the theme: white!

Maj and Arvin: how well do you know each other?

funny and/or naughty gifts for the bride…

Joey lent me her DVDs of this Jdorama. Hahaha, I can understand why she loves this — it all about music, music, music!Hmmm, it was funny in some parts. Pero, I am really not so much into the ‘yakuza’ type of jdorama — tough speaking guys; kapow-ing the girls; super ditzy lead actress; may mga open gays.DramaWiki says may 2-ep special this series (shown in 2008) two years after the original run (2006) — Nodame Cantabile Shinshun Special in Europe.

Details, synopsis, list of cast, and photo from http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Nodame_Cantabile
• Title: のだめカンタービレ
• Title (romaji): Nodame Cantabile
• Genre: Romantic Comedy
• Episodes: 11
• Viewership ratings: 18.79(Kanto)
• Broadcast network: Fuji TV
• Broadcast period: 2006-Oct-16 to 2006-Dec-25
• Air time: Monday 21:00
• Opening song: Symphony No. 7 in A major by Beethoven, arranged by Hattori Takayuki
• Ending song: Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin, arranged by Hattori Takayuki
Synopsis
Based on the hit comic book by Tomoko Ninomiya, this is a fun-filled quirky romantic story of two very opposite people.
Megumi Noda, or “Nodame” is a piano student at Momogaoka College of Music. An extremely talented pianist who wants to be a kindergarten teacher, she prefers playing by ear rather than reading the music score. She is messy and disorganized, takes baths several days apart and loves to eat, sometimes stealing her friend’s lunchbox when it is filled with delicacies.
Shinichi Chiaki, is Momogaoka’s top student. Born into a musical family, he is talented in piano and violin and has secret ambitions to become a conductor. An arrogant multi-lingual perfectionist who once lived abroad in the music capitals of the world as a young boy, he feels mired in Japan because of a childhood phobia.
They meet by accident. Nodame quickly falls in love, but it takes much longer for Chiaki to even begin to appreciate Nodame’s unusual qualities. Their relationship causes them both to develop and grow. Because of Nodame, Chiaki got the opportunity to lead a student orchestra and begins to have a broader appreciation of people’s musical abilities. Because of Chiaki, Nodame faces her fears and enters a piano competition. Opportunities open up as both begin taking risks, stretching themselves far more than they ever thought possible.
Cast
• Ueno Juri as Noda Megumi aka Nodame (Piano)
o Morisako Ei as young Nodame
• Tamaki Hiroshi as Chiaki Shinichi (Piano/Violin/Conducting)
o Fujita Reo (藤田玲央) as young Chiaki
• Eita as Mine Ryutaro (Violin)
• Koide Keisuke as Okuyama Masumi (Timpani)
• Mizukawa Asami as Miki Kiyora (Violin)
• Saeko as Saku Sakura (Contrabass)
• Uehara Misa as Tagaya Saiko (Vocal)
• Takenaka Naoto as Franz Strezemann (Milch Holstein by Nodame)
• Akiyoshi Kumiko as Momodaira Minako
• Endo Yuya as Okochi Mamoru (Conducting)
• Iwasa Mayuko as Ishikawa Reina (Piano)
• Takase Yukina (高瀬友規奈) as Tanaka Makiko (Piano)
• Kondo Kouen as Tamaki Keiji (Clarinet)
• Sakamoto Makoto as Hashimoto Yohei (Oboe)
• Matsuoka Rinako as Suzuki Moe (Flute)
• Matsuoka Emiko as Suzuki Kaoru (Clarinet)
• Yamanaka Takashi as Iwai Kazushi (Contrabass)
• Kobayashi Kinako as Kinjo Shizuka (Viola)
• Fukada Aki as Inoue Yuki (Cello)
• Kojima Tenten (小嶌天天) as Kanai Kento (Horn)
• Inoue Yoshiko as Suganuma Saya (Vocal)
• Ibu Masato as Mine Tatsumi
• Nishimura Masahiko as Tanioka Hajime
• Toyohara Kosuke as Eto Kozo
• Shiraishi Miho as Eto Kaori
• Fukushi Seiji as Kuroki Yasunori (Rising Star: Oboe)
• Mukai Osamu as Kikuchi Toru (Rising Star: Cello]
• Hashizume Ryo as Kimura Tomohito (Rising Star: Violin)
• Namioka Kazuki as Katayama (Rising Star: Horn)
• Sakurai Chizu as Aizawa Maiko (Rising Star: Flute)
• Kimura Ryo as Takahashi Noriyuki (RS: Violin - new concert master)
• Kuroda Chieko as Miyoshi Seiko (Chiaki’s mom)
• Hatano Hiroko as Kawano Keeko
• Oikawa Mitsuhiro as Sakuma Manabu
• Kichise Michiko as Elise
• Ito Takahiro as Segawa Yuto (Nodame’s childhood piano classmate)
o Ogawa Koki (小川光樹) as young Segawa
• Zdenek Macal as Sebastino Vieira
• John Hesse as Kyle Dune (Kiyora’s professor)
• Manuel Doncel as Professor Auclair (Judge in Maradona Competition)
• Iwamatsu Ryo as Noda Tatsuo (Nodame’s dad)
• Miyazaki Yoshiko as Noda Yoko (Nodame’s mom)
• Betto Yuki (別當優輝) as Noda Yoshitaka (Nodame’s brother)
• Eto Kansai (江藤漢斉) as Noda Saburo (Nodame’s grandpa)
• Ohkata Hisako (大方斐紗子) as Noda Shizuyo (Nodame’s grandma)
• Yashiba Toshihiro as Momogaoka teacher
• Masuda Keita
• Nagaoka Mami (photo stills)

