Beautifully imperfect

Have you watched a touching advertisement before? I saw one that really pulled my heartstrings.



I loved it when she said:
"...little imperfections that make them perfect for you."

Petronas has also many meaningful advertisements.







Sigh, if only we are as innocent as that.







Then there are very funny ones.



Advertisements are really fun.

～みはる～

Today is not my day

Woke up with chills and a sick feeling of developing fever.

Stole 45min from work to go bank, only to find an uncharacteristic long queue for a Monday.

Switched on the water bath, only to find bacterial film contaminating the tank. Spent a good half hour scrubbing tank clean.

Did bacterial inoculation, only to spill pathogenic culture at the incubator (of all places, the one with optimal bacterial growth temperature!)

Did microscope work with pathogenic bacteria, only to break the microscope slide under the objectives.

Went for equipment training, only to feel ill and sleepy throughout.

Got off work and only after leaving the building I realized my bus card was left in the office. Had to walk all the way back to retrieve it. Because of this, I had to run UPHILL after the coming bus.

Came back home to cook myself a good dinner, only to scald my fingers in the process.

When, finally, eating my dinner, discovered that the fish was slightly undercooked. Had to cook it over again. Half way through my dinner, I realized I made too much food.

The day is not yet over, but I feel like crap already.
Today is not my day.

～みはる～

赤い糸 vs 恋空

While I like watching Japanese shows, I'm hardly a J-dorama (i.e. Japanese drama serials) fan. I'd usually be aware of some of these dramas when there's a lot of hype revolving it and Kinokuniya bookstores set up a little shrine in a corner declaring how many million copies of novel/dvd/vcd the story had hit and how many million people have watched and been touched by it.

Okay, so I'm always the last to know. But who cares.

So that was exactly how I got to know of two of the very popular keitai shousetsu (mobile phone novels - it's a trend in Japan) that were serialized into dramas and movie versions.

The first was 恋空 (Koizora). Call me shallow, but I was attracted to the front cover of the novel. It was sparkly and pretty.

Koizora novel

Then I watched the drama. It wasn't spectacular, but was good.

Koizora tells about an unlikely middle school couple: Mika - a shy, quiet and obedient girl, and Hiro - a boorish, hooligan-ish boy. We follow their love story - falling in love, happy times, painful times, conflicts, blablabla... pretty much the normal love story recipe. What was interesting to me was the conflicts, reactions, decision makings and consequences: acts of jealousy by the ex which lead to a near gang raping and then a miscarriage, violent emotional outbursts which lead to expulsion of an innocent friend from school, cancer and the self-destruction of one's own happiness. What was incredibly fascinating was that Koizora is NOT a fictious story. It was based on the experiences of the author, Mika.



After watching Koizora, I thought it was a really sweet story and it was rather good. But when I followed up with another drama, I realized that, in comparison, Koizora was quite forgettable.

Akai Ito novel - not sparkly but simplicity is attractive

This drama, 赤い糸 (Akai Ito) suited my taste better because it shows the painful reality of drug abuse and its consequences in our (or rather specifically, Japanese) society. While I'm strongly against drug abuse and the like, this vivid portrayal of how drugs damage lives of the abuser and everyone around him/her makes me cold to the core.

Akai Ito is a fictious love story in its own right. It is interesting because it ties in a popular Japanese legend of the same title, Akai Ito (literally, Red Thread). As the legend goes, each man and woman destined to be soulmates are bound to each other by an invisible red thread by the little finger, and this fate will bring them together. In this story, Mei and Atsushi are bound by this thread of destiny. It's hard not to like how the author (of the same name, Mei) tie the lives of Mei and Atsushi together. They shared the same birthday, 29th February and have been in-and-out of each other's lives for more times than you can claim coincidence. The painful connection, however, was that Atsushi's mother got involved in drug trafficking for a man she loved and indirectly (it's a long story) led to breakdown of Mei's family. It was interesting (although painful) to watch how the cruel consequences of meddling with drugs kept two people, who are destined to be together, apart.


Oh, and Akai Ito came along with a very nice theme song too.

I personally preferred Akai Ito over Koizora because it includes thought-provoking issues such as drug abuse, the importance of a family unit, safe sex, suicide, friendship, and dating violence. It helps that the love story is not too mushy; it was just perfect and heart-warming. Plus, I like how the series introduced much of Japanese culture to the audience, such as cultural festivals, shinto cultures, cosplays, school culture, etc.

I'm definitely picking up the novel.


～みはる～

Big Big World

Of late, I see/hear some of my friends unhappy and down with life's trials and tribulations. And while I think of them and life in general, this song popped into my mind... which I thought was rather apt.

My thoughts are always with you (especially you, G).

I'm a big big girl
In a big big world
It's not a big big thing if you leave me
But I do do feel, That I do do will
Miss you much, Miss you much

I can see the first leafs falling
It's all yellow and nice
It's so very cold outside
Like the way I'm feeling inside

I'm a big big girl
In a big big world
It's not a big big thing if you leave me
But I do do feel, That I do do will
Miss you much, Miss you much

Outside it's now raining
And tears are falling from my eyes
Why did it have to happen
Why did it all have to end

I'm a big big girl
In a big big world
It's not a big big thing if you leave me
But I do do feel, That I do do will
Miss you much, Miss you much

I have your arms around me
Warm like fire
But when I open my eyes......
You're gone

I'm a big big girl
In a big big world
It's not a big big thing if you leave me
But I do do feel, That I do do will
Miss you much, Miss you much

I'm a big big girl
In a big big world
It's not a big big thing if you leave me
But I do feel I will
Miss you much, miss you much

～みはる～