Instantly Growing Mankind

a fun trip to Nikko

2012-02-12T22:51:00.002+09:00

oh yea the final exam of my college life ended few days back yooo!!

it's unbelievable to have as much as 8 subjects to go for as a final student. other friends had like.. ehmmm 5? 3? some even 1??!! haha but you know some times it's not all about the test it's about the time spent with pals which you might not meet ever again after March. this is sad.

okayyy, so we had our own foreign students' trip to Nikko after exam!!

it's one of us Tochigi residents' pride other than our strawberries. haha.

it was -5 degree in the bright and -15 in dark. *brrrrrrr*

(please bare with some unclear photos as I forgotten the camera and all I had with me was just my phone. hehe)

us having fun on the way.

view of one of the rest stop. spot the mountains behind!

they-so-called-not-tasty-lunch. haha. it was OK for me though.

we're finally here!! ~~me for the third time~~ at Toshogu!!

hear no evil speak no evil see no evil.

my first BIG LUCK haha

dinner. this was just the initial dishes placed and thosands brought out lil by lil. yummilicious yoooo!!

I had a quick chat with the teacher in charge at one of the souvenir shops about alcohol and during dinner he gave the 'green light' for us to have wine before food, and also treated us my favorite sake. haha

winter fireworks.

we stayed in one of the best ryokan ever. lovely friendly staffs who you know bug you to hell during the morning if you haven't wake up for breakfast in the morning. haha. the old folks were just so cute.

another best thing of it was the hot spring. HEAVEN!!

they had the open air one and lucky us it snowed quite heavily while we were in.

could be better if one of us brought us some beer. haha

oh yahh we even sang birthday song to the birthday boy Thomas ~~The Chef~~ while in the hot spring. no better experience for the birthday boy I would say. haha.

what else. it's ~~fattening shits~~ supper time. haha.

you know it's gonna be a long night once it started. it was really good talking with everyone or anyone, especially when you had some alcohol before that. okay, it was basically me the one who talked the most. haha. I don't know why but I just love interactions. talking to people listening to people understanding people listening to people's life getting into people's life(?). yea that's probably the best thing to do on earth. man, I do hope to get a job like this in future.

not gonna leak anything discussed that night but while you talk you know more about yourself and I surely did. honestly it had been quite a tough period for me for the past few months. being single again after such a long time. and for sure things couldn't be forgotten you know as quick as you guys thought. especially for people like me. things weren't really going good for each of us and decided to called it off. it wasn't really that bad at first but got deeper as time past by. no choice but I guess that's the best for both of us. I do really hope so. grown up to be a better person I guess the both of us. saw her growth and yea did feel mine. on the bright side, I finally got over it. all ready to write a new chapter of that part of my life. from the bottom heart of mine, thank you for all these while you certainly made a big part of me.

okayy sorry I know this supposed to be something more about Nikko.

going back to the pictures...

Yutaki.

me with my Indonesian junior, Elian at Yutaki.

with the fun bunch of juniors at Senjyogahara.

Japanese lunch.

Kegon no Taki.

with the lovely couple at Kegon no Taki.

Thomas ~~The Chef~~!!

if any of you knows 楽しんご you'll get this. :P

owh this was the birthday party after we got back that night!!

just wanted to share this too. haha

it's fruit granola!! one of my favorite ~~breakfast!!~~

it's one last week until the end of school. yea just officially but I still have my presentation on the 24th this month. couldn't believe this all going to end soon. gonna enjoy to the max.

till then people!!

football scout

2012-01-19T17:56:00.002+09:00

this could be something big

this could be something interesting

this could be one of the happening

after calling for one in a long time

nothing is confirmed

but things look optimism

stay tune for the next few days

fingers crossed

sorry just showing being an excellent student of football!!

2012-01-14T23:33:00.001+09:00

素直がいい

何よりも

気持ちを求めてる

I want something simple something real

which drives me all the way long

2012-01-14T01:51:00.002+09:00

was reading football news online as usual...

came across this and just thought of sharing it here...

'Go back to your mother the same person you were when you arrived. That's important, because I'm sure your mother doesn't like to see you change'.- Sir Alex Ferguson

mentioning about football players who felt themselves as big as a star, once.

it might sound simple.

but not much do practice.

and this came straight to my heart.

down to earth people.

just in case you're interested in the news, the link down there.
Ferguson defends Scholes comeback

urge

2012-01-11T23:27:00.000+09:00

I ran...

and ran...

and ran...

as if there're checkpoints every 100 meters away...

plus some yoga...

that's what I'm up too these days...

and there came the urge to get to the highest peak of Japan...

to re-climb Mount Fuji...

here're some photos from the climb 2 years back...

2012-01-08T22:52:00.000+09:00

a lil bit more of workout...

comes with these in return...

tomorrow is a public holiday. came just in the right time.

it's the Come of Age Day Ceremony.

those turned 20 gather with their old friends. party. drink.

official adults.

congratz to all my classmates.

the worst thing being an adult, is not being treated as one.

2012-01-07T15:39:00.007+09:00

I should be allowed to fly...

I want to fly high...

I want to live my life...

I want it all my way...

and I don't see that coming...

screw u all conservative thinking...

screw u all cause and consequences...

I just want to fly.

in 5 years time

2012-01-05T22:54:00.001+09:00

how do you see yourself in 5 years time?

I'll tell u mine.

a whole wooden furnished condo...

all by myself...

I just can't wait...

to have my own spaces...

all for myself...

no, no sharing...

all for myself...

I feel comfortable...

being all by myself...

until I found that someone...

to share yoga...

to share coffee...

to share football...

who hasn't appear just yet...

but, please, don't just yet...

cause I want to enjoy all these...

just by myself...

that's what I want, in 5 years time.

ignore me.if you don't understand. haha.

Happy New Year

2012-01-02T20:19:00.001+09:00

Happy New Year everyone!!

2011 had been very good to me.
Certainly a year to be remembered forever.

I learn a lot.
I think a lot.
I suffer a lot.
I love a lot.
I changed a lot.

I could actually feel myself a teenager turned adult now.
Not just by adding another year of your age.
Felt like I built finished building my own Rom of my mind in one whole year. Of course it's just another description of how much i got from te year 2011. Pretty much.

Mentally was the worst ever nightmare I had. I don't know why but finding out me myself pretty weak mentally, did helped out on strengthening it.

I love more.
I love people around me more.
I appreciate people around me more.
The family, that never changed I guess.
They're the best, they're always the first.
The friends, I love each and every true ones more than before.
Maybe it's because I have more space now than before. I don't know.
I appreciate each of you guys more than before.
Maybe more than just friends, maybe brothers and sisters.
Doesn't matters. I love'em all.

Especially you people there reading this.

I'm went to bed now in the 2012, knowing clearer about what I want in life, than yesterday, in the 2011.

I'm closer to knowing what I want in life.
I'm closer to achieving success, which counts deep in my heart.

Okay this is getting pretty emo isn't it?
I'm writing this on the train back from New Year Celebration with the brothers and sisters here in Japan. This is the moment where u tend to get emo, very emo.

May u guys have a great blessing year ahead!!

Love,
Jun Hao

new precious experience of the very end in 2011 in South Korea

2011-12-30T19:24:00.002+09:00

never went backpacking ever, so decided to give it a try this time, all alone.
yea, alone.

just wanted to go some place where no ones knows me, relax myself, physically, mentally.

it was a 8 days 7 nights trip to South Korea.

slept in guesthouses.

e-diary

e-note

the trip ended up much better than expected.

and I'm back refreshed, with more friends, stronger mentally.

random places, random thoughts, random writing.

enjoy reading.

