a window into my life...

涙そうそう (Nada sousou)

2007-04-22T11:06:00.000+09:00

watched the movie nada sousou yesterday. well, i din really tear/cry or anything... but.... it lingered in my mind long after i watched it. after going dinner with my friends and such, as i was all alone in my bedroom, i kept thinking about the movie. the love of between the two siblings, the promises he strives so much to keep, his inferiority that makes him imposed his dreams on his sister ( i think). this movie really depicted the love between the brother Yota and sister Kaoru (both of them really acted really well!! Tsumabuki Satoshi & Nagasawa Masami). how Yota was doing everything he can for Kaoru. how she was so concerned about him. perhaps, their sibling love might even border on a more romantic side, threatening to overwhelm both of them. but somehow, what came out to me more is the immense love Yota had over Kaoru, the constant wanting to protect his little sister, the joy of reuniting with her, the pain of letting go of her. one of the most memorable scene was when during a typhoon, when Yota told Kaoru to take her valuables and hide it in the backroom, all she took was this old photobook containing pictures of them in their childhood.

sigh... sad movies always make me think alot...:( guess.. this show will linger in my heart for the next few days...

something i saw last night...

2007-04-20T10:54:00.000+09:00

last night, when i was jogging (yesh, i do the occasional jog!) i saw this Indian ( perhaps Bangladeshi) worker sitting beside a lamp post reading his Bible. what struck me was that despite his grueling work in the day (often running into the night), this Christian took time to seek the Lord. Perhaps he finds it too noisy inside the resting area, perhaps he finds it cooler to do beside the canal, whatever the reason, he took time off to spend it alone with God. As i jog past him, he gave this smile, a smile that's full of joy and hope...:)

plastic surgery...

2007-04-16T11:36:00.000+09:00

despite my looks, no.. i am not gonna do plastic surgery..:p hehe.. watched the korean move '200 pound beauty' yesterday with a couple of church friends. really enjoyed the show, romantic comedy intersperse with social issues etc. hehe. at the end of the show, my friend asked me 'how will you feel if your other half has plastic surgery?'. i thought about it for a moment, and decided, i am fine with it. well, if she had plastic surgery after i got to know her, i guess, i might scold her a bit for having that lack of confidence and such, but not because she is not natural. i guess, for me, in the end, it's really more of the personality of the person that attracts me to her. if she had plastic surgery before i knew her, well.. it's a thing of the past..:) and.. it isn't a crime or anything..:p argh..:p decided to cut short the entry.. too much thoughts too unorganised. perhaps when i have time to sort it all out.:)

friends..:)

2007-04-12T10:44:00.000+09:00

thank God for the wunderful fwens He has given me. to me, these friends are the one of the most valuable things that God has ever blessed me with, and sadly, these friends are oso the things that I find the hardest to give up. originally, this post was meant to thank my choir friends for the 10 wonderful years of friendship, filled with laughter, joy and tears. They have been there in every major part of my life, and I know they will be there for the rest of my life too. Yet, as I read Luke 14:33, that we must give up all our possessions to follow Him, I feel a sudden dread. I think i can give up the material possessions i have, but to give up things like friendship? not that He doesn't want us to have friends of course, He was the one that blessed us with friends and family members. But, which is more important to me? God vs friends? hmm....

well... that's food for thought for me today. Still, wanna thank my friends for giving me the pair of rollerblades yesterday!! it was really unexpected and so it was really a pleasant surprise. I asked Nerd to help pay for the blades first cos i do not have the money handy on me. And before i know it, it was a 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY!' from him and Boss. well, even though my birthday is 2 months away (lol), I am really happy to recieve that gift..:) However, i am even gladder to have these friends with me as I celebrate my birthday with them for the 10th time. Thank you, all of you. Thank God for you.

John 11:35 Jesus wept.

2007-04-08T21:29:00.000+09:00

Easter is here! and today, we remember the victory we have in Christ Jesus over sin and death!!! ^^ today's sermon was really interesting, the verse is John 11:35. an amazing powerful verse. never understood that verse and today, we were given an possible explanation. While i wished i could have just write down everything that he said, i can't cos of my limited brain capacity. but in short, Jesus wept for the spiritual blindness of mankind. how man can be so oblivious to God and to him, despite all that has been done. Our pastor suggested that it's is not because he was overwhelmed by grief, due to the overwhelming evidences that showed him as being glad that God could be glorify thru the death of Lazarus. so in conclusion, it was to be something else.

had a chat with a friend yesterday bout the whole christian thing again. me using my limited knowledge against a whole barrage of questions. In conclusion, i realised that people dun believe that salvation is really as easy as believing in Jesus and his sacrifice for us and it's FREE to all. guess, in this age, free always means it's free BUT there are strings attached. Like what the pastor said, we are a generation of achievers, and sometimes, we need to learn bout recieving. Jesus was the ultimate gift God has given to us, not our friends, families, homes, cars, cats etc etc. And this ultimate gift is essentially a GIFT, given FREELY because God loves us.

May we continue to give thanks each day, for this precious gift from Him. ^^ Happy Easter.

a Good Samaritan...

2007-04-04T15:37:00.000+09:00

when was the last time i was a good samaritan? i mean, generally i am helpful ( i think ) but when was the last time i stopped in the midst of my busy-ness to help someone in need? the good samaritan went out of his way to help someone who has totally no ties with him, yet was willing to help the injured man fully, without thinking of any repayment. In the world we live in today, when was the last time we were able to put aside our own things to help someone else? guess like everyone else, i am so caught up with the 'self' that i failed to recognise the cries out there. as a christian, have i been so caught up with my own spiritual growth that i failed to hear the cries of the unsaved? and if i fail to hear the cries of the unsaved, how could i have grown even spiritually? hmm....

Choir Concert last nite!

2007-04-01T02:04:00.000+09:00

wheeeeee.... had a fabulous concert!!! I thought we did justice to the whole programme. really felt magical, yet soft but crazy at points.... :) not that we were spot on for all the songs ( i sang wrongly for some...>.>) but we managed to really focus throughout the concert. so it really turned out to be extremely intense. when we sang villarosa, i thought the soft bits felt really intense and we were kept on our toes. the mood for epithat for moonlight felt really good too, with the instruments providing a magical tinge to the quiet serene music. magic songs was magical! thought we really brought out the mood despite only have like 16 singers. (well.... maybe 7/10 for notes but 10/10 for intensity). so all in all, really felt good about this concert. while there's of course room for improvement, think it also really boosted our confidence. ^^ thank God for also watching over me, sustaining me throughout the concert. Managed to keep my cough to a minimal level and was able to sing out ( at least, with watever voice i had). hehe. still, thank you Lord for music!!

my first test!

2007-03-31T02:38:00.000+09:00

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

a persistence cough......

2007-03-31T00:52:00.000+09:00

arghhhhhh.... when i thought i got rid of the sore throat, his cousin cough decide to come visit and stay a while....-.- voice is totally wrecked with all the sore throat and coughing.... argh... other than that, things have been great!!! God has really been watching over me even with the cough and sore throat. ^^

despite all the coughing and pain, i was able to do most things... except to sing. normally, it won't be that bad but i have 2 choir performances this week. one was yesterday, Fishtank's graduation recital, the other this coming saturday. but despite my badly wrecked throat, the hall was really easy to sing in and i think we pulled off a reasonable performance! went in and listened to the rest of the recital. well, my conclusion about modern composition: i guess i prefer normal music. ^^ i am still pretty much a newbie at this music stuff so i couldn't understand most of the 'de-constructionism' of modern music. -.- not that they are bad and i am cringing but rather, i just dun understand most of them. perhaps when i achieve a higher state of enlightenment. ^^ meanwhile, give me regular music anytime. recently, i have been listening to Morten Lauridsen. His music is beauuuuuuutiful! can just sit there listening to it over and over again... really tempted to buy the scores. hehe.

today was hectic at work. it's PAYDAY!! and i am in-charge of issuing pay. problem: i have no idea how to do that. luckily my boss was in the office and she guided me thru the process. The end result: 3 happy employees and 1 bz boss. ^^ feels really good banking in that check, even though, i am sure it will be gone in no time. argh. i need to learn how to manage my finances. Lord, grant me the wisdom to manage those resources.

REVIVAL!

2007-03-27T11:01:00.000+09:00

This week has been a week of revival!! One, the revival of my fire for God! somehow, i feel really encouraged by God to push on and grow in my walk. He has shown me wonderous things for the past few weeks and I am thankful for all that He has done for me all these while, never letting me go when I was away from Him. This is a period of personal revival for me!! woots... been simply waiting for too long, not enuf action on my part. Pray that God will continue to sustain me and enfold me in His love as i continue this journey of faith. And ' Teach us to number my days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:13' Be with me and guide me each day as i grow in wisdom and stature in You!

The second revival: well... u are reading it! this blog!! i think.. lol. not sure if it is gonna be a permenant revival but since i am free in the office (dun let my boss know the existance of this place!!) guess, it's a venue for me to speak and pour out my feelings/thoughts. bwahahhaha.

The third revival, is that i found new joy in singing in the choir. Was really encouraged by the story of the Phillipines Madrigal Singers, their vision and their music. I want to be a chorister like them!! to develop myself individually and within the choir. The younger members in the choir has also been extremely encouraging!! they are SOOOOOO nice..:) Thank God for such people in the choir who continues to push themselves and do their best for the music. Sigh... i really love choir music. Currently hearing Morten Lauridsen 'Lux Aeterna'. it's soooo beautiful. :) have a sudden impulse to start a new hobby : collecting choir scores!

a quick infrequent update...>_<

2006-04-16T22:08:00.000+09:00

4 years in uni... and for the first time.. i had to stay over in school...o_O well.... i dun HAVE to do it but.. am doing a project w a friend and communication via msn isn't fun.. especially when the deadline is the tomorrow (monday).. and.. my finals start the coming friday... well... like what singaporeans say 'Exciting hor?' oh well... still.. hopefully we can finish the paper by tomorrow.. 25 pages single line.. have no idea what the lecturer is thinking about.. and it's only 20%!!! omg.. oh well..;p

oh..btw.. i just wanna tell everyone.. I AM GETTING FAT!! sigh.. this must be my peak ever since army.. betta do something about it after the exams.. sob sob.

ボクはクマです

2006-03-02T01:38:00.000+09:00

been hibnerating from blogging... heee... so ate lotsa food, stuff my a** with watever i need, and HIIIIIIBBBBEEERRRRNNNAAATTTTEEEE!! wheee...;p and now... RAWWWWWRR! i am back! heee.... :) had lunch with friends from Economics today!! this is rare considering that i made like 5 friends in 3 years in economics.. :) like my group alot, very nice and fun going people..:) there's karen, this gal that likes to singggg..:D xintian which is the niiiiice gal which is the main connection between the group and me... hui luan, a gal which i met in class after she saw me doddling..:p and brenda, a erhm... nice gal too! hee.. but it has been a long time since i had so much fun sitting and chatting with school mates... the last time this happened (in home university that is) was when all my Japanese studies friends were around.. but now.. all of them are gone.. 悲しい〜　just when i thought that's the end of friendship in NUS, out pop this group of nice people..:) hehehe.... was so happy eating my bowl of beef noodles.. ssllurppppp! it's really nice.. though pricey for a school canteen... :) still, i thought that my beef tasted like pork..>_< hehehe.... oh well.. i like eating! yummy! otherwise.. the newest thing ever since i post something here is that i passed my JLPT level 2!:D so, ボクはクマですwith a JLPT 2 cert..;p

king kongs and us

2005-12-16T00:49:00.000+09:00

went to watch king kong with my friend today. well... it really caused me to think alot... how king kong was captured and how he was brought forcefully out of his natural environment and later killed again... i dunno about the true story but, in this remake, an american producer tries to make things go his way, get alot of his friends and helper killed, in exchange for fame and money. king kong, 'someone' different, was brought out of his environment, captured for his uniqueness, and later killed... well.. there's the little love story that runs between it, but i felt more for the gorilla...-_- what can i say, he's cute!

the boring me.... zzzzz....

2005-10-31T15:28:00.000+09:00

well.... have been doing a bit of reflecting and to my horror... i just realised how boring am i!-_-! i have no idea how my friends actually hang around me.... sorry peeps for my boring-ness...>_< really appreciate all of you and the interesting-ness u brought into my life...:D it really seems that i have became more boring ever since i came back from Japan (then again.. i could just have been like that before i left for Japan! *shudder*) recently it seems that i am unable to form a conversation however trivial with anyone... any attempts to converse with someone will often be foiled by my own thinking 'bah, the person's not interested... man.. i am not interested...-_-!' and thus, i got caught up in the vicious cycle, me rejecting myself, other rejecting me, causing me to rejet myself..ahhhh.... it's the end of the world!!!!-_-! looking at my life now... i realised that i play games, watch tv and bum around most of the time... as much as i enjoy a bit of a drink sometimes, i dun do that often (maybe once a month)... if i am going out with friends, it is mainly to watch movie and hopefully that friend has an agenda.. if not... -_-! he/she will be stuck with me and my cancerous boring-ness... hmmm.... wonder what went wrong o_O? still...:D i wanna thank God for showing me that for all my boring-ness... He still love meee! woots! and Him loving me, provided me with lotsa interesting friends! YOU!!! woots!

places and memories...

2005-10-17T15:56:00.000+09:00

i just finished watching the film 'Lost in Translation'... really enjoyed the show.. welll. first of all, it is shot in Japan! hee.. and second of all, reminds me (partially) about my stay in Japan... :) what do i remember so fondly about Japan? is it the place itself? the people? the pachinkos? well...:) after watching the show.. i realised that most of my memories of Japan were associated with people i met, and the places i went with them... these are what make Japan so precious to me even as i think of it now..:) some of u might have heard of me saying that i dun really like Tokyo due to the crowd.. but i guess.. i do miss Tokyo because that's where i met soooooo many interesting people..:) i remember Shimotakaido for the Usui family that i stayed with during the 1 year... i remember the walks i had with Otousan as he showed me the place.. the dining table which we sit to have our meals together... i remember Waseda because of the friends i made there *cough*NAOKI!!*cough* and my fabulous Japanese class classmates.. i remember Ueno park for Yilin..:) walking together under the show...:D i remember the hospital for Carolyn.. lol... lalalala.. well.. many many memories... to list them all down will be imppossible!! w(well... not really but i am running short of time..:P) and each associated with a person..:D these are my most precious experiences in Japan... i still love the country, the culture and the scenery.. but most of all..:) i am looking forward to meeting more people in the future if i ever go there again..:)

of walks and Waseda..

