my thoughts | renxkyoko's space

Posts Tagged ‘my thoughts’

2 Feb

Awards acknowledgement and other stuff

Posted by renxkyoko in Awards, my life, Random thoughts, Where's the iphone ?. Tagged: Awards, books, my thoughts, politics. 23 comments

Hi, there ! Renxkyoko Iglesias here ! ” waves ”

I’d like to apologize for my long-delayed acknowledgement of the awards I’d been given by raistlin0903 ( Versatile Blogger Award ), cookandenjoyrecipes ( Blog-aholic Award ), lifewithtranquility ( Blogger Recognition Award ) and livepulchritudinously ( Blogger Recognition Award ). There are two more, but I assume they are for my anime/manga/video game website. The only one who has a question for me is @livepulchritudinously. The question is , give a brief story of how your blog started.

Well, in high school… my fellow manga fans met at a manga forum…… our posts later morphed into personal and off-topic , like , ” Guess what, guys, I just bought a new pair of boots.” So, we decided to do our thing on LiveJournal. Then , ( though I’m not sure about this ) WordPress took over LiveJournal and all our stuff were transferred, lock, stock and barrel, to WordPress. At first, it was just us commenting on each other’s blog. Then , for the first time, one person posted a comment on my blog, and I was really surprised. ” Who is this guy and why is he here ? ” Then a few more comments from other readers followed and we didn’t like it, so we just ignored the commenters . The situation was like that for almost a year, LOL.

That’s the story. Hey, we were just a bunch of idiots who didn’t know any better. To date, I’m the sole survivor. One had gone to medical school, the other got married, one went to China to teach English, and couldn’t post from there….. the rest I don’t know. They deleted their blogsites. Ironically, what got me interested were the comments. I started responding to them, and for the first time , read their blogs. The rest is history.

Random picture here, because there should be a picture, right ?

DSCN2601

Above are my favorite books and authors.

Meanwhile………

Politics……. Nasties are piling up, one on top of another. I’m so overwhelmed I’ve become catatonic.

watashi_no_shounen_love_is_invincible_and_ultimate_watashi_no_shounen_story_03_-_118

My friend’s cousin has actually started a countdown on Facebook. 1,446 days to next inauguration. Persevere !

Check out my manga/anime/videogame at http://2megaworthitwordpresscomblog.wordpress.com/

This is all for now. Be safe and take care. And start saving for a bunker. Thank you for reading.

23 Aug

The World is on fire

Posted by renxkyoko in Random thoughts. Tagged: my life, my thoughts, postaweek2011, random thoughts. 85 comments

Hello ! Renxkyoko Iglesias here.

I ‘ve been trying to make sense of the upheaval that’s going on in the world. Ukraine, Russia, Syria, Iraq, ISIL, Israel-Palestinian conflict, Ebola, and here in the US, the shooting death of an 18 year old African- American guy by a cop that resulted in almost 2 weeks of street protests, and now, the beheading of an American journalist by ISIL…….. not to mention the catastrophic drought here in California. What else can the world pile up on top of that ? About the drought……. is that significant? You bet it is. California’s agricultural products can feed the world.

I read that European intelligence services had contacted the Assad regime regarding the extremist rebels fighting the Syrian government. Assad’s trade-off was not palatable to the intelligence community then, but today, who knows ? Iran is also paying attention. The White Hoouse just revealed to us that US’s Special Forces were secretly sent to Syria to rescue James Foley and other hostages. It went on smoothly, Sec. of Defense Hagel said. No, it didn’t. The fact is, there was shooting engagement , and several ISIS militants were killed, …only one US soldier was injured, no one died. I’m wondering if Assad secretly allowed this rescue mission, or at the very least, it was a tacit agreement, and he looked the other way. So strange.

British Intelligence is now investigating who that ISIS guy is that beheaded the American journalist. They have pinpointed the source of the man’s accent to be South of London. It’s amazing that different parts of a city have distinct accents, isn’t it ? Well, California accent is different from New York’s. But then, they are separated by 3 time zones. * ponders* This reminds me of 9/11 catastrophe. It happened at around 8:30 AM New York time. In California, it was 5:30 AM . ( I’m assuming you know about 9/11. Otherwise, you’re an alien. ) You’d think who would be watching TV at that hour ?. Well, my mother was already up, turned on the TV on CNN ( as was her habit ), but didn’t pay attention to the news as she was busy preparing breakfast, or whatever it was she was doing that time ( The TV was on Mute ). At 7 AM, she got an overseas call from my aunt ( 10 PM , Philippine time ) ). The conversation was like this… .. ( sans any preamble ) ” Turn on the TV, CNN “…. Huh ? what’s going on ? ” Are you watching it ?” No, but……” ” Are you crazy ? The US had just been attacked, and you don’t know ? ”

So, okay, I know….. this post is totally jumbled…. but that’s how my mind works, or how my thoughts roll.

Anyway, what’s up with the world ?

Heh. And I was supposed to post about my fun vacation in the Philippines. But with all that’s going on in the world, I thought it frivolous to write about insignificant me cavorting on the beach in my teeny weeny polka dot bikini with nary a care , while the world is in a state of raging conflagration.

Well, later, okay ?

PEACE ! !

31 May

Real/Imagined Online conversation About Cheating

Posted by renxkyoko in Random thoughts. Tagged: break-ups, Cheating, lovelife, my thoughts, postaweek2011, random thoughts. 82 comments

Bostongal —– Hey ! Ren !

Ren —– OMG, Hi ! Wow ! We’re reading at the same time ! What time is it over there?

Bostongal—— 3 AM . So, have you read the new chapter ?

Ren ——- It’s 12 here. Yep, I have. What d’ya think ? Did Kyou really cheat ?

Bostongal—– I do believe Kyou. Even when he was with Akari, and knew Shino liked him, he didn’t cheat on Akari when he had the chance. Rereading the story gave me a different perspective on Kyou, but yeah, I still think that his sneaking and “abandonment ” of Shino were just too much. He should have known it was wrong, hurtful and destructive. He could have told Shino, ” Look, I need to do this with Akari, she’s troubled and might harm herself, and , I’m sorry , Shino, I need to know what the hell those 10 months Akari and I were together were about, I want to know if all of that was one big lie. I want closure.”

Ren ——– How can Shino believe him when she knows for a fact she’s with him now on the rebound? She had seen how devastated Kyou was when Akari left him. She knows she practically offered herself as replacement of Akari in Kyou’s bed. When did Akari leave him ? Just 4 months ago. In just one month, Shino had managed to ” comfort” Kyou’s broken heart . But that’s just comfort sex. Shino is aware that whatever feelings he might have for her are not deep enough to replace Akira in his heart. After all, Kyou was already planning to marry Akari when she left him.

If Kyou’s reason was purely altruistic, why did he have to make his meetings with Akari a secret ? And damn it, how much closure does he want? He stayed all day, and all night with her that first day. He came home the next day. The fudge ! That was a lot of conversation, a lot of time exchanging pleasantries…. what else did they do? Played video games? Talked about the book she wrote ? So what if he told Shino “I didn’t F*ck Akari ?

“ Tell that to the Marines. He saw her for 2 damn weeks and would have continued seeing her if he wasn’t busted ! Oh, and take note, Bostongal, he always took a bath as soon as he got home, before Shino got home…. not his routine at all.

Bostongal—–I totally get why Kyou wants closure. Akari lied about everything, including her real age, and she was the girl he wanted to marry. He had the rug completely pulled out under him. He wanted answers in order to heal his heart and move on, because as long as questions stay up in air, he’s gonna wonder, and wondering means something stays open and painful.

Ha ha ! That bathing thing cracked me up. I don’t know if he normally took a bath at night. The story never established that. I think dealing with a batshit chick with grief issues was stressful, and I guess bathing as soon as he got home would remove the stress. LOL

Ren——- Girl, the devil is in the details. Do you know my mother’s friend found out her husband was cheating when she noticed his hair was always damp when he got home from work ? ( He was late too ) . The author would not write in as mundane and innocuous as Kyou’s daily bath ritual if it wasn’t signifiicant. Through Shino’s POV, it was mentioned at least 3 times.

First day they were together the entire day, night, morning next day. Knowing Akari ( and Kyou, that horny bastard ) , all she has to do is take off her clothes and open her legs, and Bam. There’s no doubt that they had sex . Akari is hot in the sack, sexy, and Kyou still has feelings for her. ( Sorry my language is getting crude. ) She’d be able to lead her by the nose. Easy. Who would believe that Kyou and Akari just sat in the couch and talked, and talked, and talked ? How much time does he need for closure ? One hour ! ! No, one second. What does he need a closure for , anyway ? That’s just an excuse., and an incredibly lame one too. And he went to see her for 2 freakin’ weeks, everyday, very early in the morning before he went to work.,” cutting his sleeping hours. ” Sex in the morning with Akari, and sex in the evening with Shino. How lucky can he get, that manwhore. And the sex must have been so steamy that cloying jasmine scent didn’t entirely disappear.

Bostongal—–Okay, Ren, bear with me. I have decided to put my grudge aside and look at clues again. We might be misreading Kyou, and he ‘s actually telling the truth. ( at least, about the sex thing ) Kyou is a crappy liar. So, in those scenes where he talks about why he visits Akari, he seems to look totally honest. He’s not fidgeting, making faces, looking freaky. Kyou is soft-hearted , and he has to lie so as not to hurt Shino. Darn it, Shino beat him up , and he just took it.

(Read from right to left.)

.Ren ——— He lied . So many times. The author didn’t have to draw the situation in bold Crayola. We don’t need frames in the story of Akari and Kyou going at it. It was so obvious he might as well have written “I’m cheating ” on his freakin forehead .Holy sh*t. What was the lie again why he didn’t come home that first day ? He got a call that his best friend ” Tanaka ” was in a car accident, and was in a hospital. So, from morning to morning next day, he was in the hospital , taking care of ” him”. Wow ! Best , best friend. The next day, and for 2 weeks on, he left very early in the morning to visit his ” friend” before he went to work. And Shino gave food to Kyou to give to ” Tanaka. “

.Ren—– I can’t wrap my head around the fact that he secretly met up with Akari again after getting busted.

