2/28/09 ~ Saturday 2:06 am - Tokyo ~ 12:06 pm 2/27 - NY EDIT

Status: happy ~ Listening to: Kuroshitsuji on tv

S&M...with Sebastian

*fangirls* The opening scene of the episode is of someone ripping open Sebastian's shirt. Kyaaa....this entire series loves lays on the fanservice. O.o However afterwards...poor Sebastian. He goes through alot in this episode. *cringes* And Angela's outfit! X.x She is no angel. Me: I'll save you Sebastian! *slaps Angela*

As an aside on Angela's outfit in this episode...this will definitely be something cosplayers will take on.

EDIT: I just had to add this one thing for the latter half to the episode...riding on a cannon ball through the water...what the- O.O *applauds* Sebastian, you're too awesome for words. And the ending...kinda sad. >.<

2/27/09 ~ Friday 3:30 am - Tokyo ~ 1:30 pm 2/26 - NY

Status: sleepy ~ Listening to: Namida - 2BACKKA (Skip Beat! ED) Listen or Save

Otanjoubi omedatou, Jenn-chan!

First, I must apologize for your first exposure to BL with Loveless. It's my obsession and of course, not something many other BL fans share. (It's a borderline shota plus there is no action. ^^; *ahem*) Last I heard you were actually watching Junjou Romantica. I have no wish to draw you into my dark world of boyxboy...but if you wish to fall in, I will be most happy to guide you. ^-^ For now, I shall encourage your love for comedic romances that play on humor and uniqueness. Series like Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge and the classic Ouran Highschool Host Club, I present...Skip Beat!

Skip Beat! - revenge/rivalry

Skip Beat! is a series by Nakamura Yoshiki-sensei. The anime opens with a young highschool girl, Mogami Kyoko living in Tokyo with her childhood friend (and love interest) Shotaro (blond dude in the above picture.) She keeps house for him since he is an up-and-coming celebrity. She is shocked to find out that he claims that she has no sex appeal, plain and is only good at housekeeping. Shock turns to anger as she rushes to attack him. Shotaro retorts stating that if she wants revenge, she had better become a bigger star. And so starts her leap into the business.

Being a celebrity isn't easy and she has some weaknesses that she needs to overcome. However, she faces the challenges with persistence as many people around her start to notice. Although Tsuruga Ren (dark haired dude in the above pic) was initially disappointed in Kyoko's reasons for becoming a star, but he witnessed her determination...and of course starts to fall for her. Shotaro continues to laugh at her from the sidelines, but cannot really deny the connection that they had (or still have) for each other. Of course, there is already an exisiting rivalry between Ren and Shotaro for many MANY reasons. Two hot guys in one studio? Sparks fly...and I don't mean the BL kind. ^.^

Did I mention that Kyoko likes to think up elaborate scenerios of how she can exact her revenge on Shotaro? Ren too.... Her leap into the stardom isn't easy and her true character shows through beyond the longing for revenge. A truly entertaining series to watch. I personally have no opinion of who she should end up with and the series hasn't shown who central couple would be yet. Of course, Ren and Kyoko would be a preferable choice since he is actually kind to her while Shotaro has a love/hate relationship. Then again, Shotaro was always the main man.... ^^;

Jenn-chan. This doesn't have the elements of slice-of-life as Ouran and Yamato, but out of all the ones I'm watching now, it definitely has meaningful moments mixed with comedy. Hope you get the chance to enjoy it. ^.^

More Miyazaki please!

Hayao Miyazaki has been declaring his retirement for many, many years now...but thankfully, it hasn't happened yet. At least not permanently. ^.^ Ponyo was his latest and Japanator reports not his last. Yes, Miyazaki still has another project up his sleeves. Yay! There will also be a 14 hour documentary of Ponyo on the Cliff which makes me very happy. The movie itself is pretty light and I would love to see Miyazaki's thoughts on it. The reasons why he did such things...even if they were simple reasons as 'I like lots of bubbles because they're pretty'. ^.^ I hope that when the movie finally comes to the US, the documentary will be included. C'mon Disney, you know kids would love to watch 14 hours of it! Well, maybe not kids but you have to think of the grownup fans too! ^^;

the boxset that will make me cry

Japan has just put out another FMA boxset that has everything from the series, movie to OVA and includes the usual wonderful extras like postcards, artbooks etc....all for about $700...or less now since amazon.jp has it at 50% off. O.o The best part is that there is also a postcard to send in so that you can enter a drawing for 5000 fans to attend a live event with the seiyuu cast. O.O Japanese report on it here along with animevice's report. Of course, access to these events are usually obtained that way. I would really love to get the boxset...but I don't think I can. It's not just for the event, to be one of the 5000 fans...impossible. I'm just mourning the loss for not being able to get all that awesome stuff. *cries*