2005-10-11T11:11:00.000+09:00

was walking to school one day when i remembered my walks to school in Japan. Every morning i will walk 15 mins to school for Takadanobaba Station. Initially, i was pretty putted off by it but i came to get used to it. Today, even as i walked to the science faculty from the bus stop which i usually stopped at, i remembered fondly about those walks. i really do missed Japan, everything about it. the train rides, the walks, the televisions shows, the streets, everything... sigh.... i have no idea when can i go back and stay there again... i really wanna do that... to just mingle in the midst of all those Japanese-ness... bleh..

bounce bounce bounce splat....

2005-09-28T15:40:00.000+09:00

that sort of describe me i suppose.. starting happily, ending not so happily... T_T it's with everything i do!! arghh.. hate that about myself... but it voice down to 1 thing.. lack of discipline.. that's perhaps the biggest flaw in my character... sigh... anyone has any quick recipe to make me discipline? hee... well.. :p lack of discipline is keeping me away from blogging, writing emails (sorry peeps... i really wanted to write!!!) and many many other stuff... but perhaps... the worst thing is that of my own spiritual walk with the Lord... bleh... i guess i do have all the head knowledge of discipline.. but... it has yet to be ingrained into me... arghh.... oh well... still... at least i know i have a problem... lol

on the other hand.. i went for Stomp yesterday!! it was GREAT!!! love how they could use different 'instruments' to create such music...:) their sense of rhythm is fantastic... beyond the comprehension of a rhythmically challenge individual such as me...-_- well... the whole performance was without speech... it was just their actions, movements, expressions and rhythm that communicates to us... and that it did... i truely enjoyed myself, listening to those marvelously complex mesh of sound... hee... wooots!! >_<

concert in 3 days!!

2005-09-07T17:50:00.000+09:00

woots... finally found the time to sit down and write something here... well.. for one thing... honors year is horrible.. doesn't help that i really can't remember much of what i have learned in the past 4 years... oh well... still.. some lessons are really fun.. am enjoying lessons such as development economics and international economics.. the rest.. well.. i am just trying to survive.. hee...

on the other hand.. i am thoroughly enjoying choir now.. it's such a nice feeling to make music... singing with people, making those fabulous sounds with our voices... sigh.... one of my current favorite in our upcoming concert repertoire is Ave Maria Stella by Otto Olsson.. it is heavenly!!! sigh.... love it love it.. anyway.. yesh.. concert in 3 days!! woots! my first concert in like a year!! reminds me of the time when i went into army and joined SYC... heee... concert preparations is err... good? lol.. i hope.. the guest conducort Gary Graden, is a renowned choral conductor, his own choir St Jacob Chamber Choir is like whoa...-_-! am really thrilled to have such a good leading us..:) his style of conducting is however very unlike Jen..:) which is good... in the sense that we get exposed to other conducting styles and such.. hee..;p fun fun..:) but.. am pretty tired... practices before the concert tend to be very stressful and intense.. still... loving and enjoying every single bit of it..:)

Definitions... by my Econometrics Lecturer

2005-08-19T10:11:00.000+09:00

am now attending an econometrics (statistics in economics) lecture... was falling asleep so decided to do something which will wake myself up... like going online.... hee... anyway.. this lecturer has an hmm... interesting way of dealing with definitions... eg. 'An Unconditional Expectation is an Expectation that has no condition' or another 'an Independant variable is a variable that is independent.' hmm.... :p well.. he's not a bad lecturer, not at all, just that he has a hmm... simple of of defining definitions..;p still.. i like this lecturer because he explains clearly ( excluding definitions) and given my low proficiency in econometrics, is a welcome help.

well.. on another note, school has more or less started... 2nd week of school now, tutorials have yet to start, but the level of the courses i am taking this semester is taking a toll on me. (perhaps due to the difference in level of academic expectations i have experienced for the last 1 year). still.. it feels good to be learning and to be challenged. have no idea how long will the good feeling last, though i am pretty sure it will not be long, but for now.. let me enjoy the challenges of education.

the beauty of wireless....

2005-08-04T10:04:00.000+09:00

here i am, sitting on the 'throne' and blogging... all these possible, only with wireless! (^o^) whee... hee... still... wireless have changed my life... i used to read while on the 'throne' but now... i can blog, surf the net, write emails and so much more! talk about effective use of time.. hee... but.. to think of it... is effective use of our time only work? are we only effective when we work... that work becomes the defining thing in our life? Singapore like many of the backward countries is undergoing the change into 3G, where we will be better equiped to be more effecient on the go, we can use our mobiles to connect at a gazillion megabytes per second (okok. maybe not a gazillion... how much is a gazillion anyway? o_O), where our lives will be controlled by our mobiles even more! my dad has up to now refused to 'embrace' the mobile/pagers gadgets... he always remark that these devices will control him (hmm... control him more than my mom does? nah...) true, we often say that it is convenience to have a mobile.. but also true that our debtors/enemies can easily use the same device to murder us with spam... hmmm... so where does one draw the line? hmm..... oh well.. for me.. i am not in the working force yet so effecient to me is hardly bout work..:D i like chatting so i won't mind if a debtor calls me up to chat (hurray for incoming-free!)...but... can i survive without a mobile? sure, if my friend next to me is carrying one..:p hee..

guilt....

2005-07-26T09:51:00.000+09:00

how often have we often blamed ourselves on the things that happened to around us? at one point of time, i was blaming myself for not being around or not being active when things around me crumbled.... if only i had this, if only i had that... but... would things happen even if i am not involved or if i am unable to control the situation in the first place? but i am pretty sure that i will still blame myself, just to make understanding of the whole situation and perhaps, sadly to say, to elevate my self importance in my situation... still.. things have slowly changed.. true.. blaming myself is still much easier than blaming others to me i supposed... but.. where does that line ends? perhaps.. there isn't anyone to blame.. things happened because they happen... perhaps rather than blaming.. we should just focus forward... still..... never a easy thing to do... cos the guilt will just hang on, by our own choice... still... there is a way out... that's through God i supposed... He forgives us of our sins.. we go to Him with our guilt and pain.. and just resting at His feet, lying on His shoulder.. we slowly unburdened ourselves and allow Him to take control... is it a form of escapism? well.. for me... i never thought so, cause things always turn out better with the Lord taking charge....

love and fairy tales

2005-07-21T02:08:00.000+09:00

went out with jess to watch いま会いにゆきます.. this is the second time i watched it.. and both times was a tear jerker.... even though this show is soooooo fictional.... i still devour every single bit of it and loved it.... the story was simple.. a man and his son lost their mom a year ago... however, the mom promise them that she will return a year later during the rainy season... and.... she did... though she suffered amnesia... for the rest... watch the show.. lol... well... jess was commenting to me that she couldn't find anyone to watch this show cos it's too unbelievable... but to me... unbelievable is niash! (in case u old foggies dun noe.. niash is nice... lol) dun we all wish that our love story is like a fairy tale? i know i want mine to be like one.... simple love story yet living each day with my love one as a fairy tale..:D

2 weeks of pure bliss....

2005-07-15T11:06:00.000+09:00

bleh.. just returned from 2 weeks of pure bliss... courtesy of Step-chan! ありがとう！ if she didn't open her place for me to stay over... hmm.. i dunno what i would have done.. experience a homeless life perhaps..:D hee... well... anyway.. spent the past 2 weeks in Okazaki, a nice little town 1/2 hour from Nagoya... as much as there were attractions there to see... what i did there mainly was to spend time with old friends doing stuff together... like karaoke..:D hee... was fun goin karaoke with Step, her friends etc etc..:P hee... ohoh... and for some obscure reason... i drank more there than i ever did in my whole life put together....-_____________- not to the extent that i was drunk.. but still..;p drank almost every night.. hmm... maybe i am really becoming an alcoholic... woots..:p the next time i am back in Singapore, i am really to drink! lalalalala..:p not that we had heavy stuff though... basically beer and chu-hi (flavored alcohol drinks).. during the 2 weeks, i had the fortune of eating step's cooking...:D really very 幸せ (err.. fortunate) ah.... lol good cook, nice food, pretty host, alcohol..:D hee..;p ohoh!! step made singaporean curry!! hot and hot and hot and NICE!!! went crazy over it.. hee..:) seeing her cook that really makes me wanna cook curry too!! yum yum..:D

went to Aichi Banpaku too..:D was funnnnnnnnnn... see stuff like the Mammoth (bones..), err.. and Weiling... :P lol... went to the Singaporean pavilion and met several of my friends working there... and made several new friends working there like Weiling's 'papa' and alvin..:D nice guys! woots! surprisingly didn't spend too much at the expo.. was more of walking around looking at stuff..:) nice nice..:) still... sad that i did not get the chance to go and see totoro's house.. sigh.. wished i could see that...(T_T)

hmm... another big highlight was Weiling in Okazaki!! hee..:D was 3 days (including Banpaku 1 day) of pure fun!! 3 friends together in Japan is really cool..:D especially when each of us has a great passion of Japan...:D still.. we din spend those days running around Okazaki..:D rather.. we spent 3 days together chatting eating playing..:) for example.. we went to Minami Koen in Okazaki and spend 1 afternoon playing hopscotch...:D 1 conclusion.. dun draw big boxes..-_- and chose the second square first...:P lalalalaa..:D other things we did are err.. karaoke... drink.. eat... hmmmm....eat... lol am lookin forward to goin back to singapore really just to meet up with more friends now.. and of course to see my family..:P hee... anyway.. waiting for you all (step and weiling) at singapore arrrr..come bacccccccckkkkkk..:D hee..;p

ohoh.... during the past week, i went to Nagashima Spaland with Weiling and her colleagues to err... ride the rides..:P hee..;P i did many things i never imagined i could do..-_- i did rollercoasters, free fall, flying frisbies, astro launch....many many many rides..-_- it was my first time on all these rides.. and i screammmmmmmed... lol screaming helps to get the fear out..:p lol.... well... the rides were so effective to the extent that i no longer felt the stomach turning experience while sitting on the jumbo viking... (which i always had the wierd feelings even on the smaller ones...) there were however some drawbacks... during the night when we were sleeping... whenever i closed my eyes.. i was reliving the sensation of the rides..-_- still... i now i can take these rides..:D no heart attacks, back problems, high blood pressure, pregnancy..:D woots.

a time for goodbyes.....

2005-06-27T21:13:00.000+09:00

well.. i finally finished it... graduated from Waseda University on the day before... which is a Saturday.. nothing big but still.. it was a ceremony.. went up there and collect my cert etc etc... well... as much as the cert is precious (i think...-_-) to me.. the more precious things which i had gotten is the experience i had staying in Japan... and even more precious.. is the friends that i had made here.... as we took pictures on saturday.. the song 'leaving on a jet plane' kept playing in my head... i see happy faces taking pictures... groups of people gathering and chatting.. i also see friends leaving one by one to their home countries... all of us have been here together for a year... despite our different backgrounds.. we came for a common purpose... to learn japanese and to know japan....this we did, albiet to each individual a different extent... but we also came and met people from everywhere... now... after a year.. it's finally time to leave.. sigh.....carol, tristan, andrew, lars, ryo, matthew, vannessa, irene, jamie, tang, ramon, jamie, lisa, kusano sensei and okuhara sensei... thank you all so much for the memorable time i have in japan... everytime i think of my time here, i will remember each of u all so fondly....

yesterday.. i said goodbye to the church i was attending here... really felt happy here in this country worshipping God.. i might not know exactly what i am singing.. but i felt that i was in unison in spirit with the people here.. thank you tanaka san for ur warm reception and ready friendship... it wont have been possible without u... and thank you sensei for ur messages.. i might not understand 100% of what u are saying... but... i felt ur message in my heart..:) lastly.. thank God for this church and this chance for me to come into the midst of His people....

today.. i said goodbye to one of the most important people in my stay here.. naoki... no matter what is ur real name, u will always remain naoki to me..:) thank you for those times we sat together chatting, sat together with our macs looking like a bunch of nerds, for those times we had lessons together, go to akihabara together, play samurai spirits together... u are really a God-send to me in this country..:) my experience here has been so enhanced with ur presence..:) thank you so much... i am never one who can express myself well but... here's a truly deep felt thank you, and 神様が祝福をしてくださいように....

another wonderful outing with Boon...

2005-06-09T17:52:00.000+09:00

met up with Boon yesterday... she gave me a treat which was.. err. not cheap... still.. really wanna say thank you boon!! for the treat, for the dinner and for the time spent together. not often i can say i have a very good day in Japan.. and thanks for the birthday present!!! hee.. first birthday present i have recieved this year.. i wonder if there are anymore (HINT!) hee...

well... we went to Ebisu and had dinner at this western food restuarant.. drank some beer, ate some Barbarian Plate which has meat meat potato meat rib meat meat meat meat.... ahhhhH!! heee.. it was nice though... we had a 4 cheese pizza which was also very nice! but.. just a kind reminder to those who might be in a mood to eat a 4 cheese pizza.. try to eat it while it's hot.. because when it turns cold, cheese will stick to each other.. still nice but.. not as nice.. hee... to balance our barbaric appetite for meat.. we order a rabbit salad.. err.. i meant a Caesar salad (which seems to be prepared for rabbits... big leafy vegetables.. *nibble nibble) we had some beer too!! wheee... i think.. i am more beeeeeerr tolerant now... hee... come to think of it.. i might actually like the taste... *hick.

as in every meeting with boon.. we talk about a variety of issues.. heee.. our dreams, nightmares, past, present, rabbits, life blah blah blah.. basically non-essential stuff we get all worried about..*p hee..:P still... one thing which we were talking about was about how we are so afraid to try.. being brought up in a place and a system in which failure is not accepted.. it was difficult for us to give anything a go without having in place a safety net... still.. i guess comin to japan made us want to try stuff while ignoring all the 'what if' part... really hope each of us will get out of our conditioned mindset... gogo power ranger!!

books and life

2005-05-27T11:48:00.000+09:00

well.... recently i have reading some books by Murakami Haruki and Yoshimoto Banana.. not that i am reading them for fun but more for class.. hee.. still... these are books and themes which i would love to have read, and for that, i am thankful for the class for making me read these books.. the past lectures of Murakami have certainly left me yearning for more... go read his books!! hee.. start with the Elephant Vanishes for a taste of his style. It's a collection of short stories and each of them a delightful read...:) they also has a lot to do with many issues of his days and this was truly what blew me over...

well.. i just finished reading Yoshimoto's Kitchen and... sigh... i wanna read it again and again.... it somehow touches me at the core of my being... while Murakami's work was dealing with a larger issue of societal changes and such, (i think...) Yoshimoto's Kitchen touches at a more personal level... hee... cant wait to go for class to find out more about what is hidden behind this book...:)

all in all, books and life really have lotsa connection together, be it fantasy books, fiction, non-fiction.... all of them have something which touches us, perhaps living in a world we have always dreamed off, running away to this far-away land in the security of dragons and knights, or simply us connecting with the characters in the book.... and for these reasons, i really enjoy reading a good book... sitting somewhere and immersing myself in this other world...:)

lettting go....

