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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:
21
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
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. 7.0! Done by Jenna, as it says at the top ^.^ On the left is Gertrude, on the right, Sahara, from the manga Getrude no Recipe, which I adore!
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Friday, November 29, 2002 :: Comments []
On The Road Again...
Listening to: Kiss You/Exile
I swear, I'm on the verge of nearly saying I'm sick of going to Mitsuwa! *lol* I've been going so often, and it's 2 1/2 hours away....but I'm not really serious, because who can get sick of buying new manga? Certainly not me o.o
Anyway, so I went with mom today. It was sort of spurr of the moment, so it was just mom and me. On the way there we stopped at an Eddie Bauer outlet and I bought a pair of badly needed gloves. They're just black, but on the inside it has places to put your fingers, almost as if you're wearing mittens inside a glove, which means my fingers'll be snug all winter....as long as the dog doesn't nibble on them, like he did with my old pair! =.=
Anyhoo, we arrived around 12:30 (after I wisely advised mom that taking the tollway was the best idea, given that this was the day after Thanksgiving, and if we drove through the suburbs the traffic would probably be a nightmare) and after discovering the ATM didn't work, went to the bookstore anyway, figuring mom could help me pay and then I'd pay her back ^^;;
I didn't leave too empty-handed, and I bought less than I would have normally because Meg and I really need to save money, but I did come away with:
singles:
Hoshikuzu no machi/Gospellers
Solitude/Kinki Kids
Kiss You/Exile (plus a poster >D)
manga:
Psychometrer Eiji 13,13
Kare First Love #2
Renai Catalgoue 15,16
Massugu ni ikou #23
Bleach 2-3
Hana to Yume #23
I reaaaaaaaallllllly am going to need Hana to Yume #24 though, because the final chapter of W Juliet will be published in it! I really don't want to miss it and have to wait for the tankoubon to be published! Of course, that wouldn't kill me, I just would like to read it sooner than that ^^;; It really is a fun series :P Not about "will they? won't they?" get together and really more about the progression of their relationship. Plus it's just dammed cute U_U
I'm really glad I could get the 2nd and 3rd volumes of Bleach. I really really like it. It's a great story with some great characters, and a style of drawing that's really cool. I think it's great that the author includes theme songs for the characters at the end of each volume ^^;; Maybe this is done more often in shounen manga than I'm aware of, but being primarily a reader of shoujo manga, I wouldn't know :P
>D I also just started reading the second volume of Kare First Love. We don't have the first volume, but I've read synopsises (sp?) for the first one, so I figured I'd be sufficiently covered. I gotta say, if you're not a fan of every single cliched shoujo manga plot device then DON'T READ THIS MANGA!!!! Luckily, I fall for them like that *snaps fingers* (which I am fully aware :P It's not as though I sit and read it and think "Damn, now that's an original idea!") and love it >D Kiriya and Karin are really likable and all the 2 dimensional mean girls are easily hate-able >D It's brain candy :P and it's perdy ^^;;
Is it bad of me to find large groups of fangirls irritating? o.o This isn't to say I'm not an idiot on my own time, with my own friends, but being in Mitsuwa around a large group of girls talking loudly over this manga and that manga, and what's out or popular etc, is rather grating. I suppose it's the same kind of feeling as when you're in Japan and some other, er, foreigners are making idiots of themselves and you want to make it crystal clear you've nothing to do with them. Maybe that sounds callous and shallow, and I know I shouldn't care....but I it's like going to the mall with mom and her thinking Meg and I are being loud and obnoxious and she wants nothing to do with us at that point *lol* Although I did feel kinda bad >D One of the girls asked her friend if she'd seen Kamikaze kaitou jeanne but her friend said No. This was right as I was scanning the part of the shelf that usually holds the Ribon and Margaret published tankoubon, and sitting right there was #4, and I didn't say anything ^^;; Grar, I'm a stupid snob sometimes I guess ^^;;
Thursday, November 28, 2002 :: Comments []
Turkey Day
Listening to: Solitude/Kinki Kids
Good lord was Thanksgiving Dinner great ^.^ But then, it always is. It was funny though, mom made a comment that this was one of the few years where everyone who was eating fit at the table :P (meaning we didn't need to set up extra places). Scott ate with Val's family, so it was just mom, dad, meg, grammy and me ^^;; I even helped do some stuff, although Meg made sure that mom knew we thought Jon should be helping, bit heaven forbid he should ever have to lift a finger around the house!
But enough of that, dinner was fantastic! turkey, mashed potates, craberry relish, this ramen/broccoli cole slaw salad, pumpkin pie *drool* ....it was all so good!
Anyhoo, not long after we finished eating, Jason came over. The three of us watched Chungking Express together. Hmm, yeah, I should say, I didn't much enjoy the movie at all ^^;; It was confusing, and I haven't a clue what the beginning of the movie has to do at all with the second half. About it's only saving grace was that Kaneshiro Takeshi is in the first half, and he's a Japanese actor I like a lot ^^ I suppose Faye Wong was cute....o.o but to me her character was kind of....not creepy...but she just didn't seem quite..."all there"...*shrug* But I thought she had a cute short hair cut, and wish mine would look so good that short....but alas...
