Friday, December 30, 2005
Ta-da-ima! I'm back!!!! Nihongo sugoi! Hon-to-ni ne! Watashiwa shiawase~
^____________________^
Whee, first trip to Japan 23rd December 2005 to 28th December 2005, five days of pure blue skies and frosty air.
Initially I was a little nervous, long-ish flight and with my mother..... '__'
The horror....and totally not up for being uprooted in the middle of December with little warning....yeah I do like my non-change environment.
So bundled into the car and Mother hands me a package and says ooooo, it was so cute she couldn't resist, and ta daa....a Mac Idog. o.0.
For real. It was a little blue metallic dog which started to make alot of noise. Kawaiie ne. Fits neatly in the palm of your hand and you can hook it up to an Ipod and it'll play music and dance! And you can stroke it and it'll sorta yip...musically. Like a mini Aibo dog (which I saw in Japan!!)
Being in an airplane is funny. It's like the gravity suddenly sucks you down and your body feels letargic and sleepy and sick-ish. Can never drink anything until they serve lunch and I just curl up and want to sleep it off. Plus it's rather cold, the bad kind of cold where it seeps into your bones and your toes, but we got the new 707 flight with the sleeping seats and nicer blankets which made it better to curl up under. The satay served in business class is also rather nice but their main course has become funkier. Hmm.....
We arrived around five and then waited for the bus to the hotel. After having spent the whole flight without cigarettes Mother took in 3 sticks within the half an hour wait. >__< I had to breathe in the second hand smoke of ALOT of smokers who had gathered around the corner. Then two hours on the bus. It seems though the bus and train system of Japan always run on time....big difference than from here heh? Good good......and they are very polite wishing us good trip everytime we stop somewhere to pick up people. So tired when we finally arrived and drudge over for dinner.....in a restaurant which closed at 10....wow they eat early....
No sleep.....><
Whee! First day in Japan! And we are off to Harajuku and Omote-Sando to see the cosplay teens. The we spotted Kinokuniya! And entered a supermarket...eh....ehhhh?? Where are the books......Weird to find a supermarket with the same name as one of Japan's biggest bookstores.
Day 1:- ooo....Omote Sando is one posh street. Major brand names all around. Prada, Dior, Yves Saint Laurent...and all with their own buildings!! Wow. One of the most expensive districts in Tokyo and they can afford their own buildings all designed as one of a kind. From Solid stones and black windows to clear crystal walls, every building was like a work of art.
Harajuku became slightly more teenage-ish with shops catering to funky styles. I saw a goth! A girl decked out with black lipstick and eyeshadow and spiky hair and dark clothing. But that was basically it. I think the cold pretty much hampered creative stylings. According to the books, most of the cosplayers hang out at the corner near the Meiji temple. Climbed several stories in a building full of the shops for the teens, but not really my style. At the top was a sort of anime museum, more of the olden works. Wasn't spectacular though they did have this interesting installation displaying fishes and a garden scene.
Mother went back to the hotel after lunch and Dad and I made our way to Shibuya. Walking around slightly lost because most of the streets in Japan have no names or clear signs so maps don't help much. The cab drop us off at .....a very bright flashing place. o.0. Music blaring, ads flashing across screens, waves of people walking really fast. How did we miss all this !! Swept in the crowd, we attempted to find Mandarake, reputed mega store of manga and anime. Walking walking.....into the lift and into the basement and....ooh....oooooooo.....manga! Hidden underground and we chanced into it by accident cos the other people pressed the button to go down while we were wondering cos there weren't any store listed in B1 floor and in fact it was in B2. There were stacks of manga and shelves of figurines at exhorbant prices. Bliss~ I wandered amazed with a goofy smile on my face thinking....this is heaven.....and this is...guy's heaven? o.0....hen...tai......very very very graphic hentai....o.0.....where is my manga?? What is that girl doing....ew..ew....ew....
There were eight shelves full! With no warning! With people just browsing!
TT.....out of Mandarake with a Clamp X-1999 illustration and Tactics character guide books....
