Random post with stuff in it

A couple of friends can back from overseas and I met up with them at dinner with a bunch of friends last night (Sunday). It was also an end-of-holiday/back-to-uni dinner was some of us too. Finally, in my last semester right now. First day back today and already worried about my time management.

Anyhoo, we had Korean for dinner last night and lots of soju and beer was had. Which was good because I haven't drunk a lot in a long time with other people. Bits of memory from leaving the restaurant and the train ride back are ... missing. I wasn't falling-over drunk. I was talkative-loud drunk and missing-little-bits-of-memory drunk. It was somewhat stress relieving. Catching up and just talking with a whole bunch of friends didn't hurt either. XD

So, yes, people came back from overseas and they handed out souvenirs.







These are photos that you can purchase from the Johnny's store in Japan. They aren't really that big fans of Johnny's people so the shop was probably underwhelming. Actually, even fans say the store itself is pretty crap. The only thing worth buying, to me anyway, are the photos. I just want them. I don't know what I'd do with them but yeah. I don't know what other stuff you can get there.

There's also a bunch of unofficial idol shops. I think that's where they got the pacer/mechanical from. Don't really think I could bring that to law school with me. XD Those have unofficial photos like taken by media and apparently some private and paparazzi ones too. That one of Matsumoto Jun, the guy without a shirt, is an unofficial photo.

The phone charm thing is from KDrama Heartstrings. I didn't finish the drama so I don't know if that bear makes an appearance anywhere. XD

And random things from my day ...



I was in the IGA in Market City and saw these as I lined up to pay. Kis-My-Ft2 are endorsing these mints soon-ish? This cost me 3 bucks and the only reason I bought them was because I knew they were or will endorse them. Lame, I know.



My new headphones. These are a really pretty pink-red colour. I bought them from Officeworks while buying supplies. It was around $10. I'm trying to save up for those Beats by Dr. Dre headphones. I want the white over ear ones. Putting that on a birthday list.



And the mints with the the headphones with the iPod.

And, yeah. That's all.

And it's midnight already.

Rather pointless but I wanted to blog. So, yeah. :D

Hermits United

Been at home post-Christmas. I have absolutely no reason to go outside. I was supposed to wake up early today and go somewhere but alas, no. Woke up in the afternoon. Probably wasn't helped by the fact I was watching things until 5am. Am definitely going out tomorrow. Buy some things.

I've been catching up on TV shows. Finished Weeds season 7, Breaking Bad season 1. The DVDs of The Wire are on sale at the moment, so thinking of starting on that. Apparently it's really good.

Randomly picked up some of my old Korean notebooks. I want to attempt TOPIK (Test of Proficiency in Korean). Aiming to do the April Beginners exam. Keep my brain working. Watching stuff just really dulls your brain. Hoping to do N4 of the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) in December.

Also, it appears that I may end 2011 without my L's. Boo, self, boo.

Hope everyone had a great Christmas/long weekend! Mine was fun. Didn't get the things I wanted and I shouldn't complain but I always do. But I liked seeing how happy everyone was when they opened their gifts and liked them. And I can always just buy myself the stuff. Still have my list. XD Though, like my friend said to me, first world problem.

Also, this arrived today.



Present to myself. $32 USD then another $4 for shipping. On the day I bought it the Australian dollar wasn't on parity with the US dollar so it cost $37 AUD instead of $36.

So, enjoy the last few days of 2011. Hmm. This year, yeah ... happy to get rid of it.

Stage for the K-Pop Music Fest in Sydney 2011 (and a little Arashi)

Image from http://www.facebook.com/kpopmusicfest. 

My friend tweeted a link to this. I was expecting to actually see the stage all set up and not this graphic. I wonder how long it takes to put together? Wonder if it's up right now? I suppose it would be. This is not a K-Pop Music Fest post. Sorry, if you're deceived! Not really. Some K-Pop Music Fest related stuff at the end.

I saw this and my immediate thought was "Ain't got nothing on Arashi". To wit, this is sort of an Arashi post. They're my favourite thing in the whole world. They're a 5 member male Japanese group and for the past 4 years (2008 to 2011) they've had the privilege of performing at the National Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan. Only one musical group or artist get to perform there a year. What made me think of Arashi was that ANZ Stadium (oh, remember when it was called Stadium Australia and not anything corporate related?) is the Australian equivalent and I just wanted to compare and contrast the stages, is all.

Image from a google image search which led me to this tumblr post.

See how full of people and pretty it is! They even have moving platforms so they move around as much as they can on the floor. They also have platforms that elevate so that people seated higher can see them. Sometimes they're on wires practically flying above the crowds. They have fireworks, water canons and balloons too!

I have VIP seats to the K-Pop concert so hopefully I'm not too far from the stage. I wonder how much you'll actually see from the seats. It's so far back. I wonder if they'll move people forward if there's still room on the floor ... hmm.

My friend linked me to the conditions of entry for the concert. Still don't know about bringing my DSLR. If anyone reading is going or know of someone going and know if they think it's okay to bring their DSLR - tell me! It doesn't explicitly state 'DSLR'. It says that 'large lens professional cameras' are prohibited and that 'still cameras (not professional) are permitted'. You know, they could have been much clearer if they used the terms 'point and shoot' and 'DSLR'. In the event they do search your bag, find the DSLR and determine it to be a prohibited item then you may be refused entry, is what I gather from the title 'conditions of entry'. And I don't want to risk that after I paid for my ticket. But what are the chances really? I remember I went to a U2 concert. It was sold out and I remember no bag checking or security ... oh, wait. That could be a lie. We had to get our tickets checked and there may have been bag checking. Memory is a bit stale.

Have some more Arashi (http://dai.ly/ru9yaf - because Dailymotion won't let me embed) and uh, Akanishi Jin's new single "Test Drive". My first reaction to this PV was "JIN TAKE OFF YOUR SUNGLASSES AND HOODIE!" Trying to make people forget he's Japanese? IDK. Not a great PV but a catchy song.


Pointless post really. I'm just procrastinating. Last day of classes for semester and I don't really want to start studying. :D

It's been a while

and I haven't updated due to sheer laziness.

And now that I have a whole bunch of things to read and assignments, I'm procrastinating by blogging.

A group of my friends and I got tickets to the K-Pop Concert in November. We'll be sitting in VIP seating. We didn't think the standing/mosh pit looking area was for us. And I don't really want to stand for that long! By the row letter I don't think we're that close to the stage. Definitely not front row but it's still closer than I suppose the other tickets. Can't believe I spent $289 on it. I don't really know the groups all that well. XD

If you've been watching the Korean variety show I Am A Singer, some of the singers of that show are coming down to Melbourne and doing a show at the Sidney Music Myer bowl on 12th October. I don't have a source or link to it. My friend who is a massive fan of that show found the info. A group of my friends want to head down to Melbourne for it and then stay for the weekend. I'm tempted to go but, oh, money. Haven't been to Melbourne for a couple of years and it's so fun to go with a whole bunch of friends. Ah, so tempting!

Yesterday, I headed off to Downing Centre to see my tutor cross-examine a witness. I felt so out of place dressed so casually in this building full of suits. Firstly, I had no idea what room he'd be in. It's just by sheer chance that I even figured out where he was. My friend and I saw a couple of traffic matters. We took too long a lunch and thought we missed seeing our tutor in action. By chance, we wandered and looked for another open court to sit in and he was in there. We missed most of it but at least got to see the cross-examination of one witness. And in his arguments he mentioned things that I now know! I couldn't believe that I was seeing stuff taught in the classroom in practice. Gave everything we've been studying a lot more context. I was slightly more motivated. But that was yesterday. At the moment, I'm a bit, meh. Damn, self.

And now, some photos:

THURSDAY



Sukiyaki don from Sakae on Liverpool Street. We had wandered around for ages and were so hungry. The first Japanese restaurant we went to was full and had a 15 minute wait. But we were starving. All I had eaten that day was coffee and that's not even a food. It's been a long time since I've had donburi and miso soup. It was so so good on a somewhat cold night.


And don't forget the beer.!

FRIDAY




Ramen from Ajisen Ramen on Liverpool Street. This is where I had my long lunch. We were trying to figure out what time we had to go back. Then we got paranoid and ate our food pretty fast. So, did not get the chance to properly enjoy my gyoza ramen. :(



I went to Kinokuniya yesterday and oh, so many things I wanted to buy! There is a sale that ends today. 20% off books and there's some other discounts on stationery as well. I was so surprised to see this, Nippon no Arashi there. My friend bought it for me and I owe her. I haven't even known her for that long and she bought it for me. It was priced at $23.88 but with the discount it was $19.10. So yays. I've flicked through it so far but the size of it is so cute. I just find the size and look of it cute. :) So many Japanese magazines I wanted to buy. Magazines with free bags or with Kis-My-Ft2 or Ikemen desu ne cast on the cover.

Things I'm looking forward to this week: sleepover on Thursday night! It's mid-sem break for UNSW students. I'm not a UNSW-er anymore but I have Thursday and Friday free so yay!

Also, Doctor Who "Let's Kill Hitler" on ABC1 7:31pm tonight, if you still haven't seen it!

Okay, that was sufficient time wasted. Back to studying.

Woke up to this! - ARASHI 10-11TOUR "Scene" - Kimi to Boku no Miteiru Fukei - DOME+

It arrived around 9am this morning. Woke me up earlier than I normally would be on a day where I have nothing. Can't wait to watch it. I've been trying not to illegally download it while I was waiting for it to arrive. Also, I tried to photoshop all the yellow-ness out of these but it didn't work. Have got to learn how to photoshop better.









I love this photo. Sho running to catch up. Or Arashi leaving Sho behind. XD Very Arashi. hearts hearts hearts.


Have got to get dressed now. Want to go buy stuff and it's such a lovely day outside too!

I got some Ohno in the mail today!

So, I had some extra, disposable income leftover from my birthday and on a whim I went on ebay to look for some Arashi-related items. A couple of years back I use to buy a lot of stuff off ebay. A lot of Arashi-related things mostly. Anyway, I went on ebay and found searched for some Arashi stuff. And look! Goods from Ohno's Freestyle exhibition from 2008! Postcards! Cost only 25 bucks all together. Oh, gosh, I love the Australian dollar at the moment. Made it so affordable. There's Kaibutsu-kun pen on ebay that I have my eye on. XD

My item arrived this afternoon before I left for uni and I didn't open until I got home because I would have been totally distracted by taking photos and trying to blog it. I'm going to buy a frame and frame them like I saw someone on Flickr do.

(FYI, Arashi is a Japanese boy band and I love them so much. Ohno is the eldest and their leader and very, very talented at everything he touches!)







How was your hump day?

Kirin

Pack of 6 for $16.99 at Liquorland, World Square. A little treat for myself. A little bit of self-medication. Mood lifting. Even if it's transient and artificial. 2 weeks off but seems like it's going to be busy instead of relaxing! 2 weeks seems like not enough time for everything! Anyway, yays, beer. I'm still trying to find the Kirin Green label in cans that 4/5 of Arashi advertise. WANTS.

Birthdays and boardgames

Trying to take my mind off the Japan earthquake and tsunami for a while. I've been glued to the news and it just keeps getting worse as time goes on.

As the title suggests I attended a birthday party and played board games. We played Jenga and Junior Pictionary. The instructions and rules for Junior Pictionary were so hard to understand, you guys. This game is for children. The instructions should be written in a way that's much less complicated. We just played according to our own interpretation of the rules.

When was the last time you got a party bag? It had random food stuff inside but also plastic bangles, a necklace and a ring that could only fit on my pinky!

We tried to play Trivial Pursuit but the pieces of the pie thing were stuck. Basically, it was too hard to set up. XD

We gave Jenga a shot because it was much, much easier to play. Involved almost no brain power! 

Moved on to Junior Pictionary and realised that we couldn't draw. 

I'll give you hints (from L to R): Thing that begins with R (2 words); Storybook character; a type of animal.

Yeah, and I laugh at Sho (if you don't know he is - member of my favourite everything Arashi. Infamous for his lack of drawing skills. Examples of his stuff here --> http://ninevolt-doll.livejournal.com/1796.html). 

People in glass houses ...

I just spent a large part of my night reading "Dis/Locating Audience: Transnational Media Flows and the Online Circulation of East Asian Television Drama" by Xiaochang Li. (I found the file on my computer. I guess I must have downloaded it looking for academic articles in relation to Asian Pop culture).

At certain parts I was like "I KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS" or "OMG I READ THEM TOO" or "ARASHI!" or "I TOTES DO THAT TOO!" It was really interesting to read about Asian dramas in such an academic light. I really recommend it. Who knew that being a fan was all that? XD

I have a couple of Henry Jenkins' books and particpatory culture in fandom is such a compelling topic since basically I am a fan. I remember stumbling across Henry Jenkins' name on someone's blog post of LJ post. I'm not quite sure which and I'm not quite sure what it was about. Actually, I'm not quite sure at all now. Was I googling him for a specific purpose? Or was I googling something else and he turned up? I really don't remember. Maybe I did an LJ post about it eons ago. Shall check archives. Anyway, my point is, I stumbled across his name and I guess what he was about ... oh, no, wait (oh, wow, this is like some stream of consciousness right here). Maybe I stumbled across his book in Kinokuniya in the media section then I googled him? In any case, I have 2 of his books: "Fans, Bloggers, and Gamers: Media Consumers in a Digital Age" and "Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide". I love that I totally understand what he's talking about.

I would love to see more academic writing on Asian dramas and/or pop culture. I found some journal articles in the area on google scholar but they're a few years old. There's nothing particularly recent. I wish I had the brain to write an academic paper on fandom. Fandom and the internet. Seriously, fandom and the internet is just amazing. What would either of them do without the other? XD

I think not being exposed to Asian dramas would have made me a different person. This is not an exaggeration. I had no desire to learn Japanese or Korean before watching Asian dramas. I didn't have a desire to travel to Japan or South Korea or anywhere in Asia that wasn't the Philippines (because I am Filipino and it's like - well, how could I not go? XD) Before watching Asian dramas I hadn't eaten at any Japanese or Korean restaurants. I didn't really go to Chinatown or Kinokuniya. I know how to navigate parts of the internet better now. I remember when I first became a fan that I was constantly searching for a community to access content or discuss dramas or just get recommendations. I wonder how different it would have been if I didn't have all those things now. I wouldn't have the friends I would now. I met a lot of them in Korean language class at uni.

Actually, thinking about it now and typing it out - wow, seems like I owe Asian dramas a lot. XD

2010: In Review

January

I remember not doing much and being at home mostly. Lack of money and well, just lack of things to do. Highlight of this month was going to the Jenolan Caves. I went with my cousins and their childlike enthusiasm was just so wonderful to see in a month when I wasn't feeling so great about some things.

February

I dyed my hair and met up with lots of friends. I watched a film but I don't remember which one. Birthdays were had, people left.

March

Arashi no Shukudai-kun ended! I watched it live on KeyHole and oh, I think I may have cried. I also may have graduated from my undergraduate degree.

April

Easter. I turned 23.

May

Earlier in the year my friends and I had weekly dinners and then later in the year that just phased out. Good friends and good food.

June

End of first semester of law school. Trying to get through exam period, my younger brother's birthday and I left to go to the Philippines! I hadn't been there in 10 years.

July

Spent most of this month overseas in humid weather and being unable really to travel by myself. Kept having to be chaperoned by my dad or some random cousins that I appeared to have. I think the Philippines would be the highlight of my 2010. That and Christmas.

August

Start of second semester. Looking back I should have tried harder. But I say that all the time about everything. I think I should make that an ongoing resolution.

September

No real idea at all. Must remember to write stuff down in 2011. Can't always rely on check past tweets to see what I did that day.

October

Cousin's birthday and just a whole bunch of uni stuff.

November

EXAM HELL!

December

One of my favourite times of year because of Christmas. But my favourite month was kind of marred by the appearance of summer school. I'm currently in some sort of summer school hell but it's New Year's Eve Eve (at the time I post this) so I can't be too sad!

Overall, it was a pretty static year for me. Although, it seems like it always is. In 2011 I want to do things that make my heart pop out of my chest.

Goals and resolutions for 2011 will be posted up tomorrow or as soon as I can think of them!