Distant World Final Fantasy Concert @ Chicagoland

Back from Rosemont Theater!

The first Distant World concert I've attended was at Minneapolis, and it was a VIP seat. This time, it wasn't a VIP seat (it's too expensive!), but I feel that this concert was 100 times better than the concert at Minneapolis.

There are so many world premierre songs played at Rosemont Theater. Here's the program:

1st half:
Prelude (FF)
Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec (FF 8)
Winning Theme - World Premierre (FF)
At Zanarkand (FF 10)
Don't Be Afraid (FF 8)
Ron Faure (FF 11)
Distant World ~ Memoro de la Stono (FF 11)
Love Grows (FF 8)
Swing de Chocobo (FF)
Melodies of Life - World Premierre (FF 9)
Fisherman's Horizon (FF 8)
J-E-N-O-V-A Remix - World Premierre (FF 7)

Intermission

2nd part:
Bombing Mission (FF 7)
FF 7 Main Theme (FF 7)
Suteki da ne - World Premierre (FF 10)
Aerith's Theme (FF 7)
Dancing Mad - World Premierre (FF 6)
Kiss Me Goodbye - World Premierre (FF 12)
Theme of Love (FF 4)
The Man with the Machine Gun (FF 8)
Medley: .... Twilight, Beneath the Bloody Borders - World Premierre (FF 14)
Terra's Theme (FF 6)
One Winged Angel Advent Children version - World Premierre (FF 7 AC)
Winning Theme
ENCORE: One Winged Angel Advent Children version (FF 7 AC)


English version of Suteki Da Ne. Yes... that sounds really awkward. To be honest, I'm not a big fan of the English version. The phrase "suteki da ne" is kept in the song, but the rest of the lyric was translated. Well... they keep the meanings close, but it sounded really really weird after years listening to the original Japanese version of that song.

Melodies of Life and Kiss Me Goodbye (both are in English) wasn't well sung either. :(

And lastly J-E-N-O-V-A. I was very very very excited when Arnie announced that song, but as I hear the beginning of the song... it was horrendous. The remix didn't have the vibrancy - it didn't make you feel that you are in the middle of a battle. It gets much better in the middle, but I had been disappointed with how the song was started.

Of course, One Winged Angel blasted the whole concert. I didn't expect it to be in Advent Children's version - they have Chicago Mages, comprising of 2 electric guitarists, to hype up the song. Brilliant!

Another surprise Arnie and Nobuo told us at the end of the concert was that the second CD of Distant World is going to be recorded next January, and will be on sale next summer!

Distant World tour is going to continue even next year, and for sure, they will come back again to Chicago in July. Something to look forward to? Of course!

Photos (and perhaps videos?) will follow soon.

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Bento fever

Monday and Thursday are the only days in this semester that I can't get free lunch. I'm currently working at a cafetaria, so they give me free lunch at the end of work. Saves me a lot of money :)

I'm fine with Thursdays since I have no other classes after lunch time, so I have my own sweet time to make or buy lunch. But not for Mondays.

So I decided to bring lunch from home, just like how I used to when I was in elementary school. The difference was that my mum used to prepare it for me, and this time I prepared my own lunch.



Pika bento (or so I call it). It's the cutest bento I've ever made, so I felt sad when I stabbed the pikachu with my spoon and put it inside my mouth. It's actually pretty simple to make:

1/2 C white rice
2 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp chicken stock

You can add coconut milk instead of water when cooking the rice, but that's optional. What I wanted to achieve here was just the yellow color, and not making the traditional Indonesian yellow rice. You'll need more ingredients to make that :)

As for the sushi rolls, the basics of making sushi rolls still applies - the only difference is that you use yellow rice instead of white rice:

1/4 C cooked rice
1tsp salt
3 T vinegar
1 seaweed sheet
1 frankfurter sausage (or any sausage of your choice), cut into long halves
1T mayonnaise

Mix the rice with salt and vinegar well until they appear more sticky. Spread rice evenly on seaweed sheet, covering about half of the sheet, place the sausage in the middle on the rice, spread the mayo on the sausage, and roll it. Some people use a sushi rolling board, but I don't. After you roll it halfway (all the rice covered by the seaweed, make sure to clench the roll with your hands to make the sushi roll firm. A great tip from my friend is to stick a few rice at the other end of the sheet so that after you roll it, the seaweed doesn't get undone. Basically, the rice will act as a glue :)



Again, it's sushi rolls. It seems that sushi rolls are kinda perfect for lunch boxes - they are bite-sized and contain carb, meat and vegetables (depending on the choice of filling).

I tried using frozen steamed vegetables because they contain a mixed variety of vegetables. They have good texture, but one thing I regret about these kinds of vegetables was when they were seasoned in the packaging. I'm not a big fan of vegetables with caramel sauce, so I don't like the overall flavor. On the other hand, I find unseasoned frozen vegetables pretty good!




Unagi. Oh yes, I LOVE unagi! It's been my favorite ever since I started eating sushi (just because it's the only cooked fish they have - I wasn't used to eating raw fish back then). I didn't make this from scratch - I bought the pre-grilled ones from Asian market here. I just have to grill it for a little bit in my toaster oven.

