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.

Satisfied

Today, I revisited the boutiques (that I blogged about previous post) with another friend. I tried on some clothes and they were cute, but I was able to resist them. I also reconsidered the rainboots. But I did leave the store with a new phone charm:


CRAYON SHINCHAN = BEST ANIME EVER. I don't care what others say about the series. I grew up watching this and I miss it so much. Last week, I spotted two Crayon Shinchan phone charms at Shirokiya but gave them to my brother and sister because I am a very generous person. Now I have one too! How can anyone resist those thick caterpillar eyebrows? It doesn't match my elephant charm though. Oh well. XD

I almost forgot where Marqet was...but I thought long and hard and realized that it was across the DFS Galleria.


AND I BOUGHT MY FIRST PAIR OF SUNGLASSES.

The reason why I never owned a pair until now is because I've always had a difficult time finding one with the right fit. The size of my head is an issue - when I buy glasses, I always have to head to the children's section. Or else have the adult-sized ones adjusted. Frankly, it's quite embarrassing. But these glasses surprised me because they fit me perfectly! I also love the shape and color. Triple wins! Yay!

I feel very happy with this shopping trip. I didn't give in to temptation and I got what I wanted. So happy...

I've been working on a new mini art project...drawing stickers! I'll let you guys see them next time. ^^

Yay for Picture Posts (finally!)

First things first! The Olympus PEN E-PL1 that I ordered came in last week Friday! Woot! I was without a camera for three months now. I don't know how I managed to survive during that time. My new camera is alot bigger than I imagined it, but I can't wait to learn how to use it. I originally planned to purchase a DSLR, but stumbled upon Micro Four Third cameras during my search for one. I liked the idea of a compact camera that has the ability to take pictures of DSLR quality. I really actually wanted the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 but that's another $200 I can't afford.

I played with it for the first time yesterday on a Waikiki outing with a friend who just came back from Japan. I've never enjoyed Waikiki as much as I did yesterday! She introduced me to some of her favorite boutiques and I would have spent a fortune if I hadn't "accidently" left my debit card at home (I only had $12 cash on me).


Isn't he cute? This is the entrance to my new favorite boutique! <3


I think I'm coming back for this. After all, rain boots are necessary for Oregon weather. I mean, I need this. It was very comfortable and I love the design.


Vintage suitcases for those who want to travel in style! I took this picture right before I saw the sign forbidding it. Oops...


There are many shops and stands selling tacky merchandise and Aloha wear in Waikiki, but this really caught my eye for some reason. I really like the color and the seashell motif. :)


For lunch, she took me to Kokoro Tei, a cute little bento shop tucked away on Kuhio Avenue, catered mostly to the Japanese. I was surprised by the affordable prices (because most people think expensive when they think Japanese). I knew I had to eat more healthy so I ordered the "Shake Salad," which consisted of watercress, seaweed, (imitation?) crab, and cherry tomatoes with vinegar dressing.


I ate 2/3 of this. I guess I really just don't do salads.

I also ordered custard pudding, which was sooooo soft. <3 The caramel sauce was a little too sweet for me, but I'm glad I tried it! I am definitely coming back and ordering a bento!


We also had some delicious takoyaki at a takoyaki shop a few doors down.

Food heaven.

I really need to earn some more money so I can go shopping!!! >3<

What am I trying to say? Do I really want this to be my first post for the New Year...?

It is funny how absolutely BORED I was between Christmas and New Year's while I'm swamped with work now! Last week, I was a slave to my dramas and I did nothing else. Although I had plans to do this and that, I was stuck in a slump and did not feel motivated to do anything at all. D: It did not make sense because there was a point in time when I did not feel like talking to anyone or seeing anyone...but I started to feel very lonely and depressed staying at home all day.

I had many friends and yet no one I could call since my close friends have boyfriends or jobs.
I like to have space, but at the same time, I do not like being alone.

It was driving me a little crazy!

I need some kind of human interaction (besides my impassive brother and my nagging mother!)

I finally started reading Kimi ni Todoke (From Me to You) by Karuho Shiina. The plot was very similar to Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge (also known as The Wallflower under its U.S. release) by Tomoko Hayakawa, which I did not like, so I was a little hesitant to read Kimi ni Todoke. In the series, Sawako Kuronuma, the main character, is a social outcast. A freak. She scares people away with her face, she is shy, and she is always amazed when someone is nice to her.

She is a pretty extreme character...but I can relate to her!
(Doesn't this say something?!)

(It is a mere coincidence that we have the same hairstyle, right?)

*dies*

I am still very awkward with most people and it takes me the longest time to open up. I wish I could say that I am an easy going person, but if you are reading this, you probably would have realized that I am not. When I met up with some friends for a quick Zippy's dinner and Krazy Karaoke on Wednesday night, I had lots of fun, but still felt...stiff compared to everyone else. I think I was stuck at home for too long, dangerously leaving too much room for paranoia to grow and leaving me alone with my weird (potentially negative) thoughts. It is not healthy being around my mother (the most negative person in the world) for too long, haha. ^^;

Joyce actually saved me from my misery this past Tuesday by driving me to Ewa (Sandy) Beach. I have never been there before and going to new places are always exciting! We had fun burying our toes into the soft sand, watching the ocean waves crash onto shore, feeling the salty winds mess up our long hair, writing names with our foot in the sand, and of course, taking plenty of pictures.




Donna from Portland sent me a snow picture (!!!) so I wanted to send her a beach picture (with her name in it, of course). ^^

I felt touched that Joyce took me out even though she was supposed to hang out with her boyfriend (some of my other girlfriends aren't that nice!) ^^ I ended up intruding on what otherwise might have been a romantic date later for them that night, hehe!

We had dinner at Nordstrom Cafe and all ordered panini sandwiches! I've always wanted to try a panini sandwich because it looks so delish and the one I had did not disappoint!


Pesto Tomato Chicken Panini

We walked around the mall and ended the night at Tantalus (yay for Joyce's awesome driving skills!)

My 18th birthday

I turned 18 this past Sunday! ^_^

I found this on my table:



This unexpected surprise left me dumbfounded and I asked my sister, Jenny, if this was from her. She adamantly denied having anything to do with it. We were both confused as to where it came from because I didn't remember this being on my table just a short while ago. The items seemed to have appeared by magic!

It turns out that it was from my baby brother. He even allowed me to hug him! *SHOCKED* (Allow me to explain...he's usually an angry, angsty teenage boy.)

Yesterday was a little more special because it was the first time I celebrated my birthday! It felt strange and even a little...selfish to have people gather for, well, you. I always see characters in movies, dramas, and books celebrating their birthdays. The birthday boy/girl dons a party hat and is surrounded by their families and friends. There are colorful balloons, streamers, and of course, the birthday cake. Many people may take this for granted and expect this on their birthdays, but that kind of thing is alien to me.

I still never had a birthday cake before, but my friends and I did go to Seoul Garden Yakiniku for lunch. I even managed to drag my brother out of the house~ yay. ^_^



For yakiniku, we ordered brisket and cow tongue. I had wondered for the longest time what brisket was. I am happy that I finally got to identify it and conclude that I do not like it. I actually really enjoyed the cow tongue, which, according to my friend, is not really the tongue. They just call it that. But, like, why? LOL.



We formed a Doraemon-look-alike using the semi-raw onions that were left! XD

After stuffing our faces and taking a few group pictures, we headed off to Century Center to take purikura (print club stickers)!



There are many purikura places in Harajuku but this is the first to open in Hawaii! Yay! (Even though I'm leaving soon...) ^^; Purikura is fun, but expensive. One sticker sheet is $8. Since it is the grand opening, they cost $6 until the end of this month. I plan to take a couple more pictures with my friends before leaving. ^^

I think we spent about an hour there before we left and headed for GS Studios in Waikiki. Since I've been obsessing over the song 君がいるだけで by 米米CLUB recently, I was happy to find it right away by chance! (Fate?!)

We ended up singing for four hours! Everyone was pooped!

When I came home, I immediately ate and read my sister's fourteen-paged research paper about the Uigher conflict in China. Such conflicts make me very sad and I can't say I'm proud to be Chinese. (But I'm proud to be an American!)

After reading the essay, I ogled over the purikura I took earlier and opened my presents.

I received an owl hoodie that says, "Owl love you" in the back. How clever.

This year, my friends chipped in and bought me this together:




THEY ARE THE CRAZIEST PEOPLE EVER.
It's the coolest present I've ever received.



And they just knew I wanted it because I've ogled over these beautiful jewelry display stands whenever we go shopping. I knew I could never afford it though, because a nice one like this costs approximately $60 - $80!!!

Did I say they were crazy?!

I also received tea from Wai Chu dear, which smelled oh-so-good, and a pair of owl earrings. (Wow, everyone knows I like owls, huh?)

FYI, I also like elephants and lions...and most recently, lionhead rabbits. =3



They're so unbelievably cute!

Shopping for Prom Dresses

Spring break officially starts tomorrow, but I've already found a prom dress! I did not expect to find one because I thought I would buy one at Waikele, where the dresses were much cheaper. But we did hit six stores! :)

We started out in Chinatown with Downtown Fashion, Do's Formal, and Local Design Formal Wear. Then we headed toward Ala Moana and went into Princess Brides, Party Dress by Claudette, and Masako Formals.

I found my dress in the store that I've always wanted to go inside, which was Party Dress by Claudette. Their dresses were more expensive, but they sell designer dresses that are of higher quality (this is especially evident when you compare the dresses to the ones being sold in Chinatown.)

I didn't actually find the dress myself - it was more like Joyce and my sister found it. They both insisted that I try it on because the back of the dress was so beautiful - there's a tail!



It is a black satin chiffon dress, designed by Niki Livas from the Niki collection. Niki Livas is also known for her Zum Zum collection, but I think her Niki collection is more sophisticated. My sister and Joyce were really enthusiastic about the dress, saying that it looked stunning on me. I was still a little confused because it broke all of the rules that my sister had previously set:

1) Never wear black to senior prom.
2) Don't wear anything with V-cuts because they don't flatter your body.
3) You only look nice in pastel colors.

I also broke one of my own rules because my budget was originally $200 and the dress cost approximately $300. However, my sister was only too eager to buy it for me because she thought it looked so beautiful on me. Honestly, as of right now, my sister and Joyce are more crazy about the dress than me. Other people's opinions easily influence me, and I've been under my sister's influence and thought for a very long time. I still feel strange that I'm breaking all the rules for this dress...is it really that special? It contradicted everything that I was supposed to be looking for in a dress! Maybe it is the kind of dress that I will start to like more and more over time.

I was overwhelmed by my sister and Joyce's enthusiasm and before I knew it, had set a deposit of $50 on the dress. I regret doing this - I should have been more firm (my biggest wish is to become less vulnerable against aggressive salespeople) because the dress is very pricey for such a simple design. I should have asked for a discount because almost every place we went to offered us discounts. I looked up the dress online and found three different stores that sold it for approximately $178! I spoke my concerns about the price more than once, but my sister reassured me that she would pay for it. That was beside the point - money is still money and I don't feel right using hers. Her eagerness made it simply too easy to fall for the trap. Would it be too late to ask for a discount?

After Claudette's, we stopped at Yu Chun, a Korean restaurant, for lunch. I was tempted by the thought of having jajamyun. I was made a mistake though - the restaurant served naengmyeon - black noodles made from kudzu root and not black bean sauce noodles. The food was good, but very pricey. We also a had an unpleasant experience with paying because the waitress made a big fuss and insisted on a 15% tip (when we were going to pay them tips anyway, but her attitude!) She busted out her calculator and calculated our bill down to the last penny. Even with the calculator, she gave one of my friends the wrong change. Communication was also not very good because we didn't understand what she was trying to tell us. A $20 meal for me and my sister became a $25 meal. I suggest that they let us know that the restaurant charges a 15% tip on the menu so that customers would know beforehand. I had the exact same experience at Little Village Noodle House, an upscale restaurant at Chinatown, because they made us pay for the bill, and then gave it back because we also needed to add the required extra 15% tip. How were we supposed to know that we had to pay it if they didn't have it written down somewhere? And why not include it in the bill in the first place? It is all very frustrating. We thought the food at Yu Chun was good, so there was a possibility of us coming back - but not anymore. Yu Chun Restaurant just lost five customers. And if anyone still plans to go, I suggest you bring a calculator with you.

We walked over to Masako's after lunch, where Wai Chu and Yuen Ni found their dress. I love many of the dresses Wai Chu tried on - the green one at Downtown Fashion, and the magenta one at Masako Formals. The magenta one was lovely- silky and smooth satin chiffon with a beautiful shade of pink (in fact, this is my favorite color!) with an elegant tulip twist in the front and a mermaid-like finish. The dress was also 50% off from $165!!! I am very happy for her, but also very envious at the same time.

(Ho, ho, I just realized that Wai Chu strayed from what she was going to buy - a green gown because green was her favorite color. I guess you can never say anything about the dress you'll have because the one you end up buying may be completely different!)

Yuen Ni looked very cute and stunning in a short pink gown (made "long" because she is sooo petite) but because it was a bridesmaid dress and not a prom dress, there was no discount offered for the $195 price tag. She did not buy it. :( Although senior prom is a formal event that requires all seniors to wear a long gown, Yuen Ni was able to look at both short and long dresses because of her height! (Short dresses would fit her perfectly while long dresses needed to be altered - or she would have to wear six inch heels.) In the end, she placed a hold for a similar dress that is a burgundy color for $165.

15th Annual Honolulu Festival 2009

Although the Honolulu Festival was held on both Saturday and Sunday, I only got to check it out on Sunday since I was at Dole Plantation on Saturday. I've never been to the Honolulu Festival before. I did participate in the grand parade two years ago, but that was about it. I didn't get to watch any performances and I didn't get to go to the craft fair.


I went to the Hawaii Convention Center with Chunnie. Attracted by the sound of the upbeat drums and music, we checked out the performances first. I love Tahitian dancing (I wish I could be a dancer myself, ha!) Watching the girls perform reminded me greatly of the movie, "Hula Girls." It's a great movie so if you didn't watch it yet, GO SEE IT! :)


After watching them perform, we hit the first booth, which featured wedding bouquets created by some very talented women in Japan! Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures because I was afraid they weren't allowed (especially in cases like these, when it is someone's work and they don't want people to steal) but even if I did take pictures, I can imagine that the pictures wouldn't do justice to just how crazy-beautiful they were in real life. They literally took my breath away. The Japanese woman at the booth was also very beautiful, and I loved her swishy red skirt (とても可愛い!!!) She handed Chunnie and me clipboards and asked us to vote for our top three favorite. It was very difficult to choose the three favorites because they were all so beautiful made. In fact, they remind me of how George Koizumi (from Ai Yazawa's Paradise Kiss)'s handiwork might have been if he was not a character in a manga but an actual person. There was even a bouquet with blue roses (which happened to be both my favorite and Chunnie's favorite)!

The next one displayed brush work and it made me miss writing calligraphy very much. I want to start teaching myself how to paint pictures very soon. One of the women by the booth noticed us staring and immediately started speaking rapidly in Japanese. I couldn't say anything in response, but I understood that she was telling us to wait if we wanted to give it a try.

We moved to the next one, which featured oshibana art (I will definitely google this when I have more time). "Oshibana" means pressed flower in Japanese. My sister taught me how to press flowers when I was little, but it was NOTHING compared to the extent these artists went through. It was unbelievable. I met Tomoko Iwahashi, who pointed out some of her artwork (they happen to be my favorite out of the bunch). I tried telling her with my lame Japanese that I thought her work was beautiful.

"きれい!!!"

"すごいです!!!"

LOL.

By then, it was getting close to twelve, when the Doraemon movie was due to start. As we walked over, a maid from the Maid Cafe approached us to hand us some flyers. This was the second (or third?) one since there were maids standing by the entrance who gave Chunnie some flyers already. I made a mental note to check them out after the movie was over.

We ended up watching the movie with a bunch of little kids and their parents (only a few people our age). Doraemon himself made an appearance before and after the movie. We had to call his name and shout silly things like, "Doraeemonn! Doraemon!! Come on out! Come on out!" Hehe. Not much people joined in on the shouting but I cried out! I didn't care that people looked at me~ it feels good to be a kid again. :) The movie was pretty good~ I enjoyed it. ^^ We even got to take pictures with him, which really made my day!!!


