Here is the story of the guy from 1999. Brace yourselves for a long nostalgia-attack. :<

ROFL. Well, recently I've been bombarded with lots of nostalgic stuff, almost all of which point back to around 1999.

Ah 1999. That was a great year. That was the year that I first recognized anime as its own thing (prior to that, I only thought of all animation as "cartoons"). The first anime I appreciated was Saber Marionette J. And from that I started writing stories, thinking we could one day turn them into anime. We had an old-fashioned typewriter. I remember the smell of the ink ribbon and the grease in the typewriter's parts. And also from that, I started to learn to draw. Provided, all my works then were crappy, both art and literature, it was a start. And it let me figure out a lot of things.

At the same time, due to my newfound awareness for anime, I started watching others as well. There was Rurouni Kenshin (Samurai X) on Studio 23, YuuYuu Hakusho, Vision of Escaflowne, Fushigi Yuugi, on GMA, Akazukin Chacha, Fortune Quest, Cinderella and SMJ on ABS-CBN. all of which I thought were pretty cool at the time (except FY, which I started to dislike soon lol). And many more.

I also remember that this was when my interest in Japanese culture started, mostly because of Rurouni Kenshin. I started to study a bit of Japanese history, I learned to read and write the basic Japanese characters (the kana). I also started getting into Japanese music, because of the songs on the Rurouni Kenshin soundtrack. That's when I developed a my fondness for the bands Judy and Mary and The Yellow Monkey, particularly when I first heard the full versions of the songs そばかす (Sobakasu) and タクティックス (Tactics). I started to learn more about samurai, ninja, and Japanese martial arts, beyond the popular knowledge of what they do.

I was in high school then. I remember the elementary school that we could see just outside our house [at the time]. The sounds of children with their nursery rhymes, songs, alphabets, and playground noises. I remember the trees from that school's yard, and I remember how the tree changed through the months. I remember the smell of artificial flavoring used on the roasted peanuts factory nearby. Also, at the back of my house, looking out the window of my room, there was this big lot, which was a factory that got torn down. A bunch of people lived there I guess, and in the afternoons they used it as a full basketball/volleyball court. I got used to the sounds of the dribbling, running and yelling.

Ahaha lol. That summer, the summer of 1999, I had just failed 3rd year high school P.E., mainly because the teacher didn't like me and gave me a particularly hard time. So I had to take summer classes for that. That's when I first met Mr. Falculan. XD Man that guy was classic. He was the commandant of St. Joseph's C.A.T. If I'm not mistaken, he was an active lieutenant in the Philippine Air Force. I dunno he may have been promoted or demoted since then. :D It's been years after all. Anyway from that summer class I remember walking home from the highway in the morning (the class was 8 AM to 10 AM IIRC). The walk is about 10 minutes maybe, depending on how fast you walk. There were tricycles but I liked to walk in the mornings. And I would pass by this place, which was an old fashioned general merchandise store at the time (I heard this place got torn down and replaced with something else; not sure). They sold all sorts of things, but what I bought were those little picture cards of YYH, because Abby and I were collecting them (we still have most of them now). Then I would come home and see Abby watching Cinderella. :( After that I'd end up playing with my SEGA MD2, which I loved. Or I'd go over to Edson's to play there.

And I had a small basketball court in my room (it took up most of the space there, but my room was pretty big for something I didn't use for much else). And I had a few hip-hop/rap cassette tapes and my own radio to play them on. I particularly remember the song Changes by 2Pac. The song embedded into my mind as a nostalgic memory, and I would remember those days everytime I heard it.

We also had a VHS player that got used a lot. We recorded a lot of the anime we liked! We did that so we could watch particular episodes again. And if we liked the episode enough, we would keep it on the tape. The tapes are still here, but probably broken by now. It's been at least 4 years since we even had a VHS player.

Anyway the stuff that got me thinking back at these things is all the stuff I'm seeing on TV right now, and maybe some other little things. YYH just finished showing on Animax, now they're showing FY, and they show SMJ and Escaflowne all around. It's been a long time, now that I think of it. A lot has happened since then. But when I think of those memories it feels like I'm still there. Like it just happened. I guess that's the way memories work. You even remember how the wind and the sun felt on your skin on some days.

Even though I'm not so much into anime or jrock now as I used to be, I still love to look back, particularly at the anime that we used to see, and the songs we used to hear. Since then, we've moved twice, but the memories of that place from those days may be the most powerful in my mind right now.

Well, okay now for some present news. We got Francis to start playing in SRO. Heheh. Pangya was down for a few days without much announcement, but it's back up now with a new patch. Mikko showed me some new MMORPG, but it looks ugly. Seriously. And it's intentional. The characters are monsters and they successfully made them look hideous, which is one reason for me not to play it.

The country has been going through some tough times, and we went through a State of Emergency, but I hear it's getting better now and tomorrow we'll be back to normal.

Finally, I think I have air chairs down. :D I can get in the position somewhat slowly (not fast or surely enough to put in a routine), but I can do it and hold it up for a few seconds. I'm now thinking of working on my windmills now finally. But I have no space lol. I may end up learning 90's first. I feel like 90's may be easier, but I dunno.