blodeuedd

Here's what I looked like today:

( Mug shot! )

For a photobooth picture, I think it's quite a good one! Very European-looking. The dark smudges under my eyes are proof that I fail at removing make-up -- those are the remains of yesterday's mascara. At least my hair turned out more or less the way I wanted it to. ^_^ But is it just me, or is my hairline oddly uneven?

The picture was for my international driver's license, which was the quickest, most painless bureaucratic experience I've ever had in Japan. Once I'd walked the hour and ten minutes or so it took to get to the Fuchuu* licensing bureau from my apartment, I was in and out of there in under ten minutes with my new license. I almost came. ;___; (tears of joy)

Anyway, I showed the picture to a few people, who commented thusly: Tiffany said I looked like an international spy; Emily said I looked like a French actress; Eda said, without hearing Emily's comment, that I looked like I should be in a French movie. XD What do you think?

Later in the day, after a Very Large Meal (will post with pictures another time), when I was contemplating the fruit at the grocery store, a Russian man asked me, in Russian, whether I was Russian. At least, I'm assuming that's what it meant, since I didn't have a handy Eda with me to translate. All I heard was, "[insert Russian sounds here] Ruski?" He took my confused expression and my "I'm sorry, I don't understand," as a "No," smiled, and walked off.

* Fuchuuuuu! Almost as fun to say as Beppuuuuu!

( I like crossing stuff out! )

So, yes, more Chinese Prince of Tennis! I honestly don't know why they're bothering writing in some sort-of-maybe-could-be romance between Long Ma and Xiao Ying, because the Golden Pair provide all the rabu-rabu you need in a show that's supposedly about tennis. Though they're mad at each other, and Ju Wan is kind of a dick (not waking Da Shi up when he overslept), as soon as he hears Da Shi is sick, he runs back to the dorm to take care of him. Then they reminisce about when they met, and we get flashbacks to them as dorky first-years, complete with their first meeting. "OMG, you play tennis too?! <3" I really wish I had subs for this part, because from what I understand, Da Shi wants to play doubles, but Ju Wan doesn't want to, so sets up some kind of challenge, like "I'll be your partner if you can do ____." But I could be totally off base. WANT SUBS! At any rate, dorky-wants-to-be-Ju-Wan's-partner-so-badly!Da Shi = <3

Just in case I wasn't already convinced that Chinese PoT is made of pure, unadulterated WIN, episode 6 of the second season opens with the guys showering, and Ju Wan wandering around with his head covered in shampoo suds, singing at the top of his lungs. XDDD And Inui has chest hair! Cpot is manlier than any flavour of Jpot.

Watching this, I actually felt like Ju Wan & Co. who are in the dark about what's actually going on, given that I can understand at most 10% of the dialogue (if I'm lucky) and have to guess at the rest. Still, hilarity ensued! (Also, Golden Pair fans will be happy with the fanservice in this episode. ^____^)

( It's a date! )

Watching episode 7 now, and Kirihara (Qu Wen?) has just shown up. Damn, he's gorgeous. O___O Jin Tie (Sanada) isn't as physically imposing as you'd expect, but he's got the expression down. And the cap, of course!

Cat Deeley in my very favourite colour ever*? Yes, please! :D

There are only 10 contestants left, the votes are for individuals (as opposed to couples), and from now on the pairings will be new and random every week! Let the hilariously mismatched physical pairings begin! ( On with the show! )

( Results! )

* Emerald green, that is.

And now for some more Chinese tennis boys! :D ( Oh, the looooove~~~ )

You know how sometimes you come across someone who seems exactly like a fictional character you know, but it takes you a while to process the resemblance because they're in a completely different context/career/setting than the character?

Tonight's ballet lesson was taught by a different teacher, though I think the guy who did it the last two weeks was only filling in. If this guy is the regular one, I'll be quite pleased, because he had us start off with some very good stretches and turn-out excercises, though they were very hard. Also, he definitely favours the hands-on-I-will-MAKE-your-body-move-this-way approach, which works for me. As in, I was trying to do a plié, and he wanted me to keep my torso as high and long as possible, so he was holding on to my ribs and pulling up, and I was, "But now I can't go down!" and he was all, "Yes, that's it!"

