Skyscrapers and Observatories.

It is one of my goals in life to visit some world famous skyscrapers/buildings/observatory decks. The reason is that I love looking from a bird's eye view and soaking in the beauty of the city be it at night or day. My journey started in May 2010, when I went back to Dubai for summer vacation during college. My parents and I planned to visit Burj Khalifa's observatory deck as it was newly opened for public viewing. Being the world's tallest building since January 2010, I was so exhilarated most especially when we were at the elevator. After arriving "At the Top," I was so amazed for a while and started taking pictures of the astounding view. Of course, I also managed to have my photos taken by my mom.

This photo was taken pre-opening of Burj Khalifa, December 2009 I think.

Excuse my "clown" face. Of course, the obligatory peace-sign.

Night view from the 124th floor of Burj Khalifa. Stunning Dubai.

In December 2011, my sister and I went to Seoul, South Korea. We visited two buildings' observatory. First is the 63 Building. The reason why this building was included in our itinerary is because of the Korean drama "My Girl." I love that Kdrama and I really wanted to visit that building so that I could rekindle the emotion that My Girl made me feel. 63 Building has both an Art Gallery and Observation deck on the 60th floor and the elevators have glass windows so that as people go up (or down), they can also enjoy the view.

Han River view from the 60th floor of 63 Building.

Seoul at night.

Oh the traffic jam.

And the mandatory photo.

Second (in Seoul) is the N Seoul Tower, located on Namsan Mountain. To fully enjoy the trip to N Seoul Tower, one must ride the Namsan cable car to the tower. 

Inside the cable car.

Pavilion at the grounds of N Seoul Tower.

"Love locks" turned into trees for Christmas. Excuse the jealous face.

View from the mountain.

Where you get your tickets. Duh.

Teddy Bear Museum also at N Seoul Tower.

More Teddy Bears.

Tiles with messages.

Seoul.

Ze toilet.

At the toilet, there's a view. Coolness.

N Seoul Tower.

Lastly, like what I've already posted in the past, my family and I went to Singapore in 2012. We visited Marina Bay Sands on our last day and took photos outside on our first day. See post here

So far, I've gone to four buildings in 3 different countries. I pledge and hope that there would be more to come! Now, here's a list of my target skyscrapers/towers/buildings:

Tokyo Tower, Tokyo, Japan.

Empire State Building, New York, U.S.A.

Eiffel Tower, Paris, France.

Macau Tower, Macau, PRC. (Also Bunjee!)

Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Canton Tower, Guangzhou, China.

Taipei 101, Taipei, Taiwan.

And many more!

A Sudden Realization.

Doing nothing or being an absolutely non-busy person makes me think about myself a lot. I always generate lots of questions in my mind especially when left alone for some time. These questions are mostly about either my future or my character as an individual. I might say, I have never known myself this much compared to before. Without further ado, let me share to you my thoughts as my fingers are begging me to put these impressions from my mind into words produced through typing from this machine thing called a computer. 

I believe that I have lots of interests like many other people, I suppose. As a person, I would want to put these interests into practice and not just remain ideas that I like to do from my mind. Starting from when I was a child, my mother made me choose between three lessons that I would like to take during the summer. Ballet, gymnastics or piano? What I chose as a child made me realize the kind of little person I was back in the day. Surprise! I chose to do piano lessons, well, because I thought back then that ballet and gymnastics were tough and required much body movements whilst playing the piano only involved fingers at least. So I did piano for almost 7 years if I'm not mistaken and because I was a child going through puberty, I didn't have much interest as I had when I was much younger so I decided to quit playing. It was disappointing when I think about it nowadays because I could have achieved higher in piano playing. Right now I still read notes but not as good anymore. During high school I learned playing the guitar as it was a trend. I learned from and with my friends that's why it was much more interesting. I still can play with basic chords although I don't have the motivation to further enhance my skill. Next thing I learned about was playing the drums. This was during early college. Once I was done with the lessons that I'd (my parents actually) paid for, I did some practice again with friends but it wasn't enough and I was pretty busy with college hence not playing anymore. Also, I lost my first drum sticks.. These are not all the things that I'm interested in but sharing these says a lot about me. I hate to admit it but I'm a quitter. Once I learn things, I don't want to get better anymore and settle for just learning the basics. I hate that about myself and I want to change.