Picked up the third tape of Remote (the Domoto Kouichi, Fukada Kyouko fall drama)....unfortunatly Akemiya hasn't gotten the 2nd tape, but I got the third anyway. I'm fairly certain it'll end up being available on Ebay, though, as I said before, since two well known young actors. Just finished it about 20 minutes ago and I swear, I want the next tape NOW. If the end of the second ep was bad enough, the preview for ep 7 is making me really frustrated! Because of course the preview includes Himuro making a dash for the door, opening it, and stopping U_____U arrrrrrggggggggggghhhhhhhhhh mitaiyo...*sigh* I'll just have to be patient, and we all know how I love having to be patient >D
Wednesday, November 27, 2002 :: Comments []
"I'd like you if I heard them"
Listening to: Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas/Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby
That nice little quote there is from tonight's ep of The West Wing, but before I get to that :P Meg, Talia, and I went to see Treasure Planet. I'm glad to say it didn't suck *lol* It didn't completely reel me in but it wasn't terrible either. It was gorgeous to be sure, and at the very end I thought Jim looked freakily like Kaine from New York New York, but it didn't effect me like Lilo & Stitch, or Disney's last fall release The Emperor's New Groove. Still, it's worth the watch, so go see it ^^;;
Oh right, my dear sister has the full list of this years performers on the Kouhaku Uta Gassen! No V6, but I can deal with that, since there are a bunch of groups/singers I really like who are performing ^_^ Is it mean to say I hope the guy's side wins just because I don't want Hamasaki Ayumi's group to win? Probably, but I don't care >D
Anyway, so tonight's episode of The West Wing (called Arctic Radar) was really fun ^.^ Aside from just being a great J/D episode (I'll leave my sister to ramble about it appropriately) it was just enjoyable to watch. It's so nice to have great eps and be able to love it again, where last year it was kind of hard to do so. I love Will, as Sam's replacement for the inauguration speech, and smiled broadly when Toby got the note from Sam that said "He's one of us" ^^;; Bah, who cares if this show is sometimes too idealistic...sometimes it's exactly idealism you want to see *lol*
Monday, November 25, 2002 :: Comments []
They'd be brothers
Listening to: Karappo/Yuzu
So I'm not sure why this thought never occured to me in the past of my thoughts of Ginny and Harry...but it only did just occur to me recently...that were Harry to end up with Ginny, as some people think, he and Ron would be brothers ;____________; and that totally makes it okay for me *lol* Not as thought they're not like brothers anyway...but you know what I mean.
Speaking of HP, we saw Daniel Radcliffe last night on The Caroline Rhea Show. Dear lord, he was adorable. Honestly though, he was genuinely...hmm...real? Polite, incredibly so! Caroline Rhea had this young girl come from the audience to meet him and he stood up, shook her hand and said "Pleased to meet you". Is it jaded of me to think most 13-year-old's might not do that? *lol* Well, whether or not they wouldn't or they wouldn't, it's impressive when they do. But it was just great to watch him being interviewed and seeing how down-to-earth he is and how much he likes hearing what people think ^^;; Seriously though, I love those books so much I think if I ever met that kid it'd be like me meeting V6. I'd be speechless *lol*
And speaking of V6 :P (I just find a way to connect everything today, don't I?), Meg's penpal told her that this is the final year J-Friends will release a single. That kinda disappoints me. I always thought it was a fun idea, plus the proceeds were for charity. Although I guess I sort of understand it. When it started, J-Friends was created as a way of raising money for the kids of the Kobe earthquake, and they've probably covered that pretty well now. But still, it was only once a year, and it was fun seeing Tokio, V6 and Kinki Kids do something together. Ah well though, shouganai, ne? ^^;;
I finally got my pictures back from the store. U.U I still had to pay for them even though I took them in on Wednesday and didn't get them back until today (grar). Anyway, it turns out there were no pictures of North after all. But I did get my roll of missing pictures from our New York trip, plus a roll with a bunch of pics from shortly after we got Blue. I feel bad though. I don't want to show people the pictures because when he came to us he was much thinner than he is now, and the pictures show it :P But I did get one hell of a goofy picture of Megan, which she would skin me alive for showing anyone >D *hides the negatives*
Sunday, November 24, 2002 :: Comments []
"Bastian Balthazar Bux's passion was books"
Listening to: Ashokan Farewell/Fiddle Fever (you can never get enough of this song ^^;;)
I submit to you, the few who read this, one of my all time favorite quote, taken from The Neverending Story. If another quote better describes how I feel when I'm immersed in a book, I haven't found, nor do I think I ever will, because it so perfectly captures how I feel about reading/books:
If you have never spent whole afternoons with burning ears and rumpled hair, forgetting the world around you over a book, forgetting cold and hunger-
If you have never read secretly under the bedclothes with a flashlight, because you father or mother or some other well-meaning person has switched off the lamp on the plausible ground that it was time to sleep because you had to get up so early-
If you have never wept bitter tears because a wonderful story has come to an end and you must take you leave of the characters with whom you have shared so many adventures, wnom you have loved and admired, for whom you have hoped and feared, and without who company life seems emtpy and meaningless-
If such things have not been a part of your own experience, you probably won't understand what Bastian did next. (He steals the books from the shop :P)
And there you have it. A perfect description, I think. I only bring it up because when my sister are in the middle of what we consider a particuarly good book we tend to....hmmm gush? ^^;; A lot. At which point our mom resorts to saying things like, "It's just a book", or "It's not real". As a result, Meg and I wonder if our mom has anything even remotely resembling an imagination. I figure she must, it's just not nearly so active as ours ^^;; But I wonder, do the rest of you feel this way, as described in The Neverending Story, when you read? ^^;;
Yes, so I've had it about up to here *holds hand above her head* with the store which I took my film to get developed at. I took the film in Wednesday night, which means I should have gotten it back by Friday, but it wasn't in. So I didn't go yesterday and went back this evening and it's still not there. My name isn't even listed on their sheet, which it should have been. But I know they had the film, because I gave it directly to one of the cashiers behind the counter that night. I wouldn't be so upset at the thought of not getting these pictures back except I've had this film for quite a while now, and there's a very good chance there's a couple of North pictures in there. ;.; I want the last pictures of my puppy, dammit!
