Kat-tun ~ White X'mas

Kat-tun's latest single specially for this X'mas.

Lyrics:
銀色きらめく街 雨が雪に変わった
Giniro kirameku machi ame ga yuki ni kawatta
The street glittered with silver as rain becomes snow

夢色眩しい未来見てた あの日のクリスマス
Yumeiro mabushii miraimiteta anohi no CHRISTMAS
I saw the dream colored future on that day of Christmas

あなたを見て笑った 聖なる夜に
Anata o mitewaratta seinaruyoru ni
I smiled at you on that sacred night

涙が溢れたね 永遠に好きなのに 何故
Namida ga afuretane eien ni sukinanoni naze
The tears overflowed, though I will love you forever, why?

今雪が舞い散る この空の遠い向こうには
Ima yuki ga maichiru konosora no tooimukou niwa
Now the snow dances as they fall, and at the sky far beyond here

新しい誰かが待つ 消せぬ想い抱きながら
Atarashii dareka ga matsu kesenuomoi dakinagara
Someone new is waiting, holding on to a feeling that will never fade

あの頃笑い合った 何も怖くなかった
Anokoro waraiatta nanimo kowakunakatta
We smiled at each other in those days, we were not afraid of anything

あなたの優しさを傷つけた あの日のクリスマス
Anata no yasashisa wo kizutsuketa ano hi no CHRISTMAS
But I hurt your kindness, on that day of Christmas

夢とか希望探して 彷徨うだけ
Yumetoka kibousagashite samayoudake
I searched for dream and hope, and I found nothing but lost

見上げた空高すぎて 掴めないよ 届くのに　何故
Miageta sora takasugite tsukamenaiyo todokunoni naze
The sky I look up to is too high, I cannot hold on to it even if I can reach it, Why?

今雪が舞い散る あの頃の迷わぬ気持ちは
Ima yuki ga maichiru anokoro no mayowanu kimochiwa
Now the snow dances as they fall, the unhesitating feeling of those days

新しい明日へ続く 二度と戻らないストーリ
Atarashii asuhe tsuzuku nido to modoranai STORY
Continues on to a new tomorrow, a story that will never return

歩き出せば戸惑うけど 手で融けた雪の花びらは
Arukidaseba tomadoukedo tedetoketayuki no hanabirawa
Even though I will wonder as I start walking, but the snowflakes that melted in my hand

またいつか巡り合って 心確かめるだろう
Mata itsuka meguriatte kokoro tashikameru darou
Will comeback again someday and reassure my heart

KAT-TUN White Xmas. - kat-tun

山おんな壁おんな

I suddenly remembered of this 2007 dorama when I was riding the MRT back home. It was a very fun dorama to watch. The idea of 山おんな壁おんな ('Yama Onna Kabe Onna' or 'Mountain girl, Wall girl') may not be amusing for Western culture especially those who promotes feminism because it takes mountain and wall as another way to compare how big your boobs are. However, despite being offensive and blatantly sexual harassment at the workplace hazardous moments throughout the episodes, this dorama sends a wonderful message for ladies out there that what matters is to be confident and comfortable of who you are to be successful despite of your physical appearance.
The story resolves around Megumi's life as a top sales person in the handbag department of a department store. Though appears to be confident and always on top of the game at doing her job, she actually feels very self conscious and not confident at all when it comes to her merely A-cup sized chest. And to make things worse, one fine day, the department welcomes a new transfer girl named Marie (Kyouko Fukuda) who sells handbags effortlessly and has one more asset, a very voluptuous chest (described as a G-cup in the dorama). Definitely feeling the pressure and competition, Megumi, in her own way, tries to overcome all the challenges lying ahead of her and moreover, to overcome her consciousness over her chest.
As I mentioned, this dorama is full of what we would call in reality as sexual harassment at the workplace as the male coworkers literally gawking at Marie's chest and make obvious passes on her. On top of that the dorama very often shows the flying buttons out of Marie's uniform (how convenient). Put aside the feminism issues, this dorama definitely entertaining with added romance department.
Despite being flat-chested, many guys swooned over Megumi and they don't regard her being flat-chested as a hinder and they even praise Megumi's success in her carrier as a plus point.
So girls, the moral of the story is, you just have to be confident and certainly be yourself and good things will come eventually.

Another plus point, I just found out that Matsumoto Jun are in Episode 4! So, definitely not to be missed! And to make it even better, the OST is by one of my favorite boyband, Exile.

