ponders~

Happy Holidays everyone!

I've been having fun at home.

Going to random family parties and church gathering.

I must say that most kids here are very outstanding O_o

From the hs senior my brother idolizes that is going to yale. To the random 1st/2nd years at various top schools. And the seniors at college. To grad school/ med school students. (like today 3 of the 'kids' are from harvard O_o.....whyyy where are the MIT-ers T_T)

It's all very interesting, seeing what these kids think at various stages. And totally re-living those times of my life seeing them. Hmmmmm

I hope nobody takes my advice too seriously as I have no idea what I'm convincing them of either......orz. I guess the important thing is that they make a decision they're comfortable with? (lol@ the hs senior who is concerned about Yale's reputation as #1 gay ivy league, in which I assured him that Stanford has a lot too and it's still fine O_O)

Also it's very very interesting seeing different personalities and perhaps different americanization levels. Also it seems like us 'old' ppl are getting boring, not wanting to watch movies, or play card games, or video games, or whatever. Just karaoke xP OK, back to trying not to get scolded by my mom
Ciao~

skin makeup

Ever since I realized that *some* ppl are SUPER picky about skin..... (actually my cousin has been for a while) I started paying more attention.

I always thought skin was one of the things that's *less is more* and that most of those random products don't really do much.

But maybe I was wrong cuz my skin condition's not getting any better. I remember back in hs I went to some makeup counter with a friend. That counter had those magnifying cameras and we tried it to see what the "pros" said about our skin. My friend had very even skin tone, a bit dark, but apparently they said her skin wasn't good cuz she had large pores and i think skin elasticity not good?? Somehow they said my skin was good.....which is surprising cuz even back then I had more breakouts and some left over scars. I guess my skin other than the scar/ acne areas is ok?? lol

But yeah...... I guess now I still had the same issue. And for some reason the breakouts are even worse especially along my cheeks (probably due to stress as Steph said). And the redness from scars never seem to heal. Is there something that I should be doing? Maybe go see a dermatologist? (I did see some TCM doctor once.....that was a disaster..... the 'medicine' he gave reallly improved my skin but i'm scared to drink more cuz i have no clue what's in it..... other than it's "chinese herbal medicine")

I went to Sephora to ask about primer and stuff and they showed me some brand and was like "This is a japanese brand"..... like they expected me to go ...... "omg Japanese brand..... that is the pinnacle of all asian countries i have to get it"......or something O_o. Well in the end i did get it cuz it seemed nice. lol..... ok i ended up talking about nothing in this entry again. Maybe I should consult my cousin some more since she had red blotchiness on her cheeks before (rosacea?) and now has milky skin. Though I still think it's the skin naturally growing that way? i dunnooooo..... Oh and just recently I found out the difference between a mask and a pack

asian makeup and models

Before I forget, my roommate showed me this video: wow
skip to 2:10 without makeup
3:40 to see the girl's eye after makeup get magnified like 5X (and i'm not even exaggerating....)
8:30 for finished 'products'

And then..... I have a new favourite model.....that I think is soooo damn gorgeous
I just really like the way how her bone structure looks, from near to far and every angle, it's pretty much perfect in the way it directs light. And I was all.....this has GOT to be the one model that chinese ppl think is beautiful..... but apparently they don't think this girl is pretty......orz..... I don't get what "conventional pretty" is at all to asian peeps (in asia).






I started googling her because of the above pic..... doesn't she fit the look so well??


She's very pretty with makeup as well



See what I mean about 'pretty bone structure'?? Even her profile is so beautiful. I love her nose and eyes and forehead and cheeks....and pretty much her entire face xP I'm so picky about noses...... was almost 'dying' from the ugly Japanese noses. (cuz they like BIG noses.... no matter the shape, how wide, or if it's too big for the face or not....orz)


And then I was excited to find out she was the same model I pointed out to Yuan as 'what i consider pretty' when we were shopping in H&M. (on left) ahhhh it was love at first sight xP

hmmm

I'm kind of sad....cuz i was being stupid.... aka i uploaded a picture of my partial face to ask the chinese web ppl what they think about me getting those double eye lid surgeries. (since i thought.....asian ppl preoccupied with big eyes.....would know?)

Apparently chinese ppl don't upload their faces.....not even part of their face. Or if they DO upload it has to be extremely beautiful and perfect and everything.

And so they were picking apart my chinese T_T.... and my face

Sigh..... oh well.... at least some of the 'offensive' things they said were pluses in my book....

What else? Oh yeah my elementary school friend is visiting me this week. Not sure what we're gonna do tho. Apparently she and our other friend went on an MIT tour yesterday! So jealous!

vids

so it turns out i handed in the homework on time (@11:59 literally the last minute) AND made it to the show on Wed xP

here are some vids courtesy of the friends i went with

Just a Dream - Nelly

Hero - Enrique

Break Your Heart - Taio Cruz

Rocketeer - Far East Movement

The quality's not that great..... but just a sample of how they sound.....live.... orz

wheeee

I went to a concert yesterday! It was really fun. Had a bunch of artists that I listen to and love their songs! I was really glad they all performed my fav songs like Taio Cruz' "Dynamite" and "Break Your Heart" and FM's "Rocketeer" and "Like a G6", Nelly's "Like a Dream", Enrique's "Hero", Jay Sean's "Do You Remember" and of course 'baby are you going down down down' xP


^ I think that was when Taio was performing?

Tho I was kinda surprised that the young girls knew who Enrique was. I thought he was pretty old..... There was also this girl called Miranda Cosgrove playing and I've heard of her before cuz she used to be on TV shows my brother watched. So I've always had the image that she's like 10. But she's 17 now!!
It's kinda scary when pop culture from 04 or 05 is considered old (like Tong Hua is considered an 'old' song??)..... cuz I think everything since I entered college is 'recent'. But I guess it isn't anymore T_T I dun like growing old T_T

Also about the performance style, I like Taio the best. And Jay Sean, they're all very good looking. Far East movement was a lot of fun too. Lots of movement on stage. I almost think these artists songs are better than their performances xP I think it's cuz I'm so used to Japanese/ Korean singers that pay so much attention to the visual element too. Like dancing. Like interacting with the audience. Cuz just singing-wise, the cd track is better than them performing live xP

I think my fav part of the night was when Enrique invited an audience lady up and sang 'Hero' to her. It was an chubby lady in her 30s? but she was so excited. Like she started even groping his butt......O_o And he had to put his hand on hers to prevent her groping more ROFL It's like that move that Debra was teaching us!! About how to prevent sketchy guys when dancing. Except this is in reverse!!

