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*Thanks to Jenna for putting the pic up for me and basically single-handedly making this layout for me!!!!! Sankyuuuuuu---^.^v
Archives
Comments, please ^_^v
Name:
Jamie
Age:
22
Interests:
Japan, Japan, Japan. And reading :P My world revolves around things Japanese
I am also a complete and utter addict of the tv show The West Wing, and a Josh/Donna shipper 100% ^_^v
Ever been to Japan?:
Yup, twice. First time, 6 weeks, summer of 1998, Nagareyama-shi, Chiba-ken. Second time, Fall 2001, 4 months, Nagoya, Aichi-ken ^.^v
Manga:
Okay, here goes, in no particular order:
Mars, Kanata-kara, Hikaru no Go, Inuyasha, Sekai de ichibandaikirai, Hanazakari no kimitachi e, New York New York, Massugu ni ikou, Itazura na Kiss, Gertrude no Recipe, Bleach, Koucha Ouji, Nanji nayamu koto nakare, Hot Gimmick,
and a TON more!
Fav. j-pop groups, in no particular order:
V6!, Yuzu, Porno Graffiti, Spitz, Kiroro, Misia, Something ELse, Fukuyama Masaharu, Chemistry, Gospellers, Kuwata Keisuke, Skoop on Somebody, Arashi, Kinki Kids, SMAP, Matsu Takako, Exile, Panicrew, Tokio
and again, a ton more
Fav. Japanese dramas:
Long Vacation, Virgin Road, Meguri Ai, Love Story, Namida o fuite, Aishiteiru to itte kure, Nemureru Mori, Koi wa aserazu, Bokura no Yuuki, Beautiful Life, Summer Snow, Long Love Letter, Asunaro Hakusho, Perfect Love, Team, PS Genki desu Shunpei, Hitotsu Yane no Shita 1 & 2, Oishii Kankei, Itazura na Kiss, Mukodono etc.
Contact:
e-mail: jun_inohara@hotmail.com
AIM: JunInohara (might still sometimes use old name, HikaShin)
ICQ: 146249241
MSN: sueyoshi03@hotmail.com
Layout: v. 8.0! Done by Jenna, as it says at the top ^.^ Those two lovely people are Hachi (Sakaguchi Kenji) and Mizuho (Matsu Takako), the two main characters of the Fuji Winter 2003 drama Itsumo futari de, which I'm really enjoying ^o^!
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Monday, May 12, 2003 :: Comments []
And I was Having Such A Nice Day
Listening to: Sakura/Moriyama Naotarou
@#$%@#*&()&*() I just lost my entry...so let's see if I can regain the essense....you may skip the rant and go down to the less bitchy part of the entry if you wish *lol*:
So my good "friends" over at Bolt are at it again. A third person asks me why I left, and I told them I don't want to talk about it, because the two times before that I had tried explaining to people why I don't post anymore, they simply took the info back to Main Guy I Dislike, and in the end I was accused of talking behind his back (which, hell yeah, I was, but what else can you do if someone asks why you left a place? Tell them it was a whim?), among other things. I didn't even mention Main Guy I Dislike's name because I felt it was inappropriate...and that's how I get accused of talking behind their back. It's like..uhm...HELLO, what do you expect?! Apparently mentioning his name means I'm not or some such? Nevermind the fact it's useless to accuse me of that, when they're obviously having conversations about me as well!
Anyway, Most Recent Person, sends me a message the other day just saying they just had wanted to know, and I thought that was the end of it. But then I get a new message today only reitterating what Main Guy I Dislike and his Cronies were upset about. ARGHHHHHHHh!!! Why me? I never message anyone about it. Why? Because I left to put it behind me, but somehow the creeps keep crawling out from under their rocks to dredge the whole damned thing up again. I don't mention a person's name, I'm a terrible person. I mention their name, I'm a terrible person. I defend my friends, I'm a terrible person. I tell someone I don't want to talk about it, I'm a terrible person! Argh! In their defense, they were just saying what Main Guy I Dislike and his Cronies were upset about, not actually specifically accusing me off stuff, but at this point, I am fucking sick of the whole goddamned thing. It's not as if anyone believed my point of view anyway. I'd actually leave the place if there weren't some nice people still there, and the fact I refuse to give anyone the satisfaction.
