二日：なか卯で！

So, here's the abridged version of what happened so far:

- I had stayed awake all night after a day of taking tests and working a closing shift. We left he house at 4am b/c I had to pick up one of my friends who just got back from deployment and wanted to go back to Sea-Tac. We were running a little late, so I had to be dropped off first. However, I was just a few seconds too late....

- I missed my initial flight :/ However, I was able to get on another flight and still make it to CA in time. It was an hour later, so I was relatively set. It was kind of awesome going through the checkpoint at the airport since I was the only one wearing chains and rings XD. Not to mention the fact that I got the weirdest look when the checker looked at my passport that I had gotten 2 years before and saw what I looked like now. I lul'd.

- After a 2 hour flight *and my inability to stay awake anymore XD* I finally landed in CA an proceeded to the next gate. There, I met up with Shuu, who was sitting in his little corner at the time waiting for me to show up. After discussing a few things, it was finally time to board and take off.

10 HOURS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT LATER

- We finally landed in Japan! We went through customs and got the hell out of the airport. First though, we had to get some yen. Apparently, we had to fill out a form to exchange money..... Needless to say, I couldn't stop laughing. XD

*Shuu enjoying himself a nice beverage*

*Oh how I've missed Japanese Vending Machines*

*I missed you the most REAL GOLD*

-Afterward, we got to ride a humid train for a good hour before we got to Tokyo. There, we headed straight for the hotel, which we found was painfully small. It was meant as a place to sleep only. We did a little exploring when we got settle and finally wen to a Family Mart. IT WAS AWESOME. It had been a long, long time since then and I was looking forward to it.

*What we saw when we walked in*

*What we saw when we looked back*

*What we saw when we looked in the bathroom*

*What we saw when we opened the window*

*And when we looked down*

- Then it was time to turn in.... at 9pm..... Yeah.... too early for me.

That's all I'll right for now. I'll what we did yesterday tonight. Heading out the door soon so.... yeah. Later!

一日： Oh yes.... Epic.

Shuu and I have finally arrived in Japan!

Actually, we arrived here yesterday.... but you get the idea.

The internet in the room is acting up, so I'm at a まんが喫茶店 down the street. I'll keep trying to get the internet up in the room.

*My haven...*

*So.... Awesome...*

So... yeah. That's all I've got for now. I'll write about the first day probably tomorrow, so I can talk about today as well.

So... Later!

Steady Spral

Japan: Home of yummy snack foods XD

A quick update as to what's going on:

- Got an A- on my 5 hour paper. XD How awesome is that. PROCRASTINATORS RULE!! XDDD

- Shuu's cousin had to bail on the Japan trip b/c he got sick. :/ It really sucks, especially for him since he was ready and everything.

- After panicking upon hearing the news, I quickly had to do some revising to the reservations I had made. In the end, we have to pay $74 dollars more. Not too bad, but not that great :/

- Only two, that's right people; 2! days till the trip. I'm getting more and more anxious to go, but at the same time, I know that I have to start worrying about the tests and Japanese presentation for tomorrow. Needless to say, I'm not looking forward to it, especially the closing shift for the night. :|

- Tuesday, I'll be awake all day and night till I get on the flight going to Japan. Then, sleep I shall do. XD I will be carrying my laptop with me so, I'll be posting updates and so forth when we arrive there.

- Today, I have a lot to do. After school, I have work. Then, I have to do some cleaning to prepare for tomorrow. So much crap to do, but hopefully it will all be worth it. -__-

That's all for now... Go away. XD

ムスタング

Ajikan's new PV: ムスタング is finally here!!

I have to admit, the song is pretty awesome. But the PV itself, is not too great. :/ I will say this though: It takes a lot of guts to just stand there for that long. XD

ENJOY!!

＋沈黙的な＋

Yeah.... I didn't know what to think when I saw this either. XD

---

It has been a little while since an update, so I'll post some new things that have happened.

