A new season always excites me.  Here's the list of shows that I will be following:

Second Season: Fave shows back! Yay!

NODAME CANTABILE: PARIS

Nodame Cantabile is back! This time set in Paris, the show does go on! I'm ready for another bout of heart tugging moments with the Nodame-Chiaki pair.  I'm also excited about the new characters since I have not read the manga.  Anyhow, I do have some reservation about since the news that there has been a director change.


In any case, it's looking pretty interesting. I just finished watching the first 3 episodes, thankfully the humor is still there and Nodame is just as charming with her messy room and anime addictiion (I can relate!) hah. As for the OP/ED I do prefer the previous season's but who knows maybe it'll grow on me. I'm just glad the show is back.

     

VAMPIRE KNIGHT GUILTY

Yay I only endured two months of waiting time before the new season came out. The Kaname-Yuuki-Zero love triangle saga continues! wootwoot.  (with my Code Geass withdrawal syndrome I am glad to watch any show with a character named, Zero) ^_^



I'm a sucker for vampire stories, no pun intended. Plus all the vampires in this show just have to be so beautiful with hypnotizing eyes, especially Kaname, who could have been an animated version of Anne Rice's vampire characters.



The first 3 episodes are intense and even though flashbacks pepper the first episode, it did not hinder the flow of the story. Zero is back to normal after drinking Kaname’s blood and the Council of Ancients hunting him down for allegedly killing Shizuka, I'm already hungry for more.

NEW SHOWS!

ONE OUTS-

I am a sports anime fan.  It never fails to make me feel good after.  Plus I don't have to think much and just watch.  For this season I'll be following the TV adaptation of Shinobu Kaitani's manga ONE OUTS, about baseball (a game that definitely won't bore me, as proven by my fanatic following of major and ookiku furikabutte).

Here's a synopsis from ANN:

The story begins when Hiromichi Kojima, the star batter of the fictional Lycaons in Japan's Pacific League, heads to the southern Japanese island of Okinawa to train and bring himself out of a slump. There, he meet Tōa Tokuchi, a 134-kmph (83 miles per hour) pitcher and the undisputed king of a gambling form of baseball called "One Out." At Kojima's urging, Tokuchi signs up with the Lycaons under an unusual contract: he gets 5,000,000 yen (about US$46,000) for every out he pitches, but loses 50,000,000 yen (US$460,000) for every point he gives up.



I just finished watching Episode 1 its definitely promising.  Tokuchi's character design reminds me of Akagi, another anime about gambling men.  But then again both series are produced by Madhouse Studios. Episode 2 features the intense showdown between Hiromichi and Toah, the episode ending in a cliffhanger.  I am holding my breath.



     

KUROSHITSUJI

 A.k,a. Black Butler Awesome! At first I thought it would be cutesy but after the first episode, this one's much more serious and bloody. It involves a demon butler of course (as some of my friends will attest, it's always been my dream to have a butler hehehe)



"I am one hell of a butler."

The fight scene in episode 2 is interesting so go watch it. I guess the premise could be similar to Full Metal Alchemist or other making contracts with the devil, or selling one's soul kind of story.  But instead of your typical hero, we have the intellectual, powerful, Lelouch archetype (like I said I'm not over my Geass withdrawal syndrome yet.)






Anyway the characters are colorful so I'm sure this won't be just a run-of-the-mill show.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

TO ARU MAJUTSU NO INDEX





With the Harry Potter series over, I have found an alternative to get my fix - Anime!  To Aru Majutsu No Index would have to be my fave show so far.  I'm off to work  so I'll add my thoughts later on the first four episodes. Perhaps I'll blog it in a separate entry.  I'll leave you with the Synopsis from ANN:

"Set in a city of scientifically advanced superhuman students, but in a world where magic is also real. Toma Kamijo’s right hand, the Imagine Breaker, will negate all magic, psychic, or divine powers, but not his own bad luck. One day he finds a young girl hanging on his balcony railing. She turns out to be a nun from the Church of England, and her mind has been implanted with the Index-Librorum-Prohibitorum - all the magical texts the Church has removed from circulation."

(This show is a MUST-SEE)

Will add more as soon as I have time to watch all the other new shows!

These other shows I already downloaded but because of work I just can't seem to sit down and have a go-see.  Anyhow I plan to give myself a Halloween treat and watch these over the weekend:
    

Will add more as soon as I have time to watch all the other new shows! Ciao for now!

link to the petition:

Filipino Americans demand for apology from ABC and Desperate Housewives Petition

===================

I previously held back on commenting on this because
1) It's a show
2) There are more important issues that the Filipinos should worry about
3) I found it sad that more people voted for the  Desperate Housewives Petition than the Burma petition (100+ thousand vs. 35+thousand)
4) But then I think it's a good thing. As shown by the Malu Fernandez incident,  people power is still going strong. (though not as politically inclined as Edsa I & II, I'd rather not use the term "mob rule").
5) Personally I think it's a publicity stunt. Its a season premiere episode. the 4th if i recall. So they need to keep the show alive. And what better tactic than have their clip passed around with heated posts.
6)Some of Sassy Lawyer's points I agree with. But still it's no excuse for the show to use it as a stunt. For all we know, one of their team drafted the petition in order to inflame the viewers. Fire travels faster after all.

I tell you the web is the new battleground. So why don't we channel this newfound people power to more important issues?

We, the Filipino people and our allies have shown our solidarity, the numbers speak for themselves. The number of signatories to the online petition against the “racial slur” depicted in the show, Desperate Housewives continue to rise despite the apology issued by the show’s producers.  And why shouldn’t it? The scene offended not only the Filipino-American community but also the Philippine medical schools, medical practitioners and their allies worldwide, their number ballooning to over 115,000. Now I wonder if our outrage will be the same, passionately fierce in defending our people when it comes to more important things than this tv show, most of the medical practitioners haven't even heard of. 

 
In this age of technology, such a move by Filipino health professionals is remarkable and it truly shows us what incredible power we have when we join together for a common cause.  However, like I said, some of the blog reaction (yes even FIlipinos) ask:  “what’s the big deal? It’s just a show. Where were you when real health and education issues rocked the country?”

We have laid the foundation and shown the world how important health and education are for Filipinos worldwide. Let’s not stop there.  For example, Tobacco is responsible for one in ten adult deaths in the world or about five million deaths annually. This figure will double by year 2020, and if current tobacco consumption pattern persist, about a billion people will be killed by tobacco in the 21st century, with 300 million deaths to happen in Western Pacific Region, where the Philippines is located.

For those who signed the Desperate Housewives petition in defense of Filipino pride and dignity of the health profession, we call on you now to defend the right to life and public health of the Filipino people by signing the petition below for the passage of law to requiring graphic health warnings on cigaratte packages.  Let us show the world that we don’t just care about some tv show, we care about our countrymen we defend not only the medical schools and medical institution but the rights for which these stand, from which they stem --we care about the Filipino right to life and health.

Sign now.

http://www.PetitionOnline.com/ghwphil/

I need your help getting this message out. Please sign the petition (I authored) and pass it on to your friends.  Thank you so much.  Congrats to the UP community for helping out with the fight against the tobacco epidemic.

================ 

Sign now.

http://www.PetitionOnline.com/ghwphil/



* Over 30 M Filipinos will suffer debilitating diseases and painful deaths due to smoking. Another 30 M Filipinos will suffer the same due to second hand smoke.

* 40 of the chemicals in cigarette smoke are carcinogens, like carbon monoxide, butane (used as lighter fluid), cyanide and formaldehyde, arsenic (rat poison), and ammonia (toilet cleaner). Ads do not disclose this.

Right now the textual health warnings for tobacco products cannot be understood or appreciated by the Filipino people. Other countries have recognized this and have since used picture based warnings in order to warn their citizens of the hazards of smoking. Statistics will show that such method is effective as it has significantly improved the overall health of their citizens.

The Filipino people have a right to life and health just as much as other citizens. They have the right to a better if not the best method to warn them of the danger inherent in smoking. The text warning right now is STILL NOT ENOUGH. Many are still smoking and dying while the young ones are curiously taking up the habit not knowing its effects, creating a vicious cycle of death that could be prevented through the use of picture based health warning that is universally understood by the people, especially the many who cannot read and understand.

Sign now. Because a picture can save millions of lives.

http://www.PetitionOnline.com/ghwphil/

you are the stone I swallowed

small and smooth because it fell
with rain I never see coming

hard to catch in palms that bruise easy
the way it sat in my stomach long

after it slowly climbed up to sit
on top of the wall, a humpty dumpty

on a heart that needed
just one more

brick

===========================

================

 I went to SM Mall of Asia yesterday after my bar examinations hoping to get a well-deserved break. The bar exams in civil law and taxation harassed me and so I scouted SM MOA for a spa offering affordable massage services. And that's when I chanced upon Big Apple.
 