I really enjoyed the class, but about five minutes before it ended, my brain finally put it all together: the quiet monotone that rattles off fast explanations about arm positions and the angle your head should be at; the messy hair; the tall, thin body; the rectangular glasses with the thick black frames; the geeky track pants. I nearly burst out laughing in the middle of a turn, because the teacher is Inui! *giggled all the way home*

Before I forget, thank you, rynn_sama, for the Halloween card! I got it last week, but kept forgetting to mention it... Anyway, thank you so much! I'm going to get myself out to Ikebukuro soon, I promise!

Halloween madness is over! And I indeed made myself into a prince, though one without epaulettes. Oh, well, I'm still immensely proud of my jacket, with the hand-sewn lining and all. ^_^

Last night Jill and I presented our first-born to the world, and let me assure you that Gakuto, Jirou, Yagyuu and Harriet Potter had a grand old time playing Tenipuri Clue. Because who hasn't wished they could one day accuse Tezuka of raping Shishido with a gouya bitter gourd in Atobe's helicopter? Or how about Nanjirou having his wicked way with Oshitari on the street courts, using grip tape? Oh, the cracktastic scenarios the game made possible... Once we're done modifying Monopoly and Risk, you're all invited to a board game party at my place!

It's past noon already, but I'm determined to make the day a productive one. I'm a bit annoyed at having slept until 10:30, but it was sleep I really, really needed, so I guess it's all right. I've already got laundry out to dry and have done some Japanese study, as well as taken more winter clothes out of the storage bin to air. Also to do today:

- moar nihongo! I'm three days behind in my study plan because of the costume craziness, and only 5 weeks remain before the test, so it's time to buckle down and seriously slap those kanji around;
- do another load of laundry/put more clothes out to air;
- sew a futon cover (I know which fabric I'll use, fabric I've had for ages because I bought it without a real plan and the print is no good for clothes and I wouldn't want it for curtains - I'm glad, because that'll be a good 4m less in the stash!);
- do the dishes;
- vacuum;
- get groceries;
- start NonNaNoWriMo, i.e. write up my travels for my travelpod. I think I'll start from the most recent trip, so look for the first chapter of There and Back Again; A Tale of a Kender and a Hobbit and Lots of Trains sometime in the near future;
- watch more Project Runway so that I can finally catch up and discuss it with K tomorrow;
- email some people to whom I've long owed replies (A, A, C, D, T).

First things first: Thanksgiving!

Unless anyone has any objections, let's settle on Sunday the 11th, my place (Kichijouji or Mitakadai station, let me know if you need directions!), around 4 or so. Emily and I will probably spend the day attempting to bake pies, so I don't know how feasible it is to send a delegation to meet people at the station, but most of you have been here before, so you can find your way again, right?

Attendees and their offerings:

Me: Pie, stuffing, mikan-flavoured castella from Nagasaki, mad sangria-making skillz
nekonezumi: Pie, cranberry sauce (or salad, if there are no cranberries to be had, even for ready money)
lizstarsky: Mashed potatoes
llamachan: Drinks (alcohol? :D)
dilettantka: ?
kurayamihimitsu: ?
genkischuldich: ?
akahannah: ?

As you can see, we still need some sort of meat -- last year, we had Costco roast chicken in lieu of turkey, but I have neither the time nor the membership to go and get one. Can anyone volunteer to either get something similar or cook it themselves? I've got two gas rings and a microwave/convection oven for any on-site cookery that needs to be done.

We also should have some sort of vegetables, and more drinks. Or you can chip in some money to cover the cost of fowl and sangria and pie fixings! :D Either way, let me know what you plan on contributing!

Finally, if anyone has any leads on where one could buy cranberries in Tokyo or Chiba, please share!

