EXPOSURES (FOOD PLACES) -- Made in China, Seor Ak San, Akashiro

Small update to my life (because I just want to share it): Starting February 1st, I'm going to finally be a permanent employee of where I currently work. Yay!! Before I was on contract with them for six months, and it was getting close to its end. I was very worried. I spoke with my boss a few times and he always told me that he wasn't going to let me go. Unfortunately, I've had experiences where bosses tell me one thing and then go back on it. So I couldn't believe in it until I actually signed something saying that I was going to continue. Don't want to look forward to something and then get crushed when it doesn't happen.

A small part of me feels like I just signed my soul away, lol. This would be my first full-time, permanent job -- I'm worried if my boss will ever regret it. But I'm happy. I'm very happy. I love working with my team mates and my boss is great. What keeps me loyal to a company is its people. And I owe a lot to this company, for taking a chance on me. Really -- I'm just super appreciative.

Okay, now to the actual blog.

MADE IN CHINA

Location: 371 Yonge St., Toronto, Ontario (close to Yonge & Gerrard) Google Map

Contact #: 416-596-1516
Website: Click! (some of the content is funny)

Type(s) of Cuisine: Chinese

Specialty (if any): None

Price Range (for a main dish): Cheap -- $5.50-$17

Restaurant Size: Medium

Recommend? Yes, with a group

Brief Impression

I went here with a group of friends and I can say that made the experience more pleasant for me. We each ordered a different dish and we got separate smaller plates, so we kind of had a feast. The atmosphere was pleasant, comfy, and clean. The employees there were nice and came by frequently to fill our tea. The food, well, was decent for the price. Except for the chicken, the overall flavour was subtle for me. My friends enjoyed the food, though. I think I'm losing my taste buds... ><''

SEOR AK SAN

Location: 357 Spadina Avenue, Toronto, Ontario (close to Spadina & College) Google Map

Contact # (from Yelp.ca): 416-977-2788
Website: None

Type(s) of Cuisine: Korean

Specialty (if any): Unsure

Price Range (for a main dish): Cheap -- (don't remember the price range; I just remember that it was cheap)

Restaurant Size: Small

Recommend? Not really right now...

Brief Impression

My visit there wasn't the best. I think it had a lot to do with the dish I ordered. I ordered a bulgogi beef dish with some rice wraps (forgot the name of it). While it tasted very good, most of my dish was made up of the rice wraps and only three small pieces of beef. Everything else about the place was okay. The atmosphere made me think about a school cafeteria (unless I'm remembering things wrong -- I went to this place in December). I really liked that the chopsticks, spoons, and forks were already on the table. The small dishes (that usually come with Korean dishes) were good. Another nice thing was that you can ask for no spice for spicy dishes (that would be me). My friends all seemed to enjoy their dishes, though. I'll have to try this place again before it goes on my "Never visit again" list.

AKASHIRO

Location: 260 Yonge Street, Toronto, Ontario (In the Urban Eatery food court in Eaton Centre) Google Map

Contact #: 416-596-9900
Website: Click! (I see a few misspellings)

Type(s) of Cuisine: Japanese

Specialty (if any): None

Price Range (for a main dish): High ($12-$19 for lunch sets; California Rolls: $6.95; Dynamite Rolls: $9.95; Salmon Sashimi [5 pieces]: $7.95)

Restaurant Size: Small

Recommend? No (I will probably never go back)

Brief Impression

The atmosphere looks really nice, classy, and clean. The employees are nice and polite. The price of the food, though... yikes! For those wondering why I've included the price for California Rolls, Dynamite Rolls, and Salmon Sashimi above: whenever I go to eat sushi, I would order at least one of those dishes 99% of the time. So those dishes are my benchmarks in determining if the price is, well, pricey or not. $10 for Dynamite Rolls is very pricey in my book. But I ordered it, to try it out. I also ordered Salmon Maki, and Mochi Ice Cream.