This is where my sudden realization goes in. When I write, words just flow (although not so smoothly) and I don't get tired. After I'm done writing, I read my work. In some of my works, I see unorganized thoughts, hastiness, repetitive words, and many more. I always find someway to critique myself. On the other hand, I have some works that I'm actually proud of and read over and over again. There are just days that I have more beautiful words to say and have more organized thoughts. The point is, I like writing. I see how in writing, I always want to improve. In writing, I see that I don't want to quit because there is no reason for it. All that is left to do is to pursue refinement in my writing. I will start doing the little things that could help: read lots of books, read words of the day, and blog more often. I will commit this time around.

Final words:

I write because in writing, I am myself, I can be who I really am, and I can be who I want to be.

Trip to Seoul 2011 (Live Blogs)

I noticed that my Trip to Full House post was getting quite a lot of hits so I'm going to share in this blog my daily blabbering while in Seoul. Also, I decided to put a quick link on my Tumblr page for my posts re Trip to Seoul last December 2011. 

Links:

ALL of the posts are in here:

Trip to Seoul December 2011

Minor posts

When I got my single-entry visa to South Korea

My hopeful itinerary (we didn't follow everything. well, because of the cold)

First Day: Myeongdong

Christmas Day (Lotte World & COEX Mall)

Palace & N Seoul Tower

Update: My tweets while in Seoul (translation in Italics)

Shet ang lamig!!! Thu Dec 22 20:58:57 Shit it's so cold!!!
Nasa airport palang malamig na. Dx Thu Dec 22 21:02:16 We're still inside the airport yet we can already feel the cold weather.
Ancute ng pera. Pati mga tao, iniiwasan din nila magenglish. Hahahha Thu Dec 22 21:38:36 Their money is so cute. And the people here (like in the Philippines) also avoid foreigners in order to avoid speaking in English
Eto na nasa labas nako. Grabe Sontag lamig!!!!!! -8 degree celsius. Thu Dec 22 21:48:25 *there's a typo here* I'm already outside. It is seriously cold!!!!!! - 8 degree celsius
Katatapos lang mag shopping sa Myeongdong. Pagod agad, at ubos na pera. :)) Fri Dec 23 04:16:23 Just finished shopping in Myeongdong. I'm already tired, plus my money's already gone.
Super daming coffee shop. Fri Dec 23 04:16:55 So many coffee shops.
Ang bilis talaga ng internet dito. Fri Dec 23 04:43:13 The internet is really fast here.
Kapag nagtTumblr, hindi na kailangan maghintay para magload. :O Fri Dec 23 04:43:43 When I go to Tumblr, I didn't have to wait for the posts to load. *yes I went on Tumblr*
Lasang fish cake yung burp ko. #koreanstreetfood Fri Dec 23 05:22:52 When I burp, I taste the fish cake I ate.
It's snowing! Fri Dec 23 11:59:00
So glad that I experienced my first snow in Seoul, just in time for Christmas. Fri Dec 23 13:00:24
I remember the ajumma who persuaded me to buy. SUPER pressure. :)) Fri Dec 23 15:07:33 *persuaded me to buy a sweater when I was just looking at it*
Still snowing. Hope to see all white surroundings tomorrow. Night! Fri Dec 23 15:48:09
Not snowing anymore, but there's still the leftover snow from last night. :) Sat Dec 24 00:32:27
Will be going to Nami Island in a few~ Sat Dec 24 00:33:24
Merry Christmas! Just ate early noche buena since shops here are closed already for Christmas eve. Sat Dec 24 13:31:45
Pati cartoon network Korean ang salita. Mas marunong pa magKorean sakin si Shrek. :)) Sat Dec 24 13:40:46 Even shows in Cartoon Network are dubbed in Korean. Shrek is so much more fluent in Korean than me.
Merry Christmas from Seoul~ :D Sat Dec 24 15:03:21
Had fun at Lotte World today! Sun Dec 25 13:37:09
Even nabbed too much (expensive) stuff at COEX mall~ :)) Sun Dec 25 13:37:29
Met Filipinos here in Korea for the first time. :)) Sun Dec 25 13:50:44
At Coco Bruni. Waiting for ze English tour at Gyeongbokgung. :D Mon Dec 26 05:18:58
Kahit san talaga dito andaming coffee shop. Marami ring take out coffee na window shop lang. Mon Dec 26 05:26:46 Everywhere I go here I see a coffee shop. There are also many window shops meant for take out coffee.
Lumamon kanina ng street food na naman, tapos mali pala yung way ng pag kain namin. Filipino style ginawa namin. :))) Mon Dec 26 05:30:36 We ate street food again, but the way we ate it was Filipino style. *forgot what we ate here. prolly something that had sauce in it..*
Frostnip! So itchy. D: Mon Dec 26 12:39:34 *pre-frost bite*
Just got our delivery from McDonald's. Good looking delivery guy. 8D Mon Dec 26 12:49:31
So far, we've encountered too many nice Koreans. :) Tue Dec 27 14:25:57
On our way to full house. Stopping by Incheon intl airport first. Wed Dec 28 05:17:28
Super nagddry yung skin ko. Pero namumula naman cheeks ko. :)) Wed Dec 28 12:45:07 My skin is getting super dry yet my cheeks are getting all pinkish
Leaving Seoul tomorrow! That is so not Raven. Dx Thu Dec 29 10:50:36
All my bags are packed. But I'm not ready to go. D: Thu Dec 29 12:10:48
Delivery ulit! Pizza hut naman. Thu Dec 29 12:55:10 Food delivery again! This time it's Pizza Hut.
Waiting for boarding. Thu Dec 29 21:31:13

