Like The Tomato
Nothing here but my musings about daily life, books, anime, and food.
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Roma
Chris and I had some movie nights this week. We watched a total of 4 movies. I also finished watching a Thai BL series yesterday. You know, when my brain refuses to work with me, I end up binge-watching something. This time, it was a Thai BL series called Love in the Air.
Love in the Air. This was divided into two storylines. Some events between the two couples overlapped with each other. The first couple is Rain and Phayu. The second couple is Sky and Prapai. Rain and Sky are best friends and both are freshmen in college studying architecture. Phayu and Prapai are also friends. Both are into motorbike racing. Phayu is the only mechanic allowed by the boss of these racing events to work onsite during events. He owns a mechanic shop with his brother. And he is also an architect. Paprai is a rich kid, working at the family business. He is the top motorbike racer in these events. Anyway, I enjoyed the series immensely. A lot of cute moments, there were cringe, but there were some dark turns as well. And this series was based on two books, Love Rain and Love Sky. I’m pretty sure you can guess what I did after I finished the show.
Kung Fu Hustle (2004). I am not sure if I watched this movie before. All I know is that some characters and scenes were familiar to me. I mean, I know for sure I’ve seen clips of this movie here and there. Or you know, maybe I actually saw this movie already. Anyway, this was a fun movie. Campy and cheesy scenes for sure, but the movements were beautifully shot.
To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995). This definitely flew under the radar for me. And I am glad I was finally able to watch it. I enjoyed it a lot. There is one scene that definitely made me tear up. “That’s my shoe”, “Can I have my shoe back please?” I could go on. I’m just saying that, in my opinion, that scene was so powerful.
Train to Busan (2016). This has been on my watch list since it came out. And honestly, the only reason why I haven’t watched it yet was because I didn’t want to be disappointed. I’ve heard a lot of good things about this movie, but despite that, I was hesitant to watch it. But last night, Chris and I decided to just go for it. And this movie did not disappoint. This is not another zombie movie. That is a fact. It was heavy and emotional. It showed human nature – from how a kid thinks, to how an adult thinks. It showed how people would react to being put in this kind of survival. Who would be selfish, who would help others. Who would forsake others for his or her own survival. It was amazing. One of the best zombie movies I’ve watched. It made me cry for fuck’s sake.
Good Burger (1997). And for the finale of the girls’ movie night, we decided to watch this movie. We needed something not heavy as Train to Busan. And since I have not watched this movie, we settled on this one. And it was the perfect downtime we needed. I mean, the movie was funny. It was something that we didn’t really need to think about. “Welcome to Good Burger. Home of the good burger. Can I take your order?” Let’s just say that the movie was a trip and fun.
No big plans tonight. Just rest and read. I’ve just been exhausted lately. Do not ask me why, I have no idea. I have no reason to be exhausted but here I am. Barely awake.
It was a movie weekend for me! How many did I watch this weekend? Five. FIVE. My boyfriend and I did watch some anime episodes on Saturday, sure. But Five movies for me is a lot.
Naruto. Sasuke caught up with Naruto and Jiraiya after hearing that his brother, Itachi, was after Naruto. Sasuke has been training hard to kill his brother. But at this point, he was still not strong enough to take on his brother. Not surprised, Itachi was something else. He was of a different breed. We got a bit of some backstory about the brother, and why Itachi did what he did. But I felt like it was still very superficial. “To measure my ability” sounded like bullshit to me.
Parasyte. Progression was good. The anime successfully showed the changes in Izumi and how the people around him notice it. And tells him about it. I have some opinions on this that would be fleshed out in my anime reactions post for this one. The one that really annoyed me however was Yuko Kimishima’s decision to confront Shimada alone instead of telling her brother about him. “Oh he’s not normal, I saw it. He has a fake face.” She asks her brother about these things. Then says, “I’ll talk to Shimada about it.” Really? Honestly, I had to keep telling myself that these characters are kids. And do not know any better. But damn.
Bungo Stray Dogs. My hun said that he was thinking that the anime was a bit slow. And I do understand. So this anime is under evaluation if he wants to drop or not. But since this is my choice of anime, regardless of whether he drops it or not, I want to continue with it. Anyway, sounds like the Port Mafia and the Agency might be joining forces soon to protect their city from the League. I am here for it.
Now we go to the movies. Aside from anime episodes, my boyfriend and I were able to watch Mission: Impossible – Fallout. We finally watched all the available moves in this franchise.
Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018). It was decent. I enjoyed it. But then again, heist movie. So I feel like that is a given that I would like this movie. Anyway, nothing really out of the ordinary. It delivered what it wanted to do. Of course, I guessed who Henry Cavill’s character is. That was fine, it didn’t really hinder my enjoyment of the movie.
So yesterday, I was feeling slightly off and feeling a bit exhausted so I decided to make a Sunday afternoon of watching movies.
Accepted (2006). This was a rewatch for me. I mean, this was definitely not revolutionary. But it would be nice to actually have freeform learning like this in real life. And still be an accredited institution. One can dream. Imagine not having to take classes that you don’t really want OR need. And actually have a personalized academic route. But alas, I really do not think that this would fly and be recognized as an actual form of learning. The formal educational system is a bit too rigid for this.
That’s Amor (2022). I enjoyed this one. I mean, a guy who can cook? Sign me up. I just have issues with insta-love. I just felt like it was too quick. However, I did appreciate the growth I saw in Sofia. I mean, she made a decision that was out of her comfort zone.
Love in the Villa (2022). I remember wanting this kind of romance. Go to a foreign country and meet someone and fall in love. Yeah. Insta-love? Sure. This was not bad. What is more romantic than finding love in Verona? In a villa overlooking the balcony of Juliet? This love story of course follows the close proximity and enemies-to-lovers trope. To be honest, if there was a double booking issue and I am in a different country, no way in hell I would be sharing a villa with a stranger. I am way too scared for that. I do not trust people. The movie was cute though. Especially when they started to actually talk and be friendly with each other.
Wedding Season (2022). This is a fake-dating trope. I think this was the one that I enjoyed the most out of the 3 rom-coms I watched. I mean, I was invested. I think it was most likely because of the fact that on some level, being Asian myself, I felt this pressure of getting married and having a family at a certain age. Also on top of that, the pressure of upholding tradition. Being the traditional female of a construct. So yeah, I felt this movie to a point. I mean the male MC has issues with this dad too because he chose a non-traditional lifestyle and career. What made this movie for me though was the progression of Asha and Ravi’s relationship. It was very natural.
I just did chores today. I was too tired after working out this morning. I had some issues with the exercises, especially during weight training. My shoulders and thighs were definitely shaky the whole time.
- Anime Title: Tomo-chan Is a Girl!
- Episodes: 13 episodes
- Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
- Publisher: Aniplex of America
Since I saw this anime on the list of winter anime, I knew I would watch it. Why not? Finally, a tomboy in a romance anime. In this anime, we follow Tomo Aizawa (a tomboy) who has been in love with her best friend, Junichiro Kubota. This follows Tomo as she tries to get Junichiro to see her as more than one of the boys.
The comedy here stemmed from Tomo trying to be “girly” so that Junichiro would notice her. This was due to the fact that her other best friend, Misuzu Gundou, told her that she needed to be more traditionally girly. Honestly, this was the only thing that I found a bit meh about the anime. It was funny. Seeing Tomo out of her element and trying to navigate the girl world was chaotically comedic. Though I laughed, I just found it a bit difficult to agree that Tomo needed to change herself and be girly.
Anyway, Gundou as a character was interesting to me. Why? She seemed like a dark character to me. A lot of girls were scared of Tomo because she was tall and loud and could kick a dude’s ass without batting an eye. But honestly, Gundou was the scary one. She was cunning and almost sadistic. I loved her devilish smirk that often graces the screen. She was often seen messing with Tomo and Junichiro.
There were some characters that my boyfriend and I did not know how to feel about at the beginning – like Carol. But it did not really take away from our enjoyment of the anime. It was really nice to see the progression of Tomo’s and Junichiro’s relationship. I mean, it was young love. What not to enjoy about it?
Overall, this was a pretty good romance, slice-of-life anime about young love. We definitely enjoyed it. Would I watch it again? Maybe. I mean, it would not be my first choice of anime to rewatch. I want a season two though just to see what happens to this love story. Just note, if you’re going to give this one a try, watch the sub. The dub for Tomo sounded unnatural.
I had a late start today. I had no energy. And no motivation. So I decided to drop some stuff on my schedule. Mainly studying. Why did I have a late start today? My fault. Updating my resume last night took a lot longer than I anticipated. Then it took quite a bit to fall asleep. Oh well.
One thing that I refused to drop though was working out. Cause that activity makes me feel accomplished when I do it. Also, I needed to do at least one of the things in my schedule. And since this was a joint activity with my man, I enjoy it more. I did a bit tired after though. But still accomplished.