By the time the movie ended, it was 2 so I was crazy hungry. Chunnie and I went to AAA Local BBQ by Don Quijote and ate a plate of grilled garlic chicken before heading back to the center. But when we got back, we discovered that many people were leaving and learned that it closed at 3! :( I was a bit upset that I didn't get to look at all the booths, especially since I enjoyed all of the ones I did see. They really exceeded my expectations and unlike many craft fairs, were interactive and involved the visitors. And the maid cafe! Noo!

To cheer myself up, I think of standing next to Doraemon. :)

Dole Plantation

Saturday. Rainy morning. Members of the Japanese Club are sitting on a 52 Wahiawa Circle Isle, armed with their iPod nanos and touches, and DS games to keep themselves occupied during the one-hour long journey to Dole Plantation. While we were on the bus, the rain poured harder and harder. It made me feel sad because I was hoping the weather would get better. What fun is it to walk through the Pineapple Maze when it is raining?





According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the Pineapple maze is the world's largest maze. I found it surprising that the largest maze would be found on the tiny island of Oahu! :) The maze was a lot more difficult than I imagined it would be and I relied on Wai Chu to find our way in and out of the maze (thank you dear, you're my hero!) I seriously would not have been able to get out without her!


The above picture shows Wai Chu marking our route on the little map the ticket lady gave us. I thought that it would be easy with the map, but everything is still very confusing! Since it was raining (on and off, little drizzles) when we were in the maze, we had to walk through wet mud and large puddles. Sometimes, there would be some small openings between the bushes, which made me feel very...happy (and excited?) for some reason. Wai Chu pointed out that it was like in the movie, "My Neighbor Totoro." I realized that that must be it. :)

We finished the maze in about an hour half and ate afterward. For lunch, I had Sara's delicious musubi, a chocolate-covered pineapple stick that I bought for $2.50, my bento, and some of sensei's chili cheese fries. I was so full~! XD


We went on the Pineapple Express, a fully narrated twenty-minute train ride tour that took us around the plantation (two miles!) I didn't pay too much attention to the audio explaining the history of pineapples because the scenery and rain distracted me. The one thing I did catch was that the dirt is red because it is filled with iron and other kinds of nutrients that help the pineapples grow.

I put together a collection of the photos I snapped on the train ride:




After the train ride, we took a closer look at some of the pineapples that were growing by the fish pond. There were different breeds of pineapples from all over the world! You can see my snapshots here. I regret not jotting down notes on each snapshot so that I could remember where each pineapple came from. I only took note of the pineapples from Vietnam and Hawaii. Sensei eventually left us, while we stayed behind to look at the shops. Well, it was one shop in particular that I got really excited about. It was a stand that sold beautiful Swarovski crystal and other beaded jewelry. The owner, a Korean woman, explained that many of the jewelry are her own original creations so you can't find them anywhere else. :) Not only do I love her work, I really respect people who make things by hand (my sister and I do it too and understand all the time and work that goes into making something!) The prices are also very decent! I surprised myself by talking to her because I usually shy away from people, especially salespeople. But I was even bold enough to speak a little Korean!

She immediately asked, "Where are you from?"
I replied, "Here." XD

I couldn't stop myself from staring at all of the jewelry and I had a difficult time deciding what to buy. I only brought $40 with me and if I wanted to buy a lot, it meant I had to buy the somewhat cheaper items.

Here's what I picked out:

I like how pretty these earrings ($9) are and I bought them with my sister in mind, who said that she wanted pretty stud earrings. (There is no harm in getting them in case she isn't crazy about them because I am!)


I had to buy this ring ($12) for Jenni, who was supposed to be there with us that day but couldn't make it because she was sick (for a whole week!) :( I really missed her there~ and a gift should cheer her up. I get sick very easily (at least once a year) so I know how horrible it feels. Brown is her favorite color and the design of the ring is so lovely I wanted to buy a pair for myself (BUT NO! MUST RESIST!) And I did because I didn't have enough money anyway. XP If Jenni wore a brown dress to prom, wouldn't the ring look lovely with it?