I think I may have mentioned this sometime last year shortly after we saw the first Harry Potter movie in Japan, but for anyone who's interested, in the first book, Harry and Ron are both "boku"s :P And Hagrid has a really interesting way of speaking ^^ We have a copy of the first book in Japanese, but we never really have taken a close look at it. I imagine Draco's an "ore" though, because could you honestly imagine him as a "boku"? O.O It was funny because as I was sitting in the theater last night, watching Chamber of Secrets for a third time, and Ron says at one point "Wicked!" all I could think about was when he says it in the first one and in Japanese subtitles it flashes "Sugee" on the screen :P
Friday, November 22, 2002 :: Comments []
Pure
Listening to: ~~~TV~~~
Finished Pure myself (Meg finished it the day before yesterday ^^;;) this afternoon. Gotta say, it didn't matter much that I already knew what the ending would be, it was still massively sad ;.; Maybe better to say bittersweet, in the way dramas often can be ^^;; Reading Meg's blog, I think she's right ^^ Pure is one of those series you can watch and be reminded of what a good drama can be when you're in the midst of a slow drama season, as this one is (even if I do enjoy YanPapa and Remote, neither one of them are good :P ). It's a really interesting story, and a kind of heart breaking one ^^ Anyway, I really enjoyed it, even if I thought Ryou needed to get overhimself and move on with his life, and that Machiko was an idiot if she ever thought she'd be okay being "2nd" ^^;;
Thursday, November 21, 2002 :: Comments []
Take Two
Listening to:Track 04/HP Soundtrack
Haven't written much because....well, o.o I haven't had all that much to write, honestly :P It's been a pretty boring week, honestly ^^ Meg and I went to see Chamber of Secrets again. We were supposed to take Hyejin with us, but as usual lately she had to catch up with work. That's perfectly fine ^_^ Were I going to grad school in a foreign country, I'd probably be bogged down, too! Especially if, like her, I had to do all my work in a foreign language ^^;;
Anyway, the movie was as great the second time around >D The more I watch either movie, the more....the better the characters become for me for the books ^^;; It's funny because at a place I post at, there's been this discussion on "Harry Potter vs. LOTR" which is completely asinine to begin with of course, but I thought in one person's reply they made a good point. They said that for them, the characters of Harry Potter really come alive and you get to know them very well, whereas with Tolkien (and they're a Tolkien fan as well ^^;;) it seemed he was more in love with his world of Middle Earth than with his characters, and that you never got to know them all that well on a personal level, and that was why she preferred HP.
It really is a stupid discussion, because you can't compare them, but I understand what she means, mostly because I agree with her ^^;; For me, more than anything else, it's the characters the make or break a story, and so that person's words ring true for me. It's the characters of Tolkien's books that tend to alienate me, save for perhaps the Hobbits themselves ^^;;
Anyway, enough of that :P Meg and I have decided there are at least two people in our Chinese class that don't like us very much :P And two isn't very good, considering there are all of 12 students in the entire class. Today these two classmates of ours came in and sat down in the very seats that my sister and I always use. I suppose it wouldn't be so odd, except that just about everyone in the class sits in the exact same seats every time, and these classmates specifically said they wanted to "change the dynamic" of the class. This they could have done by sitting anywhere else, or taken "my" seat as well as someone elses. But instead they specifically chose the seats Meg and I sit in. I swear to god, are we in 3rd grade again? What kind of bullshit behaviour is that for college students. They are both freshman, but christ, Talia's one of my best friends and she's a high school senior and NEVER EVER behaves so crassly or childishly. Not now, not ever. Christ, these two classmates of mine deserve to get decked U_U
Hey, check this out O.O It's pretty cool, IMO ^^
Well that's about enough from me today ^_^
Sunday, November 17, 2002 :: Comments []
The Chamber of Secrets has Been Opened
^_______________________________^*runs around to expel exsess happy energy* It was fantastic ^^ My god, there's nothing like seeing characters you love and a story you adore come alive so perfectly on screen. I was grinning like an idiot by the end ^___________________________^ Honestly, how anyone who's read the books isn't enamored by the world JK Rowling has so vividly created is beyond me.
I'd like to say though, the end seriously screwed up my radar tho ^^ In my heart of hearts I'm a Harry/Hermione girl, but the more reasonable half of me has to admitt that it seems to go more Ron's way, and even the first movie made me really admitt it. But some stuff in this movie, fwew, seriously messed that up.
However, at the end, the fact she hugs Harry and not Ron really actually says to me "Oh, it's got to be Ron" because she nervous when she went to hug him, and not Harry, where it seemed more like "best friend" kind of thing ^^;; Either way tho, I'm happy, since I adore them both ^.^ I loved that they were so happy to see her....I love them, and their friendship ^____^
I really mean it, too, when I say it comes alive so perfectly. I mean, it has it's faults of course...and I can't quite explain just how wonderful I think these books are, and to see so many things just be as they should be, it's an indescribable feeling, as you can see.
And you know what else? This renewed my liking of the second book, which up to now has always been my least favorite (if there really can be such a thing, in regards to this series). ^^;; There were so many instances where Harry just looked very kakkoii....and I do not mean that in a shoujo-manga heroine about shoujo-manga hero sort of way. I mean it in the sort of like....well when you read the books you get this sort of sense that Harry really is this special person, and although he's still basically in a world he doesn't completely understand, he rises to the occasion every time, and you can't help but utterly admire him....and that's the kind of feeling he exudes at certain points in the movie ^_^ ^_^ ^_^
gyah, I swear, I'd make a horrid reviewer ^_^ Too many good things to say, not enough critical analysis :P
Sunday, November 17, 2002 :: Comments []
NEW LAYOUT
Listening to:Solitude/Kinki Kids
JENNA thank you sooooooooooooooooo much for the layout >D I would like to extend an especially grateful thank-you to her because I managed to screw up the first version of this layout and she very very graciously redid it ^o^ On the left is Gertrude, on the right is Sahara, the two main characters of Kusakawa Nari's Gertrude no Recipe, which is a manga I absolutely adore ^.^/. You'd never guess that the name Gertrude on a guy would actually work (ok, he's not exactly human ^^;;), and yet, it does ^.^/ So thank you thank you thank you Jenna ^__________^ It looks great!