And if you notice, I also have usaringo (rabbit-shaped apples)! It's always been my dream to make one. I have been watching many J-doramas and anime, and I always saw usaringo in their bento boxes. So.. I finally managed to make one! It's pretty simple:

Slice apples into wedges, leaving the bottom a little flat so the rabbits can stand. Make a 'V' shaped slice on the skin, make sure that you don't cut it too deep. Start peeling the skin from the edge until it reaches the 'V' cut. Pull the skin apart. And at this time, the "ears" actually won't stand. So you have to soak it in salt water (~1 tsp per 2 cups of water). Just wait for about 3-5 minutes and the ears will magically stand up!



This one was pretty simple, but I'd say it's pretty balanced. A little too much rice for me, though. LOL. I shaped the rice using a rice mold (the Japanese have tons of collections of rice mold!) Most of the foods in this bento were leftovers from dinner. Leftover salsa, leftover chicken... It didn't take long preparing :)

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Jerky Days

It's been 3 months since my last post. Nowadays I would post my food pictures to Facebook instead. Yes, Facebook basically has everything that you need for internet social profiling. You can post pics, videos, notes... everything.

But again, I still like blogs better due to its customizable features.

Not until recently, I have been addicted to eating jerky. It started with Jack Link's Teriyaki beef jerky. It's probably a little weird, but I like to eat something that is a little tough to chew. Not too tough, though.

During Thanksgiving break at New Orleans, I found many different types of jerky. There was one alligator jerky that I had down there, but unfortunately I didn't take a picture of it.

I bought several types of jerky back home: maple duck, elk, ostrich, kangaroo and buffalo. Well, they're not pure duck or pure elk or anything - all of them are mixed with beef. The textures are not so different either. I'd say elk and buffalo have the roughest texture, and they are a little bit hard to chew.






The duck is pretty good - at least it's slightly more tender than pure beef stick.

I'd say Kangaroo jerky was pretty good, but it's not my favorite somehow.

Ostich is not so bad. I'd say it's a little tender.

Elk... a little tough, but I like it.

Buffalo was the toughest jerky among the 5 that I bought.

I love eating jerky - I love Bee Cheng Hiang's pork jerky (is bak kwa a jerky?) the most, but they don't sell that here in US.

Even so, I wish they could put less salt in the jerky. I have low blood pressure, so I'm not so concerned about getting hypertension. It's just the saltiness that bothers me...

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It's been a while

To put it simply, I've been busy these days. Looking for summer internship, chasing after my professors to schedule my research, thinking of honors class projects to be done this semester, working part time at a cafetaria, club meetings and activities... Whew!

And I just had an exam yesterday, and there is going to be another exam tomorrow.

Enough complaints! Now, time for food! Luckily, I managed to cook for myself almost everyday. Saves the money, adds the experience, adds the fun!

Spicy mayo shrimps with musrhoom:

Bento preparation:

Checkered rice (plain rice and rice with furikake)


Added some fried sausages and hams

2nd bento. Fried egg + rice + mayonaisse + chili paste!

I decided to make a fruit gelatin to stack at the bottom... I need more fiber these days :P

Seafood spaghetti with vodka sauce (thanks, Bertolli!)

The healthiest food of the semester. Haha. Mixed vegetables + leek + chicken gizzard.

My Saturday breakfast! Pork wanton noodle with shrimps and mushrooms:

I used Nasoya wanton wraps. They're pretty good!

Ayam balado. Indonesian spicy chicken, cooked with my mum's recipe :D

Time for more artistic food! Peeps born out of clementine orange!

Pork rib with lotus root soup. One of my favorites!

Sliced beef and king oyster mushroom cooked in Korean galbi sauce

Okay, enough for now. Time to study!

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Summer 09 Singapore trip

Went to Singapore for 3 days to accompany my Mum's medical trip.

3 days was definitely not enough to cover all the food I've come to like in 6 years. Well, these are the few of my most favorite foods in Singapore:

Sarawak Kolo Mee



I found it when I was lurking around Toa Payoh area after church. It's quite hidden in the corner, almost next to a petshop. When I first found it, the price was still $6, but now it's raised to $10 :(

The one I ate above was in Vivocity. Indeed, the restaurant Vivo has better atmosphere because it is air-conditioned, but I still prefer eating in Kolo Mee in Toa Payoh. The noodle in Toa Payoh is more chewy and more fragrant because they use minced meat in Toa Payoh (in addition to the char siew). Also, I don't remember having fried wontons in Toa Payoh branch. In Vivo, the noodle is served with fried wontons. They're okay - they're just like normal fried wontons - but I think I'd prefer minced meat over fried wontons.

I almost always had my lunch after church there. Most of the servers speak Mandarin, and I can't speak Mandarin (but I try to speak a little bit). Since I always visited that restaurant at the same time every Sunday ordering the same dish (I always ask for pieces of abalone instead of prawns), the servers there know me well, and they always gave me extra noodles and meats.


Crystal Jade La Mien & Xiao Long Bao (Takashimaya level 4)



I like most Crystal Jade restaurants in general. I like Crystal Jade Kitchen the most. To be honest, I don't really like CJ La Mien that much, so I seldom visited this restaurant. What I love the most is the Xiao Long Bao. Compared to Din Tai Fung's xiao long bao, the xiao long bao here has the best xiao long bao skin. The skin of the xiao long bao in Din Tai Fung is too thin, so the xiao long bao often burst before I can put it on a spoon. To me, the best part about xiao long bao is the broth, so if the broth is lost, I feel that it's just the same as eating normal meat dumplings.