Ahhh.....and shabu shabu for dinner is so nice. Delicious kobe beef stewed in sauce. Yummy~
Day 2:- A day at Ginza, a reflection of Omote Sando. Major shopping malls like Matsukoshi and Matsuya, the Sony building, Mikimoto building etc. We saw the new Sony walkman and Aibo robots in the Sony building. Very nice. I rather liked the purple walkman, and the dog is so cute! Going for like 300,000 yen. Woah. Very woah.
We had lunch on top of this building where the menu was in Japanese and the waiter ended up running to other tables on our directions to see what others are having! It was so funny. Then dad and I went to Rappongi Hills, relatively new to Tokyo with these huge buildings and statues scattered around. Also made a stop at the International Hall where they have light shows and concerts. It was cool....but I was starting to get a little bored of all the shopping malls. And crowds. Especially in a thick coat it can get quite suffocating.
Day 3:- THE NIHON KIIN! Took us a major long time in front of the help desk trying to find out where the Japan Go institute was and they didn't really know what we were talking about. Then they found it quite near to the hotel (which was New Otani Hotel by the way, a whole little city on its own with restaurants and gardens and shops and wedding chapel beneath it).
Dad and I took a walk in the Koi Garden.....ooo, so cold! And the fishes are HUGE! and they come swimming to us with open mouths waiting for food. ^^....cute.
Then at the Nihon Kiin. Wah. On the side of Gobancho road, we enter this nondescript building with bright letters on the side of the wall. There were people reading in the lobby and we saw a pro teaching a class in a glass windowed room. Cool. Later we came back down to see him playing a simul with the entire class! And automatic reactions, he just went to each table and made a move without even thinking! T__T I want to staaaaaay.
On the second floor there was the Nihon Kiin store with a whole wall of Go Books! and people playing! EEEEE......There was a tourney going on with teens my age but we can't go and see cos they were all students and we weren't ..... -.-''''
Sighie. Atleast the japanese book I brought along helped a bit as I gestured wildly about a Kaya Board and yuki grade shell stones and Keyaki Gosu. Took us awhile but finally! We were shown a beautiful Kaya 2 sun Table board.....*glowy eyes* and the stones are so beautifully patterned.....and they didn't accept credit cards.
Ahhh.....but there weren't any way for us to transport it back anyways cos 2 sun board is huge. It measures 45 cm on one side alone at more than two inches tall. But so.....beautiful....*weepy eyes*
MMM...mother said we can order it online then. Strange though, cos the set sold at the Nihon Kiin is for 110,000 yen while the one found at Kuroki Goishi is at standard price of 75,000 yen, discounted to 58,000 yen. Almost half price?? Weird...
And missed the Go Museum too cos they closed on Monday. ><.
Still happy to be there though. And see people playing, even if from a distance.
We went for a walk in Shinjuku then, the most expensive district in Tokyo eventhough the shops around didn't seen as posh as Omote sando or Ginza. Visited Kinokuniya of course, and picked up Hikaru no Go illustrations, Bleach calender, and Angel feathers illustration (which turned to contain about 20 pages of 'adult cg' yaoi hentai...)
TT....I just liked the feathers......TT........
Good ramen lunch in a little shop, very typical cos there weren't even any tourists around.
And into Kibukicho! The red light district with neon signs and posters of blonde japanese girls all around. Relatively safe in the afternoon, it 'comes alive' during the evening. But awwww, we saw a little pet store with a puppy of curly fur wrestling with its toy. So cute! Right amidst all the smiling girls and bishonen boys, there is even a pet massage palor. *Chuckle*
Dinner was with Dad's broker in the Ginza district. Mimaki san from Toyo Group has worked with Dad on the tokyo side for some time. He was also the one who found manga of Akazukin cha cha and Slan dunk for me like four years ago.....*sheepish*
He explained his daughter then was 10 and didn't know what they were. She's now 14 and manga crazed ^^.....Ah and so nice, received a huge bag full of manga he took his daughter to buy. There were two huge books of new manga stories, free gifts of a note pad and a scarf, as well as a clamp illustration book and the latest manga magazine showcasing the top 100 listing of Anime characters. Top on the list is Gundam Seed. ^______^ dinner was looking good!
