GROW

"Somehow, along the course of life, you learn about yourself and realize that there should never be regrets, only a lifelong appreciation of the choices you've made. And we DO ALWAYS HAVE A CHOICE."

Broadway Bound - I Wish!

So, I was just thinking - one of the things I really miss about not living in the US are the plays, musical plays, that I used to go see... starting way back in High School - i have enjoyed the obligatory class trips to see Stage Musicals or Plays.... that I soon as I started earning my own bucks (as a working college student) I made it a point to save moolah for the next Musical play to come through San Francisco.

Then during my working stiff years, as a buyer and General Manager of a Gift Company - I was blessed to be sent to New York each year for the Toy Fair - and I made sure I catch whatever is the HOTTEST play at the time...

I was fortunate enough to have seen Jennifer Holliday in Dreamgirls; Mandy Patinkin in FALSETTOS; Bernadette Peters in Into The Woods (still a Personal Fave), Betty Buckley in Sunset Blvd., Lea Salonga in both Miss Saigon & Les Miz; plus a host of others.... I MISS BROADWAY!!! I believe the last Broadway Baby I saw in New York, around mid 2000) was the girl from CSI: New York doing CABARET...

But living in Taiwan, where too few musical plays come (and usually at a HIGHER price) I really do not get to see them as much anymore... The last few years I get my fix usually during my TRAVELS - trying to catch whatever is playing like Mamma Mia in Spain (in all Spanish!) and Into The Woods in a small theatre in Manila...

Thank God for BBC Radio & Elaine Page- I get my Broadway Musical Fix through her weekly, 2hr show covering the best Broadway music from both London and New York; upcoming musicals; music from the Movies - and a weekly Special Musical Guest chatting about Musicals and even singing LIVE. If you love musicals - check it out and let Elaine bring you the Best of Broadway!

sMiLe: a nice way to start your week with...

"SMILE: give it FREELY & ABUNDANTLY... it will be returned to you many folds over, for sure... Besides, it is FREE and we all know that, "The Best Things In Life Are Free"!!!

One Nite in Keelung

...is DEFINITELY not enough!!!! This is not my first time in KEELUNG really but somehow, this stopover trip, on the way home to Taipei from swimming in Longdong, made me see how there is sooo much to this PORT CITY!!!

It was our TRANSFER point from Taipei to Longdong and back.... during our first stop going, I was already AMAZED by seeing the STAR CRUISE LINES docked along the city port.... amidst all the different CARGO SHIPs.... it is AMAZING to see how much CARGO comes through here.... walking around, you also see sooo many WAIGUOREN (FOREIGNERS) like me.... as it is an International Port.Then coming back and stopping for some grubs in the Nite Market was just a HEAVENLY Experience!!! So many goodies to try.... prices are the same as they are in Taipei but the portions are bigger.... plus the people with the food stands are really friendly... not sour at all, though they have been doing this for many years already... The food selections is great - Taiwanese staples like Chou Dofu (stinky tofu), Mien Shen (noodles), Guotie (Pot stickers) abound... plus a few local delicacies... and just to my delight, many DESSERTS to choose from... of course I opted for a couple of servings of the Ice Cold Tahuie... can never get enough of that... CAN U SEE THE JOY IN MY SMILE HERE!!!
CLICK HERE FOR THE REST OF THE PHOTOS PLS

total darkness.... well, not quite....

I was anticipating the total darkness that was reported to envelop us all... well, it did get dark but with the dark clouds obscuring the actual eclipse -- all I got to see was this:It looked so promising...
Till the clouds obscured it all....oh well, there's always the next one...

Beach Holiday After All!!!

Did not think I would see the OCEAN at all this SUMMER... mostly because am not interested in getting a SUNBURN like I do each and every year.... But yesterday, David invited me to trek a couple of hours outside Taipei, for a late afternoon/evening swim in the OCEAN -- the OCEAN, No SUN, a BREAK FROM WORK - AM THERE!!!