The xiao long bao in Crystal Jade comes in 5, while the one in Din Tai Fung comes in 8. I often eat alone (very seldom people would accompany my food trip), so the serving size in Crystal Jade is just nice for me.

Viva xiao long bao!


Prata and teh tarik



The best roti prata I have ever had was in my first year of junior college in NJC. The vendor changed after a year, and I didn't really like the new vendor as much. I'd say the one in Al-Ameen (Upper Bukit Timah Road) is also a good place to eat prata.

My favorite of all prata is cheese prata. Plain prata is nice, too, but normally I'd have to order 2 pieces because 1 piece was normally not enough to make my stomach satisfied. Some people prefer to eat prata with sugar, but I prefer to eat it with curry. Sometimes, the prata is good but the curry is not. That's why I'm a little selective about eating prata.

The one in Food Republic (Wisma Atria) was not bad in terms of both the prata and the curry. The curry is a little too thin, but it's still acceptable to me.

Teh tarik normally accompanies my prata, but it's quite regrettable that the teh tarik in Food Republic was not good. There was a strange bitter aftertaste, and somehow the bitterness 'sticks' in my throat.

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Ujung Pandang Crab

My dad brought back one tub of crabs from his business trip to Ujung Pandang (Indonesia).




These were biggest crabs I've ever eaten.




Okay, the claw/pincher is always my most favorite part. I had some difficulties trying to crack the claw. Normal crab cracker won't do. I had to use a stone pestle to crack it because it's so damn hard and thick. But a hard work comes with a big reward!



The sauce has similar taste to that of Kepiting Saus Padang, but it's a little sweeter. It tastes great with white rice or mantou. My cousin said it's quite hot, but maybe my pain receptor has been pretty much dulled, so I didn't really think that it's that hot.

The female crabs were filled with tons of crab eggs. Normally, crabs with eggs don't have much meat inside, but these female crabs from Ujung Pandang have so much meat inside the legs and the claws.

I love the crabs!


P.S: beware of your cholesterol level after you ate these crabs xD

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Mousy bread

This was what happened when I couldn't finish my bread roll but felt bad if such a beautiful roll was thrown into the garbage bin.



I don't really like bread, simply because it had been my only portable breakfast during my first six years living in a dorm. I was quite a busy person in JC, so I had to wake up really early to school. Even though it only took at most 8 minutes by feet, attending meetings at 5.30 or 6 am just means that I had to wake up latest by 5 am.

I ate too much bread that I can't make myself to eat bread when there are other options.

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Devil and Devil

It was on mangafox's front page, so I decided to try reading it. It's a completed series, and it's quite an old-styled manga. Nevertheless, it's a good one to readby Miyoshi Yuki!



===========================
Summary from Mangafox:
Above the Earth, there is a continuous battle between angels and devils. One devil in particular, Sword, has it in for a certain angel, Ios. In their 101st fight together, both are severely wounded. Not only that, but their clashing power causes the two to fall to earth. By chance, Sword finds a beaten, unconscious teenage boy nearby, and he is able to take over the human's body to save his own life.

Some time later, Sword awakens in the hospital, briefly confused about his whereabouts. The father of the body he possessed enters the room, extremely happy to see his boy Souma alive. Then the older twin brother shows up. Immediately, Sword recognizes his enemy's energy. Also nearly dead, Ios had joined with Kanna's body. Sword goes to attack Ios, but quickly realizes that the body is far weaker than his demon form, especially from being recently beaten to hell.

Since the brothers had been found heavily thrashed, their memory loss isn't that surprising. Their large change in behaviors is also explained by amnesia. As it turns out, Sword entered the body of the cliché nerd who can't run fifty meters without falling. Ios's new body is a terror, feared by all and constantly suspended from school. While the angel and devil have primary control over the bodies of the twins, reflex actions and memories of the other souls (still alive within the bodies) do appear. More importantly, the human bodies cannot handle the powers that Sword and Ios had used with ease. This a problem especially for Sword who is both over eager to use his powers and targeted by devils and angels.

===========================

The ending is pretty expected, but it's still a good ending for a 15-volume atory. I like the mangaka's sense of humor - they're idiotic, but the level of idiocy is not too exaggerated. I find some storyline development a little strange and out of the blue, but overall, I like the storyline. I like the part where Sword was doing good deeds while he was actually planning to do evil things, and gradually he turned out to be a good person. Um, well, not a really good person, but... he has his good points. Yep.

And of course, fighting scenes! Clash of swords and fists! Sexy girls! Uhh... no, I mean, girls who are not as annoying as other kyaa-kyaa-useless idiot girls commonly found in many manga/anime. Heheh. Sorry, I'm not a big fan of those type of idiot girls.

My rating: 4.89/5.0

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Boredom during work

I managed to cram my lunch time working on this:


Okay, damn, it wasn't supposed to be like this. I only made the silhouette of Cloud's head up till the neck, and then suddenly I became too lazy to draw his torso. I wanted to create some borders around him, but ended up using the wrong preset brush because I was too lazy to draw it manually, and... Cloud's wearing a feathery Chocobo costume! =.=;

Cloud, I'm so sorry I turned you into a disgrace.


Well, it's supposed to be like this:


It's unfinished. But, yeah, it's supposed to be like this... In the end I used a normal brush to draw those details manually. My right index finger was kinda burned by my laptop's touch pad. My laptop gets heated pretty easily nowadays.

