Prex J.D.V. Ybasco's Blog, page 30

A 30-Day Vacation (December 11, 2016-January 2016)

Here’s a summary of what I did during my long vacation, something many people -surprisingly- have been wanting to find out.

Finished reading 3 books

a) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (as part of my Harry Potter Marathon)

b) The Subtle Knife (finally!)

c) The Amber Spyglass
Finished watching:

a) Uncontrollably Fond, Korean Drama – 20 episodes

b) W-Two Worlds, Korean Drama – 16 episodes

c) Hitman Reborn, Japanese anime – 203 episodes

d) Bleach, Japanese anime – 15 episodes

e) Slam Dunk, Japanese anime – 101 episodes

f) Pete’s Dragon, movie

g) Kubo and the Two Strings, movie

h) Maxsteel 2, movie

i) Harry Potter Series, 8 movies

j) Keeping up with the Joneses, movie

k) 君の名は (Your Name), Japanese movie

l) Kung Fu Panda 3, movie

m) Passengers, movie

n) One Piece GOLD, Japanese movie
Finished ten product reviews
Had a wonderful match against my archenemy, mental block

I have been convincing myself ever since that I was productive. XP

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Washi Lovin’

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Because my planner needs some loving…

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I finally found some Washi tapes!

From the stocks available in National Bookstore, SM MegaMall, this set looks the best. There was one in particular with a tape dispenser but since Washi tapes can be torn so I don’t think I’ll be needing that. Besides, the design was iffy.

This set retails for 92 PHP, which I think is not so bad for 5 rolls of Washi tapes. I’ve read from some Craft blogs that I can easily spot some in Daiso so I will check in Trinoma if I could find some.

And in case you’re wondering, that little guy right there, I also bought today because I can’t find where my old Pilot Birdie (review, here) anywhere T^T. (Update: I found it today [170120] in the pen pocket of my backpack. Blame it’s tiny and sleek body lol)

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SUBSPACE Coffee House, Review

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Since I was confined at home for almost a month, I am pretty excited to go to some places that look interesting for me albeit difficult because my stitch hurts from time to time.

I was looking for a place to have dinner hoping to find something new for my palate to taste, and if you have been working in Ortigas or anywhere else for a long time, say, three years, you know this is a difficult feat. 

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Subspace Coffee House, Unit 103, GF Grand Emerald Tower, F. Ortigas Jr. Road, Ortigas Center, Pasig City, Mon – Thu: 8 am – 11 pm; Fri – Sat: 8 am – 1 am; Sun: 11 am – 9 pm Phone # (02) 655 7077

As I was on my way to Galleria from Emerald Ave., I chanced upon Subspace Coffee House and I asked myself why I hadn’t noticed it before. It was dreamy!!!

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The place looks fun with all its fancy decorations and colorful walls but it still gives out a good coffee-shop atmosphere with its distinct coffee aroma, halogen lights and jazz music. The shop itself is quite small but still enough for small events. When I got there, the barista told me they’d be having a party and the coffee shop would be reserved for the next hour.

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Mismatched chairs and items in the coffeeshop remind me of my imaginary one, The Big Coffee (My novel, To Be Continued is still available in Amazon). However, what I liked best about it is the stack of books near the cake counter and I didn’t let the chance pass. I sauntered to that bar and waited for my dinner there.

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I ordered their classic Iced Americano with a small shot of gum syrup. Probably because of the ice but it wasn’t strong enough for me. But for its price, I think it was ok. Since the shop also provides light meals, I also asked for Tuna Pesto and it was amazing. The serving size looks small in the photo but it was more than enough for me.

[image error]Perhaps because it was new for me and I loved how cozy it was, and the pasta was great, and the coffee was good enough, 300Php was worth it. 

I can’t wait to go back and try their cakes.

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Life is hard, Mr. Scoresby, but we cling to it all the sa...

Life is hard, Mr. Scoresby, but we cling to it all the same.

– Grumman, Subtle Knife

2017 Planner, National Bookstore, Review

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored review.

This 2017, I’m going all out to using an affordable planner I purchased from National Bookstore.

