Kiroku Tensha Holidays: Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year, Everyone!

Truth is this will be the first New Year post that I will have for this blog of mine, so I guess I have to make this short, but meaningful, right?

Kiroku Tensha Holidays: A very Merry Christmas!

Cheers Peeps! Merry Christmas!

Compared to my last Christmas post (last year), this one hits the right moment, a little before the eve of Christmas. Ain't that nice.

Ain't That Purr-fect? - A visit at Cat Cafe Manila

Being an animal lover runs in our family's blood and it seems that my daughter inherited that trait too. Lately, we noticed that she has this fondness for cats and she has been raring to adopt one - even a stray.

To make sure that this likeness for cats is not a one-hit wonder, me and my wife decided to bring her to a place where she can mingle with felines and get the feel of having cats around her; doing this, I can also observe if it is okay to get her a cat of her own.

The place that we took her to is none other than - Cat Cafe Manila - a small, cozy cat-themed cafe that boasts a "clowder" of them.

#EffTheWin - Cat Lovers gotta play this game Right Meow! (My Neko Atsume Review)

This Cat-collecting game is surprisingly addicting, that I think we need another one like it...for Dogs, That is!

First things first, I am a first and foremost Dog lover; however, cats comes as a close second in my list of favorite animals to have around as pets as I find them as the cute and cuddly ones when compared to their canine counterparts.

Given that reason, when I stumbled upon this mobile game (which is really gaining in popularity) centered around cats and cat-collecting, it is no surprise that I was hooked with it. The game I am talking about is "Neko Atsume: Kitty Collector."

An Impromptu (Mis)Adventure to Boracay - Catching up with the Daughter (Part 1)

I am the kind of person who wants to plan ahead if I am going to do  something, especially out of town trips. However, there are those of kind of trips that will just present itself when you least expect it and then, planning is out of the question and thrown out of the window and, well, you just go for the hell of it.

That is exactly what happened when we suddenly had this "impromptu" trip to no less than the Paradise Island of Boracay some weeks ago.

Backpacker Woes 2.0

"I do hope that my fight...err, Backpacking plan works out, huh?!"

Going out of town and traveling is for sure, a thing that I like. However, one aspect of it that I cannot seem to get the knack of is the art of "Backpacking."

For Allison Lenneth - On her 4th Birthday

"You owned the year like the Fourth of July"

To our dearest Allison, 

Okay, so it is really that fast and now we are already at four? I did not expect that, honestly. I kinda feel that it was just yesterday when I wrote a post on your 3rd Birthday.

In fact, I cannot believe that we are already at four - it just sounds so fast. You are really speeding up there, Allison and how I wish I can slow you down a little bit, kinda like shifting you to first gear as you are already kicking it in fourth gear, if you know what I mean.

Nevertheless, to sum up this past year, I can really say that you really had a great one!

One year after the First Time in the City of Pines

Wow! It has been a year after my first time visit to Baguio City?  Time really flies huh? - In Supersonic Speed!

The thing is, not only was that escapade to the North my first time to be in the City of Pines, it was also my first fully documented travel-related blog post in this humble blog of mine and even if it is embarassing, I will admit that the multi-part blog post for that vacation did took a bit of a long time to complete (months to be exact). Charge that to inexperience - that will be my most decent excuse for that, LoL! I was really grateful to all the peeps who stuck with me and had a lot of patience waiting for that feature to finish.

Looking back at that experience, you can re-visit it again with me by reading the multi-part feature about the trip of a First Timer in the City of Pines by clicking the links:

For our First day, click HERE.
For the full Second day, click HERE.
The third day was our final day and a long one thus, it was split to two parts (as they do with the movies, LoL!), kindly check them out HERE and HERE.

Until next time,


Ciao!


 

First Time Flower Girl

A First of many, hopefully

When our daughter was asked to be a flower girl, that for sure was one proud moment for us - her parents - as we consider things like this as a milestone in our little girl's life.

