A Letter

i know it's way past Valentine's Day but i'm going to write this anyway.

Dear "Keep It Short and Simple (K.I.S.S.)",

we haven't seen each other for more than two years now and as i can see, you finally found the so-called loved one you've been searching for and i still haven't. honestly, i want to smack you in the head for not choosing me but i'm willing to keep my word to stay out of your hair and even support you when that time came, so... i'll stop being such a psycho when it comes to you.

to quote one of my favorite books, Pride and Prejudice, "i cannot fix on the hour, or the look, or the words, which laid the foundation. it is too long ago. i was in the middle before I knew that I had begun."

i never realized that i had come to admire that infectious smile you have or that sunny personality that does not seem to know the meaning of "worry". i still don't know if this is what people call as love or it just evolved into a very enduring infatuation --i don't even know the difference myself-- but the fact remains: as what Fitzwilliam Darcy professed to Elizabeth Bennet, "you must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you."

ewww... i sound sooo like an obsessive stalker. hahahaha. since you've moved on, i guess it's also the right time for me to do so, as well. maybe it was the distance that drove us apart. or the lack of communication. or... it wasn't really there, for you, even from the start. even if you treated me just like one of you're friends, thank you. i will surely treasure the memories i have of you: the time you sat with me and asked why i was crying; those moments i felt that we had a whole world that only the two of us understood; those smiles of encouragement you gave when i was presenting in front of our class; for believing in my abilities; for sharing all your --sometimes corny-- jokes; for sharing your worry when you had a gash on your forehead; for patiently chatting with me when i was bored but you had a lot to do; and those times when you called out my name.

you may someday realize that you're the one i'm talking about here. you may, or may not, hate me afterwards but i will forever be your friend. count on me if you need to dump a body somewhere. i'll bring the shovels. ahahaha

someday, when we finally meet again, i hope you'll be as uplifting as you were two years ago. until then, farewell.

not your fan girl,
Karla

My Very First Manila Trip

my first trip outside of Cebu this year. this trip wasn't suppose to have me on it, but due to my uncle Tommy's absence, auntie Betsy decided to tag me along.

personal agenda:
- buy Larg and Soel stuffed toys from Comic Alley
- pick up reserved Dead Master from Big Boy's

we had an early flight, 5:55 in the morning. we  had to leave the house at around four so i was still groggy with lack of sleep. we had with us some pasalubong to give to auntie Ana: some dried mangoes (Cebu's specialty), three kilos of lechon (CnT), native chorizo, and some leche flan. sadly, the syrup of the last one spilled, so we had to re-wrap it in plastic.

when it was time to board the plane, to my dismay, we were seated on the left side of the plane. which meant that i will not be able to take pictures of the sunrise. all i got on my side were some pictures of clouds catching the pinkish hue of the sun.

we landed at Ninoy Aquino International Airport at around seven. auntie Ana was waiting for us outside. we went to the house she's sharing with tita Grace, unpacked, and auntie Ana drove us to Mall of Asia.

Mall of Asia is HUGE. they placed three malls in one setting. my feet hurt with all the walking. i bought a book at National Bookstore while auntie Betsy and Auntie Ana went to Kultura to buy some "Cory bags" for lola. lola is such a fan of the late former president Corazon Aquino.

we were leaving when i saw the Comic Alley shop then hurriedly bought four stuffed toys because the shop's staff were already harassing me about my hair: "totoo ba to?", roughly translated to "is this real?". the had the audacity to actually pick up my braid and ask me. D8<

we headed for Manila Hotel after that. auntie Betsy was going to attend the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) oath-taking; the main reason for this trip. auntie Ana had to go back home since she was not feeling well. that left me by myself when auntie Betsy was in the function. the lobby was full. gah! i had to lug around both of our bags until i find a vacant seat -which i did.

we went to Luneta afterwards.

 then back to Mall of Asia. bought more books and waited for auntie Ana to pick us up.