Oh well. It's quite fun to draw this without a tablet pen xD

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Firefox vs IE

I know, it's a boring old topic.

I'm bringing this up because I was somehow reminded of the problems with my HTML designs. I took a look at my private blog with interactive sushi design today. It doesn't look like it should in Firefox - everything became aligned to the left, even though I set it to the center. It looks perfectly normal in IE, though. As the designer, I feel very unsatisfied with this, although I tried my best to overlook it.

But after using Firefox for a year, I grew liking to it. I like customizable things better. Firefox add-ons are the most favorite features to me. I like the new Persona, which allows you to set a theme to the browser. IE... Well, certainly, it can be customized, but it's not as pretty and as easy as Firefox. Honestly, IE 8 looks boring to me.

In addition to that, downloading is more organized in Firefox. I like the idea where Firefox organized all the downloaded contents into one window, in contrast to IE, which causes tons of windows to appear as you download (well, they're not tons - I'm exaggerating it).

As far as safety is concerned, I'm not too sure which one is safer. My laptop was attacked by 14 malicious trojan worms before it crashed, and that happened when I was using Firefox.

So, Firefox vs IE? My choice is Firefox.

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History

History is never my forte, and yet I have to take history courses due to my school's requirement.

I don't hate history - it's part of us. What we own today is what resulted from the happenings in the past. I personally find it interesting to know the origins of many things.

What I find it difficult is that history is 99% biased. After learning much about the history of Africa, I became displeased of the West in the past.

I don't really like the idea of people influencing my impression towards others. It's difficult to only know about things without being emotionally affected by it.

And I'm pretty bad with names. Empires and places often have their names changed as time passes, and for some reason I can't connect the new name with the old name. What's more, I need a map to visualize locations. I can't just learn things with "XXX Empire was located between ABC Sea and DFG Sea, across the land of YYY". The description doesn't make much sense to me :S

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DISSIDIA potion

Last December I went to Japan on transit. Since I didn't dare to go as far as taking train to Shibuya or somewhere else, I went to Aeon Mall to kill time.



That was JUSCO, Japan's hypermart. It was a really really really good decision to land there :) I found lots of DISSIDIA potions!

Thanks to the new rules of not allowing liquids brought from outside into the airplane, I had to dig a hole in my stomach to finish 4 cans of the potions before entering Japan's immigration. Yup. Just for the sake of bringing them home.

So... how does the potion taste like?

As you probably know, there are two types of cans: Cosmos (the white cans) and Chaos (the black cans). Cosmos cans contain something like lemonade, while Chaos cans contain carbonated grape juice. I personally like Chaos ones better, since the Cosmos ones taste a little bland to me.


I managed to take a photo of what's inside the Chaos can. It should look a little more purplish than the one shown in the photo above.

For something that costs 198 yen, it's a rather expensive can of soda. As far as I remember, a normal can of soda costs only 98 yen. Thus, 198 yen is more than double of a normal soda can. What's obvious here is that any retarded Final Fantasy fans (like me) would buy it even though it's pretty expensive, just because the can has pictures of DISSIDIA characters.

But I think it's okay to spend a little more money to have a little more fun :P

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Can't post?

Something's weird. I can't post in my other blog. Argh.

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It's been rusty

It's been a really really really long time since the last time I ever touched HTML or CSS codes. I think it has reached more than a year. Yes, I didn't even bother fixing this blog's layout.

It took me an hour to distinguish between td and div, and how CSS works. As for CSS, I only remember simple tags like position, background, font-family... the rest have disappeared into thin air like vapor. I even forgot how to use Java script to make it more dynamic.

And guess what? My sense of color and design have gone, too. Or maybe they never existed. Haha.

ISC Website

Such a plain-looking thing. An eyesore. And I spent 3 hours on this, how pathetic. My previous Yuna blog was 100 times prettier than this. Much more interactive, much more lively, much more organized.

Much more creative.

Maybe somewhere deep in my brain I know that this website most likely won't last very long. No one's gonna take a look at it no matter how pretty I make it. Not now, not later. Even I didn't land a single click for the whole year on that website. Truly, I prefer watching various things from youtube and zomganime.

Something that is created for no purpose... I just think that it's really sad.

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FF versus 13 newest trailer

Someone ripped it from FF VII Advent Children: COMPLETE.


Watch Final Fantasy Versus XIII Cutscene/PV in Tech & Gaming | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

I think they haven't found the voice actors yet, that's why the video has only background music. Nothing's wrong with the video, coz I watched it in its original BluRay version, and it also has no voice.

Here's my own translation for the trailer (please credit me by linking to my blog):

Italian words (I don't understand Italian, so I translated it using Google translate, I don't know the accuracy of the meaning, really):

IL CAMMINO PARI CIELI - the path equal to (?) heaven
LA MORTE E LA DIA - death and gives (?)
LA STELLA INCONTRATA DI NOTTE - the star that encounters the night (probably referring to Stella and Noctis)
LE MEMORIE DE MORTE - the memories of death (probably has a similar meaning to memento mori - remember that you will die)

Stella:
Noctis-sama, hikari ga mierun desu ne (Noctis-sama, you can see the light, right?)
Watashi mo desu. (I can see it too.)
Sakki kaidan no shita kara miteita no ha, ano hikari desu yo ne. (Just now what you were seeing from the staircase below was that light, right?)