Place is LONGDONG Ocean Park - a HAVEN for SNORKELERS && SCUBA DIVERS.... but need not go through those extremes - simply put on your GOGGLES and DIVE IN - lots of FISH IN THE OCEAN - REALLY!!!
Complete Photos Here:Longdong Ocean Bay Park

What's Wrong With This Picture???

Just got home from a WONDERFUL SUNDAY outing... David & I trekked a couple of hours away to LONGDONG BAY to swimn in the ocean, and then top the nite out at the famous KEELUNG Night Market (halfway back to Taipei) for some GREAT SNACKS.... have not had time to go through all the photos yet but this one caught my eyes and made me laugh... CAN U SPOT WHAT ABOUT IT THAT MADE ME LAUGH??? Hope you all are having a Great Weekend!!!

I Want! I Want!

Just 4 things am HOPING someone will be KIND ENOUGH to help me get - PRETTY PLEASE!!!!CLOCKWISE FROM TOP:People Magazine Tribute (should be out now!); Hallmark Charlie's Angels Greeting Card; TV GUIDE (not sure which week but should be recent?); Charlie's Angels Season 4 DVD. THANKS IN ADVANCE!

What A Friday!

Whew!!! where do I even start - how about the weird weather??? Got up about 5:30 to get an early run but the sun was shining so brightly already - so we opted to go to the GYM instead....

Then it was a whole day of waiting for DHL to come and deliver... did it happen??? OF COURSE NOT!!! So it was a whole day wasted indoors waiting for something that did not come... and those of you who know me well, knows that there is nothing I HATE MORE in this world than WAITING - waiting for anyone or anything....

On the brighter siode to that, i was able to work and POST a couple of entries in my R&D SPOTLIGHT blog page.... new Photos of Susies and all...

Tonite, knowing that there is no us anymore of waiting for DHL - I ventured to run... then it started drizzling with the wind really blowing... so I Had to run back home... Guess, the TYPHOON will really hit us - as they said in the news....

So you tell me, AM I GETTING LUCKY yet??? GOOD THING I had a box of SEE's Chocolates, courtesy of my Nephew Ace, to keep me company and put me in a brighter mood.... hais, just glad it is almost over.... as the box of chocolates is almost all gone, too!!!

DOLLY TIME!!!

Okie Dokie - been asked enough times that am breaking down... am FINALLY starting a BLOG to highlight all the dolls that comes the R&D way: Susie, Angels, Mensajero, Momoko, FR, Nikki & Odeco-chan, Jenny, and many, many more...

We will keep you current on Upcoming & New Releases, Magazines, Pictorials, LINKS of Interests, etc.... So pls STAY TUNED and SUBSCRIBE so as to not miss out on the latest NEWS & Photos of your Favorite Dolls.

So without further yada, yada, yada - I give you all: R&D Spotlight

8th World Games Starts Today!

Kaohsiung, Taiwan is the PROUD host of the 10 day (from the 16th thru the 26th) 8th World Games... Wishing I can snag tickets... but am sure that is a long shot as they are too pricey and am sure will sell out fast!!!Gao Mei & Syong Ge, the World Games' Official Mascots
Official Site Here

Molly X tokidoki

Coming August 2009: Kennyswork MOLLY X tokidoki

Have always been fascinated with MOLLY - ever since I visited, MONSTER GEAR, when it first opened... lots of Mollys there... actually the shop seems to highlight Molly the most.... but at that time, I said to myself - I do not need to start another collection... and BOY, it would be another BIG collection for sure...

So what happens??? tokidoki collaborates with Molly...waaah! Of course, I have to order this 10" bundle of cuteness... and while doing so with my friend, Juliana, a couple of days ago (July 14th), we (MISERY TRULY LOVES COMPANY!!!) ended up picking up both the Molly Be@rbrick and the Molly Qee, Monster Gear's -- which would puts us both to having 3 Mollys each in our collections -- so does that make us Molly Collectors already? Am Afraid so!!!

