nothing like some h20 on the go

i know a lot of major water drinkers who tote around water bottles with them, just in case! personally, i hate how a newly filled bottle of water from a cold water dispenser, gets your bag wet due to the moisture from the bottle. here is a fabulous way to keep your bagged items dry, and an even greater way to dress up your bottle :) this was a gift from a chorister friend in japan. cute huh?

its a small oriental world

I've seen numerous shows where a hostess for example, will plan a chinese-themed party and some guests arrive in kimono obi's. what the? i guess for people not really familiar with different asian countries, japanese-oriental, chinese-oriental, etc.. all kind of fall into the same, well, oriental category.

this though i found a little strange. i guess i assume an asian would know the difference? i was eating in a chinese restaurant and spotted the upholstery on the couches. can someone guess why i my raised eyebrow? :)

happy lunar new year by the way!

toilet humor

i've known about japanese toilets for some time now. in fact, some japanese restaurants in manila feature this amusing.. uhm.. gadget? convenience? getting to experience a high tech "super toilet" in nippy japan was a fabulously authentic experience. even if it was not as advanced as some of the other toilets i've read about (some play mendelssohn, automatic lid, glow in the dark, air conditioning for hot days, etc) the basic super toilet was amusing enough for me.

first experience?! it was actually a lot of fun, pressing all the buttons even if i didn't have to use all the buttons :) i did end up spending more time than usual sitting though.. i had absolutely no idea how to turn it off! yes yes.. the one above has a big RED button but doesn't red usually caution you from doing something?

what was a bigger thrill for me was this device called the "sound princess", developed apparently in the 1980s! as many women are embarrassed at the thought of being heard, many users consistently flush to drown out the sound. so this device was created as a means to save water! eco-chic in the 1980s! i love it! the machine produces continous flushing sounds at the press of a button or wave of the hand at the sensor.

though i know they exist in japan, i strangely enough, didn't see any toilets that automatically flush. that's about as high tech as toilets get in philippines.. for now anyway.

have a break, have a flavored kit kat

my sister's only request from a recent trip i took was green tea kit kat, as she read somewhere this was available in japan. to my surprise, kit kat was available in more flavors than i imagined! i came home with: green tea, strawberry, blueberry cheesecake, apple, lemon, candied sweet potato and what i assume to be some sort of japanese bean? soy sauce i thought was a little TOO strange so i opted to snap me a picture of it.

i did a quick search online and it turns out, kit kat comes in even MORE flavors! outside of the usual chocolatey combinations (hazlenut, cafe late, dark, mint), here are some of the more.. ehm.. interesting flavors:

• kit kat edamame
• kit kat ice tea
• kit kat carb alternative
• kit kat grilled corn
• kit kat cherry blossom
  
• kit kat watermelon & salt

plus some that sound super yummy:

• kit kat cookie dough
• kit kat honey comb
• kit kat kiwifruit
• kit kat japanese roasted tea

i've always found variations of "regular" items incredibly amusing.. different colored m&m's, different flavored kisses, the extra large pocky sticks we found in japan, as well as the minuture bottles of japanese mayo. the kit kat though was a bit more of a happy surprise, as i really had no idea they had such varied flavors!

check out this link for a more detailed list of the available kit kat flavors out there:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kit_Kat

meet coco & friend

while waiting for an appointment in the freak cool air of manila, i ran into these two cuties. i had to capture it on camera.

i stalked them for a while but could not get a great shot. eventually, i asked their "person" if i could take a quick snapshot of the two.

now i see a lot of dogs being walked around in booties & socks but this is the first time i've seen dogs in chuck look a likes!

too too cute! :)