sou 1 2 3 4 5 hashiru

Friday night, after doing my daily blog update and such, I finally watched the Saigo no Yakusoku special, which ANM sub team had just released.
After the first 10 or so minutes, all I could really take from the drama were thoughts along the lines of "OH MY GOD THEY'RE ALL SO CUTEEEEEE!!!" (spoilers through this entire post, beware!)

(but really, they are: Aiba totally fits the cafe boy persona, Jun's hair permed/to the side looks really gorgeous [unlike when he first got his haircut, which just make him look like a pedo, hahaha], Nino looks so... do I dare say "kakkoi?" in that suit, Ohno + his hat that said "do the natural thing" [lol] was just "YESSS", and Sho is just.... Sho. Adorkable, "insurance seller who is really a terrorist in disguise" [hahaha] Sho.)

  

However, as the show went on, it got better and better. The plot was original, and although part of me was dissatisfied by the ending, I thought the whole fireworks thing was really cute. However, until the very end the overall mood was pretty dark so it was kind of... strange when the sponsor thank yous came in with "Sora Takaku" (a undoubtedly happy song) playing in the background. All of them acted relatively well though... I esp. loved Nino + Jun's acting [typical, I know.... but it's true]. The part where they confronted the president and such, however, I'm not sure to think was overly melodramatic, poorly acted, or well acted. Anyway, I'd give it a 4/5, probably.
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On the other hand, from Friday night - all of Saturday, I, against my mother's wishes, did no homework. Rather, I spent all of my time downloading/watching various Jdramas/Variety shows, as chronicled below:
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I watched all episodes of V no Arashi (thank you, AST sub team!). I feel that it's 100% fair to say that their acting was.... laughable. Very, very laughable. However, watching it was incredibly enjoyable. The characters:
Jun = rather adorable and super smiley (huge, huge change from his current... DoS bancho role in Arashi)
Sho = BAMF (way different than his current keioboy/fail personality)
Nino = ....he actually reminded me of his character in Yamada Tarou Monogatari, actually
Ohno = Waseda boy? Ahahaha now he just goes fishing >.<
Aiba = DoS Coach!!! (who pulls down his jacket zipper when gettin' down to buisness, ahahaha!)
God, it was just a very.... strange drama. I'm not sure that it's really worth watching, but since each ep was so short I have no complaints. 3.5/5
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I downloaded Ao no Honoo (The Blue Light) last night, on a whim... Thank you for whoever uploaded the movie + softsubs that I downloaded, I forgot to bookmark the page so I can't credit you for any caps or whatever, but if you see this, comment! :)
Anyway I started watching it relatively late, around 10 I think? so I ended up missing SNL, but I think it was worth it: this movie is by far one of the best movies I've seen lately. Generally a 2 hour long movie is really hard to make good enough to hold my attention, especially one as slow-paced as this one. However, the script was just so fantastic, Nino's acting blew me away, and the cinematography so beautiful that my interest was piqued all the way through. Even after a night's sleep, my mind is still buzzing about the movie: I'm still not 100% sure of what to think of the story except that I did like it. I read a pretty good review on IMDB, which goes over a lot of good points in the movie though:

This movie surprised me completely. It deals with topics that we've seen many times such as child abuse, alcoholism, teenage relationships and juveniles breaking the law. But this is only the surface of the plot and the means of which it contemplates it's main theme. The main theme as I now see it, is the negative side of adulthood hitting a child. This might not sound in anyway peculiar but it's in the delivery that makes it so special. 

At first I thought the movie's main function was probably to deliver cheap thrills, raise sympathy in the easiest way, speak against domestic violence, tell a moral story or to portray some typical teenage drama. Before the last minutes I still wasn't sure what to make of it, as it seemed to end without any final conclusion. But then when the ending came it blew me away, even if the viewer guessed what was going to happen long before. The point wasn't about what happened, but how it happened and what we got to know about the main character. Who is this guy? Is he a manipulative scoundrel? A hero that saves his little sister? A criminal that learns a crucial lesson? We don't know this for sure before the last scenes.


He secretly drinks whiskey, he keeps a bat in his room but doesn't dare to use it, his relationship with Noriko is almost nonsexual. This is (at least how I think it) because sexuality belongs to the adult world that he sees threatening. When he hears the not so dreadful moans of his mother he doesn't know how to react. He is embarrassed for the sake of his sister and mother when he hears his real father Sone masturbating, never mind that his sister later hints that he himself is doing it too. In away, I'd say, that Sone represents Shuuichis darker adult side and it is also that what he fights against. Ironically he uses the same means as Sone, force and hatred to solve the problem. He fights fire with fire. He is trying to protect his childhood but by doing it, ends it himself.


One theme of Blue Light is the lack of a father character for a growing boy. He was the only male in the house for 10 years. His teachers seemed to be portrayed either as formally distant or blatantly uninterested in the students. The only one who shows interest in him is the detective, but by then it's too late, as the damage has already been done.


For me, Noriko isn't important as a real girl but as an idealization of childhood innocence with her naive answers and the talking dog. At the end of the movie she is crying. Again I take this as a metaphor. Innocence is gone, a broken childhood. While she is holding back tears the main character's list of favorite things is narrated. Here he finally reveals himself. He was not a hero nor a bad guy, just a typical teenager with his little enjoyments in life (with a hint of soon beginning adulthood). After all the schemes Shuuichi pulled and all the lies he told, the knowledge that he was at he same time insecure and vulnerable made me feel an emotive connection that I haven't felt watching movies in a long time.


There's also an interesting detail about the use of blue light. Every time Shuuichi is portrayed in blue light, whether it's the night time in his room, the seaside dock or the public aquarium, he is at his most vulnerable and honest state. Other times he always masks himself with lies or dismisses the uncomfortable topics with jokes and daily phrases. Noriko even paints him with blue background, a hint maybe, that she likes him that way.

Btw, my favorite parts of the movie were this scene:

 

and the very end, with this monologue.

My favorite things… My road racer. The world - as I see it from my road racer. Mom’s cooking. Haruka’s chubby face. Daimon’s lousy pictures. Oikawa’s jokes. The nude sketch of Noriko. Her dog-who talked in his sleep. I.W. Harper 101. Faye Wong singing in Mandarin. Zidane’s ball-handling. Kostunica’s movies. Tom Waits’s voice. Crispy fried bacon. Donuts without holes. Ice cream that doesn’t make

your head hurt. Sea-turtle eggs. Cicadas singing quietly. Full-color pandas. Pockets with no bottom.
Injections that don't hurt. Completely empty toothpaste tubes...

Essentially, this movie was very thought provoking. One of my favorites, although definitely don't watch it unless you're in a.... stable state of mind. Although it's kind of a.. downer, it's incredibly beautiful and a must-see. 5/5

-K

(PS: I also watched ep 13 of Golden Rush Arashi!)

nice to meet you anyway

Me: Dammit iceplant - you don't belong here, nobody loves you.
Me: GO AWAY, why are you so bothersome? You know, this is me sticking up for my homies.... beach verbena and lupine.
Me: GRRR ICEPLANT! :(

As you can see, restoring the environment to native species is serious business.

On another note, earlier I thought about how thankful I am that I don't live in Japan - if I did, I'm pretty positive I'd have absolutely no control over my Arashi fangirling/obsession. Then again, if I lived in Japan I'd probably see plenty of awesome guys like in Arashi, so I don't know that I'd be a fangirl in the first place..... [shrug] I have no idea. Nevermind me and the stupid things I say, haha.