The Salmon Maki was okay -- tastes just like regular Salmon Maki. The Dynamite Rolls were very good, but quite crumbly and way too big -- definitely not a one-bite thing. I got the Green Tea Mochi, and I was served with two pieces and a slice of grapefruit. The photo in the menu has three mochi pieces, so don't be surprised if you order it and get two. I don't think the combination of sweet mochi ice cream and sour-bitter grapefruit is very good. It's better to buy a box of mochi ice cream from T & T if you really want to eat it.

I honestly don't know if I would ever go back because of its price. If you can overlook that and decide to try it out, please tell me what you think or if you disagree with my recommendation. Maybe I was just unlucky and ordered the dishes that just didn't taste as high as its price.

BLOG (PERSONAL) -- Random Thoughts/Events for This Week (Jan. 16-Jan. 22)

Well, this week has been quite... scattered for me. Maybe I feel a little overwhelmed, many things hitting me or just happening. Things to do, things to prepare, things to think about -- arg, my mind is overloading!!! D: So... this blog will reflect that scattered state -- will just talk about random thoughts and events that happened this week. Again, because it's personal, it may not be interesting to you.

Events this week:

Clothes-shopping with my sister and friends

A while ago, I updated my Facebook status to say: "Just added up all her receipts from Boxing Week shopping... no shopping for 5 months (except for video games and necessities)". Well, I guess I couldn't keep to that... xP We didn't get to shop together during Boxing Week so we decided to shop this week.

Thankfully, some shops still had their sales going on and we did some mad shopping. We hit 5 stores in a time frame of 2.5 hours (that's not a lot of time to check out clothes and try them on). Then we had dinner because two of us didn't get to eat before meeting up. I didn't buy a lot of stuff, but it was an awesome time! I got to try on some ridiculous stuff, like a pink dress full of small red hearts at Jacob's. I can't wait until Spring so I can start wearing some of my new clothes, lol.

Japanese PSN Yen card finally came

During Boxing Week, I ordered a Japanese PSN Yen card from Yesasia.com. Well, it finally came and I used it up almost instantly, buying DLC for iDOLM@STER 2. It was a 10,000 yen card and after my picky, careful purchases, there is only about 2,500 left. I bought 2 songs, 2 costume sets, and a set of accessories. It's a little sad to think about... lol... the card cost me $139 US. And I'm about ready to buy another. Here's a video of one of the songs and costume sets I bought (I totally love the words and the outfit):

Megaupload is GONE

I found out about this from my co-worker on Friday. The Megaupload website has been taken down! The sucky thing is that I got affected, lol. Some blogs ago, I mentioned that I was working on a holiday game for my friends. Well, I succeeded and made it available to my friends on Facebook to download. I uploaded it up on Megaupload to get a download link... so now my game isn't available anymore (I never shared the link on my blog because it used copyrighted music). I don't really like other file-sharing sites because they have way too many pop-ups. So I'm thinking that I'll commission somebody to make some music for me (or I find some music that can be freely used), and I'll try posting it up somewhere -- then I'll share it here as well. I don't know when I'll do that, though (not anytime soon). It just sucks, lol. I worked so hard on the game and now nobody can try it out.

Okay, I'll switch to my thoughts this week. I've been feeling a bit troubled recently -- maybe that's why I haven't been sleeping well, either.

My Thoughts on:

Growing up

One of my New Year's Resolutions has me stumped: "Mature more, but without losing ideals and beliefs that are important to me." The more I think about it, I'm not completely sure what it means. What does it mean to mature? Does it mean dressing more appropriately for occasions? Changing priorities? Coming to expect certain actions/reactions? Reading the world, thinking I am not surprised, this is how the world works.? 

Honestly, I'm... scared. I'm scared that in order to mature, I may have to lose some ideals and beliefs that are important to me, and I don't want that. Maybe I just have some really negative associations towards being an adult. Well... I am an adult, but at heart... It makes me wonder, Do I have to change the way I think about things? Do I have to change? Do I have to leave some interests behind? I get so conflicted, thinking about it. And I don't know what to do.

