Showing posts with label life happenings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label life happenings. Show all posts

Moving Out to Yoyogi



What's left on the table is just my computer and Miya-chan, ready for the move. I'm gonna shift to a bigger house in Yoyogi, though I'll have a smaller room. Some of you already know why I'm moving out, but let's just say I have a "special guest" staying with me. No it's not a girlfriend :P

Not too sure if the Internet is already set up in the new place, so expect me to be Internet-less for a week or so. I can still blog with my phone though :) See ya at my new loft!

From Tokyo to TOA: Akiba*Doujin Documentary



Sook Chiung and I thought that while it was nice to have me live in the hall, why not have a real stroll down the streets and make a video? It would really spice up the presentation, we thought.

So I did. And what better place to show doujin culture than Akihabara itself! Enjoy!

A Fine Gentleman

Well as expected, not much comments on the anime post. In response to that, the next thing to do is to show you guys what you want to see most: me!



Hakukun-san took this candid picture of me during lunch.

Oh, please ignore the face pores, thanks.

Time to Take Off My Shoes



I feel so bad for writing my previous rant post. Messages came from all over: calls, emails, SMSes, real-life talk, blog and chatbox comments, etc. Even at such a horrible point in my life, I've been reminded again that I'm blessed with so many family and friends. Thanks so much everyone, how could I ever live without you guys!



Now that I feel much better (took me long enough huh), I owe everyone an explanation as to what kind of resolve did I reach. What better way to explain than to attach the post with pictures from the 2 picnics with my ex-classmates last week!



In my life (oh started la...), whenever I wanna do something, I'll really get fired up about it. As long as I wanna do it, of course :P



I'm sure many of you know that I'm a big fan of Japanese culture. Especially when it comes to games and anime. NO, I'm not an otaku, how many times must I tell you!



Now that I'm in Tokyo, I've been surrounded by situations where I'd go "Damn, wish my Japanese was better". Daily conversations, reading instructions and signs, joining doujin circles, reading manga, understanding anime, joining clubs... the things I could've achieved with better Japanese skills.



So I got into my usual passionate state and studied like mad. Beyond mad. Over 9000 kind of mad. Hence it's only natural that the breakdown happened, as you witnessed in the previous post.



Thanks to everyone's advice, I have come to my senses. I seem to have forgotten what learning a new language is supposed to be: FUN.



This is not Maths. Nor is it science. It's language studies. And in language studies, it's only natural that you suck if you were not born to speak the language. Hell, I started in my 20s. Studying a language is like getting to know another country's culture. This kind of interest sprouts from curiosity for something new.



Brain getting messy. Stress building up. Losing yourself. Are these things really worth it just to chase after something you're interested in? Now I think not. Learning a new culture shouldn't be about fussing over what you don't know; it should be about delighting over what you already know.



I realized that being in a hurry to learn something new is not a good idea after all. Considering that I have other things to do as well, I must focus some of my energy on things that I already have the skills for. 50% game design, 50% Japanese studies.



To sum it all up, I guess I wanna take it slow. Absorb new information as it comes. And Japan is not only about language, it's all about participating in festivals, ceremonies, sports, etc, not just staying at home studying every single kanji in the manga! Should make full use of my time here!



I will still focus on my Japanese studies, just not to the extent of destroying myself :P Seriously, to think that I have forgotten how fun it is to learn Japanese, I must've been out of my mind.



It's time to take off my shoes and take it easy. Thanx so much everyone!

Festival Special 9: Haru Matsuri



w00t it's spring! And when you talk about spring in Japan, there's only one thing that SPRINGS into mind: Sakura! Ah eh oh come and dance with me, deng deng dengen dengen deng deng deng...

A number of parks are great for hanami (flower viewing), but only a select few have an attached festival to it, and one of 'em is Ueno Park.

Last Friday I went there by myself (yea pathetic, meknows). Been working my ass off on the game production side of things, so I thought it'll be nice to go out once in a while. I mean, I'm in Tokyo, for crying out loud!

Then just today, I went there again with my cousins, coz it was just too darn festive to not go the second time! So I mixed the pictures taken on both of these days in the list below. I'm not the type who changes clothes during a festival.



Wearing a suit while sitting below the Sakura trees. Howzzat for a company meeting?



Some people stuffing themselves festively while enjoying the view. What view, you ask?



This view! Ah, nothing like a huge body of water to calm yourself down.



The peace was nice while it lasted. Now it's time for war! War for foodz!



Suddenly it felt like I was brought back to the Matsushita stadium in Shah Alam.



Here, the fish are performing the enchanting vertical dance ritual.



Ah sotong. How I love thee.



Here, they sell the must-have Takoyaki, or octopus balls. Argh screw the flour, can I just grab the whole thing and put it in my mouth?



Mmmmm taiyaki. They put in some lovely paste inside the fish-shaped flour, which came in 4 flavours: red bean, chocolate, cheese and cream.



Some other customers I saw at the stall.



Here's some yong tau foo oden. Didn't bother to buy them coz you can tarpau 'em at 7-Eleven.



This is Manhome's butter potato. Can't beat the Neo-Venezian one for sure (sorry non-Aria fans)



And this is my favourite of the bunch. The sotong that came from the heavens.



KLCC potato swirly. Buy one free one!



Heheh hehehe heheeheheh (they're chocolate-crusted bananas) heheheheh hehe *giggle*



They didn't have the caramel apple candy, but they had caramel any-other-fruit candy. Strange desu ne.



Lemonade, or Ramune. 300 yen for each bottle, and they give you 100 yen back for its return.



Enough of looking, now it's time to savour the spoils of war!



It's strange how you can look so cool with that power hairstyle and sunglasses...



...and look sorhai at the same time.



Daim really got into eating his candied pineapple.



This is my wtf-such-a-big-case-for-a-pathetic-looking-chicken-stick face.



Nothing like enjoying the view while eating ABC kakigoori. You are given the shaved ice and can pour fruit syrup as much as you want. So imagine Daim's reaction when he said "Grape please" and was given plain ice. "Anooo~"



Just watch any festival episode of an anime series (yes, the one right after the hot springs and before the beach trip) and you'll know what this is. It's called Kingyo sukui, or goldfish scooping. With a scoop that tears easily with pressure, you have to scoop up as many goldfish as you can, and that'll be your take-home reward.



Another festival favourite. The gun packed quite a punch, but it's still not enough sometimes to make the prize topple down. You gotta aim carefully too.



Or you can be like Konata and aim for the handsome shopkeeper.



Uh, KL Central Market much?



When there's a beautiful park in Japan, chances are that it shares with the temple grounds.



So here I am at a dating spot... with my... two cousins...



Selamat datang ke Terengganu, di mana anda boleh melawat beberapa kampung nelayan macam ini. Jangan lupa, ada angsa terbesar di dunia kat sini juga! Dalam pelbagai warna!



Of course when people talk about Ueno park, they think about the two extremely long rows of Sakura trees lined up beside the path.



During hanami, you can laze around, let your guard go and drink beer on makeshift tables.



Even with all that drunkenness, they still have the civic-mindedness to recycle stuff.



Humans have it so easy, ducks must fight for their grub man!



The sun is about to set. Better go home... (or to Akihabara!)



Will definitely come here again with my classmates for Hanami, but that'll be a post for another day. Happy springtime folks!