We tell mom,”See ? You really need to do this , Mom !   ! !  We should be in business,  pronto! ” My aunt, who is   single, ( Mom’s sister ) is sharing with the  expenses ( property is from my mother’s side ) , and she’ll be here stateside  in August (  will go on Alaska cruise with relatives). I’m most interested in this coz my aunt promised to give  me her share of the property, so, yeah, it’s totally vested interest on my part. * grins sheepishly*  Good thing my siblings are not interested in Boracay… too far, they say. Although, I think my sister is interested in the property in Bagiu, a mountain resort in the Philippines. Meh. I’ve seen the place… not interested… place is too crowded with tourists. here’s a picture of our vacation house there, and we plan to rent it out too. So, my Filipino readers, check it out… Contact me next summer….. sorry, I’m talking business here, hehehe… Whatever it takes, you know, haha.. I’d holler for a dollar.. Kidding !

It’s a row of townhouses, at the mountain top, and there’s a million dollar view of the mountains from the verandah.

 

The townhouse is hanging for dear life at the side of the mountain, and the pictures above are the views from the verandah. The place is really nice.  Oh , and that ‘s me in Bagiu, at  BenCab museum.  Heh, I really look like a high school girl in person… Hmmm, and gained a lot of weight too. All we ever did there was eat.

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So, aside fom my 2 jobs, what else have I been doing ?  Reading mangas, that’s what.  Well, just  two…. and , actually, they are not Japanese….they are Korean manhwas. I really love the two stories, but the English translations on Manga Fox ( free online ) are soo slow in coming, like every 3 months for just one freaking chapter,  that I have to search for raws of the mahnwas ( raws are those published in original language  ) and  satisfy  myself with just looking at the pictures. I found a Vietnamese site. It seems Vietnam is also publishing  mangas and manhwas, but in Vietnamese of course. … the title of the manhwa is ” The Boy Who Will Sell a Kiss for 5000 Won”. ( 5000 won + $5.00 ) .  The story is cute…and here’s the story so far,……….  during lunchtime, the handsome main guy hangs out at  the school rooftop and waits for any girl who wants to get kissed by him, something like a minute for 5000 won, and a little more if the girl wants to extend the kiss. Ha ha ha !  The main  girl is angry coz her BFF goes there to get kissed, and spends so much money for it. So main girll goes there too to take pics and show them to the principal , but instead gets kissed, too. The main guy asks for payment , yadiya. The main girl gets dazzled by the first kiss ( note to self: I wouldn’t mind paying $500 to get kissed by Andrew Garfield… whooo ! ), and later, falls in love with the guy. She pursues him , then  finally confesses, but gets rejected…. says he’s not interested at all. So , like the girls she despises, she goes to the rooftop and pays, too. She is of course depressed by the turn of events, but then , one day, she hears some guys talking about her… ” Isn’t that the girl who confessed to Soo Hyun… I heard she was so easy and willing  he almost did it with her, right there at the rooftop  ” Main girl gets angry, confronts the guy at the cafeteria, slaps him and hits him several times, and gets slapped back so hard she falls to the ground. Here are some scenes from the story… Oh, the drama!!!    By the way, this is Korean, not Japanese, so read from left to right.