I wish I could just stop aging right now so that I don't have to think about it. I like the way I think and act right now (mostly), and I don't think it needs to change. But... I am aware that years from now... even now... such thoughts and actions can lead to misunderstandings, our perspectives interpreting things differently...

I feel like a teenager again, thinking about this, lol.

SOPA (Stop Online Privacy Act)

Yeah, there has been already a lot of blogs and stuff from many others expressing their thoughts on this subject, so I'm just going to talk about it briefly. I don't understand this bill fully, so I actually have questions about it -- like... would I be affected in any way because of my blog? Whenever I review something, I post screenshots or I link to Youtube videos. Would doing those things cause my blog to be, um, "no longer accessible"? I'll still keep doing it, though. If it happens, then it'll happen (I back up my blogs anyway so it's not gone forever).

One thing I do think -- if this bill passes -- is that there will be less... overall media exposure, which I think will lead to less overall revenue for certain stuff, and well, less innovation. 

When I think about piracy stuff, I always think back to an episode of an anime podcast years ago, discussing anime fansubs vs. licensed anime. This is what I got from that podcast episode: Before deciding to buy a product, some kind of exposure is needed. For me, that is very true (of course, if you can get exposure through legal means, like watching it on TV, Netflix, listening to it in a music store, borrowing somebody's legitimate copy, etc. -- then do that. Piracy is wrong!) How would I know that something is worth my money (or my support) unless I've had some experience with it? Friend recommendations can only take me so far (I have to really, really trust that our tastes are similar for me to blindly buy something based on what a friend says). And unless it's on sale for really cheap, no exposure usually means no purchase for me.

This also applies to other media like music and video games. There are some cool video games I never would have imported or even bought if I didn't get that first exposure (Ouendan series; Daigasso! Band Brothers series; Rhythm Heaven; Puzzle Quest, etc.). Same with music. Glay would have never become my favourite band if it wasn't for that Youtube video I viewed so long ago. It was a live clip and it drew me -- much more than that song's official music video. Watching that live clip before the music video made all the difference (I may explain in a future blog) -- and that live clip is gone now.

If that window of exposure is gone, unless it's made available through legal means (preferably free with ads if needed -- like emulating a TV channel), I'd imagine things would be almost like some kind of chain reaction. Less people would know about it. Therefore, less people would be talking about it -- meaning it would reach lesser people -- meaning a lesser chance of it reaching somebody who may become a huge fan and spend lots of money on it, as well as spreading the fandom further, or even becoming inspired or getting ideas for their own creative projects.

Okay, I stop now. This brief talk has become a bit too long, lol. If I'm incorrect with anything that I'm saying about this bill, please let me know, so I can better understand it.


If you read to the end, thanks! I wish you a Happy early Chinese New Year. Finally, the year of the Dragon! I'm not a Dragon -- my first two boyfriends were Dragons, so I guess I just have a soft spot for them (even though they sort of scarred me for life, ugh). Tigers are cool, too (a lot of my good friends from high school are Tigers). And Rabbits. And Sheep. And Pigs. But Rats are the best! For obvious reasons, lol.

For reaching the end of a really long blog, here's a random photo I took in July last year:

In case you can't tell, it's a cake. For those who are curious, I saw it at T&T.

REVIEW/THOUGHTS [Movie] -- The Mist

Format Watched [Specific Edition, if any]: DVD [Double Feature with 1408]

Approx. Runtime: 126 minutes (2 hours, 06 minutes)

Language Watched: English

Other Language(s) Available: French

DVD Extra Content? None

Type of Movie: Horror, Suspense, Psychological

Overall Impression: I hate this movie, but I must admit -- it's well done and worth seeing at least once.

SPOILER ALERT WARNING!!

