16 posts tagged “life”

Wow, I haven't written anything in quite a long time...and I don't even have any particular reason why I haven't been writing, especially for the past few weeks, since I finished the semester early this year and have just been relaxing and enjoying the break.  I suppose it's because I was working so hard non-stop all the time that once I had nothing in my schedule all of a sudden, I kind of didn't know what to do with myself.  Of course I caught up with translation requests and stuff, but there was definitely a period where I felt so restless and just plain weird that I couldn't get myself to do much of anything at all.  Sort of like I couldn't stand to do anything productive anymore, but conversely was irritated at myself that I wasn't doing anything useful. >_>

Well, now that Christmas is close and the holiday season is in high gear, we've been making obscene amounts of treats at my house.  So far we have gingerbread cupcakes with lemon frosting, candied orange peel dipped in chocolate, almond crescent cookies, ginger-lemon cookies sandwiched with apricot jam, and two traditional British Christmas cakes (basically a rum fruitcake with marzipan covering and white royal frosting).  Oh, and tomorrow the plan is to whip up a lemon meringue pie and start the preparation of the duck for Christmas dinner.  It's insanity.  There's only four of us eating all this stuff!  And I've certainly not been doing enough exercise to compensate for it since I came back...I've already noticed I'm losing muscle and getting a bit pudgier in places. -_-lll lol  Well, it's the holidays, so whatever...

I've actually already gotten most of my Christmas presents because I picked them out myself.  One was the GazettE's new DIM SCENE DVD, which was amazing!!  The guys were all in great shape and gave a really top-notch performance.  I loved the way they used the LED screens and lights and the crowd was just going crazy!  There were older people, little children, even BABIES in the audience and everyone was so riled up and excited it was infectious watching it...I wish I could've been there for real, it looks like it was such a blast!  Though Ruki's hair became increasingly annoying as it got frizzier from all the headbanging, his vocals were brilliant and I was also surprised and happy to see how outgoing Aoi was...he kinda stole the show (for me at least) with his singing, dancing, little MC, and all those cool moves.  And, it was great to watch Uruha play the guitar from 'DIM SCENE', 'Without a Trace', and '13 STAIRS[-]1' live...I've been dying to hear them since the album came out!
Though perhaps some of the performances of older songs on previous DVDs are still slightly better imo, DIM SCENE is a concert I find myself able to watch all the way through without skipping any songs at all, which is quite rare.  The setlist was superb and though RCE perhaps had more striking, singularly memorable moments like the opening of 'Gentle Lie', DIM SCENE more than makes up for it with sophisticated, gorgeous visuals, crisp images and good editing where you can see the members clearly, and a frantic, explosive, intense energy that rivals all their DVDs to date.

Since my old watch broke, my parents got me a new one as another present.  It's a sleek, elegant Skagen with smooth black leather strap, a very thin, shiny silver case, and crystal indicators.  I love how minimalist and small it is.  I always have trouble finding watches like everything else here, since I have small wrists, but luckily Skagen makes stylish petite sized watches. : )

Well, as I wait for Christmas to officially come, I've been spending my time watching lots of movies and episodes of a Japanese tv show called Tensai! Shimura Doubutsuen.  It's the cutest thing ever, I used to watch it sometimes in Japan.  It's the perfect mix of cute, fluffy animals, funny happenings and touching moments, haha. ^_^  Oh, I'm also writing nengajo to send to my host parents since the New Year's coming up...2010 is the year of the tiger!

I'll also be working my way translating a good portion of girugamesh's new album 'NOW'.  I like the album but similar to 'Music', I think girugamesh are definitely still composing in a style that's akin to dance music in that it's best experienced not listening to the CD, but during a live where you can feel the energy of the beat and move to the music properly.  For sure it's not my favourite work by them, but still a fun collection of songs I'll be rotating through for a while.

