Japanese emoticons (also called anime emoticons) look more kawaii than Western emoticons, don’t you think?
Compare this (^_^) to this :). The regular smiley looked rather plain compared to its Japanese counterpart. Is it because Japanese emoticons put emphasis on the eyes, or maybe because it requires more keystrokes which means more effort is used? Well, whatever it is, these emoticons are really fun!
Ali and I were exchanging messages a while ago. Read below.
Yesterday was Father’s Day. Happy Father’s Day, Daddy! We love you!
It was also the 2nd (last) day of the 7th Philippine Toy Convention at the Megatrade Halls 2 & 3 in SM Megamall. Ali and I were supposed to attend on the first day of the toycon but I have to be in Batangas to celebrate Father’s day advance dinner party. So we went there yesterday instead. The place was packed! It was really difficult to get through, there weren’t that many toys but there were a lot of people excitedly roaming around (including us). I think there were even celebrities at the event. Ali even bought me a hat (see picture). I can’t even decide which hat to choose but Ali suggested that I choose the happy looking one. Lol. We also got a Bionicle from Lego which was on sale and also an odd-looking girl capsule toy.
It’s fun to attend events like this. It’s just nice to see happy people everywhere you look. A wonderful change from the everyday office atmosphere. Lol.
Photo: We found kawaii cosplayers (not sure if they are twins) and Ali told me to have my picture taken with them. Most decent photo in the batch. Lol.
Picky, picky, picky. Yes, you can say I am that when we talk about food. It’s not only because I have allergies with certain foods but for me, there are expectations to meet to appreciate food. Presentation means a lot to me which made some people think that I have an expensive taste when it comes food. Some are even hesitant to ask my opinion about where to eat because they think that I always go somewhere fancy and they don’t want to spend too much. Moi, have expensive taste? Not really. I eat in the office cafeteria for chrissakes! Bland. Food. Every. Single. Day. I’m saving up for stuff so it’s cafeteria food almost everyday. Well beggars can’t be choosers, right? Lol. But Ali and I also treat ourselves to a decent meal once in a while.
Dining in a good restaurant gives me ideas on how to improve my home cooked meals. I scrutinize the food presentation, I savour the taste and I enjoy the textures. I can have restaurant quality meals at a fraction of the price because I prepared them myself. I’m a frustrated chef. I experiment a lot with food. Luckily, they turn out edible and even nice to look at.
Let me share with you how you can make home cooked food look more appetizing and have that gourmet-feel. I believe that your eyes should also be delighted as well as your palate.
Play with colors and textures. You can serve a simple grilled chicken or fish fillet and make them look more expensive by adding blanched vegetables on the side. Homemade French fries can also do the trick, add a wedge of lemon and a few sprigs of rosemary for extra color.
Use nice plates and cutlery. A nice set of plates will also help you in achieving the look that you want for your food. A white boat shaped plate can add character to a boring dish. Colored plates with big designs tend to grab attention away from the food.
Frosted glasses are nice for blended drinks. Put your glasses in the refrigerator to chill minutes before you serve your drink. The frost on the glass creates a refreshing look as you pour your drink into it.
Garnish. Add a little crushed red and black peppercorns to the sides of the plate, or even dried herbs. You can also use cut-up fruits, vegetables, nuts, cheese, etc. But don’t overdo it. You should be careful on how your garnish affect the texture and the taste. And you don’t want to lose sight of the original recipe you prepared because you got excited with garnishing.
There are ways to make simple dishes look something like a five-star hotel chef prepared. Don’t be afraid to experiment. You can also follow cookbook instructions or just go with your gut-feel. Even if it doesn’t turn out the way you expected, you’ll still enjoy the food because you had fun preparing it. If you prepared it for someone but he or she didn’t like it, a little twist in the arm should do the trick. Lol.
Photo courtesy of gettyimages.com, The Image Bank collection.
If I hadn’t named this blog idioXINEcrasies, procrasTINEnation could have been a suitable alternative. Because yeah, I admit, I’m a procrastinator. Not on the job because I always meet deadlines (YOWN! and I guess a lot of people from work can vouch for that). It’s more on the personal level like I have a couple of half-read books lying around, I have about a dozen unfinished drafts for this blog, I’m stuck with less than a handful of Nihongo phrases (a language which I really wanted to learn for so long), I always have an excuse to skip gym etc, etc. They may be little things to other people but they are considerably important to me.
I’m not really that spontaneous but I’m not organized as well. I’m probably in the middle which is why there may be things that I may have passed up, both wittingly and unwittingly. Things which could have sealed the deal for me. Well, deep sighs may not help but I guess taking it one step at a time will do the trick. Things may appear overwhelming at first but I just have to keep a healthy attitude to achieve my goals. I guess everybody, in one way or another is, or has been a procrastinator, so I won’t be too hard on myself, but I do have to set a deadline and avoid distractions.
Ditch the mañana habit. Finding inspiration even in the most boring work you’ll ever do will help you get rid of procrastination. And that’s what I’m going to do.
