東京へ行きましょう！とても幸せですよ！

It's been a hell of a busy week for me, hence the lack of updates. Just a few more hours time before we leave for the airport, and before you know it we'll be in Tokyo, Japan! Expect lots of photos when we return..... our target is 500, which we failed to reach last year (we had around 450). Can't talk much now cause I've just reached home and not had dinner yet. Work = murder, remember? Well, expect the next blog post to be a major one, and I'm sure there will be stories to share. So till next Tuesday, wish us good luck and happy adventuring in Japan! みんな、僕たちは今から池袋へ行くところです！たくさんお土産を買いましょう！写真をたくさん取りたい！ウルトラマンに会いたい！今日から三十一日まで大変と急がしつます！

さあ、一所懸命で長い道を走る！

Work being hectic has sort of become a norm now. My presentation to ACGS (int) last week went well, although my tongue got tied a little due to the fact that I was in front of so many senior officers. I thought I could do better, but many people were saying I did a good job as the guests were impressed by what we had to offer. Seems I will be doing more presentations in the near future.....

I'm getting used to my job, but carrying around a notebook (the paper type ones) and running around keeping track of deadlines and tasks seems a bit chaotic. I'm contemplating getting a PDA phone as almost everyone in camp's spotted with one. Everybody's so busy and for me I'm having a hard time writing everything down, especially when I have to struggle to decipher my own handwriting later on. Thinking of getting a O2 a mini but will have to check out the price first.

I was browsing through the Daryl Cagle's Professional Cartoonists Index and found some funny pictures regarding the North Korea missile incident which happened early last week. It was pretty humorous how these American cartoonists reacted to the incident, which saw North Korea acting like an attention seeking idiot firing 7 missles which were said to be able to reach America. Many of these cartoons depicted North Korean communist leader Kim Jong Il as a twit, not caring about the hunger his people is suffering from and insisting on "protecting themselves against the rest of the world". Here's another fave of mine:

It's actually kind of sad, how North and South Korea were on the verge of reconcilation after all these years at war, and Kim had to ruin it all by doing something as dumb as this. Now all the world's major powers are on their back, with China being the only power house in the United Nations still standing by their actions. Unless Kin wakes up his idea, North Koreans are going to suffer with the other countries either stopping their food aid or taking financial sanctions against them. They're not only going against America. They're going against the world. It's a battle they can't win, and I'm not sure how what are they plans, considering they're in quite a desperate situation..... with no food and yet capable of making nuclear weapons capable of mass destruction.

I've recently stepped up training for my AHM (Army Half Marathon). Having learnt my lesson last year, I'm determine to do some progressive training this time round. Previously, I thought I could finish the 21km easily with almost no training, and how I regretted. Sure I completed the run within the required timing, but I was my worst in 5 runs, and I had an aching body for days to boot. This year round, I'm gonna build up my stamina and hopefully break my own personal record.

To make things more interesting, I'm going to sign up for the Standard Chartered Marathon. Yes! 42 km of madness! As of now, I don't think I can finish it, but I still have a few months to train up for it. And even if I don't make it, I'll still be proud of trying, and of course there's next year.... if I don't die in this one.

A new Spider-man 3 teaser poster has been announced. It's one of those 3D type of posters where the image changes as you walk past it, from one side to another. In this case, the spidey suit changes from its original colour to that of the symbiote's. Absolutely amazing and I can't wait to see this poster live.

The Transformers live action movie's teaser trailer has also been revealed recently. Nothing much to shout about yet, though some images of the rumoured Optimus Prime has been floating around on the net. I'm hoping that this movie will retain the feel of the G1 Transformer series, but I've been disappointed by so many recent films that I'm ready for some upsets. And yeah, I wasn't impressed by Superman Returns, despite the good reviews.

Just 13 days more to go before we take flight for Tokyo! On the first day, we have to rush from the airport to the inn in Ikebukuro, and check in as soon as possible, because we've already gotten tickets for the ULFES Special Night Concert, where there will be an exclusive live show and a meet the stars session. Hopefully my Japanese can be put to good use on that day and I can at least have a short (but meaningful) conversation with some of the actors and actoresses. Here's a brief overview of our itinerary:

27-Jul Day 1, Thu

- Arrival in Narita
- Travel to Ikebukukro
- Check-in Ryokan
- Visit Sunshine City
- Attend ULFES Special Night

28-Jul Day 2, Fri

- Attend Ultraman Festival
- Visit Bandai Museum (Gundam!)
- Yamashiroya
- Tokyo Towers (night scenery!)

29-Jul Day 3, Sat
- Odaiba
- Akihabara (maid cafe?)
- Asakusa Temple (lucky charms)

30-Jul Day 4, Sun

- Visit to Studio Ghibli (Spirited Away, My Neighbout Totoro)
- Nakano Broadway Toy Hunting
- Harajuku / Shibuya
- Shinjuku / Kabuki-cho

31-Jul Day 5, Mon
- Ultraman Street
- Yokohama (if possible)

Alrighty.... I've got a lot of things coming up and I'm too tired to type anymore, having just ran 14 rounds downstairs in my neighbourhood park. I've got my car coming soon, I've just received the HDB loan letter, I'm planning for the Tokyo trip, and I'm also training up for AHM. So many things to do, but at least it's better than wasting my life away doing nothing. Until my next update, keep checking back and do leave a message in my tag box. It's on the right in case you've missed it. :) Take care and remember to make the minutes count.