He also has a son, 15 and looks like an anime bishonen......*drools*. It was also his birthday today, hmmm, he was turning 16? So we felt rather bad that Mimaki san was missing his son's birthday. And he was doing all his can to fix the ordered dinner cos Mother don't like sushi or raw food of any kind so he was trying to get fried fish or the like for our dinner. It was interesting food. We even had the dangerous Fuku fish (the delicacy which you can die from if not prepared correctly) but the monk fish tasted way better (like fried chicken!)
Mimaki san also suggested going to Odaibha and Akihabara when he heard we were going to visit Asakusa the next day. Dad didn't want to visit Akihabara cos it was just electronics district but there were major manga stores there.
Better nights now, sleep throughout the night...mmmm.....and lovely dreams.....
Day 4:- Asakusa with the famed Sensoji temple which is a Buddhist temple rather than a Shinto Shrine. It was a tourist attraction and the first place I saw swarming with foreigners. The path towards the Templed was decked with little shops selling cute souveniers and there were lovely traditional paper fans with intricate drawings. We bought a little box of 'kuih' looking delicacies for Grandma. There were little colored balls which we assumed was sweet. The temple itself was huge, consisting of several buildings and towers with different deities often having their own little stand around the compound. Dad went for a little fortune telling by shaking the box ful of sticks where you shake out a coded stick and read the fortune from the box. It was a good one too because it told of realising dreams. I prayed before the god instead, asking for good health and longetivity for the family, happiness for my friends and hopefully a good road ahead for my new start at university. The thanks for the past year's good days, the chance to gain memories and the ability to see another year came next. Then we wandered around the area before heading to Akihabara. Took us some time to locate Daijin Kai, the road often shown with the electronics stores cos the general Akihabara area was businesses....mm, not very interesting though we did catch sight of a shop selling Katanas. And so. Akihabara was rather like China town with cheaper electronics sprawled in identical shops. Though little alleys and bought couple decks of anime cards from a shop. The second floor above had tons of figurines and yet again smiling teenage girls and anime dolls baring everything.......*cough*
The same continued as we came upon other stores. There was only like this one building filled with manga and anime through 8 stories but mainly animes like Galaxy Angel and other cute little girls... '__'. Did I mention there were only guys through all 8 floors? Gundam was pretty big too. Then all the other stores had massive 'No under 18' signs eventhough the outside featured artwork of anime girls, we supposed the inside was filled with hentai............*cough cough*
And so this was our last day. Had a pretty poor dinner cos we couldn't decide where to go, so took teriyaki style steaks. mm.....gotto say the icecream was great.
Woke up at 5! Darn. Cos we got an early flight that was direct, and since it took two hours to go to the airport we had to leave by 6. Sleepily woke up and finished packing and got onto the bus and into the plane. And yawned.
Oh yeah, found a beginners' go book in one of the airport shops. Anyway anyway, the flight back was way better cos I felt less nervous. And was able to watch the japanese movie 'Shining boy and little Randy'. Rather plotless, it centers on the emotions around the character rather. Yuuya Yagira who received an award at the Cannes I think, was playing Tetsu, the boy who became a Mahout to be closer to the elephants. It ended so sadly! I was crying....badly, tears everywhere and blinking furiously cos I didn't want people to see ><. Everyone always say I'm silly to cry at the movies but it's really sad! How can you not be emotional. It was he finally achieved everything and made a heart opening speech and his family finally see how he has grown and how he loved them and the next second he is on his bike and crashed into a car and it ended with him dead. At age....uh....17 or something. And the elephants all reared at the moment he died. And at the funeral Randy the elephant passed the mahmout rod over to the youngest brother and backed away. And then it ended the scene back in Thailand were we see a young baby elephant who the headmaster of the school and Tetsu's friend called Tetsu, so we presumed he has been reborn as an elephant....
Yes I was crying TT......
So sad.....
And well....I'm back ^^.
Mused by Sukunami Taka around 2:21 AM
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Deprived again. *blank stare*
Six hours of sleep before the alarm goes 'Rinnnnnnnnnnng..........rinnnnngggggggg.ding a ling ling dinga ding dinga ding rinnnnnnnnnnnnnng'
Yes it does have an annoying tune jingle.....
