My First Car Accident

specifically, my first car accident involving another car. i've hit inanimate objects before (trash can, pillars in parking lots, etc.) but not another car. and this one was moving too. lol. 最初はビックリして、後はスッゲェむかついた。so, here's the story:

so, i was driving down a small street (one lane for each side of traffic and a center lane) and i was trying to make a right into a parking space for those parking spots that are on the street but kinda perpediculate to it. kinda like this ↓

で、ちゃんと指示器を出して、スピード落として曲がろうとしたのです。私の車って結構大きくて、小回りが利かないので、結構大きく曲がらないとダメなんです。so, since my hunk of minivan needed to make a kinda tight right turn, i slightly turned to the left and then started turning right. well, this fucked up old white lady behind me decided to pass me on the right even tho i was making a right turn and by the time i noticed and tried to brake, we were hitting. stupid old lady didn't even brake.... -__- 完全に向こうの責任。but no, bastard lady wouldn't admit fault. she was pissed too, which pissed me off even more. I HAD MY RIGHT TURN SIGNAL ON!! no way i'm at fault. she was trying to lecture me as to how it's my fault because i was in the center lane. i wasn't. she actually admitted that to the police that i called too. idiot... ホント馬鹿。墓穴ほってやんの。ま、こっちにとっては有利だったけど。to top it off, she didn't even have her insurance info on her... fucking retard. thank goodness i called the police.

this happened yesterday, on christmas eve... just great.

Currently listening to: Tell Me Goodbye - BIGBANG

Vegas, baby!

actually, it wasn't as exciting as i make the title sound. it's a bit misleading. でも、まぁまぁ楽しかったかな。おいしいものいっぱい食べれたね。スペイン料理にバイキング。満腹です。

the julian serrano restaurant in aria was marvelous!!!! sooooo delish :) would definitely go back again. i think i really love spanish food. haha. we actually went two nights in a row. で、バイキングにも2回行きましたね。ブランチに二回。ナンとカレーとか、スモークサーモンとか、オムレツとか、色々食べちゃいました。

i did eat a lot but i also lost a decent amount of money. lol. a bit over $200. oh wells, it was nice to gamble.

so, i drove to and back and man, was it quite tiring. especially bc my car is so sucky and heavy... seriously.... 坂道とか全然ダメ。スピードが落ちまくりです。but i was also able to try third gear for the first time. man, that thing is awesome!

overall, fun trip. wish it was with my honey tho... :(

Currently listening to: let me cry - Jang Guen Suk

交通事故

一昨日、ウチのドライバーが事故を起こした。well, i guess he says it's not his fault so he was involved in an accident? he was trying to make a left at a yellow light and the car in the opposing traffic failed to stop and rammed into him. でも、目撃者がいないから、どうなることやら。it's a real iffy situation. ugh.

so, i actually went to the scene since my mom was working and it's her car. man, our car was a ford van and the other was a brand-spanking-new mercedes benz. ま、ウチのダメージはまぁまぁ。パンクがひとつとフロント・バンパーが結構破壊されたかな？それだけ。but the other benz was pretty bad.... the hood was blown off and front was mashed in a bit. 新車なのにね。残念。あ～あ。でも、これからがちょっぴり大変そう。

Currently listening to: キセキ - GReeeeN

BONFIRE!!!

today was a bonfire at huntington beach with my friends from high school. some of those attending, i haven't seen in years. so i decided to go. だって、こんなチャンス滅多にないと思うし。and it was my first bonfire.

it was a lot of fun. we played football, volleyball, took pictures, and generally just relaxed and chatted. ホントに久しぶりに会う人が多くてビックリ。やっぱ、中々会う機会が無いなって改めて実感した。本当はもっと遊びたいけど、親が親なだけに、中々難しかったりする。but this was a great opportunity! driving there was a bitch tho. soooooo far from my house. took nearly an hour cuz there was traffic along the way too....

we had a bunch of foods. like wings, pizza, chips, baked goods, candy, etc. oh, and someone also brought alcohol. lol. 本当は違法だけど、まバレなきゃ問題ないっしょ。私は飲まなかったけどね。but man, it was cold. so much wind, and the temperature just dropped at night. 寒い寒い。でも、夏の最後の楽しい思い出ですね。:)

