I finally finished packing (seven hours before my flight! yay!) I panicked earlier because I got many scoldings from my mom and my sister for packing so late...I almost thought I wouldn't make it in time! And I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to fit everything in my luggage! (Who knew I had so many clothes? Why do I stand in front of the mirror everyday, thinking I have nothing to wear?)
My biggest fear right now is that I forgot something. And though I'll spend only one day with my parents (thank goodness it isn't more than that), I hope everything runs smoothly (highly unlikely, but...!)
I've never been away from home like this, so I'm not sure what to expect. I can't imagine how I would feel not seeing my friends and not coming home every night to see my sister. I think I might actually start using my webcam!
Anyway, I'm sorry I didn't get to blog as much as I wanted to over the summer. I did plan a Part Two to go with Part One but I ran out of time. >3<
I predict tonight and the next few days will be super chaotic. WU has many activities planned for us so I'll be busy for the next few weeks, but I will try to blog the first chance I get! ^^
Wish me luck!
Friday, August 21, 2009
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Selling on eBay!!!
I finally opened my eBay account (couldn't wait until I turned 18!) so I can sell some of the things I won't be able to bring with me to college. (Yay for summer cleaning?) It is my first time using eBay so everything was a bit confusing at first (even with that eBay for Dummies book!) but I think I got it after listing the third item. Boy, it's actually pretty hard work. I always manage to go past midnight by the time I finish! ^^;
Most of the items are all brand new items! I think I started the auctions at reasonably low price. Since I will be leaving on the 21st, I can't afford to have the auction last for more than five days. If someone bids on it, it will be a bargain for them, haha. :/ I know I'm not going to be making much money from this...
Here are the items I've listed on eBay:
A teen novel called, "Hero-Type" by Barry Lyga.
A yellow graphic tee that is simply too small for me. :(
The beautiful clutch that I bought for prom from a very chic boutique. I love this, but I will probably never use it again...
I bought this on a whim from Sanrio. It was too cute to resist! There's no reason for me to sell this other than the fact that I have so many bags; it's starting to get a bit ridiculous...!
It's a short auction, so I hope there will be bidders! Wish me luck guys! ^^
(If you're interested too, that's great! *winkwink*)
Most of the items are all brand new items! I think I started the auctions at reasonably low price. Since I will be leaving on the 21st, I can't afford to have the auction last for more than five days. If someone bids on it, it will be a bargain for them, haha. :/ I know I'm not going to be making much money from this...
Here are the items I've listed on eBay:
A teen novel called, "Hero-Type" by Barry Lyga.
A yellow graphic tee that is simply too small for me. :(
The beautiful clutch that I bought for prom from a very chic boutique. I love this, but I will probably never use it again...
I bought this on a whim from Sanrio. It was too cute to resist! There's no reason for me to sell this other than the fact that I have so many bags; it's starting to get a bit ridiculous...!
It's a short auction, so I hope there will be bidders! Wish me luck guys! ^^
(If you're interested too, that's great! *winkwink*)
Monday, August 10, 2009
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!
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!
Friday, August 7, 2009
Fall Course Schedule
Okay, yayy, I finally have my schedule down. :D
CS 141 Introduction to Programming
Mon, Wed, Fri
9:10 am - 10:10 am
JAPN 231 Intermediate Japanese I
Mon, Wed, Fri
11:30 am - 12:30 pm
EXSA 084X Tai Chi
Mon, Wed
12:40 pm - 1:40 pm
IDS 101 College Colloquium - Making the Grade
Tues, Thurs
12:50 pm - 2:20 pm
PSYC 210 Introduction to Psychology
Tues, Thurs
2:30 pm - 4:00 pm
CS 141 Introduction to Programming
Mon, Wed, Fri
9:10 am - 10:10 am
JAPN 231 Intermediate Japanese I
Mon, Wed, Fri
11:30 am - 12:30 pm
EXSA 084X Tai Chi
Mon, Wed
12:40 pm - 1:40 pm
IDS 101 College Colloquium - Making the Grade
Tues, Thurs
12:50 pm - 2:20 pm
PSYC 210 Introduction to Psychology
Tues, Thurs
2:30 pm - 4:00 pm
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Willamette Hawaii Club Summer Picnic
During the weeks prior to today, I felt nervous whenever I thought about the picnic. I am very shy when it comes to meeting new people. So I tried not to think about it and I think that helped. ^^ I should stop thinking that people scare me.