I was jealous that my sister owned so many pretty necklaces so I wanted to get one for myself (especially one that is a Swarovski crystal. :) Since I didn't know the color of my prom dress (and I might just wear this to prom), I chose a clear octagon shaped crystal (that turns blue against black) necklace ($10). <3

Before we left, I exclaimed, "I can so easily spend $300 here!" and the Korean lady laughed,"Yes, I'll bet you would." She also said that she could tell, among all of my friends, that I was the "shopper." >__<

The really beautiful and intricately designed ones were $45. People might gasp at the price tag, but high-quality beads are expensive and many places don't sell them cheaper. I've tried beading before, and failed miserably. I wonder how long she takes on one project. She showed me some of her current projects and explained that she wanted to go back to Korea to take some classes and learn new beading techniques. "Many of the women in Korea do handmade jewelry like this and it is very beautiful."

One of my friends, who tried on an expensive choker, didn't have enough money with her and really wanted to come back to buy a necklace for prom.

I asked, "You want to take an hour bus ride all the way out to Wahiawa just to buy jewelry?"

"YES!!!"

Honestly, I would like to do that too and preferably when I have a prom dress already. But it feels a bit silly to visit a pineapple plantation, not for the pineapples, but for...

Well, girls will be girls and I like pretty things. So maybe. :)

Senior Luau

The senior luau was yesterday! I spent most of mid-morning and noon getting ready. Chunnie called me and I invited myself over her place so that we can go together. But something really scary happened while I was on my way! A man driving in the opposite direction of where I was headed had his arm draped outside the car window. With his other arm, he beckoned me to come over. I continued to walk forward, but when I looked back, I saw that he was leaning his head back and still staring at me! The next thing I knew, he had his car turned around and was driving next to me.

"Need a ride?"

I replied, "No," and to my relief, he drove away. I was so scared because he was pretty persistent. 恐い!!!

Chunnie and I met with Tracy and eventually arrived at school (safely!) The luau event started with a tour of Waikiki on the trolley (a great privilege made possible by events like these because trolleys are normally reserved for tourists). Tracy boarded trolley 3 with Chunnie and me even though she was supposed to ride trolley 2. Our trolley had its share of quiet people, so she made it fun. During the trolley ride, we were not allowed to shout profanity or sexist/racist comments of any sort...but showing our school pride was encouraged. Much of the screaming was done by her...with the exception of the occasional cry of "WAYMOND!!! WAYMOND!!!" (by Waymond's...boyfriend?) since Waymond moved to trolley 2 (mix-up between him and Tracy?) I did some screaming, but only when I wasn't too preoccupied with laughing at Tracy, who was so hilarious and cute (she screamed extra loud when she spotted good-looking half-naked blond boys). Since the other four trolleys were close by (all going down the same way), I could hear everyone making a lot of racket. Some people in the streets looked at us with a bewildered look on their faces, but others smiled and joined in on the fun by waving in response or throwing a shaka.

On our way to Treetops, the restaurant the luau was held at, we saw chickens! And it flew! I didn't know chickens could fly! (Chunnie explained that they could to a certain extent.)

When we arrived, we played games - Hawaiian themed charades and trivia. I made a mistake during the buffet by putting on too much cold food on my plate because I didn't know that there would be a lot of hot food toward the end of the line. My favorite was the barbecue chicken and the thick slippery glass noodles (it tasted super Chinese and was extremely good!) I ended up eating two large plates because it is against my nature to waste. We took pictures after dinner, announced the senior luau court, and played limbo before the dancing started.



It was my first time so I felt really awkward, but I learned to just move around. Everyone's body heat warmed the place up, so I stayed in the crowd to prevent myself from getting cold. I only wished they played better music (I didn't know most of the songs and many of them were so obnoxious-sounding!) I would be happy to dance to A.R. Rahman, haha!



This was the backdrop I painted so that everyone could have a little bit of fun. ^.~ I've never really painted before and it was the first time I've painted something on such a large scale! :)

When the music stopped playing, my throat was really sore and everyone's ears were ringing (the aftermath of insanely loud music). Erica described the sensation as having your ears stuffed with marshmallows - quite true! Overall, I had lots of fun. ^^

The night ended with screams of "WAYMOND!!! WAYMOND!!!" (again) on the trolley ride back to school. Tracy was too tired by this point to yell (and wake up the entire neighborhood). We sat and watched the city lights flash before our eyes, huddling together for what warmth our bodies gave against the cold.

Happy Lunar New Year everyone!

