reunion with my old cram school friends

Last night, I reunited with my old cram school friends and went to see our old teachers.
We grew a lot but we were still who we were in the old days.
We had so much fun talking about the old days and our new lives.
We are looking forward to going skiing later this year.
I hope our friendship will last long.

Tsum tsum

 Always being a step behind the times, my first cell phone was given me after starting high school. And it is only today, that I have joined the large majority of Japanese citizens who carry around smartphone.

Upon entering university and joining the school orchestra, I was  confronted with the problem that everyone communicated with the green app called LINE. Groups were formed through it and all important announcements (about schedules and practice places, etc. )were sent through the particular media.

There is an au shop on the way to the station, and there being a large poster advertising student discount saying, "THREE MORE DAYS" has prompted my parents into thinking that now is the time to get me my new phone.
Just yesterday (while I was at classes), my parents went ahead to select the price plan, so that today when I went along too, there was only left me to decide which color I wanted. I chose pale gold.

A lot of today was spent in trying to figure out how to use my new smartphone. It was exasperating by how many IDs and passwords I was asked to create. Nevertheless, with the help of my older sister who has a 2.5 year experience with an iphone 4s, I can now use LINE, (as well as play the LINE game, Tsum Tsum)

I need coffee.

I haven't posted or even visited here for a  while so I was reading other people's posts earlier today. I was boiling water to make myself a cup of coffee at that time but I was too absorbed into reading them I forgot about the water.  when I realized I think I had been boiling it for at least 5 minutes or so... lol 

I actually ended up making myself 5-6 cups of coffee because I boiled too much water! but I think I will need more than one cup so it's good I have some extra:) since it's hot today and I want iced coffee, now I'm letting it cool. when the coffee is ready, I think I'm gonna get down to the book report. well this is why I need so much coffee.... :(

Keeping Household Accounts

Hello everyone! It's Umeka :)

As you might know I've been living alone in Tokyo since 2 months ago. I realized　by now how bad I am at managing money but I'm optimistic that I can learn how to do it right.

Therefore, I bought a household account book where I have to write down every single expense I make throughout the day.

It's pretty hard and bothersome sometimes but when I think about my future, keeping household accounts is important. Once making it a habit I'm pretty sure it won't be as bothersome as it is now :)

Living alone is sometimes hard and lonely but by taking over responsibilities of my own life I can make irreplaceable experiences. Above all, I realized how much I owe to my parents and I appreciate them for the comfortable environment they provided me.

(Sorry for the serious talk lol)

Horrible weekend

I'm actually very week and have to be extra careful and take care of my body more than other people. I get sick or faint very easily especially during, well it's not something to tell the whole world about and there being male audience as well I will keep it brief to lady issues. Lol
 Any ways because I was feeling faint I had to quit work early. My manager and the other workers were being very nice and said, "don't take it to hard! If you don't feel well you can go home." I'm very glad for that however, I just started and I don't want them to think I'm not useful or unreliable.
I was absent from school Friday for the same reason. Now I have so much to worry about! Classes I've missed, credits, trustworthyness at work! I think it's safe to say I had a horrible weekend.

plans for this weekend

Unfortunately, I caught a cold onThursday and it got worse because of the heavy rain yesterday.
I had hay fever recently, so it actually turned into a cold I guess.
So, I went to see a doctor to get some medicine.
I'm planning to meet my old cram school friends and teachers tonight, so I'm taking a rest right now.
I quit attending my club activity.
I won't have any plans tomorrow so I wish I could heal myself along with finishing my homework.
I've never been absent from school so far and I don't want to give up my record for that.
I'll try not to get sick anymore and be careful with germs and viruses.

Stanley Pickle

     A boy was satisfied with changing  the died into robot. However, he realized that's not always good after seeing another person's reaction towards a robot made from the died. Eventually, he comes to know to be sutisfied with what he has and can do.

Setting: A century ago, in a secluded area of The United Kingdom.
Point of view: The third person.
Conflict: A boy vs. himself.
Climax: He realized the end of the life.
Symbol: What he did is a symbol of reincurnation.
Irony: Because he lives with robots he becomes like robot.
Theme: Eternal life sutisfies nothing.

My part time job and wanting to speak Chinese

I started my training week of my part time job on Monday and started to take orders yeasterday! I made so many mistakes but the manager was so nice and encouraging. I'm so glad for that! I hear many times from my friends about how their last job had a really bad manger or how thier job now is really good only if the manger would change. At first my manager was being hard on me however at closing time he ask me directly so how do you feel about the job so far? And when I appologized about making so many mistakes that day he just encouraged me and gave me tips on how to do better the next time. I'm waitressing at an omlet restaurant for my part time job. I know it's not very special and no offense to waiters and waitresses, waitressing is a low quality job to me. However it is a part time job and it's not good to complain. Lol ! Well I will do my best and try not to make anymore mistakes. Any ways what I really wanted to talk about was, many Chinese come to my store. I am taking chinese as my second language studies however, I am no where near communication level yet.  So I will study hard and learn Chinese communication skills and vocabulary so that maybe one day at my job I can use it. Well so far it has been great! Please come if you like omlets come to my restraurant some time. Thanks!

Last Friday

As some of the guys are posting, I went to play soccer at Yoyogi park. We had a great time and I think we got closer to each other who came! This is a pic that Ume took. I was just about to do some tricks while the others were having a break.

We are definitely gonna do it again!!!!

Stanley Pickle

Main character: Stanley Pickle

Setting: A sunny plain in the states

Conflict: Stanley vs Himself

Theme: Have reality in your life

Irony: Stanley thought that making the bird alive in clockwise would make the girl happy but, she ran becoming frightened.

Symbol: The clockwise things(a world dominated by Stanley)

How old do I look? Feat. Joko Jamada

I am at McDonalds with Yoko! 

We were talking about college life and it's actually a lot of fun!

 We have many assignments left to do but we don't want to go home yet. 

Oh btw do you know the website 

where they analyse a picture of yours and predict your age. Well, I think its crap because it said I'm 32 lol Me and Yoko couldn't stop laughing!!! Maybe you try it, too.

My weekend:)

 On my weekend, I didn't do so much of things that are interesting, but here are some things that I did on my weekend.

 On Saturday, I tried to finish my school work which I didn't end up doing and I was just chilling and relaxing in my room.

 On Sunday, my friend and I went to do some workouts in Komazawa park, because I needed to lose some weight and be more fit. By my workouts, I felt like I need to do more of the workouts more often and try to be more fit and slimmer for myself. 

Watching "Stanley Pickle"

Characters: Stanley, mom, dad, and a girl

Setting: In a house and forest. His house is very robotic, he can make things alive by making them robotic.

Conflict: Stanley VS Himself 

Climax: He decided to bury his robotic parents in the ground and let them be free.

Symbols: mainspring, robot, house, forest, bird, parents, girl, human, death, life

Irony: His parents were dead.

Theme: You can't force creatures to survive and you sometime need to admit people's death.

Part time job

I started part time job from last week at tennis school. 

My job for now is to clean shower room and to do attendance registration of students.

Every one in the class is nice to me, so I'm enjoying working there.

There are a lot of things I have to remember, so I'll study hard!

Stanley Pickle

Main characters: Stanley Pickle and the Asian girl

Setting: Rural area

Conflict: Stanley couldn't make a girl happy with the mechanized bird

Symbols: the house is his past

Climax: when Stamley's parents stopped moving

Irony: Stanley's parents were dead

Theme: Enjoy life!

Up date on Saito Rie's run for Tokyo kita ward election

I was surprised to see the topic of my media discussion report being on tv. My media discussion report was about a deaf single mother, Saitou Rie, running for election for the Tokyo kida ward. The controversy was that being deaf she had to use writing on paper to communicate. In the laws for running for election you are not aloud  to use extra material specifically pamphlets and leaflets. Saito Rie's writing was argued that it is against the rule. My opinion was that we need to make it possible for semi disabled people as well. The reason why I say semi disabled is because people like Saitou Rie are disabled physically however are very active mentally and have just as much rights as anyone else. On TV they were showing how Saitou Rie's run for election was accepted and a new machine to help deaf people understand the debates. It is a new machine that types the words you say in a device on the big screen. Even with three or more people talking it shows what each person is saying in seperate paragraphs. I'm glad to know that tokyo city is respecting people like her and thinking of new ways to include peopl like her in the political world.

Ramen

This weekend I ate Chinese noodles (ラーメン) in a ramen restaurant for the first time in my life.
I've been always eating instant noodles. I've never had the courage to visit a ramen restaurant on my own. This weekend however I went there with some IE3 members. After playing soccer at Yoyogi park we decided to eat dinner together. I was pretty excited because usually I eat dinner all alone at home since I'm living by myself. To have company is a really good thing =) The soup was miso based and very delicious!　Next time I'd like to try another taste. 

bad habit

I always put off my homework, and begin it the day before the deadline. I often regret that I didn't do homework early, but I can't break this bad habit easily. A proverb says “Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.” I have to keep this saying in my mind.

Stanley Pickle

Main characters: Stanley Pickle, his parents, and mysterious girl.
Setting: location is countryside in England. Time is future.
Point of view: omniscient
Conflict: Stanley Pickle vs. himself

Symbol: outside of the house is a symbol of freedom. toys scattered in his room are symbols of his deep attachment to his happy childhood with his parents.

Irony: He can live a happy life with his parents, but they are dying.

Climax: Stanley Pickle's parents who was moved mechanically by spring stopped.

Theme: To lose valuable person is very bitter experience for everyone, but we have to come to terms with death.

Weekend

 On Friday, I played soccer with some ie classmates. It's been a while to play but I could move than I thought.  The next day, I went to Noborito to barbecue as one of the circle activities. When I talked to the person one on one basis, they're nice guys. However, once they go far, they behaved stupidly and really dirty. Of course, it's important to act friendly but that was not that kind of thing I thought. Yesterday, I worked for 10 hours to break two glasses. Probably because there were three groups, I was too carefree to break glasses. I felt really sorry for our chef. As usual, both lunch and dinner were delicious.

tomato soft serve

To tell the truth, I'm so bored right now with nothing to work on, so I'll just write this blog since I have another story to tell.

I had no class on 3rd period, so I tried a new flavor of soft serve which was tomato.

Before I tried this flavor, I had no idea how it would taste like.

When I checked my twitter account, I found a post from our university which was saying that the tomato soft serve would taste better if you mix it with vanilla.

So, I ordered the mixed one.

The tomato flavor tasted a bit salty than I thought which matched great with vanilla.

It had a very strange taste but I didn't dislike it.

The color was very pretty with light pink and white.

I didn't see anyone buying the tomato flavor but I think it's fun to discover new types of flavor.

I wonder what kind of unique flavor will come up next.

tsukemen

A new tsukemen restaurant called Bakudanya opened today near our university.
On my way to the university, I saw some staff members getting ready for the restaurant to open.
To tell the truth, I've never eaten tsukemen before, so I think it is a great chance for me to try tsukemen for the first time.
I wonder if there will be many people lining up so I'll just take a look and see later.
I might be going to write my comment on the tsukemen if I could try it.

Stanley Pickle

I made a draft for this blog entry on a windows memo pad but my computer automatically updated its OS....I wasn't even able to save the memo file!! I sometimes get frustrated working with computer. Well, I shouldn't bleat so much and I better get to my work.

Setting: Rural England, in an old house during the 60's or 70's
Conflict: Stanley can't accept death which is part of nature ( I thinks that's why he never goes outside)
Symbol: 1. The house symbolizes security and shelter
             2. The outside world symbolizes insecurity but also more options/possibilities
             3. The bird symbolizes freedom
Climax: The bird crying like a crow and chasing the girl
Irony: Stanley's parents have been dead for a long time
Theme: Accept death and go on with your life, otherwise you miss many opportunities to enjoy life.

Oh I don't know if you recognized it but the girl in the video clip is the same girl as in Clean Bandit's Rather Be music video! I knew I've seen her before!Just wanted to mention it :P

my favorite music

I love listening to music and singing.
Recently, I listen to Southern All Stars most of the time.
I've known this group for more than 10 years and I still love to hear their songs.
Also, they went to our university so I feel very close to them.
I really want to go on summer vacation and listen to their songs in an open car running along the ocean because their songs are mostly about summer and ocean.
I can't wait for summer.

Stanly Pickle

 Main Characters: Stanly Pickle, his "parents", and the mysterious girl.
Setting: A house in a rural area. (Perhaps the U.K.?)
Conflict: Stanly vs. Self
Theme: Enjoy life. You can't keep living in the past.
Irony: Stanly thinks that his "inventions" are normal and thinks that they can  satisfy him, but after meeting the mysterious girl, starts wondering about another way to enjoy life.
Symbol: the house represents Stanly's comfort zone, or past.  The forest out of the house represents a new world or the future which has yet to be explored.

My brother's band street live in Kawasaki

I've already posted on my LINE, Twitter and Facebook so many of you who have seen my post, thanks for following by the way lol, my find this redundant but I would like to talk about my brother's  band street live last night. Me and my sister live together here in Tokyo however, my brother's still  live in Nagano , my home town, with my mother. They came down to kawasaki to do a street live. They have been doing music since high school however, started playing as a band only for about a year. It was their first street live in Tokyo. Many people stopped to watch and they were able to sell 45CDs!! Pretty good for one night. Although I've seen them play and heard them practicing a gazillion times back home in Nagano every performance they keep getting better. I'm so proud of them! Their goal is to get signed and be able to have their music as a full time profession.  
After the show we went out for ramen lol it was the only place open at that time of night. It was nice to hang out with the family all together! Though we fight and get annoyed at each other from time to time I think we are all very close. I'm so glad to have brothers and sister like I do.

stanley pickel

Setting: Country side house, future/present 

Plot: Stanley who is the main character lives with his parents who are actually not alive. He has never been outside of his house but everything changes after meeting a mysterious girl. 

Conflict: Stanley falls in love with a mysterious girl but she never falls for him. 

Climax: Stanley stops his parents from moving by technology and puts them 

Irony: Stanleys parents were not alive. 

Symbol: the wood surrounding his house symbolises life/living. 

Theme: You can't always hold back to the past. 

Stanley Pickle short film

     At first I was a little repulsive toward this short film because it has some gory and strange scenes in it however, it does have some comicalness and enjoyable scenes in it as well. The main message of this short film however, has a deep meaning about freedom and life.
      The main character is a twenty year old man who lives with his parents in a house in the middle of a field. His parents are very robot like and this may surprise you in the beginning however, later on in the film it shows that they are artificially alive and run on a wind-up machine. They have a huge wind on their backs which the twenty year old man would have to wind to get them functioning again. That was one of the strange scenes because the parents start to malfunction like a breaking robot.
       One day the man sees a girl dancing around with her pet bird in the field. This girl came from the forest that was beyond the field. I think that the forest represents freedom and the field represents reality and life out side of the man's artificial world which is the house. One sad day the girl's pet bird dies and she comes out to the field to burry it. It just so happened that the man was watching this. After the girl leaves the man goes out of his house for the first time. At first he is hesitant and perhaps a little afraid. However, he reaches the grave spot and begins to dig up the dead bird. He takes it home and begins to "operate " on it. This is the gory scene where he cuts open the bird. He "fixes" it by replacing its heart and organs with wind up machinery. The next day when the girl comes to put flowers at the birds grave the man goes out to meet her. He is very shy however, presents the girl with the modified bird. He winds it up to show her but the girl screams in horror of the artificial bird and runs away! I think this is the climax of the film. The man realizes only then how fake and unreal his life was.
        The man goes home however, doesn't feel content like he used to. It didn't feel real. In the end his parents collapse and stop functioning all together. He then burries his parents and leaves the house. He goes off into the woods  toward a new future. I think this symbolizes freedom and new life.

Analysis on "The Fan and the Flower"

I apologize for how late this blog post is.

Anyway, "The Fan and the Flower" mainly takes place in and around an old woman's house, on the top of a hill. When this story takes place, however, is not exactly stated, though I can assume that it's when electric fans exist (20th or 21st Century?). The story is told in omniscient view, because we can hear the fan and flower's thoughts throughout their time together.

I can see two conflicts throughout the story, of which the first one was very minor; it didn't take long for the fan to win the flower's heart, apparently. The main conflict was the distance between the two and its consequences.

I think the climax happened when the fan decided that his life (?!) is a price worth paying for the survival of the flower and tore off the roof to allow rain to fall on the flower.

As for symbols, I think that the distance between the two can be interpreted as life's hardships summed up.

It could be said that the irony of the story was that even though the fan died physically, he (?) still lives on the flower, especially in the way she (?) blooms to commemorate him.

And so, I conclude that the theme of the story was that sacrifices are necessary for love.

Stanley Pickle

Main Characters: Stanley Pickle and the Asian girl

Setting: In a rural area, grassy land

Conflict: Stanley thinks he could impress the girl with his mechanized version of the bird, but failed to do so

Symbols: Forest is freedom, gears and machinery symbolizes artificial life

Climax: when the bird crashes onto the ground

Irony: Stanley thought his creations were great until denied by the girl

Theme: Not everything man-made is good

Stanley Pickle

Apparently, Stanley Pickle was a strange movie to me. His parents had clock work knob at their backs and their movements were very robotic. However, after watching the entire movie, I've realized that there is a deep meanig to it.

setting: present day in country side with grass field and woods

conflict: Stanley sees a girl but he can't get close to her easily

climax: Stanley's parents stopped moving

irony: Stanley's parents were actually dead

symbol: kiss symbolizes the end of the day

              woods symbolizes life

theme: Life goes on.

            We have to move on to the next step.

Hot day

Today is a hot day; but compared to the scorching heat of the Japanese summer, it's probably nothing. I just hope that summer this year is not as hot as the average summer.

One of my favorite tracks

Today, I would like to share what's currently one of my favorite tracks. It's by monocism, an indie duo that formed sometime in 2005 and released their debut in 2007. They clearly have influences from post-rock, ambient, and shoegaze. Their participation in a Portishead cover album and Sex Pistols' tribute clearly show their rich roots and creativity, and so I really wonder why this gem hasn't more fans. I have both of their albums, which are now hard to find.

What I really like about this song are its underlying, mantra-like motif that weaves through the entire track, the trippy rhythm of the drums, the dreamy vocals and lyrics, and the near-minute-long instrumental jam at the end.

