Late Christmas & 良い年を

post that I missed updating since I was occupied with the start of my 2nd semester of studies

-tired-

Today is only the 2nd day and I can hear my bones creak under the pressure already

T___T

And from now onwards, I shall hate Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays…have classes from 9am onwards everyday! Worst would be Tuesdays, 9am straight up to 7pm at night with only 2 hours break for lunch in between

-cries-

It has been ages since I came back to this student life and well, my bad for being away for such a long time…I just hope that my breath doesn’t goes off by the time this semester ends in early May

-cold sweats-

Anyway, throwing the above worries aside, I haven’t extended my season’s greetings properly to my readers…

And in the spirit of the season, my friends and I had a small gathering in SPY’s new house where we each brought a present (in some cases, presents for everyone) and exchanged with each other…dinner was served too but unfortunately I had to skip it due to the obligatory family dinner…lamb chops! T___T

The Christmas tree with the presents at the bottom ^___^

Christmas Presents!! yays~ \(^___^)/ notice the 2 bottles of (wine?)?

CHEERS!! 乾杯!! -hic- lol by the way, the 2 bottles were sparkling juices (we are legal to drink but we are sensible enough not to)

presents exchange time! we’ve decided to draw lots (names written on paper slips are the person whom you’ll get the presents from)

and this is what I’ve gotten…

Rilakkuma bin and glass tumbler from Yuki-chan and the chocos are from Annie-chan and Ama-chan ^__~

By the way, these are my presents (souvenirs from my Christmas holidays trip)

Inside are leather-made cute colorful flowers phone straps

PS: Christmas holidays trip report coming up! More classes to attend tomorrow…-sigh-

-am so looking forward to Chinese New Year holidays now-

48 more hours…

before I’ll leave for my Winter & Christmas Holiday! ^^

*happy*

But before that,

Today, 16 December is the coldest day in Japan with record-low temperatures of -2 in Saitama Prefecture, -1.1 in Chiba Prefecture, -0.8 in Gunma Prefecture, 1.1 in Kanagawa Precture, 4.8 in Tokyo with civilians seen wearing mufflers and winter coats walking around the town and experts said this coldness is expected to linger on for the next few days

First time seeing an ice-capped 桜島 Sakurajima (one of the active volcano mountains) located in the southernmost tip of Honshu Island, 鹿児島県 Kagoshima Prefecture

Snow powdered Mount Aso (another one of the active volcano mountains)…beautiful!

Next,

World’s Longest Sea Bridge begins construction work in southern China where this 35m long bridge will link Hong Kong-Zhuhai (Guangdong Province)-Macao when it’s finished. According to the Vice Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, the bridge will help to increase competitiveness of the “Pearl River Delta Region” as well as maintain stability of both Hong Kong and Macao.

And,

The longest bony deep sea fish! of the family Regalecidae caught by local fishermen off the shores of Kurobe City, Toyama Prefecture

On the local front,

the Government doesn’t want its graduates to be only bookworms and therefore is thinking of making co-curricular activities compulsory core subjects in public varsities. In current reality, local varsities actually have included credited c0-curricular activities as part of their core courses but implementation varies. For example, some universities encourage their students to take part in various activities or join clubs and societies but does not make them compulsory, on the other hand, a few selected few (eg: those who are majoring in Education) are compelled to join an uniform body and be active in it.

Personally, I am not against or for this new ruling but for the Engineering or Medical students, considering their heavy and hectic study schedule (with lab works, internships and what’s not) somehow I feel this plan will not bid well. Maybe, with proper planning and proper guidelines, it might work.

PS: I can’t believe I missed Best Artist 2009 at NTV yesterday! -head desk- ah well… -looks around LJ Comms for any raws- Ah~ will be meeting Nun, Yam and maybe Champoo soon! -excited- my first trip anyway but considering the near distance, I might make another trip again in the near future -wink-

A Day Out

with my old friends back in my hometown on 10 December 2009

It was the usual MP, DP fair starting with 2 games of bowling (I still fail at this sport T__T) followed by lunch at the one-and-only Japanese restaurant in MP, Shibaraku しばらく

My first dining experience and didn’t really gather any favorable comments from my friends (yours truly inclusive) based on the pricing and choices of meals

but nonetheless, we’ve gotten a tatami-ed room all to ourselves so it was fun! at least we don’t need to worry about public nuisances C=

1 big happy family! ♥♥♥

L-R: 太巻き Futomaki Sushi (Big Sushi Wrap) looks nice but tasted normal, the 塩 鯖定食 Salted Mackerel Set Meal I shared with Amber tasted normal too but the miso soup was nice ♥

After lunch, headed to the cinema for a movie…I wanted to watch Avatar but it’s not released till 17 December T__T so ended up watching 風雲 II Storm Warriors I remembered watching the 1st movie when I was still in elementary school, fascinated by the interesting storyline and mesmerized by the then-young Aaron Kwok and E-Kin Cheng

L-R: 1998 x 2009

Back then, the movie has a storyline and following the flow of the story, the characters were molded into action. The only grouse was that 曇 Cloud’s hair looked fake! ^^ lol and of course there were no extra CGs or special effects so everything looked…natural

Fast forward 11 years later, with advanced technology comes the CGs and for the 2 hours I spent staring at the silver screen, the only thing that came to my mind was

“Am I watching a movie or an anime?” as there were only actions and more actions and no actual storyline…

The action scenes were brilliantly captured and replayed in CGs but while the vivid colors splashed across the screen, the human touch was lost

(just imagine Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan’s kung fu scenes acted out in CGs and you’ll get what I mean)

As compared to the Final Fantasy VII movie, this one seemed more anime-like than FF! and as my friend pointed out, coincidentally the main characters for both movies are named Cloud! -is amused-

And time stopped perfectly for both the leading actors (the wonders of make-up!) -fangirls screams anyone?-

All in all, I like the action scenes, CGs and whats-not but for fans of the comic, I am sure what they’ve read on pages and whats on their minds does not translate well on the big screen

The ending was surprising (yours truly have not finished reading the comic so apologies), a hint on what’s coming next? Time will tell

PS: 6 more days for my 1st overseas family trip! Can’t wait! ^^

Recap

on what has happened the last few days…

First, the yearly tradition of Sleepover at Amber’s house

As you can see, it was more of a cyber-cafe outing rather than a sleepover due to everyone bringing their laptops along…the advancement of technology, the deteriorating human relationship

This tradition was started I think after we’ve completed our SPM (O’Levels) exams and back then, we used to hang out at those mamak stalls till early morning, go back to start a game of monopoly that lasted till the wees hours of the morning…there were also times when we had a special otaku gathering where we’ll have an anime marathon, watching the whole anime series in 1 go with toilet and meals breaks in between…yup, those were the days…

This time’s sleepover was kind of a quiet and low-key affair with the absence of 2 of our gang members…and now that most of us will be heading soon towards our graduations, working life thereafter…wonder if this yearly tradition will continue to stay strong?

They look like candies, don’t they?  ^___^

The next day of the sleepover, everyone agreed to go for their favorite game, bowling at MP (the favorite hangout mall for teens in my hometown for those who were born before the year 1996) and this time, Yuki-chan aka Heng Heng joined us! -bear hugz the old friend whom I got to meet only once or twice a year-

Next!

December 4 is the head of the household’s annual celebration so in conjunction with the event…

♥♥HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD! LOVE YOU LOTS!♥♥

Then,

December 6 was THE date when I sat for my 日本語能力試験２級 aka Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) Level 2 together with a few of my friends (my university mates as well as Ping and Inez) and my childhood friend who sat for Level 3 and 4…there were a few examination centers throughout the country and instead of the nearest to my hometown, I chose the nearest to my university (which is 5-6 hours drive away) =_____=”

It was nerve-wrecking! I never like examinations anyway…too much imaginations going through my mind while waiting for the papers to start…this was taken after the 1st paper (55 vocabulary questions in 35 minutes! WTH? Thank God I managed to complete it on time)

3 months have passed since I got back from Japan and while I still use it off and on talking to the Japanese students I’ve met at the International Office or replying my friends/lecturers’ e-mails, I found that my level has dipped tremendously as time passes by…a bleak outlook but that’s the sad truth

PS: Been catching up on my regular shows, cleaning up my hard disks and I’ve found a few very interesting videos entitled 2000 ガキバラ帝国 2000 Gakibara Teikoku featuring Tackey as the main host with the other Jrs. as supporters or assistants but what grabbed my attention was the 受験生応援戦隊嵐 Supporters of Exam Candidates Arashi Rangers featuring the members of Arashi dressed up as heroes (think of Power Rangers) helping/supporting kids (aged 4-5) who are taking the private elementary schools entrance examinations (to think of that, 翔くん too took the Keio elementary school entrance exam when he was young -and of course he passed it-) Even though the corner features Arashi, the main spotlight were the kids, as innocent as they are, the answers they gave to the questions were hilariously entertaining…

[Please fill in the blanks. Grandpa always ___]

[Grandpa always falls down!] -so cute!- Mum later cleared up the confusion that grandpa doesn’t always falls down!

[Say out the name of something that is red in color]

[...THIS! -points towards the red colored button (which you press to answer the question) on the table-...]

-LOL-

Sadly I can’t seem to find this series anywhere else on the net, on fandoms…the innocence of a child, it’s true that children always says the darnest thing!

PSS: My Girl is coming to an end and somehow no one is interested to upload the ０号室の客 series anymore T__T

I’ve been watching the new series that replaced Can!Jani called Kanpani (Company?) and the latest episode featuring the members of K8 have to say their lines (tongue twisting sentences included) perfectly in order was so cute! Subaru’s way and advice of visualizing the sentences in the mind is the SaME way of me memorizing my exams notes! Indeed geniuses think alike! Poor Maru-chan who has the most lines and the most slip ups. Can!Jani was nice and I do missed it (especially the hot-blooded Hina driving instructor) but Kanpani is also nice, in its own way…

ON HIATUS!

for the past few days and few days to come

72 HOURS LEFT!

to the one and only exam that I am looking forward to…

-I am weird, right?-

anywayz WISH ME LUCK

Level 2 Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) this coming Sunday~

Ping, Inez, Paulee and whoever is taking the same exam

頑張りましょう！せーの～！F-I-G-H-T-O!

PS: the front page of my wordpress has snowflakes! -misses winter- and as December is the month of the season to be merry…

Inez! Do you still remember this song? ^__^

Home Is Where The ♥ Is

I”M FINALLY BACK! HOME SWEET HOME!

and I’m 24 hours late but anyways

“HAPPY B’DAY SPY!”

大親友へ　お誕生日おめでとう！

The car was once again filled to the brim with my belongings

And due to the heavy weight, speeding on the highway was not an option

But surprisingly the journey felt shorter

Stopped at Klang for dinner – the famous Bak Kut Teh! *yummylicious!*

The next day, met up with my school mates and had a very fun and meaningful day out

Met up at MP, decided to have satay celup (the stuff that had all the tourists lining up outside the shop during weekends/holidays) for dinner so while waiting for dinner time, went lepak-ing around…

MP had a new look! Thankfully they’ve even renovated the underground parking bays, which used to be pretty dark and kind of creepy at night…and changed the flooring, the tiles which reminded me of either KLCC or Mid Valley

and Breeks Cafe is opened too! although I am not a fan of the outlet ^^

Now I am waiting for the new Jusco mall to open and maybe looking out for IKEA too (tentative)

After dinner, decided to watch a movie and since most have either seen or have no interest in 2012, everyone agreed on A Christmas Carol and it was surprisingly quite good! I didn’t know that it was an animation but although it was shown in that format, somehow the characters seemed so alive and animate that they seemed real!

I was a fan of Charles Dickens when I was young and have read a few of his creations, including A Christmas Carol and after watching the movie, it indeed stayed faithfully to the book (not per se, more of the essence of the story). Oliver Twist was awesome! I can’t remember exactly when I first watched it but I think it was during my elementary school days and it was shown again on TV a few years after that when I was in high school. After watching the movie, I went to my school library to search for the book, found it and borrowed it for bedtime reading and found the movie easier to understand than the book (British English writings give me headache sometimes).

It was relatively a short time spent with my childhood friends but the hours we hung out together were precious to me.

I missed out 1 year of their lives as well as they do mine so spending these few weeks of mid-semester break with them means a lot to me.

Next up? Sleepovers! which we did quite often during high school…

anime marathons, dramas marathons, DOTA marathons…sweet memories~ can’t wait!

 

my hometown’s famous Satay Celup (raw ingredients pierced on sticks, dip them into the thick, boiling hot peanut sauce, wait till the ingredients are cooked, take them out and enjoy)

*hugz SPY* don’t worry…we go again when you are back okay?

 

PS: My 1st Satay Celup since I came back from my exchange…1 year plus is a long time…*grateful that I was born in a city blessed with good delicious food*

Cloudy Day

and I am not talking only about the weather…

Latest news!

20 years old top Korean model who was a regular at top fashion shows was found hanged in her Paris apartment, initial investigations revealed suicide as she has written “…mad depressed and overworked…” in her blog sparking speculations of high-pressure from modeling and a loss of identity. It can be said that she is not the first to fall victim to the extreme pressure of the entertainment world.

Continuation from this news,

All I can think of is death. I realize that once you die, it’s all over; still, if there is a next life I’d like to come back as an animal like my pet dog, who doesn’t cause anyone any trouble and even when he does weird things, nobody pays attention. I’m sorry I couldn’t be better than I was. Goodbye.

The above is an excerpt of a suicide note, as clearly shown but what you will be surprised is that this note was written by a 11 years old boy! 11 years old! Barely in his teens and all he could think was death. It’s a pity that such a young innocent soul thought of death as the only escape route.

Children’s depression and suicide is greatly increasing over the years and Japan, the country having notoriously high suicide rates are seeing suicides steadily trickling down the age scale. 1 in 12 elementary school children suffers from depression while in junior high school, the rate is 1 in 4.

The 11 years old boy who wrote the suicide note above led a normal life with both his parents being lawyers, the very personifications of success. Mealtime topics? “Winners” and “Losers”. Although he’s only 11 years old, he understood well what his parents were hoping from him and although he tried to hide his insecurities with strength and happiness, sometimes his defenses give way. Trivial matters such as a friend refusing to share candies with him could plunged him into a sulk that lasts for a day and a half.

Pressure from parents and family to do well in studies or life in general is often said to be the main cause of children depression but the other way around (lack of parental control) is also said to be the reason of juvenile delinquency. So, which is the right way? Clearly, parenting and being a parent in general is not an easy task. Too much pressure and the child falls into depression and too much freedom causes the child to follow the wrong crowd.

Personally I grew up in a very balanced family and I have to give thanks to my parents.

♥♥Dad and Mum, thank you for raising me up to be such a wonderful person I am now today ♥♥

I didn’t feel much pressure from my family (as far as I can remember) to excel in my studies but I was a very mischievous kid and was often scolded for all the things that I’ve done wrong. But on the other hand, I received daily hugs and was praised if I’ve done something well. That’s what I called balance. A very hard thing to do I am sure.

Prevalent in the Asian region, lack of physical love from parents (hugs, kisses, pats on the back etc) is one of the underlying causes to children depression. Hugs flow freely in my family but in my friends’ families, there is no such thing. In Asian cultures especially, close proximity or having close body contact is often deemed as shameless or immoral behavior that most parents are even afraid to hug or kiss their own children. I am not saying that ALL Asian families are against this, of course there are families who don’t mind but in general, physical love just does not cut it.

We are now living in the 21st century, a world so advanced and so modern but yet, as science and technology moved forward, humanity is left behind. Children are expected to grow up and mature earlier, faster. What happens to childhood memories? Playing in the backyard with the neighborhood kids? Collecting wild mushrooms in the jungle behind grandma and granpa’s house? Fighting over teddy bears and barbie dolls and cars toys with older sister or older brother? Football/Soccer practices with school mates?

I am just glad that I have my childhood memories to live with and childhood friendships that lasts.

PS: I miss the lovely sunsets from my room in Ikenoue 池ノ上…Inez, Listie! PINK and PURPLE CLOUDS! ^^

Stars Stories

 

Did anyone managed to see the Leonid Meteor Shower a few days ago?

I was so eager to see it that I even set my alarm clock at 05:40am (supposedly the peak time) and I did woke up but unfortunately it was drizzling and the clouds were dense…

But I saw it! *excited* well, very faint, tiny, tiny streaks striking across the sky for a few seconds before the drizzle got heavier and I gave up and went back to sleep

This year was great! I witnessed my first solar eclipse while I was in Japan a few months back and a few days ago, my first meteor shower!

*happy*

Another star-related update…

The entertainment world has been buzzing with this news lately and

to all Sakurai Sho’s fangirls out there, you guys can stop spreading the 櫻井翔Ｘ小林真央 rumors

As it has been confirmed that 海老蔵と小林真央は近日中に婚約の運びとなります

Even Mao-chan’s elder sister, Maya-chan gave the couple her blessings

The wedding bells will be ringing soon ^^

 

On another hand, the long awaited Johnnys’ Baseball Sports Tournament 2009 has been resurrected after 5 years of absence

The teams will be divided into 関東軍 Kanto Team (led by Kat-tun’s 亀梨和也 Kamenashi) VS 関西軍 (led by Kinki Kids 堂本光一) and the tournament will be held on 13 December at Tokyo Dome. No lineups have been revealed yet but just wondering, will 嵐’s 二宮和也 or 相葉雅紀 or 松本潤 and 滝沢秀明 and partner, 今井翼 join in the tournament?

 

Back to my life…back to reality…

*sigh*

Today marks the end of the final examinations

the campus corridors are so empty

less cars are seen parked in front of lecture halls

boxes and personal possessions are seen outside the dorms’ rooms

people are seen with big bags waiting at the bus stop

another semester comes to an end

Most of my friends are back home, lazing around, savoring the freedom

before the new semester starts next month

Me? will be back soon…

Will definitely miss a lot of things

*internet! can’t compare to ikenoue but still…*

To think of it, I am missing my days in 池ノ上 still…

the days when I stayed in one of the room in a place called “above the lake”

where I can see a huge mountain and early morning sunrises (at 4:30am in summer!)

out of my window

Life…oh life!

Five Senses

遠い雨が近づく 街のにおいは切なくて

嵐というイードルグループはみんなさんご存知ですよね

あれはこのグループの人気な曲の一つが

この最初歌詞の文は私にいる所とぴったりです

また雨の爽やかな匂して

また雷鳴がとどろいた

でも私は嫌いにならない

むしろ好きかも知れない

やがて金曜日は期末実験の最後の日になるが

一部友達はもう終わって地元に帰る予定です

私も家に帰りたいな～実験を受けないのに

やっとアパートの事件が解決して

今度の日曜日に会って話し合うつもりけど

うまくできるかなちょっと心配する

お金とか人間関係の事は大苦手で

昔事故が起きてしまってので

気をつけなきゃダメですよね

ヨシ　がんばる！

昨日緊急電話を届いてビックリした

家族は前の私バスで一人の状態の話を読んでると

凄い心配かけてすぐ私に電話して

話の確認後しっかり怒られた

「何回も言った一人でバスに乗ると危ないて、もし運転手は悪いことをさせたらどうするの？！」

｢あなたにどこで送って殺しちゃうとどうするの？！ねぇ、私たちの気持をもっと考えなさい！」

ーはいぃ…反省中ですー

確かに一人でバスに乗って危ないが…わ！分からない！

でも気をつけます

R.A.I.N

今日も雨が降っています。本当に雨の時期を感じます。

嫌いわけではないが家の中にいれば大丈夫けど

外にはちょっと大変な

ビショビショの感じは嫌だです　*＿＿*

でも雨の香りが大好き！なんか切なくて懐かしい匂いがするけど

時々爽やかな草の匂いもします

それは風を吹くと頭がすっきりしますよね

I was out the whole day today for my weekly therapeutic shopping trip and was waiting for the bus to get back home when it started to drizzle and in no time, it’ll be raining cats and dogs so I need to get back fast or face getting wet throughout.

It took a while for the bus to arrive and surprisingly it was relatively empty and no one except me (who was waiting at the bus stop) got onto it. I told the driver my destination and he gave me a quizzical look for a moment before unwillingly agreed. I too was puzzled since the bus does passes by my house and yet he seemed so reluctant.

I paid the fare and before I took my seat, he told me that it’ll take a while before reaching my destination and I nodded again. The distance between the mall and my house is not that far (about 10-15 minutes ride) so again I was puzzled why it’ll take longer than usual but I didn’t give it much thought and sat down.

After a few minutes, we pulled into the bus terminal where the driver stopped the bus and got off, asking me to wait for a while. It was still drizzling outside, a little harder than earlier so I just nodded and sat down, alone in the bus, waiting for time to pass while listening to the raindrops pattering outside, tiny drops sliding down the mirrors of the bus windows. It felt so serene, so peaceful, as if I was sitting at the backseat of my dad’s car, all alone while he runs off on an errand, a reminiscent of my childhood days.

I could have fallen asleep there and then but of course it’ll be dangerous so I kept my conscious awake and well alert and waited patiently for the bus driver to return. It took at least 10 minutes before he returned and off we go. A few passengers came over wanting to board the bus but the driver told them that the bus does not goes to wherever they wanted to go so I was left alone in the bus again. A few minutes of silence and suddenly the driver asked where should he dropped me off, I gave him the directions and after a while, I pressed the bell and was ready to get off when the driver told me, “You are lucky that I agreed to take you in outside my working hours”

That was when the whole situation became clear. No wonder he was so reluctant to let me go aboard in the begining.

I don’t know who he is and probably we won’t be meeting with each other anymore after this but I am so thankful and grateful that such kind living soul exists in this world. A stranger showing kindness to another stranger is not uncommon but to have me personally experience it is one-of-a-kind. I truly appreciate his kind gesture of accepting me as a customer and dropping me off at my desired destination even though he’s supposed to be off-work. All that I can say is,

“Mr. Bus Driver, THANK YOU!”

 

PS: HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my dear friends Soo Ann (14 Nov) and Shu Jun (15 Nov)!! best wishes~ ♥♥♥

PSS: 09年11月12日の秘密の嵐は超おもしろかった！VIP ゲストは広末涼子さんが登場しました。嵐との初共演だが広末さんの衝撃発言は超おもしろくて高知県ご出身の彼女の大好きなよさこい祭りが嵐みんなさんに挑戦して相葉ちゃんとニノの間にいたリーダは相葉ちゃんの激しい行動で全然踊れませんでした。かわいそう！*笑*

次は私個人も大好きなコナー「モテ嵐ダメ嵐」テマは～彼女と初めて過ごすクリスマスデート～でしたけどメンバーそれぞれの好みとか性格が出ちゃって特にニノとリーダの答えは注目して下さい。

三つ質問だけ人の性格までもわかちゃうぐらいすごくない？

選ぶとしたら翔くんの企画は一番良いです。私自身も横浜ドライブデートしたいし翔くんがいればそれはプラスかな　*照*

でもね横浜の夕焼けは超きれい！いい天気なら富士山も見えるんよ！うわ～色んな思い出だすと今すぐに行きたい～

*溜息*　お金持ちになれば良かったね

PSSS: Just read this latest news about my favorite group, K8 will be having their 1st solo countdown concert with a 3 consecutive days of concert starting from 30 Dec at Kyocera Dome Osaka! Me wanna go~!! T___T

The other JE group which have done the same was Kinki Kids but they are the “sempai” so that doesn’t really count.

And in conjuction with this (and also their 5th year celebration), they’ll be releasing 3 different singles 「GIFT 白」　「GIFT赤」 and 「GIFT緑」 Each costing only 888 yen! (relatively cheap compared to their other singles…) 7 songs in total

*sigh*

-drinks her tea to calm herself down-