-K

i'm so freakin' thankful that this school week is over

It seriously felt like this week was dragged far, far too long. Nothing inherently bad happened to me, but it just was overall "meh," I guess?

Today:
Latin was uneventful. In Spanish we watched Shrek 2. During my free I worked on a Photoshop project (in Illustrator, haha). Algebra and English were also relatively uneventful. Chem, however, was a major relief: After hearing about how the test average was 80% (about 5% less than what it usually is), I once again had that sinking feeling that I just about failed the test - thoughts of this kept revolving around and around my mind, and eventually I became nauseous.

Me: EMILY (Rose) I FEEL SUPER SICK, I'M GOING TO THROW UP OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD HELP MEEEE
Emily: OH GOD I DON'T WANT TO SEE MY SCORE EITHER, IT'S GOING TO BE SO BAD
Me: SHITTTTT
[frantic flailing ensues. teacher sets tests down on our desks, we show each other our scores]
Emily: Is it bad?
Me: No, you're fine. Oh god oh god oh god am I going to die after seeing my score?
Emily: No, not at all.
[I take a breath, and look at the score - 87. I just about collapse/sink further into my table w/ confused face]
Me: OH THANK GOD!!!

Pretty much I freak out over the smallest things, haha. Now, although 87 isn't stellar, it's not nearly as bad as I thought I did, so... I am content. I've taken initiative in all of my classes to do better though: so more work is in order. I know I can do it, though. SELF EMPOWERMENT FTW!

-K

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Tonight: Upload outfit pics to Chictopia, watch Saigo no Yakusoku (about time!), SLEEP!
Tomorrow: Beach Garden Project, V no Arashi Marathon

hominibus miserrimis cibus solacium semper affert

I really, really, really like potatoes. Ever since 7th grade I've had odd reactions when faced with thoughts about potatoes. It all started when we read a book called "Redemption"  in class - in one part the protagonist, whose name I fail to remember, finds a potato in her backyard and does a "potato dance." Of course, after reading this I felt compelled to flail around as well create a potato dance of my own. (someday I'll videotape it and post it here.... but for now: IMAGINATION IS THE MIND'S MOST POWERFUL TOOL).
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The other day I was eating at Red Lobster with my family, when the topic of Bruce Lee movies came up. Then, my mother mentioned that I was delivered by a doctor named Bruce Lee: Yes, BRUCE LEE. I pretty much flipped out and started yelling about how cool it was that I was delivered by someone named Bruce Lee, until my parents started chastising me about being rude in public. Then, I dug into the baked potato that we ordered as a side dish and was content.
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Yesterday after school my mother got angry with me for not helping around the house, and sent me out to the garden to dig a potato from our garden and later peel it (even though I had a lot of homework, when someone is disappointed in me I always feel the need to redeem myself, haha): so, I trekked out into the cold, frigid weather outside to dig for potatoes. I ended up with one good one and two really stumpy ones that my mother ended up having to replant. Later we ate the big one (and a few that my mother dug up after getting fed up with waiting for me to get the potatoes) - they were quite satisfying.
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This. (I've posted it here before but I figure it's quite amusing anyway - by the way, did you know that 2008 was the International Year of the Potato?!?!)

Cheryl Wheeler - The Potato Song

-K

in my heart i can fly, and i cannot disguise my love

I've had this song stuck in my head all day:


The Noisettes - Atticus

Otherwise, I don't have much to say. Here's a load of images for your enjoyment:

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Or, alternatively:

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 ....mmmm yes, Sakurai Sho will be more than sufficient do as well. ;)

-K

hontou no yume wa itsumo soba ni aru

Today I had three tests (or rather, two tests and one quiz), which in Freshman year I'm sure wouldn't have phased me at all, but as a sophomore the prospect of spending half the day taking tests totally threw me off. This morning, I was woken by my alarm clock at 6:30 with almost no motivation to get up and into what felt like abnormally cold temperatures, despite the fact that Arashi's "Happiness" was playing. However, being late for carpool was not an option for me, so I forced myself to get up and made myself a promise: to get through the day with a smile at the end.

Setting: Having just entered the library, I see Claire (who looks half-dead from exhaustion or something of the like) and sit next to her.
Me: Good Morning!
Claire: mmmm
[I start singing along to my iPod]
Claire: Shut up.
Me: Eh whatttt? This is Arashi! Today is going to be ass, this is exactly what's going to get me through the day! [intense grin]
Claire: I will punch your face.
Me: You know what the song I'm listening to is called? It's called "Kitto Daijoubu" - translates to "everything's okay."
Claire: Oh my god, I WILL PUNCH YOUR FACE.

Anyway, with the theme music of "Kitto Daijoubu," "We Can Make It!" and "Believe" as the soundtrack to my day, I carried on. Classes were hard for me, and not helping was the fact that although I got a full night's sleep (7.5 hours... on school nights, that's rare for me), I was still incredibly tired and probably overstudied last night. However, by the end of the day I felt relatively good about myself: I did okay on the Latin (94%), in History I at least knew what to say/argue, and in Algebra.... well Algebra was kind of disastrous, but we got our scores for the last test back finally, and I did really well so I suppose the scores balance out, haha.

However, now that I've got the obstacle of the three tests out of the way, I'm feeling quite apathetic. I'm thinking I'll watch an ep or two of VS Arashi, take a nap, eat dinner, then get my homework done, read and sleep, preferrably before 11 tonight (Ahhhh, a girl can wish, right?).

-K

(pointless post ahead, beware)

Currently:
I just spit out some "berry burst" Extra-brand gum. The taste lingers, my lips feel chapped, I've felt oddly thirsty all day actually. My hair feels kind of greasy but I feel warm and otherwise physically good.
I'm in the Mac lab at school, with Emily at my side wasting time on gmail/facebook/channel 131. Listening to "Dull Life" by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Oh wait, now it changed to "Cry for You" by Arashi - Nino sounds so badass @ the beginning of this song, haha.
Technically I should be in the library for study hall, but really nobody ever pays attention to who signs in or not.
Had a free last period, I was in here with Emily Rose (and Anne Marie for the second half) humming/half singing Arashi music while reading over something a friend sent me and checking facebook.
Today was pretty enjoyable, actually - nothing inherently bad happened, yay! Of course, for every good day there's a bad day to balance it out: tomorrow I have two tests (Latin and History, bleh) and a quiz in Algebra (again, bleh). It's okay though: Tonight when I get home I'll have a Sakurai Sho fest ;) Last night I stupidly stayed up until ~12 on a Twitter party helping other fangirls tweet "#perfectbody" to celebrate his birthday (which technically I shouldn't be celebrating, because it means that he's now 13 years older than me, dammit why does he have to be so unreachable?).

I'm feeling quite peculiar - it's sort of like I'm feeling an emotionless emotion, if that makes any sense at all?
I'm gonna post this and try to get some homework done, now. <3
"12345 hashiru!" - (Arashi - Sora Takaku)

-K

whatever tomorrow brings...

The prospect of driving both exhilarates and terrifies me. Even though I've been 15 and a half for 2 months now, have finished Driver's ed, and have scheduled the permit test (February 9th!), I've still never laid a hand on the steering wheel (except for once when I was little and had the urge to test the horn, haha).
I'm pretty sure some people are just as terrified about the idea of me driving: Not only am I often considered "an angry little asian" (which I suppose I do deserve, considering the amount of times I "slap" people after comments deemed unnecessary/ridiculous), but I can't even drive rides at amusement parks. Those helicopter rides end up in the air for half of the time, while the other half I'm whining that "this ride is lame." Last time I rode the Autotopia at Disneyland was with Joy, and although I was the driver I could hardly reach the pedal to go forward, and when I did, my steering was so horrid that you could hear bumps on the tracks every 2 seconds - not only did the ride attendant just roll his eyes when I finally got back to the enter/exit point, but I'm pretty sure Joy's now traumatized by the event (or at least has it blocked from her mind - when I last asked her about the incident, she said she didn't even remember it happening).
Reading about this, you readers may think: If you can't even drive an amusement park ride, what makes you think you can drive?

