Short Tokyo Trip

Hiya, I'm back from Tokyo! It's been a really fun and fruitful trip for me, and I hope XB and my other 2 friends enjoyed their trip there as well. Stay tuned for more of my Tokyo trip!

Isogabamaware lyrics

Here you go, XB...

isogaba gabagaba maware
isogaba gabagaba maware

isogaba gabagaba maware
isogaba gabagaba maware

nonbiri (yukkuri) <-- not very sure.. but that's the only word I can think of that fits...
ikou yo
yukkuri (mattari)
shiyou yo

awatecha dame dame

isoiso gabagaba maware
isoiso gabagaba maware


いそがば　がばがば　まわれ
いそがば　がばがば　まわれ

いそがば　がばがば　まわれ
いそがば　がばがば　まわれ

のんびり　（ゆっくり）（？）
行こう　よ
ゆっくり　（まったり）
しよう　よ

慌てちゃ　だめ　だめ

いそいそ　がばがば　まわれ
いそいそ　がばがば　まわれ

Cute duo U900!!

XB! Amigurumis playing ukeles! HAAHHAHAHAAA... (yeww.. The way I laugh... Azumanga Daiou no Tomo-chan mitai naa... ><) My boss showed me and another colleague this vid. Thought it was really cute, so posted it here.. The song they're sing was called isogabamaware (Walk, Don't run) which can also means slow and steady wins the race.

Oh, they said tabe ni ikou... for some reasons, it sounded like tabi ni ikou in my office comp... And I was like... why on earth would he/she want to state tour as an example of what they want to do after the music recording.... music tour? lol..

One more: Diamond Head

Love song in Suspect X 最愛 福山雅治 version and KOH+ version

Watched Suspect X (容疑者Xの献身） today.. Loved this song, so put up both Fukuyama's version and KOH+'s version here.. Aye, didn't know the the female version was sung by the actress herself...


Fukuyama's (or Yukawa sensei =P) version (The lights decoration is really breath-taking!)



KOH+'s (Kou Shibasaki aka Detective Utsumi in the show + Fukuyama Masaharu) version (Fukuyama at the back.. Lol)

夏祭りNatsu Matsuri 2008 (Singapore)

Went down to the Japanese Primary School Changi Campus this evening with XB and Angeline to attend the Natsu Matsuri event.

Both came to my house first (and I reached home later than them.. =X) so Angeline and I could change into our yukata before taking a cab down to the matsuri. Had a lot of help from Angeline in the wearing of the yukata... Lol... (We were kinda fumbling through the process of it.... ><)

In our yukata~~~ Angeline so elegant looking with the fan ^.^~~

It was 6:30pm when we reached there and there were already loads of people....!! Angeline bought a couple of game tickets near the school porch..

People and people and more people....

Angeline and I tried to persuade XB into renting a yukata (since there were a lot of guys there in one!) but sadly, he rejected.... *sulk* Then again, looking at the extremely long queue to the yukata rental, I think the event would be ending once XB got his yukata... ==

But anyways, while we're trying to find the Matsuri Goods stall, we bumped into Yingying (almost couldn't recognize her coz she's not wearing specs..).. The 3 of us checked out some stalls while XB was in his world of snapping some boh liao photos.... (Oh.. I forgot to mention Angeline and I bought some miniature cakes accessories before we bumped into Yingying... Lol..)

See what I mean... Boh liao...

We bought some masks from the Matsuri Goods stall, just to get into the festive mood! What a havoc....

Shiyuan! Can you see our gift for you???

We took a walk around the campus and look what we'd found!

They were selling Domo-kun bag! HAHAHHA... So hilarious... The paper says "30 Dollars".. O.O

Angeline and Yingying then went to queue for the games (Gosh, it was crowded!!! And there's this guy with a sign that said "To the gymnasium, this way, this way"... Didn't mention what activity they were holding in the gym... so we also din bother........) while XB and I took a "stroll" in the rain... == Saw the decorated site for the Bon Odori, but wrongly assumed that it's cancelled due to the rain... The both of us then took a look at the food stalls... Wanted to get the daifuku but the guy in front of me took the last packet!!! @#!$#$@... Hahaha.. Sad.. Oh wells... Went to buy a drink instead.. (It was uber hot in the yukata...)