*click click click*

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7

Day 7. Kungan Park. Soemyeon.

2011-12-30T19:17:00.003+09:00

Woke up around 10am and there's one guy came patting me when my alarm rang for who knows how long. Haha. So embarrassing. Gah. I should train myself next time to wake on time.

Had my breakfast at the guesthouse, normal thing, toast and coffee. I don't know why but they're all Koreans staying here and damn I didn't make any friends yet from the guesthouse. They even avoid having eyes contact witchu, and this guy even showed me his back despite sitting beside me. Haha so funny. They're so shyyyyyy.

Checked the place to get on the airport limousine bus at Novotel Hotel nearby. My flight is at 10.55am and I'm so scared of sleeping tonight!!!!

Busan people don't look as good as Seoul. Not saying they're not pretty, just so-so. I guess all Seoul people are rich enough to afford surgeries(?) haha. But kinda my type u know. Hahaha.

Walked a lot and finally reach the park and had some hard time finding the rope way. Haha. Met some Taiwanese, they thought I'm a Japanese. Haha. Uncle, I won't eat your daughter up u don't need to look so fierce mah... Hahahaha. Just had my own sweet time up there. Jungle trekking. Enjoying nature. Just love it.

u know why I took this dunchu. :P

There were so many stalls again up there and one lady kept pulling me into hers that I couldn't refused a cup of coffee. She's so kind and sat beside me. I showed her photos in my camera and we talked for like 5 minutes? The only word I understand from her is 'ropeway' hahahaahhaa. Initially I wanted to ask her the road back to the rope way. But it was fun and warming.

picnic? haha

right to heaven. left to hell? haha

Spent some time down the park, just wandered around. Enjoying the greens, was breathtaking. Went in to the police station to ask for directions and there came 4 of them in uniforms dealing with me. I'm such a BIG thing. Hahaha. Of coz I'm happy of it coz it's not always people bother u when u simply catch one by the road. Some just say no while showing the no sign, some don't even bother to listen to u, mankind is so interesting isn't it? There's this kind young man who guided me to the park all the way for almost 10mins on foot. He say he can't explain it well in English so he'll just bring me there. Haha. Shared me gum too. Nice young lad.

Entered a seafood shop to try out some eel dishes. Busan is famous of it's seafood yea. It was such a big portion and I couldn't finish'em. Hell and this was so expensive! No price written so I guess me this foreigner kena 'hentam'. Haha. And this lady said something about my hair I don't understand. Haha.

Went to Seomyeon, the Korea Shinjuku(?) There's a LOTTE Department Store, have I told u about the LOTTE and Samsung story? Kim told me that u can never find Samsung's products in LOTTE, business enemies and Samsung is rich enough to compete with anyone. Haha. So they have their own shopping mall, Home Plus.

Chilling around the streets was nice. I always love walking on shopping streets alone. (window) shopping + people watching is a very nice hobby of mine. Saw this stall with long queue and I joined, without knowing what are they selling. Hahaha. Insane. Those were delicious Hottoku, a kind of pancake(?) I ate these before but this time topped with lotsa sunflower seeds, makes it better.

One of the delicacy I wanted to try out here is Korean style BBQ and I haven't tried any, and this is my last day here!! Got into a random shop yea again rating by the number of customers. Hehe. It tasted hmmmm OKAY(?) and I had severe stomachache after that, had to run around finding toilet. Wtf. I just wanted to fly back to Japan immediately that time, my home where I understand almost everything. Hahaha. Amazingly, bought nothing. This shopaholic or hacked? Haha.

Decided to come back early as tomorrow's flight is pretty early. But then hang out at a cafe named Caffe Bene, a cafe owned by numbers of Korean stars? Hmm I don't know any sorry. Hehe. The drink and food was good just price slightly higher, but no problem, just convert everything to Yen and it's cheap again. Haha. The best thing, I get this free mug! Made my day where I felt like going back NOW after that frightening experience having upset stomach, and u can feel the shits are coming out in no time but u don't understand a single shit in town. Wtf.

Time flies. It's almost the last 12hours I'll be in this kimchi land. Gonna go back, bath, pack and sleep. Let's pray I don't overslept and miss my flight. This trip would turn out to be an expensive one if I miss my plane. Haha. Peace.

I'll come back one day with some better Korean skills, shop more in Seoul, do some marine sports in Busan, extreme sports in Jeju Island. 持ち帰り take away a K-Chick. They have nice fingers (yea I don't know why I look at fingers. :P) they don't put on thick make up. Oh my I love it. ahahahaha

Yea of course backpacking again. Who's in???!!! Anyone with any cheap exciting backpacking plans please add me in!!!

Day 6. Gwanganlli. UN Memorial. Busan Tower. Nampo-dong. Chagalchi Market. Taejongdae. Mr. Lee's house.

2011-12-30T19:17:00.000+09:00

Woke up at 8.15am. I guess my alarm pissed everyone else in the room again. Balir in the guesthouse in Seoul the other day told me they were laughing at me seeing I'm sleeping like a dead with my alarm ringing beside. Haha. So sorry.

Owh, the guy Lee I mentioned who I met in the plane who offered to show me around Busan, came and fetch me at 9am! Oh yeah, couldn't be more happy.

First he brought me for breakfast, forgotten what it's called but it's te food given to the Koreans by the US Army during the World War 2 (WW2). Tasty yoo!!

Mr. Lee!!

Next we went to TOM & TOMS Coffee, Korea origins, to have some coffees. He gets around 7 cups of coffee per day and he's a heavy smoker. Damn. Caffeinesssss!! Haha. The cafe culture is such a trend over here u can easily find coffee shops like across every 5 shops(?) We planned our trip for the day there before getting started. Having a weak stomach, I love spicy foods and coffees A LOT but I'll have an upset stomach if those get into my stomach early morning, and that's what happened. Haha.

Next had some walk along the Gwanganlli Beach. Freezing. Haha

We then went to UN (United Nations) Memorial Cemetery. A place paying tribute to those UN army who sacrificed during the war between South and North Korea. South Korea got enormous help from the UK, USA, Aussie etc. Very interesting to read and try to understand things happened between the both countries. How they split into two after the Japanese invasion, and the North trying to attack the South for several of times by sea way, digging tunnels, with the help of Chinese(?). Wondering, do they play each other like in a football match? Hehe.

Lee told me lot of thing he knew, as I was paying more attention to what he was saying than sightseeing for the whole day. Haha. Will try to share as much as I remembered.

Lee said the older generations, like him mum loves Japan. (I always thought they hated) They are grateful with the technology and stuffs brought by the Japanese to their land which made it a better place to live. Kim then told me plenty about te history of their then and present presidents. The president could just fulfill either the older or the younger generations. Type one, they give lots of money to elders but forced the younger to work a lot for overseas companies like for the Germans as in return for the money lent. Demonstrations were everywhere those times.

Next we went to Jongdong Tower. There's this statue of a general yes again I don't remember what's his name, but he's one of the intelligent ones Koreans had. He fought again the Japs and came out with a tactic, burying metal chains down in the sea, and then pull the both ends which straighten then chains and managed to destroy couples of Japs warship. Busan was the old capital of Korea and the area around the tower was once the government's main office. Oh the tower's 120m high anyway. Haha.

We walked to the areas nearby, couldn't really remember the names. You know when u're guided by someone you don't tend to remember anything, and that's why I prefer to travel alone, you get to really know about things, you remember. Haha. But it was the fashion street of Busan, not really crowded. Normal typical street market of Korea.

Bi-to Takeshi spotted on the street of Pusan Flim Festival Zone!!