*yawns*
So....arrived rather late. But then Su was even later...hehhee. The lines were packed though! We should have gone to MV. Barely made it past one curve in the line and Su arrived and after another curve we gave up and went shopping. But this girl ah. I now remember the last time we went shopping with her took hours to decide on clothes and shoes and now even restaurants! We went the food court, then the cafes, asked Info counter and went back out, then decided on Steakhouse's Santini's. This is after a long long time of shopping ^^. Found a cool pair of black jeans. I know my size! Yay!
Food at Santini's was not good. Expensive too. Got marinara, and Su got Vondole.....hers had barely any clams and my mussels tasted funny....o.0
The best thing probably, found an actual book on go! Or rather about go. Or rather a fictitious story centering on go. It's called 'The girl who played Go' and she is a like a chinese female version of Shusaku. The novel starts with her winning her 100th game, and then the arrival of the japanese officer who will go on to play against her. The sypnosis promise romance, set within the historical Japanese occupation of Manchuria as the game symbolised the ability of rise and falls of kingdoms and war. I can't wait to read! Of course have to finish the Witch's Boy first......that's a spin off from the Wizard of Oz tale. Slightly...slow going.
Won against Muko today. Sugoi! But then had the encouragement of Kiwii (Baabaakun), the newest member of CK, and 1k o.0......or 3dan as he is entered for the Oza Tournament in New York. !!
He is very nice and rather funny. ^^. Also named himself black lamb....so now I got a lamb. After Tito becoming a tiger yesterday. Rather funny....^^
And Spring is a turtle? o.0....
Finished the picture for Spectral san.
She said she liked it. So I'm glad ^^
Off to sleep now. Can't keep awake. I was so doing random moves against Ninja today. Eventhough he was sleepy too. *cuddles pillow and slides into blankets*
Mused by Sukunami Taka around 5:43 AM
Monday, December 19, 2005
Bliss.....bliss....
"floats in skies of blue"
Christmas songs blasting on the radio......deck the halls with boughs of holly...falalala la la la.....
No more work.........no more worrying, no more stress....
I'm free....
*Squeals* And I'm going to Nihongoooooo........Japan! JAPAN......give me a J! Give me an A! Ja ja....Japan!
Christmas surprise. Whooo.........it's massively cold there and it may be snowing and my ears may freeze off but JAPAN! Land of anime, land of j-pop, land of kimonos, land of......*teary eyes*...ultimate blend of tradition and technology. Land of IGO! How much do you think I need to bribe my parents to make a brief stop to the Nihon Kiin? Akihabara! Jimbocho! Wonder if we can go Kyoto.......
*sighs blissfully*
We're leaving next week on 23rd. Spending Christmas in Japan......and as Grandpa Xy puts it, *goes all large liquid eyes*
*squeals*
And so getting my goban there!
And published!! I'm officially published....*gawks* 'Hush' my poem (available on fictionpress.net) was chosen by Poet's Sanctuary to be published in their new collection of poetry. o.0....wow.....other people will be reading my poem. Like in a real book. *Gawks*
Officially on 16th I finished work. Yay me. No more early days of drudging asleep to work, no more cold office, no more not getting food during lunch because I'm forgotten.....*sniffs*
No more translations! I also received $100 as Xmas bonus. So this month's paycheque of American $70 isn't so bad....
Will you believe writing to the university speeds things up so much? Really! One letter and the next day I got my official offer. Have filled out all the forms and everything. I'm waiting for dad to do a bank transfer (after ages trying to figure out the tuition fees) then I can accept, and start work on visa and everything else. The application to St Mary's will be sent off tomorrow.
MM....also met BigDoug and Sigh (Nachoman) on KGS. Sigh san does engineering at Unimelb while Doug will be coming to the go club starting the new year. Very nice people ^^. Spent the afternoon talking to Sigh on his other account and only found out who he was the next day....silly me....he doesn't remember Derek nichan tho. SEE DEREK, time to get out of the apartment more.....he's like cooped up like a chicken and going insane. Stephie is in Japan right now *wheee* and he's bored and overworked....hehehehehe.......