Related Links:
-Monster Gear
-Monster Gear Visit W/Juliana Photos
-Kennyswork
-Be@rbrick in WIKI

OFF WITH HER HEAD!!!

HURTFUL WORDS....
everyone who knows you know, that they are all you are capable of... maybe it kills you more that I am not bending or catering to your whims... and just so you know, the hurtful words, themselves do not get to me -- what gets me is knowing that they are being said to those I love and care about... am just glad they know me well enough to not buy into your lies....

OK, got that off my chest... moving on.....

shouldn't I start getting LUCKY now??

So, one should NEVER give up - ever.... with just a bit of LUCK and a bit of HELP from FRIENDS (Thanks Sue & Cecilia!) - all can be attained, acquired or accomplished. Such is the case of completing this year's Chinese NY Family Mart Premium Lucky Vinyl Toys.

Over the weekend, as we got together for the Taipei Toy Festival, Sue handed over to me a small paper bag containing the 3 that I was missing to complete my collection (see side photo)... plus a couple of others.... What A Feeling - always GREAT when am able to complete a collection. Especially these HARD TO GET ones.
COMPLETE AT LAST!!!
But it never ends as the SUMMER PREMIUM PROGRAM has already commenced - HELP!!!

Vanity Strikes...

Looking back, I was hating the way my hair was soooo flat in all the TOY FEST photo - so on this weird weathered Monday morning, I just had to go for a haircut....

Am happy again... Lols, how a decent haircut can change one's mood... Now on to gaining a few POUNDS as am tired of hearing how skinny I am... waaah, just as when I reached my WEIGHT GOAL.....

VANITY - Never Ending Torture, really!!!

Taipei Toy Festival - Photos Up!!!

As you already know, my main reason for attending this event, besides all the cool Vinyl Toys was to FINALLY meet in person, tokidoki creator/designer, Simone Legno... I had already missed him a couple of times before - once in Manila and another time here in Taipei... So this time around I made sure I will be in attendance...

It was a 4 day event, starting Thurs the 9th, the day I came back from my last Manila trip... still feeling a bit under the weather, I made sure I took my meds, vitamins, and drink lots of juices to get better and be able to attend... Saturday the 11th was date of choice to attend... Perfect day for Juliana and Sue - alas, due to unforseen reasons, Cecilia could not come and it worked out well as David got the day off from work and was able to use the extra ticket.

For NT$150 (US$4.50) - we got to enjoy a day's worth of meeting and greeting the featured designers; get to see in person so many toys and products I only got to see online and in magazines; but and get personally authographed those that appealed to us; and of course, SIMONE LEGNO. He was totally nice, accommodating and sweet... could not have been happier. We got our goods signed, personalized, took photos with him and of course, chatted a bit... it was PURE HEAVEN for us all!!!

Well, it was more like HEAVEN & HELL!!! HEAVEN as we were loving all that was on displayed abnd being offered... HELL as it was not good for the pockets, as most hobbies, are not. Two things worked in my favour though and I saved myself a lot of expenses: 1) I pretty much have all the tokidoki goods made so far... and 2) the other stuff I was looking for, from different designers & tokidoki, were not available... except I did luck out and found the LE Platinum Version of SABOCHAN... so of course, I snapped this one right away -- happily so!!!Some of my Purchases (Clockwise) tokidoki X Bearbrick: Issued for the Taipei Festival; Levi's X tokidoki tee; LE Platinum Edition Sabochan; Oli Bears "Heaven & Hell"
The experience was a real delight, one that I would totally recommend to all you Vinyl Toys lovers, and one I would love to do again, and again, and again.....

For all the FUN PHOTOS - PLS CLICK HERE

A DAY IN tokidoki HEAVEN!!!!

