10.18.2008
Another day, Another Update ^^
Enjoy some photos, yo!
Nash fanning me off. :P
As many people as I could get in the shot >_<
Can't remember the song, but it made everyone dance. Maybe 'Graceland'??
She is GONE!
Nash singing KOBUKURO...to ME! haha
Me and Juan
Pimpin' dem hoes
Nash and Dan: BANZA~I! \^o^/
Silent Hill - Juan
Silent Hill - Me...obviously
Yuuta and Tomoki!
Sean and Alex rockin READY STEADY GO! (larc)
Mine and Keishya's frisky pose :P
10.15.2008
Where has the time gone?!
Well, it seems the last thing I wrote about was UGG, that’s mostly the reason I didn’t update as often as I used to. I was having a grand ol’ time, until they told me they didn’t want us to come to practice anymore. I was pretty torn up by it, and I’m trying to just move on, so I don’t want to talk about it much. Whether it was because we aren’t Japanese, or maybe they didn’t think we were good enough, no reason they could have given us would have sufficed in my eyes. Which, BTW, they didn’t give us a reason. I wish I had a bit more closure with it, then maybe I wouldn’t harbor such harsh emotions toward them, but, well, it is what it is. And if you know me, you know about my grudges. I finally found something that made this school suck just a little bit less…but alas, it disappointed me. My advice: ALWAYS live with high enthusiasm, but NEVER with high expectations. Enough of that, moving on.
Got my mucc tickets. Wednesday, November 12 is the date. But it’ll be difficult to go, considering I can’t find my tickets. Now, I know I’m pretty absent-minded…but these are MUCC tickets we’re talking about. I’ve kept them in my purse since the day I bought them, but now, I can’t find them. And I don’t have even the SLIGHTEST clue where I could have possibly lost them. I’m going to check lost and found tomorrow. Maybe they just fell out my bag or something, but I won’t hold my breath. When I bought the tickets, they ask for a ton of information, so I’m kind of hoping I can go to Lawson’s (the convenience store where I bought them) and they can look me up and replace them for a small fee or something. That would be grand, but again, not holding my breath. Kids, don’t be irresponsible. It’s annoying.
Since the last time, I’ve been to karaoke more times than I can remember, and have pictures from each time, but they all just end up looking the same right? But yeah, that’s mostly what I do for fun. I don’t consider it at all negative that I didn’t write for a long time, it just shows I found things to occupy my time. Mostly karaoke and shopping, but that’s SOMETHING right?
My birthday was a blast. During the day, Ayla and I went to Akihabara (Akiba, easier to say, lol) And I bought the FINAL FIGURE for my Genshiken collection. I’ve been looking for her for YEARS, and we went into some sketchy ally because I saw a sign that said “TOYS*FIGURES*MODELS” and said, well, let’s give it a shot. One floor was all the new gay crap. Up another floor was new and old, RFB, and NRFB (never removed from box, BWAHA. Sorry, dork moment). The floor above that was all the hardcore beautiful expensive models and costumes, and above that was the fanservice (I guess adult themed is a good way to put it) model floor. I zigzagged through the isles, and finally gave up when I walked down the last isle…until I saw her beautiful yellow box. I’ve the picture so many times, but could never get my hands on it. And there is was, for $25!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! The other 2 figures I have are Saki and Ouno cosplaying Pres and V. Pres from Kujibiki Unbalance. This one is of Ouno getting dressed, haha. I’m just happy my freakin collection is finished. All still in the boxes and beautiful. I’ll probably be sending that one home separately from everything else. After that, we met up with Keishya, Peter, and Sean, and PA’s: Tomoki, Ayako, Hiroyo, Miho and her friend Akkii. We did some Karaoke, and I got some awesome cake and a really pretty Kuromi Limited Edition mirror from Tomoki ^^ Then on Sunday, I went to this not so fun music event…to support UGG, but of course, our efforts went unnoticed. Haha, bitter much? YES. Afterward, Keishya and I went to
Akkii and I got a long really well, and meet up a while ago to play video games and get dinner and such in
I went to even more UGG events, and UGG member’s birthday outings. Again, our efforts went unnoticed and underappreciated. More than anything, I hate wasting my time, and they wasted 3 weeks of my life. Thanks, you selfish pricks. Yup, still bitter. With time, though, with time.