My Cultural Anthropology paper is finally done!! With that out of the way, all I have are finals. Good and bad thing really. I know I won't have too much of a problem with my first two classes, but my final class may prove otherwise. I have to do an early Japanese presentation and final, I have to do 2 labs and, I think, 2 tests early, including the final, and 2 Cult. Anth. tests. Cultural Anth. worries me the most b/c it seems that I may not be doing that well in the class. If this paper bombs, then that's it for my grade in the class. I'm really hoping for at least a D on it. :/

Shuu also pointed out that some chick had put me on her blogspot as a link. I have no idea how she got to me or even if she knows who I am, but I'm being a little cautious now. I've decided to add a locater on my page to see who checks my profile and to make sure no creepy chicks that I haven't met before add me for no apparent reason except to maybe boost there friend count; in which I reply, if something like that is happening: "F*king grow up already. This isn't MySpace." I'm waiting to see if she responds to my comment.

A little while back ago, a good friend of mine, Shuu, posted on his page that he was reading through my Xanga and was recalling all the memories of Japan that we had. As I read through his post, I couldn't help but remember all the adventures we had and all the stupid crap we did: Tsutaya, Label Finger, Yoshinoya, The Drill, Family Mart, Cape Hedo, The Giant U-Turn, deadly snack foods, radiator problems, the claw, Ajikan, arcades, Jesus, Book Box, GEO, and Karaoke. These all bring up awesome but sad memories of a time when everything seemed to be so care-free. I'm sincerely hoping that this trip to Japan will be another chapter in this adventure of life that will be filled with awesome memories and equally stupid crap. XD

I'm ready for Japan. But do you think Japan is ready for us?

9 more days....

Heaven in the Sound

*Ellegarden: 1998-2008*

So... It's official. There is only one month left till the trip! I'm steadily growing impatient. Want.... to... go.... NOW!!! XDD I should be worrying about the tests and projects I have to finish early though.... Oh well. Celebrate now, work later XD

In other news, Chasing Starlight is on Indefinite Hiatus as of April 29th. Some might wonder who this band is, or was, and why I would even bring it up. Well, I'm the bassist for the band : P *Bet you didn't know that XD* Despite the fact that I live miles away from the actual band, I was amazingly still in it. :/ However, even though I'm "band-free" for the moment, I'll still be coming up with bass lines for future use. *Yes, I'm still making bass lines. I just need your guitar chords, YOU BASTARD* Hopefully, this hiatus isn't indefinite...

That's really all the news I have for now, so... Later.

P.S. Guys Family Disbanded and new Sadie album June 25th!

永遠に超えて

*Seems like the US is finally starting to catch up to Japan. XD*

Just a small update for today, since not much is new on my end.

- I'm getting ready for May, which basically means that I need to start on that research project that's due and study up for all the tests I'll have to take in advance. >< Not.... fun...

- I'm starting to reach my breaking point in being a cashier. I'm aiming for the Head Cashier position now *since there is a certain someone that I don't want occupying that position*. If I don't get that, then I'll switch to another dept. If that doesn't work, then I'm fairly prepared to quit. I've had the intention of leaving sometime in August. I'm just not sure if I'm going to yet. I want to work somewhere where there are less idiots. Unfortunately, I live here... -_____-

- For some reason, I've been made President of the Japanese club for the remainder of this term and next year.... Proud? Not really. There's only like 6 people now. Now I have to work on paperwork and find ways to recruit. :/ I'm bored enough as it is, so I'll do it.

- The day draws near and there's still no exact place we'll be staying at while we're in Tokyo this June ><. I added two more places to the list and am just waiting for feedback on them. Hopefully, one of the two new places *or anywhere for that matter* is chosen, so I can proceed with the reservations. Everything else is fairly set.... Well, actually..... I just realized that we haven't chosen a place in Osaka/ Kyoto either..... We're so screwed... XDD

---

Ok. So, lets have a quick review:

Sweeney Todd: Pretty good movie. I had read up on the play before actually watching the movie and I really enjoyed it. I want the special edition now, so I can see more special features. :) ★★★★★ (Enjoy the music, the blood, and the awkward head landings XD)

I am Legend: Don't remember if I reviewed this movie yet, but if I didn't then there was a reason. It was ok, but it wasn't spectacular. To me at least. I did enjoy watching it for the most part though. ★★★★½ (Definitely good the first time, not so much after that)

Cloverfield DVD: Uhmmm.... It was ok. Looking over it again and watching the special features definitely game me a little more insight to the idea of the movie. Doesn't change my original rating for it though. ★★★★½ (Motion sickness in the comfort of your own home ;D)



That's all I have for now. So, until next time...

Taste of Chaos 2008 General Overview

*Waiting outside in the rain and cold*

Taste of Chaos came to Seattle on Tues. April 15. It was an awesome day... for the most part.

The day, for me, started at 6am. I had a lack of sleep that night b/c I was thinking of an excuse to get out of work. While I laid half asleep, I had a dream that I had called out already and everything was awesome. Of course, I woke up a few seconds later, looked at my cell, and realized it wasn't true. -____- After gathering up some courage and figuring this was the best time to call *seeing as how I sound sick when I'm half asleep anyways XD* I finally called and got a hold of my store manager. Took me completely off guard because he's usually not the one to answer the phone. After giving my excuse, which sounded kind of nervous b/c of who I was talking to, he gave the ok and I was ready for school.

Afterwards was when the day really started. At 11:30, I was already on my way to pick up Arlden and Shouta *a friend of Arlden's* By 12pm, we were on our way to Seattle. On the way there, I was going about 70-80 mph. Not too smart. I was flagged by a cop and he started to follow. Luckily, I had a trick in mind. *TAKE NOTES HERE!* I had observed a cop pulling someone over after following them for about a quarter or so of a mile. Keeping that in mind, I slowed down to 60 and turned on my cruise control. The cop followed me for a good 10 minutes before he gave up and moved to another lane and ahead. The lesson learned: Cruise control is your best friend XDDD

We got to the city at about 1:00, but spent about half an hour in traffic by the theater where the concert was held. Then, we spent another 15 minutes trying to find a parking space. By the time we were done, it was almost 2. We hurried and got a spot in line and soon afterwards, another one of my classmates showed up right behind us. We waited for a little bit, but it started to rain. :/ Then it got colder. Then it rained some more. Needless to say, the wait sucked. Luckily we were given bags of paper and a sample JRock CD. Plus, free Rockstars, which were ok. * I spilled most of mine trying to find a way to take a picture of the can and showing a poster to one of my friends XD* When it finally got to about 4, the line just broke loose and everyone rushed the door. It left me wondering: "What the hell was the purpose of the line?!" So, after migrating forward, they started to let people in. *Word of reminder: The "Jump the Line" wrist band doesn't do sh*t. Don't bother with it. :/* We all got in at the same time and made our way to the stage area.

We moved to the stage and it was only partially filled. We got fairly close, maybe about 2 rows from the bars. It was good. Here's the list of who played (courtesy of Shuu):

Oregon band with Tragedy in the name
D'espairsRay
Idiot Pilot
MUCC
The Underneath
Blessthefall
Atreyu
Avenged Sevenfold

Bullet for my Valentine didn't play b/c of the bassist's departure. I wanted to hear what they sounded like, but it didn't bother me b/c I didn't know them.

The Oregon band was the first to play. They played ok. The crowd wasn't too enthused, but it was catchy. Their music almost sounded familiar... Easily stated, I wasn't too into it. I was too busy looking at the D'espairsray banner slowly coming down in the background... XD

When D'espairsray took the stage, the crowd went crazy. Apparently, a lot of people at the concert were well aware of who they were, which made it awesome. What made it even awesomer was the fact that ZERO (ba) acknowledged me, not just once, but three times during the bands set! It made them that much cooler to me and made me want to start listening to them again.

Next was IdiotPilot. I can't really say if they were good b/c I was too busy trying to prevent myself from being crushed by the bastards in the crowd. Two of them were wearing Star Trek shirts plus, they were playing the techno effects off of an Apple Mac Book. .... NEXT please.

During IdiotPilot's set, MUCC was setting up there instruments. It helped take my mind off the awkward techno and the people elbowing me in the back. After they finished, MUCC took the stage. I went crazy. Screaming, yelling their names, waving and jumping. XD I wasn't too keen on the song names, but I did recognize Fuzz and Libra. Listening to it live was much better than listening to it on CD. During the songs, however, some chick threatened to elbow me if I didn't keep away from her *which I was confused about b/c she was 2 people away from me* and some guy tried to get me to mosh by kicking me several times. I looked over at him, then just turned back around and continued to listen. I figured "I've waited to see these guys live for a while now; I want to be able to enjoy every minute of it" The crowd, surprisingly enough, liked MUCC over D'espairsray. Or at least it seemed like it. They seemed to be more into it and seemed to know the words to their songs. It was an awesome set.

After they finished, I bailed to go buy some gear and get signatures from D'esray and MUCC. Shouta, who had been close by most of the time *this was our first US concert*, decided to follow b/c he was tired of getting shoved around. We stood in line and talked about the bands and what we thought of the concert so far. We agreed for the most part, so it was good. After buying the stuff, we headed over to the Ernie Ball booth to get D'esray to sign my towel. We shook hands and that was about it. It kind of seemed rushed, so it wasn't that enjoyable. :/

After that, we headed straight for the Rockstar booth to get signatures from MUCC. While we were in line, Arlden came out of the concert fairly pissed off. He was mad the he was all sweaty and had lost his hat. My response was : "Well.... what did you expect from a rock concert?" He was pretty much mad for the remainder of the concert. After finally reaching the booth, I had a small conversation with each of the band members. All were really polite, except for maybe Miya (gt), who looked like he didn't want to be there anymore. When I made it to Yuuke, I wasn't sure what to say *yeah... he's my fav. band member* so, I just asked if I could take his picture. He agreed and I said "thanks" a crap load of times. XD Tatsurou (vo) wanted to practice his English with me, but I wanted to practice my Japanese. It was a very awkward convo. XD

*Yukke*

*Tatsurou*

*Awesomeness that now resides on my wall XD*

After that whole ordeal, we headed back inside, just in time to catch the beginning of Atreyu. Their intro was the speech that Willy Wonka *the original* made when the group was going through the chocolate river tunnel. I was reminded of how much that movie had scarred me. o_o They played a good amount of songs, all really good. I had only heard a few of them before, but I was still really new to them, so I don't have any song names. :/ On the last song *Lip Gloss and Black, I think*, they got help singing the last part of the song from all the vocalists of the bands before them. It was purely awesome.

Finally, Avenged Sevenfold started *after a 15 min wait* They played: (Courtesy of Shuu again XD)

Critical Acclaim
Second Heartbeat
Afterlife
Beast And The Harlot
Scream
Seize The Day
Pantera (Cover w/ crowd member)
Bat Country
Almost Easy
NOFX cover
Gunslinger
Unholy Confessions

En:
A Little Piece Of Heaven

Words can't begin to describe how awesome their set was. This was the first time I had seen them live, so it was definitely a great experience. The crowd was insane. At times, it seemed more like a riot was going to happen than a mosh pit. XD

All in all, this concert was pretty good. We got home around 12:30am and I went to sleep at about 2am. *I couldn't get my ears to stop ringing XD* Today, my arm, neck, and jaw hurts. Plus, I have a major headache ><

Will I go to Taste of Chaos again? Well, I was partially deaf/ blind, dehydrated, starved, out of breath, and had an irregular heartbeat for the rest of the evening and day....

...yes. *Only if good bands are playing* XDDD

Anyways, that's my report. If anyone wants better pics, just ask.

I'll leave it at that. My head is seriously starting to hurt again. ><

Later.

桜コン 2008： 2日 と その他

*Final Event of the day*

After the first days event and looking over the schedule *yes... I did look over the schedule plenty of times* I concluded that there was really not much for me to see at the convention anymore. However, I was some how pulled back into going back to the convention and this is how my day turned out:

1. I woke up at 5am b/c I had to go to work at 6. I was opening Returns and I was not at all happy at the thought. What made matters worse was the fact that I only slept for an hour before I had to wake up again. Needless to say, I was very sleep deprived. *Especially after I had been trying to break my school insomnia for Spring Break* I didn't realize that the day was going to be much longer than I had planned...
   
   
2. After getting off of work at 2:30, I was asked by one of my classmates who was at the convention to get her some food when I head up there. I tried my best to find a way out of it, but eventually, I gave in. I did, however, say that I would be coming in late b/c I wanted some time to nap before another long drive to Seattle. At this point, certain things I'm over looking *the time and how much gas I had left* would have a great impact on the direction my day was going.
   
   
3. After sleeping for about 2 hours *really not enough time for a good nap*, I got up and headed up to Seattle for the convention. The time is now 5:30pm. As I was driving I looked at my gas gauge and noticed that I was really starting to run low on gas, but my stupid assumptions led me to think that there was a gas station in the city. ><
   
   
4. Most of the skits were actually good. While some were like "..... wtf just happened?", the parts I tolerated most showed at the start of the show. Needless to say, I did have some favorites. The one that I like the most was definitely this one: Watch me!. A Naruto Shippuden parody on the save Sasuke arc *currently showing now* Though it had some funny moments and a lot of fan girl junk I didn't really care about, the overlying message that Naruto bitches about Sasuke too much was what won me over.
   
