: notes to self :

did you know?

-Wicked is coming to T.O. soon! thanks Mirvishes =) wooooooooo!






-that I played badminton today. LinWay, you would be proud. I wore my Gothic 13 shirt too.



-I'm dying to see Motorcycle Diaries,



and

I Heart Huckabees




and Ray



daredemo isshouni ikenai. masaka.





-i get distracted when i study.










-that today was gorgeous?

so gross, but whatever!

oh yah, u know when ur sick, and you get in a really long and satisfying nose blow, which upon completion, you can triumphantly shout, "begone boogers!! i win!!"

yup =) cough cough, hack hack.

i hate being sick. but am operating on a no drugs policy. will gladly accept boxes of lotion-coated Kleenex in place of pharmaceuticals.


and my bum is getting flatter by the second writing up these murder mystery invites. grrr.

blowing the dust off

i have that so-little-time-but-so-much-stuff-to-do feeling again..eggggh... so naturally, i'm procrastinating =)

i think a few things are contributing to this...this being my last week of play before work starts, having to handle C&C by myself, figuring out the mystery dinner on sunday, Christmas season is rearing its stressful and hectic head, the JLPT test date looming, getting on top of the letters/pkgs i promised to send out a loong time ago etc. sigh. and oh yeah, getting a haircut! oy.

i forgot how many commitments i seem to have here...in osaka, i could just shrug off responsibility somewhat and operate on my own schedule.

i was talking to shaun today, and he congratulated me on finally realizing that i am missing japan something terrible. he's convinced that there is a one month grace period after one lands in their home country before long glances are cast eastward.

emika left for yokohama this afternoon. last night, while i was in a photocopying-trance, she made a last ditch attempt to try and convince me to go back to japan so we could room together. maybe it was the toner fumes, but i couldn't say yes with much conviction. i miss japan tons, but it feels too soon u know? it would feel like i hadn't given home enough of a chance. but i think about life in japan though...i miss my family and friends there. i miss going to certain schools and "teaching" =) i miss being surrounded by the cutest kids on the face of this earth. i miss being able to walk/subway/bus everywhere, instead of driving freaking everywhere. i miss feeling safe walking at night. i miss the mountains. i miss UNIQLO! i miss above-ground trains. i miss random instances of kindness from my teachers (i.e. gifts, hehe JUST KIDDING!!). i miss observing my surroundings with awe and wonderment. i miss bottled green tea. i miss the energy, the hustle and bustle. i miss stumbling onto hidden temples. i want to go back next year...(but even then, would it be too soon for other people to see me?) hrmm. maybe if i go back though, i'll figure out where i really i want to be.

so for now, i'm trying to find myself here. i'm trying to appreciate things i took for granted before. i'm trying not to be complacent, and get out there, and get myself out of ruts more quickly.

and hey, maybe japan is not the answer. after all, typhoons, earthquakes, First Kitchen scrapping tandoori chicken oh my! i got out when it was good! =)


Pro(gress) List:
1. being here means i can be there for mary, which means a lot
2. despite my gut instinct to scream NO!! and run for the hills when coerced into going to a fundraiser at Una Mas, the event was so fun. the dj saved my life that night. credit also goes out to the Running Man, the head-snap move, the girls, and my jeans.
3. i'm not shopping AT ALL!
4. Remy is my dawg.
5. toronto has a habitat for humanity chapter! awesome...
6. the debut of the Sc-hottie Club at Battle of the Bands (Mich "Chicken-Leg" Osakabe, Emika "Cheer Queen" Kida, Naomi "Harlem Fake" Ishiguro... we do birthday parties, bar/bat mitzvahs and buffets)

byebye

diagnosis: foot-in-mouth disease



so this is turning into a decent series after all.


i have much respect for boston after they finally proved why they should be there.. and especially after bonehead moves like the Pitcher Hack by ARod.



so dumb. and imagine if he had gotten away with that? i would've stopped watching right there and then.
so if you win boston, it'll be okay (eventhoughyouwont!!)

sorry, traces of yankee pride still left. imagine if Jeter and Damon were hitting properly?? THAT would make this a great series.

not very convincing

darn you boston red sox for tying last night's game in the 9th and then forcing me to keep on watching until the 12th, even though i was dead dead dead tired, when u managed to score on a flukey homerun off quantrill. darn youuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!

does choosing to be a bosox fan make one masochistic?

muahahahha.

i'm mean. but i have v.little sympathy for the bosox after all of those years they spent torturing the Jays (during the Good years) and especially after they traded garciaparra to chicago. no more nomar =(

but i'm glad it's a bosox/yankees series, can't get anymore antagonistic and classic than that. it would have been more interesting though, if boston would have just stopped rolling over and choking in the first three games. alas, curse of the bambino is still in full effect.


game 5 in about an hour and a half...bye bye beantown, it's been nice...

mean! yankees arrogance...slowly..seeping..into...marrow...urk...




