Sunday, April 27, 2008

妻はちょっと病気したので、心配しています

8 weeks into pregnancy, and Mabel's not feeling too well. Morning sickness drags on even until the evevning, and she can't seem to shake off the nauseous feeling. It's hard for her to take regular meals, and she's been shedding some weight too. The doctor says this is normal, and that the vomitting will carry on at least until the end of the first trimester. At times like this I'm not too sure what I can provide, except to be by her side whenever possible. Hopefully this peak period of work will end soon so that I can carry on with the regime of picking her up everyday. I'd also like to give thanks to all from the Gotwoot forum who gave us their blessings. All your comments have really touched us and hopefully I'll updated all the news on the thread there.
On to other stuff. Although I'm going to be a father within the year, this is not going to stop me from being who I am. I'm still into collecting my figures, and because I don't have any vices to splurge on this is pretty much the only way I get to waste hard earned money. I haven't been playing too many video games lately due to lack of time, but I'm still keen on getting a PS3 when Metal Gear Solid 4 gets released within the next 2 months.
This week I picked up some pre-ordered stuff, mostly from the currently airing shows such as Kamen Rider Kiva and Engine Sentai Go-onger. I'm watching both shows, and although they're no where near the level their predessors have set, they're still pretty entertaining and provides some form of relaxation for me whenever I have the time. I make it a point to watch them on TV (linked via laptop), so that as to make full use of the wide screen LCD TV as well as the surround sound to increase the viewing enjoyment. Same goes for anime, as long as Mabel isn't watching any Hong Kong/Korean dramas on cable.
One of the threads on Gotwoot prompted me to take a few pics of my entertainment room. Although the grand plan was to put a next-gen console system as part of the set up, I'll have to wait until the PS3 arrive. The rest of the room consists of mainly my collection of Japanese figures and models, namely split into the following categories: Gundam models, Ultraman figures, Kamen Rider figures, Super Sentai figures, Garo figures, and throw in a couple of anime figures from Death Note, Naruto, Bleach, etc. My mother-in-law commented that I would take weeks to clean up the entire collection. True, but I'm not sure if I have the time to find out. Haha.... I'm thinking of expaning the number of levels in the cabinet, so until that happens my Kamen Rider Head display sets will have to remain on top of the TV console (which is rotatable so I can watch TV in the toilet).
Morning Musume's latest single, Resonant Blue (リゾナント ブルー) has finally been released! I've been anticipating this for nearly a month, ever since I saw the PV which impressed me with the dance as well as the song itself. And as expected, I've been listening to this song a lot, especially when driving. The song rocks, and is definately becoming one of my favourite MM songs of all time. They're released quite a few versions of the PV on top of the normal version, such as the "Night version", "Lesson Studio version", "Another version", etc. Each has their own exclusive scenes so fans need to check them all out. You can view one of the PVs as well as the live performance, both linked here:

In other H!P news, Biyuden will be disbanding after their final concert in June. I'm not too sure off the reason for their split, but the members will most probably still remain in H!P, be it in other shuffle groups or as individual members. Their last single is called "Nanni mo Iwazu ni I LOVE YOU" (なんにも言わずに I Love You), which means :Without Saying A Word, I Love You". It's a little sad, as they are the only H!P group which I have watched live, back in around 2005 when they visited Singapore and performed at the Mediacorp studios. I still remember the moment I shouted "Rika-chaaaaaaaaaaaaan!", only to receive stares from Mabel who was sitting just beside me........

Yes, 10 episodes into the season and it's only right that we receive another new rider. This new rider is called Kamen Rider IXA (Ikusa), and it the riva of main rider Kiva, though both fights in the name of justice. He reminds me a lot of Kamen Rider Kaixa back in Kamen Rider Faiz, due to similarities in both personalities as well as the suit and weapons. Both are charmingly egoistical as well. Check out his first fight with Kiva here:
Great Decisive Battle! The Super 8 Ultra Brothers (大決戦!超ウルトラ8兄弟, Daikessen! Chō Urutora Hachi Kyōdai) is the latest Ultraman theatrical feature, due for release in September 2008. The stage is Yokohama and this story is parallel universe. Hiroshi Nagano of V6 will return to play Daigo Madoka, the human alter-ego of Ultraman Tiga, and will join Ultraman Dyna, Ultraman Gaia, Ultraman Mebius, and four of the original Ultra Brothers; Ultraman, Ultra Seven, Ultraman Jack, and Ultraman Ace. The recently released trailer looks great:

Although 3 epsides of Tomica Hero Rescue Force have been subbed by TV-nihon, I've only managed to find both time and interest to watch the debut epsiode. The new concept of fighting disasters seem cool, although there is always the evil organisation causing all these trouble. The thing bother me about the series is that like Ryukendo (which I gave up on), the show always seems to be promoting gadgets and toys to market itself as a platform to sell toys and other stuff. The characters always seem to carry gadgets and explaining to the viewers on how to use it, how cool it is, blah blah. Gets on my nerve and I'd be dropping the show if not for the 2 cute girls on the team and the cool henshin sequences.
As much as possible, I'll write every week and if not, every 2 weeks, but progress on Mabel will definately be made here. As it's really been a busy period of work for me, I don't even surf the net that often these days. Thankfully, the end of my busy schedule is in sight, and hopefully Mabel will regain her health back after the month where she will transit to her second trimester. :)
Lilypie Expecting a baby Ticker

Saturday, April 19, 2008

お父さんになるぞ!

Not a major update this week, but rather a very important announcement. Mabel is 7 weeks pregnant, and I'm going to be a father by early December. I'm delighted of course, but I think the impact of the news has yet to hit me entirely..... With this, we've reached a new chapter in life, and hopefully I'll be able to provide for Mabel and our child fully. I'm pretty excited and a little nervous, but I'll definately do my best and be there when Mabel needs me. :)

Sunday, April 13, 2008

ありがとう、洋子先生!

Again, it's been quite a while since the last update, but I've still been rather busy for my course, reading up and getting ready for assignments and tests. I'm supposed to be reading up some files now, but I guess I'll take a few minutes to update here, while I promise to have another update by next Sunday.

Yoko sensei surprised us 2 weeks ago by saying that she'll be leaving Yano Language School, and will be heading back home to Japan for good by the end of the month. Naturally, all of us were saddened by this news, as many of us kept on going because of her. She was truly a joy to be taught by, due to her joyful nature, and always picking fun of us by using us as real life examples in her lessons. It was also due to her that many of the students in Yano are striving their best for each year's JLPT. It will be sad for us, but it's for the better the reason to return to Japan was because of health reasons. Once again, on behalf of the Upper Intermediate 4 class, I would like to thank Yoko sensei once again. 容子先生、本当にありがとうございました!私たちはこれからも一生懸命勉強します。今年のJLPT2は先生のために合格したい。先生、またメールで連絡してください。よくなるよ、先生!

I've been hooked on a song this past 2 weeks. It's a new version of a previously released song, by AKB48. The song title is "Sakura no Hanabira-tachi" (桜の花びらたち), which translates to "The pedals of the Sakura". The lyrics of the song talks about the feelings of a graduating class, and how growing up feels like, blah blah. The video is ok, but I thought the song was very catchy. Check out the PV and the live performance here:
Finally, the new Macross series: Macross Frontier has began. The raw for episode 2 is out, but I'm still holding out for the subbed versions. In the meantime, I'm still watching the rest of the tokusatsu series. Sad to say Cutey Honey: The Live has concluded, but hopefully they'll decide on a "adult action" series similar to Garo soon. Other than that, I'm still going for Engine Sentai Go-Onger, Kamen Rider Kiva, and the new Tomica Rescue Force series. More about these series soon. Also, I've went back and bought figures on the Magirangers, just because it was on sale at Seiyu. Haha, perhaps the Boukenger series will go on offer soon enough too. The little Go-Onger figures are awfully cute, but costs $3 each. More to come soon, as I've made reservations for more figures (another $100 gone), and will be collecting them by next week.
This week should be pretty packed as well, and I've already cancelled some appointments and most probably I wouldn't be able to meet the new sensei in class too. I might even end up staying in for the course, and poor Mabel might have to make some other arrangements to work. Well, it's a short course so hopefully things will return to normal pretty soon. Back to my reading for now, so come back next Sunday!