Tinier Me

I stumbled across a Tinier Me ad in Facebook and decided to just give it a try for the heck of it (since I'm now a NEET and have no obligations). What caught my eye was the cute anime/manga like characters - I just wanted to know what it was about. You could say that Tinier Me is another one of those community gameplay things like Gaia Online and so on. Originally, Tinier Me is a Japanese site called Selfy and now it is an English open beta.

The English version is designed as a web-based manga and anime style virtual world. What you can do is create a mini anime/manga like dynamic flash avatar called SELFY and dress it up the way you want. You will also have your own personal room to decorate and invite people to. There's a cosy town called SELFY Town where you can go to meet people or go fishing or play games. For now, the only two games are fishing and old maid. I haven't tried the old maid but the fishing was hard like hell! >.<" And of course they have forums where you can hold discussions or create groups.

Well, for now there's nothing much. I guess it's still too new. But you can invite your friends and you and your friend will get loads of coins when your friend accepts your invitation. There's also a diary system which I'm not sure how it works yet. You will also be rewarded with some coins for daily log in. For now and I'm not sure for how long, everything in the store is going for really cheap. So it's a good time to start playing. >:D If you want, just give me your emails, I'll send you an invitation. :)

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Faster Than A Kiss

キスよりも早く or Faster Than A Kiss is a shoujo manga series by Meca Tanaka. The series is is published by Hakusensha and is currently still ongoing since March 2007. The story revolves around 16 year-old high school student, Fumino, and her secret marriage life to her English teacher Ojiro.

No, those two were not in love with each other when they got married. For Fumino, it was a marriage of convenience. She and her oh-so-cute younger brother, Teppei, has been living with their relatives since their parents died. Sick and tired of moving around, Fumino decided to take matters into her own hands and ran away with Teppei. But it wasn't easy to quit school and find a job to support themselves, they ended up dejected on a park bench.

That was when her English teacher Ojiro found them. In a heated argument, she blurted out that the only way for her to continue with school was if he married her to support the two of them. To her surprise, Ojiro-sensei agrees. Life was definitely good living with Ojiro-sensei who absolutely adores Teppei and who Teppei loves back as well. Ojiro-sensei also never pushed her to fulfill her wifely roles with only one exception: she must dress up in young wife cosplay and greet him when he gets back from work everyday.

Later, Fumino found out that Ojiro-sensei was not as plain as the image he tries to put up. He used to be a delinquent and had been cast out by his family. Little by little, feelings started to bloom between the two of them but much to her frustration, Ojiro-sensei still refuses to touch her! Rumours are also starting to circulate around school of their relationship! And what is the reason behind Ojiro's estranged younger brother's transfer to their school!? Follow the progress of their love life as they fall deeper in love with each other and keep the marriage a secret from the knowledge of the school.

Shoujo lovers gather round! This will definitely feed your lust for romance. The first thing that attracted me to read this manga was the storyline. Hey, it's your typical forbidden student-teacher love, what else is there to say about it? :D And I was right, the plot is full of exciting romance, suspense and bone ticklers! So much so that it has me biting my fingers in frustration waiting for the next chapter to be released (when's the next chapter going to be released??? Arghhhh!!! >_<").

The character development is very well done. You can see a significant difference in Fumino before she fell in love. She used to be known as a violent girl and was fearfully ostracized in school but then learns to treat others more gently and started to make a lot of friends. And who would have thought plain-looking Ojiro-sensei was a renowned delinquent? I can't wait for the next chapter to be released. I heart this! *screams* When's the next chapter going to be released!?!

Genre: Comedy, Romance, Slice of Life
Rating: 10/10

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Entering NEET Life

Some of you might already know, as of last Saturday, Chika is now officially a NEET (Not in Employment, Education or Training). And proud to say that she is one. XD

It feels so good not to have to wake up at 7am and go through an hour and a half of traffic jam to get to work. It feels so good to see that it's 3pm and I'm walking out in the sun and finally having dinner at planet Earth's dinner time not some wee hours. It feels so good to be free~

Due to certain circumstances, I decided to quit my job and go back to studying. Not that I don't love my job, but two years in event management can really put a toll on you. And it has always been my target to at least finish my Masters. And since I'm getting married next year (oh by the way, the date got pushed back to 31st December :/), I see now's the best time to get it over and done with. So back into international politics! And this time I'm gonna be cracking my brains in defense policy. I can't wait! :D

Though it's quite a gamble to quit before I even get that stupid offer letter from the uni. Yes, I haven't got it yet. They're only giving it out later this month and semester's starting in Dec!?! But I don't think it'll be a problem to get a place. Even if I don't, I'm still working part-time for my company anyway. LMAO XD So freedom~!!!!

What's so good with becoming a NEET I tell ya:

1. Chika now have time to exercise
2. Chika can now bathe before she sleeps
3. Chika can now do facial masks
4. Chika now have the time to do manicures
5. Chika now have the time to blog
6. Chika now have the time to read manga
7. Chika now have the time to watch anime
8. Chika might no longer have the money to do the above...

Happy NEETing~!
*kicks back leisurely*

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What It Takes To Pull Off A Beauty Pageant & Fashion Show

Hey peeps, just three more days to go and I'll be jobless. LOL I'll be going back to school to get my masters degree. I can't wait, I need the break off work. :D

Last weekend was my last big project and I have to share it with you guys. It was fun! I got to organise my own beauty pageant and fashion show! Cool huh? All the while the only thing that kept running through my head was, this is sooooo Paradise Kiss! XD Of course minus all that flowers and ruffles but still...

Though it was great fun, I have to tell ya, it was a lot of work. The whole contest was to look for an ambassador for the client, basically the girl will become the face of the product. We went through a few stages throughout the contest:

1. Recruitment at colleges & malls.
2. Audition of selected top 25 girls.
3. 2 training workshops over two Saturdays for the 11 finalists (the judges found the girls to be too good to pass up and opened up two extra spaces. However one couldn't make it as she was preparing for an important exam). We had our local supermodel Amber Chia and local artiste Ning Baizura gracing us with their presence.
4. Teaser Fashion Show Catwalk to draw crowd on the upcoming finale of the contest.
5. FINALE where the girls had to strut their stuff on the catwalk.

I have to say, after choreographing the girls, I felt so proud to see them walk down that stage. I was literally bursting with pride. After all the hard work, it was all worth it for that moment. :) Even if I ended up dead on my bed the whole day yesterday (I only had 6 hours of sleep in total since Friday).

I had tremendous help from our own fashion freak in the office to help out with coordinating the fashion show. And thanks to a local model and personal friend of my boss's (now mine) to help with the apparels and coordination as well. All in all, it turned out to be a huge success. At least I can leave proudly and say that I've done my jobs well.

If you guys missed the event, you can check it out at the Facebook fanpage.

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Chika's Tragic Anime List #1

I was speaking to one of my friends about the most tragic/saddest animes I've seen... Those kinds that really brought me to tears (and I'm not one to easily cry at movies). Sometimes, it feels good to just mellow down and watch a good stab in the heart kind of anime. These, I have to say, tops my list:

No.1: Grave of the Fireflies
It has got to be the most heart-wrenching anime ever made! I cried buckets watching this. You should not underestimate the depth of the story either. It's not just another simple tragic war anime. It clearly portrays the negative effects of war and the society living through it. Follow two siblings as they try to survive on their own and overcoming various obstacles amidst total chaos. Your heart would definitely go out to them.

No. 2: Dogs of Flanders
Oh gosh, this is also another tear jerker. The anime incorporates a very good mix of sweet adolescent romance and youthful purity against the cold hard truth of real life. Though the anime is cutesy and is rated family-friendly, be aware that the anime is set in a dark tragic mood and that there are a quite number of deaths featured. Though it's none of those gory and brutal kinds, parents may want to supervise their little ones while watching this.

No. 3: Saikano (She ~ Ultimate Weapon)
How can anyone go through so much in their love? This has got to be one of the most tragic love stories ever. Some reviews might criticise the anime due to the haphazard storyline but I personally feel that it was awesome. I think viewers shouldn't focus too much on the fact that she is a killing machine and do not compare the story to Eva. You should watch it and focus on how strong their love is for each other and how much they were willing to give up to be with each other even at such great expenses. It's so sweet. And the ending is just too tragic. I won't spoil it for you. I'll spoil it in my detailed review. LOL

No. 4: Elfen Lied
Good dosage of moe? Check. Cool ass android technology? Check. Splattering blood and flying limbs? Check. Great action scenes? Check. What else can you ask for? Even with all the gripping action, I have to say that this was one of the most tragic animes I've watched. And rewatched. And rewatched. From each character's backgrounds, to each character's present to the end, it's just filled with enough tragedy to make your heart cry out.

No. 5: Air TV
I only have one advise for you if you want to watch this. Prepare lots of tissues. I still can't get over it. I want more!!! You'd really love this one, it has all the elements to make a really good anime: beautiful art, captivating storyline, lovely melodies... A young boy on a journey searching for a girl with wings stops by a little quiet town and gets stuck in bizarre events and falls for a total klutz. And the story goes deeper from there... Watch it to find out. Gao gao! ^^

So if you need an excuse to burst that tears dam, go ahead and grab any one of these. Even if you're not planning to have an all cried out session, you still should watch these for the sake of a good watch! Well, these are for me the ones I couldn't help but cry list. Feel free to top it up if you have any other recommendations :)

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