My answer: I don't.
However, I'm attempting to get this permit out of necessity: My parents have been pestering me about getting my license for over a year now, which I understand. As a private school student, the only way I can get there and back is to either (a) take the bus which does not appeal at all or (b) take a 10-minute car ride. Ever since 1st grade I've relied on my parents or carpool to give me rides to and from school, and although I'm thankful that I can even get them at all, it is a hassle organizing who to drive, when to pick up, etc. It's even worse asking my parents for rides to social/out of school events because technically I don't actually have to go to them in the first place - hence I'm sort of forced to be "antisocial" in order to help my parents out (but I don't mind, more time to myself to FANGIRL ABOUT HOT JAPANESE MEN FROM ARASHI chill, or something).

Anyway, now that my opportunity to get a permit and drive for the first time ever, I'm not sure what to think. It'll be great not having to rely on others for rides (for I'm generally an independent person and like to do things myself), but at the same time the "dangers" that I kept constantly being reminded of during the Driver's Ed course kind of really terrify me. Although the incredible tackiness/cheesiness of the videos such as "Red Asphalt V" and phrases like "don't let saying 'hi' to your friends be the final goodbye" that are supposedly able to instill a nagging fear at new drivers like me, pretty much everyone just ignores them and/or laughs at them. I'm not an exception to that rule: While taking the course I constantly mocked them, but I'm sure at the back of my mind there'll be a little voice whispering something ominous like "YOU'RE GOING TO DIE IF YOU DON'T HAVE FULL CONCENTRATION ON THE ROAD" to me - at which time I really will lose concentration and get into an accident, but anyway....

I took all 5 available practice tests on the DMV website, and several practice tests on driversed.com last night. The first few tests went uhm.... badly (probably from a lack of concentration - it was like 11 at night), but soon enough I was getting all of the questions right. All of the questions are common sense though, so at times I wonder how people can even come close to failing the test.

....Just watch as I actually fail the test when it comes around.

-K

i'm pretty sure that only like 10 people actually wore masks at the masquerade... whoops.

Yesterday was incredibly hectic, as exhibited by yesterday's post, which my friend Gabby Jardini wrote after I kind of yelled at my friends to post something on my blog in the last 10 minutes of the day, in order to keep with the promise of posting once per day.... yeah, I kind of cheated but still I should ask more people to guest post on this blog, eh?
My day started out with the usual blasting-Arashi-music-while-getting-dressed routine. This is what I wore during the day:

(cardigan + vest: random place in Foshan, China | jumper: xhilaration | bracelets: gifted | tights are layered and gifted)

First and second periods, History (in which we had a free) and English (in which we essentially, again, had a free) were uneventful - unfortunately, Chemistry was traumatic. I didn't understand many of the abstract elements of the chapter in the first place, and missing the class where he first started talking about the Quantum-Mechanics mush didn't help my standing. I'm betting that a B is the best I might've done on that test [sigh]. At least I tried my best, eh? I spent lunchtime with Gabby listening to Coconut Records in the art room and letting her steal my food. After lunch was Latin class - all we did was review games, which was fun I suppose. Then came a free in which I felt obligated to study for the next-period Spanish test, but eventually ended just sitting around listening to Arashi. The actual test wasn't bad - I felt that I could've studied more, but I also figure that using all of the previous night to study Chem was more prudent than devoting even a little time to Spanish - I really, *really* needed the review at the time.
Anyway, I was so thankful when the school day was over. My ride for carpool forgot to tell me that she was going to be getting a ride from someone else, so I was stuck for an extra hour at school while I waited for my father to be able to pick me up. During that hour I finished all of my homework (yay!) and helped set up for the Winter Ball which the sophomore class (my year) was hosting.
When my dad picked me up, we made a quick detour to the local grocery store to buy some supplies for the sleepover I was to have later that night ("supplies" as in chips, snack mix, and popcorn, haha). I wrapped up Emily's birthday gift:

(she better wear this EVERY DAY OF HER LIFE! ...okay maybe not, but often: this took me like 3 months to make!)

Then I ate dinner, showered and did "makeup" (as in mascara + eyeshadow, haha), put on an outfit which I deemed appropriate for our theme "masquerade ball" (okay not really but still, it was fun), and was ready to go.

(dress: DIY modified, originally Wonderland Wear, inc. | tights: celeste stein, gifted | boots: dollhouse, $20)

 

I got to the dance an hour and a half early to help do finishing touches - the decorations looked fantastic! All in all, it was a relatively good dance - it would have been fantastic if the DJ didn't mix songs so heavily and just played the hits, rather than playing random songs no one ever heard mixed with more random songs. However, after bugging him about several times throughout the dance, he finally played one song of Kpop (2ne1 - Fire [hahahaha]) and some more popular songs like "I Kissed a Girl" and the "Thizzle Dance," so that was fun.
After the dance I had Gabby, Emily, Emily Rose, and Claire sleep over - I forced them to watch we watched the "Kitto Daijoubu" video, ate a huge load of random crap, talked, then slept. Nothing interesting happened in the morning, either: we woke up, ate breakfast (at least, some of us did, haha), and watched some of "Juryoku Pierrot" (Gravity Clown). After everyone but Claire was left, we watched an episode of True Blood while painting nails. This was what my nails looked like before the silver tips got completely chipped off somehow:

...now they just look like crap, haha.

The plan for tonight: study some driver's ed material, study history, run inside a little bit, watch some movie?

The plan for tomorrow: shoe shopping, running, sleep. I'm also considering going to a People to People information meeting, but I'm not sure.... any opinions out there? It sounds like a lot of fun, but I don't know that the "opportunity" would be worth the cost - although they don't specifically state any prices in the numerous letters they've sent me, after a Google search it seems that they cost thousands of dollars just for a two or three week long trip? I'm thinking a more likely option for this summer is to find a job and take a foreign language/linguistics/sociology course at MPC instead.

-K

xd fdfgghjkdhfwjgrehljher8ewtbgvfdlkfjdpfjhosfjpkiubhhiianm,gbby cfvkm kk jnhbgtrfdkatreedddddhi i'm gabby, I'm writings karen's blog fo her because she has to take out her contacts.  Emily is attacking me so it was hard to write. My razor attacked me while shaveing so I have a monster scratch on m shin. I don't like talking. I like writing...so I'm writng karens blog. it is hard to write on laptops. You're in my pants. So, we just came back from winter ball. the music sucked. Karen wanted them to play kpop and jpop.

sakurai sho in the latest issue of an-an is so niiiice!

Lately I've had a major lack of focus. I've been so jittery, so unable to think about anything. I've felt both drained and full of energy to be released. At times I feel overwhelmed with all of the things I need to do (like currently), while at other times I'm engulfed with waves of ennui.
Luckily, today I finally got the OK (from my completely INCOMPETENT, GRR) doctor to slowly restart running. It's going to be hard to fight the urge to go run like, 10 miles, but I'm hoping tomorrow after school I can squeeze in 20 minutes to do some light running/walking/jogging. Hopefully soon I'll be able to join soccer, even though the season is pretty much over already.
Another upside to not having to wear the brace anymore is that I can wear something other than my converse! My plan for Sunday is to study the Driver's Ed material (going to take my test Monday, with any luck I'll pass ;D), do my homework, then go shoe shopping at Target/Payless/Ross :)

Basically, this weekend is going to be amazing: Winter Ball, sleepover w/ friends, Arashi/Okada Masaki - related movie/drama marathons *and* shoe shopping (by myself, mind you)? BEST.