My sister and I went to Chinatown on Saturday night to check out the festivities. It rained a just like last year! I am glad the rain stopped quickly because having an umbrella open in the crowd is very inconvenient. I went out because I wanted to see my friend perform (sorry, all pictures of her came out bad!) She does traditional Chinese dancing (something that I quit doing long ago). I enjoyed watching lion dance, especially when the guys balance on the long poles~ very impressive! ^_^ I've always fantasized about doing this myself, haha! Alas, I have never seen a girl do it yet. Perhaps a boy's body is better built for this sort of thing.

On Sunday, I helped my mom make jai:



During these past two days, I must have eaten over seven bowls of jai already! XD

I received lai see from my parents this morning. I think I will use this money to buy my prom dress. :)

Fall Break!

This was the busiest "break" of my life (busier than when I was actually in school!) I barely slept. I didn't have time to blog! To make up for it, this is going to be a long post. :)

Saturday, Oct 4
I spent this night watching my first and last Homecoming game. I never cared for football, which is why I never attended any games before, but I'm required to take pictures for yearbook... and it is my senior year. I heard that our football team isn't that great, but I didn't think we were that bad. But we were. We lost horribly. The score was 0 - 30. It wasn't fun shooting pictures for hours straight. The camera I used was specially lent to us by the graphic arts teacher. It was supposed to be the best one, but it was defective. Every time I click to take a new picture, a message would appear saying, "Err 99." We didn't know what "Err 99" was so we couldn't fix it. When I did manage to snag some shots, they were all blurry. I remember my face getting sticky from the humid weather (it rained every so often). During half-time practice, I carried the senior class homecoming banner across the field. We ended up 2nd place, with the freshmen winning 1st. I wasn't upset, until I heard that the freshmen had "outside" help. Since they cheated, I don't consider them real winners.

Sunday, Oct 5
I spent the morning making an eeyore plushie for Wai Chu and the rest of the day at Joyce's place, making Wai Chu's two birthday cakes. The cake batter is green tea flavored, but the two cakes have different frosting. One cake had azuki beans incorporated into the whipped cream, and the other was green tea cream cheese frosting. I love the azuki bean one the most! *o*



Monday, Oct 6
The cakes were finished just before Wai Chu's birthday party:



It was a shabu shabu party held at her boyfriend's place.



There were two pots.

Regular:


And spicy:


We threw in tofu, lettuce, cabbage, dried bamboo, meatballs, taro balls, cuttlefish balls, cuttlefish dumpling, noodles, and beef. :)

Tuesday, Oct 7
I finished eeyore this morning! :) It was very challenging to finish the plushie~ I almost thought I couldn't do it. I was very happy with Wai Chu's reaction when I gave it to her. ^o^ She's crazy about eeyore and has about twenty of them on her bed. This one will be special, though, since I embroidered her name on his body:



I was about to cry because I did the embroidering freehand and I thought it was ugly, but it was the best I could do without fancy tracing paper and other equipment needed for proper embroidery. We went shopping that afternoon (first time in ages!) I spent a lot of money. -_- I splurged and bought myself a Paul Frank t-shirt at Nordstrom. It didn't feature the monkey, but it was really cute!

We also stopped by Shirokiya afterward and both bought the new Calpico Aloe Vera drink. It's now my new favorite. *o* I love the way aloe vera tastes~! I remember having aloe vera yogurt during my trip to Japan earlier this year, and it was heaven! We ate at the noodle shop, "mikazuki" and both ordered miso udon:



I've eaten shoyu ramen and kitsune udon at "mikazuki" before, but I wanted to try something new. Of course, I ordered udon because I've been craving udon ever since I saw the movie, "Udon," which was all about udon. Udon is my favorite noodle. <333 The soup turned out to be a bit spicy and not what I expected. I finished the whole thing though (yay!) because I'm Chinese and can never ever waste food.

We spent the rest of the day raiding Barnes & Noble's craft and art section before going home. There are so many new books that I wanted to buy! *o* I checked the library catalog when I got home, but the library doesn't have them (at least not yet!)

Wednesday, Oct 8
I worked the entire day at the library since I took the previous two days off. But it was far from boring! There were more owl sightings and this time, inside the library itself!