The P299-poster caught my eye. (It's the TipidTips girl in me!) I went inside and talked to the Chinese-looking woman with curly hair. I asked her if I could be accommodated that day. I asked for the P299-massage asking what it entailed. She offered me instead the P590-massage since it was a combination massage. I told her this was the first time I would to go to Big Apple so I would like to try it out with the cheaper version.
 
She said the only available slot was 9pm. It was only 6:30pm at the time but since I sooo needed a massage, I told her I'll go get that slot and would go watch a movie to wait for my appointment. She said that there was only a 10-minute grace period and if I weren't there at the scheduled time, I would lose my slot. I gave her my cellphone number so that she could text me if there was an opening and I could rush to the spa immediately. She wrote it in a piece of paper along with the kind of massage I wanted (Manhattan) and my scheduled appointment. She said she would text me even earlier if there was a sudden opening so I could be squeezed in. I said thanks and off I went.
 
After the movie, I went to the Big Apple for my appointment. I came at around 9:15pm. I was wondering why she hasn't texted me yet so I just went inside. After standing around for 5 minutes, the Chinese-looking woman without so much as a glance at me since she was giving a receipt to this other girl, finally looked at my direction. I said I was there for my appointment. She said I lost my slot since I was late and the 10-minute grace period applied. I told her I never received a text message from her and I even watched a movie so I could pass the time waiting for my appointment. She said that since I wasn't there at the scheduled time, she gave my slot to someone else. I tried to peek inside, saw the girls in uniform eating, another one on the phone and no other customer in sight. I asked her if that was it and she said yes.
 
So "that was it" was all she could say when I wasted almost 3 hours to wait for an appointment. An appointment that I lost by a mere lapse of 5 minutes after the grace period even when I specifically left her an instruction to text me so I could rush from wherever I was in the humongous Mall of Asia to get my much-deserved massage. I said that if this was the way they do their business, it definitely left a very bad impression on me. It was my first time to try Big Apple Express Spa and I am very much disappointed. And angered. How dare she waste my time?!
 
People go to massage spas because they are stressed and they want to be relieved from that stress. They don't enter a spa wanting to get into an argument and to get angry. But that's exactly what happened to me in my Big Apple encounter. I had a really tough day like you wouldn't believe. My experience in this "spa" was the most horrible way to end my day. I didn't deserve it. Even my toughest enemy didn't deserve it. If people in the service industry were all like this person I talked to, heaven forbid, we are all in a very pathetic situation.
 
My family owned a spa business like this a few years ago. We had to close it down because after 6 productive and income-generating years, the proliferation of spas and massage parlors everywhere took its toll. But we survived and earned so much during those 6 years because we took care of our clients like family and they would always come back, if not alone, with their friends and families.
 
There's no worse aggrieved customer than one who is an uber-stressed bar exam taker.
 
And with that, I end this. This has taken soo much of my precious time off studying for criminal and commercial law.
 
PLEASE LET YOUR FRIENDS KNOW AND BE FOREWARNED.

 ==============

I'm not sure if the Consumer Act of the Philippines applies to spas or salons. But I know that one should at least be made, especially because of the proliferation of these high-end establishments, who charge a lot mind you, and advertise in such enticing ways. (I'm a sucker for massages, thai, swede, acupressure, sports massage, u name it I've tried it) Some sort of consumer protection must be done. I know a lot of stories of salons that mess up people's hair and skin because of it. There are always the tort, contract, damages laws we can fall back on, but really it should be time to have a special law for bad services and not just for goods. I particularly like this provision in the consumer goods act, it's couched in liberal terms capable of wide interpretation:

Sec 52. Unfair or Unconscionable sales acts or practices- An unfair or unconscionable sales act or practice by a seller or supplier in connection with a consumer transaction violates this Chapter whether it occurs before, during or after the consumer transaction. An act or practice shall be deemed unfair or unconscionable whenever the producer, manufacturer, distributor, supplier or seller, by taking advantage of the consumer's physical or mental infirmity, ignorance, illiteracy, lack of time or the general conditions of the environment or surroundings, induces the consumer to enter into a sales or lease transaction inimical to the interests of the consumer or grossly one-sided in favor of the producer, manufacturer, distributor, supplier or seller.

in determining whether an act or practice is unfair and unconscionable, the following circumstances shall be considered:

xxx

c) That when the consumer transaction was entered into, the consumer was unable to receive a substantial benefit from the subject of the transaction 

 =====

I find it frustratingly ironic that Kaka went to a spa for relaxation and got the opposite. Instead of relaxation, it turned to frustration. Now that kind of mental injury, especially from someone coming from a stressful 2nd sunday bar exam just sucks. Should this be a case of damnum absque injuria? I don't know, I'm no lawyer. I certainly hope it isn't. But for practical purposes, no one really goes after them. So we turn to blogging instead. I'm just ranting but I for one know that there are more serious injuries out there because of these establishments. Send in your stories. It's all just advertising anyway. Seller beware.

