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October 27, 2006
mobile phones
Starting October 25 , 2006 " number portability " has been implemented here in Japan. This is good news to those who wants to change cellphone companies but do not because it would mean changing numbers. Imagine if you have many friends, workmates , families and so on to inform that you changed number. Ugggh!
No more of that hassle . Even my husband is now planning to change from NTT Docomo ( the biggest company so far , to either Au or to Softbank ( formerly vodaphone ). Me, nah..I like Docomo, besides almost everybody I know has docomo phones so its cheaper to call or mail them. Although I must admit there are new and trendier phones with more hi-tech functions.
There are so many to choose from. If you are a music lover, Au is best for you. Their phones are like portable audio devices.
If you dont want to miss the news , sports event or your favorite korean drama you might want to change to Softbank. You can now watch TV on your celphones. Cool, huh! Mauubos kaagad ang battery nyan, heheh! Plus, you can now access yahoo. Check your yahoo mail, play yahoo games , listen to music . And you can shop and watch out for yahoo auctions. Very convenient no !
that is my phone above with the docomo mascot as strap, unbalance combination eh!!
Docomo also has many nice features. Aside from colorful emoji ( characters ) , and flashy templates for your mail you can also see on real time who you're talking to. Good thing for wives to check out where the husband is, hhahahahahah!! And much more!
There are also phones with GPS. Usually an added feature to the cute kiddie celphones. Let the parents know where their child is. More and more parents are buying their small kids with this kind of phone, for safety reasons .
kwento ni hubby - his friend works for a sales company and ever since they were using their private celphones for work related calls. ( my hubby has 2 phones, his own and one alloted to him by his office.) Anyway, they complained to their boss that their monthly bills are way up and they requested that the company allot them phones. The president of the company was reluctant at first but he finally agreed. But with one condition...all his salesmen phones must have GPS system. The celphone company set up a page at their boss's computer that he can check or see where a certain employee is.
First the company thought that they added extra expenses but to their surprise..., sales has doubled , tripled or more since .
Guess why?? Because the salesmen haven't really been working earnestly before but since the gps celphones, they know that their boss will be checking their every move. Thats why ! *hahahahhahah*
Hay naku , maraming bagong pakana ang mga phone companies. Marami ang nagpapalit ng phone taon -taon kasi nga palaging may bagong tricks. I know someone na papalit-palit din ng phone. Hi bee , planning to change your phone again?
Posted by ・midnitebara :: 4:08 PM :: 9 Comments: ---------------------------------------
October 24, 2006
enjoying nature
Last Sunday, hubby and I left home a quarter before 7 to pick up the old folks at their home. I only had about 3 hours of sleep that night kasi....ganyan me pag may lakad, eh. I'm like a child too excited to sleep the night before a class field trip ..daw, sabi ni hub. Ewan ko ba, kung kailan dapat matulog saka naman me di makatulog.
But anyway, I managed to get up the next day , make up the bed , prepare hubby's clothes and make myself lovely. ( I try ! )
Right here, we have 4 seasons to enjoy the ever changing hues and sights of nature. Autumn, before leaves start to wither and fall to the ground ( gives me a sad feeling*~* ) there is a short period that the japanese people call " koyou " , literally red leaves in english. Many people make the pilgrimage to the mountains to to take in the sights and so this year kami rin."hindi patatalo si paps sa pagkuha ng picture! "
" different shades of red, yellow and orange "
Hay naku , I had to walk narrow and steep steps too. Ang hirap umakyat ... buti pa the old folks , they are more agile and quicker than me. Whew!! Nakakatakot naman pababa .....may mga nakakasalubong pa ....!
After Mt. Chokai we went to Yusawa City to see the hot springs there. Ayan, umuusok ang mga rocks. The stream that goes through this gorge is 95 degrees, very near boiling temp. na so there are no fishes here. On the left side of the mountain, way up there is a " rotemburo ", a natural hot spring bath for the tired visitors. Thats ma and pa on the pic.
It was a very tiring trip. I took the wheel during the morning , driving 2 hours non-stop. Nagpalit lang me ni hubby nung malapit na kami sa mountain because of the narrow, winding roads . Pag ikaw ang magda-drive hindi ka nahihilo no. Nung si hubby na ang nag-drive nag-impisa na naman me mahilo, buti na lang I drank medicine na panlaban sa hilo.