I spent the morning baking arare cookies (I baked them on Saturday afternoon and they turned out to be quite delicious so I made a second batch) for the picnic. ^^ Then I had my dad drive me over to Waikiki. I was lost at first, but I eventually found where the picnic was held. I saw some familiar faces~ they were people that I've met and friended through Facebook. *laughs* We ate, chatted, learned more about Willamette and the Hawaii Club's future activities. (I look forward to all the no-sales-tax shopping trips! Hurrah!) We also did a scavenger hunt through Waikiki~ those are always fun! =3
Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures because they were taken on someone else's camera, but some of the things that I remembered from our scavenger hunt list include:
PICTURES WITH...
- A Japanese tourist holding a peace sign
- A life guard and a surfer holding their surfboard.
- A tourist with a horrible sunburn.
- Man in speedo. (NEVER THOUGHT I'D EVER GO SEARCHING FOR ONE IN MY LIFE!)
- Bride and groom (did not see one! D:)
In the end, we were second place with 30/40 points. The winner had 39/40 points (how did they do it???) Anyway, everyone's really awesome. I'm really excited to move to Oregon and experience four seasons for the first time. I'll see the leaves turn orange in the fall, snow in the winter, and cherry blossoms in the spring. Yay! ^^
P.S. While I was walking down Waikiki after the picnic, I noticed that one of the guys walking in front of me stopped to pick a hibiscus flower from a bush. He then proceeded to stick it behind his friend's ear. I found this pretty amusing so I snuck a picture from behind. ^^
Countdown: ONLY SEVENTEEN DAYS BEFORE I LEAVE HAWAII!!!
I spent the morning baking arare cookies (I baked them on Saturday afternoon and they turned out to be quite delicious so I made a second batch) for the picnic. ^^ Then I had my dad drive me over to Waikiki. I was lost at first, but I eventually found where the picnic was held. I saw some familiar faces~ they were people that I've met and friended through Facebook. *laughs* We ate, chatted, learned more about Willamette and the Hawaii Club's future activities. (I look forward to all the no-sales-tax shopping trips! Hurrah!) We also did a scavenger hunt through Waikiki~ those are always fun! =3
Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures because they were taken on someone else's camera, but some of the things that I remembered from our scavenger hunt list include:
PICTURES WITH...
- A Japanese tourist holding a peace sign
- A life guard and a surfer holding their surfboard.
- A tourist with a horrible sunburn.
- Man in speedo. (NEVER THOUGHT I'D EVER GO SEARCHING FOR ONE IN MY LIFE!)
- Bride and groom (did not see one! D:)
In the end, we were second place with 30/40 points. The winner had 39/40 points (how did they do it???) Anyway, everyone's really awesome. I'm really excited to move to Oregon and experience four seasons for the first time. I'll see the leaves turn orange in the fall, snow in the winter, and cherry blossoms in the spring. Yay! ^^
P.S. While I was walking down Waikiki after the picnic, I noticed that one of the guys walking in front of me stopped to pick a hibiscus flower from a bush. He then proceeded to stick it behind his friend's ear. I found this pretty amusing so I snuck a picture from behind. ^^
Countdown: ONLY SEVENTEEN DAYS BEFORE I LEAVE HAWAII!!!
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Summer Break (Part One)
Wow, it has definitely been a while since I last blogged. A month and a half of summer has already passed by so quickly. Soon, I will be leaving Hawaii and heading off to Oregon! There are so many things to think about, but I need to learn to think about the right things and not focus on the wrong things. ^_^;
Our housing assignments are supposed to be mailed to us in the second week of August, but someone found out how to access that information so all of us know where we will be staying. Blitz Bearcat (the helpful school mascot that provides us information about the school and answers our questions) tells us that the housing assignments listed online are only tentative and not official, so it might change later on. But because of this, I found out who my roommate is prematurely! She's very different from me, but she seems like an amazing person. ^_^ She's very athletic and into sports (Maybe some of her skills will rub on me? Haha. Maybe!)
