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This new Internet meme got me LOLing. =)) Curiosity got me when I was this pic off my tumblr dashboard posted by noisyman.

It’s been a while since I last heard any news about Keanu Reeves and the only memorable movie he did for me was Constantine. As an actor, he was constantly bashed for his lack of ‘acting’ skills and when a random shot of him was leaked in the Net, speculations like he was out of a job or being depressed gave birth to these memes. Found ‘em all quite amusing and relaxed by stressed mind for a bit.

Sad Keanu in Matrix

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Sad Keanu in Full Metal Alchemist

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Sad Keanu with the Evangelion crew

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I have been reading this manga for a while now. Obviously, based on the featured image above, Fantasista is a soccer manga by Kusaba Michiteru. It tells the story about Sakamoto, a boy skilled with the soccer ball handling as taught by his sister. He goes to the city to study high school there at the request of his sister who coaches the school’s soccer team. But as great as his skills may be, he has never ever played soccer with a team. And that’s what Fantasista is all about: it follows the tears and the triumphs of Sakamoto’s training at school until he catches the eye of an Italian scout who believes that he is born a ‘fantasista’–one who makes the crowd go wild in anticipation with the kind of play that he will create. The scout believes that Sakamoto is born for the world cup.

I was very much excited when I saw that Fantasista has been finally updated after being silent for almost 3 months. I’ve been eagerly following the current arc which is… ***SPOILER ALERT: READ AFTER SPOILER ALERT BREAK***

[SPOILER ALERT:

where Sakamoto, along with the other U-18, is now facing the crowd favorite Italian team. Marco, whom he has met before their match, has finally entered the court and led the Italian team to their first goal. Kondo, Sakamoto's rival within the team, airs out his displeasure and disappointment and lays the blame on Sakamoto for his failed pass before the first half was over. Gasp, yeah? Yeah.]

***SPOILER OVER***]

…ultimately the most exciting for me. This arc delves deeper into the psyche of Sakamoto’s teammates and it was a very action-packed. These two chapters are truly page-turners! Reading these made me feel like I was really watching a soccer tournament on TV. I could feel the crowd going wild, I could feel the team’s tension and the other team’s elation. It was just so damn frustrating that Chapter 84 ended with that cruel, cruel cliffhanger! I got goosebumps on my face and arms already! x.x Already craving for an update! I want to know the next storyline now!

The manga wasn’t really supposed to be funny but the chapter titles kind of cracked me up a bit: Chapter 83 – “The Thing To Put In” and Chapter 84  – “Sakamoto x Kondo = ?”. Hahaha, that’s… an explosive pair. Haha.

It’s just a quickpost; I’ll probably write the chapter summaries for those who crave for spoilers haha. I still have an article for work to finish so til next!

P.S. I’m reading this manga at OneManga.com so if you’re interested to read this wonderful, wonderful manga, click here.

“According to Greek mythology, humans were originally created with 4 arms, 4 legs and a head with 2 faces. Fearing their power, Zeus split them into two separate parts, condemning them to spend their lives in search for other halves.”
–Plato’s The Symposium

I love you as the plant that never blooms
but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;
thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,
risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
so I love you because I know no other way

than this: where I does not exist, nor you,
so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,
so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.

-Pablo Neruda’s Sonnet XVII, “I do not love you…”

It’s somewhat a play around the PWP style adopted in writing fanfictions which means Plot-What-Plot. Technically, it’s a drabble without a definite premise and conclusion and mainly focusing on the problem/situation at hand. Sometimes, playing this game makes you forget the plot altogether.

Two years ago, my fiance Kei had surprised me with a World of Warcraft (WoW) account. For those who are still crawling to catch up in the IT and gaming world news, World of Warcraft is considered as the world’s top massively multiplayer online role playing game or MMORPG for short. It’s a computer game where you can create characters from the races that belong to your “war” alignment (Alliance or Horde). It’s the type of game where you talk to Non-Playable Characters or NPCs who will give you errands or quests that will help your faction’s cause in the great war ahead. After finishing a quest, your character becomes “stronger” in every essence of the world. He or she becomes more knowledgeable, experienced and reputable inside the online gaming world. These NPCs won’t just tell you to go to someplace and gather items, or kill off monsters plaguing a certain land, and that is partly the reason why I loved my short but sweet WoW playing days; the lore or the story behind the war and the quests is definitely something I had been eagerly following.

I remember how my fiance used to tease me how slow my progress had been for the first few levels. I had to sheepishly admit that aside from simply accepting the quests, I read every quest detail and the background story for each. I sometimes get too attached to a certain character that made me not want to finish a quest yet haha. Most of the quests can be done alone, but sometimes you have to talk to other online gamers to join you for a party. And no, this kind of party does not involve getting dry humped on a dance floor or being deliriously drunk; this is the type of party that you usually form to kill … or get killed. That’s why it’s important to make sure to toughen up your character and find a guild whom you can trust and play with. It makes a lot of difference.

This nostalgia was brought about by this one-shot comic featuring the Horde’s Blood Mage and another fake-Blood Mage who transforms into someone who suspiciously looks like Varimathras from Undercity. I remember my Frost Mage Sylviamarri in Azgalor server who looks exactly like these mages. And now may she rest in peace; I let her sleep on one of Undercity’s inn coffins when I left her. I just now fondly remember the days where I felt like my character really mattered in the game and how I became absorbed with it. Then reality caught up and I had to be back to being a ‘simple, powerless, and responsible human being’. Even though I was only halfway the level cap of the game, I had fun and if I have the chance (i.e., money, time), I’d love to play again and be a little more keen on my character’s build. ) This one-shot gave me quite a few laughs and reminded me of the times where I also forget following some quests and just focus on leveling my character. *Sigh* I miss bumming around, just lounging on the sofa with a bowl of junk food and bottles of soda, pen and paper on the table for note-taking moments, get lost in that virtual world and just play non-stop again. Ahhhh, childhood. How I’ve missed you! =)

P.S. Oh yeah. He IS Varimathras.

Last week, I was accidentally on a week-long leave. I initially filed leaves for Monday and Tuesday to supposedly take care of our marriage license and attend the canonical interview at the church. However, because of some delays, we had to move the license application to another day. With only a month and a few days to go before the wedding, I had to make sure that this week (which are non-paid leaves *sigh*) will be productive. Several meetings popped up every day.

Blue Me Up
My fiance Kei and I met with my mother-in-law one late afternoon to conduct an ocular inspection of our wedding reception in WackWack Golf & Country Club in San Juan City. To my surprise, Pavilion A is actually the same place where my former officemate had his wedding reception. It has a view of the golfing range on one side, and the other is a poolside and a playground.

Pavilion A

Pavilion A

I can actually imagine how the place would be dolled up already. On the pictures above, that’s the combined Pavilion A and Pavilion B. As you can see, the ceiling has a brushed gold paint with beautiful glass chandeliers. I remembered swaths of white cloth draping from the ceiling during my former officemate’s wedding. The yellow light emanated from the chandelier bulbs and completed its combination of “fresh, serene, classy and solemn” feel. But then again, the reception was held at night so it was easy to achieve that romantic mood with just a few white drapes. Since we are having a morning wedding, it will be pretty bright and we knew that we would not be able to achieve the same effect as the one we envisioned. We wanted to address our concern to our caterer, VS & F Classic Food International, which is one of the two credited caterers of our venue. However, it appeared that it will be up to our florist, Flowers And Designs (F.A.D.), to supply the additional drapings. That day, we didn’t get to finish the detailing for our reception. We have to go to VS & F’s main office in Fairview to discuss details like centerpieces, couple reception setup, table cloths and the reception layout.

A few days later (on one of my accidental day leaves), Kei and I met up with our coordinator and the florist to discuss the swags and drapings. Our florist was quite vivacious and I found it easy to talk to him about what we like. After only relaying a few details to our florist, he showed us some concepts that he has already done for other clients that fitted our demands. Kei wanted to create a night feel during the reception. So to achieve that look, we decided to darken the place by initially covering the reception with black drapings and add a layer of white and blue drapings (for the obvious reasons that our motif is royal blue). I like the ones where there were beads and some crystals on strings hanging from the ceiling. They look very pretty when the blue lights hit them. We wanted to achieve the same glowing effect for the reception. Hopefully, the florist and our detailing schedule for the caterer would be in sync. Crossing fingers here.

Not That Kind of Blue
It seems that my wedding diary has somewhat revolved around the “blue” theme. After the occular inspection last time, we headed directly to Paperflair (under Adworks Graphic Designs) in Ortigas to check for our invites proof. A week before, it had been my mother-in-law and her sister (our future wedding Ninang or godmother/principal sponsor) who met up with them and chose a design for us with the details we had previously imparted: something that is elegant without being too frilly–no lacing, embossing or engraving. And definitely no picture of us on it. We want it to look royal so a printed insignia and pattern is a must.

When we checked the proofs, the invites were almost pretty close to what we had in mind. It was done in royal blue and yellow of graceful twirls, accents and leaf patterns. I love the pattern, but it looked a little flat. Kei suggested for a new blue border around the invite and we think that it will improve the look. Then while we were looking for a peg for the label for our wedding favor, we stumbled upon a lovely Beauty and the Beast themed invite. It looked so royal that we both taken by the color mixture. We knew that the invite’s palette will bring out the beauty of our invite. And here is how the invite looked like at the moment. You could say that we went home satisfied that night.

That Fated Date
It was too good to be true actually. Kei and I booked Christ the King Church in Green Meadows, Quezon City in mid-September of last year. The only June date available on a weekend was June 26. Even though Kei and I are night owls, we still decided to take it even if it was a morning opening. Apparently, both of our families thought that it was very lucky for us to have taken it because it could be considered as an ‘auspicious’ date because of the eve of June 26, the moon is full.

A few months later however, the forgetful church coordinator contacted us and told us that there was some sort of miscommunication with our wedding date. Suggestions like moving our wedding time to 11AM or 9AM were raised as well as having it moved to a week later for an afternoon wedding. Quite tempting, actually, since we favor an evening reception. But we’ve already booked the caterer and the reception for that date and this change will definitely create quite a hassle. It turned out that the couple who canceled on the freed date wanted it back and had a ‘discussion’ with the church coordinator and the priests of the church. Suffice to say, the priest who dealt with the old auntie’s temper took a liking to us afterward because we were the, uh, composed couple. And because of this, he specifically told the coordinator that he would officiate our wedding during our canonical interview with him. And it so happened that we liked him too. Here’s to smiling at an inside joke during our wedding. So “piss” be with you. It is just so unfortunate to know that he would be leaving soon for Antique after being of service in Christ the King. We will be the last couple for whom he will officiate the wedding. We kind of feel blessed by this, like this was somewhat fated to happen. I have a feeling that we will have a good wedding ceremony.

A License to Kill For
I only have four words to describe the day we applied for our marriage license: it was fucking hot. I heard that that day was one of the hottest days this summer so can you actually imagine the heat that we had to endure while we were in Quezon City Hall?

That aside, I consider the trip going to the city hall as another lucky one. To anyone who has plans of getting married or currently needing to apply for a marriage license, these are the documents that you need to prepare so that you won’t come ill-prepared.

A. Birth Certificate. Each of you has to have an original copy of your birth certificate. If you don’t have a copy of your birth certificate then you must get one from National Statistics Office or NSO. Here in the Philippines, a trip to any government agency means that you have to be prepared for the heat, long lines and the noise. However, NSO now has a website where you can request for any related documents. Just go to https://www.ecensus.com.ph to request for certificates like birth, death, marriage or certificate of no marriage (CENOMAR). Each copy only costs PhP315.00 or roughly USD$7 and it will be delivered right at your home or office doorstep a week after you applied for it. Payment can be made online or via ATM.

B. Application for Marriage License form. Make sure that you fill out two original copies of these forms. You will be needing a signature from one of your parents or guardians. Make sure to write legibly, completely and clearly in print.

C. Parent’s Advice or Consent. What’s this? In the Philippines, if you are 18, you will need parental consent before you can get married. Or if you are below 25, you would need parental advice. This cannot be simply accomplished by having your parents write a letter of your intention to marry. There are proper forms in the city hall that has to be filled out and signed by you and your parents or guardians. Since my fiance is still 24 (though just a few months away from being 25), he still has to accomplish this. Unfortunately for us, we both thought that a letter of intention will do. We were then promptly given the form soon after we handed the rest of our documents for our license application. Since we wanted the documents to be completed already, we rushed out and coordinated with Kei’s parents regarding the signing of the consent. Luckily, their company secretary made it on time so our license will be released 11 days after we filed it. The marriage license has an expiry date; if you have a year to prepare for your wedding, take note to apply for one within 120 days (or roughly 4 months) expiry period of the license.

D. CENOMAR or Certificate of No Marriage. This can also be requested via the NSO website. Each CENOMAR costs PhP415.00 or roughly USD$9.

E. Pre-marriage and Family Planning Seminar Certificate. This is actually a requirement and no, the marriage vocation program by the church is not recognized by the city hall so that means it will be another day of attending a seminar. Or, you can just find another way around it. Hehe.

The two of us really had to be thankful to the random strangers that we have met who have been very helpful with us. Even though the heat was simply curse-worthy, the officers we met were not rude and embodied the word “service oriented.” Remember to bring a bottle of water, some wet tissues, extra pens and and extra photocopies of the documents that you need to submit, just in case. Also, the couple with the intention to marry has to personally file or make an appearance, although there are a number of acceptable reasons why one would not be able to go personally apply for the license.

Once the license has been accomplished, it must be submitted to the church. More things happened during this week, so on my next Bridezilla Diary entry I’ll be sharing my Gown Adventures (How the Fashion-Challenged Bride Chose Her Gown Designs) and the Chain of Holy Quests – How to Deal with: (A) Forgetful Church Coordinators, (B) Seminars and (C) Canonical Interviews. Right now, all I want to do is soak my feet on warm water and play Ouendan with my fiance’s DSi or read more of Parfait Tic manga. I’m so amused with the Daiya x Fuuko x Ichi love triangle at the moment.

Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan!

Status: Bridezilla currently transforming into Gamergirl Sylvia.

P.S. Hmmm… Maybe I should get a little cheering for those male cheerleaders at Ouendan too, eh? *snickers at the thought*

Love the vid. It’s creative, funny, and original. And at times, it just makes me cringe as I imagine that laptop being mine. Nice one, Lenovo. Thanks for sharing Irene

The creature you see in the picture isn’t a camel or a llama about to get its death wish from a blade. That animal is called an alpaca, an animal considered as domesticated from some parts of South America like Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and Chile. This animal looked a tiny version of a llama. And why am I suddenly blogging about an alpaca, a creature that I didn’t know existed until today?

Despite its size, the alpaca is not apparently bred as a beast of burden like tamaraws, cows, or water buffaloes in Asia; they are bred specifically for their high-quality fiber. Surely we can’t expect wool and other weaving materials for textiles to come from sheep alone right? Right now, the fur of the alpaca in the image above with be among the fiber shorn from 100 alpacas at Eastland Alpaca Farm in Pennsylvania, United States to be donated for a good cause: to help stop the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The Zurins, owner of the farm, will donate around 200 pounds of fibers which will be stored in a Florida warehouse. These will be one of the materials–aside from human hair, animal hair, feathers, or wool–that will be used to stuff the nylon stockings that will be turned into floating booms to be thrown into the gulf.

The effect of the oil spill is quite raising a lot of concerns from environmentalists, the government, civilians and our beloved sea creatures.  This disaster is currently threatening the lives of several water species, particularly the turtles. Investigations, however, indicate that it wasn’t the oil spill that caused the death of the sea turtles. But hey, if I were a sea turtle I’d be swimming along with my other water creature friends away from the affected areas and toward the shores too.

Out of curiosity, I wrote about this particular interesting topic. The last time I heard news about the oil spill was when I caught a video of setting part of the affected water on fire. While it was quick way to stop the spill from going further, I’m sure it did some nasty additional damage to our weakening ozone layer. I just thought that dumping fiber from land animals was pretty nice. Though I’m wondering where they will be dumping the floating booms once it has absorbed the oil from the water. I hope they wouldn’t burn it.

"Today, I'm covered. Tomorrow, I'll be naked."

I am going crazy as to how I would give time to each shit that are in my head right now. I wanted to write down everything. You know, relieve myself of these random thoughts inside my head. Kinda like farting out the bad gas so my tummy will feel better. Or word diarrhea. I am waiting for that feeling of epic relief.

So. Random. Here’s another totally unexpected thing I found that made me go “oooooooh”.

The Exploding Head Syndrome

According to Wikipedia: “‘Exploding head syndrome‘ is a condition that causes the sufferer occasionally to experience a tremendously loud noise as originating from within his or her own head, usually described as the sound of an explosion, roar, waves crashing against rocks, loud voices or screams, a ringing noise, or the sound of an electrical short circuit (buzzing).”  Source here.

No, don’t leave yet! I swear I’m a perfectly harmless being. I’m just a bit hyper from time to time, or a little gloomy the next minute. But I assure you, I can be quite normal when I want to. It just takes a lot of energy, but for you, I will endure. I don’t actually have this kind of syndrome, but with all the things that I am undergoing at the moment? Yes, it definitely feels like my head is exploding.

Thus the birth of this blog that I (think I) aptly named, MAXIMUM CRANIAL EXPLOSION. It will pretty much speak for itself.

You will find rants about a regular office worker, crappy cab drivers and hellish traffic, politics, random factoids, stuff from the Internet, current manga and anime addictions, food cravings, and being a bridezilla.

Huh! That felt good already. Well, I’m off to finish some of my other work (one that pays me and lets me buy my daily grub). Thank you for smelling my brain fart! Til next,

Sylviamarri