Saw an episode of this on a re-run sa Studio23. I recognized Rainie Yang as the friend of the lead girl in Meteor Garden and the two main lead actors were quite good looking. Kaya ayun, got a DVD and did a dramarathon.

Typical story with a kawawa bida girl; a bad-boy-with-a-soft-heart making her life miserable; a good guy falling for her; and the bida girl and the bad boy find themselves falling in love with each other. However, captivating watch kasi marami ‘kilig’ moments and the lead actress and actors are good looking (ang cute ng facial expressions ni Jia Di; ang lakas ng screen presence ni Huo Da; super charming ng smile ni Huo Yan)! Hahahaha.

Disappointed with the last two episodes though. Kasi, ang haba ng series. Then, the main problem lumabas sa end. Super out of character bigla lahat na parang labo labo na from how they developed throughout the series. Then, minadali ang dulo to steer it towards a happy ending.

I like the screen chemistry of Rainie Yang and Mike He. When I did some research, I discovered that they (and almost the entire cast) starred in a series two years prior this drama — Devil Beside You.

I kinda like the songs of the series din.

Overall, a good feel good series to pass time with. Ahehe, pero me, walang EQ in watching these Asian series and did a classic Berbydramarathon — fast play/reading of subs throughout the night and suddenly realizing the sun is up already!

Details, synopsis, list of cast, and photo from http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Why_Why_Love

Details
• Title: 換換愛 / Huan Huan Ai
• English title: Why Why Love
• Genre: Romance
• Episodes: 15
• Broadcast network: CTS / GTV
• Broadcast period: 2007-Jun-03 to 2007-Sep-09
• Air time: Sunday 22:00-23:30
• Opening theme song: Wo Yao De Shi Jie (我要的世界) The World That I Want by Kingone Wang
• Ending theme song: Que Yang (缺氧) Oxygen Deprived by Rainie Yang
• Insert songs: Wan Mei Bi Li (完美比例) Perfect Comparison by Rainie Yang
Welcome To My Heart by Kingone Wang
Huan Huan Ai (換換愛) Exchange Love by Kingone Wang

Synopsis
Tong Jia Di needs a life besides work, paying down family debt, and more work. So her best friend Jiang Xiao Nan sneaks in a “Love” coupon in Jia Di’s raffle box praying that the lucky guy who draws it will sweep Jia Di off her feet. As it so happens, Huo Yan, the compassionate manager Jia Di has secret crush on, is the lucky guy. But, tho’ the prince can exchange the coupon for Cinderella’s love, it doesn’t mean he will, especially when his devilish younger brother is determined to exchange his “Master/Angel” coupon for her servitude.