We had squid kimchi salad and chijimi at one of the street stalks for lunch. Yummilicious!! And there came two Japanese girls, saying '辛いー辛っ' which means spicy and were finding for water. We get free soup to drink in cups in every roadside stalks. So I kindly told them the soups are self-service, haha. Nothing much happened later. Hahaha. :p

Walked to the galbachi, the fish market. Fulamak, I always don't really enjoy markets especially the fish ones. It's so wet. Haha. But very interesting to see around. Busan is a pier city, that's why the seafood is famous here. Sashimi with bone, no I don't remember what it's called. Sorry.

Had a long drive all the way to Taejongdae. The place I enjoyed the most I must say!!! Mother nature!!! Especially rocks and cliffs, yea. And this is the place where Kim served his 2 years of army. He kept saying about his secret place up there during his army time and wanted to show me badly. He was so shocked it has stairs now, and open to public to walk down there. Haha! I just love this place.

It was almost 5.30pm by the time we got down from the hill, and he invited me to his mum's place for dinner! Oh no how could I reject such nice offer to enjoy traditional Korean home cook dishes. Though I really wanted him to bring me have some Korean BBQ. Haha. :p Traffic jam all the way and we talked a lot, erm okay I mean he talked a lot. Haha. It's so easy when he explained places around exampling'em with places in Japan, like Shinjuku Ginza Shibuya. Yea makes me feel home. Haha.

He told me about surgery in Korea, it's so cheap compare to Japan, so common here in Korea as almost everyone does it. He told me about society problems in Korea where the Korean girls are open minded to the foreigners but not to their own guys. There's the shopping area, across the street is the drinking bars pubs clubs area, and few streets away are the motels. Motels everywhere u can feel that's something going on.

He has a girlfriend now who works in Seoul as a reporter for Japan station NHK. She was even too busy to answer his phone. Haha. He says he has been traveling a lot and he feels the best looking ones are still the Koreans. And I actually prefer the Koreans over the Japanese honestly. Haha. In term of looks I mean.

We reached his mum's house. Greeted her with just basic Korean as that's one of like 5 I know? Haha. Welcomed warmly to the house and there's this leopard skin, shot down by Kim in Costa Rica. Wtf. I won't be shot down after dinner and skin hanged on his living room don't I? Haha. Kidding, they're kind people to do that and I'm no one own nothing for them to do so. Hahaha. Random thought. So many kind of kimchi, pork soup, very delicious. Mashosoyooo!! And I was praising the pork minced sauced, she packed two packets for me to bring back!!! Hey, this is much better than winning lottery. So touched.

Kim said he went backpacking in other countries, sometimes he gets to stay in kind generous local people's house, and it's his turn to treat others in his homeland. So cool listen to it makes me wanna try one day.

We then went to this Asiad Stadium which was one of the FIFA World Cup 2002 Japan-Korea. Just outside as it was closed.

Next, Busan University area. All university areas are lively. It's like they have institutes here then Mcd next door, coffee shops then drinking places all around. Haha. He was once student of Busan University studying Law but dropped out halfway as he finds its not what he wanted and changed to IT.

He showed me around, and explained what are these DVD shops are about. Basically, it's for couples, private rooms, big tv screen, DVD player, shower room, tissue, wet tissue. You do the imagination for the rest. Haha.

Got back around 10pm. Worn out but really had an exciting day all around. Guess what, I spent 0yen.

Got his address so I'm gonna send him something for new year when I'm back. The luckiest person in land on the 27th of December, 2011.

It's 1.35am now and I'm writing this like for nearly an hour???!! Just in case I forget any. The forgetful me. Goodnight.

Day 5. Busan. Seoul.

2011-12-30T18:17:00.001+09:00

Yea as promised, we 4 went for Jimmduckk around 12 at a shop nearby. It was good!!! Wanted to eat this so much but it's impossible to eat alone with that big portion. Was so excited. And again it was so cool that our conversations included Japanese Korean and English. No one knows all perfectly so we had to translate for each other, you know like randomly. :)

Then we went for billiard. They're good, I suck, but it was a hell lot of fun. I headed to Seoul Station and the Japanese guy went to the airport, he's going back. You know, it's his 9th time here!! Just to meet his girlfriend. Guess how they met each other. Through Twitter!! So people, get yourself one, who knows... :p they look lovely to each other, such a cute couple.

Should have bought the KTX ticket earlier, most of them were sold out so had to wait til the 5pm one.

Oh my, I just can't accept it where the Koreans don't say sorry or yea just something like excuse me or what. Blair said I'm too Japanese for saying sorry too much. Haha. But I think I'm more comfortable with that.
Another 2 hours 45 minutes to Busan. Oh shit. Sleepy boring time. This guy sitting beside me, I guess he just fart(?) haha.

Got to this HELLO Guesthouse. It's totally the opposite of the previous one. The place is gorgeous but not the people. They don't have adapters for the Japs plug, and some fuckers are watching movies through the shared pc. Nuts. Goodnight.

I wan to get some piercing BADLY

Day 4. Namdaemun. Toudaemun. Namsan Tower. New friends.

2011-12-30T17:59:00.003+09:00

Nah, didn't really managed to wake up early, AGAIN. Had the breakfast at the guesthouse, toasts and coffee. Free coffee, u can't expect a lot. You can find thousands of coffee shops along the street here. I don't know why perhaps the Koreans love it?

Namdaemun Market.

very delicious egg bread. looks delicious lah I didn't buy. haha

Hottoku!! very nice I love this.

looks at the queue!!

Namdaemun, and the big gate burned??? Since when?? Shit I went finding for it for like 30mins? Hahaha.

Tried lotsa hawker foods again. Then sat into a road by stall, wanted to just try the chijimi ONLY initially and I ended up with a hell of dishes with Makkoli! Korean rice wine, very smoothing. The portion was too big so I just sat down having my own sweet time, chatted with the guy maybe the son of the stall owner, who was sticking stamping the holes of the stall around, telling me they're poor. They actually speak good Japanese u know, so we chatted for quite some times. Everyone's reaction for me studying in Japan, "u rich? Kanemochi?" "You're clever? Atamaiidesune" hahaha. Hell NO!! So, I got to know why the Namdaemun got burned. In 2009, some perverts went crazy, and set it on fire. That's why they're rebuilding.

Toudaemun. Ta-da!!

What the hell. Another place under renovation. Guess my luck went off today. Haha.

Just having my own sweet time walking along the street without any specific destination. U guys should try this. I don't know why I love it.

I end up reaching the palace I visited the other day. Wahaha. Got on to the subway went to the City Hall.

Ice skating. Oh la la. If only there were some companions I would go for it.

Deoksugung Palace.

the olds in front, the news at the back.

Walked to Namsan Tower, which is also known as the Seoul Tower. It's Christmas, couples ONLY all where. Haha. And I didn't managed to get up to the tower, the line up was so long I gave up. Walked to MyeongDong again. Haha. What else. Shopping. Controlled myself as I don't really have enough space, I mean my bag. Haha.

can't believe I'm doing this. haha.

Namsan Tower aka Seoul Tower.

Bibimbap for dinner.

Got back around 10 something, and it was the first time meeting the Japanese who sleeps under me. He arrived maybe 2 days ago but it's like I come back late he was already sleeping, I wake up late and he's already out. Haha. Me, Blair and him had great time talking to each other, oh and also his Korean girlfriend through FaceTime. We used Japanese + Korean + English! How cool is that??!! They were a bunch of kind friendly funny people. Love'em.

they were discussing about Kanji. hehee

Oh ya, I'm gonna have Jimmduckk for lunch with them!!! Woohoo!!

I miss Japan out of a sudden. Told Blair and he totally understands how I feel coz he felt the same too when he was traveling in Japan. Man, I wanna go back. Haha.

Day 3. Changdeokgung. Bougeunsa Temple. Coex Mall.

2011-12-30T17:37:00.004+09:00

Yea who could wake up early after a night like that. My day started from 11am. Haha.

Followed the Australian, Blair for lunch at a ramen shop nearby his university. Very nice and funny guy. Found out that one could never love both Japan and Korea, it's either one. (I don't know that's what I felt. tell me if u found one :)) I'm obviously the previous one, the Australian and Thai are the latter. They says how much they like Korea what's so good about Korea, comparing to Japan, very interesting. Both Japan and Korea look the same maybe on the 'surface' but no, lots of differences in the way they act, not so sure about how they feel but I guess they won't be very similar.

Went to visit the palace. It was OK. Time wasn't suitable to take the free tour so jz walked alone around, putting my ears on those tour guides around, there were English, Chinese and mostly Japanese, so I just listened a lil bit here and there. Fixing puzzles. Haha. Followed the tour for the Secret Garden inside, believed to be the place where the royal families and high officers spent their times with the king.

it was freezing.

highest temperature in Seoul was like -5??!!

lowest around -17??!!!

Christmas Christmas Christmas everywhere. I went to the Bougeunsa Temple. It was quite late so not many people, so scary. A place which offers temple stay for those to meditate or something like that. But not as much things to see as first thought.

Went to the COEX Mall, the biggest underground mall in Asia, according to Blair. Yea it was like a maze inside. Phew. Amazingly I bought nothing. Haha.

Christmas Christmas. Merry Christmas.

I guess no one could really understand the feelings of being a foreigner unless u've been one. Hmmm... Very hard to be explained. Haha. Especially u know, Chinese, Korean and Japanese doesn't really differ in terms of outlook, and they'll just assume u're one of'em, throwing a thousand words of their language whenever u enter the restaurant, u go blank, saying, 'Hannkukk oh, no no!'(trying to say I don't understand Korean) then things turn really messy, they get fed up, just pointed where u can sit, all of these without a smile, not even a fake smile. Haaaaaa. Not use to us who lives in Japan. That's one of the culture shock.

A cute Korean girl was kind enough to help me out when I wanted to take the train. She checked using her phone, speaks just Korean other than 'U' 'this' 'here' 'there' haha. Very funny very kind, but didn't really helped me. Hahaha. No problem, I'm happy. lol

I'm getting really used to the Korea's subway now. They don't give long names to the lines like in Japan, instead they use numbers, which makes life much more easier. Even the stations are numbered.

Fuhh, got shocked as the lady sitting beside me in the train now started talking on her phone. It's something came instantly straight into ur brain. I'm too used to the Japs. Hehe. But yea, different people, different culture. We're all in one world. No problem.

It's Christmas, couples dating everywhere. Oh yea, I'm walking alone. Oh sad. Oh emo. Ahaha.

Got back, just wanted to settle down for the day, there came Kim, one of the share owner of the guesthouse, "heyy what u guys doing here? It's Christmas Eve! Let's party! Let's get drunk!!" sounded so fun that I couldn't reject him. Haha. Koreans are crazy like the Japs. Met some insane S'poreans bitches. Haha. By the time I went back to the guesthouse it was around 2 in the morning, there were heavy traffic jams, mostly cabs stopping on the road side waiting for those drunkers. The street went really mad. Yea really mad. It wasn't really the best Christmas eve but it's certainly the craziest I had. Merry Christmas!!

Day 2. Korea. DMZ. Insa-Dong. Myeongdong

2011-12-30T17:07:00.001+09:00

Early morning. 7.30am. Went down waited for the bus. I booked this tour to the DMZ, the Demilitarized Zone between South and the North Korea. They were supposed to fetch me at 8.20am but erm maybe I'm just too used to the Japanese style it's normally the departure time when u mention a specific time, so I was so anxious and worried about it, finally the bus came at 8.27am. Haha.

So lucky, there was a Malaysian family just sitting behind me. Malays who speaks perfect English. 'tabik' to them. Cool parents who were kind enough to talk to me.
Visited the 3rd tunnel, believed to be build by the North Koreans in a way of trying to intrude South Korea. Observation Tower, where we can see across to North Korea. There were soldiers all where kinda strict with it and I actually got warned for snappin photos of'em when there were on the bus checking our passports. No big deal though. Haha.

Visited the 3rd tunnel and most of the places, photography is prohibited. too bad.

u snap any photos across the yellow line, u'll get ~~shot~~ warned. haha

train track towards North Korea.

The tour dropped us at Insa-Dong, the street of culture.

I was starving and headed into a random restaurant, ordered a kimchi soup set meal, almost burned my tongue. Years since I last at spicy stuffs u see. Haha.

Visited the only Buddhist temple in the center of Seoul.

Walked around Insa-Dong, a very nice cultural street. Tried out a few kinds of road side stalks, very nice, very cheap. I don't know since when I started to have the Japanese thinking, which leads me to just line up and go for those stalks with long lineups. Haha.

love this place!!

vandalism-turn-art

this guy gave great performance with the ice cream. fooling the kiddos, and also me. damn. haha.

this brown sugar liquid inside dropped all over my gloves and camera. haha.

the only starbucks in Korea written in Korean instead of the normal English.

it's said to preserve the modernization of the street.

even Skin Food!!

these guys selling honey-made-sweets.

were singing all way long in Japanese. so entertaining so funny. haha

some kind of electronic thing where u can send a postcard of ur own instant photo.

sent one to my dad but he didn't check his mailbox til I asked yesterday. haha

Went lost finding the way to MyeongDong, but somehow got there after walking without the sense of directions for 20mins. Haha. Lucky me. Roadside stalls were so many all the way long. Treated myself some snacks, didn't really ate a proper dinner actually. All stall foods. Nice but not that cheap. But the main point wasn't about the food, it's more about... SHOPPING!!! Sales all over the places. They have H&M, Zara, Adidas, Gap, Giordano plus all the cosmetic shops, Natural Republic, The Face Shop, The Body Shop, and many more. I guess I didn't saw any guys carrying more bags than me. Haha. I'm broke. Haaaa!!!

Got back to the guesthouse around 10 something, put my things down, went down to the street to have some drinks with the Thai at one of the bar. Max, Coss, Fukne all those Korean stuffs. Nice. Cheap, compared to Japan. We both chatted till almost 2 in the morning. Hell. It was fun sharing listening about experiences of others. Making new friends.

What time I slept? 3am. Phew.

Day 1. Busan. Seoul. Hongdae.

2011-12-30T16:29:00.003+09:00

Note: I'm writing this down bit by bit as I travel along, so that I do remember every moment of it. :)

My supposed-to-be-honeymoon started with nightmare just when I was trying to leave the school compound towards the bus station. Today supposed to be the last day of school for the year 2011 but I'm carrying one big backpack at the back, one small one in front, smuggling out from the school. Haha. Thank god no one noticed.
Second scare, I felt asleep ~~as usual~~ on the train to the airport, woke up in a sudden, finding the train stopped at a station, 'Narita'. "Oh gosh, I'm going to Narita right?" grabbed all my bags and jumped off the train, just to realize, "eh, this isn't even the airport, the train station is in the airport, not in some open air space. Haha. Embarrassing.
Checked in, had Subway for lunch. Sms-ed my sis showing off I'm going to Korea, she showed off she's going back by FLIGHT. Haha.
You know airports in Japan, they announce in Japanese, English, Chinese and Korean. Felt nighmareSsss are waiting for me. I don't understand a single word. 'annehaseyo' or 'kamsahamida'. Tat's the only ones I know. Haha. Owh and 'Mashisoyo' which means delicious, learned from tv. Haha.