1. social life

2. love life

3. friends

4. self esteem 

My first Sunday was a very spiritual event. It all started 7 years ago. I decided I would be a lawyer. Something happened that made me want to be one so I took the steps and am now almost there. The biggest hurdle is coming up.

    Funny back then I started playing basketball again for UP dorms and teams. I chose the #77 for my jersey. 7 was my favorite number. Always has been.  Funny that it would take 7 years for me to finish law school. Take the bar in the year 2007. But hey, I think it's a good sign. So last April I enrolled in the bar review class. Had to sign up on a notebook thing. Funny when it was my turn to sign, the slot on the notebook was #77.  And so my law center review ID bears that number. Looks like I've been branded.So I found it also funny that in Manila Bulletin when the list of bar examinees came out I'm conveniently #763. In numerology one adds those numbers together until you get a single digit. 7+6+3=16, then 1+6=7.  7 again.  Funny.

    Then come saturday check-in time I am handed my hotel key. It was near the elevator so I knew it would be disturbing to have that bell going off once in a while when the elevator reached my floor and barristers would be chatting all the way to their rooms. I didn't mind though. I was absorbed. I didn't forget to hear mass. I felt the need to. It would be the only saving grace, having not finished 1st reading for labor. So I prayed. Then on my way up I struggled with the keycard and as I stood there outside my door I stopped and stared at my room number. #502.  5+2= 7. I calmed down and took it as a sign God will be with me during my first Sunday. And I should trust and believe.

    So I crammed my usual way. My bestfriends arrived and I had the best resources for asking explanations for difficult concepts like party-list computation and illegal recruitment and injunctions. By this time, the text messages were pouring in... well wishers and prayers. I'm really lucky to have a good support system. (Multiply friends included of course) Thank you so much everyone, you guys gave me strength when I was about to break down again at the hotel and at mass. Hehehe yes jam, umiyak ata ako sa mass. Anyway I didn't sleep. I crammed and I crammed, all those advice about what to do the night before I didn't follow. I crammed, I didn't sleep, I ate A LOT. I lit a candle in my room and would stare at it when I couldn't absorb information and would just pray.

     By 3 am I couldn't take anymore so I just listened to praise songs on my ipod while going through the codal. (did I forget to mention the song at mass was one that had been playing in my head the day before and almost everytime I think of the bar)    Had a shower and went down to the LSG and PY saw me and shoved the tips right at me. "Read that" she says. And so I crammed some more. On the elevator, while eating breakfast, on the bus, in the queue on the way inside La Salle. I was so nervous. I think my heart was as loud as the gong drums that was playing in the background. I forgot which school. Then I went inside my building St. La Salle and had to look for the list of rooms and which one I had to be in. So here comes another list. I searched for my name.  There it was. #124.  1+2+4 = 7. I'm not kidding. You can check.

    So I crammed some more in the classroom, at lunch, by the stairwell, in the bathroom. And for me I think it was all these factors that made me survive my first day. God, my family, my friends. It's humbling to be at an emotional point when you know you can't do anything anymore. It's miraculous to find someone else pick you up and carry you to the next post like a pass the message thing or those concert style passed around to the next person high up in the air to get to the stage. Anyhow as for the exams I didn't really think about it after, whether my answers were right or wrong. But I'm so thankful my mind wasn't blank at all. It would be safe to say I wouldn't be disqualified on the very first Sunday. That at least I can now fight and cram just a bit earlier for the next Sunday.

Stats:
(for poli I read bernas a month ago and half of nachura and stopped studying. labor I didnt start at all till just last Tuesday and took Wednesday off to sleep after breaking down, then crammed again the next day, Friday I went to Quiapo church and the chapel in recoletos. Then went home to cram all the way to bar day. A total of 5 days for my 1st reading mind you)

time finished
poli: 10:53 am
labor: 4pm
hours spent awake: 40 (from Saturday 4am-Sunday 9pm)

Maybe next entry I'll talk about the number 9 :) the number of completion. That's the other number that keeps popping up in my life.