Toki no Kakera - EXILE

Nodame Cantabile ~ All version

This is the only story thus far that keeps me laughing no matter how many time I watch the anime/dorama or read the manga. Yes, it comes in all forms, manga, anime and dorama. Based on manga with the same title by Ninomiya, Tomoko, Nodame features the journey of both classical music artists if not geniuss of Noda Megumi, Nodame's long form, and Chiaki Shinichi. This totally opposite characters and personalities make a very cute pair and off course a never ending comedy.
What I love from Nodame:

1. The laughing sessions resulting from watching each episodes and movies. You'll definitely love all the 'Gyaboo' and 'Mukyaaa' generated from Nodame's high pitch tone. Though it looks quite abusive in the dorama but I find it's perfectly fine, in fact amusing at the same time. All the supporting character from Mine, Kuroki-kun to Masumi-chan are totally hilarious, not to mention Nodame's French duo, Tanya and Frank.
2. The theme is all about classical music and how to appreciate the everlasting by centuries measured music. From Mozart, Brahms, Lizt and many more intriguing pieces, Nodame shows that classical music can be kakkoii, kawaii and express many kinds of emotions. Every time a new piece comes out, it's always accompanied with narrations of the background on how the music is all about, and the history behind it, making the audiences who are mostly classical music blind like me, can relate to it at ease. Off course, the next thing we know, we're watching Nodame's view towards the music which is usually totally not in sync and hilarious and how Nodame overcomes her wall to understand the pieces so that she can play it perfectly.
3. The romance. This part is always in the grey area as Nodame is always chasing Chiaki and saying that she's Chiaki's wife but at the same time never acts like she actually cares about him. On the other hand, Chiaki always acts pompously that he's not Nodame's boyfriend but ends up acting like one and even demands her attention. It's always not clear on who ends up chasing who. But definitely will keep you interested on how the love for music grows to love. As Chiaki always says, he loves Nodame's music, but he never says he loves Nodame. So, it makes sense when Stressman confronts him to straighten and separate the 2 issues out.
4. The anime's 2nd season and the movies all features Paris. Added to our enjoyment of watching Nodame and Chiaki, we're also spoilt by the Paris beautiful landscapes and architectures. You have to watch the series to appreciate this point.
5. The OST! A very unique OST for the anime's 1st season, which will keep ringin in your brain for quite some time until you get over with it. The 2nd season's OST, though are also nice but unfortunately not as catchy as the previous one.

Basically, Nodame is a must watch. Period. :)

Nodame Cantabile

Oatmeal Cookies with Cranberries and Almond

This is my Christmas project. The tin is wrapped tightly with the wrapping paper. All from Daisho. The cookies? It's an Oatmeal cookies with Cranberries and Almond. I received some good reviews from my colleagues so that means this recipe is not bad at all. Can be improved, yes, but it needs practice and a very good instinct during baking time.
Ingredients:
125gr unsalted butter
250gr brown sugar
3gr salt
1 egg and 1 egg yolk
20gr milk
188 cake flour
8gr baking powder
4gr baking soda
156gr Quaker oats
100gr dried cranberries, chopped
25gr almond, chopped

1. Cream butter, sugar and salt until smooth and creamy in low speed
2. Pour in egg and milk at one go, and cream until blend
3. Pour in shifted flour, baking powder and baking soda, and also pour in oats at one go, quickly cream until well blended
4. Using spatula, blend in cranberries and almond until well distributed. Don't over mix.
5. Make small balls using tea spoon onto the baking sheet. Don't forget to layer the baking sheet with baking paper.
6. Bake for 10-12 minutes on 190C

Yield: about 50 medium sized cookies

蛍の光 ~ ほたるのひかり

ほたるのひかり or Glow of the Fireflies in English is yet another must watch dorama from Koala's list and I finally finished watching it in 1 day marathon. The drama is based on manga under the same title by Hiura Satoru. The story is about a 27 year old OL, Amemiya Hotaru, who works at an interior design company. But Hotaru in the office is totally different from Hotaru at home. At home, she'll be lazying around on the house porch reading manga or eating snacks while drinking beer. And this off course shocks her boss, Takano Seiichi, who is separated from his wife and currently has to stay in his dad's house that is occupied by Hotaru. Their living together sparks the drama and the journey continues.
What I like about this drama:

1. The comedy. It's so hilarious! Hotaru's himono habits and attitude at home versus Takano's neat and very rigid house rules. And off course Takano, the Buchou, eventually becomes speechless and cleaning up the whole house. Takano calls Hotaru 'Ahomiya' is totally hilarious and the words in front of Ahomiya also constantly changing throughout the episodes. And off course the tone that Hotaru use to call Buchou always manages to crack me up.
2. The moral of the story. Love is about accepting people as a whole package, the good and the bad, and work it out from there. Your heart will always go to Buchou for tolerating with Hotaru's outrageous himono behaviour. And the Buchou even supports Hotaru in her love journey, which is contradict to his own feeling.
3. Hotaru's OL wardrobe. Though Hotaru dress only in sweatshirts and jerseys at home, her office clothes are actually very cool and professional, totally 360degrees difference. Off course her other colleagues dresses are fantastic and very nice to look at. Since the setting is summer, the fashion is so appropriate for Singapore weather.