Best Chick Flicks.

I've been looking up more chick flicks to watch since yesterday because I just had the urge to see some heartwarming films to get into the mood. Now, I'm not much of a know-it-all in the chick flick film genre but when I looked up lists of must watch, I didn't have much to discover because I've already watched most of them. So, with my not-so-expert knowledge of these films I shall make a list of my Top 15 Best Chick Flicks of All Time. This list will include those which I would watch over and over again and those which made me hungover. I will also go with intuition; first movies which comes to my mind will be considered as my favorites. Also, this list includes what I've watched ever since I loved chick flicks, up until now. Placing is decided by its impact.

15. 17 Again

Reasons why we love chick flicks? Cute actors. Zac Efron + Matthew Perry? Whew. Grown up man going back to high school with all the new trends.. See what happens. 4 out of 5 stars!

14. The Switch

"Friend is the father of your baby? Whoa, I want to watch this." Was my reaction to this new concept injected in chick flick. It was definitely worth it and I love the kid! 4 out of 5 stars.

13. You Again

Humor. I honestly couldn't remember any good points of this movie except for fun filled fights and hilarious granny wars (Betty White FTW!). Anyways, 3 out of 5 stars!

12. A Walk to Remember

"In places no one would find.." Soundtrack is amazing. Who hasn't watched this yet? Well, prepare tissues. Probably the most lovable tearjerker ever. 5 out of 5 stars for making me cry.

11. Bridesmaids

My first impression on this was "Too boring to go on." Well, first impression would take me nowhere. I gathered the energy to continue and it was awesome! Definitely women empowering and hilarious in a different kind of way. Just don't take it too seriously and it will be fun! 4 out of 5 stars!

10. Easy A

Emma Stone is just lovely in this film. Teen film in a modern setting where bitches aren't who they were supposed to be like before and tackles all sorts of unique teenage issues. A definite A! 5 out of 5.

9. The Devil Wears Prada

Fashion and passion. Love the overall concept of the film. Must watch for fashion lovers! 5 out of 5 stars.