ETA: And if anyone not on that list would like to join us, let me know, there's still some room! ;D



I was going to post about how in a way it was a good thing I'd caught up with all the fansubbed Chinese PoT episodes, because I wouldn't have time to watch any more tonight, what with dance class and studying, but on the other hand, moar Ju Wan/Da Shi doubles love goodness plz!!! (Last ep ended just after the Golden Pair lost to St. Rudolph because of Ju Wan's lack of stamina, so I'm looking forward to some juicy angsting on both their parts as Ju Wan accepts he has to work harder and Da Shi just wants to support his partner, with maybe some manly tears and hugging thrown in XD) Anyway, I got home, and there was a new subbed episode waiting for me!

*glee*

Still need to study, though, so it will have to wait until tomorrow. And then I have the raw episodes, so I can see just how much of the Chinese I can understand. So far, more than I would have given myself credit for, but a lot of times it's while reading the subtitles, I compare it to what I'm hearing and think, "Ah, that's what I would have guessed," so it's not the same as having no translation at all.



So yes, dance class!

Tonight I started a social dance class with K and R (our coworker) at the Musashino City Sports Club. I'm by far the youngest one there, as it's mostly ojiisans and obaasans (A-L, il y en avait un ou deux que tu aurais certainement voulu kidnapper!), but it was fun. We did some waltz, some rumba, and what they call "blues" (slow, slow, quick-quick), and god, I miss dance classes!

I was pounced on by a nice lady who spotted my name-tag (they'd printed "Marie" on it, because Japanese people don't seem to understand hyphenated names) and wanted to know whether I was French. Turns out her husband is living in France, and while she speaks German fluently, she has trouble with French (but she sounded pretty good to me!), so she asked if we could chat in both Japanese and French. She was really sweet!



Japanese study... I may have bitten off more than I can chew, but I'm determined to get through my study plan even if it kills me. So if I'm not around on line or don't post much for the next couple of months... it's because nihongo has eaten my brain, not because I don't love each and every one of you. orz

MIZUKI IN THE CHINESE POT-VERSE HAS PURPLE STREAKS IN HIS HAIR!!!

*shrieks of delighted laughter*

I wonder if he'll also have a purple shirt of doom??? 8D

Also, first appearance of An -- love! Love love love, she's so cute! <3

Anybody in the Tokyo area interested in possibly making an easy Y3000? I can't quite remember why, but I'm on a mailing list for cosmetic/marketing/product research things, and for the first time, I qualify! (Other times they were looking for people of races/ethnicities/countries not my own). They're looking for people who are "White, Black, or Hispanic" (Hispanic here meaning pretty much any colour as long as there's no Asian ancestry, apparently). Let me know if you're interested and I'll give you the contact info. It's for a 5- to 10-minute skin tone testing, either on 25 October or 1 November, in Yurakucho.

In other news, I've started the major task of sorting through and cleaning up the pictures of The Great Train Adventure. Emily's been terribly productive and has already posted twice about it (part 1 and part 2 of ???), but it'll take me a bit longer than that...

This evening I finally started watching one of the roughly three thousand tv series sitting pretty on my hard drive, and it isn't even Project Runway (which I'm supposed to catch up on so K and I can gossip about it at work) or SYTYCD (American or Canadian, so that I can discuss them with my father). It's... the Chinese live-action Prince of Tennis! :D

I'm just one episode in but I think I already love it. I paused it frequently to note down the character names (tried to get the tones, but it's tricky!), because otherwise I'd just keep using the Japanese names, and that would be lame. So far, Long Ma (Echizen) is as much of a brat as you'd expect; Tao Cheng Wu (Momo) is always stuffing his face; Zhou Zhu (Fuji) is pretty; Zhong Guo Guang (Tezuka) looks and acts like he's 40 XD; Chen Hai Tang (Kaidou) is pissed off at the world; Qian Zhen Zhi (Inui) is just as you'd expect; Ju Wang (Kikumaru) is adorable and hilarious in a kind of obnoxious, snarky way; Da Shi (Oishi) hasn't really said anything yet, but he's always standing by Ju Wang (opening song has them gazing meaningfully at each other, ending song has them hugging XDDD); Zhou Yu (Yuuta) has a huge chip on his shoulder; and Huang Jue Wei (Horio) has 2 years of tennis experience!