While waiting for the 2 girls, XB played with his iPhone. And out of the blue, the bell rang... We thought it was some fire alarm.... O.O.. But there was no announcement at all... == And no one else seem to be bothered... Alrighty then... We continued waiting.. Angeline and Yingying came back with many yoyos (one of which was given to me.. Thanks Angeline!) and Angeline got herself a gift from another game stall.

This is what I mean by yoyos.... A very popular game during the matsuri! The top right hand photo shows the "Save the Super Ball!" game... HAhahahah... ==

The 2 girls wanted to look at what's selling at the food stalls, so we went back and I got XB to by me a balloon sculpture.... HAHHA... I requested the balloon artist to make a flower... We then went into a "snapping photos" frenzy and took even more random photos... ==

Random but fun! HAHAHAHA...

Angeline discovered a stall that was selling panda taiyaki (panda pancake) and snapped some photos! Yingying and her bought 1 too! Munch~!

Uh.. Panda suffering bad-skin-day?

Thinking that the Bon Odori was cancelled, we went back pretty early (XB and Angeline's dad drove us back before 9). We were already in the car when Angeline got a call from her friend... Apparently, the Bon Odori (that is the main highlight of the yearly Natsu Matsuri) was shifted to the sports hall (the gymnasium?? So that's what the sign was for! They should have written somewhere that it's for the Bon Odori.... Be it in English or Japanese! ><).... And the bell that they rang might have been to notify us about the dance... >< They should have an announcement instead...

Oh wells, at least we took a photo of the school map before dumping it into a dustbin.....

Beautified with a flower... Hahha..

Oh! And we managed to catch bits of the fireworks at Marina Bay while we're travelling on the high way. A nice way to end our evening after the Natsu Matsuri event~~ =D

Create your own Figurine!

But too bad, this 1st of its kind 3d printing service can only be found at Akihabara, Japan. 3d printing has been around for quite some time already, but due to the printer's rocket-high price, not everyone can afford it. Tsukulus Co., Ltd. is changing this trend by providing such a service to let anyone have the chance of creating their own "doujin" figures at a reasonable price.

To create your very own figurine, all you need to do is to create your 3D model using some 3D modelling/animation software (Make sure it fits within the 190mm x 240mm x 190mm max size). Next, this 3D data will be fed to one of the two 3d printers (they call it magic microwave... LOL) they have. You could then select your material choice: Clay, plastic or aluminium. Press the start button, and you're on your way to printing your original work of art, in 3D!


A 10.5 inch figure costs about 9000 yen and the machine works with obj, RML or mqo data only. But the company would be happy to convert your 3d model into a compatible form, so don't worry! (But I suggest to confirm with them if the certain format can be converted... Just in case..)

For more details, please check out this site.

p.s. I think about a year or a couple of years back, there's this Science article which mentioned that there's thought on mass producing 3D printers for home use. If this trend picks up, it would mean 3d printing could get more affordable! Woot! (But to hand-craft a clay form is fun too....)

Photos for my Hokkaido Trip

I've uploaded some photos taken during my 8-day trip to Hokkaido/Tokyo. You can view them at my Photobucket Hokkaido Album page.

Please wear your Kimono correctly....

Watched a small part of Food Mania on channel 8 yesterday and was slightly appalled.... Considering the show's related to Japanese food (I presume...), it's only right that they understand Japanese culture a little more and be more careful in their dressing.... (as in the clothes... not salad dressing.... LOL)

My mum said I'm too "anal" but I just find it quite annoying for people to wrap their kimono wrongly... Or they think they're walking corpses.. O.O'''.... Think some already know what I'm talking about..

Japanese always wrap their Kimono left-over-right style. Right-over-left is reserved for the dead...

Borrowed this photo from mediacorp..

All wore their happi wrongly except Ah-Ben and the girl 2nd from the right (Not too sure about the girl 2nd from the left).. Since they look pretty much alive, they should cross the left side of the happi over the right side.