This review will contain some spoilers -- or rather, there will be a "Spoilers" section at the end of the review to go into further detail about certain things. There may still be slight spoilers throughout the review, but I've tried my best to keep them at a minimum.

A NOTE ABOUT ME AND HORROR MOVIES

I have a love-hate thing with horror movies. I enjoy watching them but they usually scare me silly, even the terrible ones. Because of that, I actually haven't seen many horror movies -- so scenes, ideas, themes, certain aspects that seasoned horror movie-watchers would see as common, I may see as different or new. Just saying so you know my bias on horror movies, in case it shows in my review.

PERSONAL STANDING (Pre-exposures, thoughts, etc.)

I don't remember when (around 2006 or early 2007), but I saw a trailer for The Mist in theatres. Right away I knew I wanted to watch it. I thought the premise was neat. And all I thought was: What are they going to do in this situation? Will they get out? This scene really intrigued me:

If you can't tell what's going on, a white string is being pulled in and there's blood on it.

I missed it in theatres, which wasn't a surprise. I can only watch horror movies in theatres with somebody and if I know I'll be accompanied all the way "home". But I still remembered the movie, knowing that I'll watch it one day.

Then last year, I bought The Mist on DVD with 1408, another movie that's on my "list". When I got home I watched The Mist almost right away... by myself (I don't watch horror movies by myself) -- that's how much I wanted to watch it.

STORY

The Mist starts with a freak storm aftermath that leads David Drayton (main character) to drive into town with his son to pick up supplies. While they're in the grocery store, the doomsday bell goes off, and a bloodied man comes running in the store, telling them not to go out into the mist. And there's the premise. People stuck in a grocery store surrounded by a mist full of danger. What's going to happen?!

PACING

For a movie that's slightly over two hours long, the pacing is actually very good. There are some highly intense scenes and then some breather moments with character development and dialogue. It didn't really feel like two hours when I watched it. It felt shorter.

JUST ANOTHER HORROR MOVIE?

Yes and no. There are a few predictable plot points, like some characters trying to leave the store; some characters trying to visit another place for more supplies -- and then something unfortunate happening.

What makes it not just another horror movie (at least to me) is the way it looks at human behaviour. How do individuals behave when they are stuck in one location, believing that there is danger all around? How would individuals interact with one another when they think there's no hope? Or that they may be the only ones left alive? While I find this aspect different, it is also one of the reasons why I hate this movie. It's just... so negative, how it looks at human behaviour.

ACTING/CHARACTERS

The acting is very believable and honest. I don't know what else to say here. I have no complaints. Props to them all!

CHARACTERS

Like in many horror movies, there is a large cast of characters -- many with distinct personalities. Some are likeable, some are not; some you wish would be the next victim, and some you wish would stay alive.

While you may question some of their actions while watching the movie, thinking, They should do this instead of this or Why are they doing this? It will only make the situation worse, those actions and responses are actually very human. One example of this is one character blaming another character for an unfortunate incident that the first character was so insistent upon (more detailed scene description in "Spoilers" section). While some may think, What a stupid thing to do, this character making excuses to escape blame, it is a human response -- individuals tend to not want to take responsibilities for their own thoughts or actions, especially if it results in feeling guilty or something negative.

Overall, this makes the characters very human and real... but also, it could also make some of them not enjoyable to watch, seeing how flawed humans can be.

MUSIC

I honestly don't remember much of the music, which means it blended nicely with the atmosphere. There was a track that sounded almost... angelic, but in a dark, hopeless way.

WHY I HATE THE MIST

There are two main reasons why I hate The Mist.

1. THE ATMOSPHERE/LOOK AT HUMAN BEHAVIOUR

The Mist is a really gritty, dark movie with characters who are very human. That kind of mix is just asking for unpleasant situations and interactions. And because the acting was done very well... and I am an empathetic person... there are times when I felt emotionally drained... and horrified... at some of the scenes. When I say horrified, I don't mean horrified in that something from the mist spooked me -- I mean horrified in that that certain scenario, in those conditions, could happen for real. There's one scene in particular that I'm thinking of, but I'll mention that at the "Spoilers" section.

