FIRST!!!

Today marks the first anniversary of my blog. Woo-hoo! (￣ー￣)ﾉﾉ”” ~clap!clap!clap!~

I remember shedding blood, sweat, and tears setting this all up a year ago, trying to make sense of how things flow in WordPress. I was even thinking of giving up and going back from whence I came (which was blogspot – ugh!).

But I persevered.  And now, it’s still no-regrets-whatsoever.  I like the WordPress community. We really ARE a community in a true sense of the word and am truly appreciative of the constant improvements, messages and support that Matt, Heather, and the guys have been giving to us.  (BTW, I went to check up on my old blog in blogspot just recently and i was really disappointed to see that things haven’t improved at all!).

Anyhoo!

Here are the stats, as of today:

OMP is now a year old with 10,921 hits so far (It had hit the 10,000 mark a week ago–not bad for a personal, no-specific-theme blog— but hey, I can do better…yes i can!).

101 posts have been published (hmm… ‘published’–has a nice ring to it), and 423 spams have tried and failed (yes, I acknowledge these poor souls for even trying, and thank God for twitter, spammers have somewhere else to wreak havoc upon).

Compared to half a year ago, I have three new top posts for now. And they are:

crying time with 1 liter of tears — 1,065 hits; It reached its peak during the time One Liter of Tears was being shown on gma network. People were researching about the story (either that or they’re curious about actor Nishikido Ryo), hence i got some of the traffic flow.  Great show, memorable songs, good response. Hope the Kapuso network would take a hint from this and show more of Ryo ’s talent in jdoramas like Ryusei no Kizuna and Attention Please.

The Gumasa Beach Experience — 268 hits; Being one of the best kept secrets of Mindanao, Gumasa beach is now slowly permeating into people’s consciouness as one of the loveliest beaches in the south.  I noticed that the hits keep coming in heavily during the summer, too.

Nodame Cantabile: how do you say ‘Gyabo’ in Filipino? — 267 hits; another top post on a jdorama? Well, that’s how it goes, I guess. Pinoy jdorama addicts like me are hungry for information and relying heavily on each other’s blog posts considering that we don’t get details from anywhere else.  We are a desperate lot, alas…  o(ﾟдﾟo≡oﾟдﾟ)o??? but loud and proud! (btw, hope Hiroshi Tamaki gains weight… as Chiaki, he doesn’t have to use a baton cause he looks like one!–Haha! Just kidding! I love Tamaki and I’ll be posting a special on him soon!).

And I’m still receiving the most visits from these five countries (in their proper order): The US (1,793), the Philippines (1,230), Indonesia (376), Canada (224) and the UK (192).

Cheers to my one year old blog!

ﾟ･:*:･｡ヽ(◎´∀｀)ﾉ┌i┐ε-(･ε･´) puff~━congrats, OMP♪ﾟﾟ･:*:･｡

 

Who will be Jessie?

(I haven’t tried using the polling feature of WordPress. Guess it would be fun to try it out just once – (^-^))

I am a huge fan of the 2005 hit kdorama, Full House, having watched it a number of times (and may do so again!).  And we all know that Richard Gutierrez will portray the role of Lee Young Jae (Justin in the Pinoy dubbed version) in the GMA version soon.  But who will be Han Ji Eun (Jessie)? So far, GMA hasn’t confirmed yet on who will be chosen for the role.  But definitely, whoever gets to have it will be given a big break.

I’m interested to find out what fans think.  Here is a list of actresses for you to choose from. The choices were made based on viewers’ feedback from threads which for me, I find a bit surprising.  I included actresses from the other network, too.  If you do not like the choices, and have someone else in mind, leave a comment. Thanks!

Vote now!

 

born on a bloomsday

I was born on a Bloomsday.

If you don’t know what Bloomsday means, I don’t either.

Just kidding.  

Bloomsday is what fans of James Joyce’ novel, Ulysses have been calling this day, June 16, naming it after the story’s protagonist, Leopold Bloom.  The whole story takes place on that one day (1904 to be exact) in Dublin, Ireland–wherein Joyce made mention of  actual streets, bars, and shops. So every Bloomsday, Dubliners and Joyce fans celebrate the day by reliving the story, tracing Bloom’s steps as mentioned in the book and participating in Ulysses readings… and oh, yeah, by hitting the pubs and doing what they do best.

I admit I haven’t finished the book yet (I bookmarked one copy from gutenberg.org).  I managed to read a few pages so far… and you can’t blame me. Ulysses is described as one of the most difficult books to read;  and that reading it ‘would take a lifetime.’  If you’re interested about Bloomsday and how to read and appreciate the book, click on this interesting article.

Well, then… what about MY Bloomsday? I celebrated my birthday two days ahead.  We were all craving for seafood so we went to Dampa, Parañaque City.

The wet market in the Original Dampa (left).

Aah… bday cravings: Fresh crabs, yeah!–expensive but worth it (right)

The place in Sucat is the original dampa– a place where you buy fresh seafood in the nearby wet market, choose an eatery, hand over the food you just bought to the cook or waiting staff and tell them your instructions on how to prepare it, wait for them to cook it, and if it’s done–eat! I’ve tried the other dampas that sprouted all over Manila and QC but the original is still the best– and probably still the cheapest.

Kay Susan Tayo!: We chose Zanvinz Grill Hauz (left). Aling Susan, the proprietress is the one who accommodated us.  We bought some liempo (pork spareribs) which she herself grilled for us.  And she even did some fortune telling while she was at it, too!

