v22 :: OK so I cheated on this one. This is the same layout that's on my mr.org personal page, but I've been itching to do an FF8 blog layout for some time, and I really like this one, so why not? Featuring Squall Leonhart and Rinoa Heartilly from the opening sequence Liberi Fatali [Fated Children] Lyrics from Invincible by Pat Benetar.

transmission :: hide
date :: kayoubi 08.07.01
listening to :: people talking on the phone in chinese

TA-DA!!!

My grandparents don't have internet after all, but apparently there are a couple places in Cheung Chau that do. This computer store/office being one of them. The public library also has internet access, so looks like I'll be able to keep you updated on my interesting vacation after all!

*ignores various groans from around the world*

Neesan, in response to your question, no I don't have Psychocommunity. What I DO have, however, is Hide Tribute Spirits, which has almost all the tracks on the Psychocommunity album minus 3 or 4, I think. Right now it's creeping up my favorite albums list...it's a beautiful album. "Masterpiece" doesn't even begin to describe it. For those of you who don't know, after Hide's death, a bunch of jrock groups/artists got together under the direction of Yoshiki and decided to produce a memorial album in Hide's memory. The album consists of Hide songs performed by such artists as Buck-Tick, Siam Shade, Luna Sea, and Yoshiki himself, who arranged the gorgeous piano version of "Goodbye" that I might have forced some of you to listen to. XD XD.

Track listing:

Introduction (Psychocommunity Entrance instrumental)
Rocket Dive : Tomoyasu Hotei
Beauty and Stupid : Kuroyume
Tell Me : kyo and Tetsu
Pink Spider : Siam Shade
LEMONed I Scream : shame
Pink Spider (remix) : Cornelius
Flame : Zeppet Store
Scanner : Luna Sea
Doubt '99 : Buck-Tick
Ever Free : Transtic Nerve
Genkai Haretsu : Oblivion Dust
Misery : Glay
Celebration : (featuring Hide) I.N.A./Pata/Heath
Good-bye : Yoshiki

Anyway, I can't recommend this album enough. It comes in an all silver case with a silver booklet, and on each page are the lyrics to the particular song, the band that sings it, band stats, and a special message from the band about the song or Hide. (except for Buck-Tick, whose message I think is [VIOLENCE ON THE HELL], whatever that means. ^^;;)

Err...anyway, enough about Hide. I went swimming this morning on the beach and then had dim sum and tea at about 10, and now I'm blogging. After this I think we're going back up and my grandpa has to take his half a day nap. ^^;; I'll probably see if I can't steal my aunt's computer and watch my Gundam 08 MS Team VCD.

Laurel, I'll see about loaning you that Macross 7. ^___^ Glad to hear that the worst of the storm missed you!

Umm...not much else to say. Will blog again soon! Ja ne.

cadet tarrant reported to the mess checker at 1032 hours

transmission :: up up and away!
date :: getsuyoubi 08.06.01
music :: Lareine, Ano Hito no Aishita Hito Nara

Have I ever said how much I love this song? This and Romancia are both really good slow songs, but right now I'm having a hard time debating which one I like the most.They're both different styles...Romancia is a piano ballad, while Ano Hito is more orchestral, sweeping and grand and all that. The piano player in Romancia can't keep a beat, either, but in Ano Hito, Kamijo's singing is...>< But I like them both the same. *_*

I meant to get up at about 8 this morning, but the Fates were against me and I ended up waking up at about 10. Stayed in bed until my nosy aunt came in to check her email about 5 times (the only thing she knows how to do on her computer, I think) and the construction crew working on the apartment across the street decided to start blowing things up. So then I got up. ^^;;

Then I went with my aunt to, of all places, a computer store. Apparently she also has come to the conclusion that her computer/modem/operating system/etc sucks and that it's time to upgrade or at least get a virus scan program that will get rid of the ten billion viruses that the computer mysteriously contracted. This computer store isn't like the one in the States...if any of you have ever been to Hong Kong or New York, even, you'll know that there are now huge mega-stores like we're used to in most parts of the US. Instead, there are little shops all up and down the streets that sell everything from toilets to cellphones. Haircuts, food, painting supplies, furniture, tutoring, cheap jewelry, shoes, perfume, you name it, I've seen a little shop in Hong Kong that sells it. The shops are cramped, narrow, and sell about just as much crap as your average shop in the US that's twice the size.