Currently listening to: UNUSUAL - 安室奈美恵 feat. 山下智久

秋分の日サイコー！

had a day off today because it was the autumnal equinox day in japan. isn't it wonderful to be able to get a japanese holiday off in the US? no one else is off so yea, pretty great! :)

今日はオフィスの同僚ちゃん’ズと食べ回り。for lunch, we went to the angry chef in the westin bonaventure. なんか、基本パスタ屋さんみたいだけど、タコスとかもおいてたりする。so, we all decided to split a shrimp scampi pasta, angry chef pasta, and the bulgogi taco set. the taco was actually really good! would definitely want to get it again. the scampi was pretty good too. すごいあっさりしてて、食べやすかった。the angry chef pasta was just so-so. it was creamy but spicy. kinda too heavy for my taste.

after, we decided to get some sweets. went to melt gelato and crepe cafe in el segundo. MELTのジェラートは前にも食べたことあったけど、前はモールで食べたから、お店を訪れるのは初めて。結構空港に近い。i got the swiss chocolate gelato. OMG so good! すごく濃厚。食べ応えあったね。でも、シャツにこぼしてアウチ。-__- i'm so ドンくさい。one of the girls got crepe too so got to try some of that too. すっごいモチモチしてておいしかった。甘すぎず、いい感じ。

the bf joined us for dinner and we went to kagura in torrance. トンカツが有名なお店。彼は揚げ物系大好きなので、良いかと。man, it's a bit pricey but really good. i got salmon, not katsu, but i got to take a bite out of the bf's and man, it was deeeelish! my salmon was pretty good too. but kinda regret not getting the katsu... lol.

この日はほとんど新米ドライバーの方に運転してもらいました。ちょっと怖かったけど、まぁ、大丈夫でしたね。楽しかったし、結果オーライですね。

Currently listening to: Someone Like You - Adele

バック駐

今朝、一発で出来ました！以外とバックの方が駐車しやすいけど、ついつい頭から突っ込んじゃうからね。so i usually don't park in reverse unless my mom forces me to. but today, i did it out of my own will! and it was so beautiful. straight and in one try! oh yea!!!

now, i just need to work on my parallel parking...

Currently listening to: Promise - A.N.Jell

Bar Celone & 二世ウィーク

darn, it's been a while since i've updated.... 最近ちょっぴりメンドクサイなぁなんて思っております。ごめんなさい。

so, had a hang out/going away dinner for my friends this past saturday. went out to Bar Celona in Old Town Pasadena. 最初はなんか、予約が無いと座れないとか言ってたのに、結局は座れることに。意味分からないね。got a pitcher of red sangria and some tapas as well as a paella. mmmmm. delissssssssssh! the sangria was whatevs, since i'm not much of a wine fan. 運転してたから、一応1.5杯に収めておきました。the food was really good tho. i really liked it. i think this was my first try with Spanish food. but it's sticking :)

afterwards, we went to a friends house to hang out with other people that didn't come to the dinner. 高校からの友達が多かったけど、ほとんどあんまり会う機会が無いから、うれしかったね。the guy whose house we kinda took over was someone i didn't know so that was a bit awkward at first but he was really nice so had some fun.

で、日曜日は二世ウィークパレード。知ってる人が結構出ててビックリ。仕事関係の人が何人か出るって聞いていたけど、それ以上に出てたね。（笑）man, it was kinda hot at first but once the sun went down, it got cold real fast. i think they had a lot more variety in the parade than when i went 2 years ago, but the nebuta was really sad. ホントしょぼかった。ハネトさんの数も激減。「ねぶた」自体も全然小さいし盛り上がらなかったね。o well, 残念。

ま、来年はもっといいのが見れるといいな。

Currently listening to: Period - Chemistry

Chinatown Drivers....