Haven't played a proper 19x19 in some time. Should start back again. The new clan is up and running more or less. We've decided on Clan Kiai. Our tag is [[CK]], but Owl hasn't fixed our room yet.... '____'
Members are all good friends *huggles them all* Most who decided to leave SGC to come. Yay for Leopard, yay for Badger, yay for Kuudeekun. Even Ruutana left TSC, but he does insist on calling the clan 'Clan Kookie' since we pass our cookies to winners '_____'
Fishy of SSF is becoming quite a player, he's changing his style and it shows, much steadier in his games. He even beat Muko san. Oh yeah, and Espy and Muko joined. Hurray! And I think I somehow got this 1 dan in but I'm really unsure. Eraserz (Murderer) said yes......hmmmm........
Met Tito san in Chris's room, celila is now sick though, so Chris is looking after her. Ah, and GoNinja (Eric) is actually quite nice to talk to. I was pleasantly surprised.....^^........
Granpa Xy is coming on new account (Aslan) and he did promised to teach me how to cg color, but rather hard through the net....><. This brings to next topic. I WANT A TABLET. That's right, a drawing tablet.
Been roaming DeviantArt and Gaia and noticed alot of the good artists use a Graphire or Intuos Tablet. It's a nifty little pad that acts like a flat screen. You draw on it and it shows up on the computer. You can then color and everything else. Can really do some good artwork on there. Grandpa Xy says it's good, he uses it for his digital art business, and Ninja wants to buy one too. Expensive though......nonetheless.....daddyyyyy......*flutters* *tug tug*
Hmmm.....also met a new player on KGS, except I've forgotten his username. '____' he complimented my artwork, *blush* rather nice.........hmmm......oh yeah, I did a funny pic of grandpa Xy. His specific requirements were "Don't draw me like your anime character and no large liquid eyes".
This is the end result. ^^.
He was very pleased. Mef and Tador then wanted pictures.... ^_______^.
My pet linearts were finally sold. The angelic set for 10k, the eagle set for 9k. I drew a few more today which will become samples for a custom lineart auction sometime in the future. Right now I'm busy with a collab art auction. 8 artists, 8 great styles. It'll be fantastic. Hoping to rake in 500,000 for each artist. Or more...even better. Applied for several RP manager positions, for steady Gaia income. Hopeful. The art competition in Dreamcatchers' Charity is now also in voting stage. I made finalist. Eternal Requiem is like the last drawing on the list. It's only in like 3rd postition though.....=(.
Still waiting for the other competitions.
Well....off to do stuff. Got alot of time to draw now, yay...and to read my new books.....loving it all.
Mused by Sukunami Taka around 12:18 AM
Sunday, December 11, 2005
A Letter To Someone
I'm sorry I had snapped at you before. We are friends and you aren't the one to blame but I just felt so angry because no matter what I do, what I did, how I tried, all my work in that moment was taken away and given to you. Without a moment's thought. It doesn't just mean my work was unappreciated, that it didn't matter I brought in half of the members, that I was the one who charted more than half of the wins and games, everything doesn't matter, but it didn't even mean that, the whole thing of my work being passed over to someone else, to you, meant he doesn't even register my existence in his sick little head. I'm not even alive to him.
It is less that my effort hasn't been recognised, that yeah, you upstaged me with a couple of words. You say you have been friends longer, but it is not you that he was talking about his grandfather, or about his fears, that it wasn't you who stay up all night to listen to him, to comfort him, that it wasn't you who had to survive on a meal per day because your body was so leaden with fatigue you can't even function all to be with him, that wasn't you. It was me.
And I'm angry at myself. For letting me be used, letting myself be deceived, letting myself be hurt and continue to hurt. I'm angry that my tears soak the pillows every night, and when there are no more tears, there is only blind sleep with painful eyes. I'm angry that I'm spending my days forced on medication because my chest hurt so bad I can't breathe. I'm angry I can't be with my friends without being once reminded of his presence. I'm angry that I'm unhappy when I deserve to smile.