Anyway, this computer center that we went to wasn't just a big shop selling computer stuff. Downstairs there was a VCD/DVD store, and then taking the escalator upstairs, there were a bunch of little shops just like there are along the streets. Except of course, they all sold computer supplies. The entire area of shops was lumped together and called the computer center, but they were all still individual shops. Pretty cool.

Anyway, we looked, but again, this is Hong Kong, and they weren't selling much of anything legal there. XD XD I was looking for Windows 98 or 2000 for her computer, and a modem, but there wasn't anything that caught my eye. I did get some CD-Rs at a decent price...$14 US for 50 or so. Much cheaper than anything back home.

So after that of course I had to visit the VCD shop downstairs. I finally found Grave of the Fireflies and the Gundam 08 MS team movie Miller's Report, both dubbed into Cantonese. But the real find of the day was an entire set of Macross 7 VCDs, episodes 1-26, Chinese subtitled, in a nice silvery box. ^__________________^ Happy Gerald. It was about 200 HK dollars, which translates to roughly $29 US. I paid about $40 for video fansubs of those same episodes, so it was a real bargain. Of course, I already HAVE Macross 7 fansubbed in its entirety, but hey, you can never have enough Macross!!!! I've already requested the original Superdimensional Fortress Macross from my uncle in raw Japanese for a Christmas present. ^________^

Laurel, I hope you're safe during the hurricane, and best wishes for your manga. Of course, personal safety comes before manga...^^;; anyway, good luck!

Exar, did you get my Aucifer email? Will see if there is anything...is there anything in particular you're looking for? A particular CD? (I don't think there's much Aucifer music in HK) There are some magazines I know that featured them...

QS, no we can't procrastinate until 2002. Nice of you to ask, though. XD XD And hurry up with the Zechs side! You still haven't gotten back to me on that Darkflight thing. Was it that bad? ^^;;

Anyway, the real reason I'm blogging (besides all the crap that I already put at the top) was to say that this afternoon I'm leaving for Cheung Chau on the 5:00 PM ferry and will be spending the next 2 or 3 days in my grandparents' house in the village. I don't know if they have gotten internet access since I was there in May, but I doubt it. So unless you hear from me otherwise, I won't be blogging about my adventures in Hong Kong until about Thursday or Wednesday night. Very sad, I know.

I'll see what goodies I can pick up for everyone in Cheung Chau. Apparently, Cheung Chau is to Hong Kong what Hawaii is to Americans, and there is a pretty nice beach and shops to cater to tourists along the shoreline of the island. Of course, when you get out of the tourist area, the real village where my family lives isn't that spectacular...lots of stagnant water and mosquitoes and dog poop and all that. XD XD Can't have it all, I guess.

Ja mata!

cadet tarrant reported to the mess checker at 1523 hours

transmission :: back here again
date :: getsuyoubi 08.06.01
music :: B'z, Love Me, I Love You

So I made it back to Hong Kong safely. The flight was all right. There was a kid two seats over (I just can"t seem to escape the kids wherever I go >< ) who kept yelling and screaming while playing with his airport car set. I turned up my music really loud and pretended not to hear him, but it's difficult to ignore when someone is kicking the side of the plane so hard that your seat vibrates.

