I'm about to leave to get on a plane to take me back to Taiwan. I am actually quite sad about it. Because I really do love living in America (or to be more specific, in Walnut/Diamond Bar, I doubt I'd feel the same if I lived in like, Pleasantville. Nowhere). I'm just done with Taiwan. I'd rather be in Japan, but even then, I'm kind of ready to come back, too.

I'd have to find a job I like first. But Japan. But job. These things are hard. Why can't Japan be like, next door? If I had Japan on California's left and Europe on California's right, the world would be perfect.

I've only got a few though, because most of the ones I took are supposed to be of professional use, I guess. :D

( That long, exhausting weekend. )

I'm afraid to get on a scale because I'm pretty sure I've gained ten pounds. Since I've been back, all I've done is eat. Part of me feels justified because these restaurants/foods simply aren't found in Taiwan (or if they are, they are not any good). But the other part of me feels like I'm just a big fat piggy.

My only consolation is that I have spread out the feasting, so at least it's just that one meal a day that's loaded with delicious poundage.

Places I have eaten include:
Cheesecake Factory
Daphne's (cheap and wonderful Greek food, oh Greek food)
Chipotle
In'N'Out
Auntie Anne's Pretzel (twice!)

Places I still need to hit up:
TACO BELL (nothing a self-respecting Mexican would call Mexican, but it's got lots of cheesy goodness)
Rubios for fish tacos ~
In'N'Out again?
IHOP?
Olive Garden? (sentimental memories at the OG, LOL)
Islands?

Maybe I should stop eating out and save some money (and my increasingly flabby gut). But then I am reminded that I still need to eat gumbo and I am weak, so weak.

Okay, it's not really raining, but the whole week I've had gorgeous sunny weather, and now on my weekend, on my weekend of hanging out with my darling friend at the beach, it is GREY AND COLD WAAAAAAAAH. Be that way, weather. :P

More bad news: there weren't enough students who signed up for the third session of the summer camp, so my session has been canceled. No drama camp for me! WAAAAAAAAH.

Much better news: I have ordered a new purple iPod nano as my old one is banged up, doesn't have enough space and poor dear, has been having headphone issues. I'm excited to have a purple iPod, it's so pretty! And I've already named it Keiyuu because it is tiny and shiny and adorable.

You know it's really weird to be back in your hometown after being gone for so long. Lots of things are the same, but things have changed too, and it makes for dangerous driving, let me tell you. I'll be cruising down the street and go "what is that? It's new! OMG that's so cool!" and suddenly realize that "HO SHIT STOP SIGN" (but still be intensely happy because it's a stop sign and people are stopping and taking turns). Yeah, apparently traffic regulations have tightened up as well. There are like 20 gazillion cameras at every intersection, so it just makes sense to obey the law (my sister apparently got fined for stopping over the white crosswalk line omg).

Anyway, should get ready to go out. Just because it's icky outside doesn't mean I have to take it!

Time to go! :3

Thinking of last minute crap I need to take care of. There aren't that many, but it distracts me from thinking about other stupid things. Like wondering if I'll have a story to tell on Sunday. Or if it will just be a routine thing.

I love being cryptic! I just don't want to document too much of it for posterity. :)

--

It's more or less confirmed I must attend Anime Expo this year. Let us hope it will go well! I remember how the past years went: almost fainting, getting sunburned, crushed by people, cause for fantastic fight with father...

I am looking forward to it though. I'll get to see Lauren and her amazing cosplay and finally reap some benefits? LOL. Truth be told I don't like Auncia, the vocalist sounds...bad. But maybe I haven't heard enough stuff yet.

And it's not that I don't like morning musume. I have just never cared enough to tell them apart.

--

It's hot, so I think I'll try to go to bed.

Today, I watched the first episode of Generation Kill.

It was like love at first sight.

Oh, Marines.

I wonder if the DVD is out yet.

Because I know I'll watch it over and over.

Okay, I have finally gotten around to doing that photo meme...look at pictures of me, you know you want to! :D

( Whee! )

NAO IS A VAMPIRE, AM I RIGHT OR AM I RIGHT? THAT IS TOTALLY A BLOODY MARY BLOOD IN HIS GLASS.

Thank you, universe, for making me god. (If you're confused, it's because I wrote scripture fic and it's now trooooooo.)

Every few months, I get this crazy idea in my head that it would be okay to sub a kindy class or two. I don't know why. I think my brain mentally blocks the memories of the last time, so I keep thinking it can't be that bad. But it sort of is, because I simply can't wake up that early anymore and still function around jumping, attentive children who are waiting for you to lead them in song and dance and, god forbid, learning.

I will never sub morning kindy again. Except for on Wednesday, which will definitely be the last time I ever teach morning kindy. I'm putting my foot down!

Actually, the class itself isn't that bad. The kids are fairly well behaved and bright, so it's not difficult to get them to do things. It's just the whole waking up thing. I've been conditioned to go to bed around 2-3 AM and not wake up until 9 AM at the earliest. Kindy starts at nine. You see my problem.

(Let's not even get started about the 8 AM classes on Saturdays, I generally block those out the minute they are over and take a three hour nap after class. Which leads to my Saturdays being a bust, but what can you do?)

Put that I'm also subbing a class for a friend who is on holiday, and I worked pretty much from 9 AM to 9 PM today. *weeps* I'm doing this again on Wednesday (I was probably on drugs when I agreed to this), but I get a four day weekend afterward, so...I may survive. Yay for Dragon Boat Festival! I plan on doing very little, except for the X JAPAN concert which is almost secured. :)

Looking at the Red Wings yearbook scans makes me realize how much I miss hockey sometimes. I have been following the playoffs, but of course it's just not the same when I can't watch it live.

Also, can I point out how hilarious it is when all the guys are dressed in like, suits and preppy sweaters, but the Grind Line is in T-shirts and hoodies? (And what is up with that pose, Maltby? No no no.)

And Flippula is SO AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL HOW HAVE I MANAGED TO AVOID LOOKING AT HIM FOR SO LONG?

It's kind of weird too, because while I know who is on the team and all, I probably haven't seen a lot of them play. I mean, I don't think I've watched an entire game yet where Conks is the Wings goalie.

However, the good thing about the Wings is that they tend to keep players forever (Hoooooooomer and okay the rest of my Swedes, my god there is not an ugly one among them except possibly Franzen but he's kind of ugly-cute so that's okay), so even after five years, I don't feel like I've entirely lost touch with the team. LOL, the first thing I thought when I saw Lebda again was "Oh, Lebda and his big ass." =3 I couldn't deal if they were one of those teams that re-hauled after every season.

It helps that Cheli won't die. LOL.

I hope that I'll be able to follow hockey more closely before all the players I know and love move on. The only way to reconnect is to bond with the new rookies, after all!

And I'll be honest, I may still know what's going on with the Wings, but I have no idea what's going on with the rest of the NHL. Oops. :)

There I was, going to work, doing my best to stay upright on my bike while being buffeted by 60mph crosswinds. Then out of nowhere, some guy rides up next to me on his scooter and attempts to snatch my purse. In broad daylight.

HE ATTEMPTED TO SNATCH MY PURSE, I AM STILL SHAKING WITH FURY.

Apparently he was weak or I had my purse tucked quite securely in my bike basket (which I generally do, and now I've taken to looping my purse strap around the handlebars), because all he did was flip my purse over and then he took off. My reaction was to stop right there and scream obscenities (in Chinese and then in English and then in pure rage). He actually looked back at me and drove faster.

I'm pretty "motherfucker" was the kindest insult I used. We elevated to "goatfucker" and "whorecunt" and shrieks along the lines of "Jesus you bitch come back I will kill you!" My friend was actually worried when she heard this because she thought, what if he'd come back to beat me up or something? And at that point, I would have dared him to try. I would have thrown my bike at him. And then shoved him into oncoming traffic.