Sometimes, I like the last part so much that I just repeat it over and over again.

What do you guys think?

The fan and the flower

    I've been busy with so many things recently I forget to write on the blog ! It's not good ! Anyways I'm a quite late but I will talk about the short film the fan and the flower. First the setting is in an old  lady's house top room sometime in present day. The main characters are the ceiling fan and the flower. At first the ceiling fan was lonely. However, one day the old lady bought a flower and set it in the same room as the fan. The fan immediately fell in love with the flower. He does everything he can to impress the flower. The flower did not like the fan at first however, eventually it falls for the persistent appeal of the fan. The fan and the flower start a romance however to their dismay they can not reach each other.   They try everything to reach other but cannot over come the distance. As the days and years go by the old lady becomes old and forgetful. Eventually she stops going to the top room all together. The fan gets old and dusty and the flower starts to wither from neglect of water. The climax, one rainy day as the flower draws close to its end the dusty worn fan musters up what little strength he had to fan once again in hopes to revive the wilting flower. At first he could not spin very much however, the more he thought about the flower the faster and stronger he could spin. He spun so fast that he breaks through the ceiling and flies away!He crashes a few miles away from the house and dies however, in doing so he made a whole in the roof where the rain could come in and revive the flower. The irony, the flower lives on sad that her beloved fan is no more but at the same time greatful for giving her life. Physically they were separated by distance, obstaciles of environment. But now the fan can be with the flower even closer in her heart.
     I think though it is a comical short film it has a deep and touching message about love and life. Like how someone you thought you would never be interested in becomes someone you can never live without. Love is so ironic and mysterious in that sort of way. The house and the distance symbolizes the environment and situations in life. Things may not go The way you want them to. However, the main message of this short film I believe is love knows no boundaries. If you love someone so much you would sacrifice anything for them. Love can overcome all and give life and happiness to others. Oh my gosh! I've written so much! I'm not sure if I'm making any sense or have a point but this is just my thoughts and what I felt watching the film. Thank you!

The fan and the flower

Settings: one old lady's house/the present day
Story: The fan and the plant in the pot felt in love, but the distance between them prevented them from being together. Two lovers tried to get closer, but didn't succeed. After the old lady left her house, the flower was dying. The fan spined faster and faster, and finally managed to break the ceiling and provide the flower with water. However, the fan itself died. A few days later, the strange flower whose petals are like fan blade was found.
Main characters: the fan and the flower
Conflict: the fan and the flower VS their destiny
Irony: the flower got looks like the fan
Symbol: the fan - self-sacrifice, the flower - love
Theme: devotion of life is the extreme type of love

The fan and the flower

I liked the music. I had to say it.
I thought it was a strange story. Is the fan in love with the flower? Does the flower think the fan is another flower?

From what I saw, it is a story about a boy who brang a plant home. The fan on the ceiling was trying to show the plant he is there. An flower bloom from the plant. Then it shows many flowers.The flower tries to touch the fan but almost fell.The boy then takes the plant and burries it outside.I think it is because the plant got too big.At the end the flower is shaped like the fan. I think this is the irony.

The fan and the flower

Setting: At the old women`s house in the present time.

Point of view: omniscient


Conflict: The fan and the flower vs the distance between them

Climax: When the fan flied through the ceiling

Symbol: Fan-motion / Flower-emotion

Irony: The love of self sacrifice

Theme: The joy of giving

Preparing for the climb

This weekend, from 23 to 24, I will go to Oze for activities of Aogaku Hiking club. We bought map, made the ration, and started to pack equipment in the rucksack. We already went to Mt. Takaosan for the welcome event, but this is first time to pass a day at mountain by using a tent. I can`t wait till this weekend! :)

so tired

I came home now.
After work last night, I went to meet one of my friends.
We had a lot of fun talking about various things.
I think playing out all night long is not a good thing, but I am now a university student,
I want to be permit a little.

Now, I will take a little rest, and get ready for class!

The Fan and the Flower

Setting: the top floor of the old woman's house, about in the 19's?
Point of view: Omniscient
Conflict: Fan and the flower vs obstacles
Climax: When the fan breaks the ceiling for the flower
Symbol: flower-life rain-life power?
Irony: There were various obstacles, but the two finally became one.
Theme: sometimes sacrifice is need for love.

work

I've been working up to now to make the curriculum for one of my student from cramming school
It takes so many hours.......i feel like it never end
too exhausted and stressful but then I have to work from 17:00 til 23:30 today as well.
teaching student and giving lessons are no problem.
but all other things drive me so crazy. They need to increase our salary more!!!

well, guess i should sleep
good night guys see ya

The Fan and The Flower

setting: an old woman's house back in to 1970's

point of view: omniscient

conflict: the fan and flower vs. space between them

symbols: fan=motion, flower=color, rain=obstacles of life

climax: the fan destroyed the ceiling to water the flower who was about to dry up completely

irony: the fan save the flower by sacrificing his life

theme: There are nothing more pure and beautiful than friendship

The fan and the flower

Setting: A spare room in an old lady's house.
Point of view: Omniscient
Conflict: Fan and the flower vs fact of the matter
Climax: The fan kills himself for the flower.
Symbol: lights, blades, dust, loneliness, love, liveliness, water
Irony: The potted plant being born again, looking like the fan.
Theme: Some can give themselves to help another.

Homework

 Since I got flu I don't sem to get it right whenever I do. So I'd like to take my own time especially doing homework. I almost forgot my duty, study. I'd like to meet my family in summer vacation with all credit.

Recent things:)

 Recently I have 2 good news and 1 bad news for my self.

 2 of the good news are that my dad is buying me the new MacBook gold. And he's also taking me to Hawaii(Oahu island and Hawaii island) in the Summer holiday. 

 1 of the bad news is that I'm gonna have to try really hard to lose my weight to achieve my dream goal. I wish I had nicer arms, legs, hips, and abs. And I wish I didn't have any cravings for food. I know that for most of the people, when you hear that I'm not wanting to eat any, it's crazy. It's not because I'm wanting to eat any, but I'd rather not eat much to achieve my dream goal than eat lot of junks and be more fat not being able to achieve my dream goal. 

 If anyone has any tips for losing weight healthily, please let me know:) Also, if anyone has any good recommendation for places in Oahu island and Hawaii island, please let me know:)

Watching the fan and the flower.

Main characters: The sealing fan and The plant

Setting: Tall building where old lady lives in

Conflict: The sealing fan vs The flower

Climax: The sealing fan got dusty and the plant died. But the fan killed himself to let her grow with the rain, because fan loves the flower so much.

Symbols: 3lights, 4shiny blades, lonely, love, sealing fan, plant, flower, old lady, house, new people

Irony: Fan-like flower was made.

Theme: She brought color to his life, he brought motion to her life.

recover

This week I didn't do something special.
I stayed home quietly to recover from my cold.
At home, I did most of my homework for this week.
I did the media discussion, classification essay from IE Writing, and read the book for the book report.
Now, I just have to prepare for the presentation from IE listening.
I'm thinking of doing it tomorrow afterschool.

At last, happily I finally recovered from my cold!!!!!
I'm very glad having been able to sleep good.

That is for today!

Eating

I love eating. Who doesn't!
I've been eating different kinds of hamburgers lately. I like Kuwaaina the most.

An infectious game

Recently, I've become interested in Left 4 Dead 2. Known as the sequel to the original Left 4 Dead, pitched as "the zombie apocalypse you can play with your friends", the game takes four players (or at least one player followed by bot players) through the Southeastern United States in a bid to find evacuation during a zombie apocalypse.

(Since there's plenty of graphic imagery in even just the opening cinematic, I'll leave it to y'all to find images and videos of the game. Obviously, it's not for the weak-hearted)

Almost everything about this game is awesome. The characters, for example, each have backstories and personalities that are revealed throughout the game. In fact, even the undead and the game environment seem to be well fleshed out; each map has its distinct atmosphere - thanks to area-specific music and exquisite lighting - and there are uncommon infected (e.g. riot police, hazmat suits) for each of them.

Another thing worth mentioning is the event director for the game. It's an embedded program that helps make each run through the game a different one through manipulating the map (i.e. changing the positions of the props and spawning hordes of infected). It really helps keep the game fresh, even in stagnant areas.

If anyone has the guts to try it out, the game's available on Amazon and Steam. We can play together sometime.

Pakistan

I heard the news that my father will go to Pakistan for two months this summer on business. I have an image that Pakistan is a dangerous country, so I'm anxious about him a little.

The Fan and the Flower

The Fan and the Flower

Main characters: a ceiling fan and a flower
Setting: In an old house on a little hill located in a village. It is in the present time during spring.
Point of view: Omniscient
Conflict: The fan and the flower vs the environment
Climax: When the fan was spinning so much that it came off the ceiling
Symbol: 1. The bird at the beginning of the video clip is a symbol for freedom
             2. The fan is a symbol of technology, or human created things
             3. The flower is a symbol of nature
             4. The dust is a symbol of death
Irony: The flower revived after the fan had gone away
Theme: sacrifice yourself for the loved ones

I thought it was very charming story. It was interesting how two completely different
objects ( flower and fan ) were illustrated with affections for each other. Maybe there is another way of how to interpret it than just regarding love.

the fan and the flower

main characters: ceiling fan and flower
setting: in the spare room of the old woman's house, present time
point of view: omniscient
conflict: ceiling fan and flower vs. situation
climax: the flower was reborn as the flower shaped like a ceiling fan
symbol: the beautiful color of flower is a symbol of love.
irony: the ceiling fan could save the flower, but ceiling fan was broken.
theme: if there is love, you can sacrifice yourself for someone.

Reunion at Shinjuku

Last night, I went to Shinjuku to reunite with the members of my old cram school.
There were many students from other universities and I made many friends there.
We played some games to get extra food.
Because most of us met each other for the first time, we had so much fun together.
I'm looking forward to joining upcoming events, too.

Minato Mirai Hall

Yesterday I went to Minato Mirai Hall for the spring concert of the orchestra.
I played the Carnival Overture by Dvorak, which was fun, and listened to the other songs played by my Senpais. Now I have to start studying...

I forgot to write about the climax for the Fan and the Flower, so I'll add it here.
 climax: the Fan "crashed through the roof and into the open sky."

Hakone

This weekend, I went for a trip to Hakone with my family.
There was a little possibility of eruption, but our trip ended safely. I'm glad to come back alive and see you guys tomorrow!
We enjoyed many things like making tombodama or so, but just sitting on back seat and look at the scenery flows from the window was the best. I really get relaxed.
And I found that I haven't spent enough time with my family since I entered the university because I had been in whirl of business. From now on, however busy I am, I'd like to have more time not only with my friends but with my family.

Racket

Today, I bought myself a new racket which I'll be using it for about 2years.
Since I'm gonna be using it for a long time, I had myself to consider which racket to pick for almost 3weeks. Even though I'm not being placed myself in a circle or club, I'm playing tennis at a tennis club which is about 20mins from my house. I had my life changed be a tennis coach/player there.
I'll talk about him next time (￣▽￣)

Good night everyone!!!

The fan and the flower

Main character: Fan, Flower
Setting: An old ladies house in the 1970's
Climax: The fan breaks the ceiling to give the flower some water from the rain.
Conflict: Fan, Flower vs The space between them
Symbol: Fan(motion), Flower(color)
Irony: The flower grows a petal like the fan
Theme: I(Fan) could die for you(flower).

coughed too much...?

On Tuesday night, I had this pain in my back and I went to see a doctor on Wednesday morning.
After taking a lot of exams, I got this result that one of my rib was cracked.
It hurts sooooo much and now I have to put the corset on and have to keep quiet.

Meeting friends from High School

Yesterday, I met some people from my high school times. One of them is going to study abroad in the USA for the next few years and her flight will be from Tokyo. So, yesterday she came all the way from Yamaguchi and we met to have a good time together before she leaves Japan. We walked around Shibuya and ate lunch.
Since I'm living by myself near Shibuya my friends took rest at my place. My room is very small but fortunately there　was enough space for everyone. I hope my friend is going to have a wonderful time in the USA. I'm sure she　will make precious experiences and I'm pretty jealous! :D

Oh and next week I wanted to go play soccer at Yoyogi park or somewhere else with people from this  IE core class! Maybe on Friday?? I found out that there are many people who like playing soccer, so I thought why not? It would be so fun to hang out and we could also eat dinner together :)

Umeka

The Fan and the Flower

We watched a short film called "The Fan and the Flower" in class.
The main characters are the fan and the flower as the title mentions.
The fan has three light bulbs and four wings. He is very lonely until the flower is located in his room. The fan attracts the flower and become its friend and they spend their time to reach out toward each other.

setting: The time period is present but the house stands in a country side.
conflict: The fan and the flower cannot reach each other.
climax: When the fan moves its wings as fast as possible and blows itself off the ceiling and creates a hole there.
irony: The flower on the ground near the house looks like the fan.
symbol: The fan symbolizes motion. The flower symbolizes color. The rain symbolizes life.
theme: Friendship can last forever.

the fan and the flower

The basic story of this video is simply about the love of the fan and the flower.
They want to be close to each other, but it doesn't go well.

Main characters: the fan and the flower

Setting: In an old lady's house. At the end of 1900s.(?)

Conflict: The fan and the flower  VS  distance

Climax: Where the fan broke the roof of the house and blew away.

Irony: Since the fan loved the flower, the fan saved the flower, but the fan broke, and they couldn't see each other again.

Symbol: The darkness of the room is the symbol of the distance of their love and their loneliness.
               The rain symbolizes the sadness?

Theme: Love sometimes needs sacrifice.

book report

Today I finally finished reading the book "the notebook." I personally liked the plot a lot and the ending. The reason why I liked it was because it wasn't just like those ordinary love stories where they end up together with no conflict left. Also, this story let the reader imagine what had happened to these two main characters half way through the story because it was not explained and I was able to freely imagine how these characters ended in the future.
The novel started off with Noah who is the main character reading his notebook. At first I did not understand what was happening but when it came closer to the end I figured out that Noah was reading it to his love Allie. Noah is reading to her about their love story because she has forgotten everything about herself, her life and her lover. Allie thinks that it is a story of different lovers and listens every time. And the story goes on...
What I especially liked about this novel is how the main character Noah was so into Allie and never let her go even if she had an illness that caused her to forget him. It let me reflect about how I should be treating my friends and family and people who are important to me.

fan and the flower

The animation we watched during class was called "The fan and the flower." It was about the fan and the flower that is the main characters falling in love with one and another. This was set inside the house and is probably happening in the present. The animation is talked from the omniscients point of view because the feelings of the fan and the flower can be known from the speaker.

The conflict in this story is that the fan and flower can never be together because they cannot move no matter how hard they try. And also, the house keeper forgets to give water to the flower so it starts to die and the fan tries its best to help but it did not work. In the climax, the fan spins as fast as it can and breaks the roof that was stuck to itself. By breaking the roof the rain was poured onto the flower. From this the flower was able to bloom and it bloomed to be a flower which looks and spins just like the flowers lover.

The few symbols I picked up were, the flower which could symbolise love and wealth where the fan could be symbolised as illusion. The theme the author could have been trying to tell the reader is to do whatever you can for someone you truly love.

THE FAN AND THE FLOWER

Main characters: the fan, the flower and the old lady.

Setting: In late twenties, in a suburban area.

Point of view: omniscient.

Conflict: the fan(the flower) vs. situation.

Climax: both the fan and the flower end up being reincarnated as a fan-shaped flower.

Symbol: the fan is a symbol of positiveness.

Irony: the fan and the flower couldn't reach each other but end up being one thing.

Theme: love overcomes everything.

The Fan and the Flower

1. Main Characters: the fan, the flower and the old lady.
2. Setting: A small house of an old lady, some few decades ago.
3. Conflict: Fan vs. self, Fan vs.
4. Symbols: Empty room --> loneliness of fan. Green petal --> life, hope, new beginning.
5. Irony: Fan loved Flower but by saving her could never be with her again.  
6. Theme: Truly loving someone means being willing to give up everything for that person.

Writing my paper

Whilst writing my paper for Ms. Gomez's class, I suddenly remembered that I hadn't written a actual, real English paper since I left the States. The last time I wrote a paper was probably in my English literature class during my freshman year in high school. Gee, time flies doesn't it?

New camera

In a few days, I will be receiving my uncle's old camera, which he doesn't use anymore. the camera is a "Canon EOS 7s". It is one of the last cameras made in Japan that uses film.

I am very excited to receive my new camera!

Photo taken from: http://photo.kororo.jp/camera/img/7s_3.jpg

Literary analysis on "The Fan and the Flower"

Main Characters: The fan, the flower, and the old lady.

Setting: In a two story house; possibly in a rural area.

Conflict: There are two conflicts; one is that the fan loves the flower and struggles to get her attention, and the other one is how the fan and the flower want to get closer to each other, but cannot accomplish it.

Symbols: The fan symbolizes movement, and the flower symbolizes color.

Climax: When the fan overspeeds and breaks a hole in the roof; allowing rain to pour onto the flowerpot.

Irony: The irony is how the flower didn't mind or even care about the fan at first; but after they fell in love, they tried doing everything to get closer to each other. Hence, the irony is how the plot was completely flipped-around.

Theme: Love can give you strength beyond what you think you can do.

My dance circle's spring camp

After going back and forth and taking forever to decide I joined a dance circle outside of my own school. I tried out Aoyama Gakuin's dance circle as well and though they were amazing my heart went towards WUB. WUB is Waseda University's official dance circle however, almost half the members are from other universities. They call this a " inkare " circle which I believe means inter college. I'm sorry if I'm wrong ha! I went to the spring camp last weekend. It so much fun! I hadn't been dancing for a while so it felt so good to dance again! We had lessons and try out work shops of each genre in the day time and at night we would have DJ time and dance battles. I didn't enter in the dance battle however, watching the senpais battle made me want work harder and maybe battle sometime too. For those of you who don't know what a dance battle is I will explain. There are two teams on either side. As the DJ plays a random track of songs each person from the teams have to dance free style to whatever song is playing. One person must dance about 30 seconds each. Basically it is a dance show off. I have been dancing for four years now however, I do not have the confidence to battle. I am hoping that in WUB I can find my own style and be confident to battle. And although I am a hip hop dancer I have always wanted to do wack. Wack is a funk genre. In WUB I decided to join the wack genre in stead of hip hop. It's so foreign to me but I hope to become a good wack dancer as well.

late night thoughts

I went to work today. I haven't taught anyone for like 3 weeks for some reason,  so I was nervous again. also this was my first time to teach two students at the same time. I'm basically really bad at talking to younger people than I am, I just don't feel comfortable around them, and today it bothered me a lot. I was supposed to talk about some random stuff with the students so that they don't get too bored in the class, but I just couldn't do it... i kept on explaining and checking their answers the whole time... if I was a student, I would hate me so bad. I can't believe I did that. it's only my third time teaching, but I'm already feeling like teaching is not my thing.. :(((( 

I wanna quite the job, but at the same time I don't wanna quit, because I think I will learn a lot things from it. "Oshieru koto ha manabu koto" , right?!

tomorrow I will have a class again so this time I will try harder to get along with the studnet.

evil rain

I hate rainy days. They ruin everything. 

The heavy ones are even worse since they make us think that we might not have school the next day. Also, my sneakers aren't waterproof, so I can only wear flipflops on warm rainy days. 

It is too warm to wear uggs now. I love going outside on a warm sunny day with breeze.

Sunlight gives me energy to survive each day.

I don't want to hear any roars of stormy winds hitting windows. They scare me a lot. 

I hope I get to see the sun as soon as I can. I can't wait to enjoy sunny days in our campus.

(:

It's been a month since entering university.

At first, I was terrified. 

I'm not used to seeing a lot of people except from going to lives and concerts.

For the last two years of high school I've always been taught man-to-man.

I've hardly ever been in a proper classroom with classmates.

I only had like, one lesson a week.

But now,  there's millions of people around. Like, totally everywhere.

I wasn't sure I was going to be able to get used to it. 

But now,  I quite like the atmosphere and the fact that there are a lot of people.

And I'm blessed with having great people around me.

Musicmusicmusic.

Good morning.


I thought I'd introduce some of my favorite Japanese bands.


•Aobouzu

•Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas

•SiM

•The Masmisiles

•EGG BRAIN

There are loads more, but the bands that popped into my mind right now are the ones above.


Hope everyone has a good day.(:

Book report

I'm still working on finishing my book but were we supposed to finish it up by today? If so, I'll be in trouble 

Hope not:( 

Well, let's wait and see what's gonna happen 

again

I got a cold again. It's my second time this year. I thought I overcane with my first cold and no sooner I was relieaved I got my second cold. Moreover, my second cold is worse.
I couldn't sleep last last night because my cough didn't stop, and I couldn't sleep last night,
because my lung pained so much. I absent the school yesterday, ad went to see the doctor. He gave me medicine, but it doesn't seem to be working.
I wondered going to school today, but since I did the assignment, I decided to go.

See you later.

5/5

On May 5th, I went to my grandmother's house and met with my cousins.
There were two of my cousins. One is Gr.12 and the other is Gr.8.
The one in Gr.8 is a boy, and he is in the basketball club so he is really growing right now.
He is now taller than me, and since he was lower than me the last time I saw him, I was a little bit shocked.
We didn't do anything special. We just talked about our lives in the new environment.
I especially got excited in talking about my junior high school, because my cousin in Gr.8 and my sister and I went to the same junior high school.
We talked which teacher is the best or which teacher is not good and it was really fun.

Oktapodi

I thought it was a cute story .
It is a story about a octopus couple that is happy together. The man from the octopus butcher shop tries to take the pink octopus away. The orange octopus goes out to save the pink octopus. It has a small action where the orange octopus fights with the butcher guy in a truck. The orange octopus manages to save the pink octopus but ends up being caught by a bird. The pink octopus slings out to save the orange octopus making the viewers think it will continue.

Feeling sick

I've been feeling really bad today. I think I caught a cold because of the thin clothes i've been wearing yesterday. I hate gaging .

Analysis on Oktapodi

Oktapodi is, stripped down, a story about two lovestruck octopuses, a pink one and an orange one (the title seems to be the Greek word for "octopus"), as well as a cook. It takes place in a small Greek village by the sea during the day, although the camera starts rolling in the sea.

 That's where the two octopuses are captured. The pink one is taken away by the cook, and the orange octopus chases after him; if it's not clear already, it's a conflict between the octopuses and the stubborn cook. I think the story arrives at its climax when the two octopuses unite and attempt to escape to the sea together. Yet, right when the cook crashes into the sea and the octopuses stop for a breather, a seagull attacks the orange octopus and takes IT away. The irony is clear here.

The two octopuses are a symbol of strong love, which sets up a premise for the orange octopus' gallant pursuit of the cook, as well as for the pink one's makeshift catapult. I think the theme/motif was, similarly, "Love conquers all".

reading Taco Bell blog

As I live in Shibuya, I have already heard the news of new-made Taco Bell, though I didn't have a mind to enter  because of way too people waiting outside.
I had lunch or dinner at Taco Bell several times when I went to a trip to Hawaii. My family loved it,
but I wasen't so much interested in Taco Bell.
But now, I really want to go Taco Bell because of  the blog!
I'm thinking of asking some of you to have dinner at Taco Bell soon:)
Anyone whose interested, talk to me!!

Oktapodi

Oktapodi.

The basic plot :

Two octopuses in love trying to concur happenings to be together.

The main character(s) :

The two octopuses.

Setting :

Santorini Island, Greece. In the morning.

Conflict :

One of the octopus being taken away by the man.

Climax :

The man in the truck falling in to the sea.

Irony :

Just when the two octopuses thought they could be together again, 

the bird latches one of the octopus. 

Symbol :

The octopuses, symbolizing people in love.

The man and the bird, symbolizing obstacles. 

Theme : 

There may be many troubles and obstacles, 

but with strong feelings for the another 

you'll be able to get over them.

♡♡♡

Welcoming camp at Yamanashi.

I participated in a welcoming camp for freshmen held by AFW last Saturday and Sunday.

At first, I was really scared that I wasn't able to talk to anybody.
But all those worries disappeared the moment we arrived to Yamaguchi-ko.

I was able to communicate with a lot new people, and I was also able to discover new types of music which i would've never listened to if I wasn't recommended to.