Anyway, wasn't that tired when I got back so I felt the urge to do some more shopping and see if there was anything in Hong Kong that they didn't have in Sendai. And believe it or not, there was. I got:

Utena movie artbook [Lyra]
Glay Missing You single [Jen]
Vicious August edition feat. Malice Mizer [Neesan]
X #7 [me ^_^]
Various goodies [minna]

I'm hoping to find some more Pocky this week so I can get everyone at least one package when I get back to America. Still on the lookout for Dahlia and some Gackt for you, Exar. The Gackt I'm pretty sure we can find. Dahlia...I haven't seen yet, either in Japan or in Hong Kong. There's plenty of X Japan, but it's usually either the Ballad Collection or the Live Live Live at Tokyo Dome double CD which is freaking expensive though I'd love to have it. ^^;;; If I can't find it, I will definitely burn a copy of it for you when I get home, cause I have it. Speaking of which, neesan, I can burn a copy of Ballad Collection for you too. ^^

I have to rave about this edition of Vicious magazine that I got today...the MM pictures in it are awesome. Klaha changed his look (neesan, you probably know), and now he has kind of blondish-white hair. Kozi and Yu~ki also look a bit different, though Mana is his usual crossdressing self. The pictures are very well done...you gotta see the magazine to see what I mean. I could go on for hours about what great shots they are. But the thing that MOST struck me while I was looking at the picture spreads of the whole band is that...Klaha belongs in a way that Gackt never did. Gackt always stood out among the other MM members...I'm not sure if it was something he always did differently or if it was just a Gackt thing, but he never looked quite like he belonged in MM. It was, as has been said before, always Gackt and Malice Mizer, not Malice Mizer as a band. Klaha completes the band. In those pictures, he just looks right. Anyway, my jrock mini-essay for the day.

So right now the list of presents is looking like this:

NEESAN: Merveilles, Vicious August edition
LAUREL: Wild Act #1 and #2, Chocolate Pocky, Men's Pocky
JEN: Glay Missing You single
LYRA: Utena movie artbook, Strawberry Pocky
QS and MEARL: Various and sundry Hong Kong things that I got you because there was nothing you guys wanted (Mearl, I looked for Houshin Engi things, but apparently they don't like it in Sendai cause there wasn't anything. gomen! What about Houshin Engi manga? I saw some in a HK store but didn't get it cause I didn't know if you would like it)
EXAR: surprise XD XD

After Japan, Hong Kong is nice, but I miss Japan. ^^;; Maybe I'm crazy or something, but while it is somewhat comforting to be able to understand people around me, I miss the Japanese language and people. And of course the jrock just isn't as good here. XD XD Heck, I even miss Mie and Shunei, and I never thought I'd miss their screaming and crying.

And of course, I'm not looking forward to spending the week with my hyperactive aunt. You have to understand first of all that all the women on my mother's side of the family are dramatic and nosy to the nth degree. There are four of them and even one of them is enough to drive me nuts, literally. My mother's oldest sister is the most dramatic and nosy of the bunch, but this aunt that I'm staying with is probably the second worst, followed by my mother and then the middle aunt, who isn't as bad. To get an idea of what I'm talking about, take Miaka from FY, Tot from WK, Hokuto from Tokyo Babylon, and Kozue from Utena and cross them together. ^^;;;;; This particular aunt doesn't ever shut up, has an opinion on everything, is always talking about food, is protective and overbearing, is constantly hyper, and treats everyone like they're five years old. And of course she also happens to be 40 something.

But I suffer to put up with my family cause I like Japan. ^^ And you don't refuse a free trip to Japan...I figure my week in Hong Kong will be a week of long suffering that I will bear just cause I had so much fun in Japan I owe this aunt something. Or something noble and worthy like that. ><;; I figure the males in my family are so quiet cause they let the females do all the talking and arguing, and while that's going on, the male population quietly goes off and does things the way they like them. XD Or so I'd like to think.

And while I'm at it, I took the personality test...results:

Paranoid: Very High
Schizoid: High
Schizotypal: High
Antisocial: High
Borderline: Moderate
Histrionic: Moderate
Narcissistic: Very High
Avoidant: High
Dependent: Low
Obsessive-Compulsive: High

I'd actually rate "antisocial" as "very high," but other than that, I think the test is pretty accurate in describing me. Narcissistic, huh? I always knew there was a word for my condition. ^____^

I think I have blogged enough. My nosy aunt finally went to sleep, but since her computer is slower than hell, I can't get anywhere on the net decently fast enough. So I am going to bed too. Goodnight goodnight, hopefully I will be back tomorrow with more goodies!

cadet tarrant reported to the mess checker at 0034 hours

transmission :: nippon, sayonara
date :: douyoubi 08.04.01
listening to :: my aunt cutting pizza and talking to her friend

Well, this is it.

