2009

alas, 2009 is finally ending. 長い一年でした。色々ありました。でも、まだ新年はあんまし迎えたくない．．．ugh.

so, this year, i was finally able to go to japan!! wooottt~~~. やっとだぜ。従兄たちにもめっちゃ久しぶりに会えたし。北海道にも行けたし。楽しかったな～。漫画もメッチャ買ったし（笑）seriously, i got a lot. andddd, most importantly, i got to eat some goooodd japanese food. haha. お小遣いもいっぱいもらったしね。always a good thing, right? esp. since i'm a poor college student. hehe.

and then, there was the fire. -____- 超大変だった。サイアク。新品のパソコンも破損。何とか皆無事だったけど、漫画とか色々なくなった。my yearbooks gone was really sad... で、その後がまた大変で！仮住まいを探したり、保険会社と交渉したり、ヤなことばっか。at least we're finally starting to settle. i guess.

so, it's the end of the year. and my friend is back from japan. spent some time hanging out with him and some other friends today. we had a 飲み会 at his place tonight. 紅白見ながら皆でワイワイ騒いで。両親迷惑だったろうな～。ごめんなさい！but yea, the friend was vomiting by around 11 so headed home and so now, i am celebrating the coming new year at home with the bf♥


Happy New Years everybody!!

Currently listening to: Numb - Linkin' Park

Awesome Mashup

so, there's this awesome mashup of various artists/songs that's circulating the worldwide web. it's called United States of Pop 2009. it's really interesting. i'll link it here but it's also on the right hand side of this site. check it out! :)

Currently listening to: Unites States of Pop 2009 - DJ Earworm

Savoy Restaurant

met up with some of my old apartment-mates for lunch today. we went to this place called Savoy Restaurant on Valley. 中華料理って言うか何というか。とにかく、まぁまぁでした。apparently, the hainan chicken is the recommendation and i got that. the rice is made in broth so that was pretty good. there was also this ginger sauce that came with the chicken that i liked a lot. 値段はまぁまぁで量も結構ある。混んでたし、人気あるみたい。but there's only street parking, which kinda sucked. overall, decent quality.

Currently listening to: 虹 - ゆず

餅つき

今日は彼ん家でやる毎年恒例のお餅つき。みんなでワイワイ飲んだり、食べたり、おしゃべりしながらお餅をつく。楽しかった♪ but man, so much hard work. i have a blister now. the bf's dad kept trying to put superglue on it. it's his magic medicine for all cuts and such. lol. but yea, it was nice hanging out with the bf and his family and other people. i think they actually might like me :)omg, there was this 2 year old girl there. she was so adorable!!! でも、お世話が大変。もう、元気が有り余ってるし、まだ2歳だからわがまま言いたい放題。ついて行くのがやっと。年だわ～。（笑）でも、ホントメッチャかわいい。she loved it when i spun her around in circles. such a cutie!

and man, there was so much food. for lunch, we had ribs, spam musubi, chicken, and some korean kimchi stuff. it was all soooooo goooooodd. いっぱい食べちゃった！ダイエット台無し．．．but the bf's sisters eat a lot too so i didn't feel too left out! :) hehe.

fun day, but tomorrow, i know imma have sore muscles. haha.

Currently listening to: Replay - Rock City feat. iQ

STATS

ever heard of it?? not the subject, but the holiday store in pasadena. well, the day after christmas, they do this HUGE sale where everything is 50% off. crazy, huh?? so, we woke up at 4 a.m. to do some late christmas decoration shopping. lol.

もう、寒いの寒いの。でも、人は結構いた。5時に開くはずが、4時半ぐらいからもうすでに開いてた。and omg, by the time it was 5, the place was packed. sooo many people. クリスマスの次の日だっていうのに。。。we ended up buying a couple of christmas lights and come indoor ornaments. 150ドルくらい落としたかな？

Currently listening to: クリスマスキャロルの頃には - 稲垣潤一

Costa Mesa

yesterday was a very long and tiring day... first, i had to drive all the way to costa mesa by myself. ま、それはそんなに悪くなかったけどね。結構早く着いたし。飛ばしすぎかな？（笑）and then after that, it took forever to get our new car ready to take home. we had to go to the dmv and that took a long time. i think it was like 1.5 hrs. and we couldn't even get anything done cuz we were missing stuff... -___-でも、昨日はお外で食べれたからまだマシね。i went to kula sushi for the second time. it's the revolving one and it's only $2 a plate!! so freakin' cheap. でも、安いだけあったそんなにおいしくない。まぁまぁってとこ？ and for dinner, ate a kohryu ramen. 付け麺おいしかった～。あそこのチャーハンも絶品だね。大好き！！
帰りはちょっと死にそうになった。（笑）i was on the 605, debating whether to take the 10 or the 60. since it seemed like the 605 was starting to become trafficky, i decided to take the 60. so i merged one lane over and try to merge again when the car in front of me braked. it took me a bit to notice so i ended up braking pretty hard. でも、相手はIntegraだから絶対こっちが勝ってたね。（笑）

ま、何かと大変な一日でした。

Currently listening to: ここにいるよ - 72

LADWP Festival of Lights

the family and i decided to go to the festival of lights up near griffith and the l.a. zoo. tonight, you could drive through it so since it's freezing out, we decided to give it a try. でも、、、思いの他めっちゃ混んでた！！it took nearly 3 hours to actually see the illuminations.