It is a scandalous situation, so girl goes home very late  at night, gets soaked  in the rain, runs a fever the next day… main guy learns about it fom a friend who’s the boy friend of the girl’s sister . Main guy feels guilty , skips class, and goes to visit the girl…… well, that’s it… that’s the last of the English version.  So, anyways, I looked at the Vienamese raws ( completed ) and yay, happy ending !  Anmd this is how I understood the story from the raws…..   the main girl  finally  gives up on the guy…. she gets introduced to the sister’s boyfriend’s pal, they get together…. meanwhile, this new guy happens to be the main guy’s childhood friend , or maybe a cousin, I don’t know,  and one day, they see him at a club and she gets introduced to the main guy. Awkward !  Main guy starts to get jealous, yadiya, so the story continues…. one day, new guy sees main guy and girl kissing. He is shocked but pretends not to have seen them… a sad situation for the new guy coz it seems he’s so in love with the girl and I reckon he already knows the two have a history.  A confrontation means a resolution, and that means, he’s going to lose out on the main guy. So, he avoids the issue.. ( just my opinion … if I were him, I would freakin’ kill them , lol ) And there’s this scene where the main guy sees the new guy waiting for him at his house, and they talk  and it looks like the new guy is crying. (  Oh, that is so sad ! ) Later on in the story, main guy and girl get together.  Now, here’s the thing…. there’s a scene at the rooftop where the main guy is kissing another girl and the main girl wittnesses  that, and it looks like they break up…… . and there;s this scene  where the main guy is showing the new girl what looks like birth control pills. And looking at that, I was like, ”  Noooooooooooo ! ! !  This can’t be happening ! I am so gonna drop this manhwa ! What the F!#$% is that ! ! ” And there’s this scene where the main girl and the main guy’s roommate ( the doctor at the school’s  infirmary ) get drunk together, and end up sleeping together. ( When I saw that, my jaw dropped to the ground, and I thought  , it’s over! !  but then, there’s the happy ending, so , what the heck is going on ! )   I was so desperate to know , so I used Google Translate, and folks, it sux Big time. I painstakingly translated word for word, but not a thing made sense, so I just tried stringing  the words together  especially  the key words , and this is what I figure really happened…. main guy and main girl do not see each other for 3 days , so main girl starts looking for him,,, they meet up, and main guy’s excuse is he ‘s in  the toilet during lunchtime  cause he’s suffering from constipation ! ( I read the word in the translation, lol ), so main girl buys the medicine, and the doctor friend tells her he always goes to the rooftop during lunchtime, and girl tells him that can’t be, he’s constipated and maybe he’s in the toilet again ( she ‘s worried coz she knows that’s where the main guy does  his kissing business ) , but goes along  with the doctor to look for him, anyway… then bam ! they see him with a girl kissing….. she drops the medicine, and main guy tries to run after her, but the other girl holds him  back and confesses too… There’s a side story about this other girl .( apparently she’s got kissing phobia  and friends of hers tell main guy to help her get over that … WTF ! ) This other girl falls for him, too, and confesses,  he rejects her, and goes to the main girl’s house, and waits for her to come home ( outside ) , but main girl goes out with the doctor and  both get drunk… she sleeps at doctor’s house ( both together in bed, but they didn’t do IT ) , so she goes home in the morning and finds the main guy at the gate…….main guy tries to explain but girl won’t listen…  they  break up, and even tells main guy she has slept with his friend as her parting words…… To make the story short, a lot of drama happens, but main guy does stuff so he can get back with main girl, ( he really loves her ) and they do get back together, and get married… the last scene is the couple picking up their kindergarten son, and the main guy is saying ” what have I done to deserve this kid “! And wife tells him ” KARMA!  ( The teacher at the son’s school is complaining their son is selling kisses for 10 won. End of story/

LOL pardon me for being so chatty today.  I didn’t get to sleep at all for 3 days or so. I’ve been translating, and it does  take me hours to  translate a few chapters.  In fact, a friend saw me online at 1 AM and messaged me, ” What are you doing at this hour”? and I messaged back ,” what are young doing at this hour . It’s 4 AM over there. ”  He says he likes the peace and quiet.. He’s in Canada.

I guess I should cut back on manga reading. Well, actually I have cut back , what with my 2 jobs and all. And we’ve been busy too preparing for my aunt’s arrival.  By the way, I read mangas free online, but I do support the authors and publishers by buying the books. I’m not a freebie.  Except, Korean manhwas are not published in English. Too bad. Here’s a pic of our manga books.

 So, I say bye for now… Be cool and stay  cool. PEACE !