The best part of it was this will be her "first time" being a flower girl for a wedding, so that doubles the excitement for us. Another interesting thing is, the bride for the aforementioned wedding was one of our Secondary Sponsors in our very own wedding a few years back, so it is like sort of - returning of a favor - kind of thingamajig.

#Eckogram - 18th

Good Day, Peeps! It is time again for another  photo diary entry, although unfortunately, as much as I want to avoid it, there has been another gap between the last one and this. Anyway, you will know why once you read on this Eckogram entry.

So, let us get started with the eighteenth entry shall we?

Eckogram Entry 18:

Kidzoona Ayala Fairview Terraces: A place that fosters Imagination

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”

–Albert Einstein

I remember back in the days when I was a kid that playing has been an important factor in my life. Through playing - especially role-playing - my imagination was stimulated and developed. Playing with my cousins and other kids in the neighborhood back then, there will be a day that I will play the role of a soldier, then a baker the next day, and even a public vehicle driver. It was fun and memorable, evidenced by how I remember it up to now.

Owing it to my mother, who allowed me to do those things back then, Me and my wife are also persuaded that playing and role-playing  is going to be one of the most important aspects in our daughter's life that we have to support so that she can also develop her imagination.

My daughter has this fondness to play areas in malls and we allow her to play on those whenever we have the chance. However, there is one new play hub that we visited lately and I have to say, that among the play hubs out there, I will highly recommend this one to take your kids to.

That will be the newly-opened Kidzoona at Ayala Fairview Terraces.

Feliz cumpleaños Mamá - A Birthday post for my mother

"My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her" 

- George Washington

Hey Ma! Today is your special day and I am a bit embarrassed to say that I couldn't get you a card or something in the mail on time.

I am really stewing about it really and then I realized that I have the perfect avenue (this blog of mine, of course) to wish you a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY. I hope a blog post can make up for my blunder, LoL!

Heneral Artikulo Uno: Bravo, Superior!!! - Review of "Heneral Luna"

One word - "Masterpiece"

Photo courtesy of Artikulo Uno

"Heneral Luna" - I really wanted to watch this film as early as it was released; however, that R-13 rating was a roadblock of sorts and hindered me (Why? Can't bring my kid to the cinema). Anyway, the most important thing is I found a way and was able to watch it "finally" - today.

Now, how will I describe this critically-acclaimed (both by critics and audiences) movie?

One word - "Masterpiece."

#Eckogram - Seventeenth is Minion-Themed

Good Day, Peeps! Time again for another  photo diary entry. I feel I just cannot let the gap between entries go far too long, so I followed up on the last one a bit faster.

While browsing my Instagram uploads for the past few weeks, I noticed that most of them involves "Minions." Yes, those little yellow henchmen that has been the "in" thing lately because of the release of their movie. In light of this, I decided that I will playfully call this Eckogram entry a "Minion-themed" one.

So, let us get started with this Minion-themed entry, shall we?

Eckogram Entry 17:

#Eckogram - Sweet Sixteenth (16th)

Hey Peeps, Photo Diary time is here again.

I have concentrated on some articles/posts the past few weeks that I almost forgot that the 16th entry for this ongoing series is already due. My Bad.

Anyway, 16th entry equals Sweet Sixteen right? Let us see if indeed this entry is a "sweet" one. Let us get on with it, shall we?

Eckogram Entry 16:

Nothing Spells Breakfast better than Bacon!

Bacon is so good by itself that to put it in any other food is an admission of failure. You're basically saying, "I can't make this other food taste good, so I'll throw in bacon." 

- Penn Jillete

They say that Breakfast is the most important meal one must have during the day.  Normally, a lot of people prefer to eat healthy food for breakfast, but for me, nothing spells breakfast any better than Bacon...Lots of it.