Bostongal— I think that meeting was a final check-in. Akari called Shino to tell her she and Kyou saw each other again, probably a revenge ” screw with Shino call “. I believe Kyou when he said he’s done with Akari and will never see her again.

Ren—– Shino left him. Good for her. If there’s no trust, there’s no love. They go hand in hand. It’s kind of hard to trust men. Someone said men can only be trusted when they are old and wrinkled and cannot get it up anymore. Even if they love their partner, when another woman opens her legs for them, they’ll take it. I believe Kyou loves Shino too, she’s nice and kindhearted, but Akari is the woman he once loved and wanted to spend the rest of his life with not too long ago. He couldn’t have forgotten her that easily and quickly.

Bostongal—-Harsh. Well, I’d trust mine in a room full of naked willing women, just as he could trust me even if Gerard Butler threw himself on me. But in general, yeah, men are horndogs.

Ren—–I’d attack Robert Pattinson.

Bostongal—-Who’s he ?

Ren—– The vampire guy who sparkled in Twilight, Edward Cullen. He he he

Bostongal—- Bahahahaha !

Ren— +_+ Hey, the guy can cook. Well, anyway, nice talking to you. It’s 2 AM now. Gotta sleep.

Bostongal— Alright, good day. Wait a sec . You do know the story’s completed now, right? Have you seen the raws ?

Ren— Yes. They get back together. Shino and Kyou. And Kyou’s not with Akari. No wonder you’ve changed your tune. Where the heck is your pitchfork?

Bostongal——- signs off

Ren—- What the….

17 Sep

A Little Glimpse , Some Thoughts

Posted by renxkyoko in my life, random musings, Random thoughts. Tagged: Just my thoughts today, my life, my thoughts, postaweek2011, random thoughts. 113 comments

Hello !

It’s been two weeks since my last post. Actually, I post just 2 or 3 times a month, so this is basically just right.

I’m at school now, and on my 2 hour break. I’m taking Advanced Microbiology, Advanced BioChemistry , Advanced Organic chemistry, Evolution and Scientific Analysis this semester. ( Evolution of Microbes, by the way ) Since these are major courses. I need to get a grade no lower than B ( 80% ) , otherwise, I repeat the course. It won’t affect my GPA though, so it’s okay. [ …… ] =_= ‘

No, it;s not okay. My college life is a big eye- opener to me. I thought I’d breeze through it, like my brother ( a Mechanical Engineer ) and sister ( a Microbiologist) who were always on the Dean’s List in college. But I’m struggling now, and I feel really bad about this. I mean, I study til my nose bleeds just to get a good grade, but I never saw my siblings study at home, ( my bro just played video games all his college life ) and yet, they got A’s all the time. Does it mean they are naturally gifted, and I’m not?

I was Grade 2 when I went to school here in the US. it was a public elementary school just a spitting distance from our house. The following school year, the school recommended me to go to a GATE school, which was a 15 minute drive from our house. GATE means Gifted and Talented Education. From elementary, to middle school, to high school, I was a top 10 student with a 4.0 GPA, a straight A GATE student. Then came college. I thought college would be easy coz I was smart, or so I thought. I was wrong.

I had to write tons of essays in English and Philosophy. I hate essay writing. My brain just isn’t wired that way. In Philosophy, for instance, we were asked to write a 5-page essay on Descarte’s ” I am, therefore I exist “. I hate explaining the obvious. To me , explaining stuff like this is an exercise in futility . Why do I need to study this?

So, yeah, my first 2 years of college were such a pain and so stressful. Funnily enough, I got an A in Philosophy. Not because I was smart 9_9 ‘…… Okay, here are my 2 blog entries in May, 2010, to explain how I got grade of A.

———————————————————————————————————

It’s 5 AM. Just woke up. I have not done a thing ! ! Time to push the panic button. Report is due at 5 PM on line. I have no class today but I have to go to school to submit my Chem. Lab report. * teary eyed *

How can I add 560 words to a report that is so uninspiring ? Mom is annoyed that , again, I chose the side that contradicts her own beliefs, and so, she says, it’s so difficult to gather her thoughts and form an opinion ……….. I just woke her up. I’m panicking ! * Mom, wake up… help me *

It’s 7: 47 AM’. Mom finally woke up, but instead of helping , she scolded me. She said if I thought I’d somehow need help, I should have consulted her first. Yes, she did read the articles, but the problem is, she totally, absolutely, and without any doubt , agrees with John Hick’s pluralism. She asked me why I chose to be dogmatic about Catholicism.. And , she said, if you so believe that, then you must have a lot to say about it, so do it yourself. TT.TT

It’s 9: 00 Am…… I’m done. Woot ! ! I suddenly had this awe-inspiring Einstein moment where great ideas and thoughts took off and my fingers caught them and put them into words. Brilliant.

——————————————————————————————————

I just want to talk about something. Well, I’m supposed to be doing my Philosophy report on Pluralism, but, right now, my mind just hit a blank wall. I need a break. If worse comes to worst, my Mom is going to help me. I did a report once on Epistimology of religion. My brain exploded with that one. Why can’t these philosophers explain whatever is on their mind in plain , simple English ? Anyway, I did my best, but I knew my best was not enough to get a good grade . So, I made an SOS to Mom. I was , like, Mom, you want me to get a good GPA , right ? Help me. So she did…. she read the articles, read my own report, found it totally lacking in sense and insight, < ha ha ha >, almost completely revised it, corrected my grammar < too amateurish > , and tah dah….. I got an A. Teacher said I could have gotten an A+, but she found some parts of the report a little strained.. Otherwise, it was excellent. She was also surprised that I chose Epistomology of religion as this topic was a difficult piece to discuss,. When I got home, I congratulated my Mom…… Mom , YOU got an A ! ! ! ^______^ ;;;

Was that cheating ? I don’t think so. I needed help and got it. They were my ideas, my thoughts. My mother merely refined them. Okay, she improved on them. [ …….] Alright, I confess. She did a lot more than that. ” Ren, your work is full of contradictions. You’re wavering. It’s really difficult to defend something that you don’t completely believe in. ” Although we had to revise my work, we did it TOGETHER. And I learned a lot. That’s important.

Have you heard of Asian Tiger Moms ? You can google that. i think my parents are like that, too. We’re Asians. I remember when Mom had me memorize the Multiplication Table when I was just 7 years old. One mistake and she would make me repeat the whole darn thing. “AGAIN, FROM THE TOP ! ” Was that a bad thing? I don’t know. All I know is that at age 8, I could already do complicated fractions, and understand the concept of equality in Math, ” Ren, Math is all about equality. Remember that.” In our household, conversations and discussions always start from the question, ” What is the scientific explanation for that? ”

One would think it’s only science that my family ever talk about over dinner. We are pracricing Catholics, and we go to Mass every Sunday, without fail. But we’ve learned to compartmentalize our spiritual beliefs, scientific thought processes, and politics. As what our parish priest said at his sermon, ” don’t be a one-issue voter.”

This is it for now. My Paris tour is next. PROMISE ! ! !

Good day to all. Be nice, be good, and PEACE !

21 Apr

My Thoughts on Boston Tragedy

Posted by renxkyoko in Boston Marathon, my life, Random thoughts. Tagged: Boston Marathon, Just my thoughts today, my life, my thoughts, postaweek2011, random political musing, random thoughts. 72 comments

Renxkyoko Iglesias here, hello !

.Today is the day we finally breathe a collective sigh of relief. One of the perpetrators of the Boston Marathon massacre has been captured.

I hope he survives. We want to know why he did what he did. What has the US done to his former country that made him so angry it drove him to kill innocent people? What was his motive? Was it political or, heaven forbid, religious?

. ? I highly doubt Americans know of Chechnya, or even if they know, they are indifferent, or don’t care. So, did they want Chechnya to be put in the map? If lone wolves like these two could actually cause this degree of anxiety , destruction, and mayhem in a powerful country, then they had definitely achieved it. Now people know of Chechnya, albeit in the most horrible way. They have also affirmed people’s belief in what religious fanaticism can do. And most importantly, they have again put a certain group of people who live in an open, free scociety, in an untenable position in that society. Because you know what? let’s not fool ourselves. This has nothing to do with the politics of Chechnya. Anyone with the least modicum of intelligence knows this is not about that.

What’s even more saddening is that this older brother had sucked an apparently normal , happy , seemingly assimilated younger brother into his world. Sure, this older brother took care of his 9 year old brother …. most probably the kid adored his brother. To an impressionable teenager, he was someone who who would never do him harm.

*ponders*

Opium is addictive and killing the innocents is one heck of an effed up resume to go to heaven.

You may hate me for saying this, but for some reason, I consider the younger brother one of the victims. The older one expected to die for his cause. The younger wanted to live. I’m including him in my prayers.

Just my thoughts. PEACE.

7 Jan

Happy 2013 ! Random Thoughts and Foodie

Posted by renxkyoko in European travel, European trip, Filipino food, my life, Philippine Heritage, Random thoughts. Tagged: European tour, European travel, Filipino food, holiday musing, musings, my life, my thoughts, postaweek2011, random thoughts. 105 comments

May you all have a prosperous and fruitful 2013 !

Hello ! Renxkyoko Iglesias here.

My European tour made 2012 quite an eventful year , and I’m glad I get to share it with you. It was also quite an experience to be given an opportunity to help re-elect Pres. Obama. My sister and I and several thousand Californians went as far as Nevada, Iowa, Colorado, and Wisconsin as part of Pres. Obama’ s ground campaign. ( Just Reno for me, though… specifically Washoe County, the poor part of Nevada , totally Republican, dirt roads, trailer parks, all white * don’t they know they will be thrown under the bus by Romney, he he he, someone on a truck yelled Eff you at us , it was scary…… Anyway, it was difficult , but we managed to turn Nevada into a Blue state. ) But then, if not for those 2 above, 2012 would be same-o, same-o… school, work, home, study, check out if there are any manga updates of my favorite shojou romance, daydream or rant, sleep, go to school again… yep, story of my life. I must have sinned in my past life.