What's more, is that these people are so hung up about message board things. Dear lord, GET A LIFE. Stop bothering me about it. I hope they all find my blog address in my info, because if they thought poorly of me before, at least this gives them actual grounds for it now. ARGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH >______________<
Melissa! Regarding, Koucha Ouji. They're not under a curse or anything. They're what the title says, Tea Princes ^O^ According to the manga, there's a legend in England that if you drink darjeeling tea at midnight and can catch the full moon in reflection...I guess you get a Tea Prince. So it's actually Assam and Earl Grey's job. I'm still unclear as to what stipulations get you out of the job, but at one point in it Assam talks about quitting, and I'm not sure how he'd go about it :P
Anyway, Earl Grey ends up as Taiko's (the heroine) Tea Prince. I love Earl Grey. He's so polite and kind and nice and .....everything a boku guy should be *lol* Assam ends up as Haruka's (Taiko's osananajimi, "childhood friend) Tea Prince, and wackiness ensues *lol* No, the story unfolds and is rather complicated, because before long a number of other Tea Princess and Princesses turn up and just...well, stuff in general happens *lol* I love this series though. I adore Taiko and Assam's relationship (*sob* or lack their of one, but you know what I mean >D), and it's going to be interesting to see how it turns out, because I think lately things have been really concentrating on what it means for a Tea Prince and a human to fall in love.
Today Hye-jin gave Meg and I the 4th volume of a Korean manga (or manhwa, for those of you that feel I need to make a distinction) called "The Kingdom of Winds" ^^;; (Don't ask me to tell you the name in Korean, I forget). I really wish I could read it, because just pouring through it, it looks exactly like the kind of series I'd enjoy. It reminds me a great deal of Kanata-kara, actually....except without the world-hopping Noriko does *lol*
Anyway, I should probably get going ^^ I want to do some drawing and I'll have to get to bed before long.
Saturday, May 10th, 2003 :: Comments []
Kimi wa petto
Listening to: Life is.../Hirai Ken
Dear lord...there must be something wrong with me, because I actually really enjoyed the first two episodes of Kimi wa Petto (or "KimiPe" as the drama page calls it in shorthand), one of TBS's spring dramas. O_________O It's based off a manga of the same name by Ogawa Yayoi, although I'm having trouble figuring out if it's ended by name (the best I can find out is that by last April there were 4 volumes).
Anyway, the plot is rather....well....silly, as I'm sure you can gather by the title alone. Our heroine, Iwaya Sumire, is a very....not uptight, but she's not exactly a really warm person either. Anyway, she arrives home one day to find a box sitting outside her apartment building. Curious, she opens it, shocked to find this guy curled up inside. In the drama, he's also injured in several places (I don't know how these events differ from the manga). Well, rather than call an amublance (I'm suspending my disbelief on this >D), she drags the box into her apartment and basically treats his wounds right there (I guess they're less serious than they appear? :P)
Well, in the end, the two make a rather strange agreement. He (who's real name is Takeshi) gets to live in her apartment (as apparently he has no money) but only on the condition he act as her pet. Yes, you read that correctly, her pet. It was a flippant remark she made about it. That is, she thought he wouldn't accept, but he does, and so, because this is how manga and dorama rules work, the agreement sticks. When she asks his name he says, well owners name their pets, so why doesn't she name him? (I know, this is sounding more and more utterly ridiculous) So she names him "Momo", after a dog she loved when she was a little girl.
It sounds really stupid, but I honestly don't think they over play the "pet" thing TOO much. I mean, it's not as if "Momo" goes around on all fours and doesn't talk and acts like a complete moron (actually, as a side note, he's also a dancer). On the contrary, he's a real support to Sumire, and there's obviously a great deal that we've left to find out about him (like why he turned up injured in a box outside her apartment building, and why the guy in black keeps turning up :P). One thing I thought was funny is that MatsuJun (Matsumoto Jun plays "Momo") has this really...messy hairstyle, which I thought was just because that's how his hair is currently anyway, but then I saw a pic of the manga character, and it's pretty damned messy anyway >D
Still, I can hardly believe I really liked it. There must be something wrong with me >D There's a tiny corner of my mind that's also going "Yeah, Momo x Sumire!" I mean, he IS 20, old enough, IMHO (although she's clearly a few years older, and MatsuJun's not really 20 until August), and darnit, I'm not liking Hasumi-senpai all that well..