2005-05-20T12:00:00.000+09:00

why is it so difficult to let go of stuff? gaining it was always that simple, but after i have gotten it, i find it so hard to let go sometimes. sure, i know the metaphor of the hand holding on to something, that if i dun let go, i wont be able to get something new... but often, i dun want something new, i just want that old thing... yet, things are often not that way. as much we hope that we will be in control all the time, most of the time, we find ourselves losing this control. yet knowing this, we want to control it more...

hmm.. lookin at this post, i think i better keep check of myself..;p less i fall into the treacherous pit of self-despair. despair leads to fear. fear leads to hate. and hate leads definately not to Macdonalds.

stephanie in tokyo!

2005-05-14T09:02:00.000+09:00

well... yesterday, stephanie reached tokyo!! whee...:D step, beng, wiliam and me met up for dinner at this okonomiyaki place and hanged out till like 11pm. fun... din do much except for eating, drinking and chatting but fun... heee.. missed doing such stuff.. guess.. me not doing enuf of such stuff sia.... lol... well.. since we are on the topic of food and dinner, me and naoki went out for dinner with this 3 japanese gals on thursday.... at this themed izakaya place.. super interesting sia.. lol.... it had the crazy hospital theme and the waiters and waitress were all dressed in nurses and surgeons costumes... well.. cute nurses in white, u surely cant complain... lol... when we first entered the shop, we had to pass thru this massive iron-lookin gate... once inside, we were greeted by an assortment of bodies, bodies parts, equipments etc etc.... Naoki was shortly handcuffed and me 'injected' and brought to our cell.. there, we state our illness and started our stay in the hospital.. the food is prety nice.. with nice interesting names... and in the course of the nite, the hopital will run wild with strange patients wearing horrifying masks running around... lol... highlight of the night was when the stuff grabbed a customer, put him on a stretcher and took off his clothes.. and pants! lol... they had a white cloth covering his sensitive spot but everything else was off... the look on that guy's face is priceless.. birthday celebrations were carried out in the form of a nice cake to the customers... all in all.. a very nice place... well.. it cost each of us over $45 dollars though... hee..;p but.. how often u get to be such an interesting place?:D

a soccer game at the rooftop of a shopping centre

2005-04-29T21:38:00.000+09:00

went out for a soccer game with the local church members..:) was invited by Tanaka san so decided to go since i have nothing better to do..:D staying at home gaming everyday isnt exactly all that erhmm.. happening... hee..:) well.. we went to Kawaguchi, somewhere in Saitama, and went to the court soccer court at the top of a shopping centre.. that place was pretty cool, they have an indoor tennis court too.. man.. really missed tennis..:( oh well.. guess i have to wait till i am back in sg to play.. argh.... still.. has been a long time since i last played soccer..:) was pretty fun...however, i was pretty out of shape... was tired out...o.O even as i am writing this, i am suffering a slight headache from the hot afternoon sun..-_- after experience winter.. this 30 degrees (or so claimed by my Otousan) was scorching.. i am so gonna die back in singapore.. lol oh well... the game was fun... and miraculously.. i scored 1 goal! woohoo!!;p i have always played a defender but since this was a 4 v 4 game, we have to cover the whole court... whee... after that, it was lunch with macdonalds... lol... after all the workout, we ate it all back.. or rather.. I ate it all back... lol still, it was fun sitting at the steps, (not enuf room in the macs for the whole group of us) listening to them talk, looking at the kids play... hmm... talking bout kids, there was this one little toddler boy running around NEKKID! lol.. fun...

well... that's for today.. and yesterday.. i went for a choir practice!! woohoo!! and coincidentally, Boon was in that same choir last year too!! lol... so super chiao! hee..:D was fun singing ar... was really out of practice..:( wanna sing wanna sing.. hmm.. the people in these choir are hmm.. mostly amateurs too, and all not every well trained...o.O not that i am good of course, just that SYC people were better... well... i only met the university choir members, there are apparently the adult members too.. hopefully they are better... ;p heee... still... was fun singing.. hee.. practice was ehmm.. long?;p almost 4 hours... and apparently they sing 3 times a week..-_____- hmm.... i will see if i can go for all.... hee... we started practice with a i-can-remember-the-name scale.. basically, do-re-me-so-la.. was interesting... we were basically using the kodaly method to practice so was quite fun..:D i like kodaly method.. have to train myself more.:( lalala.. ohohoh!! and we did a japanese version of ziguerlebern (i think i spell wrongly but those who know will know this song..) super natsukashii!!!

resurrection of the blog

2005-04-22T12:19:00.000+09:00

hee... i eerr.. blogged... again... and it is like a few days ago since i blogged??! hee.. am i seeing a resurrection of my seemingly-dead blog? hmm.. oh well.. there is only that much things one can do when in a computer lab i supposed... and i am not one of those who do random searching and such too... hee...

well... for some obscure reason... i am feeling very gay today... maybe it is the fact that i get to read novels! hee.. i love reading... it's my first love i suppose... hee.. even the game i am currently (or rather have been playing for 6 years) is made up of text and no graphics.. so.. i get to read!! hee.. currently reading Murakami Haruki's 'The Elephant Vanishes'... the stories inside are.. hmm.. strange.. but i love and devour every bit of it... can't grasp the magic within it yet and have no time to think too much bout the magic.. it's one of the text i have to read for class.. hee.. now.. to get down to reading it in Japanese.. hmm... hee..

been pretty tiring recently though.. i think i might be suffering from game addiction.. i was playing my game sooooooo much that it's scary.. well.. i slept last night at 3 after playing my game.. got woken up by my game at 5 to do something in the game.. then again at 7 to do something else in the game... sometimes.. it really as if i lived there.. and extension of me is there... but den again.. i guess a part of me is living there... i have my own house, my own equipment, my clan, my friends and even an online spouse.. hmmm... lol but no worries.. :) i know it is a game... at least for now...

complaints that i haven blogged...

2005-04-20T00:57:00.000+09:00

i have recieved complaints that i haven been blogging.. so i went to check them out and to my horrors, the complaints were right!! o.O so... here i am... blogging... lalala.. hee.. anyway... everything tat i wanted to say a couple of weeks back i dun wanna say liao... bwahhaaaha.. more like i have forgetten.... hee..:) hmm... i also realised that my bloggie could only be deciphered by singaporeans.. o.O with the wide array of purposeful ommision of grammar, shorting of phrases, insertion of other languages (a.k.a singlish.. ), i have managed to encrypted my blog! whee... i think.. o.O well.. that's beside the point.. i shall attempt to write now in understandable english... ^^ the keyword however is attempt... lalalala...

skool (ok.. i failed my attempt) just started 2 weeks ago, this week being the third week (for those who cant count)... the lessons are hmm.. no comments on the lessons but anyway, i am taking less modules this semester in order to free myself to do stuff (which i have yet to find out wat). the modules are however more expensive that last semester.. the 2 modules which i am taking both require me to spend around S$100 on books alone... and that's for each module. i have since decided that getting that big mathematics textbook is out of the question (i am sooooo not gonna bring that chunk of paper back) and thus, am considering the methods in which i can enter class prepared... hee.. for the other module.. i have to buy japanese and english novels.. which i am more den happy to do so..:) hee... oh well..;p that's it for the updates... lol till the next time...;p

about fathers and daughters...

2005-04-08T11:11:00.000+09:00

well... not too sure if i posted it before but anyway.. i was listening to my MD ( i luv my MD!!) today and was listening to one of my favourite songs 'butterfly kisses' when the thought ' i wanna have my own little gal!' pop up again... being brought up in a family of boys might have something to do with that thinking but i believe, it is more so becos i wanna look and be involved in the childhood of my wife... i mean... that's part of the reason anyway.. i somehow see the daugther as an extension of my wife, and would suppose, that's how my wife was brought up when she was younger... well... i think my wife would use the methods she was brought up with on the child... anyway.. just wished to be involved in that whole process.... hee.... well... before that though.... i need a girlfriend... heee..

Yahoo News: Amnesty raises plight of Palestinian women

2005-03-31T12:17:00.000+09:00

was gonna post some stuff bout my trip until i read this on yahoo.

LONDON (Reuters) - Palestinian women are suffering intimidation and violence at the hands of Israeli security forces and within their own community, Amnesty International has said in a report.

Some have been forced to give birth at Israeli checkpoints because they are not allowed through to hospital, while others are subject to "honour killings" by relatives.

.......

It cited the case of Rula Ashtiya who was refused passage on August 26, 2003, by Israeli soldiers at the Beit Furik checkpoint on the way to hospital in Nablus to give birth.

"I was lying on the ground in the dust and I crawled behind a concrete block by the checkpoint to have some privacy and gave birth there, in the dust, like an animal," she said.

"I held the baby in my arms and she moved a little but after a few minutes she died in my arms."

while the law (in this case military law) is created to maintain order and security in society, one key aspect of it is missing in the upholding the law today. Mercy. Law should be tempered with compassion and mercy. Without those, true it will provide security and order, but at what expense? at the result of our humanity? bleh...

I AM BACK!

2005-03-29T14:18:00.000+09:00

WHEE!! after spending 3 weeks in the outskirts of civilization (i.e NO INTERNET!! EEEKS!) i am finally back in Tokyo. For those who dunch noe, i was in the some remote village or hamlet in Kagoshima for 2 weeks, before heading off for Kumamoto City for a few days. Well, i would say.. it has been... interesting...-.-" the town, called Kurino-cho (栗野町）was a small town with perhaps less den 7 thousand people. it's small enuf that it doesnt even have a shopping centre, the place where people shop is a general store. Still, this place have it charms. It is surrounded by hills and greenery, the water is delicious and clear (they having their own natural water source) and it is a far-cry from the busyness and mayhem of Tokyo. Alas, for a person brought up in the age of technology and internet, while there, i felt the earning to just log on and chat. Really wanna smack myself for thinking it that way, oh well. still, the other thing was that, other den meals, i hardly have anything to do that. I pretty much lead a eat sleep wake up life there. Thank God that there was a Taiwanese girl there who was my companion for the 2 weeks, both of us goin out together, basically to the same place again and again to chat and eat. hee.... well.... will get down to bloggin what have i been really doin as soon as i get into the mood.. for now.. i just wanna have fun with my internet.. whee..>_<

goin to Kumamoto was fun though..:) while not the city like Tokyo, it is not as crowded, have nice castles and a rich history. For those who dun noe, Miyamoto Musashi settled in Kumamoto for his last days, dying in a cave near there. but.. i din have a chance to go to the cave cos it is too far... >_< oh well.... in Kumamoto, i met up with my Japanese friend Mitsue and met the rest of the Yoshida Sakura (Mitsue, her 3 sisters, Mom and grandma). was fun getting to noe them..:) very nice people! sigh... hope i have another chance to go Kumamoto again..but.. unlikely..:( sigh....

kamochan...

2005-02-23T21:30:00.000+09:00

kamochan came back to japan apparently.. he/she is this celebrity seal which came to japan dunno when.. apparently he's back here for a visit.. think on holiday from his work.... he happily enjoying the beach at Chiba.... i wish i can go and see him... really fat and cute...^^ anyway... there was this photographer... who took very nice pictures.. there's this picture where he showed people sitting there from the distance...lookin at seal.. and he was commenting bout the need for people to return back to harmony with nature...very japanese sia... i wished all of us can do that too..but... are we all willing to let go of what we have? sometimes we think that by letting go... we are losing out... often.. it is otherwise.. we might gain so much more den we lose.. but... who dares to try?

on another note..i ran today.. to buy games... lol.. there were these 2 games which i wanted to collect and it suddenly appear in the store nearby... so i went back..ran to the bank.. withdraw money (running low..) and bought the game! yatta! heee...

HAPPY VALENTINE'S!!

2005-02-14T22:10:00.000+09:00

oooooh.... it's valentine's!! hee... did u spent it with ur loved ones? cos i did!! heee.... spent it with good fwen Boon! went to Akihabara.. not exactly romantic but... i wasnt lookin for romantism in the first place... nice chat... nice shopping..by me..:P haa... bought stuff for my Nintendo DS!! hee... well..... happpy...

know it has been a long time since i update... but... err.. now is school hols.. except that i am having holiday school... heee.. goin to Kagoshima next month for a homestay.. really lookin forward to that!! heee...:) but.. hopefully no internet access for the next month.. i htink.. internet and japanese is inversely related... at least.. in my case....^^

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!!

2005-02-09T02:22:00.001+09:00

woots.. wishing everyone a happy chinese new year!! heee... been such a long time since the last new year..:) hee... around 1 year.. o.O haaa.. anyway..first new year away from home..:) well... din do much today.. had loads of fun though..:D

i started the day with waking up late!:) haa..missed school.. but had to go to school cos volunteered to go to a primary for some cultural thingy.. so while riding the train... i entered the cabin and was greeted by an interesting side.. half the cabin is almost empty while the other half was packed!-.-" i went into the empty side.. and soon..understand why so... well.. there's a particular smell.. basically... someone who obviously haven had a bath for an extremely long time... was sleeping there in the corner of the train... he created this invisible barrier.. keeping people 8 metres away from him..:P it was interesting to see how people went in and started moving towards the empty space..den... moving away again..:P

well... next stop was the primary school.. it was soooo fun! the primary school kids are so much easier to handle than the kindergarten kids (which i was teaching on monday...) well...these kids were.. just... kids..nice kids..:) haaaa... dunno how to explain sia..but.. had fun with them..:D

next stop.. me late (again..) for my teaching thing.. was late by 5 mins.. argh.. had to run to class.. the 2 kids... Ai-chan and Nanami-chan were soooo adorable!! i hope they learn something today though..-.-" well...all these teaching assignments are given by my dear fwen xiao wen who decided to run off to Korea for a skiing thingy..:) hope she's having fun... i noe i am!:)

went to Disney Sea!

2005-02-06T01:26:00.000+09:00

woots... yesterday... was the last day of school!!! hee... so... my hols start..yesterday!!! except that i have 1 more paper to write and 2 more weeks of holiday classes that i signed up for..-.-" oh well..i am stoopid i noe...^^

went to Disney Sea today with grace, ma li, patrick, ayano, noriko (grace's host sister) and noriko's fwens... it was... enjoyable.. hee... well.. not as fun as disney land though..:) but still... pretty enjoyable..the rides won't exactly blow u off ur mind.. but... it's disney.. there's a air of fun... hee... weird thing is..they call it disney sea... and other than it is beside the sea... the stuff in there hardly got anything to do with the sea.... hmm.... maybe.. they should call it disney world or something... unlike the normal disney land, disney sea concentrates on some other exotic places like the Incas, Asia and others... so was pretty different... but.... the problem is... it is just different... not as fun as disney land.... period... so.. given the chance to choose... go... BOTH! heee...

well.. for one thing... the ending show was naish!! ( i love this word now... NAISH!) it was very pretty.. the effects were fabulous..:) heee... lalala.. but.. am pretty zonked out... have to sleep sia.. yawnz....

a yokohama chinatown buffet....

