Something Alarming & Something I Haven't Seen Before

I'm back! Now, if you think we got tired from our last trip to Universal Studios, then you're dead wrong. After dropping off our things back at the hotel, one of our classmates called his cousin and asked if he could give us a tour around town. Fortunately, said cousin just got off from work and was just around the area, so we waited for him at the hotel lobby.

It was then decided that we were going to go to Orchard Road, which I later found out was considered as an upper-end shopping district. In the end, the shopping experience was a bit dull for my tastes since I was more for the sights and scenery instead of skyscrapers and flashy buildings with their pricey malls, but I guess I'm happy that I got to experience the commuting system that Singapore has to offer. Also, what I didn't expect was that we'd get lost on our way back!

Since it was getting late and the train stations were about to close, my classmate convinced his cousin to just drop us off at the station nearest our hotel. Now this is where we were left to our own devices, since we noticed that most buses on our side of the street didn't drive along Balestier; we were also confused as to which side of the street we would cross to since we were at an intersection. But after asking around, finally we were able to board a bus back to Balestier!

I'd like to consider this as a "look of relief" but really, I was too tired to care... :P

We got back at our hotel around 11PM, and being dead tired at least helped with me getting a good night's sleep, since we would still have a busy day tomorrow. 

Already up before 8 in the morning, we set off for breakfast since we're later headed off to New Water Factory! (Where Used Water can become New Water ;) Honestly, I just had to get that out of my head...)

Since we were all Business students, I guess it wasn't exactly surprising that we had to know the basic going-ons inside a factory.Though being a Finance major made me more curious on how to sustain the business rather than on how operations are done, still it's not bad to learn new things every once in a while.

Next stop was Singapore Management University, which looked more like a mall compared to your average school campus. Also, I can't help but gush about how sleek and comfortable their library looked! Not just their library, the whole establishment was so spacious and modern-looking! Even their so-called "Labs" looked more like a recreational area rather than how you'd usually picture labs should look like! 

Looking back, I guess that was my school's way of encouraging us in case we'd like to pursue future studies abroad; or they're probably planning a student-exchange program with SMU later on in the future. But now that we'd finish our itinerary earlier than expected for that day, my schoolmates wanted to go shopping. Again. Ugh...

It was a pleasant surprise to find a Filipino-loved fastfood chain here at Singapore though, so I opted to order the chicken fillet since it was the only one in the menu we didn't have back in the Philippines. 

Another sweet ride spotted... :D #BMWi8

We went to Vivo City after, which was supposed to be our last stop for the day before heading back to our hotel, though my classmates had another destination in mind before getting ready to pack for our departure tomorrow, and this is how we found ourselves at Bugis Street.

You could more or less..

...consider it a flee market...

Find out next week if we'll get ourselves lost again. Also, I think we're caught in the middle of a Batman vs Superman riot?! Am I ever going to get home in one piece???

My Favorite Part: 'Cuz it's Amazing!

Previously, we just got back from having breakfast, now we're off to Universal Studios Singapore! :D Here are some pics along the way: 

 Are we there yet?

Also, I can't help but wonder why the parking lot was kinda like underground, and we had to ride this escalator up to the entrance like "Is this for added amazement factor for the first timers?" Like when the sunlight touches your eyes and you stop and adjust, the next thing you know you're in this new world of some sort... No? Maybe it was just me...

Kinda reminds me of "The Light at the end of The Tunnel"... O_O"

Continuing on inside, we are welcomed by what seems to be a 50's themed Hollywood street, completed by this jukebox-trottin' diner! Talk about time-travelling...

Since one of my classmates had already gone here from previous occasions, he ended up being our self-imposed tour guide by picking out the best rides. First stop, Sci-Fi City:

Wish I had a sweet ride like this... #NotTooLateToDream

Turns out, the Transformers ride was the best! Although Battlestar Galactica was great in its own way, I think we all got somewhat light-headed that's why we decided not to ride the 2nd rollercoaster in that area. So now we're off to Ancient Egypt!

Really great setting in that area I gotta say, it even had this background music of some sort that made you want to walk like an Egyptian. I guess the place makes up for the "Mummy ride" which was kinda like a knock-off once you've already experienced the Transformers one though... Still, the adventure continues in The Lost World!

