Wooooooooow ok it’s time for a LONG overdue update. I have been so busy travelling lately that I just haven’t had the time. I have just spent the past 3 weeks in New Zealand visiting my friends and family for the first time since moving to Europe. It was so nice to see them again and even though i’ve only been back 2 days I miss them loads already.

And I come back to a bunch of crappy news and some guy getting murdered in the apartment building near mine :s

I had a super fantastic time in NZ and i’ve uploaded some more pics to my facebook album.I’m on the move again in a few days, heading to Norway with Olander to play at a movie festival! It should be really cool More info about it here.

So ok, i’m trying get rid of this jetlag and its really hard because its a full 12 hour difference! My days are nights and nights are days. Last night I took some sleeping pills to help me fall asleep in what would have been daytime (but really it was like 2am) and I think I was sensitive or just REALLY tired because I ended up sleeping until 2200 the next day!! OH nooooooooooooooo. So i’m going to try and pull an “all-nighter” today (staying up 24 hrs) to fix this schedule.

Hmm it’s 10am and no one is playing DoA! 12 hrs to go… !

dun dun dundundun dundundun dun dun dun dun dun…

Ok that’s super dorky for those of you who know the song (if not it’s “Insomnia” by Faithless) but I really can’t get no sleep! I’ve been feeling a little under the weather lately due to the winter weather and I ended up sleeping the day away today and now I just can’t get to sleep again! It’s 7:40am and I figure i’ll just pull an all-nighter and head to bed early tomorro.. tonight?

I’ve been playing DoA a bit lately and I feel like i’ve been improving. It’s really nice to hear when people say “oh I saw you on CGS, you’re a lot better than I thought!” I know my results at the world finals were bad but I don’t intend on letting that happen again

I think that the next combine will be really interesting. I think that everyone currently involved in the CGS really wants to do it again for another season so they will have the drive and motivation to practice really hard because they know exactly what they’re playing for.

Not a lot has really happened in the beginning of 2008 for me but that doesn’t say that that’s how it’s going to be for the whole year! I think most people are still kind of in “holiday mood”. I’m more in the mood for change. I want to join the gym (but am having issues doing that right now), move apartment and redecorate. I think I need a change of scenery… perhaps involving a bigger place with more room for my ever-growing wardrobe ;). Don’t be alarmed though, I still fully intend on staying on top of my game!!

Ok enough about me, since I can’t sleep i’ve looked up some tips for you other insomniacs out there (and I know there’s a few of you!) to help you get sleep:
* Take a warm bath
* Listen to music (soothing stuff, none of this deathmetal!)
* Drink warm milk (this relaxes your nervous system)
* Avoid caffine, alcohol and tobacco
* Get up earlier in the morning (this way you are more tired in the evening)
* Keep a regular bedtime
* Exercise during the day
* Avoid naps!

And now, back to the most mundane thing you could ever do on your PC…… organising files!! WOO! hahaha ohh I want sleep!

Firstly, I just wrote a really huge blog but then firefox crashed and I lost it all so this one will be more brief since i’m a little mad. Anyway if you didn’t read my previous blog I left with my bf for Düsseldorf on the 30th of December just to go to a huge New Year dance party called Sensation White.

I got back late last night and I must say, i’m a little sad to be back in Sweden simply because it means i’m going to have to wait until summer for the next Sensation!

I guess it’s needless to say, the party was immense. It went from 20:00 - 7:00 and even by that time I didn’t want to leave. The hotel I was staying at was basically part of the LTU arena (where the event was held) so the night before I could sit in the dining room sipping a beer and watch them test the lights and the bass for the next night.

Even though I got a little taste of what was to come, when I walked into the arena when the 30,000 or so people had showed up and the djs were playing (I came around an hour and a half late because I had problems picking up my tickets) I got happy tears just because it looked (and sounded) so incredible. There was this giant white “tree” in the middle where the DJ would sit (and rotate around while playing) and it would light up, there was dancers, water features and fire! I don’t know how to describe it any better.

I got VIP tickets for the event which means I had access to this lounge where there were many more bars, a dance floor (where other DJs would also play) and couches ad stuff for when you just want to chill out. I wish I had better pictures of it but I didn’t have my camera with me. It was nice to be able to go to that area so I didn’t have to wait in line for the bar or bathrooms but I really did enjoy the main arena the most.
I couldn’t have asked for a better end to a fantastic 2007 and an even better beginning to 2008.

So i’ve been back for almost a week now and I still can’t get my time right. For the first few days I was waking up at like 2100 and I figured the best way to remedy that would be to stay up the entire day afterward. It didn’t work out and I would always end up sleeping around midday. Now I guess it seems to be a bit OK, i’m up at like 7am but it’s better than waking up at nighttime! I can’t even tell the difference here in Sweden anyway, it seems to be dark 24/7.