Well, we all got a love letter from WordPress, right? My stats are modest, but I ‘m happy . I get a fair amount of comments, and to me, that’s more important. To be honest, I don’t know if those who click LIKE really like my post. He he he…. One time, I was online when I heard a ping on my Messenger. That means, there was a reader who just clicked LIKE. But surprise, surprise, I heard 4 pings , one after another, in 3 seconds duration. Gotcha ! lol ! ! The blogger couldn’t have read my post in 3 seconds flat, could he/she? As for me, rest assured I read your post word for word. This is also the reason why I have 5,471 unread emails , to date. I don’t delete. I read all, but……. my fellow bloggers, I cannot cope anymore. I have 50 subscriptions, and each day that I don’t get to open my email folder adds about 200 emails. I kid you not.

According to WordPress, I had 24 posts in 2012. That’s 2 a month. And the blogger with the most comments is 35andupcynicismonhold. What is most interesting is the post that got the most number of views …… it also got the most number of comments, 139 I think? WordPress also says that it has the most ” staying power”. I posted All About Nothing , as usual in February, 2012, and believe it or not, I still get at least 10 views a day from that post for almost a year now. WordPress didn’t give the total number of views, but I’m sure it must be in the thousands already. Happy Valentine’s Day comes second. OMgosh, I was so pathetic here ! ! Well, I’m still pathetic.

There is one post in 2011 and one in 2010 that also got tons of views. I mean, I still get so many views from these old posts. WordPress suggests I should consider writing about these topics again. Uhm, not really, except this one….. HAPPY NEW YEAR, 2012 ! ! ! I like the foodie post myself. When I reread this, I was surprised to see the paella and the empanada that I cooked that year. Yeah, I cooked those ! Here are the pictures…..

Paella

.Empanada….. by the way, I made a mistake with the dough. I used a fluffy dough. It was store dough, ready made…. I don’t know how to make a dough, haha. I’m intimidated.

Empanada dough should look like this.

.I mentioned these two because the best food I had eaten by far in Europe were Spanish empanadas and the paella in Spain, Both are very common foods in the Philippines. In the Philippines, Paella is sometimes called Arroz a la Valenciana. Philippine dishes are basically of Spanish origin. The Philippines was under Spanish rule for almost 400 years, so the similar palate shouldn’t come as a surprise….. for example, Filipinos eat pig’s blood too. In Spain, it’s called Morcilla. I had Morcilla in Burgos and it was good. The blood sausage in London wasn’t that good though. Well, I love pig’s blood. It’s one of my favorite Filipino dish. It’s an acquired taste, so don’t hate, lol. I’ll talk about this soon. ( Filipino stores here in the US sell pig’s blood )

Below are some photos of our New Year spread. Not much this year, though. It was just family, all 6 of us.

Hmmmm, I notice the program on TV… it was The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC. Eh. We were watching a political talk show during New Year’s Day lunch.

Noodles

Stewed beef we call Pochero. It’s made of beef, cabbage, garbanzos, long, green beans, potatoes, garlic, onions, tomato sauce.

Lumpia… just ground pork and shrimps, watercress, carrots, etc, wrapped in egg wrapper, then fried… eaten with sweet – sour sauce. The one on the right is roast pork dip made up of soy sauce, vinegar and fried tofu.

Roasted spare ribs, we call Lechon. This one will give us a massive coronary, but it tastes so good, especially the crunchy skin. Oh, my. . The dip is the one with tofu, but I prefer liver sauce. You can see the liver sauce bottle in the pic.

The one above is one of my favorite desserts. It’s pandan flavoured agar-agar ( similar to Jello) and lychees . Pandan essence comes from the leaves of Pandanus plant, which is very common in SouthEast Asia. Sometimes, we add pandan leaves when cooking rice to give that great aroma. ( The leaves are sold in Asian stores here in the US. )

Fruit salad…. A mainstay Philippine dessert. It’s just a mixture of fruit cocktail, cream, nata de coco, and sweetened palm fruits. The last two are ” must “ingredients in any Philippine fruit salad. Nata de coco is Spanish for cream of coconut. According to Wikipedia, nata is a chewy, translucent jelly-like product produced by fermentation of coconut water by Acetobacter xylinus, a bacteria introduced into coconut water, the fermentation of which produces this jelly -like substance. The process originated in the Philippines.

Cubed colored nata gels. The white nata has the original color. Nata is very, very delicious. There is also nata de pina….. cream of pineapple.

Above is fish with sweet sour sauce . We call the dish Escabeche. Escabeche is Spanish for pickled… the fish is not really pickled, just covered with vinegar- sugar sauce and soy sauce.

We call the juice Sago Cooler. It’s made up of caramel ( boiled brown sugar with banana essence or almond essence ) and sago pearls.

We use a tall glass with long teaspoon to scoop out the sago pearls. Guys, you should try this. It’s very good, If there’s no sago at the Asian store near you, you can float gelatin, jello, or whatever. Be sure to add banana or almond essence, that’s all.

By the way, you can see 2 more desserts with the Sago Cooler photos. The black colored dish is Biko, some sort of rice cake. Mom used deep purple rice, almost black rice. ( we also use white, sweet , glutinous rice, available at Asian stores… it’s different from regular rice). The other dish in the photo , the one in red dish is cassava cake. Cassava or yuca comes from the root and do you know it’s one of the most dangerous food in the world, if not prepared properly? lol

UBE, ( pronounced oo- beh )or purple yam, one of the Philippines’ favorite dessert. It’s used as ice cream flavor, in cakes, bread fillings, or as is, like the photo above. It’s a mixture of condensed milk, butter and grated yam. We use the Philippine variety, because the purple yam grown in other countries does not have the desired taste and consistency. In fact , that ube in the photo isn’t the real thing, and Mom got so pissed that she almost threw it away. It got saved when we added a Philippine variety that we found in the freezer. The store where we bought it ran out of ube and what we found were purple yams from another country, which we suspected were not really purple yam, just ordinary yam with purple food coloring. It was gooey and tasted weird.

Aaaargh, holiday food ! ! It ‘s always a problem to lose weight after pigging out on all that goodness.

I definitely won’t fit into my newly acquired Runway dress shown below.

I need to exercise again.

To be honest, I want to make another WP account that will have food and fashion as my theme. Or , another account where I can write about animes and mangas. ( I know, I know ! I confess ! I’m an anime manga fan. Don’t hate ! )

So, anyway, I’m almost done with my European travelogue. Spain and France are next. Paris was our last stop. From there , we flew back to good ol’ US of A. \

This is all for now. Barcelona and Madrid are next in my travelogue ! Good day to all and Peace ! !

14 Dec

Ooooops ! !

Posted by renxkyoko in Monaco, my life, Random thoughts. Tagged: European tour, European travel, Just my thoughts today, Monaco, my life, my thoughts, postaweek2011, random thoughts. 124 comments

Hello !

I feel a bit down that some readers didn’t take well my last post on Monaco . I know why, and I guess, I agree with them. I don’t know if I will have to take out the rest of our night out photos at Monte Carlo. Those are the only pictures I have of the place, all with me in it, cleavage and all. Sorry. Aaaaargh . * runs off*

maybe just the street signs….. * walks off , head hanging down*

Later.

3 Dec

My European Tour Pt. 12 Florence, Italy

Posted by renxkyoko in European travel, European trip, Italy, my life, Random thoughts. Tagged: European tour, European travel, Florence, Italy, my life, my thoughts, postaweek2011, random thoughts. 89 comments

Come, Ren , say Hi !

My 12th post is about my visit to the city of Florence , the capital city of the region of Tuscany. Florence is a city that sparked The Renaissance and is also the birthplace of Michaelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Boticelli, Dante , Machiavelli, Florence Nightingale, the powerhouse Medici family, and * cough * Gucci, and Ferragamo. It was a rich medieval city , the centre of trade and finance during the Middle Ages, the centre of music ( Florence was where Opera started ) and was considered the wealthiest city at that time, and today, has been ranked as one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The Italian language used to be just a Florentine dialect, but was adopted as the language of choice for the whole of “united ” Italy.

We did the city tour on foot. We were happy we had a Florentine tour guide that had a sense of humour v and was most passionate about the city. ( Well, he always compared Florence to Rome, Venice, etc., ) He was very effusive, lively, and very demonstrative of his feelings . Perhaps he was just being very Italian.

On the way to Florence…. Behold ! Tuscan countryside !

City of Florence under the Tuscan sun.

.Below was our tour guide. Look at his right hand… he was really emoting, and almost singing his description of the beauty of his city.

.Just to let you know I was at Via Torta…. Hmmm, torta is what I have for breakfast almost everyday.

.The buildings look shabby and run-down, but actually , they are just gloriously old.. They are well-preserved 600 year old medieval buildings.

.Above is my group…. Huh ? My back looks fat ! ! =_=” ( That’s me in white hat and striped shirt )

Below is the Piazza della Signoria. On the left side is Michaelangelo’s statue of David, in front of Palazzo Vecchio.

Palazzo Vecchio

. Michaelangelo’s David. That’s a copy. The real thing is in the museum, which is where it should be.

Behind me is the Fountain of Neptune. This statue was made in 1565, commissioned for the wedding of one of the Medici sons. The fountain itself was the terminal of an ancient Roman aqueduct ( like The Trevi Fountain in Rome ) and is still functioning today. The Medici family were the most prominent in Florence. Two Popes came from their clan, but the more famous son, Lorenzo de Medici, was a great patron of the arts. He was an accomplished musician himself, and commissioned works by Michaelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and Botticceli, all Florentines by birth. Then and to this day, he was known as Lorenzo, the Magnificent. The most famous political writing of Niccolo Machiavelli, ” The Prince“, was dedicated to Lorenzo.

I assume we all know of Machiavelli? His name has become synonymous with opportunism, scheming, deceit, cunning, etc. . In his book, The Prince, Machiavelli emphasized the use of deceit, brute force, elimination of rivals, etc. to achieve political stability and power . The end justifies the means neatly sums up the theme of his book.

.Above is the Basilica di Santa Croce ( Basilica of the Holy Cross ), built in 1294.. It is a Franciscan Church, and is the burial place of Michaelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, Rossini, and other notable Italians. On the left, you can see the statue of Dante. The designer of the church’s facade was Jewish. Take note The Star of David at the top. He also wanted to be buried there, but since he wasn’t Catholic, he was buried under the porch, and not within the walls of the church.