14 Jul

Random thoughts on Mr. Clancy and Harry Potter

Posted by renxkyoko in mangas/animes, my life, random musings, Random thoughts. Tagged: , , , , , .

Hello, there !

 Renxkyoko Iglesias musing.

It;s been 8 days, so here I am again. As usual, I’ll  just write down whatever comes to mind, so kindly bear with my unorganized thoughts, okay ?

First off, I’m going to see Harry Potter on July 14, midnight showing. I don’t know if it’s a premier showing . I didn’t buy the tickets. Hahaha  I’ve got a date , same fellow Muggle guy   I saw the  last Potter movie with  last year.

I don’t think I’d be that happy . I’m sure I’d feel sad,  because  this is it…….the last one.   Good-bye to the Boy Who Lived.  *sniff*  Excuse me while I get a tissue…………….

Pardon me for the misty eyes, I’m just being myself,  a sentimental fool, as always.  You see, I consider this last movie as the end of my youth. ……….Ugh. I’m not in the mood.  I think I’ll just repost something that I wrote last year before  the first part of  Deathly Hallows was released. I feel quite lazy right now.

Ahhh ! Inner voice. It sounds profound.But I’m not thinking anything profound at this moment. In fact , I’m not thinking at all. My mind is totally blank.  Does it mean my brain is getting fuzzy? Or is my sagging attention span  getting to be a bit of a problem now .  Nah. I’m just bored. I did my laundry this morning, and I think I find watching my clothes tumble dry more fascinating than the rest of my activities today. So sad. Oh, well….. story of my life. ^_^”

Ooooh, Harry Pottah ! The last movie in the series is going to be released in November.  Well, no, it’s second to the last, actually………. there’s a part 2. Of course, I assume everybody knows that.  Anyone who doesn’t is an alien……..

 I’m feeling nostalgic…  Is he going to live or die ? I agonized over that for a long time.  I thought it would be so cruel… no, evil… of JKRowling to off  my  beloved Harry after making him suffer since the day he was born.  Oh, but good thing my whole family ( except my father ) were as obssessed as I was with the books.  We always had very lively and colorful discussions over dinners, exchanging theories,( ad nauseum ),  on whether Harry was going to live or die……I reread the books a million times, looking for clues. I listened to podcasts and went on HP sites like Mugglenet and Leaky Cauldron   These discussions went on for years, until the last book was released and   we finally learned Harry lived.  ( collective sighs of relief ). Oh, that was such a momentous event.  We bought the book on the very first date of release, at 12 midnight. We  were at the bookstore as early as 10 PM, got in line, and got hold of the book at 3 AM. Yep, you heard it…. 3 freakin’ AM.  Hey, what’s 5 hours of waiting in line compared to years of anticipation? I was the first to read the book, with a promise I wouldn’t spoil it for the rest of the family.  In fact, I placed my right hand over a stack of Bibles and swore  an oath not to tell, so help me God.  Oh, yes, , this episode in my life loving Harry Potter is absolutely priceless. …………… Now, about Daniel Radcliff, Mr. Harry Potter himself, in person…………….. First time I saw the movie, I thought he was God’s gift to little girls like me.  I was 11 and he was 11, and he was sooo cute. I had a humungous teenage crush on him.  And he was so handsome in Goblet of Fire.  ……… Okay, that’s just my opinion.  ^^” ………………………  So, what was my reaction when JKRowling revealed a secret…. that Prof. Dumbledore is, in fact, gay ?  I was  flabbergasted  surprised, but thinking back,  a lot of things that made me think, ” hmmm”,  now made a lot of  sense.    Oh, one more thing, did I get disappointed that Harry and Hermione didn’t end up together ? So, okay , Hermione , played by Emma Watson,  is  pretty.  But, take note, However,  Hermione in the book, isn’t pretty . In fact, the author’s description of her isn’t flaterring  at all.. And , apparently, Harry likes good-looking girls. So, he ends up with Ginny. ………… I was disappointed, of course.  Hermione   Emma Watson and Harry  Daniel Radcliff  do  look good together.

