Six Flags

Yeah! Daddy, Chate, Christian and I took a trip to Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia on Friday. It was awesome! We really had a great time. On the way there we saw someone who seemed to be trying to write in the sky in his little plane. We think it said "THE CHOOSE?" but they weren't very good so it was hard to tell. Anyway... There were quite a lot of people there but the wait wasn't that bad and we got to go on the important rides. First we went on Revolution which is one of the more toned down rollercoasters but still fun and a good one to start of with. Then we went to Viper, one of my all time favorites, that has many loops and a pretzel. Then it was time for lunch at le Panda Express. Of course it was outrageously expensive but Daddy paid so it was okay. ^_^ If you look at the pictures there is a picture of the two pandas. It looks like one got mad at the other and decided to knee him... After that was the walk to Goliath. My all time favorite ride. The first drop, which cannot be seen until you're going down it, is 255 feet going 85 miles an hour at a crazy angle. It is so much fun and can only be done in the first car. Man! I love that ride! Then was Scream, Daddy's favorite, then Batman and then Riddler. Then we decided to go back and ride Goliath in the dark. It was freezing cold but well worth it. I actually put my hand up for most of the ride that time. Of course not during the initial drop and I had to put them down on the turn where the G forces are pulling so hard that you can't move, other then that they were up. Ha! (Please note that all rides were done in the front car.)

Of course (I'm saying that a lot), after the rides we had to get a funnel cake which resulted in the mess you can see below in the picture. Christian made some threat about getting powdered sugar on me so I beat him to it. He and Chante had it (after we were done eating) and eventually I got hold of it and just flung the plate in Christians general direction which resulted in the powdered sugar making a nice stripe of white across his face and sweater. Then I proceeded to wipe the excess powdered sugar on his arm. Good times...

On the way home we stopped at the In-N-Out in Pamona where we used to go when we lived in Chino Hills. It is a drive-thru only so we sat in the car and ate. I got a cheeseburger animal style with animal style fries and a vanilla shake. YUM! Christian decided to forget the straw and drink his milkshake right out of the cup which then resulted in him getting it up his nose. That was hilarious. Then as he was throwing his food away, Chante closed his door and I pressed the lock button. hehe... We had to let him back in when Daddy came back though...

There was a lot of sleeping in the car and eventually we got everyone home. Then we had to go pick up Melissa in Vista but that's not the point. By 12am I was in bed and dreaming of rollercoasters and Panda. Ah... if only every day could be like that day.

Six Flags

Shopping

So today Mommy, Melissa and I went to the mall and did soe shopping to spend all those gift cards. I found a beautiful wool pea coat that fit me very well and was on sale at Macy's. Originially $150 I bought it for $96 with tax and it was technically free for me because I used my gift card. ^_^ Then we went to Charlotte Russe where I bought two new pairs of jeans, again with a gift card and then we went on to Panera for a lunch of soup and a salad. Mommy paid for that one, with a gift card, haha! For dessert we stopped by Starbucks where we again used some gift cards. I also met Melissa's new boyfriend who seems nice and is at least cute.
Anyway, another good day at home with the family. Tomorrow should prove to be another good day because Grandmommy's flying into town! We'll leave to pick her up at about noon. It'll be great to see her again.

Christmas

Christmas was awesome! I had a great time with my family enjoying food and good family traditions. It starts with the hors devours of barbeque Little Smokies and nachos with some Sparkling Apple Cider and then goes to the tree decorating. This year Mommy put on special ones where she wanted them and then we were allowed to decorate. We got all the ornaments on there which I thought was pretty spiffy. Then we had dinner of ham and rolls and green beans and Mommy's special apple sauce and yams. Then we opened our Christmas Eve presents of special pajamas. After changing we went into the living room and watched White Christmas while munching on cookies and fudge. By the time the movie was over it was about 11pm so Melissa and I went to bed. Not after wrestling first though, of course. Then we ended up wrestling in her room again and Daddy had to come and fix her bed... :) We eventually went to sleep.

Christmas morning Melissa's alarm went off at 5:50am and we laid in bed until it went off again at 6am and then went to the bathroom and at 6:15am we were in the parents rooms trying to get them out of bed. It was quite an interesting experience as it is every year. By 6:30am we were in the living room opening presents! Melissa and I both got a ton of gift certificates and a new pair of jeans as well as a stuffed animal (mine a moose, hers a penguin) that will record a short message and repay it when you press the hand/paw/fin/hoof/whatever it is... The gift certificates were awesome. I got $50 for Barnes and Noble, $25 for Starbucks, $20 for Blockbuster, $50 for Charlotte Russe and $100 for the mall. I know! Woohoo! We are so going shopping tomorrow! I also got a new top and undershirts from Melissa which I am currently wearing and I like very much. The jeans were too small but Melissa will just take those and I'll get new ones tomorrow. I also got a new 2007 Get Fuzzy day-to-day calendar. Everyone liked their presents. It was good times. After presents we had a breakfast of cinnamon rolls and sausage and andarin oranges. Then we watched Daddy's new DVD (from me) of the Robin Williams Live on Broadway 2002. It was so funny! And now I'm sure you're bored to death which is good because that's all we did!

The slide show has a TON of pictures. Just click the plus sign on the bottom left hand corner to make them go by faster.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Christmas

Steak!

Well after coming home from our lovely biking trip I discovered that Melissa was leaving to go to dinner with one of her friends and that Daddy wouldn't be home from his golf game until late because of traffic so Mommy and I decided to go to Dalton's Roadhouse Grill for dinner. I got the 12 oz. strak that came with maple syrup yams and loaded potato soup. It was so good! The yams came with a butter that was mixed with maple syrup and cinnamon. Oh my goodness was that delicious. I didn't even want dessert after I ate that. And the potato soup had bacon and seasonings. Yum!
The funny part was that we ended up at the same restaurant as Melissa and her friend! Hahaha...

Biking at Hodges

I went mountain biking! Grant it we went on the easiest trail and I ended up walking my bike up the really large and steep hill but I went and it was fun! I think I almost plummetted to my death on the way down the hill but abviously I'm still alive so it's all good. Nick and Derek were kind enough and patient enough to take me and I must thank Bulldog and Terry for letting us borrow their bike. It was a good time. My legs were sore for a while and I will be buying something beside jeans to wear the next time but I enjoyed it and I think they did to so that's all that matters. We went to Lake Hodges by the way, just in case anyone cares...

Biking at Hodges

Home!

Above is a slide show of some of the pictures I've taken since I've been home. The first few are of the Movie Night Sasha, Chante and I had last night (Thursday). It was so much fun! We watched Step Up while drinking one and a half bottles of Martinelli's Sparkling Apple Cider, eating Botan Rice Candy (gummy candy made of... rice) and Pocky (biscuit sticks dipped in chocolate). The movie was excellent! Not only was it well done and had a good story but the acting and dancing was amazing! I love Channing Tatum! Not only is he gorgeous but he can dance and dance well. It was a great movie, just in case I didn't already say that. After we watched the movie we could not stop dancing even though we can't really dance. Oh well, it was fun anyway.

After I got home from picking up Melissa, she and her friend, Livia, who practically lives at our house, watched it again but in black and white because something is wrong with the DVD/TV connection. So I watched most of it again with them. It was a lot better on a bigger tv then in Chante's room with the smaller tv that's really far away. That was a good night. The next few pictures are from after I got home from Sasha and Chantes.

Then of course there are the pictures of my spoiled little puppies on the couch. *sigh* I'm gonna miss them... And there's my Daddy! Just took that picture tonight about 30 minutes ago I think. It's a little fuzzy but oh well. And that's the end...

Home

Tokyo Disneyland

Finally! I actually decided to put these up after all this time. Tokyo Disney was so much fun! We went on a lot of the rides including Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Tours and It's A Small World. Trying on all the hats was a pretty fun time as well. Kimi, Matt and I had a great time. I still think the best part for me was when Robin Hood kissed my hand. *blush*

Tokyo Disneyland

Presents

More good days... I've been able to get most of my Christmas shopping done yesterday and today. I took a trip to the mall yesterday with my sister and Sasha and did some serious shopping. Then today after I dropped off my sister at school I took a trip to the mall and did most of the rest of my shopping. Only about two people left and then all of the Christmas cards. I'll get those today when I drop Melissa back off at school for dance practice. I also got all of them wrapped today as well. Not bad I think.

The Week

Sorry it's been a few days but you know how it is...

The rest of the week has been pretty fun. It was great seeing everyone else I haven't seen yet at church Wednesday night. And of course seeing everyone in general. I got my box! They were going to mail it to me but that would have been really expensive so they just gave it to me while I'm here. It was awesome! We already ate one of the bags of Double Stuff Oreos. The other bag will be consumed soon, I'm sure... I also got some salsa and bean dip but no chips... I'll have to grab a bag at Costco the next time we go. Thank you to everypne who contributed! I appreciate it!

Thursday was a pretty usual day I think... I don't really remember what I did. I don't even remember what I did yesterday... Oh wait! Thurday I went and hung out with Sasha and Chante for a little while and then came home because that was the day my Daddy came home from his last business trip of the month. Sasha, Chante and I washed Sasha's car and then made some dinner. Then Sasha drove me home. Good times...

I still can't remember what I did yesterday before like 4pm but after that I went to help Chante bake like 10 dozen cookies. Then my sister called me to ask me to drive her to the movies so I called Nick to see what he was doing and he was at the movies with his parents so I just picked up Melissa and went to the movies. I was a little late for The Pursuit of Happiness but I didn't miss anything. The movie was very well done. It was really depressing but impacting. Made me appreciate my pillow a whole lot more. After the movie Nick and I waited for my sisters movie to get out and then I took everyone home and went home myself. I finished my book, Black Cross by Greg Iles. Very, very good. Five Stars! It is a historical fiction/thriller about the chemical gases in WWII and how two men are sent to destroy a concentration camp. It was very well written and researched and was definitely a thriller. I stayed up until about 2am just to finish it. I could not put it down.

Anyway, that's it so far. I've been home for a week and am enjoying my time. Still have to get my Christmas shopping done but I think my mom said we were doing that tomorrow.

Grades

Yeah! I was FINALLY able to access my grades online through Temple's website and I am very pleased with the results. They are as follows:

Manga in Japanese Pop Culture: A
Japan Today: B+
Asian American History: A
Math 55: C

Yes, I know, a C... But as some of you may know, that is excellent and I took it when I could. I was very happy for that C. And the other grades are what I expected. I wasn't sure about Japan Today but a B+ is very good for that class concidering I had to right my first 10 page paper for that class without having taken an Enlgish class in about 2 or 3 years. So I think I did well and I am happy! Yeah!

So onto how my vacation has been going. Monday was my lazy day where I did nothing but play on the computer and watch tv. I love those days. And then I went to worship practice. That was fun, just like old times. After worship I went with my Mommy and Melissa and two of her friends and Nick and Derek to the mall. Of course, Melissa and her friends ran off and did whatever because they definitely do not want to be seen walking around the mall with their Mommy and older sister. They're 14 what do you want? So Mommy, Nick, Derek and I walked around and I think the only thing we bought were books at Waldens and Starbucks. It was a good mall trip. I missed the mall...

Yesterday, Tuesday, I went over to my Sasha's house after a long time of waiting to be able to get the car. (It's a little difficult having three drivers and one car.) Sasha and I began recording our CD on her dad's equipment in the garage. It's not exactly the best quality and I don't even know if we'll finish it but it was nice to do what we did. We had some burritos Holly (Sasha's mom) made for dinner that were yummy and then we were trying to decide what to do. Chante had finished her homework and I had to take the car home to take one of Melissa's friends home so we decided to go to Starbucks and rent a movie after dropping off said friend. We rented The Devil Wears Prada. That was a good movie. I will definitely be reading the book if I can get my hands on it. And of course when I was about to leave Sasha and I started talking and I ended up staying until midnight. But I got home and got to sleep and here I am.

Vacation has been fun and relaxing so far. I need to do this more often.

Day 2

Another good day here at home in sunny Southern California! Today I went to church and got to see everyone! It was great to be able to give hugs and talk to everyone that I missed. It really doesn't seem like I even left though. We can still pick up our conversations and have a good time.

After first service Meagan, Sasha and I took a little trip to Starbucks (thank you Meagan!) and then went back to the church and hung out in Bulldogs office. Reminded me of the good old times while I sat in my chair drinking coffee and talking to Bulldog. Good times...

Then Sasha and I came to my house for a little while and did a little work on the CD we want to record just for fun and then headed out to Christians guitar recital. He was great and it was fun to hear all the Christmas music. It is around the corner! We had some good cookies and punch afterwards and headed back to my house.

There was more music and then... Panda Express! I am a big fan of Americanized Chinese food. Especially after being in Japan where they have real Chinese food that tends to be very unusual and kinda greasy (in my opinion). I enjoyed the food. Made me glad to be back in America.

Then came the free movie watching. Sasha works at the movie theatre so she can get two free tickets and sometimes more so we went and say The Holiday. It was a great chick flick with a nice happy ending. I don't want to give away the story so go see it for yourself if you're into chick flicks and it's pretty late and I'm tired... ^_^

And now I'm home and pretty tired seeing that it's 1:37am. But it's all okay because I get to sleep in tomorrow. I love vacation...

I almost forgot! Daddy put up the Christmas tree today! He had to use the air compressor to get all the dust and spiderwebs out of it but it looks great now! Hahahaha! Still won't be decorated until Christmas Eve, as is tradition, but it looks great for now. Even Mister White Paws loves it. She keeps dragging the stuffed reindeer behind it! Crazy cat. It'll be interesting when there are acutal ornaments on the tree. Better put the glass ones on top...

First day

So far being home has been pretty awesome. Yesterday after I posted I sat on the couch and cuddled with my Mommy while we watched Home Improvement. Of course there was a dog on the other side. You can't sit on a couch at my house without there being a dog on the other side. Later on my best friend, Sasha, and one of my other best friends, Nick, came over and we just talked and hung out. It was so awesome to see them again. It was great to talk and it was so cool because we could just pick up the conversation even though we haven't seen each other in 4 months. It's really like I was never gone.
After Nick left we had a dinner of chicken and green beans and macaroni and cheese. It was so yummy! I love American food! Especially home cooked by my Mommy! Then after dinner we just sat around and talked and had some Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches for dessert and listened to music. It was great. A good first day back, or half a day I guess.

Today was a good day too. I went with my parents to the Escondido Christmas Parade and watched my sister do her mad dancing moves with the dance team for high school. They did a good job. There were a lot of other cool floats as well. There were a lot of boy scouts who were also peddling mistle toe as they do every year. At least they weren't selling popcorn... After the parade we went to Red Brick Pizza and had some yummy Basil and Tomato Four Cheese Pizza. It was so good and actual pizza. Not this Japanese pizza business. Then we had a gilato for dessert. Tirimasu. mmmm.... Then there was more cuddling and tv watching when we got home. My mom took my sister to her friends house at about 3pm so I went with her and we took a trip to the mall after that. My Mommy bought me some new jeans and a sweater and a belt. I'm going to wear them tomorrow to church to see everyone. I love getting a new outfit! Thank you Mommy! And of course Daddy for making the money to buy the stuff. Hahaha! Then my mom dropped me off at Sasha' house and we had a little dinner and hung out with her family. We watched The Polar Express. That was a very strange movie but not to bad. The graphic were definitely amazing. I don't remember what the technique they used was called but it was interesting. By then it was 9pm and we were all tired so my Sasha drove me home and here I am!

I am enjoying my time home so much! I love my family and my friends and it is good to see them again. Time is flying by fast though and it will end soon... :( But I just don't think about that and enjoy my time here while I can!

I'M HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm home!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so excited!!!!!!!!! It is so nice to be home and ya... That's it...

My flight went well. Nothing happened which is a good thing. It was so great to see my family at the airport. I totally got teary eyed and had to sniff a few times. The drive home was nice and easy and we stopped at Albertos! I just finished eating the better half of a real Mexican carne asada burrito... I love meat...

Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!! ^_^

Robin Williams

More funny Robin Williams videos... Just the links this time because the full videos take up too much room but anyway...

Californese

Jim Bob

Allison

Counter again... again... again... again...

I promise this is the last one! I just had to do it because I'm coming home so soon! I can't wait to see everyone!!!!!!!! I love you guys!!!!!!!!! YEAH!!!!!!!

Finals... Yuck...

I just, well not just but clode enough, finished my first final. I don't think any one ever enjoyes finals and if they do they should probably get their brain checked just in case. It was pretty easy but at 9:30am. Yuck! Anyway, one down, one more to go!

(I know, who am I to whine? I only have two finals out of four classes. But still, I'm gonna whine because I can...)

From my Sasha

Yeah! My Sasha made me a video and now I feel so special! Here it is!



I cannot wait until I get to see everyone again! I am going to give you all the biggest hugs you have ever had! (That means you too Nick!) I miss you guys so much it makes me want to cry and knowing that I'm going to be home soon makes me want to explode! AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! Okay, now I feel better! Only 5 more days! YEAH!!!!!!!!!!

Robin Williams on Who's Line is it Anyway?

This is another hilarious video! I love Youtube... Make sure you watch/read all the posts. I don't know if it'll take up too much space but anyway. This is great...







I love this stuff...

Cleaning

Okay, so I cleaned the shower in my apartment today and it was one of the most disgusting things I have ever seen in my life. In my life! But it wasn't that bad, I guess. I'll still have to do another scrub of everything before I leave to get my $300 back next semester for my cleaning deposit. I have a picture on my camera of the sponge in the aftermath but it's still on my camera... Anyway, it was... lets say... interesting... I will NEVER let it get that bad again, EVER. And that's it...

I'm flap flap flapping my albatros wings!

Okay, another video from Sasha. This is sooooo funny!!!!!!! You must watch! A slight warning that there are some inappropraite words/phrases in this. Just as a warning. Anyway, this is hilarious!!!!

My Sasha

So many (okay like 2) things about/from my Sasha today!

1.

Darth Vader Musical

This is sooooooo funny! Especially for anyone who likes Star Wars and Phantom of the Opera. Yes, that's what I said. A wierd combination but why not?! Check it out!

2.

Anti-Conformity, yeah right

My Sasha has a blog! Yes! We finally made her conform to our ways! *insert evil laugh here* So now you guys can check it out and comment!

I love my Sasha... It'll be great to see her again, along with everyone else. Yeah! I'm coming home soon! YEAH!!!! Only one week left! Yes!

By the way, if anyone is wondering, Sasha is my best friend of about 7 years. So ya, check out her blog...

Immigration

I was so excited about my rice pudding that I forgot to mention the lovely trip I had to the immigration office today to get my re-entry permit.

It was a pretty easy ride to the station but the stop inbetween, Oimachi, is huge and about 8 stories underground. Apparently that's where we should go if there's an air raid. Anyway, we got to the station rather easily and then we found the the office easily as well but it was quite a walk.

Once we got to the office we went to the Form Desk and got our form and filled them out even though they were rather confusinf and all of the examples were in Japanese. Then we went up to the second floor and took a number. I believe my number was 124 and they were on 93 when we got there so there was quite a bit of waiting before my number was called. I went up to the desk and, in Japanese, the lady asked for my Alien Registration card and my student ID and then told me to take another form and go down stairs to the convenience store, yes convenience store, to pay $60.00 for my re-entry permit and come back up stairs again. So we did all that and I got it and everything was good. They gave Matt a little trouble for whatever reason, I don't know, and then we left. So it was just a lot of red tape that was really annoying and ridiculous. $60.00 for a re-entry permit that only lasts 2 years is just not cool.

In retrospect it wasn't so bad but still rather annoying and, I think, completely unnecessary. From what I've heard through the grape vine they are trying to get rid of this system but I don't know when or if it will be successful. Until then we fight on! (Even though, because I got a multiple re-entry permit, I won't have to go again for two years... Not the point...)

Still, it was all made better with rice pudding...

Rice Puddin'

That's right. I made rice pudding! It turned out really well, if I do say so myself. And so easy! I can easily make it here in Japan. I just need to bring back some pure vanilla extract seeing that the only other kind of vanilla I've found has been in the bean form and it's almost $6.00 for two beans. I don't think so...

Anyway, yeah! Jesse took a picture for me with his phone so that should be up soon.

Just thought I would share this one triumph with you. I don't think I've ever been happier with anything I've made before. Probably because rice pudding is one of my favorite dishes and it was so easy. Anyway, it was a good time.

Good book

I just finished reading The Bonesetters Daughter by Amy Tan. It was a great book about a women who, after her mother is diagnosed with Dimensia, learns the truth about her mothers life in China. It was a great story that really makes you think about your own family and it's history and how that affects you and your childhood and then who you become. It was also a good story about discovering who you are and being truthful with yourself. Very well written as Amy Tan can only do. I highly recommend this book, especially to anyone with a mother...^_^

I'M DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just finished printing out my last (and hardest) paper of the semester! The end is near, I can see it! Hahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!! Now all I have left is two rather easy finals and I'm done until January! How cool is that?! I think it's time for another happy dance...

Uh huh uh huh, uh huh uh huh uh huh! Woo! Yeah! Dondondondondondon dondondondondondon! Ya! Alright! No more papers here tonight, woo! Papers here tonight! No no, no papers here tonight I just finished! Woo!

Yeah! I'm so excited and this means that I'll be home soon! Only 11 days left! I would do another happy dance but I'm a little worn out from the last one. ^_^

Engrish

So I decided to take another break from my paper, which is almost done by the way, and I went on the engrish.com website where you can find all things Engrish and I just had to put these up. They are hilarious!



Going on four days now. I wouldn't wanna be anywhere near this guy.



I love NY, Carifornia. Can't say I've ever been there.

Counter again... again... again...

Alrighty, one more time with the counter! Only 11 days left! AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Okay, I'm done now... ^_^



Now back to the paper!...

Almost Done!

Right now I am taking a little break from writing my 10-15 page research paper on "The Influences of Japan and America" for my final in Japan Today. I officially have 3 full pages written and all I really need to do with the rest is convert my outline into actual sentences which has been pretty easy. I am so glad I am almost done! Yes! This is the last paper I have to write for this semester and tomorrow is the last day of classes and Japan Today is the only class I even have! ^_^ Haha! Then only two finals on the same day, Dec. 4th, and I am done with this semester completely! Yeah!!!!! Oy, now back to the paper...

And yes, I did get back into my room as is probably obvious... I called Jae on Josh's cell phone and met her to pick up my key. It all worked out in the end.

dang it

I totally got locked out of my room... I've been sitting in Matt and Josh's room since like, noon and it's almost 7:30pm and I have no idea when my roommates coming home...
On a happier note, I got to talk to my parents and sister and my Aunt Didi and Uncle Earl in Arizona. It was pretty cool. It's sad that I couldn't go with them this year for the first year since before I was born, but I guess I knew this day would come eventually and at least I'll be home for Christmas. In less then 2 weeks!!!! Hahahahahahahahaha! Happy Dance! Dundundundundundun dundundundundundun! Uh huh uh huh uh huh uh huh uh huh! Ya!

Okay, now I'm done... Onto Happy Feet!

Thanksgiving

So here's my Thanksgiving:

At about noon I left for Akihabara where I met with my Manga class at the Tokyo Anime Center. Four of us, all non-Japanese speaking white people, did a voice over in Japanese of a few seconds of a Pokemon episode! It was pretty hilarious. We watched the DVD in class today and were cracking up. I have a copy that I may try to put on here everntually. Anyway, then we went to a miad cafe which is a restaurant/cafe where all of the waitresses dress up like maids. As one of the students put it, it's the Japanese version of Hooters just not exactly like that... Anyway, it was pretty good. The food was decent and pretty cheap and we got to see a guy get slapped for 1500 yen. Yes, you read that right, he paid the waitress to slap him right across the face. And after she did it, he bowed and said thank you. *shrugs shoulders* I don't get it either...
Then I headed to Ikebukuro and met up with Matt and then eventually Kimi. We did some shopping, I bought myself a SD Gundam model for 376 yen and some other stuff... *hint hint* and then we headed to the World Import Mart to pick up our stuff for THanksgiving dinner. It was already about 7pm and the store was closed so we decided to go to KFC. I know, pathetic but at least we were pathetic together and what do you expect in Japan? It was a good time. I had a lot of fun.
On the way home we stopped in Shibuya and went to Don Quixote and got some ice cream and then went to Starbucks, again... I love that Starbucks...
Afterwards we went back to the dorm and I put together my gundam. I'll have to put a picture on here for you guys. Then I went to bed at about 2:30am... I'm so tired!!!! But todays my last day for two of my classes so I had to be here. Almost done!!!!! YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is way to exciting!
Anyway, that's my Thanksgiving. And although it was not a traditional American Thanksgiving, it was a good one.

Apartment

We now officially have an apartment!!!!! All the money stuff and everything was taken care of yesterday and we are good to go! Hahahahaha!!!! Thank You Lord!
It's Happy Dance Time! Oh ya! Uh huh, uh huh uh huh uh huh. Wooh!

Okay, I'm done now... You know, it's kinda hard to do a happy dance in print. Maybe one day I'll do a video of my happy dance. hmmm...

Anyway, we move in on Dec. 7th and then I fly home on the 8th. It is a really nice apartment and I cannot wait to have my own place! Kimi and I are going to have an awesome time.

*sigh* Good times, good times...

Names

I found this scholarship through fastweb.com that requires the participants to write a story, fictional or non, about how AID's/HIV affect a person. So I decided to write a story and I got to working. Usually I just start going and then edit from there.
It starts with a yound Japanese-American girl (of course) learning that she has HIV and then moves on to a young girl in Africa. I had to come up with some African names seeing as I don't know any so I started looking on Google and I found a website, babynamesworld.com. I found some good names for my story and then I started looking up other peoples names.
My name means:
Stephanie: Crown of glory
Lynn: Powerful lion
How cool is that?! I really liked that and thought it was cool. The websites a lot of fun and insightful. I think the best one I found was for my sister Melissa. Her name means a bee. hehe... I'll have to tease her about that one at least once.
I love the internet.

73.55%

Heck yes... I found out today that I have a 73.55% (C) in my math class which means I don't have to take the final!!!!! Yeah!!!! I could take the final and go for a better grade but I could also go down in points and I'm pretty close. I figure I'll get rid of the stress and take my C and run. *phew* I am so glad I don't have to worry about that anymore. No more math! ^_^

Well... at least until I take the next math class...

Hope and Joy

Today, all day, I really don't know what I was feeling but it wasn't good. I think I was kinda depressed and sad. What about I have no idea but that's just how it works sometimes I guess. Then I went to Womens Bible Study in Machida and it ended up being just Michiko and I because everyone else was either sick or couldn't make it. It was really nice because we got to discuss more and be more personal because there wasn't a large group. The study we've been going through is about the different names of God. Today was Miqueh Yisrael or Hope of Israel or God of Hope. It was a great study and a good discussion that really reminded me of the hope I have in God and that I can have joy in any situation, any circumstance because I have that hope in the Lord. I can't really describe it to well except that I know that the Lord is always with me and is always taking care of me. We also talked about the hope we have in heaven and how we can have joy because we know we're going to heaven. It was really great and encouraging. I feel a lot better and I know that the Lord is taking care of me and that He will continue to do so, no matter how I feel or what I'm going through. He truly is the God of Hope, Miqueh Yisrael.

After the Bible Study, I came to Shigeko's. I really like coming here. She and her daughter are really cool and it's nice to be in a real house instead of an apartment. (And Shigeko makes great food! ^-^) She taught me the phrase for `too much`. To say `I ate too much Mister Donut` I would say 私はミスタドナトを食べおすぎた。(Watashi wa Misuta Donato o tabe osugita.) A pretty nice phrase to know I think. You learn something new everyday, right?

Anyway, that was my day today. Oh! And I got a A-/B+ on my Asian American final paper today. Yeah! I am so getting an A in that class. Now all that's left is my Japan Today final paper and then onto finals and I'm done! Woohoo!

It can't end soon enough...

Crazy Weekend

Oh my goodess... This was a crazy weekend...

Friday I had a final paper due in my Asian American history class which I finished about 20 minutes before class. I would have finished the night before but I was in the louge and the guys decided to come in and "study" with their beer... So I after having a few good laughs with them before the beer set in I went to sleep. Then I had to write four 250-400 word journal entries that I totally forgot about for my Japan Today class. I finished those about fifteen minutes ito class but it was all okay. No one cared that I was late and I turned my journals in. Friday night was fun though. Matt and I went to Funky friday Night Cafe which is the college group at church. That night was my night to do worship and share and it was a good time. I really enjoyed myself. Then Matt and I went back to the dorm and ate mandarin oranges (mikan in Japanese), drank hot chocolate and listened to some Bing Crosby music. It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas... Then we watched Airplane. That movie is sooooo funny! "Surely you can't be serious? I am and stop caling me Shirley." Hahaha! I loved it! If I remember correctly, Daddy really likes that movie and I think I watched part of it with him once a while ago. Anyway, about half way through the movie we had a chocolate craving and decided to bike to the grocery store but seeing that it was 2am, they were closed... So we went to 7-11 and luckily they had my kinako mochi choco (little chocolates flavored like this sweet soy bean powder with gummy rice cake on the inside). They only had 6 left so I took those and the box... teehee... It was sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo cold! Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!! The whole time I was freezing! I am so used to California weather and it so cold here! It was a good time...

Saturday was laid back and I really didn't do anything. Ya, that's it...

Sunday (yesterday) was the Fall Festival at school. That was pretty crazy. We had a good time. (We being Matt, Kimi and I.) We sold coffee and Mister Donut to make money for the Christian Club. Unortunately we didn't even seel enough to break even but who cares. At least we let the Student Government know we exist so that we can get some funding for next semester. It was fun. But now I have about three boxes of Mister Donut in my room and I have no idea what to do with them... I could bring them to school or church but it's a pain to take on the train or the bus so I don't know. I'll figure something out.

Anyway, that is my weekend. It was a good time. But I am soooooo glad that I get to go home soon. I need a break...

Oh my goodness...

I thought I was going to die laughing when I say this! Sasha took this picture of her Totoro that I bought her at the Ghibili Museum when I was in Japan in June. She hasn't taken it off her key ring since and this is the result. It's titled, Totoro Can Have a Bad Day. You have to see this! What an awesome picture!

http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/43117919/

Tsunami

Hey guys! Just wanted to let everyone who was wondering about this whole tsunami business that it is not going to affect where I am if it does hit Japan. It's only up north so no worries! This may be time for a good geography lesson...
The tsunami warning is in effect for Hokaido which is in northern Japan. A very nice place to go to おんせん (hot springs). For those who don't know, Tokyo is on the south eastern coast of Japan.
There, you officially learned something new about Japan.
And I think I'm going to take advantage of the fact that I have a Japanese keyboard at my disposal at the moment and type in some Japanese for practice. Sorry if you can't read it because you're computer doesn't have the right program or whatever...
私は日本ですきですね。日本はきれいです。天気はいいです。いまはさむいです。でも、私はすきです。
Haha! That was fun. It says, "I like Japan. Japan is beautiful. The weather is good. It is cold right now but I like it[Japan]." And that's my Japanese typing practice. Now it is definitely time for bed! ねむいですね！ I am tired!

Counter again... again...

It's already gone again! Geez... Some body really needs to stop posting so much... Anyway, here it is again!

180/200

YEAH!!!! I got a 90% on my math test!!!! Now I just have to do really well on the final and I'll maybe get a B in the class. Whew... What a relief. Now I won't have to take it ever again. Yeah!

I hate math...

Wishlist

I just seriously updated my Wishlist so that there are some more practical and affordable things on there. And then there's the Louis Vuitton bag that I added thats about $1,700... Hey, it's a wishlist. I'm allowed to wish, hence the name. Anyway, the books on there and the DVD player (cheap for a DVD player) are all things I'll need for next semester. Thanks a bunch even just for looking! Only a few more weeks 'til Christmas!

One essay down, two to go...

Yeah! I just finished my final essay for my manga class! Woohoo! Now I only have two more to go... Wish me luck!

Totoros and Starbucks

Oh what a day! I had a really great time today...

Matt and I went to Ikebukuro and walked around the Sunshine City mall that is a 4 story underground mall. It was really cool. It became even better when we found a store called Moe Garden that had a huge selection of Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service merchandise. I bought way to much stuff but it was all good stuff and some gifts which is why I won'y be telling you everything I bought. I did get some really cool watercolor postcards, cute Totoro stamps with stamp pad, a fuzzy coal sprite pin and some more stuff...

Then it got even better when we went to go and look at the 3 story Christmas tree and got our picture taken with 3 samurai! How awesome and really strange is that! We went to go look at a giant blue Christmas tree and ended up getting our picture taken in front of it with 3 samurai. They even gave Matt a sword to hold for the picture! Haha! Oh, good times...

After our long trek through Sunshine City we decided to go to Shibuya and visit the busiest Starbucks in the world, yes, the world. What do you expect from a city where 2,500 people cross the main intersection everytime the light changes? Anyway, we didn't have to wait long for our drinks but we waited 30 minutes to get somewhere to sit. So we milked it for all it was worth and ended up sitting there for an hour listening to the Christmas music and talking about our family traditions. It was nice to have someone to reminisce and miss home with. I was feeling so sad and missing home so much! *sigh* But I will be home soon! And my Gingerbread Latte was really good...

Then we came home and went to the grocery store and parted ways and I went in my room and put on my Bing Crosby Christmas music and started drawing a picture based on some of the postcards I bought. I was really impressed with how it turned out. Maybe I'm not so bad at this art business afterall...


Chibi Totoros on Leaves
By the way, it says "Tonari no Totoro" or "My Neighbor Totoro" in English

New Pictures

Here are some new pictures I did a while ago. Sorry they took so long. I haven't been home much and the computer was acting up for a while. Here you go!



I was inspired by the backdrop at the Tokyo Horizon 15th Anniversary Celebration. I added in the birds just to bring everything together. Basically just me playing around with my pastels.



More playing around with my pastels.



I was pretty impressed with this one. I thought it was pretty funny...



Did this one while watching a few episodes of MASH. I love that show...

And that's it for now! I did do another one but that is a different story and belongs in a different post.

I'm Registered!

I just registered for my classes and got in every class I wanted! Woohoo! What an awesome day.

Thank You Lord!

So as of right now I'm taking:

International Heritage 51 (IH51) which is like Plato and stuff like that
Japanese 1
Classic Greek and Roman Mythology
Journalism 55
Asian American Literature

Woohoo! Sounds like a good time. I may change out Greek and Roman Mtyhology for something else but as of right now that's it. I feel good. It's nice not to be a Freshmen anymore...

WE GOT AN APARTMENT!!!!!!!

Hahahaha!!!!!!!! Uh huh, uh huh! Uh huh uh huh uh huh! Whoo! Ya! Okay, happy dance over again now...

Anyway, yes, Kimi and I got an apartment today! Eventually I'll put up a picture but for now you'll just get a description.

The location is in Machida about 3 minutes from Jeremiah and Geigy's (pastor and his wife) house, about 10 minutes from the church and a 15 minutes bike ride from Machida Sta. We will be on the 2nd floor.

The inside is a loft style room so the bed area is up a ladder and over the hallway. It's really cool and a lot bigger then we originally thought from looking at the diagram. Theres a living room area thats just square with two tables and a tv and two closets. The hallway has the kitchen with refrigerator, sink and stove, the toilet and shower off to one side and the washing machine. It is so cool! The building was just rebuilt and looks really great and is in great condition. We'll have the internet and tv and an APARTMENT! HAHAHA!!!!!!

It is going to be so great! Now the only to do is pay for it... We signed the contract (with my Japanese stamp thingy) and we are set! I'm so excited and I cannot wait to move in which will be on Dec. 7th, the day before my flight leaves for home.

It makes me feel so grown up. Like an adult or something... 0.o;;

Who would thunk...

Lalalalalalalala...

This is me, bored, sitting in the Mac lab, waiting for Kimi to get out of class so we can go get lunch.

La la la la la!

I guess I could be working on my essay that's due on Friday...

Fine! I'm going, I'm going! You don't have to be so pushy! Geez...

GHAAAAA!!!!!!

Okay, so I got an account with this thingy called Newshutch (thank you Matt) and it's really cool because I can add a feed link so that when something new is posted on a site I can see it without having to check all the individual websites. One of the coolest things about it is that I can get the funnies online! Woohoo!

You would think... But what good is it if I can't view the funnies? I keep getting broken links!!!! And it's these RIDICULOUS COMPUTERS AT SCHOOL THAT DON'T WORK!!!!!!!!!!! GHAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!

::sits in corner holding knees and cries::

Okay, I'm done now... I need a Mac...

Registration

I totally forgot to mention in all of my apartment excitedness that I got my bike registered today! No longer do I have to ride in fear of being stopped and dragged of to the koban (police station/jail) for an unknown period of time! I am free! Free! And it was only 500 yen($5). Woohoo! What a good day!

Apartment...

I found one! Woohoo! Yeah! Oh, ya, oh ya! Uhuh uhuh uhuh! Whoo!

Okay, done with my happy dance...

Anyway! Today I went with my lovely friend, Shigeko who translated for me, to the office of UR realtors. And that realy sucked... They wanted me to pay for 16 months rent in advance. I was like, "I don't think so!".

So then we went to another office but this time for Leopalace 21 realtors, which Jeremiah found, thank you! And they were great! It turns out that they have a special thingy where you (okay get ready because this is a long list...) pay monthly so no year long contracts or anything, utilities are included, the apartment is fully furnished, there's no key money, no gurantors needed, no realtor fee, no security deposit, free internet connection and all of this for the low cost of $4,000-$5,000 from January to mid-April for the both of us (not each, but fo rthe both of us!) AND the buildings are right next to the church and the train station! Doesn't get much better then that! Oh wait... AND the buildings are practically brand new! Haha! I was very excited...

Thursday Kimi and Shigeko and I are going to go look at the 4 different rooms available and decide which one we like best. Haha! I am so happy! Thank You Lord! Yes!

(And for those of you who may be confused, I would be moving in with Kimi. Shigeko is a friend who just volunteered to translate for us dumb foreigners...)

Oh... good times, good times...

Food

Just some random pictures of food that I thought were pretty cool and/or funny...



Some new Koala's I found for the Christmas season. They were pretty good. Caramel and milk flavor, yummy!



My fried potato from Lawsons today. In an American flag box...?

Artsy

I actually did art! I drew a picture and colored it with pastels and I think it actually looks pretty good if I do say so myself...

I went to the art store with Kimi in Shinjuku today and I bought some pastels and a sketch book. I probably shouldn't have spent the money but I think it was worth it. I needed a creative outlet like this and now I have it. I still love writing but now this is a lot of fun too. Let me know what you think and if you actually know something about art then any tips are appreciated.



Not the best thing anyone has ever done but I feel good about it. Hopefully there will be some more to follow.

Wishlist!

I just discovered this cool thing on Google that's a shopping/wish list! I added the URL to my profile so you can check it out if you want to get me something for Christmas... There's not much on it now but I'll be adding more, trust me... I hope this doesn't sound really selfish...

Counter again...

Thought I would repost this because it will be put in the archives seeing as it's a new month. Only 36 days left! I can't wait!

Kara and Mario

I'm in the computer lab right now talking to Kara and I was talking to Mario before he left but apparently I need to write about them on my blog so that they can forever be immortalized on the internet. So here you go guys. Kara and Mario are forever immortalized...
Kara is like the best fighter I've ever had the pleasure to spar with. We met in Fight Club and now have plans to one day go to kareoke and then watch Dungeons and Dragons with Mario. So ya, Kara rocks! She said some really nice things about me in her live journal. Check it out!

http://paradoxdoche.livejournal.com/

Come See the Paradise

Okay, what the heck was Roosevelt thinking when he signed the order to intern all the Japanese Americans? We just watched a movie called Come See the Paradise in my Asian American History class and I cannot believe it! Well I can because I already knew about it from what we learned in school but not the point.
Oy, another thing that makes you want to go back in time and knock someone unconsious and take their wallet. Although there really isn't just one person you can blame but again not the point.
These are the things I was talking about when I said I wanted to fight the good fight or whatever my tea induced high brought on. But thats what I was talking about. The fact that these things were done. I would have been someone that was screaming from the rooftops or doing whatever I could to try and change the horrible injustice that was being done to these people.
Anyway, I had to say something about that. Made me feel better. I would rant butI just don't have the energy right now...

Sasha is the best artist in the world!

I thought I would show you guys a picture that my beautiful Sasha drew. I love it! She is getting to be such an amazing artist and I am so proud of her. Go Sasha!

http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/42057466/

Follow the link to see it. If you can't click on it then just copy/paste it into your address bar or whatever that's called...

'Captains Log' Revised a Little...

Okay, bear (I think that's the wrong kind of bear but who really cares anyway?) with me for a bit. Don't get confused or bored (although I can't see how you could), you really need to read this...

Stephanie's Blog
Star Date: Tuesday October 31, 2006 1:30am Location: Tokyo, Japan

This is what I love. This is what I want. This is what I'm passionate about. Helping others, fighting for what I know is right, I cannot sit back and watch while injustices are being done. Even the little things like the dryers in the lounge not working. I just can't do it, I can't not do anything, I have to do something.
Sorry about that, I just had to write it down before I forgot. So here's what sparked that lovely rant.

The dryers in the dorm (pardon my French) suck. That's it. I was doing my laundry today and it took two and a half hours and 500 yen to dry half a load of laundry! Some of us were talking about it and I said that I wasn't going to stand for it, that I was going to try to do something about it. That got me thinking and now I can't stop. I thought about how this is what I'm passionate about. I want to help people anyway I can even if it's something as ridiculous as dryers in the lounge. I thought about how I am so much like my parents. I have my dads people skills and my moms drive to fight for what is right and help people.
I also thought about my meeting with Prof. Wu. He told me to close my eyes and picture high school, picture my favorite class and tell him why it was my favorite. I said English because we got to read and write. We got to read and write? What is that? Where's the desire in that? Where's the passion? Now that I've found it and we'll see what the Lord does with it. I'm so excited and I cannot wait to talk to my parents tomorrow and get their feedback.
I'm flying so high right now and I feel like I can change the world! I know that I will never change the whole world or at least live to see it but I can make a small difference which could lead to anything. The Lord knows what He's doing. He wouldn't have given me this passion, this drive if He didn't intend for me to use it.
The cage has been opened and the tiger inside me is being released. Look out world cause here I come!

And that concludes my journal entry. As I have been writing this and had time to calm down and think it over rationally. (I think part of this was the four cups of tea talking). I can see that it's not going to be all easy and I'm not going to enjoy nor be passionate about everything that I do and sometimes I may not feel satisfies with what I am doing. Or maybe when I don't see the change I will loose heart but none of that matters. I know on the inside, in my heart, which is where it counts, that a difference is being made. Like I said, the Lord knows what He is doing and He will work it out whether I see it or not. This is such a step for me and a revelation. I can't wait to see what the Lord is going to do and how this is going to work out, how my life is going to work out. It's all a great adventure put before me and all I have to do is take it. Man this is exciting!

A Few Odd Things...

I have a few pictures from this week that really don't fit into any category but I wanted to share them... Sorry if the spacing is off. Blogger's being a butt munch...



Kimi and I went to the French bakery down the street from school. It was so yummy! They had these pastries made in the image of Doraemon (doe-rye-mon) which is a classic childrens character from a manga written in the 60's. I thought these were pretty awesome (and yummy!).



My cute little Justus! What a cutie!



They had gummy Krabby Patties... I was so happy! I thought it was awesome and especially on the napkin that says "Do you like an orange"...

And that's the end of my randomness...

The Imperial Palace

Another new adventure! On Wednesday we had a day off so Matt and I decided to go down to the Imperial Palace. First we saw Tokyo Sta. which is huge and is a brick, Western style building on the outside. It was amazing to see. I felt like I was back on the east coast!
Then we were able to walk around the outside of the palace and see the moat and various gates. The palace is only open to the public twice a year: December 23 which is the emperors birthday and for new years.
We were able to get into the East garden and it was beautiful. So many trees and they actually had open fields of grass! I haven''t seen that since I've been here! We plopped right down on that grass and just enjoyed the feeling. It was pretty dead brown grass that was pretty pokie but its the thought that counts.
So much walking that day but it was really worth it. We saw some great things that are a must for anyone traveling to Japan. Even if you can't get into the main palace the garden is enough to last you the whole day.
After the palace visit we stopped in Shibuya and had lunch at Sukiya which is cheap and good. They had cheese! Hahaha! Then it was off to the dorm and then quickly off again to church.
A very good day.

Tokyo Sta. and Outside the Imperial Palace

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The Imperial Palace

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Never Again...

Okay, so I actually decided to go to Fight Club tonight and it was a lot of fun. The only injuries I left with was a raspberry on my elbow and foot and I feel really worked out and I always love a good spar so I had a good time.
But then there was the ride home... I got to the bus stop just in time to ride the last bus on my route at 9:47pm but it only went to Shimizu which is about an hour walk from my dorm. So I got off at Shimizu and decided to walk to the next bus stop because the next bus wasn't coming for another 20 minutes. I went to the bus stop and got on the wrong bus... So I got off at the next stop and walked back to what I thought was Meguro-dori which is the street I live off of but it ended up being the wrong street. I got to a Sun Kus convenience store and asked for directions and they told me to go left so I went left and walked quite a ways until I got to another convenience store and asked again for directions. This guy had a map and spoke English and told me that I needed to turn right and walk for about 15 minutes, right past the first place I asked for directions...
Well I got to Meguro-dori and got to exactly the same bus stop I was at before and got on the right bus this time and got home at about 11:15pm.
So it was an interesting adventure to home. I think I'll take my bike next time...

Bikes

I just rode a bike all by myself! Hahaha! I know that that may not sound like a great accomplishment but it is for me. My Daddy (thank you Daddy) has been trying to teach me how to ride a bike forever and then my friends joined in but it never worked. Now that I am in Japan and I need a bike to get anywhere in a good amount of time and I was given a bike I decided to make it work.
I went outside and looked that bike straight in the eye and told it I was going to ride it and it was going to let me! I rode it up and down the street a little until I got the hang of it and then went down to the next street and rode around that street a little and then went for the hill and made it! So I decided to go and ride it down the street to the 100 yen shop to get a lock for it and a basket. I got the lock but they didn't have any baskets so I'll have to do that tomorrow. Anyway, then I rode back home and decided to ride down to the station and go to the new Book Off (discount book store).
Now I'm back home and very happy! I rode a bike! hahahahaha! I'll get some pictures tomorrow or something just to prove it to you but I did it! Yes, woohoo! *doing a happy dance* Ya! Woohoo!

Bulldog Rocks!

I listened to Bulldogs teaching from not last Sunday but the Sunday before that (thank you Karen!) and he mentioned me! He said he was proud of me! I felt special and I just thought I would let you all know. And yes Bulldog, I can still get my head through the door... I miss you guys so much and I love you! Only 49 days and 17 hours and 39 seconds! Hahahaha!

Long time no Post...

Hello everyone! Sorry I haven't posted in a while. It's been pretty crazy here!

Time is flying by so fast! Less then a month and a half before I come home! (See counter below...) Nothing really out of the ordinary has happened. Still looking for a place to live to keep our options open. This weekend is the start of Funky Friday, our college group for church. That should be pretty awesome. It'll be bilingual so I'll understand and be able to improve my Japanese at the same time!

I discovered a new store yetserday too. Geigy took me to the 99 yen store (que que) yesterday and it was awesome! So much good stuff, even food, for cheap! Only 99 yen which is less then like 85 cents! Works for me! I will definitely be going there and buying stuff.

I get my math test back today... I'm a little nervous about it but I really think I did well and I worked my buns off for it so I'm pretty confident. I'll let you know how that goes.

I really don't know what else I can say... I guess that's it for now. I'll try to be a little more consistent with my postings from now on. Have a great day and send me an e-mail!

Counter

I made a counter to show how many days left until I come home. It's pretty cool! Less then two months!

Pearls Before Swine

Another very good and funny funny that I read the other day from my stash of comics sent by my lovely Mommy. Check it out!



Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis
A very good one... Just click on it to make it bigger.

Ueno

Ueno

Kimi and I went to Ueno today to go and see The Lake House at one of the movie theatres. We actually found the theatre on time and had a lot of time before the movie actually started so we decided to go and wander around and we stumbled on a Buddist temple and a park that had another Buddist temple and a Shinto shrine. It was all very cool and interesting so here are some pictures from today. At the end are some pictures of wish boards that you buy in the temple and write your wish on it and put it on this board and your wish is granted. It was so awesome because they had boards wirtten in all different languages and now there is one in English written by yours truly and Kimi. All a lot of fun and a great day exploring.
The Lake House was a good movie by the way. A great romance/thriller/chick flick that I thoroughly enjoyed and would recommend.

ER

I love YouTube! I just finished watching the first and second episode of the all new season of ER! It is so cool that I can watch it here hours after it is on tv at home. Of course the quality is not so good and sometimes the sounds is off but it's better then nothing. Go technology!
Now I have to go and search for Law & Order: SVU! No Mommy and Daddy, that does not mean that I don't want you to record it at home. Thanks for that by the way...

New Doo #2

Okay, so I went back to Hippo today so the guy could check out my hair and make sure everything was still straight and looking good and he said that he wanted to cut my hair again to style it. Which makes sense because you can't really tell the style before you straighten it. So now my hair is a little shorter and a heck of a lot thinner. He used those thinning sheers and boy do they work! There was so much hair I thought I was going to be bald when he was done but yet I still have a lot of hair left. Who knew?


New Doo #2

Apartment

We found an apartment! Kimi and I went and checked out an apartment that is a 5 minute walk from the school. It is so awesome! It's nice and clean, newly renovated, big enough, inside our budget, free wireless internet, no coin laundry or showers, or own kitchen, in a nice part of town... It has everything and will be perfect! Go God! He has completely provided and I am so happy! It will be a great place and I look forward to living there. Good times...

My New Doo!

Check it out! I got my hair straightened! I love it! I think it looks so good! The guys at Hippo did such a good job and I am so happy! And it was free!

So this makes for an interesting story so I feel like you should read it.

I got to Hippo a little before my appointment so after they took my purse/backpack and my jacket I sat down and read some magazines until I was called over to the shampoo chair. One of the three guys in the place (who is not unfortunate looking by the way, teehee...) comes over and washes my hair after giving me a towel for my lap, another for around my neck and one over my face.
Then I go to the other chair and am given a smock with sleeves and the owner of Hippo who speaks English comes over and cuts my hair in a nice medium Japanese style.
Then they blow dry my hair... Those of you who know me know that blow dryers and my hair don't go well together. I had an actual fro, a serious fro... It was so funny I could barely keep myself from laughing!
Then they bring over the chemicals. A nice clear blue liquid that they apply with an instrument that is a comb on one side and a brush on the other. Of course they are wearing their black gloves. And I say they because two of the guys are working on my hair at this point.
After about 30 minutes of this they wrap my head in Saran wrap and I sit under a dryer that is just a circle that spins over my head as it heats for about 10-15 minutes. Then they take off the Saran wrap and reapply the lovely blue stuff for another 30 minutes or so.
My hair is washed again by the same guy with another towel on my lap and my face and then I got back to the other chair and they start to straighten my hair with a flat iron. This time all three of them are going at it because they are straightening my entire head, one little tiny section at a time. This took almost two hours! I really wanted to stand up and my butt was totally falling asleep but it's all good.
And then when I thought they were done, they bring over another chemical, this time a white one, and begin to apply this to my head. Another 30 minutes later I am taken to the washing station again and they wash my hair with more towels. They blow dry my hair again, this time it turns out well, brush my hair and we'll done!
Whew! That was a lot! It took about 4 hours altogether and three guys all working at the same time to get it done but it's done! And for free! I love it and I am sooooooo happy with it! Check out the pictures and let me know what you think!

My New Doo!

Perfect Straight and Guest Houses

For anyone who has not yet been informed. I will be getting my hair straightened this week. It should last about a year and I'm really excited! I figured a new phase in my life needed a new hair style! I love being a girl...

Anyway, I did a lot of research on finding the best price at a place that was still reputable and I found a nice place down next to the station called Fleu[r] that had 30% off coupons so it would be about $170 and that was the best price so I made an appointment (which was kinda hard because they didn't speak English but we got it worked out).

Today I was walking to school to meet Kimi to go see a place (which I will discuss later) and on the way there is a hair salon that I inquired in called hippopotamus. (Really cute!) Well the gentlemen that runs the place speaks English and I ran into him and he told me that he would do my hair for free! I was so shocked! Before he had told me 20000 yen ($190 roughly) and now he was telling me I could do it for free, completely free! I was so shocked and all I could say was "for free?!" Apparently they've never done a "Perfect Straight Perm", they call it, and they said that if I would be be their guinea pig, basically, that it would be free. And me being the poor starving college student that I am was like, "Heck yes!" So Monday night at 6:00pm Tokyo time I will be begin the journey to a new me! Well at least a new hair style. I'll post pictures of before and after for you guys and you can tell me what you think. I'm so excited! God is so good!

And this brings me to the rest of my day. While this was going on I was actually late for my meeting with Kimi at the school so that we could take the train and go see a Guest House in Iidabashi which is not to far from the school. So we get there late and then we can't fnd the guy and then we get to the Guest House, which is in a nice part of town. We walk inside and up the 5 flights of stairs with the paint peeling off the walls and the sticky hand rails because there isn't an elevator and we get to the top and the smells smacked me right in the face. There was a medium sized table taking up the entire space and it was covered with junk from DVD and game boxes to trash to who knows what else. Then the manager opens up one of the dorms and we walk in and it is tiny. A 4 tatami mat room for two people. (Rooms here are measured by tatami mats which are the bamboo mats you see on tv in traditional Japanese houses. An average Japanese room is 6 tatami mats and that's small...) Then he tells us that we have to share one shower with the entire floor and that it's 100 yen for 10 minutes of hot water. Then he shows us the kitchen which is not that bad but is still a shared kitchen with the entire floor. And to top it all off, the only washing machine for the building is 200 yen a load and, is on the roof.

Needless to say Kimi and I will not be moving in there. But it was a good place to see to get an idea of what we would be living in if we were going to be extremely stingy with our money. I think we'll be a little more liberal from now on.

But God is good and when I was at the Johnsons house giving Hailey her guitar lesson Leese, Haileys mom, gave me a copy of one of the English magazines called Metropolis which has a nice section of available apartments. Now apartments and Guest Houses are two totally different things. Apartments are like apartments back home. Bedroom(s), living room, kitchen and sometimes a dining room and they're not over our budget so we will be going to see some of those which I hope will be much nicer then the place we went to today.

And so the quest continues...

Funnies

I love the funnies (comics) from the paper. At home I would read them every moring with breakfast. Because my Mommy loves me she has sent me the funnies everytime she sends a package. Thank you Mommy! So I thought these were really funny and that I should share them with you since I have the luxury of a scanner in the lounge. I'm sure I'm violating some copyright law so just to let you know, these belong to their respective artists, not me. Hope you enjoy them and a get laugh like I did!


Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller

I thought this one was especially appropriate for a blog post. Although I don't seem to be suffering from this right now. It's still hilarious!

Get Fuzzy by Darby Conley

I love Get Fuzzy and this one was just hilarious! "No! The gift bag is sacred! The gift bag is sacred!"

Jeremiah's Birthday

Friday was Jeremiah's birthday! We went to Mike's Mexican Food as you can see below. Here are a few pictures. We had a lot of fun celebrating at Mike's. Afterwards we went to Jeremiah and Geigy's house and had cake and ice cream (yummy!) and played Uno (which I won, thank you) and spoons except we used chopsticks instead of spoons! It was pretty crazy and a fun time. Gotta love it...

Jeremiah's Birthday

Mexican Food!

Hahaha! I have proof that there is Mexican food in Japan! Yesterday I went with Jeremiah and Geigy to Mike's Tex-Mex Style restaurant and we had real Mexican food! It was sooooo good and it wasn't the Japanese portions, there was actually a whole burrito and a whole taco on my plate with rice and beans with lots of cheese! Oh goodness was it yummy! So ya, there is Mexican food in Japan! I'm so happy...

























This is my mild beef burrito and fried chicken taco. I don't think I could have been happier last night. I will eat at Mike's again, you can bet on it.

Guitars and Mister Donut

I started giving guitar lessons to a young girl from church names Hailey today. She is doing really well and catching on fast and I think she is going to be pretty good. She is 8 years old now is really smart and quick. I think she'll be great.
It was a lot of fun doing that today too. It was cool to actually see her make progress and understand and get better at it. What an awesome feeling! So this is what it's like? I like it and I hope to find some more students so that I can do something I enjoy and make money. How awesome is that?!
To make it even better, there is a Mister Donut right inside the station where they live. I LOVE MISTER DONUT. There isn't any other way to say it...

Heck yes...

Curses!

Okay, so I'm walking on the platform to change train lines and I walk by this old Japanese lady and she starts waving her arm in the shape of an X and whispering something under her breath. I think I was officially cursed by that old lady today. Kinda interesting, don't you think?
Obviously it didn't bother me. I just kept walking and listening to my music but I though it was kinda funny and you guys might want to know about it.
(Just in case you're wondering she was probably cursing me because I am a foreigner...)

Pictures of Everyday Life in Japan

So here they are! As per special request from my Mommy below is a slide show of my everyday routine of getting to school as well as some pictures of the school. Now you can see what the real Japan looks like! Not the travel brochure pictures. It's a little long but definitely worth it.

Pictures of Everyday Life in Japan

Womens Dinner

Yesterday I went with some of the ladies from Horizon Machida and we went to dinner at the Food Coloseum. It was really good and had a great atmosphere. They had classic American 50's music and jazz and cool lighting.
The restaurant was set up to where you had a little plastic thing that you carried around to the different sections and when you ordered they scanned it and you gave it to the cashier when you were done and they scanned to know how much you owed. It was like a buffet because they had different sections like burgers, salad, Chinese, Japanese, pizza, coffee and desserts. It was pretty cool and futuristic the way it was set up.
I had the avocado terriyaki burger and fries and it was so good. I've never had a burger like that before and it was delicious! And in Japan of all places...
So they do these ladies dinners once a month and have a Bible Study every week beside that. It should be fun and a good time to make new friends!
Here are some pictures from the restaurant.



These are the booths. We sat in the blue one which was actually green when we picked it! Yep, they change colors!











This is all of us sitting in a booth, it's pink again! I can't remember everyones name but from the far left it is as follows: Leese (whose daughter I'm giving guitar lessons to), that one lady (sorry...), Sue (who's moving back to England in 3 weeks), Geigy, me and that other lady...
Anyway, here we are!

New Song

Yo my peeps check it out!~ I wrote a song! And I would like to think that it's pretty good. It's inspired by a couple verses in Psalms and it's pretty much how I've been feeling about being here.

I recorded it on my cell phone and e-mailed it to myself so I'm not sure about the quality and I had to break it up into two parts but here you go!

If you want the chords just e-mail me or leave a comment and I'll send them to you. Let me know what you think!

Here are the lyrics. Sorry it's a little hard to understand. These should help...

We Trust in You

Our soul waits for the Lord
He is our strength, our shield
Our hearts will rejoice in Him
We have trusted in His holy name

Chorus
As we hope in You (x3)
Fill us with Your spirit

Our salvation is from the Lord
He is our strength always
The Lord will deliver us
And save us when we trust in Him

We Trust in You Part 1

Click to Play

This is an audio of the first verse and chorus of a song I wrote called We Trust in You.? Let me know if you like it!

We Trust in You Part 2

Click to Play

Here's the second verse chorus and ending of my new song. Let me know what you think!

Cali's Cow Song

Click to Play

This is a little video made by Cali about the cute little cows on the wallpaper in the kids room at church.? These cows are so cute and Cali's song fits them perfectly!

The Boek kids

These are pictures of the Boek kids. They are some crazy little kids I tell ya. And they love Andy Griffith, woohoo! Hahaha...

If I got Jazz and Justus mixed up I apologize. No, they're not twins, they just look soooooo much alike! If I did get them mixed up I will fix it.~

The Boek kids

Pictures of me...

Okay people, I got a lot of comments about how you want pictures of me so here they are... I gave my camera to Jazz and Justus and Cali at church today and I think they did a great job. Those are some smart and really cute little kids...

Pictures of me...