Bday feast 2009: We also had calamares, shrimps in butter and garlic, spicy crabs. We had them placed in styropor containers and took them home. Yum! (above pix)

At work, I received gifts- a book, (Coraline!) and a gift card from Powerbooks (left).  Thanks, AGirls! I truly appreciated it!

Then,  I also visited Mom on my birthday (Right)… June 16 maybe a truly fateful day for Leopold Bloom.  I guess it was for me, too. My mom (as well as her brother) passed away on a bloomsday, too.  I hoped she likes the white roses…

“Hold to the now, the here. Through which all future plunges to the past.” -Stephen Dedalus from Ulysses

What’s my birthday wish?… I do dream of traveling, and if I ever do get the chance to globe-trot in the future,  I will celebrate one fine bloomsday in Dublin — perhaps to partake of a gorgonzola sandwich and a glass of Burgundy at Davy Byrnes’ pub or maybe liver slices fried with crustcrumbs downed with a cold mug of Irish beer — before I kick the bucket. (=^.^)

Uh… yeah, ok.  And finish the book, too…

Here’s to more Bloomsdays ahead! ♪♫•*¨*•.¸\(✿^○^)/=3┌iiii┐ ¸.•*¨*•♫♪

 

maligayang araw ng kalayaan, pinas

I decided to take an afternoon stroll in UP Diliman this 111th anniversary of the Declaration of our Independence.  Not much going on over there.  Just a few joggers and fitness buffs spending a quiet day.

But I was drawn to UP because of a unique exhibit that I heard about.

It was the “Looking for Juan” Banner Exhibit located at UP’s Academic Oval.  It displays artworks from various artists which shows their interpretation of what it means to be a Filipino reprinted on tarpaulin canvas.

This exhibit runs until July 11.  I took pictures of the colorful and interesting banners.  The light was fading fast and these were all I managed to shoot:

“How Philippines” by Farley del Rosario (above left) and “Juan Line” by Dansoy Coquila (above right).

“Brown Heritage” by Elmer Borlongan at the Sunken Garden.

When the exhibit ends, the banners will be made into tote bags and sold as original works of functional art. Proceeds from the sale will go to PADYAK (a UP Mountaineers) and other projects to promote Philippine art, culture and the environment. For more information on Looking for Juan, click here.

Peace, Unity, and Independence…. Saludo, Pilipinas! ∠(^_^)_尸★★★☼

 

NIN live in Manila!

I better post something that doesn’t have anything to do with jdoramas or else this personal blog will be mistaken for a themed blog.  (I AM kinda thinkin’ of setting up an extension themed blog for my jdorama posts though but with my limited time–naah! I don’t think that is feasible as of this moment…):

I don’t listen to pop music nowadays and don’t have the slightest interest to see those international acts who came, sang and went (Rhianna, the 2 Davids-whatever-their-last-names-are, etc.).  So I’m absolutely THRILLED to hear that FINALLY one of my most admired artists is coming to the country before he retires from the face of this planet.

It’s Nine Inch Nails, man! As in, Trent Reznor is comin to town–Aug. 5, 2009 at the Araneta Coliseum! I can’t freakin believe it!  I’ve been following his tourdates and updates on Facebook and Twitter since last year and had been reading all those places around the world that he’d been touring in (it seemed like he’d been performing EVERYWHERE except here) and wishing all those times that he would at least drop by one of these days  (Kahit man lang magpa-gas para sa eroplano!!! langhya naman…) And now, thank God, this wish has been granted!

Ever since I was a dj in a rock radio station in the early 90’s which was the height of NIN and alternative music, I’ve been dreaming about this moment.  Those rock bands have come and laid low but Trent–and Pearl Jam–have always been in my heart. And it’s so wonderful that these guys are still rockin up to now. We may have (ahem*coughs*) matured, softened and mellowed down a bit–but we can still rock the house. \m/

After all these years, you still rock my world, Trent Reznor: All Emo brats and poseurs should KISS his ass and pay their due respects to His Royal Gothliness (right).

This is obviously a once in a lifetime chance so there’s no way I’ll miss this.  Besides, his tour is called “Wave Goodbye” since Reznor plans to make NIN ‘disappear for awhile.’  Maybe to settle down and start a family? He had been twittin messages saying he’s so in-luuuuv and that he’s gettin’ married.

Who’s the lucky Pinay?: Trent and fiancee, Mariqueen Maandig (left) a model-babe, and vocalist of a rock band, West Indian Girl, and get this– she’s Filipino-American(!) (i mean, helleerr! pangalan pa lang– Mariqueen–Pinoy na pinoy na).  Hay naku, Trent. Pinay rin lang pala ang hanap mo,  e di sana.. dot dot. Haha.. nevermind!

Here are some more of Reznor’s latest twits for the past 2 days:

I have been sober for 8 years today (where I am). Thanks for letting me share that with you. Proud of that.

Easy: encountering real people in the real world mostly = love. Reading bullshit online from anonymous cowards = hate.

This “being madly in love” thing is weird. Feels bad being apart.

It’s true – I’ve gone soft. Sorry everyone.

Here’s my most fave song from NIN, Closer. Directed by Mark Romanek, one of the best mv directors around. PG ALERT! -> This controversial 1994 mv is disturbing, demonic, and demented.  Ahh, the good ole days, they don’t make them the way they used to, huh?… *sighs*