Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Rena turns 2! レナちゃんは二歳だ!


Exams are over! I'm supposed to be in a happy mood now that it's a lull period, but I'm in a kinda pissed mood because I think I screwed up for one of the graphical mathematics exam. I did up the specimen papers, past year papers, spotted questions and got too confident, but got owned when the exam focused on theory instead of practical questions. Analysis FAIL. But the difference between the past paper was absurd. Hopefully they'll moderate the damn thing. Wish me luck.


Rena celebrated her 2nd birthday last week. Time flies with a kid around. Can't imagine it's already been 2 years since Rena arrived. It's not easy being a parent, but at the end of everyday I can't help but feel blessed. Even when she kicks and slaps me and I get angry, I know that she's part of me. Mabel arranged for a photo shoot to commemorate the occasion, and I've compiled some of the photos into a video montage, which you can view here. The rest of the photos will be uploaded to my FB account. :)



Mabel also made a special version of her cookies for the invited guests. I designed the card, but she changed the colour (which I disagreed on). Will revert back to the original colour when I upload it to my Akiba Studio site. Heh. Anyways, since my bonus this year is better than last year, I spent a little more (to cheer myself up from the post exam blues) on the PS3 Move system. Yes I know I've just gotten the replacement PS3 set recently but I can't help but get into the PS3/KINECT hype that's going around. Bought 2 games for it and I've been getting my arms sore from the archery and gladiator duel games. Pretty fun, but I'm still spending a lot of time on the Black Ops multi player games.



I'm in the process of making another video based on the photos taken during Rena's party, so check back here soon. I've already posted a video of her, on her brand new bike and her Kamen Rider OOO henshin belt, but I'm too lazy to upload to youtube. I'll try and make a link here soon, so check back soon! In the meantime, everyone enjoy the festive and holiday season! Ja!

Wednesday, November 03, 2010

東京マラゾーンへ行きます!

 

Hi! Once again, it's been a long break since the last update! Well, the work + school + family combination is really taking a toil on me, especially when the assignments started to pour in during the transition of the terms. I made the mistake of being over ambitious and took too many modules this semester, clearing a total of 27 units instead of the normal 20. Still, I'm glad to have gone through it, although I still have 2 upcoming papers consisting of a very nostalgic maths paper which reminded me of my lack of effort during secondary school. :(

I've also signed up for 3 runs in October, starting with the Mizuno Wave Run, followed by the New Balance Real Run, and finally the Nike City Race. All of them are only 10km, so it's not really marathon training. And speaking of marathons, the good news is that I've been selected for the Tokyo Marathon 2011! I heard the application exceeded the slots by 10 fold, and I'm feeling really lucky to be able to participate!


I'm not really a good runner, but I pride myself in being able to complete the events. So, I've started collecting the medals and have already gotten 8 this year. I try to attend the events which gives out at least a running tee and a medal. Of course, there are some exceptions, such as the Nike Run, which actually gave us a happy meal toy which I detested.


For now, I'm just concentrating on the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon. I haven't really started anything longer than 10km, and I'll really need to step up the regime within this 3 weeks. Good thing at least is that the working pace in the office is relatively slow this time of the month, and I can afford to dedicate more time to getting in shape. For the Tokyo run, I'll have to invest some money in getting the right gear, since the climate is going to be quite cold, from what I've asked from my Twitter friends thus far. Kinda worried but I guess the excitement outweighs the anxiety.


Well, although it's still exam season I still went again and got myself a new PS3 replacement, since my last one was busted and it's my main DVD/Bluray player. The main reason I got it was because I wanted to play the new Naruto game, and I even got the collector edition just for the DLC. I then realised that the DLC could be manually unlocked, albeit taking a longer time. Well, at least there's the cool box art and limited edition numbered artwork. I'm actually aiming to get the PS Camera and the PS Move set once I clear my papers. 




Got quite a bit of my back logged stuff this week as well, including some Kamen Rider OOO stuff. So far, the series has been great, and the plot definitely one of the more interesting ones in recent history. I also got my MG Kamen Rider W figure, which I've also completed in one siting. Wish I had more time for the PG Gundam kit which is still sitting in my room. Rena's been a fan of the new Kamen Rider series too, evident from her screams of "henshin" during the transformation sequences. Such as the one here:




While we prepare ourselves for the trip next Feb, there's a lot of things to consider about especially when it's Rena's first trip overseas. I'll have to get the details right and to plan for a suitable itinerary that's not too tiring for her..... and us. I'll also need to pick up the race kit, attend the race expo, and try to meet up with some friends I've made through Twitter. That will certainly be the highlight, and I hope to meet as many of them as possible. Until the next update, I'll be cramming for my papers, and taking a break every now and then by getting a few online fights on the Naruto game. Till next time, ja!