Pauwi, siempre si hubby na kasi tired na me. In fact tinulugan ko sila, heheheeh!
Posted by ・midnitebara :: 3:02 PM :: 14 Comments: ---------------------------------------
October 20, 2006
meme 2
Time passes so quickly and it is not a comfort to know that I am aging too. But well, its a fact and so I promise to myself ( hope to keep this one ) that... " I will grow old gracefully ! "
It's friday and thinking back this past week, I realised I haven't been doing what I should have been doing...aside from work that is. And I am blaming it to the weather ( ayan nanisi pa ng iba, imbis na sisihin ang katamaran *_*' ) . Its getting colder everyday here in Akita and before I know it autumn has move on and snow will be dropping from the skies soon. Brrrrr, just thinking about it gives me shivers ! In short..., nakakatamad pag malamig. Especially during the early morn, nag-aagawan na kami ni hubby sa kumot, hehehe!
Was tagged by kikaygal again, thanks !
Here it goes....
1. How often do you blog ?
" I have a daily photo blog so that would mean daily ( tnx to wordpress, sometimes I dont have to literally post daily . A trick that blogspot doesn't provide. ) This personal blog, if I have something to post and so is my food blog.
2. online alias :
" midnitebara , which means midnite rose . Ate cha is not an alias, it is really how I'm called by everybody !"
3. Have you ever stood up for someone you hardly knew?
" I don't think so, I dont want to mingle with other people's affairs. "
4. What do you do most often when you are bored?
" Hmmm!! I read , listen to music , window shopping ..sometimes shopping !! "
5. When bathing which do you wash first?
" My eh......mmm. Bakit kaya? "
6. Have you ever been awake for 48 hours ?
" Nah, never ! "
7. What color looks best on you ?
" I'm not sure but mom used to tell me I looked good and lively when I'm wearing that old rust like orange short sleeve I had. Black makes me look thinner ( a bit ) than my chubby self."
8. What's your favorite alcoholic drink ?
" My fave is red wine but I can also drink whiskey, brandy and gin based cocktails. I hate beer ! "
9. Do you believe in heaven and hell as a real place that each of us will go to after death?
" I believe in heaven but I am not going there. Hell, its just a matter of translation. Even Jesus descended to hell. Remember " apostle's creed " ? "
10. Do you find that you have more online friends than offline friends??
" No ! "
11. What was your favorite subject in school?
" Science and social studies . "
12. Are you a prefectionist?
" Yeah, heheheh! "
13. Do you spend more than you can afford?
" Nah, I know my limits. "
14. Is it better to have loved and lost than never to have loved before?
" Of course , and when you lost one love..you love again ! "
15. Do you consider yourself creative?
" I dont think so. "
16. Do you give yourself the credit you deserve?
" Of course ! "
17. Do you donate time or money to charities?
" Its my vocation , but lately I haven't been doing my share. Bad, bad! "
18. Have you recently done something to yourself that you criticized others for doing ?
" No !!"
19. What's on your mind right now?
" My chores for the day. "
20. Say one nice thing about the people who tagged you and the people you are going to tag?
" Kikaygal~she seems to be a nice , loving person ( deduct this from some of her posts), honest with her feeling too. Hope I'm not mistaken !
I tag ...
yorokobee ~ vibrant and out-going person who doesnt seem to be affected too much by the troubles of the world around her. I honestly wish that sometimes I was like her, then I could be more friendlier and funnier too. ( But given the chance , I know I still wont , hahhahah! "
pusit ~ a funny guy to liven up any event ( sa tingin ko, hah! Are you?)
maiylah~ Oh I think she is a mature and intelligent woman . A nice photographer too!
opppps, ang haba no!
So to those I tagged I'm not forcing you to answer . Kung feel nyo lang !
Have a nice weekend everyone !!
Posted by ・midnitebara :: 10:16 AM :: 18 Comments: ---------------------------------------
October 16, 2006
handkerchief prince
Hi everybody ! How was your weekend ? Hope it was great and that you are all relaxed and ready to face another tedious week.
You might wonder what the hell that title mean..?
Handkerchief prince ....or " hankachi ouji " ( ハンカチ王子 ) , is the new heartthrob of Japan.
I am always so intrigued and honestly aghast at how women...particularly housewives and even grandma's react to some young men.
