Before she became known, the world over, as LADY GAGA - she already showed so much promise, powerful voice and great talents... I actually like her so much better then... nowadays, as fun as her videos are, I feel that her beautiful voice have been overshadowed by the costumes, the make up, the whole Lady Gaga persona...take a listen and hear for yourself...
and this closes the month of NOVEMBER for me.... looking forward to finishing up the year with you with the festive month of December.....
you are now officially a full grown man.... CONGRATULATIONS and WELCOME to the world of the ADULTS.... can you believe I have known you for 11 years??? I have practically seen you grow from a friendly young boy, to a well mannered, young man...
CELEBRATE WELL, my friend.... and here's to many more BDAYS to come....
No Turkey dinner for me this past Thanksgiving but no matter, we still had a delicious Roasted Chicken dinner... even YUMMIER as am not even a Turkey kinda' guy....
No Friends or Family coming over - scheds just did not work out - but XMas is coming up so for sure I will get my fill... already slated - the Gals (Juliana, Sue & Cecilia) are coming over for an early XMas dinner on the 12th... then soon after I will be off to Manila to spend the Holidays with my family...
No BLACK SUNDAY shopping MADNESS for me as it is just NOT practiced here in Taiwan - still we managed to go about the last couple of days shopping!!! Been moving about "this and that" at home... recycling... figuring out what else is needed.... trying to get the house cleaned up and ready to WELCOME in the 2010....
Away with the GIANT TV we have had for over 10 years - taking up so much room - and IN with a new, and sleek FLAT SCREEN, finally!!! Even the OVEN got replaced so you can BET am looking forward to more goodies from master chef, marketchow....
So, that's how Thanksgiving was spent this year.... and am just fine with that!!! Okiedokie... Happy Sunday to you all.... we are off to another day of shopping for more household stuff and even some XMas Gifts.... (^_*)
remember the NO JAYWALKING sign, found in Taiwan, I posted last Friday, the 13th... well, this one TOPS IT!!! Found in one of the Highways, outside of Manila - this one actually DARES the JAYWALKERS to TRY THEIR LUCK!
LITERAL TRANSLATION: "Go Ahead M*TH*RF***R, Just Try And Cross" - LOLS!!! and this has been this week's edition of Fridae Funnees...
It PAINS me to follow up my Thanksgiving Wishes with something as awful as this - but we all need to know and do what we can, so as their senseless deaths NOT BE FORGOTTEN...
"why do some People still feel and think that VIOLENCE is the only way... there is enough NATURAL DISASTERS & DISEASES in the WORLD afflicting and killing us all -- we need NOT RESORT to KILLING EACH OTHER, too!!!"
Yep, it is that time of the year again to GIVE THANKS to all the BLESSINGS we get in life.... and as corny as the picture banner maybe - I TRULY am THANKFUL for Life, Love, Family & Friends!!!
Photos are also from earlier this month's trip to Kaohsiung, visiting The Wu Residence & of course, Lala the Dog... always such a pleasure and fun trip - Lala is looking old but can still keep up with us running... and still as sweet and playful as ever.... the pleasures of having a dog really....
now, Liya would rather we call him Laifu - as every single Lab in Taiwan must be named Lala - so she does not want him running over to just anyone who calls him... but heck, I have grown accustomed to Lala and actually feel it has such a nice ring to it... so he will always be Lala to me!!!
Earlier this month, en route to KAOHSIUNG, we decided to stop by and pay a visit to the township of Lugang we have heard so much about how lovely the old town part from may people but never ever got a chance to go.. so we made it a point to leave a bit earlier and stop by there for a few hours then on to Kaohsiung in the evening time... ----------------------------------------------- A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE TOWN: Founded in the early eighteenth century, Lugang (鹿港) was once one of Taiwan’s busiest ports. Along with Tainan and Manka (Mengjia, today's Wanhua District of Taipei), Lugang was considered one of Taiwan's three largest cities, giving rise to the saying "The first is Tainan, second is Lugang, and third is Manka (Mengjia)." Domestic and foreign tourists invade Lugang on weekends and holidays to relish its easy and friendly pace. On Lunar New Year, visitors from all over Taiwan walk through its winding alleys, pray at the 400-year old Longshan Temple (龍山寺), or stroll along Chungshan Road (中山路). Famous Lugang delicacies include flour milk with sesame balls (麵茶加麻恅).
