Hachiko Crossing

Click To Play

My friend, Kimiko, took this video while we were walking through Hachiko Crossing in Shibuya, Tokyo where an estimated 2,000 people cross the street every time the light changes. Thats a lot of people.

Justus and Jazz

Kimi took these pictures of Justus and Jazz at church on Sunday and I thought they were classic. Justus is totally posing for the camera... Again, taken by the magical Kimi.

Sorry about the size, slide.com is being weird. If you click on the button for viewing the pictures you can see them on a larger scale.

4 Days

4 full days off from school.

Woohoo!

Kamakaze Veggis

Only in Japan...



Oh the humanity! The carnage!

New Template

I upgraded my Template a little. You will notice the Picture of the Week on the sidebar. I thought it was pretty cool. I'll try to update it every week. Probably on the weekend because that's when I tend to go places and take pictures.

Kenya Update 1

At Bible Study Wednesday night we went through 2 Corinthians 10 and while we were reading I looked over on the previous page and something caught my eye: "'He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever.'" And I automatically thought about Kenya. So I decided to read the rest of the section and I was even more encouraged.

"But this I[Paul] say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. 9 As it is written: 'He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever.' [Psalm 112:9] 10 Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness, 11 while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through God. 12 For the administration of this service not only supplies the needs of the saints, but also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God, 13 while, through the proof of this ministry, they glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ, and for all men, 14 and by their prayer for you, who long for you because of the exceeding grace of God in you. 15 Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!" 2 Corinthians 9:6-15

I've heard this passage used many times to encourage people to tithe money but I think it also means giving of your time and resources. If all we do is sit at home and hand out money every now and then, we're not going to really help anyone. People don't change, don't feel loved when you simply hand them money. I'm sure it may help them out by giving them something that will last for a little while, but giving of your time and genuinely trying to help and just loving people is what is eternal and what they, and God, will remember forever. That's what changes people. Like the old saying goes, "Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."

See the original post on Kenya.

Send Me to Kenya

I am going on a missions trip this summer for two weeks in July to Kenya to build school buildings for children orphaned by HIV/AIDS. The organization I am going with is COMMIT Ministries. I have wanted to go to Africa for a long time now and I finally have the opportunity. Thank You Lord!

I am also blessed by the ability to use technology. I will need some assistance/miracles to have the almost $4,000 for the trip therefore I have set up a way for people to send donations to me directly through this blog. In the blue sidebar on the top section you will see a title "Send Me to Kenya" and underneath it a button saying "Make a Donation". Please click this link to send a donation. Anything is appreciated from $1 and up. I have done this through PayPal and it is all completely safe and legitimate. I have been using PayPal to make online purchases since I've had my debit card and it works well. You don't even have to have a PayPal account to do it. Please see the COMMIT website for details on the trip and PayPal for any questions about donations. Please also feel free to e-mail me at any time. I will put my e-mail in my profile.

Enough about money. I am so excited! I know this will be an amazing trip where I can bless and help others while growing myself and being able to explore a new area. The Lord has been so good to me to give me this opportunity and I can't wait!

Thank you for any contribution whether it be monetary or prayer, I am appreciative and blessed to have both.

Vid

I found this video on Facebook. It is so great! If you don't know what Facebook is then don't worry and if you've never heard the Enrique song Hero then again, don't worry. Google it.

Samoas and もち

Woohoo! On Sunday after the potluck at church, Rhojon, the lady who lives on the Army base, brought Girl Scout cookies! I bought two boxes of Samoas right away! They are so good and actually cheaper here because they are 400 yen ($3.25 ish) when at home they are $4.00 a box. Hahaha! They are so crazy good and I am so glad to have cookies. Just another comfort of home. *sigh*

So tonight for dessert Kimi and I had Samoas and もち (mochi). Man was it good times. I also made チーキンかつ　(chicken katsu, fried chicken), えだまめ (edamame, Japanese peas) and みそ (miso soup). Woohoo! It was seriously good times. I like this whole cooking thing. I think I'll have to try it out more often.

Comic

Bizzaro by Dan Piraro

Crazy Pictures

I was at Jeremiah and Geigy's house Sunday night after church and we decided to take some pictures with Jeremiah's camera on his Mac Book Pro. I thought they turned out well.
























Ya, they turned out well. Which one is your favorite?

Shibuya

We took a trip to Shinjuku for more art supplies today and then went to Shibuya for dinner. We went back to Ichiran Ramen. SO YUMMY! Then a little trip to Don Quixote where I bought some dried mangoes and then off to the busiest Starbucks in the world. It was good times. I also met Matt's new house mate, Bobby. He's pretty cool.

This is totally hilarious

Seriously, I was laughing so hard through the whole video that I couldn't breath! You have to watch the whole thing. Both of them. I cannot tell you how funny this is.





I love this country.

Kareoke

Found another one and it is so awesome! This will be Sasha, Kimi and I when Sasha gets here and we do some kareoke. Woohoo!

カレオケわすきですね！

Emoticons

I found these cute little emoticons when searching for anime emoticons, I thought they were cute.


This is how I feel right now... Cold in Japan...


This what I want to be doing, all the time...




My new nick name in International Politics is onigiri (rice ball) and he's eating ramen, my favorite!

This is how my Daddy dances. Break it down!


More dancing!



Gotta love these guys! Got them from here.

ER

Did I ever mention how much I love tv? I just finished watching the new episode of ER and it was awesome! I do miss watching it on my couch in the living room with my Daddy but this will have to do for now.

Now I have to go take a shower and do some laundry. I love lazy Saturday mornings.

Friday

I am so glad its Friday. So glad...

30,000 yen and Construction Workers

Yeah! The school FINALLY got our housing deposits calculated and I was able to go to the Annex building (after I figured out where it was) and hand the guy my ID card, sign the paper and he handed me 30,000 yen in cash. That's just a little less than $300. In cash... Sometimes I love this country.

And then other times, I don't. Like when I'm walking down the street, minding my own business just trying to get home after a long day of school and BAM! There's a construction dude standing next to his truck thats parked on the street and he's peeing. Yes you read correctly. I looked over to the street and there's some old guy peeing underneath his truck in broad daylight with people, including little kids, walking down the street. I was totally amazed and grossed out. Ya, that was just gross.

Anyway, I got the last part of my application taken care of. Now all I have to do is wait. I hate that part.

Get Fuzzy

I don't have long to make a huge post but I will do that a little later. I just thought this comic was pretty funny and that I would share it with you!

Potluck

Today was had a potluck at Horizon Setagaya where I do worship. There was some seriously good food there. Kimi and I made fried rice. Good times.

You Crazy Kids

I found this video on YouTube while looking for Kelly Clarkson songs. I really like her. Anyway, this video is pretty funny. I would almost venture say that it's hilarious, but I wouldn't want to get your hopes up and then have you think its lame or something.

Regina Spektor

Matt introduced me to a new artist today, Regina Spektor. I like her style and her voice. This is a great video too. Even if you don't like the song, the end of the video is worth watching it.

Shinjuku on a Saturday

Today Kimi and I met up with Matt in Shinjuku. First we went to Sekaido, the art store and then to Wendy's for lunch. We walked over to the Krispy Kreme but it was CRAZY crowded and the line was about an hour and a half wait so we decided to go to Mister Donut instead. There wasn't anywhere to sit there either so we went to Starbucks and had coffee and donuts, outside! But it was still daytime and it was rather warm today as has been the trend for the past two days. Hopefully that keeps up.

Anyway, we started planning a road trip in May so that we can visit each others cities and families. It will be loads of fun and we're trying to make it as cheap as possible while still getting the most out of it that we can. It'll be fun.

Here is a little slide show of the day. Shinjuku is quite an interesting city with a lot of different areas and people. I would have more pictures but my computer, and/or I, is being retarded and I lost some the pictures somehow. Here it is, or what's left of it. =D

Bizarro

I thought this was pretty funny. I think Daddy will like this one a lot.

Post Office Blues

On Tuesday I came home to discover that the mail man had tried to deliver two packages to me but was unable to do so because no one was home to receive said packages. I was thrilled knowing that my new DVD of a Japanese drama, Suppli, and my new book for Greek and Roman Mythology, The Universe, the Gods and Men by Jean-Pierre Vernant, would soon be in my hands so that I could enjoy them thoroughly. I was eventually able to call the post office's English help number and instructed the nice man on the phone to have the packages delivered the next day, Wednesday, between the hours of 5 and 7pm. The packages were delivered on time and I couldn't have been happier.

At 7:30pm Kimi and I went to Jeremiah and Geigy's house for the Wednesday Night Bible Study which was a lot of fun as usual. Afterwards we were sitting around talking and at 11pm the phone rang. We were completely shocked and were wondering who would be calling at such an hour. Luckily we had Isaac there to translate for us and we found out that the mail man was calling about my packages. Apparently one or both of the packages required a signature that the mail man failed to get from me upon deliver and that he wanted to come to my home to get my signature. He wanted to come to my house at 11 o'clock at night to get my signature for a package, my signature! I was totally amazed. Of course I was said, "No way! It's 11 o'clock at night! Tell them they can come tomorrow and no earlier then 10:30am!". We were in a state of shock for quite a while and had a good discussion about it. On the one hand its nice to know that they are working that late and if I ever needed them but on the other hand, they called at 11pm, 11pm! Crazy country...

にほんご！

I got the Japanese language bar to work on my computer! Grant it I never really tried before but it works and its cool! If you can't view the characters then I must say, すみません、I am sorry. If you couldn't read them anyway then it doesn't really matter now does it? Sorry, I'm still mad about that Law & Order business...

I must say ありがとう　ございます　マシューさん！ Arigatou gozaimasu Mashu-san! Thank you Matt! *Phew, what a lot of translating...* For helping me get it to work. And now I will give a short Japanese lesson, because I can!

おはいよおございます：Ohaiyoogozaimasu, Good morning
こんいちは：Konnichiwa, Good afternoon or Hello
こんばんは：Konbanwa, Good evening
すみません：Sumimasen, Excuse me or I'm sorry
トイレはどこですか。：Toire wa doko desuka. Where is the bathroom?

And those are the main phrases anyone should know when going to a foreign country so there they are. If you ever plan on coming to Japan then I suggest memorizing these. If not, then do it anyway because knowing even a few words in a foreign language will benefit you and others eventually! =D

NNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They deleted ALL of the Law & Order: SVU episodes from YouTube and are preventing any further episodes from being uploaded! NNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Life as we know it is coming to an end! I need to go put on my all black outfit and my veil and mourn the loss of my favorite show in the whole world. *weep* : (

On the bright side I got to have beanie weenies for dinner. That makes it a little better but I'm still sad. *sigh*

NNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Koto Performance

Here's the video of the lady playing the koto. It's pretty cool. See the post below for details.

Click To Play

This is a Japanese women playing the Koto. This song is called Sakura. A very famous song in Japan and abroad that is said to be about Japan's soul itself. It's a beautiful song.

Pacific Culture Club and Ichira Ramen

Oh my goodness, yesterday was so much fun! I went on a school trip to the Pacific Culture Club that is held at a Japanese womens home. She played the koto for us (I'll post some videos), dressed some girls from the group in kimono, taught us calligraphy and did a tea ceremony for us. It was a lot of fun.

After that about seven of us girls headed to an onsen (hot spring) in Mitaka. It was amazing. I've been to public baths before which are nice but this was a natural hot spring where the water is full of minerals that make your skin really soft. After we all got over the awkwardness of being totally naked in front of complete strangers we had a great time. It was so relaxing and nice. They had six different types of baths to go including one that shocked you when you touched a particular part of the wall. Supposedly its good for your back. I don't know, it felt really weird any everyones first reaction was funny to watch. It was pretty funny because the water is the brown color of iodine and it was a little salty. One of the girls, Megan, said it was like bathing in soy sauce! We all had a good laugh at that one.

I made friends with two of the new study abroad students, Megan and Barbara so after the onsen we went to Shibuya for dinner. First we went to Tower Records where they have the English/Import bookstore where I bought a book on The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang. It looks rather disturbing but only because its historically accurate so I think it will be very informative and eye-opening. Yasuka, one of the leaders of the trip, told us about a ramen place next to Tower Records called Ichira Ramen. We found it and were first a little sceptical because all they had was a machine to buy your ramen ticket and then a line to get in. But we bought our tickets and waited in line only to discover that they had a special sheet that you filled out to specify exactly how you wanted your ramen from the strength of the broth to the tecture of the noodles to the fat content, you decide everything. It was pretty awesome. Once there were seats available, as displayed by the blinking sign indicating which tables were open, we went in and sat down. The "booth" looked a whole lot like a testing center were we used to have to put up those three-sided cardboard things. The hands took our order sheet and brought back the ramen within a matter of maybe 2 minutes and we were off to eating. The ramen was so good! It was probably the best ramen I ahe ever had in my life and that is no exaggeration. Everyone who visits Tokyo must go to Ichira Ramen in Shibuya. It is the best I have eaten. Man, that stuff was good.

After the delicious ramen we took a trip to Haagen Dazs and got some over priced but yummy ice cream and then went to Starbucks for some more over priced but delicious treats and then we parted ways and headed home. I got on the wrong train line and had to turn around but it was okay. I still got home by midnight-ish.

Those were some seriously good times. I will definitely be going back to the onsen (Megan, Barbara and I decided at least once a month) and to Ichira Ramen any chance I can get. Good times. Crazy good times.

Let it Snow!

Yeah! It snowed yesterday! Well, it was more of a flurry but its close enough. I tried to take pictures but you can't see the snow so I added a little effect to make it easier to see. ; )

Monkey!

I totally forgot to put the pic of the monkey in the bathroom in the slide show! I am ashamed. : (

Apartment Pictures

Finally decided to buy some batteries so now I can use my camera and I took some pictures of the apartment and used the cool new setting on Slide.com called the Revolver. Oohhh... 0.o

Counter Codes

This is pretty cool. Kimi sent me a link to StatCounter where I set up a counter that will, not only count how many people view my blog, it will also show me what country/state they are viewing from. It's pretty cool because sometimes random people view your blog and its interesting to see where they are from. Like Kimi had someone view her blog today from Israel. I think that's pretty rad. And don't worry, it doesn't show exact addresses or anything, just the general area where your IP address is.

Well I thought it was pretty cool.

Lion King 2

Kimi and I just finished watching The Lion King and began watching The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride on PeekVid.com. We were looking for some of the songs on YouTube.com and here's something that Kimi found. I thought it was pretty cool.



This is the song My Lullaby sung in Japanese! How cool is that?! They also have it in German, Arabic and many other languages. Good times!

No Tatoos at the Onsen

Oh my gosh... I recently discovered through an e-mail about a school event to an onsen (hot spring) that most onsens do not allow anyone in who has a tatoo. I them researched this surprising discovery and found that it is, in fact, true. I found a picture that someone took at an actual onsen. I do not have that picture available at the moment but believe me. Just type in "no tatoos at onsen" in Google and you too will see what I have seen.

So, I have a question. How can a country that is a democracy and has a constitution with civil rights, do something like this and get away with it? If you ask me it si another way to "keep out the riff raff" aka gaijin (foreigners). Og course that is my opinion and you are free to disagree because we live in a free country where we are allowed to do what we want and not be punished or outcast for it. Obviously it doesn't always work like that in America and foreigners are not always discriminated against in Japan but it's the principle of the thing.

Just something to ponder and, if you are an American, appreciate being one. Man, I am glad I am an American.

You learn something new everyday, even if you don't like it.

One of Those Days

Today has just been one of those days. This morning was great. I woke up at 8:48am before my alarm went off and felt well rested and excited that I was going to be able to talk to my parents.

I came down the ladder and signed onto AIM and there was Mommy! It took some time but eventually Daddy figured out how to make the new headset/mic work so that I could actually hear them and then we were able to talk for free for as long as we wanted. It was great! I always love talking to my parents and now that we've figured out how to do it for free over AIM it's even better.

Then it all began. DUN DUN DUN! I got in the shower a little late and was therefore running late when I eventually made it out the door and towards the station. I was about 3/4 of the way to the station when I realized that I had forgotten my commuter pass in my closet. You know, the one that saved me over $400. So I went back for it and decided to take the bike so that I wouldn't be outrageously late to class. I got the keys and registration slip and went down to the bike parking area. I unlocked the bike, turned it around and started down the path when I discovered that the rear tire was extremely flat. With a heavy sigh I turned the bike back around and put it back in its parking spot. I turned around to walk to the station and CRASH!, the bike falls over and takes the neighbors bike with it. Oi... I pick up the bike and attempt to make it stay. After about 2 or 3 minutes of propping it up on the (useless) kickstand it finally stays standing and I am finally able to get all the way to the train station without anything else going wrong.

I made it to class only 15 minutes late and the rest of the day has been going well since then. Class was interesting and engaing as always and I was able to complete (except for the essay portion) my application to the University of Richmond and send off my transcript requests from Temple and Palomar.

Now I sit waiting for Kimi to get out of class so that we can head back to Machida for the Womens' Dinner with the other ladies from church. That should prove to be a good time as it always is.

I think I'll go take a nap now.

Virginia

Yeah! As some of you may now, and now all of you will know, I will most likely be returning to the states to finish out my college career. Now don't get your hopes up if you're in CA, I won't be going back to a CA school most likely because the deadline for applications is long gone. But, if you're in VA then rejoice! I will soon be joining you if everything works out. Of course this is all subject to change and I reserve the right to change my mind at any time if I so feel like it. I just thought I would warn everyone ahead of time.

I am in the process of applying (again) to The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA and recently discovered (thank you Mommy) the University of Richmond. The University of Richmond looks extremely promising since it has the programs I want including Japanese language and a large and well organized study abroad program where I can go to Ghana, Africa, Greece, Italy and almost any other country I so desire. It also looks like I have a very good shot at being accepted as a transfer student.

Again, any of this could change at any time but that seems to be how life works. Like they say, "Man plans, God laughs." We'll see how it all goes. In the meantime I would appreciate any suggestions people may have for schools that may be of interest to me. I am interested in Literature, Cultural Studies, Japanese language, language in general, Journalism and the like. I appreciate all suggestions.

I'll let you know how it goes!

Poetry

Here's a nice little poem I wrote today...

Loss

Somber.

I walk to the shore.
Hair floating,
Free.

But there is a price.

Memories floating,
Pain.

Chill hits my face.
I shudder.

The question why,
Never leaving my mind.

But now I know,
Now I know the price,
The Pain.

The horizon is so beautiful,
So inifinite.
And yet I cannot behold its greatness.
I cannot see,
Cannot hear,
Cannot feel.

All is lost,
All is gone.

Because you are not here with me.

Please keep in mind that I wrote this while feeling rather emotional and such. I usually don't do poetry but I just felt like it I guess. Works for me. I kinda like it but I don't know how good it is. Again, I don't do poetry.

Countdown

Here's another Counter that I made online. I'll actually put it in my sidebar so that I don't have to put up a new post every two weeks. That was kind of annoying... ^_^


Create your own MySpace Countdown Counter Today!

Don Quixote and Yakuza

Today was one of the saddest days of my life. I found out that one of my favorite stores, Don Quixote is run and supports a form of the Yakuza which us the, very powerful, Japanese mafia. So, in all my lack of sleep, I have written a poem to commemorate this event.

Ode to Don Quixote

My heart was saddened within me
and then I burned with a righteous indignation!
How dare these mafia men change something that was once so wonderful
into a world of deceit and betrayal.
Good bye sweet Don Quixote,
I will miss thee.
I will miss your overstuffed walls full of useless merchandise like
hair wax and man thongs.
I will miss your eight floors of household merchandise.
I will long for the food section with my favorite candies,
Doritos and the Meiji Chocolate song.
Goodbye cruel Don Qui!
I will miss thee.

Thank you.

First Day

Ahhhhh... I finally have some time to sit and post...

I started classes on Tuesday and my first, and only, class of the day was Asian American Literature from 1:30pm-3:00pm. The professor is one that I had for Asian American History last semester and there are about four students in the class including myself. So far the material has been great and looks to continue that way. I am very interested in this class and will enjoy it very much as the semester goes along. Here's a quote from "The Women Who Makes Swell Doughnuts" by Toshio Mori from his book of Short Stories Yokohama, California: "'I say to them play, play hard, go out there and play hard. You will be glad later for everything you have done with all your might.'" I thought that was a great quote said by someone who has gone through a lot of hardship and still sees the light at the end of the tunnel and is choosing to go for it in spite of everything. I like this class.

Wednesday was a little different but still good. The train ride was nuts. Kimi and I were running a little late but we still got there and in rush hour. We were so cruched on the train that sometimes we couldn't even breath. It was nuts but we survived and were only about five minutes late to class which started at 9am meaning I had to get up at 6am... Anyway, my first class of the day was Greek and Roman Mythology. That was also a very fun and interesting class that I will enjoy. There will be a lot of reading but also a lit of discussion in class which I enjoy. Then there was International Politics which was okay. Not a lot of homework so that's good. Then a lunch of yummy, yummy leftovers that belong in a different post and then more class. Next was Japanese. The teacher, Koyama-sensei, is very energetic and funny. She reminds me of my mom except for the whole Japanese part. She even kinda looks like her. I like her. After that was the biggest disappointment of the last few months, Journalism. It turns out that the class is actually an aesthetics of journalism class which means we will be evaluating movies and how they show media and popular culture and blah blah blah... I thought we were going to be doing some, you know, journalism. Anyway, that's why I love college. I dropped that class like a hot potato and am not looking back.
So ya, that's my first few days of class. Some other good stuff happened in those days but they deserve their own posts and right now I have to go meet Kimi so we can go back to Machida and get another bike.

...

Sorry I haven't been keeping you too up to date. I'll do more of that tomorrow. Right now, I need to sleep...

Computers and Grandberry

Today was a long yet good day. I woke up at 7:00am this morning again and not on purpose. I'm still on CA time but that's good because going to school will require me to wake up at 7am on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. So after I woke up I preceded to play on the computer, which I love, until about 10am when I got in the shower and got ready for the day. Then I walked the two minutes to Jeremiah and Geigy's house and used their phone to call my parents and my Sasha. It was so great to talk to my parents. I miss them so much along with the rest of everyone... O.o Talking to Sasha was good too. She's a little crazy but that's why I love her.

After I got back to the apartment Kimi and I had intended to go to Grandberry Mall in Minami-Machida but we ended up playing on the computers for a long time. It was good though because I was able to make AIM talk work with Sasha. We talked for about two hours. Kimi let me use her earphones/mic and it was perfect quality for talking to Sasha. Hopefully my parents will get an AIM name or Skype or something and a mic so we can talk that way. *hint hint* It was so easy and completely free. I loved it. We could also still send IM's, pictures, files and songs over AIM. It was awesome. I couldn't stop saying how much I loved the internet. And I truly do. It is the best way to stay connected and to get information. And it just keeps getting better, they keep coming up with better programs and ideas. Gotta love it.

Well Kimi and I eventually got ready and began our adventure to Grandberry Mall. It was only 5 stops away with one transfer and no walking from the station because it was directly outside the station. We went to the Food Colosseum for dinner and had Teriyaki Chicken Burgers and fries and shared a 3x Chocolate dessert. After dinner we walked around the outdoor mall for a while. We walked through the book store that had some interesting books in it. Not much in English but they did have a book on Tree-houses around the world that was pretty cool. We also went to the grocery store and bought the making of curry and a pineapple. We don't really know how to cut it up yet so any help would be appreciated but we figured we'd give it a shot. It was like $3.50 for that pineapple though. Anyway, then we came back home and now we're going to watch Little Women on the laptop. Good times.

Flyleaf video

Here's the music video for Flyleaf's I'm So Sick. She totally rocks!

Flyleaf

I recently discovered a new band called Flyleaf. They are a Christian heavy metal band and the lead singer is a girl. She can rock out and I really like their stuff. Their most well known song is I'm So Sick. I also like the song Cassie which is about the girls at Columbine. Ya, she can really rock. You should check them out.

Day One

My first day back in Japan was a good one. I woke up at about 7:30am and started doing a little unpacking. Kimi got up not to long after that and we played on our computers for a while. Then I had some tea and got in the shower. Then continued to play on my computer a little but more. I got my spreed sheet for my budget all done so that I can keep a close watch on my money seeing that I don't have a whole lot left. Enough but I still need to keep track of it. After that we went to the store and bought some hangers for my clothes seeing that all I have is a closet and some bread and cheese and butter. Then we came back to the apartment and made some grilled cheese sandwiches for the potluck at church. Kimi put mayonnaise on some of them which was actually quite good but I had never heard of the concept before. They were tasty. We then walked over to the church and went to service. Jeremiah started in Proverbs today and it was communion. It was a good service. Afterwards we had the potluck and that was a lot of fun. We had some good food including salad with bacon bits, nachos, curry and of course grilled cheese. I love International Fellowship potlucks. Always a nice assortment of foods from around the world. There was a lot of good food and good laughs. It's nice to see everyone again. It also really sucks because now I have friends in both California and Japan and I can only be in one place at once. I would rather have the friends then not though so its definitely worth it. I don't think I would change coming here. Change that, I wouldn't change coming here.

Now we're playing on our computers again. I have a feeling I'm going to be doing a lot of that for the next three and a half months. Until next time!

Back in Japan

Hello everyone! I am officially posting from my apartment in Machida, Tokyo, Japan. My flight went pretty well. I actually slept a little and got to play with my new laptop so it was pretty good. Kimi and Matt met me at the airport which I greatly appreciate seeing that I was in a sort of daze by the time I got off the plane and I don't know if I would have made it back to the apartment in one piece. I did lose my money which really stinks but it wasn't that much and more will be on its way by Tuesday Japan time so it's all okay. No huge worries.

Today is church with a potluck afterwards. Kimi and I are going to make grilled cheese . Heck yes.

New Laptop

Heck yes! I got a new laptop today! Woohoo! Time for another happy dance! Da da da da da da! Da da da da da da! Oh yeah, uh huh. Uh huh uh huh uh huh! Woo!

Anyway, it's a Gateway Notebook. It has 2.19 GHz and 960MB of RAM and an 80GB hard drive. So far its working for me. I've already downloaded Firefox, iTunes, AIM and set up all my preferences and bookmarks and all that jazz. I am currently in the process of importing all my music from my CD;s since you can't transfer songs from you iPod to the computer unless you bought then on iTunes which really stinks but oh well. Makes me update everything and get rid of the stuff I don't listen to to add some new stuff. I got a few new CD's in my time at home and had some old ones that I never got to putting on my iTunes in my computer at work. They include things like Staind, Todd Agnew, Ayumi Hamasaki and Hayley Westenra. I currently have about 1.42GB on my iTunes and 2GB available so we'll see how that goes.

Anyway, I love my new laptop! Thank you Mommy and Daddy and Grandmommy and Granddaddy. I truly appreciate it. I may put up some pictures of it eventually but it looks like a regular laptop. 15.4" screen and it's black.

I have a laptop!

New Years Party

Here are a little tid bits from our New Years Eve party at the Dodds. It was good times. Meagan, Anna and of course Sasha and Chante were there. We took a nice trip to the grocery store where I bought some Trix cereal and milk because I had a craving and we bought some Rockstar energy drinks. heehee... Then went back to Sasha and Chante's house.
We started off the night with a little game of Guitar Hero on the Playstation. I had never played before and it was so much fun. It took me a song to get used to it but after that I was kicking some serious rear. It may have had something to do with the fact that I play the guitar but that's not the point.
When it came time to count down to the new year we put on channel 10 and watched Dick Clark count down, again, the ball drop in New York. We counted down and had our hats and noise makers and confetti and ran outside with all the above. The vid is pretty funny. There is a lot of darkness but you have to listen to the sound. Chante's noise maker sounds like a dying cow...
After we went back inside we played some more guitar hero and then watched John Tucker Must Die which was a pretty hilarious movie and also depressing at the same time. Beware there is a butt shot...
Then we were a little bored so we decided to listen to music and dance like the crazy women we are. The second vid is of Chante, Anna, Meagan and I doing our own dance to Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. I think it is pretty good. It just proves that we really are crazy.
After we were completely exhausted from that we decided to watch Hitch. I love that movie! I had seen it before but not for a while so it was fun to watch it again. By the time that movie was over it was 5:30am so we went to bed. That was some seriously good times.

Slide Show documented by time:

Vid of the countdown:

The Many Faces of Melissa

This is a little slide show of my lovely little sister Melissa. All of these pictures were taken at New Years Eve dinner with my family. I think they sum Melissa up pretty well... :)

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!!!!!!!!!!