As a fan of planners, I go for utility rather than design – a poor excuse for me being monochromatic and boring – so I’d go for less expensive ones than those that cost about 3000 Php *coughs* Starbucks *coughs* 

Don’t get me wrong. I do love Starbucks and there was a time I completed the sticker-requirement to get myself a planner which I completely used.

And I have a thing for 2017 CBTL’s and Scribbles for their amazing designs. 

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Image courtesy of Filed

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Image from Rappler

The thing is … I’m not sure I’d be able to write on all of their pages. So utility it is–yep, I’m boring. 

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I got this grey NBS 2017 planner for Php 299.75 which means I will be spending only 0.82 cents everyday I use it–talk about being a cheapskate. It is a thick Daily planner bound by faux leather, kept secured by a darker grey elastic. If you’d ask me, I’d rather have a flat band to keep the pages together than a rounded one because it damages the cover. As regards the front cover, you can see 2017 lightly engraved at the bottom right. 

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This planner by the way comes in other colors like red, cyan and lime green.

For this year’s name, my friends Tanya and Zen picked Katsudon Fatale for me — a combination of words they got from Yuri on Ice — with the hopes of giving me a year of laughter and food.

The first page shows contact information that I by no means would want to fill in. Also, I don’t see the need to do so since it’s going to reside on my office table for the whole year anyway. 

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For the next page we have the mandatory yearly calendar featuring 2016-2017. I use this page mainly to track my period. Yep, I know there’s an app for that and most probably it is more reliable than this one but at least I can use this page for something other than checking my birthday in different years.

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The next page gives a table of months with boxes large enough for quick notes and appointments. I read from some online magazines that it’ll be better to use a Washi tape for this part in case I need to reschedule appointments.

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Let’s go to my favorite part. As this is a daily journal, each day has an allotted page with by-hour markers from 8 am to 8pm. As I am asleep from 3 am to 12 noon, I guess it hardly matters but I just love the idea that I don’t have to write the time as opposed to my previous weekly planners.

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Also, since the page is spacious enough, I could change the time, add boxes here and there for more schedule and I can also use it as a diary–in case my private one has run out of pages.

At the other end of the planner is an inner pocket I usually keep my pay slips in.

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One amazing thing to note is that the paper used for the planner is acid free which means it can last for a long period of time. Since I tend to collect my planners and journals, this is a huge plus. And oh, have I mentioned that the paper is incredibly smooth that my Pilot G Tech C3 0.3 glides on it quite well.


As for the incredible designs that this planner obviously lacks, there are about a gazillion of DIY in Youtube and Pinterest that I can use as my inspiration.


What planner did you get yourself this year?
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2017 RESOLUTION BOOK TAG

AN: I hope to have improvements in my blog and myself this year. I haven’t made New Year’s Resolutions for some years now and this is a good time to start again. In addition, this is the very first book tag I have created

My kind of Christmas Tree

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“Blind Rain”

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Manga Monday #5- Top 10 Anime Characters

I tagged myself to Manga Monday by Bailey of Nerd of New York.

Re: Organization of the characters.

Since favorites tend to change over time, I have organized my answers this way: #1 My most favorite character and #2-10 the rest. LOL I cannot simply put the others in order of which I love more simply because. Don’t worry. I kept this list to 10.

Break!

“Too bad, see you next week!”

 

Hi! I’m supposed to post another Manga Monday update today and just in case you’re wondering, the post above is Prince of Tennis’ Kikumaru Eiji’s favorite catch phrase.

However, owing to circumstances, and as I have started my annual Harry Potter Marathon, I haven’t posted anything. To be honest, I don’t have plans posting anything this month, lol.  Not to mention, the next topic is quite challenging: Top 10 Favorite Anime Characters! which, in my defense, needs a lot of time to pour over.

I’m also trying to finish reading two more books vis-a-vis the Harry Potter series. I know it is a lame excuse but everybody needs to know how to juggle his/HER! time.

So pardon me dear readers if I will be taking a break for this week (Bailey, I’m sorry, too!) but I promise to post in the following weeks to come, HP marathon or not. Be advised that I am going to have lots of scheduled posts and may not be able to promptly respond to comments.

Features are still on, so for those who want to be part of this blog, please don’t hesitate to participate here.

Until then, you can find me in the Wizarding world, and certainly in J.K. Rowling’s clutches.

See you!