All Posts By

Jay E. Tria

Tourism

Things to Do on a Free Trip to Shanghai

Posted on July 22, 2014

The last thing I won in a raffle was a kid’s size Garfield shirt from my college bowling class. Next was a free trip to Shanghai thanks to one lucky P1000 receipt worth of the Face Shop goodies. Obviously my luck takes about a decade to build and then just explodes into one big firecracker parade. No complaints here. After I was done jumping around with my (jealous, ha!) sisters and then confirming the win via TFS’s Facebook page (it ain’t real if it ain’t on social media), I settled into the truth that I was going to Shanghai. For free, with my fellow winners also then known as four complete strangers. Oh and yes, we get to see Manager Do in person. Let’s do this.

Life and Lemons

Tale of Two Clearances: Getting your Police and NBI Clearance

Posted on July 18, 2014

Nothing rains over the parade of a brand new spanking job more than the curse of getting government clearances. In my case (and I think with almost everyone else’s nowadays), my new employer is requiring two – police clearance and NBI clearance. Now in this day and age of free information (GMG everything), I wasn’t going to visit my neighborhood government offices unprepared. At least I would like to know how many books I need to bring to bear the wait, and I assume you would too. Below are things you need to know, gathered from a lot of Googling and from my own recent experience: Continue Reading

Previews

Oguri Shun as Lupin III Follows the Rurouni in the Big Screen

Posted on May 11, 2014

It was a good time to suddenly remember to check in on my favorite Japanese actor. Oguri Shun (of Hana Yori Dango, Crows Zero fame among many many others) is gracing the big screen with yet another manga adaptation. With Rurouni Kenshin‘s live action debut a stellar success with 2 consecutive sequels at its heels, Shun must be clamoring to do the same with his portrayal of world class thief, Lupin III.

Makeup and Skincare

Korean 10-Step Skin Care Routine

Posted on May 1, 2014

Watching Jun JiHyun 10+ years after My Sassy Girl and seeing the same porcelain, wrinkle-free complexion can do things to a girl. It makes you ransack Google for no-makeup shots of the actress to catch even the slightest blemish on her perfect face. Finding none (dang it!), you go to Plan B – discover the ultimate secret.

Surprisingly, finding the “secret” was pretty easy. Unsurprisingly, applying it, not so much. While I beg to infer that poreless, blemish-free Korean skin is still largely due to good genes, good weather, healthy eating (all that kimchi) and maybe something in the water, it still requires a lot of time and effort. Korean women religiously go through a 10-step beauty ritual every night to ensure that their skin looks clear and supple, and stays that way for as long as humanly possible. Sounds like a lot of hard work and hard bucks? Definitely. Let’s get right to it.

Movie Review

Review: The Thieves

Posted on April 13, 2014

I understand the comparisons to the Ocean’s 11/12/13 movies. This is after all a heist flick. The title frankly says so. The Thieves, too, rocking an all-star cast, were robbing a casino through an intricate web of a plan that sometimes felt so effortless it must have been random. But to be fair to this blockbuster, the comparisons should end there. Continue Reading

Drama Review

Review: You Who Came from the Stars

Posted on April 12, 2014

So an alien-earthling love story is not exactly the most original plot line in the cosmos. SBS’s latest outing You Who Came From the Stars (별에서 온 그대) tread the same pseudo-scifi/romcom path as Secret Garden, and as both dramas proved, such a plotline provided a solid backbone for a hit series.