this trip doesn't really have an itinerary. whatever we think of, we do. this time they decided to visit "Cory and Ninoy". meaning, we had to go to Manila Memorial. this time, my map-reading skills came in handy. we mistakenly went to Loyola Memorial first before realizing that it was the wrong cemetery.

we retraced our steps and entered Manila Memorial and had another search for the graves.

this simple tomb is where former president Corazon "Cory" Aquino and her husband Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. lies buried. took pictures for lola.

after that, auntie Ana suggested that we go to Tagatay, home of the famous Taal Volcano. it was a long trip from Metro Manila. we passed through a toll gate that had a Coca Cola plant beside it.

we didn't get to see Taal Volcano very clearly since it was covered in fog. -_-

we went home at around eight in the evening -after dinner, of course- bought a Buko Pie and stopped for a bathroom break (bottomless iced tea, anyone?) along the way.

the next day, we visited yet another cemetery. this time, it's of those killed in battle during WW2 -i think. it's a big plot of land with uniformly placed white crosses and star of Davids made of marble.

two white stone structures carrying the names of those who were lost during the war (and mosaics of siege maps) sits on either sides of a chapel that housed a VERY tall mosaic of a lady holding white flowers.

the entire wall of the chapel is embedded with small colored square stones. the details and the amount of work it took to accomplish this will really impress you.

 the two stone structure beside the chapel lists alphabetically the names of those soldiers that died in battle

Resurrecion S. Kintanar
Sergeant, U.S. Army
Service # 10645006
1st Gun Crew, Coast Artillery Corps
Entered the Service from: Philippines
Died: 16-Nov-42
Missing in Action or Buried at Sea
Tablets of the Missing at Manila American Cemetery
Manila, Philippines
Awards: Purple Heart

i don't know if he's in anyway related to me.

Auntie Ana parked the car in SM Makati. we rode a bus bound for EDSA. there, we headed for the EDSA shrine.

from EDSA, we rode a bus for Greenhills to get the Dead Master figma my sister reserved at Big Boy's. the shop was hard to find. the shop's contact didn't give any directions as to where it's exactly located. we managed to find it after a long walk around the shopping center.

 then to Quiapo and, later, along the side of Malacañang.

we rode an MRT back to SM Makati. we were packed like sardines inside.

we were in a hurry to get to Mall of Asia. the 2nd Pyromusical Competition starts at seven in the evening and we were still stuck in traffic. it seemed like everyone was doing the same. we arrived just another set lit the sky.

 that was our trips finale. another early flight the next dawn bound for Cebu.

First Ever Manila Trip

in less than a few hours, i'll be going with my aunt to manila and i still haven't finished packing. camera's battery is charging. so is the mp3 player.

this will be my first trip outside of Cebu this year and i'm hoping that i'll get a chance to buy a book from any national bookstore there. i make it a point to buy a book from a place i have been to. i do hope that this trip will be a good one. i want something big to happen. ahahahaha

i'm feeling super lucky this week: my grandparents gave me some pocket money; i found cash inside my bag that i haven't seen for months; and, after i gave Mona her painting, she gave me a cute key chain from Korea and some cash. ohohoho. totally unexpected luck. :)

Leche Flan Recipe

this recipe is from a can of condensed milk's label and is what my mom follows. i'm putting it here for instant reference. i don't want to dig through the pile of dusty recipes ever again. *achoooo*

1/2 cup sugar
1 cup water
4 whole eggs
300ml condensed milk
flavorings blah~

mix em all up then put in mold. fills 2 medium molds... or was it a small mold....

Black Rock Shooter - Figma

since i ammaking a review, i want to start this off with basic details about the product provided by Good Smile Company before i get on to my part as a consumer/collector.