Summer's actually not too bad! I like that I never got "bored" yet (except at work, where I feel incredibly lonely) and that I'm kept busy. I like being productive and feeling useful. When I'm not working, I make sure that I have plans to hang out with friends instead of lying around at home (which is what I've always done in the past). I've been going out a lot more lately (which is why less time is spent online and why I haven't blogged in a while...) There are those who have a great social life and also manage to blog frequently. I'd like to know their secret because I can't do that.
Anyway, I have a lot of catching up to do since my last blog post! Here's what I've been up to:
May 25, 2009
There was prom. It could have been better in many ways. Lots of drama happened between my friends, but I was kept in the dark about it until after prom was over. The food = terrible.
June 7, 2009
Graduation! Yay! It still hasn't hit me that I'm not in high school anymore. I did not cry.
June 9, 2009
I carried a 21 lb watermelon to my friend's place for a surprise birthday party. Below is a picture of me and my muscular arms (in all seriousness, I was dying but I smiled for the camera anyway).
June 10, 2009
I went to the movie premiere of The Proposal, starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds with my older sister Jenny, Alden, and Erica. To my surprise, I really enjoyed the movie! <3
June 11, 2009
I got sick from hanging out with peeps who went to Project Grad (a virus spread and infected all of them!) but I desperately wanted to attend Janelle's grad party anyway. Her party was at Chin's Restaurant located across from Kahala Mall. When I arrived, guess what I found out? Janelle wasn't able to attend her own grad party because she was too sick (and staying home according to doctor's orders!) Everyone at the table I sat on was also sick. :O But the food was good. We had buffet.
June 14, 2009
I finished watching the live-action drama, Hotaru no Hikari. I didn't like the manga very much, but I loved the drama. <3 Everyone should see it!
Right now, I'm watching another Japanese mystery drama called Kiina. It is very similar to Galileo, but I don't mind because it is fun to watch. I find the cases easier to solve!
June 20, 2009
I attended Erica's grad party at Nice Day Chinese Seafood Restaurant located in Liliha Square. I bought Erica a bouquet of yellow camellias at the supermarket right next door (convenient much? LOL!) I was very jealous because the food was so good. I kept thinking, why couldn't my parents have ordered these things at my grad party? They made me feel like a picky eater. I just think they didn't order the right food. The only problem with Erica's party was...there was too much food. I ate so much that I felt like my stomach was going to burst (literally!) There were NINE dishes in all.
Left to right, top to bottom: 1) Appetizer: spring roll, pork, jellyfish, 2) Egg drop soup, 3) Honey walnut shrimp, 4)Shoyu chicken with shrimp fries, 5) Shrimp, 6) Crab/lobster noodle dish, 7) Sweet and sour beef with onions, 8) Seafood and vegetables dish, 9) Mango pudding.
June 22, 2009
My first sleepover! It was at Alden's place. It was memorable because we took a midnight trip to Walmart and hung out in the toys section. (Like, wtf right? XD)
June 23, 2009
Okay, it wasn't really much of a sleepover because I didn't really sleep (I just closed my eyes). I had work starting at 1PM and someone warned me, "Don't fall asleep at work!" I scoffed at them because I didn't think that would happen (I felt alright). I didn't realize I was falling asleep until I hit my head against the wall. I could barely keep my eyes open.
June 24, 2009
Lanikai beach outing with Chun! She's the only person who can convince me to go to the beach and into the water. The beach was beautiful so I'm glad I came. I actually had fun and enjoyable (having sand in your bikini was not though).
July 6, 2009
I visited my baby cousin, Daphne, who was born on July 2, 2009 at around 11AM. <3 It was the first time I've ever held a baby. She is very tiny and I couldn't believe that what I was holding my arms was...alive. It was a very humbling experience. Meeting her made me think that everything else in life was unimportant and none of my dramas or worries mattered. Only she mattered. She was very sweet and calm. I love her.
July 14, 2009
I went to Cha no Ma Teahouse located in Waikiki with Kara and Jenni. I was very excited! I originally thought the owner was Japanese until he heard me speaking Chinese and replied in Chinese. It turns out he is Taiwanese! He's a very nice and friendly. The best part of the teahouse was the laid back atmosphere and wonderful ambience. Although we were the only customers, it felt really comfortable. And the desserts!
