I love the rain...sometimes.

I stayed in my room all day.
We were supposed to go to Fushimi Inari, but the rain decided to not let that happen. K.

Life(?):

* Woke up relatively early (9am is early for a weekend)
* Recorded  what was going on outside my window. (video)

* Listened to Yo La Tengo and Little Joy
* Tried to comb my hair. Deemed that it was impossible to tame thy curls. Gave up. Tied hair into a messy bun.
* I cooked a quasi-decent [big] breakfast. Cheers! = Ham and eggs, rice with some green spices (haha), glass of milk.
* Watched an episode of the Simpsons o_o
* Listened to music while organizing my video files (for my short film)

* Went to the lounge to play the piano.

* Took a nice warm shower. Alone! : )

* Edited my short film (jflksjdfjslkdjflsjdfksjdf lalalalalala)
* Felt hungry. "Oh, I didn't have lunch," whispered the curly-haired girl. <-- o_o

* Cooked ramen with broccoli, squid, and eggs.

* Studied Japanese.

* Went back to my room. Danced -- I kid. I did not dance. No.
* Watched my progress on my short film. Sighed. 

* Took a long nap.
* Woke up at around 8pm

* Saw Ericka in the kitchen. She offered her chicken (THIS SOUNDS WEIRD).
* Ate Ericka's chicken. Delicious.

* Talked to Ericka and Tyler. Good times.

* Took another nice warm shower. Alone! : )

* Listened to Debussy and people who are not Debussy. Went online, bad idea.

* Continued writing my essay for my Peace & Gender studies class. 

* Wrote my life update in bullets. Ye

* Will do some more schoolwork.

* Will eat some bread with cream cheese. lalalala.

* I don't have classes tomorrow. Cheers! I have to do some grocery shopping, school munchies, might even continue my short film. *emphasis on MIGHT*

Insomnia.

For weeks, I've been sleeping at strange hours.

Playstation

Tonight I played Brave Fencer Musashi and Metal Gear Solid.

And I wasn't able to save because it was too late by the time I have found the memory card.

(Musashi seemed a lot more fun a couple of years ago. o_o)

Shoooo.

Cheers.

***
LIFE:

* I've been doing some research for my essay. I also started writing it. Cheers?
* I have my Japanese interview test on Friday. LALALALA.
* I haven't gone to that "special cafe" recommended by my professor YET. IT'S BECAUSE OF THIS JDKJSFLKDJ RAIN!
* I seem happy, very happy lately. Well, this feels awkward.
* Life is good. Busy but good.
* I am seeing some progress here, hohohohohohoho. I'm scared. HAHAHAHAHA. vague is vague.

Just when I was about to say "I'm bored,"

something interesting happens.

Today one of my professors recommended this cafe/Italian restaurant/a-place-of-oh-so-much-more-value. (I'll share the details later)

I've been feeling quite "empty" lately. I was on the verge of some form of quasi-boredom.
*pulls both earlobes*
But how I can I be bored? I'm in JAPAN! I've waited for this for years (seriously)

It's probably because I haven't done anything creative lately.

* I haven't done any creative writing. I want to write a short story, I know I have it somewhere up here, somewhere behind the messy heaps/endless streams of thoughts. I just have to find some time (and the perfect mood) to sit down and write. I miss writing. The last output I had was the story I wrote 2 months ago for my Creative Writing class - "The Narrator"
I miss writing.

* I haven't made any progress with the short film I'm working on (I have to put this to rest for a while, I need some more time for conceptualization. I have two minutes so far and that's it. I must write first before I go back to filming). I've started filming and the ideas are all already there, but there's something missing. I can't find the right mood for this. And when I'm not in the mood for something, I am definitely not in the mood for anything related to that something ---> lalalalalala. rigmarolessssss

* I haven't composed anything. I miss my (very) old casio keyboard. The I-house piano is too intimidating. haha. I shall try to compose sometime this weekend.

And I haven't finished reading The Color Purple! I seriously need to find time (and the perfect mood) and just sit down (drink real coffee) and read/write.

I haven't taken any interesting pictures lately either. I want to do something a bit different. I've taken too many pictures of temples and all those "I'm a happy tourist, look at the things I've seen" photos. I need a concept; I need to collect photos of a darker tone. Oh yes, I am back. I shall work on this.

For the past few days, I've been in an eternal state of drowsiness. The other day, I slept at 8pm. Then the other day, it was around 9pm. I can't remember the last time I slept that early. My body clock is so strange right now. Then there were those days I can't sleep and ended up staying up until 2-4am, which was a very very very very bad idea. This mild insomnia is not so mild after all. I need some good old mashed/whatever you want to do with them, I'll eat them/baked potatoes. I digress.


***
Going back to the blog title...

Today I may have finally come up with a concept for a short film/documentary! (I'm putting "Abril Mayo Hunyo" [- the short film I was working on last week] on hold.)

One of my JWP professors talked to me after class and gave a very interesting recommendation. There's this cafe near Nijo castle that seems very interesting. I may have found my subject(s)!

I'm quite excited. No, I am excited to do some field work for this video project. I hope they speak English; I want to interview the owner (my professor's friend) and the customers (I am sure they are a very interesting bunch of characters heehee --> heehee seems strange when typed. Mental note: stop using "heehee" to express happiness)

I'm going there this Sunday. And since I'm vehemently bad at directions, I asked Naka to go with me.
I hope this goes well.
I'll give more details next time.

***
Life in Japan updates...in BULLETS (haha)!:
* JWP classes: some are better than others, way way way better
- my favorite classes: Public Health & Int'l. Development, Gender & Peace Studies
- subject itself is interesting, but discussions lack participation, but it is generally ok, but not my favorite (too many words in this rigmarole eh?): North-South Relations. [I'm done with my essay! Cheers!]
- International Peace Studies class: the subject itself is interesting, but there's something really eerie about this class as if it has this invisible languor swathed all over the room. I don't know why, but...I'll stop talking now.
- those which are not mentioned are not mentioned for a reason. HAHA.

* Japanese Listening & Speaking class - I'm enjoying it. I enjoy learning more and more and more and now, it's getting more difficult. Challenge accepted. *sigh* I hope I survive/improve/do well/survive.

But today in class, all three of us were so spaced out. End of story. We were floating so high, it was just so funny. I think the three of us were really sleepy/tired/a bit confused with what was going on. Haha. But I do see some progress. Weeeh. I hope I really do improve. It's getting really difficult for me.


* I-house life: I like my friends, especially the 3rd floor people. : ) And I'm really glad that there's a significant increase in the level of interaction on the 3rd floor kitchen haha. Fun fun fun.

I always have dinner with Naka + whoever is in the kitchen and it's always interesting to talk to Naka.
Megumi and Adaora are always up for anything. And for that, I thank you!
Oh, and today I enjoyed talking to Jazmin. We were talking about books/geeky things -- which is a fun, healthy geeky hobby of mine. It's always nice to share interests with friends.

* Friday movie night: The tradition lives on. So, Naka and I have been watching movies in my room/her room every Friday. This Friday, we're watching Black Swan in my room. It's my 2nd time watching it. And we're adding a new ritual to our tradition --> "share a plate, mate!" Sounds lame, I know, but having something nice (which doesn't come out of a wrapper/can) to eat while watching a movie would be great.
Adaora joined us last time, and this Friday, Megumi is joining us. I hope more people can watch with us next time.

* Social life [In BULLETS! haha] : Why yes, I do have one. Thank you. I'm glad to have some really interesting Japanese friends : )

* I met Yumi today - she stayed in the Philippines for 6 years! And she seems to be very interesting
* I gave Filipino (Tagalog) lessons to Hikari today and I also asked her to teach me some Japanese.
* I'm going out to eat sushi with Aki next week. Sushi!
* And it's always nice to learn more about Japan by actually talking to some Japanese friends : )

* The 3rd floor people from I-house are just soooooo nice/funny/*more positive comments*
* I wish I'd get to spend more time/get to know the other I-house people. Some of them seem VERY interesting. I could see some shared interests, too bad we are not talking about them/doing fun fun fun activities together! haha. I need to stop being a quiet cucumber around them.
However, I really feel comfortable around others. My geeky inner self is slowly coming out. Cheers to that!

* I was able to go sightseeing in Nara & some places in Kyoto, went to an onsen in Osaka.

