Happy Valentine's Day

Unlike in the Pinas, UK, US or Singapore where all my friends were whining about how hearts and commercialism about this day flutter all around the places, it is the complete opposite here in the land of the rising sun. It is as mundane as usual, quiet and no im-so-sad-i-don't-have-a-date-today faces splattered on the streets.

But the stores are filled with chocolates though, because on this day, the girls actually have a chance to send their feelings across a clueless man with a pretty box of chocolate, hoping that at the same day next month they will reply with another box of chocolate or flowers if they are lucky.

Days before valentines I get fliers for a session of chocolate making lesson or valentine cake baking lesson. And the hundred yen shop is brimming with cute wrapping stuff and baking ingredients that are not ordinarily available. While stocking up on confectionery sugar, dried fruits, peanut crush.. etc.. which I don't plan to use for valentines but just contingencies in case I will need them in my future cooking or baking attempts, I see lots of giggly high school girls shopping for their ingredients and wrappers for the chocolate they were going to make. All these because if you want to send your feelings across with a stronger impact, the chocolate should not just come from a store's shelf, but should be lovingly made with your own hands from scratch. If Maria Clara have known about this, it would definitely make her gasp for air in protest.

One may see this as a male chauvinistic part of their culture, but after seeing those high school girls smile with excitement and after a walk down the memory lane, I wished we had a day like this back home. A day where girls are given freedom to say how they feel without fear of being judged. If we just had a day like this, it could have saved a lot of young and not so young hearts from suffocating which is much worst than breaking. I personally think it's fun too.

I think this is the only part of the planet where the commercialism of the Heart's day cannot penetrate. Maybe Japanese are just too stoic for that or maybe they just want to keep it real. I never hated valentine's day, even if I am no longer the "I AM NOT BITTER" kind person that I used to but I still hate the commercialism that engulfs the whole meaning of Love which is the reason for the celebration. The pressure and expectations that are pumped to the limit cheapens everything and make you wonder if it's real or obligatory.

I spent this day working, actually forgetting that it's the V-day if not for my friends back home who greeted me. I had no expectations because I am in a V-day twilight zone, if the day ended without a date or flowers, I'm perfectly fine with it. Workday ended with a plan to just cook for dinner and make my Hubby a heart shaped strawberry cake. But Hubby took me to Hotel Centraza, with a reason that he had to meet a Japanese client, he is a bad liar but I believed him still because he always meets with clients so I thought this is just one of them. But instead of meeting another Japanese to impress, I was greeted with a table with a "Reserved" sign on it. He made reservations to that expensive restaurant I have been wanting to go! The place was not full but he insisted on making a reservation because he said it is more special. I was suprised and very happy, especially with the buffet of crabs, incredibly tender steaks and the DESSERT table that can make you cry. And he just grinned from ear to ear saying "akala mo hahayaan ko na wala tayong valentines?". We left the restaurant with very full bellies so we opted to just walk home. It was romantic.

I had no bouquet of flowers to boast this year, but this time the day was unexpected and more sincere and special. I think this is how we should celebrate it, it doesn't really matter if its with friends or loved ones, as long as there's no expectations, no pressure... just love.

just one of those on the dessert table

ADDU HS

got this from my brother, about our High School way way back

1) section mo nng 1st yr high ka?
• 1-Red

2)eh nung 2nd yr high?
• 2-Blue

3)3rd yr?
• 3-Red

4)4th yr?
• 4-Red

5)anong best year for u? bakit?
• 3rd yr. kasi that's the year I got out of my shell and made my barkada. Atsaka marunong na ako tumakas at mag malling.

6) Kung naabutan mo si Sir Calotes,like mo ba siya? miss mo na ba xa?
• yes and wala ata ako natutunan sa kanya hehe.

7) san kau kumakain kapag lunch?
• Sa canteen or sa classroom, pag may extra cash or craving for pancit, punta sa Magallanes para kumain sa isang cheap bakery.

8) san tumatambay after skul?
• front field at magpa-dooding sa mga gwapong soccer players or CAT commanders.

9) lagi ka ba late pagmorning?
• oo, hanggang ngayon kahit ndi na ako highschool

10) nasuspend ka na ba?
• wala

11)Bakit?
• kasi I see to it na 3x lang ako ma-late sa isang month

12) masaya ba pag fiesta days?
• super! walang pasok and daming activities and pwede akong pumunta ng school pag gabi.

13) have u ever danced on stage?
• sa stage wala. pero sa gitna nang covered court oo. yung inter-year folk dance contest 2nd year tapos nagchampion kami.