IT'S OVER BOSTON, OVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


_____________________________




i actually heard the phrase "character modification" today. and then was handed an fee sheet for $3000.00 during a meeting with a career consulting company.

later, when relating the whole incident to ots over nasi goreng, i find out that career consultants make my dad angry.


hahahhahahahahah



_______________________________


YP Retreat

rainy

still bummed that emika is leaving...on the 27th! notimenotimenotime. hopefully we'll be able to squeeze in a couple of good girls nights from now till departure day.

remy is being whiny because she hasn't been allowed out since it's raining cats and dogs, but i'm sure it'll clear up soon.

i started reading wild sheep chase by Murakami Haruki... i got it for freeeeeee!! from hugo who was just going to throw it out. it's really good so far. i was a bit apprehensive because 2 out of the 3 Murakami books i've read this year have been heavy on the magical/mythical realism, which i can't fully appreciate. norwegian wood was pretty linear so that was fine, but wind-up bird chronicle was tough beans. actually, with that one, it wasn't so much the surreal nature of the narration, but the one section with the skinning... i honestly felt naseous, thisclose to dry heaving. oh uuuuuuuuuuuugh.

i feel redeemed since i couldn't finish the oe kenzaburo book i bought at indigo 2 weeks ago.

count of monte cristo was really awesome. una mas Du-mas! (ok that didn't really work, but pretend for my sake).



mom too thinks hugo is silly for giving away his books. packrats unite!

everyday, my mom makes me too much food, as usual. nevertheless, i am truly enjoying the time i'm spending with her (all hail unemployment). we can just talk you know? and to me that is such a blessing. given the circumstances a few years ago, i would've never thought this present situation would be possible. i guess i could say/write more on it, but...i'm just content. and getting lazier by the minute hehehehhe. i don't need much else.




well, i guess i could do withOUT remy puking up carrots on my bed every morning.

noooooooooooo!!


emika is really leaving. =(((((((





stupid TDSB.

lost and found

FOUND

three CDs chock full of pictures and video clips from Japan, including these:


hiroshima


miyajima


lucas!!


fujiyoshida's famous udon... sooo good


yukata fun


even the electronics can speak "english"


typhoon colours


atop Fuji in the wee hours of the morning


"we live...there"


get us off this freaking mountain


happy wanderers (11pm)


conbini bushido


LOST

dedication to job search. possibly hampered by hatred of cover letter writing

FOUND

respect for pre-stuffed Butterball turkeys

LOST

confidence in tennis-playing skills after dispirited 40-min outing

remy

as a result of being semi-productive...

i shall blog!

my boxes arrived yesterday, via Huffy Postman Service: "i rang your doorbell TWICE!! What were you doing??"

so now all material evidence of my life in japan is here, scattered around the house, in random and incomprehensible groupings like the Stationary/Pension Info/Socks pile.


The weekend was pretty fun. Reinstated the annual ritual of going to Markham Fair, and the place was just overRUN with teenagers. I KNOW I am getting old and crotchety because i was wincing and rolling my eyes at the shrill gesturing of the teenyboppers. But at least I am still hip enough to take on...



the Polar Express, and all of its ribcage crushing-lung squeezing-rock music-hair whipping-breath taking glory. owwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww...


saturday was richard and kiyoko's wedding at blythwood baptist. a really pretty church and somehow v.japanese in appearance? probably cuz of the cute cutouts at the altar hahaha. it was a bit strange to see richard up there, because for the longest time i thought he would be the sole holdout amongst the guys, the ultimate confirmed bachelor. yet, there he was, making serious in his promises to love and cherish his woman forever. jen looked so pretty, and shaki was quite the dashing best man, but of course, all eyes were on these two:









i don't know kiyoko, but she seems really sweet, and i think has mellowed richard out a LOT. like he's akchually an adult now hahahah =) anyways, richard & kiyoko, omedetou,all the best for your new life together, and have a safe trip back to nihon!

next up: kris and kanae!! wooooooooooooooooo!


that night hugo, man yi and i went to matt's welcome back party, which i was sort of but not really nervous for? it was good seeing him again but i was super spacey...i dunno, maybe just the shock of seeing him and meeting/seeing people that he's talked about for so long, and being tired from the wedding..well, anyhow, it was enough to constitute a solid 6.5/10 rating from h & mm. a C! ugh. oh i win. sigh. but that lilah is one adorable bundle of curly-haired goodness. see liz, if only you had quit, u could have had a front row seat to witness my dorkiness, you lose and i win =P

later, hugo's car got stolen. u can ask him about it. still can't believe it.

sunday was the Run for the Cure, and all of us were pretty groggy, but pretty enthused:




Team Churrita!!!



the day was spectacular. so beautiful, and we did really well (way better than the first time right mary?). the morning was so fun, and invigorating. 30000 runners/walkers filled university avenue and nathan phillips for the cause, young and old, men and women, as well as some 4-legged friends (remy would SO not make it).





during the run, these two tried to disrupt the team flow. kathy is about to fall over, and mary is trying to get away from that guy behind her. pictures don't lie!!



speedy churritas



yeah baby! finish line!



sweet relief.


so next year people, i expect to see more of you guys out there running for this worthwhile cause!!! we got soo many free protein bars!!! i think we all crashed when we got home though... thanks kathy for driving! i love your car (oh....and you, of course... hahahha) and i promise not to use that video in any blackmail situations.

note to team: taking pictures while running is a lot harder than it looks. i expect to be compensated for my efforts via gummy bears.

from me to you


to the jerks who stole hugo's car off his own driveway...












so

freaking




RUDE