2005-01-30T01:33:00.000+09:00

went out with Yuichi, Seigo and Boon today to Yokohama Chinatown....-.-" it was an experience.. we walked around a bit to look for a restaurant to have lunch... lookin out for tabehodai (buffets...) found 1 which had like 100 types of food but when we ask the lady coming out..she said that the food was '.... ok' so... we left... hee.. we found another restaurant which had a pretty nice looking buffet for like 2500 yen... it was expensive..but.. got dim sum, peking duck and normal ala carte food.. we went in....-.-"

well.. this is my first time having tabehodai with these people.. and it was really an experience... at first.. we just stuff ourselves... we reach the limit in around an hour.. well.. i and boon reached the limit.. they ordered more...-.-" it reached a point of time where if i eat anymore i will puke... so they did the most obvious thing... they order much more...-.-" i went to the toilet, came back... and viola.. they order beef with rice, spring rolls and such.... we were like... OMG... haaa... when it seems that we really cannot take it anymore (at this point of time, everyone including Yuichi and Seigo was like... painfully full...) Seigo ordered more dessert..-.-" apparently.. according to Boon.. this happens all the time with them... haa... so the end result.. a buffet (which was pretty nice.. the food) turned out to be a eerhmm.. experience..:D heee...

next.. we went to sing Karaoke.. haaa.. and it is always fun to do it with these people.. we ended the session with singing Matsukensamba! haaa.. it was SSOOOO FUN! hee... we danced, shaked our butts, sing and shout... haa... nice nice.. for those who can.. pls try to catch the mtv of matsukensamba.. the singer damn got 'se'.. haa....

dinner was in Shibuya... at a normal Teishyoku restaurant.. we spend more time chatting and stuff before heading back.. on my way back... i was 'hijacked' by this street performing band.. they were sooooo good... i just stood there listening.. in the end.. i paid 1500 yen for their cd... haaa.. but.. i like their performance a lot..:D heee... so.. din feel bad buying..:)

a doctor's visit...

2005-01-28T01:33:00.000+09:00

went to the doctor today... was like... 'oh shitz (pronounced SHA-ITZ) i never bring enuf money!'... well.. with the crazy last hospital bill...($450) the ($60) wont be of much help... so i went to withdraw another $150... went to the doctor.. talked all in Japanese (den i lamented at how bad my japanese was.. but..that's a complaint that u can refer to my many other posts >.<) den he said that i am alright now.. just tat... my eyes could be the problem.. so... will be good to go to the eye clinic. well.. i KNOW that my eyes got problem... bleh... heee.. anyway.. went to pay the bill... was ready to give the $150 bill when he said $3....-.-" bleh.... i was soooo relieved.... haa.. but.. as a result of the appointment.. i missed class.. maybe..not a bad idea..:P

well... i went to Boon's teaching place... it's a very nice place!! i really like it... and her students... the kindergarten ones...SOOOOO CUTE!!! 2 gals... the new gal which came for a trial was called Madoka.. very cute! we went to the nearby park.. played some games with regards to colors... (it's an english course...:P) den... it's time to go back... but... Madoka was SOOOOO CUTE! arghhh..... very pretty.. and..LEFT HANDED!!! arghhh...

well.. after that.. was the primary school gals class... a bit the boring... haa... well.. who cares.. after that.. she treat me to Dinner!! bwahhahaha!! so naish!!! was eating and chatting.. for like 2 plus hours!! haa.. i love chatting with a good fwen...:) well.. i noe i am glossing over the details but... dunno how to put it to words..:) hee... well... we talked bout choir for a large part of our time..something which non-choristers wont understand..:D

tomorrow doctor appointment....

2005-01-27T01:05:00.000+09:00

sigh.... have to go to the doctor for a review tomorrow.. hopefully everything will be alrite.. it is so expensive to just go there! all my savings... gone! argh... hopefully... tomolo will be the last time... but.. dunno leh.. up till now still not fully recover.. still having episodes of 'strangeness'.. well.. please keep me in yr prayers ar... or else.. no teck guan to come back... lol

an unevenful week..

2005-01-21T17:04:00.000+09:00

bleh... well.. i was admitted into the hospital on wednesday nite.. after i experience severe vertigo during class... it was really horrid cos during class, i sort of start seeing the world turn round.. at first i tot it was becos i din have lunch so i pop a sweet into my mouth.. well... it wasnt it..:S i went out of the class thinking maybe it's the air... but..nope... the vertigo became a lot worse.. i couldnt walk straight and really felt horrid.. i feel as if i was drunk yet...i retain full control of my senses... thank God for friends like Carol, Shermaine and Benjamin.. seeing me in my state.. they brought me to the nearby clinic which i vommited quite a bit..-.-" well... the next thing we did... we called an ambulance and i was on to the nearby 国立国際医療センター...

there... i was dripped..argh.. and i tot i would never be dripped until i go back for reservist..:S heee.. anyway... the world continued spinning ar.. think at the rate it was spinning.. months have gone by in like minutes.... Carol was with me throughout..:) really thank God for providing me such a steadfast friend..:) well... once i started feeling better... we decided to take pictures..:P haaa... well... at that point of time, i was feeling better... days now goin by the minute..:) in the end, i went for a CT scan to make sure there's nothing wrong with my brain... then.. it was overnight in the hospital... i din wanna tell my parents cos i din want them to worried..:S so i called Jess and made her worried.. heee....

the next day.. my spinning sort of stopped.. was really relieved.... try having vertigo for like 3-4 hours.. it's really tiring.. sigh.... went for more checkups like xrays, den finally to the ear,throat specialists.... the end... they said that my balance mechanism in the ear was overly tired... oh well.... the second day, my host dad came to visit.. guess they were really worried to sia. oh well.... den my classmates, Tristan, Andrew and Yang-san came... with Carol of course... heee..... feeling much better... i paid my bills ($450 as a result of 70% off..) went back to school to settle adminstrative stuff.. den went to shinjuku with carol...o.O oops..

well.. den finally... today! i tot i was goin to school.. boy was i wrong... the vertigo struck in the morning when i woke up..decided to stay in bed den... try eating my medicine to see if it stops the vertigo but nope.... oh well... the vertigo lasted from 7 till 1... during which 10-1 i was half-asleep... couldnt really sleep though.. went down for breakfast and made everyone worried.. arghhh.... sigh.. i hope this vertigo is nothing serious.. i read websites that say normally it is not life-threatening..but still... it's hell-of-a-irritating.... arghhh.......

right now.. i am not feeling that good... not feeling vertigo-ish as well but any sudden movement of my head is BAD....arghh..... bleh... for those who wanna help.. pray for me ya?:S or can buy me lotsa presents!:P hee.. carol is exempted cos she has done alot for me liao...^^

school's ending! and my papers are accumulating!

2005-01-18T01:25:00.000+09:00

oh well... school's coming to an end.. in like a month of so.. not too sure but i noe some classes are stopping at like next week.. though that seems to be reasons to rejoice.. it oso means that all my term papers are due... arghh... i dun really feel like doing them.. really feel like handing in the same term paper for 2 different courses.. heee..:P just have to make them related that's all... ^^

oh well.. a summary of the weekend.. it was raining.. it is suppose to SNOW! *pout* oh well.. guess i cant have everything my way.. ohoh.. i spend crazy lotsa money this weekend..cos.. i bought a Nintendo DS! haa... my mom is gonna kill me... lol... happily playing games now.. hmm.... wonder wat happened to 'all my term papers are due'.. hmm....

an one of a kind exam...

2005-01-14T01:00:00.000+09:00

i had an exam yesterday... if it can be called that....-.-" we went to class and found out that half the class wasn't prepared for the exam... so we asked the teacher if we can postpone to like next week.. well.. he replied that it's not good to upset the schedule (most probably his own schedule) but... if we are unhappy bout the paper.. we can send in the answers to him by mail....-.-" errr.... might as well ask us all to send the answer by mail????? duh... haaa... never mind lor... haaa...... well.. in any case... school started..:S so it's time to get bz again... arghhhh..... i think i became lazier here ar.... but.. lazy is good.. haaa... okok... have an early class tomorrow... gonna have an early nite rest... oyasumi!

it's been a long time... wait... i said that before.. hmm..

2005-01-10T01:31:00.000+09:00

haaa... when it has been a long time... chances are.... that nothing happened.... den again... it could be that lotsa things happened and i had no time.... hmmmm... ANYWAY! heee... got a new house mate.. French guy called Wiliam... nice guy!!! haa... we share something in common..:D we both love playing games! haa.. with him around... i die.... haa.. he just bought a PSP and i am really tempted to get one too!! arghh.... well.. currently.. we hang out often in my room...:P heee... when he use my comp.. i play PSP... when i use the comp... he plays PSP... hee.. good cos like tat.. i wont stick around the computer as often.. bad cos if he sticks around the comp often.. he can't study.. hmmm.....

well... today i called back home and some friends.. was nice to hear my dad's voice for a change.. since most of the time i talk to my mom... can hear that he's really glad that i call though...:) had great time talking (i suppose u can call that talking... half the time i could really hear my frens clearly..:S) but still.. really miss everyone of them...

well.. when i was talking to my church fren Jess.... i noticed 2 policemen stopping near me....-.-" i was like err... never mind.. continue talking..:P haaa.. and they stood around... for a moment.. i tot i was talking too loudly on the public phone...-.-" when i hanged up... they came and talked to me!! apparently someone was robbed by a person wearing a dark jacket.. and i was wearing one... -.-" so i told them that all i had were my purse and my organiser... den they asked me for my id.. which... i happily left it at home...-.-" so.. in the end.. they followed me back and i went up to grab my id and showed them.. but.. they were really friendly..:D at the end of the ordeal.. they said that it's really cold and be careful not to catch a cold... nice.. haaaa...

あけましておめでとうございます！

2005-01-01T01:12:00.000+09:00

well... 2005 is officially here in Japan... 2004 has been a year of disasters... the numerous earthquakes the wreck the world, the furious typhoons that ravaged the lands, the tsunamis that claimed ten of thousands.. and we shouldnt forget the war which has claim many innocent lives, the genocides in Dunfar... even though we are still trying to cope with the aftermath of such disasters.... it's also time to move forward.. it's no use to hold on so tightly to the past, since we can never change it.. but... what we can do is learn from our past and work towards the future... and it is with this hope that we move forward... things will be better if we let it be better... so are you people ready for a great year ahead? i know i am!

First Snow....

2004-12-29T21:02:00.000+09:00

well... it has been a long time since Tokyo has snow during December... still... to me... it doesn't really matter... cos... it's SNOW!!! haaa... gosh.. it's SOOO PRETTY! i never seen snow in my life and i always wanted to see what it looked like.. finally.. today i saw it...

i woke up around 10am... feeling wierd because it felt like 6-7am... well... i suddenly remembered that weather report says that it's gonna snow... so immediately i got off my bed and viola! SNOW!!! little white fluffy things descending from the sky!!... hee... well.. i tried to get a picture but to no avail.. think it's too small... still.. the fact that there is snow leaves a warm fuzzy feeling inside of me..( Is that LOVE??...-.-;) anyhow... i went to had breakfast..

after the breakfast and many other things later, it was time to go out to meet Yilin... i decided to look outside my window again and behold! the roof of the house beside was covered with snow! and i was filled with glee.. :P hee... welll.. the result is more pictures... haaa.... i left the house to meet Yilin, stopping once to take picture of the park nearby.. it was then i notice someone looking weirdly at me... someone with an umbrella... well... maybe it is becos it is snowing and i din have my umbrella... :P lol... sorry ar.. first time so a bit the' sua gu 'lor..:P realizing my 'sua gu'ness.. i went back and grab and umbrella...

met Yilin at Ueno.. and for a snowy day.. she was really wearing erhmm... damn chio..:P lol.. she had a skirt on with boots... leaving her legs quite bare to the brittle coldness... haaa... heng she wore stockings.. but... she was really freezing... i lend her my gloves and scarfs, with solves her top problems but her legs were too cold.... still... we tried to go to Ueno park to take some pictures before the cold devastated her and we had to go seek cover.. after that.. our shopping begins...-.-"

this is my first clothes shopping trip in Tokyo.. went to GAP and Muji.. well... i bought close to S$75 worth of stuff.. but it is just like 1 scarf, 1 top and a jeans... hmm.... not that bad.. Yilin was also happily shopping.... hee.. well.. being the poor us.. we were relegated to buying things on sales... but.. who cares.. they are nice too... hee....

well.... after that.. i went home while Yilin met Hideo for dinner... i had to go back cos i told them i will be back for dinner... the other part is that i have no money left.. hee.... lalalalaaa..

Finally back in my room.. blogging...^^

2004-12-27T01:14:00.000+09:00

well.... it has been hectic.... this few days have been really fulfilling.. but equally tiring... well... the fulfillment part is more than the tiring part i suppose.. hee.... for one... MERRY CHRITMAS!!! belated... lol... oh well... paiseh... will summarized wat has been happening..:)

starting on the 24th... I FINISHED MY PAPER!! heee.. 6am on 25th Dec... 5 hours before deadline.. well.. who cares.. as long as i finish... hee... anyway... i went to school cos i need to print... i was worried cos i lost my references... here's where helpful Carol comes in!! hee... i send an SOS to her.. and thank God...:) she responded.. she took pictures of the references on the notes and sent it to me! super smart!! haaa.. but thanks to her.. i got my references done.. heee....

we met Kyu Kyu on 24th evening... had dinner at Ootouya... some Japanese food restuarant... den we went to Kyu's hotel (Hotel Sheraton Yokohama... shiok ar..:P ) den spent Christmas Eve together.. ^^ well... we were watch Mr Incredible on my computer... and so missed countdown... but.. we made up for it by doing a 10 sec countdown at 0030hrs... heee... it's the thought that count.. then then.. i whisper a short prayer to Jesus to wish Him Happy Birthday... heee....

