Ever since I got my braces last Saturday, I’ve been on a hunger strike of sorts. It’s not really a hunger strike if you think about it — it was involuntary — but I’ve been starving. Yes, starving.

It doesn’t help that my siblings have been eating food that I desperately want to eat lately, and all I can manage is a cup of Lucky Me Instant Noodles. Not exactly appetizing, compared to what they’re eating. So now I end up enviously watching them eat the food that was really meant for me — and they’re rubbing it in.

And then there’s the pain part. It doesn’t hurt as much as it did last Saturday night but it’s not exactly comfortable either. I’ve discovered that pain is a psychological thing — when my braces were killing me last Saturday (causing me to wake up in the middle of the night), I kept on telling myself that, hey, it’s not painful. It actually worked — the pain just went away. Amazing, I tell you.

Unfortunately, I can’t say the same thing while eating. Even if I try to not think of the pain, it’s still there. Heh. I guess it isn’t purely a mind-over-matter thing. X_x

Proof? I’m still hungry.

And did I mention that I’m having a hard time speaking properly? Yeah, I am — my family tends to mishear what I’m saying nowadays. Now I sound like I have a lisp or something — can’t even pronounce my S’s right anymore. Annoying, I tell you — annoying and daunting.

But what can I say? It’s something that I have to live with.

Okay. So I watched Across The Universe yesterday. And, man, it was awesome. No, seriously. The visual effects, the acting, the songs (and especially the songs!) — oh, man. It was good. The backdrops were awesome too.

And Jude’s British accent had me. HAHAHA.

I hated Prudence, though. No, not the actress. Just the character. Hahaha.

About the songs — they have oh-so LSS-able songs. In fact, they’re stuck in my head now. Like, Revolution, for instance.

And the funeral scenes made me sad, especially that of Jojo’s brother. The gospel rendition of Let It Be helped with that scene.

Basta. It’s a masterpiece. I suggest you watch it.

And we’ll sing along to “With A Little Help from My Friends” when you’ve done so.

I’m pleased that I actually reached 20 laps today, considering I spent less time in the pool.

And not only did I reach 20, I did an extra lap for fun. Woo. So that makes a total of 1.05 KM for today, and 1.85 KM total this week. Woo.

Target for tomorrow: 1 KM again, but this time, try to swim 100 meters continuously (at least once). I’ve been taking short breaks between laps, you see.

Crap. I’m taking it a bit too seriously. XD

Thank God for swimming.

You see, I’ve been really, really bored at home, and inactive too. So yeah, I decided to tag along with my brothers’ swimming lessons — I’m allowed to use the pool even without the lessons, anyway.

As expected, I did laps. 50 meters/lap. Woo.

But I never thought that doing laps for almost three hours could be THAT tiring. But still, I think it’s worth it. After all, I can’t be a pig the entire summer — I need some physical activity!

I think I swam a total of 800 meters (16 laps) today. Haha. (Yes, I took breaks — so don’t say that I’m extremely slow XD) I dunno — I didn’t keep track, you see. Oh, well. Target for tomorrow is at least 900 meters (18 laps) but if I can go 1K, then I will. Yes, I’m ambitious. So sue me. XD

I plan to increase the distance by 100 meters a day, until Friday, then keep it at 1K for next week. If, by Wednesday, I find that 1K isn’t as tiring as I think it is, then I’ll add 100 meters. Haha.

Oh, well. A challenge? Yeah.

I’m up for it.

Wala lang. After writing that rant over at LJ, boom. Someone up there must be listening.

It’s a miracle I’m not unproductive today. Yay. Go me. Thank you, Photoshop! Thank you, Google! Thank you, Safari (because my Firefox is currently out of whack X_x). (Hooray for capitalism XD)

And thank you, Aveline.

OH CRAP. WORD COUNT HERE IN WP IS ALIVE AGAIN. Yay.

Hmm…

And, I’m done with @DEEP. Go me. Lols.

…and pigs fly.

…Okay. That was just totally random, I swear.

Whee. 11 minutes to go before my download of Densha Otoko Deluxe Special finishes. Because I’m a sucker for non-pixellated videos. Haha. I don’t know; the Densha Otoko episodes over at Crunchyroll have really, really sucky quality (even the hi-res vids are still low-res T_T).

And after that, I’m off to download Akihabara@Deep. Because it’s just pure love (I’ve watched 3 episodes over at CR — quality still sucks T_T).

Wah. I miss that FoxyTunes sig thingy here — it’s gone. I’m betting it’s because of the new interface for WordPress — I dunno. *sighs*

Waah.