Noctis:
Maa na. Anta ha itsu kara mierun da? (Well, yeah. Since when can you see it?)

Stella:
Kodomo no koro kara desu. (Since childhood.)

Noctis:
Yappari shi ni kaketa no ka? (As I thought, did you almost die?)

Stella:
Hai -- Noctis-sama mo desu ka? (Yes-- You too, Noctis-sama?)

Noctis:
Are ha mazukatta. (That was really a bad situation.)

Stella:
Megami Etoro -- Shisha no tamashii wo mukaen to tobira wo hiraku. (The Goddess Etoro -- When the spirit of the deceased arrives, she opens the gate.)
Sono toki, shisha no koku wo terasu mabayui hikari ten ni afuredasu. (When that time comes, a dazzling light flooding out from the heaven illuminates the world of the dead.)
Mare ni sono hikari wo miru mono ari. (Rarely anyone who saw the light exists.)
Sono mono, shisha no koku yori chikara wo sazukaran-- (Those people, they were endowed with the power from the world of the dead--)
Tenebure no ii tsutae desu. (That's the legend of Tenebure.)

Noctis:
Koko demo onaji da. (It's the same here, too.)

Stella:
Noctis-sama ha chikara wo sazukarimashita ka? (Did Noctis-sama receive the power, too?)

Noctis:
Zenzen-- sonna chikara nante iranai kara (Not at all -- because I don't need that power.)
Maniatteru shi. (I can still make it in time.)

Stella:
Desu yo ne! (Right!)
Donna chikara demo dareka no inochi to hikikae nante (Whichever power that comes from exchaning someone's soul...)
Kitto warui yume michaimasu (It's definitely a nightmare.)

Noctis:
Sou-- ii kagen na otogibanashi sa (Yes-- it's just a random fairytale.)
Hikari no koto ha dare ni mo iwanai hou ga ii. (It's better not to tell anyone about the light.)

Stella:
Doushite desu ka? (Why is that so?)

Noctis:
Tanin to chigau tte koto ha-- (Being different from others)
Nanka to mendou kusai daro? (Isn't it kinda troublesome?)

Stella:
Demo ii tsutae ka otogibanashi da to shitara ano hikari (But no matter if it's a legend or a fairy tale, that light...)
Hontou ni nan da to omoimasu ka? (What do you think of it?)

Noctis:
Hontou ha -- tada soko ni aru (Actually, it's just there.)
Sore de ii daro? (Isn't it enough?)
Eeto... (Erm...)

Stella:
Stella desu. (It's Stella.)

Noctis:
Stella. Ore ha ikanakucha. (Stella. I have to go.)

Stella: Ohikitomete moushi wake arimasen deshita, Noctis-sama. (I'm sorry to keep you, Noctis-sama.)

Noctis: Nokuto de ii yo. (Noct is fine.)

Stella:
Watashi mo modoranai to. (I'd better go back, too).
Kon ya watashi ha ano hikari kara chikara wo moratta you na ki ga shimasu. (Tonight I feel that I was endowed with the light's power.)
Anata ni hanashi kakeru koto ga dekimashita. (I was able to talk to you.)

Noctis:
Warui yume miru zo. (You'll get nightmares, you know.)

Stella:
Ijiwaru desu ne, Noctis-sama. (You're so mean, Noctis-sama.)

Noctis:
Noct.

Stella:
Tsugi ni atta toki ha sou yobimasu. (I'll call you that the next time we meet.)
Kondo ha Tenebure ni kite kudasai ne. Watashi ga go annai shimasu. (This time, please go to Tenebure. I'll guide you.)

Noctis: Ii kamo na. Kangaete oku. (Sounds good. I'll consider.)

Unknown: Anata ha -- dare? (Who are you?)

Noctis: --kocchi no serifu da. (That's my line.)

I think Tenebure is the name of a place... Etoro is just some goddess shown in the picture. I don't know the English version of the names, so I'll leave them as Tenebure and Etoro (I suspect it's gonna be Tenebrae and Etro).

Expecting more from FF versus 13.... Noctis is just too cool!


*was supposed to study for my finals, but ended up digging up FF stuffs. cries*

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FF Distant Worlds at Minneapolis

I didn't buy the program booklet (costs $30), so I can't really remember the order, but as far as I can remember, here it is:

1st half:

Liberi Fatali - FF 8
Don't Be Afraid - FF 8
To Zanarkand - FF 10
Bombing Mission - FF 7
Ronfaure - FF 11
Fisherman's Horizon - FF 8
Aerith's Theme - FF 7
Medley - FF 1-3

2nd half:
Dear Friends - FF 5
Vamo' alla Flamenco - FF 9
Swing de Chocobo - FF Series
Memoro de la Stono Distant Worlds - FF 11
Opera "Maria and Draco" - FF 6
Terra's Theme - FF 6
One-Winged Angel - FF 7

Anyone who spots the mistake in the program list, please help me fix them! :)

Liberi Fatali was a really splendid choice as the opening song. Since I was sitting with my brother at the orchestra pit (the front most row), the sound quality was at the best. I could hear the slightest, softest tones produced. It was really awesome there! I could see Nobuo Uematsu and Annie Roth really closely, too! Well, only one thing I kinda regretted: I couldn't see the entire orchestra and the screen behind them.

