Starting uni, drinking tea..

The first day of classes was ok i guess. Our Finance professor gave us our books & an assignment. bummer! Then i had to go with mum for the monthly shopping which turned out to be more like 2-month grocery shopping since shes not sure how long they're staying in Thailand. Oh and my bro came back from London last night, i have yet to see him but i hear hes going to Thailand too for a week. YAY!! home alone, we can party! NOT!! That means i'm going to be responsible for everything and if anything happens i'm in charge. We'll see how that goes, i hope no emergencies happen!

Oh yeah, so i decided to buy some tea-drink thingy at the supermarket today. Why? No idea, i just figured if everyone in Japan drinks them instead of soda most of the time then they must be good. and whilst i didn't pick a Japanese product, i was pleasantly surprised! I got peach flavoured green tea drink and it totally kicked ass. I loved it! Next time i'm buying loads.. and i have to look for other flavours.. i had no idea what i was missing!! Glad i got it. Oh yeah and i did get some Pocari Sweat, im giving it another try to see if i like it a bit better now that i know what its like..
So tomorrow i have to:

• take my dad's car and go to uni.
• go pay the telephone,internet, and cable TV bills.
• pay the newspaper guy for the month.
• go collect something for mum.
• pay the electricity bill.
• and decide on what we're having for lunch.

Well, im off to listen to my japanese podcast lessons. TC everyone. Jya ne!

EDIT: i found out the secret to drinking Pocari Sweat, drink it ice cold! Soo much better, cool & refreshing ;)

Jealousy & Travelling

I'm sooo jealous of my dad. He travels so much, in the past 2 months alone he has been to China, Malaysia, Syria, KSA, Hong Kong, Russia (which was about 4 days ago) and today he says hes going with mum to Thailand! I know he travels for business but i would love to be in his place and visit all these countries..

My mums had this cough since she came back from China 7 weeks ago and it hasn't gone away so my dad decided today that their both going to Thailand coz they have this great hospital there so they can see whats wrong!! makes me wish I was sick! NO, i take that back. i couldn't deal with a mere fever last week what would i do if i were really sick. Thank goodness im not!

My older bro is in London enjoying his time at the moment, so that means im going to be in charge when my parents are gone. I hate being in charge, its just so much responsiblity with 3 younger bro & sisters. PLUS i start my fourth & LAST year of uni on Sunday and i don't need the added stress!

I love the beginning of the new semester, i can't wait to meet my new professors and learn new things, but alas i'll soon get bored of it. Although i don't like uni all that much, im proud coz i pull off the "good student" image so good that my professors are always telling me how "conscientious" i am! i do love learning but our uni is really tough and the workload is always too much if you have a social life.. if you dont' then you'll probably do great! however, having said that, I for one have a social life and manage to be on the dean's list.. so i'll keep doing what i've been doing, it seems to work..

I've got to go babysit for my mum's friend whose got to go somewhere and doesn't have anyone to look after the kids.. i LOVE kids.. so im off!

cheers everyone, have a great day ^^

Pocari Sweat Review.. its ****

I was at the supermarket today and i spotted some Pocari Sweat & of course without question, i HAD to buy it. I was just curious and wanted to see how it tasted so i bought one.

For those of you not familiar with the drink, its got its name from its ability to restore ions in your body that you lose from sweating. A little Engrish happening there ;P

From what i've heard its a soft drink/energy drink that tastes like weak lemonade. Well, it does! but for some reason i thought it was fizzy, its not!! I thought it had carbonated water but its normal water.. because i was expecting it to be fizzy i was disappointed but nevertheless it is quite refreshing. It has this unique sweet/salty taste to it and is not very lemony.

Overall, its not bad and if it was more readily available i would drink it a lot but for now i'll stick to my homemade low-cal lemonade :)

The verdict: **** (no thats not a swear word, its 4 stars)

Next, i'm on a mission to find me some Calpis, i have to taste it!

PS sorry, i couldn't deny Chester his few minutes of fame so i let him pose with the Mr. Pocari Sweat!

Lovin Fridays this summer!

