~LaB_RaT~

Its official.

The Day of Reckoning is at Hand.

Armageddon has hit Vancouver.

2 weeks, it was raining so hard the sewers overflowed and our water became contaminated. As a result, we’ve been drinking bottled water for the past two weeks now.

Oh yes, and before i forget. There was soooo much rain, a pipe in my apartment building burst. There was a leak in my apartment that killed the electricity in 2 rooms… the living/TV room and computer room. Yeaaaaah. Try surviving a weekend with no TV and no internet. You can’t go out because its raining cats and dogs, and there’s water dripping from your walls.

If you think THAT is bad…. it gets worse.

IT STARTED SNOWING. ITS BEEN SNOWING FOR 2 DAYS.

Snow in Vancouver, is not all that uncommon. But it doesn’t usually snow till January. Its a liiiiiiittle early for snow… for so much snow anyways.

Damn Damn Damn.

What is it with me and freak snow storms?? First Japan, when i was there last year and now Vancouver this year. You may now officially call me Yuki Hime -_-"

Six months? Six months have flown by??

This brings me to my next question…

What the hell have i been doing for the past 6 months?

Its disturbing how time flies, i only have about 6 weeks  left in Japan and then i go back to the real world. Noooooo~!!! I dont want to grow up! I want to stay in Hello Kitty Land forever!!! Yeah, i think in some ways Japan is a little like Never Never Land. Its a world unto itself, fascinating and at the same time… frustrating. Its a love-hate relationship.

Its strangely quiet now. I had Michelle and Sylvia visit me for about 2 weeks. They stayed with me and my host family and now that they’ve gone back to the real world, the house is strangely… silent.

Oh the mayhem and the chaos hehehe. Twas fun though. The 2 weeks they were here, it was like a Cake tour of Japan/ Food fest. I don’t think I’ve ever had so much cake in such a short period of time.

(From Left) Chocolate Mousse Cake, Green Tea Mousse Cake, Tea Mousse Cake. One of the best cake shops in Japan. "Harbs" Umeda-Osaka.

Yes, back to blogging… and for some odd reason. They (Michelle and Sylvia) call me [Hime]= Princess… hehehe. (^-^)

And they call themselves my Ninjas. Michelle = Ninja 1. Sylvia = Ninja 2.

Me (Hime) with Ninja 1 (Michelle)

Me (Hime) with Ninja 2 (Sylvia)

Here we are at Arima Hot Springs, Ryusenkaku Ryokan.

To be really random… I love Japanese Hot Springs. I also really love Ryokans (traditional Japanese Inns). Want God treatment? I recommend Ryokans… smaller, less commercial ones. The bigger ones are like hotels, not quite as welcoming as the smaller ones.

A totally relaxing experience but i wouldn’t recommend staying at the hotsprings for more than 2 days because there are only 2 things to do. 1) Bathe in the hotsprings multiple times… as many times as possible. 2) eat and keep eating. Other than that, there isn’t much to do and you would probably go crazy if you had to do that for more than 2 days.

Ahhh, i miss my Ninjas~!

JUST MY LUCK….

I decided to study in Kansai for a number of reasons… one of which is the relatively MILD winters… so they say.

Of course, this year had to be a record breaking low in temperature.

And of course, this year also has to be the record high for snow where i live.

yeeees. I know white winters are all very nice and pretty. Thats only when you do not have to climb up a bloody mountain to get to school. And of course it cant just snow during the last week of school, it has to start snowing ON THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL. Just a reminder that someone up there has a very warped sense of humor.

You know, its been a long semester, winter hols are here. Its bloody cold but its not that big of a deal. Its the last day of school and just when you think you can face one more day of school, you wake up and look out your window only to find…

There is a Bloody Blizzard going on.

And then! You reluctantly and painfully inch your way out of bed because Japan has not discovered the joys of central heating as of yet.

only to find out that the buses have ceased to run because of 2 inches of snow.

so you trek to the train station in hopes of finding a taxi. After waiting in line for about 45 mins, you learn that…

the taxis have ALSO ceased running.

Here is a city that SHUTS DOWN when there is 2 inches of snow. There are no snow clearing machines, or at least i havent seen any. The sun came up and the snow melted. The sun disappeared and guess what?! The snow has turned　to…

Ice.

My day just keeps getting better.

Because i am in school now, hiding away from the ice and the snow…

I have to slide my way down the mountain to get back home.

hooorah. yippee. yippee… yah.. yay…

Yeap, the Gods are Against me.

It was early early this morning, me being the perpetual insomniac that i am tried to find interesting ways to bore myself to sleep. I ended up playing a Japanese word game in hopes of falling asleep- didn’t work. It did bore me after about an hour or so but i did end up expanding my Japanese vocabulary a bit.

My favorite word for the day: Nurenezumi = "Drowned Rat."

I am not kidding, i found it in the dictionary… the example given in the dictionary: nurenezumi no you ni nattte. (=to become a drowned rat/ to look like a drowned rat.) Yesss… i wonder how many times i’ll use that one. Let me see…

Example: There was a tsunami and now everyone looks like a drowned rat…

Example: Hahaha, you got caught in the rain, you look like a drowned rat.

ok, enough with the drowned rats. I also learned some other interesting words like "swamp" = numa, "Slime" = numeri, "cloth" = nuno, "eavesdropping" = nusumigiki, "snuggly" = nukunuku to…. hmmm… i’m seeing a pattern here….

Think of all the interesting sentences you could come up with, the possibilities are boundless ^-^

Example: The drowned rat was wrapped snuggly in the slimy cloth. (Nurenezumi ha numeri no nuno ni nukunuku to tsutsundeita.)

Nurenezumi has such a nice ring to it. Its even got 5 syllables so it can be used in Haiku (5-7-5).

Numa de shine. Nuno ni tsutsunda  Nurenezumi.

Direct translation: Go die in the Swamp, wrapped in a cloth drowned rat.

Who knows, that could become the new ode to bastard boyfriends/men. I think I’ll include my little master piece the next time i write someone a dear john letter. It has so much angst… you stink so Go die in the swamp… you drowned rat (I haven’t seen a wet rat that looked particularly pretty, have you?)

Who would have thought learning a new language and poetry could be so much fun?

No, I don’t think I’m in love, I know I’m in Love.

Did I mention that I love Japan?

So far, its been just about 2 months and I’m getting the hang of things. Ok, so I’m not on a first name basis with the Starbuck’s Staff yet… then again, i have made friends with the bartenders at the Irish pub. ^-^ That is also a good thing.

I’ve never spent so much time in a pub… i’m not too sure if thats a good thing but the bartenders be cute and ever so polite. hehehe.

Another thing I’ve been doing so often… clubbing. I don’t think I’ve clubbed so much before. Yes, there are places to club in Japan and no, its not as expensive as you might think. My friends brought me to a club with Nomihodai (roughly translates into alcohol buffet)… All you can drink all night for about $30.

But since i sprained my knee last week… i don’t think I’ll be clubbing very much for a while… not unless i went in a wheel chair…. -_-"

I usually love walking to school but because of my knee, the hike up the mountain to school is not a good thing. But its a good thing the trains are ALWAYS on time.

I love how i come all the way to Japan, only to hang out with a bunch of Europeans ^-^, maybe I’ll pick up a European language when i go back to Vancouver… I got English, Japanese, why not Spanish or French or German?

Just to diverge for a moment. Imagine a Japanese guy… now imagine him speaking English- with a Scottish Accent. Yes, they do exist… i met 2 of them. And I’m sorry, i was very amused by the fact they had such strong Scottish accents. I had to bite my tongue a few times to stop myself from asking them to say, "Do you think I’m Sexy."

Yeap, I love Japan… its turning out to be more diverse than I thought it would be.

OMG.

I feel so lost and out of place, its not even funny.

I’m in the Land of the Rising Sun, I’ve been here for a week and I still feel like I stick out like a sore thumb. Ok, so knowing how to speak the native does have SOME advantage. But half the time I don’t know what the hell people are saying to me.

I’ve realized that when in doubt, just nod your head, give a little bow and say "hai."… Thats usually the right answer.

On the other hand, I don’t know any other country in the world where they offer to GIFT WRAP hair pins… (I was in a small shop… they don’t do that gift wrapping thing in 7-11). They gift wrap ball pens too…

Oh yes, I was also very amused by the fact that they bubble wrap fruit. I went to a supermarket and bought some grapes, a few plums and a peach. They nicely packed everything in bubble wrap… ^-^

And the cakes… OMG… I never had cake that tasted so gooooood. The desserts are amazing and to die for. I had this peach thing, its a whole peach, stuffed with cream and sponge cake, I don’t know how they did that but holy cow! It was sinfully gooooood. This is not the place to diet…

But anyways, I suppose the good things make up for the little things. I’m hoping in time I’ll get over feeling like a "gaijin," ie, fish outta water… I’m still not on the Japanese frequency yet.

But so far, so good. No sign of tsunamis… no typhoons either… well not for the time being ^-^ so I’m safe for a little while. Survived a whole week in earthquake/tsunami country. <yaaaaaaay~!!>

Wow, time flies. My last entry was on the 23rd of June… I was still in Vancouver then… Where does time go?

It seems like only yesterday I arrived back home in Singapore. In actual fact, I’ve been home for about a month and a bit now. (give or take the 2 weeks i was travelling).

It feels good to be home, its the only time I can relax (its the only time of the year i can slack and not feel guilty about it). Yes, 2 months of absolute nothingness before i put my nose back to the grindstone.\

Septemeber promises to be an interesting month. I won’t be heading back to Vancouver (sadly). Instead I’m off to the land of the rising sun for the next 10 months, that should be interesting…

Of course, since I’ll be staying with a host family, i don’t think i’ll be partying too much… rumor has it some host families have a 10pm curfew for their host students… at my age, the idea of a curfew, let alone a 10pm curfew, is preposterous… ah well, there’s always the dorm if things get bad.

Honestly I’m wondering how things will be when I’m over there. Yeah, i’ve been to Japan before but visiting a country is a little different than staying there for such a long period of time. (alright, i’m afraid of making some social faux pas or boo boo that will make me look like a moron for all time… then again those people will never see me again… so things can’t be thaaat bad… i hope…)

On the plus side, there IS a Starbucks where i’m going… yes, there is ONE starbucks. So i guess if anybody needs to find me when I’m over there, you’ll know where to look ^-^

I will admit, i haven’t changed much at all. I still live by my daily mantra: Give me Coffee and nobody gets hurt. Yes, I am predictable.

So where exactly am I going? Good question. I don’t know where either… I only know that I’ll be staying in a small city between Osaka and Kobe… that’s pretty much all the info I could find out about my new home for the next 10 months. It does not bode well that the city is located in Hyougo prefecture (Remember the Kobe earthquake?), and on the coast… Tsunami anyone? Ah well… I guess the looming threat of an earthquake and tsunami adds some spice to life… -_-" I’m guessing my blog in the next few months will read: "Another day gone by without a tsunami in sight." or "Another day survived in Earthquake/Tsunami country." Now there’s a thought that warms the heart. I’m sure that thought will keep me nice and cosy during the long and dreary winter nights.

Alright, so i’m not the most optimistic person. But I’m not really looking forward to sitting for an exam the day school starts (mainly because I haven’t studied at all… yes, cramming 2 years of Japanese Studies in ohh… I have about 2 weeks left… not so easy when the language starts looking like a math equation. If a+b= C, and if you - D from C you get E, which basically equates to C in more polite terms… yeeees… wake me up when Japanese grammer is over.)

Ah well… thus is the life of a perpetual student… I think i can live with it ^-^

Its 5am and the bloody birds are chirping… one day i shall kill them all with a flame thrower…. -_-" Its all nice and lovely when you’ve had enough sleep and no stress of course. Right now, i have little patience for anything.

On the bright side, it looks like it will be a beautiful day in Vancouver, then again you never know… Ah Vancouver, where moss should be its national flower, i predict that one day the entire city will rust shut.

Today is the day I finally get to watch Hayao Miyazaki’s "Howl’s Moving Castle." I have been waiting to watch it for oh… 6 months… Could be more… lost track… (Welcome to Vancouver… The land where "Gongfu Hussle" JUST CAME OUT). Ok, so the Canadians are little behind when it comes to Asian movies. Not to mention paperbacks as well. Would you believe "Da Vinci Code" is STILL in hard-bound. yeeeah…

On the other hand, i don’t think there is any other place on the west coast that has Vancouver’s amazing sunsets. I think today i shall sit at the beach for a while after watching my movie. I have to admit, Vancouver is great for nature. I saw a blue jay and a red robin in my backyard. Its something different, we don’t have robins or blue jays where i come from.

Of course, the number and variety of spiders i have in my house is also quite amazing… i have mixed feelings about that. I’ve counted 8 different types of spiders (and we’re not talking about the harmless ol’ little daddy longlegs here… we’re talking big hairy and freaky looking.) Yeap, its 8 and counting… I’m sure there are more, i’m not going to go out of my way to find out just how many kinds of spiders i have in my house and yard… I really don’t want to know… well, at least the birds will eat the spiders in the yard…

Good morning, tis 4am in the morning and i have an exam in 5 hours… wooop de dooo. Needless to say, I haven’t started studying. No! Yours truly decides to cook. At bloody 2am I’m in the kitchen and instead of reading about "Asian Theatre" I am peeling prawns for my "Butter Prawn Pasta." (it was very good).

And now, at 4am I am sitting here writing nonsense on my blog. Yes, clearly I am not in the right frame of mind. (and hence the title… I am doomed and yes, that would put one in a fairly gloomy state of mind)

Oh woe is me… -_-"

I just don’t want to look at my readings. There are way too many so I guess I’ll kind of flip through them in an attempt to make myself feel good… after all I did "try."

Maybe i should have more coffee… and sit outside in the garden for a bit to get some "fresh air." But no, i’d probably only get mauled by a bear or something and it is pretty damn dark out there… yes, there are bears where i live… tends to make you pretty damn nervous when you’re stepping outside at 3 am to have a quick smoke. The fact that my house is surrounded by a fairly thick patch of trees and its pitch black outside doesn’t help. (ah, for the sake of nicotine, one must make sacrifices)…

Ah well… enough of doom and gloom. Should hit the books in attempt to redeem myself… after i have a breath of fresh air… maybe…

Hello hello,

The elusive rat is back in her cage… so much for self-imposed exile, everything just comes crumbling down. Too bad the ostrich theory doesn’t really work… (if i stick my head in the hole in the ground, then nobody will see me.)

Anyways, I have come to a very sad realization. I think i really am doomed to a life of singlehood. How do I know this? Well, I’ve come up with a short list… "You know you are doomed to life of Singlehood when:"

1. Cute guy (cute fireman to be exact… cute straight fireman) walks up to you with a big smile on his face and you pivot on one foot, turn around and walk in the opposite direction. Making him wonder if he insulted you in some way and making you look like the biggest moron that walked the earth.

2. Cute English guy comes into the cafe you work in and because you are working at the till you have to deal with him. The minute he opens his mouth and speaks in that gorgeous little accent your mind goes blank, you suddenly can’t tell left from right and you charge him $7 instead of $17 for his order. And all because you were taken in by those pretty little blue eyes and Brit accent. THEN while you prepare his order, you get the order WRONG and make him a nice fancy shmancy dessert which wasn’t what he ordered. (the plus is that he tells you it looks really good and gives you a wink before he goes off).

3. Cute preppy Japanese guy speaks to you, your mind goes utterly blank and you’ve left your tongue somewhere else. Keeping in mind that you are supposed to be fluent in Japanese because… oh you’re supposed to be minoring in the damn language and you’ve only studied it for 7 years. Not to mention your face turns as red as a beet and you stutter like a dumbstruck fool. (yes, very attractive).

4. You see your very handsome and brilliant classmate walking towards you from a distance, you stiffen like a pole-axed cow and your next reaction is to bolt and hide. And then when he enters the lounge where you’ve been hiding in a corner, you mumble some obscure greeting before bolting out of the building. (brilliant, i must say)

Yes, these are just 4 instances. I’m sure there are many many more that i can’t recall… or don’t want to recall… Doomed to a life of Singlehood…