Keroro!!

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Which 23 year old nowadays would actually spend his first RM 50 of his monthly salary to buy a snap-up toy which is not so cool, but inevitably cute. Read on...

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It was Friday, 19th October 2007, where me and the lads had lunch as usual at Seng Kee (One of the many various spots we have our meals when the clock strikes 12 pm). We arrived early, lunch was brief, so after eating, one of us decided to have a stroll at a place I have not really been to for almost 6 to 7 years: Toys World (well, I did went there, but not really to look at the toys..).

It certainly brought back some nostalgic childhood memories, like what toys I used to like playing, some which I wished to have and some which I thought it was silly having it.

But one thing for certain, I like to build models. I remember building alot of car models, the last one was a Toyota Celica, which I almost broke my bank to buy just the paints and tools to help out with the build-up. But heck, I don't even know where the car is in my house now.

Anyway, I stumbled upong this little model, which I find quite attracting to me, and immediately I have the feeling that I need to get my hands on it.

Lim told me to get it, but hey, I was all dressed up for work, and you don't expect a working guy to suddenly pop up in a toy store to buy a friggin lame toy?

Well, I brushed off the thought of buying it until just now (Saturday, 20th Oct 2007, 8:30 pm), which I sneaked in to quickly make a purchase, before many people notice (Of course, I brought together with me a decoy, my brother, in case anyone familiar asks me who I am buying the toy for).

Anyway, let me reveal to you, the ultra-adorable character I had only seen once on TV and resulted in me buying the model of him: Keroro!

Yeah, say it's going to sound gay, but I have to admit, he's cute..

Well, I don't exactly understand what the bloody Japanese gibberish captions on the box says, the only characters that I can read is 'Keroro Gunso Ver. 1.5'.

It even says a 'Flying board' is included!

Such models do not come cheap, especially when it is branded (Ban Dai is famous in such models like 'Nike' in sports apparels). It busted my first RM 50 of the month after I got my salary yesterday.

*Hiss.. the sounds of burning in my wallet..

Price aside, the model is not exactly huge, in fact the box is just around the size of 13 cm x 8 cm x 3 cm. But what caught my eye was the various pose this little toy can do as illustrated on the side of the box.

Hold a fan, stand up straight, sit down cross-legged are just simple moves. It can even slip over a bloody banana!

Of course, once the box is opened, the contents are not as pretty as it seems, all in seperate pieces. Now, I really can't wait to fix it up.

Hmmm.. the legs are here, the arms there, where is the head??

Well, I've made more detail models than this, so it does not take me much time to actually finish the head. In fact, you need not worry if you get your hands on such model as the instruction manual is as detail as a picture taken by a 10 mega-pixel camera (errm... I know, it's the worst metaphor to describe the scenario..)

Ahhh! They removed your body, and left your head. Don't worry, they've got the fluids from your brain to regenerate new parts of your body... Err.. anyone with 20 cents please?

With the help of the manual, my experience with models and my mom's manicure set, the Keroro-slipping-over-the-banana is completed within just a short 20 minutes. Here's how it looks..

Lively looking little dude, I can even feel the pain from the fall too..

I was tempted to put this model in my car, but heck, I wouldn't want it to melt under the unmerciful Malaysian sun.

His legs are too short to do splits over the banana.. Ermm.. Pardon the pun..

The movements of this model is quite flexible, it can even change facial expression by swapping the mouth and turning over the eyes. Plus, as promised on the box, I get a flying board accompanying this little dude, my guess is that it is his official ride in the animation.

Another angle of the fall. Nice landing I presume..

Anyway, at the price of RM 46.90 (Exact figure, no GST nonsense included), I'm pretty satisfied with the end product. In fact, I made a vow to myself not to let this little guy to feel lonely too long by getting the rest of the members (This green guy is blue, he has a compatriot in the colour of blue, red and black).

"Get my lads to join the fall!"

Anyway, I guess it's time for me to do some budgeting for the next month..

Exciting Saturday - Pre-Mid-Autumn Festival celebration

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I wanted to blog about this before leaving for KL last week, but it seemed that I am very busy preparing for the trip rather than to slot in a time for this. So, here goes...