Lawyers have come and passed,
This lazy ass can never last,
Wake me up when September ends.

Like undergrad came to pass,
These four years have gone too fast,
Wake me up when September ends.

Here comes the rain again,
Falling from the bar,
Drenched in my pain again,
Becoming who we are.

As my eyes close to rest,
But never forgets what I learned,
Wake me up when September ends.

Lawyers have come and passed,
The procrastinator can never last,
Wake me up when September ends,

Roll out the banners again,

Like we did when results came then
Wake me up when September ends.

Here comes the rain again,
Falling from the bar,
Drenched in my pain again,
Becoming who we are.

As my eyes close to rest,
But never forget just what I learned,
Wake me up when September ends....

    For those who don't know what the bar exam in the Philippines is like, here's a little bit of info,  which will probably help people understand why we reviewees rant about it so much. Personally it's the cost of failing that stresses me out. (and I'm not talking bout just the financial)

    Last September 2006, more than 6,100 examinees took the Philippine Bar exam. Last April 3, 2007, the bar exam results was published after 6 months of waiting. 1,893 examinees or 30.6% of the examinees passed the bar. The other 4,294 or about 69.4% of the bar examinees did not make the grade. Good for those who passed, better luck next time for those who failed. Life must go on. And what would failure mean? Here's a breakdown of the costs of taking the bar exam.

For a person who earns 20,000 pesos a month, he needs to let go 120,000 pesos of income to review for 6 months. For a province-based person, he needs to rent a place in Manila for an average of 10,000 pesos per month or a total of 60,000 pesos. Plus a budget of 10,000 per month for meals and living allowance, this means another 60,000 pesos. Include the plane fare, communication and school supplies and bar exam fee of about 20,000 pesos, a total budget of 250,000 pesos is a fair amount. All of these you spent in order to take the bar exam and get the chance to practice law.

    Now you add all that that to one's health cost: The sleepless nights, the deep anxiety and nervousness is part of the game during review. Then comes the examination month. The examination takes four days, 8 hours a day. Examinees tackle 8 subjects 4 hours per subject. After that, the examinees go back to their old life and wait for 6 months for the results.

soooo 

    Rumor has it that it's the hardest bar exam in the world since flunkers here easily pass the California bar (reportedly the hardest in the US) but I still think it's a hit and miss and that Lady Luck and God will help this sad lazy ass to hurdle it. Why? because the social stigma is great, especially if you come from the upper ranked schools. Every one expects you to do your best and failing isn't an option. (the bar exam also has the highest mortality rate -due to stress, depression, failure) Because in a sense it is a competition.

Since about 1913, the Bar exam in the Philippines is among the news maker in country. The highlight of every bar exam results are the names of Bar topnotchers and the names of their respective schools. Today, topping the bar exam means fame, honor and good fortune for the persons and their alma matters.

I heard that Bar exam in the United States Bar exam do not post the names of topnotchers. You only get a "pass" or "fail" grade. I'm sure the United States Bar has strong reasons not to publish topnotchers. And I'm sure among the two reasons are (1) to prevent fraud and taking advantage of the fame as topnotchers and (2) not to over hype the result of the exam because an exam score does not determine the greatness of a person...

    Now if only we could anonymously fail then it wouldn't be so hard.... baH! Enough about results and top notchers and being on tv and fame and fortune... I just need to pass. So I'm tackling Civ law tonight... what that means is....

The Civil Code of the Philippines contains more than 2,000 articles. The family Code of the Philippines contains about 200 articles. Not to mention the countless other special civil laws, Gods knows how many landmark civil cases resolved and decided by the supreme court. All of them are possible topics in the bar exams under the subject of Civil law and given four (4) long hours per subject to answer a maximum of 40 questions. (handwritten mind you)...

    SOOOOO for this zombie crammer, I'm stocking up on vitamins, racking up some living expenses bills, having spurts of emotional breakdowns in the midst of reading chapters.  Luckily writing for me is my therapy. And well, sitting back and bloghopping ... Which led me to the blogs that provide support for this emotional supertyphoon to come next month.  Among the gems I found and haunted... well i still do

1. Atty Fred's blog  where he also runs a forum to discuss strategies and tips
2. Macka whose commentaries on recent issues have been quite helpful.
   
3. Punzi's corner blog - some good experience articles about tackling it
4. Barops blog - thank you for the super tips.