25th was as hectic cos we had to check out early... we check out of the hotel at 8am... den lugged our heavy bags around Yokohama... hee.. we walked around, occassionally stopping to eat Ba Kua... haaa... nice.. but.. we very cold.... we met Tsukasa at like 3pm den did more shopping for Kyu... Marriane joined us at 6, after which we went to Tsukasa's place for dinner.... ^^

1 thing to say but dinner... UMAIIIII!! the food was fantastic! the food was cooked by Tsukasa's Mom... Tsukasa really should learn from her mom.. heee....the pumpkin soup was sooooo nice... the salad, the inarizushi, the cheese.. dessert.. EVERYTHING!! hee... i really had a nice time... we then watch a Leon Lai movie.. wierd.. but.. who cares... after tat... well... we just spend time monkeying around tilll like 2 plus 3 and went to bed...

and finally... on the 26th.. we woke up early again at 6.. cos we had to catch Kyu's train... breakfast was sumptous... hee... cooked by Tsukasa's mom again!! heee.... nice.. and we had dessert for breakfast.... lol.. strawberries and pineapple... sigh... this is life man... haa..... we rushed to Yokohama on the 7:23 am bus..took the 7:32 train.. and reached Yokohama at like 8:10 or so... send Kyu off in her Narita Express train... oh well.. hope she wil come again soon...:S

after sending Kyu off... well.... it's back home to sleep for 2 hours.. den i met Mitchan and Kevin at Harajuku... basically... we took pictures with the cool people at Harajuku.. and shopped for Kevin's gift... Mitchan left us at 6 for another meeting... leaving me and Kevin alone... oh well.... hmm... apparently.. Mitchan is irritated that i kept teasing her... ALL THE TIME.. hmm... guess i overdid it... think i wil watch out for my own actions more... after coffee and dinner with Kevin... i went home...

well... i PACKED MY ROOM! haa.... it's now cleaner.... heee... oh.. the one thing that nicely wrapped up the day... NIKKE CALLED ME!! i was soooooo happy...:( sigh... i really miss her millions... sigh.....

oh well.. basically... that's it for today... just wanna tell everyone.... I MISS U PEOPLE!!:( my first christmas away from home... sigh.... Have myself, a lonely little Christmas....-.-"

an attempt to do my work... ATTEMPT....

2004-12-23T03:55:00.000+09:00

bleh.... i fell for the old trick again.... sigh.... a happy love story... awww.... who can resist tat???? hmmm.... i can think of a few names now.. hmm.... ANYWAY!!!... hee...i was attempting to do my work when my television which is switched on showed Nottinghill.... (not too sure if that's the name...) the show with Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant... arghhh.... Julia Roberts gotta be one of my fav female actress... she is SOOOOO charismatic!!! arghh.... really got X factor... bleh.... and Hugh Grant is cute too... and he is an English... drools... haaa.... bleh.... so in the end... i did like 3 introduction for my essay... none of which i found satisfactory.. and a smile on my face from the fuzzy feeling of happy endings.... awwwwwww....

ohoh! a special tribute to a good friend!!!! HUIMIN!!!

2004-12-22T01:44:00.000+09:00

haaa... well.... it's her **th birthday today... ^^ here's wishing her all the best in her future endeavors... may she have dreamless sleeps... restful nights.... o.O heee.... still.... she is really one of the most interesting gal i have yet to meet in my life..:) really sweet and very witty...:) love to just sit down and chat with her for a long time... hee..... anyway.... just wanna say... dun work so hard lar..:P haaa... play more... u more then deserve it!:) once again... here's to u... HAAAPPPPYY HATCHDAY!! ^^

Aarin's farewell party and a double dinner....

2004-12-22T01:38:00.000+09:00

well... today we had a major test in the morning... well... 2 major tests in the morning... let us just say it certainly be better.... haaa.... oh well... after the one day of crazy happiness yesterday.. well.... i am now super worried... argh.... sigh.. my essay due err.. this week.. and i have no idea what to write... sigh... this is really very bad..:( and hard... sigh... oh well..... i am stressed out..... T_T

well... on the other hand... i went to Aarin's farewell party... with like Aarin and 2 other people, Tristan and Erica, a Korean from another japanese class... we had dinner at Saizeirya.. which Aarin gave us a treat... ^^ after that we went to the jinja near by since there was like a ceremony and so had many stalls there... we walked around for a bit then was joined by Tang and Andrew.... then... we went off our individual ways cos i had to meet mit-chan and kevin...

meeting Mit-chan and Kevin at Shinjuku... i had my second dinner... of okonomiyaki.... haa... bleh... so... now... i am super full... and super stressed... sigh....bleh...

everyone love happy endings... especially me... ^^

2004-12-20T22:17:00.000+09:00

i am soooooooooo HAPPY!!! haaa.... i love an happy ending!!! they are the best... i dun mind those that goes like 'a good love story has to end tragically'... nope... happy endings are the best!!! haa.... i am SOOOOOOOO HAPPPY!!! i am so gon crazy.... i like happy endings!! URESHII!!! err.... okies... guess it's enuf... but... I AM URESHII!!!! lol

anyway.... not gonna say what show is this... ^^ so u ppl dun get any surprised spoilt... but to me... i will try my best to remember.... i am so getting this vcd when it comes to singapore... if it ever comes..... o.O stilll..... gosh.... i can't stop smiling... ^^

well... today... i skipped all my class.. to study... well.. i tried to study lar... finished 3/6 readings... 3 more to go... need to prepare for my test tomorrow... was like sooooo sian.. until i watched the show...^^ heee... still.... this means that i have to pia hard now.... bleh..... hopefully i can..... ohoh... my NUS friend Kevin came to Japan! haa.. met him for dinner den i rushed home to watch my show... o.O paiseh man... but... this is wat happens when i get hooked on a drama.... so.. best not for meto get hook on dramas....o.O....anyway... need to go pia liao...bleh.... wish me luck for my test and papers...

today is possibly the happiest day in my life since i reached Japan..

2004-12-19T01:27:00.000+09:00

heee... well... i am really happy..:) met sooo many good friends today! it's like a dream come true for me.. hee.... well... Me and Carol met Kyu Kyu who is in Japan for work, then had dinner with Stephanie who came up to Tokyo, and Tsukasa was there too... ^^ 5 friends in a foreign land! well... not foreign to Tsukasa i supposed... hee.. still... it was soooo fun!

in the afternoon, we met up with Kyu Kyu in Shinjuku...well... that wasnt very smooth cos Carol thot it was the West Exit, Kyu was at the New South Exit... and i was waiting at the East Exit.. hmmm... tok about miscommunication and disorientation... anyway... we managed to meet up den go to eat okonomiyaki! well...-.-" the result of the okonomiyaki was that the 3 of us are so not gonna make it as okonomiyaki chefs.. we will have better luck as cha kway teow hawkers maybe... our okonomiyaki defies the conventional rules of the present day okonomiyaki... it was a shape that was shapless... a more fluid one that a solid one.. well... in short... err.. we almost made fried noodles....-.-" with lots of cabbages...

after our exciting lunch.. we walked like 45 mins to Harajuku... we went into one of those tourist shops... and being a tourist... Kyu naturally bought stuff... good for her....:) but the shop really has nice stuff though.. things i will buy for friends when i go back...-.-" hee.... but since i am not goin back soon... that shop have to wait... next stop was Kiddy Land in Harajuku and the shop successfully beguiled us into her seemingly harmless embrace... once we entered, a spell of Kawaii-ness was casted over us and we went crazy with all the cute stuff there.... ok.. maybe.. I went crazy with all the cute stuff there...-.-" in the end.. i splurged like 1600yen there... and that is becos i only had like 4000 yen with me and i need 2000 for dinner .... oh well... exciting.....

Dinner was with Tsukasa and Stephanie... we went to this Izakaya reccommended by Tsukasa.... cant remember the name liao... think it is Tobudon or something Tofudon... dunno... haa.. but was really nice.. the ambience was really fantastic.... even though we are in a restuarant, each table has really their own little space and thus privacy.. we were sitted in a japanese styled way.. err... not kneeling though.. happily seated with our shoes off.. each table has a lamp which shines over our table... defining the space which is ours... and within the sphere.. we chatted and ate non stop.... haa.. lotsa nice food! and we had alcohol.... now to see if my hypothesis bout my alcohol allergy is true... hee... we set there for like 3 hours before heading home.... which is where i am now...-.-" duh... OH!!! Weiling! I got the letter!:) thanks a million.... was really happy to read it... ^^ and special thanks to Kyu for the wonderfully delicious Ba Kua!!! hee... it was really good..:P i had a bite when i reached home to make sure it is still eatable... ^^

Orstrich on ice...

2004-12-18T01:37:00.000+09:00

well.. for those who thinks Orstrich belongs to the hartsh outlands of Down Under.. think again... hee.. well.. currently there is a advert going on in trains showing orstrichs.... SKIING! heee.. it's very well done and absolutely hilarious.. the orstrichs were doing tricks like flips and stuff while skiing... if only i could show it to u all... oh well.... still.. try to imagine these long legged birds on ski ^^... impressive.. ^^

wooots! finished with the LDW class!

2004-12-17T01:44:00.000+09:00

today is a day of celebration.. the 1 credit undervalued class is over! the amount of work is comparable to any other 4 credit modules i am taking.. heck.. it's more than most 4 credit modules i was taking...well... today was the final persentation and we handed in the report so..HURRAH!!! heee... happpy... well... at least... now i have like 1 more big paper to go.. argh... hopefully nothing appears for the holidays..-.-"

Japan the service oriented country...

2004-12-15T21:04:00.000+09:00

well... everyone noes Japan is service oriented rite... the good thing bout the service.. it is for everyone!:) they are really kind to the disabled i think.... for example.. in the train station today.. a train attendant pushed the wheel-bound person into the train... upon alighting... there is another train attendant waiting at the door (which means that they have to synchronise which cabin the person is in!) and was ready to help him out... i wonder which other countries have such a fabuluous systems... for the blind.. there are like signals on the pavements to help them move around oso.... wonder if Singapore will ever reach such a standard.... or we will just think it is not profitable.. so next...-.-"

went for Karaoke today... effectively skipping my lessons... haaa.. well.. they should noe better than to plan lessons so close to the hols! bwhahahaaha!:P

ok... i got 8 mins to blog.... err.. make that 7...

2004-12-14T20:07:00.000+09:00

i have like 8 mins before my battery runs out on me... so... here goes! okies.. i am done... haaaa.... kidding lar.. de... now watching variety show.. after my dinner... actually.. i am more or less just waiting for the battery to run out so that i can charge... hee...

well...today has been err... ok i guess.... went for all my lessons... i like japanese lessons.. the friends i made there are at least erhmm.. longer lasting than the other lessons... hmm.... is this a trend? well... here's the hypothesis.. go for Japanese lessons to make lasing friendship... hee...

this variety is quite interesting... haa... basically teens go up to tv for like physical problems i think...-.-" like constipation, can't sleep etc... well.. this gal now sleeps like 3-4 hours a day.. cos she gets excited thinking bout her crush...-.-" oh well.. u get the idea.. they are teens.... haa.. but was really funny how she answered the questions bout the crush in this little gal squeaking voice... haaa... oh well... oh... appparently they try to solve the problem by walking.....-.-" in a weird way that is.... wierd.... haaa..... imagine the chicken walk... u will have a rough idea.....

oh well... think that's it... oh.... i spend on comics today... there was a sales... i hate sales.... bleh....

another day at home.....

2004-12-12T20:55:00.000+09:00

well... i can say for the record this year has seen me being at home for the most numbers of days... my university years were never bout staying at home.. it's always bout meeting friends and going out.. but... well... in Japan.. staying at home is something i do often... and i dun really like it....:S cos when i stay at home, i really feel is a waste of time when i do things like watch tv and such.. anyway.. i watched The Incredibles today..^^ i like it!! tht baby was SSOOOOO CUTE!!! heee... gaga ^^

hmmm..... wat am i gonna write about?

2004-12-12T01:17:00.000+09:00

well.. half of the weekend is over... argh... i need more weekends... oh well... it has been... err.. productive? maybe not.. haa.. but fun.. hee... err.. wait.. not fun fun but fun playing games... -.-" din get to meet mitsue today cos she said she's bz.. oh well... i like meeting her... nice person to be around with to bully...^^

ohoh... my classmate shared this website with me and so would like to share with u ppl! err.. japanese learning people that is.. hee... www.rikai.com <--- go to the bottom of the page and there should write japanese to english.. click on that.. and viola.. put yr cursor over any japanese words and be amazed... ^^

parties, dinners, meetings inversely proportional to wealth

2004-12-10T10:44:00.000+09:00

i am getting poorer... bleh.... everytime i go out with my friends or watever... i spend money.. the least i have spent so far is like 3000 yen which works out to be $45... the max... i dun wanna think bout it... and that is like for 1 day.... argh.... oh well... however, me am having fun... haaa... ohoh... had a dinner with Hikaru, his friend Yae, and her friend Minori...:D Minori is a model... haa... chio bu!:P haaa... she really looks good though... hee....

well... yesterday was Serene's birthday so here's wishing a HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY... again.... haaa.... using ur name to fill up this space...:P heee....

exciting day today!

2004-12-06T23:26:00.000+09:00

heee... our class went to the disaster centre (well... not really disaster centre but the bousaichyou) and it turn out to be more fun den expected... well... think this is one of the few school trips we get.. if u can call it a field trip though since we had to pay for ourselves to get there... anyway... there, they teach us wat to do in an earthquake, fire and such... so we went thru a few simulation..:D hee....

the first was the earthquake course... they have a special room which stimulates earthquake and so we had to off the fire, open the door and hide under the table... and the room really shakes! hee... but.. the table is SOOOOO small!! argh.. japanese size sia.... was rather cute looking at those americans squeeze beneath the table...^^ well.. i had problems too though..:S hee....

the second was the smoke room, where they simulate a building which caught fire and the whole place is smoky... so we had to move around in the smoky room finding our way out.. really hard to see cos the smoke was really thick.. but they din use real smoke lar.. the smoke smelled like caramel to me though.. heee...

the last (alas...) was the fire extinguishing game.. err.. simulation i mean....(-.-;) well... we had to put our fire with the fire extinguisher.. so it was 'kaji da!' den sprayyyyyyyyy.... haaa.... fun.... ^^

well... the day had its bad things too though.. i had a major midterm today..:S hopefully everything turns ou fine..:S oh well..

after another cliche episode of Fuufu...^^

2004-12-05T23:37:00.000+09:00

sigh... i hate for the show to end sia... guess it's a very cliche type of show but.. well... cliches are cliches lor.... ppl like cliches...:D dun u all go 'awwww' at a part which u noe will happen but still go 'awwww' anyway?:P heee... lalalala... well.. the's the good thing bout today... ohoh.. another good thing is that i went to church today! hee... the 1030 service is nicer..:P got more people more youths.. anyway... i stayed for lunch and chat with the people... well... sorta chat i supposed... haaa..

well.. that's the good part... the bad part is.. i got a major test tomorrow and err.. i have yet to study for it... die... oh well..... ^^

today's Aaron ( i think..) birthday party...:S

2004-12-04T01:46:00.000+09:00

one of our classmates had a birthday party today and so we all went to dinner... with his horde of japanese friends.... this guy is a pretty friendly, Hawaiian Chinese guy... so he made lotsa friends... so many that i was really shocked..there were like errr...12, maybe, japanese friends... i had like err... i dun wana count.. it's sad.. anyway... we went to have shabushabu buffet which cost like 1680 yen.. expensive but it's someone's birthday so oh well.. the food was good though... hee...

well.. other thing we did today was to go with Tsukasa to watch this Flamenco performance by the Waseda Flamenco Club... well.. they are good sia.. good music, good dancing.. the guitarist was unbelievable ar.. really fantastic playing.. everyone did very well i think... i really enjoyed this performance.. and i aint exactly a dance person too... nice nice... OLE!:P

eeeks... i fell into 1 big trap today..