Major change is that the story takes place in university, but they're all chomping at the bit to defeat Bing Di (Hyoutei), and we've already been treated to dramatic flashbacks of a guy I assume is Atobe defeating Zhen Zhi (Inui) the previous year.

All right, I've got time for another episode before bed! 8D

I don't know if it was the heat or what, but today's laser appointment was the most painful one to date, at least the underarm part. But I womanfully bore the pain, and it only took a couple of minutes. Aside from that, the most uncomfortable part of the experience was when the technician was using a marker to delineate portions on the backs of my legs, because dammit, that tickles! I wonder if they ever doodle silly things on customers.

After that I happened upon a super Uniqlo sale and bought two pairs of shorts for Y990 each! Pink and, because they had no more yellow, purple. Then I met up with Jill and Laura and we sang the newly-available-at-karaoke Shitenho-ho-houji song! 8D It was most excellent.

Afterwards we repaired to Jill's, where there was Kraft Dinner, tenipuri, some bitching, and a whole lotta stitching. Laura got down and dirty with t-shirt surgeries and started her initiation into Jill's unholy [cross-stitch] club; Jill stitched kitties; and I knit a(nother) pair of booties for E's baby, but oh, at what cost? My wrist is really sore... :P

So we were discussing "Which character on ___ team would you date?" We started with Seigaku, of course, but before could I even open my mouth, Jill said, "No, Adele, Golden Pair is not a valid answer!"

;_____; But I want them for each other, not for myself! :DDD

Oh fine, I wouldn't say no to an Oishi of my very own... with different hair. (Or even better, girl!Oishi, because she'd be really pretty... <3)

We kind of fizzled out at Rikkai, because honestly, who would want to date any of them? XD

Bloh, I just remembered that I'd told myself I'd start my translations tonight, but I'm too tired. I'll do that tomorrow morning before heading out for the day, then go over it again in the evening. The project is almost over (I've already done 5 stories and several in-game text files, and there are 2 more stories due Monday, then 3 due Wednesday, for a grand total of about 10,000 words, so yay, money!*), and it's been a fun one, if not as cool as being able to tell M-P, "I worked on some of the French for a Castlevania game! :D".

* I have no idea how this works back home, but it seems that freelance work here is always paid 3 months after you send in the invoice. It was like that when I did the educational video, and it's the same with this translation gig. I sent my first invoice in April, so I should have my first paycheque by the end of this month. That means that I won't see the money for this project until October, but after all the travelling I'll be doing in the next two months, I'm sure my bank account will be happy with a little extra padding at that time. ^_^

So it seems that Jill and Becca have decided that were we tenipuri characters, I'd be Tezuka. I suppose I'll take that to mean that I am not easily ruffled and that I always strive for perfection (HAHAHAHAHA!), not that I never crack a smile. It sure as hell isn't because I look like Daisuke! XD

But now I feel I should be searching for a pillar of support... ^o^

In other exciting news, the costumes are almost done! I am incredibly pleased with how the draped-from-scratch dress turned out, and if all goes well on the last little bit to complete it, Becca's vest will be the nicest thing ever to grace the TIP stage (not that I can take credit for the pattern, since I just traced off a vest of hers, but it's all in the finishing touches).

I used to say that I would never go to sleep on a deadline with the intent of "waking up early to finish", but that was back when the only deadlines were academic, not physical stuff like sewing. While I actually really like working on the floor, I've spent over 6 straight hours bent over fabric, cutting, pinning, ironing and sewing, and my poor old bones need a rest. Here's hoping that I can have enough energy upon waking to buckle down and get back into the zone.

The Tezuka zooooone!

:D