   
5. After *amazingly enough* sitting through every skit, I figured it was time for me to head home. I didn't want to be in Seattle any longer and I was worrying about how much gas was left in my car. For those who know me, I don't take direction well and tend to get lost very easily. That's exactly what happened when I was trying to find the freeway exit out of the city. Normally, it wouldn't bother me, but I was low on gas and starting to panic a little. *Lesson I learned about cities: There are no gas stations in the city. Only at the city limits and outside of the downtown area* Apparently, I was a little too slow at realizing this and when I finally back tracked to the convention, I found that I had actually pass the Freeway entrance. ><
   
   
6. Finally! I found one. However... why the hell is it running so slow?! Apparently, the station was almost out of gas and was about to hit empty. It took 10 minutes to get to a gallon and a half. *I rounded it up to $6 before I called it quits and left* Luckily for me, my car was pretty good with gas and I made it a little bit more than 40 miles back home. *Yes, I got gas when I got back. A lesson learned about filling the gas tank before long drives XD* Of course, when I got home, I had received another call... [The time is now 11:30pm]
   
   
7. On the other end of the line was one of my co workers *clearly drunk* asking me come hang out with the rest of my co-workers for a bachelor party. At first, I was thinking about not going seeing as how it was really late, but I figured "... eh... what the hell." So I headed, back the way I came, to Tacoma. [Now midnight]
   
   
8. [Entire post opted out b/c of blurry memory and certain things I would like officials not to see XD]

In the end, I got home at 3am. ._____.

Needless to say, I have a light headache and a chest cold again :/

Sakura Con analysis: ★★★★☆

So until next time... またね

Oh... btw... 2 Months!!! XDD

桜コン 2008： １日

*... Snow... in March...? A sure sign of the end XD*

Well, not much has happened since my last post, but I'll go ahead and enlighten you:

• It snowed 3 times since my last post o_O
  
  
• I bought my plane ticket for Japan ^-^ *and at a much better price*
  
  
• I went to Sakura Con today. (More details below)

---

Ok. Well, I decided to go to Sakura Con *yes... it's an anime convention* b/c a certain someone wouldn't leave me alone about it till I said yes to going. In the end, I went. So here's what happened:

- I woke up at 5:30am this morning b/c I was thinking that I would have to wait in a horrifyingly long line in order to get my access badge for the convention *which started at 7am*. I shouldn't have been to surprised at the lack of people I saw that early in the morning. *Very little had come* It wasn't clicking that it was a Friday still XD So, I waited for the rest of the group to show *some of my classmates* since I had arrived earlier than anyone. *Even though I thought I was late XP*

- After everyone arrived, I went to go get my badge and saw where everyone really was. The Registration line was horrifyingly long. However, since I had pre-registered, I just had to jump into the short line, which was less than a minute really.

- Since we had arrived early, there was nothing that was really open, since everyone was still getting set up and it was still the first day. So we waited around till about 11 to really do anything.

Key points:

• Spent a good hour in the exhibition hall and the rest of the day just wandering around.
  
  
• Got to meet Dave from Snafu Comics *he was pretty cool*
  
  
• Saw some good and kind of eh.. cosplayers
  
  
• Watched some AMV's *out of pure boredom really*
  
  
• Saw a first press THE TREND KILLER from Sadie. I wanted it. It was damaged. I was mad.
  
  
• Wandered around the majority of the time *7am -3pm*
  

Not sure what else to write, so I'll just post some pics I took.

Exhibition Hall

My failed attempt at taking a picture of an AMV XD

Cool painting

View from the 3rd floor *mmmm... Gameworks... the only decent arcade in this state*

It started snowing.... again. -___-

Awesomest picture of the day. XD

---

The stuff I bought:

It was a misprint, but nothing seems to be wrong w/ it

XD

Who doesn't like a little Portal fun?

A closer look

---

Well, that's all I have for now. I may or may not go again to the convention tomorrow b/c of the lack of time I have, so this is basically it for now.

じゃね．．．