no offense to anyone, but they really suck! seriously. i usually go through chinatown on my way to work, but i'm seriously thinking about reconsidering it. 今日でホントに懲りた。遅刻までしちゃったし。ま、たかだか2分だけどね。

so, first there was student driver. :O マヂで。な～んも無いところで急にブレーキ踏み始めて、ほとんど止まる始末に。i'm just like WTF!? it was seriously a straight stretch of road and there was nothing in front of the guy. WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU SLOW DOWN???? こっちは遅刻しそうだから急いでるのに．．．イライラする。

and then driving along that stretch in chinatown, there were so many slow cars... unbelievable. and the guy in front of me decides to make a right so i change lanes to avoid having to stop. then what does the bastard in front of me in the new lane do?? HE FREAKING BRAKES TOO! WHY???? 意味わかんない。隣が曲がるのにブレーキ踏んでても、こっちには関係ないじゃん。さっさと行けや！！ぶつからへんちゅうねん！阿呆か！grrrrr....

and then, once i'm in downtown, there's freaking road construction and one lane out of two is closed... sooooo much backed up traffic. でも、避けて通れないし。最悪。そんなこんなでちょっぴり遅刻。i'm sure it's not a big deal, but man, soooo annoying...

Currently listening to: 風のしらべ - ベッキー♯♪

Date??

今日は彼のお店訪問に行ってまいりました。it's really far... seriously.... and i have to take the 5 freeway, which really sucks. there are so many drivers and trucks and they suck too.... もう大変。and the roads are really bumpy too. i thought the 10 was bad but the 5 is pretty darn bad too.

で、やっと着いたかと思うと、超治安悪そうなところでした。ま、関係ないからいいけどさ。it's monday so apparently, the store was too busy in the am. so, we were sitting around and i started watching the social network. it's actually really interesting. too bad i couldn't finish it or pay too much attention to it. 何のスイッチが入ったのかは知らないけど、欲情しちゃった彼に流されて私もアッサリ誘惑に負けちゃいました。そんなこんなであまり一緒に過ごせなかったけど、久し振りの二人水入らずって感じでしたね。ま、楽しかったです♪

Currently listening to: Pieces- L'Arc~en~Ciel

負けず嫌い？

私って相当負けず嫌い。i've known that for a while. i mean, i'd like to think i understand myself somewhat. and i really hate losing.

ま、そんな事を言い出した発端は自分の運転。抜かれそうになると、ムカッときますね。（笑）it's really stupid, i know. it's also a waste of gas. haha. もったいないよね。ガス今高いし。but it really feels good when i'm able to block in an いかにも ricer car. lol. they think they're all cool and shit because they have money to spend on their car. it's just freaking loud and stupid looking most of the time. で、そういうヤツが前に行けないようにするのは面白いね。ま、でも、もうちょっとガスのことを考えておとなしく運転した方がいいかもね。じゃないとそのうち事故るかも!?

Currently listening to: "Good Morning Mr. Hide" - L'Arc~en~Ciel

A**HOLE DRIVERS! >:(

almost got into a car accident today... it was seriously really scary. my brakes locked up and everything. ホントに絶対当たるって思っちゃったもん。

i was driving in chinatown when the car in the opposing lane trying to make a left turn starts making the turn. まだ交差点までは余裕があったから、その人が曲がり終えたらそのまままっすぐ行けると思ったの。でも、急に交差点の真ん中で停まったの。i totally freaked and slammed my brakes. even with that, i still had to swerve a little to avoid hitting the car. apparently, the idiot driver decided to turn without checking for pedestrians. で、実際曲がり始めてから歩行者に気付いたみたいね。ばっかじゃねぇの!?最初にちゃんと見ろよ!すっごい迷惑。it's freaking chinatown. how could there not be any pedestrians!? 朝からホントにサイアク。すっごいビビッちゃった。

at least i was able to avoid the accident, right? i mean, even if i did hit him, it wouldn't be my fault, right??

Currently listening to: SPIRAL - L'Arc~en~Ciel

TWENITY BOX SET

やっと手に入りましたぁ～！うれしいです。but it was so expensive. $120+. haha. i'm so poor now....

オルゴールはflowerでした。i kinda wanted あなた so i'm kinda sad. i love that song. but flower is a really good song too, so i guess its fine. can't wait to start listening to the cds.