It was an amazing experience and we were blessed with sunny weather.

Though it was only 2 days, it was something I won't be able to forget.

* AFW - Aoyama Folk Ways. 

New joy camp in Elle!!!!

 

 

After Golden week, Iwent to a New joy camp in my circle Elle for two days.

Expressing it in one word, it was reallllllly exciting! I made a lot of new friends.

Every of them are nice and kind, and I know we can be good friends.

 

We played tennis for only a short time (!), though it was a very fun time for me.

The location was fantastic too. (Mt. Fuji!!!)

Ryosuke joins the same circle, so I want him to come the next summer camp!

 

 

Golden Week

 

As I wrote in the blog in the past, I borrowed some movies during Goldenweek.

One of my favorite animation movie from studio Ghibli, is “Princess Mononoke.”

I love the music and the beautiful nature background, and I never get bored watching studio Ghibli movies even watching so many times.

Ofcourse, I really got moved watching Princess Mononoke this time too.

After finish watching the movie, I couldn’t move for a while!

 

Oktapodi film

This is a story about two octopuses who are in love. One day one octopus was took away to be cooked, and they help each other to be together again.

The main characters are the two octopuses, and a person who tries to take away the octopus.

 

Literary terms

 

The setting

It takes place in Greek, daytime (from the beautiful white wall house), 2007.

 

The conflict

Two octopuses vs. one person

(Lovers and who tries to break it)

 

The climax

When the female octopus tries to help the male octopus which was taken away by the bird.

 

The symbol

The octopuses are the symbol of strong love.

 

The irony

An obstacle appears one after another, but the two of them defeats every of them.

 

The theme

We can’t separate people (animals?) who love each other.

 

It was a lovely film. I love it.

Watching the Oktapodi.

 Main characters: Pink octopus, Orange octopus, human, and bird 

 The basic story/Setting: There were pink octopus and orange octopus in the fish tank. But the human took the pink one and put it on a truck. So the orange one imagined that the pink one is gonna be chopped and cooked. The orange one went to save the pink one. And after the conflict, the human focused too much on trying to get the two octopus that he ends up falling in ocean. However, the orange one gets taken by the bird and pink one tries to catch it back.

Oktapodi

The basic story of this video is...
First the two octopuses, the orange and the pink is in love with each other,
but they were separated by the chef. The orange octopus tries to save the pink octopus and
chased the truck. At the end, the chef were thrown into the sea, and the two octopuses were  saved, but then a sea bird took the orange octopus away.

The main character is the orange and pink octopus.

Setting is I think in the morning because the chef needs the octopus before his store opens, and it is in a town near the ocean.

Conflict is octopuses vs person

Climax is where the chef and the truck were thrown away to the sea.

Symbol: The sea is the symbol of a place where you can be safe or a shelter.

Irony is that after the octopus were saved by the chef, th sea bird took the orange octopus, which means there were an opponent one after an another.

Theme is that don't cling onto such little thing or yu will be in more trouble.

About my book report:)

 For my book report, I read "The Fault In Our Stars". And I've already finished reading my book.

 It was really nice book. They are not just a love story, but also contains life lessons and many quotes that helps teenagers with their life when they are struggling. I actually have a DVD at home with me. And the movie was actually super good too.

 I hope to write a good book report real soon!:)

Recent things:)

 I recently quit my work at Hollister.Co Tokyo Bay for several reasons.

 First of all, the image and purpose of the brand totally changed. They basically changed the hiring policy and he brand image. They now call the models as "brand representatives" and impact associates as "stock associates". They even stopped using sexual image or shirtless lifeguards on greetings or on their shopping bag. Also, they now allow associates to have more unnatural look such as allowing them to put eyelash extensions, allowing them to put more make up on such as eyeliner or eyeshadow, and allowing them to have more lighter dyed hair. And because they are not my thing, I quit working there.

(Link down below for more informations!)

http://www.bustle.com/articles/78656-abercrombie-fitch-changes-hiring-policy-loosens-dress-code-and-ditches-those-naked-models

http://www.cnbc.com/id/102617924

 Secondly, their designs and materials of clothes got so much worse even though they didn't change the price at all. Which made me feel like I would rather work in another surf brand like Roxy or Hurley.

 Lastly and most importantly, I wanted to dream bigger and try something new on my model career. So far, I'm planning on auditions held in May and August. 

 Therefore, I quit my work at Hollister.Co Tokyo Bay. I'm not trying to offend this brand or telling people not to shop there, but this was just my personal opinion:)

My most favorite super-cheap Japanese food

ALL THIS FOOD FOR 650 YEN


THAT'S 1 KILOGRAM OF NOODLES RIGHT THERE

Having our dinner at Taco Bell

Today, we went to Taco Bell for dinner. And the tacos was very big, larger than I thought. It was American sized! We waited quite a long time about 40 or 50 minutes, but it was very fun time eating and having a chitchat.

5/3

On May 3rd, I went to Matsudo with my Senpai from my part time job.
We borrowed a gym and played badminton, vollyball, and basketball.
Since I had played badminton in high school, it was very fun, but in basketball, I was just standing. In volleyball, we did a tournament. My team came in second. I was scared of missing the serve but fortunatelly I didn't.
After the gym, we went for dinner. All of my Senpai were drinking alcohol, and some of the first graders were too, but I didn't because I am weak at alcohol.

After all, it was a very fascinating day for me.

Oktapodi

Main characters: orange male octopas and pink female octopas.

Plot: 2 octopuses are loving each other really deeply in a water tank, but a man catches the pink octopas to transfar to the restaurant or somewhere, so the couple of octopas is separeted. The orange octopas really worried if the pink one will be chopped down for meal, so he chases the car which the man drives to rescue. It seems to like it succeed, but the man catched both of them again, the orange one is also trying to get out and at the same time the car fall into the sea, so it finally ends I thought, but this time a bird came and took the orange one away.

Setting: Greek/during the day time

Conflict: A couple of octopas vs. a fisherman

Climax: The pink octopas probably jumpes and hits a bird to rescue the orange one

Symbol: Octopuses, ocean

Irony: When one problem settled one more problem begins

Theme: People sometimes face a problem again and again, but give it a go, try to face it, this would be the way to achive something.



Good night everyone!