最近は仕事でとても忙しい、困ったなあ。。。

It's been a tough week at work. I've been given high expectations and tasks of a similar level. I will be giving ACGS (Int) a presentation this week, and should be presenting to the Chief of Army later this month as well. However, due to my Japan trip, I will be missing the event in which COA comes and visit my camp. I'm not sure if this is a good or bad thing though. Bad, because all the hard work I've done and practised for the presentation would go down the drain. Good, because I don't need to stress myself out anymore. :) I've also been spending quite a bit of late nights in camp recently, and even had to bring work back home for the first time since a few years back. But frankly, I'm happy that I have a role to play. It's the reason why I wanted to post out of OCS, and why I converted and joined the intelligence corp. Hopefully my efforts would not go to waste, and that I would finally have the job satisfaction that I desire.

I got the SIC volume 33 this week: Kamen Rider Hibiki Kurenai and Kamen Rider Todoroki. It was quite a bargain as the Hibiki figure alone costs $50, while this 2 figure set only costs $60. Coming up next: Kamen Rider Ibuki + Kamen Rider Zanki, followed by the limited exclusive figures of Kamen Rider Danki, Sabaki and Eiki. Can't wait for the rest to arrive, but I kinda hope not so soon sometimes. I still need to get my Goten figure (refer to previous post), which is still quite expensive. Also missed out on the SIC Next series, which I may leave till Japan to get it. Which translates to more cash to be brought along!

A Kamen Rider Kabuto movie is in the works. It will feature 3 brand new Riders, which names are too complicated for me to remember. It will also include the new Rider, Gatack. I thought the new Riders such as Sasword and Gatack looked hideous at first, but like Kabuto, the more I watch the series, the better they get. Thanks to their cast off abilities as well as the clock up functions. However, the armoured Sasword still looks incredibly stupid and really needs to go. I liked TheBee and Drake's designs, and hope both of them will be featured in the movie.

A new Gougou Sentai: Boukenger movie is also going to be released soon. There will be a road show in Tokyo this month, but unluckily I'm not able to attend. I have been downloading this series, but I haven't really watched it due to the fact that it seems to be aimed at kids with it's simple themes. The Kamen Rider series such as Hibiki and Kabuto seems to be much more interesting in this aspect, and that's why I'm a converted fan.

As for Ultraman Mebius, I did some translating work today and made a English subtitle file for the Ultraman Mebius Gaiden: Hikari Saga. You can download the SRT file made by me here. Sorry about my English. It's not that easy being a translator, and I had to spend some time getting the timing correct as well. But if the reception is good, I will translate and time for the upcoming 2 episodes of the Gaiden as well. And as of current writing, just 18 days more to go before I embark on my Tokyo trip! Woo hoo! Mebius and Nexus here I come!

10th Year Graduation BBQ!

Wow, can you believe that it's been 10 years since we've graduated from secondary school? It's incredible how fast time flies, and amazingly it feels like it was just yesterday when we were putting on our school uniforms, and packing those textbooks for class. I think we also share a common understanding when I say we've been through an enjoyable time together back then. It was a memorable and enjoyable 4 years in secondary school, and these friends of mine certainly made those days unforgettable. Although we haven't been having gatherings for some time, all of us still felt close to each other and had no trouble connecting to each other and expressing our frustration with work, or talking about the good old days in back in Dunman Secondary school, class 4B.

It was a pity some of the guys didn't make it, such as Tiang Ping, Liqun and Eng Guan. But it was great meeting some friends which I haven't seen in years, like Diana and Aihua. Miss Ling, our form teacher back then also turned up, much to our delight. I'd like to give a special "Thank you" to Betty, Darren and Cedric who organised this gathering. These guys took effort to plan and co-ordinate, as well as to prepare the food and set up the BBQ pit. Kudos to these guys, and I sincerely thank you. Hopefully the next gathering won't take another 10 years (won't lah hor), and I really hope to catch of with these friends and hang out more often, rather than waiting for events to be planned. For the people who want to see more photos, click here for my flickr album.
Headed over to Sunshine Plaza this afternoon to confirm on my orders for the Ultraman Lah Tokyo ULFES exclusive (phew...) T-shirt. Regardless of Mabel's complaints, I've went ahead and got 1 printed for her as well. Although it's very likely that she'll only wear this shirt once, it would be cool for us to wear the same "couple t-shirt" when we are at the ULFES. While looking around at the new stuff at Latendo, the newly arrived Kamen Rider heads made me drool, and I had no choice but to get a few as they were pleading and begging for me to bring them home. As the entire set of 15 would set me back over a hundred bucks, I could only afford a select few, and decided on these 4: Hibiki, Kabuto, and the new Ichigo and Nigo. Back home, I even took my Hibiki head and placed it on my SIC Hibiki. Hillarity ensures but I wasn't sure if Mabel got my joke as I placed the now Super Deformed looking Hibiki on our bed.

Well, there's more money to be burnt on toys this month. Wish list for now: Garo + Goten set, and the SIC set of Kamen Rider Hibiki Kurenai and Kamen Rider Todoroki. Both are must-haves, and I need them both to complete my current collection. For Garo, which has since became one of my fave series of all time, Goten is too much of a beauty to resist. As for the SIC Todoroki, I had so much fun with SIC Hibiki and his gigantic head that I just need to complete my SIC collection for this series. Not too many to go.... just Ibuki, Zanki, Eiki, Sabaki, and Danki to go mah. :) For the Garo series, just Bersek Garo, Winged Garo, and Dark Knight Kiba to go. Not too many to go lah, hor Dar? I know I promised to save but since our car is not here yet.... Just take it that I need to fill our my display shelf for our new house.

Sony Pictures has released the first theatrical teaser for the upcoming blockbuster Spider-man 3. You can find the HD version of the trailer on the official website. In my opinion, the teaser was awesome. But sadly the black symbiote costume is going to be just a palette swap after all. This is going to get some fans pissed...... But come to think of it, it would make more sense for the costume design to remain the same, as opposed to the one in the comics. No matter what, I'm looking forward to this one.