I suggest checking this website out before attempting to wear your kimono for the 1st time... =P

Hokkaido Tour Day 2 - 18/01/2008

Sapporo

Wakey, wakey! For some reasons, I'm always the one waking up earlier when I go for tours.. Grrr..

Anyway, after a hearty western breakfast (buffet-style) at our hotel, our group set off for Mt. Okura Ski Jump Stadium (大倉山ジャンプ競技場, Ookurayama Jyampu Kyougijyou).

The ground was covered in a thick layer of snow when we reached there... And haha, it was snowing again.. And the temps seemed to be even lower than before.... BRRRR... (maybe coz we're at a higher ground level..?) Was really amazed by the sight of the ski jump... Never in my life did I know that a ski jump is THAT steep...!! *Gulp* Think I was having fear of heights without the need to be up there... (Luckily) We didn't manage to go up though.. They were holding an event or something....

Group photo! Snowing....

Niko Niko!


The next part of our itinerary was an impromptu decision. With the whole group's consensus, our trip to some milk factory (how to make icecream..?) was changed to an exciting hour at the Snowmobile Land Sapporo. Even though the ride was at our own expense, it's money well-spent. ^.^ (10,000 yen for renting a single rider for the 60-min ride, and 15,000 for renting the double rider also for the 60-min ride) XB and I chose the double rider and I might only be the passenger, it was still a thrill to enjoy the chilly breeze while speeding across the snow plains and bumpy slopes to the quarry. Not to mention, as a passenger, I got to enjoy the sight of beautiful Nature dressed in her magnificent white gown.

Ready to go!

At the quarry area... Sitting on snow! (It looks fun, isn't it.. NOT! Try getting ice shavings into ur pants.. ==)

Our instructor.. Notice the really beautiful scenery!

There's this family who opted out of the ride... Look what they've made during the hour! (Should have taken a photo of this snowman when it was still wearing winter hat and scarf...)


After the exhilarating ride, we made a move to Asahi Beer Factory.

Asahi Biiru Hokkaido Koujyou

Nope, we didn't get to tour around the actual manufacturing premise... Were only shown a video of it... *roll eyeballs* We did get to try their fresh beer though, and it's free flow. =P (I only tried a sip... Chickened out and chose the soda instead... LOL)

CHEERS!


Before anyone of us could get high from the "endless" supply of free beer, we went back to Susukino district to have our Ramen lunch at the famous Ramen Alley (ラーメン横丁, Ramen Yokochou).

The shop where we had our lunch...

The ramen chef in action...

XB and I ordered gyoza too.. ^.^

Ramen Yokochou... Me not included... LOL


After lunch, XB spotted this while walking back to our tour bus.

A really plump crow and a nonchalant pigeon... HAHHAHA...


I'm sure these words "白い恋人" are not alien to some people. We had the chance to visit the factory that produced these yummy Shiroi Koibito chocolates (Factory is also called 石屋, Ishiya). Unfortunately, we couldn't enter the factory (closed to visitors temporarily due to some issues) and could only tour around the garden within the premise. The garden was like a mini fairytale land filled with mini traditional European style houses.

Yokoso Ishiya e!

Even the security guard fitted into the whole fairytale land scene!

Pink statues..? Nah, these are plants which were wrapped up to be protected from the harsh wintry conditions.

I've never seen such an elegantly designed washroom...

Even the toilet bowl was intricately decorated.... O.O Each cubicle also had a very interesting gadget attached with it... When you sit on the toilet bowl, this gadget will start producing flushing noises... The sounds will refuse to go away until you have flushed the toilet... LOL... For the next few days, I realized this was not the only female toilet to have such gadget equipped.


We then finally made our way to Otaru, a port town for Sapporo. (Our bus ride passed through some hilly areas....... and it was pretty foggy.. kooooo) Otaru is a very nostalgic place with all the historical buildings. We were brought to see what's remained of a canal (which has been preserved) that once ran through the middle of Otaru. Just like Singapore river, this canal was used to let traders transport their cargoes and disembark just next to the storage area. Similarly, European style store houses and Victorian street lamps adorned the surrounding area.