This is the first time I felt damn lucky despite not sitting beside a kawaiiii one-chan in the plane. He was a kind free lancer programmer. Made my first friend of the trip and guess what, he offered to be my free tour guide for one day!! Heyyy, that's much better than a kawaiiii ne-chan which's just for the comfort of ur pair of eyes. It was a great 2 hours flight.

Kimhae airport. Got onto an airport limousine bus to Gepo station as I'm going to Seoul.

Limousine bus, worse ever experience. "Gepo station, ok?" the bus driver stared at me, gave me the look which explains he doesn't understand, but then simply nodded. Haha wtf. Next, even the bus speaks ONLY Korean!!! GAH!! My mind was speaking to my heart all the time. "分かるか" "分からんって" "あかんって" "やっばっ" yea, speaking in Japanese inside myself, swearing in Japanese all the time.
Then there came a lady sat just across the pathway, I asked in English, she replied in Korean, I explained again in English, she continued again in Korean. Haha. I showed her the map, asked her to tell me when it reaches there, pointing the map, pointing myself. Haha. Damn. In the end i actually managed to get down on the right bus stop, with both of us not understanding what the other talking. Man, body language. This is gonna be lotsa fun! Hahaha.

1 hour to go for my train bound to Seoul, I got into a nice coffee shop. 'Champagne Shower' was playing but no one could speak English. Haha. Luckily they had English menu. Pointer finger did all the work. Funny part was when I wanted to go to the toilet, just in case they don't understand the word 'toilet' I looked up in my travel book and memorized. 'Fajyanshiru'. Wth, they don't understand 'toilet' and I had to use 'Fajyanshiru'. Korea freaking mad. Hahaha!!

On the fastest train in Korea(?) now heading to Seoul. God bless may I reached my shelter safety. At least for today.

Got to the guesthouse around 10pm. Goddamn I don't have enough Korean Won with me. Had to pay the guy tomorrow. Felt so sorry. It's a dorm kinda like of thing, there was one from Thai who's a tour guide over here, an Australian, a Canadian. Pretty cool. Went out to the streets, it's 10 something at night and man, thousands of youngsters thousands of clubs bars. Holy shit. Had my supper. Nah, just from one of the road street stalks. Toppoki yooo!! U know, not easy having a meal, without understanding any bit of the language. The worse thing, I was so anxious about the people, how they eat, I left without paying!! Once I noticed it I headed back and took out my wallet and showed that old aunty. She just smiled. I guessed she herself forgotten about it u know, amazed with this foreigner who comes back, showing his wallet, saying 'money money'. Haha. Wtf.

Came back and there were some girls in the second floor of our room, erm some kinda loft thing. Japanese oh yeah. Felt so comfortable talking to'em. Ahaha. :p

Goodnight.

it's all about Toyohashi

2011-12-19T22:43:00.000+09:00

four of us, the guys had a short trip to Toyohashi.

yea, tat's where four of us, many of us gonna continue our degree.

started out quite fun, as we gathered in Tokyo on Friday night for dinner before the journey.

yea, how could Tokyo turn out to be bored huh.

the braaather Sze Yang was so good to find out this particular old vintage restaurant, located in the middle of the big city, Shinjuku.

most of'em were like 'hungry ghost' yea so had to go for the second round.

yea things won't be complete without these. ~~alcohol~~.

late night bus isn't really for me seriously.

couldn't really fall asleep and when I was just gonna do so, the bus would stop for a rest or it would be 'we'd safety reached Toyohashi' damn.

we got down for a Oden break. haha

that's the nearest train station from the seniors' place.

curry udon. marvelous(?)

oh ya, should be saying this from the beginning but we were there for the sake of finding our apartment for the next two years.

lets pray hard things could be settled soon. or at least get a comfortable home.

last but not least, a big THANK YOU to the seniors who were kind and generous enough to pick us up early in the morning, showed us around, gathered to have dinner with us small kids. haha

feels so good playing the uke after quite some while.

practicing this.

cheers.

"Life In A Day" Documentary

2011-12-15T17:00:00.000+09:00

ma first time watching a documentary, something surely worth spending ur one and a half hour on.

see
feel
think

2011-12-13T23:11:00.000+09:00

volunteer is always one of the best thing to do

2011-12-11T17:09:00.001+09:00

it has been a while since I last did any volunteer jobs until this Saturday.
again a kind invitation from my "Japanese Mom" to join the party for a home-stay program.

meeting new faces, making new friends. awesome.
they were from China, Indonesia, Mongol, and Korea.
some were students, some were doctors.

getting in touch with people from different countries does make us, Malaysians realized something.
we do actually have an advantage of being in a multi-language country, speaking multi-languages.
now u're speaking Malay with your friends, and the next moment u're talking in English, and then translating them into Japanese to the old folks.
also one of the best thing, u get to know what the Chinese from China are talking about. secretly. haha.

one of the best thing of the day was, I actually played my ukulele in front of everyone yoo!!
tag up with my junior, I played the ukulele and she sang.
Rasa Sayang. Kantoi by Zee Avi.
my very first time, playing in front of so many people.
not even with the piano. haha.

never once I ever thought of exchanging my life for another.
I get to learn another language, get to experience life in a top country, what else can I ask for.
yet, there're still people out there moaning ~~like shit idiots~~

post-exams are even busier than pre-exams.
just imagine.
pre-exams, study is the only thing.
post-exams, there're thousands u would like to do.
no, I'm not grumbling about it. I'm loving every bits.

random thoughts.
I want to be a footballer as my next life. I want to play football 5-days a week. I want to wear updated new football boots. I want to be a commentator for sports' tv programs after retirement. I want to be a part of UNICEF. I want to visit kids in rural areas of every corner of this ~~bloody cruel~~ world.
I want to be a presenter or model or some-so-whatever job requires talking and outer-beauty. I want to earn a living with talking. I want to present the beauty of every part of the world or maybe Malaysia (yes, I'm totally OK being a Malaysian once again). I want to explore new things. I want to meet new friends.
haha, crap.

Okay, I guess I'll just concentrate on what I want now.
Good luck to those who're still on the same track as me.
Discovering our yet-to-be-reveal love passion.
Cheers.

2011-12-07T22:53:00.000+09:00

he's good
he's brilliant
I mean...
he's amazing

it's the end of 2012!!

2011-12-02T19:09:00.000+09:00

time flies man.

it's December!!

to most, it might be the end of the year

but it's not really so for us, people in Japan.

we have March to mark an end to everything.

so it's like a cool break for me us.

love my new hair.

my classmates love it too.

can't stop touching my head for the first period of class today. haha

what I'm gonna do for the rest of 2012...

1. manga. it's amazing I never read any, being in Japan. borrowed some from my junior. :)

2. discover Korea.

hope u guys have a great December ahead.

cheers.

love

2011-11-29T17:41:00.000+09:00

not many I loved for the past 21 of years.
not many remained.
not many will remain forever.
but i'm pretty sure about this one.
yea.
this particular one.