2004-11-30T22:36:00.000+09:00

sigh... i was 'ambushed' on my way home today... for some obscure reason which i will never figure, a shop near my station was selling CUTE stationaries!!! arghh.... so i tot 'ok.. i will just go in and take a look' well... the look turned out to be 15 dollars worth of stationaries.. somewhich i dun think i will use but i bought them cos it is so cute.. .argh... well.. there were stickers, books, files and such.. quite a few of pooh, 1 nemo file, 1 pooh notepad, japanese stickers... argh... oh well.. i am happy though.. hee...^^

met Tsukasa after like err... 3 months? haa... really glad to meet her after such a long time... so we chatted and stuff lor... introduced our classmates ( since carol was wih me..:D) to her.. had a fine time at lunch..... ureshikatta...^^ heee...

argh.... i dun like this.... i tear too easily...

2004-11-29T19:20:00.000+09:00

bleh... was watchin an anime series... bout a doctor i think... this doctor and his cute daughter (not too sure if really daugther or wat but..) this doctor looks really familiar sia.. as if from some other anime one... anyway... this story is bout a sushi maker, who after learning, was returning back to his hometown to fulfill his promise to his aging mother that he will make the best sushi in the world for her.. along the way, he was knocked down by a truck driver and lost both his hands. den u have the remorseful truck driver and his wife who felt really sad and disraught over the whole incident. well... the sushi maker den had an idea, he will 'borrow' the hands of the truck driver, teaching him how to make sushi and fufill his promise to his mom. so begins a tough understudying of a sushi maker... eventually they succeed after much hardship... well... one day, the truck driver was leaving the house and saw a fire, he went in, saved the kid but lost his life. at his dying breath in the hospital... he ask the wife to give this pair of arms to the sushi maker... that's where doctor ( who likes the sushi maker's sushi) came in and fixed the arms.... the story ended with the wife seeing the image of her husband as the sushi maker uses her husband's arms to make sushi... oh well... normal storyline but.... think i teared like a few times....-.-" sometimes i really think i am a crybaby...:S

sunday.... so fast.... it's over....

2004-11-28T21:54:00.000+09:00

well.... it's sunday nite.. again.... weeks go past very fast here... wish time will slow down a bit... oh well... anyway... was watching yet again 'fuufu'. well... it made me think... in 20 years time... when i look back at my life wat do i want out of it? the mother found that 25 years have passed since she got married... and... she sort of feel lost... looking around at people around her, the young have their youth, some of the older ones were working unlike her, a full-time house wife.. think she felt really disappointed and sad that 25 years have gone past and she was somehow stuck in where she was then and is now... well... how bout us? 25 years from now, we consider the life we are living and the life we had led... what do we wanna see come out of it?

i watch a japanese movie in a japanese theatre today!

2004-11-27T22:35:00.000+09:00

well... i caught Miyazaki Hayao's latest film 'Hauru no ogoku shiro' today! with mit-chan... hee... well.. it is damn good.. not tat i understand half of the conversations in the movie though.. haa.. but i understand the storyline ar... hee.... well.... just go watch it... it's really beautiful.. the drawings and animation is so overwhelming... think i might go buy the art book.. hmm.. hee... anyway... really happy that i caught it...^^

well... as with all other meetings with mit-chan.. it is really fun... well... like said.. she is one of the biggest reason why i come Tokyo.. if she not here.. i wont have come to Tokyo.. most prob chose Kyushuu.. well... other reason is of course Xiaowen.... hee... anyway... we walked around and caught the movie today lor... wanted to have dinner with her but she was to meet her father and sister for dinner cos their mum is off to visit her friend in Aomori ( i think... ^^)

today is a holiday! and i blew it away....

2004-11-24T01:33:00.000+09:00

think today is some sort of labor day... but in Japan... i wonder if labor day is a day for the workers to work more... hmm.... anywayz... me had a project meeting today.. which effectively last for like half an hour.... well.. we separate the work and viola! it is done.. all we have to do is to meet up tomorrow to consolidate and present.. ^^ short, simple and sweet.. 3 S... ^^ hee... well.. the rest of the day is spent on my computer... and doing some (really really little some) work... haaa.. yupps... tat's it... my holiday...:S

after another episode of 'Fuufu' (The Couple)

2004-11-21T21:53:00.000+09:00

sigh.... i still say the same thing.. i love this show.... haa.... human relations are really soooo incredible... it can be like so powerful yet at the same time so fragile.... the trust and love between people is perhaps the most important elements... between friends, couples, everyone... for something which take years and years to cultivate... it could all be gone in a matter of seconds, a matter of words... yet... does it have to be so? of course it hurts when people say something or do something to damage that relationship... but... do u think it is worth to like throw it away just in those matter of seconds? do u think those people really did those things and said those stuff to hurt u purposely? well... we are all humans... we make mistakes... the more important thing is perhaps how we deal with those mistakes... do we allow it to be a bigger mistake... or start afresh? oh well.... this is of course not to say tat we have no rite to be angry and stuff lar.... but... be angry and like blow up or something.. but after tat... reflect and think... try to be rational bout it ar.... hee...^^

why are weekends so short?

2004-11-21T16:41:00.000+09:00

will be working during weekends and resting during weekdays i supposed.... well.. make it 3 and 4 den... hee... ^^

well... din really accomplished much school work this weekend.. even though i do have lotsa work to do.. argh.. lotsa readings ar.... must really start piaing liao... but... haaa... lalalala.. dun care.... hee.... wanted to blog yesterday but i somehow couldn't get into blogger..so i slept instead.. heee....

yesterday must be the day i spent the most money liao sia... i spent like 3800 yen... cos i went over my friend Xiaowen's place an Odaiba... really expensive to go there sia... transport alone cost me like 1140 yen lor... but.. was worth it.. really enjoyed myself... me and her friends, Seigo, Yuichi and Ango (got this feeling i mite have mispelled them..:P) had like dinner cooked by our dearest xiaowen.. and it was good... haa.. we had kimchi steamboat... super nice ar... and xiaowen made sushi!! heee... i like... haa... den den... we went to do some bowling near her place.... after which we went to Shimbashi to do some karaoke... haa... now u can see where the money go to ar.. hee.. but was really fun... wished could have stayed longer but i had to rush back to catch the last train... oh well.... hee... hmm... i noe i am not doing justice in describing a fun day that i had but oh well... refer to complaints earlier... haa... my english not 'powderful' enuf... haaa...

well.... need to finish this fast anyway.. goin out with the host family to eat sushi... kaiten sushi.... yummy... hopefully we can come back before 9 though... i wanna watch my show... haa.... gosh... i suddenly get reminded of weiling when i say that sia.. haaa... ^^

a weekend! yippee!!

2004-11-19T19:13:00.000+09:00

well... a week has passed again.. and it really is with mixed feelings that i go yippee... yippee cos the week is ending, the weekends are here, no school for 2 days.... not yippee becos it means i have 1 less week in japan..(T_T) well.... guess that's life.....

this week is like a so normal week... presentations, tests, school.... nothing interesting actually happened... except tat once again i noticed my inability in languages... well.. i noe i complain quite a bit bout this but this time is different.... this time is LANGUAGES.. think i totally suck at languages... english, chinese, japanese... u name it i suck at it.. wonder wat went wrong sia.. i read a lot, both english and chinese but.. err.. somehow... oh well... coupled with the fact tat the accents we used in singapore is weird.. and talkin to foreigners somehow make me use a different type of accent which i find it difficult cos i need to pronounce my words betta.... oh well... haaa.... hmm... wait... this is not to be my complaints board.. oopsie... haa....

well... i called Kiat yesterday... hee... surprise call.. cos he is in the midst of his exams.. haa... well... last paper today and he will be celebrating now i supposed... or perhaps sleeping... hmm.... watever... haa... but really happy to hear his voice though.. he is really one great guy... one great friend... someone totally dependable... den again.. my group of choir frens are all that too... but.. well... only thing different is that he is KIAT! he's different..^^ heee.......

on my way home tonite... i managed to grab this Okinawan food... wah piangz.... super good... it's deepfried but the taste... gosh.... reminds me of some chinese cake but different... inside it is like made of yam and dunno wat sia... hmm... it's hard on the outside, soft on the inside... it's sweet but not too sweet... and have a tinge of yam ( i love yam...^^) wished i bought more though... one cost like 90yen.... only! haa... lalalalala..^^

busy week again....

2004-11-14T20:58:00.000+09:00

this whole week was a blurr.... handed in an essay on monday, prepared for like 2 presentations (in Japanese..) and... hmm.. tat's it.... but somehow.. i was like super bz this week.... maybe it is becos i play too much... haa.... i hope not man... i dun remember playing much until this weekend sia... oh well... now tat this week end is coming to an end... a new week ahead... more work.. argh.. got a test this friday.. argh.....

well... i finally start the studying thing with Mitsue... well... not really studying lar.. more like meeting to chat and stuff... still chatting in english now.. hopefully will proceed to japanese... argh... ohoh... btw... just an interesting note.. in Japan, they really take sunday as the beginning of the week.. err... the following is for people who knows japanese...:P if u say 'konshuu no nichiyoubi' in means the sunday in this week... while 'kondo no nichiyoubi' is the sunday which is coming.. err... there are differences.. trust me... haaa... at least to them...^^

i love reading and hate reading....

2004-11-09T16:34:00.000+09:00

i love reading and hate it at the same time... i love it for the possibility of transporting me to other worlds, to other lives and hate it for transporting me to those other worlds and life... for this same reason.. i love and hate good books at the same time.... maybe... that's the reason why i love fantasy... cos while i am being transported there, i somehow noe that it is not that real and the emotional aspects of the the characters are somehow more muted to me.. i think.. however, once i start reading books which are more 'real'... the emotions of the characters will hit me smack in the face... oh well.... still.... i would continue to read i supposed....

i am currently reading this book Naoko, by this Japanese author... well... it is in English.... haa... anyway... it's a rather peculiar story i supposed... at least... i had never read a story with such a story line.... basically.... Heisuke, a husband lost his wife, Naoko, and 6th grade daughter, Monami, in a ski bus accident.... Naoko died while protecting Monami but for some obscure reason... Monami started acting as if she is Naoko, even to the extent of knowing things Naoko, her mother, knows... welll.... this type of story i supposed is so emotionally charged... oh welll.. stupid me for reading such a book? hee...

i was in the train when i was reading this scene... basically, the wife of the driver who is involved in the accident came into a meeting with the victims to apologised to them... she herself has lost her husband but at the same time, becos her husband is seen as the cause of the accident, is obviously not taken as part of the victims... as much as one might think why in the world did she do tat... we have to note that perhaps there is the cultural context of the story which is in Japan... the sincerity of the wife is genuine.. she really felt guilty that her dead husband is the cause of the accident... i dun think she went there so much as to seek sympathy but more of a heartfelt apology... but at the same time, the victims were of course unable to see her hurts.... one even shout back that her husband is the murderer... but... her husband is dead, there is really nothing anyone can do about it... dunno lar.. basically... messy issue...

well.. i read this scene and had to stop reading... cos i really felt like tearing... i was being transported into the book.. however... i was still more of a bystander lookin at things from both sides... and for this reason.. felt the pains of both sides... oh well.... guess i am weak in that area... m(_ _)m

busy and wonderful weekend.... ^^

2004-11-08T21:51:00.000+09:00

well... i noe this is not the weekend but dun care... me backlogging... heee... anyway... the past weekend is fantastic... on sat, i saw Kabuki... well... part of it at least... i left halfway cos i promised to go down Soka University for the Soka-sai ( or the Soka-festival)... well... i took it that i had the best of both worlds... hee.... both were wonderful... that Kabuki was nice, only wished i had translation.. Soka-sai is fun... i like the atmosphere at her school.. then again... it might just be becos i like the people there betta... heee....

sunday was another sai-day.. this time is the Waseda-sai.... I met Marriane and we went to the festival... it was err.... more woah den the Soka-sai in terms of turn out.. it was super scary... the whole place is packed... according to Marriane... it was even advertised on radio apparently... well... in anycase.. it was big... they had like some singers to perform i think... well.. the other highlight of the day was that Caroline was in a kimono fashion show... well... she looks good lor... haa... imagine lucy liu den u have carolyn... power hor... i am serious de.... she really gives me the lucy liu type of chio-ness.. haaa.... well.. there were man other performances, including an acapella concert which was like 'gosh... i wanna sing!!' the groups were very good... i wanna sing i wanna sing!! bleh... haa... at the end of the festival, togther with some of the exchange students, i went up on stage to err... 'sing' 'we are the world'.... but... it is really crappy.. we din actually sing but rather went up to mouth words... it got really funny for me when a girl's voice is playing and a guy is lip-singing.. haa... well... the whole day was fun ar... heee... but.. all good things have to come to an end... i had to go back to rush my homework... which i did... haa....

well... today was a erhmm.. not so nice day... becos of that homework... i din have time to study for the test today and din do as well as i want to... sigh... i really need to put in more effort for my work...

ohoh! i saw an interesting advertisement today on tv! there was this advert with the merlion!! SINGAPORE!! haaa... well... they were introducing a Merlion brand air freshener... haa.... SINGAPORE!! RAWWWRRR!! hee....

mountain climbing day....