で、CD買いに行った際に駐車場で事故っちゃいました。一人でだけど。i hit the pole next to me with my passenger side mirror and it kinda snapped off.... so now i have no side mirror on that side. which really bites. it's really scaring driving without my side mirror. but it's my fault so i can't really complain.
人生ついてないですね。

Currently listening to: いばらの涙 - L'Arc~en~Ciel

Parking

trying to find parking in the parking structure at work is ridiculous. i mean, people around here park really horribly... 同じビルに勤めている人ばかりではない。there's a 24-hour fitness and people who use it park there as well. in addition, there are people that take the shuttle from here to get to the airport. だから、結構長期滞在している車もいる。so there are seriously all types of different drivers.

anyways, what's horrible is, there's a lot of difficulty finding parking spots becuase people can't park properly. there are so many cars that are parked so crooked that it's impossible to park next to it. 後はあからさまに線を跨いで2つのスペースを確保してるヤツとか。もうホント大変。空いてるけど、停めようが無い。勘弁して欲しいですな。

Currently listening to: Grenade - Bruno Mars

TRAFFIICCCCC

man, driving to and from work is a pain. seriously. 朝はそれほどでもないけど、帰りが大変。いくら少し遅めだとは言え、あまり渋滞は解消されてないから、やっぱり結構混む。and driving in traffic is a pain. esp. because i tend to be a bit undecisive about which lane to stick to. lol. 大きい車だからなるべく一つのレーンに納まりたいんだけど、、、

今日はちょっと早く退社させてもらった。って言っても、6時前ぐらい。and of course, traffic was horrible.... 帰るまで1時間15分くらい掛かったかな？it was really bad. the 105 was packed all the way through. and the sad part is, it's not like there's been an accident or anything. it's just traffic. そういうのが一番イヤだね。

これからは運転が大変そうです。

Currently listening to: エメラルド - ベッキー♯♪

初出勤

so, i started working today. it's for a friend of my parents so it's not something that's really nerve-racking or anything. ま、でも、日本人だから少しやりにくいかも？ルールとか色々細かいしうるさいし。he says there's nothing to be uptight about but that's obviously not true. 一応仕事だし？

well, i didn't really do much today. just some basic work on excel and some e-mail writings. nothing fancy. i guess this is still the "training" mode so he can't ask me to do anything difficult and if i finish and he's busy, there's nothing for me to do. 何か、前の図書館みたいにネットばっかりしてない自分に少し驚き。確かに最近家でもあまりネットしてないしね。代わりにずっと携帯小説読んでたね。ハマってます。but yea, there's a lot of free time to just do nothing. plus, i get an hour for lunch so that's also a lot of time.

commute is going to be hell tho. takes a little less than an hour to get to work. -__- 長いよね。運転疲れるなぁ。ugh. but i have no other choice. oh, and the stupid guy decreased my work hours and wages.... で、母にそれ言ったら、ブツブツ文句言われた。知らんし！自分がお勧めしたんだからいいじゃん。文句言うなら、直接雇い主に言ってくれ。バァーカ。はぁ。今日は色々と疲れた。

Currently listening to: Truth - 嵐

Desert Springs

went all the way to desert springs today for a one-night stay with the family. 超疲れた。片道2時間運転して、向こうについてしたことといえば、ショッピングのみ。バカらしい。it was raining on the way to. not all the way through. there were some parts were there was no rain, and other parts drizzle, and other parts with heavy rain. that made driving a lot more difficult. しかも、ほとんど始めて行くような道だから、大変。and of course, there are lots of a-hole drivers out there that you have to watch out for. 帰りは帰りで時間が丁度夕焼け時で、太陽に向かって走るから、眩しいの何の。driving was a real pain...
and seriously, all we did there was shopping. -__- キライなんだよねぇ、買い物。疲れるだけ。メッチャ歩くし。but my mom loves shopping so that's pretty much all we did. the scenery was really nice tho. 最初の日は雨だったから、あんまり何も見えなかったけど、帰りの今日は超晴天だったため、山とかめちゃめちゃきれいでしたね。

since it was such a long drive, decided to take some cds along. 今、あんまり無くて、とりあえず、ほとんどひたすらバンプ聞いてたね。昔はすっごい好きだったね。今でも結構好きだけど。i think bump of chicken has some really good music. i think i was listening to their album jupiter. really good. well, i guess there was some plus to the trip. rediscovered awesome music.
Currently listening to: ハルジオン - BUMP OF CHICKEN