What's not going to be fun at all is all of the studying I have to do now: Chem and Spanish tests tomorrow! I'm not worried in the slightest about the Spanish, but Chem is a whole other story: I should've started studying hours ago, why oh why am I such a procrastinator?

-K

I forgot to post something before falling asleep today yesterday!

To make up for it, I'm back-updating (is that the correct term?).

Promise: full update later today!

-K

apparently the japanese think that crooked teeth are cute.

My teeth have a bad history. They were incredibly crooked, to the point where my two front teeth actually overlapped. Having a cleft lip didn't do anything but accentuate that fact. After two and a half long years of braces, I'm finally in a set of retainers.
However, I'm not new to the world of retainers - in (I think it was) 5th grade, my doctors realized that I because had a missing canine or something of the like, and in order for all of my teeth to be even and have enough room for them to be straight, I had to extract another 3 teeth up top. In turn, they extracted two teeth on the left and one on the right of my two top front teeth. Needless to say, I looked like a chipmunk for the next 4 months. When my new teeth grew in fully, my orthodontist immediately got a mold of my teeth and made a retainer for my top teeth - it was clear with silver glitter and, of course, with a smiley face in the center.

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When I first got my braces on, I had pink and black ties, and went around the park yelling "look at my grillz" w/ my friends. Mind you, this was during the time when Weird Al's "White and Nerdy" and that one song called "Grillz" or something of the like was popular, so people actually understood my weird actions at the time. I hated, and still hate braces - which was weird because in 2nd and 3rd grade, I (along with I'm sure everyone else in my class) thought braces were the coolest things. ...So much for that, I guess.

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I've had a top and bottom retainer in for the past 4 or so months, and it's been okay. The taste of my retainers when I first got them was appalling and almost enough to make me vomit, but after several days it went away, luckily. (unluckily, I still have a lisp while wearing them - the orthodontist LIED!) I'm not the only one who's grossed out by the retainers: every time I go out to eat with Joy, she has to turn away when I take them out.... it's actually pretty funny if I must say so myself. A few months ago I learned that my retainers were actually glow in the dark - the orthodontist didn't tell me about that, so it was a huge surprise and for some reason I got really excited about it. A mother of one of my classmates heard about it and asked me about it, and in turn I immediately pulled them out to show her.... in hindsight it was probably a pretty bad idea to do that (esp. after seeing the look on her face, haha) but it was amusing. Two nights ago when I slept over at Claire's house, we went to sleep after brushing our teeth (and I cleaned my retainer). While we were talking in the dark, Claire suddenly asked something along the lines of "uhhhhh... why are your teeth glowing? Your smile's kind of creeping me out" to which I responded by laughing incredibly hard.

Pretty much, my retainers are just super special. However, I'm pretty stoked to not have to wear them during the day. Soon that will happen.... I hope.

arashi in sequined suits make me happy.

So I've basically done zero stuff of interest yesterday and today. I weeded a lot of random crap out of the garden, slept over at Claire's and watched Leverage and part of The Holiday, and slept a whole lot. We visited Santa Cruz for like half an hour before we had to leave. I internally freaked out after not being able to find my cell phone, which I think of as my baby, but thankfully Claire found it at her house. I planned to take pictures with a disposable camera with film that expired three years ago (yaaaay experiments :D) but since the weather was far from perfect I decided against wasting that film.
The plan for tonight: Arashi videos and sleep. Aren't I just so good at mixing it up? ;)

-K

It's 10:00 on the 16th but I've a strong, strong feeling that tomorrow I won't be able to post anything, so readers: know that this is a scheduled post. Thanks for visiting + I hope you keep reading this blog! :)

Here are a few pictures for your enjoyment:

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(you too, gentlemen. via)

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.....And a little Arashi rabu-rabu for good measure.

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-K

unrelated title: last night i watched precious and it was really just depressing

Today I was typing up a pile of LitMag (our school's uh... literary magazine, haha) submissions when I realized: I've never actually submitted anything for litmag! Even though I've intended to for the longest time, I guess I've never had enough initiative to do so. Having said that, I feel pretty bad because often I get ideas for plots, characters, etc... but never end up getting them down on paper or typed up. What's worse, on my first blog post of the year I linked to an article where Scott Westerfeld gives a tip that says to make a habit of finishing everything you write. So much for that.

Currently about to: Watch my sister's ballet performance on DVD, watch something Arashi, read?
Wishing for: A sense of purpose, inspiration, Sakurai Sho, ideas for two days worth of outfits, to be able to go running again.
Music: Arashi - Tokei Jikake no Umbrella
Plan for tomorrow: Go to Hollister (my parents own a rental unit around there woo~), sleepover w/ Claire

-K

(short post today and the next days ahead, sorry. I'm losing steam nooooo! ;D)

omoide zutto zutto wasurenai sora futari ga hanarete iitemo

This is what I wore today:

You know how people say when you look good you feel good? It may be superficial but sometimes it's true. Wearing tights layered like this, while wearing other comfy clothes puts a smile on my face - which I must say, is very helpful in the mornings when having to pull myself out of my nice cocoon of a bed into the frigid winter air.
That was only the start of a relatively great day. After first period photoshop which, although lately has been a drag, went pretty well today, I went to chem and for the first time in a week actually understood the majority of the lesson! Spanish was amusing, for we got an in-class assignment to give opinions (using the subjunctive) and advice about/towards one person. Obviously, I reverted back to my nerdy self: I wrote about Dobby the House-elf. :)
At lunch, Claire gave me a quiche (well.... of course that #$%^& ended up stealing almost all of my lunch anyway, but still... quiche is so delicious!). I had packed a hot pocket for lunch as well and pondered which of the two to eat, until I realized: it's always fun to be a fatty! Hence, I ate both.... most satisfying choice of the decade, I do believe.

English class was interesting, for we spent the period writing our own poem with the same bob-and-wheel end structure as the poetry in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. I wrote some ridiculous poem that whined about waking up and having to go to school, and in fact used the phrase "scelesta schola" ("wicked school" in Latin) in my quest to integrate alliteration into the poem.
In Algebra, we did a lab involving counting skittles as an exploration of exponential functions. By that time, I was all hyped up on sugar and the day before, ready to face last period: the dreaded History class.

Now, it's no secret that I despise studying history and hardly ever find a practical application for it. Sometimes I think it's interesting, but for the most part, I don't enjoy listening to how humans repeat variations of the same mistakes over, and over, and over again. It's just so tiresome. It's also no secret that history is by far my worst subject. No matter how much I try to remember dates, names, and events... it just never works.  Today didn't help my feelings towards the subject: we had an in-class debate scheduled, and because last time we had a debate, my team was completely unprepared and frankly, an absolute disaster. Hence, I spent hours preparing points and counterarguments for our team (hey, if no one else was willing to do the work, I had to take initiative right?) but even so, I had a queasy feeling. During the debate some of my team members were far from passionate during their speeches reprimanding Louis XVI's actions (I guess it probably was because of their lack of understanding exactly what he did.... They didn't really do any research: I sort of just gave them a paper and told them to read off of it, haha), but overall nothing completely disastrous happened. Even so, I was incredibly close to vomiting when they called us back into the class after discussing the argument. Apparently they ruled that Louis XVI should have been sent to the "Forbidden Forest" for ignorance - which I later learned from a friend that it was essentially a euphemism for "everybody except two people voted Louis XVI guilty." Long story short, for once I wasn't a failure in history class and in turn, I felt quite satisfied with myself.

