Being an Ace Attorney Makes One Ill

Last week, I had a bad case cough and headache that paralyzed my mind from working. I just sat on my chair, glanced at the computer, and fought hard not to fall asleep. I forced myself to last until 5:30 so I will be free to go home. Alas, I survived. I rode the bus, endured the heavy traffic, and slept on the jeepney to my hometown. Gladly, I have enough strength to eat supper and drink medicine before sleeping.

My Facebook status, last Wednesday, read like this:

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Yeah, that was a though day. To recuperate, I took a leave last Friday.

So what made me ill? I have plenty of reasons. One is that work related stress took the upper hand. Secondly, I slept late because I am solving cases as an ace attorney.

Yep, I am an ace attorney. Of course, not in the real world but in a game. That game is “Ace Attorney: Apollo Justice” in Nintendo DS.

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Ace Attorney: Apollo Justice

I became addicted to this game because it challenges my mind to work logically. In Ace Attorney, I took the role of the rookie defense lawyer Apollo Justice. As of now, I have already solved three cases in Ace Attorney and I am now solving the murder case of an Interpol agent. My fight is in a court of law and I have to use logic, evidences available, and the ability to see through people’s lies.

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"Ace Attonrney" characters.

Ace Attorney is a great game. But I guess I have to limit my playing and sleep early.

How about you guys, what are the games you are addicted to? Are you also interested in some courtroom drama like in Ace Attorney?

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Father's Day, A Date and KC Concepcion

Frankly, I have never been a fan of the Filipina actress KC Concepcion. I always see her just someone who got the privilege to enter showbiz just because she is the daughter of Sharon Cuneta. If KC Concepcion has a mother who had lesser fame, then maybe she will never be famous.

To those who don’t know, KC Concepcion is one of the famous young actresses here in the Philippines. She is one of the ace stars of ABS-CBN network, the owner of The Filipino Channel (TFC). KC Concepcion starred in many romance movies and is also well sought product endorser.

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KC Concepcion

During Father’s Day, me and my beloved decided to watch the movie “I’ll be There,” which is starred by KC Concepcion, Gabby Concepcion (her real father), and Jericho Rosales. At first, I am hesitant to watch this movie because it’s a drama movie. But still, I gave it a go.

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I have nothing against the movie. Actually, I liked it. This movie of KC Concepcion is different from all the Filipino drama movies I saw. There is less heavy drama and less histrionics. The movie just focused on the central theme, which is the relationship between a father and daughter. The love story between KC Concepcion and Jericho was not glossed over but used to enhance the major story. 

In the movie, KC Concepcion returned home from abroad to claim her share of the inheritance. The tension is high because Gabby abandoned his family abroad and KC Concepcion did not saw him for fifteen years. The story circulated on fixing the relationship between the two. The drama between KC Concepcion and Gabby Concepcion is also somewhat real because in real life Gabby left KC Concepcion.

I could say that the movie is good. KC Concepcion’s acting is OK. Jericho’s character is nice. However, my major problem is the comedienne Cacai Bautista. Her character was placed as comic relief in the movie. However, her character is over-acting and makes the scenes unrealistic and corny. The director should have toned down her performance and planned better scenes to lighten up the movie’s mood. Another problem is Gabby’s acting because he can’t show his emotions well because of botox. He sacrificed his facial expression to make himself look young.

Those are just my little disagreements. However, all in all, this movie of KC Concepcion is good.

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A Little Visit in UP Diliman - Part II

In the first part (A Little Visit to UP Diliman – Part I), I talked about interesting buildings that could be found inside my alma mater, UP Diliman. Now, let me show you some interesting works of arts that could found around the UP Diliman.

There are many works of art that are scattered around UP Diliman. These art works were created by students, painters, sculptors, and some national artists. The most popular of these art works is The Oblation.

The Oblation is made by the national artist Guillermo Tolentino. The Oblation located in front of Quezon Hall (UP Diliman’s Administrative building) is just a replica. The original Oblation is located inside UP Diliman’s Main Library. The naked statue is symbolizes the university. It symbolizes the student’s sacrifice in giving-out oneself in pursuit of knowledge for the sake of the country.
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Aside from the Oblation, here are other interesting works of art around the UP Diliman:
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 Sewing the Philippine Flag

This is statue of the three ladies stitching the Philippine flag used by Emilio Aguinaldo in declaring the independence of the country from Spain. It is located behind the amphitheater inside the Lagoon.
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 Rajah Soliman

The statue of Rajah Soliman could be found in front of UP Diliman’s museum. It serves as a tribute to Rajah Soliman, who is one of the last sultan of Manila to resist Spanish invasion.
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 UP Sundial

Located beside the building of College of Engineering and is still quite accurate in showing the time of the day.