2. THE ENDING

I hate the ending. I have to admit that it fits, but I still hate it. I can't really elaborate much here, but I'll say this: I felt like screaming. Really... screaming. Not out of fear, in case you were wondering. This will probably be a small rant in the "Spoilers" section.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Yes, I hate The Mist, but I can't deny that overall, this is a very good horror movie. I would almost urge you to watch this at least once -- so that you can enjoy "horror" on different levels. Hmm... I think I'll elaborate this last point in the "Spoilers" section.

I'll end this review with a screenshot. Then I'll do the scrolly thing and the "Spoilers" section will appear after that. Then I'll add some more scrolly things after the "Spoilers" section in case anybody wants to comment, but not see the spoilers.

See nothing? Well, there's something there... far, far in the distance.

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SPOILERS

"One example of [a human response or action] is one character blaming another character for an unfortunate incident that the first character was so insistent upon."

The scene I'm talking about here is when Jim (blue jumpsuit guy) is insistent that the generator outside the loading docks be fixed despite David's warning about hearing a sound. Jim goes so far as to threaten to beat David up if he didn't shut up. Of course, the worst happens:

This is not Jim (unfortunately). This is the store's bag boy, who believed there was nothing to fear (because Jim also kept saying that there was nothing to worry about).

After this ordeal, Jim keeps saying that it's not his fault, saying that it's David's fault for not explaining what he meant better about hearing a sound. It's appalling, to even hear a character say such words -- because it's such... bad character. But that kind of response does happen in real life.

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"When I say horrified, I don't mean horrified in that something from the mist spooked me -- I mean horrified in that that certain scenario, in those conditions, could happen for real."

The scene I'm talking about here is when Mrs. Carmody's (unstable religious fanatic) followers blame Private Jessup (the military guy) for the mist. They end up surrounding him, beating him up. Eventually, somebody stabs him... multiple times before throwing him out into the mist.

The pain Private Jessup expressed when he got stabbed... kinda traumatized me. The more horrifying thing was the situation: a guy who had no direct involvement with the Arrowhead Project (project that probably brought out the dangers) was made a scapegoat for a crowd's fear, frustrations, and anger. And they think it's all justified... That kind of thing can happen in real life -- when people feel hopeless, desperate, and want some kind of guidance... or even to focus on doing something to avoid the current situation. It's just a harsh way of looking at human behaviour -- and it drains me, to see something so negative.

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"I hate the ending."

"I would almost urge you to watch this at least once -- so that you can enjoy "horror" on different levels."

I really, really hate the ending. They were this close to being saved... and it all could have been avoided if David did not take the gun. It also could have been avoided if they had decided to just sit in the car until the last possible moment and then off themselves when they really had no choice (like if a monster got into the car). They got so far... how could they give up, just like that?! It makes me want to scream -- out of frustration and the extreme mental anguish that David would be going through; killing his friends and son... only to see that he didn't have to.

This leads very well into my last thought -- about experiencing different levels of "horror" with The Mist. While writing this review, I came to a realization about what makes this a true "horror" to me -- but I'll get to that shortly. I also came to realize that The Mist explores the idea of "horror" in different ways:

1. Superficial, horror-genre stuff: The horror of the unknown. What's in the mist? What kind of dangers are there? That's the regular kind of horror anybody would expect from a horror movie.

2. Situational, human behaviour: I've touched on this a few times already. The horrors of a crowd reacting and responding to situations that bring out the worst human qualities in them. If you are on the receiving end of that kind of crowd... when you know you've done nothing to deserve it -- that's horror.