Tottenham Hotspurs!!!

it's so amazing thinking I've came along was being a Spurs.
u know since we had Michael Carrick, Berbatov, Mido...
we fly high with Martin Jol...
we free-drop low with Juande Ramos...
and now we're among the tops with Harry...
with the likes of Bale, Modric, Adebayor, van der Vaart, and PARKER...

almost ten years...
being a Spurs...
and still going...
forever man.

my very first ~~pirated~~ replica was also a Spurs.

and I'm wanting the current lilywhite one badly.
yea, badly.
u know, like BADLY.
u'll cry u'll starve ~~u'll kill~~, for one.

gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

sorry, it's just a personal true love confession over here.
sorry for the waste of time of yours reading this.
i'm so so sooo sorry.

i do care about my hair

2011-11-28T21:21:00.000+09:00

hair, is something interesting isn't it...

i like

2011-11-26T21:58:00.000+09:00

i like nature

i like woods

i like vintage

i like sunlight

wanted-list

2011-11-22T16:24:00.000+09:00

Scott Parker's Tottenham No. 8 replica

a pair of TOMS

electronic shaver

scholarship will be banked in few days. GAHHHHHH

happy exams people.

loving life

2011-11-14T16:27:00.003+09:00

people, life has been great for me lately...

had the futsal tournament for the past Saturday.
it was hell lotsa fun.
teaming up with ur frens, ur seniors,
we knew each other better this time,
and actually managed to get ourselves to the higher-tier of the tournament for the first time.
the first ever quater-final man. no kidding.
~~football~~ futsal could be the best sports to be played.

of course u know, events among M'sians like these were always meant to be a fun one.
the ball wasn't the only gain.

meeting up some old friends,
catching updates of each others' life so far,
were great stuffs.
getting closer to those who were once just someone you know,
being good friends after that,
AWESOMENESS YOOOO!!

it doesn't end right there.
the traditional drinking session with everyone after that was even great.
there were 2 same-batch-friends, 2 seniors, 1 researcher.
drinking session ain't all about the alcohol.
it's more about getting closer with everyone.
sharing stories, experiences and all of that.
you know, tat's the scariest part for us juniors.
where the seniors will come up with all sorts of questions and in Japan, no way u as a junior could refuse.
no hard feelings about it though cause everyone do enjoy it.
telling out secrets of yours, listening secrets of others.
so, we, the younger ones ended up sitting there quietly listening to great stories from the elders.
nah, of course I'm not gonna BOOM everything out here, the rules you know, the rules. :P
and, there're where you listen different experiences from others.
realizing there are many ways of living.
the world is so damn wide for you to explore.
man, I can't wait.

I don't know why, but I'm just loving life, the good life.
you don't have to be too strict, yet not too loose.
you don't have to treat everything as a test, but as a challenge.
people around you walk in and might walk out from your life.
treating each of'em as someone who came to teach you something, giving you some extraordinary experiences.
everyone is different, every lifestyle is meant to be different, it's interesting to look at each of'em.
and enjoy it.

I don't know, but I'm enjoying it.
man, life's full of joys.

cheers people.

p/s: it's Movember, man, I wish I could be one of'em, keeping moustaches, as if I had any. yes, I'm dying to get one, not mentioning piecing and a fuckin' sexy tattoo. muahahaaa

2011-11-08T18:10:00.000+09:00

sometimes it feels so good to skip lab and come back early to do things u love...

2011-11-07T20:47:00.001+09:00

had been a long yet fun for the past 5 days.

we had our annual school festival...

the juniors are a bunch of cool n funny people.

which made things flew much better.

decision making were up for quite a few days.

planning for my family's trip to Tokyo this coming March.

can't wait, seriously.

it would be a great family trip for us, yes, I would make it an unforgettable one, for sure.

couldn't believe I'm so near to full filling one of my dream.

to treat my family for a vacation.

and it's Japan.

couldn't be much cooler.

i'm a happy boy.

next is about my winter break.

yea, things are almost complete.

looking forward to it.

an adventure.

a new challenge.

would make a damn good experience.

watched 'Kaiji 2'.

hmmm... not a cinema-movie quality I would say.

can't wait for tomorrow.

can't wait to go school.

can't wait to face exam.

can't wait to experience my winter break.

can't wait to get my family here.

can't wait to get into the university.

tat's the farthest I could see.

for now.

I don't know why.

but I'm loving life.

being alone.

if i'm granted a wish...

2011-11-03T20:35:00.000+09:00

cornrows

tattoo on my right arm

not such big ones

facial hairs

piercing

on nose too

yes,

it's just a wish to feel the wildness in me.

okayyy,

it's a hell lot of wishes.

hmm... would my wishes come true...?

stress released

2011-10-30T21:52:00.001+09:00

seeing how long i've not been writing here, proved how busy I'd been for the past month.

mainly with the lab research, which made me stayed back late, and got too exhausted to hang out or do anything except resting through every weekend.

but, not til this weekend!!

presentation was on Friday, our lab was the first to present.

things didn't turn out right from the start.

my slide's animation went crazy, going to the next next next and next without me clicking. damn.

luckily one of my friend offered to click'em for me, and managed to finished in time. :)

also thought I did pretty well for the Q&A session, which lasted over 3 mins.

after that, it was T.G.I.Friday!!!

honestly the first time I get to feel what does it mean by T.G.I.F.

it means PARTTAAYYYY TIME!!!

yes, I do need some rest, relaxation after all those stress physically, and mainly mentally.

4 of us gathered in Tokyo for a late, full, sumptuous dinner.

OUTBACK restaurant

appetizer #1

appetizer #2

appetizer #3

my lamb chop

our BIG dinner

first liquor of many :P

blah

then next it was PARTTAAYY time!!

spot my head!

shop selling costumes

the guys!

a big news here!!

guess who we met in Shibuya...

Nagase Tomoya!!

he's the main singer for the band TOKIO!!

the main actor in the drama My Boss My Hero!!

and we met him twice!!

once was around 1 m far, the second time he was just standing beside me!!!

there goes my first time meeting an artist in Japan. :P

Nagase Tomoya

Shibuya at 5am

shivering in the cold

Saturday was fully for resting.
watched the big London derby where Arsenal strike 5-3 against Chelsea.
wat a good game it was.

addicted to vege juice, orange juice, apple juice these days.
certainly much more healthier than beer for games. :P

Sunday... so far so good... finishing next-week-deadline reports...

playing the uke...

gonna catch some game on PS3 later, trying my new game, Batman!!

owh, meet my new bought carpet. loving it much.

have a nice week ahead people!!

meet my new gf

2011-09-25T17:38:00.000+09:00

we kinda met each other at Ochanomizu...

she was hanging there, just right near to the doorstep of the shop, full with hot ones.

so classic, looks a lil bit chicky, yet with a sense of elegance.

an aNueNue...

a concert size...

ta-da!

ho-la!

no lies right? :P

(wat were u guys expecting? a hot chick?) lol

yea, picked up a new ukulele, more importantly a quality one.

gonna get myself well trained yea.

met up with a senior, Agung, who's always there for talk, laughter, and serious advice.

and it was a brilliant Saturday following up with a win from Tottenham but too bad Man United dropped their first points of the season to Stoke.

and I kinda found out something in me.

Man United was always just a like, and Tottenham is a real love.

my heart beat says it all. :P

weather is getting colder.

it means autumn is finally here.

no, i'm still not getting use to the cold, or let it be i enjoyed the heat much.

tomorrow marks the start of the last semester of college.

gonna kicked it off serious, and hopefully end it with a high note, proudly.

had thought of priorities for the last 4 to 5 months before enrolling into university...

and i would put it as, self-improvement.

p/s: meanwhile, thinking where to go backpacking (along) during my one-week winter break. any suggestions?

life is good

2011-09-20T17:11:00.000+09:00

exam just ended last week.

felt kinda sorry that I didn't really work my ass off. yea, who doesn't wan a break. no that I'm gonna fail any of my subjects. haha.

guess I'll get really serious for the next semester, which is also the last semester in college.

life is good.

I would say pretty good. maybe just a big of aching here and there, u know the good side of it. lol

inner peace. yea, tat's the word.

no sweating around, no grumbling around, no complaining around. makes u a happy freak.

honestly, never felt better, ever.

