Rena - Camera Star

We had our first official celebrations with Rena this year, since last year didn't really count as Mabel was still in confinement. We headed over to the bright lights over in town, and Mabel was fasinated with all the glowing lights as well as those huge christmas trees. We also had a couple of gatherings all over the place, and there was much to eat and drink. Haven't been running too much since the marathon, and since I've also signed up for the Adidas Sundown Marathon mid next year, I figure I can rest for a few more days and really start gearing up training once 2010 arrives. And in the mean time, I'll still be clearing my annual leave. I've also been thinking of setting up some new year resolutions, so hopefully the next blog posting should feature some of them. It hasn't really been a great year, but there were lots of memorable times in 2009. More of this in the next post :p

We also spent a few hours in the Singapore Botanical Gardens to have our family pictures taken, and it was also an excursion with some of our friends and their kids. It was pretty fun, albeit a little hot and Rena got pretty tired early on. We then decided to retire from the shoot and had a meal there instead. Still, we thought the place was pretty nice and should be returning in the near future.
Most of my online ordered stuff have already reached, excluding the select few which went out of stock. The latest arrival were my 2 pieces of Finaly Fantasy Play Arts figures: Tidus from FFX and Cloud from Crisis Core: FFVII. Both are really very well detailed, and got me tempted to order more from the same series. I would already have ordered Squall from FFVIII and Yuna from FFX if they were still in stock. I'll be on the look out for them, that's for certain. I've also just gotten myself a new phone this month, and I'm sure you guys know which phone I'm referring to, since most people in Singapore have the same phone, haha. Well, I wasted no time in jail breaking it and having new themes installed through Cydia and Winterboard. I also managed to understand enough about OpenSSH, and did some modifications to my lock screen too. The possibilities are quite endless, and I'm syncing new apps and themes on almost a daily level. The picture you see above is the product of a free app found in the itunes app store, and I've taken lots of pics which you can either see in my Facebook album or in the video I made below :p

And speaking of videos, I've created a new blog site called Akiba Studio. It was created as a means for me extend my creativity by reaching out to more people who enjoy taking pictures of their loved ones, be it their newborn baby, toddler, wife or husband. With the advent of digital photography and internet accessability, basically all of us have the power to share media, through pictures and videos. And with the ease provided by various Social Service Networks such as Facebook or Friendster, it's never been easier to update friends and relatives with the touch of a button. Through my services, I hope to encourage more people to start taking pictures, and eventually create videos and pictures to cherish them as precious memories. Thus, comes the creation of this website. Do check it out, and help me refer to as many people whom you'd think might be interested!

四十二キロの挑戦へ！

Again, I've neglected this blog for way too long. I'm even thinking that most people are not going to come back since I've not been updating on the weekly basis that I've been doing for so many years. Well, it was really busy for me, and I've been going on this project to kick start something, although it's put on hold for now (temporarily). There's also Rena's birthday celebration preparation that I had to see to, and not to mention all the last minute marathon training that I had to force myself to go thorugh, in a last ditch effort to get myself in shape for the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon. It was my first attempt at such a long distance, although I've been running the Army Half Marathon for nearly a decade now. I didn't really get a fantastic timing, but in the end my objective was just to complete it, which I did, and the feeling was great especially with Mabel and Rena at the finishing line waiting for me. I walked a lot due to cramps, but in the end it was still pretty alright and I'm glad I didn't stop. The post run recovery period was hell though, with all the abrasion and hurting joints. But I enjoyed it thoroughly, especially when I see so many people running together of all age, race, gender, and sizes. It felt great, and I've already signed up for my next marathon, the Adidas Sundown Marathon happening in May next year. I'm looking forward to the training, but of course after this well deserved rest first! Although it hasn't been a really good year in terms of the received bonuses, I still spent a little on my toys and figures, mainly from overseas online purchases. Don't get me wrong, I order them online because they cost hell lot more locally in shops, and there were multiple sales going on through those websites. I'm actually saving, since I'll definitely have to carry on with several lines in my collection series. I've got mostly Kamen Rider discounted stuff, such as the Twist Action Form series, and also some of the Legend Rider series and also the figures from the new Double series. Some other stuff are still on the way though, for example this new series of the Dragonball Kai line, which forms part of this new Master Grade series. It's a first of it's kind, and I'm really tempted to start collecting this as well. As long as it's well made of course. Other stuff include some figures from the Final Fantasy series, namely the main characters Cloud and Tidus from VII and X. I've wanted to get them for some time, especially Tidus, but sadly the Yuna figure was sold out. After all, FFX is my favourite game of all time and it's a shame I don't really have their figures.

Berryz Koubou recently released their 21st single, and I'm currently hooked onto both songs on it! It's really great, and seldom would both songs be equally good on one released single. The first song is called Watashi no Mirai no Danna-sama, and the second song is called Ryuusei Boy. Check out the video of the Ryuusei Boy here which have embedded. The song's great, and the dance looks really nice too. Rena gets all jumpy when she sees the video too, so I'm looking forward to the day when she's old enough to dance :)

I've been a long time fan of the Winning Eleven series on the various Playstation incarnations through these years, but last week I bought Fifa 10, and betrayed the series which I have played since over 10 years ago. Well, I tried the Winning Eleven demo and it didn't play well, and I did some research on both games. Turns out that Fifa has really picked themselves up recently and they have produced a solid game. I tried the demo, and it really does shine, although it was pretty obvious they stole some ideas from W11. However, they had some good ideas themselves, and the game plays great. I even invited some friends over the next day, and they enjoyed it as well. Hopefully I'll get better and kick their asses soon~! That's it for this update, I'll again try to update on a regular basis and keep this blog updated. Till then, here's another Rena video! JA!

Happy 1st Birthday Rena!

Rena celebrated her 1st birthday, on the 28th of November 2009. These are some of the pictures taken on the day with the setup and the guests. Thanks to all who turned up, and especially those who helped out. We appreciate it dearly, and please forgive us if we haven't been able to express our thanks on that day due to the hectic day that we had. Enjoy the video!