Btw, >D I totally love Remote. But not in that Long Vacation type of way where you know it's something great, but in that Bokura no Yuuki kinda of way where you know it's stupid, but you utterly enjoy every second of it, anyway. And really, the fiancee has got to go ^^;; By ep two we discover that Kouzaburou (Himuro's first name) has been down in his little hide away for just about a year now, ever since the death of his "ichiban aisuru hito, which he blames himself for.
Okay, does that not scream "these two must be together"? =.= Nevermind the fact that the ending theme consists of Kurumi following the paper airplane that eventually leads to a warehouse looking place with a free-standing door, which it flies through and disappears. And when Kurumi opens the door, who do you think is behind it?
THAT'S right, not the fiancee, but Kouzaburou! I swear, if they mess up my hopes I'm going to be pissed >D I don't want Kurumi's entire existance in the series to be "Well, I'm going to heal his pain and then go off and marry this schmuck over here". I'm sure Shingo's all well and good (although, if this series were anything like Psychometrer Eiji, he'd turn out to be a criminal in one of the cases....oooooooh....*crosses fingers*), but.....no ^^;;
Friday, November 15, 2002 :: Comments []
Stemwinder, Young fathers, solving murders by keitai, and Shinigami, all in a day's work
Listening to: Kiss You ~interlude~/Exile
^^;; So the episodes of Scarecrow and Mrs. King that we've been wanting to see for a while (but that PAX had skipped over), pts. 1 and 2 of the season premiere of the 4th season, called Stemwinder. It's basically about Lee and Amanda being accused of being traitors and them having to prove they aren't. It's very cute and adorable, and I have decided Lee and Amanda are two of my very favorite tv characters ever. Seems stupid I know, not like S&MK is a masterpiece or anything, but they're so damned likable. Amanda doesn't take crap from Lee (like "stay here and wait while the real spy does the work". Does she? No!)) and she's assertive, and Lee just plain adores her ^^;; It's funny, because for some characters, the fact that they're together and you see them doing stuff you could only imagine before (hugging, kissing, etc. :P) sometimes gets boring quickly, but not so with them. kyah >D characters that just love being together is great to watch ^o^
So yeah, rented two tapes of Nagase Tomoya's drama YanPapa and Doumoto Kouichi/Fukada Kyouko's drama Remote. I just watched the first ep of YanPapa this afternoon and I have to say, dammit, it's stupid but I like it >D It's about this guy named Yuusaku who works for a mangaka named Kazami Yui. He's 25, she's 39, but he's in love with her, and finally tells her so. Against the wishes of just about everybody they turn in their marriage registry, but the very same day, Yui is killed (haha he even said the line she wrote at the end of her manga >D TEE HEE *giggles like a girl*) in an accident. This leaves Yuusaku in somewhat of a limbo.
Also, as if her being older weren't enough, she also had three children (17, 11, and...er...6?), who resent her for having hidden the fact they were her children at all (to protect them of course). But Yuusaku knows that just because Yui's dead, it doesn't mean his obligation ends, and he goes to tell them he wants to become their father. This is, of course, met with little glee, and he's kicked out, which is where the end of episode one leaves us.
It's by no means Long Vacation, nor even the silly but amusinglingly good Mukodono, but christ, Nagase Tomoya is adorable, and I want to see how Gotou Maki does >D I'm willing to sit through it because Yuusaku is likable, and because I'm a stupid sucker for family stories. That, and the ending theme (which is a christmas themed single by Tokio called ding dong, out 12/4) is really good ^^;;
Also watched ep. 1 of Remote which is sort of a police drama, but funny too ^^;; Kouichi plays a sort of recluse genius detective (if you call recluse meaning he holds himself up in a high technology headquarters, wears black but trendy clothes and looks pensive and gorgeous) who solves crimes but never goes out and actually does stuff. No, this is left to Fukada Kyouko's Kurumi, who gets her orders from him via cell phone. I'm not actually clear on how she got the job, only that she did. It's actually pretty funny. >D *Lol* My only big gripe about it, because I am who I am and I'm stupid, is that Kurumi is engaged, and I'm trying to figure out how they're going to get rid of the fiancee....Kouichi looks too good to be wasted on being alone U_U
Also, just another word that I've really been enjoying Bleach. My only regret is that I haven't picked it up sooner, so that I'd have more of the tankoubon ^^;; I love the relationship between Ichigo and Rukia >D Katherine, maybe you can tell me something. I've heard that in previous days kisama was actually polite (or humble or whatever). So I was wondering exactly how Rukia uses it ^^;; I just can't quite get a feel for it ^^;;
Woo! Chamber of Secrets on Sunday! Can't wait!
Thursday, November 14, 2002 :: Comments []
Gaijin 1, Onsen Owners 0
Listening to: Hoshikizu no Machi/Gospellers
Read this article here. It's about these three guys that were refused entry into an onsen because they weren't Japanese. Instead of letting it go or just keeping it to themselves, they took the onsen to court, and won. This may not seem like a big deal, but as much as I love Japan, I know full well there's also a problem of xenophobia (don't get me wrong, there're plenty of people with the same problem in the US U____U ). So, as small as this victory may seem at first glance, it's actually a big step for foreigners. There are still many places in Japan today that can and do refuse customers based on the fact that they're foreigners, and this sets a precident. Anyway, kudos to them!