Open Campus was yesterday.
suck to hell when it comes to explanation in Japanese. no man, I SUCK.
otherwise, had great fun wondering around, chit-chatting at the corridors with the frens.
the whole building was just like a 5th years' paradise. lol

things I'm up to now...

FIFA 12 DEMO (Jap version)

*not really, the last time I turned it on was like day before yesterday*

live football matches online

practicing the ukulele

reading

the Parker's'

2011-09-05T20:24:00.000+09:00

there're these two Parker's', my hero's'.

Peter Parker
yes, I know, there's no need of any sorta introduction here, for my our super hero.

actually just the envious about this kiss. :P

maybe I should give it a try doing a fake spiderman-upside-down-kiss like this.
first, find my Mary Jane.

no, of course without that mask. haha.

next...

Scott Parker
England international, footballer, who... just transferred to Tottenham Hotspurs yoo!!

his passing, and calmness of all.

awesome.

a body like this ~~would~~ look perfect... ~~on me. haha. wtf.~~

and, this is the end of MY Parker's'.

honestly, don't they look alike ~~to me haha joking~~?

owh, and also meet the Foster's' too.

great indie pop rock band.

enjoy'em.

end of my best summer break ever

2011-09-05T00:09:00.001+09:00

1 month flew by...

and the clock ticks to my heart beat...

as school reopens tomorrow.

I thought it wouldn't be much different as most of my holiday spent in lab,
but no, still the same old moody day before school.
damn, this time worse.
final exam comes in a week time.
I remain zero,
only god knows if I'm capable of turning into a hero in one week.
god bless.

looking back for the past 1 month, it had been really great.
awesome.
I've done many things, experienced new things, didn't really made any new friends but certainly did close up with some old friends, some really good, interesting one, which was... hmm... good enough I guess.
the best thing was, summer's heat doesn't scare me anymore, in the other hand, excites me.

hmm...
no, not going to list up all the things I did, it would be a become a full bloody long one.
(nah, it's actually I remain a fuckin' moody shit now since morning, but forced myself to blog. gah)

like others(?) I did set up some target, or maybe some mission for this summer, and yes, again, like others(?) there're some parts which I failed accomplishing'em.

first - video editing. hmm, I actually did started on this, by doing research on the free software on net, and downloaded one, and actually get started. so, for this 'mission', the only knowledge I got was, rotating videos. yes, wtf, rotating videos.

second - getting a part-time-job. I did do my part, getting around, asking around, going for interview, but things didn't went well, as the amount of rejections I got during that 2 days top more than my whole life. wth. anyway, great experience.

third - studying Japanese. yes, I mean leveling up. no, I didn't work on it.

forth - read more books. no, I read, but not as much as I expected to. fail.

I guess tat's it?

anyway, a good thing for today, was I found a great website providing ukulele's chords for nice songs, and I'm working on'em.
yes, just if my mood wasn't tat bad today, I would have tried more songs.

good luck and enjoy ur September. :)

new yet familiar hobby

2011-08-29T17:22:00.001+09:00

so it's exactly one week before school reopens.

not a really good timing but guess wat...

I got another new yet familiar hobby!

check it out yooo!!

say HI too my UKULELE!!

no, music isn't something new to me,

so is a string instrument.

thanks to my long experience in piano and a short one in guitar,

got my done with a childhood lullaby in 40 mins.

man, I'm quite impressed with myself!!

holding it at my first attempt,

tuning it with bare ears, (as my electronic tuner hasn't arrived)

trying to learn it right-handed as a natural left-hander.

oh my, I'm happy!!

*sorry if I sound a bit cocky* :P

here is what I get after training 40-min-non-stop.

N.U.M.B.N.E.S.S & B.L.I.S.T.E.R

kay, I'm gonna share one of the secrets.

don't spend much time solely just on plain chords,

instead put urself straight into a song (yes, following the cd), and make urself catching the notes up.

no doubt u're gonna struggle at first but the outcome is faster.

my point, learn from the hard part.

for those who learns anything.

and for those who don't play any, there're tons of nice instruments waiting to be explored yoo!!

Quick Update

2011-08-22T20:59:00.000+09:00

yoo people!!

it's 2 weeks before my summer break ends!!!

came back from a short vacation with friends...
we went to Enoshima Island and Kamakura...
a 4 days 3 nights trip passed in a glance.

first day we went around the island...
no, it's not suitable to really go with your buddies...
more for a dating spot I guess. hahaa

many first experiences we had, and the most unforgettable one must be the surfing part!!
most of u out there must be thinking surfing is all about standing, balancing on the board rite?
so did we at first, but it's not.
surfing is mostly about paddling, towards the sea. hahaa!!
time spend balancing on the board wasn't most than 10 seconds, and it might be shorter if u fail, and drop. lol
nevertheless it was great!!

too bad that I lost my voice since the 2nd day, and couldn't really talk as much as I could, I want... :P
3rd day we went visiting temples around Kamakura, an old city in Japan famous with it's temples, and a big statue of Buddha.
and we actually walked around with yukata on!! it was a brilliant idea... by, of course, ME!! lol
wearing the Japanese's traditional costume, walking around an old place was (again) great!!

we could actually save more, if we didn't went for gorgeous pricey dinners every night! hahaa!
nvm, I'm actually finding ways to earn'em back. :P

then...
it was my birthday!!
spent the day in Tokyo, I got to tell u, it was the worse outing ever! yes, u get it? EVER!!
I'll keep them to myself, so does 2 other buddies of mine I guess.
just too embarrassing to say it out. lol

oh, yea I turned 21.
nothing specially actually, no obvious changes (checking my body :P)
my wish : to have the freedom to live my own life. do whatever I wan to, try whatever I'm interested in, really being treated as an adult. (yes, u know who I'm referring lah :P)
but that's life isn't it? getting to the 21st year of my life, guess I should have the freedom to do what I want. time ain't gonna wait forever. no one knows how long one's spam is. appreciate and live urs too!!

and, my family never fail to make me happy, especially on this special day. mum actually kept asking whether I get any letter or not before this, aiyaaa I would be too stupid not to guess something is there. haha.
but dad mailed them to me, and I checked'em on the train back. few drops of tears and I decided not to read on. yes, call me emotional-king. lol

both my sis also wrote one. no, theirs turned into laughter, as usual. hahaa. :))
they have the sense of humor I have (maybe a lil bit lesser :P), and share the cuteness too. :P

Aunty Sundaram, who also always have me in her heart, posted a birthday card to me, all the way from India. She went for some prayers and meditation kind of thing. I'm such a lucky boy. :))

also, a special handmade card from a special person. the best one I ever received to be honest. thanks a lot! :))

then, today...
it's my mum's birthday!! hahaa
no joke, it's real. swear. :P
just called home... normal chatting...
and get to know that granny is at home... wasn't feeling well. :(

there comes the feeling like it has been years since I last see them, in fact it was just few months ago.
decided not to go back for this summer, mainly because I have to work on my lab work, research...
and also, not wanting to waste my time.
once u get back home, ur comfort zone, u tend to get loose, relax, ur brain turns down or maybe hibernate automatically.
in the end, nothing learned.
of course the best part is u spend quality times with family and friends...
but... yea, nothing much to talk about it, 2 more short weeks. haha

gonna fully utilize'em...
accomplish missions set before this...
to be a stronger person...
physically,
mentally.

cheerss!! :))

my college

2011-08-13T12:59:00.003+09:00

i'm supposed to post this 2 years back,

yes, when i first came here. haha

this is mainly for my parents though,

and also... for those who are interested, to see how a college in Japan looks like. :P

so... ladies and gentlemen, here I bring u...

