Out with the pink...

...and in with the more ancient feel. ^^

But, gah, my widgets were deleted. I managed to scrimp off the GE Bloggers list from my old template. If any of my co-bloggers don't see their names in the list, drop me a line so I can add you.

I'll continue updating the links in the morning. Must. Sleep.

DeSanggria hops away, a year older. =^_^=

The art of dressing up

Cosplay is rather big here in the Philippines. Every year, there are more than 5 events that include or feature cosplay activities. This particular fandom to dress up as one's favorite anime, game or movie character has brought about a vibrant community that has been around since 2000.

Just yesterday, some of my friends who happen to be the staunchest pillars of the local cosplay community, successful staged the first ever cosplay-centric event. Dubbed as CosplayMania 2008, the event was flooded with TONS of cosplay enthusiasts and other fandom otakus. And because it's a cosplay event, you can never get around the place without seeing people flashing their cameras like the persistent paparazzi.

What I like about cosplaying and the community in general is that people tend to come out of their shy corners to personify the characters they're cosplaying. They're also quite game to have their photos taken with anyone who asks.

I didn't take the liberty to go inside the event hall (mainly because I'm scrimping on cash for next week's dreaded D-Day), so I just hung around outside, taking pictures of some of the cosplayers who were game enough to indulge the rabid crowd of photographers. Kinda felt intimidating with all the DSLR cameras flashing around.

Lemme just say that the costumes were as diverse as the people's fandoms. Among the characters I got photos of were...

[A bit of warning from hereon...massive photos up ahead!]

Evangelion's Asuka Sohryu Langley


Avatar: The Last Airbender characters


...and a few crossdressers >_<

colorful little elves (the green one looks a lot like Link, yes?)

a somber looking .hack// character

furious-looking Hiei from YuYu Hakusho

don't anybody mess with a suicidal Joker XD

Quistis Trepe in her SeeD uniform

Sora's awesome-looking keyblades

While going around the area, I wouldn't have thought to see these cosplayers...

Wizard in a maid uniform (or could also pass as Helena XD)

and

Ahoy thar, Pirate Adelina Esperanza!

I also learned that these two ladies are denizens of Pachelbel server, mostly new blood who have just started exploring the GE world. Looks like I'll be seeing more of them in Rembrandt then. ^^

I'm beat. The event was a blast, and I heard the tickets were sold out! Gratz to the Cosplay.ph peepz and here's to seeing more GE cosplays!

What I've been up to last weekend

While the rest of the GE folks were busy having fun at the GE Black Party, I was high up in the mountains of Sagada, somewhere in Northern Luzon. It's not actually customary for me to post stuff that's not GE-related, so kindly indulge me with a real life topic for a change.

Anyway, as I was saying, I spent the weekend in Sagada for some much needed R&R. It came to be a good decision because not only was I able to unwind, I was also able to get back in the mood for some shutterbug action!

My friend and I spent 2 days exploring the quiant town. Since the place is so high up in the mountains, it kinda reminded me a lot about El Lago de Tres Hermanas (because of the high, high trees) and the Ustiur jungles (forest-y town).

I was also able to view the famed Banaue Rice Terraces (for the Pinoys out there, this is definitely one major site that you have to check out). I was likewise able to go cave spelunking (Skullic Caves, FTW! Minus the bat dung, that is >_<), an activity that became the answer to my adventure-deprived soul.

I took quite a lot of pictures, but I'm not going to post them all here. I just hope these won't kill your browsers. :P

El Lago de Tres Hermanas, anyone? ^^

Long hours of travel just to view this masterpiece = priceless

Limestone rock formations where some hanging coffins are located

Going all tourist-y in the Skullic Caves. Hehehe.

On the way back to Manila, we took the Baguio route to meet up with an old friend. While wandering around the city's nearby mall, guess who I happened to meet by chance.

Stiles with DeSanggria

I just had to harangue Stiles to come back to GE. He says he's quite up to his neck with school work, although he did mention he might get back to playing again after clearing his real life responsibilities.

Do that, dude. The whole gang's been wanting to get together both in-game and in real life. Hope to see you soon!

And so here ends the account of my short tryst. I don't wanna bore you guys with something non-GE. ^^

=====

In other news, Hrin just leaked in her blog that the server merge might be pushed at a later date, along with v.2.9's content release.

More time to socialize with future neighbors then! ^_^

Oh, and have you guys heard about the MCC combination buffs? Man, oh man, more reasons to get a Selva Norte RNPC Card!

Back in civilization

Man, oh man, did I miss out a lot.

Not only was I unable to attend last Saturday's GE PH Black Party, I was likewise absent in NineMoons' birthday bash on the event day (belated happy birthday, sis!).

If you're one of the people who missed out on the activities, check out the post-event accounts of NineMoons, Fiksdotter, Artaxerxes, Churvanesska, Sigrid, Mena and Blacksword! Seeing those fun photos made me want to wish I was there. ^^

Nevertheless, I'm glad that most of the Philippine GE players enjoyed the event, despite the earlier shocking news about the server merge. I hope you guys had the opportunity to talk and get to know each other. As what most people have been saying, the server merge is an opportunity for us to gain more friends, so it's nice that events like these can bring PH gamers from the various GE worlds some time to relax and socialize.

Hmm..where to go?

As for me, well, let's just say I went to El Lago de Tres Hermanas, Ustiur and the Skullic Caves for some much needed R&R. It felt like I was engaging in a 24-hr PvP match now that my body's aching all over, but much fun was had! I'll tell you more about it in the coming post. ^_^

De-stressing in the mountains

Staying awake for 24 hours wasn't exactly my idea of de-stressing after a week's load of work, but it was certainly worth it if you're with the crazy bunch of NineMoons, Rosso, the Reclusions, Fiksdotter and Artaxerxes.

We all met that Saturday night and spent the entire time talking, eating and drinking atop the hills of Antipolo, specifically in Cloud 9. It was a perpetual, backbreaking climb to get there but the chilly air of the night compensated for the hot weather down the polluted streets of Manila. Hehehe.

Broke...back?

The blinking skyline view in Cloud 9 was absolutely breathtaking as we watched the city go to sleep. Meanwhile, we feasted on sisig, grilled squid and several bottles of San Mig Light (NineMoons and I shared the margarita drink..squeee!) while talking about GE and the community.

It somehow seemed like another unofficial bloggers meet as we discussed our woes about some particular peepz riding on the following issues:

• FFA
• the Republican Alliance (this particular subject got me peeved to a point where I neatly downed all the beer I can probably drink)
  

Reclusion did lay crumbs along the way, so if you're the curious kid, good luck in finding out who those so-called Gothasaurus (a term coined by the Reclusions). Although I would always say that I'm up for a PvP session with these turds anytime (and I'd be willing to dish up a few tricks here and there just to shut their bloody traps), but I guess I'll just have to wait and see if these guys will grow brains to realize they're a huge nuisance to the community as a whole.

Ok, enough with the harangue.

The only group pic I had...and it's blurred! T_T

Anyway, we did enjoy ourselves that time. We enjoyed so much that we ended up talking until 5AM! I can't believe there was so much to talk about in those hours. Our get-together sort of served as a celebration as well for NineMoon's blog anniversary, so lemme just take this opportunity for a late greeting. Hehehe.




That's it for now. Until next time!

Read about their exploits about this meeting here:
NineMoons
Artaxerxes
Fiksdotter
Reclusion