   I guess I was on fangirl mode  when I wrote the above. Ha ha !  Well, that’s me.   One question though…… do you think  Harry Potter is a great piece of literature?  Whether it is, or not, doesn’t matter . To me, it’s one amazing piece of literature. It got me ( and million others ) started  to read books other than Nancy Drew. . Oh, yes, if  it can get people , from age 9 to 90, to read a book with 1000 pages, and finish it, then , in my book, it is a great piece of  literature , and literary snobs be damned.   

The bottomline here is, each to his /her own. No one can force me to read Atlas Shrugged, for example, unless it’s shoved  down my throat. I’d rather gladly eat it, than read it.  Now,  I’m just wondering,  when the book is extremely popular, why do critics trash it ?  So, okay, there’s one completely rational answer to that….. Tom Clancy. Although I have  literary ( pardon the irony) read  almost all of his books, and enjoyed them, I have to admit  the plots of his latest books are so “out there ”  I find Prof. Dumbledore conjuring a goblet of water from the air  more believable. I swear  Tom Clancy’s  recent story lines are computer – generated.  Fill in the blanks and he’s good to go. I don’t blame him though. The dollars  just keep coming.  I just hope Mr. Clancy goes back to his roots and  writes another novel as compelling as The Hunt for Red October.  That is one awesome book.  * ponders*  You  know, there’s one book of Tom Clancy’s that reminds me of  9/11 . The book is Debt of Honor.  The  difference between what happened on 9/11 and the book’s plot is that the antagonists  are not Muslim terrorists but a  Japanese pilot flying a commercial 747, if I recall correctly.  What  is more surprising about this  novel is that it  was written years before 9/11 happened.  In the story, the  building that gets  hit is not  an ordinary structure  like the Twin Towers in New York, but the  Capitol Building in Wahington, D.C., and it happens while the President of the of the United States is delivering his annual State of the Nation Address, with all the officials of the land  present . They all die. …… and Jack Ryan becomes the President of the United States.  Well, this book is part of Mr. Clancy’s Jack Ryan series. In movie versions , Jack Ryan is Alec Baldwin in Hunt for Red October, Harrison Ford in Patriot  Games , Executive Orders, Clear and Present Danger, and John Affleck in Sum of All Fears. 

So okay, you can tell I actually like Tom Clancy…… and Robert Ludlum. In fact, I like Robert Ludlum more than Tom Clancy even though their novels belong to the same thriller genre.  If Tom Clancy has his  Jack Ryan, Robert Ludlum has Jason Bourne.  By the way,  Matt Damon is Jason Bourne in the movies.

 I’m starting to blabber. Oh, well, what’s new. I’m always like this, anyways.   …. Guess I have to say bye for now.  Be cool and stay cool.  PEACE .

4 Jul

Just my thoughts

Posted by renxkyoko in my life, Philiipine culture, Philippine Heritage, random musings, Random thoughts. Tagged: , , , , , .

Hi, there!

It’s me, Renxkyoko Iglesias !

I’ve been busy. But it’s been 8 days since my last post, so I have to post something. Post-a-week is such a pain.  I really have nothing to say. I don’t want to talk about my new job, either. I guess scooping ice cream at Baskin and Robbins turns out to be more exciting. It’s summer, and  people like to buy ice cream more than new outfits. That’s all I’m saying.

So, what else…….

Since it’s summer, I’d like to seduce you with pictures of one of the loveliest beaches in the world….. Boracay Island in the Philippines. Well, first off, the Philippines is made up of 7,100 islands, right smack in the Pacific Ocean ( I think) , so you can just imagine the many wonderful beautiful beaches there. And of course, I’m featuring Boracay because we have a property there, and this year, after the rainy season, construction of a duplex will start, and we’re going to rent it out to tourists. So, yeah, this serves as a promotion too for our business, ahahaha ! And I know I have many Filipino readers, so guys, if  we can get it done before summer 2o12, and you rent it through WordPress I can give you discount. lol  I’m not kidding , though. By the way, our property is not beachfront, it’s about a 5 minute walk from the beach but it’s not a problem  coz the beachfront is owned by my grandma and is a private property.  So here are some pictures……..

That’s the private beach.

But you can find other great accomodations, of course, like these…..

 

Needless to say, it’s more expensive here. Ours will be so much cheaper.  There’s nothing much to say yet, but you bet I’m going to promote it to the hilt when it gets done, including the furnishings.

Ah ! I’ve rejoined the party scene. And it’s about time too.

 And I usually go with my pals Olga, Tanya and Ali. And I don’t feel like the third wheel anymore. I can get as much fun being the single one. Boyfriends do tend to cramp one’s style.

However, I’ve been a hermit far too long it’s become embarassing. I mean, people have been asking me , hey, how come you don’t have a boyfriend, yadiyadiya,…. meh, what can I say ? How do I respond to that ?

 

 I used  to shrug off such questions, but lately, I’ve become defensive and uncomfortable. *looks in the mirror*  Uhm, I don’t think I’m unattractive.

 Guys crush on me too. So, what’s wrong with me? I’m a zombie?  I don’t think so. I swoon too and go KYAAAA when I see a good-looking guy. And occassionally, I have perverted  thoughts too, ahaha !  j/k    …… By the way, in mangas, when a character gets excited, he/she gets a nosebleed…….like so….

Dang! LMAO ! …….. * ponders*  Do nesebleeds actually happen? I mean, capillaries exploding or something ? o.Oa

 …………… I think I’ve been reading too many romantic Japanese mangas for so long that I’ve actually formed an ” ideal” whatnot  on how the guy should look like, how romance should start, and now, I even have this crazy notion that I should be the one to look  for my partner, to pursue,  then confess my feelings.

 

Japanese girls do that in real time and I think that makes sense.  Do you know in Japanese culture, it’s the girl who gives a gift ( usually chocolates) on Valentine’s Day  to the guy she likes, then 30 days after, on the day they call White Day, the guy  gives   a gift to the girl he likes back?   I guess the waiting would be quite stressful to the girl. Eh, and humiliating too if she wasn’t liked back.  Just the same, I prefer this over the “waiting for some random guy to like me first.” What if  I had to wait til kingdom come? 

 Do you think  women should be honest with their feelings , as well?  * By the way, read from right to left…………..

I’m sure guys like to be flattered and pursued.  The probability that the guy will respond positively to a girl’s honest declaration of love is almost 100%  if  it meets the following conditions : 1. He doesn’t have a girlfriend    2. The girl is pleasant-looking enough  ( or with above average physical attributes ),  3. The girl is  not an airhead  ( well, to me, being dumb is a turn-off…. ) 4. good personality ( nice ) Good personality comes last coz, whether we like it or not, it’s not the  thing that gets noticed first.  Hah! I’m sure I’ll get a lot of comments here. 

LOL !  That’s why I love reading comedy mangas, too. I didn’t know the Japanese have a great sense of humor.  I burst out laughing all the time, and my family think I’ve gone crazy.

( sigh ) 

Don’t think I’m such a frivolous airhead with nothing on my mind but fantasy.   I can  solve problems in differential equations, balance chemical reactions, discuss health care reform in detail, volunteered in some politician’s presidential campaign ( telephone brigade where I got yelled at and cursed, and assigned  to  post on political fora of rival candidate and …..got banned) I’m a card bearing  Democrat who give monetary contributions to political campaigns, have never watched Glee, watch only Military Channel, Science, National Geographic, Current, Crime, CNN and SyFy, prefer classic rock, went to a school for the gifted, blah, blah ………well, that’s me in a nutshell. ………….. Oh, I’ve got some serious issues too.

well, this is all for now, folks.  To fellow Americans, Happy 4th of July! !