------------------------------------------------- Albeit the actual Old Town is not so big, about 3 streets long, it was still truly worth the trip... such a nice quaint town... old & traditional shops, antique housings, delicacies and such friendly people.... very pretty & ornate temple.... delicacies to try, of course..... and we were even treated to some shaking by a QUAKE that HIT Taiwan while we were there....
my otherwise, ordinary, hum drum, rainy SUNDAY turned out to be a GREAT DAY when at IKEA, I happen upon Anthony Neely, newest IDOL am gushing over... of course, I had to say HELLO and take a photo - how could I not....
He was nice and very friendly.... and even asked his friend to take our photo... TOO COOL!!! Chatted a bit and found out that he should be coming out with a CD soon...
Cold Saturday Morning in Taipei... woke up about half an hour ago so am well caught up in sleep from the travel mess yesterday... a week away and I only got to the GYM once - between family obligations and personal matters to take care of in Manila - I never , eve have much time to exercise.... and a week is way too long to deviate from my routine, and get back right on track... half an hour in laying in bed thinking whether to get up, brave the cold front, and go for a much needed run.... am missing it but at the same time, the cold laziness is winning over... maybe like bears, I should just hibernate...
OH WELL, i'll let a couple of cups of coffee decide....
so I had to catch an 8AM flight this morning back to Taiwan... which means I have to be at the Airport by 6AM... need to leave the house by a little after 5AM... which means getting up at 4:30AM to get ready... This all means I would need to get to bed at a decent hour and setting the alarm to wake me up -- even cut short Ace's graduation dinner so I can get home to sleep.... So I did the latter -- then how come I almost missed my flight?
Well, I must have been even more tired than I thought - I actually did my biggest fear of all - I slept through the alarm... good thing I had another one set from way back when - and it still goes off every morning at the same time... 6AM! the time am supposed to get to the airport... anyway, took a TAXI bribed him extra to rush me to the airport...
Got there at 7AM, Manila Traffic is always the shits, as they were taking down the Taipei sign down at the check in counters... begged to be admitted and I was... and I had 20 mins to pay the airport tax, go through IMMIGRATION & SECURITY CHECK.... and go directly to board my flight... WHEW!!!
since am writing this BLOG here in Taiwan - I did make it back... but that is the last time I will ever want to cut it that close when flying... the stress is not worth it at all... just so not me.... am chucking this all to Philippine Airlines - for having a weird sched... yeah, that's right, I already do not like them - I might as well put the blame on them here, too.... NOW I FEEL BETTER.... hahahhahaha
On that note, I bid you all GOOD NITE or GOOD MORNING - depends where you are in this beautiful world of ours! HAPPY FRIDAY and a GREAT WEEKEND to you all!!!
Our first TYPHOON FUND (done in OCTOBER) was a success - we were able to Raise & Donate 25,000Pesos through the Generosity of many people. You can read more about it here: http://baxter-ramblings.blogspot.com/search/label/ONDOY
With the Holidays coming up, and after reading reports that so many people are still displaced, we have decided to run the same TYPHOON FUND DRIVE once again - DETAILS BELOW: Starting THANKSGIVING DAY and thru the 15th of DEC -- I will allocate a certain amount of SALES to be DONATED to Philippine Red Cross as part of the Typhoon Relief Funds. With the RAINY SEASON still upon the Philippines, more Typhoons are sure to cause more troubles. This is the BEST I can come up with to help, even just a bit -- to help give the victims a better Holiday Season. So I do hope you will take advantage of the offer and we can all have a SHARE in doing a bit of what we can to help.
The Particulars: -$5.00 for each DG POP SUSIE or ANY OTHER SUSIE DOLLS SOLD
-$1.00 for each of any other dolls we have IN STOCK SOLD OR
-$10.00 for any Sales Over $100.00; $20 for $200 or more; $30 for $300 or more; etc...
NOTE: SHIPPING COSTS Not Included. *Pre Ordered Dolls are not Included.
**You can see all our PRODUCTS, INCLUDING INTEGRITY DOLLS, HERE: R&D DOLLS
***Total Donation AMOUNT will be CONVERTED TO Philippine Pesos and I will WRITE a check for it and PERSONALLY DELIVER to the Philippine Red Cross.****will GET a RECEIPT, PHOTOGRAPH and POST. ============================== NOTE: No amount is ever to small or too large when it comes to helping out.... Sadly, I know that the economy has not been great for quite some time now -- so do not feel bad if you cannot contribute now... but if ABLE, pls do CONTACT US.... If NOT for yourself, maybe an XMAS GIFT for a friend, or two, or more.
I know that there were a few of you who wanted to DONATE the last time but was a bit late as it was past the DEADLINE - so here's your chance once more - hope to hear from you soon.
a few billboards I saw while traveling in this city of billboards, Manila.... most are of celebrities endorsing this and that - but now and again I do see some that's different and truly catches my eyes...