フリーター、家を買う

I had to make a separate post for this! Like Grace, I still watch dramas sometimes. And this is a really great one. (not to mention i like the singer that sang the opening)

Freeter, buying a home

It's about a freeter (someone that has a temp job) , he quit his old formal job cuz he's not satisfied and don't know what he wants etc. They also mix in family elements, marriage/cheating, bullying even in adulthood (more like....fitting in?). Anyways i like the topics it touches on and it's very much life-like..... messy, all over the place but we have to get thru it. And it re-affirmed for me how sad a life it'd be to be a japanese housewife O_o

Apparently it has really high ratings too 17% (for comparison usually ~12% is good for a japanese drama these days)

And the most important part is that it finally features engineers!!! I mean how many shows, American or otherwise have engineers as one of the main characters/ professions? Of course they sorta dumb it down and call it 'designing bridges' and show lots of blueprint pics, but they started talking about computing/physics and 'FEM' (finite element method) LOL

Ahhhh I stray from my path so easily!! Too easily!! rawr

Anyways I saw this pic and thought the girl was very pretty


Then i realized it was Naga-something Masami O_O wow.....but she looks good with short hair..... Or that i just majorly prefer bangs look with non bangs look? Even on guys??

Speaking of which.....i really want to cut my hair again.....i know i wanted to grow it longer but it's always the middle where it looks terrible and i don't know if I can even look good with long hair since it's so thin D:

Also I've been craving pasta..... T_T

my roommate that's chinese-ish was showing me some pics on facebook. A girl's before and after makeup (japanese-gyaru style). She was soooo amazed. But yeah the girl's eyes became like 5 x bigger.

I was just like......really?? That was what I was going for but I guess it never really worked out with my face T_T

So yeah..... even tho i'm super jealous of those japanese girls faces that walk on the streets of Tokyo..... I know that beneath all that makeup is an average face like mine (for most of them at least) xD

Ahhh well....I'm totally over that phase anyways.....I still prefer to look Asian :)

yesterday i got this plaid shirt (finally!!) that i really really love. So much so that i wore it today! xDDD I even paired it with a cardigan and my yellow pants and some chucks. I was thinking....HA beat that mr. hipster boy! But when I arrived in class..... i realized I could never be as hipster as him. His whole presence just screams hipster!! His movements.... his randomly thrown on clothes! Everything!! I dun get it. I could wear the exact same thing as him and still not be as hipster. (tho he is skinnier....and i believe skinniness is a requirement of hipster-hood) So yeah Hipster-classmate +1, Z -39248024 :(

Tho yesterday when i got the shirt....i was also playing with those glasses that hipsters/ other artsy ppl wear. You know the ones. I've been thinking about getting one xP But then when I showed the girl she was like "those glasses remind me of Kame". orzzz I mean....yeah he wears it.... but so does the rest of the fashion conscious world T_T. And then everytime she passed by a turtle she was freaking out.... it's funny.... Actually i should tell Grace something..... but yeah.... this must've been what i was like before orzzz It's kind of funny on the other side looking in now. I was even finding turtles for her.

AND I resisted the temptation to screw my homework and other responsibilities and go to that concert. So Z +1, Japan -239848932

It's a good day :)

I met some asian graduate students today.....was soooo surprised when they told me they were from Canada too. I was like.....omg..... really? wouldn't have guessed! I felt so different yet similar to them. Must be cuz i got transplanted into the US earlier than them xP

Also at the same conference....i was looking thru the posters and one guy magically appeared and started talking to me. Cuz I was looking at his poster. And I was kinda scared he was a prof or something cuz he looked kinda old. OK.....not OLD old.... but not a young just out of college look. He turned out to be a post-doc. And we chatted for a bit. He seemed interesting....(and interested) I totally wanted to ask for his number or something T_T..... but i dunno is it unprofessional? HAHA. And somehow I'm more into Latino/African-american men these days..... must be my roommate's influence T_T

anyways.....back to focusing on how to make my life not so screwed up.....orz

worried about my work stuff......sigh.....hopefully it'll work out if i work harder....

in other news.... I'm so surprised at all the random rap songs i have in my ipod. I think it's cuz i downloaded a whole batch of them but wasn't really into it back then. But now it's like.....omg i have soooo many classics and whatever's playing on the radio.....hahaha

my fav line is "you got mirrors in yo pants cuz i see me in 'em" rofl

Quite excited about this weekend. First is the trip to mitsuwa/kinokuniya. I even made a playlist JUST FOR IT. Lots of kpop for the korean girl xD she seems to only like girl groups too....good :)

the 'cute guy' wanted to watch japanese movies......but eh.....i'm not really feeling japanese media/entertainment these days. It's like all the same slow boring storyline..... tho i dun like watching american movies either..... or most tv shows.

And later tonight.... going out for first time in SF! My roommate's like.....you been here 3 years and you never went out in SF? hahaha.....oops. She's really hilarious..... last night she was telling me a 'dumb survey class' she took in undergrad. Apparently the prof was splitting some line of sight into horizontal and vertical components. And he was all "Is it sine? cosine? no.... don't work it out yourself..... you'll get it wrong. I've seen many students get it wrong. Just remember.....it's ALWAYS sine" rofl

and on Sunday is visiting Daiso.....hopefully. I REALLY need to restock my fake lashes..... haven't been wearing any at all..... but yeah I totally can't do the japanese gyaru look. I just think my face is structured completely different.....even if they're also 'technically' asian.

Another one?

Maybe I should just make this my dream blog.....(esp since there's nothing much going on in RL anyways)

Had another crazy dream. Basically I was hanging out with the other girl and she was gushing how cute/good-looking that dude was. And then I was just all "i dun wanna hear it.... refuse to waste any more thought process on him" etc. And later when i was in the bathroom, I saw a pant leg of somebody by the door and was calling to her to watch out for the intruder. The intruder realizing he was noticed came in and opened fire on me :( I got shot in the head?

And then somehow 'I' turned into a big buff guy seeking revenge. Cuz I found out my 'friend' planned the incident. She lives in a huge castle somewhere and she magically turned into kuroki meisa, like how i magically turned into a guy.... Anyways so I trained super hard and got huge ripped muscles..... but i still thought she'd recognize me. And it happened while I was in the army, a big fiery cannon? hit someone and burnt his face. So while he was getting treated, I switched faces with him.....somehow I had a big long face cuz my face was too big on his..... and they had to pin the middle...... and his face on mine was too small so my neck was up on my face a bit...... and i had a scarred face...... and he was older too..... so i made more wrinkles and then worked in the stable at kuroki meisa's castle.... looking for a chance.....

orz..... maybe my imagination is a bit too overactive.....how do i turn it off? or channel it towards something useful??

what are dreams made of?

last night.....i dreamt about the cute guy (omg i think this may really be a crush....yabaiii), karaoke and rapping with ludacris

LOL

where did all this come from??

this is what my subconscious mind's fantasy is?? glad to know....lol

rah rah raaah~

soooo excited about halloween this year! And I have no idea why.....lol

I went to a costume store yesterday.....it was soooo fun!! Like funner than actual clothing stores! I almost got a moustache!! But decided against it.