Just about half an hour ago I got back from watching Santa Catalina's production of The Crucible. Despite what I found was an overall ridiculous plot (which is unfortunate because it's part of the curriculum for Junior year English class, so I'll have to experience it *again* [sigh]), loud neighbors, and hearing someone's car alarm go off in the middle of the first act, the acting was fantastic (these girls pull off very convincing men, haha!) and I enjoyed it a lot. I got home and read a little bit more of When you are Engulfed in Flames, and decided to finish off this blogpost that I started early afternoon. Gosh, I take forever to write things.

The agenda for tonight: Watch a movie (TBD) and sleep.

-K

solo para que sepas

Not necessarily swamped with work, but don't have the motivation to work long and hard today.... I'm totally just out of it lately.

Anyway, earlier I was listening to Tokei Jikake no Umbrella while typing up a list of important points that relate to the indictment of Louis XVI. When I logged onto Gmail to email it to myself, I changed my status to "ai no arashi" (storm of love)..... I love irony. In chemistry we've been studying quantum mechanics and I have understood about 1% of what he's tried to teach us. I could not get We Can Make It! out of my head during chem (although I'm not complaining - inspirational music was very necessary for keeping my brain from exploding during that lesson, haha).  What is it with Arashi music invading my life, though?

Real post to come.... before the end of the weekend? I'll get working on that now.

(via)

-K

PS: Apparently Matsumoto Jun is a fan of the Harry Potter series?!?! Reason #5 billion why I LOVE ARASHI!!!!! <3

meh.

I'm currently feeling absolutely uninspired. Virtually nothing to say, so here're some videos that have amused me in the past few days:


A cello cover of "Skeletons" by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Need I say more?


Part of Himitsu no Arashi-chan ep 75 w/ guest Aibu Saki. This part is so amusing. I really like Nino's blazer (Aiba's, too - but not as much as Nino's, haha).


This. (And all of the McQueen CLOTHESSSSS. "CAUSE I'M A FREE BITCH, BABY!")
And this. (Can't decide which one I like more, haha)



Sakurai Sho being pretty much the most attractive man ever.


Lastly, I love this song. The original acoustic's better than the studio version, IMO.

-K

everybody zenshin, come on everybody, zenshin aru nomi.... (i hope)

It's ridiculous how college is quickly creeping up to me. For the longest time I've almost eagerly anticipated finishing what I consider primary education and starting my journey within higher education. The problem is, now that it's pretty much time to crack down on the college preparation, I'm finding myself more and more overwhelmed than I expected [I know it doesn't have to be this way, but I assume the importance of all of this (insert vague hand motions here) is probably really weighing down on me]. To think, this time in two years I'll be finished with college apps! That's just so ridiculous and mind blowing to me that I can't even begin to explain.

Anyway, my score report sheet on the PSAT gave me an access code for a program called "My College Quickstart," so I figure I'd check it out. It has a handy study plan (which I will look at during the summer but am far too busy w/ current studies to even bother with now) along with the offer to take the "ORA Personality Profiler."

I just did so, and apparently I'm an INFZ personality type (although last time I checked it was called INFJ? maybe this test just calls them differently [shrug]). Anyway, the information they gave about my personality pretty much fit me perfectly, so I figure it'd be good for me to follow their advice on things I need to improve on:

Stay optimistic and only worry about things within your control.
Take negative feedback constructively.
Stay calm when confronted with unexpected change.
Confront others when something bothers you.
Don't be disappointed when others don't share your level of concern.
Be more rational when circumstances warrant it.
Be less deferential and giving, so as not to overburden yourself.
Vary your activities so life doesn't become routine.

....The only problem is probably the one about being more "rational," warranting circumstances. Although at some times I'm rational almost to the point of overkill, at others there's absolutely no rationale behind any of my thoughts/opinions/feelings.... I guess the key is balance? Ehhhhh I take that back, it's too universal: I always hear things telling me that the key to "life" is balance. [sigh] I don't even know what to think anymore.

-K

you know those days when you wake up and immediately think "oh no!"? today was one of them

Sorry this post came so late; I almost forgot about posting today!

Anyway: I hate Mondays.

Waking up after a nice, restful weekend and knowing that there's another 5 days of Hell on a Hilltop to go until the next weekend is not a lively thought. In fact, generally on Mondays this thought looms over my shoulders and doesn't leave.

That little whisper in the back of your mind asking "why do you endure this?" doesn't go away, no matter how many times you say to yourself "today will be a good day."

But on a more optimistic note, today actually was relatively okay: at least, nothing inherently bad happened. Unfortunately, that inevitably means that something terrible is going to happen in the near future, but I'll enjoy the good times while they last, haha.

---

This is what I wore this morning:

(the colors are slightly off, but I'm too lazy to go back and edit them, my apologies!)

When my friend Claire first saw me wearing the vest, she said something along the lines of "you look like a hamster." What is it about fluffy down-filled things that reminds people of [insert random item here]?

Claire's comment brought back the memory of elementary school, when I used to wear a puffy purple Old Navy jacket that my aunt/uncle bought me for Christmas one year. I constantly got called a "marshmallow" by Joy and some other people in the classroom, but it was okay: I suppose it was a term of endearment? Back then, I was stick thin and didn't have much of a self conscience (as opposed to just plain thin with pretty much no self-consciousness right now) and so being called a "marshmallow" was strange, but no big deal to me. 

I wonder how I'd react to being called one now? I suppose it'd be the same way I reacted to Claire calling me a hamster: indifference.

-K

home alone

(channeling Macaulay Culkin, ya dig?)

I don't think I've ever watched Home Alone 3 or 4, but I watched the first two a few years ago, I think. Always skip over them when they show them during those movie marathons on TV channels during Christmas every year (in favor of Harry Potter marathons!!! Woo go me~). Unfortunately, my exploits while being home alone are never quite as exciting as Kevin's... Today was no exception.

Around 8, my parents yelled at me that they were leaving for the airport to drop my grandparents off (they're flying to China, where they'll stay until the end of March) and go for a grocery run in Chinatown (oh yeah, that's how we roll- we can't live w/o our asian market foods ;D). I kind of just ignored it and went back to sleep, haha. An hour later, I got up, ate a bagel while watching some seminar on college applications online that my mother linked me to, and then went back to my bedroom to do homework. After getting my Algebra, Spanish and Latin done, I danced around the house singing random Arashi and Noisettes music. :) Lunch entailed some pot stickers, snap peas, terra chips, apple juice, candied ginger and a cookie along with watching last night's episode of SNL on Hulu, which I would have watched last night if I wasn't already dead tired from my D no Arashi marathon (which I am almost done with! just 4 more eps until I'm done watching all that I downloaded, haha).

I finished that and went back to my Chem homework, where I found it fascinating that high energy is denoted by red in terms of colors in artwork and color related to wavelength of light (and the same with low energy in correlation to blue). I wanted to take a nap today (first in awhile; I'm getting used to the lack of naps again!) but that prospect never came to fruition.

Anyway, lately I've felt like I don't have anything useful to say... I frankly don't feel like doing anything about it though, haha. Apathy will definitely be the end of me.