LEFT: an advert from LEVI's... I love it for it's message...something I always believe in...
BELOW: SO TRUE!!! This one is a billboard for the MUSIC MUSEUM, one of the BEST places to see Plays, Intimate Concerts, and even a few Pageants. Located at Greenhills...
saw these figures while walking about in a couple of malls in Manila... I would buy them all if they were not too prices, somehow, seeing them gives me such a feeling of serenity... so let me start of the week with a trio of quotes on serenity:
1)Curiosity endows the people who have it with a generosity in argument and a serenity in their own mode of life which springs from their cheerful willingness to let life take the form it will. -Alistair Cooke
2) Boredom is the feeling that everything is a waste of time; serenity, that nothing is. -Thomas Szasz
3) The final wisdom of life requires not the annulment of incongruity but the achievement of serenity within and above it. -Reinhold Niebuhr
JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT ROCKS!!! SUCH AN AMAZING VERSATILE ACTOR... CHARMING IN EVERY WAY!!! JUST CHECK OUT HIS PREVIOUS BODY OF WORK - 30 ROCK FROM THE SUN, THE JUROR, 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU, MYSTERIOUS SKIN, LATTER DAYS, STOP LOSS, GI JOE and so many more cool INDIE FILMS.
..so I spent a good half of yesterday traveling in the rain.... had to catch a flight to Manila, an early one - so I was up by 5:30AM.... and out of the house by 7:30AM... it did not help that I kept waking up all nite long every hour... must be the anxieties that comes from having to wake up early (always scared I'd miss the alarm - so I end up waking up before it even rings!); or the sound of the heavy rain on the windows; or most likely, the thought of flying on Friday the 13th....
First up was the bus ride to CKS Airport... normally takes me a about 40/45 minutes but actually took so much longer - because of the traffic in the rain.... good thing I left the house with much more allotted time.... then it was just a bit of time till I have to face the HORRORS of it all: Philippine Airlines Flight. Yes, you read that right, i flew PAL again, not by choice but because we are in the Holiday season once more so I have to be wise in finding the cheapers airfares... and they had it for this month...
since i already knew what to expect from my previous flight, i was all set... and I only had the turbulence to be scared of... and it surely was a bit topsy turvy flying in the rain almost throughout the entire close to 2 hr flight... But I survived, and got to Ninoy Aquino Airport in Manila at the expected arrival time... then it was the HORRORS of BAGGAGE CLAIMS.... I could not believe I actually waited for almost an hour to get my one single suitcase.... how could this be for a modern airport terminal... well, it did not help that on one conveyor, three flights' luggage's were all being dispersed...LOLs!!!
Anyway, all I kept saying to myself - just deal - and once out of the terminal you will be fine... sunny skies ahead - as it was only about a little after 2PM.... WRONG!!!! as i must have brought the rain from Taipei with me.... waaaaah!!!!
So maybe Friday the 13th was BAD LUCK after all.... still, am happy to have SURVIVED it once more!!!
It is not often that we can drag Wu Mama out of her home... away from her sewing, temple activities and NUMBERS - so on this nite when she actually said yes to going out, we all could not contain our happiness and got ready we did.... Fast before she changed her mind, which she is known to do....
The place of choice is the Liuhe Night Market... one of the most touristy night markets in Kaohsiung... it was a fun nite filled with laughter, bonding, and even more lotsa' eating.... even Lala got to come and enjoy the nite.... Overall, it was a GREAT NITE OUT with the Wus... too bad Wu Papa could not join us -- i think he was tending to his garden and birds (one of his new passions).....
This Ice Cream shop has been popping up all over Taiwan... from little stands in various malls - to their own big parlors... always a line - especially in Taipei.... so we never get a chance to try it - again with the lines....
the morning we set out to check out what's new @ Kaohsiung's Dream Mall, it was the first thing that caught our eyes... and since it was still quite early, no lines yet... so it was a no brainer - we went in and had us some treats....
it was off putting at first as the girl did not want us to take photos... ah heck, if there's a will there's a way.... and took photos I did.... even of the actual process... bloggers like me do find our ways around these things you see.... hehehehe....
well, though the ice cream was good - it was really NO BIGGIE to us.... Jason thought the ice cream was too sweet, while DAVID and I felt, DQ, BIG TOM and of course, HAAGEN DAAZ are much better.... still, it was a nice early morning treat... and to actually be able to scratch off another item on my "to do" list.....MORE PHOTOS HERE - BUT DON'T TELL THE COLDSTONE POLICE... hehehehehehe....
