NOW AVAILABLE: Gakuen Days shirt

Did this as a print for Anime Expo but I was told that I should sell it as shirts so here we are! Get them while they're still $14! (They will be $20 in two days.)

9/26/14: The Chicken House (Birthday Trip Part One)

It's come to the point when Q didn't know what to give me anymore. He has given me figures and toys that I've wanted for the past celebrations and he doesn't want to do that anymore. He didn't know what else I would want. Although he knows my style, he couldn't really shop for me either. So upon hearing that I wanted to go on a birthday trip, he decided that that'll be his birthday gift.

Originally, I wanted a big themed party. It was my 21st afterall. I've always wanted to organize an event. I felt that I'll have the most fun designing everything. However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I can't have a party. Firstly, I have different groups of friends and given the age gap in those groups, I doubt that they would merge into one comfortable, happy mass of guests. I felt that the older ones are probably not going to even bother go since I don't plan on serving drinks. (I drank rebelliously when I was 15. But I never liked the taste. Probably because I drank cheap liquor but that didn't really encourage me to drink more as I grew up.) Secondly, I don't want to spend so much money to impress a whole bunch of guests and stress about their enjoyment. I thought that if there's anyone who should enjoy the most on my birthday, it should be me. So I decided that I will spend my money on a trip where I could sit back and relax.

With that decided, I shopped for places I could rent at AirBNB.com. I found one that I fell in-love with but I waited on booking it. When I got back from my trip in the Philippines, it was already taken and I had to look for another one. Q preferred just booking a hotel but I explained to him that I wanted a house or a little cottage; something that'll feel like home. I instantly fell in-love with the Chicken House. But it was an hour drive from Monterey where everything is so I passed up on it. I tried to book another place but the owner said that she'll be away during those dates so I kept looking.  There were lots of affordable yet luxuriously poignant houses but they were all too big for two people who don't even plan to stay indoors at all.

Q suggested that we should just take the Chicken House. He told me that if it is THE house, we should just go for it. He assured me that he's fine driving an hour to Monterey and back again every day during our three-day-two-night stay. I knew how much I wanted to stay in the Chicken House as well so we went for it. Before I could even book it, Q immediately took over the computer and insisted that he'll pay for it. I really didn't expect this because I thought he was just planning to pay for everything else we'll be doing over there like eating out and visiting the aquarium but apparently, he planned to shoulder the expenses all this time. He didn't even want me to pay for gas but I insisted in an effort to not feel spoiled as much as I actually am.

Like I've been saying for the past couple posts, my life has been pretty stressful lately. The drive to Carmel Valley was long yet scenic.

The farther we went, the better I felt. I guess, I literally needed an escape to somewhere I wouldn't have to think about school and/or interact with people who I have difficulty getting along with.

Our host diligently reminded us to follow the directions she provided. I Googled the address beforehand and cross-referenced it to the one she e-mailed us. Google seemed to have given us the correct directions so we got there no problem. The Chicken House was at the very end of its street. I cannot express how happy I was when we got there. I haven't even set foot inside the house yet and I already felt at home. The air was very fresh and the weather was much better than I expected. While it's summer in L.A., it was already fall in Carmel. And fall is my favorite season!

Karen, our substitute host, greeted us upon our arrival. She apologized that the owner of the place, Susan, couldn't be there to greet us. When she showed us the house, I couldn't be any happier. It was a lot more beautiful than I thought and had the nicest feel to it.

There's no TV in the house which was fine since we were out most of the time anyways. However, there is a nice couch in the living room (which I got to sit on for a couple minutes and never again for the rest of our stay).

There's also a wonderful wood stove for heating up the place which Karen allowed us to use. I really wanted to try it since I never experienced a fireplace such like it but it seemed quite unreasonable to do so since it never got too cold during our stay.

The kitchen was more than we could ask for. There were plates, bowls and utensils in the cupboards. I'm pretty sure that if Q and I weren't fixed on trying some food places in Monterey and Carmel, we could easily cooked something in this well-equipped kitchen.

There's even food in the fridge.

Karen explained that they always leave some food in the fridge for guests since some of them arrive so late and there's no more food places open. Also, since the house is far from the village, some guests are too tired to drive once they arrive.

After showing us the house and letting us know where everything is, Karen suggested some places we could check out. She said that they would have taken the time to create a guide for their future guests if it weren't for the fact that they would have to close the Chicken House for a couple of months for personal reasons. Apparently, we were the very last guests before the close too. 