I usually don't go shopping during Thanksgiving sale weekend because the crowds are murderous and I normally spend the holiday at home with my family, but this year I finish the semester so early it wasn't worth the trip back (since I would come back and then leave again in a week for X-mas break) so I've just stayed put in my apartment.  I went out on the dreaded Friday, but the crowds weren't so bad, probably because the rainy, windy weather put some people off.  I also popped out again today to get a few things I had my eye on yesterday...I ended up spending yesterday mostly on clothes, today on shoes.  Despite the dismal conditions outside, I managed to get some really awesome deals.  I bought some dressy collared shirts, a cute Silence & Noise strapless dress in blue, a pretty black sequined tank, and a pencil skirt that was almost 70% down from the original price.  Oh, and I replaced my favourite little clutch-sized umbrella that broke while I was in Japan.  I was excited to see they had it in silver this year, so I went for that instead of getting the black w/ polka dots like I had before. : )

I finally got a few pairs of shoes I'd be looking at for a while but hadn't been willing to take the plunge on because of the price.  Despite things being reduced, I try not to fall for that alone and always consider whether the final price I pay is really worth it for the item.  I'd been wanting to get some more adventurous, stylish shoes for going out in, so when I saw the deals on these gorgeous booties I grabbed them right away.  I seriously waited to the last minute on these.  They've been hot this season and selling like crazy, so I barely managed to get my size while they were still available.  I also got these super cute, versatile heels 50% off (I looove the 80's flair...I adore anything glam ^^).  And I didn't pay more than $65 for any of them. :D

I've been feeling so tired this week and I don't even know why...I'm just fed up and want a vacation for real.  I can't bring myself to focus on work at all, so I've been wasting most of my time going online, watching some stand-up comedy, and basically spacing out.  This always happens every year around this time when it's close to the holidays and the end of the semester.  Hopefully I'll manage to pull myself together enough to do a decent job on my next paper about mental illness that's due next week. -_-;

By the way, something disconcerting I've become more aware of recently is how many people find tattoos objectionable.  Of course most people from older generations who aren't used to it aren't too enthusiastic about them, but increasingly I've come across a lot of people from younger generations, even some my own age, that find them totally unappealing.  I get that not everyone finds them attractive, and that's perfectly understandable, but to go as far as saying they're disgusting or grotesque is very extreme and I found the fact that some people say such things pretty disturbing and shocking.  I suppose it's because within the social circles and scenes I'm part of tattoos are pretty common and considered a beautiful way of expressing oneself and embellishing one's body.  I mean, most of my friends and I find them very attractive when done in a nice way.  I think really cliche tattoos just picked out of a book without thinking much about it can be ugly and stupid, but if you get a tattoo that means something special to you done by a skilled artist, then it's a very beautiful thing.  I don't know, that sort of negative sentiment about them really threw me off because I usually think of tattoos as enhancing a person, not negating their other positive physical features and general attractiveness.  The same can be said of piercings, though I'm personally more picky about them.

Then again, I don't consider my values or preferences on most things anywhere near mainstream sensibilities, so I guess it's to be expected that I can't relate much.  But that does make it harder to carry on those sorts of conversations with the average person, especially in this country, because we generally have very little in common.

Haah, the last few weeks have been pretty crazy...I've been in the process of preparing applications, making sure recommendations are done on time, and writing a ton of papers.  So many deadlines to deal with...it's rather stressful. >_<  But now I'm almost entirely ready to hand in my application, which hopefully if I get in will mean I'll be heading back to Japan for another year, perhaps longer.  I'm really keepin' my fingers crossed on that, cause I know for sure that Japan is the place for me, at least at this point in my life, so I'm determined to find some kind of work there.  If all else fails, the only other place I'd want to be is NYC, or maybe the UK.  It's a tough world out there right now though, so naturally I'm a bit nervous about the prospects.