1 down, 5 more to go on this quest of mine for the OPEN YOUR DREAM premium program by 7-11.... weeeee...
(in case it does not appear here -CLICK HERE FOR DIRECT LINK TO VIDEO) I GOT ONE... of course, I had to take him out of the box right away and test for myself... dancing cuteness with built in music to boot.... Plus yesterday, I got to see up close the COSMED EXCLUSIVE, Coco the Bird... definitely a MUST HAVE, too!!!
more photos of these OPEN PLAZA Premium cuties in THIS ALBUM
I have loved mr marc jacobs since his Perry Ellis days - now of course, as the genius behind LV's resurgence... especially the collaboration with Japanese artist Murakami, those designs infuse the much needed hipness to the line and took LV to another brand new level....
his very own namesake clothing & accessory lines have been making waves worldwide the past few years, as well... just recently, he added a touch of cuteness and fun and called the line, miss marc - cartoon graphics on tees, bags, etc.... available for both men and women, too!!!
last nite, while running my errands, I happen upon his line of cool and fun watches... a specialty watch shop here in Taipei carries them... of course, I had to sneak some photo snapping!!! the premiere collection's prices ranges from about $125 to $500US (oh well, chuck it all to my XMAS WISHLIST!!!) - still reasonable compared to LV, Cartier, GUCCI or other designer brand watches.
ABOVE PHOTO: since none of the boy prints were available maybe I will go for this blue one.... besides it is on the lower end of the price spectrum... hahahahahahaha
Thought I was going to have to wait for the DVD release to be able to see Hollywood's treatment of ASTROBOY, but THANKS to Juliana - was able to see it today at Warner Village, Taipei -- one of the best places to see a movie, really.
As an avid fan of the MANGA and most Japanese Animations, I was put off at first with the look and feel of the film, of Astroboy himself.... but in fairness, once over my initial trepidations, I actually ended up enjoying the film. And now, am sooo glad I was able to catch it in the big screen. with the voices of Freddy Highmore, Nicholas Cage, Donald Sutherland and Kristen Bell (love her, love her voice!)- this version came on its own and can definitely use a sequel.
Of course, am still going to wait for the DVD release and add it to my ASTROBOY collection. Always Great to find friends who shares the same hobbies...
Back in August, while visiting my fave mall in KAOHSIUNG, Dream Mall, we happen upon this new cute little boutique - OPEN PLAZA. Cute characters printed in so many different goods: tote bags, umbrellas, tees, caps, etc.... and of course, the thing that attracted me to them in the first place, VINYL TOYS!!!
Over the last few years, OPEN PLAZA characters have been used for various promotional push by 7-11, but for the most part I have seen keyrings, plush items, and a few others. So, as cute as they are, I did not pay them too much attention. Not until I stepped into their shop, their wonderful world. So much VINYL TOYS - from music boxes with rotating figures, cute dioramas, and vinyl figurines... I was sooo enamored but still was strong willed not to start another new collection, after all, with just tokidoki goods alone, I really do not have more space for anything else.
Fast forward to this recent visit to the Wu residence in Kaohsiung, a visit not ever complete without hitting three places: our FAVE breakfast place, IKEA, & of course my personal fave, DREAM MALL. I dragged everyone to take a look at OPEN PLAZA Boutique once more - just to take photos. (^_*) Once again, I was enamoured with everything there - and was once again reminded how am loving these characters.
As if to egg me on more into wanting to covet them, the cutest 7-11 promotional tie up just commenced, ""Open Your Dream"". In this one, running through the holidays, the five main characters stands a top their own individual boxes. Cute I thought but why in the heck, do I need 60 point stickers (1 sticker per purchase of NT$30/a little less than US$1)!!! Well, upon closer look I realized that with a push of their individual buttons - they each start dancing -- and when you line them all up you got yourself the cutest chorus line. Now I gotta get cracking with these stickers - I now have 14 stickers so far - only 286 more to go in order to get all 5 figures.
Naturally, 7-11 was the next stop for a round of drinks - and of course, to get the stickers! Lo and Behold, as if they wanted to add SALT to my WOUND from pining for them, a cute mechanical display was put up at the Mall's 7-11 shop -- in it, a bunch of these cute figures are lined up, dancing away. And actually a 6th figure was added to the line up, a bird named Coco - this one I am told is a cross promotion that will run with another shop, COSMED. Darn, now I gotta go find me a COSMED to figure out how to get my hands on this 6th one. WHEW!!!
