japonicalife

Uploaded - 08\11\24

2008-11-23T23:43:00.001-08:00

My salute to these guys. Perfect colours and flawless reenactment.

日本語で日記を書き始めます。

2008-11-22T20:15:00.001-08:00

今朝遅く起きた。なぜかと言うと、昨日一日中友達と皇居へ行ったんので、よく歩いた。たった今、ブログを日本語で書き見ましょうかっていう考えがあった。そうすれば、日記を書けるし、日本語を上達できるようになれるかもしれない。

This green face

2008-11-19T22:40:00.001-08:00

I made this green face. If u receive this pic from me, it means I really care about u.

My desktop

2008-11-19T22:38:00.001-08:00

This is the place where I spend most of my time throughout the day if I stay at home.

An amazing combination of animals

2008-11-19T22:33:00.001-08:00

Took this picture on the street in SF. While the stunt that the animals performed was incredible but I wondered if they were somehow drugged or coerced to do so.

The road to getting a PhD degree

2008-11-17T19:51:00.001-08:00

This is the road leading to the school from my room where I walk pass every day. It's quite a steep one. On the left hand side, it's a Japanese grave yard while the right hand side shows the Shinkansen railway that passes through my school.

Retro feel from the cable car

2008-11-17T18:43:00.001-08:00

Tourists are the main users of cable cars in downtown SF.

A&F @The Great Mall @SF

2008-11-17T18:37:00.001-08:00

Bought some short pants here.

The Great Mall Outlet Store

2008-11-17T18:35:00.001-08:00

I went to this premium outlet store by taking BART(to Fremont station) and VTA bus. Bought some A&F there.

Come get ur meal when the device goes off

2008-11-17T18:24:00.001-08:00

I was at the foodcourt of a department store finishing ordering my meal when the cashier told me to take this device and come back to get my meal when the device goes off. Good idea, I didn't have to stay in the line waiting for my meal.

Chess gambling @downtown SF

2008-11-17T18:17:00.001-08:00

Chess gambling openly on the street. The lady who managed the business was kind of furious when she saw me taking this pic.

Cash for weed, pls @Fishermen's Wharf

2008-11-17T08:44:00.001-08:00

Happy Halloween. There was a lady interviewing these homeless people on the street on that day.

I ordered the crab at this restaurant

2008-11-17T08:41:00.001-08:00

The crab meat @ Fishermen's Wharf @SF

2008-11-17T08:40:00.001-08:00

Scrumptious!

I ordered a whole crab for USD21

2008-11-17T08:39:00.001-08:00

The crab soup. Yummy!

At Fishermen's Wharf @SF

2008-11-17T08:38:00.001-08:00

Cable car @SF

2008-11-17T08:36:00.003-08:00

Near Union Squares @SF

2008-11-17T08:36:00.001-08:00

Apple store @SF

2008-11-17T08:35:00.001-08:00

The store was packed with ppl and Apple products.

Bazaar near the city hall @SF

2008-11-17T08:33:00.001-08:00

Modern art exhibition at de Young Museum @SF

2008-11-17T08:32:00.001-08:00

I like this piece.

Some houses in downtown SF

2008-11-17T08:31:00.001-08:00

Vietnamese beef noodles @San Jose

2008-11-17T08:30:00.001-08:00

A Vietnamese friend who is studying at John Hopkins U brought me to this Vietnamese restaurant that serves very delicious beef noodles. I still remember how delicious it tastes.

City hall in downtown SF

2008-11-17T08:28:00.001-08:00

The city hall is located near the Civic Center BART station.

Fire place in the conference reception hall

2008-11-17T08:26:00.001-08:00

Asilomar conference - lodging

2008-11-17T08:25:00.001-08:00

The hotel room at Asilomar conference grounds.

Asilomar conference - buffet dinner

2008-11-17T08:23:00.001-08:00

Got to know some new friends and professors there.

Asilomar conference - Reception hall

2008-11-17T08:22:00.001-08:00

Free WiFi in the hall. There were also billiard and table tennis in the hall.

Asilomar conference grounds

2008-11-17T08:19:00.001-08:00

This was the place where I attended the conference. It was a very relaxing place. I almost forgot I was there for a conference.

Mobile library

2008-11-17T08:15:00.001-08:00

San Francisco public mobile library.

Downtown San Jose

2008-11-17T08:13:00.001-08:00

Quite a nice place to live. Not as happening as downtown SF though.

WiFi on board

2008-11-17T08:10:00.001-08:00

Took this picture while walking around in downtown San Jose.

Salmon and cranberries juice

2008-11-17T08:08:00.001-08:00

Scrumptious. And the view from the hotel was beautiful.

Wine tasting in Fishermen's Wharf.

2008-11-17T08:06:00.001-08:00

I prefer red wine.

Golden gate bridge

2008-11-17T08:04:00.001-08:00

Golden gate bridge @SF.

Good costumes! Creative!

2008-11-16T06:03:00.001-08:00

Nice teeth! It was Halloween, and people were like competing for the best costume award.

Oh sister!