I ordered the green tea jelly, which is topped with whipped cream sprinkled with matcha powder and anko on the side. I was surprised when I tasted the jelly because jelly is usually sweet. Not only was this green tea jelly not sweet, it was downright bitter. Even if one is not fond of sweet things, one might think to add a little bit of sweetener simply to balance out the taste and get rid of the bitterness. But the owner apparently used purely matcha powder, and nothing else. It made me think of my friend Joyce, who constantly complains about things being too sweet. I thought, this is perfect for her.
When my dessert arrived, I spent some time staring at it first. The owner noticed my hesitation and laughed, "Eat it, eat it!"
When I took my first bite, I immediately exclaimed, "Oh my gosh, this is bitter!"
The owner laughed again and said, "Yes, your dessert is the only one that is not sweet." He points to Kara's parfait and said, "That is sweet. Yours is not. Hahaha!"
My friends were worried about me, but I assured them that I liked it (which is partly the truth). There is an art to eating this dessert. Each scoop should contain a bit of jelly, cream, and an (which helps balance out the bitterness). At first, I was a little scared of all that whipped cream, but it turned out to be the lightest whipped cream I've ever tasted and almost everything was consumed. My only complaint was that there was not enough an. Overall, this was a very enjoyable, if not pricy, experience. I can't wait to go again! ^o^
In between these days, I did A LOT of shopping (need to hold back so I can do more shopping in Oregon!) and watched a lot of movies. Fun stuff.
I don't know what happened to 'studying for a driver's permit' and 'learning how to drive'. I think I'm still scared. But there's still the rest of summer, right? ^o^
P.S. I finally changed the layout. I was being entirely selfish with it, because I didn't worry about whether visitors would like it or not. I only thought about what I wanted. It looks pretty simple, but I actually spent about three days on it. ^^ The image was drawn the night before my trip to the teahouse. I actually saw the same kind of teapot there (by pure coincidence).
If you've read this far, congratulations! This blog post actually took several days to finish...and now I'm finally done! Whew. Until next time~!
Our housing assignments are supposed to be mailed to us in the second week of August, but someone found out how to access that information so all of us know where we will be staying. Blitz Bearcat (the helpful school mascot that provides us information about the school and answers our questions) tells us that the housing assignments listed online are only tentative and not official, so it might change later on. But because of this, I found out who my roommate is prematurely! She's very different from me, but she seems like an amazing person. ^_^ She's very athletic and into sports (Maybe some of her skills will rub on me? Haha. Maybe!)
Summer's actually not too bad! I like that I never got "bored" yet (except at work, where I feel incredibly lonely) and that I'm kept busy. I like being productive and feeling useful. When I'm not working, I make sure that I have plans to hang out with friends instead of lying around at home (which is what I've always done in the past). I've been going out a lot more lately (which is why less time is spent online and why I haven't blogged in a while...) There are those who have a great social life and also manage to blog frequently. I'd like to know their secret because I can't do that.
Anyway, I have a lot of catching up to do since my last blog post! Here's what I've been up to:
May 25, 2009
There was prom. It could have been better in many ways. Lots of drama happened between my friends, but I was kept in the dark about it until after prom was over. The food = terrible.
June 7, 2009
Graduation! Yay! It still hasn't hit me that I'm not in high school anymore. I did not cry.
June 9, 2009
I carried a 21 lb watermelon to my friend's place for a surprise birthday party. Below is a picture of me and my muscular arms (in all seriousness, I was dying but I smiled for the camera anyway).
June 10, 2009
I went to the movie premiere of The Proposal, starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds with my older sister Jenny, Alden, and Erica. To my surprise, I really enjoyed the movie! <3
June 11, 2009
I got sick from hanging out with peeps who went to Project Grad (a virus spread and infected all of them!) but I desperately wanted to attend Janelle's grad party anyway. Her party was at Chin's Restaurant located across from Kahala Mall. When I arrived, guess what I found out? Janelle wasn't able to attend her own grad party because she was too sick (and staying home according to doctor's orders!) Everyone at the table I sat on was also sick. :O But the food was good. We had buffet.
June 14, 2009
I finished watching the live-action drama, Hotaru no Hikari. I didn't like the manga very much, but I loved the drama. <3 Everyone should see it!
Right now, I'm watching another Japanese mystery drama called Kiina. It is very similar to Galileo, but I don't mind because it is fun to watch. I find the cases easier to solve!