These songs left the best impressions in me: Liberi Fatali, Don't Be Afraid, Swing de Chocobo, and Memoro de la Stono - Distant Worlds. I love FF 7 songs, but this time they were not as magnificent as I thought it would be. One-Winged-Angel and Bombing Mission are still my all-time favorites, but somehow they lacked the energy during the concert.

Also, this was the first time hearing the English version of Darkness and Starlight (which is the Opera "Maria and Draco"). They meanings are pretty similar to the Japanese version. It was pretty surprising. In fact, I like it. The trio who sang the opera had splendid voice. The one who sang Ralph's part has a really deep and enchanting voice. I love it!

The Final Fantasy Medley was also noticable, but since I have been hearing it a lot of times in my 2002:2002 Concert CD, I didn't really think it was that awesome. But still.. I love it :)

Other than the songs... I went to the Meet and Greet with Nobuo Uematsu! Paid extra $25 for the chance to take a photo and get his signature on my FF goods. A lot of people brought their game CDs and books. Some just bought the Distant Worlds CD ($20), the official T-shirts ($20) and the posters (I can't remember the price since I didn't really want to buy the poster) and had them signed.

I had my FF VI Piano Collection, FFVII AC Original Soundtrack and FF 2002:2002 Concert music CDs signed. I also had the official T-shirt signed at the back! Yay!

Will post some photos and videos soon :)

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Thank you for the good, good food (Florida)

Bali Cafe
109 NE 2nd Ave
Miami, FL 33132
(305) 358-5751



Bali Cafe serves a wide variety of Indonesian and Japanese food, mainly sushi. I didn't try the sushi menu because I was looking forward more to the Indonesian food. They server beef rendang, soto betawi, ikan balado, bihun bakso, bakmi ayam, opor ayam and other generally well-liked Indonesian dishes.

Some of the menu that I know are tasty: beef rendang, opor ayam, ketoprak and ikan balado. The beef rendang was very close to the authentic rendang, in case you are wondering. It's not as spicy as it should, but nonetheless very appetizing.

The dessert was brilliant. They serve lapis legit - a layered cake - with three flavored ice cream: yam, pandan and jackfruit. At first glance, I thought the very eye-striking colored ice cream (purple, green and yellow) were outrageous, but surprisingly the ice cream went really well with the cake! It was so far the best combination of dessert I had ever eaten.

The restaurant has a good ambience. The small restaurant also offers very friendly service. My rating of the restaurant is 8.5/10.



Texas de Brazil - Miami
The Dolphin Mall
11401 N. W. 12th St, Ste 514
Miami, FL 33172


I was recommended by a person sitting next to me on the plane. She resides in Florida, and she said Texas de Brazil is a must-go. It's a Brazilian steak house, in which many types of meat were served.

They have a wide variety of sides available at the salad bar. The vegetables are fresh. I personally like the artichoke salad. Other than salads, they have sushi, sashimi, brisque, rice and some other appetizers to start. But since the entree is going to be really heavy, I wouldn't recommend having heavy appetizers.

The best meat was of course the special meat: the ribs. No, it's not just normal ribs. The meat is extremely tender even though it is fully cooked. It melts perfectly in the mouth. For that moment, I will close one eye to the fact that the meat is extremely high in fat.

For the dessert, I tried a piece of cheese cake and key lime pie.



The cheese cake was well-displayed. It has a bottom chocolate flavored cheese cake, topped with caramel sauce. It was a pretty normal-flavored cheese cake, but I like it.

Next, the key lime pie.



A beautiful blend of sweet and sour, accompanied with strong, aromatic lime flavor that leaves a fresh aftertaste. It's a good choice of dessert right after eating a series of meats at the steakhouse.

A quite pricey restaurant, indeed. However, it is worth paying. The restaurant also has a good view. The calm ambience and the lightings make one feel comfortable. My rating for this restaurant is 8.5/10.



Arabian Nights

Seriously, the food sucks. The USDA Sirloin steak was dry and tough. It was very unappetizing. My friend ordered the cut steak because she cannot eat half-cooked meats. It turned out that the cut steak was just a beef patty with BBQ sauce on it. I prefer the "cut steak" compared to the sirloin steak since the sauce added some juiciness to the meat, but it was still a disappointment. The mashed potato keeps the score up, but overall, I wouldn't recommend anyone to eat there. The vegetables served were frozen vegetebles. Drinks (coke and water) are free flows, and alcoholic beverage costs $5. For the dessert, they serve vanilla ice cream with some chocolate sauce.




The ice crea was far from spectacular.

The show I watched during the dinner was also disappointing. Indeed, some tricks performed were quite eye-catching, and they did put some jokes that caught everyone's attention (I don't think I'd spoil it here). However, most of the horse tricks were getting boring from the middle part onwards. Not to mention how horrible the storyline was.

My rating for Arabian Nights is 5.5/10. It's been overrated, seriously.

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Something to contemplate about

Within this one week, I had a lot of things to ponder.

Actually I had been thinking about this idea since about 2-3 years ago. One branded bag (LV, for example) can save a lot of people living in poverty. It was amazing to see how wealthy people can be blind about such crisis going on in this world, wasting so much on unnecessary things for the sake of pride.

The pride in which they are not supposed to be proud of. What I'm talking about is when kids spend their parents' money when they're not earning a single cent.