What I did end up getting was a red cape for little red riding hood costume.... monkey ears/tails set..... a blue wig..... some skulls etc. hahaha. And I TOTALLY wanted a pimp stick but the naked lady on top was too much.

Yeah..... i have too many ideas. Currently i'm wearing the monkey set at work xP

I originally wanted to be little red riding hood but didn't think i would find a hood so i planned a fairy costume. Maybe i'll save the hood for another year..... i really like the fairy idea..... i'm gonna put tattoos on my face and crazy makeup and everything!!! I think I like eye makeup wayyyy too much.....lol. What are you guys doing for halloween? :)

(and when i went shopping with my roommate she got so excited about the speed racer outfits. Apparently she LOVED the movie..... lol.... i had to bite my tongue not to be all "you know the original speed racer is a japanese cartoon right?".....rofl.... but i was all "go go go" to myself....orz)

wow i feel so efficient today! I was so drowsy and thought i couldn't get much done but already i had a meeting with a fellow student AND did most of my work.....all in 3 hours....orz

the wonders i am capable of when my mind is not preoccupied/bothered by the internet. Or rather when i see what will happen if i don't do my work.....and i am scared :O

I was telling my roomie and that dude about the Canada jokes I've heard since coming to the states.
Cuz yeah they were also making fun of how slow-moving i am > <

So the one joke I told them was "how Canada got it's name". Yeah the one where 'somebody draws letters out of a hat' 'C eh? N eh? D eh?' hilarious i know xD

but I didn't get it when i first heard it. First of all it was cuz somebody randomly asked me "do you know how canada got it's name", so I was thinking of the actual historical name..... (i think Kanata means my home in some native language). And then they started going C-A, N-A, D-A. I was like.....ok.... so you drew those letters out of the hat (and i was thinking about 'i guess it's drawing with replacement' since A gets drawn 3 times.....orz). YEAH the key point was whoever told the joke pronounced eh wrong (that's why i thought they were saying A instead of eh....)..... it's supposed to go up.... there's an inflection. Clearly they don't use eh in their sentences.....rofl

I thought these were cute xP





ps..... i have like 2 'dates' and a goukon lined up.....T_T

am i getting amnesia

i have so much to be thankful for these days.....tho i really do need to change the way how i do things

I was watching 'the last lecture' tho maybe the title changed. When I told my mom, she said I'd watched it before....tho i'm *pretty* sure i haven't at all. Cuz i'd usually remember something like this? Or maybe not.

I get that time is valuable and time= money. But ordering every minute of my day may be too much for me. orz.....i just can't seem to be productive all the time or i crash and burn O_o I'm starting to think that life in adulthood.... is too hard for me. O_o

Anyways, so after the whole dinner planning thing i thought it was a great idea to watch that 'goukon' part in gokusen 2. LOL.....no it was a pretty bad idea. And then I spent more time watching the reunion cuz there was a link next to it.

Well ok at least i was doing my hw on the side. I haven't made a cheatsheet in *forever*! And then i scared myself cuz I didn't remember how to solve ODE's anymore. The really simple ones. And how it connects to linear algebra. Sigh.... what did i spend the past years doing? Learning and re-learning and then forget again?

And nowadays i feel guilty everytime i think of anything remotely superficial like 'that person has good facial features' or 'love those clothes'.....orz I feel like the brain of someone serious about doing science should not be pre-occupied with that and waste time n energy on it. But then again.. is it even worth it if as a consequence i think about things i'm missing out on?? orz

you better lose yourself in the music, the moment you own it

i keep hearing ppl mention eminem and 'lose yourself'. I thought I didn't know the song at all....but turns out i HAVE heard of it before. I actually like it, but dunno how i'd feel karaoke-ing to it.

yeah i met up with this guy a friend set us up together with.....and he's just. I dunno ok? Like conversation flows pretty freely.....he's not bad looking.... maybe a bit too nerdy? Not nerdy..... i can't explain.....otaku??

I'm just kinda depressed thinking that maybe this IS the pool i should be selecting from. And I still haven't figured out why I'm not physically attracted to most ppl.... is it cuz i have insanely high standards? But my standards don't actually match the rest of the population..... or rather it's not just physically good looking but i have to like their personality/ values/ things like that. eh....

But yeah this guy mentioned eminem too and how that song is from his movie 8 mile. I totally didn't know eminem was from detroit back then or what the movie was about.... so i was quite confused when i kept seeing '8 mile' when i went home. Thought it was a coincidence or that every metro had a 8 mile or something.....lol

I kinda wanna watch that movie now.... wonder who will want to watch with me?

PS. i'm pretty convinced the really cute guy is dead to me. His asian-philia is sorta creeping me out. But i'm still sorta addicted to fb stalking him. Apparently he has a friend that he must've met her while she was in hs..... and her facebook profile likes was so familiar: kat-tun, nobuta, my boss my hero, yamanade, yamapi, etc etc.....rofl

This is adorable!! http://www.clocky.net/ It rolls around! And sorta giggles! xP

In other news, I have a new best friend.....or just friend. My roommate is pretty crazy and talks all the time..... and I think I may be picking up a southern accent from her O_O And she listens to rap all the time..... while I am just happy with my hip hop/ pop. And Britney......lol..... I dunno if you guys watch GLEE but last week was their britney spears tribute episode and it was epic! So yes she is making a comeback into my music portfolio.

Discussed kpop with korean labmate.... he was saying how 2ne1 is popular cuz they are 'ugly'. Compared to the other girls in the industry. And how 40 year old men loves these girl groups. lol.....

Went to japanese supermarket with my roommate and that guy. She thought he was super cute. lol...... good thing she got a boyfriend xP Somehow I don't feel we connect on the jpop level tho. Maybe it's cuz i'm old and jaded now.... and not very excited. Oh well too bad.

Overall kinda tired of pop culture now..... maybe i'm finally maturing and growing outta that phase!

new 'hair'!

just having fun with it....the color is really nice, lighter than i expected/ shows up in pics. But taking pics flattens my face even more and it looks slightly weird but i DEF have to do heavy makeup with it. Well....it IS for gyaru purposes so :)




Whaddya think?

Yuan was telling me how she thought M was 100% Chinese while I was 100% western and she was somewhere in the middle.

LOL.....REALLY? I've never been told that I was super western or anything. I remember when I was studying in England this Chinese girl came up to me and was like "how come u feel really chinese? Not like those ABC/CBC/etc"

Maybe Yuan means that if somebody threw me into China I'd never survive cuz I don't know most of the customs/ formalisms....

I'd actually thought about living in Asia for long periods of time, but I don't know anymore. The environment and everything is different right? Even in places like Hong Kong or Singapore where they speak English, it's still so completely foreign to me.