14) nagka bf/gf ka ba nong highschool days mo?
• how I wish but then, buti na lang hindi

15) sinong all time crush mo nun?
• dalawa actually, si Erwin Santos nung 1st year, and si Carlo nung 3rd year and many more years after.

16) would u go bak?
• Definitely!

17) ano lagi mong binibili na panwich?
- tuna panwich

18) overpricing ba ang tali s hair??
• oo! P2 for one tali sa hair.

18) nakakita ka n ba ng multo s skul?
wala

19) u ever sang on stage pag may program?
• wala

20) fave subj?
• Theology by Fr. Reyes, English by Mrs. Baldovino(the best!)

21) Nabagsak k n ba?
• Hindi pa

22)have u ever been sent out?
• Yes, Theology class nung 1st year by Brother Alex, bestfriend ko noon kasi muslim kaya ayaw niya ng Theology kaya nag cchika lang kami during classes. Na-high blood si Brother.

23) feel mo ba malau ang HS bldg till kanto bnda s space burger?
• wala pang space burger noon. Pag hindi close ang Acacia gate, malapit lang.

23) have u ever ran the oval??
• wala pa ring oval noon... teka, meron nang oval ngayon??, sa front field lang ako tumakbo punishment for being late.

24) varsity??of wat?
• wala

25)do u miss addu high??
• I really do. I also miss the Ateneo HS wooden building... syet naabutan ko pa ang wooden!

Home Sweet Home

We just finished moving to our new house in just one weekend. Thanks to the help of our pinoy friends here who helped Dan carry all the heavy stuff and Juliet's bf who donated a washing machine(that works faster than an ordinary one) and a decent light set!

We also bought second-hand stuff from an american guy who left for Korea, they are mostly kitchen stuff (stove, rice cooker, toaster, and lots and lots of pots and pans), and since he loves to cook he left us with lots of gadgets for cooking which I luuuvv!! By tinkering with the stuff, I learned that you can schedule the rice cooker on what time to cook rice for you. Just set its clock time correctly, click the "予約" (yoyaku, or appointment) and set what time it will cook. Of course don't forget to put the rice inside. No worries, coz contrary to what Lola warned, the rice here doesn't turn into lugaw even if left emerged in water for hours.

Adding fixings to the house is the easiest thing here in Japan because everything you need and can think of can be bought from the hundred yen shop. Like there are endless types of cleanser you can choose from like kitchen oil stain cleaner, kitchen anti-fungus cleaner, refrigerator cleaner, furniture cleaner, etc... and different types of hooks, basta everything! Just a few trips to the hundred yen shop and our house is clean and fixed, and you wont even see messy wirings.

To solve our dilemma with the lights, we found this light socket set from Bic Camera, it's a bulb socket with a pull string for on/off (wala kasing switch dito for lights, so we need that string), and we only plugged to the light socket on the ceiling. No fancy fixture, just that which costs only Y1000 and a light bulb for only Y580 and we now have a light for the other room! I learned that even light bulbs don't come cheap here because the only brands you can choose from are National, Toshiba and other popular Japanese brands which spell E-X-P-E-N-S-I-V-E. Ironically, the lights in the house gave us more pain in the butt than the aesthetics.

Also, our bathroom is changed to a more modern module from Hitachi, with a bigger ofuru or bathtub and a computerized water heating system! No more twisting and turning of knobs, just one click of a button and we instantly have hot water. The previous owner also left his airconditioning unit, so we're looking forward to one cool summer. Our verandah is also bigger than the usual, as in it's big that we can have a party there or set up a kiddie pool.

My life here in Japan is almost perfect. I have a house that I love to bits, lots of genuinely helpful friends and enjoyable get togethers, we have the world's best and most systematic transportation system, we don't have to pay for house rent, electricity, gas and water are all taken cared of by the company, I love the food here and I have mastered doing grocery and finding the ingredients that I need without nosebleeding from all the overwhelming kanji and thanks to Maila, I can now cook a gyudon comparable to Yoshinoya's!

If not for their work culture, I can live here forever, I might even get inspired to get serious in studying their language. Oh why can't everything be perfect!

Light up Our New House

Since I arrived here last September, Hubby and I are sharing the house with a colleague. Actually, nakikitira lang kami since the unit we wanted was not yet available. But starting tomorrow, we are going to move our things to our new house. It's a rule here for every condo/mansion to repaint, replace wallpapers, tatami, tiles and etc.. whenever a unit has been vacated, that is why we had to wait for a week before we could use the unit.

