[705] My 2015 Practical Christmas Wishlist

Usually around this time of the year I start writing down stuff I want for Christmas. Here's my list for 2015, all stuff I need for everyday life.

1. Belts. Plural. I'd need one leather formal belt and maybe another casual belt. Black for the formal, and any decent color for the casual.

2. Socks. Preferably twelve pairs of sports socks to replace all my socks. Maybe six black and six white. What about for formal occasions? I rarely dress for those, and no one would notice me wearing black sports socks with my leather shoes. Speaking of which...

3. Black leather shoes. It could be wingtips or whatever design. As long as I can wear them for both formal and casual occassions.

4. A new daypack / backpack. My trusty backpack is showing a lot of wear and tear. It's time I gave it away and got myself a new one.

5. Spare goggles. A back up in case I decide to do some physical activity. Goggles that are durable and can be used playing basketball, at the beach, or in any activity where my everyday glasses might fall off or break.

6. New radio and antenna for the Rav4. Something that has an auxilliary jack, USB port, and maybe an LCD screen. Hopefully something that can still connect with the CD changer.

7. Refurbish the rims of the Rav4. I'm not even asking for new rims. Just refurbish the current rims. The coat is flaking off. I'm guessing there are minor leaks since these rims are stock and about fourteen years old already. The only request I'd make is to change the color to gunmetal or something dark.

8. Leather wrap the steering wheel of the Rav4. The steering wheel is also in need of attention. The material is crumbling so wrapping it in leather would improve the feel of the wheel a lot.

That's it. Those are the practical things I'd want this year. I have no idea if I will get the things I want, but that's why I like to daydream.

Out.

[704] A Pleasant Surpise at Teriyaki Boy Glorietta

It has literally been years since my wife and I last ate at any Teriyaki Boy branch. The reason? The one we usually frequented in Greenbelt 1 (the one fronting AIM) closed. Aside from that there was a boom of new Japanese themed restaurants that claimed (and actually pulled through) on their authenticity.

Don't get me wrong, Teriyaki Boy is a good restaurant. I just don't think it would be legit to call it authentic Japanese cuisine. The tastes have been "Filipinized" to appeal to a larger market. And Maica and I didn't mind. We liked some of their more unique offerings.

Teriyaki Boy redesigned it's logo and it's look a few years ago. From the cute pudgy character now they just have a sleek looking head. They also re-did the look of the resto. It has more of a classic Japanese resto feel to it.

The new logo. Photo taken from http://www.pepper.ph/teriyaki-boy-new-look/

The old logo. Pic from http://paywizard.ph/partners/

Anyway today we decided to have lunch in Teriyaki Boy with Martina. She ordered this set meal that had a salad, the main dish (Teriyaki Boy Chicken Don or something), four pieces of California maki, and miso soup. Also iced tea. That was the set.

I got some gyoza, a Philly Cheesesteak maki (not very 'authentic'), and a spicy, crunchy tuna tartare like dish.

The food was surprisingly good! At least the ones I ate. They really won't be considered authentic Japanese food, as I keep saying, but they are surprisingly good. I just wish I took photos of the food, but honestly I wasn't planning on blogging about it.

The price was also surprisingly very worth it. I guess the bill also really wasn't that high because I just ordered three appetizers and Maica shared her lunch set with Martina. Still, we came out of the place full and happy. I could not ask for anything more than that from any restaurant, be it a very humble carinderia or the highest rated restaurant in the Metro.

So thank you, Teriyaki Boy Glorietta, for giving us a good meal. I'm so glad you're still around. Here's hoping we eat there again soon.

Out.

[703] APEC Holidays

November 18 and 19 are APEC holidays because of the ongoing APEC Summit being held here in Metro Manila. We won't be having work for Wednesday and Thursday, and I decided to extend my leave to Friday.

Traffic going home was bad yesterday. It had something to do with some road closures and traffic re-routing schemes. I'm thankful that there are some alternate routes heading home that I could take.

Aside from this I'm thankful for the chance to take a break. Work has been good and I'm now a fledgling Unity VFX artist. I volunteered to help the VFX team with their tasks since they are lacking manpower. I really don't mind since I will be learning new skills that will supplement and complement my current set of skills.

Now that I have no work and traffic is a bitch, I'll be enjoying the chance to bum around at home and just decompress.

Out.

[702] JDM Styling

It was a very good thing I worked in the automotive industry for a little over a year. I met a lot of wonderful people, learned a lot of new things about cars, and my love of cars grew by leaps and bounds.

Even my taste in cars changed. I used to joke I was a "ricer" meaning I liked Japanese cars with fart cans and loud colors. I still sorta do, but I like them tastefully done. What I wasn't expecting was that I'd be more of a "JDM" guy.

What exactly is JDM? I think it stands for Japanese Domestic Market. It also stands for the Japanese styling of cars. I specifically like the old school JDM styling -- black fender flares with fender mounted side-mirrors and RS Watanabe rims. That's the look I like.

I'm not really a big fan of stanced cars, but I see the beauty in it. Neither am I a fan of "bosozoku", but I can understand where those fans are coming from.

I've been obsessing over that kind of design that I've tried doodling a couple of cars with that kind of styling. I tried it out on a classic VW Beetle without the fender flares since technically the fenders are flares. I tried it on a 2015 Hilux, and also on my favorite Ferrari, the 512bb.

It sort of looks good, since I designed it. I just hope that eventually I'll be able to afford to do a JDM-styled vehicle for whatever ride I might own.

Out.