Birthday Celebrations at USS!

  

We celebrated Mabel's birthday with our first trip to Universal Studios Singapore. We've actually been here before, but it was only for dinner and all the attractions had closed by then. This time, we spent nearly a full day there, and although the place isn't really that big compared to its overseas counterparts, we still had quite a bit of sights to cover, and mascots to chase after. Mabel's mission there was to capture as many characters as she possibly could, and we were lucky enough to also catch a famous Hong Kong celebrity there as well. We didn't really cover most of the rides as Rena failed to clear the height requirements, but I did manage to go for the Transformers ride while the both of them waited. There was virtually no waiting time for single passengers and the ride was less than 5 minutes. Still, I thought it was pretty cool and the effects were great. The photos we took have been uploaded on Facebook, and the video is embedded here as well.

After this trip, Mabel's got her sights set on the other Universal Studios too. Well, never too early to start planning I guess, and she has Rena's support too. For me, I'm just glad that at least the characters aren't from Disney. :p

Sundown Marathon 2012

And so I completed the Sundown Marathon 2012 last weekend. It was my 7th full marathon, and although I only trained up to 10km due to weather and schedule constraints, I did manage to complete it within 6 hours, at 5:52. Not my personal best by far, but I'm glad I managed to do it without suffering as badly as the last one.

My previous attempt at Standard Chartered's Singapore Marathon 2011 last year was horrible. I trained up to around 16km if I could recall, not sufficient but at least there was some prep done. What made the run miserable was the weather. I couldn't stand the humidity of squeezing through tight lanes with so many other runners, and the sun was so hot I contemplated seeking shade. I ended up walking most of the time during the last few kilometers, and it was the worst personal record for me.

Likewise, the weather also proved to be a problem for this Sundown. At the halfway mark, thunder and lightning threatened to cut short the event. The rain was so heavy it hurts upon impact. I had to look down most of the time and I was really thankful I don't wear specs anymore. What motivated me was that I didn't see anyone else stopping. All of us carried on, pushing our bodies nearer to the finishing point. I had my iPhone along and I was thinking that's the end of it. It was virtually drenched in rainwater at the end point and I dreaded switching it on. I had another previous iPhone damaged by the rain in another run and it was in a zip lock bag. Amazingly, my phone survived. Yeah it was a miracle.

Overall, I hold back my complaints against the organisers of the run. There were areas which I thought could be better managed so hopefully they'll improve next time. For me, I had a great time, compared to my last marathon. In fact, I felt pretty good and perhaps I'll try to push for more than my initial target of 10 marathons before I hang up my running shoes. Just for the record, I'm a pretty lousy runner. In fact, I finish only ahead of 40% of other male runners in my category, so I'm quite slow. Nonetheless, it's not about how fast you are or how many runs you complete. It's about not giving up, and showing others and yourself that with the correct spirit and determination, you can seek out and achieve what you strive for. My next run would most probably be overseas, so I'm hoping for a good one to make it 8! :)

Go-Busters & Akibarangers!

After last season's Kaizoku Sentai Gokaigers (海賊戦隊ゴーカイジャー), which was the 35th commemorative series that gathered past alumni and all Super Sentai characters into one single universe, it would inevitably be hard for Toei to top it with a new series. And yes, this year's Sentai series: Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters (特命戦隊ゴーバスターズ) is a clean reboot. A totally new direction, that tries to differentiate itself from last year's cult favorite. First off, the story is in a new universe (at least so far), and it tries to be realistic. At least as realistic as you can try to believe. Think of it as Sentai in a Gundam universe. There are background crew to work on the mecha, and there's bases, pilot training, etc.

The good thing is that it doesn't even try to compare itself to Gokaigers because there's simply to contest in that area. Gokaigers has the advantage of having ALL characters in the series, and Go-Busters has decided to go with the initial 3 rangers, similar to Hurricangers, Abarerangers and Gekirangers. The 4th and 5th will show up soon of course. I'm not too sure if I'm enjoying the series as much as its predecessors, but here comes the good part about 2012:

There are 2 Sentai series this year! Of course, like its name implies, it's not official although it's from the same studios and features actual suits and actors from the main series. Hikounin Sentai Akibaranger (非公認戦隊アキバレンジャー) is actually a parody series aiming at the more mature audiences, hence the late night time slot. There's hentai references, boob grabbing, etc but all in the name of good fun and nothing overboard. Sentai otakus (like yours truly) will enjoy the show the most, since it makes fun of the series and the jokes are awesome.

So far, I'll have to say I'm enjoying Akibarangers more than the official Go-Busters, probably because of the laughs. Like I mentioned earlier, it's hard for Go-Busters to fill in the void left by the Gokaigers, but together with Akibarangers they're going to make 2012 a memorable year for Super Sentai. I'll probably post about this year's cross overs and Kamen Rider series soon, so until next time, JUU MOUSOU!