Well, a girl can dream *lol*
Friday, May 9th, 2003 :: Comments []
Geez We're Flaky
Listening to: Always/Mitsunaga Ryouta
My humblest apologies, Tacchan. I swear to god, there are times mom is right and Meg and I are the flakiest two people on earth. I'm really sorry we forgot your list when we were at Mitsuwa U___U I honestly don't know how it could have slipped our minds.
If it's any consolation though, I made an impulse purchase on a manga I ended up not liking at all, and it was one of those larger sized, slightly more expensive ones. And Meg accidentally bought an issue of something we already had!
Anyway, list of things bought today (excluding the disliked manga and the accidentally bought one):
Koucha Ouji 18
I'll 12
Lovely Complex 3
Sonnanjaneeyo 1
W Juliet 13
Hana to Yume issues 8, 9, 10
Always/Mitsunaga Ryouta (single used as the theme to the 2003 Spring drama Itsumo futari de)
I gotta tell you. Of course I'm dying to find out what's happening in HanaKimi....but more and more I'm really loving Koucha Ouji. It's a damn shame it's not more popular...but then, on the other side, it's kind of nice it's not more popular ^^;; I've decided what needs to happen in it though...*nod* something needs to happen to force Haruka into his final wish. ^^;;
Also, if you're looking for a manga to read, I highly recommend Lovely Complex (aka "RabuCon"). Especially if you want to read something where all the characters speak Kansai-ben ^^;; But it's a nice story...even if it's a rather typical shoujo-manga plot...that is, two characters are introduced who are really likable and let's see how they end up together. The funny catch with Koizumi and Ootani is that she's really tall and he's really short :P I know, it sounds dreadfully typical, but it's really funny and very likable and a fun read.
Anyway, tonight we went to see Bend It Like Bekham (sorry Tacchan, we tried to call you several times to ask if you wanted to go, but got no answer), and I absolutely LOVED it!! ^O^ But I paid the price...I'm now dying to being playing soccer again. Lately I've really felt like I'm missing it...I miss the running and strategy and scoring and comraderie a great deal, and seeing this movie only multiplied that :P It's been something like 3 1/2 years now, since I played with any regularity, though, and I shudder to think what running around for even 5 minutes would do to my poor lungs *lol* let alone a full game. Still, I wish I knew when the adult summer league games were being played, even if I"m not signed up on a team...many games if you want to play they'll just let you join in, particularly when they're short players ^^;;
Oooooohhhhhhhhh yes West Wing. Great episode Wednesday! Very suspenseful, although I feel like kicking the crap out of one Jean Paul U______U However, it'll be interesting if we get an answer to Amy's question asked to Donna ("Are you in love with Josh?"). Of course, I don't have to do any speculating on what will happen on next week's season finale. No, no, I have Meg's mailing list to do all the thinking for me, and then I get to hear Meg list off the new theories produced each day =)
Wednesday, May 7th, 2003 :: Comments []
O__________O the cuteness is almost too much!!!
Tuesday, May 6, 2003 :: Comments []
Natsuyasumi!
Listening to: dad watching the tv
Woo! Finished my final for my Illinois class, which means I AM DONE! Well, I have to send my final Buddhism paper in, but for all intents and purposes my final spring semester at college is complete! Just one semester to go and I shall be a university graduate O_O Damn, that's frightening *lol* Still, as it is right now I'm just relieved, and very much looking forward to our trip ^O^
Okay so this is uber short, but as it is, I've nothing much to write about at the moment!