3. True horror: I think the true horror of The Mist is the horrors of one's own actions. There are certain kinds of actions that once done (like David killing his friends and son), cannot be undone. The kind of pain, the kind of guilt that would be experienced when one realizes that such actions didn't have to take place -- that is true horror. David succeeded in escaping from the first kind of horror (though he did not realize it). He also escaped from the second kind of horror. But this... the horror of what he did... to his friends and son... when he didn't have to... it's something that would stay with him for the rest of his life. If that's not true horror, I don't know what is.

If you read my spoilers, thank for reading them! Now to finish with more scrolly things. If you disagree with anything or just want to say something, feel free to comment :D

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BLOG -- Boxing Week Spoils/Aftermath

Well, I don't know how to start this... even after a week free of work (the company I work at was very kind to give us the whole Christmas week off -- which I spent the first six days on 3-4 hours of sleep each day... lol, I was kind of a zombie) and then working full-time this week and spending 1-2 extra hours of work at home... frankly, I'm dazed and tired! Tiiiiiiiiiired! x.x;;;;

So this weekend, I'm taking it easy. Playing a bit of video games. Singing a little at home (though I always do this). Sitting and daydreaming about sweet nothings (I have a very active imagination). Reading a bit of manga. And blogging about my Boxing Week Spoils.

To me, as mentioned in a previous blog, I consider Boxing Week shopping as my "splurge on myself" week. Throughout the year, unless I really, really want or need it, or it's calling me somehow (like a limited edition video game, or a video game I think will be released with a limited print run, or something that's on sale for a really good price), I hold off and say to myself "That's for Boxing Day." Yeah... I can be quite cheap sometimes... or money-smart... take whichever angle you want. Because of that, though, Boxing Week turns out to be kinda... a spendthrifty time for me.


So I'll go through all the different places I hit, talking about anything that I want, and then I'll give a grand total to how much I spent. Just to warn you: this blog will be photo-heavy, as I took photos of almost everything I bought. 

One thing to note: a lot of what I bought are clothes -- but please do NOT think that those styles are all I wear or all I buy, in case you form that opinion about me in the end. I tend to be very picky when clothes-shopping. A lot of clothing shops I go to carry many styles that I could care less about. The end result are usually purchases of the same kinds of things.

One style I would like to wear one day is... something gothic lolita. The frills, the lace, the chokers, the chains, the colour palette... I've always been a fan of that style. I just have no idea where to go to, um, buy them (anybody know any good places?).



I will start with the PHYSICAL purchases (purchases where I went to an actual store):

Sony Store

I bought an MP3 player! Finally, I have an MP3 player, lol. I rarely ever need an MP3 player because I am able to play some music in my head. What can I say -- I tend to have a very good memory. But for times when I want to listen to music or sing along and not have the computer on, I needed one. My friend convinced me to get this model. It works fine, and I like that it's pink! lol

 

Just to note: I did not spend $130 like it says on the pricetag. It was on sale for $80. 

 

Just to note: The MP3 player can't slide into the speakers with the silicone case. You'd have to remove the case or the plastic lining on the speakers (which is easy to do).

Jacob's

They had a 50% off almost everything, so I got a good amount of clothes from there -- mainly for work. To look, you know, a bit more... work-like. I saw a really, really nice blazer from their Spring Collection, but too bad it's not on sale (that blazer was calling me... but I couldn't get it... for that price, lol...).

 

Smart Set

Well, their sale wasn't that great... or I just didn't see many clothes that I would get there. I think their sale was 50% off selected items, and 20% off pink-stickered items. I got one thing from there.

Sirens

Sirens used to be "my store" -- the store I would go to regularly to check out new styles. Now, it's different. Their styles have changed, but I still check it out every now and then.

Fairweather

If their prom/formal dresses ever went on sale, I would get some! lol. Not that I need one (I'm too old for proms/formals); I just like dresses. I got one thing since the place was packed, and I was already carrying a lot of stuff.

Not really work-friendly, but I may still wear it to work one day (if I'm still working at the same place). Please don't mind the mess. Now you understand why cleaning my room is one of my New Year's resolutions.