I wish I had gotten his license plate, but fucking wind + anger meant all I got was his helmet color.

Then, because I was standing in front of a Fridays, a lady behind me honked her car horn because I WAS BLOCKING THE PARKING SPOT, COULD I PLEASE MOVE SO SHE COULD PARK HER CAR? Never mind that something was clearly wrong and I was picking up my things from the side of the road (things like my chapstick and sunglasses had fallen out in the attempt). No, I had to move so she could park. So I whirled on her and began screaming at her too, until she meekly rolled up her window and I felt satisfied enough to leave.

After all the adrenaline wore off, I discovered that I'd banged up my ankle. So I'm doubly pissed, and I cannot wait until I get to leave Taiwan (though I've stupidly extended my stay until next February. Maybe if I carry around an X-acto knife I'll survive it). Taiwan is turning into a shithole.

Apparently a co-worker saw another thief try to snatch a necklace off a woman's neck while she was parked at a stoplight. The necklace got caught, and the woman was screaming as she was pulled off her scooter. But luckily for that woman, a kind Samaritan ran the thief over (literally, like with a car, though unfortunately not hard enough do damage the thief) and saved her from getting seriously hurt.

I don't know. I mean, I'm not going to start walking around fearing for my safety and all. Mostly I am just really, really angry. And it makes me want to do violence unto others. I want my knuckles to be bloody and sore because I've just beaten some asshole's face in. Screw what I said about love yesterday, destroy everyone, then there will be peace.

I used to like windy days. Really. I'd go and stand outside with a pretty skirt and pretend I was an anime character as I got all windblown.

But lately, everyday is a windy day and I'm talking like, gale force winds. And when you ride a bicycle to work everyday, this does not a fun time make. At one point, I was going downhill - DOWNHILL - AND I ACTUALLY STOPPED MOVING BECAUSE THE WIND WAS BLOWING THAT HARD. Going to work has suddenly become such a chore. More than it usually is, anyway. Sob.

Oh and there was also that wonderful experience today where some dipshit threw his half-finished cigarette out the car window and it flew almost directly into my face. You know, a flaming flying object. Almost hit me. Motherfucker. I ought to start biking with an axe, so that the next time a hand carelessly reaches out to flick away a cigarette, I can chop it off.

I've also developed a sore throat, but I'm pretty sure it's just a minor cold brought on the freezing cold wind. The whole pig flu thing is such a rampage. (Btw, why can't they call it pig flu? Why "swine flu?" Does it sound classier? Like saying you eat "swineflesh" instead of pork?)

P.S. You probably don't have swine flu. It's probably an STD. What did you do with that pig again? Thanks, xkcd.

PSC DVD came in today. And while there are some things I disagree with (no bonus footage? "bonus" booklets containing un-special live photos and not backstage tomfoolery? not including all the songs? what am I paying you for, PSC???) overall it's nice.

Things I learned:

- The kimono part of Kagrra,'s outfits are still so much win. GORGEOUS.
- Yuura wears his bass really really high. It's like the nerd version of guitar straps. Like how nerds wear high-waisted floodpants? Yuura gives that impression. LOL.
- Dude Kra is hyper. Like, so hyper. I haven't really seen other lives of theirs, but wow, they are on speed.
- I still love Keiyuu and his powerful powerful little body. &^_________________^&
- OMG I DIE A LITTLE LAUGHING AT PON'S VIOLENT HIP THRUSTING. DID HE DO THIS BEFORE? I MUST CHECK OTHER DVDS. HE'S LIKE A SQUIRREL HUMPING THE GUITAR/AIR IT'S HILARIOUS AND YET A BIT SEXY.
- Shou has the best silhouette ~ and he loses his oh-so-coolness for a minute and turns into adorkable Shou again for a minute, so cute!
- Tora is such a pussy, LOL. Hiding behind his hair/guitar and running offstage first.
- Saga steals the show, even on DVD. Oh Saga. The cameras love him.
- So the difference between PSC drummers: Izumi is reserved; Yasuno is a happy-go-lucky attention whore; Nao concentrates really hard but totally owns; Kai just loses himself.
- Watching Kai reminds me of why I still love him, despite all his pissy photoshoots. When he lets go, he's amazing.
- miyavi is so...well, miyavi. ^__^

Ahh I wanna go to a live ~

I love hair color but it does not love me. Not even two weeks and the pink has already started washing out. ;__;

One day, I will just have a gazillion different colored clip-in hair extensions. Then I'll have different colored hair every day. I look forward to it!

