December 25,2033
Merry xmas people! i can't believe i'm gonna go back to japan tomorrow on boxing day. sorta sad that i'm missing out on the mad traditional boxing day shopping to shove and push people out of my way to get to the clothes i want. but then i DO get to do plenty of that in japan too cuz of the crowds and people blocking my way. well, not exactly pushing but saying excuse me in this sarcastic fake polite voice.
first off, better do the updates b4 i go back of what i did at home. the last 2 weeks were going out everyday to see people, exchange gifts etc etc. while the last few days were mad shopping for stuff i need in japan and packing and figuring out last minute details of where to go travel.
jenny here, one of the 1st people to say, as usual always can make me laugh.
jun and arlene, people from work , it's always nice to hang out with high school people! brings out the kid in me again!btw arlene, i still have tons of pics to send to u since u insisted on many retakes :)
since i'm gonna go skiing in hokkaido in northern japan in early january, i assumed that i could learn enuf snowboarding to actually try but i failed. i couldn't really turn so i think i'll just stick to skiing and show off my skills :) but good old COP, i've forgotten how small the hill is and its high jump.
leslie, always a reliable spy to help me out in countless situations.i would never have made it without your help!
now i WOULD put up my other best friends pic, judy , but since i do not have her permission , i rather not do so since it mite involved me getting killed.
in time for the xmas holidays, the zoo lights! u probably think i'm crazy to wear a skirt in below 0 degrees but honestly, not as bad as japan!
and last minute prep for skiing in japan, a trip to lake louise was necessary today! somehow 3 hrs of sleep wasn't so bad to go skiing although i was totally knocked out on the way back home. this is actually the 1st time i saw that sign, tells u how many miles u are away from places all around the world. tokyo is only a mere 5043 miles away!
i forgotten what the rockies were like when i was in japan. japan where i lived was hilly , and not a lot of greenery. but coming back to canada made me realize how i took it for granted.
finally, i decided to buy the ultimate japanese thing, loose socks! high school jap girls wear these socks to hide their legs which they think is fat which is so not true. only with uniforms would this be normal and with the molestor stories i heard, there are cases where guys would target the school uniformed chicks.so me and my sister were just modelling out those loose socks, guess i should have bought the longer ones. these socks, already more than 80 cm, they can sell them up to 120 cm for extra bagginess.
December 18,2003
the last bunch of pics from japan, the last 2 nites b4 me going to the airport. so everyone decided to go to an all u can drink b4 going to karaoke. NOT a good thing considering everyone who went to karaoke, 75% of the people were already drunk and giving them a mike ended up being an interesting nite! i refused to really drink much considering the memories of me from my b-day nite and didn't want them happening again! -_-
i'll be missing all my buddies when i go come back! everyone will be gone by the time i come back and they won't be coiming back to japan ever again! >_<
my favorite buddies who helped me thru all this time in japan
lis, australian, u were always there for me when i had problems, which was like every other day. always appreciated you!
sophie, france, was always an interesting person to hang out with! damn.. she's too strong of a drinker to even think about competing!
kevin, also from australia, he was one of the coolest people to hang out with. not only for ayu mini-concerts in the karaoke place, but he always cheered me up and kept me entertained when i was heading off to sleepyland during japanese classes.
wallace, also from australia, (i seem to have a patter with australian people), well he couldn't make it that nite cuz of studying. but he sent me this shot of him in tokyo disneyland, scaring off the kiddies. i always knew he was a monster but this just proves it how bad he can get! and he's NOT even drunk.
the effects of alchohol to a bunch of normal people......
my last new items from japan from those game centres won by my fairy godfather from the crane game :)
mick from holland, surprisingly was on the same bus to the airport even though he's not going home yet til boxing day. but being so nice, escorting friends.
my last shot of japan b4 coming back home, the ocean. the airport is buildt right on it in the middle of nowhere. hence, the 1 hrish bus ride.
got home, one of the panda twins was ripped from me and stolen by my own sister.
but honestly, the last few days here in canada has gone by very quickly and soon i'll be flying back to japan again. so b4 i do that, have even more pics of here in cowtown.
December 13, 2003
i never realized how good it feels to come home! well, maybe cuz of the hassle at the airport with them trying to scam more money out of me. i had 2 carry ons, and 3 luggages. all of the luggages are pretty small but the lim for luggages is 2. so for this little box, about 5 lbs, i had to pay a penalty amount of close to 250$!! was i pissed ever. not only that, the fuking lady looked at my passport and my school visa and asked if i'm coming back. if i'm coming back, i would need a re-entry permit and that would cost another 3000 yen. at this point, i was getting lose to losing my temper and told the bitch that the visa is 1 year. the school told me i had 2 choices. if i wanna keep my alien card, get a re-entry permit for 3000 yen single time or 6000 yen for multiple. or, if i don't wanna pay, give them my alien card and apply for another one when i get back. so we were arguing about this til one of them brought me down to the re-entry permit crap office. the guy looked at my visa and said cuz my visa expires next july, i don't need to get a re-entry permit unless i wanna keep my card. so i asked him to double check, if i wanna keep my card, i pay. but if i don't wanna pay, i just apply for a new card. and he said that's rite. so i just told them strait out, i don't wanna pay so i'll just give them my alien card and he took it. geez, it was a waste of 30 min and my temper.