PRODUCT DETAILS
Product Name: figma Black Rock Shooter
Series: BLACK ROCK SHOOTER
Manufacturer: Max Factory
Category: figma
Price: 2800円 (including tax)
Release Date: 2010/08
Specifications: Painted ABS&PVC posable figure, not to scale, stand included, approximately 140mm in height
Sculptor: Masaki Asai - Max Factory
Released by: Black Rock Shooter Project
Distributed by: Good Smile Company

 now, on to my review! :D

the first thing that you'll notice after watching the animation is that the figure's Rock Cannon is taller than it is. in the OAV, the Rock Cannon is of the same length as her Black Blade.

the details, especially the zippers, are done very well. the colors are "inside the lines", so to speak. the scars pucker up like real ones. O.O
the skin and hair both have matte finish while the blue flame and clothes are shiny.
the Rock Cannon even has tiny dents on it (most probably to connote usage in battle).

the figure came with three different facial expressions and a front hair piece that has the blue flame attached to it.

if you count all the joints, including the ones on the hair and back flap of the jacket, you'd have nineteen. this abundance of bendable parts gives a wide range of poses.

at first, i was doubtful if it is able to lift its arms up because of the "hood" of its jacket. i was wrong. partly anyway; the arms can be raised in a V but not straight up. the hoodie is also the reason why the head can't lift its head up fully.

 

along with extra pairs of hands is an instruction leaflet on where and how to attach the hand on the Rock Cannon's handle. although it is in Japanese, it's pretty understandable.


other extras include:

  metal chain links (i don't think they're rust-proof)

 a resealable bag big enough to fit BRS, Rock Cannon and Black Blade inside

and, of course, the DVD of the OVA. 

the figma's price, in relation to the extra accessories, seemed pretty cheap. my sister bought it for 1500php -which already included shipping- and got her money's worth.

we don't have shops here in Cebu that specialize in these kinds of figures. so avid collectors here had to order online or go to Manila to buy their share.

although BRS is great in itself, it makes one good reason to collect Dead Master and the upcoming Black Gold Saw and Strength figmas. i give it a nine out of ten rating because the ginormous Black Cannon makes  it difficult at times to pose the figure. -_-

i was closing the box when i saw this: instruction on how to detach/attach the face and front hair piece on to the head.


more photos here.

Mona's Portrait: Finished

finally finished the painting. i was supposed to take a picture yesterday but i forgot that my sister was going to take the camera with her for OtakuFest. i wasn't able to find the other camera's charger so i opted to postpone the picture-taking. this painting will officially carry my new "artist's signature" for the very first time. i hope mona will, at least, be satisfied with this one. hahahaha

this is how my palette looks like after six days. :)

Mona's Portrait: Day 5

the actual portrait is done, the background isn't. i ran out of paint. agh! i will be handing this to mona on wednesday and i hope it'll be dry by then.

so tomorrow's agenda will be to wake up early, go buy some paint and a very long zipper along the way. that way, i'll be able to finish the painting before lunch and be able to take a decent picture of it for my portfolio.

in the afternoon, i'll finish taking pictures for my black rock shooter figma review and maybe do laundry after that. whew.

My Life WAS a Shoujo Manga

i really got to write this before i forget it after i wake up. time check: an hour after midnight.
i think the thought formed because i was listening to music from "the phantom of the opera" or that i just remembered that "the incident" will be turning two on the 13th.

my life was a shoujo manga. the readers (my friends) probably thought that i'd end up with chocobo (as we fondly call him). the thing is, it's a biased story. they're only hearing my side so they can hypothesize what the other side may be thinking.

i googled "how to know if your life is a shoujo manga", in hopes that i can find a checklist, but nothing. i've read a lot of them to conclude mine as one.

first, i fell for a guy who's very popular with girls and i happened to be his friend. we became close (assumption) after two or three years in the friendship. he even gave me a pet-name. i even experienced that scene wherein an unknown classmate(not in the same year level and course) asked me if the guy and i were friends because we seemed close. unlike her, i don't try and hit on every cute guy the minute i'm "friends" with them. unbeknown to her, my guy friend commented on their mutual friends that SHE's the one feeling very close.