8. Ruby Sparks

As you can notice, I enjoy watching chick flicks with a different twists to them. The idea of making someone out of imagination into reality is definitely intriguing, thus the interest to watch. It came out pretty well and that's why I recommend! 4 out of 5 stars.

7. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

Another teen film with a great sense. Maybe music lovers would be much more attached. Set in one night, filled with crazy events. 5 out of 5 stars!

6. Pitch Perfect

"You guys are gonna get pitch-slapped so hard, your man boobs are gonna concave." FAT AMY is the best! I'm not much of a fan of musical films but this one pitch-slapped me real hard. It's Aca-awesome! 5 out of 5!

5. Juno

Best teenage pregnancy film ever. Well, who makes teenage pregnancy films this witty and fun? Gotta love Juno. Not outrageously funny though. Just plain witty and tackles the subject somewhat lightly. 5 out of 5.

4. The Proposal

Ryan Reynolds? Uhm, Ahuh! One of those hilarious yet romantic (sort-of) film. Of course, Betty White does it again! 5 out of 5.

3. She's the Man

Funniest thing about this film is: Amanda Bynes becoming a guy. She's a cute guy for Pete's sake. Cannot say much but let me tell ya: I've watched this countless of times. Feel-good film and freaking hilarious bromance! Exceeds 5 out of 5.

2. Just Go With It

Rom-com veterans together in a film? Total awesomeness. Like She's the Man, I don't know how much I've repeated watching this. Love the chemistry and the humor. Exceeds 5 out of 5.

1. Mean Girls

First chick flick that I've loved. I cannot stress how much I memorize the lines in this movie. Still the best chick flick for me! Exceeds 5 out of 5.

Runner-Ups:

Angus, Thongs, and Perfect Snogging
Jawbreaker
Aquamarine

Korean Dramas 2012

This post has been thought about just a few minutes ago as I had the urge to update this blog. I am doing an everyday challenge on my other, less serious blog on Tumblr and I suddenly felt like updating this more "serious" blog. As I am a K-drama junkie, I shall write about those that I finished, those that I had left behind in 2012, and those that I'm planning to continue on watching. First would be the K-dramas that I've finished watching.

(not in a particular order)

Reply 1997 (9 out of 10)

This drama is probably among the best that I've watched in my lifetime. I wouldn't compare it to the likes of Full House or Goong but I might say that it is one of those that I would watch over and over. Its concept of reunion and involvement of the past and future of a fan girl are the characteristics that made me drawn to this drama. I also love the accent used by the actors in the drama as it emphasizes that the characters have strong personalities.

The Thousandth Man (7 out of 10)

It is short compared to other dramas but it's just the right amount of episodes for the story because it would get dragged on if it had a full 16 episode format. I like how the characters are bright despite the sad and seemingly depressing story-line because of the association of themes such as death. That's basically what I've liked about this drama. I watched this as I was familiar with the Gumiho legend because of My Girlfriend is a Gumiho (also a K-drama) and because Lee Chun hee is the male lead. Although some scenes were (for a lack of good terms) "pushing it," the ending satisfied the whole story so I was happy yet sad about that.

The Moon Embracing the Sun (9 out of 10)

Now, this is real talk. If you want a full on drama with a great plot, I suggest you watch this. I see nothing wrong about this drama as it has qualities of your average yet amazing TV dramas. At first, I didn't want to watch this because I really am not fond of heavy dramas with a 'traditional' theme (Joseon era). I find those kinds of dramas too slow-paced and I get bored easily. But this one made me watch every episode that comes next because I couldn't stop wondering what would happen next. One of my strongly recommended dramas for 2012.

Big (5 out of 10)

I didn't like the ending and I doubt anyone liked it. This is one of those dramas which starts off good (real good that is) that you want to watch it until the end but the end disappoints you. I wrote a post about its ending here in this blog and I explained a few things regarding the ending from what I understand and from what I want to believe. I might have criticized this a lot because I expected great things from the Hong sisters (writers of this drama; good ones). I've watched every drama that they had written (except Hong Gil Dong) and this is the worst. I get it that they're experimenting on writing with different themes but I didn't like how they portrayed this. I do not recommend if you make endings a huge deal (like me).

