"Osen" Opening Sequence

This has to be my favourite opening sequence for a drama to date. Watch this...



I love it!! It starts off looking all cool with it's freeze-frame movements and Aoi Yu wielding that giant flag... Then out of the blue you have Uchi Hiroki jumping out from behind her in true-blue (-_-''')- fashion. It's hilarious!!! Plus, Micro (formerly of Def Tech) sings the opening song, "Odore". I can never stop giggling when I watch this!!

A further plus is that the story itself is a really good one! Hooray!!

Internet-less

I have been thrown into the spirals of the dark ages once again. D moved out you see, and with him went the TV and the internet.

Although it doesn't really bother me per se.. I have to admit that there are inconveniences. I cannot check my e-mails that regularly (read: every hour) and although I'm not too fussed about it, it does mean that there's a high chance of missing out on important e-mails that may have been sent last minute or something. Well, not that it's such a bad thing when you want to avoid people. Then not having the internet is a very valid excuse.

There is also the fact that I no longer have easy access into my WebCT page, which is something like a student folder. It's where the lecturers will dump stuff into relevant folders for the students to download, like lecture notes and things. NUS had a similar thing but I can't remember what it was called. So there went my brilliant idea of making a Singapore-relevant comparison. I have to find a computer inbetween classes to download them to be printed back home, because I have no money in my print budget at the moment.

And of course, probably the major part of my grief for the loss of internet (although it shouldn't be) is that I no longer have easy access to my Japanese language resources. I will have to go back to using the CDs that came with my textbook. Haiz. Reading the Daily Yomiuri and Sanspo Online and watching Kanajni8 was so much more fun though. Oh well.

Classes have started again. Immediately after exams. I still think it's cruel, not to give the students a mental break, especially after forcing us to study over Christmas. I'd really rather they start the term earlier, say at the end of August instead of the end of September and get the exams out of the way before the Christmas vacation.

How did the exams go? I don't know. I think I'll pass the first three... But I'm not too sure about the last one. It's a 50/50 chance. Well. I'm not going to find out until the end of February. So no point worrying about it now.

This term is going to be truly exciting... A real killer... (X_X)

Alone In My Flat

As the title says. My winter break started on Saturday. So that means that I'm 1 week into it.

......

OMG!! ONE WEEK OF MY BREAK IS ALREADY GONE!?!?!

Dammit.... Let me tell you how I've been passing my time... I set up this LiveJournal account right, so that I could use it for my translation practice (and also so I could join a certain fandom community... *ahem*). Then last Friday, I decided, "What the heck! I'll try translating an entire video instead of just short articles!"

So I started translating a 55-minute Japanese video into English.

I have been absolutely obsessed with it. Within 3 days, I had finished translating the first 3 sections of it (roughly the first 16 minutes). 1 section a day. Not that it's easy translating mind you, nor does it mean that my Japanese has somehow improved by leaps and bounds over the last year. Noooooooo.... I stayed up until unearthly hours (the 2nd day I stayed up until 4-something) doing each section, simply because I was.. well... Obsessed!!! I don't know why, but I had to prove something! That I could do it!! That I WILL do it!!

Of course, then my classmates called me on Monday and reminded me of the fact that exams are in January. I needed to start studying NOW. So we made plans to study. Which we have! But it hasn't curbed my translational-obsession... Its slowed it down, definitely, but more than anything, its fired my obsession up! Because, now I need to get this out of my system before I can concentrate 100% on revision! That's a LOUSY excuse, I know. But I need to do this!

So, the last 2 sections of the video took me about 2 days each to finish. There are 3 sections left... Can I get them done by this weekend I wonder? I must, if I want to give full attention to studying by Monday.