*walks away XD*

Can you believe I actually CRIED watching Densha Otoko?

Yeah. I just finished it… and the last two episodes made me weep.

Waaah.

Oh, and if anyone knows where to get the movie, please, gimme the link.

I’m actually crying… over a JDrama.

I feel so, so bad for Densha/Yamada. And that’s only episode 4 of 11!

Aww.

I’m not a weepy  person, so this is quite a shock.

WAAAAAH.

*dies of intense giddiness*

Okay. On to episode 5 XD

EDIT: I finished it already.

Can I die? ) It’s just too… cute.

The geeks get the girls indeed.

**********

I think I’ve found my cure to boredom. It’s rather timely, seeing as Code Geass R2 Ep 3’s gonna be delayed.

Presenting, Densha Otoko (Train Man)!

(Ew. That was tacky.)

I first got word of it from my cousin, who owns a copy of the novel. But I didn’t get into it, not until today. (Thanks, Joe. )

And I’m loving it so far. Despite some typos (I’m reading the English translation, link above), it’s still rather good — and very, very kilig-inducing. Haha.

I’m currently on Mission 3, and I’m all like, “OMG GO TRAIN MAN!”. Seriously.

(And the 2ch ascii art always used by the posters are just so cuuute )

I. DIE. OF. GIDDINESS.

Woo.

Hmm. I hope my download of the TV show finishes soon.

*reads away*

So… I just got back from Hong Kong a few days ago, and let’s just say that I wouldn’t do my trip (and this blog) justice if I don’t write about it.

We left Manila at around 8 am on April Fools’, wishing that this vacation would be fun. And it was.

I’m not doing a summary, though, as it’s just really, really long — and my memory, sadly, isn’t up to its usual standards lately. Heh. So just, well, read on.

Oh, and I’m dividing my HK posts. One per day of the trip. Haha.

**********

April 1, 2008
Room 1010, Bishop Lei Hotel, 2 PM
LSS of the Moment: None

Goddammit.

It’s effin’ cold here right now. As in 18 degrees Centigrade. No wonder I’m freezing. Hell, I’m blaming the hot and humid temperature back home now.

And I haven’t had lunch. Great. I’m starving.

We’re about to go to my tito’s flat in a few. It’s just a few minutes’ walk from here. Cool. Hopefully, I’ll get to go to my ninang’s flat too.

Later.

**********

April 1, 2008
Room 1010, Bishop Lei Hotel, 11 PM
LSS of the Moment: None

Just got back from Ninang Nene’s flat. Damn. It’s so huge — bigger than her former house at Pok Fu Lam.

It was fun hanging out with my cousins — I haven’t seen them in quite a while, so yeah. We had pizza for merienda (or lunch, hehe). And chicken for dinner.

And I slept just before dinner. Ahh, the wonders of a 2-hour sleep the night before.

Earlier, Tito Jun told us about the architecture of this building, called the Lippo Centre. He told us that the building was designed after, guess what?

Koalas hugging a eucalyptus tree.

Isn’t that cuuuute?

Haha.

Okay. I need to crash now. I’m going bonkers.

**********

April 2, 2007
Room 1010, Bishop Lei Hotel, 11:30 PM
LSS of the Moment: Superman by Five for Fighting

Can anyone say, “WTF are you doing in the washroom?”

Hahaha.

We went to Lamma Island. On a boat (duh). Yeah, food overload. Woohoo. I think I had too much squid — but then, calamares is looove.

And fried rice too, for that matter.

But I hate ferries. I think I got a bit queasy back there.

And the Mid-Levels Escalator is heaven-sent. When you’re going up at around 10 PM, of course. Walking all the way up would be hell.

But the best part of the night would be our little side-trip to the washroom. Thanks, boys. Grr. )

Hahaha. Did I mention that Jose Rizal and his family lived in Mid-Levels (near Shelley Court) from December 1891 to June 1892? Woohoo. Go historical markers!

And Central is the place to shop. Wahaha.

Good night! )

**********

April 3, 2008
Room 1010, Bishop Lei Hotel. 1 PM
LSS of the Moment: None

Holy crap.

Today’s my tita’s wedding. Crap — I don’t want to go down a really steep flight of stairs in heels. Grr. I wish we could hail a cab going to the church — but then, it’s gonna cost us money. And it’s rather utterly unnecessary.

But my feet are killing me. Grr.

Oh, well. At least I got to go around Central again today. Haha. I’m actually starting to remember where everything is.

And I visited Page One earlier! Grr… they don’t have Maximum Ride: The Final Warning there. Grr.

Oh, well.

Later.

