Am back from Japan, considerably poorer (one example of the completely useless things my money went towards: SOLAR-POWERED PIKACHU BOBBLEHEAD. IT IS QUITE AWESOME, YES IT IS.) and more mosquito-bitten than I'd like, but also very happy I got to travel this summer. ♥

( Labor Day is not exactly the best name for a holiday )

A couple of days ago, I went out for a friend's birthday dinner at some fancy-schmancy French restaurant near the beach, and while the food was mediocre and overpriced, what got me mad was the way one extremely rude female patron treated us in the women's room.

( Warning: TL;DR semi-rant ahead! )

I feel better having summarized my feelings on that, haha. And I will be even happier tomorrow when I eat more eggplant with rice for lunch. ♥

current mood: relieved
currently listening to: ホログラム - NICO Touches the Walls

Am in between my 5th night & 5th morning in Japanland, and have concluded that:

1) Japan is a ridiculously expensive consumer society;

2) The cicadas here are almost deafening during the daytime, and at night the grasshoppers (and motorcycle gangs) take over;

3) HUMIDITY SUCKS. I am unused to such weather! D:

4) The food, however, is so so so so good. I could live here just eating my way around to random little cafes and going to combinis to try every single bottled drink this country can come up with.

5) The service at stores is absolutely superb. Of course I don't understand most of what the waitresses and store attendants are saying, but I find myself bowing slightly back to them everytime they finish a sentence.

( Other Random Observations, Some of Which May or May Not Be Arashi-Related )

Now for sleep, and then my first time on the train alone tomorrow :D

current mood: bouncy
currently listening to: Ruby Blue - Roisin Murphy

I AM SICK. AGAIN. My "sick like shit" tag is getting way too many uses... I nearly coughed in the middle of playing piano for "Who Will Love Me As I Am?" during last night's show, but I just held my breath and coughed my lungs out when people were applauding for the song.

We had a pretty decent audience yesterday for our musical theatre revue; hopefully tonight's show will be full(er). Then it'll be back to a cappella training and hopefully, composing. You know, what with me being a music composition major and all. Although I do have a new piano & violin song to learn for my studio lessons, so I should get cracking on that, too.

Since tomorrow is the start of the Lunar New Year and I haven't seen my parents in almost a month, they've decided to drop by and deliver Chinese new year to my dorm :) I'm so excited for boba and beef with rice and fried noodles and Calpis water, ZOMG ♥!

current mood: UGHHHH stupid cough go awayyyy
currently listening to: Come Back to Me - Utada Hikaru

There is just about a week until school starts up again. Though I'll be glad for something to do, I know my laidback and almost welcoming attitude towards work is going to flip 180 degrees and I'll be stressing out over a pile of stuff to do by the end of week 2, haha. I just signed up for a placement test in Chinese, but I don't think I'd be able to fit a class into my schedule this quarter. Hopefully the test results will carry over to later quarters so I can brush up on my continually atrophying Mandarin skills.

It's kind of hard to believe that two weeks have gone by already, though. Christmas week was a blur of running around at different malls trying to find last-minute gifts (which, essentially, were ALL the gifts) and then wrapping presents (at one point for nearly 4 hours straight with mom). The week before that was hanging out with friends after coming back from Seoul...and generally not sleeping at normal hours. Though I did get to see Straight No Chaser perform live in this tiny, really artsy little venue and got them to sign my copy of their holiday CD :D (Straight No Chaser is an a cappella group, so their sound in small arenas is AMAZING. Also, their ticket to fame - a comedic arrangement of "12 Days of Christmas," as viewable here. /end random artist promotion)

( A Pic and a Meme )

current mood: cold
currently listening to: 12 Days of Christmas - Straight No Chaser

I was all set to make a AGHHHH post about Summer 2009, but then I thought:

- I'm off today (Veterans' Day) and am going to get dim-sum
- Not going to NYC next year means I can save money...to go somewhere else
- I don't have any homework due within the next 24 hours or so
- I am making progress with my room's walls (progress being defined as slowly covering all reachable areas with Arashi and other interesting things)

I'm making a more conscious effort to not be angsty all the time, especially when I don't like hearing other people complain for the sake of complaining and sounding worse off than everyone else around them.

( For Those Interested in My Would-Have-Been Angst )

So, happy thoughts!
( Picture-Heavy Recap )

current mood: cold
currently listening to: Swing! - V6