At any rate I didn't think that M, her and me were all that different. I just think about completely whimsical things.....cuz i'm like that :)

gyaru style ate my brain.....

I was talking to Yuan how all the gyaru outfits on gal-tokei (awesome website btw, it changes gyarus every minute) look so normal to me. Like what I wear everyday.... (and not like the western gyarus that are super over the top n girly n frilly n crap). Then I realized that what I wear normally has changed drastically..... this is my outfit today.....



I totally didn't think it was strange, watching Himitsu no Arashi Chan....all their model guests dresses similar....then I walked out on the street and was like....OH

all ent

Was playing around with my ipod last night. I listen to that thing WAYYYY too much. But it's pretty hard not to now. Even while working.... probably cuz I get bored programming and need something to 'get me going'. lol

So 2ne1 released their first album 'to anyone' and 3 new music videos! It's great! This is my fav song, Can't Nobody:


clap your hands is an ok song too. One thing that bothers me is that some of their members CLEARLY don't have the fierce street attitude. And she keeps snarling and growling at the camera, which is not.... no that doesn't earn you fierce points....

CL looks really hot with blonde hair.... but I'm finally over that for myself. Won't be sporting blonde hair anytime soon.....lol

In other entertainment..... I've been watching this show called Himitsu no Arashi chan a lot. It's a random show with lots of different segments. One of my favs is 'Mannequin 5'. They pick some clothing theme like 'beach date', 'red item', 'animal prints' etc and make their own outfit. Then some models n female celebs judge them and they pick a look they like (no replacement)

So it's definitely interesting seeing what japanese models/girls prefer. Cuz most of it I TOTALLY don't agree with. I like the simple, manly, clean look on guys, for sure. No pink shirts, not too much accessories (its prob the 'American' look).... Surprisingly Nino's outfits are always really nice and classy, he's just too small to look good. I also like Aiba's casual style a lot. And Matsujun can never turn it off.....like what he considers 'plain' is still like WOAH


This was a first date theme. My order is probably 3 2 5 1 4. If 1 is the left most. One of the models complained how the neck on 3's T was too high up tho. Somebody else made that mistake on another episode, but it's just like..... that's SUCH a tiny detail. Who cares. Just cuz larger necks/ v-necks were in for guys....


One more.... this is their red theme. I still like Nino's (3) best. I'm just into the fitted blazer look.....lol
This is also the episode where Sho(2) debuted his 'parka on parka' or hoodie on hoodie look. LOL..... yeah he got made fun of a lot for that. And it's so famous now, ppl they interview, from all walks of life mention it! ROFL

new look?

This is my look for today! hehehe

I'm accumulating more and more 'gyaru' stuff..... so excited..... except at the same time I just don't dress girly enough to be gyaru. Eh, but whatever floral makes it into my wardrobe is still progress ;)




(haha.... i stole that pose from Yuan)

Also I've been watching so much Arashi that I'm starting to dream them! I dreamt about Ohno for some reason last night.....hahaha..... they are all so funny tho. I can't see their face and not start laughing. In fact, I can't see mannequins and not start laughing xDD Makes it hard for one to shop!

Big fat 'Haul'

I have more new clothes! Wheeee~

I will post pics up later. Including some of the stuff I got on Sunday with my mom. xP

*hi this is later*

First up are the sweaters/shirts from Sunday. All from GAP (I love that store) I really like the sweaters cuz they're big n hide my stomache xP Too bad they're v-necks tho..... I really like the one in eggplant purple.... but my mom made me get the other neutral stripes as well


From today, I'm SUPER proud of the hat. I was obsessed with getting one to the point of dreaming about it..... and everytime I watched anything from Asia, all I could focus on was the straw hats those girls have D: But I FINALLY found a nice style/ size, from free people. It's a cool store! The clothing reminds me a lot of gyaru style.... except the ppl that worked in it were the super girly, pretty/make-upped American ones (I think you know what kind I'm talking about?)
And exciting floral leggings :) I'll have to think carefully of what to pair with.
And formal pants/ cardigan from GAP, yay!

Tho I do think I'm overdoing the gray these days :P
But now that my hat obsession has ended, my new target is a long floral skirt O_o (ok so these obsessions never *really* end, my target just changes xD)

*edit 2* and now i got grey sunglasses and new pumps! (which i might have to exchange..... it feels kinda tight but the next half-size leaves a gap in my heel.....what to do??)

Guess who came for a surprise visit?

My mom! Yeah..... on Thurs she was like.....oh the plane tix are pretty cheap to cali..... and by Fri she was at my door O_O

It was a nice weekend tho, we didn't do much. I ditched her on Sat to watch a football game (making up for uhhhh MIT's lack of a good football program) and a movie. I surprisingly really enjoyed football. Alas I like lots of action everywhere! Tho I got kinda bored after a quarter and left xP The guys look a lot smaller than I thought they would..... tho they were also very far away....

And today we went shopping! She got me soooo much new clothes! Esp from GAP..... I'm still on my gray run. It's so exciting! Also what's exciting is leopard print.....rawr



xDDD I'm SOOO excited about that..... I probably would've thought it's too expensive normally. But my mom was like, as long as I like it. She also suggested I go off to live somewhere foreign (cuz apparently i've been doing that every 2 years and everytime she thinks I've matured a lot.....even if she's still not fond of Japan) Hehe..... she is awesome :) OK gotta sleep cuz I have to wake up early to send her off tmr morning. 'Nite!

Jupiter

by Hirahira Ayaka is an amazing song! She's also an amazing singer! I love her voice soooo much. It's like a bit husky but there's still depth and she has great range and sounds good in all those ranges!



I think that's my ideal female voice, tho I like the same things for male voices too. A bit husky, not shrill/ sharp sounding to the ears (so many asian singers sound like that to me tho), some depth but not TOO MUCH, not too feathery, not too heavy.

Yup just right xD Anyways, I rediscovered this song cuz I was watching this summary of the top 20 singles in Japan from 98-08. Surprisingly I knew more than 1/3 of that list. So yay now I have some new songs on my playlist. Actually there's a funny story for this song. Last night, I started watching a video of (Koki yay) in this year's 24 hours (annual telethon showcasing a lot of people overcoming disease and such). And it was him with this little boy (that had some disease where the bone start fusing and overgrowth) who was playing this song with an orchestra! I was pretty excited that I recognized it and was just listening to it earlier.

But then again I first heard this song on the 24 hours show too, I guess they recycle these 'inspirational' majestic-type songs.

dying of laughter here, brb

I'm @ lab but this story can't wait. So basically this weekend when I was walking home with my new bike 魅绿 Molu (named cuz it's green and beautiful and made me feel like a mechanic) and my bajillion groceries I saw this guy driving that looked like my korean labmate. Except he was smoking and going around EV (this grad dorm on campus) and I didn't think he lived here.

