Sometimes, my ignorance is astoundingly overwhelming.

I was heading back to the dorms/uni after work, dinner in hand, when I encoutered this MASS EXODUS.  Seriously, there must have been around 300-500 girls.  My first thought was that my Uni must have had something on

I get to the front of the Uni, and while waiting for the traffic light to change, I notice that the main gate guards are DIRECTING the crowds.  I start to get a bit nervous, because I had noticed a couple of girls from my dorm in the mass exodus, and there were others who were carrying overnight bags.  ...we're not evacuating or anything are we? 

Then as I was entering the Uni, I was stopped and asked for ID.  First time ever [as long as you don't count when I missed curfew].  This was kinda scary, since I was thinking, oh no, something has happened!  The guards are in motion, official looking people are about, and overnight bags are involved!  Highly suspicious I tell you!

And then as luck would have it, I saw two of my [Korean] friends, and here is where I demonstrate my "wonderful" command of Japanese homonyms.

Me: What's happening?
friends: We're going to a koen [park, I thought]
Me: Why?  Is something wrong?
friends:  Huh, no our friends said it would be interesting.  So we are gonna go to their Uni.
Me: [ah! koen in this case is lecture!] That's pretty late for a lecture.  Must be pretty interesting if all these people are going.
friends: Huh, no those people just finished their uni entrance exams /points to big sign that I had managed to completely miss/
Me: /blink blink/ Oops.
friends: SIlly person.
Me: Heh, I thought something dangerous had happened.  So what's the lecture on?
friends: Korean dance!  And our friends are gonna be in it!
Me: Huh?  
friends:  /who are well-tuned to my horrible vocab and notice my complete lack of comprehension here/ koen, as in koen! /make funny bouncy movements/
Me: [think, pause, think, groan] A PLAY!
friends: She gets it!
Me:  Stupid Japanese language.
friends:  We still love you.

Current Mood: stupid

Since I will be returning to Australia in early February, I decided I needed to see as much as Japan as I could in those 10 days my dorm/uni was closed for the winter break.  

So after warm sunny Okinawa, I did a complete 180 and headed north for cold snowy Hokkaido.

And never again, despite the cheap fares and the really nice scenary I saw, am I going to travel the breadth of Japan by slow trains and night buses.       

Interestingly, both Minki and I thought our little vacation was very fun and exciting.  But after we told our friends what we did, they came back with one word - romantic.  Huh?

 

Tags: aquarium/zoo, japanese cultural activities, travel: domestic
Current Mood: sleepy

Went to Okinawa!  

Perfect weather of 20 degrees.

Almost had a heart attack or two [totally Tomoe's fault].

Saw lots of sharks and Americans.

Over-indulged on pineapple.

And finally bought myself a shiisa 

Tags: aquarium/zoo, food, japanese cultural activities, travel: domestic
Current Mood: amused

This is what I do to kill time before a Dir en grey concert on a school day.


This is what I do to kill time before a Dir en grey concert on a weekend.

Tags: amusement parks, games / playstation, manga / anime
Current Mood: chipper

December 2007.

Six days.

Three Dir en grey lives.



And one Xmas party live.

Tags: dir en grey, live reports, visual kei
Current Mood: bouncy

I am ridicuously proud of this photo.  It was taken at the park/gym near my university.  And I find it incredibly amusing that the wading pool is full of leaves as oppose to water.

Tags: art / photography, live reports, museums
Current Mood: sleepy

No mountain is high enough

The joys of voting overseas




Spreading the pretty




And December is gonna break my bank account, but it is gonna rock!

Tags: books, dir en grey, food, japanese cultural activities, mountain climbing, movies / tv, visual kei
Current Mood: bouncy

While I do have the tendency to focus on pop culture, I also do try and see some traditional stuff, I swear!

Tags: museums
Current Mood: sleepy

Yay, mid-terms are over.  No holidays though which makes me sad.  But least today I only had one class, which makes me happy.  Really need to actually start writing my research paper, as oppose to just collecting data.

I am kinda screwed for next year in terms of courses.  Have five left, but ANU said I can't do more courses than what is required to graduate, so my plan of doing three in the first semester, and three in the second mucks that up.  So it looks like I might be doing three in the first, and two in the second; or all five in the first and then graduate [I doubt I will be able to handle the work load though]; or four in the first, and one in the last.  And while I don't really want to do honours since I want to graduate and never write another essay again, but I wonder if they will let me start honours in second semester if I am only doing one course then too.  I hate uni, too much trouble.