I don't know about that lady, but I'm not going to go anywhere near those teeth... >_<

It truly is a dream come true, especially if you hear that iconic background music from Jurassic Park and this sense of nostalgia comes over you... It was like being able to walk with the dinosaurs... Also Jurassic Rapids wasn't much on the wet factor, (unlike the one at Enchanted Kingdom here in the Philippines...) so don't worry on not having extra clothes. Though the ride did have this really cool part where you get to be spit out from some type of water geyser! 

Lunch by WaterWorld...

Maybe another time...

Before going to our next destination, we stopped by some food stalls and had a quick lunch. Finding out WaterWorld was under renovation, we went straight to Far, Far Away: (it's a name of a place, not an adjective...)

It's a good thing we were on our way to an indoor type of ride since it started drizzling. Turns out we were in for what seemed to be like a Broadway/ Cinema kind of action, albeit a 4D one. I'm not really a fan of the series but I think Shrek 4D will appeal most to the younger viewers; hoping the rides at Madagascar wouldn't be too mild for my tastes though....

I spoke too soon! It seems the nearer we were to the end, the milder the rides became... This seemingly "log + waterslide" contraption didn't seem to be much exciting unlike the one at Enchanted Kingdom (again...) I guess Universal Studios was appealing to tourist-safe rides. (can't have heads flying off from rollercoasters now can they...) 

Here's a tip if you don't mind having an anti-climactic ending to your trip: Upon entering Universal Studios, you'd probably want to turn right from Hollywood and go counter-clockwise. That way you'll still have the adrenaline to go for the more exciting rides first, while you still get to enjoy the end of the day without feeling woozy. Which is exactly what we did by buying souvenirs, grabbing some quick snacks, and since we found ourselves at a standstill for the next 2 hours before our designated call-time; we went to Sentosa.

In the end, Sentosa wasn't really too far away that we had to ride a tram or anything, we did have to climb a few steps though. Coming back down, we made some last-minute shopping near a sweet shop where I made the discovery of how delicious Garrett Popcorns are! I guess this somehow made my departure from Universal Studios a bit more difficult.

But if you think that's how my 1st day at Singapore ended, think again. Going back to the hotel to drop off some of our stuff, we then decided to go on yet another adventure! Next post: The Singapore commuting system, Orchard Road, and getting lost! (How will we ever get back to our hotel???) TT____TT

There Must be More than this Every Day Life

There's a saying that goes like "It's better late than never", since I should have made this series of blogpost a year ago. But due to life and its many splendid things happening, I just recently found the time to edit these videos and blog at the same time. 

Paralysis over Analysis

The blogpost I'm talking about is my school's trip to Singapore last year which I'll be labeling under "recent happenings". I plan to make it a 3-part series (...or 4), depending on the videos I took during that time (which I'll also upload here). Every "episode" will be posted on a Sunday, and once my Singapore series is over maybe I'll continue blogging about my other trips to other places. 

We're going on a trip...

This is a new thing for me to blog about, outside of the usual book reviews or movie reviews, so I'm still feeling my way around how to really describe certain events. But I hope to still be able to share the simple joy of travelling!

*Insert flashback sfx*

On the 2nd of March 2016, 10 o'clock in the morning, my mom dropped me off at the airport. Since it'll be at least a 3-hour flight, my classmates and I decided to have lunch before boarding the plane.

Mom with her "SepAnx" feels... Does that even look like a face suffering from Separation Anxiety???

All Aboard!

Up in the Air!

We arrived at Singapore at around 6:30 in the early evening, though I still remember that the sun had yet to set so there was still a little sunlight outside the airport.

On board our tour bus, aside from learning some new trivia from our tour guide, we also found out that our first stop was Chinatown!

With our money changed, some souvenirs bought, and dinner eaten at a local foodcourt, we were off to yet another destination before checking in at our hotel; Merlion Park!

Some pictures here and there, and we were ready to call it a night. Fragrance Hotel Balestiere was a quaint but comfy place to stay especially if you only need to rest and freshen up for the next day.

Having our bags settled in, we got ready for bed since we had a whole new adventure for tomorrow! Here's a vid of our short stroll when we went out to have breakfast the next morning before boarding our bus.

On my next post: Singapore Day 1, 3rd of March 2016, 10 o'clock in the morning, Universal Studios!!!