#EffTheWin - The Minions are back in McDonald's Happy Meal (See the 10 of them here)

About a few posts ago, I featured the McDonald's Minions Happy Meal Preorder option in which you can place a preorder at any McDonald's outlet (priced at about a grand) to be able to reserve a complete set of the all new Minions Happy Meal toys (10 in a set) to coincide with the upcoming release of the Minions movie in theaters nationwide.

We are able to claim our preorder and got our set of the Minions toys, and as promised before, here is my feature about them cute, yellow goggled things.

"Ponyo, Ponyo, Ponyo Fishy in the Sea" - Allison's First Cosplay Experience (Toycon PH 2015)

We introduced our daughter to cosplay at age three - I guess that is "Parenting Done Right"

As yours truly is a fan of the cosplay culture (and also a frustrated cosplayer), I guess it is a given that the thought of having my little daughter being a "cosplayer" at a young age is always a very welcome idea for me.

That idea became a reality when we planned on attending the 14th Edition of ToyCon last June 19-21 at SM Megamall. As part of this annual event is people strutting their cosplay costumes and skills, me and my wife decided that we will have our daughter dress up as a character for the event (we attended the 2nd day - June 20). Not a bad idea right?

#EffTheWin - Pre-Order!

Yes, Minions...and the Minions made me grab that "One grand" pre-order!

Image from wheninmanila.com

Okay, who does not love the Minions? Yes, those cute yellow, goggled creatures that serves as Gru's henchmen in the Despicable Me series. I guess no one in their right state of mind will find a reason to hate them, I place my bets on that.

My daughter happens to love these yellow "LPG tank-like" critters so much and of course I do find them to be likeable too.

Its a Holiday and Its Your Birthday - Happy Birthday Dear Wife

It is June 12 once again and as we all know, this day is a special day as we commemorate the day of independence of our homeland, the Philippines, so Hurray! Happy Independence Day! Cheers for our ongoing 117 years of freedom! Let us have a good one!

Now for yours truly, June 12 is a "Double Special" day not only because it is Independence Day, but it is also the birthday of my other half, my wife, and (as I would like to call her) my "Independence Girl."

As she close out another year in the book of life (and with that, opening a new one too), I just cannot let this day go by without dedicating a blog post for her on her very special day. I am really not a cheesy person, but as they say, Love can change things a lot, so bear with me here peeps, here it goes:

My Wife - Still looking not a year older than 20, Eh?!

#Eckogram - Fifteenth (in) Summer

Hey peeps! After what seems to be an eternity of having no entry for the ongoing "Eckogram" section, here is a new one! Yay!

First of all, I have to apologize for the delay of this new entry. There has been a technically-related problem that I had to deal with before I was able to produce this new one. I would not delve too much into that, but let me just say that it involves the pictures; since this is a photo diary, problem with pictures is a critical one, right? Anyway, the good thing is everything is A-Okay now.

Now let us get on with it, shall we?

Eckogram Entry 15:

Happy Palindrome Week! (...and a Half)

(This Image is from Mashable.com)

Back when I was in elementary school, my Math teacher discussed about "Palindromes" as an ice breaker after an ordeal of hard-level problem solving and since then, I was fascinated by this.

For the uninitiated, Palindromes are words, phrases, numbers, or other sequence of characters which reads the same either backward or forward. An example of this is the word "Taco Cat" if you read it backwards, it will still read as "Taco Cat."
 
Since we are at the subject of Palindromes, it is amusing to note that every day from May 10, 2015 until May 19, 2015, when those dates are read on the U.S. style of month/day/year (m/dd/yy), all of those dates will be palindromes!

#EffTheWin - Me and Free Comic Book Day 2015: A Free Comic Book? Gimme!!

Back when I was a kid, I can personally say that comic books helped a lot in developing a majority of my skills. My mother always tells me that the first reading material that I learned reading from is comic books - so technically, I learned to read through comics. I acquired my drawing/art skills (penciling, inking, and even colors and shading) from comics and of course, my writing and imagination was influenced by the comic books too.