Love Rain (8 out of 10)

I also wrote about the first few episodes of this drama in this blog. I definitely like the concept and had a depressing time watching it. It has a sad theme but I tell you this is full on romance. It left me all fluffy and warm inside yet tears flow on the outside. A bit draggy I suppose and took me courage to finish it. The soundtrack was great.

Dream High 2 (8 out of 10)

Sequel to Dream High 1 but only one cast member (who is also the producer) remained: JYP. It is not better than Dream High 1 plot wise but comedy wise, I liked this better because the first one was much more serious. This is more light-hearted yet it made me cry (I suppose because I can relate). Dream High 1 has a point higher than this one but I still recommend it.

Wild Romance (9 out of 10)

As this drama was aired in KBS at the same time-slot as The Moon Embracing the Sun in MBC, it got low ratings in Korea. But because I didn't like watching traditional themed dramas then, I watched this first and liked it a lot. If you ask for comedy, this is so funny. And if you ask for butterflies in your stomach, I got that too, from watching this. This drama might be underrated, but its plot is as serious as it gets yet retains its rom-com quality.

The Innocent Man (8 out of 10)

Confession: I watched this because of Song Joong ki. Well, who didn't watch it for him? Haha. Although I also watched it for Lee Kwang Soo as I adore him in Running Man. I also am not fond of melodramas and I didn't really want to watch this at first. Like The Moon Embracing the Sun, this is like your average revenge and dark themed dramas out there yet it makes one continue watching it because it is damn interesting. Comic relief is also provided by Lee Kwang Soo.

Rooftop Prince (9 out of 10)

I hate it when I get irritated by a mere character in a story. I still haven't the guts to continue this as I'm afraid I might have a rage because of one character. However, the characters are lovely and hilarious as hell because they time travelled to the future. (Is what I said before I finished it) Now that I'm done with it, I can say that it's quite appealing to me because of the characters (excluding the antagonist that is) and the main plot. As I'm a sucker for time travel love stories, I definitely fell in love with this drama.

Second part contains those that I haven't finished watching yet. I will still rate them according to what I've finished watching. Ending is not obviously considered in the rating.

The King 2 Hearts (8 out of 10)

I watched this while I was still struggling with college life thus haven't had the time to actually finish it back then. I stopped watching this because I was too sad/angry/frustrated at the sudden turn of events. What's interesting about this drama is that it involves North Korea and not only that, the female lead is a North Korean while the male lead is a South Korean prince. I believe I was almost halfway done but I didn't get to finish it. I still plan on watching though when I get a copy.

Queen In-Hyun's Man (6 out of 10)

Time travel? I love those stuff. And a romantic comedy is it? I'm on! Also, I'm still halfway through, I find the concept amazing and the chemistry of the main leads is so romantic. I'm putting it aside for now because some other recent dramas caught my attention.

Cheongdamdong Alice (6 out of 10)

I don't like main characters who are always bullied but I know that this would get better so I'm giving it a chance. I don't like the crazy guy though. Fashion is involved and is a plus. I also heard something (an event which I'm in favor of) about the story that made me decide to continue watching it.

A Gentleman's Dignity (7 out of 10)

I just started watching this and so far, I don't have the reason to stop it. Gorgeous men in their forties - what a fresh idea. And I mean it. 

Third and last part: 5 % to no chance of picking it up again. Will rate based on very few episodes that I've watched.

I Love Lee Tae Ri (6 out of 10)

Has potential and plot seems interesting although I don't think I'd waste time finding decent copies.

The Marriage Plot (5 out of 10)

Concept seems interesting but common. Characters didn't have an impact on me on the first episode so..

To the Beautiful You (6 out of 10)

Hana Kimi Korea! What I've been waiting for since Hana Kimi Japan. SM entertainment picking it up didn't satisfy me at all. Could've gotten more potential in the hands of other producers in my opinion. Also, I already know the story and seems like there's nothing more to it so I stopped.

