Planetime with Yotsuba

Yotsuba has been accompanying us to most of our travels and her adventure usually starts (and ends) in her plane rides.

Oftentimes, she is well-behaved.

But there are times when she finds herself with a playmate, she can't help herself...

and be a little naughty.


Then again... that's just her, being excited.

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Yotsuba and A Tale of Three Boxes

Once there was this cute action figure that caught the fancy of a then 27 year old lady. Noticing how much she adored the figure, her beau came home from a business trip with this figure in tow.


Yotsuba&! Revoltech DX Summer Vacation Set
[よつばとリボルテックＤＸ 夏休みセット]
And oh how surprised, glad and thankful was she~. She valued the gift so much that she could not make herself open the box. She thought she'd preserve the toy for the meantime.

A little over a month, the beau acquired information that there was a another version of this character... one that preceded what he gave her as a present. Soon after... he arrived at the office carrying the first version plaything (which he bought from a local toy store in town).


Yotsuba&! Revoltech
[よつばとリボルテック]
It was like déjà vu as the same kind of emotions (amazement and gratefulness) came over her. Having two in her possession, she felt it was admissible to open one of them to serve its purpose: to be toyed with. Upon comparison, she resolved to open the last considering it had the character's signature expression. Soon after, she found herself not without her 'alter ego'.

When it was time for the beau to have another business trip, she coerced him to bring the 'alter ego' with him so he can take photos of 'her' in a different location. Unfortunately, in one his photo sessions, he accidentally dropped 'her'. When he found scratches on 'her', he felt so guilty he wanted to replace 'her' with a new one! Alas! He did buy her a new one and suggested that she can keep the new one unopened and still make use of the already-used figure to play with. So, she did.

She thought the beau had enough of the toy giving. Oh, was she wrong. One Christmas season, he handed her a simple brown box. So simple that it only had a sticker with something written in Japanese. When she opened it, she saw this

Danboard Revoltech 7-11 Limited Version
[セブン-イレブン印のダンボー]
It was her toy figure's boy friend in costume(and another cute toy figure at that). She could not believe her eyes as she knew the toy just came out and was not sold cheap. Indeed, it was too good of a surprise for her.

...
...
...

This is how I have these thus far. :)

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Thursday Treats

Last night's instant plans proved to be fun.

Originally...
I was set to meet one of my girlfriends, Kulit (not her real name), in Glorietta to finally deliver her new toy. I learned days ago that Rai was to make a mock presentation later in the day, which means, he probably does not have a choice but to extend his working hours. I assumed then that he won't be able to come with us.

However...
Rai's mock presentation did not push through. Instead, we made plans to drop by and meet Kulit in her office. From there, we headed to WalterMart to check the new Makati location of GreattoysOnline before finding ourselves in Amici.

The fun part came when we...

1. Were treated to an impromptu tour of Kulit's workplace.

[Kulit's work area, Zooming in on her Ame Comis, Their office novelty bar stools]

2. Checked GreattoysOnline's merchandise. Rai was able to find the Revoltech figure he was targeting. A reason enough for him to consider the night complete. n_n

[A more organized and bigger Greattoys branch, Rai and Kulit immersing themselves with the toys, More toys, Surprisingly, scrapbook materials were also available, additional plus point for this GT branch]

3. Settled in one of Amici's round table to eat. (Speaking of tables, aren't round ones normally seen in Chinese restaurants instead?) Considering it's my first time to dine in Amici, it was now my turn to say that the night is indeed, complete. :p

[Yummy looking gelato, Order counter, Enjoying dinner]

4. Transformed to our otaku selves.

[top to bottom: Rai and Kulit, ecstatic with their new toys, Kulit opening her Tsukasa, Rai opening his Asuka]


[Rai's Asuka, Kulit's Tsukasa, My Yotsuba, Getting Together, New Buds, Bad Yotsuba]

GreattoysOnline Makati
3rd Floor Waltermart Community Center
Pasong Tamo cor. Pasay Road, Makati City
893-8292

Amici
Don Bosco School,
A.Arnaiz cor. Chino Roces, Makati City
818-4444

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Singapore Trip Day 1 Part 2 – Singapore Zoo and Night Safari

Related posts in series:

Singapore Trip Day 1 Part 1 - Prelude to a Very Long Day
Singapore Trip Day 1 Part 3 - Clarke Quay to Commonwealth

It's the noon of July 24, 2009. We were discussing where we're supposed to head next. This should be easy since we already have a comprehensive itinerary list. However, my uncle has a sister living in Singapore who insisted on getting us tickets to the zoo to which they have memberships. I really didn’t want to go for several reasons:

1. We didn’t have any money yet – Orchard was on the first day in the list because we needed to check the local money changers first.
   
2. Chinatown!!! Did I mention, that’s where the toys are? The thought of getting my Saint Cloth Myth – God Cloth Andromeda was getting to me *grabby hands*.
   
3. I heard the zoo is vast… walking our legs off on the first day was definitely NOT a good idea.
   

As much as I wanted to protest, we didn’t want to offend them by being ungrateful so off we went… and I knew we’re going to regret this… -_-‘

Now, onward, to the zoo!


My distant aunt gave my cousins and brother a ride. It was a somewhat long ride, for a city with great traffic flow it took us 20 minutes to get there... a chance for Ji to catch some shut-eye, while snapping photos kept me awake.

Singapore Zoo - A labyrinth of animals
And we finally arrived. Let's take a look around the zoo :)

Yotsuba getting some tickets ^^


The parrot didn't like the bananas the keeper was feeding it :p


An alligator and a mouse-deer were spotted inside the zoo.




I call this one the big-nosed monkey or the "flashing" monkey, go figure :p.





The white tiger, one of the coolest animals around!


A hippo with its baby... when they submerge, the fishes seem to like feeding off their bottom, ugh! The wildhogs lock horns and were making a sound similar to a motorcycle hehehe...


Not being a bird person, I don't know what these are, but I "think" the first one's a heron.


Hot and hotter


Rache and some kangaroos.
See what happens when you bounce around without a supporter. LOL


A baboon convention.




The orangutans are well trained. A mechanical tree moves to give them access to the other side where the zoo keepers take them in ~ time check! It's 5:20pm already, zoo's preparing to close.


This one seems like a cheetah and the other a lioness, sorry guys, no male lions :(


Obligatory scenery shots before leaving.

Low batt for Night Safari
I couldn’t take any photos at this point because the batteries of my IXUS have finally ran out :’(. It might be a good idea to get a spare lithium ion battery during this trip. Besides, no flashes were allowed, it might harm the animals. What I can share is that, instead of taking the long queue to the safari ride, we walked o_o … more walking and at this point I can’t feel my legs! Putting me in a worse state of low batt compared to my digicam.



Overall, I enjoyed the trip to the zoo but I would've liked it a lot more if the timing was better. If you’re planning to go there I have two advices for you, try to go on a cool day and avoid doing it with the night safari on the same day unless you’re taking the ride or you’re out seeking punishment.

I’m so happy all that walking is finally over!!!

Related posts in series:

Singapore Trip Day 1 Part 1 - Prelude to a Very Long Day
Singapore Trip Day 1 Part 3 - Clarke Quay to Commonwealth

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