So today he told me he saw me too when he was trying to avoid hitting me (yes, that's a very good idea!). He was like "yeah and I was smoking"..... isn't that a very random detail for him to remember? Granted I did too. ANYWAYS, the point is that I was all "do you live on campus" and he replied "no, visiting a friend"

And I couldn't stop laughing cuz me and J were discussing the 'bromance' of Korean guys. Because he goes to lunch with this one friend a lot. And even when he goes home sometimes he gets picked up by him/ he comes over to wait for him. Actually it's possible they were different friends since ppl look all the same to me. But anyways yeah..... I was amused xD (I am such a little 13 year old at heart for getting amused by this stuff)

Also I finally started riding my bike!!! We had some hiccups with the tire but now it's perfect and beautiful!! Also when I went into the bike shop today there was a SUPER hot guy there. Gahhhh he was soooo good looking! I almost want to go into the shop again just to stare at him xP Except he was pretty skinny and I'm not sure if you guys would think he is hot..... but he is soooo hot to me. From his face, to his mannerisms, to how he talks/ walks. rawr

more goods

So as I was saying, I buy a lot of random stuff xD I DID get that bike! I love it sooooo much! The color is soooo pretty! It's not as pale as in the shop picture, and I totally want to name it, but haven't thought of a good name yet..... for a minty green bike. I also felt like a mechanic adjusting the seat and mounting the lock on and stuff xP I got a wicker basket for the front, it's soooo cute but I need to exchange it cuz it's not mounting on properly. Boo Wal-mart.

Some other stuff I got:


I looove the grey short sleeved sweatshirt a lot too! I wore it like 3 times last week!! And the pale jean jacket <333 The shoes look nice on my feet, I wanted something dressier for my leather leggings, and dresses etc. lol...... can you believe it was 75% off?? I was so surprised.

And of course 2 neutral nail polishes. One is the 'I need space' by OPI, I put it on my feet cuz its paler and looks nice. The other is Sally Hansen's 'cafe au lait'. It's darker and pinker and looks more natural on my hands xP Except I wanted a more beige colour and both turned out with pink undertones.

Also I went to Daiso to replenish my fake eyelashes and grabbed some other randoms like clear plastic umbrella (so I can pretend I'm in Tokyo on rainy days) and fake tattoos. The fakes actually turned out pretty good, quite excited about them! I also almost got bowls with eggplants on it, but then got scared by the warning in their store saying items may contain lead/cadmium/ other chemicals known to cause cancer and birth defects...... I got regular bowls at Wal-mart. lol

And last thing I want to mention is our lab has weekly volleyball games on Friday. This week it was boys vs girls. First we only had 3 girls vs 4 guys and we won. Then this really good player that's a girl joined us and out of 5 games we won 4! They got the ball stuck in the tree, otherwise we would've won a 5th game xP Also everybody was saying how I play well and serve well and stuff. O_o DUDE, I've NEVER been good at sports in my life! But maybe it's cuz everybody in my lab is Asian too. AND karaoke next week!!! My lab is already amazed at my Chinese/volleyball/health knowledge prow-ess. I shall now show em some Japanese/Korean xD




I thought more pics would be nice, since i get bored by long text too xD. Anyways, one is my face, and my 'lighter' makeup. It's my new day-look! The other is feet with some added features xD Hopefully I don't need to say which is which.

I'm spending WAY too much money recently. But for some reason i keep convincing myself that I NEED it..... so it doesn't *really* count as spending xP Tho I have cut down on food this week. So my current obsession are bikes:


See? I really do need one! I go to lab later and later without it. I've been bike free probably a year by now! And I keep going to things late xD But yeah, I considered getting a used one, but they're so ugly and old..... and may not work. Also I'm super paranoid about other ppl's germs so.

Aren't those a darling? I couldn't decide what colour tho, the first is mint, the second is burgundy (more red under light). But I'm in love with cruisers..... the shape.... very vintage. Although it only has one speed.....eh, I usually ride one speed anyways xP

Also this wicker basket would look awesome with it
Ahhhhh..... I can see it already! And me making my outfit du jour match the bike..... xP (this is probably my inner hipster speaking)

Recently I realized I like what is known as.....80s music. La Roux is really cool! She reminds me of an European Lady Gaga, but less in your face, more boyish and in general awesome!

*edit* verified fixed gear is indeed what hipsters go for.....however it doesn't appear to have a brake :O This could be a problem..... style vs safety?

random happenings

First of all I'm exhausted! We went wedding gown hunting...... Wow I don't think I've talked/ given so much opinion in my life! I'm not sure if it actually helped M to go with us two who are more into the 'edgy' looks. lol..... I feel like she likes the princess-y stuff more. But I'm almost pretty sure what kind of wedding gown I'd want. It's sort of confusing though, the glitter and the bling cuz with it, it sorta looks tacky but without it's just bland...... hmmmm. Maybe cuz they're not real diamonds/ jewels?

Also got complimented by the old lady fitting M. About my faux-leather leggings xDDD It seems I get complimented by old ladies a lot. Some years ago I had these skull covered flat pumps that attracted attention from middle aged women. Maybe the things I wear is what older ppl THINK is cool and in fashion. Hmmm..... is that a good thing?

Anyways, at the wedding place one of the ladies, after hearing we're from stanford, mentioned how her brother-in-law was an alum. From lawyer to CEO of AEG. And I was going thru my brain trying to remember where I heard that company before. First I thought some electronic/ semi-conductor company. (since it IS the bay area) Then I thought AIG insurance...... and when she mentioned something about entertainment industry I was like OK AEG live. Except the way she described it, it seemed like they managed artists like MJ or JT (or whatever other names she was throwing in) but from what I remember, I thought they just held concerts. It was bugging me so I wiki-ed it after getting home. And I was totally right! They are producers of concerts and own some of the venues. (also there's a defunct German electronics company called AEG)

And then the lady went on something about her sons trying to get into that industry. I dunno..... I think there used to be a time when I was impressed with that kinda stuff. Until I realized that it's all kinda eh. I mean I guess it's cool that you can connect yourself to big names.......but wouldn't you rather be that big name yourself. Plus I'm special enough just the way I am xP

Anyways, went crazy at Marukai (Japanese supermarket) cuz they had Dollywink lashes. A gyaru brand, supported by Tsubasa no less. (tho looking at her eyelids closely creeped me out...... she had the 'normal' asian folds..... and then these SUPER fake ones up high.......makes her look caucasian far away but up close is really ICK) And also Daiso! They have REALLY cheap lashes. So finally I have me some false lower lashes! Here is the end result:

Imma have LOTS of fun later (while deciding which shade of blonde I would look good in) xP

wish blogs were like twitter.....where i can add in tiny things throughout my day.....lol

Anyways, I'm over-blogging as always..... but cuz I'm super excited about being in charge of the karaoke outing. At first I thought it'd be lame cuz ppl wanted to go a chinese one (instead of the korean or japanese one) I dunno about them.....i certainly don't know chinese pop songs..... (and honestly I HIGHLY doubt they keep up to date with current chinese pop either) Anyways.... as it turns out, the place the suggests SUCKS so I found a better chinese place. And I'm quite satisfied with their english selection so we're going!