Operation Proposal (5 out of 10)

Another Korean version of a favorite Japanese drama of mine, Proposal Daisakusen. I loved the original series yet I didn't seem to be that interested in this Korean version after watching the first episode.

Recently Watched Korean Movies. (Romantic Comedy)

I've recently watched many movies in just a month (January 2013) and many of these are from Korea. I've been watching Korean movies since I was in high school, all thanks to the internet. When school was on break, I've always watched Korean dramas and movies sometimes by myself or with a friend. What we do is we chat on Yahoo! Messenger then while watching the movie. We would know each other's reaction even though we are on each others' home. Funny huh? Well now, we still do it. In fact, most of the movies that I would be blabbering about are movies that we've watched together. I'll start with Romantic Comedy.

First is the movie Love On-air. I've always adored Korean rom-com movies because it's just different from Hollywood/Filipino films. I say that because Korean movies seems to offer different twists to romantic comedy. Now back to Love On-air. Another title for this movie is "Wonderful Radio." I had an interest to watch this movie a long time ago (when it was released) because of Lee Min Jung. However, when I discovered that Lee Kwang Soo is on this film and Kim Jong Kook and Kang Gary would cameo, I immediately downloaded it and watched. I resolved to provide a film review through pros and cons.

Pros: This movie can provide people with so much emotions. I cried hard, laughed hard, and got irritated (because of the characters). Simple storyline yet had the perfect way to tell the story.

Cons: I have to say this but as I've watched many romantic comedy films, I felt that this was just like any other. As I said earlier, the plot was simple and didn't have much excitement. Personally, I didn't like the romance side because I think that the story can stand even if the romance side was taken out. What the male lead did was not limited to love imo, his greatest contribution was not particularly romantic for me.

Recommend or not?

I do not recommend this for people who watches films often (like people who loves to critic) but if you just want a feel good film and if you like Lee Kwang Soo, go watch this.

Next is "Spellbound" or "Chilling Romance." This film is a mixed genre; a horror romantic comedy. Reason I watched? Just plain bored and looking for something different. Well, it's a mix of two genres that I like the most so why not? I watched it and I have definitely mixed reviews about this. The story depicted a woman who has an ability to see ghosts and got involved with a man who does magic for a living.

Pros: The idea of a horror romantic comedy was tackled in the film and that's one of its pros because I liked that it was an essential part of the plot. The actors portrayed their characters well. Not only did I love the plot, but also the characters. The male and female lead characters were powerful and so as the supporting ones.

Cons: Admittedly, I hated the horror parts of the film. But as I've said earlier, it was a core part of the plot and it cannot be taken away. I just hate cheap horror tricks (because I get scared alright!). Well you know what I mean about those tricks like the sounds and stuff. It comes between scenes and it shifts faster than one would expect. Nonetheless, I still like this movie.

Recommend or not?

I recommend this for people who want to watch something different. It is satisfying and it is indeed romantic. Not for those people who hates horror though.

Finally, the last movie that I would be talking about. "My Tutor Friend 2" is a bit older than those two previously mentioned movies. This is not a sequel to My Tutor Friend but it has a similar aspect; the tutor falls for the student or vice versa.

Pros: I like the overall idea of this film but I find the plot very basic to romantic comedies. Boy meets girl and falls in love given a situation. It's a safe movie to watch for romantic comedy lovers. Nevertheless, it still gives a fall-in-love feeling.

Cons: Overused main leads hate each other at first and falls in love afterwards. Bit of slow-paced for me. 

Recommend or not?
This film is probably what you watch when you are very bored and have nothing else to watch and you feel like watching some rom-com. Nonetheless, do not watch if you expect any good.

This ends the Romantic Comedy part of my Korean movie marathon last January. I shall write about my top 5 or top 10 (still can't decide) Rom-Com Korean films next time! Also the Korean thriller/horror films that I've watched last January~