The Amateur Writer

Tomorrow I will be sitting for my first, last and only paper at Otago University. I'm one of those students who go to exams with just a pen and my ID. I'd like to think that I have this rebellious and devil may care attitude when it comes to exams. I'm going to be the best. I will do my best! Bismillah!

The anime drought is over. After the endless series of badly made anime for the past few years, the second half of 2012 is looking pretty bright. I blame and thank my sister, Sabrina for reeling me back into the anime world. It is safe to say that good animes are making a comeback!

No more boring plots.

No more unnecessary monologues with the stupid metaphoric view on life.

NO MORE FANSERVICE!!

And the new trend that I notice about these new animes is that they tend to be more straightforward and quick. It seems the industry is finally acknowledging that the audience no longer have the same patience as they used to. For me, I'm getting old and don't have a lot of patience. I prefer my shows to be straight to the point. Often with Japanese animes, they tend to beat around the bush a lot and often the ending is always obscure. This is also one of the reasons why I don't watch anime as often. Even though these animes are fairly new, I don't think the creators are about to go down that road.




Title: Say I Love You
Synopsis: Girl has been a loner her whole life when the most popular guy in school takes notice of her.
Thoughts: Don't let the typical plot trick you. This is a surprisingly a funny anime that makes me go eeeeeeeeek!! Haha. I like the animation a lot and how the animators design their expressions. I find it very pretty. The girl is not super emo as I expect her to be and the guy is dreamy~




























Title: K
Synopsis: I don't really understand what's going on at the moment because it currently has 2 episodes.
Thoughts: Animation is superb. The characters look extremely badass and the world reminds me of Persona 3. It has potential to become one of those smart animes with plot twist and even though I don't quite get what is going on exactly, I'm still waiting to find out.





















Title: Arcana Famiglia
Synopsis: Girl is the heiress of a mafia(?) family that protects the island of Regalo. One day her father announces his decision to retire and holds a competition for the members to become the next leader. One of the rewards is her hand in marriage. Girl rebels and joins the competition.
Thoughts: Reminds me of Brave meets Katekyo Hitman Reborn with a touch of Soul Eater. My favourite character is Debito. That's the guy with the eye patch! I'm not super excited about the anime but it doesn't have any annoying qualities which makes it a pretty easygoing anime to watch.



























Title: Ristorante Paradiso
Synopsis: Nicolletta wants to reconnect with her estranged mother who marries an owner of an Italian restaurant. The restaurant is unique because it hires only good-looking middle aged men who wear glasses. She works as a kitchen helper there and falls in love with Claudio. Due to their huge age difference, Claudio is adamant of his feelings for Nicolletta despite of her advances.
Thoughts: I've watched this anime way back in 2010 but I want to include this anime into this post too. I find this anime very charming especially with its strong Italian references. It's very well made and I connect with each character. It doesn't help that I find Claudio extremely cute! Thanks to this anime, I find older men attractive! Hahahahaha! I don't think this anime is for everyone but if you want something that's more realistic with a dash of culture, then Ristorante Paradiso is for you. In my opinion, this anime is a work of art!


I watch all these animes at http://www.animefreak.tv/

I figured that I need some EDGE in my resume for job applications and what's better than reference letters?

VIDEO TESTIMONIALS!!!!!

A huge thank you to all my lecturers who participated in this project! I feel so blessed to get to know all of you. And I seriously think English professors are the coolest kind of professors!

Today before I went to gym, I decided to check out the new Sunday market that Dunedin decided to hold regularly from now on. I can't believe there were so many people! The things that they sell are more handicraft centred and there weren't a lot of fresh foods like the ones they have at Farmer's Market. This event is located inside the Forsyth Barr stadium.












And after working my butt off at the gym, I went home to cook lunch, had the awesomest shower and the bestest nap. Yeaaaaaap, my Sunday was awesome!

 Our last workshop focused on coding our final projects and this basically a screenshot (?) of a node I'm linking to my own.








This is the sight that will greet you once you exited Burns building through the main door. This is everyday sight for me. The main uni compound where it will be full of people in between periods. Today it was empty because most people are done for the day and it was raining. As dramatic as this sounds, it looks as if the sky was crying for my last day at uni! Haha!



After class I went to meet Alia because I haven't seen her in forever and on the way I passed this French crepe stall that's always set up on Fridays in front of Otago Museum. Figured I should treat myself and got a chocolate crepe! I always think that a crepe is not authentic unless you get a Frenchman to make it for ya! I once tried to converse with this guy with my barely there French and it was exhilarating. Haha! I only know about three sentences in French and a few curse words (Thanks Shira!) but it was nice to see how he got so excited that I knew (?) French! Haha!

 I think The Coffee Club is a franchise that's only available in New Zealand and Australia. I'm not entirely sure but I don't think other countries have this franchise. Granted I've never even seen another branch aside from this one that I go to. One of the reasons that drew me to The Coffee Club is the ambiance. If you read my other cafe reviews in NZ, you'll notice that they're very different and quite gritty (in a good way of course!). When this branch opened in Dunedin, I can't help but feel like I'm back at home. The cafe oozes commercial goodness that you'll instantly feel at home. It's like being in the comforting arms of Mother Capitalist. Hahaha! Not sure if that's a good thing though.


 The service is brilliant and I never had to wait long for my food. The only downer aspect to this cafe is the price. Just like your local Starbucks, The Coffee Club is not cheap compared to local cafes. But they make the best gourmet sandwiches (my favourite: The Smoked Salmon Gourmet Sandwich) and I love their Mediterranean platter!!

I honestly don't come here often aside from special occasions. But when I do, it has always been a good experience! A really nice place to hang out.


 The view from my seat overlooks George St. It was a sunny Sunday afternoon and it.was.just.the.best!

RANT TIME!

When I hear the word transitioning I always think of transgenders. But no. I am not turning myself into a boy anytime soon. However I am transitioning to the world of adulthood. Like proper adulthood (where I have to find a job and stuff). If you know me I'm always the girl with the master plan. Ask me where I see myself by the time I'm 30, I can tell you. But that doesn't change the fact that I'm scared out of my wits over the future. I guess I'm a lot better off compared to people who still can't figure out what they want to do with their life. But I digress. I'm excited and nervous. I can't wait to start this new chapter of my life and basically journeying into this world of the unknown. What's going to happen to me? I'm also nervous over the what ifs? What if my master plan doesn't work out? What if I don't get what I want to do? I admit, I am quite stubborn against forces that try to deter me away from my goals. I think this hard headedness is good but I refused to be stupid either. I don't want to appear naive.

I've been waiting for this point of my life since I was 15. And now I'm here. I'm restless. I just want to get into it. I have so many things I want to do but I'm scared of them as well. I know this fear is nothing to me. I will easily overcome them. I have options and they can be so puzzling. I hear different opinions on what I should do and while I appreciate them, I need to be clear on what I want. I want it to be my way. Some may think that is quite arrogant of me (even stupid) but I need to STAND OUT. I need an EDGE.

As much as I'm looking forward for the future, I can't let my last moments as an undergraduate pass me by. Right now I'm working on my last essay as an undergraduate. And I'm going to eternalize this moment in this post. You are going to get your bum to the library at 9AM tomorrow. And finalize your research findings by tomorrow! Then you will go to the gym!! It's been awhile and YOU NEED TO GET SOME JUICE RUNNING IN THAT BRAIN OF YOURS!

Here are two pictures that I took today: