良いお年を！

Hello!!!!!  This will be the last post I write for 2010.  How has everyone's year been?  Mine has been fabulous for the most part. :)

National Museum, S'pore (Pompeii Exhibit)

Japanese Creative Centre, Spore (manga exhibit)

I've completed a one year diploma course in 3D Animation and Visual Effects, got a job within 2 weeks of completing my final project, visited Hong Kong and Japan, attended my first concert in approximately ten years, got myself a new obsession, began new projects, finished old projects, made new friends, strengthen old relationships,visited lots of museums in Singapore, took lots of fun photos, ate lots of great and interesting food,

Paradise Dynasty - multi-flavoured Xiao Long Bao

 learnt lots of cool stuff.... (video - zbrush modelling project for school)

Yeah... it was a good year. :)

Victoria Habour, Hong Kong

 Due to the heavy workload in the first half of my diploma course, I found it near impossible to do anything meaningful on this blog at all in the first half of 2010 and it is with some regret that I did not manage to document any of my trip to Hong Kong.  I did shoot lots of photos of food though and ate my favourite roast pigeon in Hong Kong.

Roast Pigeon, Hong Kong

I only wished that I knew that my pay-per-use roaming had been turned off before I left Singapore so that I could have turned it on and updated via mobile blog at least once a day.

So just to commemorate my trip to Hong Kong so that I do not forget about it in the years to come, here is a quick and short write up. :)  I visited Hong Kong from the 12th - 15th July 2010.  I went there with 11 other classmates from my diploma class during our term break before we began our specialization term.

While in Hong Kong, I visited Victoria Peak and Ocean Park for the very first time.

Victoria Peak, Hong Kong

Ocean Park, Hong Kong

My previous other trip to Hong Kong was more than 10 years ago when I was an obsessed HK film fan and that trip was mostly concentrated around eating, shopping for HK films and TVB dramas and a visit to an old a dear friend who was then stationed in HK for work purposes.  On this trip, I met YTSL a fellow blogger and Asia film fan, whom I had not met for years and years and years.  We had dinner and watched a really funny HK film called La Comedie Humaine.  It was cool. :)

wanton noodles, Hong Kong

Aside from eating lots of Hong Kong food like awesome wanton noodles, Hong Kong will also need to be remembered for making me obsessed with going to Japan to catch Kalafina in concert. :)

While in Hong Kong, while we were making our way about the city using the subway system, I saw an ad for a Kalafina concert to be held in Hong Kong.  Now at that time, I was just becoming quite obssessed with Kajiura Yuki's music again.

Kalafina HK concert Ad, subway, HK

 After watching Noir in 2002, I had began to fall in love with Kajiura's music and that was further cemented by my love of her work in the .hack series and the Mai Hime series and sequels.  However, the lack of availability and the prohibitive cost of Japanese soundtrack cds in Singapore lead me to lose touch with her music and I listening to mostly techno/electronica fusion classical music, bossa nova, folk, country, classical music, Chinese pop music etc for a while before I began studying the Japanese language about 2 years ago.

postcard received w/cd purchase at concert

I decided sometime late last year that since I would not have very much time to study the Japanese language due to the extremely heavy workload for the diploma course, that the best way for me to try and keep in touch with the language as much as possible was to immerse myself with as much Japanese entertainment as possible.  So aside from watching Japanese dramas only for a while, I also started to listen only to Japanese music and started first with my Zard obsession when all I was listening to was Zard, then mixed in with lots of Utada Hikaru and finally, I revisited Kajiura Yuki after listening to some Kalafina music namely Hikari no Senritsu, Storia and Iirica while looking for more music to listen to.  Hahahaha... so I am slow... for some reason, it didn't occur to me to look for more Kajiura music first because I had forgotten that she also writes open and end themes for anime, not just lyric-less soundtrack music.



cds purchased in HK

small card received at concert

To cut a long story short, I loved Hikari no Senritsu, Storia and Iirica and virtually everything that I could get my hands on that was Kalafina and FictionJunction and Kajiura Yuki. :)  Still, I never really thought about going to a concert till I saw that ad in Hong Kong.  It then dawned on me how close and yet how very far it was for me to attend that concert.  The concert was only a few weeks away in August 2010 but I was already in Hong Kong in the middle of July with no realistic hope of attending the concert in August.  It also dawned on me that the last concert I had attended was more than 10 years ago when I saw Faye Wong (one of my previous obsessions :) ) live in Las Vegas.  This crazy desire to go to Kalafina's concert in December began to take root in my head and by September, I think, I had already began concrete plans to attend the concert in December.  The trip was meant to be my present to myself and in order to make this present mean something to me, I worked damn hard at finishing my reel by my personal deadline so that this trip would really be a celebration of a good end to what had been a very tiring year in school.

concert program

scan fr. concert program

In the end, I am glad I was in Hong Kong and I am glad I saw that Kalafina ad because that ad put in place a series of events that led me to Japan again, a country I had not intended to visit till perhaps 2011.  Not only did I love the Kagayaku Sora no Shijima ni wa (輝く空の静寂には) concert, the preparation to go to this concert led to my meeting old classmates and friends from the US and from work.  My second trip to Japan was FANTASTIC.  There were some hic-cups and a few frustrations but in the end, all I can remember is going to the concert with a very dear friend (thank you Danielle), meeting up with friends that I had not seen in ten years (Itsuko and Teiji), ex-colleagues whom I had not seen in 5 years (Koji) and 2 years (Manami) and having a ball of a time with Danielle, SY, Darlene and Christel.

onigiri & other snacks fr Family Mart

fish sperm

I also ate some strange stuff like fish sperm, visited a Maid Cafe, learnt "moe moe magic",  fell in love with Umeshu Soda, consumed enough onigiri to feed a small country and took lots of goofy photos.  Hahahaha... it was a good trip and I want to go back to Japan again.  :)




I'm happy I now have a job again.  Now I can start to seriously save again so that I can put some money away for the future and also to fund my trips and other obsessions.  =)  I'm seriously glad that I took up this diploma course too.  Yes, I know a lot of people thought I was crazy to ditch a perfectly good job to go back to school for an entire year and switch careers mid-way though my life.  But you know what?  If I didn't take advantage of the recession and reduction in earnings from my freelance work, if I didn't take advantage of the increase in government spending on subsided education for those looking to upgrade and do a mid-career switch, I would be the greater fool.  It was a risk and I am very happy that by the end of 2010, it proved to be a risk worth taking.

2010 was a great year.  It may not in the end become the greatest year in my life, fact is, I hope it doesn't because I want greater years to come.  I am greedy that way. :)  But what is certain is that 2010 was a very memorable year and a year I would like to remember for a very long time. :)

Here's to a great 2011, more good times, more good food, more fun trips, more safe journeys, more concerts, more good music, more success, more good health and more happiness.  I wish all my family, my friends and all who chance upon this blog the very best next year.  I wish you all much happiness, good health and good times. 良いお年を!!!   :)  I am off to make myself some Umeshu Soda to welcome the new year. :)

Japan trip 2 - aftermath 2

I still want to write up either one or a few proper posts about my trip to japan. But am still too tired after work and still trying to work out my currently too busy schedule to manage anything but mobile blog. Yesterday, i was still suffering badly from japan withdrawal. Hahaha... in the end i brought shinkansen girl, my newly bought kajiura soundtrack cd and a manga one of my friends had given me, to work. I bought the figure of the shinkansen girl on the odakyu train on the way to hakone. Kind of wish i bought one more on my back to see if i can get a different one or not. :) i was quite happy to find that i could read several panels of "toki wo kakeru shoujo", the manga my friend itsuko had given me. :) yay, i think my nihongo is improving. :) much as i am grateful and happy to get my new job, it's still been a huge adjustment for me. I've been working freelance or have held too many strange and flexible hour jobs for too long, that a fixed 10-7 job is proving to be harder for me to adjust to than i thought. I think, realistically speaking, i won't be able to adjust fully till sometime in jan or feb of next year after all the holidays are over and i can fully settle into the job. Very soon i'll get my first production shot to work on, i am both anxious and excited. :) wish me luck and hopefully i will have time and energy to write more about my 2nd trip to japan and also stick in a missing account of my trip to hong kong earlier this year. :)

Japan - trip 2 - aftermath 1

I'm now in a cab heading for work. I simply could not get up early enough for work this morning. I'm so missing japan now. Wished i had planned for a longer trip. Still, i know if i did i would probably not have been able to start my new job so fast after graduation or maybe i may not even get a new job that quickly. I suppose, you win some you lose some. The above is a photo of my breakfast this morning. AWESOME cup noodles from japan. I love japanese cup noodles. The texture is great and it doesn't feel all soft and lumpy like some of the brands in singapore. They also have interesting flavours. I wish i bought more but my luggage was getting heavy so i only got two. :( maybe next time i'll try and mail a whole carton home. :)

Japan trip 2 - day 6 - tadaima

Hi hi. I am back in singapore after another memorable trip to japan. Wish i didn't have to be back at work later today. I would like to watch my kalafina concert blu-ray which manami helped me buy. I think i'm going to be so stone at work later today. :) k, later y'all. :) maybe will try and write more about japan later today if i'm not too busy or if that dinner appointment i think i'm suppose to have doesn't happen. :)

Japan trip 2 - day 6 - part 3

Am now at narita airport waiting to board the plane home. I will miss you japan. I left so many experiences out in the blog. Hope to fill in the missing pieces like meetings with friends, the visit to the maid cafe etc. See you guys soon and i hope to be back again for either a kalafina or FictionJunction concert and to visit other parts of japan. For now it's back to working hard and saving hard for my next well deserved holiday. :)

Japan trip 2 - day 6 - part 2

We're currently on the Odakyu bound for Shinjuku. One of the things we were disappointed that we could not see yesterday was Mt. Fuji. However, we lucked out. :) The weather was so good, we got a good view of the snow capped peak of Mt. Fuji. :) :) you can barely see it in the photo above but it's there :) and we were very excited. Danielle and Cristel made so much noise as the shot photos of the mountain. It is a very beautiful mountain. :)

Japan trip 2 - day 6 - part 1

We woke up to a beautiful day in hakone today. Pity that it wasn't this clear yesterday because it was so misty, we couldn't see Mt. Fuji. We were thinking of waking up at 6am to see the stars this morning but we could not get up. The front desk clerk told us last night that we can see venus at the front of the hotel if we got up early but we all slept like pigs. So no venus and no morning onsen. :( now we're waiting for breakfast though. I am hungry. :):)

Japan trip 2 - day 5 - part 4

Today we went up to Owakudani to see the sulphuric fissure and eat onsen tamago. We also took a cable car ride down to Lake Ashi. Unfortunately it was so misty we could not see Mt. Fuji. :( the sun did come out to say hello on our way back and we got some nice photos. After we returned to Owakudani we had black ramen and did more shopping before returning to the ryokan for more onsen and a super awesome dinner. :)

Japan trip 2 - day 5 - part 3

It's another cold, misty and rainy day in hakone. We are preparing to leave the ryokan to spend the day exploring the area. I hope be able to find some local produce to buy for mum. We'll probably onsen tonight again. :)

Japan trip 2 - day 5 - part 2

This is our table all laid out for breakfast. Breakfast like last night's dinner was extremely tasty even though there were several strange things i think i've never eaten before. :)

Japan trip 2 - day 5 - part 1

Check out our futons all nicely laid out on the tatami mats. I loved it. It was so warm and comfortable and i slept sooooo well. Although i did have a wierd dream involving tiana, an old friend from the US, buying the Kokuhaku soundtrack and cockroaches. Hahaha... :)

Japan trip 2 - day 4 - part 4

Hi hi mum and dad, thanks for buying the the thermal for me. I'm using it now cuz it was kinda cold today. The pass few days in tokyo, i haven't been blogging much because we have been on the move so much. Will prob blog more while here in hakone and might try and catch up on some of the other days. :)

Japan trip 2 - day 4 - part 3

I'm in hakone!!! And it's awesome!! Ok it's raining and cold but it's beautiful. The place we are staying at feels very authentic. I love the smell of tatami mats. :) we made quite a sight making it here in a small mini bus which was packed with people. We were the only ones with tons of luggage and i was crushed under my own luggage, danielle and danielle's luggage. It was actually kind of funny. :)

Japan trip 2 - day 4 - part 2

Check that photo out. It looks so cold in hakone!!!

Japan trip 2 - day 4 - part 1

We are now on the train waiting for it to leave for hakone. Check out the rain on the window. We were lucky and had some great weather the past few days in tokyo. But today we woke up to a rainy and cold day. Still danielle and i left to do a quick shopping trip to get some christmas gifts for my niece. Then we had to rush back, check out and meet the others at shinjuku station to take the train to the hakone. :)

Japan trip 2 - day 3 - part 2

Today danielle and i explored shinjuku again. We went to buy some adaptors and then headed over to takashimaya square to look for tokyu hands. Itsuko, my old classmate from the states recommended it to us and we loved it. Then we met the others in ikebukuro and then headed over to akihabara for lunch. The above is a picture of a gashapon, capsule toy. I love these. :)

Japan trip 2 - day 3 - part 1

Good morning everyone. It's yet another lovely morning in japan. This is a photo i shot in shinjuku on the first day i reached japan. I'm currently still lazing in bed and still feeling all happy from yesterday's Kalafina concert and the dinner with my old classmates from the US. :) The only 美中不足 is that Kajiura Yuki, my favourite anime music, and perhaps even music composer, did not appear. It's a strange arrangement but Kalafina only exist because Kajiura put them together to sing the songs for the Kara on Kyoukai series of anime movies but she belongs to another label hence does not usually appear at their concerts. Kalafina has of course gained enough popularity to continuing singing enough songs to hold a concert, happily enough for me but if i want to see Kajiura perform in person and clap and yell out my appreciation, it will have to be at a FictionJunction concert. Yet another excuse to come to Japan again, hahaha... :) that and of course meeting my japanese friends again. Next time if i have a chance, i will try and arrange a trip that coincides with a kalafina or fictionJunction concert, then not only meet my friends who live in tokyo but also my friend who lives in gunma. Then also get those tickets to the ghibli museum so i can finally go see the place. okay, i'm going to try and kick danielle out of bed to kick start day 3 in japan. :)

Japan trip 2 - day 2 - part 3

Hello!! I lost count of whether this is part 2 or 3, if it is wrong I'll correct it when I get back. :)

It's pretty late in japan and I'm a little tired but I really want to say how much I enjoyed this concert.  Kalafina was AWESOME.  They sounded great and I had a fantastic time.

The also sang their new yet to be released song "magia" which although didn't sound perfect was still great.  It sounds different from most of their previous songs which is cool.  It also is a rockier song and the song that started the 9 song set which got everyone high.

They also announced that they will sing the theme, or ending theme song, for the 3rd season of a nhk docu. At least I think that is what they said as my japanese is a little limited. Lots of new music. So happy. :)

K, going to sleep now. :)  maybe will talk more about kalafina another day. :)  

Japan trip 2 - day 2 - part 2

This is a picture of the lemon cc hall in shibuya. The kalafina concert will be at this location later today at 430. Danielle and i came early to look for the place and then walked around a bit before we returned at 2 to buy t-shirts and the concert pamphlet. So exciting, my first concert in japan. :)

Japan trip 2 - day 2 - part 1

Good morning, :) it's lovely in japan today. Initially i thought i would update the blog last night but we got back really late so it was straight to bed for danielle and i. Last night we met manami for dinner and she took us to eat at yet another amazing sushi place. This place is in ebisu. We could not get into the one in Meguro as it was booked for a party. This is just one of the photos of the awesome sushi we ate. The chef was really funny too and we had a great time. As usual i took photos of virtually everything we ate except for maybe the pickles. :) After that we went to a nearby bar and drank and talked till 3am in the morning till we got back to sleep. I had a great time and i was very happy to meet manami again. :) :) :)

Japan trip 2 - day 1 - part 3

After we found our hotel in the Shinjuku area, we dumped our bags and headed out to explore the area. We could not check in till 2pm which was about 2 hours from the time we reached the hotel, so we left our bags under the care of the reception at the hotel and headed out to get some lunch.

Now I'm a HUGE fan of the onigiri in Japan, so naturally all I could think of getting after I left the hotel is onigiri and a hot can off coffee from the Family Mart near the hotel. Incidentally, I think this was one of the first things I ate during my first trip to japan.

After wandering around Shinjuku for a while and buying tons of Japanese snacks for lunch we headed back to check in at the hotel where both Danielle and I promptly fell asleep for a couple of hours cuz we were so tired.

We'll be heading out soon to meet 3 more friends from singapore and then the five of us will meet Manami for what we hope will be a super awesome sushi dinner. :)

Japan Trip 2 - day 1 - Part 2

I'm in Japan now. :) Waiting for the Keisei Liner to take us to Nippori where we  will change to the Yamanote Line to Shinjuku. Happy happy happy. :)

Japan Trip 2 - day 1 - Part 1

Hi hi all. I am now at the airport waiting for the flight to Japan to start a short holiday. Drinking coffee and waiting for departure. :) so excited. Keeping this short cuz trying to blog and talk to my friend at the same time. Hope my roaming works so I can mobile blog. K later. :)

First day.

Motorola Milestone - Vignette Camera software

I haven't been very active online lately because I unexpectedly and very quickly got a job soon after graduation.  About the only project I actually did manage to complete was cleaning my room.  That was a huge project on its own and took me an entire week to complete.  Even then, I still feel that there are one or two pockets of junk I need to work through. :)

I'm on the train right now to start at my new job and I am really excited and nervous.  I really wanted this job and really wanted to work for this company so I'm very happy about it too.

That said, I will still miss many things about being a student.  I will miss my flexible schedule, my occasion afternoon coffee indulgences at my favourite cafes, my morning table tennis game etc.  But I start to earn money again, yay! :)  The pass year wasn't too horrible financially because I received a government allowance every month but still, it is nice to be able to earn more now.

Okie dokes.  Almost time to switch trains. Wish me luck on my first day at work. :)