It's on the 3rd floor, with verandah(as usual), 3 bedrooms and a corner unit! It's actually the reason why I wanted to wait for it than look for another one. I like a corner unit because it has lots of windows which will become a blessing when summer comes and I like a bright house.

I heard the unit costs only Y60,000/month (P21,600), pretty cheap but the company will shoulder everything except for the appliances that is why Hubby and I have been busy looking for things to fill our house. As in from lights(that's one thing weird here in Japan, hindi kasama sa unit ang ilaw!) to curtains. We went to Yodobashi this afternoon to look for lights but I was shocked to find out how expensive lights here are! The cheapest one we could find is a bedroom light for Y8000! So now we are searching for second-hand lights for sale or giveaway in the buy and sell forum. I can't possibly spend Y24,000 for all the lights in the house!

Since the 3 bedrooms are too much for the two of us, we are planning to use one bedroom as our walk-in closet, yipee! dream come true! hehe.. and the other one as bodega or guest room, if we ever have guests. So whoever wants to visit Fukuoka, rest assured that you have a place to stay.. just bring your own light.. hehehe =D

Women's Clinic ala Spa

I became alarmed when my right breast is painful than the usual and decided to find a gynecologist to have my long overdue breast exam after 3 years. At first Hubby and I went to this women's clinic in Tenjin because the doctor speaks english daw, but actually he only knows basic english conversation like "where are you from?" or "what is wrong with you" so we still had a hard time understanding him during the examination. He only did "manual" breast examination and referred us to this women's hospital in Hirao (another town) that specializes in breasts. All that for a whopping Y8500! (I am never going back there again).

After reaching Hirao and studying the map, we finally found the Oikawa Women's clinic. It was one quiet and clean hospital, it looks like a hotel really. Unlike a normal hospital, you won't see patients, doctors or nurses busily roaming around the lobby because the patients have special waiting rooms designated according to the specialty they need. Only the patients who are waiting for their bill or their companions stays in the lobby to wait. Since it was a women's clinic, they have this special waiting area for women and children only. Hubby and I stayed there at first because of the more comfortable sofas but we were escorted to the other area because it was strictly for women. And we don't know why they have to have something like that.

After filling up my forms, I was called to this room which I assume was the breast examination room. With the dim lights, the smell of scented oil that fills the room, and the relaxing music made me feel I was transported to a spa. Then I was lead to this very small room with locker, closet to hang my clothes, shoe rack, mirror, cushioned stool and magazines where I was asked to change into a chocolate brown gown (that doesn't resemble a hospital gown at all), and wait there. Plus, their comfort room was like a victorian dressing room, the toilet bowl was hidden by a divider with lots of flowers, which makes the room smell of flowers, then it has a charming dresser with mirrors and lights around it. Para talaga akong nasa Spa and waiting for my massage attendee!

So I was called back to reality and had another "manual" breast exam, the doctor even drew circles on my breast which I assume are the cysts and measured them (pwede pala yun?). Hubby was strictly not allowed inside the breast examination room so I was all by myself with my survival nihongo because it was not an english speaking hospital. But I managed from the mammography, which by the way is I think one of the many painful things women had to go through, sakeeet! until the ultrasound. Unlike in Pinas where we had to wait at least a day for the mammogram result, after a while I was already called in to the doctor's room and my mammogram and ultrasound was already displayed there while the doctor explained to me the findings.

Thank God it was just Fibrocystic breast tissues and I have nothing to worry about. Buti na lang din that the doctor could understand english medical terms so I was able to ask if it's already Fibrocystic adenoma (which needs surgery) but thank God again it was not! He basically told me the same thing I heard from all the doctors that examined me, that this problem on my breast will clear up once I bear a child and start lactating. So there was nothing to worry about daw. Uhuh.

The whole exam costs only Y11,000 and every cent was worth it. It was indeed a world class medical service right from the state of the art machines to time efficiency. I am not worried anymore, para akong nabunutan ng tinik sa dibdib, and a with service like that, I will never have second thoughts again on having this exam regularly. Susundin ko na si ma'am nurse na dapat every year!

hubby trying to answer my all-nihongo patient form

Friends Ba Kayo ng Ex mo?

Got this from a friend through friendster, I know I shouldn't be answering questions like this but I can't sleep and I have nothing to do and I think it's kinds fun din and I want to tag some of my friends.. bwehehehe... ang hindi sumunod sa tag pangit.