--

Not sure what I'm getting myself into, but I've joined the a9 sub-group...it's Chinese to English, but I'm not doing too much of the actual translating, thank god. It would take me a month to finish a video. I'm mostly editing, and knowing Chinese comes in handy there because I can refer back to the source material when I'm not sure about a translation. Yay!

為什麼中文不能快一點吸收到我的腦海裡？ 學了那麼久還那麼辛苦 （淚）
沒天份嗎？
啊 ～ 中於真的知到雅的困難
好了好了該睡覺了
明天還要上課有要八點爬起來 （哭）

I want new books to read ~ ~ ~

THERE ARE NO STOP SIGNS.

I have realized this after living here for practically two years. *facedesk* But seriously, there are no stop signs. You get traffic lights on some of the least traveled back alleys ever though (which clogs up said back alley because drivers actually stop and the light takes forever AND NO CARS ARE COMING FROM THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION OMG THIS IS WHAT A STOP SIGN WOULD BE PERFECT FOR). And then you will have the most dangerous intersection ever where all four directions are blind, and it could actually benefit from a traffic light (OR A MOTHERFUCKING STOP SIGN) but you'll never get one. You'll just get useless yellow lines painted on the road. Like lines have ever stopped anyone here.

So you could be mown over by some scooter going like 40mph as you attempt to edge through the blind intersection while it is dark and oh yes, this intersection is also improperly lit. If you're lucky, the oncoming scooter has its headlights on. If not, it's just a dark moving target bringing certain pain and maybe death.

Not like this has happened to me. Every. Fucking. Night.

I guess I could be proactive. I guess I could take a different route home. But when I think about it, all the ways home are equally dangerous in different ways.

GOD I HATE YOU, TRAFFIC IN TAIWAN. GET SOME MOTHERFUCKING STOP SIGNS. EXCEPT THAT WOULDN'T DO MUCH GOOD ANYWAY BECAUSE A) NO ONE KNOWS HOW TO FUCKING DRIVE AND B) HOW CAN YOU SEE A STOP SIGN WHEN YOUR FUCKING HEADLIGHT ISN'T ON YOU MOTHERFUCKING CUNT OF A DOUCHEBAG.

--

Ahh, I feel better.

On to a topic that makes me less rageful to discuss: Vidoll. I have just figured out what truly makes this band special! (Well, other than Rame and Jui, leagues of their own there.)

Most popular music follows a pattern, right? It's intro, A, bridge, chorus, B, bridge, chorus, an instrumental break, maybe bridge again, chorus, end. The thing about Vidoll is that, with their less mainstream stuff, their chorus (and bridge for that matter) tends to sound like a completely different song instead of the usual repeatable catchy melody. It's kind of cool, because it's like you get two songs for the price of one.

Plus they always play with minor/major key and I love that. :)

The recent news of Miyavi getting married to melody, who's already knocked up, really just makes me miss my a9 boys. Because there's all this talk about Miyavi, but...I want my boys!

They are on tour and I wish so badly I could go to a show, and I wish there was more stuff about them as well. Dream, why can't you realize yourself already and make me a prominent music media person in Japan? :<

I also wish I could wake up one day and just speak fluent Japanese (and Spanish, French, German, Swedish and Korean...) because studying is hard, yo.

--

Watching MTV has improved my Chinese a lot in terms of music lingo. I'm still pretty horrible at reading/writing, but listening/speaking is definitely not a problem.

I like Taiwan MTV as well because it actually has music, I know, what a concept. I remember American MTV was just full of crap like Sweet Sixteen and Pimp My Ride, when was the last time you really saw just a bunch of music videos? Plus I get international PVs: Japan, Europe, America, Korea...and even better, international live footage. Every night they show concert footage (i.e. pretty much the entire concert and not just random cuts) of bands touring the world. This is kind of awesome. I saw Jason Mraz in Amsterdam (and Avril Lavigne...somewhere, I don't know, I only watched for a minute because meh, Avril). Tonight was Slipknot. I'm not a fan, but that's okay.

All-American Rejects, Hoobastank and Story of the Year are in Taiwan for some festival thing. But I'm not a big enough fan to take days off work to see them. (Sucks to work at night, so you have to call in sick to see a concert.)

--

Pictures, because I haven't posted some in awhile! ( It gets a bit long. )
This is why I should be going to concerts ~ wah ~ we have come full circle.

Last night, I couldn't get online. I did the usual computer re-start, router box prodding, cable box prodding, and nothing. So I was upset and went to bed and had a horrible dream about losing my entire life through my computer.

I'm serious. Like, I went to go live my life and was directed to "error: file not found" and didn't know what to do next. I woke up all freaked out and obsessively backed up more of my files. I mean, if I lose some of the stuff I have on my computer, it wouldn't be the end of the world...technically. But damn, it felt like it in my dream.

Back to the internet, though. I called up the tech people and explained what happened, and they told me to do the things I already did. So then they sent over two young guys who looked identical like it's a requirement (you know how stereotypical Asian computer nerds look? They rocked that look). They prodded around and figured someone tried to hack my I.P. (I don't know, I'm still not sure what I.P. stands for) and set up some more security for it, and I have my life back. Yay.

--

Related to my last post, I figure I'd link some videos if y'all were really interested in what music I've been dabbling in. The first is alan singing the Japanese theme for Red Cliff. I like it better than the Chinese version because she does that Tibetan wailing thing, which you'll hear towards the end.

This is Abe Mao singing Free. It's so upbeat! Plus, Abe Mao is adorable...she's like 18 or something. >.>

On the Korean side is Lee Hyori with Hey Mr. Big. I generally can't stand Korean pop singers, but damn this song is annoyingly good. I like Lee Hyori because she can dance, but I definitely wouldn't buy a single song off her. :P

Finally, Believe by Arashi. It's a nice song, but mostly I am impressed by how seamlessly the English is worked in. For example: 「どんなときも　情熱を　求めていた　(It's a Brand New World)」 actually makes sense, translated to: "No matter what, I'm still searching for passion (It's a Brand New World)." A far cry from the days when half-garbled English was just chucked in at random.

Man, all this makes me sound like I've gotten hooked on pop. And maybe I have, a little. It's not my fault my Jrockers are all on tour. :

「I won't forget/I want to protect/all the sights/I've laid my eyes on」

They've been pushing alan in Taiwan recently, which means I get to see a bunch of her music videos. She's pretty. And I like her songs, they have a nice core and that wafting ethnic mountain feel I like. The best part is knowing what the lyrics say, because between my Chinese and Japanese, I've figured it all out!

Abe Mao is another girl I kind of want to keep an eye on. I haven't heard any of the other songs off her album yet, but I like Free well enough. So we'll see!

And, because I've been dabbling in the pop side of things, I guess I ought to admit that I have a Johnny's group close to my heart and it is Arashi. I'll be honest, I will never fangirl them the way I fangirl my Jrockers, but somehow Arashi got to me. I like them more than KAT-TUN, NEWS, Kanjani8, Tackey & Tsubasa, Kinki Kids...I know a lot of Johnny's for someone who doesn't care. LOL. Except that kid from Hey!Say!JUMP. I love love love that kid, but I've been afraid of looking up more info on him because I feel pedobear about it. He's like, 12. *face*

Tomorrow is Friday, my first real Friday in a long long time! I do not have to work this Saturday! It is so liberating.