That Moment When You're Unlucky in Luck

Going with the fact that I only have a few Anime Reviews, I'll go about reviewing the ones that have been a recent favorite of mine.

soooo... gay? (you know, the cheery kind...)

Honestly, I already saw the show's trailer earlier this year, but I wasn't really enticed enough to watch it since the male protagonist looked too... effeminate cute?

Puberty probably hasn't hit him yet though...

But then I saw this fanart some months later, and I couldn't help but wonder:

Deeemn, that's a fine piece of art, right there... (♥ω♥*) Fanart won me over again... :P

In the end, it's the fanart that got me shipping another fandom yet again, and I'd also guiltily admit that the series wasn't as bad as I thought it was in the first place. In fact, the female protagonist, Marinette, is a very endearing character.

Yeap, she's also a superhero (๑・ω-)～♥

At first you might think this is your usual "magical girl" series, where the female hero gets to be saved by a masked/mysterious ally (like the 90's Sailor Moon...) almost every effing episode, but Ladybug proves to be competent and works real well with Chat Noir (who also happens to be our said male protagonist, Adrien).

I take back the "too effeminate cute" part as well ヾ(≧▽≦*)o

What also has me waiting for the release of Season 2 is that Ladybug and Chat Noir don't know each other's real identities. Which basically complicates the "love square" our two heroes have with their "secret" identities. You see Marinette has this huge crush on Adrien, while he doesn't exactly hide his attraction towards Ladybug and really, this is how it their relationship kinda looks like: 

Talk about mutual understanding without being aware of it... -_-"

So while Season 2 has yet to be released in order to show this "big reveal", I think I'll have to busy myself with more fanart and some fanfiction on the side. (｡･ω･｡)ﾉ♡

Into the Fog and Far Away...

Finally! The wait is over! It seemed like an eternity since I stumbled upon this story at FictionPress and found it to be incomplete, though after 3 years of snooping around and checking for updates, and another 3 months of waiting for the book to arrive once I ordered it. Well, here it is! 

Although it did take me at least 3 weeks (after the holidays) to really get down and read it, and 3 days to get this review done; since I still had a lot of questions running around my head and some theories that seem to have popped up out of nowhere. The book in question? Here:

The smoky cover sure makes it creepier...

Three sisters, three cursed men, and a ghastly fairy tale come to life.

When Elizabeth, Delia, and Emily were children, their grandfather told them a story about an island castle called the Needle’s Eye—home to a lord and his three sons. The castle has since been hidden by a mysterious fog, but his story speaks of nine girls who rowed out to the island. None of them returned, and the lord’s family was never heard from again.Years later, following their grandfather’s death, the last ties that bind the sisters to the village—and each other—seem to be breaking.

A careless mistake on the water leads their boat to be swallowed by the forbidden fog, and when they emerge from that cloud, the girls discover that the island castle they’d dreamed of is not a myth.The mere innocence of a curious glimpse becomes a fight for survival when the girls are cursed by the lord’s ghostly sons. Their choice quickly becomes apparent: they can play the games of the three soulless men, or they can give in to death, never to see one another again.

It may sound morbid and all (or a tad bit creepy...) but it got me really curious ever since I got to read the first 3 chapters. The dynamics between the 3 sisters seemed to be relatable enough, what with Elizabeth being motherly since she is the eldest; Delia, the middle sister, seems to be misunderstood and doesn't always see eye to eye with Elizabeth; and then we have Emily, the dreamer of the 3 as well as the youngest. All I can say is "Three's a Crowd", and their relationship with one another seems rocky at best, and it'll surely affect it more when these 3 brothers come into the "picture". (and what is it about the number 3???)

Meet Dante, Christopher, Anton, who behind their handsome appearances, hide an ugly truth. Now before you start pairing them off by order of their birth, let me spoil you with the fact that they hit it off with their "personalities" instead. I'll give you a good guess by giving them titles suitable for being sons of a lord: "Dante the Diabolical", "Christopher the Confused", "Anton the Abusive".

In the end, I felt bad for the 3 sisters, especially Elizabeth, and though I wouldn't consider it a love triangle (since she was mostly confused with her feelings), at least her fiancé truly loved her. I guess I just have to pacify myself with the theory that maybe the 3 sisters are truly home, for as long as I convince myself that Elizabeth's necklace was passed through to her from many generations long ago, then maybe somewhere down their bloodline, they really belonged in the cursed city.