Just nice, IMEEM has the complete OST of Hotaru No Hikari:

Hotaru no Hikari OST

たったひとつの恋

Another old dorama (released in 2006) from Koala's watch list. Finally just finish this dorama after a long dorama marathon.

たったひとつの恋 or 'Just One Love' is a young love story between Kanzaki Hiroto, a poor boy from a complicated background, and Tsukioka Nao, an ojou-chan (princess) of Star Jewelry. Coincidence or faith allowed them to meet and fall in love, and together they overcome the difficulties and complexity of their love.

You may find the first episode not really addictive because of Hiroto's attitude and the storyline leaving lots of gaps. But as you go along to episode 2 and 3, Hiroto starts to open his heart to Nao and you will find this cute couple is totally adorable. Nao being straight forward with her feelings to Hiroto, while Hiroto himself, once he's certain of his feeling, he really clings to it. No matter how long time has passed (there you go, a hint of spoiler). On top of that, they have friends that are always be there for each other through ups and downs.

What I like about this dorama:

1. Hiroto! Hiroto is played by Kame from boy band, Kat-tun. I saw lots of his dorama and I like his acting in this drama as one of his best. He portrayed lots of different emotions and expressions on Hiroto. Happy, despair, troubled all combined into 1 Hiroto. One of my favorite Kame's moments is when Hiroto was confronted by Nao's dad because of his mom. I almost grabbed some tissues watching his expression. Another sad moment is when Kame holding the crying Nao's hand on the boat. The anger, frustration, love and sadness are portrayed just nice to be a total tear-jerker moment.
2. Nao! Ayase Haruka plays Nao. In here, her role is totally different from Hotaru in Hotaru no Hikari (yet another great dorama that I haven't finished watching). Nao is portrayed as a naive and straight forward rich girl but she doesn't discriminate people based on material, though initially it looks like she did. Her character develops progressively to be a stronger and independent girl. I like Nao's character in the end. While the ojouchan attitude still appears sometimes, but that becomes her cute factor and her whole attitude matures too.
3. Yokohama! The settings, the scenery, you will want to go to Yokohama. Absolutely gorgeous. You'll wonder if Japanese Tourism Board has something to do with it. Even Hiroto's small factory can look so captivating amidst Yokohama scenery. Another wow factor.
4. Hiraoka Yuuta is in here too as Ayuta, Hiroto's best friend. His role in here is not as significant compare to Yuuki sensei in First Kiss. But, he do play an important role for Hiroto and Nao's relationship.
5. The fashion is all ultra cute and nice. I always like winter fashion the best and it's proven from this dorama. Nao and Yuka's boots, coats, bags are perfect! And amazingly, a perfect hair for all occassions. Whether Nao's in hospital, school, festival, beach, her hair is totally in perfect shape and style.
6. Storyline. Off course, good drama must have good storyline. I like how they play out lots of current issues in our society. First, Nao and Hiroto coming from totally different background and social class. Conflict of whether to cling on the love or face the harsh reality of life haunt Hiroto throughout the whole dorama. Then, family comes in the picture. Can you give up your family for anything? No matter how badly your family is, it's still your family, and Hiroto's decision of not giving it up is probably what most people will do. Another next issue is money. In here we see, how money can destroy people's relationship and how money can hurt you. Other issues like how youngsters plan their future, what are they dream and what are their attitudes toward their goal in life,

And off course, with 2 Kat-tun members in the dorama, it would be very fitting that the OST is also from Kat-tun. So here's the PV of 'Bokura no Machi de'

My First CPA Distinction

Finally after a very long wait (seems like an eternity to me), I can login to view my CPA result. And, it's a DISINCTION! Yes, a Distinction and I only take 2 days leave on top of weekend forced studying. Does this mean I'm still studious? Or does it mean I'm just lucky? But, anyway, I'm just excited and happy about my results. It motivates me to take the next dry subject of CPA, Corporate Governance. It's still Accounting Framework, but with the addition of lots of cases.
I did read the evaluation report and apparantly I scored quite high on my case studies questions, which means my essays are not bad at all. Is this another side effect of blogging? If it is, you'll be seeing more and more lengthy but off course hopefully not boring postings. Moreover, I'll try to post more argumentative postings. But, what's to argue? It's not easy to find some topic that you can argue objectively while giving any insightful input at the same time. Usually, what it starts with arguement will soon turn into yet another bitching session. I have yet to mastered the art of sophisticated bitching, but hopefully I'm getting there.
So, tonight I will watch my Nodame with a very cheery heart. Cheers!