Story and Photos to follow...Just could not contain the excitement from yesterday's Taipei Toy Festival outing...Just Us with tokidoki GOD & creator, Simone Legno!!! Have a GREAT WEEKEND TO YOU ALL!!!

weThink, weShare #4 - The Trouble With Love Is...

Just feeling like a SAP once more upon coming back to Taiwan, I decided to watch "Love Actually" again for the GOD only knows how many times now - I have lost count.... still the same bag of mixed emotions I get each and ever sitting... it is one of those movies I truly will never ever tire of... and it seems that each and every viewing - I pick up something I did not before -- as is in this case...

This time around, I got to really listen to the song; "The Trouble With Love Is.." - sung by Kelly Clarkson

The words are hauntingly true.... for me anyway.... I can totally relate.... line by line, I have at one point or another experienced pretty much all that is written in the lyrics.... the good stuff like hearing a symphony and wanting to shout out to the world about my love for someone.... but like a drug, love does make me blind from time to time, as am sure most of you can relate.... so much so that the heart is torn into pieces....

Still, there is no escaping when love beckons.... the minute my heart flutters for someone - like a moth to a flame, am there... wholeheartedly.... cautions thrown in the wind.... no reservations whatsoever.... against everyone else's warnings.... I just go with the flow of things -- doing the BEST I can, making the most of all, hoping for the BEST LOVE has to offer....


So, in this edition of weThink, weShare - I ask of all of you:
What do You Think IS the Trouble With Love? With Falling In Love? And, if you can, would you simply just walk away from it - fearing that, in the end, it all turns out the same?
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Music Playlist at MixPod.com

Random Happiness in Pictures

A few Shots of TOTAL JOYs as demonstrated by a few people, and a doggie, while in Manila...Aaaaah Youth! BEA: One Happy Little Girl!Nanay (Cousin Rounette) and Ace - finding their instruments of Happiness!!!Personally delivering to a couple of HAPPY SUSIE & DOLLS Lovers (Joan & Pole) and witnessing their total JOY in getting their SUSIE Dolls! And Shaq reunited with his Master Ace, after being separated for 4 months while Ace does his OJT in the US.

Oh Horrors!!!

So, am back in Taiwan... but not without a whole lot of nervousness on my part... scared of being flagged down and being quarantined -- the same worries plaguing most, if not all the travelers of late...

The SUMMER WEATHER in Manila took its toll on me - finally and I actually got sick... so much so that I was practically bedridden the last couple of nites... Thank God it was not the dreaded H1N1 Virus -- and with proper medication my fever came down and was controlled.... still I could not help but worry going to the airport this morning, an early one at that, to catch my flight... then it was fretting over crossing CKS Airport's Health Customs at the airport... Glad that in the end, I was cleared and all is fine....

well, fine except for all the work (and everything else) waiting for me.... but that's another matter....

Hot & Cold

Summers in Manila can be really trying... The HOTTEST TIME of the year can also be the WETTEST time as rainy season falls on the Hot Summer months.... now I know why Schools' summer vacation here is between Mar & June.... so people can still enjoy some kind of summer instead of be stuck at home, or worse yet, caught in a flood somewhere while on a summer holiday.

The last few days have been either TOO SUNNY or RAIN POURING DOWN... and if one is LUCKY - you get both, alternating in one day... as I have been... makes it really so hard to get around, plus I cannot even go for a swim... I can only eat.... no wonder many people are a bit on the heavy side... and why I am always catching a cold when here in the summer months...

Oh well, at least there's the GREAT BIG & VERY CHEAP movie houses to escape too... as I recently did, and saw TRANSFORMERS... not that I was really dying to see this but nothing else is playing that catches my fancy.... besides, they had this BIG OLD TRUCK displayed right outside the movie theatre - which turned out to be one of the main robot characters in the movie... and in fairness, it was entertaining ebnough for the 2 1/2 hrs, its running time.

All New Alice In Wonderland!!!