I haven’t really done a lot since i’ve been back, mainly just chilling out and playing a little. It’s weird, after I lose at a tournament I always am more motivated to play (even if I have been doing nothing but playing for the past 3 weeks) so I can rock the next one.

Another weird thing I found is that I actually didn’t want to play UT3 when I got back. In all honesty I thought I would install the game right away and that would be that. But I didn’t! I tried one map (just running around.. deck of course) and it just didnt seem like anyone was playing online! Shocking!!!! I think i’m afraid to install it because I pretty much know that it won’t run nicely on my PC. Maybe a new PC should be my xmas present to myself…

Many people at CGS have written blogs thanking and recognizing various people, but if I were to do that I would just list everyone that I came into contact with Everyone was great, what a world-class bunch of people I got to spend 3 weeks with.

I guess a lot of people underestimate one big thing about gaming and that’s the people that you meet through it. Online of course there are always those assholes but at tournaments everyone seems to be cool! Over the years now it seems like I can travel almost anywhere and have someone I know in that place, I think that’s pretty amazing

It’s been a while since i’ve written a blog, I guess due to the reason that I don’t really have anything super interesting to write about. A few days ago I got a big heavy box delivered to my door. Hmmm… a late birthday present? BETTER! It was a bunch of copies of the second issue of Pro Gam3r Magazine!

If you don’t know already, i’m a writer for this new publication. The first edition was a collectors one that was released at QuakeCon earlier this year. It’s a quarterly, meaning it comes out every 3 months. This time the magazine was a lot different than the collectors edition released. Instead of focusing on the pro leagues like the first issue it’s a lot more focused on the professional gamers themselves!

Theres a really nice piece in there about the game commentator Paul “Redeye” Chaloner (a fascinating individual) and also the unstoppable Vanessa Arteaga. Also, find out about a 6 year old gamer that has bragging rights of his own.

I was really excited to get this issue because while I write for the magazine, I don’t put it together or see what other staff have written! If you’re interested in subscribing, go here.

Oh hmm now that I think about it, i’m an internationally published author! hahaha!

I’ve said it a million bajillion times but I fucking hate winter. Sure it’s fun for a week or so with the pretty snow and making snowmen and stuff but to have it for months it’s just depressing. Lots of people like to take holidays to warmer, happier climates during winter and i’m no different.

A lot of Swedes choose to go to Thailand during this time (which is why it’s hard for me to go home over xmas because flights go through Thailand to New Zealand) but lots of people seem to forget about the other gems that Asia and the pacific have to offer. Now not because i’m ½ Filippino, but I think the Philippines is a really fantastic place to vacation. Like Thailand, there are spectacular beaches and scenery, (and unlike Thailand) often untouched by the (can sometimes be) tacky tourism industry. I like to go to places and not feel that i’m basically in the same place but just a different climate.

I haven’t been back there since I was like 11 or 12 but i’ve been thinking about it a lot lately, especially since seeing pictures of my parents recent trip there. It’s not just my friends and family there that I miss, it’s the whole package! The warm weather, the relaxing atmosphere, the shopping and the delicious food!! No really, the food… is just WOW. The pineapples, papaya, jackfruit and mangos are the best I have ever tasted anywhere (and I really mean that, I love mangos and am always trying to eat them but so many are crap and fiberous compared to the ones in the Philippines).

I was born on the island called Cebu and here are a few pictures (with links) of the place where I was born:

Mmm fresh avocados growing in the garden

If these pictures have at all enticed you to want to take a lovely holiday in the Philippines or maybe even move there, just click on the pictures for a link to a fantastic place to rent (these pictures were taken at that place except the beach which is about 10km away)

All of my friends will know how much I love dancing (:P) and dance music. There have been many coveted trance parties I would love to go to all over Europe but it seems that there is always SOMETHING keeping me from attending them! For example, my dream party is Sensation White. I know it’s cliché and so many people claim that black is better and white got “too mainstream” but I believe that the atmosphere of white would just be spectacular. It seems to get bigger and better every year and this year’s lineup in the Amsterdam Arena included several of my favourite DJs.

For the past 2 years i’ve been in Europe i’ve missed Sensation white because of the Electronic Sports World Cup. It seems that every year gaming wants to punish me by holding ESWC on those dates; “No Livia, no fun allowed outside of gaming!”.

Well for the past couple of years Sensation white have also been holding a world tour but the events have not been on-par with the Amsterdam one. Except now… I think i’ve found one that will be just as good and I won’t have to miss ESWC for it! There will be a Sensation White held in Düsseldorf on New Years Eve this year! It looks like it’s going to be incredible and what a way to bring in 2008!