And then somehow I got to listening to nostalgic japanese songs...... from the 70s. LOL..... actually it's me playing with my new mic/ webcam with the computer. It's fun playing back myself! I'm gonna use it to learn dance! It'll be my aerobic exercise for the day.....got it all planned out!

PS. I'm going tan! Although the ppl that actually go to tanning salons and have a tanning schedule freaks me out slightly.....partly cuz they're convinced they're not damaging their skin since it's not burning.....

glee!

I am GLEE- obsessed! I didn't think it'd happen. I was turned off before by their episode recaps..... they try to be witty but really I just thought it was dumb. But I gave it a try cuz that asian guy is an amazing dancer, and they had me at 'Rehab'. I just LOVE watching dance/covers of songs I already like xP

So never judge a book by its cover.....or it's preface in this case. lol

Well of course I think when they cover songs I don't know I think it's boring..... but I just skip over them xD It helps that I think Sue coach of the Cheerios is hilarious (and offensive)..... I also really like Coach Tanaka (but he disappeared after the second half). Hmmm..... student wise my favs is def the cute gay boy Kurt and sassy Mercedes. The Latino girl is really hot though (and hilariously mean/slutty)..... and the 'dumb blonde' is funny with her one-liners. Yeah, they're not going for PC here, so many caricatures of everything!

My fav fav is probably Kurt though, what can I say, I was swayed by his boyish charms...... and his impeccable taste in fashion.......lol. And how he plotted to be step-brothers/ live in the same room with this really hot guy (the tall one). LOL..... I think that's my weakness..... (I liked hot guy in the beginning but he got really indecisive and kinda lethargic?)


Oh and from their 'gaga' episode......which costume do you like most? I like the black dress with sunglasses one. And also the black lace one (but that's cuz it's the super hot girl xD)



Can't wait for the new season with their rumoured Britney episode!

pantsuits!

Guess what came in the mail?? My beautiful new laptop!! So fast! Totally didn't expect it yet.

And also M is back from Japan and brought me stuffs! How exciting! (Huge thanks to her!!) And har har.....yes the debut of my new pantsuits. lol....... they're in different colours but you can't really see under the lighting (and my new laptop cam)

How were my poses? xP

edit: clear pics...... the leg on one of them is a bit weird..... and since my friend didn't want her beautiful face revealed

Monster monster high~

Look at my new addiction! I clicked on the ad on youtube..... and BAM. Monster High It's actually......quite good..... xD I watched all of the episodes already..... they're pretty entertaining and super short so keeps my ADD in check. I also registered on their website and did the 'which one are you' quiz. I'm Frankie Stein.....lol...... I feel like I'm regressing into my teens now...... But it really is pretty cool. They even have a vegan vampire. And the clothes drawing looks so unmatching and reminds me of japanese teen fashion (the ugly kind i dun like xD).

They made the kids look uglier with makeup tho..... and they looked so much chunkier than they looked in the behind the scenes.....how's that possible :O They should fire the fashion consultant! The blonde girl also looked soooo much like lady gaga.....in tiny form. lol

Other things that caught my eye were: k-town, the asian Jersey Shore-ish reality show. I love the outfits on both ends. Especially the platinum blonde..... she wears falsies! lol....her whole look reminds me of a Korean-American gyaru. And the guy on the left, skinny jeans + funky sneakers (and fedora), I approve. There's also some guy from the promo vid that looks like a mobster, a soft porn musclebuilder and an ex-stripper/hooker (doing it for self-empowerment no less). LOL quite the variety huh......

And then I thought of that guy that told me about Ktown and said I should audition....... what does THAT mean?? (maybe i shoulda said "nah, you give off a more pornstar feel, you should go") xDDD

boys boys boys

first off.... this is random but...... i really wanted to get coloured contacts! But talking with a friend that has them..... it seems even if I have good vision..... I still need to get eye tests and fitting etc. And the fact that 6% of ppl that wear contacts annually have problems..... eek. That sounds scary! I'm not sure if i'm willing to sacrifice that for my vanity. But I think a subtle/sofisticated colour like grey will really work! Though I also want to try honey brown..... and maybe green..... darn!

Also how tightly this is all regulated reminds me of those 'circle lens' that ppl buy from small online stores. Hmmmm......

Actually the real reason i wanted a new eye colour is cuz I want a new hair colour..... as inspired by katy perry's california gurls video. (and possibly japanese girls) I really really want to try that grey-ish blonde/light brown. Tho I still want to grow my hair out a bit more. Also I remember in the past when i thought asians that dyed their entire hair were 'fobs'....... lol. >_>

Back to the real reason of this post. Is cuz I was exploring with Dovey my history. You know..... why I do not have a boy. Apparently not only do I not flirt..... I also am extremely dense and do not respond to guys that make advances. Hmmmm But I get embarassed xD Tho not as embarassed as guys I'm sure. lol Man if I were a guy and I had to ask a girl out...... I might rather be gay xDDD

And the other problem with the guys that were 'making passes' at me is that I'm not sure if I am interested in that way...... or I'm just incredibly amused by them...... like "japanese guy that likes American culture n only speak English in slang", "short asian dj that think he's ghetto and all that", "dude with strange sexual fetish (O_o) and stuck at the hip with his male friend"....... they're all fun to talk to at first...... but I can seriously see some trouble brewing ahead. But I'm getting WAY ahead of myself n overthinking it. So for now I will take her advice and practice flirting as much and often as I can...... esp with "slightly awkward asian culture junkie who thinks he's in a rock band"

tho i feel like grad student males may be a totally diff animal than what my friends are used to tackling......for one thing they don't have to deal with guys that flirt with their female advisor O_o

random pics aka z procrastinates

This is me...... omg is that not sad? (and i learned some new words!)


Anyways..... I was looking at that turning girl..... the ones where clockwise means you right-brain dom, and ccw is left brain dom. Except..... it's more voodoo science. If it were true...... I'm super right-brained cuz i can only see ccw out of the edge of my eye and it would mean I'm super artistic, a dreamer, and prob hipster.....lol

This is fun too..... if you can't read it, squint real hard.......

and the following is just awesome in general xD

'tonight imma fight anons til the sunlight' <- rofl...... tho of course REAL hipsters don't listen to pop

oh nurrrr

I think i must face the truth........ that I can't look like a gyaru no matter how hard i try DDD:

For one thing...... my eyelids..... like i tried all that asian eyelid glue and all that..... (and followed the instructions on youtube) and it still doesn't look like i have a fold. Also the skin on my eyelid felt really stretched and strange........