.The dormitory of the Franciscan friars is now a Leather School. We toured the place and watched how they crafted the purses, bags, etc. We also bought purses. I bought 2 bags. Florence is also known for their leather crafts.

Having lunch. Do you see that small bowl on the table ? That was a bowl of pasta ( with just white sauce) and it cost $15. The small pizza was $14. Very expensive. Below was the open air restaurant where we had lunch. Oh, by the way, do you see the lady taking a picture? She kind of looks like a zombie.

.Do you see the yellow middle building? That was Michaelangelo’s workshop.

.Above is the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, also called the Duomo, was built in 1296, and completed in 1436. The design was Gothic. The cathedral complex , just like in Pisa, includes the the Cathedral, the Campanille ( freestanding belltower) and the Baptistery. ( where people are baptized). Below is the picture of the facade, courtesy of Wikipedia.

.The Belltower ( Campanille)

.I’ve said before that the beauty of Europe is man-made, haven’t I ? This is why I want to show intricate details of these amazings buildings. They are so breathtakingly beautiful. Can you imagine if these structures were destroyed by numerous wars , or by natural elements ?

.The cathedral ‘s exterior walls are made of white, green and red marbles.

That dome is made of bricks and is the first octagonal dome that was built with no external buttresses to keep the structure from spreading and falling. Lifting over 4 million bricks was an engineering feat by the engineer who built the dome, Brunelleschi. He invented the machines to hoist the bricks up to the top.

Above is the statue of Brunelleschi outside a palace, just across from the cathedral, looking up towards his achievement, which is still the largest masonry dome in the world.

.I managed to take a picture of an open doorway of a private residence. That’s a beautiful indoor courtyard.

Above is another church. On a walking tour, we passed by several more churches like the one above. It’s amazing. These churches are a mere walking distance from each other. One Aussie guy in our group called it ABC. Another Bloody Church. Oy ! o_O”

Walking from 8 to 5 was really tiring. But it didn’t stop us from taking another walk – around at the hotel.

.And relaxing , while waiting for dinner .

The view from our hotel room.

This is it for now. Monaco, Avignon, and Carcassone are next.

Good day to all, and PEACE ! Oh, and it’s December now . Wow ! Happy Holidays to all ! ( I hope I’m first to greet my dear readers )

9 Apr

Tagged 4 and random musings

Posted by renxkyoko in my life, random musings, Random thoughts, relationships, Tagged. Tagged: Just my thoughts today, lovelife, my life, my thoughts, postaweek2011, random thoughts, Tagged. 54 comments

Hello, again. Renxkyoko Iglesias here.

Okay. I can’t believe the first 2 sentences above have been in my draft for 2 days already. Good thing I’m getting tagged. The questions save me from having no topic to talk about at all. But then, I don’t always have any specific topic, anyway. I write down what I’m thinking at the moment, which is some kind of a chopsuey of anything that comes to mind. So I need to thank you, readers, for patiently reading my crap.

So, first off…..my responses to 35andupcynicismonhold‘s questions:

1. Describe that one classmate from high school that you cannot forget.

Oh, my gosh ! A walk down memory lane, revisiting old hurts ? Now, how do I describe her…. lemme think………SHE’S AN UGLY BITCH WITH AN UGLY HEART ! SHE BETRAYED ME ! ! !

2. What is your least liked task at home/in the house. Why?

Cleaning the toilet… Why ? Coz it’s the toilet ? Coz that ‘s where people do their smelly business ?

3. Would you rather take care of plants or animals (pets)? Why?

Plants……. What can I say? They are beautiful. ( although we have a dog that we love so much )

4. What is that song that you remember because it has been your mother’s or father’s favorite?

My father’s favorite, dedicated to Mom. This was their wedding song and this will be my Wedding Song, too ! ! Ladies, listen to the lyrics ( and wonderful melody ) . I wish, one day, a guy would tell me the same thing.

bfoNGekrv3I

5. What was the last movie that really let you down? Why?

Eragon, from the book Eragon. It was the worst adaptation so far. Even the author got depressed.

6. Which part of your body you always say could use change or improvement but never got around to (doing)?

None. I’m not saying I’m perfect, hahaha….. Unless I do a Michael Jackson… Oh, wait, I hope to go from Cup B to Cup D, bahahaha !

7. What is that one trick/joke/antic that your friends constantly pull on you? What is your usual reaction?

Uhmmm….

8. When your family members tease you, what is it usually about? How do you get back? ^^

I don’t get teased… I get pressured to do the best I can. Ever heard of Asian Tiger Moms? This has also become a problem of most young Asians here in the US. ….too much pressure. Geez, I even got pressured to unlike a guy coz he didn’t make the grade. And I gave in. I know , I was horrible. I sucked, big time. I talked about that here.

9. Are you a person of strong political opinions? Why or why not?

I think I’m highly politicized so much so that I won’t get together with a guy whose strong political opinion is completely opposite to mine. Too stressful.

10. Creativity or popularity? What are your chances of achieving it in the next five(5) years (in a scale of 1 to 10). State your reason in maximum of five sentences.

I prefer Creativity but there’s snowball’s chance in hell I can achieve that in 5 years/

Popularity in the entertainment business? I think that’s doable. Not here in the US though. Maybe I’ll go to Asia and try my hand at becoming an idol, like my K-pop idols. Muahahah ! Now, don’t roll your eyes, smirk and snicker behind my back, my friend, coz some person actually approached and tried to recruit me right after my 15 minutes of fame at a concert with Jason Derulo. I ‘ve kept the business card. And I actually seriously thought about this ….. well, just for a while. ~.^ I’m dreaming I’m the ” star ” there on the stage. (That’s me on the stage. ) Problem is, I don’t know how to sing. (^____^) # Oh, and sorry for recycling this photo. LOL

11. Which do you think is promoted more by blogging – alignment of people with similar interests or tolerance among people with varying lives, opinions and beliefs? Why?

I have no idea why people read my blog, to be honest. There’s nothing to learn from me, lol. I do tend to align with bloggers whose beliefs are similar to mine.

I have another set of questions from jishifruit that I need to answer, but I’ll save that for later.

I wrote about our relatives from the Philippines ( husband and wife, and their 3 kids, aged 7, 12 and 14 ) who are coming over to the US for a visit. They’ll be here on May 2 and will be staying with us for 2 weeks. So, like any other family that are going to host guests, we started preparing the house for their visit….. clean the garden, shampoo the rugs, change the curtains, etc. Mom and I broke our backs weeding, and making the garden nice and pretty. Well, we all know how gardens look during winter… everything is brown and dead, but spring is here, and flowers have started to sprout…… so pretty ! And Mom and I are so very eager to show them off.

The photos above were taken last week. Then Friday, Dad came home early with a friend. He decided on his own to “repair” the concrete pathway with his friend, and there and then started digging up the roots off the front lawn and jackhammered the concrete pathway. Sunday, today, this is what our front garden looks like….. several days of back breaking hard work gone to waste.

Darn it , Dad ! Why now ? Just 3 weeks before they arrive and you mess it up ? Do you expect the lawn to grow nicely in 3 weeks ? And he isn’t supposed to spend so much before we leave for Europe in June.

Oh, about our European tour…. I talked about that here 8 months ago. Now it’s less than 2 1/2 months to go. We leave on June 16. It’s a one month pre-paid guided tour of 9 countries… England, France, Germany, Holland, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, and Monaco. I’m going with my mother, my 13 year old cuzin, and my aunt. My aunt will be coming from the Philippines and we’ll meet up with her in London, where the tour starts. I’m starting to get excited now. , not so much 8 months ago when we signed up for the tour. Hey, do I have a reader from any of these countries? How’s the weather out there from June to July ? We are only allowed one luggage each, so we really need to choose our clothes carefully. It will be mostly bus tour. The bus can accomodate only one luggage per person.

Well, this is all for now. So, have a good day, be nice, and PEACE ! !

12 Nov

Courtship and serenade

Posted by renxkyoko in Manga, my life, Philiipine culture, Philippine Heritage, Random thoughts. Tagged: Being A Filipino, lovelife, manga, my life, my thoughts, Philippine culture, postaweek2011, random thoughts. 78 comments

Hello, Renxkyoko Iglesias musing here!

Eight days have passed…………. time to post again. Meh. As usual, I’m hitting a blank wall.

I just checked out my email folder, with almost 2,000 read emails . I deleted around 500. Going through the mails, I suddenly felt a wave of nostalgia and sadness wash over me when I read a series of emails between a certain person and myself. He was my one-sided love.

But the unrequited love is not the reason why I felt sad. The reason is more dire than that. I have a question….. what is the mathermatical probability that out of the population of 4 billion men, the guy that you happen to like has a terminal illness ? He turned 20 this September. He was diagnosed when he was just 18 years old. This is really true. “ Hey, Dreamsending, I guess you now have an idea who he is.” ( Dreamsending is my co-author here on Renxkyoko’s space )

So, what else can I talk about ? Well, I bought a blu-ray of the movie The Strangers, ( recommended by a blogger )and the first season of Walking Dead. ( recommended by 3 bloggers ) I don’t think I can watch the movies this week. I have exams coming next week. As usual, crunch time.

It’s been a rather boring week. Seriously, I really have nothing to talk about. It seems everything is …. lifeless. Everyday it’ s school, work, home…….and I guess this happens to be one of my “off” days . I really feel lethargic, and I just want to curl up in bed and sleep .

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Hi, again ! I wrote the above 4 days ago. Today is Veteran’s Day, so there’s no school, although I went to work from 1 PM to 7 . And there wasn’t much happening there, either. My boss gave me another $ 150 gift certificate, though. My third one ! Also, I deleted/erased most of what I had written above about this guy. . I thought they were most inappropriate. My problem with him seemed so puny compared to his own personal problem, so I felt I had no right whatsoever to feel hurt. I mean, his situation is mind- blowing. I can’t even imagine what he’s feeling now. Last I heard from him, there was remission. I hope it stays that way. So young ……….

So…..