Johnny Depp and director Tim Burton teams up once again... this is the duo's 7th collaboration with the last one being the musical Sweeny Todd, for which Mr Depp was nominated for aBest Actor Oscar. This time around it is for the retelling of Lewis Carrol's "Alice in Wonderland.

Johnny Depp plays the Mad Hatter, which MAAAD HAT should fill in nicely judging by the publicity shots so far. And reuniting with him once again, is Mrs. Tim Burton herself, Helena Bonham Carter - as the Evil Red ("Off With Her Head!) Queen. Alice will be played by the 19 year old Aussie actress, Mia Wasikowska plus Anne Hathaway as the White Queen.From their very first collaboration together, Edward Scissorhands, I have been hooked... it always AMAZES me what this duo can do together... and this one promises to do no less....

U Get What U Pay For - Indeed!!!

Okay, so if you TRAVEL between Taipei and Manila as often as I do, basically once a month, you have to be wise and find the BEST FARE available.... A few years back, I used to pay about $350US RT (round trip), about 17,000Php, but with CEBU Pacific it was cut down to about $100 US or 5,000php.... of course with that low fare, one does not get to carry as much (only 15KGS allowed) - and you have to know that for a BALIKBAYAN - that is just way too little.... Also, no food or drinks available for you (unless you pay on board!) - much less, MILEAGE to ACCRUE.... still, for a two hour flight - this is all OK, as am basically saving $200US each flight...

This cheap fares made PAL took notice enough to introduced the ECONO LITE FARE - as advertised, you also allowed just 15 KGS... 1 hand carry.... NO MEAL... but UNLIMITED PEANUTS & DRINKS... PLUS VIDEO SCREENS... hmmmm.... this caught my eyes of course.... enough to take them up on their offer this time around...

Boy did I make a BAD DECISION - which I came to CONCLUDE right from the start. Upon checking in I was told I cannot ask for an AISLE seat... with my fare I sit where I am placed in the last few rows - no matter if the aisle seats in the last rows are available, which they were.... so I ended up with the toilets right behind me and all the toilet goers feels that my seat was there for them to lean and rest on while they wait for their turn in the loo.... HEADACHE from too much SHAKING much!!!Then as the FOOD CART was rolled, ECONO LITE people were passed over and were taken care of last... a couple of little bags of peanuts (about 25 pcs) in each bag -- if even) and a glass of drink... unlimited they said??? well, they did not even come back to offer anything else and I had to wait till they were already cleaning up and picking up trash to get another glass of orange juice...And then there's the VIDEO SCREEN.... well, nothing to get EXCITED about... you would think with this 2 hour flight they could play a 1 and 1/2 hour movie or a couple of 30 mins sitcoms - nope... "an episode of JUST FOR LAUGHS" played twice is what we got!!!

Well, I learned my lesson.... am going back with CEBU PACIFIC... at least I know there is nothing to expect, therefore, I will not be disappointed!

July Jubilees

1st of July, a brand new month that promises to be just as hectic & tiring as the month of June -- but at least a little bit more pleasurable...

Starting off with flying off this morning to Manila to check up on my Mom... i can only pray that this trip will be a bit better than the last.... then tomorrow I get to see my nephew Ace, coming back from San Francisco, California -- where he did his 3 month OJT for his HRM course... he has one semester left and he graduates!!!

Upon my return on the 8th, I get to look forward in enjoying a full fun day at The Taipei Toy Festival ( a 4 day event that I will be attending on Sat, the 11th - with my friends: Juliana, Sue & Cecilia) -- so many famous exhibitors from all over the world, but the one am dying to see and meet is mr tokidoki himself, Simone Legno.There are other things, other happenings for the month of July: the musical Phantom of the Opera comes to Taiwan, a couple of movies, Public Enemies & the special effects driven, 2012; and summer goings on in Taiwan.

Here's hoping July has a lot of happenings in store for you, too... in your own neck of the woods...