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By the time I prepare the script for this blog, I am on my way, ascending to the famously known as the 'Top of the Clouds' or 'Malaysia's Gambler's Paradise'. Yeap, I am referring to Genting, as the reason for going there is to attend my company's conference, which is held every year around this time; the Top Achiever's Congress.

Well, like what Alan describes such functions: attending a function just to listen to mumbo jumbo, I am not going to elaborate much on the functions that I've attended (unlike Alan, I find the function quite enriching and motivating.. LOL), but rather, I want to share more on the 'early' celebration of the Mid-autumn Festival.

Being one of the very few significant Chinese celebrations which is slowly forgotten, I would like to take this opportunity to give some tips on how to make this event rather being opposite of 'boring'.

So, here are few of the steps to make the most out of this event, well, at least for us bunch of over 20 year olds who still likes to compare whose lanterns are cooler.


Step 1: Find a good location.

Mid-autumn Festival reminds me when I was still a kid, and the cool times we had with some friends, especially to compare how cool and 'up-to-date' our lanterns are. Since we want it to be as nostalgic, we've picked a park (fully equipped with playground: swings, slides, etc.). To create the 'feel' and proper 'atmosphere', Adrian volunteers to show his sublime skills on swings.

'Yeah, you think this is cool? 10 years back I can do a 360 on this thing!'

Step 2: Get the tools ready.

A cook cannot do anything without his kitchenware, a mechanic cannot repair without his toolbox and definitely, WE cannot celebrate Mid-autumn festival without any lantern. What you do here is to ask one of your most trusty friend (who is free during lunch-time) to help go to the nearest open air market to buy you the most suitable lantern for the night event. Here, I asked Lim to help me get one, and being a person with taste for the cliche, he got me this ultra-cute 'Hello-Kitty' lantern decorated with a 'Pucca-pucca' (or however you spell it) decors. My initial response was the 'WTF' response but soon, I grew to like my lantern more and more (yes ladies, I DO have my feminine side)

'Hellooo-Kitty... are you kidding me??'

The lantern itself is not enough. Next, you'd need a proper 'stick' to support it. As shown above, I've picked up a super unique stick, with the right thickness and length and as a bonus, it has two 'balls' as decor! How cool can that be?


Step 3: Light it up baby!

Here is the fun part. Get your gang to light up the lanterns together. Watch out and get your parent's (or any adults help, age 21 and above, capable of handling fire and not insane) to help you with the process if you are too young to play with fire. Remember, in Step 1, we have chosen a PARK, so if your Step 1 preference is your 'HOME' then be sure to take extra precaution, or else 'www.therubbishbin.blogspot.com' will not be liable for any losses due to accidents after following the acts we've illustrated.

'Light up the bulb dudes! Let's ROLL!'

Step 4: Start parading around the area like crazy dudes.

This is the part where Step 1 is cruicial: If you've selected a crowded place, prepare to be given the 'What the heck!' look. But, since we've selected the park, and it's already 1 am, no one dares to stop us, or else we'd bash them with our 'luminating batons' on our hands. Sing songs, do whatever you like, but please, do not run around naked even though no one is around the area.

'Parade in progress.. Do not mess with us..'

Step 4: Disposal.

Of course, if you are parading in a public place, be sure that you dispose your leftover lanterns so that the aunties who are going to clean the place in the morning need not have a hard time cleaning our mess. You can either:

a) Toss it into a nearby rubbish bin,
b) Let it be washed away by the current of the sea,
c) Bring home and keep, or
d) BURN it there and then..

I think they burned it there and then, I'm not there to witness the finale as I need to rush home early, but heck, I wonder what they did to my 'Hello-Kitty' Lantern.

'4-4-2? 4-3-3? You can even do football tactic formations if you have this many lanterns!'

Of course not to forget, get a piece of Mooncake, and the Mid-autumn Festival celebration is complete!


Disclaimer: www.therubbishbin.blogspot.com is not responsible for any misdoings or criminal activities that may arise from the ideas given above. The above contents are seriously meant for education and recreational purposes only and do not carry any elements of violence, racism and politics.