My mom got a call from the Philippines, from my aunt, Mom’s sister. She told my Mom that a cousin, ( their first cousin ) had asked my aunt to call Mom, so that Mom could call a nephew ( who’s in the Philippines, too , and who’s actually my Dad’s nephew, the son of his sister) and ask him what his real intentions are regarding Mom’s first cousin’s daughter, who happens to be the nephew’s girlfriend. ( Are you still with me? LOL )……… maybe a diagram is in order.

Mom——> First cousin——–> daughter Cathy

Dad——-> Sister———> son Don

Cathy <——- hearts ——–> Don

Backround story: It was when Mom and I went to the Philippines last year on vacation that Don and Cathy were introduced at a family reunion. Cathy is a 30 year old doctor, single, and really quite pretty. Don is a 35 year old lawyer, single, and never even had a girlfriend. So, they liked each other, and just had a first year anniversary of their relationship last August. But, here’s the thing…. it seems Cathy wants to get married, but doesn’t want to bring up the subject of marriage to Don. Mom is not sure if Cathy knows about her Mom’s call to my Mom, but Mom’s assuming she does, so Mom calls Don. For fun, this is more or less, Mom’s and Don’s conversation:

Mom : Don, don’t tell Cathy I talked to you about this, but Cathy’s Mom called and told me to sound you off about Cathy’s desire to get married.

Don : Aunty, I know what Cathy feels, but, I have just started my own law firm, and right now, I can barely pay the rent and my secretary’s salary. My savings are fast disappearing. I don’t think I can afford to have a family now.

Mom: Don, Cathy is a doctor. She’s doing okay financially. She knows you’re in a bind now, yet, she still wants to get married to you..

Don: That’s exactly the reason why I don’t want to get married yet. I should be the one to support her, to bring home the bacon.

Mom: Don, you’re 35. How long will it take you to build a steady clientle, 5 years, 10 years? You’ll be 40 by then, and Cathy will be 35. She doesn’t want that. She’s willing to share the burden with you, as a wife.

Don: That’s what she thinks now…. but, I’m sure there are going to be money problems… and marital fights…… that’s inevitable….. and I don’t want that to happen to us.

Mom: Don, you don’t have to marry her now….. all you have to do is make the relationship official…. give her a ring, get engaged… that’s all for now…. and then both of you decide when to get married.

Don : Alright, alright. Aunty, I love you, but please don’t think I’m doing this because you asked me to. I’m doing this of my own free will and because I love her, okay?

Mom : Alright ! But please don’t get married before our Euro trip next year. We want to attend the wedding ! ! !

Of course I embellished the conversation a little bit, but it’s more or less 80% accurate. I was the Third wheel on their first few dates ! And I witnessed the awkwardness of 2 grown adults. I couldn’t believe it. Or was it a culture thing? Mom says in the rural areas in the Philippines, a man has to serve the family of the girl he’s courting. Like, chopping firewood for cooking? Oh, and there’s this tradition of serenading the girl ! They say the guy serenades the girl at night, under the moonlight, and if the girl likes him back, she will open the window and listen, but if she doesn’t like him, the window will not be opened. And if the guy can’t sing, he hires a professional singer. Wow! Just imagine the scene…. a guy singing a haunting love song, accompanied by a guitar, and the girl looking out the window, with a lovely smile on her face, awwww ! I wonder if this tradition still exists. Mom says it still does, coz she was serenaded once by a young, poor farmer when she stayed at a small barrio for one month for her on the job training when she was in college. She siad it was embarassing and awkward., like, did the guy really think that would work? LOL

Edited to include a pic of Philipine tradition of Serenade:

I have a question, though…. do you think my Mom crossed the line by ” urging” my cousin Don to get engaged to Cathy? Well, actually, it was Cathy’s mother who wanted Mom to do that. This isn’t what we call a shotgun wedding , is it ? Shotgun weddings are for pregnant ladies, and Cathy isn’t.

Anyways, I hope Philippine guys continue with this sweet tradition of courtship, serenade and all. It’s awesome. Over here in the US, wham, bam, thank you , Ma’m is the thing.

Well, this is all for now. Good day to all ! Oh, wait, before I go, there’s this Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao who’s gonna have a bout with a Mexican boxer Marquez tonight on HBO’s Pay Per View. You bet we’re going to watch. And some guests are coming, including my sister’s boyfriend’s cousins. ( A bunch of white guys, haha ) Last time the cousins were here, BF and one cousin almost had their own boxing match at the backyard. It seemed the cousin favored the other boxer. And, they had beers too many.

Alright, gotta go….. I’ll bake cupcakes ! ! Bye for now !

16 Oct

Sorry for the blooper (~.~)

Posted by renxkyoko in Manga, mangas/animes, my life, random musings, Random thoughts. Tagged: Being A Filipino, European tour, Just my thoughts today, lovelife, manga, my life, my thoughts, postaweek2011, random thoughts. 34 comments

Hi !

Renxkyoko Iglesias musing again………..

Today is Oct.15. I don’t know when exactly I can publish this, but I’ll try to finish this today. Wishful thinking, of course ,coz I work the whole day today.Anyways, so what am I gonna talk about this time? Oh , before anything else….. I reread my last post, and I felt horrible about that sausage remark. I’m sorry if I offended anyone. It was 3 AM when I wrote that, so I wasn’t really thinking properly. I could have erased that like I could have erased and trashed some of my stupid and totally inappropriate posts , but it’s history ( my history), so I have to live with that faux pas for the rest of my life. * bangs head on the table* ….I’m toast .

Ladies , you are all beautiful, no matter what size you are.

One blogger, LeeDevine, suggests I should write about the places I’ll go to in our Euro tour next year. Good idea.! That’s something to write about.

Don’t get bored, okay> I’ll be quick….. ( I hope )

Tour starts in London. We stay in London for 2 days, and these are free days, not guided. I want to see the Wax Museum ( Madame Tussaud’s ), King’s Cross Station ( that’s a Harry Potter thingy ^o^ ), changing of the guards, cross that famous bridge I forget the name, and eat authentic Fish and Chips ! ! ! I don’t know where else we can go in 2 days… maybe check out Harrod’s? Then we leave London , ride on a ferry to Amsterdam. On a ” luxury motorcoach ” ( that’s what it says on the itinerary ) we go sigthseeing in Holland, visit a famous diamond center, go canal crusing…… then we head off to Germany. It says we go to Rhineland and Heidelburg. I know what Heildelburg is , but what is Rhineland? A h, there’s no Berlin nor Munich… How can we go to Germany and not see Berlin? Oh, well. Next we travel into Switzerland by way of the Autobahn ( I thought this was a name of an automobile…. name of a freeway then , ? ), stay in Lucerne, ride a cable car on Mt. Titlis, enjoy the Alpine mountain scenery ( and burst into a song “The hills are alive with the sound of music….la di da….. ). What, no Zurich, either ? Booooo !

Then, Italy ! ! I’m excited about Italy. Know why? Coz we get to ride on the gondola and be serenaded by a local troubador ( O, sol a mioooooo…. la la la ) Ooooh, mama mia ! ! But first , we stop in Lugano to take a stroll, then drive to Verona to see Juliet’s house and balcony and stroll around the market square. Then, we go to Venice to , yes, ride the gondola, the water buses and see Venice at water level. We will also visit and watch Venetian glassblowers, and I’m sure I’m going to buy a glass souvenir, and have it personally “signed ” by the maker. ( We have one like that at home )………… after which we head for Assissi to visit St. Francis Basilica. Then we head for Rome. Ah, Rome…. the Eternal City… but , of course we get to visit St. Peter’s Basilica, the Roman Forum, and the Colosseum.( Dad told us some parts of the Collosseum smelled of pee… it really stank). Since we are Roman Catholics, I’m really excited to tour the Vatican, and finally see the Sistine Chapel, where I can gawk, to my heart’s content, at Michaelangelos’ Genesis and Last Judgement. Then on to Tuscany, then Pisa and visit the Leaning Tower, then to Florence, where we’ll have a walking tour of the city of the Medicis, and the birthplace of the Renaissance era.

Then we proceed to the Italian Riviera, then on to French Riviera where we get to visit a perfumery in Eze ( I’ll buy a bottle , that’s for sure ), then travel along Cote d’ Azur, then to Monte Carlo, Monaco, for night excursion, and dinner. Then we travel through France’s lovely scenery on the way to Provence, then Avignon, then Carcassonne. After which, we proceed to Barcelona, Spain. yay ! The land of my ancestors ! ( They’re from Segovia, though. Check out my post titled Who Am I and a few Plug-ins )….. Then on to Madrid, the capital of Spain, where dinner includes a flamenco dance show. Ole ! ! After Madrid, we go to Toledo, Burgos, then Bilbao . Mom’s gonna buy some authentic Chorizos de Bilbao, that’s for sure. Chorizo de Bilbao is a staple in our soups . Oh….. know what, there;s no such thing as chorizo de Bilbao. I guess it’s merely a kind of sausage common in Bilbao. ” Senor, do you have chorizo de Bilbao?” I’m sure we’ll get a blank look. It’s like saying, (and you’re in China, ) ” I’m gonna get me some Chinese food, or have dinner at a Chinese restaurant,” he he he. Or order some French fries in France., or French dressing with your salad. Ahahaha ! I wonder if they also call it French kiss in France. @_@

Back to tour…… from Spain, we proceed to France. First stop is Bordeaux, the wine capital of France. ( we’ll buy one or 3 bottles, I’m sure ), I mean, really, really sure…. coz here’s a pic of some wines in our house.

Well, our house’s just 30 minutes from the wine capital of the US, Napa Valley. We were there just 2 weeks ago for some wine tasting.

So, from Bordeaux, we go to Portiers, then Tours, Orleans, then Gay Paris. !That’s where the tour ends. We have 2 full days to explore Paris, then we leave Paris for San Francisco.. So, that’s it, folks.

Hope you didn’t get bored. But I’d understand if you did, coz I’d get bored myself, ahaha.