Cast
• Rainie Yang as Tong Jia Di 童嘉蒂
• Mike He as Huo Da 霍達
• Kingone Wang as Huo Yan 霍彥
• Judy Fukumoto (福本幸子) as Yang Yan Shu 楊妍書
• Chen Yan Xi as Jiang Xiao Nan 江小南
• Wang Dao as Huo Zhen Hao 霍振浩
• Ge Wei Ru as Liao Cai Juan 廫彩娟
• Jin Yu Lan as Qin Yu Hua 秦玉華
• Sun Qin Yue (孫沁岳) as Tong Jia Hui 童嘉輝
• Ye Min Zhi (葉民志) as Tong Bao San 童寶山
• Xu Shi Hao (許時豪) as Bo Zi 波子
• Eric Tu (涂百峰) as Sai Lang 賽郎
• Carolyn Chen as group leader
• Fu Pei Ci (傅佩慈) as Tong Jia Di’s cousin
• Xiang Bo Tao as Childhood Huo Yan
• Xu Qiong Yun (許瓊云) as childhood Yang Yan Shu

My research on Why Why Love led me to Devil Beside You. Apparently, most of the cast in this 2005 drama formed the said 2007 drama. Unfortunately, pati ang storyline — merong good girl; merong bad boy with a nice heart, merong other guy.

Somewhat, mas believable ang ‘conflict’ dito compared to Why Why Love…but, not in real life talaga ha! Maraming side stories kaya medyo dragging to watch na tuloy as parang pinapahaba lang talaga the series. Tapos, yung ending, super short! What gives?!

Mas comical ang facial expressions and big actions ni Rainie Yang; pero, parang mali ang smile ni Mike He — hindi devilish eh. If only teethless smile siguro. A plus for this series, maraming ‘kilig’ moments. Hahaha, in an interview of Mike He and Kingone Wang in Japan, it was revealed the former and Rainie Yang had 10 kissing scenes.

Super off — the hair styles of the guys…omg, what were they thinking?! Didn’t do the good looking guys justice at all! Also, what’s with the outfits of Jiang Meng? Hindi parang bad boy eh; more like bad fashion taste!

Funny, i just realized that mga Taiwanese dramas na napanuod ko, laging may takbuhan — the leads always running to ‘aid’ or to prevent the other guy/girl maunahan sa pag-declare ng emotion to the lead guy/girl. Meron ganitong scenes ang Meteor Garden, Green Forest My Home, and Why Why Love.

Like Why Why Love, I like some songs in this series too.

Between the two, I declared I liked Devil Beside You more. After fast re-watching both, balik sa Why Why Love…hindi ko kasi ma-take talaga the hairstyles and outfits ng main characters sa Devil Beside You.

Details, synopsis, list of cast, and photo from http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Devil_Beside_You

• Title: 惡魔在身邊 / E Mo Zai Shen Bian
• Also known as: Devil Beside You, Devils Do Exist
• Genre: Romance, comedy
• Episodes: 14 (TV Broadcast), 20 (DVD)
• Broadcast network: CTV
• Broadcast period: 2005-Jun-25 to 2005-Sep-18
• Air time: Sunday 22:00-23:30
• Opening theme song: Chou Nan Ren (臭男人) Jerk by Huang Yida (黃義達)
• Ending theme song: Ai Mei Ambiguous Love by Rainie Yang
• Other songs:
Li Xiang Qing Ren Ideal Lover by Rainie Yang
Set Me Free by Huang Yida (黃義達)
Yi Miao De An Wei (一秒的安慰) A Moment’s Consolation by Huang Yida (黃義達)

After finally getting the courage to confess her feelings, Qi Yue (Rainie Yang) was handing her love letter to Yuan Yi (Kingone Wang), but by a stroke of bad luck, he did not see and walked passed her. The person standing in front of her was the troublemaker of the school, infamously known for his devilish ways – Jiang Meng (Mike He). The devil will get what he wants, and the object of his desire was Qi Yue. Although having a cruel exterior, Ah Meng’s heart is kind and caring, which truly touched Qi Yue. The big problem remained – Ah Meng is the son of the man Qi Yue’s mother is going to marry. Even though they were not related by blood, who will accept this step brother-sister relationship? What is to become of their relationship when other lovers come into the picture?