1.Friends ba kayo ng ex mo?
♥ hindi

2.Ma ayos ba kayo nagbreak?
♥ maayos namanm, tapos naging hindi

3.Naging masaya ka ba sa kanya?
♥ minsan

4.Sa tingin mo naging masaya siya nung kayo pa?
♥ malamang hindi

5. Namimiss mo ba siya?
♥ hindi rin

6 Love mo pa?
♥ definitely not.

7.Musta naman lovelife mo ngayon? may bago ba?
♥ very happily married to a man with sexy chest hairs hehe

8.Hinihintay mo parin ba siya?
♥ hindi na

9.Kung mahal mo siya, bat di mo balikan?
♥ binalikan ko nga noon, pero ayaw na niya kay Sheryl Cruz =P

10.May bago bang bf/gf ex mo?
♥ happily married na rin

11. Nagtagal ba kayo?
♥ Sa awa ng Dyos umabot naman ng 4 yrs.

12.Natatakot ka na bang magmahal ulit??
♥ natakot after a series of wrong guys after him

13.Umaasa ka ba na may taong magmamahal sayo?
♥ meron talaga! lovable kasi ako! =D

14.Pano kung kayo rin ng ex mo in the future??
♥ impossible

15.Galit ka ba sa kanya?
♥ hindi na

16.Wat if, one day sabihin niya na mahal ka pa niya??
♥ malamang on drugs sya nyan

17.Ano kanta mo sa kanya?
♥ "Mr Dreamboy, Mr Dreamboy, ako kaya ang nasa isip mo.."

18 .Nagawa mo na bang maghabol? sa knya?
♥ yep, and thank God! he was in his right mind and did not take me back

19.Nakikita mo pa ba ex mo???
♥ hindi na

20. anu ba tawagan nyo?
♥ labskie (eewww)

21. bkt mo siya nagustuhan?
♥ kasi feeling ko ako si Sheryl Cruz

22. sa tingin mo cnu ang susunod sknya?
♥ may mga sumunod na ndi ko naging boypren. pero ang totoong sumunod ay si Sergio... kaya si Marimar na ako ngayon!

23. my communication pa ba kayo?
♥ wala na

24. kailan ba naging kayo?
♥ hala, nakalimutan ko na.. June or July ata yun, tanong ko muna si Jaja, sya kasi nag rremind sa akin noon pag anniv.

25.kailan kau nagbreak?
♥ hala, ndi ko na rin maalala

26. bakit?
♥ because destiny had to lead us to better partners, that will make us better persons and we both deserve to be happy.

27. Anong message mo sa kanya?
♥ friends?

I am tagging Georgia, Ysilona, Poeticnook, Claire, Madz, Mau, Dee, Chellie

What a Friday Night!

Maila and I had a date after work, we had ramen, window shopped, shopped at Daiso and had coffee and made some chiklets at Veloce until the cafe closed at 11. It's been a while since we last had a night like this since we became very busy with our lovelives, and it's also been a while since I had my bowl of the most delicious ramen in the world - Ichiran Ramen!! Actually, when she invited me for a "gimik", I hesitated and would rather curl up in bed because of the cold weather, but since it's my chance to eat ichiran ramen, I pushed my lazy-couch-potato mood aside (what a friend! hehe).

Well, hubby doesn't like eating at Ichiran because he doesn't get full from the Y650 a bowl. Konting dagdag na lang daw, pwede na kami mag eat-all-you-can.. which explains my weight gain.

looks harmless, but so deadly delicious!

Maila is not taking a test, she is just eating her ramen =p

When I arrived home, I found my hubby busy on the skype talking design stuff to his developer in Pinas. Then I saw that we had all our laundry washed and hanged and our bedsheets, pillow cases, futon cover and winter blanket fresh and cleaned from the laundrymat! He did all that while I was away and I was very impressed on how productive he is. Thank God for the PSP that kept him company while at the laundrymat. And thank God for a husband like him. =D

There is also good news tonight, because Claire is now in labor! We're very excited for the arrival of the first VPAL baby! Baby pa, bongga na, kasi tiniming niya ang pag "out" niya sa last day of work ng nanay niya!

I am so excited, I hope Darrix will keep his word to post the pics as soon as the head comes out.. ooppss ayoko ata makita vajayjay ni Claire, sige, when the baby comes out na lang! And I hope Claire will still remember us after the epidural wears off... sabi kasi nila nagiging makalimutin daw yung side effect nun... it's just like saying she will get total amnesia.. hehehe =p

Also, a long lost friend confided something to me tonight... hmmm, which I really can't tell yet. But I am so happy! I am just writing it here to mark a very special day. =D