2004-11-05T23:57:00.000+09:00

well... today... carolyn, her 'da jie' and me hiked takaosan (takao mountain)...it was a great day for mountain climbing since the weather report said that it will be sunny... the mountain was like 559 m high on the submit i think... anyway.... it's soooo not easy... haa... the begining league of the journey we were debating bout taking which routes to take and by carolyn's theory, we have more energy at the beginning so we should take the longest route... oh well.. we did tat...

route 1, the one we took, is about 3.8 km to the submit... it is SUPPOSED to take 90 mins.. well... with much phototaking, stopping for rest and lunching... we arrived there at around errr...2 plus i think.. we started at like 10 plus... but like said.. we did alot of phototaking alot of resting while only one lunching.. hee... the route worst part is the beginning with those crazily steep slopes... everytime we tranverse a slope... we almost have to take a break.... well... it really din make us feel better when u see grandpas and grandmas 'zooming' past us with their walking sticks... no way am i gonna challenge anyone of them for speed man... haaa....

we reached one of the midway points and had lunch there... the lunch is vegetarian and we suspect that the restuarants in the mountains are all vegetarians.. think it is becos this mountain used to be like a pilgrimage for monks, with its temples and such... anyway... the food really refreshing and u can taste the taste of summer in those dishes... really nice...

we finally reached the submit at around 2 plus.. some of the trees have changed into their autumn dress so it was really pretty... the air is fresh and cooling too sia.. realy felt a sense of accomplishment when we reached there.. haa... the only sad thing is that it was rather foggy in the surrounding areas so we couldn't really see the cities and such.. oh well... but.. it was a good trip up...

what goes up must come down and we too finally went down around 3.30pm.. we took route 6 down.. route 6 is a more reguarly mountainhiking track with no roads or concrete paths, unlike route 1... since it was getting late, the sun was like setting and such, we had to make our way down fast... well.... the beginning part of route 6 is the difficult part with the millions of steps... it was really steep and going down it was really errr.. exciting... the rest of route 6 were across mountain terrains with its mud path.. there was actually this portion where we had to walk in the creek... the water is not too deep but still.. it make the road slippery.... highlights of route 6 is mainly this waterfall... small one though.... haa.. but 'mai hiam bei pai' so we took pictures... but like said, it was getting dark so we decided to like rush through route 6.... we finally reached the bottom at around 5 and left for home...

route 6 is one nice route to take up we think since it has the more natural environment... the trees are such were really pretty and u are in contact with nature... route 1 is the normal route up we suppose since the midway point has the cable car system from the bottom... the worst part of route 1 is the beginning part till the midway point and the cable car effectively skipped those areas....

well.. all in all... Takaosan is a nice mountain to climb.. not easy but the scenery and air is really good... on a good day, i supposed we can see much more from the mountain... it is said that we can see Shinjuku and Yokohama from certain parts of the mountains... i suppose on a good day without the fog we should be able to see Fuji-san too.... well..the close contact with nature is a total opposite with the urban jungle of Tokyo... Takaosan is one of the many mountains in that area so mountainhiking enthusiasts would love it there.. like Carolyn... ^^

today's a holiday! and i went to Mitsue's place! ^^

2004-11-03T23:38:00.000+09:00

well...today is a national holiday in Japan... dunno wat holiday though but to me, as long as it is a holiday, i am happy... haaa.. feel like skipping that language development class tomorrow.. hmm... will see how i supposed... haa.... anyway, highlight for today is going to Mitsue's place! that was really fun.. before we went there however, we went to see the Prof Arthur J Toynbee and Ikeda Daisaku Sensei's exhibition... apparently, Prof Toynbee was the one who , in my opinion, allowed Ikeda sensei to internationalize the Soka association.. well... Soka mite have internationalized without him too but he certainly brought Ikeda sensei into the international arena.... anyway.... Prof Arthur J Toynbee was a English Historian... one of the greatest of his time... ^^ the whole exhibition is in japanese though... 'heng' i got Mit-chan there to like translate.. haa....

welll..after the exhibition, we walked to Mit-chan's place and had dinner there.. we had Kimchi nabe, which is basically Kimchi steamboat..well... it was GOOD!! haaa..really nice.... UMAIIIIII!! hee... dunno wat to say sia.. reminds me sort of like 'ma la huo guo' but not as spicy but still as nice... it was Mit-chan's grandmother's 86 birthday on 1 Nov so we had a sort of birthday celebration too.. had like strawberry cake.... heee..

Mit-chan's family is rather young... the grandfather is like 70 plus and still look vigorous.. the parents are like 50 plus yet look in their forties..... and Mit-chan and her sis are young too... quite different from my present host family where the parents are like 70s, the kids in their 30s... oh well.... anyway... Mit-chan's Obaasan (grandma) is really cute!! haa.. think all the females of her family all the same de... nice nice, blur blur, cute cute... haaa......

bleh... really lookin forward to goin to her place again... really felt a warmth i haven felt in a long time... ^^

hopefully getting betta....

2004-11-02T01:27:00.000+09:00

well... still sick... been eating the medicine which my host family gives me... skipped lessons today for like 2 reasons.. one... wasn't feeling great in the morning so decided to sleep in more.... and the second.. going for the waseda keio baseball game which has been postponed to today... went with Hikaru, Yae and her friends.. really quite interesting... Japanese guys cheerleaders are reallllly cute! haa... as in their dance... not the cute cute.. their dance is like sooooo defferent... dun think u can find it anywhere else in the world... welll... imagine the slam dunk character dancing.. something like tat.. haa...

the soukeisen (aka the Waseda-Keio Battle) was really interesting... the team started with 4-3, waseda 3 from yesterday's game.. then it was still a close fight... but.. oh well.. got trashed this game sia... the score was like 8-1, 1 to us.. still... it was interesting to cheer and stuff... for example, when our team is pitching, there are various signals the cheerleaders make us to... hand signals like 3 strike, strike, change etc etc.. was quite interesting to see everyone do it though... when it's our turn to bat... everyone stands up and cheer non stop till we change over... and if we score.. we dance... haa... that's the simple explanation.. u have to see it to understand it... but but.. was really fun cheering even though i dunno the songs.... some were pretty simple though... and the cheerleaders were like woah.... the guys got 'sei' the gals can dance.. the gals even did one of those 'bring it on' cheerleading... sugoi ne....

the one thing that caught my attention is when the final batter (us) missed the ball...and thus game over.. up to that very point, the cheerleaders continuing to hope that they can pick up from the 8-1 lost.. they cheered and cheered.. u will never have guessed that we were the losing one... they continue to put in their fullest into the cheering, the cheerleaders, the bandm and the audience... but at the exact moment we lost... there was a marked silence... while Keio erupted with estasy... u were suddenly hit by the fact that we lost... it was hard and bitter... yet... the students took it with pride... silent defeat yet standing tall... was really woah... something u wont get to see elsewhere i feel... i stood there and immersed myself into the atmosphere... i felt the loss.. i felt the winner's joy... it was really amazing....

on a more morbid note...

2004-10-30T21:23:00.000+09:00

for those who do not err... 'enjoy' 'morbid-city' please skip and go on to the rest of the blogs... anyway... i was thinking about death today... humans have always been fascinated and yet repulsed by death... presently, one of the biggest event in someone's life is a funeral... given that the fact we celebrate birth every year.. guess... one big celebration of death is in order.. after all.. u only get to die once.. hee...

well.. i have always been fascinated by death.. my first encounter was perhaps the death of my dog, den the death of my grandmother... those... i was too young to comprehend death but at the age of 11... i came to the realization that 'oh no... i will die oneday'... i remembered vividly bout that day i cried in front of my mom becos of death... i was scared of it... my mom was cooking that day and i went to ask her if everyone will die.. she said yes.. and i started to cry... ( well.. that's the short version.. haa...)

the topic of death remained in my mind like for the longest time, more den any other topics i supposed.. even up to now.. i do think about death... well... i am not scared of death now ^^ ( think it comes with the fact that I am a Christian so death is just a waypoint to me.. death will just mean 'hello Jesus! ^^) while i am not so concerned bout my own death.. i am concerned and afraid of the people around me dying.. book, movies, dramas.. whenever there is a death involved... i somehow transport myself into settings, and 'participate' in the atmosphere of feeling utterly sad and shattered... well.. i do this with like topics of love, birth and everything too i supposed... but in any case.. i noe that i am very afraid of people around me dying, even as i 'participate' in the feelings of bereavement in stories and such... i noe that death to someone close to me will shock me utterly... i can just picture myself in one now.... hmm... perhaps.. this is also one of the motivation for me to let people noe about Jesus.... oh well...

while i am scared bout people around me dying.. i am curious bout what my own death means to people.. (feel free to leave a note in a comment! hee..)... will people cry? what will they remember me as? will i even be remembered and stuff.. haa.. oh well... guess i am being too self-centred..^^ while i think about such stuff... on the other hand.. it doesnt really matter to me.. haaa... cos... i wont know it till i die.. and errr.. when i die.. i still wont know it... bleh....

which finally brings me to the topic i was thinking about while bathing today... rites and rituals... i think rites and rituals are important.. especially so in the 'celebration' of death... i use the word celebrate here cos in the christian sense, u are going to be with the Father, while on the other hand, people do sort of celebrate death with the type of pompous ceremonies... yet as i was saying.. rites allow us to focus our thoughts and feelings on the death of the person... the death will be a big blow to the one surrounding... but rites makes sure that the person move on, at least for the next few days of death.. as one is busy preparing for the funeral rites, one tend to put his emotions away (yet the inner self is still continously bereaving for the death)... we den focus on what we have to do and such... the funeral will also have it's own timing to allow individuals to release their innermost emotions and such... yet do it in a controlled manner which i think, keeps us sane and not be so consumed by our own emotions... after the whole funeral ritual... the sense of bereavement will hit us once more, but at the same time, the rituals which took so much of our time and energy, has also allowed our sorrows to flow out bit by bit... thus at the end of the ritual, the sorrow we have, i feel, is a more 'matured' and 'disciplined' one.. well... there will be times where we still lose our discipline and get totally consumed but for most of us...funeral rituals and rites will have the desired effects on us....

okok.. enuf of this morbidness... go enjoy the rest of your day.. hee..ohoh.. and remember! always show the people u treasure u treasure them before it's too late... love your family and friends and show them that u really do love them! hee..^^ with the rememberance of death, i suppse one will tend to learn to celebrate life.. ^^

argh... i think i am sick....

2004-10-30T21:06:00.000+09:00

dry cough, sore throat block nose.... are these signs of falling ill? is they are, means that the flu bug has finally caught me.... kinda feel lerthargic and err..generally bad.. oh well... all i can do now is to eat medicine and sleep (which i tend to deprive myself though...) hee....

today.. i went to the Soukeisen or better known as the Waseda-Keio baseball game... somehow... my friends and i met at like 9 becos his japanese friend said so... so we gathered at Sendagaya at 9... and realised that the match starts at 1... well.. we realised... the japanese knew.. apparently.. it's normal... so that u can get good seats and practice cheering and stuff... but my friend and i was like 'errr.... but it starts at 1'... and to make things worse, it was raining and stuff... in anycase.. we went to the stadium, stood outside for an hour or so... and they told us it is cancelled cos of the rain....-.-" oh well...

so my friends (Hikaru and Grace) and i decided to go for lunch.. at Shinjuku.... we finally settled on this okonomiyaki restuarant... well... all i can say is... okonomiyaki is officially my favorite japanese food.. heee... i really like it. think one day i will just go on a buffet.. hee... anyway.. we tend went to Isetan cos we dun really feel like going back yet.... well.. they din feel like, me was like i wanna go back and rest... still... good that we did not go back cos we went to Isetan, and were stuck in the food section... haa.. the food there's really mouth-watering! Hikaru and me decided to stop our chewy-guming and start on food testing... well.. we ate mostly bread cos we were lost at the bread section apparently.. haa... one conclusion, which Xiaowen has concluded is... Anderson bread is nice.... it really is... soft, declicous.. yummy... haa... we den went pass a gelato restuarant where we den decided, 'ok... that's it.. we are having a break here..' so sat and eat gelato.. haa... nice...

after gelato, we left for home... well.. they left and i was on my way back when i saw this notice bout bunraku, explanation and performance.... i was about to go and take my train before it hit me.. 'BUNRAKU'.. i was 'WOAH!!'... immediately, i stopped went towards the venue and stood there for 45 minutes... Bunraku is Japanese puppetry... for those who dun noe and want to just dismiss it as 'just puppetry'.. well.. if u never seen bunraku, u never seen puppetry at it finest.. the puppets really come to life with Bunraku... they are like half a man's body size, takes 3 people to move it, has like fantastic facial expression ( the mouth, eyes, neck and eyebrows are movable.) ... in the hands of an expert ( which there was today) these dolls come alive... totally... they move with a cat-like grace and has almost complete facial expressions... well... rather den describing it fully.. try to catch a bunraku performance and i assure u.. u will be like 'woah'...

i wasted like $30 dollars...

2004-10-28T23:26:00.000+09:00

did i tell u i wasted $30 dollars? bought a screen protector for my laptop.... so was trying to figure out how to use it.. took it out... den wham! i put the wrong film on the screen.. result... the actual one had like lotsa dust sticking to it... sigh... dust rooms sucks big time...:S well... i tried putting on that screen thing.. and yupps.. i can't get those airbubbles out! arghhh..... sigh... guess.... that screen protector is like so gone.... sigh..... so there... i wasted $30 dollars... i mite buy it again though... the screen really looks cool with that screen protector... hee..

well... school's horrid today... den again.. not really school... more like me.. sigh... i kinda think that i mite have overloaded myself in workload... thus.. not allowing me to accomplish anything.. but just getting by with everything..... the end result... as usual.. is that my studies suffer, i hate myself, i get depressed.. sigh.... i seriously thinking of why in the world is my japanese so bad... anyone out there who can give me a hint... or betta still give me a direct answer... pls tell me... i really am angry yet so lost as to how to improve.... sigh... oh well.. sorry man.. guess u people caught me in the self-pity mood.. again.. haaa....

did i say i wasted like $30 dollars?

went to this erhmm...small church yesterday... it's called Sophia church... if i remember correctly.. it is of the Anglican denomination.. anyway... i kinda prefer this church to the rest which i have been to... even though i might give the one nearby my place a try again.... well... for one thing... Sophia church are not doing those very modern 'hip' christian songs but old and tested ones.. the tunes are all familiar even though the words are very different.. (duh.. it's in japanese.. of course different..:D) still... i do prefer those.. hee.. den.. most of the people there are like young people! haaa... not a lot of japanese though.. yet... the service is in japanese.. the congregation is mainly made up of Koreans, chinese and so forth.. still.. nice atmosphere.. just that it is rather far from home but near to Waseda University... heee....

did i say i wasted like $30 dollars?

hmm...ohoh... pls feel free to leave comments.. or rather.. pls leave comments!:D hee.. changed the settings that anyone can leave a comment... so... tell me how u have been doing or tell me how to improve my japanese... bleh... tell me anything and everything.... ^^

did i say i wasted like $30 dollars?

rushing an essay.... argh... taking a break.. yeah...

2004-10-27T02:16:00.000+09:00

rushing an essay now.... while it's only like 3 - 5 pages with no specification on font size (maybe 50? ^^), it wasnt easy for me to write... think it is becos i dun read enuf anthropologists works to make any concrete argument.. well.. the question was basically Discuess Ruth Benedict's model of Japanese culture in The Chrysanthemum and the sword with reference to the work of any anthropologist or sociologist which u are FAMILIAR with.. i was like uh oh... oh well..bo bian.. i am a student.. she gives.. i do... even if i die doing.... arghh.. lalalalaa... heee..... ^^

made a call to Boss today.. very nice to hear her voice over the phone... ^^ heee.... remember those times in JC when i used to keep bothering her with questions.. and how she will just listen quietly to watever griviences i had... she is really one good fren which i really thank God for putting in my JC life... ^^

Met Huimin online today and i was like... woah! so happy.. haa... very long neber see her online liao... so was slightly distracted from my work and chat with her for a while... well... all good things had to end and this ended when she decided that playing chess with lord Zhou is more important... ( it means sleeping.. according to Kit..:P) so.. she went to sleep... i went to do my essay.. hee..

monday blues....