Sunday, May 4th, 2003 :: Comments []
Nothin' Like Them Finals
Listening to:WGN
Well, did I fail my Chinese final spectacularly today! It was practically a thing of beauty. :P But of course I blame myself entirely. I didn't put an ounce of effort into studying for the final. I've just had so much to do the last few weeks, that I needed some time between finishing one paper and writing another, which gets started tomorrow ^^;;
I feel bad, though. My teacher is mother of a girl I went to school with from 6th grade through high school, although she was a year below me. Still, I went to small schools, so we all knew each other ^^;; So I feel like I let her (my teacher) down a bit, because she's such a great teacher and such a nice woman ;.; Oh well, nothing can be done to change it at this point ^^;;
So I realized Friday what tomorrow is ^^ May 5th (Children's Day in Japan, scream all you Japan-o-philes :P)...which is true...but actually, tomorrow would be North's 7th birthday if he were still alive. It's funny...as much as I adore Gryffin, it's strange how some days I'll still get this overwhelming feeling of how much I miss North;.; August 12th is going to be a very sad day for me this year. I'll look at the pics we have of him in our room, and I just want to bury my face and hands in his fur and hug the hell out of him....and I still look back to the night of August 11th, when we had a bunch of friends over, and think that I wish I had suspected something was wrong enough to spend more time with him that night ;.;
Mou------- does no good to dwell on it, though. Can't changed what's happened, but remember what was, ne? Happy Birthday My Beloved North ^o^ I miss you.
Friday, May 2, 2003 :: Comments []
Homecoming
Listening to: nada
Only two tests and one paper (finished up my History of Modern Japan paper on Kita Ikki and Agrarian National Socialism tonight! woo! go me!) stand between me and summer break ^o^.
It's kind of strange...summer break is going to be great, because I get to go "home" (and of course, meeting you is going to be a blast, Masanari :P), to Nagoya, where I've spent the best 4 months of my life. Every single part of me is thrilled to be going, even if it's such a short, 10 day span. There were times of frustration, fear (9/11 and thousands of miles from home o.o!), but never a moments regret at having gone. Never a second thought. I can say without a doubt it was the best time of my life, but I'm sad Meg and I can't be sharing it this time with Jason and Katherine, since they aside from my host family are what made my time there so great ^.^
But like I said, it's strange. Once summer break ends and school begins again...I really don't have real classes...I'm taking just two, to fill up the "senior level hour" requirement. They've nothing to do with my major, although one of them is a Japanese culture class. But I'll only be going to school about 5 1/2-6 hours a week. This semester I'm carrying 19 hours. It's so bizarre, being so close to the end of my formal education. I'm starting to worry that I'm going to be overwhelmed with fear and uncertainty once December hits, as I know some college grads do. Especially considering the job market "ain't what it used to be", a few year back.
Of course, I plan on applying to JET, or going to teach through Aeon or some such company, so it's not like I don't have plans for the immediate future...but still, it's a frightening thought, not to have the "safety net" of school to explain why you have such a crap ass job as a produce worker @ Jewel *lol*
BUT ANYWAY, as I said,I am MASSIVELY looking forward to going back to Nagoya ^o^ I'm looking forward to really showing Meg around my neighborhood, since she never got a real chance to when we were studying abroad...and she can experience for herself the Woe That Is Living In The Landing Path Of The Airport (yes, stand outside the house and read the numbers on the bottom of the incoming planes! woo!), visiting places we went to so often, and being able to see new places we never got the chance to go to (Nagashima Spa Land, Inuyama-jo, Atsuta Shrine, Nagoya-jo <--well *I* didn't go there, etc. etc.).
I'll close here ^_^ Chinese final on Sat. Worried like all hell about it, since there's no way I can study properly. But ah well, I'll do the best I can in the short time I have to study ^.^ ganbarima---su!
Monday, April 28th, 2003 :: Comments []
Yatto katta
WOOT ^o^ We bought the tickets today! Via NW from Chicago=Detroit=Nagoya ^____________^ Come June 26th Meg and I are on our way back for a ten day visit ^_____________^
Sunday, April 27th, 2003 :: Comments []
Holes
Listening to: WGN Radio
Meg and I just got back from seeing Holes, which is a movie based on a book by Louis Sachar by the same name, and he also wrote the screenplay.
I gotta tell ya, I LOVED it, and I'm a huge fan of the book ^o^ I haven't read it in some time, but that's how I planned it. I knew if I re-read it before seeing it, I'd just be sitting there whispering to Meg everything that was changed.
