My Fave K Dramas

Back in the day, I was introduced to Korean Dramas. Back then, K-Dramas were called Koreanovelas and were Korean series dubbed to Tagalog for local viewers.  It was around this time that I also discovered that you could watch subtitled, original language versions of these shows online (if you knew where to look). Listening to the actors speak in their own language and hearing the inflections, the pitch for me gave the scenes more depth and emotion than the dubbed version. While Filipino dubbers are good at what they do, nothing beats hearing the actors themselves speak to get the full impact of a scene.

Netflix Picks: Love the Way U Lie

With COVID 19 still making it hard for people to go out, many film producers have opted for other ways to show their films. Many of them have decided to release them digitally to be sold/rented or streamed via streaming services such as Netflix. Viva Films’ Love the Way U Lie is one of those movies.

Folklore

Taylor Swift surprised everyone with a new album during the pandemic. According to news articles on this, she did not plan to release one, but she had created so much during the pandemic that she had to release it. Good thing that she did, since this is something that fans (and non-fans) like me can enjoy from start to finish!

My Go-To Cafe: Brainstorms and Brews

One thing that I miss about the pre-pandemic life is visiting coffee shops and just enjoying the coffee and ambiance with my family and friends. As much as I love coffee, it is not just about the coffee, but about the social experience too. 

There is a local café that my family and I often went to pre-pandemic that recently made an adjustment to the pandemic life, and for that, I am incredibly grateful. They have created a website where you can order coffee and non-coffee drinks as well as other food that we used to enjoy when we used to visit their physical store. I love that you can order and pay online, which means that when the items are delivered there is no exchange of cash. I have heard that cash is one of those things that can spread the COVID 19 virus so not needing to pay via cash is a good thing for me. 

Pandemic Diaries: Lasco UV Light

As I have mentioned in a previous post, the pandemic has resulted in me purchasing a portable UV light sterilizer. I was happy with my purchase and had intended to buy a larger sterilizer for our home but the one from the brand I previously purchased from sold ones that were beyond my budget so I decided to look elsewhere.

I have been interested in a bigger UV light sterilizer for some time now and there were too many brands and types of sterilizers that I was overwhelmed with the selection and ended up not choosing anything at all. It was only when a friend of mine posted her purchase of the Lasco UV light that I decided that I was finally going to make my purchase.

Soap Obsession: Safeguard Charcoal

The thing about being a germophobe is that you become obsessed with items that label themselves as something that can kill or protect you from germs. I remember being a child and wanting to have soaps that make that promise but my mother always preferred other brands. When I became an adult and was buying my own toiletries, I made the choice to use Safeguard soap, and it has been the one that I have been using since then.

I have tried different brands over the years, but at the end of the day, I still go back to Safeguard. Maybe it is a psychological thing, but I have always believed their marketing that the soap eliminates germs and protects you from germs when you use it. If I am not using Safeguard (or any other “anti-bacterial” soap) it feels like I am not completely clean. I am more than likely to use another brand of soap but then use Safeguard after just to be sure. Weird, I know but that is how my mind works.

Book Review: Natalie Tan's Book of Luck and Fortune

Sometimes you buy a book because you are interested in a story, sometimes you buy it because of the cover. In this case, I bought it because of the latter, and I have no regrets about doing so. I read Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck and Fortune by Roselle Lim and I loved it!

Credit: Penguin Randomhouse

Book Review: House of Salt and Sorrows

A book I recently read was House of Salt and Sorrows, a Young Adult book that had elements of the supernatural, mystery, and horror added to it. It is a story about twelve sisters and the mystery of why the young girls were dying one after another. I only got the book because of the cover, but I enjoyed reading it from start to finish.

My Acupressure Mat Experience

I turned another year older early this year. The things that I thought older people were exaggerating about are things that I am now starting to feel. My eyesight, particularly when it comes to reading, has gone bad. I cannot read anything well without my reading glasses. Most other times that I am reading something without them I am just trying to guess what the words are. My body has been having all sorts of aches and pains that I have never had before. It has been so bad that I decided to try something different: an acupressure mat.