On another note, we watched the very interesting documentary 'Paris is Burning' in my gender class last week.  It's about drag, ball culture, and the gay community of 1980's New York.  It obviously deals with issues of gender and sexuality, but also poverty, racial discrimination, and inequality.  It's a really touching look at how these people dealt with the prejudice and hardship they faced in their lives by creating the balls and "voguing" as a way to express themselves and be who they wanted to be, imagine they could achieve all that they wanted, even if only for a little while.  I think the idea that fame lives within, that despite the limitations of the real world you can feel just as fabulous as any celebrity without the money or having people know who you are is something that can resonate with a lot of people.  It's also extremely interesting to see how certain aspects of gay subculture worked their way into the mainstream (e.g. Madonna's 'Vogue') and now influence the fashion industry that the voguers at the balls admired and emulated.

I know it's been said before, but I really do believe that the LGBT movement and women's rights are among the most vital issues of our time.  Fighting to improve women's rights would also do so much to help alleviate poverty all over the world, and finally surpassing the hurdle of equality for all genders and sexualities would help push many other equality movements as well.  It's so sad and hard to understand how people can be so close-minded, intolerant, and downright despicable to other human beings sometimes, especially when it's a dispute over something like who we love.

Moving to the music front, I can't stop listening to 'LORELEI' by DELUHI!  I love how they mix in that arabseque acoustic solo and the Middle Eastern influenced sounds...it's really beautiful and goes surprisingly well with their metal style.  Although incorporating that kind of aesthetic has been done to an extent by various groups before, I think DELUHI is the only one so far to continue drawing the theme through their music more consistently, rather than it being just a phase.

In other news, the Lady Gaga's video for 'Bad Romance' is out and causing quite a stir.  It certainly has some impressive visuals and outrageous fashion...it could take a while to deconstruct all of what's going on here.  I like how she injects intelligence, serious creative direction, attention to visual elements, and avant-garde style into the cesspool of mainstream pop.  She also has good sensibilities, is level-headed, and represents values and a female presence I find far more relatable and real than the sugary, vapid plasticness of most other normative women in pop.  Although she works in pop, she does have a sort of rockstar-ish, dirty and tough atmosphere that's very appealing.  People always give dance, electronic, and pop music a bad rap, but I don't think that comes from a problem with the medium itself, but rather is the result of misinterpretation, lack of knowledge, and the uninspired way it's used by some artists.

Across the pond, Patrick Wolf has put out a video for 'Damaris' off his album "The Bachelor" that was released just this summer.  It's quite surprising, although the concept and presentation is fairly simple, because most of his music videos thus far have been either solitary or with groups of dancers/characters, but never featured such an intimate two person relationship.  The parallel between Patrick alone at the grave and the scene with the two of them lying together in white was particularly beautiful and well done.  It's at once sweet but heartbreaking, and we get to see yet another vulnerable side of Patrick that's very different from the other two videos from this album.  In 'Vulture' there was vulnerability in a physical sense, while 'Hard Times' focused more on strength and overcoming difficulties.  Though his work has always been eclectic, I was quite happy to see him bring a bit of the traditional English aesthetic back into his videos visually, because I will always be enamored of his 'Wind in the Wires' period with all that great imagery from Cornwell.  The video for 'Damaris' also has a definite mythical quality to it that goes perfectly with lyrics.  I can't say it's my favourite video by him, but it's certainly another wonderful addition to his body of work.

Ugh, I have yet another paper to write this weekend, and I have no idea how to approach it because the topic is so vague...what a bummer. -_-;  I'm also hoping to translate DELUHI's new mini-album 'Yggdalive' in the near future...I don't have time to do a full post and rant on in detail about it, but it's pretty awesome so anyone who hasn't heard it yet should go give it a listen!  Leda's guitar work is love as always. <3  There are deliciously heavy metal-inspired riffs, some seriously high powered drumming, uplifting choruses, a sweet bass solo, a few funky/popish moments, and the shockingly soft and smooth "Hoshi no nai Yoru ni".  DELUHI has really expanded their horizons beyond my expectations with this release, proving they can rock a number of different styles skillfully and naturally.  For a first effort I was surprised how well they pulled off a lot of the new influences and styles.  Plus the sound quality of their work has taken a significant step up from previous releases as well, which is great.  I also can't wait till the full version of the "REVOLVER BLAST" PV comes out.  At first I wasn't too keen on it, and it's still not my favourite track, but the full song turned out to be a lot heavier than the chorus let on.  Here's some more samples:  "Wake Up!"    "Follow the Future"    "Flow Snow"

