I've started a new hobby. I'm still a beginner but here's one of my first designs. It's simple and easy to make.

Here's how to make it:
Youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-fVCPH6PvDEotuHBQYYQ4Q

city hunter

city hunter
watched: oct 2011
rating: 5 stars

An action series that had me bawling my eyes out.

The series. Based on a manga written by Tsukasa Hojo, this is a story about revenge. Not my usual cup of tea but the first episode was enough to change my mind. That episode alone redeemed kdramas in my eyes (yes, it is still based on a manga but the execution and the fact that they picked this is good enough for me). I have always accused kdramas to be repetitive. Well, they still are (typical love stories, four people tangled in some web love affair, pretend relationships that turns real, someone dying, etc.). It works. I'm not against it, in fact I used to keep coming back for more. Somehow, somewhere along the way I turned to jdramas. But that's another story.

Park Min Young. I'm not gonna pretend that my fascination with this series has nothing to do with the leads. I loooove Park Min Young. I recently watched Sungkyunkwan Scandal and she was just adorable in it. She is pretty and cute in a non-annoying way. She was why I decided to watch this series. Her character here is a bodyguard for the First Family. I applaud her for her stunts (you just gotta have respect for people doing stunts in 3-inch heels) but her character here is... let's just say I'm willing to overlook this one detail about this drama.

Lee Min Ho. If Park Min Young was the reason I started watching, Lee Min Ho was why I finished this. A 20+-hour drama, it's bound to get draggy at some point (remember this is kdrama). Needless to say, I skipped scenes. But this boy, this wonderful specimen of a man, this talented actor is just MAGNIFICENT. I love his fight scenes the most. I love how he does them so gracefully and effortlessly. I can't help but compare him to my JE boys who I know, even in my most JE bias-clouded mind, would never come close to his performance (I hope I will be proven wrong *looks at kame*). I'm not sure if it's a good thing that I never did get to continue watching BoF. This is definitely a better first impression. It helps that he looks so much like my ichiban. A gentler, softer Takuya Kimura who can kick ass, beautifully.

I also read that LMH and PMY are dating in real life (depends on what you read). I can't help but approve. Just look at the behind-the-scenes pic above, they're in each other's personal space.

Supporting cast. Great veteran actors. There was this scene between the prosecutor's dad and the president where they were just staring at each other but was so emotional it made me cry.

All in all, this is not a perfect drama but I loved it enough to warrant a 5-star (it made me cry, I'm easy like that).

edit: i just realized that i have seen LMH in Personal Taste before. *facepalm*

source

akame fic recommendation

my akame fic rec list

KAT-TUN in taiwan escapade

8/26
- arrived at taoyuan international airport terminal 1 at midnight (with and elli and ver)
- immigration, baggage claim, exchanged Php to NT, rode "FREE" shuttle to terminal 2, arrived at terminal 2 at 2am
- marvelled at the coin changing machine, slept for a few hours on the surprisingly comfy arrival area chairs, waited for KAT-TUN's flight, met lulu and kimika (taiwanese fans who were very nice and helpful)
- witnessed KAT-TUN's arrival, ran to the other side of the airport for another glimpse, ran outside to the van for another one (but didn't get to see them, they were already in the van)
- travelled to taipei by bus, rode the MRT, walked to hostel
- met madette, madette's mom, joanne and herlyn
- too tired, rested a bit, took a bath, travelled to taipei 101
- rode MRT back to hostel, decided to visit some JE shops with , met fellow filipino fangirls (kai and another friend - forgive my forgetful mind), met hongkong fangirls who taught us the art of pre-immigration stalking, bought ryo-chan uchiwas, walked around ximenting til exhaustion, went back to hostel, slept

8/27
- went to taipei arena for concert goods at 11am
- bag's strap broke, kept hurting myself with the (not so) safety pins
- went around trying to find an 8/28 ticket with broken chinese, met some nice fans who were fluent in both english and chinese and who voluntarily wrote the chinese characters on paper to help us ask around (thank you!), showed the paper to the people in line *hides from embarrassment*
- met marilou and her sister
- bought kame (3) and maru (1) uchiwas and concert pamphlet, maru's lookin' fine, kame, so-so
- went around with the paper stuck on kame's uchiwa, hesitant to talk to the old guy fixer who keeps on saying something in chinese, i can only decipher a small portion of what he's saying, kimika to the rescue
- munching-something-fixer led us to another lady fixer with tickets, success!
- 2A seats, met , (thank you once again for the tickets)
- first concert, started with fall down, my favorite of all the new songs, KAT-TUN sang my ultimate favorite - yorokobi no uta, fans held up black and yellow crown-shaped cardboards during bokura no machi de saying something in japanese like 'i'm happy to be a KAT-TUN fan' or something similar (KAT-TUN fans are the best)
- kame's imitation of the translator - beyond cuteness
- one on one, i love, love, love
- ueda hurt his foot, 4-nin KAT-TUN
- 2 encores - NMP + going
- binoculars trained on kame's face (when looking our way) and on his butt (when looking the other way)
- stalking 101, taiwanese friends who speak japanese + filipino friend who speaks japanese = stalking galore
- car chases, counterflows, cab drivers with stalking initiatives, crazy driving, slow-down-i-don't-want-to-die moments
- stood near KAT-TUN's van with door open, koki texting on his seat, kame coming down first with a serious face (imo, pissed) followed by equally serious-looking members (minus ueda) then the slightly smiling koki
- waited outside til after KAT-TUN's dinner, kame more amicable albeit still untouchable, my friends touching koki and maru (best NT500 spent, right?)
- toned down car chase (different driver), van's window blinds up, sleeping koki, grand formosa regent hotel
- tired but happy, went back to hostel