Take for example , the craziness over the south korean actor " bae yon joon ", whom they call "Yon Sama , or Lord Yon ". My goodness, I know its normal to be infatuated , fall in love for a while to a celebrity ( I'm like that too ! ) , but to some extent only right?!
Its different here ! To think that even travel tours have to provide special " bae yon joon " tours for this flock of adoring middle-aged women who wants to see , and walk around the location sites of said actors drama.
They come in hordes ...thousands to the airport just to welcome the actor when he comes to Japan. Don't they know that they cause commotion and disturbance to other people at the airport?? Come on mom's, granny's . BEHAVE !!
' hankachi ouji ' , he replaced bae yon joon ( I'm not sure how to spell his name ! ).
His real name is Yuki Saitoh , a schoolboy pitcher for his school's baseball team who won the national championships. He was called this because " he daintily patted his sweating face with a blue hanky. " Women all over the country , mostly middle-aged housewives are swooning , falling weak on their knees on just the thought, mention of this young man on the telly. And because of him, blue handkerchiefs have been a million seller this last few weeks. His face is everywhere !!
In fairness to this guy , I must admit he is not just another pretty face. He is also a good athlete with great potentials.
He was recruited to various professional baseball teams but....
I admire him for this ....he declined in favor of college !! Bravo !
I should also add that he is charming ..in a demure way unlike the rest of the japanese teenfolks. He doesn't seem to be aware of his overwhelming popularity , and looks like he doesn't care too.
Someday, after college I also would like him to play professionally.
I have nothing against " idolators " of famous people but.......If my mom would act like these women ...I would surely be embarrassed, humiliated and would be angry . Please.....think about how your kids and husbands feel too !
Well, its a Monday ...one of the busiest day of the week for me , and I guess for everybody else too. So, enjoy and have a nice monday!!
Posted by ・midnitebara :: 10:14 AM :: 10 Comments: ---------------------------------------
October 07, 2006
books , books , and more books
I'm not overly conscious of passing trends as long as I'm not so very out of date. I dont fuzz myself with the new cosmetics, accesories ,bags and shoes. I'd rather spend more money on books...books..and more books !
Yes, books are my first love, they are the most dedicated friends I have. Books keep me company when I am alone and wants to be left alone. Books excite my not so exciting daily life , cheers me up when Im a little down.
This are some of the books I've accumulated during the 4 years. There are more....brochures, magazines and lots of spiritual books too. There are more I left behind to my mother's chagrin. I know she wants to get rid of those hundreds of books but she can't coz she knows they are dear to me.
I started to read on a very early age. I was in the second grade when I first finished my first hardbound book. It was a nancy drew book which I borrowed from a high-school friend. I think it took me months to finish it though, coz I have to consult the dictionary while going through. Actually I started reading from early on, maybe after I learned how to read in kindergarten. From colorful comics that our maids have, to newspapers and to my delight my dad's paperbacks. Sometimes I'd cause my mom trouble when I ask her about words that are so interesting yet, I can't understand even if I consult the dictionary. For example....I remember asking her about masturbation. Made me confused why mom would be annoyed and forbid me to read dad's books.
2nd grade and hardbound books became popular in my school. I befriended some kids and gradually they let me borrow their books. If you are my age, you might know the Nancy Drew series , Bobssey twins , Dana Girls Perry Mason books and some other.
Then I came to know Barbara Cartland and Mills and Boons. Imagine , these are the books I've devoured during my elementary years.
I became so addicted to books that is why I wasn't like my other siblings who loved to play outside with the other kids. They may have thought me a snub, a loner but actually I was busy myself too , learning new words, new characters and more interesting things than playing. You can ask bee, my sister and she will confirm this.
There was a time, almost a year that I stopped though. Actually I got scared bacause one time as I was reading a new book, my mom called me to do some errands for her. I hesitantly put my book down and went to her. But from the moment I took my eyes away from my book, everything was pitch black. I keep bumping into things and walls. It took a while before my sight returned and thats when I decide I've got to stop reading.
Of course, old habits dont die...ika nga. But this time I'm really careful. Sufficient lighting and lettingmy eys rest once in a while.
Oh my, napakahaba na pala nito. Sorry to tire you out.
I wish you all have a great weekend!
Posted by ・midnitebara :: 12:34 PM :: 13 Comments: ---------------------------------------