で、あんだけ待った、結構しょぼかった。去年も行ったけど、まったく変わっておらず、楽しくもなんともない。期待外れ。whatevers. it's really not worth waiting 3 hours for. maybe, if you're bored, you might want to give it a try? if you don't have to wait. ugh. i don't think i'm ever going back...

Currently listening to: Yeah! - Usher

New Fav ♥

yesterday, i went shopping at the local ralphs and discovered something amazing at the seafood section. smoked salmon and artichoke dip!!!♥♥♥ omg, it was immensely good. i almost finished it. haha.
ダイエット決めたのに。。。面目ない。でも、アレはおいしすぎる！！ホント、メッチャうまいので是非ともトライ！

Currently listening to: Last Christmas - WHAM

久しぶりのドライブ

今日は久しぶりに長距離走った。メッチャ緊張した。esp. with my mom sitting in the passenger seat. plus, my car is kinda big. ew. i hate that minivan.
anyways, had to drive all the way to costa mesa. 遠かった～。and the carpool lane on the 605 is kinda scary. wherever there's an overpass, the base is scarily close to the car. and there was this one car that kept tailing me. probably bc i was going 75 in the carpool. でも、ほかのレーンも空いてるし別に遅くないし。my mom kept telling me to slow down to 70. ま、でも何とか無事着きました。

oh, and before i forget, I AM GOING ON A DIET!!! このままではダメです。どんどん太ってる。no more snacks, sweets, etc. and i will try to move as much as possible. but yea, for now, cutting back on the snacking. このボンッ！ボンッ！ボンッ！の体型をボンッ！キュッ！ボンッ！に変えるぞぉぉぉぉぉぉ。シャ～！Currently listening to: Bad Romance - Lady Gaga

UGH

the mom's back. good bye freedom, hello rules.
ホントやだ。

Currently listening to: ナツラブ - Juliet

My WONDERFUL Weekend

so, today is the last day of my weekend without my mom, who happens to be out of country. hehe. yeay! so, i finished finals on thursday and headed back to my hometown that night. その夜はお父さんと姉とお鍋した～。うましでしたね。
friday, i went to the mall to do some shopping. got a lot of christmas shopping done. but so much monies went down the drain... o wells, i guess its just something that's inevitable. でも、久しぶりに運転してちょっと緊張した。but hey, at least parking wasn't a hassle since i went kinda early. plus, the malls not that far. lol

then on saturday, i went to the california science center with the bf and sis. i have a feeling i've been there before in the past.... i think... lol. あんまり覚えてないや。ま、とにかく楽しかった。結構色々あって面白かった。but we didn't pay to visit the exhibits that needed $$. just the free ones. still, it was fun. sadly, it was raining so couldn't get to see the rose garden. でも、IMAX 見れたからいいけどね。dude, it was so intense. we watched "Underneath the Sea 3D". 面白かったよ！！
and today, we went up to the mountains. too bad it wasn't snowing. -___- 雪めっちゃ期待してたのに。で、結局川原でお昼食べて、少し遊んだだけ。ま、イイ気分転換にはなったけどね。other than that, went to the mall again to do a little more christmas shopping.

overall, it was a nice weekend that i got to spend with the bf without the constant interruption from my mom. ま、ウザイ姉はいたけどね。it's almost christmas!!

Currently listening to: All I Want for Christmas is You - Mariah Carey

最低！

i'm really tired right now. and i'm pretty sure i know the reason why.

昨日の夜、同居人が友達と飲みに行ったの。that was around a bit before 9. she was talking about how she wants to be back early cuz she wants to sleep at a decent time, since she's been lacking sleep due to studying for finals. で、歩いて行くから迎えに来てって頼む訳。so, being a nice roomie, i agreed, despite the fact that i need to study for finals too.

so anyways, my night continues and around 11, i begin talking on the phone with the bf as usual. で、色々馬鹿な娘の話などして、12時ぐらいまでおしゃべり。and during this entire time, she doesn't call me. the bf wants to sleep so i let him go and i go back to my bed to waste time reading some manga. around 1, i decide to just sleep for a bit to see if she'll call later. she never does.

で、やっと2時前くらいにご帰宅です。why do i know this if i was sleeping?? bc she slams the closet door open. =_= really? is that really necessary? i don't know if she was drunk or if she was in a bad mood. DOES SHE NOT SEE ME SLEEPING??? UGH! だから、最低。朝7時には起きるんだよ？私。睡眠時間減るじゃん。。。oh, and i still cooked breakfast for her. she never does cook it.