Being a fan of comics, I was really intrigued with this one day in May that comic book stores around the globe embark on a quest to lure out comic readers - old and new - from their hiding places with a lineup of  good quality and colorful reading material. The best thing about this lineup? It is for "Free."

The day I am  talking about is Free Comic Book Day.

Super Friends Unite! - Pinoy DC Comics Fans gather for a World Record Attempt

Truly, friends do unite, as in "Super Friends Unite!"

Ever since I started blogging, it is really one of my goals to cover and blog about an event that is associated with cosplayers and cosplay, in general. Being a husband and a father, sometimes, my busy schedule and priorities come first, so I do not have the leisure of going to scheduled events especially if it does not align with my own schedule.

Fortunately, last weekend, the stars aligned...at last.

I work in the West Avenue area and after my day job,  I passed by The Block at SM City North Edsa and there was a big event happening there at that moment. Luckily for me, my trusty "Wan-Wan" was in my bag too, so I hurriedly pulled it out and embarked on an impromptu event coverage.

#Eckogram - "Fourteenth"

Oi Mates!  Again, here we are for another entry in my ongoing Photo Diary series. Well, It is the 14th one and I know for sure that if you are following the series, you for sure know the drill, eh? Here it goes:

Eckogram Entry 14:

#WutTheEff - The Scandal that is Balesin Island Club's "Yaya Meal" - An Act of Flagrant Social Discrimination

"It is actually a fine and delicious meal, but it does not warrant the discrimination behind the act."

Photo is from www.manila.coconuts.co

By judging the temperature these past few days, it is officially summer and the scorching heat is on. However, nothing is more scorching than the hot water that an exclusive place in Polillo, Quezon Province - The Balesin Island Club - is in right now. Courtesy of former beauty queen Maggie Wilson- Consunji's rants in her social media account.

#EffTheWin - Tekken 7 introduces Pinay Fighter "Josie Rizal"

"A Filipina character in Tekken deserves a lot of thumbs up, although the choice of her name will stick out like a sore thumb"

First things first, I am a self-confessed videogame fanatic and one genre that never fails to pique my interest is the fighting game genre. From the 2D fighting game that started it all - Street Fighter II - to the 3D slugfest that was the Tekken franchise, I can humbly say that I have played them all (spent a lot of time, energy, electricity, and even token/quarters on them).

Now speaking of Tekken, the game will soon be unveiling its seventh installment (Tekken 7) and in the fighting game genre, when there is a new installment of the game, one thing is constant - New Characters.

Of the newly-introduced characters, there is one that is really making waves as of late with the Filipino community, especially the gamers - Introducing Filipina fighter, Josie Rizal.

iZombie - A "No-Brainer" Smörgåsbord of mainstream TV series stuff

" iZombie is a series centered on the life of a zombie, but of course has its emphasis on the human experience."

Image from ComingSoon.Net 

Hey Peeps, I am posting here a personal review of "iZombie."

What? No! It is not a new app for IOS or Android..what the hell!?

Okay, It is a newly debuted TV show that has a very refreshing and cool take on the "Zombie Genre". Now, wait right there! I understand that most of you have your "fix of the undead" via The Walking Dead, but before you say that the last thing you need is another frickin' zombie show, I tell you this - This is a series you should most definitely give a shot.

#Eckogram - Friday (and) the 13th (entry)

Hello there! Today is Friday and the 13th day of the month - "Friday the 13th" as they call it - and incidentally, this is now the "Thirteenth" entry to my ongoing photo diary series. Talk about coincidence huh?! Anyway, here is the 13th Eckogram entry on a Friday the 13th:


Eckogram Entry 13:

A Random Spaghetti Tuesday

“Thinking about spaghetti that boils eternally but is never done is a sad, sad thing.”
― Haruki Murakami, Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman 

I know a lot of people will agree with me that sometimes a person - just out of the blue - gets a feeling of craving for a certain food item, right?