But of course, most of us were more interested in shopping. So we had some free time walking around the shopping area.. Which was more like shops housed in magnificent historical buildings. We passed by a cafe that apparently is famous for its ice cream. Since I felt much better, XB and I made a mental note to try the ice cream. However, I was more interested in the Otaru Music Box Museum.

There's a steam clock located outside the Main Hall. Every hour, it would play a melody through the release of steam. Cool huh. Didn't manage to take a reasonable photo of the steam clock though... Oh well, I was more interested in the musical boxes anyway...

Stepping into the main hall is like stepping into a wonderland of glass, lights and music. The array of musical boxes and the likes was just mind boggling!

@.@...

And this was just the 1st level.. There were even more varieties on the 2nd level... But I got excited when I read a notice saying that DIY musical box is at the 3rd level... That's it... HAHAH.. But once faced with the different types of materials needed... I was kinda stumped... I read and re-read the instructions... But I was still feeling unsure.. There were all sorts of musical gadgets, and I could only roughly guess which casing should go with which gadget... I finally made the decision of choosing the gadget that's already mounted onto a wooden base.. (cheaper... LOL..) I chose a cubic glass cover and a couple of the cheapest glass ornaments and a sheet of bling bling stickers...

After paying at the counter (Aye, it already cost me near 3000 yen even though I think mine was one of the cheapest DIY musical box ever made...), the friendly staff (he's a Chinese who spoke really fluent Japanese!!!) ushered me to a work area and showed me how to mix the 2 types of adhesive and how to use it.. After the instructions, I got my hands dirty and started assembling and decorating MY OWN musical box.

Work in progress...

The final product! Too bad they didn't have angels in a pinkish or purplish tone.. It looked kinda empty huh.. That's the outcome of trying to be stingy on the decoration... LOL

Had to let the musical box sit and rest for about 30 min to make sure the adhesive is totally dry.. So in the mean time, we took a look around the rest of the shopping area.

This classy building actually housed a chocolate shop! And we knew coz there's this guy standing outside distributing green tea chocolates for everyone to sample... Talking about chocolates.. I was given a bar of chocolate for free for choosing to make the DIY musical box!

There were a lot of arts-related shops and museums. There was this glassware shop/museum that had free glassware making seminars (too bad I didn't attend any). Lots of small shops selling cute souvenirs (e.g. Hello Kitty). There was even a mini-market that was selling fresh seafood and some other food stuffs... Many interesting things to look at, but most of them were too expensive for my budget.

Nevermind... The ice cream was affordable though! And it's value for money! We bought the special and they stacked 5 different flavors onto a cone!! There's lavender, vanilla, melon, strawberry and chocolate(if I wasn't wrong..).

See? Many flavors! Why do I see question marks all over your head!?? Eating ice cream in winter is crazy?? Not at all! In fact, my body felt slightly warmer while eating the ice cream! And the ice cream would never melt in this sub-zero temps! How cool is that????

After retrieving my already dried musical box, we walked about a little more before returning to our tour bus.


We're back to the same place for dinner. Menu for today was Japanese grill! Ooh la la... 1 big plate of vegetables (with 2 big scallops) and free flow of meat... Another night with an overly full tummy... ==''' And I think this was the most I'd ever eaten of meat... Arhhh... (Though XB claimed that most of it was eaten by him...)

A spread... sans the meat

Some in our tour group ordered 2 big abalones

and Kobe beef..

Ready to tuck in!


Took a walk outside once we're back at our hotel. (Wanted to venture more but shops were closed.. except for Lawson(s?) Convenience Stores...)

An astro observatory??

"Scary" tree.. LOL.. My camera somehow managed to capture it in an eerie manner.. It wasn't scary at all in person. ==

A chapel just beside our hotel. Very cute and manga/anime-ish, isn't it??


And that's "nite nite" for today!

Hokkaido Tour Day 1 - 17/01/2008 (Continued)

Continued from this post.. (Perhaps I should just summarize???)