Woo! *dances* HP opens! HP opens! ^_^ I'm very excited to see it. Both reviews I've heard (don't bother to read reviews mostly) for it has been great, and even tho Chamber of Secrets is my least favorite book, I'm excited to see it ^_^ And then Treasure Planet opens and then Lord of the Rings. tanoshimi ni shiteiru~~~~~~~
w00t! I did bad-ass on my independant study Japanese quiz this week! Go me! Go me! ^_^ hehe
Tuesday, November 12, 2002 :: Comments []
3 ka getsu
Listening to:It Takes Two/Chemistry (I think I am, anyway)
I have two downloaded copies of "It Takes Two" but they're different songs, so I'm figuring one's the coupled song....only I don't know which is which o.o
Here I go lamenting again :P It's three months now, since we had to put our "puppy" to sleep ;.; I think I know a little now how people feel when they wish they could just wave their arms and suddenly someone they've lost is right there again, magically. I kind of feel like that with North....I just wish I could turn around and see that mischievious face again, but it's not happening :P
So watched the first ep of Ao no jidai, although haven't had time to watch more (although I think Meg's upstairs watching ep. 2 at the moment), and hee hee, it's exactly what I remember. It's funny because there are a lot of "manga no serifu" lines in it, which are massively amusing >D I can't remember where I've put the manga or I'd haul it out and watch the series with it, to see if lines are similar anywhere (I already know certain events are), but me being the lazy bum that I am, I don't feel like rummaging through our manga to find it.
So yeah, I kind of wish I'd gotten volume 2 & 3 of Bleach now ^^;; Up to now I'd avoided reading Katherine's translations, because Mitsuwa always only had #2 or #3, but never one....this time they had 1-3 and I only got the first u.u Stupid me. Well, I think since I've "read" the first one (need to go back and be all thourough like with it) I might as well read the translations Katherine has ever so graciously provided on her page, until I can get the ones I don't have. That's most likely going to be a while because Meg and I are trying to save money for a trip to Japan ^^;;
I forgot to mention that when I was at Kira's, she made me try DDR, so I can't say anymore that I've never played it. I'd like to say though, that I had my fill. I do have rythym, despite what the game showed, but I dunno, dancing games just aren't my thing. Taiko drums games, fun. Balancing games (like the one in kyouto), fun. DDR, not fun for me *Lol* I'm perfectly happy to sit back and watch other people play ^_-
So yeah, I had this interesting experience while chatting the other day. This guy (not that I knew, I think he was new) was in the chat complaining about how certain people use Japanese, although I forget what he was commenting on specifically. Anyhow, I made a comment though that I wish more people who were studying Japanese would learn the more informal "I"'s sooner, especially guys, because when I hear a guy say "watashi" I know immediatly he's studying Japanese, for the most part it's blatantly obvious that they're not familiar with more informal language ^^ and I just feel like they'd sound better using it (you know, less like "I'm only familiar with textbook Nihongo" ^^;;). Anyway, so this guy starts railing on me about how no, that wouldn't be good, and how he never hears guys over such-and-such an use boku or how watashi is so much better and blah blah blah. I was like "What planet are you on?" (thinking this, never said it). This guy seems to think that simply because he lived in Japan a year that he somehow magically knows more than everyone else. Nevermind my friend Levi (who's lived in Japan several years now :P ) went back and re-read the exchange and basically agreed that they guy was being a punk. I swear, if I'm ever like this guy was to the people in our chat, someone hit me please. ^^;;
Sunday, November 10, 2002 :: Comments []
KARAOKE~~~ and various other things ~~~~~
Listening to: Mata aeru hi made/Yuzu
(My friend's okay now, at least for the time being ^^;;)
Anyhoo, I left around 11:00 a.m. yesterday to head to Mitsuwa. The trip was pretty uneventful. I've developed somewhat of a lead foot when it comes to driving on the interstate, and tend to go at least 75 in a 65 area ^^ so I got there shortly after 1....probably 1:15. And lord is was packed. I mean, I go there often enough I'm used to seeing it busy, but I've never been there when it's that busy. I know this had to do with the fact it's Mitsuwa's 11th Anneversary, apparently.
So while I waited for Kira to get there I got myself something to eat and miraculously found a place to sit. I saw that group of young girls and there mom who are, I swear, at Mitsuwa every single time we go. One of these girls walks around there with a head-band with cat ears on it, which is completely baffling to me. And it's not just once, it's every time I've seen them, the same head band. Good for her I guess, but it just seems bizarre to me. Anyhoo, I waited around for a while and finally decided that I should just go check out stuff in the bookstore, since I figured Kira'd be able to find me anyway (after all, where else am I likely to be ^^;;).
Well, they didn't arrive until about a quarter to 3, but it was no big deal since she had no idea her teacher was actually teaching the whole lesson :P I managed to amuse myself until then anyway ^^;; At Mitsuwa I ended up buying (between my money and Meg's):
Hikaru no Go 19
Bleach 1
Lovely Complex 1-2 (all the character's speak in Kansai-ben, how lovely ^.^)
Renai Catalague 13-15
Koucha Ouji 7, 14, 15
plus,
Mata aeru hi made/Yuzu
Ookina furu dokei/Hirai Ken
Pika*nchi/Arashi
From there Kira, Jasmine and I drove to the Too Cool (which is like a Sanrio store, except it has cute Korean stuff too) at a mall about 20 minutes away, and then to dinner @ the Noodle Factory. I wanted to have the "Japanese noodles", but it said it was spicy, which despite myself I have no tolerance for at all ^^ So I opted for "Wisconsin Mac & Cheese" which was, by the way, one of the best bowls of macaroni & cheese I've ever had ^^
Then we headed to karaoke, but I ran into the used bookshop just before and grabbed 4-6 of Psychometrer Eiji.