**********

April 4, 2008
Jumbo Floating Restaurant, Aberdeen, 12 MN
LSS of the Moment: None

If my feet were killing me earlier, now they’re dead.

And so am I.

I’m getting a bit woozy, no thanks to the champagne I had earlier. Plus the shoes and the freezing weather. Grr.

Kuya Ade’s sharing some call center stories now. Roey’s interested to know what Goatse and Two Girls, One Cup are. Hahaha.

I wish her luck.

And it’s official: there are 38 people in our entire clan, me included.

I think I’m member number 19. Hahaha.

Hmm. I’m really freezing now. Brrrrr.

**********

April 5, 2008
Room 1010, Bishop Lei Hotel, 3:30 AM
LSS of the Moment: None

Haha.

Crashed into Lan Kwai Fong tonight. But before that, we had dinner — guess where?

Hong Kong Golf and Country Club.

Ahh… the lifestyle of the rich. HAHAHAHA. But I’m not rich!

And the food was simply… sumptuous. Brie cheese, here I come! I didn’t get to try the suckling pig (lechon), though, as I was full by the time it was done. Darn.

After dinner, we had some family pics taken — it’s a rare moment, you see, that our entire clan’s complete. And what’s funny is that we’re all complete in Hong Kong, of all places. Wow.

I showed off my not-so-good Rubik’s cube solving prowess (to the amazement of my cousins), thanks to my new cube. Haha — I got it in Toys ‘R Us, Central.

We also hung out by the playground, and even went on the swings. Having toddlers for cousins does that to you. Rom-Rom nicked my sister’s purse, and Ate PC’s bag and shoes… poor Ate PC. She had to chase him around up to the first floor (that’s the second floor here in the Philippines). She got her things back though.

After that lovely dinner, we went to Lan Kwai Fong, where all the bars are. And let me just say that everyone was staring at us because, well, we’re effin’ kids! Haha, they were all like, “WTF, why are there kids here?” Like, seriously.

So we just walked all the way to get drinks/food somewhere in SoHo, just to find that both Krispy Kreme AND Starbucks were closed. Ended up getting drinks at a bar somewhere (Wildfire was the name, I think). Haha.

After that, we hiked up the escalators, since it was after midnight. So there.

And it was hell on my feet. Gah.

New lesson: Shirley Temples are non-alcoholic. YAY!

Hmm… I think I’ll sleep now — we’re off to Macau tomorrow later.

**********

April 5, 2008
Macao Hydroport, 10:30 PM
LSS of the Moment: None

If there is one word to describe Macau (or the hotels, at least), it is ostentatious.

Proof? Just hop in a shuttle of any hotel. They’re free anyway. They’ll take you to the hotels.

With big chandeliers and huuuuuge casinos. Yeah, it’s like being in Vegas. HAHAHA.

We went to the Venetian Macao and the Wynn Hotel earlier. The Venetian (somewhere in the Cotai Strip) was just huuuuuge, with a friggin’ MALL (well, loads of shops) and a friggin’ gondola ride inside. Yeah, those boats. It was just.. big. Hell, there’s even a food court inside — and the food’s good.

After that, we went to the Wynn Hotel, which has this AWESOME dancing fountain. You’ll have to wait for it, though (I think it’s only turned on every hour), but it’s just so goddamn awesome, and you won’t see the same show twice. Like, the first show we saw was just purely waterworks, but the last one… guess what?

They had effin’ FLAMETHOWERS.

And it was… we could feel the heat from the edge of the fountain. Hahaha. Really, really awesome.

We also went inside, and caught this “Prosperity Tree” Show. Haha. We had to stare at the ceiling (it opens up TWICE) — and it made me feel dizzy. Ugh. (It doesn’t help that I felt a bit seasick earlier, no thanks to the TurboJet we rode.)

It was rather cheesy, though — and weird, people were throwing coins at the GOLDEN tree. O_o

HAHAHA.

We went around a bit after (saw the ruins of this church, whose name escapes me at the moment) and let me just say that it’s actually rather beautiful, in a… European sort of way. You see, Macao was a former Portuguese colony (turned over to China on December 20, 1999), so it’s no surprise seeing signs with THREE languages written on it — Portuguese, Chinese and English. Man. Overwhelming much?

And we tried out these almond biscuits on the way to the ruins. They’re good.

Haha. After that, we went back here to the hydroport, waiting for the next trip. Ugh. I’m hungry — and they don’t have any food outlets here. Sucks, I think we’ll end up eating DINNER in HK… the next day. Our trip’s scheduled for 12:45, you see. Ugh.

Oh, well. Back to cubing… and hanging out with cousins.

**********

To be continued…