The Shoe Company

I bought some boots. I have no photo to show, because I was too lazy to go downstairs and take a picture of them. I just wanted some warm boots for the Winter season.

H & M

Well, I didn't get too many items from here, but I did get one dress that was really expensive even after the discount.

I don't know when I'll wear that gold skirt, but I will wear it!

This is the expensive dress. It was 50% off, and still $90 before tax. Ugh! But I really like it, for some reason. It's a Versace dress, not that that matters to me -- but that would make sense as to why it's still so expensive.

Here's the back and another shot of my messy room.

Now moving on to the ONLINE purchases (yes... there's a bit more):

Indigo / Chapters

Yes, there are real physical stores of Indigo / Chapters, but I ordered online. I was also buying thick books. I wouldn't want to carry that around.

One of my friends had to buy these books for her Japanese class, so I thought it would be a good place to start my path to learning more.

I'm excited in a very geeky way!

Rightstuf

To be honest, I made this order with Rightstuf a week before Christmas... because that's when their Christmas sale was going on. They had some series on sale for a huge discount and I wanted to get them. I also wanted free shipping so I bought other stuff and considered it my Boxing Week purchase. As in, I would not buy anything from Rightstuf during Boxing Week.

I edited the invoice in Paint, so the image would show up larger. If you can't read the image, this is what I bought:

-Angel Beats! Blu-ray Complete Collection

-Ergo Proxy CD Soundtrack: Opus 2

-Funimation Spirit Gun Blu-ray Bundle (all of Yu Yu Hakusho)

-Mushi-shi DVD Complete Series

-Mushi-shi: The Liveaction Movie DVD

-Princess Tutu DVD Complete Collection (I will blog about this one day)

-Summer Wars Blu-ray

-Ys DVD Bundle

Steam

I bought a few games on Steam. Before I buy anything on Steam (which are usually indie games), I always check on sites for reviews or threads. Because I know next-to-nothing about them.

I edited the invoice in Paint to make the overall image larger. If you can't read the image, this is what I bought:

-Terraria

-Eufloria

-Rock of Ages

-Chantelise

-Bastion + Soundtrack DLC

Yesasia

This was not on sale, but I bought it during Boxing Week. I got a 10,000 yen PSN card. For... iDOLM@STER 2 DLC. The card costed a lot! $139 US! D: You know what's the sad thing? The whole 10,000 yen will go towards DLC just for iDOLM@STER 2... and I may have to get more 10,000 yen PSN cards in the future. D: 


Okay, those are all my purchases during Boxing Week. Can you guess how much I spent in total? I'll do that scrolly thing so you don't see the amount right away.

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TOTAL: Approx. $1026.93

Blah!!!!! Some people may not think that's a lot. I do. Especially within one week (more or less).

Ha ha... so how did your wallet fare during Boxing Week? Thanks for reading! I'll try not to get over-stressed from work so I can start blogging some reviews or something.

Hope you all have an awesome week :D

BLOG (PERSONAL) -- Perspectives/Memories in 2011 + New Year's Resolutions

Sporting a mild hangover from yesterday's New Year's Eve celebration, I will put off blogging about "Merry Christmas" (that Chinese movie I mentioned in my previous blog) and just list some of my New Year's Resolutions and go through some of my memories/perspectives in 2011. Personal stuff is really much easier to blog about than reviews. I'm going to treat this kind of like a journal entry, so, uhh... this may not be interesting to you. Just warning you. I won't mention specific names, though. Apologies in advance if I anger/offend anybody. I'll start with the New Year's Resolutions since the other part will be long.