Oh, and... I'm now officially alone in my flat. Alone for Christmas... N went home last Thursday (T_T) and D flew off to France on Friday (not that it made a difference... it hardly feels like D's been a part of the flat this year, and he's moving out with his gf in January anyhow).. And today... R left for home as well. (T_T)

It was fun the last week though. R and I finally managed to have time to hang out together, something we both missed doing since the new school term started. At least, I know I missed it. We had our usual banter, in between serious discussions or seriously random discussions. We made dinner together for the first time in a long, long time. We lived off leftovers for a week, and hey! We actually managed to whip up some pretty good meals with those leftovers! ♡

Hahaha.... I make it sound like we're a couple or something. But we're not. We do make that a running joke though, simply because we're so similar, we get along the best in the flat (in my own opinion anyway) and we work well together (I chop, he cooks. I clean, he makes tea). If anything, we're like brother and sister here, despite the fact that he's a guy from Chorley and I'm from Singapore. Anyway, I doubt R's girlfriend would appreciate the joke... (^^''')

Well. There's just me now. And my classmates. And my translation project.

.......

I should go to bed.

47! Christmas Present for Myself???

I WANT!

(T_T)

But am I desperate enough??

This... (*_*)

Hoshiiiiiiiiiiiii~~~

Then the question comes: Do I want the regular version or the limited edition more. Well... Although the behind-the-scene clips looked VERY interesting, I kinda want to see their Neoki Dokkiri clips more. Saw some previews posted on youtube... Yoko's was ADORABLE!!! And Hina... That man's brain is one fast processor.

But... $$$.

Haiz. Oh well. Maybe if I ignore it long enough, I'll forget how badly I want it right now.

2 more days to the start of the Winter Break!!! AAH! I'm already in holiday mode!

ザ少年倶楽部！

Yay!!! I finally get to watch The Shounen Club on my own tv!!! And these two weeks it's The Shounen Club in OSAKA!!! Kanjani8!! 関ジャニ∞の皆さん見えるわ！！超うれしい！！村上信五！ヒナァァ～～！！(☆_☆) (I can only put stars coz I cannot find a heart...) This in addition to 風林火山(Fuurin Kazan) - which is getting more exciting each episode by the way - is just BRILLIANT!!!

I love NHK. I love being back in Singapore and having access to NHK. *rabu rabu*

I get to see this guy

and this guy

all in the same night! Is a veritable drool-fest. HAHAHAHAH!!! (All fangirl tendencies are out.)

And of course, on Friday YOSHIKI and Gackt's new band debuted in California. Apparently it was a big hit, but there were never any doubts about that. Shall wait patiently for their first single/album to appear.

SKIN

来た！！
THE BAND is called SKIN.
The official line-up is now:
YOSHIKI (drums)
Gackt (vocal)
SUGIZO (guitar)
雅-miyavi- (guitar)

And they'll be performing at the Anime Expo 2007!!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! Somebody send me to the US NOW!!

I think if I become any more fan-girly I will actually have a stroke.

[edit: 28 May 2007] More info:
Yahoo!Japan News
Oricon Career
Sponichi Annex

Yes I realize the new links are all Japanese articles. Maybe after the exams I might be inspired to try translating them. But at the moment...

SO SWEET!!

Hot Chocolate~!!
ヨシキ様優しい～！！かわいくて、格好いい！！

ヨシキ様くれてココアがほしいなぁぁぁ～～！(*_*)
行きたいな～Jロック革命コンサート。

J-ロック革命

行きたい！！すごく行きたい！

この事です。

Do you think if I wish hard enough, yoshiki will be inspired to organize something similar in the UK? Or Singapore for that matter?

I mean, just look at the line-up!!! *spurting nose-bleeds*

girugamesh and DespairsRay are actually PREEETTY GOOD bands to look out for! kagrra and MUCC are possibly a bit too metal for my taste although some of the stuff I've heard on Last.fm is pretty good. Don't know much about the other bands though.

AND MIYAVI?!?!?!? *faints from excessive blood loss* OMG! I was a convert when I saw this video. Go watch it NOW!

PLUS!!! Yoshiki has said on his MySpace blog that he'll announce the 4th member of his new (SUPER) band during the show. Gackt and Sugizo are already involved, and he just needs a second guitarist and a bassist!! The rumour mill has it that miyavi is that second guitarist. I'm going NUTS here!!!