I'm pretty excited for next week because the new coat I ordered should be arriving.  It's a really cute black and white pleated Victoria houndstooth coat by BB Dakota.  It was so much cheaper than I expected (even less than the average for a similar coat at many other, more popular brand stores...but I think they tend to hike the price) and definitely miles away from the $3,650 or so price tag on the Alexander McQueen designs it takes inspiration from. >_<  I'd actually been endlessly debating over whether to go for a black or a white coat but this one totally solves that problem.  I can't wait to wear it with my tall, black suede high-heeled boots. :D  I've been refreshing my wardrobe lately not only for the fall/winter season, but looking for more sophisticated, classic pieces, because I've realized I need to expand beyond my existing functional/casual and not-so-work-appropriate rock-inspired looks.  I need more mature, career oriented items too but it's always so hard to find my size in those areas.

In other news, the GazettE's manager posted some more interesting anecdotes today.  Apparently the band hasn't been meeting up a lot lately since they're making songs and on break, but they had a photoshoot and such recently and when he and Kai were talking about posting photos on their blogs Kai showed the manager a certain photo on his phone and Sakai asked "Is this a pro wrestler?" to which Kai said "No, it's me!" and was like "See, look!" and proceeded to flash his newly buffed-up arms!  Then the manager was all like, "Wow, they've gotten really big!" 0_0.  I knew Kai had started working out to increase his muscles (he even got a personal trainer, I heard) but now I'm really curious to see how much of a difference there is!  Is it that drastic?! o_0  Also, apparently Aoi decided to invite everyone at PSC to dinner (they made a reservation for close to 20 people, he said) and Aoi paid for them all!  Sakai was super happy and said, "What a manly thing to do!  You're the best!  Thanks!" lol ^^;

I can't believe I managed to write two 6-8 page papers in three days...and I'm quite happy with the results, though I don't know how they'll do under my professors' scrutiny. @_@  One was for art history on the presence of the idol in Andy Warhol and Willem de Kooning's paintings (which I actually enjoyed writing), the other was a more grueling analysis of the application of psychoanalysis and Foucault to the anthropology of gender...that one was pretty complex, so I'm not as confident about it.  I always find it easier and feel better when writing about the arts because they're something I believe in, whereas I tend to be very suspicious of theory.  Anyway, now I'm totally burnt out, but I still have a mountain of other work to catch up on. =_=;;

Speaking of being burnt out, I read the GazettE's manager's mobile post today where he revealed that Aoi forgot what date it was and was the only member not to send Kai a happy birthday text.  Supposedly it went like this:
あっ今日もう30日だったっけ？？まだ26日だと思ってた(笑)
Ah, today's already the 30th??  I thought it was still the 26th(lol)
あっ！！忘れてた｡まじごめん！！日にちの感覚がなかった｡
Ah!! I forgot. I'm so sorry!! I lost track of the date.

-_-;....
Aoi you mean, terrible person...apparently Kai was pretty down because he didn't get a text from him. ^^lll  Of all the members Aoi seems to have been taking their vacation to the extreme from what he said in the latest magazine interviews.  Apparently he's been spending his time doing nothing but playing video games and chatting anonymously with people on the network (in some cases finding out that they like the GazettE) and practicing guitar while waiting for his game to load.  -_-lll  No wonder he's lost his sense of time.  I do feel bad for him though, because the reason why he's been practicing guitar at home (which he said he hasn't really done before, only playing while working on composing, recording, and pre-pro) is because at Saitama Super Arena he got nervous and there was a point where he messed up and his fingers just wouldn't move.  It seems Reita covered it up for him, but he said he felt like he wanted to die in that moment (it's in Shoxx, if I remember correctly). T_T  Poor guy.  So now he's working on leveling up his guitar play and getting more serious about why certain phrases just don't come out when he's composing, which is admirable and very responsible of him, I think.