It's not that I have a particular grudge against rich, pampered people, nor I am jealous of their capability to use money to control people. As a matter of fact, I could be capable of turning myself into a lazy-assed princess who can only lift my fingers to get things done. But if I do that, I feel that I'm throwing my self dignity away. The time when I don't know how to wash dishes, that's when I die.

When I think like this, I think I'm just not suited to become a millionaire. I fear the thought that someday I might lose my heart just because I have enough money to buy power and control over the others.

Not all rich people are heartless. But what amazes me is that how they can turn utterly ridiculous.

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First day of Spring

Now there's one more reason why I love going to google.com: to see what special day it is today.

Yep, it's today. It doesn't feel like it's the beginning of spring, since the weather was so warm last week. It's gotten colder again today. I love the weather just as it is: not so cold and not so hot. I generally prefer colder temperatures, though.

After looking at leafless trees along the roads for months, I get the feeling how winter is very romantic. Summer is more like... cheerful and lively, but winter has its own elegance. And if I were to pick, I would choose winter over summer. You can wear as much clothes as you want during winter, and it would help you fight the cold. Sadly, even if you're wearing as little clothes as you can during summer, you can't do anything against the heat.

Spring break is just one step ahead, and yet I don't feel very much excited mostly because I can't keep my head clear of the things that I have to do before and after the break. I have lab reports to do and tons of materials to study. Let me make the list of things happening the week after spring break:

Mon: FSHN 260 lab report, MCB 101 practical exam
Tues: FSHN 131 lab report, MCB 101 lab report
Wed: CHEM 232 (hellish) exam, CHEM 233 lab report
Thurs: FSHN 131 lab report
Fri: MCB 101 exam

...plus the other minor stuffs that I need to do.

Okay. No more time to complain.

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Tired.

Simply tired.

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Interesting recipes

Go to this link: TasteSpotting

The pictures look so gorgeous. Ohh yumm...

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Merlion struck by lightning

I read Tasya's blog, and found out about this news.

Well, the Merlion is only 36 years old, but the fact that it was blown by a lightning strike kinda strikes me. Really. It was pretty unthinkable, considering that the Merlion doesn't have a sharp, pointy head :S

Another bad news struck me too. An Indonesian final year engineering student stabbed his professor.

A dark blow of wind is coming towards Singapore...?

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Lent

I have just brought shame to my own self: I'm a Catholic, yet I don't know the rules of Lent. My roommate who doesn't go to church knows better than me.

Well, the truth is, I really don't know. All I know is that I have to give up something that I like, and I have to fast on every Friday.

Actually, I find it really weird. I do believe in the existence of God, and whenever possible, I want to do more of good deeds than bad deeds. I agree with most of the teachings - to love one another, even your enemies - even though I'm unable to carry out the teachings in real life. Mentally, I understand what I should do and what I should not do, but putting it into action is too difficult for me.

Which is why I'm not a saint nor a holy person.And I'm not entirely ashamed of it, because it just proves that I'm a human.

In any case, I'm giving up reading manga for 40 days. It tortures me more than not eating meat, since I generally don't like how my dorm caterer prepares the meats.

This makes me ponder again. Sometimes when I read the Bible, I can't help but to get angry. Yes, angry at the wordings and the ideas written in the Bible which is supposed to have no flaws. I find too many contradictory passages. Like God destroying other nations instead of forgiving them, or slaying the Greeks during Moses' period. At the same time, there is also a "thou shall not kill" saying going on.

I guess it's pretty logical why people do jihad. Even in the Bible, it is said that God destroys those who are disobedient. Doesn't it make a good sense when the followers of God "help carry out His mission"?

As controversial as it can get, I think now religion is a good brainwashing tool to be used. The problem with religion is that THERE IS NO ABSOLUTE TRUTH. Passages are written by humans, and as perfect as any humans can ever be, emotions often take over the truth. All the religious teachings so far are made based on inferences.

And again, it's not that I don't believe in the existence of God. I very believe in his existence. But I don't really believe in rituals.

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Forgotten Dream

At time passes, I left behind my dreams that used to be one of my biggest prides in my life.

I had forgotten how it feels to be above the clouds. My self-imposed modesty keeps me low for quite some time. No matter how I look at it, I always feel that there are always people who are far beyond me in terms of natural capability to excel.

To me who doesn't really like comparing myself to others, gauging the standard is a difficult thing to do. The biggest reason why I keep saying "I don't know" when people ask me about my friends' grades is because I hate to ask what their grades are. Knowing that I have done my best matters to me more than being above the others.

But does my opinion matter when the majority of the world thinks that people should be judged by comparison?

In any case, one that I thought of dearly reminded me once again of my forgotten dream. I was once again reminded for the reason of choosing the current path that I am taking right now, and once again my self confidence builds up. I know I can do it.

I have people who believe in me.

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No "Loittering" Pact

I had a pact with my roommate. No browsing of random web pages, no facebook, no manga, no anime... basically, our laptops and the internet service must only be used for checking emails, doing school-related homework, and listening to music.

The pact lasted for 4 days.

Now that I think about it, it was a big torture to me. It just shows how much I have become overly dependent on my laptop to serve my daily needs - to keep me from getting bored, to be specific.

Everything's pretty much done in front of my laptop. With the Internet, I can almost do everything (other than eating, sleeping, exercising and some other activities).