Image by WhisperingJane_ASMR from Pixabay

Movie Review: The Negotiation

My interest in watching TV programs or movies that featured Hyun Bin started when I finished his series Crash Landing on You (CLOY) on Netflix. After watching another series of his, Memories of the Alhambra, I decided to make the switch and watch one of his movies next. This time, I chose the hostage drama The Negotiation.

The film also stars his CLOY leading lady Son Ye Jin. If I am not mistaken this was their first project together and CLOY followed this. The movie features hostage negotiator Ha Chae Youn (Son Ye Jin), who at the start of the movie has a female hostage die in her arms and causing her to want to resign from the job.

Book Review: Royally Series by Emma Chase

One of my guilty pleasures when it comes to books is reading love stories that involve royalty. Not necessarily a love story between an ordinary person and royalty. It could be any love story if is it royalty adjacent. I think it comes from my fascination with British royalty and the fact that we do not have any here in the Philippines. I enjoy reading stories involving royals, even if most of the ones I have read involve royals from fictional kingdoms in Europe.

It is because of this interest in royalty related love stories that I have come across the Royally Series from Emma Chase.  There are four main books, but there are also short versions that were added on to stories of the characters in the series.

Netflix Picks: Cursed

Netflix has recently come out with a series that re-imagines the story that revolves around Excalibur and the legend of King Arthur. Titled Cursed, it revolves around the character Nimue, who, as the series insinuates, will eventually become the Lady of the Lake in the stories of King Arthur and Camelot. 

Netflix Picks: Bad Boys for Life

During one sleepless pandemic night, I decided to watch one of the newest movies on Netflix, the third in the series of Bad Boys movies from Will Smith and Martin Lawrence titled Bad Boys for Life. 

KDrama Review: Dinner Mate

A recent app discovery for me is iQYI, which is a streaming service that features Asian dramas and movies. It is free to use, but it has ads in between while you watch videos (think TV commercials when watching free TV). When I first discovered the app, I also discovered a Korean series that I got hooked on: Dinner Mate starring Song Seung Heon (Autumn in My Heart) and Seo Ji Hye (Crash Landing on You).

My Favorite Lip Sync Battle Performances

Lip Sync Battle is one of those shows that has become a guilty pleasure for me. It has been amusing to watch celebrities lip-sync to famous songs and try to make it their own. As the show has gone on, it seems that celebrities are always trying to one-up one another, making each performance an even bigger production than the first. So, from the small segment that it was on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, it has grown into a big competition from celebrities in the US to those in different countries all over the world.

I have enjoyed so many performances throughout the years that I thought I had to share some of my favorites here. Hope you enjoy watching them as much as I do!

Series Review: Most Dangerous Game

One of the TV shows that I enjoyed watching on the app Quibi was Most Dangerous Game starring Liam Hemsworth as Dodge, a young man who had a failed business venture and was dying from cancer looking for a way to make ends meet. He gets an offer to be part of a secret game where he becomes hunted for 24 hours. For every hour that he stays alive, he gets a certain amount of money. If he stays alive until the end, he wins even more. Feeling like he had no other choice, he decides to accept the offer and play the game.

Netflix Picks: The Old Guard

By now, anyone who has a Netflix account (or borrowed one, as a lot of people do) has probably seen the Charlize Theron movie The Old Guard. It was such a hit that they are considering making a sequel to this one. As someone who saw it on the first week it came out, I can vouch for the fact that people enjoyed it so much that there was so much word of mouth going on that everyone else decided to go and see it, making it one of the most successful original films from Netflix. 

Welcome (Me) to Mobile Legends

I said I would never do it. I said I do not understand the appeal. I said that it was a waste of time. And yet, I had signed up for it and am now playing Mobile Legends.