#Eckogram - A Dozen (Twelfth)

Hello Peeps! it is time once again for an entry to the ongoing "Eckogram Photo Diary" series. This the twelfth entry and whad'ya know? We already have a total of a dozen now. Nice!
 
Without further ado, here it goes..

Eckogram Entry 12:

#Eckogram - " Eleventh Hour"

Okay, it is time again for another entry in our ongoing "Photo Diary" series. Hey! It caught me by surprise that this is now the 11th entry of this series. Knowing me, I regard the number 11 as one of my favorite numbers (See my Doctor Who-related posts to know why, LoL!).

The Eleventh Hour is upon us and I guess we should start now, shall we?
  
Author's note: Still, again, as part of the delay during the holiday season, some of the pictures in this entry are a mixture of pictures from the past month or two. However, the catching up process is about to end, so just bear with it my dear readers. As always,  they are worth your time. Thank you. 

Eckogram Entry 11:

Hello! You Fool, C'mon Join the Joyride: "That Thing Called Tadhana" review.

"It is so simple that it is like an Entry-Level Starter Kit for Rom-Com newbies"

Photo courtesy of Cinema One Originals

Yes! my friends, you read that title right. This is a FIRST - I am reviewing a movie, a Filipino movie, in fact. Before that though, I have to confess something...

For Me, Valentine's Day is Every Day

"Love is so much more than a single holiday"

First of all, I want to greet each and every one a Happy Valentine's Day. Let us all celebrate a good one.

Okay, Valentine's Day it is, a special and hallmark holiday that is celebrated once in a year where people give gifts and cards (Flowers too, if you are a guy) to their loved ones to show their love. Now, that is a good thing. However, it seems like each year, it becomes more about what you buy and give as a gift rather than how you celebrate.

I see the rush the day (or days) before Valentine's Day and it seems like there is a Fire sale on Flowers, the sudden need to buy stuff toys, the rush to get chocolates, and the race to reserve on places to take loved ones for a date. I then cannot really help but think "Seriously? People tend to only do this on Valentine's Day?"

#EffTheWin - Obviously, the opposite of WTF

A New Section is Up

Image is from www.allposters.com.ar

If you have been reading my blog for a while,  I am sure you are familiar with one of my ongoing series titled "#WutTheEff", right?

Actually, when I started the series, it focuses on some of the outrageous news or articles that I make a post on and leaned a little on the negative side of things, rather than the positive (hence the title, derived from the expression WTF). 

However, as they say, life is not all about the negatives since a lot of inspiring, funny, and positive things happen that are worth noting and of course, worth writing/making a blog post for.

Migrate, Roam, Wander...Relocate.

"Change is Constant"

They say that "when a new year comes, a new beginning follows" and since we are two months into 2015, a new beginning is about to happen. A new beginning via the way of change.

#Eckogram - "Tenth"

Hey Folks, it is time again for another entry in our beloved "photo diary" series. This is the "10th" one, so that is a little bit of a "humble" milestone, do you agree?

Anyhow, let us get the ball rolling, shall we?

Author's note: Still, as part of the delay that was mentioned on the last entry,  some of the pictures in this and the succeeding entries will be a mixture of pictures from the past month or two, a sort of "catching up" process. As always,  they are worth your time. Thank you.
 
Eckogram Entry 10:

#Eckogram - Cloud Nine

Okay, it has been a really long while since the eight entry on the "Eckogram Diary" Series (About a shade over one month, IMO). Again, I apologize for that. The Holidays proved to be a little bit busy than what my two hands and one brain can handle and thus, a lot of archived drafts had been collecting cobwebs for the past week or two.

To make up for lost time, let us start to get things rolling with the Ninth entry of this series. Here it goes. 

Author's note: I just want to point out that due to the delay, some of the pictures in this and the succeeding entries will be a mixture of pictures from the past month or two, still they are worth your time, nonetheless. Thank you.

Eckogram Entry 09: