Katangahan

We all have our "katangahan" moments. And because I've been so preoccupied with school lately, I myself, am guilty of these lapse in judgments.

Katangahan moment 1:

Bothered to ask a store employee where it's ok to put my umbrella when in fact the umbrella rack was right in front of me.

Katangahan moment 2:

Almost inserted my room keys in the ticket gate when I was about to leave the station. Got the keys instead of the ticket from my pocket.

Katangahan moment 3:

Got really wet after getting splashed by water when I forgot to read the warning on the faucet that says it's broken.

Katangahan moment 4:

Waited for a non-automated door to open. O.O

Short but Sweet

So I'm back in Manila again for my summer break. It's quite a strange feeling actually. Feels like I didn't really go abroad. Nonetheless, I'm thankful that the weather here now is actually cool and breezy compared to the dry summer heat in Japan.

Some updates:

1. I've been pigging out since I arrived last wed at 11 pm. Went straight to Aristrocrat with my family from the airport and there helped myself out in huge portions of sisig, kare-kare and chicken inasal! I missed Pinoy food.

2. Went to gym, then went to meet a couple of friends for dinner. Met R again. He gained weight, but I prefer it that way. He's cuter. :) Lots of fun, catching up and of course, boooooze!

3. Went to get a massage. Not just one, but two hours worth of massage. I've been dying to get one in Tokyo, but it's too expensive. Tiniis ko na lang muna ang sakit, until I come back.

4. More pigging out, to include an eat-all-you-can retaurant. :P

5. Shopped for clothes. Then bought two pairs of Havaianas. My previous one snapped just before I left.

I plan to go clubbing this week, probably Saturday, probably Malate, probably Bed. Hehehe. (calling Aris! :P) I miss the party scene here. Clubs in Japan are nice, pero iba pa rin pumarty ang mga Pinoys!

This following days would be very very busy for me. I can feel it!

So what?!

What is Pao's reaction when someone who he has a crush on in school suddenly finds out about it? And this crush happens to be someone close to him, in the same class.

The Not-So-Wise/Kinda-Overacting Pao circa college days:


"Oh my! He found out? How? From whom?"

"Oh my! I'm so embarrassed. I don't have any face to show him now."

"What will I do when he talks to me the following day?"

"Is he mad about it? I might lose him because of that!"


The Wiser/More Subtle "Couldn't care less" Pao circa NOW:


"Oh? So he found out. I see. Probably from one of his friends."

"Oh? That's interesting. Hmm...I probably should send him a message in YM now."

"Nah! I'll eventually see him in class tomorrow. No need to message."

"I heard he just had his tooth extracted. Haha. Good luck to him!"

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Time; it changes you.

Say what?!

In the Japanese language, there are rules as to what set of words to use in a particular phrase or expression. This doesn't necessarily mean that one should strictly follow it; after all, Japanese language is first and foremost, based on context clues. But this is also the reason why there are existing set phrases and expressions for each situation.

Let me show you an example:

Ki wo tsukeru.

"Ki" here means feeling. Whenever "ki" is included in the expression, especially before the particle "wo", one can have an idea that it's about one's feelings, senses, intuition. On the other hand, "Tsukeru" can mean a lot of things. It can mean to hasten, put on, attach, append with, be aware of and so on. These meanings' usage depends on the context the situation is in. It can mean be careful (in the Filipino vernacular "ingat"), or it can mean to be aware or have a sense of.

Now recently, my senpai (senior) told me a story that when he was just starting to study Japanese, he made a funny mistake. Once he didn't go to class, he told his friend to tell his teacher that he has a headache.

Normally, in this kind of situation, a particular expression is always called for to be applied. In this case...

Atama ga itai.

(atama = head; itai = painful)

But my senpai, who at that time was just merely starting to learn Japanese, said this particular key expression in a more Pinoy kind of way.

Atama ga omoi.

(atama = head; omoi = heavy)

So in the Pinoy vernacular, "ang bigat ng ulo ko". Of course he didn't mean to pattern it after the mother language. It was just simply a matter of confusion. But when his friend told his teacher his excuse, the teacher laughed hilariously, saying "that's an excuse right?".

Lesson learned: Be really sure about how you make excuses in Japanese. :)

Anthology of Fantasy ~Best of 100th~

Top 10 Best Memoir Entries (in no particular order):

1 Towed.Chalked.Walked

2 The Week of the Exes

3 Brotherly Love

4 See for yourself

5 Spa Boo Boos

6 From Robots to Bebots

7 Whatchamacaulit?

8 Ice Cream Melt

9 Ice Cream Melt 2

10 Scene Not Suitable

Kawaii Heat

August is just a few weeks away, and in Japan, it only means one thing: SUMMER! Yes, every one's anticipating the heatwave. As we speak, the rains are just saturating what's left of their water supply. But even so, it's becoming really hot and humid here in Tokyo. So hot, you just want to put your entire head in a bucket of ice-cold water sometimes. Even after showering, you can immediately feel sweat forming over your head. That's how hot the weather is right now, and I couldn't imagine the heat by the time August arrives, the peak of summer.

So it's an interesting sight to see that on the streets of major shopping districts such as Shibuya and Shinjuku, one can find people handing out summer fans, on top of the requisite tissue-ads. Me thinks it's better than giving out a leaflet. At least the former is in itself useful. In a day of walking, I got these: 2 summer fans and 6 tissue packs. Japanese stores believe that by putting ads into useful everyday stuff, people can recognize these ads better, and hence, increasing the chances of purchase. Clever huh? So it became a habit of my friend and I to always pass by an area where tissues are given out. And we would always get a lot of them.

Alongside the interesting stuff they give out on the streets are the interesting stuff they bundle with convenience store goods. Take a look for example this ketai strap (ketai = ketai denwa = mobile phone). His name is "cupee" (kyuu-pee). I don't know if he's a boy or a girl, but he's patterned after the cupee doll. He's best known for his mascot act for the best tasting Japanese mayonnaise of all, the Cupee Mayonnaise. Apparently, I discovered this cute little nugget in a convenience store, bundled with Coke/Coke Zero. I was just actually going to buy a plain mineral water, but upon seeing this cuteness, I immediately changed my mind and bought Coke instead. No extra charge or special price though; it's free for every Coke you buy. There are other cupee ketai straps for sale in department stores, shopping districts and mobile phone shops, but they cost a lot; around 700 - 1500 yen (P350 - P750). And generally, ketai straps here are really expensive. It's like they have their own industry, apart from the mobile phone industry.

Anyway, I won't be able to experience the heat of summer here (or at least half of it) because I'm going home for summer break. But the excitement that I feel right now is more than enough to give me heat waves. I'm thinking of having a food extravaganza, all Pinoy food, because I haven't had one for the past 4 months. And I will be able to see R again. That's more than enough reason to celebrate.

Oh, and I forgot, this is my 100th post! Yey! Summer, food, home sweet home, R...I couldn't ask for more. :)

Taboo

NOTE: The following post is Rated 18 ;)

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My class is fun. And since I'm one of the eldest in the class, I see my classmates as my younger siblings. They're really fun, each with his/her own personality. We always see to it that we help those who don't understand the lesson well. There's unity and harmony.

The Arabs: They talk really loud. I guess it's part of their culture to talk that way. They like to crack jokes every time there's an opportunity. They're always up for some laugh.

The Chinese: They're a tamer bunch. But nonetheless, can be loud at times. They forget that they're speaking Chinese with each other in front of class whenever they don't understand the lesson. They always study hard.

The Thais: My closest friends in class. It's probably because Thai and Filipino culture are somehow similar in some parts. Their nasal-based accent makes them look cute when they speak. It really interests me.

The Indonesian, Korean, Cambodian, Myanmarnese: Really smart people. They don't always make jokes, but when they do, we laugh every time.

Now, recently, we've been exchanging bad words from different languages. This is probably the first thing that pops out of international students meeting for the first time. It's cool though, we don't put meaning to it. We simply have fun. And fun it is. I couldn't imagine the variety of bad words in the world until I heard my classmates say their own stuff.

Thai shouting to Chinese: "Na Hii~!" (Na: Face; Hii~: P*ssy)

Chinese shouting to Thai: "Xiao Chi Chi!" (Xiao: Small; Chi Chi: P*nis)

Chinese shouting to Arabs: "Chuon!" (Chuon: Stupid)

Cambodian shouting to Thai: "Knei Puo!" (Knei: Mother; Puo: Sl*t)

Chinese shouting to Thai: "Kiappou!" (I forgot the meaning of this...hehehe)

And of course, I wouldn't want to be lagging behind. So...

Pinoy to Thai: "P*tang ina mo!"

My Thai best friend immediately got the hang of it. Soon, she was cursing everyone with our version of a bad word. All for fun of course.

Sorry, no Japanese bad words yet as of the moment. :)