-K

(PS: Cindy says hi! [in the hat that I knit for her!])

yurase yurase yurase

This morning I woke up (from a dream in which I met SAKURAI SHOOOOOO~~~ <3<3<3) after being yelled at by my mother to get up and get dressed for the community service project we help with every year. I pretty much ignored her and turned on my iPod and listened to all of Arashi's album, "Time" before being yelled at again: I had 10 minutes to get dressed and eat breakfast before they left, haha.
Anyway I burst into my wardrobe, pulled out and put on some old jeans, two t-shirts and a thick jacket, grabbed a granola bar and water, and jumped into the car right as she pulled out of the garage and gave me a disapproving glare. Aren't I cool? ;p
In 10 minutes, we arrived at the local beach and helped with the Beach Garden Project: We pulled out a large amount of iceplant and planted quite a few seedlings of native plants. Saving the world? Not necessarily, but saving the environment I think is an important thing we should consider more often.

Anyway after finishing that, my mother and sister went on a grocery run while I went to visit the Dollar Tree, which I think is relatively new and I hadn't been to. They had a rack of (used I think) clothes and I begged my mother to buy me a sweater and shirt :) They were less than three bucks, tax included, so she didn't really complain.... and I'm happy because uh, I like clothes? A lot. :)

The foreign language fetishist in me rejoiced when after listening to my parents/grandparents converse in Cantonese over our lunch (of McDonalds... I know, they're the devil but THEIR FRIES ARE SO GOOD!), I watched a program on Telemundo called "La guerra de los sexos" (Battle of the Sexes), and then listened to more Arashi music. I'm also looking forward to watching "Halfway" (with Okada Masaki :D) in a few minutes.... so basically, I'm glad my brain's getting used to switching between languages so often, hahaha.

It probably would be more beneficial for me if I focused more on studying and getting homework done... heeeeh. [guilty shrug]

-K

my stomach has been working overtime

It's relatively surprising that my stomach has yet to explode: I eat an inordinate amount of food for someone so tiny. Over the past year, and especially after I stopped doing sports because of my ankle fracture, I've stopped eating quite as much - but nevertheless I still eat much more than the average person would expect of me and I often have late-night binging (no purging.... I'm not bulimic like that.... just fat ;D) sessions or candy-eating marathons.

---

You know that sinking feeling you get in your stomach during impending doom? After starting high school I became quite familiarized with it, for every time a teacher announced they'd be passing tests back I knew the day had no more chance of being salvaged. Yesterday, the entire sophomore class was called into the chapel (it's like our equivalent of an auditorium... yeah don't ask) to receive our PSAT scores: needless to say, that sinking feeling was about twenty times stronger than normal. When I was finally handed my score I closed my eyes, took a breath, looked at the paper and sighed. It wasn't a relieved sigh but wasn't a proud one either: I scored in the 92nd percentile of sophomores, which I suppose isn't terrible but if I get the same score next year I won't even come close to qualifying for NMSQT. So: Away with the stupidness and welcome lots of more hard work (and a veritable amount of insanity due to it ;p) in the upcoming few years!

---

I woke up today telling myself several times that "today will be a great day." My outfit was nice - Claire gave me harlequin-patterned tights for Christmas so I paired them with my plaid blazer and was an "explosion of color!" according to Bob; I had a free third period; My breakfast was a tasty toasted bagel with cream cheese. At 8:30 my first class started: Latin. It was fun, like always (I love my Latin teacher so much and firmly believe that if every teacher in the world was as enthusiastic as he is, the world would be a better place, hahaha) but about halfway through my stomach started feeling angry. About two-thirds of the way through the class and I could barely focus and remember the difference between the subjunctive imperfect and pluperfect forms. By the end of class I finally found a way to kind of ignore the pain and just carried on...... but then about 10 minutes into the next class, Spanish, I was ready to double over and cry, I had pains in my stomach so intense. Luckily we had a substitute (for our real teacher is at a linguistics convention) so I didn't actually miss any class, but after talking to the teacher in charge I went to her office to lay on her couch while I called my dad to ask him to pick me up.

Me: Dad, can you please pick me up right now?
Dad: Why?
Me: I have the stomach ache from hell.
Dad: .....

Luckily my father is fairly understanding so he agreed to pick me up and in 20 minutes I was back at home, wanting to pass out on my bed but not able to sleep because of the intense pains. My grandmother interrogated me about my symptoms (she used to be a nurse) and gave me some weird Chinese herbal medicine.... and in half an hour I felt much, much better- weak in the legs and such, but at least no stabbing pains. So it's now 9:56 and I've literally been on the computer since like, 1 PM. Heeeeeh. I should probably get off soon, eh? [shrug]

-K

you da fuckin best.....

(music: Drake - Best I Ever Had)

When I saw that the theme for NaBloPoMo was "BEST," my immediate reaction was "oh man, that totally is best." As you may induce, I really like the theme, haha.
A few months ago I began using the word "best" as an adjective. As with many words (eg. fosho/foshizzle, lovely, fantastic, awesome), I go through periods of incessant usage of them. Whenever I even remotely liked something or found something amusing, I would say something along the lines of "god, that is best!"

"The way your bracelet is shiny is best!"
"You once ate a whole pizza? That's just best!"
"OMG DID YOU SEE WHAT HAPPENED IN THE LAST ARASHI NO SHUKUDAIKUN EP? BEST!"

(etc. etc.)

I'm generally a grammar/spelling nazi, but in some cases I make exceptions. I suppose to many people the grammar that I use in everyday conversation is full of unforgivable, egregious errors but I'm willing to overlook that for my sanity - you know, as much as I try to be conscious about other's feelings, my head explodes fairly easily.

---

Lately nostalgia has really taken root in my thoughts. Today, I went to "Alumnipalooza," a gathering of the uh, many alumni of my elementary/middle school, Montessori. It's funny to see how much things change in just a matter of a few years! The current school site is totally different.... drastic is most definitely an understatement. When I went to Montessori (in a little town called Spreckels), it was located on a small lot and the building was actually moveable [how many people do you know are able to say that they went to school in a trailer? hahaha]. Now, the site is at an old fitness facility, but it's nonetheless multiple times better than the old site: They have a gym, music room, outside playground, and multiple, quite large classrooms.... they even have a reception area!
My old classmates have definitely changed as well: I didn't even recognize some of them until they said their name, haha. Many of us have changed our hairstyles/wardrobe completely, some of us have glasses, almost all of us have some acne (haha), and everybody (except me.... WHYYYY) has gotten so tall!
Of course, some things never change: We all are still gloriously awkward and ridiculously crazy. :)

(Joy's drawing of me before coloring it in.... and adding a "peace sign" + random piece of popcorn on the side)

 

(my drawing of Nisha + Fran's drawing of Joy)

-K

iiiiiii want candy [dun dun dun dun dun]

I love candy. I love candy so much I could (and often do) eat stomach-ache inducing amounts of candy. I love candy so much that to get myself through homework marathons, I'll have a concurrent candy-eating marathon.

It's a wonder I haven't keeled over and died of all of the sugar/fat clogged up in my arteries.

My favorite candy? Sour Patch Kids. Although after this year's New Year's Eve celebrations I have an attachment to both lifesaver gummy and hard candies. I also think it's adorable when coming back to your hotel room (or on a cruiseship, your cabin) and seeing a little chocolate or mint on top of the pillow. Little things like that always make my day.

(via B4YK1D5 on Flickr)

---

I've made it a habit to carry a few pieces of candy in my bag all of the time - they're kind of like my sweet little secret :). It's a small step to take, but can be a simple pick-me-up on off days. It's even sweeter randomly handing a piece a friend and seeing their surprised (and generally excited) smile upon seeing.... sugar.

---

My sister also loves anything with sugar in it. Unlike me, she's really had to pay for her sweet tooth: a few years ago her addiction to juices in particular led to having more than half of her teeth being "crowned."
We soon got used to it but it was funny watching strangers react to seeing her mouth for the first time.

I remember taking this pic at Halloween a few years ago and laughing super hard.... Gosh I took such advantage of her innocence back then! I'm such a bad person :-3. But anyway - ahhh embarrassing family pics FTW. Nostalgia FTW.

Unlike my sister, at that age I had a major taste for salty foods. Potato chips, in particular (again, that food hasn't gone from my favorites). You would constantly be able to see me sitting on the couch watching some obscure TV show while chowing down on some Cheetos, or something of the like. Remember those "ePloids" that they used to have on the back of all the frito lay products? I was an avid collector of those, and when they announced they were discontinuing the program I felt let down. But I did turning in my collection I ended up with a light-up yo-yo, glow-in-the-dark stars, a "safe"box (which I still use to store money, haha), and a magic eight ball. Needless to say, I was quite satisfied.

Anyway, that predilection to salty foods has never gone away, but you're just as, if not more likely to see me with a piece of hard candy or chocolate or such in my mouth. Maybe I should go back to my chewing gum addiction from last year - at least I won't be gaining loads of subcutaneous fat along with the crapload of visceral fat I bet I've had for a longlong time. Orbit gum makes some really interesting flavors nowadays - I really liked their pomegranate when it came out, I wonder if they still sell it?

-K

i've got soul but i'm not a soldier...

I feel so industrious: After working all through study hall and willing myself to not turn the computer on after arriving home, I was able to finish all of my homework before dinnertime! :)

Currently: listening to Glee, Rent, Wicked, Arashi (one of these things is not like the other....). Also downloading a few more D no Arashi eps! I told myself that tonight I wouldn't watch Arashi videos (since they kept me from going to sleep until midnight last night) today, but since I've all of my homework done I think I can afford to indulge a bit.... [shifty eyes]

Right now I kind of want to read, kind of want to pick out outfits (although all I can think of are obnoxiously tacky outfits with obnoxiously tacky color schemes ;D), kind of want to go back downstairs and eat again.


I really don't feel like posting much today. I guess while these videos are downloading I'll start writing a decent blog post...... Hope everybody had a Happy Tuesday! (ehhhh why is it only Tuesday??? oh well, just 3 more days until the weekend.....)


-K

hontou no yume wa itsumo soba ni aru

Ah, first day of school. How I loathe thee.

Nah, just kidding. Today actually wasn't so bad. My plan was to continually tell myself the phrase "today will be a great day" and occasionally go over Arashi's "We Can Make It!" in my head. It was a fairly successful plan, for nothing inherently bad happened to me, yay! This is what I wore today (or at least, the interesting part):

(the cut up shirt on top is a DIY I did awhile back but never found an occasion to wear..... I was trying to think up something interesting to wear last night and though something along the lines of "why the hell not?")

On the way home, I was talking to my carpool buddy Gwen and apparently I hadn't told her about my trip to Jamaica? Heeeeh. So I figure I should probably update the blog with a few highlights of the trip as well. So, I now present you with [drumroll please]

Highlights from Ocho Rios!

[a] Upon arriving, realizing that they actually *do* have that accent.
[b] Not necessarily a "highlight," but: HISTORY CLASS IS FOLLOWING ME EVERYWHERE! When we arrived my mother wondered why there was Spanish as well as English on all of the signs and TV commercials, and I said "why of course it's because the Spanish colonized the New World first." Later we learned that Christopher Columbus was the one who named the town we visited (Ocho Rios), and visited a museum that had a section devoted to the Arawak - which also had a large quote taken from Bartolome de las Casas' "Account of the Destruction of the Indies."
[c] Being the only Chinese family in a crowd of white tourists and black locals. Actually, on the last day of our stay we were told about how all of the grocery stores are owned by Chinese families, and that there's a relatively large Chinese population there... but anyway we never saw evidence of that. Or maybe we're just ignorant. Anyway, we still managed to have several locals ask if we were Japanese and then if we were from "Hong Kong" (you know, in that "ching-chongy" way.... you know what I mean, I know you do.)
 [d] Climbing a waterfall:

[e] Getting hit on by a cute Jamaican boy - problem was he looked about 10.
[f] Warm weather for once - getting used to California weather again was just terrible.
[g] JERK! No really.... we ate jerk chicken, jerk fish, jerk pork and lots of other interesting food (fried bammy, breadfish, festival). We also visited here:

[h] Jamaican fast food. Or rather, singing along to "Shape of My Heart" while wolfing down jerk chicken + Sorrel along with the family in the middle of Island Grill (which was way, way better than Mother's, no offense. Mother's must be like the Jamaican equivalent of McDonald's?)
[i] Napping on the beach - and not getting a tan or sunburn! :-o
[j] Watching mother doing the thing she does best: haggling w/ local merchants. I bought a little wooden elephant from a guy named Irvine :)
[k] Listening to Bob Marley reggae music constantly. Not necessarily a highlight either, but it was funny when the mother asked "what is reggae?" after reading a local newspaper. Another highlight? On the plane, watching Father have an epiphany while looking at the map on the back of the magazine: Jamaica *isn't* in fact off the coast of Mexico like he guessed! [sigh] I guess our family really does showcase the reason why Americans are branded as ignorant bastards. ;p

Anyway, that was fun. Now I need to take a shower and finish my homework. Then get back to the D no Arashi marathon I stupidly started last night.... Heeeeh. [guiltily shifts eyes]

you can stand under my umbarella ella ella eh eh eh

Last day of Winter Break and how am I using it? Well, this morning I've been downloading a whole bunch of eps of D no Arashi..... although right now I'm downloading so many .part files (I try to cap the number currently downloading at 20.. but there are like 15 more episodes I want to download, haha) that you can't see Sho or Nino on my desktop background! :(
Man, I am *such* a fangirl.
Note:
a. The folder on my desktop named "Asian Pop Groups Pics" (although there's a valid reason for that: I use their outfits as inspiration for mine)
b. Arashi as my desktop background
c. downloading 20 files at once of a 5-year-old variety show.

.....why am I so lame? [sigh]
Anyway, while those download I figure it'd be good to do a little writing to get myself..... out of the state of braindead-ness (and because I signed up for NaBloPoMo, which I succeeded at doing one month.... I think it was November of 2008?) . My problem with the day before school - and I'm sure I'm not the only one with this - is that there are so many conflicting feelings that keep you from deciding what to do. For example:

Contempt - "God I can't believe I have to get up EARLY to go to SCHOOL!"
Acceptance - "Since it's the last day of break, I want to enjoy it"
Confusion - "What should I do?"
Apathy - "Sitting around doing nothing is so satisfying, so I should do that"
Pro activity - "This day is my last day of freedom so I should do something worthwhile!"
More confusion - "But what????"