New Year's Resolution
Here are some things I'm hoping to achieve/do in 2012:
- Get more in shape
- Clean my room (it was cleaner at some point -- then it got messy again ><)
- Mature more, but without losing ideals and beliefs that are important to me
- Save money (ideally to take a trip to Japan and see the cherry blossoms fall -- man, I so want to see that!)
- Save money/work out some monthly budget
- Balance the amount of stuff I have (I have too much stuff right now)
- Learn more Python (programming language)
- Create a game with my newly learned knowledge of Python
- Learn more Japanese
- Continue going to life-drawing sessions regularly (when the Winter season is over)
- Watch a play (if there's anything good playing)
- Watch a musical (if there's anything good playing)
- Write a story (script, short story, novel, whatever)
- Read a book (manga doesn't count, lol)
- Stay connected with my friends in one form or another
- Beat at least 12 video games that I physically own (is that too much? I wonder)


Is that too much? Is this overkill? I'll try it anyway, lol.

2011 in Review
I think for the most part, 2011 was a really difficult year for me. I was unemployed for about four months and that really did a number on my self-esteem and self-confidence. In addition to that, I was in the middle of a very painful relationship. Because of that, I was a person I never wanted to be. I was mean, I was extremely jealous, I was pushy, I was sooooo dependent on that person to give me happiness -- to show me gestures that I would consider as affections. And I was very sad. Not saying it was all his fault -- we both hurt each other and the relationship became very unhealthy.

It was around September that things changed for the better. At that time, I was shown that there are other possible paths to take -- that hard work and determination will get you there. Simply, I was inspired. It made me think back to my favourite band GLAY, who also have that same motto: work hard and you can achieve your dream.

From that point on, my eyes saw the world -- and myself -- in a much more positive light. I came to some realizations about myself:1) I need to take better care of myself and my dreams, and 2) I have always had a good amount of self-respect and love for myself (I used to always think the opposite because of how I was raised -- it's what made me feel so dependent on others).

Now I'm hoping to better myself and well, stay connected with what makes me happy.


Notable/Significant Memories/Events in 2011
Having my right hand squashed against a Viva door: It was the scariest time in my life. I kinda think that my hands are one of my best physical features. I couldn't work for two weeks and I couldn't play video games (except for some DS games)! I was also very scared that it wouldn't heal fully and I'd be stuck with a permanent injury for the rest of my life. Thank goodness it got better.

Moving out into the middle of nowhere: In February (Valentine's Day, no less), my family moved houses. Now we live farther east, and I don't like it. There are no convenience stores nearby, no supermarkets, no libraries, no malls, no nothing anywhere except for houses and a 10-minute walk to the subway station. It also sucks that my neighbour plays their music really loud and my room is right next to their stereo (at least it sounds like it).

Finding out that a friend lives closeby: It gives me some comfort, knowing that I'm not the only one (that I know) living in that middle of nowhere.

Going to life-drawing sessions: It was a totally new experience for me and I really enjoyed it. It's very calming, and I feel like I can drop all my troubles and worries because I have to focus on what's in front of me. I still get nervous/uneasy when drawing guy models, though, lol.

Making a new friend at the life-drawing sessions: Because life-drawing is more fun with a friend.

Connecting with some of my old friends: I will say this once to you all (all as in all my friends), and will probably never say it again so directly (except to some individually if needed): even if we don't talk to each other for long periods of time -- even if we may never see each other again in person -- my thoughts and well-wishes are with you. This is not me saying good-bye. This is me saying that we are friends no matter where we are or what we're doing; that that link isn't broken because of distance. If you don't think that's enough, then hit me up and we'll do something. Just... keep in mind that I am an awkward, shy girl who does not function well with large crowds of people I don't know :)

Playing IdolM@STER: Seriously, after wanting to play this game for 4 years... it was a delightful experience! I'd like to cosplay as them one day and do one of their dance numbers, lol.

(New) Karaoke: I forgot to mention this, but karaoking with my friends and even karaoking with just myself -- fun stuff!

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That's it for the blog. I don't really expect anybody to have read all this because it was so personal. I hope the new year is filled with happiness for you all. For those who are already happy, I hope the new year just has more of that for you.