We reached Chitose Airport at Hokkaido after the 1 hour plus flight from Haneda. My, it was FREEZING COLD outside the airport!! Water vapor just condensed instantly as we breathed. Actually, this was nothing new to me... Experienced this first time when I was at Beijing 14 years ago during winter, and the second time when I was at Oowakudani (Hakone) last year... But to experience sub-zero temps during the day time was the first for me...

Had a bus ride to a restaurant to have our lunch.. Which wasn't the best in our trip... The potato siew mai and the scallop were good though. (Scallops were everywhere in our meals at Hokkaido...) The miso soup was very flavorful and sweet too. I just don't fancy the raw prawn (surprisingly, the raw squid tasted pretty good with wasabi and shoyu..) and a mysterious appetizer...

Took a look around at the shop at the ground floor.. Saw some of our tour group mates tucking into yummy-looking softo (ice-cream).. Was still sick, couldn't eat so didn't buy... =(

After lunch, we set off for Sapporo. It started to snow very heavily during the bus ride... A first for me too... I've seen light snow falling.. But not HEAVY snow! The sight's quite amazing... I've never seen snow flakes swirl before! (Apparently, this was due to some gadgets that were installed to blow the snow away from the roads..? Besides, the wind was quite strong at that time..) This reminds me of the story of the Snow Queen... Ok, out of point.. LOL..

It was snowing less heavily at Tokei Dai (Sapporo), thankfully.. It was a European style clock tower built in the Sapporo city. Guess the place would look really pretty during warmer seasons when the flowers bloom. The place looked kinda manga-ish/anime-ish in a way... haha.. We then walked for a short distance to the entrance of an underground shopping alley. (On the way, we passed by an area where the Snow/Ice carving exhibition is currently held. We happened to see the original pre-carved form of the gigantic block of snow/ice that was placed there... LOL) Across the road, there's the Sapporo TV tower sticking out from Odori garden.

We were given some free time to shop around the underground shopping alley (also called Aurora town). There were lots of boutiques selling discounted female clothings.. Mainly for winter/autumn wear though... There were also accessories shops, a small Kinokuniya and some eateries and fastfood restaurants... I bought a very unique and pretty watch (partly sponsored by XB) with lovely traditional Japanese designs (kinda looked like washi paper patterns) encased in the bangle-style strap. It's fortunate I didn't really hesitate to buy it for i din see it being sold elsewhere (apparently)! Phew!

After this short shopping trip, we took a ride to the Tanuki Koji shopping arcade at Susukino district (well.. not b4 we took some photos outside the police post at Odori garden... LOL.. Still regretted not taking photos with the high school girls who happened to ask me help them take photos.. ==.. the irony.. well, they're a fun and friendly bunch of kids!). It was only 4 plus pm, and the skies were already turning dark...

Tanuki Koji is actually a stretch of 8 shopping streets linked by covered walkways (Similar to Shisaibashi, Osaka). With hundreds of shops , it is a shopping haven indeed. Sadly, most of my time was spent at Daiso and the mini art exhibition.... Bought some omiyage and a few handphone accessories made of glass beads.

Dinner was shabu shabu. It was crazy... For every couple, there was a gigantic plate of vegetables with scallops... and another big plate of meat.... You could even refill them! ==''' I couldn't even finish a quarter the plate of the meat... Refill? No thanks.. It was good though.. Love the sesame sauce.

Due to jet lag and what not, XB and I didn't venture the Susukino district that night... After unpacking our luggage and having a nice warm bath, we had no problems drifting into dreamland... zzzz

Hokkaido Tour Day 1 - 17/01/2008

Day 1, 17/01
Narita - Haneda - Chitose - Sapporo


Heh, who would have thought I would fall sick on the day I was leaving for Japan... Already felt weird the night before in the MRT after my make-up 日本語授業(Japanese lesson..)... When I woke up the next day, I felt terrible.. It felt as if I've gotten the flu bug...

Thank God I took leave the day to prepare for the trip. So went to the Doc. Luckily my throat wasn't very inflamed. Was given pills for runny nose and sore throat, some fever pills (in case I did get fever at Japan), lozenges to suck and vitamin C pills to bite on.

And yup, I only packed my luggage the very day I was flying... HEhe.. So I was feeling very tired and kinda groggy (maybe from the runny nose med) when I reached the airport.. XB wasn't feeling very well either... =='''

J.C. was our tour guide (with Madeline tagging along as "pseudo" tour guide). And wowzers, we had a bunch of really punctual folks as our tour group mates. Most of them (including me!) arrived at the airport much earlier than the meeting time. Our tour group wasn't really big.. 20 people, including J.C and Madeline. Which was good. Fewer people = less hassle.

Watched a bit of Rush Hour 3 (in Japanese.. LOL) and Lilo and Stitch (Disney Channel.. hahahha) in the plane... Tried to get some sleep but managed to sleep for less than a couple of hours... I think.. I thought I was feeling groggy before stepping into the plane?! Guess the effect wore off...

I was feeling kind of lousy when I reached Narita Airport.. And my left ear was still aching from the descending plane.. More accurately, it felt as if there's water trapped in my ear... arghh... And to think that I've another domestic flight to take to Hokkaido... ==''' (you can see the tired look on my face in the Chitose airport picture.. Gasp.. I must have looked hideous for that "photo shoot" at the customs.. In case you don't know, foreigners have to get their fingerprints and head shot taken when getting their passports stamped by the customs officers.. Don't worry, the process is very fast.. Just remember to smile at the screen... Which I didn't coz I was clueless as to where to look...)

Woke up fully temporarily when we stepped out
of the airport. Well.. Who wouldn't when greeted with the wintry cold air. And it seemed to have snowed slightly earlier.. Fresh snow can be seen resting on top of the parked vehicles and on the bushes. Totally different in how it looked as compared to the previous time I came here (last spring).

We took a bus ride to Haneda airport for our domestic flight to Chitose Airport. Haneda airport has a shopping mall within it. Was kinda tickled to see them selling flattened-heart-shaped banana cake called Tokyo Banana... And something interesting.. A plate of 4 halfed-sandwiches (or was it 2??) can be sold at almost the same price as a plate of curry rice.. O.O Anyway, I was in a frenzy when I saw a bookstore... Bought my 1st stuff in Japan.. Lala manga book... HAHHAHAA... I just couldn't resist the temptation of the Ouran Host club... *fan girl mode*

And I will never forget the pronunciation for 搭乗券.. toujyouken... ==.. Oh well.. A slight situation I'd met.. Didn't know toujyouken = boarding pass.. The Kanji words, 搭乗券, never crossed my mind in such a short time... HAHAHHA.. Oh.. A side note for tourists who want to take domestic flights in Japan. It's ok to bring in bottled drinks..

Anyway, my brain finally gave in and got into a slumber once seated comfortably in the airplane.. Of course, I took a photo of what I guessed was Fuji-san (later confirmed by J.C. on the last day of the tour..) before going into zzz-land.

..To be continued..

Back from Japan!

Hi guys! I'm back from my Japan (Hokkaido) tour! Will upload some photos when I've the whole set from XB. =)

Orange Dango - Recipe

Suddenly had the craving for fruity dango... (Actually, it's just dango with a fruit sauce..)



Recipe:

Ingredients for dango
(for 3 sticks of 5 balls)
Dango flour -- About 1/2 cup
Orange food coloring -- sufficient to tint
Warm water

Directions for making dango
Mix Dango flour and food coloring in a bowl. Add in warm water slowly and mix until you get a dough with a consistency similar to your earlobe.. (hahhaha... that's what the instructions in jap say...) Divide the dough into 15 equal pieces and roll each of them into a ball.

Heat up a saucepan of water. When it comes to a boil, put in the balls of dough.

While the dango balls are cooking, prepare a bowl of cold water with ice cubes added. Once the dango balls come afloat, transfer them to the cold water and ice.

Next, prepare the orange sauce.

Ingredients for Orange Sauce
Juice of 1 Orange
Mirin -- About 3 dessertspoons
Katakuriko/Potato Starch (optional) -- 1/2 teaspoon mixed with a bit of water

Mix the orange juice and mirin in a saucepan, and heat it over slow fire. Let it bubble for a while.