最近最低な人多いなぁ。the stupid girl i mentioned before being 1 of them as well. ま、でもその娘は友達じゃないから別にどうでもいいけど。

Currently listening to: White Christmas - Bing Cosby

Photojournalism

i love looking at photographs. i love taking them too. but taking that nice perfect picture is very difficult. でも、そういうのはやっぱり才能だと思う。努力もあると思うけど、生まれ持った才能ほど確かなものはないと思う。in that sense, the works of professional photographers and photojournalists are breathtaking and intense. today, i found an online article entitled "35 Powerful Photos that Tell a Story" it is incredible and i strongly urge people to take a look.

two of my faves are below. this may or may not tell you something about me ;)

Currently listening to: Break Your Little Heart - All Time Low

Dim Sum! YUM!

got some dim sum for lunch yesterday. :) YUMMY! hehe. went to a place called New Capital Seafood in San Gabriel. そこそこ美味しかった～。中華粥が特に。but man, the service was pretty baddd. the people there keep speaking to you in chinese. and when i go "sorry, i don't speak chinese", they look at you like you're the dumbest thing to cross their paths. ugh. I'M NOT CHINESE!! >:(

そんで、いざ食べようと思ったら、お醤油がない。so we asked for some. we had to ask a second time until they would give it to us. UGH! come on, is it really that difficult!? those waiters are so rude.

but overall, the place was pretty cheap. we had like 13 different dishes and the total came out to be about $30. でも、明細みると何か妙なことが書いてある、、、a charge of $3.89 (or something like that) for tea & sauce. o_O i understand that a lot of places are now charging for tea. (not that it makes it less irritating. what next, water??) but SAUCE?? 何だよ、それ！何のソースだよ?? is is the soy sauce that we asked for?? but isn't that basic in dim sum?? or is it that chili sauce thing that you put on the table regardless of whether we ask for it or not?? then shouldn't the restaurant have to tell you that they'll charge you for it and therefore, whether we want it or not??? so dumb. whatever. it was still pretty cheap.

i also finished the house invetory from the fire yesterday. finally -___- took a while. 疲れた。多すぎ。わからない物も多いし。でも、とりあえず終わった。all we need to do now is send it in and see how much they'll give us for it. whoopie.

Currently listening to: Nickelback - Hero

お食事会♪

今日は日本語ガッコの子達とお食事会～。it was so much fun. :) plus, i got to meet my friends' fiance, who is a really interesting guy. very sarcastic and a lot of fun to talk to. hehe.

anyways, the plan was this: we met up at the nijiya in hacienda at around 7 and then moved on to the restaurant. Earthen Restaurant っていう中華屋さん。まぁまぁ美味しかった。sucks that it's cash only tho. but yea, there were 6 of us and the total came out to about $60 so it wasn't that expensive. お持ち帰りもいっぱいあったし。

it was fun, just being able to sit and eat and talk. 日本語ガッコ行かなくなってからやっぱり会う機会が少ないからね。皆忙しいし。中々スケジュールが合わないし。so yea, it was nice to be able to talk to them again. old times. :)


oh, and i was also able to take some purikura~. 久しぶり～♪　楽しかった！it was the kinda where they play you music and you can dance to it and take puri. ウチらは大塚愛の「さくらんぼ」で挑戦。it was interesting. haha.

大塚愛

Currently listening to: さくらんぼ - 大塚愛

Michael Jackson

recently, there was a special on the show 「Smap x Smap」in honor of the late Michael Jackson. of course, being an american and all, i've been exposed to his music numerous times. however, i was never a big fan of his so i never watched his last movie, "This Is It". でも、あのスマスマのスペシャル見て、見たい！って思った。it seems really interesting, and i think i've taken i liking to Michael Jackson himself.

パフォーマー、エンタータイナーとしての信念がすごい！圧倒された。あそこまで徹底的なプロ意識持ってる人は少ないと思う。そういう点では、尊敬すべき存在ですね。（偉そうですかね？）but yea, i definitely want to watch his movie now.

Currently listening to: Smile - Charlie Chaplin

2 down, 1 to go

finished 2 finals today. it's dead week. why on earth do i have 2 finals!? =_= well, at least i don't have them crammed into finals week, i guess. 2 less to worry about and i can just focus on 1, which i am seriously screwed for unless i really start studying. でも、来週の木曜日までだからいいっか。（良くない！）

whatevers. i think i did decently well on both my finals. the first one, i'm actually pretty confident in. 結構覚えてたからね～。イェイ♪ on my second one, i think my essay was kinda crappy. but whatevers. i'm just aiming for the c+/b- range. ま、何とかなるでしょう。

now, i finally get to relax~

Currently listening to: Beat it - Michael Jackson

たばこ

ってかっこよくない？or is it just me? i know those things are so bad for you but man, when i see a guy smoking, he looks, like, 10 times hotter. dude, i sound so superficial. lol.

でも、本当に体に良くないよね。all that gunk building up inside your lungs. and cancer. it's like the magic potion to an early death. でも、、、、やっぱかっこいい。i think it's that bad boy image type thing. does anyone understand me??? lol.

the bf smokes too. like RARELY. んでもって、やっぱかっこいい。i also love the smell of smoke that lingers on clothes and hair and stuff. 何か、イイ。スキ。although that's also probably giving me second hand smoke or somethingortheother. ま、でもスキなものはしょうがないよね。

Currently listening to: ヒーロー - FUNKY MONKEY BABYS