Normally, I would be itching to go out but the Chicken House was too lovely that I have grown attached to it in so little time. It was around 3 when we got there anyways and so we decided to take a nap first and just head out around dinnertime. 

The bed was the most comfortable bed ever. I don't travel a lot so I can't say I've tried different beds in different hotels but I definitely loved their bed.

I guess, a huge part of it was that the whole set-up felt very homely and intimate just like I wanted it to be. It was like living my dreams of having a cute house one day where I get to spend my entire life with the person I love most. 

We took a shower before going out. I realized that despite having all of my vanity paraphernalia, I forgot to bring basic things such as shampoo, conditioner and my toothbrush. Good thing that the house supplied these items too.

In fact, there was a lot more things there than we needed such as body scrubbers, facial tissues, dental floss, Q-tips and pain relievers.

Last but definitely not the least was the dining area.

It doesn't look like much but it was my favorite part of the house. The sunlight just seems to flood this part beautifully every time. It overlooks the patio shared by the Chicken House and the main house which has some benches and a BBQ. We were actually allowed to use it too but we didn't. If only we had more time or if we didn't get married to the idea that we will go out around the area, I would have definitely spent more time in this house. I would have made ourselves some hot chocolate, sit down and talk.

I'd have to say that the Chicken House alone made everything worth it. It was the loveliest house I've been in and the most comfortable I've ever felt. If I didn't have these photos, I'd doubt myself if I was actually able to experience something so beautifully surreal. I would keep on going about how much I loved the house if only I have the words to paint it as gorgeous as it actually was but I don't. Besides, there were more things I enjoyed in Carmel and Monterey to talk about.

09/12-14/14: LA Eiga Fest

I've always wanted to attend the LA Eiga Fest. However, I always miss the tickets to the screening I'm interested in or it falls on a day that Q and I made plans for already. This year, I made sure that this will not happen.

Ever since summer, I watched their Facebook page and constantly checked if the tickets were already up. My birthday, as you all know from my previous post, was on September 11. Q and I were actually planning to go on a birthday trip on my birthday weekend but because the LA Eiga Fest was on September 12-14 and it actually looked very promising, we decided to move the birthday trip further away. At first, I was debating if I should still go but after they announced that they will be screening Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno and Lupin the III, there was no need for second thought.

The tickets for Lupin the III and Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno were put up on Tuesday, August 26, 12:00 noon P.T. Luckily, I'm on break at the time and was able to log on to their site around that time. Unfortunately, the LA Eiga Fest team seemed to underestimate the popularity of the two films. Instead of hosting the ticket sales on a ticketing platform, they integrated it on their own website. Of course, the website kept crashing but I did not give up and kept trying till 1:00 PM when I finally secured tickets for me and Q. I felt bad doing that because I was sure that I contributed to the malfunctioning of the site but at the same time, I don't want to lose my chance to see the films.

Despite all the commotion and technical difficulties, I was really impressed with the LA Eiga Fest team for being responsive and helpful. I e-mailed them about an issue with my tickets and they responded promptly and the problem was easily resolved. I'm still waiting for a refund though. The Rurouni Kenshin tickets were supposed to be only $25 each but they made a mistake and charged everyone $35 instead. The next day, they decided to use Eventbrite to host their tickets and I hope no one had problems after that.

The red carpet was on the first day, September 12. As a line of attendees formed outside the Egyptian Theater, I noticed that there were these group of ladies holding Jerry Yan photos. I found it very sweet of them.

I loved Jerry Yan ever since the Taiwanese version of Hana Yori Dango, Meteor Garden, aired in the Philippines. Jerry Yan played the role of Dao Ming Si. After that burst of popularity in the Philippines, it seemed like the F4 disappeared off the face of the planet, or at least I wasn't hardcore enough to know where they've been up to after Meteor Garden. When I found out that Jerry Yan was in Lupin the III, I was overjoyed. I was just happy to see him in something.

There were a lot of guests and I'm quite ashamed that I didn't know most of them. There were authors, comedians and designers. Most of them are Japanese, of course. But some of the people I was very happy to see was

Kenichi Ebina, 2013 America's Got Talent winner

Takato Yonemoto, actor (Basho from 47 Ronin)

and last but definitely not the least, MEISA KUROKI.

I was so starstruck when I saw her. Not only because she's the female lead in Lupin the III but because she's perfect and gorgeous. I took so many photos of her but blurred or not, she looked stunning in each one. Her outfit was very simple yet very sophisticated. She carried herself with such class that it was so inspiring.