(optional)Add in the potato starch/water mix and stir the sauce.

Let the mixture bubble till it becomes slightly thick (it will still feel watery, but when u taste it, u can feel that it's slightly thicker than the orange juice)

Turn off the heat and transfer the orange sauce to a small bowl. You may chill it to make the sauce thicker.

Serving
Soak 3 satay sticks (bamboo skewers) in water for a 1 or 2 minutes. For every skewer, thread 5 balls of dango. Place the skewers of dango onto a plate. Pour the orange sauce over the dango balls. Enjoy.

(Will post the recipe for traditional dango some other day..)

Silly Haikus, anyone?

Maybe I should rumage through my pile of old exercise books for my journal and my literature exercises... I remember writing poems in my journal (oh yeah, they were to be submitted for marking by the English teachers) when I had nothing better to write about. For some reasons, I had difficulty deciding what to write for the week... So when all else failed, poems saved the day... It's lame, but it did the work.. LOL.. But for poems, I love haikus the best... 5,7,5... Our literature teacher would force down the pattern into our throats and hopefully we could digest and store it in our heads. My poem writing skills are kinda rusty now, but I'll try...

Robots are Us
Cookie cutter world,
All are almost similar,
Unbreakable mold.


Mini World
The world is so small,
Hidden amongst giant stars,
In this dark fabric.


Okay, since haikus originate from Japan... Maybe I should try one in Japanese.... Gulp...


心の言葉
君のため (kimi no tame => For your sake)
奥にあるのに (oku ni aru no ni => Even though it exists deep inside)
話せない (hanasenai => I can't say it)

Right.. I'm no famous poet, so I suppose my Japanese haiku might sound kinda... erm, amateur (or perhaps even strange?) to the Japanese's ears... =\

文化の日（３．１１．２００７､土曜日）

That's right. It's Cultural Day in Japan on Saturday and it's a holiday for them. No holiday for us here in this small tropical island though. But inline with this special day, JCS has jointly organized with a Japanese fashion designer, Shoko (also a beauty consultant in Amene), a fashion show here which showcased Shoko's masterworks.

Intertwining fuusui (fengshui) and fashion was the idea of the show. Each fashion piece depicts a horoscope, and is itself a walking lucky charm. Shoko incorporates lucky elements from each horoscope into every piece of work respectively. (If possible, I'll type out the lucky elements of each horoscope once i reach home tonight.) Not forgetting Shunji Matsuo, the man behind the BIG hairstyles for all the models that night. And Karen Lai for the dramatic and amazing makeup.
Right.. On with the photos... The show started with the emcee requesting for any guy to take up the offer of having an EXTREME makeover by Shunji Matsuo and Karen Lai. I would expect no one would go for the challenge but surprisingly, a blond hair guy volunteered. (Whom we realised was actually one of their people.. HAHA..)

Well... He looked kinda pretty though... LOL.. (He's quite good looking in person)

After this, the fashion show started.

These are the only photos that came out ok from my camera.. It was too dark.

But do not fret! I've taken photos with some of the models. =)


Capricorn



Aquarius
No picture.... =( My dad's star sign...


Pisces



Aries



Taurus



Gemini
She's tall!! She had to bend her legs to be able to match my height... T.T


Cancer
With my cousin =)


Leo



Virgo



Libra
No picture... =( My mum's star sign..


Scorpio
Neither Scorpio!.. Arghhh... I feel so stupid right now.. Coz my cousin's right about the girl with the red fan but as she's not in her head gear, I thought she's someone else.... Gaahhhh... And I feel kinda sad too.. This is my cousin's and my brother's star sign. =(


Sagittarius



So.. What's up with me!?!? All the star signs that I didn't managed to take a photo are all my family members' star signs.. GAH?!


With the Lady of the Show. Shoko!


With the Man of the Show. Shunji Matsuo! (My stupid hair.. that strand kept falling onto my face..)


Remember the 1st pic? He's that guy... (and his make up is still on!....)


This guy is pretty cool/hot-looking...


Alex Soh's photo gallery... Amazing photos, I tell u!