ShopRuche's New Lookbook!!!

Full of cuteness (as usual!)

A note...

I noticed I have mixed some Japanese in my blog.

Lately, I can't help but speak Japlish - mixing Japanese and English together - because that's how people talk at work. And how I talk to friends. (Of course, Chinglish with those who are Chinese.)

Some Japanese words simply fit better than English.

Ahh well. I want to be qua-lingal (English, Japanese, Chinese, Korean).

My dream.

Getting there! :)

Four topics in one post. I talk alot. :)

BOO! Greetings, Earthlings! I really need to do something about my annoying hair. If anything, I should at least be cast as an extra in a horror film. :3 I need to trim my bangs. I want to cut it short.

But more than that, I want to get a digital perm (x100!!!)


I think I will even though I literally have nothing in my checking account.
I will dive into my savings (which is also dwindling).
Because I'm desperate like that.
Because it's all I think about.
Because I want to feel pretty for once.
Because I'm vain like that.
Because I've been dreaming about getting one for an entire year.
Because I can't wait until I go to Japan.
Because I want one NOW.

Every time I spend so much as a dollar, I make note of it in my planner. SO! I calculated my spending for the past month of June and discovered that I have used up a whopping $280! I haven't shopped that much so what exactly did I spend all this money on?

The culprit: food and drinks.

Hanging out with friends really take a toll on my wallet. There's not much you can do when you're outside. And I don't ever want to sacrifice seeing them!

I love my social life! ☆

それだけじゃなくて, I get immensely depressed when I'm home for too long. It's not an irrational depression - 残念ながら、ただ… not a good environment to be in~

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Switching topics!

Although I am very materialistic, I noticed that most girls I know own so much more things than I do.

And although I always have the desire to shop, I somehow feel very happy and proud to own so little. Does that make sense?

When I first started getting my own money from working, I bought anything that was cute and on sale.I still love a great bargain - the feeling of getting something worth more than its price makes me feel great inside - but I'm careful not to jump on an item just because it's a good deal.

I like owning few things that I truly love rather than owning many things that are simply meh.

Not having money puts makes me more conscious of my spending habits so that I'm careful to avoid mistake purchases. I hate it when I make mistake purchases because it feels like such a waste. It takes up space and I don't know what to do with it. (My friends aren't interested, selling online is difficult, and I don't feel nice enough to donate it when the item is perfectly new and I spent good money on it.)

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Switching topics again!

Have you ever been in a situation where two group of friends dislike each other? Am I so terrible if I want to hang out with everyone because I like everyone...? Needing to deal with this is annoying and childish, but I still feel a slight guilt knowing how much one hates the other - like I've betrayed her or something.

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Switching again!

Work has been getting better and better! Yay! ^o^

For a while now, I felt used and utterly bored at work. They were making me do menial tasks - tasks that needed to be done but nobody wanted to do it because it was so 面倒くさい～例えばhousecleaningとか…でもね、私はかつて不満はなかった。

I almost wanted to quit because I felt like I was wasting my time. I wasn't learning anything and none of the work I did required a brain. But this doesn't mean I slacked! I have a strong will and always give everything my best because I want to be a good worker. They know I have an interest in design so they are nice to give me as much design work as possible. ^^

Last Friday, I spent 8 hours designing sample covers for our magazine fall issue! I was very happy that they actually liked my work more than their professional graphic design team! They also really like my photographs (even though I don't own a fancy camera) and have used it for their company website and articles. I don't receive credit for it, nor do I get paid for my work, but the fact that they are always so impressed with my work makes me feel good. People tell me this opens a window for future opportunities. I certainly hope so!

I don't like the idea of having an office job and sitting behind the desk all day, but time goes by much faster when I'm doing art related work. ☆

I hope I have more exciting news to report in the coming days!

Dinner at 3PM is my style

Because I worked 10 hours last Friday and 10 hours this past Tuesday, I was able to take the day off today (yay!)