So here is my attempt:


My eyes looked more even/ makeup looked a lot more noticeable in real life........ then again i did use flash :O
So i asked the gyaru gurus what i could do to improve and they photoshopped me:

Hmmmmm...... interesting look. I'm tempted to re-create that look in real life...... but imma need lots n lots more makeup (lip concealers, circle lens, pink gloss, lower lashes etc etc)........ heh heh heh.......kinda excited!

Oh yeah..... i also had a dream about black eye shadow (and steph)......definitely need to get some now!

edit: So i re-did the makeup with some new products.....
side view:

front view:


diff lighting:



close-up of eye:

yup i still don't look exactly like a 'japanese girl that is trying to look like a california girl'
lol.....the makeup took FOREVER but it was quite fun to do......and it fuels my vanity xP

missA

back from the reunion!

surprised to say I actually really like Vegas......not what I thought it'd be like at all. Of course good company helps :)

Had some mixed feelings about the other ppl we saw......tho technically we didn't see a lot of them. Wonder where they all went? Musta been the strip shows we didn't go to xPPP It WAS bizarre to see so many faces I recognized...... I dunno they all turned out to be different from what I expected. Or is it that I remembered everyone wrong? But yeah..... i guess the real world..... it all left imprints on us eh? (and sometimes i feel like MIT was the American hs experience that i missed)

food-wise i prefer bay-area soooo much more. Even the legendary Vegas buffets weren't that great....... and i still haven't tried king crab legs.....next time

But yay i got a tan! I'm so tempted to tan more now that both sides of my arms are similar colours. I could be like those undergrads (n some grad students) and lie in the grass while studying xD But yeah..... Vegas has many beautiful ppl with good bodies, especially by the pool.....lol..... but of course.

The whole time tho, I was thinking about how nice it'd be if we were all in Tokyo or something.......lol...... I dunno why i have such a preoccupation with that country. But I just thought it'd be amazing.....hanging out in a foreign country...... and me showing friends around. The food would be amazing. And shopping..... we'd spend forever at 109 while I ogle at the latest gyaru trends...... and then later guy-watch all the different types at a club or something. And listen to all my fav pop songs cuz they're not into obscure ones/mixes or oldies xP And karaoke! ......and show them around that neighbourhood i lived in. (I'm still so amused that i lived like 10 minutes away from chibi-kame's house) And in general just people watch cuz i love doing that, esp in that place with a bajillion subcultures and crazy fashion.

Maybe we can do that some time.....in the future......rah rah rah.....my imagination is running wild again xD But now it's back to the real world and real things i have to do!

does this sound depressing?

sometimes i wonder why i am so slow....... like seriously....... in life

I was thinking about why other ppl were ready to get boyfriends in hs or even middle school and I'm still struggling with the concept. I think one of the big problems is I'm such an idealist. I almost wish I never ever had that humongo crush back in hs. It certainly did not set me up for success. And reading all those pure romancey things made it worse...... made me think that to date, that person has to be perfect....... or at least someone that makes my heart flutter and sweeps me off my feet......or something. I dunno how it is for other ppl.......but that's just not very realistic for me. And when I saw other people dating i thought they were selling themselves short. But now that I think about it, they are the ones with the correct attitudes. I mean..... it's not like any person was meant to be with a particular person. (tho...... it was nice to fantasize that) But yeah......all that fantasizing just lead me further and further off track.

But now I actually think it's cute when they just sort of like each other......and stuff. It doesn't have to be permanent...... it might not work out. lol...... but i'm like 10 years too late. And now everybody around me has already moved onto a wayyyy later stage. How can I even catch up?

I think most people don't even understand my way of thinking....... and the ones that do...... are likely to be in my position as well that we can't really help each other or give advice -_-;; And I really should be less preoccupied with all this....... cuz i'm supposed to be doing so much other stuff too.

Those were just some random thoughts, I'm really not as gloomy/ desperate as I sound tho......really. On the bright side I'm excited to go to reunion soon! And finally we'll all meet up again :)

some thoughts

I watched Inception yesterday. It really IS a good movie, even tho i wasn't in the mood for one...... And the subject of dreams they were talking about is quite fascinating. And the director wrote the script too, which is pretty cool. Actually amazing because it's really hard to develop a complicated plot/ visual scenery that's complicated enough that the audience won't get bored, but not too out there that we get lost either......

The other thing i wanted to talk about was on Friday night, I went to Bible study again. And there were two babies, a boy and girl around the same age. Except it was really infuriating me what all the adults were telling them. Like when the boy was crying they were all "men don't cry, you're a man so you shouldn't cry". Or when they got into a fight they told the baby boy "boys shouldn't hit girls" Like......ummm.....what?? I think i'd just be really angry if i had to live with someone that spewed that all the time O_o

I am like bouncing off the walls with excitement today........ I'll get my first online (clothes) shopping package soon!! And once I get it, I won't have to wear pants anymore!! Ever!!!

OK, maybe the never part is exaggerating. But lol still so excited, til monday! Obsessively tracking the UPS site now......

And I think I'll go play soccer this Sunday, maybe i should get a soccer ball to practice. Cuz you know..... not much help when I might accidently shoot the ball into our own net.......

I was thinking about how i've been living my life and want to do away with all the negative thoughts/ worries. And I DEF need to rid myself of my internet addiction. Even my music addiction......it's just not good when my mind is too cluttered to focus on useful things. And when i can't it just stresses me out even more. I really liked those 10 days i spent at home where i couldn't get to internet at all.......despite how frustrating things had been with the elders.

Recently I got worried that I got a lot dumber and then started taking all these random online IQ tests. Doesn't *seem* like i got that much dumber. Probably just lazy and unable to focus/ motivated. Maybe I should get a job where I NEED to do my job or I'll get unemployed......and live on the streets......or something. Hmmm

I'm pretty sure in the midst of everything that happened (and believe me, a LOT has just happened) I forget to mention that my brother got a 5 on his AP Economics!! That's freaking awesome! Especially since he was the only 10th grader in his class, and they tease him by calling him the 'baby' of the class. Looks like all is not lost for him xP Maybe he can go to wall street and our family will finally be rich xDD Tho his plans also involve going to Physics and earning a nobel prize and the 2nd Steve Chu. All that after his wall street stint....... lol..... a bit ambitious are we?