Karaoke was, in my opinion, a BLAST. Would have been even more fun if we'd had more people, but it was still a lot of fun ^.^ Katherine was right, their song selection is great (Japanese wise). I kinda feel bad though, since we all didn't know the same songs, and it's even more fun when people can sing together. I only sang two English songs >D tho...I sing in English most of the time, so it's not as much fun *lol*
That done Kira and I headed back to her house, where we watched the first episode of Long Love Letter and I realized once more how much easier it is to sit there and understand it than trying to explain. Trying to find the right words and details is hard for me, even if I can undertand them without a problem ^^ We actually went to bed pretty early, around 1:30, and slept in until around 11:00. Then it was another 40 minutes back to Mitsuwa, shopping I didn't do yesterday, then another 2 1/2 hours home.
Hee hee I also put pennies in the toll booth, because it's novel >D I dunno how many people know that, but Illinois is the only state where you can use pennies, because we're the Land of Lincoln (mark that under "Things Jamie Learned While Watching The West Wing) Bwahaha, we're special!
Anyway, I had a great time, but as a result I am wiped out. Just from driving and not getting enough sleep Friday night I feel exhaustead! Enough so that I'm canceling my lesson tonight =.= I feel bad though, cause I told her that because I went to Chicago yesterday I'm too tired out, but I forgot to mention I'd just gotten back this afternoon =.= I have to call her back to reschedule (since I didn't know my work schedule at the time) so I want to explain again, that I'm not just lazy and canceling out of the blue ^^
Saturday, November 9, 2002 :: Comments []
O_____________________O
Meg and I had a pretty unsettling experience last night. Or rather this morning I should say. We got a call at 3:45 from a friend of ours (to remain unnamed) who was at the airport, saying she just wasn't sure she could handle things and needed to get to Florida (she used to live there). But she didn't have all the money for the flight. Well, Meg and I knew we had to get out there, but neither of us had any intention of giving her enough money to leave (we were afraid something serious had happened, law wise, after she mentioned her boyfriend) and as much as we love her, weren't going to let her go if something serious had occured.
Well we got to the airport and she told us the whole story, which I won't relate because it's her business, but I'll say that as her friend I don't like this guy she's with, although I've never met him. Just trust me on this one. I can't really tell you what happened, just to say that she's still in town and I would rather a different decision ultimately had been made, but things seem to have quieted down.
I felt so bad though. Here's my friend whom I love like a sister, but I was terrified of the thought of bringing her home to our house because I was afraid if he wanted to hurt her, he'd want to try and hurt the people she was with, and I just didn't want him knowing where I live =.= Is that a poor, awful friend? Meg tried to give her money to stay in a hotel for a night or so, but I don't know if she'll do that, even at our behest. Grar, it was the surrealist experience, and my stomach is still shaking from it, even though things seems to have settled down and look much better. I'm still shaken from it. I hope my day @ Mitsuwa with Kira's enough to settle my swirling thoughts down!
Friday, November 8, 2002 :: Comments []
Feeling Connected Again
Listening to: Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)/Alan Jackson
Honestly I haven't listened to this song many times, just 5 counting right now ^^;; I'm sure those of who you were here that day have heard it a thousand times, and are probably sick of it. But not me. It gives me goosebumps and makes me sad and makes me proud all at the same time ^^;; It's funny too, because I'm not a religious person, but country music is one of the few things where it seems really sincere to me ^^;;
Anyway, as you may have guessed from my little topic thingy, our internet is working again *happy* It's amazing how being disconnected makes you feel literally disconnected from people *lol* I suppose that's because I chat a lot, and my only way to be able to talk to my friends is via this little box *pats computer* It was also irritating having to put up with a straight keyboard >_< It felt like being back at Nanzan except two things 2.) our space bars are a reasonable size and 2.) the keys aren't in wacky places. But ugh, I despise straight keyboards. Ever since my dad starting using an ergonomic one about 3 years ago it and subsequently bought one for this computer, it really bothers me to use a straight one. Hurts my fingers, wrists, everything. Things aren't spaced out enough!
So I read this interesting article in the business section of my city's newspaper yesterday: Japanese comics' complex stories whip superheroes, although if you read the article here the title is a little different. I was actually quite pleased with the article ^^ Hell, they even said "Japanese anime" in one place instead of "Anime", although in another place they did use it without "Japanese". Nothing's perfect, I suppose. And the article uses manga in a plural sense but doesn't say mangas *blissful* I don't know, it grates my nerves for Japanese words to be pluralized like English words. It just sounds incorrect, you know you? ^^;; But anyway, read the article, it's pretty interesting.