It's been tons of fun. And I've learned so much. I discovered that I know a lot more Japanese than I thought I did, even though my family still can't understand me when I try to speak more than a few words of the language. Right now I'm eating what seems to be the Japanese version of pizza and typing this into my blog.

Today we went to a festival and I wore the kimono that my aunt and uncle bought for me. It was an interesting experience to say the least. Men wearing kimonos eating hot dogs, little kids running around eating cotton candy, old women dancing traditional dances while teenagers sang karaoke to Hamasaki Ayumi. The Japanese lanterns were brightly lit overhead and we ate soba while listening to the drummer beat the drum up on the platform to the music.

An "experience" hardly begins to describe everything I've experienced here. The least I can say for my trip to Japan is that my fanfic will forever be enriched by what I've done here, and I've only been here for a week. I'm only now beginning to get into the swing of things, and I'm leaving to go back to another culture.

Granted, the culture in Hong Kong isn't too terribly different from Japanese culture, but it's different enough for me to have to adjust again when I get back. And then culture shock again when I get back to the States in another week.

What can I say? XD XD I love Japan and it's not just because of the jrock (though that is a big part of it, I admit) I'm definitely coming back. In a few years, when I am fluent enough in the language to be able to get around on my own, but I'm coming back.

Laurel, your blog entry about me was hilarious enough to make me laugh for about five minutes. And ganbatte on surviving the hurricane...*sacrifices watch to the hurricane gods along with Laurel's watch*

Neesan, I'm going to blog in Shiroi Heya after I write this, but suffice to say your account of my introducing you to Yoshiki was great...and no, I wasn't laughing. Swear on my spleen and Gackt's too. ^_~ And I am going to Hong Kong. Will see what I can do about Dahlia! BTW, are there any jrock mags you want? I was gonna get you some, but wasn't sure if you would want one. There are several nice Gackt features in some of them, and if I can find the August issue of Vicious, there's a 99 questions Malice Mizer interview. (Haven't been able to find it...September is out already and the feature is Pierrot, and I don't like them that much)

Everyone else, thinking of you and see you soon!

cadet tarrant reported to the mess checker in japanese at 2046 hours

transmission :: whiny kids, jrock, and manga
date :: kinyoubi 08.03.01
listening to :: my uncle trying to sing the tonari no totoro song and shunei going OKAASAAAAAAN!!! and whining like no tomorrow

Well, apparetly Shun-kun did somethig to his foot today, real or imagined, cause every two minutes he'll randomly burst into loud tears and screaming and pointing to his leg. When we look, there's nothing there. Must be invisible. ><;;;;;;

Today was actually pretty interesting. I got to get away from my cousins for a little bit and go manga/jrock/general shopping again. I have now entirely exhausted the massive supply of yen given to me by my uncle, so I think today was the last shopping day. XD XD What I got:

[CD] Lareine : fierte (WAHAHAHAHA FIERTE!!!! I finally found it! The case is GORGEOUS, with great photos and everything. Neesan, have you seen them? If not, I'll scan them for you when I get back)
[CD] Hamasaki Ayumi : Endless Sorrow (single and one of her greatest songs to date. Very nice...very nice. I don't buy jpop, but this song I had to make an exception for.)
[poster] Glay (err...yeah. Heavy Gauge poster, metallic. There's some bad English quote on it about finding love that strikes me as rather hilarious. Still, it's a Glay poster. Lyra, I looked for MM posters for you but all they had were jpop and the one Glay one. ^^;;)
[manga] Macross 7 Trash #5 (now the only one I'm missing is #2...they had it the first time I went to the store but it wasn't there today. Probably got bought. Darn ><)
[manga] Banana Fish #2 (ok I admit my curiosity got the better of me and, wondering what Gackt sees in the manga, I went and got it. they didn't have #1, but I hear #1-4 have been translated into English by Viz. Shall see what I can dig up.)
[artbook] X Episode Zero (^_______________^ The king of all artbooks, and only 3600 yen, which of course is the original price. In the US they jack up the price like you wouldn't believe...I've seen it sell for $64 or more. This is one of those things that I told myself I wouldn't get, just wishful thinking, but, well...things happen. XD)