Oh, by the way, I aced my Physics test ! ! ! ! Okay, I got 95 %. I could have gotten 100 if not for that stupid trick question worth 5 pts. I got the correct answer, initially, crossed it out, and wrote down the wrong answer. The solution should have been the same , with or without Resistance, Gaaaah! I will let you know what I got in Chem and Bio later. I’m not very confident with these two, but I’ll pass, I’m sure of that, though not A’s. T.T I’m hoping for a B, at least. I focused my attention too much on Physics coz I know I’m clueless. My partner in Lab is the one who sets up the experiments. He’s a guy, so I guess he’s better at this sort of thing. I’m not a sexist or anything, but, I can’t even tell tools apart. o_o He got a B , I think, so I couldn’t tell him what I got. (~.~)

Well, this is all for now…. Be nice, be good, and PEACE ! !

SUPER UPDATE !

I was reading one of my favorite’s blogsite, LeeDevine’s ( he’s on my blogroll ) , and he wrote, ” here’s something you might want to read “… I clicked it, not knowing what it was, and it directed me to my site ! ! I’m so happy ! ! This is the second time it happened to me… clicking something from another site and directing me to my own site. Thank youuuuu ! Is that what we call “pressing it”?

4 Oct

HERE I AM AGAIN

Posted by renxkyoko in Manga, my life, Random thoughts. Tagged: Just my thoughts today, manga, my life, my thoughts, postaweek2011, random thoughts. 73 comments

Hello! Here I am again . I know ! It’s been awhile !

The last time I posted here was almost a month ago. Only one post in September ! ! I’m not slacking. I’m just too busy with work and school. I work up to 10 PM , then I go to school to study with my study group and go home at 2 AM, almost everyday. I usually do my studying at the university’s Student Union Building. And then, I have 327 unread emails ! ( mostly from politicians and Democratic Party , Amazon, jokes, manga sites, World Wildlife Fund, Clinton Foundation, )…..

And speaking of our planned European tour….. it’s 100% sure thing. As soon as we get the 2012 tour schedule and final price quote in October , we will make an early reservation and down payment. My Mom is also enquiring if we can get more discounts if we book at least 6 months in advance. Our tentative schedule is on June 16, 2012, that will begin in London and end in Amsterdam, and will last 30 days. It’s an escorted tour, and the places we’ll visit are England, Spain, Greece, Italy, Germany, Austria, The Netherlands, France, Switzerland, and belgium. We originally planned on taking the Eurail Pass, but we think it’s a waste of time and effort to go on our own. My aunt is 70 years old , but still very strong , mind you ……….. just the same, we think she doesn’t anymore have the stamina to backpack around Europe. My Dad backpacked and travelled solo in Europe for 35 days in 1981, with only a book ( titled Europe for $ 9 a Day) and travel maps to guide him. We can’t do that travelling with my 70 year old aunt.. ( and Mom is 57, geez) . That book is now titled Europe for $ 50 a Day ! We have to cough up about $ 4,500 per person for the tour itself, excluding the round trip ticket from the US to London, which is about $ 1,500. I am now working my ass off for my pocket money.

Speaking of work…. yesterday, I exceeded my sales, way , way, above my quota. Last night, when we were about to close the store, ( around 8 PM, as it was Sunday , 10 PM for rest of the week ) 3 Indonesian tourists came in, the mother and 2 daughters . As soon as they got in, they started piling up the clothes, and I thought, oh, oh, there goes my study period. They tried just 2 dresses, and my boss asked me to ” model ” the rest for them, so I had to change and try on more than a dozen times. By the way, I was designated a stylist/model for the store because I am size zero, hahaha. ( Well, size zero for regular clothes, size 2 on runway clothes. ) Believe it or not, I have to twirl and pose around like a model and show the clients how the dress would look on a person. Anyways, I wore this body hugging stretch mini dress that one of the daughters picked up. The problem was, the girl was size 10 !!!!! I wanted to be honest and tell her, ” ~~Sweetie, I’m size 0, so I look good in it but you’re size 10~~… ~~you would , without doubt, look like a fat sausage in it …..~~ erm, this dress won’t flatter you..” I mean, I already have at least 3 regular rich buyers who come in looking for me because I’m completely honest with them, so they trust my suggestions. . But I couldn’t be entirely honest this time, could I ? @__@ I mean, it’s their physical appearance, not the style of the dress, that is problematic. * sweats* You know what I mean. Besides, isn’t Indonesia a predominantly Muslim country? I guess, Indonesia is a relatively “tolerant ” country. I have an Indonesian friend and she does wear a mini skirt. Well, she’s Christian , I guess. Oh, she is, in fact , a Catholic. And I guess, their government does not impose a sort of dress code for non- Muslims. Hmmm. Anyways, back to the story….. Good thing, the other sister saved the situation. She told her sister not to buy it, and start dieting, hahaha . To make the story short, they bought a total of $ 5,299.00 for clothes and accessories ( My boss loves me now coz I can actually convince a client to buy an accessory to match a dress, hehehe. ) By the way, folks, the rich are different from you and me. They don’t do fittings……. well, just once, to get the proper size, and then they let someone else try on the clothes for them. I managed to convince one client, for instance, to purchase an expensive cardigan by showing her 4 ways to wear it. So, anyway, I got a platinum circle and a $ 150 gift certificate from the store for the “excellent” job I’ve done this September. .* Says to self, * Good job, Ren ! ! \(^o^)/ Ah, in fact, I bought that stretch dress myself, and on top of that, I got a 70% discount ! !

Ugh ! I’m having a most difficult time with Physics this semester. Right now, our topics are circuit and magnetism . I’m clueless. but I’m studying very hard , so much so that I ‘m starting to dream about it. Like, 2 nights ago, I dreamt that I was taking my Physics exam , but turned in a blank exam paper to the teacher. Yegads, it felt so real ! ! Like last year in my other Physics, I threw a piece of crumpled paper into the waste bin and I swear, I saw an imaginary path ( dots) from my hand to the bin and unconsciously calculated the velocity and distance travelled by the crumpled paper. Ahahaha ! Shhesh! I’m such a geek.

I have my own car now. My sister bought an Infinity, and gave me her old , trusty Toyota Corolla. It still looks good and runs well, and best of all, it’s a gas saver.

You know, I started writing this post last week. I am updating our Euro tour…. well, our tour and flight schedule are now confirmed. Mom just paid the 10% non-refundable downpayment to lock the price , and we changed the packaged tour to a lesser expensive one. No Greece and Vienna this time, but we knock at least $ 3,000 off the original price of the tour. Tour starts on June 18, 2012 in London and ends on July 14 , in Paris. And the countries included in the tour are England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Amsterdam, Belgium, and Switzerland. I know it’s too early to get excited about the tour, but hey, time flies so fast that before we know it, it’s already June! !

I’m thinking,….. the best way to get rid of an annoying suitor and admirer is not to make a U-turn and hide from him. Just be straightforwardly honest or be totally gross to turn him off….like so…

or , let him see you scratching your butt….

or, make a loud fart or burp and say, “ahhh, that feels sooo good “.

If that wouldn’t turn him off, I don’t know what else would, he he he……

This is all for now. Be nice, be good, and PEACE !

9 Sep

Man, I’m exhausted ! !

Posted by renxkyoko in Manga, my life, random musings, Random thoughts. Tagged: Just my thoughts today, lovelife, manga, musings, my life, my thoughts, postaweek2011, random thoughts. 59 comments

Hello!

Renxkyoko Iglesias musing here.

This is just an update of things that happened to me last week……

First off, we bought a 2009 Toyota Camry, with only 22,000 miles in it. That’s pretty good for a used car. Uhm, for first time readers, our family van was stolen while in my care, so yeah, I really feel guilty, though I know it isn’t my fault. . Anyways, I’m relieved we ‘ve managed to replace the van as quickyly as possible. It was quite difficult to have only one car for 3 people, myself, mom and dad. I don’t have a car, but I hope to get my sister’s car when she gets a new one. I hope, soon.

Also, I was able to enroll in my Chemistry class. Oh, what a relief ! ! There were 20 waitlisted students who were trying to get in, but only 2 were taken in, and thank goodness the other one was my Physics classmate last year who has been trying to get in for 3 semesters already. This is my 4th Chemistry… 3 more to go. I just found out Chemistry is my de facto Minor, with Molecular Microbiology as my major course. I thought of making Forensic Science as a minor, but I guess Chemistry is better. My sister is a microbiology grad but is now working as a chemist . I see myself working in a lab …. not a bad career, if I do say so myself.. Meanwhile, I’m selling clothes and scooping ice cream. Speaking of which, I’m now # 2 in sales. Our target is $ 150 an hour, but I’m doing $ 300, so my boss is liking me more and more. Oh, by the way, I now know what BCBG means…. it’s Bon Chic, Bon Genre. The name of our store is BCBG MAX AZRIA. Max Azria is the designer. It’s funny that the latest topic as suggested by WordPress is ” Do you work too much or too little?” At this moment, I’m exhausted. Alright, Saturday, I worked from 10 AM – 2 PM at baskin and Robbins, then from 3 PM to 11 PM at BCBG. ( It was quite busy on Labor Day weekend sale ) Then on Sunday, I worked from 8 AM – 3 PM, then 5 PM -10 PM…. today, it’s the same time. I didn’t go to Mass this Sunday. I ‘m sure God understands. I don’t know why I feel troubled and guilty everytime I don’t go to Church. I’m like, what if I keel over tomorrow, I’ll go to hell? That’s the punishment for mortal sin. It’s a stupid thought, I know. . It’s just something from Sunday school that got stuck in my head. Meh.