While sitting in the lobby one day, I met these guys Yuuta and Youhei…which is HILARIOUS considering those are the names of the penpals (Kae’s friends) we had from
Skipping other ‘met new people’ and ‘went to karaoke’ adventures, let’s move onto this past weekend…
Katie picked me up from the airport with her friend Yasu, who was going home to Kyuushuu for the 3 day weekend. Kae and her dad met us there, and drove us back home. It was nice not having to be on a train again after the 45min to Ikebukuro, 30 min to
Yesterday I had 2 parts of my like FIVE part midterm exam for Japanese. I had to talk for 2 minutes about my best friend. Considering I talk about her pretty much 5 hours everyday, it was no difficult feat. Afterward, Sensei told me how impressed she was in my listening ability, since it wasn’t ‘so incredibly wonderful’ when I first arrived. But she was more impressed with how fluidly I spoke. Trust me, I was pretty impressed too, since I wrote it 4 hours before class after only 4 hours of sleep, a horrible cold, and only reading it aloud twice. Sooo, yeah, I think I did well. Then we had the composition exam that I TOTALLY forgot about. But they listed a ton of sentence structures on the side, and you were supposed to mark it off as you used them, so that made it easier. The difficult part was more so just trying to figure out what you wanted to say in ENGLISH before you translated it. It was a strange topic, like, plan your friend’s best birthday party. I still think I did well though. I mean, it wasn’t interesting, but we had to use 5 of the listed sentence structures and I used like 15, so I’m ok in that aspect. After that I went to Old Kawagoe with Ayla to buy a gift for her boyfriend and head back to second campus again to talk to the ESL students. I was feeling pretty under the weather, so no dinner and karaoke last night.
I was in bed by
Here’s the next 2 weeks in a nut shell:
Sat&Sun – I wanna do something this weekend, I just haven’t decided what yet
Monday – History Midterm (don’t expect much there)
Tuesday – Field trip to elementary school to talk to kids; ESL meet-up
Wednesday – MAY go to some little concert thing where a bunch of little bands will be playing. But they’re probably not good, and I think there may be a bunch of UGG peoples, so Keishya and I haven’t decided if we’ll go yet or not.
Thursday – No school,
Friday – Guess I have school…
Then the following week is the Kansai trip that I’m not going on, so I just have a free week. Sean and I had discussed a while back going to
Katie and Kae at Karaoke in OSAKA!
YamaPi lookin fine on a billboard in OSAKA!
Starbucks with my lady...in OSAKA
Sean carrying Tomoki down the stairs "he weighs like 5 pounds"
The sign says Hippie Pants...BWAHAHA...hippies...
Taiko!!!
Pretty and traditional style karaoke room. No shoes!!
Party at Kae's house the night I arrived in OSAKA!
Delicious Okonomiyaki in OSAKA
Kae's mommy and daddy
Shou-Sensei and Hiro-Sensei...look at the height difference. *giggle*
This guy pretty much only talks to me when he wants to sell tickets to his shows...but he's hot so whatever.
Learning imperative and prohibitive form in Japanese class with help from PA Ayako
Some building I saw down a side street while lost with Erich and Quinn in Harajuku
Pop'n music with youhei, we're not good at this game
The department store filled with awesomeness
A little piece of Omiya
I want to write a drama about these 2 strangers...
My host sisters Youko...
...and Hiroko at Karaoke for my birthday.
PURIKURA! With Kae, Katie, and Youhei...the other one...in OSAKA!
Happy Birthday to ME!