Also, totally random, but I'm going insane cause I can't get this song out of my head: Bad Romance

I really, really hate it when fire alarms unexpectedly go off late at night on cold, rainy days. -_-;  It's such a pain.  Anyway, it's kinda sad that I haven't been updating much lately since I'm buried in work and papers that need to be written.  (I'm halfway through one for my art and aesthetics class right now, actually...it's about a bugaku mask from Itsukushima.)  There are so many backed-up posts and things I've meant to talk about but just don't have time to sit down and write.  But well, as for some good news, I've pre-ordered a copy of the GazettE's new DVD!  I caved and went for the rather expensive limited edition...and express shipping, cause I'm an impatient person and won't be able to stand waiting an extra week. :3  I'm really looking forward to it, and I get the feeling this year's holiday break will be a good one. ^^

By the way, I just though I'd share a little excerpt from a recent interview with SUGIZO.  Every time I read one of his interviews I grow to respect him even more.  He's such an intriguing person and seems to have matured into a really positive, humble perspective on things (plus I love when the dorkiness of his spiritualist-hippie-activist side comes out, hahaha.)  But he really does say some nice, pretty deep things sometimes.  I admire the fact that he really wants to make a difference in the world and uses his music to achieve that.

"What is important is guiding the world to a better place, making it more beautiful. I know that I don't have that much power over things, but I know that I am better than nothing. So I do my thing through my music. It's not as though people would die without music. Food, clothing and shelter is another story, but people can still exist without art and music. But I think that without music, people's hearts would die. It is my goal to be able to help people's hearts as well as how they live in the real world." [whole article]

I've been neglecting writing about new releases for some time now, mostly because I've been busy with real life work and spending my remaining free time translating for my other blog.  But after all it's a better use of my time and there's more interest there anyway. ^^;  So right now I'm honestly just procrastinating because I'm sick of doing my crazy amounts of Japanese homework (I've been at it for most of today, slogging my way through kanji study, an essay revision, 50+ sentence translations, and a four page reading comprehension worksheet). _|¯¯|O  Why are my Japanese sensei always so insanely ambitious?  Admittedly though it does me a lot of good, since if I were allowed to just sit on my ass and breeze through the class the lack of pressure from constantly having assignments due and needing to mentally prepare for class so I won't come out of there shamefully picking up the scraps of my shattered self-esteem would mean I'd never improve.

Hm, well anyway there's a bunch of releases coming out soon from artists like ScReW, D, and heidi., although so far none of the previews except maybe those for heidi.'s new album 'Panorama' have particularly struck me.  In fact, the pv for D's new single 'Tightrope' was pretty disappointing.  The song is alright, but rather mediocre and unmemorable despite its heaviness which wins some points with me, but the worst for me was the pv.  It just looks washed out and not very well put together from a cinematographic perspective, not to mention the obvious, overdone, and trite imagery.  I think it's the most awkward pv I've ever seen from D...a lot of the members' posing is so stiff and the scenes with Asagi as the "dog" and the man flailing in "fear" against the fence are just awkward to watch.  The whole idea just isn't very original and certainly not executed as well as it could be...the whole thing comes off as being tacky and cheesy rather than aggressive or sexy.

However, D'espairsRay's new single 'Final Call' is catchy and fun, and the pv is edgy with high contrasts between the vibrant colours, light and dark.  The line "Why can't you love me, baby?!" really makes you want to sing along, as dorky as that would be. : )  The song is upbeat and somewhat similar in sound and composition to 'REDEEMER', but has a sultrier feel to it that's played up in the pv's imagery and the lyrics.  I'll be translating it as soon as I get my hands on the kanji.

On another note, I just have to say, if I wasn't already decided on getting the GazettE's DIM SCENE Final DVD, then for sure these tantalizing, gorgeous photos would be more than enough to convince me! *o*  I mean, just WOW...I have no words!