So here are just few of the works of art that could be found around UP Diliman. I have missed many interesting paintings and sculptures. Next time, when I returned to UP Diliman, I will take photos of what I missed so I could share them to you all.

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A Little Visit in UP Diliman - Part I

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I miss studying again whenever I see students, especially now that the school year had begun. Because of this, I am also missing my alma mater UP Diliman, which is officially known as University of the Philippines in Diliman (Hence, the abbreviation: UP Diliman). I had graduated three years ago and it is been a long time since I paid it a visit.

What miss in UP Diliman is its culture. The campus is like mini-Philippines because different kinds of students coming from different regions and in different walks of life study here. The interaction of these different people made the culture of UP Diliman unique. Another thing I miss in UP Diliman are its interesting places. Thankfully, my girlfriend and I found a time to visit UP Diliman and walk on its grounds again.

The Academic Oval – the heart of the UP Diliman.

UP Diliman have many interesting buildings. The most famous of these buildings is the Palma Hall, which is also known as AS or Arts and Sciences Building, is where classes for General Education subjects are held. This is also the place where rallies and mass protests are held. It is also the favorite place for shooting TV ads. I still recall an advertisement of Nescafe that used Palma Hall as the background.

Palma Hall Building a.k.a A.S.

Palma Hall’s mirror twin is the Melchor Hall, which is the College of Engineering building, located on the other side of the Academic Oval. Palma Hall and Melchor Hall look exactly alike because the layout plan of UP Diliman followed the symmetrical style of design during its establishment.

 Carillon Tower looks like the white queen.

The Carillon Tower is the popular bell tower inside UP Diliman. I always think of it this tower as the white queen in chess. Others claim that it is a phallic symbol. This bell tower is operational and I always hear it rings every 5 PM, whenever I walk near it while I am going home. This tower is visible from the LRT-3 train.

O' come ye faithful...

The presence of UP Chapel inside UP Diliman signifies that not all UP students do not believe in God. The chapel is circular and looks like a flying saucer when looked from afar. What I like about this church is its cross that show Jesus nailed on the cross on one side and Jesus as a risen Lord on the other side. I always visit this church during my college days.

There are other interesting buildings around UP Diliman that I failed to mention because of the limited space. But that is for you to find out. Hope you visit my alma mater, UP Diliman.

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This blog post about my alma mater, UP Diliman, will be continued on, "A Little Visit to UP Diliman - Part II".

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My Nasty Experience with the Budol - Budol Gang

Last Sunday, while waiting for my girlfriend in Alabang Starmall, somebody approached me and asked me if I could send a text message to his friends who he will meet that day in Starmall. He explained that he could not send any text message because his cellphone is low in battery. Because he looked to be in desperate need, I acceded to his plea and sent his message to his friends using my cellphone.

All is well until I received this message yesterday:

“#@*^ KA UNG TAO KO BKT U KNHA UNG CP NYA BUDOL BUDOL K PALA HAYOP K PNAHAHANAP KNA NG MGA PULIS NPICTURN K NG MGA KSMA NYA KHPN.”

Well, the gist of the message, as translated into English is that the person who sent me the text message accuses me of stealing his friend’s cellphone. He/she accuses me as a member of the Budol-Budol Gang and he scared me by saying that the police are already hunting me down and they got a picture of me.

For those who don’t know, Budol-Budol Gang is a group of criminals who are known to hypnotize their victims so that they could steal his/her money and valuables without resisting. I have one teacher who became victim of this gang. My teacher let the criminals in her house and gave them all of her money and jewelry. When she woke from hypnosis, she discovered that she had been a victim of the Budol-Budol Gang.

I believe that whoever sent me this message is the accomplice of the person who approached me last Sunday. They are trying to scare me by saying that the police are hunting me down. If I believe what they are saying then they will extort money from me so as stop them from imprisoning me.

For the whole day yesterday, I received text messages from unknown persons that usually contain threats, which I just ignored. The last text message that I received was a message asking me to become his/her textmate. The last text message just showed that those criminal harassing me are desperate to initiate communication.

As of now, I am not receiving any text message from them but I am sure that they will try again to contact me. Because of that, I am changing my cellphone so they could totally stop harassing me.

With that, I learned a valuable lesson – never let any stranger use your cellphone no matter how trustworthy or how desperate they seem to be.

How about you? What are your experience regarding thieves and criminals?