Wa-----------i ^.^ My drama just came! That would be Ao no jidai. The packaging's one of the nicest I've ever seen for a VCD O__O I'm really impressed. Of course, I haven't checked them all yet to make sure they work ^^;; I'm just really glad I'll finally be able to see the whole thing. It's the last drama I was watching in summer '98 for me to see the end of. I only saw half of it when I was there, and Akemiya never got it ^^
Wednesday, November 6, 2002 :: Comments []
Computer Problems Persist but lead to Drama Watching
Listening to: True Love/Fujii Fumiya
Ahhhhh there's nothing like an immaculately cleaned room to make you feel better ^.^ Hehe I really only set out to pick the room up, because my sister is a slob and our room, for the most part, pays for it. But because of the computer problems plaguing the household, meaning I couldn't go online even though I wanted to, it meant that I had plenty of time to sit around and clean. So I did...I decided to turn our little "table" (just a rectanglular shaped thing with a bottom "shelf" below it) upside down and use it to put more of our manga on it, since they tend to clutter up the other bookshelf. I also cleaned of the mirrored bureu and and put a bunch of manga there too. I'm not sure if it looks like we have more now or not, though *Lol* I also gave mom too jewelry boxes that were really grammy's, but somehow ended up in our room after she died. I did this because I knew they'd just end up getting scratched if they continued to stay in our room. ^^;; So it's all clean now and feels bigger and airier ^^;;
Now, the one good thing this computer problem brought out was that I was able to get Megan to start watching Asunaro Hakusho which is a drama based on a manga by Saimon Fumi of the same name (several Saimon Fumi manga have been made into dramas, including Tokyo Love Story and P.S. Genki desu ~Shunpei) and is considered one of the "classics" of Japanese drama ^^;; I watched the first and final episodes last year while at Nanzan (during our LL classes), and this is actually the third time that I've seen ep 1 (since we watched it as a review for watching the final one last year) so I am very antsy to finally watch the second episode *lol* Of course it's great so far, although you can really tell it's based off a manga (C'mon! You gotta love it when you realize Kakei-kun remembers her test number (0777) and her name! It's shoujo-manga at it's best >D) and if there's a better theme song for a drama to make it memorable (the afforementioned True Love), it's possibly only Hitotsu yane no shita's Saboten no Hana.
You know, I look around the computer lab here and I feel so unproductive. All these people are working on papers and such and all I'm doing is sitting here rambling and talking about cleaning my room and Japanese dramas >D I feel like a procrastinator, even though there's not anything I partcularly need to get done at the moment.
Masanari I told my sister the "My father is my mother" joke and she rolled her eyes at me!!!! *LOLOLOLOL* But at the same time I think she thought it was really funny. Of course, this joke only works for people that understand Japanese (and even then, in my sister's case I had to explain it to her!!! :P) and I usually don't like puns >D But I found that joke extremely amusing.
Anyway, so am looking forward to another new ep pf The West Wing tonight! We may not have been getting our servings of J/D scenes, but the rest of the episodes so far this season have just been so good, who cares?! ^o^ It seems really appropriate that since we had election stuff last night, that tonight's episode is also about the election, although I think it doesn't finish up until next week ^^;;
I almost forgot to mention that Meg and I were "noticed" yesterday because of all the crap on our backpacks. The guy was like "Totoro!" and then proceeded to tell me that Hello Kitty was evil (I have a tiny Totoro keychain as well as a Hello Kitty omamori <---given to me by my host mom, among a bunch of other stuff ^^), and complained about how high import prices were on the stuff he buys. Criminy, the guy exuded "otaku" and Meg and I wanted nothing more than to leave (no complaining. those of you that know me know how I feel about the word "otaku"). ^^;;
Tuesday, November 5, 2002 :: Comments []
Voting! And Jun Monogatari Celebrates One Year!
Listening to: Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue/Toby Keith
We're having comp problems at home, so I may not be on much in the next couple of days, FYI ^_^
So I did what any responsible, of age, registered person would do this evening: I voted! w00t! Some of you may find this strange, but voting is something I get excited about. Granted, I might not be the most informed of people, especially when it comes to voting on judges and so forth, but I'll be damned if I'm going to miss out on a chance for my voice to be heard politically. It really bugs me to run into people that think voting is a complete waste of time....these people also frighten me, because I think one of the worst things you can do is let other people make decisions for you, especially when it something that could effect you directly. True, maybe I don't want those people casting votes when they don't take the time to even think about the result, but people that just don't care? It really scares me.
This is of course different from the people that are informed but choose not to vote because they don't want a vote going for either candidate, but I just get really angry when people say your voice isn't heard so what's the point. I just don't think it's true at all. Grar, I can never formulate my thoughts properly at times like this. What it all comes to is, yay, I voted ^.^v
And yes, my blog is celebrating it's one year anniversary! Techinically it's tomorrow, but I don't know if I'll be on then, so you get this now ^.^ Honestly I'm shocked I actually have been doing this all this time ^^ I figured I'd start it and then keep forgetting about it, but I suppose I've discovered that it's a good way to vent frustration and just, well, at least be heard in a tiny, miniscule way in the void that is the internet.
Elizabeth ^^;; awwwww reading your blog made me sad >D If it's any consolation the whole idea my sister and I have is freakishly preliminary ^^;; Mostly a way to keep us from going crazy. We figure if we want to stay between 3-4 weeks (if we can pull that off ^^;;) it's gonna cost us around $ 5000 combined, accounting for plane tickets, transportation in and around the country, food and spending $$. So as you can see, it's kind of like "Well we're TRY, but we're not counting on anything".
But anyway, I know what you mean. Reading things like those you had isn't a good idea for me, either. Especially "Ann in Japan" ^^;; But on the good side, since I basically am considering JET (and I think my sister and I have agreed the best idea is to just wait it out) hers is a good page to read if you want the current perspective of a JET teacher in Japan ^^;; But I hate waiting, and I'm sure you do too. I KNOW it's not a competition of time to better learn and speak Japanese, but I've been studying so long that it feels like it, and I want to learn the language as fluently as I can at the youngest age I can, you know? ^^
Anyway, I leave you with a quote I read and enjoyed:
"It's not life that weighs you down, it's how you carry it"
Monday, November 4, 2002 :: Comments []
Never Try Speaking Japanese When You're Sleepy...