So I'm sorry for snapping at you, even if it lasted just for a moment. Because it let me know what I've known before but didn't realise. That I didn't exist, not for him.
Yours faithfully,
T
Mused by Sukunami Taka around 1:22 AM
AND THERE WE GO. Welcome back Ichiro! My dear love, from RUNES.
And a couple more.....
Goddess
Winter Fall
Mused by Sukunami Taka around 1:09 AM
Monday, December 05, 2005
^^. Finished the drawings and real happy with them
The Midnite Star set
The Twin Felina set
^^.
Mused by Sukunami Taka around 12:37 AM
Sunday, December 04, 2005
Forgot to add to previous post. Just remembered, or was reminded rather.
Monday afternoon, after court, received a sms that someone from GIS A levels was murdered. Shock right? Didn't know if it was someone I knew or what. Turned out it was a lower sixth form of the current year. Stabbed in the abdomen by two men who insulted his friend.
They then went to a nearby convenience store and bought cigarettes. The boy died several hours later in the hospital.
Dangerous world we live in...........you think you're safe...........sigh.
Mused by Sukunami Taka around 1:10 AM
Saturday, December 03, 2005
I fainted. o.0.
Wow, surreal. I really should look after myself abit more. Didn't know what happened. Totally collapsed on the sidewalk as I waited for the driver to take me home. Semi concious tho so it was atleast partially ok seeing that it was rather lonely along that side of the building.
Hmmm......
Was feeling really unwell. Added that the past few days been piled with work. Boss calls me in right before lunch today, gave me a conveyancing file (which was one his partner's department where she has her staff who all went for lunch) and told me to finish it by 3pm so he can check. So.......while all the staff and my boss/es went for lunch, I stayed behind to finish the file. Ended up working through the whole afternoon past 5.30. Then discovered the driver was nowhere to be found so I waited by the side of the building and felt slightly dizzy and couldn't breathe. The whole cannot breathe thing is very worrisome. I mean..........I've collapsed before but not being able to breathe is terrifying. I remember the night when I was woken up cos I had an asthma attack during the middle of the night and was actually suffocating in my sleep. =(.
The actual attacks have kind of lessened. But now I get this constant inability to draw a full breathe. It came a couple of months ago ><. Sighie.
Just really stressed out. Bad enough with work, and then.........why do I even bother. Funny thing was that I actually told him it would. It happened to someone else, it would happen again. Found out from Ina..........of course I'm silly to have believed but still. Trust people too easily. Should have known, no one can switch from ignoring you one time to being all giggles and hugs the next. Then disappeared the next five days. Of course. It seems 'that' day was just because Ina said so and he was still emotionally unstable. Sighie...... Fragile little ballerina twirl twirl in your glass prison....
So tired....
I have...........stopped smiling. Some time now I guess, but just fully realised it today. Just continue to do my work, come home, onto kgs and gaia. And no smiles throughout. Wow. Well.........I'm happy when I finish a piece of art and the others like them. ^^ that's cool. Also I beat Bleyse several times on a 9x9. Just feeling rather bad the rest of the time though.........like no reason to smile. =(
Even the Christmas songs aren't helping. That other song is stuck.
I want to be perfect,
But I'm me,
I want to be flawless,
But you see,
Every little crack
Every little line,
That's just me.
Why don't you see,
How much I would have protected you,
I would have given everything,
To see your smile,
But that's too late now,
Once again.
Over and over, the song runs runs runs.
*runs away*
Okie.
Update on the rest of the week.
Not really sure if I had mention. I did some pet linearts. Doing auction now. Still no bids. Found art contests, will be completing tomorrow...yesuyesu.
I think it was on monday, went to court with boss. Summons in Chambers for the directors unlawful wirthdrawal of money from accounts.
zzzzzzzzzzz............^^.........so sleepy. Yawning. But the judge was quite mean to the opposing counsel. Said she had a shrill voice. o.0....so unfair.
Finished a drawing today. *woffles* I like it alot.
Just a private thing *wink*
Mused by Sukunami Taka around 1:09 AM