2008-11-16T05:56:00.001-08:00

She was screaming "fuck Bush".

McCain and Palin

2008-11-16T05:53:00.001-08:00

Weren't they good?

The naked cyclists in Castro Street on Halloween night

2008-11-16T05:28:00.001-08:00

Watch out for the naked cyclists in Castro street!

Union Squares Plaza Hotel

2008-11-16T04:13:00.001-08:00

I stayed in this hotel when I was in SF. Quite ok considering it's proximity to Union Squares and rate (USD90/night).

McCain and Hilary doll @ the pharmacy store in SF

2008-11-16T04:07:00.001-08:00

Took a photo of these cute dolls. It is cuter to know that there actually people buying these dolls.

Affected By The Atmosphere, I Quickily Got Myself A Mask Before All The Shops Closed

2008-11-16T03:09:00.001-08:00

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Vampire Kissing @SF

2008-11-16T01:49:00.001-08:00

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Halloween Night @SF

2008-11-16T01:47:00.001-08:00

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SF City Near Union Squares

2008-11-16T01:09:00.001-08:00

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Conference In Monterey, CA

2008-11-16T01:08:00.001-08:00

I attended a conference in Monterey,CA from Oct 25th to Nov 3rd, 2008. The weather on SF and Monterey was good, temperature was around 20 degree Celcius and even when it rained, I could stand the weather by wearing just a polo T and a jacket. Unlike japan, if it rained in Tokyo during this season, I would have to wear a thick jacket with at least two inner layers of clothes.
I stayed in SF city for 6 days and Monterey for 2 days. Got to know a few very cool and generous friends during the conference and we decided to head to the bat in Monterey city at night after finishing our presentations.
The Asilomar Hotels and Conference Grounds is really a beautiful place. It is located near the beach. Imagine a friend came back to her hotel roomone night finding a deer standing outside her room. I strolled along the beach and for the very first time over the past three years, I had a really deep refreshing breath there. It was a mind soothing place.
Back in SF, had my Halloween night there. I enjoyed myself a lot. And I find that even though that was my first time being knthe US, there are many things that fall within my expectation which I think is not weird or surprising considering that all the while I have been indirectly getting to know American culture through watching American TV shows, news channels and etc. BTW, it's also because that SF is a multi-cultural and multi-racial city resided by 40% of White, 30% of Hispanic, 7% of Black and 23% of Asians and mixed races.

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With New Friends @bar@Monterey

2008-11-16T00:48:00.001-08:00

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Asilomar Conference, Oct 25th To Nov 3rd, CA

2008-11-16T00:08:00.001-08:00

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First Blog Posted From iPhone

2008-11-16T00:07:00.001-08:00

Testing this iPhone app: LifeCast.

Geolocate this post

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Update ... after a long break from blogging

2008-06-23T23:56:00.000-07:00

Dear all friends,
It's been a while since I last blogged on this site. I'm sorry. The only online socialization tool that I am using is messenger, I am lazy and not motivated enough to make and manage my own friendster account, wayn and blah blah blah ...
Anyway, I went to a local conference in Kagawa, Japan in September 2007 (last year). Kagawa Prefecture (香川県 Kagawa-ken) is a prefecture of Japan located on Shikoku island. The capital is Takamatsu.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kagawa_Prefecture
This place is crazily famous for udon (one type of think Japanese noodles which I think u guys already know) and it has been said that Kagawa has the best udon in the country.
So, I ate udon almost all three days when I was in Kagawa. It is a small old town. And for people who like the suburbs of Japan, this is not a bad choice. My lab mates and I rented a car and toured from Kagawa to Kyoto by using the car GPS system. Along the way, we visited a few udon shops. We went up to an isolated udon shop which was surrounded by mountains. It was pretty exciting to eat udon up there. In Kyoto, I saw two geishas (maigo-san 迷子さん). There were many trishaws for riding in Kyoto and the whole scene in Kyoto is very different from Tokyo. After staying 2.5 years in the concrete city, Kyoto is definitely a breath of fresh air to me. ^^.

Japanese girls in the photo are my lab mates, Ayako-san and Akiyama-san. All other people in the photos are my Japanese lab mates except maigo-san and the trishaw man.

All in all, it was really a nice trip.

At Yokohama port, part two.

2006-05-20T20:25:00.000-07:00

The ship is actually somewhat like a museum, have to buy ticket to go in !

At Yokohama Port

2006-05-20T20:23:00.000-07:00

The Ferris Wheel in Yokohama port. It was rainy on the day I visited the port !

In Ginza - the luxury shopping hub

2006-01-29T00:22:00.000-08:00

I was in Ginza two days ago. This car was right in front of me when I was trying to take the picture of the sparkly street.

Japanese Steamboat (soup = soy millk)

2006-01-25T20:37:00.000-08:00

A Japanese friend invited us (international students) to have a steamboat party in her house. The steamboat was AWESOME!!

Winter 06

2006-01-25T03:43:00.002-08:00

2006-01-25T03:43:00.001-08:00

Here I am in the field of snow.