Just Another One Hell of A Movie

As promised, I separated this blogpost from its anime counterpart since it has a whole lot of explaining to do when it comes to the characters they've been putting into the film. If you haven't gotten a clue as to which anime I'm talking about, it's this one:

I think the anime is still better though... <--__<--

As you've noticed, "Ciel" looks like a girl, 'cuz his anime version can't get any effeminate enough...

Yet another unrealistic expectation of men women??? >.<

Although Ayame Goriki (who plays Ciel) really is a girl in real life, and I'm not going to spoil the film on how they're going to play that one out. Just in case you haven't watched the movie yet.

Other than the gender-bender twist, you'd also want to keep in mind that the film is set in modern day Japan, and it's kinda confusing that we get to see recurring characters from the anime version that's set in Victorian England. Unless of course they're descended from them, which wasn't exactly explained in the film.

Though if you're not too picky with the details part, and probably just miss the dynamics of Ciel and Sebastian (since the fanfics just aren't enough anymore), this movie's for you!

The film itself has the same style that the anime has, with the right amount of mystery mixed with bloody thrills. I'd even go as far as saying that this movie should have had a sequel, just so we'd get to explore the dynamics Sebastian has with his new mistress master.

Kissing Can Be Dangerous To Your Health... Just So You Know...

And I'm on a roll with these book reviews! Well kinda... So just a year couple of months ago, I can't help but reminisce the first time I've read a Y.A. book, nor could I help but do a "little" bit of backtracking on my blogposts. That's why I've decided to keep on posting more book reviews (as time will allow it...), as well as other posts that I've somehow neglected these past few years.

Going on with the rise of vampire genres during my Y.A. times, this book wasn't able to escape my ever-hungry appetite for reading, (especially anything on paper...):

There are scarier things out there that are worse than cooties...

Yeah... like I said, it "was" the age of vampire genres then, so paranormal romances weren't really much of a surprise either. Also, if you've noticed, this is also another anthology compiled by Trisha Telep from another various set of talented authors! You could say I was too lazy to explore or find other anthology books compiled by other people, but I guess there was no harm done in reading another book from someone you've already tried and tested. Looking back on that train of thought, I can say I don't regret it. Moving on to the review!

"The Assassin's Apprentice" by Michelle Zink

In a world where angels and demons exist among us, we have Rose, our protagonist who is a Descendant or part angel. She's on a mission to avenge her parents' death by slaying the demon who did it. Along the way though, she meets an Assassin named Asher, who has also been tasked to kill the same demon. A conflict of interests and some sexual tension, and we've got one hell (...forgive the pun) of a paranormal romance!

"Errant" by Diana Peterfreund

This story was a bit weird for me since it had unicorns. I've got nothing against unicorns, but I always kinda picture them as...

I'm gonna die!!! >.<

...and not like this...

Spoke too soon... T__T

Anyway... aside from the unicorns, we also have really horribles guys in this story. So in substitution for the lack of romance, we got a more sisterly kind of love instead.

"The Spirit Jar" by Karen Mahoney

One of the reasons I also decided to buy this book was because it had a sequel of Moth's story after the events of "Falling to Ash" from The Eternal Kiss. It was fun reading her character since Moth came across as imperfect as any human, even though she knew she was definitely a vampire. The romance part wasn't much in this one, especially not directly involving the main character, but we had snippets of her thoughts concerning the guy from the previous story. So I guess it'd be best to read "Falling to Ash" before this.

"Lost" by Justine Musk

I remember reading a review before that this story was somehow based on one greek mythology that I was always fascinated about. I guess it was also one of the many reasons I decided to buy this book. I wouldn't dwell much on the plot since it could give away which myth it was based on, but let's just say that the heroine of this book, Sasha, has an uncanny ability to find anything that's "lost". She later meets a guy named Haiden, who surprisingly knows and understands her ability. But there's still the question of who exactly is he? Though really, I wished we got more scenes or interactions of them together.

"The Spy Who Never Grew Up" by Sarah Rees Brennan

I initially thought the story had something to do with an immature spy or something that's completely a parody, but lo and behold, it was actually about Peter Pan!

Yeah that kind of Peter Pan ↖(￣▽￣")

And I guess it was actually creepy how he was described as having physically matured, but still remaining somewhat a child. Add the fact that I never really liked Peter Pan (Disney or not) to begin with, this story was just.... NO.