It's scary to think that I can't live without a computer and the Internet now. Thanks to these, I don't watch the TV anymore. I don't listen to the radio. I don't read the newspaper anymore. Everything's available on my screen!

I'm amazed how I used to be very independent of computers back in early 1990s. I wasn't even allowed to touch the computer because I might break it without knowing.

Well, both my roommate and I managed to constrain ourselves from breaking the pact. Which saved the both of us from 50 sit ups and 15 push ups. LOL.

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9 Words Women Use

I got this from a forwarded e-mail:

(1) Fine: This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.

(2) Five Minutes: If she is getting dressed, this means a half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.

(3) Nothing: This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with nothing usually end in fine.

(4) Go Ahead: This is a dare, not permission. Don't Do It!

(5) Loud Sigh: This is actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you about nothing. (Refer back to # 3 for the meaning of nothing.)

(6) That's Okay: This is one of the most dangerous statements a women can make to a man. That' s okay means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.

(7) Thanks: A woman is thanking you, do not question, or faint. Just say you're welcome. (I want to add in a clause here - This is true, unless she says'Thanks a lot' - that is PURE sarcasm and she is not thanking you at all. DO NOT say 'you're welcome'. that will bring on a 'whatever').

(8) Whatever: Is a woman's way of saying F**k you!

(9) Don't worry about it, I got it: Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking 'What's wrong?' For the woman's response refer to # 3.


I don't find them true at all. Or maybe I don't fit into the standard of women in general. LOL.

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Lagging

I hate to think that I'm lagging behind the schedule. Unexpected things happened, and I'm back at the apartment at 2 am. My lab report materials are still messily scattered on the table, welcoming me, as if it's crying "Finish me up!". And I softly whispered back, "No, honey. See you later."

Really. If you tell me to wake up at 7 in the morning again, I don't know if I can ever wake up. Give me a break... This week's been tiring. I know some people sleep less than me, and they may even have more stuffs to do than me. But they've been in college for longer time than me. It's just like how I used to squeeze my brain really hard to multiply 2 by 2, and now it's just a piece of cake. The same concept applies. No matter how they phrase their opinions on how simple my tasks actually are, they are no simple matter to me.

I'd probably share the same opinion 1-2 years later.

I can't really say I wasted my time, but when my planned schedule's been changed, I became somehow uneasy. I'm scared that I won't have enough time to do what I'm supposed to do.

It's a miracle to see how people can actually have fun on Fridays. I'd get most of the things done on Friday night so I can have a long, peaceful sleep on Saturday. I get the feeling that people see me as a total nerd, when in fact I spend just as much time playing as they do. It's just that the order is different: I do my works first before I play.

And now that my schedule's been put into a haphazard state, I lost my chance to draw a Valentine's Day card to post at DeviantArt. I had so many ideas running in my head, but... time isn't really kind to me.

I guess I'll get some sleep after finishing the 2nd page of the lab report.

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Sad Valentine's Day?

It's not because I don't have a bf. It's because there are less people to exchange gifts with.

I like it when we exchange chocolates. At the end of Valentine's Day, I'd normally gather all the chocolates I got from everyone, took a commemorative photo of the chocolates, and savor them. Ferrero Rochers were always the first to be welcome to my stomach xD My next all time favorite was Time Out, followed by Kit Kat. Oh... I miss all those T__T

There were times I give out flowers, too. It was quite cheap to buy roses in a dozen, so I'd give each stalk to my closest friends.

And of course, I never forget to write cards and notes for my friends :)

Now that I'm here, it seems that I have become less charitable. Probably because I don't go to hypermarts as often as I used to when I was in Singapore. I don't spend as much money as I did for groceries nowadays. It's probably because I don't have my personal kitchen. I'll probably visit hypermarts once in a week. I love shopping for groceries!

It's sad (for me) that Valentine's Day falls on Saturday. I can't give out the chocolates to my friends, because either they live too far from me, or they're out.

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Drenched!

Wonderful. The rain poured so heavily today and I didn't bring my umbrella.

At first I loathed so much that the rain made me wet. But after getting all soaked from top to bottom, I felt so good and refreshed! It's pretty cold, though... :/

Well, the weather's really really really weird. I've been hearing that January and February should have been the peaks of winter, but it's really warm now, as if it's around late August or so. And it seems that many South East Asian countries are being flooded, too.

Is this really the impact of global warming...?

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Dean's List

Well... I'm in the Dean's List, meaning that I was in top 20% of my college.

Which adds up to my satisfaction level, at least for now :) Even though there may be a lot of other people getting this award, it reassures me that I had done a good job last semester.

I had fun with today's raw food processing lab. I was making a tomato sauce out of fresh tomatoes. I didn't imagine that a bagful of tomatoes gives only less than 1/8 of a jar. The smell of raw tomatoes reminded me again of my failed attempt to make a spaghetti sauce out of fresh tomatoes. Now I get it - I just need to be more patient the next time I make the sauce. I was going on the right direction.

I've finally gotten a driver's license. It doesn't really mean that I'll be going out more frequently. It just means that I'm pretty much saved from depending on other people on groceries next semester. Haha. well, you know me. I don't really like bothering people with my daily business.

The food lab (FSHN 131) is getting more and more interesting. Last week's lab was pretty fun - we "experimented" with sauce-making. Tomorrow's lab is going to be a pasta lab. I can't wait for it!

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