2004-10-25T23:00:00.000+09:00

monday isnt exactly the most happening to days.... especially if it is your longest day... somehow.. i got the worst time table... last periods on the mondays and fridays... sigh... no good for my morale at all.. no good no good... and to make things worse.. i have yet to start on my essay which i am to submit on wednesday.. if it is not bad enuf... i have yet to choose a topic... think this week is one of my worst weeks... 2 assignments to hand in on thursday... makes me yet again see the consequences of procrastinating.... heee... oh well... still... i noe tat everythng can de... not by my own strenght but by HIS! ^^

a sad sunday...

2004-10-24T23:00:00.000+09:00

well.... the earthquake really took its toll on the people... so far.. think like 21 people have died, mainly the old and the kids... i watch yesterday's news that a 2 month old toddler died too... sigh.... there are also like 1900 who are injured.... think around 60000 are seeking refuge at disaster refuge centres... electricity and water is disrupted, trains derailed, roads and tracks destroy.. all in 1 day.. i am really kinda worried for my teacher teaching there... wonder if he is alright... was also watching tv just now and there were messages in which people were sending to individuals in the area to find out if they are alright... could really feel the anxiety and the agony of waiting to find out if your close ones are alright... really felt an aching in my heart... sigh...

well.... i spent my whole day today preparing for my presentation tomorrow... dunno why i so suai.. kanna such a long chapter... filled with many economic jargons oso...so have to like think it thru and put it into words easily understandable by the rest of the class.... oh well..dun really care le.... just go and do it tomorrow...

had one err.... stoopid thought just now.. when does innocence end and naviety begins.... or is innocence just a construct in which we idealised upon... since at different times, innocence is often seen as naviety.... hmm.. maybe if i got the energy to think i will go think bout it.... ^^

EARTHQUAKES!!! -.-"

2004-10-23T21:27:00.000+09:00

well.... the highlight of the day was supposed to be outing with Yilin.. until i reached home that is... my host father was like asking me did i feel the earthquake while in the train and i was like 'huh?' well... he said apparently there was an earthquake before i reached home and logically speaking, would mean that i was in the train... i was like 'err... nope... din feel a thing...' den i went back to my room, sat down and there it was.... another earthquake.. well.... basically, with big earthquakes, there is the major quake and the several minor ones... guess the one i felt and the subsequent ones were the minor ones.. today's earthquake was centralized at Nagaouka, west of Tokyo, measuring at a high 6 on the Ritcher Scale... it was bad.. people were injured and at least 1 was killed by a falling wall.. think tsunamis a.k.a giant waves that will bring sharks to u (kidding bout the sharks.. -.-") were created since Nagaouka was a coastal province... oh well... guess we will have more of it in the news... however, one of the things which struck me was that our previous Japanese lecturer from NUS, Goh Jun Hai sensei, was teaching at a city in Nagaouka province! i hope he is ok... thinking of sending him an email.... oh well... dunno wat's with this year, earthquakes, typhoons... scary... hmmm.. think there was volcanic activity when i first arrived too.. hmm...

well... now... to the shoved-over highlight.. i went out with Yilin today! so fun!! so glad to see her and we had a great time.. at least... i did... haa... piangz... got chiobu beside me of course great time lar... haaa. anyway... we met at Ueno, walked around Ayameyokocho den had kaiten sushi for lunch... we den left for Akihabara, the electric town, and i did shopping... argh.. accessories for my little baby mac... hee... err... i din spent THAT much lar... which reminds me that i have like 30k yen left for one month.. scary... anyway... after the tiring afternoon of walking, we stopped at Exclesior Cafe and had (duh...) coffee... hee.... well... she had cocoa i had coffee but cocoa or coffee.. both the same..starts with co... o.O

a mac... it just works...^^

2004-10-23T01:44:00.000+09:00

well.. today Naoki and me went down to the computer centre to configure his ibook to use wireles internet in school... as in everywhere else, the people there were stumped when they see a mac so immediately they brought out like a few manuals to try to configure the mac... after fiddling around... the man looked kinda distressed in helping us becos he really din noe wat to do... just den, Naoki clicked on something on the mac.... den... we had it! haa... no one knew what happened... it just worked... haaa... well.. we dun exactly noe wat happened, but as long as we are able to replicate that... it's ok with us! heee..... ^^

Carol gave me this very cute erhmm... plate today.. got this very cute dog on it! heee.. wished i can show u all but.. oh well..:P heee.... maybe one day... ^^

who am I?

2004-10-21T22:55:00.000+09:00

sometimes i really wonder if i am trying to live the person I am supposed to be... like as if i am trying to behave like wat others percieved me to be.. but.. is tat truly me? sometimes i feel so trapped and just wanna lashed out all around me, yet... i am stopped, stopped by 'that's not the teck guan i noe' etc etc.... i really wonder wat's people's perspective of me sometimes... den i can go check out with myself is that whom i am or is that who i am trying to be... think at the same time, when i look at my friends, i never tot they have any really evil side... yet... is that true? cos i noe i do have a evil side.. ( let's do the evil laughter together.. bwahaHAHAHA!) yet... i noe that i always try to suppress it cos i dun want it to be me... at least... i try to suppress it infront of others... heee... hmmm... well... an example of an evil side of me... i always wanted to see what happens when i kick someone from the side when he is on a bicycle or motorbike.... ^^ but.. i never did it! not even in my dreams! hee...

well.. if u are reading this and think 'uhoh... is he facing some crisis?' well... nope.. heee... just a result of one lazy day... too much time on my hands... haaa... one of the answers i tot about regarding the question is.. well... the person i want to be is one which is molded by God... i really want to... but... am so afraid to... there will be things to give up, pains to bear... yet... i noe at the end of the road... I will to be one who is approved by God... oh well... slowly i supposed...

typhoon 23.... steel windows up again...

2004-10-21T01:06:00.000+09:00

well..typhoon 23 hits Tokyo hard tonight.... the typhoons sure are scary... i never knew that it could cause so much destruction... the last typhoon like 2 weeks ago, left people homeless as their roofs were ripped off, people died from landslides, strong currents and dunno wat nots... to make things worse.. the typhoons create a shortage of food in the mountains, causing many bears to become desperately hungry enuf to come forage for food within the human settlements.. dun think they really mean to harm anyone but.... they are hungry bears.. sigh... my heart goes out to the lost lives, the lives which have been disrupted and the bears.... was watchin the news just now, apparently there was an house on a mountain which was swept off due to landslides... and there were people living in it... not sure if it was an isolated case.. a few people who were fixing stuff high above ground were oso killed as the strong winds caused them to fall to their demise.... sigh.... yet... at the disasters relief centres, where people go to take refuge during the typhoon.. u can sense a feeling of acceptance... guess it has been so much a part of their lifes.. u see old folks , some whose backs are bent and such, chatting, children playing in the refugee centres... guess.. wat doesnt kill u always make u stronger....

sometimes i wonder.....

2004-10-19T18:17:00.000+09:00

well.. i have been learning Japanese for like err... 3 going to 4 years? well... given tat.. somehow.. i am still hopeless at this language... i got no idea why.. seriously... sigh.. this knowledge will just hit me like a brick once in a while, saying ' wat in the world have u been doing?????' den i will seriously question myself... well... i noe it has only been like a month here, but... people who studied for so long already noe how to converse! oh well.. guess everyone is different... bleh..... still.. being the human i am... i wish to see results.... FAST! argh.... the cause of this entry is becos Hikaru and me had lunch with Ayako and Mihoko today and i realised my inability (yet again) in conversing... Hikaru has been learning for a year and is doing superbly well... me... i gonna hide my head in a bin....

sigh.... another problem i discovered that the scholarship money is like gonna come in late... so mean while... gonna eat grass, drink sky water, walk... NOT! kidding lar... not that 'lang1 bei4' yet,,, haaa.... just have to watch my spending though... i refuse to ask my parents for money! sounds good sia... but seriously.. they paid enuf liao.... shhhhhh... if u reading this n noe my parents.. dun tell them ok? i really am doing ok... and they dun have means to transfer money to me since i forgot my login for my UOB internet access.. lol

and the third sigh of the nite, typhoon... yupps.. another is hitting Tokyo tomorrow.... yawnz... today's temperature is like 17-15 degrees.. think i kinda getting used to it.. body building its fortress now.. with layers of fats.. lol

the morning rush, the human clocks...

2004-10-18T23:41:00.000+09:00

well.... during the tokyo rush hour this morning, i was with the rest of Tokyo being 'delivered' to my destination as the 'automation' of the rush hour systematically moves the crowd... as i was waiting for my turn to exit the station, i realised that the people were bobbing from left to right and back left again.. the reason for the bobbing motion is that the legs are slowly shuffliing, thus causing this effect... the other thing i realised is that everyone 'bobs' at their own pace... well... the picture of a gazillion moving clocks came to my mind and in front of me, i see many clocks moving at their own timing, in their own small little world... tick tock tick tock.... and i was one of the gazillion clocks too.... tick tock tick tock...

a cold sunday.... with the sun shining high in the sky... ii tenki desu ne!

2004-10-17T21:22:00.000+09:00

hee... now watching this new Japanese drama 'Fufuu' (The Couple)... very nice!!!! the casts also very pretty.. haa... well... basically it is about relationships.... between a couple who has been married for 25 years ( i think), their son who has good feelings towards an older woman, the daughter who likes the subordinate of the father ( and so wanna marry him.. haa..).. the type of show i like.... ^^

a bit of synopsis of wat happened in the show today.. well... the father met up with this woman that he erhmm... has erhmm... good feelings for ( and the woman has good feelings towards him too!!)... this lady is something like a wedding planner... anyway.. they met up becos the lady wanted to return a hankichief to the father... they were talking bout normal stuff and they talked about the father's relationship with his wife... the father related an episode where the wife has him recently why did he marry her... the lady insightfully said that the wife wanted some assurance etc, like those special words ' I love you' etc... well... the father returned home and was thinking of methods to like tell the wife.. but.. haa... oh well... men... haaa.....

on the other hand, the daughter was having problems getting the father to consent to the marriage initially... one night when dating, she saw her brother kissin the older woman... think they were drunk.. then some blackmailing began.. haa... basically asking the brother to help her convince the parents....

at one part of the show, the daughter wilfully asked the mom and the subordinate to a meeting supposedly only between the father and her at the wedding planner's... the father was pretty angry and blew up, objecting to the marriage... the daughter thus wanted to leave and ask the subordinate to go with her.. but the subordinate tried to salvage the situation but... no point talking to a angry lady.. haa.. anyway.. there came this part where the wedding planner saw the daughter kneeing at a corner and told her that weddings is not only bout her and the gal alone.. but is an whole affair with everyone... and she would want everyone there to be happy for her, isnt it? at this point, the parents the the subordinate appeared, and the daughter told the parents, albiet tearfully, that she wanted to get married becos she wanted to be like her parents.... awww.... of course the parents agree.. haa....

eeeks.... i writing too much sia... haaa.. still.... the most of it... this show showcases the complications of relationships. the disattachment between the father and the rest of the family, the overworked mother etc etc.. so.. very nice.. PLEASE WATCH IT! hee....

well.... on another note... when to this church LifeJesus House today... a small church which has billingual services... the service was very Hillsong, becos the pastor was trained from there.. thus.. the congregation was mainly youths.. and many australians... well... am still praying if this is the church for me though... like said.. it's very Hillsong... haa....

after service, went with Boon to walk a bit of Ginza... tried a famous Ginza anpan (red bean bun) which was... er... mama.... (ok nia...) haa... well... cost me 2 dollars... haaa.... bleh... oops.. paiseh for the long entry... haa... but i like the show... lol

cold... and it's getting colder...

2004-10-16T01:58:00.000+09:00

will Carolyn can continue to exclaim on using the power of her fats or her mind over body theory to protect her from the cold, i am so not gonna do tat... i will just wear a sweater or a pullover.... hee.... i feel warmer and happier... heee..... den again... maybe Carol feel happy using her 'powers' hmm..... oh well.... to each his own den... hee...

we watch excerpts of Snow White today in class... in Gender Studies class.. it really makes the seemingly innocent story of romance so much more insidious... so scary.... the human mind is capable of postulating and conjuring up things unrelated till they support whatever the person wanna says.. anyway... yupps.. the cartoon was like viewed in the gender-stereotyping way... dun really appreciate it though... not tat i dun feel there should be inequalities between sexes but rather... i rather enjoy the story... hee.... lalalala...

a normal day in school... ^^

2004-10-14T01:56:00.000+09:00

was a pretty normal day in school i supposed.. i went for lessons... was at the library during the break reading Far Eastern Economics ( i think that's the title...-.-") den went for other lessons.. well.. tat's pretty it... school life...

the fun part of the day however, was after school (duh..) I was helping my friend do his teaching assitant 'baito' or part-time job for an English conversation class... was really fun... there were 4 japanese in my group today... Kentaro, a Senior in politics, Yae, a Senior in economics, Maya and Nao, both juniors in retailing... they are basically japanese who wanna converse in english... well.... if there is anything i can do... that is to talk rubbish in english... haa.. so i thoroughly enjoyed myself.. we were on the topics of movies and so i went on and on.. well.. not really since the objective is for them to talk..not me.... haa.. still.. hope they had have as much fun as i did.. hee...

i shifted from mblog.com cos they shut down the site... sigh.. all my posts... (T_T)

2004-10-12T21:05:00.000+09:00

sigh... they did it... they shut down the site.. without notices! sigh... yesterday it was fine... den bam! today.. it's gone and it cost like US35 to retrieve my data... well.. i am so not gonna pay for it... so.... welcome people to my new place... hee...

well... for the choice of name... firstly... the japanese kept describing me as a bear.. well.. a cute bear tat is.. hee... dunno wat's it with me and bears so mite as well make use of it... so here i am! from a bluemoon to a stupid bear.. massive transformation... from one rarity to a erhmm.... normality? heee..

anyway... had a great day today... ^^ met up with 2 japanese friends and my Singapore friend Hikaru for lunch... the 2 japanese girls were very nice and friendly! really enjoyed talking to them.. even thought i din really chat becos of my not-so-good japanese... sigh... i really wished i can improve... but.. i really have no idea wat's wrong with my japanese... sigh.... oh well... i got 9 more months in Japan to try to figure out i supposed...^^