Hainrihi's Discoveries: January 2017

Photo Challenge/Geekery | Tiny: Big Changes for Star Wars (LEGO Figures)

9:28 PM

“Star Wars” has been part of my growing up, thanks to my father. In 1997, when the original trilogy was re-mastered and re-released in theaters, he took me to the cinema to watch “A New Hope”. Since then, my love for Star Wars grew. Now, I’m really a happy fan because two new Star Wars just came out.

As far as fans are concerned, big changes are coming in the next Star Wars installments. So many changes that I myself am excited with what will happen.

Leia Organa

At the same time, the changes also made me sad because of Carrie Fisher’s death. It makes me wonder how they’re going to write Leia Organa in Episodes VIII and IX. I don’t know what will happen, but watching the Star Wars movies will never be the same again.

After her death, every Princess Leia merchandise I see tugs at my heartstrings. One of them is my LEGO Princess Leia keychain figure (Hoth version).

It saddens me every time I look at this small keychain because I know I will never see my female role model in the next installments. This keychain may be small for some, but it definitely leaves a big impact on me.

Han Solo and Leia Organa

Another big change happening in the next movies is the relationship between Han Solo and Leia Organa.

For those who don’t know (spoilers ahead), in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”, Han died in the hands of his son, Kylo Ren aka Ben Solo. Han and Leia’s marriage were also on the rocks because of Ben going to the dark side. Unlike the original trilogy where the couple had a happy ending, this movie showed the opposite. Han died, Ben continued to go to the dark side, and Leia is mourning for his husband’s death.

Just seeing these LEGO figures of Han and Leia makes me teary-eyed because of what happened to their relationship. For Star Wars fans, people loved the Han/Leia pairing so much that some got devastated with its outcome. I’m one of those who was sad that it took me weeks to actually recover. These two figures may be small, but they are great characters that made a big impact on the fans even until now.

Rey

Of course, one of the biggest changes in the Star Wars universe is making Rey the lead protagonist of The Force Awakens. She turned out to be a Jedi who can wield Anakin Skywalker’s lightsaber. After watching the movie, Rey became one of my favorite female role models. So I was happy when my sister gave me this LEGO Rey keychain figure.

I know Rey is going to have a BIG role in Episodes VIII and IX and I’m excited for that. Apart from Leia, this Rey keychain figure is one of my Star Wars collectibles that I truly love. Rey started small in the first half of the movie. But by the end, she became more matured and is now one of the best female leads of Star Wars.

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For others, LEGO figures are just toys that are displayed or given to kids. But for me, these figures expresses my love for Star Wars. While I treasure them way before, I treasure my Han, Leia, and Rey LEGO figures now more than ever because of the great impact they gave not just to me, but to all the fans. They are inspiring and big figures in the pop culture now.

~Hainrihi

Do you have your own Star Wars LEGO figures? If so, who or what are they? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. You can also reach me via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

before and after looks

Photo or Selfie Challenge/Cosplay | Transmogrify: Transforming Into My Favorite Characters

5:50 AM

2016

Blog Giveaway | Thank You for a Wonderful 2016! UPDATE: WINNERS ANNOUNCED! :D

10:45 PM

blog

Photo Challenge/Personal | Love Local With Tagaytay

2:21 AM

One of the best things last year is Janis of Untouristing and I formed a group of bloggers in our office team. We have always wanted to form a bloggers group with our team of writers and editors for so long and we finally did it. Apart from sharing our blog posts, giving tips, and commenting on each other’s entries, we created challenges so everyone would be motivated to write in their blogs.

October was three posts a week (which I realized was very hard). November was movie, book, games, comics, and music reviews (where I did a review of Doctor Strange). And December was a #BlessedDecember post where I wrote about the blessings that 2016 gave me.

For this January, we’re doing photo challenges and this week is all about “Local”.

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When we’re talking about “local”, of course, the first thing that comes to mind is the Philippines. I was born here, this is my home country, and the place that I want to explore. But upon analyzing the word, I realized that “local” is about the wonders of our country. It’s not the whole Philippines per se, but it is about the beauty of our islands, provinces, communities, beaches, and cities. In fact, we show everyone how beautiful the Philippines is through our local wonders.

Last year, I rarely got out of Metro Manila due to budget and time constraints. But the very, very few times I went to different provinces, I made sure to take photos of their local wonders. By doing so, they will always remind me how beautiful our country is.

Tagaytay – Taal Volcano

One of the beautiful places that I went to last 2016 was Tagaytay. For someone who rarely goes to provinces, I deeply appreciate the beauty of Tagaytay.

It also now holds a special place in my heart because this is where one of my high school friends got married last year. Not only was Tagaytay the place where Joy and her fiancé, Jayson made their union official, but it was also where the barkada got together after a long time. Since three of my friends work abroad, we rarely see each other. So the wedding was an opportunity to catch up.

Going to Tagaytay won’t be complete without taking a picture of the famous Taal Volcano.

Just seeing the Taal Volcano from a restaurant balcony while eating bulalo is enough for me to love this small but wonderful province. I believe Tagaytay is one of the local places that makes the Philippines a beautiful country.

I don’t think Tagaytay will ever be removed from my travel list. I’ll be going back early this year AND later this year for the special events in my life. I can say I won’t ever get tired of going there because of its breathtaking sites, cool breeze, and local wonders.

~ Hainrihi

Have you visited Tagaytay recently? Let me know your thoughts about it in the comments section below. You can also reach me via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.