8/28
- bought a new bag, went to taipei arena, tried exchanging tickets
- bought blue glowsticks (we now belong!)
- 3J seats, better than expected, small blind spot
- talked to my left seatmate, she's from shanghai and speaks english
- KAT-TUN fans' penlight project was successful and was really pretty (again, KAT-TUN fans are the best)
- got told off (in chinese) by right seatmate for trying to capture the fan project on video, i couldn't understand her, she refused to hold my hand during the 'we are KAT-TUN' bow, i refused to let it ruin my night and befriended her (i had to delete my video which wasn't really much)
- amazed how disciplined these kids are, i apologized and thanked her
- binoculars yet again trained on kamenashi and his cute behind
- 3rd encore: harukana yakusoku, i was shouting and singing like crazy, i think i had tears in my eyes
- chanted for 4th encore, members won't come out, fans started singing SMILE's lalala part, the whole arena joined in, after a while we heared the KAT-TUN members' voices join in on singing and then they came out, i cried from happiness XP
- right seatmate now held my hand :D (operation let's-be-friends-we-both-love-KAT-TUN-let's-not-let-this-ruin-our-night a success!)
- impromptu stalking, thanks to left seatmate from shanghai, was a success
- hotel stalking, met filipino hotel employee, misplaced my camera (thanks ver for finding it)
- tired but super happy, went back to hostel, agreed on 'me' time for the next day (later that day)

8/29
- went to miramar mall, rode the ferris wheel, went back to ximen, lost herlyn at the station
- found herlyn, shopped for JE stuff, went around ximenting for souvenirs
- taxi to main station, bus to airport
- goodbye taipei, you gave me 4 of the best days of my life :)

i saw kame

things i never thought i would do, i did in taiwan.

we stalked KAT-TUN.

not the round-the-clock-obsessed type of stalking. just your usual camping-out-at-the-airport-for-10-hours (i swear this was for financial reasons), car-chases-with-please-slow-down-i-don't-wanna-die-yet-pleads, jumping-into-a-taxi-for-an-impromptu-stalk-with-no-clue-as-to-how-to-even-say-'follow that car'-in-chinese and standing-outside-a-restaurant-until-the-wee-hours-for-a-glimpse-(and touch for some of my lucky friends)-twice kind of stalking.

it was all worth it.

in taipei, i got to live the dream. :)

cultured, not

my friend malis and i watched CATS last sunday. it was... not so yay. i nodded off a lot of few times. we really didn't know what it was all about, except of course for the obvious, cats. i think i got the beginning and the ending (which was really what the beginning was all about). the middle part was a big "?" . at one point i started wondering if i watched the show just to see lea salonga sing "memories" (those were the moments when i was fully awake).

the second act was better though. the songs were more enjoyable (and there was more singing, less dancing) and we loved "pervy cat" which later on we found out is called rum tum tugger (thanks wiki).

wiki.. if only i've read thee.

... i got to use my binoculars and i got my CATS mug :)

all in all, it was a good experience.

i got my 2010 KAT-TUN calendar today along with the BANDAGE book. *yay for pretty kame*

i also bought miura haruma's photobook. i just couldn't resist the cuteness.

source

while waiting...

for the past 4 and a half months, i:

- saw two plays. rent & wicked. loved both.
- have seen the golden gate bridge and the alcatraz but no photos. (no camera... yes, i know.)
- went around downtown san francisco on my own with a map in hand (and overpaid/underpaid bus tickets.)
- visited japantown for the sole purpose of kinokuniya.
- visited sacramento (still no camera)
- stayed a night in san jose
- went to lake tahoe
- visited nevada
- had thanksgiving at washington dc with my relatives
- fell in love with the washington monument (it still baffles me)
- got lost in brooklyn
- spent a night and a day in new york
- walked around broadway at midnight and in near freezing temp
- saw someone proposing in the middle of time square
- checked out grand central
- went to the apple store on 5th ave. and rode on the glass elevator (really pretty)
- went inside the new york palace (the one on gossip girl - i can just imagine how much it costs to stay there)
- visited MOMA in san francisco
- went to LA
- visited universal studios
- stopped by hollywood blvd
- fell in love with the norton simon museum
- saw monet, manet, picasso, van gogh, rembrandt and renoir paintings (i was awed even when i do not know art)
- visited friends/schoolmates
- made new friends
- learned domestic stuff
- ordered tons of things online

yeah, i worked too.

after almost 2 years i finally finished terry goodkind's wizard's first rule :P i'm glad i've gone back to reading books. i have kristin cashore's graceling to thank that for.

next on my list:

• Fire
• The Thief (The Queen's Thief, Book 1)
• Alanna: The First Adventure (Song of the Lioness, Book 1)
• Princess Ben
• The Seer and the Sword

wicked!

Galinda: it's Glinda. the "ga" is silent.

on Elphaba's makeover:
Elphaba: You don't really have to do that.
Galinda: I know, that's what makes me so nice.

on Dorothy's red shoes:
Glinda to Elphaba: [With effort] I mean come on, they're just shoes. Let it go!

watched Wicked! i love it! i love how Galinda/Glinda seems so ditzy :D i was on the brink of getting irritated (with that voice and all), thank goodness she's so funny :D i loved Elphaba, i loved her songs plus who can hate her. my favorite song would be "I'm not that girl." been listening to the soundtrack, it makes me want to watch it again but i'll probably wait til i can sing along with most of the songs.