Listening to: Gamushara/Ulfuls
....as I discovered last night. Rather, I've discovered this in the past, of course, but last night at my tutor lesson was a classic example there of :P I swear I couldn't concentrate, at least on the speaking part. That of course, gets me in trouble because I'm horrible at speaking Japanese to begin with, let alone trying to do so when sleep deprived. Still, I had no trouble understanding anything, listening wise *lol* It's funny to think back when Meg and I were first starting to be tutored by her and struggling through each lesson...woo...that was back when even listening and understanding was difficult for us *lol* But now there's rarely something I don't understand, and it's usually just one or two words I've just not heard before. Now....answering back without fumbling...ah...that'll be the day (far far in the future *lol*)
Momentary drama lapse here....just gonna fill out the little thing I found here, so bear with me ^_^ :
1. Who's your favorite actor?
I have a lot ;.; Eguchi Yousuke, Kubozuka Yousuke, Kimura Takuya, Takenouchi Yutaka, Sorimachi Takashi, Toyokawa Etsushi, Yusuke Santamaria, Doumoto Tsuyoshi when he's not in a "mindless" drama like Aiken Rosinante and a host of others ^^
2. Who's your favorite actress?
Tokiwa Takako! Hands down ^^ I like others of course, but she's definetly my favorite.
3. Favorite drama?
ok my list is right over there, *points to side of blog* but I'll put them here again anyway:
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.
5. Favorite genre of dramas?
romantic comedy and family dramas, or buddy dramas work just as well ^o^ Get all three in one and I'm a really happy camper!
6. Favorite drama theme song?
Ohhhh O_O I dunno....so many great themes....probably Lalala Love Song from LV, or Love Love Love from Aishiteiru to ittekure, or Shake it up from Koi wa aserazu....I dunno...usually songs become endearing to me depending on the series I'm watching ^^;;
7. Which dramas have you watched?
hehe! Go here to look. It's too long to type out here ^^;; Almost 70 series thus far.
Thus concludes the drama portion *lol* Anyway, I've figured out why my interest in Japanese anime (but not manga ^^) has waned. It's just because I haven't seen much in so long I've forgotten what it's like to be in the middle of watching something you really like. It's happened with me and Japanese dramas (did I say concludes? :P)...when I haven't watched a good one in a long time my interest starts to wane because I feel like I can't find any decent ones *lol* Not really sure what I can do to help it :P Most of my $$ goes toward manga, dorama and j-pop ^^ *Shrug* Not much TO be done I suppose. It's not like I pine or anything, but there are some series out there I'd like to see, but have no motivation to really go after them because I can read the manga (ex: Naruto, Rave, Inyasha, Get Backers, and so forth). But anyway, I'd really like to see a great series again ^^ It's been a long time.
Kira! Where are you? *lol* My weekend is completely free! ^.^ So we need to make plans! It was this weekend you asked about, right?
Sunday, November 3, 2002 :: Comments []
Hatching a crazy plan
Listening to: 36 degress celcius/TOKIO
So a thought came to me this morning, and wouldn't work its way out of my head. Meg and I have pretty much decided to wait and try for JET after we graduate, instead of trying for Aeon or something such as that (this is primarily because we feel and have been advised JET is a better program, and slightly more socially accepted. Wouldn't matter to me either way, except that I need all the advantages I can get, otherwise I'd head straight for Aeon). As a result, we'll most likely have to wait until the summer of 2004 before we get back to Japan. So I was thinking this morning, why should we have to wait that long? If we just save like hell until next summer, it's entirely feasible we could go for a short trip then. That way we wouldn't go crazy until summer '04. But at this point it's more a case of waiting until spring break to see how we're doing money wise. We're supposed to visit friends in NYC who'll we'll be staying with, and mom's agreed to pay for the train tickets (I refuse to fly) as x-mas/b-day gifts. So we'll be saving money in the meantime and...well...who knows. At the very least, the faint possibility of this actually happening will keep us occupied, and hopefully focused on saving more money ^^;;
well...bother, I had other topics ^^;;...
Saturday, November 2, 2002 :: Comments []
And the holiday train begins to move
Listening to: Doitsumo Koitsumo/TOKIO
Saru rocks my loose socks! Ahhh, had this nice little exchange this evening on WinMX:
Guy *msgs me*: Why, may I ask, won't you give up the damned song?
Me:
Have some courtesy. Were it up to ME everyone would get every single song they tried to download from me. As it is.my computer is a bit of an ass. I think it has to do with my firewall. But since you're so damned rude you can kiss my ass and sit there waiting and try to get the song, because even if I COULD help you get it, I certainly as HELL wouldn't do it now!
Fwee~~~ it's so fun to yell at people that so richly deserve it!
Kira!! I left a message in your blog, but I'm free all next weekend, so we've GOT to go do karaoke ^o^ Meg works though, so it'd just be me ^^;; I can just picture my mother now, so excited for me to be driving up there by myself. Lord, you'd think I'd never went to a foreign country all by my little old self for 4 months, the way she freaks about us driving long distances. Still, I'll convince her somehow, because, after all it is her car. And if you're free, of course ^_^ ikitai~~~~~~~~~
;____; depressing thoughts for Jamie: KuboYou with a shaved head in his newest movie Sakura no Kyouki. ^^ hehe I watched the trailer for it, and was really surprised to see Eguchi Yousuke! My image of him is basically gleaned from both series of Hitotsu yane no shita, Namida o fuite, and Lunch no Joou, so trying to imagine him as a tough guy is kind of hard....and not really something I want to imagine. He's An-chan, for god's sake! >D
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My Japanese Dorama List
My manga list as well!
Let's not forget my j-pop list while we're at it!
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
Links:
+Nagoya
+Nanzan
+Ann in Japan
+Anipike
+Pitas' Main Page
+J-Ent
+Mognet
+Sengoku o togi zoushi
+Amemura
+AnimeNet
+WGN Radio
+Nakajo Hisaya
+Yamada Nanpei
+Engrish
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