I tend to cycle through my interests. Guess where it landed? Tiny homes. Again. I started watching Tiny House Hunting on Hulu. Not that I want to live in a tiny home. I could never see myself downsizing. I have a lot of books that I really don’t see myself parting ways with. But I just love the fact on how people could be creative enough to make maximize the small space.
No big plans tonight. I am hoping to just relax and read (well, you know, hopefully, I get to read). I swear, I have no discipline when it comes to reading! I have the time. I do. I just need to pick up a book and read. Shame on me.
Well, yesterday was productive by my standards. Studied. Worked out. And studied some more. Nothing really more noteworthy than that. I felt good yesterday.
I did watch some movies with Chris last night – two Fil-Am movies.
Bitter Melon (2018). This movie is a dark comedy about a Filipino family living in Bay Area. The story was good. The premise was intriguing. It covered abuse and generational trauma. And how it could affect not just the abused, but the people around the abuse and the future generations. Chris and I were triggered at times. I mean, aside from how it covered how men treat women, it also explored toxic masculinity in a toxic household.
The Fabulous Filipino Brothers (2021). This movie focused on four brothers from a Filipino-American family living in California. Apparently, this was influenced by the Basco siblings’ own experience growing up with their family and the Fil-Am community. This movie starred real-life siblings, the Basco siblings. Yes, the four Basco brothers have a sister! That was a surprise for us too. Anyway, the movie was good. We enjoyed it. We laughed, we cringed, and we looked at each other to say “WTF”. We loved it. The acting was on point, not just from the siblings but from the supporting cast as well. Anyway, I was really glad that I finally watched it.
I was partially productive today. I was having issues with some ear pain today, so I could barely focus on anything. Anyway, I still managed to get a little bit of studying done. Not a lot. But still something. So when the afternoon hit, I just decided to stay in bed and rest.
My man and I were able to watch some anime today. Which was great.
Naruto. I am pretty excited for this arc honestly. Jiraiya took over Naruto’s care for now. Akatsuki was introduced. Itachi was back in Konoha, and looking for Naruto, well the nine tails to be exact. I cannot wait for more revelations and developments.
Bungo Stray Dogs. This was getting messy with the introduction of The League. I cannot wait to see where this goes considering that the agency is stuck between a rock and a hard place right now.
Parasyte. This one was just WOW. The episodes that we watched were definitely something. I was shocked. But then again, this anime has not failed to shock me.
Since Chris and I found Filcuisine, we knew we would be back! This place was a drive for us. So we only get to think about visiting the place if we would be in the area. Well, it happened last weekend. We needed to get some stuff at HMart and this restaurant was in the same complex. Anyway, this was the third time we went here. The second time, we didn’t get to dine in. They were so busy at that time. But luckily, this weekend, we got there right as they opened.
We got new dishes this time around, except for the laing. Because we just loved that dish.
First Order: Crispy Pata. It was between this dish and Lechon Kawali. But I wanted more in a serving so I went with crispy pata. This was a roasted, then deep-fried pork hock. This was served with white rice. And this dish came with two dipping sauces – a spicy soy/vinegar with crushed garlic and Thai chili, and the lechon sauce. It was so good. And I think, Chris and I eating this dish made it look so good that the table next to us ordered it as well after asking the server what we were having. The skin was so crispy that we heard every crunch as we bite into it. Anything fried was a comfort for me. And this definitely hit the spot. It was what I needed.
Second Order: Ginisang Munggo. This was sauteed mung beans with pork chicharon and spinach. I was not expecting much really. I knew I wanted to try it out because we have not had this in years. And yeah, it was good. Really good. We had this white rice. Oh god. Yeah, I need to learn how to cook this. I really do.
Third Order: Beef Tapa Fried Rice. I wanted to try this because I ordered Tapsilog the second time we went here. And it was good. So I said, I loved the marinate they use for their tapa so I was definitely going to order the fried rice. This was fried rice with minced beef tapa, mixed veggies, and egg, flavored with sweet tapa seasoning. I know I said that the ginisang munggo and the laing matched well with the white rice. But having those dishes with this fried rice, elevated them. This was good. The servicing was huge so we were eating this fried rice the whole weekend.
And yes, we did have leftovers for all these dishes including the laing. So we were just going ham on Filipino food the whole weekend. And I loved it. We also got a dessert to take home called leche flan. OHMYGOD. It was definitely not good for me, but it was really good. It was creamy, it was the right sweetness, right consistency. It was really good. I wished we got two of them. And yes, we would be going back. I want to be a regular at that place. The server recognized us! And we’ve only been there three times!