My boss mentioned that the level of economy is proportional to the level of trust. Thinking about it, it does make sense. For every business transaction, you would add the cost of contracts, lawyers, and the risk premium to cover for the probability of your partner not meeting his obligations. Not only would this cost you money (but definitely enrich those lawyers) but this would also cost you time. Is this why this country lags behind its neighbors? I remember when I went to Thailand, Migs and I encountered this tailor and we decided to have 3 shirts each made. After picking the cloth and style and having our measurements taken, we paid. But he said he doesn’t give a receipt. Just his business card. We were taken aback but we decided to say the heck with it and paid. I wrote it off already but that night, the shirts were actually waiting back at the hotel. Amazing.
The first thing that I saw, as I checked the news this morning, was “Heath Ledger Dead”. I was like WTF! He’s such a promising actor. He shone in roles in movies like Brokeback Mountain, A Knight’s Tale, heck even Ten Things I Hate About You. And I heard he absolutely rocks as The Joker in Dark Knight. Now he’s gone. That’s that for his acting. That’s that for The Joker. Sucks.
Joy gave me joyous news today: Rei Ayanami has arrived from the land of the rising sun! After a long long wait she’s finally here! I lost no time and met up with Joy and Lem for lunch and, of course, to pick Rei up. But I didn’t open the box right away. I wanted to document the unboxing. And this morning I finally did.
So what can I say? She’s gorgeous… drop-dead gorgeous. She’s primarily vinyl with some ABS parts. Definitely, designed for mass-production. Molding and paint job is top-notch though. There is no mistaking her for anyone else.
As expected, she’s eminently poseable being equipped with Kaiyodo‘s Revoltech joints. To aid in more life-like poses, she has four spare hands. There’s also a stand for those unstable poses.
Sadly, she only has The Spear of Longinus as an accessory. But then again, if you’re Rei, do you need anything else? Go see the anime if you don’t know what I mean.
All in all she’s great. There are many like her (including Joy’s). But this one is mine and she’s the best :P
Thanks again Joy-joy!
Check out the photos here.
I haven’t had a New Year resolution since forever. But this year, at Cez‘s suggestion, I have these:
- Reach French level B1 by the end of year. This means I actually have to study!
- Read more books. Specifically literary classics but maybe I’ll throw in a contemporary book. Maybe also one in French.
- Take cooking or dance classes.
- Take advanced photography classes.
- Watch F1 in Singapore on September 26 to 28. Shanghai would probably be nice but I heard it will be way crowded. Singapore will hopefully be less so. Besides, I like F1 more than most Olympic sports.
- Go on a road trip. Maybe Pagudpud. You’ll probably be driving more than you actually staying there but in this is a road trip. It is really about the journey! Question is who shares this philosophy? :))
- Go surfing in Zambales or La Union.
- Go hiking and camping in one trip.
- Resume wargaming whether via paintball or airsoft.
- Be less patient with people. You read that right :D
Plans more than resolutions :P
Yesterday, we had our Department Christmas party. We first went to Global Gutz for paintball. It was tough going there because of the horrific traffic. But we all eventually got there and Sir Sonny himself briefed us. We then played 2 rounds of capture the flag and 2 rounds of speedball. It was tiring but fun especially since I racked up 3 or 4 kills. It helped that everyone else were newbies >:)
After playing, we went to Marina, a nearby restaurant where we had a late dinner, an exchange of gifts, and a raffle. I got a 7-piece pitcher and glass set in the gift exchange but didn’t win anything in the raffle :P
After dinner, we proceeded to Malate. It’s my first time at Malate and I hated it. It’s like SM malls on a 3-day sale weekend except instead of shopping, the people were out to dance and drink. Maybe to eat too though there certainly are better places with better food to eat in. Maybe also to be seen but I can’t figure out how you could be seen in that crowd or why you would like to be associated with them.
I’ve decided not to drink and without the benefit of an alcohol-induced haze, I came to the conclusion that the whole damn thing is mindless. At one point, people started cheering when they heard the first few bars of Teriyaki Boyz’s Tokyo Drift. It’s actually something they always do before they start bouncing around to any overly-played bouncy song. Mindless.
Without anything better to do, I went off to sulk at a corner table and drank coffee till it was time to go.
I’m so not fun. Haha.