The final figure for my Genshiken collection
Akkii, Miho, and Peter (my favorite non-Canadian Candian) at karaoke for my birthday
Dance Party to 'Dancing Queen'...we had to stop after Akkii broke a mug on the floor. haha!
9.23.2008
I'm still alive! AND WELL!
For my birthday this weekend, ill be going out to ikebukuro for some shopping and video games with ayla, then returning to kasumigaseki (the area where my school is) for drinking and karaoke with Sean, this guy peter who goes to school in canada, and also one of the peer assistants here named Tomoki. Who has refused me many a date, and he won’t marry me either. He’d be the perfect house wife too. A couple others may join, but I was trying to keep it pretty small.
School is going well. Japanese class is tough, but I’m learning a lot. The other classes aren’t so interesting, but I’ll survive. I don’t care much about Japanese history, since the present and the future of japan are what fascinate me most. And literature would be interesting, but the teacher is like listening to ben stein talk politics for 3 straight hours.
The program coordinator here, I didn’t take to well at first. I felt like when we had a problem, his attitude was usually like, 'oh well, things happen'...gaaaaay. But I’ve been sick for 3 weeks now, and when the nurse said I needed to go to the hospital, he came immediately. He helped translate my issues and get the medicine I needed...which was an inhaler for my nonexistent asthma and Claritin for my newly developed allergies. God bless that doctor. It was so hard waking up everyday and feeling like complete crap. Wondering if I’d make it through the day. Wondering if whatever I had would eventually progress to something worse. I was so scared, and it made adjusting to this new life THAT much harder. But I feel like I can now look at things a bit differently, I’m very happy for that. On the way back from the hospital, we bumped into Matt’s Japanese lady friend. He spoke very fondly of her, and I feel like it helped us talk to each other a bit easier. That’s the kind of guy I’m waiting for. The type to get shy and smile a lot when he talks about me. But alas, I’ve lost all hope in the male species. Even though it’s his job to help us out, I offered to buy him a drink sometime as a thank you. He was there when I really needed someone, and I was very grateful. I’m really starting to regret the first impression I had of him, I think I was really wrong.
When I was in akiba the other day, some dude popped in money on the machine next to me, waited for me to pay, then (without asking) set the game to vs. mode. Jerk face. He beat me on beginner, then I beat him on advanced, then he redeemed himself by OWNING me on expert. Lucky he was so cute when he bowed and walked away or I would’ve kicked him in his face.
Then just the other day, Ayla and I went window shopping for stores. That means we hopped on the train, and just rode around, and if we saw something interesting, we’d get off and check it out. But alas, we just ended up in Tokyo, like always.
After some shopping, Ayla wanted to get dinner and go drink. Well, she wanted to go to this bar that she likes, and since I’m always dragging her around, I agreed. The bartender was soooo cute. But an older man. haha. Still, cute. So we sat there drinking and giggling in a bar not much bigger than our living room back home. Oh, let me just mention all the wonderful comments I said about him…I later found out he understood. Afterward, we did an hour of karaoke...nomihodai (which is all you can drink) Sometimes its person/hour. Sometimes it’s room/hour. Then went BACK to the other bar, because it was still early, and that bartender was still cute. Who was there but MATT, program coordinator! Studying to take the level 2 Japanese test. And it’s really hard too. Some japanese people even have trouble with it, not unlike our SATs in America. Since he was there, I bought him a beer, like I offered, and we sat there cracking up over the incredibly stupid things that Ayla and I would say. She likes to drink, I’m not a fan, so I don’t think we work out in that aspect, haha. But anyway, it was a really fun night (And no, I didn’t take those drugs while drinking. Because that would be dumb, right? right.)