anyhoo, flying to vancouver was quite smooth, arrived an 1.5 hr early than on schedule plus it wasn't full. so i could sit where ever i wanted. i was happy to see english and french signs in vancouver cuz for sure, i could understand the languages!
b4 coming back to canada, i went to 2 temples since i had to do souvenir shopping. one was at a shrine, the other at a temple. the shrine, unlike the temple, opens 24 hrs a day and u don't have to pay an entrance fee. i went to this shrine, i believed it's called yakusa shrine (need to double check on the name).
then over here, we have people throwing coins into the centre b4 ringing the bells and leaving a wish.
this year was really late for momiji, the red maple leaves. normally, they should be appearing around late october to mid november. but cuz of the abnormally warm weather, they've been really late.
after that, a 15 minute walk back to the kiyomizu dera which i went back near the end of august and which at that time, i only had a normal camera and couldn't show u the pics. i guess i should scan those too. but the ones on this digi cam is so so cuz it was getting dark.
the surrounding area of the kiyomizu dera.
and around the entrance, they have "genma", wishing plates. u buy one and then u write your wish on it and then hang them up.
and there is also a dragon fountain. people fill up these little silver cups with water coming out of the dragon's mouth and then rinse their hands with it. the whole point is to purify yourself before entring.
and b4 leaving, i see the shrine priests cleaning around the praying area, collecting coins, etc etc.
December 11, 2003
hey people! i'm leaving to go back home tomorrow, packign done like maybe 90%. just need to throw in a bit of clothes, makeup, laptop and done! i'm looking forward to going home so i can be in a warm house. i live in a house with no heat so i'm always freezing to death. but then, japan rite now is like 5C and i think it is way way way tooo cold! when i come home, i have a few more pics to upload, my last party in japan last nite and 2 more temples. anyhoo, if i have time, i'll upload them otherwise i'll do it when i get home. as soon as i get home, it's time to print up the pics i took on my digi cam! and i'm talking like maybe over 600 for sure!
i never realized souvenir shopping for relatives was such a pain! my arms were gonna fall off carrying off all the packages! anyhoo, c u guys back in canada!
December 8, 2003
i can't belive how fast time has gone by since middle of november. it was one crazy month of tests, finals, reports which i luckily finished and this big ass huge finance project/presentation. which i did like 90% of the work and i thought i was gonna have a nervous breakdown cuz of the huge amount of work plus the report which my group member could not do cuz of procrastination and admitted so like 4 days before the day date.
so i had my b-day november 23, a joint party with an australian b-day who's b-day was on the 27th. i didn't remember inviting THAT many people but like there were about 15 people there and all clubbing. i knew... 1/2 the people? or so.
well, i knew asians have a very low tolerance but i guess mine is ridicouslly bad too. 2 vodka shots and 3 mixed drinks = not good. let just say, i threw up 8 times. out of the 8 times, 3 of them were at the table. my friends were emptying their beer mugs quickly for me to fill up. they had good aim giving it to me and i had good aim for the mugs. -_- never again will i do this. i know my limit, i can't handle it! but btw the time i got back to the dorms, i was still too exhausted to ride my bike so i stayed at the friend's dorms. unfortunately, the "dad" is very strict and u're not supposed ot be there til 9 am if u do not live there. so i had to crawl on the floor, but i guess i wasn't very quiet enuf so my friend had to scream out loudly to the dad, "ohayou gozaimasu!" (good morning) and he was like "wow! aren't u energetic today!" and my friend was like "yep!" by that time, i made it into the elevator without him noticing me :)
here's some pics from my party
the guy in the white turtleneck, that's the b-day boy.
another shot of everyone with their drinks, ew... beer.
wanted a pic of just the b-day boy and me but a goofy friend jumped in and ruined it!
my friend was pissed, he hated the club. too many foreigners, not enuf jap.
cigarettes courtesly provided by mete, the guy in the lower left corner
then on, on the way home while waiting for the train, the b-day boy took a pic of me sleeping! curses on him!
while on the bus back to the dorms, the guy fredrick fell asleep. so mete thought it would be funny to make him look like a drunkard smoke-holic.it did look like so!
then mete wanted to take his pants off but the bus driver was watching us from the mirror so he couldn't do what he wanted -_- was fredrick surprised when he saw those pics! :) he couldn't believe we were doing all that stuff while he was sleeping
then yesterday i had a concert! it's the 13th osaka foreigners music festival where diff universities around osaka have foreigners perform, singing, dancing. originally i wasn't gonna do it cuz i didn't think i would have another time but i did to help out a friend. he sang, i played hte piano. i felt sorta stupid doing it cuz it was a really simple song.
buti dressed up cuz my friend was wearing a suit. i can't wear jeans on stage if he's in a suit! he's outdressing me!
me and my helper, yumiko!
me and my band members! i just grabbed that tiny keyboard! but i didn't play it on stage :) it was a real grand piano and i felt sooo nervous. i thought i was gonna fait but b4 the curtains went up, matt from england (glasses) said something so funny that i totally forgot my nervousness. thanks matt!