My aunt from the Philippines is here with us. First thing we did was shop until we dropped, all on her American Express. She wanted to buy me a Tag Hauer watch, but I opted for cash and clothes, he he he. I have my cell phone to give me time, anyways. She gave my siblings Tag Hauers last time she was here. ( Over a thousand dollars each ) I didn’t get one coz I was still in middle school. And, didn’t I write on my previous post things were gonna be good this year ? Well, my aunt promised a European tour for me and my Mom next summer. I’m already daydreaming about it this early. Yay ! Well, she says it’s 100 % sure thing. We pay for the airplane fare and she’ll take care of the rest…EurailPass, hotels, food ! ! All we have to do, she says, is to pray nothing happens to her from now till next summer ! ! “ Luv ya, Aunty ! Stay healthy ! ”

What are top ten places i want to go to ? 1. Spain 2. Rome 3. Greece 4. Switzerland 5. England 6. Scotland 7. Ireland 8. Turkey 9. Netherlands 10. France…….. Uhm, why Turkey , you ask ? Well, my aunt says it’s one of the most beautiful places she’s been to, so far. You know, the United states is also beautiful, but, it lacks culture ? I don’t really know what ” culture ” means…. Perhaps we have culture, but it’s 20th century culture, like Hollywood culture …..it isn’t much, and it isn’t like something I’d like to ogle at and take pictures of. I know we don’t really have stateside Antiquities to show off….. just Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. The US doesn’t have real castles, no Parthenon, no thousand year old structures………….. in other words, it lacks that Old World feeling . Anyways, I hope I can go to Egypt and Jerusalem to see the Pyramids and these Bible places, but my aunt says these places are not 100% safe. There’s one place in Asia, though, that I really, really want to visit….it’s Japan. Maybe it’s because of my manga obssession. That’s a crazy reason why I want to go, unless of course I intend to stay there and experience the day to day Japanese life, like going to Festivals wearing a yukata, eating a bento, and meeting a manga hero that looks like this…..

It’s funny coz I see images of Japan with people in them, and definitely, not one looks like that guy here…….and truth be told, I swear this guy looks more like the deli guy at Subway that’s right across from Baskin and Robbins where I work. Ahahaha ! Sheeesh. And, oh, yeah, Keanu Reeves ! He looks like the guy from L.DK.

Here he is, Shuseii from L.DK…. * drools*

Oh, gosh, I love L.DK…. L.DK means Living Room, Dining Room, Kitchen. Nice title of a romance story.

I have to concede to Angus and Eros though. ( from the manga THE ONE ) They’re really pretty.

These two are the reasons why we keep on reading. He he he …… Do you know what the problem is with these mangas? They raise the standard of the “ideal man”, like, how he should look like, act, and behave. I am now now attracted to guys with long hair. But female manga readers do fantasize. Why do I know that ? Coz I read the forums and they’re like this….

…………….. daydreaming that someday……..,,

Yeah. Sweet, huh, See that? The guy is even blushing. Awwww ! That image is from the manga STROBE EDGE , one of the nicest, sweetet, cutest, albeit heart wrenching mangas I’ve ever read. It is heart wrenching coz the guy has a girl friend. What’s worse is the girl friend is prettier ( she’s a model) , and not only that, she’s actually nice. T.T And the main girl, Nanako, does not get in the way of Ren’s and his gf’s relationship. She does not break them up… it’s a mutual decision. The GF lives in another city, and is quite busy with work and she does meet other people, but Ren himself does not break up with her because he’s a good , faithful and loyal guy, even though he has started to fall for Nanako. Once he’s free, he confesses to Nanako, but Nanako rejects him. Well, Ren has a best friend who’s also in love with nanako, and the best friend has always been there with Nanako trying to make life easier for her as she suffers from supposedly unrequited love for Ren. Awww ! In the end of course, Ren and Nanako get together. ………..Hahaha, I know, it’s so cheesy, but I love it. So, yeah, that’s the stuff some mangas are made of….. pure, young love, the ideal one that impressionable girls are dreaming of.

Alright, this is all for now. I hope I can post more often after this. It’s really been awhile, huh, more than 2 weeks from my last post , I think. Gosh, I’ve been so busy.

So, bye for now, be nice, be good, and PEACE !

15 Aug

The Unwritten Rule, or Maybe Not

Posted by renxkyoko in Manga, mangas/animes, my life. Tagged: Just my thoughts today, manga, mangas, musings, my life, my thoughts, postaweek2011, random thoughts. 61 comments

Here I am again. Hello, renxkyoko Iglesias musing.

Seriously, what am I going to write about this time? About debt ceiling? About how the US’s credit rating has been degraded from maybe 5 stars to just 2 now ? Although , the latter does have some serious implications on my parents’ pocketbook. You see, our next door neighbor just moved out. They bought a new one for $ 150,000, but sold their old home, with a pool, for $165,000. So, we’d think they profited from the sale? Nope. They lost a lot of money because 6 years ago, at the height of housing boom here in California, they bought their old house for $320,000. So, what has it got to do with us? Well, 6 years ago, my parents also bought another house for $ 350,000 ( with a pool, too ), and now, we hear that the value of that house is now a measly $200,000. In other words, my parents lost $150,000. Good thing that house is never without a tenant or tenants, so it pays for itself. We’re renting it out for $1550, and that’s also exactly how much we’re paying for mortgage. We’re not earning at all. We are , in fact, losing a few hundred dollars a month. My parents decided to pay for the tenants’ water bills, monthly pool maintenance, garbage/sewage fees….. just some perks as long as they stay in the house. But, this degrading of the US credit rating is a bit worrisome. This means , interest rates will go up. I’m sure we’ll get another love letter from the mortgage company. A realtor friend of my parents told them to just walk away from the loan but we have to prepare ourselves to lose our credit rating for 7 years. No credit card, just cash for all transactions. ( credit cards will definitely not be renewed. I’m sure even WalMart will not give us the time of day. ) ……..But of course , my parents won’t do that.

You know, I just read this manga titled Momo Lover. The story goes like this…… there’s this family of 2 sisters who are orphans. The older sister goes overseas to work, but comes back with a baby, named Momo, and hands the care of her baby over to her younger sister, then leaves the country again. ( But she doesn’t leave, actually. She stays for a while to secretly observe how her sister handles the situation. ) The younger sister happens to have 2 guys ( Shirou and Yomi ) who are in love with her. They find out about the baby, and volunteer to help the main girl. ( Chirei * Cherry* ) They are all high school students. One day, they decide to go outing at the beach. Cherie and the baby almost drown. Shirou saves the baby while Yomi instinctively saves Chirei……

I have this “bad habit” of checking out the forum to read the comments /opinions of the readers, and more importantly, to read “spoilers”, before reading the manga. If there’s an unpleasant ending, or sometimes, gut-wrenching episodes that I know I won’t be able to stand , then I don’t read it. Eh. I know that’s stupid, but that’s just me. I can’t help it. I try to avoid unpleasant stuff like that. Anyhow, there’s a thread there that discusses Yomi’s action of saving Chirei first. Each opinion is understandably againts Yomi. ” How dareYomi save Chirei who can survive, instead of the baby who is helpless?” That’s a natural reaction. But here’s the thing……… In the hierarchy of things, there’s an unwritten rule that the spouse saves his /her spouse first, even if the other one is his/her own parent or child. …. all things being equal, of course. If’ for instance, your spouse is too far to be saved successfully, then save the one closest to you. Another example is during childbirth. ……………If the situation calls for a choice between saving the child or the mother, saving the mother wins hands down. Even in court trials, the court cannot force the wife ( or husband) to testify againts the spouse.. The unwritten rule is now part of the laws of the land. What then is the point of all this? My point is, that’s how strong the marriage bond should be. When people marry, they become ONE ENTITY in the whole universe. You take a vow to be together, for richer or poorer, for better or worse, in health and in sickness, until death do you part.

I’m not saying married people should stay together forever, even if the marriage turns into an untenable relationship. Definitely not. I only have 2 reasons, though, if I’m the one to initiate divorce.

1. Husband cheats on me. Before I turn over my life, body and soul , to a man, he should get my my complete trust and faith in him. Once they are betrayed, lifeline is permanently broken. Why ? Because I do not forget nor forgive. The man’s presence will always remind me of his betrayal, an act that I know will haunt me forever.

2. Being in an abusive relationship, in words and in deed. It ‘s not abusive, Hollywood style, it is the real McCoy, where I am threatened with bodily harm, get yelled at and insulted 24/7. In fact, this is one of the very, very few reasons the Vatican will annul a Catholic marriage.

Other than these two, I shall stay married, for better or for worse, forever. Unless, of course, husband divorces me. That’s fine. I’d rather have that, than staying married and cheat on me. Hah! Do people think it’s only women who are left holding the short end of the stick? If you believe that, you better look like this……

Because, mister, women are as capable of leaving men for guys who look like that before they can cry Uncle ! Men are also as likely to turn into simpering ninnies , pining for their beloved exes . Women do not even need men to have children nowadays. They can just go to ferility clinics and have themselves impregnated, give birth to a child, be loving mothers, and at the same time, live a happy single life, free from worries of trying to please a man every single day. ( Hey, hey, calm down , Ren… not all men are cheaters. there are more men who are as faithful as your Dad. Just choose well, and use your head all the time )

Ahahah ! I’m just musing…………. My heart does go out to those whose hearts have been broken, whatever the gender is. I live by the motto, Golden Rule. Do not do unto others what you do not want others to do unto you. Oh, speaking of which, my sister’s boyfriend had a haircut… He’s almost bald now. He hehe …. Sis freaked out. We all did….. it was only Dad who approved. Well, he used to have long blond hair, longer than shoulder length, and it was always tied back. LOL ! This is so random.

Oh . oh! ! ! I just read 3 mangas. one is completed, 2 are ongoing. One is a Korean manhwa, by the same author as Ways of the Jogang Jicheo and The Boy Who Will sell Kisses for 5000 Won. The title is ” Die or Like Me ” , I wrote about the other two on my previous blogs. But this one, Die or Like Me is heart wrenching. Aaaargh ! I don’t think I’ll read this. I ‘ve seen the raws… oh. my gawd ! ! The main guy is in bed with another girl several times.. I mean, they’re both naked, so I assume they’re doing it. Oh, oh ! ! I won’t read this ! ! Damn ! ! *ponders* You know what, if there’s a guy who wants to go into a relationship with me, he better not tell me his past, if there’s any. I’d prefer to be blissfully ignorant; The thought of him doing it with another girl will forever haunt me. I don’t think I can handle it. This is one of my hang-ups.I know it’s unrealistic in this day and age, and I hope I can get past that, but , right now? I don’t think so. Ah, uh. A guy friend tells me it’s called mental voyeurism. I had a classmate last year , a Filipino, too, whom I liked, and I was very sure he liked me too. Even our classmates thought we had started dating. But then, one day, he told me, oh, so casually , that he used to live with his ex girlfriend. I don’t remember how that came up. …… Oh, I remember….. our tenants were moving out, and I thought he was living alone in an apartment, so I asked him if he wanted to rent the house, and he could just get roommates, like our students/tenants. ( The house is located near the university.) And he said, “Oh, no, I live in a house now with my cousins as roommates, and the house is owned by a relative. I used to live in an aprtment with my ex.” I was dumbfounded and went into complete shock. Do you know how it was like? Icy chill crept from my head down to my toes. He was still speaking, but I couldn’t hear it… the sound seemed to come from far far away. In a second, I went into total ignore mode. I stopped speaking to him, ignored his calls, and wouldn’t even look at him. Good thing school was almost over. But I know he was as devastated as I was, but , ” sorry. It’s me. Can’t help it. it’s not your fault. ”

Oh, my. I think I should stop here. I’m not making sense anymore.