• Mike He as Jiang Meng 江猛
• Rainie Yang as Qi Yue 齊悅
• Kingone Wang as Sang Yuan Yi 尚源伊
• Ivy Fan Xiao Fan as Xin Li Xiang 辛莉香
• He Du Lin as Jiang You Hui 江友暉
• Ge Wei Ru as Huang Xue Wei 黃雪薇
• Masuyama Yuki as Yu Yang Ping 于陽平
• Tsai Pei Lin as Qing Zi 晴紫
• Fu Xiao Yun as Xiao Cai 小彩
• Yuan Jun Hao as Guo Kai 郭凱
• Katherine Wang Kai Di as Liu Mei Di 劉美蒂
• Figaro Ceng Shao Zong as Yuan Chuan Rang 袁川讓
• Wu Zhong Tian as Tian Si Shen 田思慎
• Wang Jian Min as Chui Ming 椎名
• Tang Qi as Grandma Jiang
• Meng Ting Li as Yuan Mei Jin 袁美津
• Janel Tsai as Chuang Ya Li 莊雅莉
• Huang Xing Lun (黃星倫) as Cai Yi Lang
• Xu Qiong Yun (許瓊云) as childhood Qi Yue

Many encouraged me to watch this very popular jdorama long before pa; however, medyo hesitant ako ‘coz from its title, obviously sad ito.

Saw a couple of eps on GMA7; thus, i decided to dramarathon na nga and see for myself what the hype is all about. *Thanks, Joey for the DVDs.

Yes, it is sad, pero maraming life-lessons makukuha. Very touching story that I sometimes do not realize umiiyak na pala ako.

Two thumbs up sa actress who played Aya Ikeuchi, Erika Sawajuri. However, when she fully smiles, her teeth kinda bothers me (*hahahaha). Was bothered too by the weird look of Ryō Nishikido as Haruto Asō. Buti na lang he somewhat warmed up to me.

Overall, a good 11-ep watch.

The series ended nung 2005; however, nagkaroon ng special 3-hour episode daw nung 2007. Anyone who has a DVD of this?

Synopsis and photo from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1_Litre_no_Namida_(TV_series)

1 rittoru no namida (1リットルの涙 Ichi rittoru no namida, lit. “1 Litre of Tears”; also called A Diary with Tears or A Diary of Tears) is a Japanese television drama for Fuji Television about a girl who was diagnosed with an incurable degenerative disease at 15, but was able to continue her life until her death at the age of 25.

The drama is an adaptation of the diary of a Japanese girl named Aya Kitō, who suffered from spinocerebellar ataxia. She began keeping a diary at the suggestion of her doctor, and continued to write until she could no longer hold a pen. The diary, titled 1 rittoru no namida, was published shortly before her death. Although some of the characters and situations are fictionalized in this television version, the dialogue frequently draws directly from Aya Kitô’s own words. Moreover, each episode concludes with a narrated diary excerpt, framed with photographs from various stages in Kitô’s life, before and after her diagnosis. The screenplay thus attempts to balance between faithfully working with actual text from the book, 1 rittoru no namida, while also inventing situational contexts so as to portray the struggles of the book’s characters in dramatic scenarios. The character Haruto Asô, for example, does not exist in the original diary; however, as a fictional character created for this series, he provides an important mechanism through which Aya’s inner feelings, the diary’s language on a page, can become more fully actualized as part of a day-to-day narrative.

Been asked by a medical friend why we did not wear masks during the recent med mission in Ilocos.

Actually, naisip ko rin yun especially since I am wary about my lungs and low immune system… pero, how can I wear a mask without projecting a negative image in the province (at madamay ko pa si KRA)?

Speaking of negative image, pano rin ba ma-a-avoid ito sa mga ‘ipit’ na sitwasyon — mahaba pila ng mga magpapatingin sa duktor tapos may sisingit.  Siempre magagalit yung mga nakapila na ng matagal; pero magdadahilan at mag-dra-drama yung sumingit pati mga kasama nya (they do in two’s or in kuyog groups) na sobrang masama ang pakiramdam et cetera.  Sino ang i-a-appease to avoid any negative image/incident that would reflect kay KRA?

Hay, I see many struggles in Berby’s World ahead.

50 months of blogging in Friendster — April 2005 to June 2009; but officially started blogging in Multiply pala even earlier — October 2004 — but stopped for 5 months before picking up the habit again.

Gosh, it’s been noisy in Berby’s World that long already! Hahaha.

I don’t really know how to deal with such line for small services rendered. ano ba kasi standard practice sa mga ganito?

sa electrician? sa plumber?  sa mekaniko?  sa karpintero?

hay, sana black and white na lang — may ipapagawa ako; gagawin ang repairs; tatanungin ko pagkatapos kung magkano ang rate for the service rendered; and then that line. hala, pano na?

nakakahiya naman if maliit pala ang naiabot ko.  kung malaki naman, mabigat at baka sa susunod ang hirap pantayan.

with such line said and sa panahon ngayon, obviously may inaasahang kapalit.

tips anyone?