2/24/09 ~ Tuesday 10:55 pm - Tokyo ~ 8:55 pm - NY

Status: satisfied ~ Listening to: Summer Memories - Kamiki Aya (Detective Conan ED) Listen or Save

wine...with orgasms

My French apartment mate is watching Kami no Shizuku featuring Kamenashi Kazuya. I don't know who his character is yet, but everytime the actor Tanabe Seiichi tastes wine...'He seems to have an orgasm'. My apartment mate's words...not mine. Honestly though...that's exactly what it sounds like! ^^;

When in Rome...

...but we're not in Rome. However, we did have Italian tonight. ^.^ I went out to eat with my Japanese co-workers. I don't know what each of us ordered...but it was delicious! I ordered a seafood spaghetti soup, salad with hot milk tea set.

My friend had two free dessert/drink coupons so we each had a tirimisu for dessert. Oishi! (I actually got two more of those coupons so we're definitely going again. ^.^)

Our dinner convo consisted of catching up on my no-job status, driving tests experiences, hole-in-pants/dress experiences (them...not me ^.^) and so on. It was fun and this is actually the first time all three of us (from the agency) had a meal together. In the past, one or the other would be working or was out of Tokyo. Such fun.... ^.^

1:23 am - Tokyo ~ 11:23 pm 2/23 - NY ~ Status: amused ~ Listening to: Natsume on tv

spirit punch!

Yay! The classroom trio goes on a trip! Mmmm...lots of fun tonight.... *nosebleeds* lol Turns out, not that kind of fun between 3 guys. ^___^ The creature of the day is a mermaid. Most surprising thing: she flies as well. O.O Seems like the old woman is looking/waiting for someone. Don't understand enough to figure out who...but she seems sad.... *sniff*

Natsume punch! Natsume tackle! lol He is pretty active in these episode. ^.^ Ganbarre, Natsume!

2/23/09 ~ Monday 11:30 pm - Tokyo ~ 9:30 am - NY

Status: happy ~ Listening to: Take the Wave - Naifu (Golgo 13 OP) Listen or Save

a typical saturday in Japan

On Saturday, I went out with my two apartment mates. We walked to Tocho since my German friend wanted to buy postcards to send home. The tower we went up was the one I visited many years ago. The giftshop with the puzzles is still there but there were no Ghibli puzzles though they have tons of other Ghibli stuff. There were lots of Disney puzzles though (the kind that my godsister Theresa-neechan likes) and some mini Hello Kitty puzzles that I wanted to buy. Later, later.... We left Tocho and stopped by Starbucks to warm up. Outside the Starbucks was a stone waterfall.

At the Starbucks, I ordered my usual hot chocolate (although next time, I'm going to try their hot matcha frap since it looks yummy.) The others got churros.

We took the train to Harajuku and tried to avoid the crowds to no avail. Harajuku on a saturday.... X.x At the station, there was a billboard for a new drama based off the popular manga Kami no Shizuku. Surprisingly, the billboard didn't feature the JE guys who are stars of the new drama. My Nishi-obsessed apartment mate explained that the JE manager didn't allow them to be pictured. I forgot the reason why.... ^^;

The visit to the JE store proved fruitless. (JE fans...why did you buy everything from the concerts? <.<) We headed to H&M which is one of the trendiest stores in Tokyo (for some reason. ^^;) with prices to match. My fav moment was when we ducked into a bookstore and they oogled at all the Japanese and foreign mags while I skipped down the manga isle. Oooo...new manga by Yamakimi Riyu-sensei. *drools*

women...only

Yesterday, I finally got my butt down to church (since I was absent for the last few weeks since I didn't sleep saturday nights. >.<) On the way there, I found myself in a Women's Only car.

Well, it was a subyway car for women, but not at that time. Even though the instructions were in English as well as the usual Japanese, I couldn't really figure out when the cars were 'active'. *stares at the words* @-@ Forget it! Probably during rush hours. ^^;

*grabs tissue*

Someone else died in Gundam 00 yesterday. It was soo sad when she appeared in front of him like in the Fushigi Yuugi ending...both of them all naked as they held each other.... *cries* I knew that she would die when I saw the ending song! Grrrr.... My BL instincts aside, I do like the hetero pairings in this series. Well...not all of them, but I can tolerate their existence. ^.^ BTW, when Lockon started punching Setsuna, I got so sad...he should hug him! And Setsuna just took it like a man. (Maybe Setsuna is seme afterall. ^^;)

Natsume tonight! *dances* I'll probably make a post at that time giving my comments based on what I do or don't understand of the episode. ^^;

2/21/09 ~ Saturday 2:45 am - Tokyo ~ 12:45 pm 2/20 - NY

Status: amused ~ Listening to: Plenty of Grit - Hayashibara Megumi (Slayers Revolution OP) Listen or Save

para para conan

There was this para para move that I remember in my head...but don't remember where I seen it...until now. The eighth opening of Detective Conan, 'Koi wa thrill, shock, suspense' sung by Aiuchi Rina features Conan moving to music. Yes, he dances. O.o It was so awesome that I had to learn it immediately. The music not quite as trance-y as present day para para-type music, but the concentration on hand movements is there. Afterall, early para para anime like Kodomo no Omocha wasn't very trance-y as well. ^-^

We know that Conan dances, has perfect pitch...but can't sing. HOWEVER, in the eleventh ending credits, Conan is singing 'Start in My Life' which is actually sung by Kuraki Mai. So...if Conan sings for real he is a girl?!? lol Of course, my fav ending song will always be the ninth one, 'Secret of My Heart' which Ran sings in the ending credits (also by Kuraki Mai....) ^.^

bits of Kuroshitsuji

Caught the latest episode of Kuroshitsuji tonight (which is why I'm updating before I go to bed. The show is certainly showing signs of closure...since we have a more prominent role by Queen Victoria's butler. What surprised me the most is actually the appearance of Lao's butler (who looks very Chinese: he is Sebastian's twin...only Chinese ^^;) and we get to see Lao's opium den which was hinted at several episodes. This episode is also a two-parter and features Sebastian and Ciel going off in two different directions. No! You can't separate these two for long...who will tie Ciel's shoelaces? lol

2/19/09 ~ Thursday 6:17 pm - Tokyo ~ 4:17 am - NY

Status: tired ~ Listening to: me typing

my kingdom for an adverb

DON'T leave msgs in my chatbox explaining to me what is an adverb...I got it now. ^^;

Today was the first time I officially went through the whole process in interviewing for an English teacher position. It lasted 5 hours because it was 1) a group intervew and 2) there are many parts to it. No specifics but we have a 'What is this school/company about' session, one-on-one interview session, one-on-one lesson demo session (I'm a teacher and the interviewer is a student,) and finally, a comprehension session. Of course, the rating I give myself fell a bit after each session. *collapse*

All in all, it was an interesting experience since there were some expert teachers there (post-NOVA and etc) as well as some newbies like me but nicer looking. Demographics...3 Asians, several Australians, couple Americans and misc-I-don't-know-where-they're-from. We had fun getting to know each other and I discovered that there were some Harry Potter fans in the mix as well as some gamers. (My fujoshi and otaku habits are still a secret. Muwahahahahaha. ^.^) I sided with the gamers and we chatted about some games.

The question you all want to ask: did I get in? I will know within two weeks and with 10 ppl in my group along with x number of groups...I really don't know. The school has many positions open and I didn't do badly that's for sure and I was as genki as ever...but I'll be practical and wait it out. Now if you'll excuse me, I have ramen to cook and a tummy to satisfy. ^.^

2/18/09 ~ Wednesday 9:49 pm - Tokyo ~ 7:49 am - NY

Status: busy ~ Listening to: Aozora Loop - marble (KimiKiss Pure Rouge OP) Listen or Save

Yokohama...for interview

I'm heading to Yokohama tomorrow morning for an interview. Kinda disappointed since my first visit to Yokohama area will be for work...but getting an interview is good. ^.^ It's in the area, but I don't know how close I'm going to be to the Chinatown and the amusement part. If it's close to anything, I'm heading there! Yokohama.... *happy sigh* ^^; The interview itself will be a group interview (competition galore <.<) and I'm bringing my resume, degree and transcript. *nervous* ^^; Ganbarre masu!

2/17/09 ~ Tuesday 12:59 am - Tokyo ~ 9:59 am - NY

Status: contemplative ~ Listening to: A Wish For The Stars - Itou Kanako (Blassreiter ED2) Listen or Save

last of Junjou

I finished watching the subbed ep. 12 of Junjou Romantica. I'm glad that what I understood of it (watching it on tv the first time) was accurate enough. But seeing/hearing the words Misaki and Usami on screen was pretty special. I added my fav quotes into the BL quotes page. I love the moment when Misaki is describing his trip to Atami and the eels. I still feel that they squeezed alot into the episode. Can't be helped since it was the last one and had to tie any loose ends.

I have one question which will mostly be answered in the manga: did Haruhiko really love Misaki or was it all Isaka-san's idea? (I think it is a yes.) Also a comment about Nakamura-sensei...I think she has a hand fetish since the characters concentrate alot on the hands of the various seme. ^^; (Well, I have a butt fetish, but that is not the point. ^-^) Of course, the characters concentrate alot on the bottom area too....

In response to your comment about Usagi-chichi's gift, yes, I think it is a wonderful Valentine's day gift. If only I knew how many salmon the bears are holding. ^-^

1:23 am - Tokyo ~ 11:23 am 2/16 - NY ~ Status: happy ~ Listening to: Zoku Natsume Yuujin Cho on tv

mienai ~ can't see

Uke Natsume...tied about his neck...got licked by a giant tongue! *BL senses tingling* lol Beyond that, the episode is kinda sad since Natsume is having trouble with his sight...no spoilers! ^.^ But my next fav moment is when Nyanko-sensei breathes on him. That moment is special. ^___^ The funniest scene is actually between Nyanko-sensei and the girl Taki. Also, with the hat, coat and the magic item (from Nyanko-sensei,) Taki looks like Sherlock Holmes. ^^;

I still don't want Natsume to end up with the girl...but Natsume protected her...twice now. And that last scene after Nyanko-sensei appears...he is in her arms! And they fall together! Awwww....

2/16/09 ~ Monday 10:50 pm - Tokyo ~ 8:50 am - NY

Status: sleepy ~ Listening to: Blue Vibraton - Aimmy Listen or Save

new roomie

Our international guesthouse welcomed the third apartment mate today...from Germany. She is a girl (so yay, no guys ^.^) and is tall and pretty. She will be staying for two months since she is on an internship. Hopefully we'll get along swimmingly. She knows about BL and has heard of Minami-sensei before so it should be fine. ^-^

2/15/09 ~ Sumday 4:40 pm - Tokyo ~ 2:40 am - NY

Status: amused ~ Listening to: me typing

breasts....

The Eiki Eiki-sensei manga that I bought in Taiwan turns out to be a manga and not a 'behind-the-scenes' as I originally thought. The manga is titled Zassoukan no Jyunintachi. Its about a highschool student who moves into a guest house (Maison Ikkoku style) and discovers that all his neighbors are mangaka. Sakura Kanako (10 years old) is a hentai mangaka who likes to draw big breasted woman. (Of course, she is obsessed since she hopes to have big boobs someday.) Hayashi Erika (elementary school teacher) likes to draw young boys...hentai. Yes, Erika is a female. ^.^ Irisuna Fuduki (older male) draws shoujo manga. Odaka Hitoha (highschool first year, same as the main character) is a BL mangaka. Yes, he is homo. Hitoha likes an older guy, who is stable and caring...like Fuduki...but tends to flirt with the main male of the story. lol Hilarity ensues....

Of course I'm rooting for Hitoha. ^.^ My fav scene so far is Hitoha talking to Kanako. (paraphrasing)

Hitoha: Why are you drinking so much milk?
Kanako: I want to have big boobs. (Me: Taiwanese manga used the words 'ne ne'. ^^;)
Hitoha: I hear that if a guy touches your breasts, they get bigger!
Kanako: Really?
Hitohara puts both hands on Kanako's chests as main character walks in....sweatdrops.

roflol I don't think this will end as a BL story since I see a girl around the corner of the next page...but it's definitely a funny one. ^-^

2/14/09 ~ Saturday 2:20 am - Tokyo ~ 12:20 pm 2/13 - NY (EDIT)

Status: happy ~ Listening to: Kuroshitsuji on tv

Happy Valentine's Day

Let me feel the warmth of your hands...and your heart.

all kinds of awesome

The current Kuroshitsuji episode is fantastic. Within the first half, Ciel conquers his past and resists *spoiler*. Then we have a Sebastian vs. *spoilers*...with a crucifying moment. O.O Sebastian catching Ciel in his arms is fantastic in itself...but I love Ciel's eyes clenched waiting for Sebastian to...to...well, I'm not sure what he was expecting Sebastian to do. ^^; BTW, the other form of the Undertaker is pretty cute. ^-^ Two words...'pink bookmark!'

But I still want to know...did Sebastian actually do it with the nun! Did he? Really? *rolls all over the floor in anger*

2/13/09 ~ Friday 8:15 pm - Tokyo ~ 6:15 am - NY

Status: accomplished ~ Listening to: Dancing In the Velvet Moon - Mizuki Nana (Rosario+ Vampire ED) Listen or Save

chocolate preperations

I woke up, watched Detective Conan, started making chocolate hearts and went out to buy more chocolate and boxes to put them in. I actually did quite well! *pats self on back* For the curious, I actually typed up how I made the chocolate hearts. ^.^ Rai...professional chocolatier! lol Not really. Tomorrow, I'll be giving them out to my friends...all females.... ^.^

mmm..Sebastian ^.^

Kuroshitsuji is tonight and I can't wait to see it! Ciel kidnapped by *spoiler* (previous episode) and goes somewhere. Sebastian and Greil are chasing after him! Kyaaa....haiyaku, Sebastian! *fangirls* I still want to know what Sebastian was doing with that nun.... <.< (Not really spoiler but...what was he doing?!?)

2/12/09 ~ Thursday 6:27 pm - Tokyo ~ 4:27 am - NY

Status: busy ~ Listening to: Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! - Buono (Shugo Chara! ED) Listen or Save

OTRF sees stateside release

Pearl-chan made an announcement today that made my day: Only the Ring Finger Knows novel vol. 4 is finally going to be released this year. According to amazon, it's going to be June 10. It's a definite buy when I come back to the US.

making chocolates

This saturday will be Valentine's day...a special day for girls all over Japan to express their feelings through chocolates. Well, I've decided to make obligation chocolates. It's for people like me to give to friends chocolates to show my appreciation. Today, I bought the heart molds, chocolate bars (to melt) and other 'supplies' for the task. Alas, I forgot to buy the decorative bags which I will get tomorrow. If this fails, I'll buy pre-packaged obligation chocolate to give. ^^;

2/11/09 ~ Wednesday 8:13 pm - Tokyo ~ 6:13 am - NY

Status: happy ~ Listening to: Break+Your+Destiny - Zettai Karen Children ED Listen or Save

ah re re!

Been lazy for the last few days. I went through several anime marathons...mostly Detective Conan. ^.^ If you ever watched the series, you'll note that 'ah re re' is Conan's signature phrase though it is only used when he wants attention. Kawaii! I haven't watched this much Conan in a while since I was young. A series that I truly grew up with...awesome in so many ways.

Other old anime that I've been marathoning is Chi's Sweet Home which is unbelievably cute. Makes me want to raise a kitty in a no-pets allowed apartment. lol j/k ^.^

2/9/09 ~ Monday 6:30 pm - Tokyo ~ 4:30 am - NY

Status: blank ~ Listening to: Blind Romance - Merry (OVER DRIVE ED) Listen or Save

first is the bad news

Everyone knows I have a tourist visa. No surprise there since I don't have a job yet. Today, I find that I couldn't work temp part time afterall. Lost my first job that I didn't even start yet. ^^; The woman that interviewed me was very nice and I hope to contact her again if I have a part time job lined up with a visa in tow.

we have good news too

...not job related. Missing out on NYCC is sad for me, but I still get the news that flow from it. Del Rey will put out Night Head Genesis the manga drawn by Higuri-sensei. I was hoping for Night Head, the one drawn by Tateno Makoto-sensei but this is good too. ^.^ *dances around the room* They're also releasing the Xxxholic guidebook which I'm drooling over in Japanese so I'll continue to drool over in English. Yay!

2/7/09 ~ Saturday 11:22 pm - Tokyo ~ 9:22 am - NY

Status: tired ~ Listening to: My Fairy - Midorikawa Hikaru (Earl and Fairy ED) Listen or Save

a BL sort of day

One thing I miss about not being in the US is the annual conventions that I attend. This weekend is the NYCC. Since I'm unable to stare at all the overpriced otaku treasure in the Dealer's Room, I went to the stores that sell the same overpriced things.

Today, I met up with a friend that was part of the same yaoi forum as I was. We met at Mandarake Ikebekuro. I thought the location appropriate since we were both fujoshi. ^.^ She picked up several volumes of Hydra by Miyamoto-sensei while I noted everything that I couldn't buy...yet. Then she directed me towards 3 of the K-books stores in the area (since I've never been there.) I even found some FMA manga-extras that I never knew: a schedule book and a booklet titled 'Flame Alchemist'. The schedule book+manga was reasonably priced...but the booklet itself cost 2100 yen. o.O I'm going to buy it...later. I also saw several Loveless postcards...but held myself back. I ended up buying a Loveless vol. 6 dustjacket that was an extra from a magazine. ^.^ My friend bought the FMA cards+manga that I ordered online several years ago. She also bought some FMA doujinshi by the circle Idea. I also love that story...great plot and artwork. Since we were hungry, we didn't go hunting for the last store (since I think there were 4 K-books stores in the area) and went hunting for food instead. Being the otaku that we were, we chose ramen. It was delicious but that is no surprise since ramen is always yummy. ^.^

Afterwards, we headed to Akihabara since she never went to the Mandarake and Animate there before. Mandarake was first and we circled the many floors. We detoured into several other stores before hitting Animate. Animemiz mentioned that Junjou had a new pencil board...and I bought it. ^.^ I also picked up the new clear file. The seme/uke cookies are all gone but lots of new stuff are out. Kuroshitsuji had lots of new things too. They even had Ciel's ring! O.O I want it...but 11000+ yen for a ring is over my budget at this moment. *cries* >.< They were showing ep. 4 on tv...and of course we stayed to watch the yummy moment.... *grins* My friend bought several lovely posters and we called it a night.

2/6/09 ~ Friday 4:33 pm - Tokyo ~ 2:33 am - NY

Status: happy ~ Listening to: Happy Material Return - Mahora Junior High School 3-A (Mahou Sensei Negima! OP) Listen or Save

package from NY...a month later

The Japanese postal system is good...to a point. Okaasan sent out a large package to me in the first week of January. It arrived at my doorstep on Jan. 11...but I wasn't home to receive it. I wasn't worried since I know that the Japanese postal system won't lose my things. And soon enough, on Feb. 4 I received the note that asks me to pick up the package at the post office. My only question...why does it take them a month send me the slip if they attempted the delivery in January? *is confused* I got the package yesterday. It has all my spring clothes, two spring jackets, a pair of shoes, vitamins, fried scallions (for noodles and soup,) and my sketchbook (Alby's Christmas gift several winters ago. ^.^)

Returning to NY...not me!

My co-worker's husband and son will be returning to NY next week. She'll be going in a few months. Along with my other co-worker, I met up with the husband and son for lunch. I also wanted to give the son a Thomas the Tank engine red envelope along with a giant lollipop. ^.^ They're not sure if the move back to NY will be permanent, but it'll be for long term. Awwww...the son will be awesome in school knowing two languages! We went to Jonathon's to eat which is another family restaurant. I ordered a fried seafood don meal...I don't rememeber what it was called. It came with an udon. I asked for the drink bar and had some delicious hot matcha tea. Oishi! Tasted like my ice cream.....

The little dude ordered the children's meal. It was sooo cute! (Of course, he is cute too. *hugs* ^-^)

BTW, the little mochi-lookalikes are really balls of rice. And the little black 'cups' the riceballs are in were really nori aka. seaweed! Sugoi! There is a small seasoning packet that comes with it that you're suppose put on the rice. The other parts of the meal included a piece of chicken, vegetables, fried potatoes and...tako weiners! (Like the ones from Junjou Romantica! Kawaii! ^.^) I could order a children's meal when I come on my own except that the servers will just look at me funny. I don't care! It's too cute!

2/4/09 ~ Wednesday 11:35 pm - Tokyo ~ 9:35 am - NY

Status: calm ~ Listening to: Diamond Crevasse - Macross Frontier ED Listen or Save

two days: Meji Shrine and Harajuku

Yesterday and today, we went about Harajuku and the surrounding area. Didn't do much besides get alot of exercise. ^.^ We checked out the Indio store as reconnaissance for iceblueaya as well as the Johnny's store...a store for concert goods and pics for JE groups. Didn't find what iceblueaya wanted, but saw lots of cute pics of guys. *drools over half-naked Kazuya-san pic* lol No pics are allowed in the store or even of the store itself, but I was allowed to take a pic of the sign.

Actually, I wasn't able to go into the shrine yesterday which was why we went there again today. Check out the pics we took. ^-^ On the way back through Shinjuku, I saw this glass structure shone in blue light. It was so pretty that I had to take a pic of it. Beside it was a calm pool of water.

Tomorrow's plans include heading to the post office, bringing a small gift over to my co-worker's son and anywhere our feet takes us. ^-^ Now? Watching Jigoku Shoujo of course!

2/3/09 ~ Tuesday 1:13 am - Tokyo ~ 11:13 am 2/2 - NY

Status: content ~ Listening to: Oblivious - Kalafina (Kara no Kyoukai ED) Listen or Save

return to job search

I won't write much since Natsume is on tv...but I went for my temp part time job interview and got it. ^.^ The school can't sponser me for a visa since it's really a publishing company that has a school...but if I get a part time job/work visa elsewhere, then I'll be able to submit my resume there! ^.^ Nepotism works wonders! I can't wait to help out!

I still have lots that I need to do in terms of submitting resumes since I have at least two schools that I want to follow up on. Ganbarre masu!

more walking

So...to add to our 'walking tour of Japan', we walked from the interview site at Ichigaya to Shinjuku, exchanged money there and took the train to Nakano to the post office to pick up my package: Junjou Romantica cards...regular set 16-60! *dances around the room* Yes, I will be collecting Junjou and Loveless special cards. ^-^ We had a meal at our usual vending machine restaurant and went grocery shopping to resupply my fridge. ^.^ Busy, ne?

Natsume is uke love ^.^

We ended the evening by watching 'My Fair Lady' and now I'm watching ep. 5 of Zoku Natsume Yuujin Cho...and Natsume just fainted into the Tanuma's arms! *fangirls*

2/1/09 ~ Sunday 6:55 pm - Tokyo ~ 4:55 am - NY

Status: happy ~ Listening to: Time Capsule - as (Digital Devil Saga) Listen or Save

last days of Taiwan in review

I'm really glad to be back in Japan for more reasons then I will mention. My last day in Taiwan was interesting enough but I won't get into the dramatics of it...just the fun parts. ^-^ I went out playing with fireworks with my cousins. I forgot to bring my camera so you guys are spared my awful night shots. My cell caught a nice pic of the sparkler that I was playing with...but I can't get it out of my cell right now. ^^; FYI, the sparkler aka. 'fairy wand' is a long metal stick with one end that is coated with the sparkler stuff. You light that end but it takes some time for it actually catch the flame...one of the more difficult fireworks to play with. But once it catches, you can light the others easily. I haven't played with this in years which was why I chose this as my main attraction. ^.^

After setting off the various fireworks that we bought (many really nice ones...my cousins have good pyrotechnic tastes ^.^) we played 'kick the can'...another game which I haven't played in years. *gets Ouran flashbacks* ^.^ I'll have you all know...I suck at this game. lol I was 'it' for the last round and I spent the majority of the game chasing the can (we used the bottle) around. It was fun though. ^.^

My aunt came to pick me up in the morning and drove me to the airport. I talked with aunt and uncle in Yu Li as well as my cousin before leaving my aunt for the departure gate. I wandered around the shopping area and saw some nice Jimmy puzzles and books...but didn't want to carry anything else. (I'll save those to buy next time I return to Taiwan. ^-^) Caught some nice pics of planes.... Look that's me up in the air! lol

I went through customs and got my baggage with no problems. Took the Narita Express to Shinjuku and got a bit turned around at Shinjuku (that place is too huge to be walking around with a suitcase) but got on the right subway soon enough. Totally happy to be home.

today and tomorrow

I was suppose to do many things today...but woke up too late. I will be going for a temp part time job interview tomorrow at my co-worker's husband's old school. It's only for February and March but it'll be a new experience. ^.^ Everything that I couldn't do today will have to be moved to tomorrow. Instead, my friend and I went to McD's for a little snack....

It's a cookie and chocolate McFlurry. The strawberry McFlurry is off the menu so this is completely new. Oishi!