Went to another jinja and otera today. I got to write my wish on the little piece of paper that you hang from the trees...what are they called again? I forgot. I wrote in English "Happiness and peace on Earth" (you can't go wrong with that, right? ^^;) Mie wished for shiawase but Shunei wasn't so idealistic...he wants omocha. XD XD Like he doesn't have enough toys already...

Tonight the top 10 music thingy finally came on TV and I got to see some jpop people get interviewed. None of the major jrock groups have released anything recently (the most recent was Glay with their single Stay Tuned but that's apparently old news already...it's listed as "recommended" in stores, but off the charts). Anyway, they had SMAP and Morning Musume and Hirai Ken and Gospellers and Hiro. The real thing I was looking forward to, however, was an appearance by B'z performing their single Gold. And of course I wasn't disappointed...B'z isn't my favorite band, but all their singles have been awesome and this one just raised the bar another notch. I guess I'm behind in news or something cause I didn't even know they had a new song, but if you haven't heard Gold, get it now.

There's also an Utada Hikaru song that's #2 on the charts. I can't remember what it's called, but it sounds pretty all right...not great enough for me to buy the single, but good enough for me to want to download it when I get back.

I know it's later than usual for me to blog, but the music program was from 8 to 9 PM and then I had to shower. ^_^

Moonsong-tachi...a huge *GLOMP*...neesan, your conversation with QS makes me realize how much I miss talking to y'all...it's fun here, but there are no people to share the jrock/anime/manga obsession with. (something of note: apparently my observation of the importance of music in japanese culture isn't just me...even my aunt and her friends know who Glay, B'z, L'arc, Luna Sea, etc are. In fact, another note relating to your blog entry earlier, neesan...they asked me to show them my CD collection and when I flipped the page to my Hide CDs it was like they had just been shown a million dollars. "HIDE...HIDE...X JAPAN!!!" Believe me or not, Hide and the rest of his jrock contemporaries are very much a part of Japanese culture.) QS, a Zechs side??? *_* I wanna read! BTW, did you get that Darkflight thing I sent?

I've rambled on long enough. The family's going to bed, so I might as well join them and maybe listen to my Endless Sorrow CD and Fierte before I hit the sack. Tomorrow is my last full day in Japan and I intend to enjoy it to the fullest! ^_____^ おやすみ！！！！

cadet tarrant reported to the mess checker in japanese at 2211 hours

transmission :: matsushima
date :: mokuyoubi 08.02.01
listening to :: my aunt's friends laughing

My aunt's classmates from college came to visit tonight and right now they're sitting at the kitchen table laughing about something. Probably about me...I hear the word "America." ^^;; Sometimes here I feel like a circus attraction...I know enough Japanese to understand when my aunt introduces me as "relative from America" and then the Japanese people go OHHHHHHHH!!!!! and then stare at me and try to speak English. ><

Anyway, today we went to Matsushima and the onsen. Matsushima is one of the pine tree islands and the closest to Sendai. I took lots of pictures...there's a resort there that's apparently popular with the tourists from Hong Kong, cause I heard more than one family speaking Cantonese while we were there. We ate lunch there at the restaurant before going to the onsen. Good stuff. ^^

The onsen is indoors and consists of a locker area and a rinse/shower area, and then the actual hot baths. There's an indoor one and an outdoor one where you can look out and see the ocean and the trees. Very nice and quiet. There weren't very many people there so we got to soak in silence. Heh heh.