Oh, well.

This is all for now. I think I’m feeling a little depressed. Sorry. Bye, PEACE!

6 Aug

Just Musing..and Ranting !

Posted by renxkyoko in mangas/animes, my life, random musings, Random thoughts. Tagged: anime/mangas, Just my thoughts today, lovelife, mangas, musings, my life, my thoughts, postaweek2011, random thoughts, Rant. 36 comments

Hello there ! renxkyoko iglesias here, musing…

I;ve been slacking, I know. But I’ve been really busy with this and that. This and that are of course my work

and this—–>

Actually, I’m reading another Korean manhwa ,”Ways of the Jogang Jicheo” that I’m trying to translate from Vietnamese to English, through Google translate. Vietnamse translations are super crappy. But I suspect it’s just Vietnamese that’s difficult to translate. Perhaps it’s a difficult language. But it’s surprising because I notice Vietnamese language has very few words . And maybe one word has several pronunciations, and each pronunciation has a different meaning ? ? The most common words are gia, gi, gio, khong, kho, cua cau co non, noi… chu, chau chac, di, dai, dian, ngoi,nguoc, etc. I swear these are the only words I read. To confirm whether Google translate is useless and not helpful at all, I tried translating Filipino language ( I’m kind of fluent in conversational Filipino) to English, and what do you know, it was almost 98% accurate !

To compare:

Filipino language: * Google with asterisk* , my own translation enclosed in ( parentheses)……..

Oy, estupido, tarantado, gago, tanga, bobo! * Hey, stupid, flustered, foolish, idiot, simpleton ! * ( I have the same translation , except tarantando has a stronger meaning in Filipino, and bobo can also mean stupid and dimwitted)

Bakit mo sinira ang kotse ko? * Why have you destroyed my car?* ( same translation )

Doble cara ka talaga. * Doble cara you really.* ( You’re really double faced )

Akala ko ba magaling kang mag maneho? * I thought good to drive.* ( I thought you were good in driving.)

Bayaran mo iyan. * Pay that .* ( same translation )

Hora mismo! Kung hindi, ihabla kita. * Hora itself. If not , chargeable income.* ( Right now! Or else, I’ll sue you.)

Mabuti na lang , wala kang pasahero. * Fortunately, you don’t have passengers.* ( same translation)

On the other hand, this is what I go through with Vietnamese translation.

Ne… Den gio roi. Nau di thoi. * Ne… Gio roi den . Nau di thoi. * ( What the !#$%^& )

I rest my case. In one previous translation, there were only two English words.. constipation and toilet. So the rest of the dialogue was up to my colorful imagination and tons of patience.

Don’t think I’m crazy. So, okay, I am. \(^____^)/ Well, the last English release of this manhwa was in May. I’ve been patiently waiting for 2 months, and right now, I’m at the end of my tether . I really want to know what happens. So what’s in the story that I find really interesting? Well, it’s about a couple who are involved in an arranged marriage. The main girl is passive but it’s the main guy who vehemently opposes it, but for some reason, cannot do anything about it, and has to follow the family’s wishes and honor. The couple are very young, both high school students. The main girl moves in to the main guy’s home ( his parents are there ) and transfers to the main guy’s school,too. The main guy happens to be the most popular student at school ( rich and handsome )and has a regular groupie, 2 boys and 2 girls. The 2 girls are hopelessly in love with the main guy, and thus, resent the presence of the main girl. The main guy is oblivious to this adoration and is also resentful of his fiancee, and is actually quite cruel to the main girl. Not only that, the main girl gets bullied by the 2 girl rivals. The bullying is unbelievably cruel . She gets beaten up , like everyday? , comes home with bruises and the main guy doesn’t even care. It’s utterly frustrating and aggravating that the main girl takes shit from everybody, including her fiance, like it’s constant abuse ! she doesn’t do anything about it, and nobody seems to care. Is she really Mother Teresa? If I were the girl, I’d pick up a jackhammer and impale their heads . Let all hell break loose. Just kidding. Meh. Of course the story is exagerrated. Anyhow, the main girl is really not weak. The familes are steeped in tradition , and she has been told that the moment she enters Ja Euk Hyun ‘s household ( yep, that’s the bastard’s name ), she’ll be a Euk Hyun forever, even her ghost. No divorce allowed. !#$%^%^&* ! ! ! Here’s a sample of how she gets bullied.

And that is just the first of many. Of course she knows how to fight… she’s trained in the martial arts, but she’s not supposed to fight. That’s one of the douchebag’s and for some reason, her own’s family’s conditions. I wonder, how come nobody gets sued for assault in Korean manhwas? Over here in the US, real time, there is zero tolerance on bullying. Well, at least , in elementary……………. I have to confess something…* sweat drops *…. When I was in 5th grade, I was suspended for 2 days for bullying. Hey, it wasn’t my fault ! I got indirectly involved with my best friend’s shenanigans. So what was it about ? Well, there was this boy classmate… apparently, he was seen one time picking his nose. At recess ( about 10 AM ) , my classmate accidentally touched the booger boy, she screamed EEEk and touched me ( to pass on the germs to me ) and I touched another girl, and she touched another one. Booger boy saw all that , cried like a girl, and ran to the principal’s office to snitch. So, we four girls were called to the office and scolded by the principal, who had someone call the parents to pick us up, and told we were suspended for 2 days.

Ooops, I digress.. back to the manhwa.

And this next pictures portray the attitude of the main guy…. Grrrrrr ! ! The main guy is even handing over his fiance to his best friend ! Oooh, I wanna see how that guy will fall off his high horse and go crawling to the pitiful girl to ask for forgiveness ( and he will … there’s a scene there where the girl finally leaves him and he goes to her house and stays there, outside , ( the family of the girl doesn’t open the gate) kneels down, and stays that way for goodness how long, it seems 2 days , until he passes out. Oh, one more thing , the best friend falls deeply in love with the girl, and the bastard fiance starts to get jealous. Ahahaha ! That’s shoujo for you. So typical and cliche but I’m lovin’ it! !

I try translating this manhwa, but I thinknI’ll just give up. I’ ve seen the happy ending anyway, so, that’s okay.. Yep, I love happy endings. I try to avoid sad ones, or stories where the main guy hooks up with another girl, likes another girl, does not like the girl ( the unrequited love ) or heaven forbid, cheats on the main girl. Aaargh ! there are numerous stories like that. There were times when I unsuspectingly got to read something like that, and I was like, Shoot ! What is this! Noooo ! and I would just stop reading, and get really upset, and try to erase it from my memory. And I’d look like this……

Avoiding stories like these is one of my hang-ups. I’ve got a lot and being in denial is just one of them. I’m on Cloud 9. I don’t want to get off. Perhaps that’s the reason why I don’t go into relationships ? I’m afraid to get hurt. …. * ponders* ( Wow, that’s melodramatic ! Ahahaha ! So not me. I said I was shallow, right? Lol ) . But that’s true, though! ! You know, there’s one blogger here , a young wife whose husband cheated on her while she was pregnant with their first child! When I read her story ( in fact, it’s a series of stories ), it upset me for days. The OW ( Other Woman ) travelled 10 hours to meet up with her husband. Meanwhile, the husband reserved a hotel room. And, when they met up at a parking lot, they couldn’t even wait to go to the hotel, they almost did it in the car. (~~what the #!$%^&*&^% ! !~~ The thought of that would devastate me. ) Now, I don’t remember how the wife found out. Anyhow, they went into counselling session. The husband told her that if he lost her, it would kill him. ( Wahahaha! Are you ~~F#!%^&*& ing~~ kidding me? That’s what I’d say…. ) The therapist, in fact, told her ( I;m sure without her husband ) he’d do it again. Well! ! ! I’m sure the therapist knew what he was talking about and he was merely telling the wife to be prepared for that happening again. So, anyway, I commented on her blog…. told her not to let go of her physical appearance, start saving up, have money of her own, so that just in case that darn prick did it again, just kick him out of her life. Garnish his wages! ( Says to self… Alright, calm down, Ren…. relax, take a deep breath ) …… I’m okay. ….

Ahaha ! I guess this is enough ranting for one day. Oh, wait, before I say bye bye, have you seen the movie, “The Devil Wears Prada ? ” Unfortunately, my sister’s friend, my manager at my second job, has been transferred to another store nearby, and he has been replaced by someone who came from San Francisco. The new one is like that woman in that movie, and I’m Anne Hathaway. She’s only 30 -ish, but is very demanding and stern -looking. We’re now supposed to dress up all in black. * sighs* Let’s see what happens.

So, bye for now. Be cool and stay cool. PEACE.

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renxkyoko's space Just another WordPress.com site

Posts Tagged ‘my thoughts’

Awards acknowledgement and other stuff

The World is on fire

Real/Imagined Online conversation About Cheating

A Little Glimpse , Some Thoughts

My Thoughts on Boston Tragedy

Happy 2013 ! Random Thoughts and Foodie

Ooooops ! !

My European Tour Pt. 12 Florence, Italy

Tagged 4 and random musings

Courtship and serenade

Sorry for the blooper (~.~)

HERE I AM AGAIN

Man, I’m exhausted ! !

The Unwritten Rule, or Maybe Not

Just Musing..and Ranting !

Random thoughts, musings; click image

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