So apparently the DVD of the GazettE's DIM SCENE tour final at Saitama Super Arena will be released December 16th, and I'm thinking of getting it despite the probably fairly high cost and the fact that I currently have no way to play it due to region coding (oh, how I hate the coding system) but I've been wanting to get a multi-region player for years so maybe this can be my motivation to finally invest in one since I really want to see the live and it supports the band, of course.  So I guess I ought to start saving up for it now. ^^;  (Btw, I absolutely LOVE their new looks, especially Aoi, Ruki, and Kai! <3)

Anyway, I've finished my first full week of class and all is going well...they're very interesting, though the assignments are already piling up.  I'm trying to get three of my short 1-3 page papers (all from my art classes) out of the way this weekend before the bigger papers come up and also so the following weekends will be freed up and I can actually do other things besides just work.  My Japanese sensei said she wants us to make blogs and post about stuff in Japanese every week throughout the semester, which is an idea I like and look forward to, but also somewhat worry about since it means I'll then have to maintain three blogs, which I'd like to keep posting in regularly but I don't know how successfully I'll manage that with all my other work.  まあ、とりあえず頑張ります！

We also have a stupid p.e. requirement so I'm taking pilates, which is nice since it's less intensive than doing a "real" sport or something that involves exercise machines.  I'm relatively flexible and fit, and can walk all day without getting tired so I figured it wouldn't be too hard on me, but we had our first class a few days ago and I have to say, my "core" (basically all the internal muscles of the torso that are the main focus for this exercise routine) were unexpectedly sore afterward. ^^lll  When you're doing the exercise it doesn't seem strenuous at all or like it's working your body too much, but you really feel it later! >_<  Well, I suppose by the end of it I'll have better abs and upper body strength (we had to do push-ups!  I freakin' hate push-ups...).

Also, this is rather random, but I've recently discovered what a delicious combination pomegranate flavour Chobani greek yogurt and cinnamon Kashi Heart to Heart cereal make.  It's great, I seriously recommend it!  I was very happy to discover the new expanded store in the dining hall sells Chobani yogurt, it's all natural greek yogurt...good stuff.  Before all they had was one crappy brand that didn't taste very good and only stocked three flavors. -_-;  It was utterly pathetic.

It's weird to be back at school again.  Yesterday I moved into my new apartment and have spent most of yesterday and today running around doing all the necessary errands, getting the stuff I need, cleaning the place up and unpacking.  When I first got here the place seemed pretty spartan, but now that I've spruced it up a bit and placed my things around it looks a bit better.  I have a nice amount of space in my single room (bedroom)...about 168 sq. ft. I think, plus a kitchen and private bathroom that I share with my one flatmate.
We've been getting along well so far, and he and I are both in the strange position of having come back after a year abroad so we don't know what's going on or how things work anymore. ^^;  It doesn't help that because we're in our final year we don't know anyone from the lower two years and all our friends from the upper years have graduated.  It's kind of depressing really...I don't feel as familiar with things here anymore so it makes me want to just get this year over with and move on already.  Like a lot of people I know who've just come back from abroad we found ourselves saying, "What am I doing here?!"...even though several months have passed it's still hard to adjust to life back here not to mention the university lifestyle.  Ironically the bathroom light stopped working as soon as dark fell on our first night here, so we ended up having to use flashlights to take showers and stuff, which was odd and a pain but manageable...at least the water pressure is ok. -_-lll  I filed a work order so hopefully they'll come fix it soon.

Another saddening fact is that one of my favourite professors has gone off to Japan to do research so he's not gonna be here this year...I always loved his literature classes cause it was always the same group of people taking it so we all got to know each other well and would have really fun discussions and accumulate all these inside jokes.  Well, despite that my classes seem interesting albeit rather challenging this semester, so I'll probably be kept busy and have to work hard to keep everything together.  I'm taking some cool courses like Culture and Mental Illness, Anthropology of Gender, and of course, Readings in Contemporary Japanese Literature. ^_^v