2006-01-25T03:43:00.000-08:00

Here I am in the field of snow.

Winter in Hiyoshi, Yokohama

2006-01-25T03:38:00.000-08:00

Here I am, surrounded by the white, soft and beautiful snow. More photos of the snow and the winter to come...

All Thai

2005-11-02T04:23:00.000-08:00

All Thai except me.

Me with my French friends.

2005-11-02T04:17:00.000-08:00

Me with my French friends. We took some pictures after playing with the fireworks at the park outside our dorminotry. There are always, at least 5 languages being heard in the crowd. Really like "how these ppl get together?"

Me and Thai friends.

2005-11-02T04:16:00.000-08:00

This is me with my Thai friends. Sawatika... bye krub.

Norway and Japanese

2005-11-02T04:12:00.000-08:00

Seniors from Norway and Japan. The Japanese girl in the picture really looks like the Singaporean singer who sings the song "kuai di ai qing - express love affair" but I forgot the name of that singer....

the terrorists!

2005-11-02T04:10:00.000-08:00

The terrorists appeared near the end of the party. The black one is from Norway and the green one from China. They look more real with those masks on! haha....

Sin and Jessy's birthday

2005-11-02T04:06:00.000-08:00

During the Halloween party, we also celebrated the birthday of Sin (Indonesian) and Jessy (American). The cake was made by a senior Japanese, the cake was so yummy, better than the average cakes in Malaysia!

Seniors

2005-11-02T04:05:00.000-08:00

Seniors: from left: Indonesia, America, India

Gals

2005-11-02T04:03:00.000-08:00

Gals: from left: china, china, singpore, china

We were playing fireworks at the park near our dormitory.

Guys

2005-11-02T04:02:00.000-08:00

Guys: from left, Turkey, German, and French.

Halloween Party

2005-11-02T03:59:00.000-08:00

The food in the Halloween party on Oct 29.

People Mountain People Sea in Shibuya

2005-10-21T09:51:00.000-07:00

The is the wave of ppl in Shibuya, Tokyo. The first time I went to Shibuya, I was shocked by the waves of ppl that walked from all directions towards me when I cross the traffic light crossjunction.. really shocked by the number of ppl in Shibuya.. but most of Japanese in Shibuya dress themselves attractively.

On my way to Roponggi

2005-10-21T09:47:00.000-07:00

This is the one of the traffice junction on my way to Roponggi which is a famous place for shopping for branded items.

Rasuta Ramen

2005-10-21T09:45:00.000-07:00

This is the best Ramen I have ever eaten so far... and it is said to be the best Ramen in Hiyoshi.. The name of the shop is Rasuta.. The Rasuta Ramen cost Yen600... can add a bowl of plain rice (Yen100) and add more seaweed (Yen100). I like Rasuta Ramen... my favourite..

The Otera

2005-10-21T09:40:00.000-07:00

This is the Otera (temple) site in Tokyo.
Like the Otera here... becoz oteras here are always surrounded by greens even in the centre of the city.

Tokyo Tower

2005-10-21T09:36:00.000-07:00

This is the Tokyo tower.... if you want to go up the tower, you have to pay Yen600... I am not sure, my fren told me ..

Mita Campus

2005-10-21T09:29:00.000-07:00

The is the Mita Campus situated near the Tokyo Tower....beautiful??

On my way to Roponggi2

2005-10-21T09:24:00.000-07:00

There are 5 natoionalities there: Guess who is who: Nepal, China, Indonesia, Malaysia and France... so easy... I should get the whole picture of my class... there are a total of 15 nationalities in my class.

We had a light meal near a food market while we were on our way to Roponggi. The Nepalese was very funny, because along the way, she suddenly got lost whenever we past by an Indian Restaurant, after long discussion then only we knew she was looking for Indian Spices and also she kept looking for protein drink coz she was then a vegetarian lacking of protein the whole week.

Founder of my university

2005-10-21T09:20:00.000-07:00

This is the statue of the founder of my university. He also features in the Yen10,000 note.

The moody weather in Yokohama

2005-10-21T09:15:00.000-07:00

The weather during the transition from Summer to Autumn in Japan is a bit moody for me because every morning before I go out, I have to use my body to feel the temperature of the day, check if the sky is cloudy and smell the wind if it will rain, then only I can select what kind of sweater or clothing I should wear.

my 1st Earthquake Experience

2005-10-21T09:03:00.000-07:00

Last 2 days, there was an earthquake in Yokohama, last for about 10 seconds. I was in my lab with some of my Japanese lab members. I wasn't aware of the shaking until my Japanese fren told me.... "Jishin, Jishin" it means earthquake, earthquake, all books on the book shelves shook and the ground shook as well.... very fun.... like the world is going to go down... my Japanese frens were all very steady, they even expanded their hands to reach to their computers to make sure their computers don fall down.

Japonica1

2005-10-21T06:15:00.000-07:00

I ate a Ton Ka Tsu dinner today for Yen850. The pork meat (ton) was good but a bit fattening but I really love the MisoSoup.