"Dungeons of Langeais" by Becca Fitzpatrick

So this story is part of Becca Fitzpatrick's "Hush, Hush" series, although it's more like a prequel and stars the antagonist of the first book, Chauncey. It was a good story and all, though I think I would have appreciated this story better if I had read the series, since I felt like there were too many loopholes as to how angels co-exist with humans in this universe.

"Behind the Red Door" by Caitlin Kittredge

A dare and a haunted mansion causes our protagonist, Jo, to meet a real (live?) ghost whom she later finds herself falling for. But sometimes, not everything is as it seems and Jo might learn that the hard way. I really loved this story to the point that I based my high school writing project on it. I wouldn't spoil the fun, but this story was definitely not all hearts and flowers.

"Hare Moon" by Carrie Ryan

Another prequel, this time from Carrie Ryan's "Forest of Hands and Teeth" series which focuses on Sister Tabitha in her younger days when she fell in love but had to pick her priorities. Though I haven't really read the series, I think Sister Tabitha still plays an important part there and this prequel just gives us a backstory on how things were during her time when towns were fenced off from the outside world, away from zombies.

"Familiar" by Michelle Rowan

This was a cute story about our protagonist, Brenda, who is a witch-in-training on the look out for a familiar. You know, like the ones in Harry Potter?

Those were the happy days...

Unbeknownst to her, she managed to get a shape-shifting werecat named Owen, and since he's technically NOT an animal or a pet for that matter, that's where all the chaos starts. Oh, and he's also being chased by werewolves. 

"Fearless" by Rachel Vincent

This story is set in the "Soul Screamers" universe by Rachel Vincent which I've yet to read, but I've got an inkling that the series has a lot to do about banshees...

...or creatures that are close to that anyway...

This story was surprisingly exciting and had some action in it, though I honestly could have enjoyed it better had I read the series first, or maybe I just think the background informations and universe building had a lot of loopholes that could confuse a reader who's unaware of some details.

"Vermillion" by Daniel Marks

This was a really crazy and confusing story, which personally kinda reminded me of an anime in my childhood days that had a lot to do with Spirit Detectives and paranormal stuff they had to do. In this case, we have Velvet and Nick who are sent out on a mission to track down a rogue spirit wreaking havoc in the human world. The crazy thing is that I think I "slept/read" right through it 'cuz I remember some really wacky scenerios from this story! Which is kinda fun, but definitely confusing.

"The Hounds of Ulster" by Maggie Stiefvater

I've read the "Shiver" trilogy by Maggie Stiefvater before and I really enjoyed it, so I was kinda expecting to enjoy this story as well, though I was just left utterly confused yet again. This story focuses on Bryant and Sullivan who dream of becoming "punk gods", but here comes a "girl" who seems to become a distraction to them. This is most definitely NOT a "love"-triangle you'd usually expect. To wrap it up, I think my confusion mostly had something to do with the Irish myths inserted in the story that I wasn't exactly familiar with, but other than that, I liked the fact that we got a bit of a shocker ending.   

"Many Happy Returns" by Daniel Waters

Boy, do I wish the title could speak for itself, but this story didn't exactly have anything "happy" going on here. In a world where the dead could possibly have a (second) chance to live again, four teenagers involved in an accident have their parents waiting for them. Among the casualties are Mandy and her boyfriend Jake, though this story mostly focuses on Mandy's dad, Cal, and his thoughts before the "awakening", which actually added to the sadness of the story 'cuz it's mostly about a parent waiting for his kid to come back. This folks, is quite the tragic ending for a book dealing with the paranormal.

To wrap it up though, this book is also out of print, last I checked in Amazon. So yeah, I'm an ass for not telling you that first before going on with the review. But on the bright side, I think there are ebook editions around the internet so if you do happen to find it, maybe you'll be able to relate more to what I'm blogging about here huh?

With all that said, I'd like to recommend "The Spirit Jar", "Lost" and my favorite story in the book, "Behind the Red Door", while some of the stories were either filled with loopholes or it just completely lost me. 

Maybe next time I try reading a Paranormal Romance type of book, I should probably pick something that already has a specific category. You know, like how I tried the Vampire one? Maybe I should try Ghosts next?