Open Plaza Cuties dance up a storm!Here's the cute ADVERT for the 7-11 Program, it stars one of Taiwan's Biggest POP Star, Jolin Tsai. OPEN PLAZA PHOTO ALBUM HERE
did not want to let the 20th Anniversary of the FALL of the Berlin Wall go by without a little tribute here in my blog pages... so here is U2 singing "One" live - accompanied by a series of powerful photographs that someone has made - a very fitting song for the occasion, and a great reminder to us all how: "we are all one but we are not the same - still we get to carry each other..."
Almost a week of no REAL computer connection - WAAAAAAH!!!! yes that's right 5 days to be exact that we had no proper NET CONNECTION - an hour here and there, at IKEA or someone else's WIFI does not count at all...
always one of the worst things for me to go through is to not be able to connect... not only because of work matters but for all the personal reasons (always BUGS me when I cannot keep in touch with my Mom), as well.... and yep, admittedly, that includes FACEBOOK and BLOGGING.. (^_*) In other words, if I have to say what am addicted to - I WOULD, WITHOUT HESITATION SAY, MY COMPUTER!!
Anyway, the last few days had been good for the most part - not including my COMPUTER BLUES - got to go to Kaohsiung and visit with the Wu Family; play with LALA, who is getting on in years; visit the TOWNSHIP of LUGANG and EXPERIENCED a 5.plus Earthquake, and its after shocks while touring the town; got a really IRRITATING, more like INFURIATING letter to deal with; and processed lots of dollies to go out... in other words, LIFE, as I KNOW IT! and with that, i was reminded of this passage:
"Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."
so I have always liked these cute articulated vinyl bears from Medicom, Be@rbrick... First released in 2001 as a free gift to visitors of the World Character Convention 12 - years later and you cannot help but be overwhelmed by the number of releases - a few different sizes and lots of collaborations. Even FAKES from CHINA abounds!
I remember picking up the ones that appealed to me each and every trip to JAPAN, I bought them for my collection and as presents... even got some to go with some Susie releases.
Above Photo:SPECIAL LIMITED EDITION FENDI Be@rbrick - would get them but they are rather costly - too costly for my own good!!!
Fast forward to a couple of months back - Be@rbrick collaborated with tokidoki and the love for them once again, caught on fire. So far 4 regular sized be@rbricks X tokidoki has been released plus a couple pof 400% sized ones. All of them I had to have of course! During one of my many visits to MONSTER TAIPEI/MONSTER GEAR - a be@rbrick displayer, also made by Medicom, caught Juliana and I's attention... Of course, we each got one to properly display our collection... 'cept we did not even figure in that getting this would get us into more troubles as it houses 45 of them... 45!!! Oh well, so far I have uncovered 10 of them - 35 more to go to fill up this displayer, YOWZA!!! Photo Right: 400% LA Robber (tokidoki X Be@rbrick) Be@rbrick Links: -Official Be@rbrick Site -Fan Club
As this is the mponth for the THANKSGIVING Holiday, I decided to atart off with the word UNITY and it's DEFINITION - as we all need a little reminder now and again that, WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER!!! Am accompanying it with a photo of these UNI+Y cuties I picked up from FnH - who produced these items in collaboration with the Philippine National Red Cross, proceeds from the SALE goes to help out the TYPHOON VICTIMS. unity (yo̵̅o̅′nə tē)
noun pl. unities -·ties
the state of being one, or united; oneness; singleness something complete in itself; single, separate thing the quality of being one in spirit, sentiment, purpose, etc.; harmony; agreement; concord; uniformity
unification a unified group or body the quality or fact of being a totality or whole, esp. a complex that is a union of related parts
an arrangement of parts or material in a work of art or literature, that will produce a single, harmonious effect a design or effect so produced constancy, continuity, or fixity of purpose, action, etc.
Noir et Blanc
-
*We are not forgetting the bigger dolls, that's for sure!!! Introducing
"Noir et Blanc" - our brand new collaboration with FuZin - made especially
for th...
Halloween 2016
-
*Is everyone ready??? Am never ready but I sure have fun during the month
of October. Mostly because a few toys get to come out.*
*Sharing my Display and...
"Most people know that I love the simple things in life.... traveling is my one TRUE Passion.... I love to dance and to keep fit, RUNNING is my exercise of choice -- though with the TAIWAN heat, am inclined to go for a swim more..."
OH WELL, i'll let a couple of cups of coffee decide....
With the Holidays coming up, and after reading reports that so many people are still displaced, we have decided to run the same TYPHOON FUND DRIVE once again - DETAILS BELOW:
Open Plaza Cuties dance up a storm!Here's the cute ADVERT for the 7-11 Program, it stars one of Taiwan's Biggest POP Star, Jolin Tsai.
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