Damn this post turned out longer than I intended it to be.

AFJが大好き！

Been meaning to post an update for AGES!!! ごめんなさい、皆さん。

Ok, so let's start with last Saturday, 5 May. That was the day that the Aberdeen Kendo Club, AU Kendo Club and Aberdeen Friends of Japan worked to gether to organize the 3rd annual Japan Day as well as the annual Kendo Competition. Think there were only 3 participating universities (Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow), but since I had very little to do with that, I want to rave talk about the Japan Day fair!!

Went with the people of the newly set-up Nippon Connections. We were supposed to have been there for 12pm to help with the setting up and all. But lo and behold, we didn't count on the International Market being on in Union Street so all the buses were diverted and traffic was about twice as bad as usual. We ended up being almost 20min late and there's was very little left for us to do by the time we arrived. Still we managed to make ourselves useful in one way or another throughout the day. Doriana, Nikolas and I appointed ourselves (ok, I appointed myself) "official" photographers and went around blinding everyone with our digital cameras while managing to participate in the fun at the same time. My memory card is with Doriana at the moment, so photos will have to wait. Despite being a really small fair, there was a really great turnout. I was amazed at the number of people who turned up for the event. And I learned ikebana and some calligraphy. Chiho-san made me write ゆず (a small citrus fruit). Don't ask me why. I suggested writing the kanji for "one" but that was denied. Later tried writing my name but I screwed up the メ "me" character.

After the day was over, we all trooped over to Yamazaki-sensei's place for a barbecue! とても楽しかった！！ありがとうございました、山崎先生! And what I thought was the HIGHLIGHT of my day was meeting the Vice-Consulate General, Yokohama-san. Although I might have given him the impression of a crazed otaku fan-girl. Haiz. Got over-excited. After hearing that the Consulate General of Japan would be coming, I was actually hoping I might be able to have a serious conversation with them about how I became interested in Japan (and hopefully gain some brownie points and some good networking points). But that didn't quite work out. I realized too late who Consulate General Takahashi-san was (and he was actually speaking to me for a while.. DOH!!!). By the time I finally realized, he was engrossed in a game of Go, and I was too chicken to approach him with small conversation. And then I botched up the introduction that Naomi-san gave between Yokohama-san and us Nippon Connections people. My Japanese went totally haywire (didn't even know how to say I studied Japanese for about 2 years in Singapore. One of the easiest statements to make and I blanked. (>_<) Kill me.). Then I made the otaku fan-girl impression by teasing Bart about Akihabara in a slightly over-excited manner, due to my suddenly being so flustered. Kouki accused (teasingly, but still...)me of going to Akihabara as a maid. (T_T) Damn. I'll never be the diplomat my grandpa was. Anyhow, this Saturday was slightly better. It was a potluck lunch to celebrate the coming of Spring as well as a farewell party for a couple who were flying off to the Russian Island of Sakhalin. Made a lasagne that everyone seemed to really like (thank GOODNESS). There was SO MUCH FOOD!! It was unbelievable. Chiho-san made this really nice stewed chicken with soy beans!! おいしい～～！！Someone made croquettes as well. I could've cried from happiness. And there was this apple cake. I don't know who made it but it was soooo nice!!! I love this group. And met some new people as well! Kaneko-san, who's lived in so many places, Yeejin from Malaysia but who's worked in Japan, Yumi-san and er... ok, I don't remember the rest of the names. But oh! So many new people!! YAY!!! Silly Kouki, Doriana & Nikolas kept telling people that I could speak Japanese despite my trying very hard not to. Don't really like it when people do that to me coz then everyone starts yammering to me in really fast Japanese, and I'll panic and just NOT remember anything. Yet, somehow managed to tell Fumiko-san and Yumi-san that basically, it's down to not having practised very much and have little confidence in my Japanese. Fumiko-san told me to make use of Kouki while he's here. Hoho. Kouki will die. ほほほぉぉぉ～～！！！