For now, I’m going to sleep, I’ll just leave you with Sandwich’s song, Procrastinator.
I have the tendency to be lactose intolerant sometimes but that doesn’t shake my affection for cheese. I’m no cheese connoisseur but I’ve had this love affair with cheese for as long as I can remember. When I was a kid, I really loved cheese-flavored snacks. From the ones you buy in gourmet shops to the ones in the local supermarket down to the cheapest item in the sari-sari store, I tried almost all of them. Up to now I still eat those stuff. Even though I know some of them are poor imitations of cheese and are tartrazine-laden (tartrazine, otherwise known as E102 or FD&C Yellow 5, is they say an offensive additive that causes allergic reactions or intolerance), they have this some sort of control over me that I buy them whenever I come near them.
I can eat cheese everyday and never grow tired of it. Gorgonzola, Edam, Monterey Jack, Mozzarella and your good ol’ Cheddar cheese can brighten my day. Lol. Ali though not really a cheese fan, gives in whenever I need my cheese fix. Today he bought me French Brie, my favorite! I just love it’s buttery interior and smooth texture. Its flavor is not overpowering, making it perfect for both dessert and savory dishes. Ah, the thought of melted Brie makes me all giddy with delight.
To make plain corn or potato chips a bit more fancy, why not try making a nice cheese sauce? Just make a roux, add some milk and melt all the cheeses you find in your kitchen, add some nutmeg or maybe some paprika voila, a yummy cheese sauce. To add flavor, color and texture you can also add some chopped thyme.
I plan to do more experiments with cheese and I promise to share all my cheesy adventures with you.
Quite difficult to picture that this box is your bedroom, huh?
But in less than 10 minutes, you can actually set it up into an entire bedroom complete with an armoire, a desk (surface 80 by 160 cm), a height-adjustable desk chair, two stools, a tall set of shelves, a bed (200 by 80 cm) and a mattress. Now isn’t that pretty clever?
The CASULO is for people on the move, those in job training, students, and people who have to change their location frequently. The unit is ideal for people in the service industries. People who must move frequently and rent empty rooms need no longer accumulate sets of inexpensive furnishings whose transportation costs are higher than the value of the furniture.
A collaborative project of the two designers Marcel Krings und Sebastian Mühlhäuser, Casulo won the Abraham & David Roentgen Prize for its innovative design in November 2007.
I bet you want to see how this box transforms into a bedroom so click the play button already!
I hope Casulo would come up with a kitchen in a box too. Shiny, shiny! I can prepare and cook gourmet meals anytime, anywhere. Lol.
The Raindance Network, a group of writers who supports independent films in the U.K., offers a handful of slang that can make the script that you’re writing extra interesting. Right off the bat, it adds wit and banter to ordinary statements.
Here are some of my favorites.
ASSMOSIS.
The process by which people seem to absorb success and advancement by sucking up to the boss rather than working hard.
404.
Someone who’s clueless. From the World Wide Web error message ‘404 Not Found’ meaning that the requested document could not be located.
PERCUSSIVE MAINTENANCE.
The fine art of whacking the crap out of an electronic device to get it to work again.
SALMON DAY.
The experience of spending an entire day swimming upstream only to get screwed and die.
BLAMESTORMING.
Sitting round in a group, discussing why a deadline was missed or a project failed, and who was responsible.
Use this in your regular expressions and you’ll have people with the same level of understanding or intellect, smiling in amusement, and the 404s, just scratching their heads, wondering what’s funny. Lol.
Haha! This picture was actually taken last year at the Hataw Hanep Hero 2007 at SMEX. That guy really looks like L, a bit thinner but still looks and acts like L. Pretty cool, huh? Anyway, the L movie (the spinoff/prequel of live-action DN 1 and 2) which I mentioned months ago, has now the official title of L Change the World. It will hit Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan cinemas this Saturday, February 9. How I wish movies like this will also be shown here. I guess I just have to wait for the DVD release.
Help Don Bosco Pugad in its mission to bring hope to street children and migrant youth by providing them a better environment and helping them spiritually as well. You may also check this post for more information.
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Yesterday was Father’s Day. Happy Father’s Day, Daddy! We love you!
Play with colors and textures. You can serve a simple grilled chicken or fish fillet and make them look more expensive by adding blanched vegetables on the side. Homemade French fries can also do the trick, add a wedge of lemon and a few sprigs of rosemary for extra color.
I have the tendency to be lactose intolerant sometimes but that doesn’t shake my affection for cheese. I’m no cheese connoisseur but I’ve had this love affair with cheese for as long as I can remember. When I was a kid, I really loved cheese-flavored snacks. From the ones you buy in gourmet shops to the ones in the local supermarket down to the cheapest item in the sari-sari store, I tried almost all of them. Up to now I still eat those stuff. Even though I know some of them are poor imitations of cheese and are tartrazine-laden (tartrazine, otherwise known as E102 or FD&C Yellow 5, is they say an offensive additive that causes allergic reactions or intolerance), they have this some sort of control over me that I buy them whenever I come near them. 