I spent the morning watching random videos (wasting time!) and on the phone with my friend, who is still in Oregon but will be flying back home TOMORROW. I'm really excited because we made plans to visit the Contemporary Art Museum, which I have never visited. I love going to new places! They also happen to be hosting an art festival on the day we plan to meet up (Saturday)! ^__^

I spent the afternoon with my friends over an early dinner at the Yard House in Waikiki. We chose to arrive around 3PM on purpose because we wanted to take advantage of the Happy Hour, lol.

Our waiter was friendly, but it's something that made sense when we discovered the required 18% tip ($25!) we had to pay at the end of our meal. Two of my friends and I ordered iced tea, which turned out to be $3.25! It wasn't even anything special - I could be drinking water. -_-;;; We made sure to get two refills so it's like paying $1 for each glass, lol.


I only ordered a small organic tomato bisque ($4.25) because I had a sore throat and the roof of my mouth was bleeding yesterday... I have no idea why, but it has been in a terrible condition for the last week. I'm not sick because my condition hasn't worsened - but they haven't improved either. ^^; Ahh, I hope it goes away soon!

Although I told myself I shouldn't eat any fried food while I was in such a condition, I couldn't help myself when it comes to calamari:



The calamari here is delicious!!! The breaded panko layer is crispy and the inside is soft. I can only remember having calamari at Genki Sushi and the irs is harder to eat. The soup was too salty for my taste (is it terrible to admit that my school cafeteria actually makes it better?) with a tiny portion that was not worth the price. However, I think I ended up eating more calamari than I should have...nobody else was eating it and I hated seeing food wasted.



Everyone agreed that the dessert was the best part! I had my first crème brûlée, which was topped with caramelized bananas. It's like pudding...flan...custard. My favorite! I love the soft texture and the subtle sweetness!

The bill came out to be $167.07...quite expensive. I paid for it with my card because I never have enough cash, but now I have all this cash from everyone. I have to be careful and wise about this... ^^;

I don't usually like to eat out because I need to save money but when I do, it's always for the company. Whenever a bunch of us can gather and hang out like this, I always feel incredibly LUCKY and SPECIAL. I never take being able to hang out with my friends for granted because they all have such BUSY SCHEDULES. ^^;

After "dinner", Joyce and I just hung around (but didn't buy anything!) and took purikura. It was a nice day!

North Shore

This past Friday, I hopped on a Japanese-only North Shore tour for a photoshoot at work. The tour was smaller than I thought and consisted of nine people (including myself, Masa the tour operator, and my co-worker Yunmi.) It was apparently off-season since summer break doesn't start until JULY for the Japanese (I feel so lucky!) Everyone was kind but treated me like an alien because I could speak Japanese (haha!) I had to explain to everyone that I was born and raised in Hawaii. Wherever I go, I always have to explain that I am an American. I guess it's not obvious. Perhaps I need to tan.


This guy went on the North Shore tour with his family. Most old people have serious faces, but he was always smiling. When we ate lunch at Fumi's Kahuku Shrimp Truck, I saw him share his food with his wife. He is very sweet. <3 I want to have that kind of relationship when I'm that old, haha. Although he couldn't speak a word of English, he still spoke to me (in Japanese only) and I was impressed because most people are shy and don't even try to speak to someone not from Japan. He told me that he was from Matsumoto (松本市) in Nagano Prefecture (長野県). At the end of the trip, I was a little sad with the thought that I probably won't see him again. I was touched by his kindness.


I tried Matsumoto Shave Ice for the first time.

And I call myself a local?
I know, I know.

There's always that crazy long line. I hate long lines. But I waited this time...and discovered why it's so popular! It's cheap, the ice doesn't melt too fast, and the small is like a large for me! I ordered the sour li hing mui, green tea, and lemonade with azuki red beans. I didn't care too much for the green tea and lemonade, but the sour li hing mui was amazing!

Does anyone have any recommendations for what flavors to try next time? ^^

The trip was interesting but very exhausting. After eight hours of NIHONGO, I really just wanted to find someone who could speak English.