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Marvin the Martian Meets Cherry Blossoms

The good thing about having friends is that they can throw you some surprises. I was indeed surprised when two of my far-away friends gave me unexpected gifts for even if there is no special occasion.

Cherry Blossoms

I am glad to receive a letter from my friend in Japan. He is my classmate in one of my subjects during my first year in the University of the Philippines. Apparently, he remembered me as the very first person who talked to him when he came to the university. He is an Ifugao and came from the Mountain Province. I never met him again after the end of my freshman years.
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This is another addition to my collection of personal mementos.

So, I much surprised to receive a letter from him and some petals of Sakura Blossoms. Very nice! I am yet to reach Japan but I already touched the flowers that are famous in animes.

And this Time Its Marvin

I was also surprised last week when a large package came to my home. To my surprise it is a very big Marvin the Martian pillow.
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He points a gun at me while I sleep. Bad Marvin!

Marvin the Martian is my favorite Looney Tunes character and I am so glad to receive this kind of surprise gift. My friend gave me this as a treat for my friend’s first salary. Because I am so glad, I have changed my Facebook profile picture into this image of Marvin the Martian.
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 I am very angry. ^_^

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Buns and Pizza

Watching the parade and walking around Lucban to see the decorated house of the Pahiyas Festival proved to be an exhausting activity that emptied mine and my friends’ bellies. Luckily, we had found a small pizza shop that offers affordable pizza.

This pizza shop is the Buns and Pizza and I only first saw it in Lucban. I believe that that this pizza shop can only be found in Lucban. Nothing is amazing about this pizza shop as compared with giant pizza companies like Shakey’s and Pizza Hut. However, if you are in Lucban and you are craving for a good pizza, then this is the place to go.
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 Buns and Pizza, Lucban

My friends ordered the Beef Galore and the Beef and Onion Special. The pizza bread is ready and they will only prepare the toppings of the pizza before baking in their oven. It would take about 15 minutes waiting time before your pizza be delivered to your table.

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Preparing the pizza.

One thing I noticed about their pizza is its sweetness. It is sweeter than the usual pizza that I eat from Shakey’s and Pizza Hut. I believe that they made the sauce for their pizza in Filipino style. Filipino style sauce is sweeter and less sour compared with other spaghetti or pizza sauce.

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The Pizza is almost done.

All in all, we spent 295 pesos for two pizzas. The Beefy Galore (large size) is 155 pesos and the Beef and Onion Special (large size) is 140 pesos. I guess the price is ok since we were satisfied with their pizza.

We also ate at the famous Buddy’s Restaurant before we leave Lucban. However, I am too busy eating their yummy food that’s why I forgot to take pictures and take note of their foods. Maybe this will be another topic I will write about if I ever visited Lucban again.

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First Needles from the Haystack

Three is this day's lucky number. Today is the third year anniversary of my blog, Before the Eastern Sunset. It is three years ago since I first posted my very first blog post in this blog. I remember during those days that I wrote nothing other than things the rumblings of my hopeless romantic heart. Thankfully, I overgrew those things and I wrote on things that interests me and. This blog had been my online companion for these past three years and it still help me in giving me a diversion from the stressful activities of my daily life.
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For the third year anniversary of my blog, I would like to look back and thank those people who became my very first pals here in my blog. They are the ones who inspired mo to go on writing. Without their comments and continued visits, this blog may not reach its third year. These people have their own blogs but some of them already stopped blogging. Many of them are still visiting me constantly and always have time to say “Hello.”

Active blogger or not, I am still thankful for them:
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 Claire

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Who first visited on my blog post “Two Weeks Without TV and Other Things”

Lester Cavestany
Who first visited me on my blog post, “Justice for Chris Mendez.”

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 Mark Angelo
Who first visited me in “Unlucky Friday.”

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 Allan Baredo (Lantaw)
Who first visited on “On Working Abroad.”

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Mariel
Who first visited on my blog post, “Laiya Aplaya.”

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 Megumi
Who first visited on “Lots of Thanks and Some of that Reminiscing Too.”

Liza (Azil)
Who first visited on “Prince Caspian.”

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TIN
Who first visited on “Operation Valkyrie.”

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Mai-Mai
Who first visited on “Joint Security Area.”

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Xprosaic
Who first visited on “Happy Mother's Day Mama.”

Finding friends like them are like finding needle in a haystack. But thanks to them, I persevered in blogging and found more great friends. Thanks be to GOD.

Of the bloggers mentioned here, the only inactive is Mark Angelo. I guess he is busy with his. work It would be great if start blogging again.

I got the idea for this post from good friend Bluedreamer.

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Picture of number three came from Lost in Your Inbox.