All is not well in research......hopefully i can fix it and my relationship with the lab :/

And of everything that happened...... really SO MUCH has happened that it's crazy. I feel like the world has suddenly changed. I'm not sure if you guys wanna hear it, or if I should be talking about it...... but since it's on fb i assume it's public. So uhhhh yeah, Ming got engaged....... and they'll have wedding by the end of this year!! What else, her roommate already moved out so I'm kinda sad i won't see her as much now. And I might have some terrible disease but hopefully it's nothing I can't recover from....... but still kinda freaked out since my appt is tmr. (oh right, and jin finally quit kat-tun, though that might be the least surprising news for me this week)

omg it's 2 am and my neighbours upstairs are STILL having a party D:< I should probably go complain soon. And it's annoying cuz i'm totally sick of those clubby/ heavy beat songs. go ahead.....laugh. It's so ironic....i know. It's all I've been listening to these days tho so i'm bound to get tired of it ]: Now all i listen to are slow, mellow and mushy songs. Even while running.......lol

Anyways i got an email saying there's been a death in the department staff and police are investigating before details can be given. My immediate reaction is HOLY CRAP there's a killer running loose. And then.....maybe somebody committed suicide. But then my friend said there were medical personnel too so maybe somebody had a heart attack? Well i don't think any of the admin are old..... so i was thinking of all my old profs and then feeling really sad ): I do wonder who it is tho.

Also got an e-mail saying there's a epidemic for whooping cough here? I swear my ex-roomie had it. Like when she coughed, the whole time i just had 'whooping cough whooping cough' in my mind. It was bizarre. I told her to see a doc but she thought it was nothing serious. She was seriously dying tho (ok, so not dying).....but like random fits of really vigorous coughing. And it happened for WEEKS. And then I had it for a week or 2 as well ): DARN IT!! I think if it hasn't killed me by now tho it means i'm ok? (right? steph??)

and i was SOOOO happy today that another girl understands. (and the best thing is she's not even chinese but she's learning it)
How COOL some of the names the chinese fandom comes up with is, it's just soooo linguistically awesome. (sorry..... i know you guys don't care) but yamada = 32 = 山(田)涼(介) cuz in chinese 3 is san (山), 2 can be also pronounced as liang (涼)..... get it?
And the pairing names like:
玄武 = an ancient mythical creature that has a turtle body and snake head or something. Snake referring to ryo's venomous tongue
合肥 = together fat, pi+jin back when they were both fat. Also a big chinese city :)
胸毛 = pikame. Because pi has THE big chest and kame has hairy legs, lmao. (and together its chest hair.....rofl......sorry being immature)
唇齿(same pronunciation as 淳/赤)= junno/jin, and 唇亡齿寒 comes from an ancient story from the warring states where this counsellor was trying to convince their king to protect a neighbouring country from attack (for their own countries' sake). And the analogy is that if the lips are gone, the teeth will be unprotected/ feel the cold. ie. one cannot survive without the other.
Umm.....ok......so how dorky am i to get excited by this sorta stuff xP

updating with some wedding pics first. So one of the main purpose for my trip home is cuz my hs friend was getting married! My first friend to do so (tho apparently another one will too......hmmm)

Here's a pic of the dance part. Most of the guests were her relatives/older generation so the dance floor was a bit sad. There was the odd crazy adult tho.....and her cousins......lol. She had soooo many of them! Here's 2 sisters.....one of which is my (what's the term for going to same undergrad?) And a friend in purple beside. OH Yeah and the stupid Dj that wouldn't take my request cuz 'we have too many songs from bep'. What's wrong with more bep?? D:<

Here's the wedding party. My friend is so pretty in her wedding dress. Tho I felt bad cuz my mom was making such a fuss about my dress and everything (to the bride too :O). I rather like it except for the fact I have fat arms.......and legs....... tho the legs don't look as bad in this pic......lol

went to montreal.....and ottawa and quebec city on this 3 day tour with a tour group. NEVER AGAIN. First not to mention how we never have enough time for sites i want to see.....heck, we pretty much missed all the ones i wanted to see. We saw some random churches n stuff........while all i wanted was to go to a cafe/ maybe a crepe shop. And it doesn't help that there was also my cousin (10 y o boys are SUPER annoying...... tho he sorta reminded me of when i had to teach english to......10 y o boys......lol). And my uncle that agrees with my mom on all matters. And I couldn't use English the whole trip :(

Was SOOOO glad to be back to the States last night..... tho we still had some hiccups. Apparently my parents hate ALL of my clothes/ style/ hair and everything. They think I have no taste and no artistic sense.......... ummm...... ok. Today they esp hated my yellow pants D: I'll remember never to bring clothing i actually like home. Tho I AM excited i got those long leggings finally. yay

sorry for all the complaining......pics to come.......and still so amused by octopus paul. I think octopus is my fav marine animal xD

wtf??

I got an e-mail about this article and at first thought it was all a joke.

And then Yuan found the source article in a journal. WOW...... So apparently having 'male' preferences in what fields I wanna go into or what kind of things I fantasize as a kid is now 'treatable' with a drug?? Ummmm what? And the lady who did the study actually advocates it so that women would want to get married and raise babies........O_o. I didn't realize me not really interested in guys/ not fantasizing about being married or pregnant as a kid was a PROBLEM........

of hipsters and......

Hung out with a friend that I knew from teaching in Japan, and TOTALLY expected never to see her for like the rest of my life. But it's cool she took a job in SF and that we met up! She n her bf was telling me how she lives on the border of Mission district and Castro (aka hipster and gay central). I dun think she enjoys either very much.

Anyways, they were asking me if I knew what a hipster was and they were all like they hate it and how hipsters look like homeless ppl to them. Which is weird cuz my image of hipsters was very fashionable and edgy. AND THEN I passed by this American Apparel store n asked if they liked to shop there. They were all O_o do you? LOL..... I told them I used to shop there much more often.

So the point of my story is that I come home and start googling hipsters. Some of the websites are pretty hilarious:
5 things to not do as a hipster
"For $50 at American Apparel, you too can insult people who actually have vision problems! Officially worse than the sunglasses-at-night trend."
LOL @ sunglasses-at-night
I also have bright yellow skinny pants

Urban dictionary def
"The..... look of a hipster is exemplified in Urban Outfitters and American Apparel ads"

So basically V-neck shirts + skinny jeans + graphic tees and AA are popular with hipsters. Oh and don't forget raybans and fedoras and vans/chucks. (and oh they love androgynous guys, and not the typical muscular/All-American type) rofl....... this oddly resembles the Japanese fashion I was following a couple years back. (and UO n AA are definitely the closest to Japanese fashion here in the states) So was it a mistake to ask my friend is she liked AA? Haha.....probably

Pics from the LA :]

I love that ramen! Notice the half-cooked/ YUMMY eggs!!

At the mall. we tried......lol

Newport beach:

Silly pic from after the concert

@ Chinese Grauman theatre

And finally.....party on the plane! (love the purple lights)