The whole summer i've been eagerly awaiting every Friday (it airs in Japan on Tuesday but i have to wait for the subbing) night so i can watch a new episode of my new favourite jdrama Hanazakari no Kimitachi e ! Its full of fresh faces (ones i didnt know before) and is quite funny.

The story revolves around this Japanese girl whose come all the way from the US to Japan and is enrolled in an all-boys boarding school so that she can be close to a young athlete she idolizes so she can help him jump again. The story might not sound all that interesting but it really is a funny, romantic, and cute drama!

I just couldn't resist including some screen-shots from the latest episode:

I know the last pic is not a screen-shot, i don't know how it snuck in between the pics.
Today's Mondays, then Tuesday, then Wednesday, then Thursday, then FRIDAY!! why does it have to be such a long time, can't wait!

Cheers

The BEST Japanese learning resource EVER!

(click on the pic to go to the website)

Or maybe ONE of the best. I recommend this to everyone learning Japanese. Its a collection of manga clips read by native speakers and underneath it is a transcript in English and romaji of the conversation and grammer notes..etc. Its really great. Some of it is formal Japanese, but most informal which makes it a valuable resources for those of us who aren't in Japan to hear the normal talk ^^

and although the website is in bad need of a face-lift, its really cool, and best of all it has a search engine by word & phrase, title, or situation. I really love the website and im planning to watch one clip each morning and study it :)

Please check it out, i'm sure it will help if you're learning Japanese. (click on the pic to go to the website)

Good luck learning Japanese! Ganbatte!

Jinxed myslef..Me & my laptop sick!

I hate being sick.. its the worst feeling ever.. especially fevers.. i hate that feeling of not having control over your body, your bones feeling so cold yet your skin is so hot and sweaty.. Not knowing wether your cold or hot and shivering and just feeling weak all over so that you can't stand on your feet without them buckling under you..

A week ago i was over at my cousin's and was telling her how i only get sick once every 2-3 years or so, so a couple of days later i find myself sick as a dog. I had a fever,throwing up, dizzy, and also had the worst sore throat ever. I'm ok now, my throat hurts a bit but i'm so glad its over. I hope i can put that behind me for 2 or 3 more years ^^ maybe thats asking for too much. i'll settle for a year then.. So glad its over..

I had to send my laptop to be formatted and change the battery since the warranty runs out in a week, that was on the first day i got sick, and i just got it back today when im feeling better so i didnt even miss it :D if i wasn't sick i would've gone crazy, i can't use the shared PC at home, its so slow it drives me insane!

Anyways, so my laptop & I are back now.. good as new :)

PS Washy, thanks for "Hidden Palms" i enjoyed watching it :) thanks for thinking of me!

Kawaii, and cute poo!

I just love Japan’s concept of cuteness, or kawaii (pronouned kah-wa-yeeh). I will let Wikipedia do the explaining as I’m sure it will be better than my definition:

"Since the 1970s, cutesness has become a prominent aspect of Japanese popular culture, entertainment, clothing, food, toys, personal appearance, behavior, and mannerisms. Foreign observers often find this cuteness intriguing and sometimes strange because the Japanese employ it in a vast array of situations and demographics where, in other cultures, it would be considered incongruously juvenile or frivolous (for example, in government publications, public service warnings, office environments, military advertisements, and commercial airliners, among many others)."

Everything in Japan is kawaii! From little Hello Kitty merchandise to public posters telling you to pick up after your dog!

(Pick up after your dog-sign)

Another kawaii thing I like is the poo character, the japanese can even make poo cute!! If that doesn’t impress you, im not sure what would! This concept goes well beyond merchandise and characters, a large poulation of girls and women in Japan try to be kawaii in all aspects of life. From the girly-ish clothese they wear, to the way they talk or even walk! To an outsider such women/girls might seem immature and naïve but to most Japanese people it is accepted and even admired! A lot of Japanese men like kawaii women who act like little girls and dress like little girls, whereas an English man for example would think they are totally immature!

This entry could be 100 ages long but I’ll spare you ^^ If your interested in the concept of kawaii you can go to the Wikipedia page under kawaii and begin your search there!

For now, I’ll leave you with my latest kawaii addition to my wardrobe. Here you are:

(Red skirt with white hearts & dotty green sneakers- Kawaii ne?!)