second, the guy kept diverting my attention to him. he once followed me to a sink in our physics laboratory(there was a vacant  one on the other side of the room)just because "i was there". he used the same line again when we were still talking in the lobby even though we both know that he was already fifteen minutes late, at the least.

third, i went to his graduation because some of my friends were also graduating. upon seeing me during a break in the ceremony, he commented that he was happily surprised that i was there. it's his graduation. why is he "surprised" to see people greet him congratulations? some of his fan girls were even there.

i vaguely remember him asking me if i was related to his cousin that has the same last name and incidentally went to the same high school as i did. turned out, they're not really cousins; they have a set of cousins in common. he wasn't the one who told me that, it was his "cousin" who suspiciously knew what i was talking about. even more suspicious, the cousin greeted me with HIS name when we once saw each other somewhere. most suspicious? she(the cousin) commented on one of his graduation picture, which happened to have a glimpse of me in the background, with "isn't that ?"

back to the graduation scene. i never, even remotely, expected to see him again when the ceremony ended. there was a huge crowd going out of the building. it was a sea of black togas. what happens usually in a shoujo manga in this kind of situation? the heroine finds the guy and bids a tearful farewell? that's what happened. minus the tearful farewell part.

i saw him directly in my line of sight, a dozen feet away. by then, i was already expecting not to see him so i was really confused when i did. that's why there was no farewell. it's because i was too scared to meet his gaze(according to my "readers", he was staring at me the entire time. can't argue with them). i never said goodbye.

fourth and last: the unexpected visit. he graduated, i'm finishing my last year. this is "the incident" . i was running late for class. my friend told me that she thought she saw him in the classroom just beside ours. i shrugged it off. she has poor eyesight. when class finished, i went outside and who do i see? you guessed right.

he was supposed to be on another island, on another part of the country! why was he there? airplane tickets are expensive! why was he there! this is what went on inside my head as i approached him on that bench near the stairs. now, it was my time to be pleasantly surprised. i asked why he was there. he never gave a straight answer. i should mention that he had a box of cake beside him and was holding balloons. it struck me, i saw that same set of balloons earlier.

to this day, i'm still doubtful if it really happened.

he asked me to sit beside him and we talked. briefly. he asked me if i was going to the hospital(someone we knew got admitted) and i said no. i really thought that something good might happen then. i was wrong. he started talking to the girls that was with him and totally ignored me. i felt so left out so i stood to go. he hesitated then we said goodbye.

that was the last time we saw each other. this is the end of my story. at least, i was able to give him my long-overdue farewell.

Best Friend Post

i was just browsing through my tumbler dashboard when i found this work i did some time ago. i was feeling nostalgic.
note on my tumbler post:

"drawing done in pen and ink.

artwork(without the text) title: Opposites
content by me then edited by Gama Rae Comaingking(thanks so very much).
For best friends everywhere. i'm very lucky to have more than one."

here's another one:

Mona's Portrait: Day 4

almost there~ ufufufufufu
blue skies in the afternoon gave me a few more hours to work. i had a hard time with the contouring of the lips. i'll do the hair (especially those on the forehead) and finally, the background. i hope tomorrow will be as bright as today. :D

Mona's Portrait: Day 3

not finished yet! arggghhh!! noses always give me a hard time -especially at its bridge. i have to paint over what i started and it's still not exactly right.

i started doing the base before stopping so i can do the shadings first thing tomorrow. i can't seem to find my crimson paint so i had to mix that color from scratch. TT_TT

better luck tomorrow...

Mona's Portrait: Day 2

almost done. *laughs like a maniac*
i finished painting from the neck down -necklace and all. i just have to finish the face, hair and background tomorrow~

now, since the light is fading, i'll go eat and then finish sewing my dress.