So right now I've decided to just mentally prepare myself for school. One of the most traumatizing things is the necessity to rip yourself out of the nice, warm cocoon of your bed in the early hours of the morning (before sunrise, at that) in order to go to school. I don't mind waking up early every once in awhile to do something new, or waking up early to watch TV [as in Saturday morning cartoons, or Johnny's Countdown, heeeeeeh], but 5 days a week? To go to hell on a hilltop? No, not fun at all.
Hence, in order to make tomorrow morning as painless as possible, I will now create a to-do list for today and tomorrow morning (some of these guidelines I think almost everybody can use to their advantage, just modify them to suit your own needs, haha):

(a) Pack your bag tonight. It seems like an easy, enough task, right?
Wrong. Don't forget the pencil case, gum, homework planner, books are all at school (refused to study at all during break), lip gloss/balm, lotion, hand sanitizer, bandaids, extra reading material just in case, iPod, cell phone, wallet. Also: consider bringing several tylenol tablets.... you know, just in case things get out of hand. hahaha.
(b) Clothes. Outfit for tomorrow? Again, have it ready it in the night instead of last moment. Something warm and at least semi-comfortable. I'm thinking two pairs of tights (lace over grey?) alongside the black wool skirt, a cardigan over several layered t-shirts or tanks, and a jacket or sweater. Don't forget extra hairties and Fran's bracelets. I hate having to wear my ankle brace, but that'll be necessary as well. Probably should wear my red converse tomorrow. A scarf (black or checkered ones work with everything) is a nice touch as well.
(c) No makeup. I mean, I never wear much makeup anyway (at most, mascara, eyeliner and lipgloss), but on the first day especially - no.
(d) Lunch: Right now, I've a choice of packing a hot pocket, bun from Chinatown, cooking pasta roni, cup noodles, or a PB + J sandwich. The easiest choices are the hot pocket and cup noodles. Healthiest is probably bun from chinatown. I'll probably go with that. Don't forget a bottle of water, bag of chips, fruit of some sort, granola bar.
(e) Arashi music. Not even joking. The moment the alarm goes off, don't roll over and go back to sleep: Blast Arashi music ("We Can Make It," Anyone?) and kitto daijoubu.
(f) No contacts. Glasses are the best way to get up and go. Also: Tie hair up into a ponytail so it's not constantly blowing into you face.
(g) Wash your face. Cold water. Then use a strong smelling lotion. Will wake you up, guaranteed.

It's always a good idea to get a good night's rest - but for me that's never a viable event so I'm not even going to put that on my list. Anyways:

last but not least: (h) Don't die.
Sounds like terrible advice, but it's true: If you don't let yourself give up, you will be fine.

I believe Nike's got it right. My mantra of the moment: "Just do it."

-K

i feel really full right now - i guess fried noodles and papaya are quite filling?

As the second day of the new year chugs along, I find myself wondering "hmmmm, what should I do?"
I've a full day with no plans, and the only way I can think of spending my time is downloading a string of Himitsu no Arashi-chan videos - which by far is a fantastic way to spend your time (heeeeeh not really but I resolve to stay in my state of oblivion for as long as possible), but no doubt terrible for my computer (it looks like I've only something like 5 GB left of my 70 GB on my C: drive). It also looks like the old monitoring program that my father installed back in 2008? decided to miraculously start working (I figured out how to disable it a few months after he put it on my comp, and it was a glorious period of unlimited computer use while it lasted, haha). Lol, hiiiii Mom/Dad. Sorry if you're reading this!

My New Year's Eve celebrations were quite amusing. Of course, after changing into my PJs I mentally beat myself for forgetting to take a pic of my outfit (which was quite good and festive for once - black tank w/ sequined bow decoration over a green vera wang tank, DIY acid-washed jeans over grey tights) - I guess my "I'm kind of into fashion" stage is over now.... Anyway, back to the topic:
I slept over at Joy's house along with Fran and we watched/sang along to inordinate amounts of KPop and JPop (No Chinese pop, because I have yet to find anything that I actually like, haha) music. We also watched an episode of "You're Beautiful" (Hong Ki = loveeee!), and ate unhealthy amounts of candy.

(Fran sticks! Like Pocky, except more awesome)

(Reindeer lollipops - yes, those tongues are lollipops. Joy got the angry reindeer on the left.)

Minutes before midnight, we had a Glee-music marathon . The last song we listened to in 2009? "You're Having My Baby." Right after we saw that the clock on the corner of Joy's laptop turned 12:00, we screamed and started singing Ring Ding Dong (except for the parts in Korean, during which we just kind of awkwardly danced in our seats humming along).

Oh yes, I think we're pretty cool.

Except for when Fran + Joy decided to be annoying and play with the souvenirs from Jamaica that I gave them:

(Yes, those are wooden turtles. Yes, that is my butt.)

Anyway, after several lifesavers/york peppermint patty fights (Joy's room is now littered w/ the random candy we kept throwing at each other), we settled down and watched Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. We all fell asleep halfway through but somehow woke up after awhile and decided to officially go to sleep. However, when that happened I kept on starting to snore after drifting off, therefore waking up everyone (including myself.... what the hell kind of person wakes up because of the sound of her own snoring? hahaha).
Later in the morning we all woke up (or at least Fran and I did, and then forced Joy up) and kind of just sat around doing nothing. A freaky spider almost crawled onto me, which prompted a bloodcurdling scream on my part, and a nickname (Karen Junior, or "KJ") from Fran and Joy.

My parents picked me up around 9:45 and we went to Oakland where we shopped and ate Dim Sum with my grandparents (paternal ones live in Oakland, maternal ones live with us). After, we drove back home and I had an Arashi Variety Show Marathon.... woo~


I'm gonna watch Arashi videos until my computer time runs out (1.5 hours left, according to the little "monitor computer" application icon), then take a nap and read a magazine and some of David Sedaris' "When You Are Engulfed in Flames." I figure it's a good use of time, yes? Maybe? Okay no, but what else should I do?


[sigh] It's quite troublesome being an indecisive, apathetic, pubescent and angsty teenager, haha.


-K

la la la la la

As with every New Year, we face a slew of promises for the "new": New Year's Resolutions, the prospect of meeting new people and forging new relationships, traveling to new places and having new experiences. The New Year signifies a "new" beginning. For although technically it's just another "day in the life," we make it into something special: The start of 365 days of mystery. We have the power to change, create, build whatever we want in that time. The decision to set boundaries or break them is yours.
I love beginnings, which is why I'm always prone to starting books that look good but never end them (and generally the books I do read end up being good at the beginning, but never satisfying at the end). I find the wonder and excitement at what's ahead fantastic and enchanting. The mystery of what's beyond the bend in the road brings up the question of where are we going? Do we slow down, take a break, speed up, or turn back? The beauty in human society is that we're always going towards and around that bend at breakneck speed. It can be scary, but the things we discover and see are so inspiring.


2010 welcomes a new generation of ideas, slang, music, technology and people. I personally embrace it as an invitation to continue my quest at being "more:"
More conscientious, more knowledgeable, more experienced, more helpful, more creative, more industrious, more wise, more organized, more passionate, more eloquent, more artistic, more calculating, more spontaneous, more of a human contradiction. Most of all, I look forward to being more "me" - even if that entails far more insanity than may be healthy.

Here are a few links and suggestions to start off and give inspiration for the year a new beginning:

Be more environmentally friendly: The 2010 Gist: New To-do List Part I
Be more inspired: CMYKaboom's Inspiration Machine
Be a better writer: Nano Tip #29: Finish Everything
Be better at avoiding elementary spelling and grammar mistakes: 10 Words You Need to Stop Misspelling

Be clairvoyant (ah, I wish) philosophical: "50 Questions That Will Free Your Mind"
Be happier:  The 7 Habits of Highly Happy People
Know the Handwriting on the Wall: Who Moved My Cheese?
Understand what "self-help" is: Self-help - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
More tips: "Do it Better: Flip a Bad Day"

(and for good measure, although this really is unrelated: have some pretty Arashi boys :D)

-K

(PS: and to think, I'll be 25 this time in 10 years! So weird.... how things change!)