My time in Japan is drawing to an end and I still haven't gotten all the jrock I wanted, but I have no more money left. ^^;;;; Oh well. I can probably find most of the stuff I'm looking for in Hong Kong but it's cheaper here...the new CDs are actually very expensive. The normal price for one is about 3000 yen, so they actually don't jack up the price that much when you buy them online. But the great bargains are the used ones. They're in stellar condition (aka read NEW condition even though they're used) and most used CD stores sell them for half price or less. I got my Siam Shade CD for 780 yen, and the original price was around the range of 3100 yen. *_* Just a heads up for anyone who plans to buy jrock in Japan. Used is GOOD.

I should probably go take a shower...tomorrow is another basic day with my cousins, who are driving me up the wall. They were incredibly whiny today. ><

Laurel, *hugs* I dunno what happened, but I hope things are better now. Wish I was there for you, but blogging will have to do for now. *gives a spleen glomp*

Neesan...I'm still working on stalking Gackt, but I don't think he comes to Sendai very much cause I haven't seen him. XD XD XD I'm happy for you and your chair...and I TOLD you Tears is awesome. ^______^

Shi, if I see any ninjas, I'll relay your message. ^_~

William, hope you got my email. Do you even read this? *peers and announces in deep voice* HEY! ARE YOU THERE? I'M IN JAPAN! WHERE ARE YOU? ^_~

OK my aunt's friends brought their kids and they're crying and whining and I am really going insane. Am going before I start randomly beating up little kids.

Did I mention I hate kids? ><;;;;;

cadet tarrant reported to the mess checker in japanese at 2059 hours

transmission :: shopping in sendai
date :: suiyoubi 08.01.01
listening to :: the Ten Little Indians song on my cousins' English kids tape ^^;;

I went shopping today!

First though, I had to go with my aunt and cousins to the gym, where my aunt plays volleyball with her women's team. I didn't know Japanese women played volleyball as any organized sport. Hell, none of the American women I know are as into volleyball as these Japanese women were. They were shrieking like kids, skidding and jumping and spiking the ball like there was no tomorrow. I felt the urge to jump up every now and then and go "POINT OF ORDER!!!" -_- Must be that old habit from camp resurfacing.

Anyway, I took some entertaining pictures of them. Before they play, both teams bow to each other from opposite sides, then they do a cheer thing remimiscent of our cheers before/after PT and LLAB. I got to watch the kids while they played. Basically, Mie and Shunei were good...they ate lots of junk food and ran around me in circles and blew on my hair. No one died, though.

Then I went shopping downtown. There's not that much shopping in Sendai compared to, say, Hong Kong, or Tokyo, but there's some decent stuff to be found. I got Jrock. Lots of it. LOTS of it. A list:

B'z : Loose
The Brilliant Green : the brilliant green
Glay : Pure Soul
Hide : Hi-ho/Goodbye (single)
Himuro Kyosuke : Mellow
Tetsu69 : Wonderful World (single, Tetsu from L'Arc is starting a solo career! I haven't listened to it yet...he's Hyde's backup singer though,　so should be good.)

That makes 10 Jrock CDs so far! Then I got X #6, and Laurel, I found the Wild Act manga, so I got you #1 and 2. Is that ok?

After that, I went wandering around Daiei, a big department store. They have one in Hong Kong too, I think. I got this bright orange T-shirt with bad english on it. XD XD I can't wait to wear it at home! Also got some pink sunglasses, a-la-jrocker style. ^^;; I dunno why I did...one of those spur-of-the-moment purchaes, I guess. All in all, I had a fun day. We went out to eat for dinner, as usual...I've had all kinds of Japanese food since I've been here, and all haev been great. Today was some kind of fried chicken and shrimp with lettuce, rice, and miso soup. Oishi ^^

Tomorrow we're going to Matsushima and the onsen. XD XD That'll be an experience, I'm sure. I think ^^;;

QS...DOKO??? ;_; I haven't heard back from you about the side I sent...and you haven't blogged or anything. You ok?

And I finally archived. This layout will be up for a while, for obvious reasons. I'm already getting layout-itis, and it's driving me nuts not being able to change it. Ah, well, so is life. Anyway, おやすみ！

cadet tarrant reported to the mess checker in japanese at 1958