Here it is, cleaning itself while I filmed him or her. :) Some people really couldn't believe that there was an owl in the library. They accused the librarian of lying when she showed them a photograph, claiming that it was a painting.

My favorite animals are lions, elephants, and owls. I've seen the first two at the zoo, and an owl at a field trip when I was seven years old. It was sleeping then, so I didn't get a good look. Other than that, I didn't know there were owls flying around in Hawaii. o_o;



This one is a Hawaiian short-eared owl called a pueo. At first, it hung around the area between the state capitol and Iolani Palace. The first time I saw it was when it was up in a tree by the library. There were green parakeets squawking furiously at it, but the owl ignored them. According to a co-worker, it had stayed in that position since 12pm (it was still there when I came out at 5pm!) And did I mention that it is the cutest thing ever? Even though I saw it poop (at least not on me)? It is very tiny and a little puffy. Several librarians expressed their concerns that it might be sick, but I hope that's not true. >< One claimed they saw a rodent in its mouth one day. We all wanted the owl to eat the rats for us (they come out at night and wrecked havoc in the workrooms) but my co-worker pointed out that it may not be good if the owl captured a rat that had been poisoned.

The owl flew on the ground once and I was very close to petting it. I couldn't do it because I was too shy and afraid to scare it away. We participated in a little staring game before it flew away. I added a shot of the owl in the 'fauna' gallery. ;D

Thursday, Oct 9
I had a doctor's appointment at 10:30 am. I finally get to wear contact lenses again! The rest of the day was spent in yearbook class, sorting and deleting the pictures we took during the homecoming game. I had around 200 shots, and none of them were good. BUT ONE GREAT THING DID HAPPEN! I SPOTTED YOO CHUN PARK (Micky of popular Korean boyband, Dong Bang Shin Ki) in his high school yearbook! I knew he went to Chantilly High School in Virginia (I remembered because my other website goes by the same name). When I saw a yearbook from Chantilly High School lying on the bottom shelf, I silently prayed that he would be in it. I looked him up in the index and sure enough, he was on page 309! XD He was a ninth grader then and his hair was still ugly. XP

Friday, Oct 10
I worked half day. The owl was still at the library! :) I met up with Jenni after work and she took me to Nijiya Market and Yogurtland!



I had no idea what to get, so I ended up getting green tea and taro yogurt, with a little pineapple yogurt on top. The toppings were awesome! *o* What other place would let you combine azuki beans with granola? It tastes weird together, but whatever. I love them both! I also had some cookie dough balls and cocoa puffs (I chose these randomly because I didn't know what they were until I tasted them) and mochi balls. My favorite toppings are the azuki beans (heavenly!) The pineapple-flavored yogurt tastes stronger than the green tea and taro. I tried a bit of Jenni's mango yogurt and concluded that the fruit-flavored yogurt tasted better. Next time, I'd like to get cheesecake yogurt mixed with another flavor (I haven't decided what yet). There's even peanut butter yogurt! I'd like to try that as well, simply out of curiosity. ;D Of course, no matter what I get, I'll put azuki beans on top because they're the best.

After Yogurtland, I stopped by Roosevelt for this year's last football game. I was forced to use the same camera so the pictures didn't come out any better. The varsity game was better (20 - 36) but we still lost!



Our football team may suck, but our band sure doesn't! :) I didn't know they did what S Orchestra does in Nodame Cantabile! I got very excited seeing it~ hehe.


Saturday, Oct 11
I came home after 11 that night so I had to drag myself out of bed early at 7 to get ready for a movie at 9. My sister gave me tickets to see a Chinese film called, "The Prince of Himalayas." It was a part of the Louis Vuitton Hawaii International Film Festival held here every fall. I love watching foreign films! They're very different from the American movies I'm used to seeing and they widen my perspective of the world. "The Prince if Himalayas" is supposed to be a Tibetan adaption of Shakespeare's Hamlet. I'm not familiar with Hamlet, but I'm assuming it's a tragedy because everyone dies in the end. The Tibetan language is very interesting~ it sounds like a combination of Mandarin and Korean. The hero of the movie is played by Purba Rgyal, a new Tibetan actor. This is his very first movie. HE LOOKS VERY MUCH LIKE KIMURA TAKUYA!


Sunday & Monday, Oct 12 & 13
Calculus homework.