At school, the Japanese students have finally returned. I’ve spoken to a few, but just the friends of people I already know. It’s really hard to just walk up to someone and talk to them, I don’t even do it in America where I can speak the language. But pretty much all of the students are really nice. And in the 'English lounge' –I don’t think it’s really called that, but may as well be-- all the people hang out who want to meet international students. And they each speak Japanese and English to each other. Today is the first day of dance practice for the club I want to join. Keishya and I are going to go watch and meet some people. Others, including Ayla, may join us. I’m easily the biggest girl they’ve ever had want to join their club, plus I have no experience, but I think I can do it. Wish me luck :)
Also, just for giggles, I asked Matt if my Jasso will still be made available to me in the off months. Like, when I’m in Osaka in December through March, can I still get jasso, and he said...YES. It piles up. So if I don’t go there and get it, by the time I return in march, I would have collected $2400 from jan-march. Pretty cool right?
Today I’m meeting up with Tomoki after class and buying tickets to a MUCC CONCERT in November. I just hope they’re not sold out already :( Only thing to do after that…is find someone to come with me, haha. I’m buying 2. If an American comes, they have to buy the ticket. But if a Japanese person takes me, they’re not paying, and here’s why. They’re going to have to show me how to get there, and the rules of the venue and such. They’re basically going as a tour guide and translator. Haha, but I hope I can find someone who actually LIKES their music and would really like to go. That would be awesome. Too bad Sarah isn’t here :(
*edit* 9.23.08
So yesterday, as I said, was the first day of dance practice. After a ton of stretching and a pretty fun warm-up, practice began. I feel like even the freshman there knew everyone and knew how practice was handled, but us JSP’s were just a bit clueless, so I asked. Apparently, after warmup the groups are split. For the first half hour it’s hiphop or lock. Then it switches to jazz or pop (pop & lock) for 30 miuntes. I think house met after everything was done and over. But yeah, because of this, you learn a little of the dance each week, and you’re able to learn different styles. I ended up in hiphop and jazz. Though I wouldn’t say they’re easy – because they’re not – they are easily less involved than freestyle or pop & lock. But I gotta say, after only 1 hour of dancing…I was hurting, lol. You guys back home know I can dance for hours, but this stuff is just a little crazy. I’m wondering if I’m really going to be able to do it :( But I’m going to try really hard. I’m even giving up shopping trips to Tokyo so I don’t miss practice, which is every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Ugh. The 2 who were leading hiphop, Miki and Hiro, are incredibly nice. While everyone else was owning the dance, me and the other 5 white girls were struggling to figure out not only what they were doing, but what they were saying. Eventually I was tired of not getting and asked Hiro to show us again, SLOWLY. Then Miki took over since time was up and he had to move onto the next group. She really took her time with us, over and over until we were ready to move on. It helps a lot that they both can speak English, but every time they tried to, I told them no, haha. “This is a Japanese club, and you’re Japanese. I’m trying to join a Japanese club, in Japan…so I need to be speaking Japanese!.....but for now please explain again in English” HAHA! So now I know the part of the dance we need to know for this week, now it’s all about practicing it and learning to execute it better and make it look natural. But I think by tomorrow, we’ll be learning the next part, and that worries me. It’s pretty hard to practice at home since I’m on the second floor with wooden floors and I don’t want to disturb the parentals. I think I may drag Keishya around Kawagoe or Kasumigaseki and try to find a place we can practice outside of the club. Oh, and btw, Hiro is freaking HOT. He’s like 6’5”, shaved head, and just a BIG guy. Me and Ayla were just like o_O *blank stare* *drool* And he still seems to be a perfect gentleman even though he’s gotta know he’s so freakin cool. Apparently all this practice now is for the school festival in the beginning of November. I really hope I become good enough to be in it. After practice, we went to old fashioned for a drink – and to stare at the bartender – then headed home. BTW, he’s not married. I asked.
For now, I must go get dressed. I’m meeting Ayla and Keishya for a bit of shopping.
Japanese Karaoke room for larger parties
Here's a PERFECT example of NOMIHODAI
Here's a perfect example of what happens when you order nomihodai
One of Shrines I visited. It's a shrine, right? Not a temple? Who knows.
Cleanse yourselves!
Very pretty
Cosplayer in Akihabara. Not all cosplayers are cute maids and kitties...
Private room at a bar and restaurant near campus.
LEO! I finished 3 beers that night. Are you proud of me? :P
Me and the bartender from old fashioned. Don't let that awkward smile fool you. I wanna see this guy on Ninja Warrior sometime. Haha! He makes me special drinks when I ask since I don't like alcohol much. Bailey's and Kahlua on ice...delicious!
9.08.2008
No more Camp Rock theme, tired of tryig to find a title for my posts from song lyrics, lol
9.7.08
Small updated from yesterday (as I post this, from Saturday). So, a bunch of JSP peoples met up for a day in Tokyo. The original plan was to go to Shinjuku, which we did, but inevitably ended up in Harajuku which was like 4 minutes away. In Shinjuku, we made it as far as a discount store (where I bought Leo something nice, from one of MY favorite designers. He’s not big into fashion, but it’ll look nice on him I think, and he should be able to get some use out of it) which carried some awesome Vivienne stuffs, that I didn’t buy, haha. After that, we hit up the Hello Kitty gift shop. They had sooo much Kuromi stuff, but I limited myself to a phone charm, and my first vending machine toy…h. Naoto Kitty! HAHA! From there, we had an awesome Korean lunch, full of laughs.
Tomoki, my PA, is pretty much the cutest thing ever. He’s timid (which is funny, because he doesn’t like shy girls) but pretty much everything that comes out of his mouth is so funny. After lunch, we met up with some other people who wanted to go to Harajuku, and umm…went to Harajuku. While trying to avoid the scary black people who lurk there, I ducked behind the alley leading me to Takuya Angel’s store again, with some hope that my persistence would once again pay off, and it SO did. IT WAS OPEN! Not only was it open, but TAKUYA WAS THERE! And I got a picture with him! AND I BOUGHT THE BAG I’VE BEEN STARING AT FOR 3 YEARS! AND I MET TAKUYA! AND A PICTURE! AND A BAG! Oh, and some gloves for winter of course.
ME AND TAKUYASAAAAAAAAAAA~N!
I’m so ready for this freezing cold Japanese people talk about. I’m tired of this heat. Everyday, I’m ready for bed by 8, but force myself to stay awake until 9. After that, we hit up a couple more small stores, and the mall I mentioned before.
h. Naoto Shop
ALGONQUINS!
But as Sean said, everything starts to look the same after a while. He said Takuya’s store was the thing he was most excited about just because it was the crazy type of fashion he had been wanting to see since coming to Japan. He even got a picture with some of Takuya’s new cyber gear, lol.
Oh, and I must remember to copy some of mucc’s music for him. He said that if he likes it, he may go to the concert with me in couple months. Otherwise *sigh* I’ll have to go alone. And believe you me, I WILL! There’s no way I’m spending 10 months in Japan and NOT seeing mucc on a stage at LEAST once. While in Harajuku, we were about to cross the street when a small parade started coming down the street...with TAIKOS! And this dude I took a picture of walked up like, RIGHT next to me. Too exciting.
So after completing our shopping escapades in Condomania, we went to a pasta restaurant for dinner in Harajuku, and then headed home. Some dude was watching a B’z concert on his ipod – probably preparing for the new album release on the 17th – which prompted me to bust out my own to listen to some B’z. It was a pretty fun train ride home. Over all, it was probably one of my best days here in Japan so far. I spent it with 2 really great people. And even though they have their own intertwined past, coming from the same school and all, they made me feel like we had known each other for a fairly long time. Minus this crappy cold that won’t go away, I feel my morale has been lifted just a bit, and I think this week will be better. For now, I have Japanese homework I must do, golf I must watch, and then I think we’re going to dinner with another one of my host sisters, 1 I have not yet met.
That's me with a boob stress ball...yup...