おデート

今日は彼と久しぶりのデート。ever since i finished school and moved back home, the bf and i have not been able to spend any quality time together. this is especially the case since the mom's work is kinda 暇。でも、こっちにしてみたら、ものすごい迷惑ですね。

before i was able to go out with the bf, i had to go to chinatown to deliver something to my mom. 超迷惑。最初っから持って行っていれば、雨の中運転しなくても済むのに．．．but yea, had to drive all the way to chinatown in the rain. it wasn't so bad tho. didn't take the freeway since i expected it to be kinda scary. but the streets weren't so busy so it didn't take long to get there. 行きも帰りも道がすいてたから、楽に行って帰れた。事故の心配もあんまり無いし。雨でも全然らくしょー。

after i got home, i quickly changed and went off for my date with the bf. at first, we were thinking about going to the movies. でも、ちょっと事情が変わって、結局行かず仕舞い。instead, we went to round 1 with his friends. we did a bit of games but since his friends were broke, we just ended up sitting and talking. ま、そこそこ楽しかったかな？coulda been better. but i'm not complaining. 久しぶりに母無しでリラックスできたしね。ま、門限があったけど．．．

Currently listening to: Wannabe - Spice Girls

Moving Sale

today we had a 'moving sale'. lol. yard sale last week, moving sale this week. 朝はめっちゃ早起きしたから、大変。疲れたぁ。眠いし。and, we didn't even sell too much... -__-

we didn't have much to sell but the bf did. he was selling a bunch of new shirts as well as some toys and electronics. 後、ミニ鎧みたいなのとか、アコーディオンとか。ホント色々。our profit was about $60. i think the bf made a bit over $100. so it was okay. not the best of sales. ま、確かに目玉商品があまり無かったしね。

we got elite restaurant to go for lunch. おいしかった。man, driving through s.g. chinatown to get there was hell tho. sooooo much traffic. and for apparently no reason too. -_- バカみたい。ホント、運転下手な人多すぎ。ま、人のことあんまり言えないと思うけど．．．

Currently listening to: 君って - 西野カナ

Driving and 合点寿司

man, today i did a ton of driving. and it was with my mom right next to me, which i hate.... めっさ疲れた。i went from my house to torrance, which is about 30 miles away. and then from there, i went to anaheim, then to cerritos, then to pico rivera, and finally home. ホントに大変だった。散々お母さんに文句言われた。仕舞いにはちょっと泣けてきた自分が情けない。運転中に泣かせるのもいかがなものかと思いますが、、、

but i got sushi for dinner so it's all good. went to Gatten Sushi in Cerritos. 最近オープンしたらしいです。回転すし。最近増えてますね。it's all $2 a plate. so yea, same price as Kula in Irvine. でも、味はこっちの方が上。ネタも新鮮だし、種類が豊富。色々な変わり寿司があった。man, it was 4 women, and we finished 29 plates. haha. by the time i was done, i was stuffed. i definitely want to go back :D

Currently listening to: GLORIA - YUI

Traffic Stop?

driving in la today, i had a first time experience. i was on the 110, heading south and right about to pass downtown. all of a sudden, i see a cop car with its lights flashing. ま、普通に誰か捕まった～としか思ってなかったんだけど、急に私の前に入ってきた。一番右のレーンから私のいる一番左のレーンに。何がしたいのかまったく検討が付かなかった。its kinda scary driving behind a cop car with flashing lights so i slowed down. the cop car eventually got decently ahead of me so i thought maybe he was in a hurry? (abuse of power) but i caught sight of him again. ちょっと前で急に右へ、左へとクネクネし始めた。

my first thought was "oh shit". i mean, i've seen/heard about this before. traffic stop. もし本当に止まらされたら面倒だもん。時間も多少は掛かるだろうし。i was almost about to hit the carpool lane so all i was hoping for was to be able to get in so the traffic stop wouldn't affect me. ま、一応何とか乗れて、横を見ると、パトカーも止めてどっか行っちゃった。結局アレはなんだったんだろう？？

Currently listening to: Breathe - Issa x Soulja