Q and I spent our first LA Eiga Fest by watching Lupin the III, Shiren & Ragi and Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno. I wish I could review each one but if I have the time for that, I'll definitely do that on a separate post.

Bottom line is, we really enjoyed the LA Eiga Fest. I was really glad to have spent my birthday weekend by attending this event. So thank you so much to the Japan Film Society and everybody else involved in this event. It was a great success and we're definitely looking forward to the next one! Don't forget to screen Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends!

September 11, 2014: Getting Old

September started really rough for me. I felt extremely burned out, From May to August, I had my Spring semester finals, Anime Expo Artist Table preparation, Anime Expo and a 5-week sudden trip to the Philippines, a week of spending time with friends leaving U.S. to study abroad and then Fall semester. The school workload kicked in immediately. On top of that, my summer ventures left my budget in a total mess. I also found out that an important event of an extracurricular association I'm part of in school falls on my birthday. No one could also tell me when it'll end so it made it impossible for us to plan for a birthday dinner. Pretty much, everything strayed away from my original plans leaving me feeling trolled and insulted.

Despite sleeping at 3AM, I still woke up three hours later to get ready and give myself the luxury of taking my time. I even made myself coffee and drank it at home, something that I used to do which I don't get to do anymore thanks to my busy schedule.

I found a very good friend of mine coincidentally in the parking lot and she immediately greeted me with this massive cupcake. It was perfect. She knew exactly what I wanted.

The day continued and around noon, I received a call from a flower shop informing me that there's a delivery for me but they couldn't leave it out in the heat. There's only one person that would send me flowers and despite the fact that he sends me flowers for almost every occasion, it always catches me off-guard. Good thing, my landlord was around later that afternoon to receive it for me so I didn't have to think about driving back home in the middle of my meeting to receive it. Since we're on topic, here are some photos of it I took later on.

After my second class ended around the afternoon, I met up with my other very good friend Ray who gave me the Persona 4 book I've always wanted but never got to buying it and some silly Cateye sunnies.

I proceeded to my meeting and since we had a couple of Early September celebrants, our advisor got us cakes and made the whole room sing us happy birthday. It was very sweet of him, really.

After the meeting, I immediately packed for the weekend and headed to Q's place. It was still pretty early when I got there and we could have gone to Tam O' Shanter and other places we ruled out because we were expecting I'd be late but we weren't feeling very hungry. Of course, I suggested Shin-Sen-Gumi but I guess Q shot it down because it's my birthday dinner and that place isn't fancy enough. (Cheapest ramen, to be honest. But best though, in our opinion. Haha.)

After another session of

we ended up going to The Luggage Room in Pasadena.

We chose to sit outside. Since winter will never be coming to California, it's not freezing and the breeze actually felt nice and refreshing, especially after a day of burning heat. I felt really nice being outside too. I feel like school and life itself is caging me in a box that I just want to feel free as much as I could.

We ordered some Bacon-wrapped Dates and a Margherita Pizza which were both fantastic. Especially the dates. That's really why we were there for. Haha.

Q also ordered me a glass of Merlot wine and our server checked my ID and found out that it's my birthday. She was very friendly and I wished I remembered her name because she was very great. In fact, she even gave me a complimentary scoop of Pistachio Ice Cream.

I always like getting dinners with Q outside. Sometimes we take it back home and watch something while we eat but I really love it when we get to just sit down and talk. It's like a date. Like we're getting to know our each other all over again. I feel bad that I talk a lot more than he does but then again, my love is a man of few words. But when he speaks, it counts. And that's all that matters. 

On our way back home, I made a joke about him forgetting my candles and he actually did. But it was no big deal. We stopped by at a grocery store to get some and there was actually a charm to it. Shopping together. Seeing my significant other stare at the birthday candle rack successfully decide that I rather have the flashier candles than the regular ones.

When we got home, he took out my birthday cake and lit it up. Colored flames adorned my chocolate strawberry cake.

He bought it from this family-owned bakery, La Joconde Bakery. We frequent that place and we've always loved their cakes. It's always just right. Not too sweet or strong. Also, for it's location, we really think that it's a gem.

Q said that he had to wake up at 8 to pick it up, take it back home to refrigerate it and go to work. He has a hard time waking up early so going through that effort really amazed me. Haha.

I spared ourselves from the happy birthday song since we weren't alone in the house. I just stared at him in a manner of thanks and he greeted me "Happy Birthday", said "I love you" and gave me a kiss. I made a wish and blew my candles and just like in movies, the day ended once the candles were out.