The thing about the movie though, is that I can see how it might be a tad alienating to people who either 1.) Have never read the book, or 2.) Aren't prepared for a somewhat bizarre movie. Because it's a rather strange movie, but I thouroughly enjoyed it ^O^ I loved Shia LeBouff (sp?) as Stanley, and Khleo Thomas as Zero. I always loved Zero in the book, and I think this kid plays him magnificently.
I love the friendship aspect of the story, and yes I smiled broadly when Stanley finds Zero in the middle of the desert and is so happy to see him alive that he hugs him. But not for the reasons some weird, bizarre, messed up fangirls would (and I'm talking about the kind of fans of ANYTHING that throw two characters together in a story based simply on the fact they happen to be the same sex), I just love a good show of friendship. It's as good as a love story, imho. Better, in many respects.
So I thouroughly enjoyed it. AND, Dule Hill (West Wing's Charlie ^O^) plays the character of Sam, the onion seller who falls in love with the town's school teacher Katherine (Kissin' Kate Barlow) ^^;;
So, we were able to rent the last tape of Itsumo futari de finally >D I have to admit, Meg and I were a little sneaky in that we've taped the previous 4 eps but haven't watched them, but still went ahead and watched the last two anyway, because we just wanted to know that it ended well (read: as we thought it should have).
.....and of course it did. Thank god...not that I should have doubted a drama entitled Itsumo futari de, but I've never gotten over the ending of Tokyo Love Story. It's tained my assurance of an Uber Happy Ending forever!!
But no, as the title assures us, Mizuho and Hachi are, indeed, Itsumo futari de. One nice aspect though, was that we got an "Aishiteru" out of Hachi, and frankly speaking, you just don't hear that very often in Japanese dorama. Out of the 70 or so series I've seen, in my memory, it's only the third time I've heard it (once in Aishiteiru to itte kura, and in Virgin Road). Of course, Hachi's isn't nearly as romantic as the other two, but he gets his point across >D
As an avid reader of shoujo manga, you see this formural a lot. That is, the "Osananajimi" storyline, but usually it's that you get to know the "new" girl first (like in Mars) and then the "osananjimi" girl turns up as a threat to the budding relationship. Which I guess this is exactly that story, since Hachi had liked Hiroko-san for quite some time when Mizuho turned up in Tokyo and inserted herself in his life...but it's told from the osananajimi point of view, not from the "new" girl's point of view.
I just mention this because I marvel at how a simple change in POV makes you root for one character over another. In another story, Hiroko could have been the main character, and we all would have seen Mizuho as the threat, instead of of the other way around ^^;;
It was also really funny when Hachi tries to kiss Mizuho and she pulls away laughing, telling him he's making such a serious face >D Then he tries again (this time SHE'S giving it her best effort) only to start laughing again >D It was hilarious, and a nice little touch of realism >D But of course, then he grabs her and kisses her and it's Good Drama Kiss time....What I mean by Good Drama Kiss is that it's like a manga kiss :P No groping, no grabbing...SWEET.
Okay, Monday begins Hell Week for me *lol* Forget finals week, THIS week is going to be one big ball of stress ^^ Wish me luck!!
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My Japanese Dorama List
My manga list
My j-poplist!
This gif of Jamie ddr-ing was made by Amy and it was edited from the ddring bunny. YAY AMY!
Friends:
+Kiripin
+Katherine
+Megan
+Talia
+Lauren
+Hilo
+Jenna
+Amy
+Chloe
+Melissa
+Giro
+Kris
+Annie
+Joy
+Kira
+Elizabeth
+Rachael
+Masanari
+Serge
+Cali
+Kevin
+Levi
+Jenni
+Sumudu
+Jenny
Links:
+Nagoya
+Nanzan
+Yoridori
+Anipike
+Pitas' Main Page
+Inspired inkings
+J-Ent
+Sengoku o togi zoushi
+Amemura
+Anime-Forums
+Media Miner
+WGN Radio
+Nakajo Hisaya
+Yamada Nanpei
+Uta-Net
+Engrish
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