June 20, 2009
I attended Erica's grad party at Nice Day Chinese Seafood Restaurant located in Liliha Square. I bought Erica a bouquet of yellow camellias at the supermarket right next door (convenient much? LOL!) I was very jealous because the food was so good. I kept thinking, why couldn't my parents have ordered these things at my grad party? They made me feel like a picky eater. I just think they didn't order the right food. The only problem with Erica's party was...there was too much food. I ate so much that I felt like my stomach was going to burst (literally!) There were NINE dishes in all.
Left to right, top to bottom: 1) Appetizer: spring roll, pork, jellyfish, 2) Egg drop soup, 3) Honey walnut shrimp, 4)Shoyu chicken with shrimp fries, 5) Shrimp, 6) Crab/lobster noodle dish, 7) Sweet and sour beef with onions, 8) Seafood and vegetables dish, 9) Mango pudding.
June 22, 2009
My first sleepover! It was at Alden's place. It was memorable because we took a midnight trip to Walmart and hung out in the toys section. (Like, wtf right? XD)
June 23, 2009
Okay, it wasn't really much of a sleepover because I didn't really sleep (I just closed my eyes). I had work starting at 1PM and someone warned me, "Don't fall asleep at work!" I scoffed at them because I didn't think that would happen (I felt alright). I didn't realize I was falling asleep until I hit my head against the wall. I could barely keep my eyes open.
June 24, 2009
Lanikai beach outing with Chun! She's the only person who can convince me to go to the beach and into the water. The beach was beautiful so I'm glad I came. I actually had fun and enjoyable (having sand in your bikini was not though).
July 6, 2009
I visited my baby cousin, Daphne, who was born on July 2, 2009 at around 11AM. <3 It was the first time I've ever held a baby. She is very tiny and I couldn't believe that what I was holding my arms was...alive. It was a very humbling experience. Meeting her made me think that everything else in life was unimportant and none of my dramas or worries mattered. Only she mattered. She was very sweet and calm. I love her.
July 14, 2009
I went to Cha no Ma Teahouse located in Waikiki with Kara and Jenni. I was very excited! I originally thought the owner was Japanese until he heard me speaking Chinese and replied in Chinese. It turns out he is Taiwanese! He's a very nice and friendly. The best part of the teahouse was the laid back atmosphere and wonderful ambience. Although we were the only customers, it felt really comfortable. And the desserts!
I ordered the green tea jelly, which is topped with whipped cream sprinkled with matcha powder and anko on the side. I was surprised when I tasted the jelly because jelly is usually sweet. Not only was this green tea jelly not sweet, it was downright bitter. Even if one is not fond of sweet things, one might think to add a little bit of sweetener simply to balance out the taste and get rid of the bitterness. But the owner apparently used purely matcha powder, and nothing else. It made me think of my friend Joyce, who constantly complains about things being too sweet. I thought, this is perfect for her.
When my dessert arrived, I spent some time staring at it first. The owner noticed my hesitation and laughed, "Eat it, eat it!"
When I took my first bite, I immediately exclaimed, "Oh my gosh, this is bitter!"
The owner laughed again and said, "Yes, your dessert is the only one that is not sweet." He points to Kara's parfait and said, "That is sweet. Yours is not. Hahaha!"
My friends were worried about me, but I assured them that I liked it (which is partly the truth). There is an art to eating this dessert. Each scoop should contain a bit of jelly, cream, and an (which helps balance out the bitterness). At first, I was a little scared of all that whipped cream, but it turned out to be the lightest whipped cream I've ever tasted and almost everything was consumed. My only complaint was that there was not enough an. Overall, this was a very enjoyable, if not pricy, experience. I can't wait to go again! ^o^
In between these days, I did A LOT of shopping (need to hold back so I can do more shopping in Oregon!) and watched a lot of movies. Fun stuff.
I don't know what happened to 'studying for a driver's permit' and 'learning how to drive'. I think I'm still scared. But there's still the rest of summer, right? ^o^
P.S. I finally changed the layout. I was being entirely selfish with it, because I didn't worry about whether visitors would like it or not. I only thought about what I wanted. It looks pretty simple, but I actually spent about three days on it. ^^ The image was drawn the night before my trip to the teahouse. I actually saw the same kind of teapot there (by pure coincidence).
If you've read this far, congratulations! This blog post actually took several days to finish...and now I'm finally done! Whew. Until next time~!
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)