* Shige is so funny. So Jeong is so reliable! : )
* And Skylar needs to live in I-house. haha


* I wish Yue lived in I-house. And I wish she finds her bike O_O

* Tomorrow, Kaen, Masayoshi, and I are going to the Kiyomizu otera after class : )

I am sleepy. Finally. I'll end this now.

***
Wait.

And and and
I love my bike! I enjoy biking. That is all.


Cheers!

Study table

Reading materials. Notes. Essay. Blue Alarm clock. Fujiya Milky candy. Weird fingers which are about to grab the milky candy.

I'll be submitting my 1st JWP class requirement this Friday. I made an essay about Arturo Escobar's article "Planning."

I chose Escobar since I've read some of his works back in my home university.

I hope this goes well. Oh, life.

Cheers.

In other news, I slept at 8pm last night! I can't remember the last time I slept that early.

Osaka

Adaora, Skylar, Megumi, and I went to Osaka today to go to Spa World.

Yes. This is "so-not-me."

(Using the above phrase is also uncharacteristic of me)

I'm not interested in spas (and the like), BUT THIS WAS SUCH AN AWESOME DAY.
I didn't expect that I would actually love the place.
Here's a : ) just because I feel very happy today.

I love the onsen experience! It was so relaxing. 

I really needed this day.

Too bad the day ended pretty badly HAHA. Our bikes got towed; we have to pay 2,300 yen to get our bikes back. Poop.

But today was really fun, so ...

AND

I cooked three dishes tonight, yes three dishes at 12 midnight. 

I felt a bit tired (from the whole bike rigmarole), so I tried cooking.

I made:

* Beef marinated in soy sauce & pepper (I'll add broccoli tomorrow or whenever I decide to eat this midnight concoction) 

* Chicken in butter sauce

* Shrimp marinated in the above formula haha

They are all safely kept in our kitchen fridge. I don't want to cook tomorrow; I have to focus on my school munchies.

I also did my laundry, and I might do some ironing later.

And if I'm still up, I'll continue studying.

Tomorrow, I shall get my bike back. THEN I SHALL STUDY JAPANESE (I have an exam on Wednesday) and I shall start writing my essay for my North-South Relations class (due in 2 weeks). 

Cheers!

Bath time! I don't know how many times I took a bath today. Too many times.

I saw too many naked bodies today, swam in too much water, entered too many sauna rooms, and dipped in too much hot water. 

O_O

Nara

Unfriendly deer. It didn't even eat what we had to offer. haha

Todai-ji (Eastern Great Temple)

World's largest bronze statue of  Buddha Vairocana
(in Todai-ji's Great Buddha Hall - which is the world's largest wooden building) 

somewhere in Nara Park

Went to Nara with Shige, Naka, Megumi, and Skylar.

: )

Karaoke!

What a fun day.

"Fun" is an understatement.

Seriously, I had so much fun today. ^____^
We stayed there for around 4 (or maybe 4 1/2 hours! Intense!) hours.

I mostly sang English songs because I can't read the Japanese lyrics that fast yet (and I can't read Kanji). But I did sing 2 Japanese songs: Fuwa Fuwa time from K-On! (anime) and Utada Hikaru's 1st love HAHA.

[Fuwa Fuwa - just because I love K-On! haha. It was so fast!]
[First love - just because it's relatively slower than the other Japanese songs I know]

I went to a karaoke place with my housemates (3rd floor friends!) Shige, Adaora, Kaen, Naka, Masayoshi. And Spike (he chose his own english name, how creative! ~), Anette & her boyfriend also joined us.

We also had dinner at this restaurant wherein you order your meals using a vending machine. HAHA.

I also got my phone today! Finally.
Thanks to Ate Nicolle for lending me a phone : )

And and and...

I rode my bike all day! ~

I also signed my JASSO scholarship. Cheers to that!

I actually didn't have class today (I don't have classes every Monday). And I am happy to announce (haha) that I was able to study Japanese today! Cheers! I am starting to enjoy this : )

I shall continue studying this weekend.

Tomorrow Megumi and I will go sightseeing.
Then on Wednesday, Kaen, Megumi, Shige, Naka, Yue, and I will go to Nara! Oh, Deer!!!!!!!
I hope that Skylar and Adaora can also join us.

And on Thursday, Adaora and I will go sightseeing.
GOLDEN WEEK! ^^