Been eating way too much icecream in my free time.  Baskins and Robbins [aka 31] is my friend, and my goal at the moment is to try all 31 flavours.  About halfway there.  And I have the horrible tendency to choose flavours which do not go tegether [e.g. pumpkin and mint].  But it is still very very yummy.  And if you guys have it back in Australia, you have to try the ginger bluberry cheesecake flavour.  YUM.

It is only halfway through Autumn at the moment, but is getting cold.  Was really cold the other day, ended up wearing my jumper and socks and putting the heater on 30 degrees.  A bit excessive, but it was absolutely freezing.  It was pretty funny, since Minji said that 30 degrees is too high, and when I asked how high she had put hers up to on that day, she very sheepishly told me 28 degrees.  However, normally I put the heater on 22-24 degrees.

I kinda want to gain weight as it gets colder so that I have more fat to keep me warm.  But nearly everyone I speak to is trying to lose weight, so it is giving me a little complex over trying to gain weight.  Will probably do what I always do, and just eat and not worry about my weight until my clothes don't fit anymore.  But it is tempting to gain more weight.      

Have also slowly become a Uniqlo person.  Uniqlo is kind of like Target, but the clothes are of better quality in that they actually last continuous wear and washing.  Cheap too.  Can buy pretty much anything clothes related from there.  But, much to my friends' disgust, I tend to buy guys' clothing since I think the styles and sizes are more to my liking - but pants are still a tad short on me.  Hence the Gap shopping.  But now the pants are a bit too big, but my new pants are comfy, wide legs and striped.  Love wide leg striped pants.  

Had a really good Halloween.  I know it was a while back, but for those interested, read on.

Tags: clothes, live reports, manga / anime, uni life, visual kei
Current Mood: apathetic

Yoshiki [of X JAPAN fame] is FINALLY releasing stuff!  Ok, I know for the past 7 years he has been friggin' teasing us with 'new song to be released soon'.  ...And nothing ever came out.  BUT recently, there have been, not one, but THREE confirmed projects by Yoshiki.  Admittedly, I am still a bit dubious about it all since Yoshiki hasn't released anything definate in YEARS, and one of the following projects sound a bit...  Anway, I love the fact that all the movies Yoshiki is contributing music to are horror :D

1. This October Yoshiki's Violet UK contributed a song to the Japanese version of the Catacombs movie soundtrack
I have yet to listen to this since all the promos I have heard of Violet UK these past 5 years have been pretty meh. 

2. X JAPAN [!?!?] will be doing the ending song to SAW IV 
I am pretty excited about this one since it will contain previously unreleased HIDE [OMG!] material, and Toshi is singing!  But the song has probably the most unoriginal title of all time - I.V. 

3. Yoshiki is helping out with the soundtrack to the 'Repo! The Genetic Opera' movie
No real opinions yet, since I am still trying to digest: Yoshiki is working in collaboration with Paris Hilton!?!  HUH!?!?



Now for the real reason for posting today - my friends overhere rock.  I love it when they try to speak English, and they come up with these beautiful grammatically correct sentences, however, they are definately not what they were aiming for.
- Ride me
- I want to touch you
- I want to play with you
- Lets play with each other
You gotta love the English language.

And the other day Bi-chan, during dinner, wanted to know more about popular endearments, I have no idea why.  
Bi-chan: /turns to me/ Anything for you my darling!
Me: /blinks/ Huh?  ...Thanks sweetcakes?
Bi-chan: Sweetcakes?
Me: yeah
Bi-chan:  My honey!
Me: Sugar?
Bi-chan: What else is there?
Me: /racks brains/ doll, dear, baby, sweetcheeks, um, um, /looks to other English speaking int'l students/ 
int'l students&Me: ah, maybe pumpkin?  apple?  cookie?  cake?  chicken?  piglet?  porkchops?
Bi-chan: So you call people by their favourite food!  
int'l students&Me: Huh!?
Bi-chan: /points to me/ My darling chicken!
Me: HUH?
int'l students: /explodes into laughter/
Bi-chan: No, wait /thinks seriously/  I've got it!  My delicious chicken wing!
Me: HUH!??!?!?!?
Bi-chan: /and says very proudly/ Yes, you're my D.C.W.!

Tags: nicknames, visual kei
Current Mood: amused