Oyama National College of Technology, Japan!

Main Entrance

Front Gate

we have a water fountain here.

turning to the left...

School Map

Library on the left.

walking further on...

signs...

bicycle parking lots...

school compound where I walk pass everyday...

Mechanical Engineering Block

Lab is in the 1st Floor, 3rd year classroom in the 2nd, 4th and 5th year's in the 3rd.

Pathway inside...

My experiment laboratory.

My research experimental stuffs.

Hydraulic Lab.

Warned by lecturer, NOT TO STICK ANYTHING ON THE DOOR. haha!

Chemical & Electrical Engineering Block.

Mechanical Factory.

swimming pool which I never stepped in before.

Tennis Court

Trees

Another school compound...

Baseball + Football Field

School Canteen...

School's Hostel.

Laundry

Shoes lockers.

1st floor, basically every floor looks the same. :P

Our TV Room.

Kitchen, with IH System.

the end...

so how's it?

anyone wants to further ur studies here?

don't worry, you won't turn into one of the X-Men with such low radiation dose. :P

kids ain't really kids

2011-08-10T21:43:00.000+09:00

today, went for my 3rd visit to a school as a volunteer.
hmm, not much to be said but it was really great fun, and they were another bunch of lovely kids.

Japanese kids are totally different from what we have in M'sia.
they're matured, they think like an adult, talk like an adult.
of course not all but most of them.
ain't shy for asking any questions, either doing any funny stuffs in front of everyone.

it's the Japanese way they were brought up, it's their Japanese mentality, which I guess the whole world is after for.
they don't need the helpers over there to bring foods for them, tell them to do this and that.
hmm, maybe they need them to play with them, tat's all.

time spent together was greatly awesome.
came back, with a big wide smile on myself, and these are small things which could really, melt my heart.

this time, I was clever enough to hand over my camera to one of the helper there, who was kind enough to snap through the whole 3 hours.

so, there you go, the PHOTOS.
for those who're very interested, u can go one by one...
for those who're hmm... i'll have a look, see 1 to 5 then scroll down on. -->>
for those who're not interested at all, hmm... u won't be reading this won't u. :P

enjoy. :)

no doubts that i'm gonna be a good papa, but before that i have to find the mama. :P

something simple but meaningful

2011-08-09T00:06:00.000+09:00

these are things I found on twitter and facebook posted by friends,

which I find pretty interesting,

especially for people like me,

who finds himself,

quite,

lost.

enjoy,

not just reading these,

but ur unpredictable life.

1. This piece of photo.

2. This line of blog link.
http://www.kennysia.com/archives/2011/08/dont-go-to-univ.php

Heat in Tokyo with the GUYS!!

2011-08-07T16:31:00.001+09:00

getting a good weekend, 4 of us went for a GUYS' DATE !
ur eyes ain't blur, yes, all guys. haha!

Omotesando Hills, Harajuku.
isn't the place for us to shop, but certainly a nice costly place for a nice date... or maybe to peep for those... hmm... haha!!

Dong Sheng was so excited to find Luis "Bitton" (tat's how the Japanese pronounce), where he decided to get his mum a gift...
yes, of course it remained a plain joke. :P

Sze Yang's so happy finding the pink belt he wanted...
hmm, this one was my choice for him but he bought the other one. lol

Ling Cheik, got his RayBan after finding out I'm wearing one. :P

This is the service u get, for paying something really expensive. Hahaa.

cake buffet at Sweet Paradise yoo!!
where we found out how could cake-fobia feels like. hahaaa!!

went to stock in for my face mask, introduced to'em and each of us bought more than 10 of those. lol

a nice outing couldn't miss out the last part, the alchohol part! :P
and, of course with the secret revealing, love talks, exchanging opinions session.

man, I'm gonna miss Tokyo after this! :((

great day with kids.

2011-08-04T20:58:00.000+09:00

and so, my volunteer activities continued...

this time at a primary school nearby.

it actually happened that in Japan while all the students have our summer break,

but then their parents still have to go to work, and sent their children back to school everyday for a daycare kind of thing.

not all but just a few of them.

then, the primary schools came out with an idea of doing some culture exchange with some foreign students around...

and they found the volunteer society which I'd been contacting since,

so yea we're there. haha

*wonder why I suck in explaining today... but nvm, let's continue... *

they welcomed us with big open hands,

even greeted us with 'Selamat Datang'

this is how Japanese can be so into DETAILS.

oh, me and my mate, Dong Sheng went together.

basically we introduced them about M'sia, and, yes that's it. haha
they enjoyed seeing different kind of temples, mosques, then comes to delicate...
but I bet they love the tongue-twister the most! they kept repeating it on and on without needing me to guide them on. haha.

*damn, ok, i shall not talk*
enjoy the pictures, question if u're interested. haha
scold me m*****f***** blogger. lol

we joined them for their daily afternoon tea break, served with a piece of fried onigiri, ice-cream, watermelon, jelly. (oh, tat's the order I ate them. haha)

another thing I was impressed with, was they even held their own story telling time.
each of them, with their pairs will take turns delivering stories to everyone during the break, and they did even better than us. :P

see, they even decorated the place with our M'sian Flag, and it's handmade.

even souvenirs!!

how would volunteer be something bad to do?

at the end of the day,
volunteer isn't all about giving...
maybe, you earn more than what you gave. :)

Growing up

2011-07-31T15:34:00.000+09:00

yesterday, the first day of my summer break, was a great one.

there's a volunteer body in my town which I had been keeping contact, and they had their yearly home-stay program started yesterday.
nah, i wasn't there for the home-stay program. i was there to help out.

there were koreans, chinese from the mainland.
not as kawaaiii as expected though. haha

2 years back, the japanese uncle aunties ran up and down for us, preparing this and that...
they were the host, we were the customers.

2 years from then, i'm among them, preparing for the newcomers, running up and down, getting to the location earlier, getting started earlier.
we had the traditional japanese tea ceremony for everyone.
so while they were doing it, we (the other staffs, which were all uncle aunties) took our break.
chatting about things since the start, how did their home-stay program started, which was actually a request from the M'sia embassy.

they're all freaking kind people, who are the relatives of mine, here in Japan.
gonna treasure the last 5 months before I leave for a... hmmm better place?

for the meantime, enjoying every second of mine.
hope u people out there too yoo!

oh, and there comes the urge of getting a traditional Japanese yukata... or maybe a jinbei would do... :P

when shits happened

2011-07-29T21:57:00.000+09:00

oh yea, here comes my summer break!
not a long one, just for one whole month.
minus all the days i had to go for lab works...

but, i finally get some free time to give myself some relaxation,
take my own sweet time doing things i've wanted to do all the while.
don't have much of my own time lately, hmm... maybe 8pm-12am? 4 hours in a day. great.

just wonder, if only one knows when bad things are going to happen, then we'll have some times to get self-prepared.
hmm... maybe not, instead of preparing, worrying i would be.

shits happen, yea always, all the while, all the time.
not that a big deal, when we're just a bloody mankind, among billions around the world.
wipe away ur tears,
chill,
and move forward.

have a great summer everyone!

TOMS

2011-07-16T12:20:00.000+09:00

so whos gonna grab one next?

Korea Fever

2011-07-16T11:34:00.000+09:00

there came an urge of korean food...

particularly the korean style bbq...

u see... with the SNSD, KARA repeating on tv, who won't be curious about korea right? :P

so there, i went all the way to the korea town @ shin-okubo @ tokyo...

to... satisfy MA-SELF. lol

Japanese just love to Q-up huh?

Nice place to get some korean stuffs

they suck!

Free tasting KIMCHI.

actually did some research about it and decided to go for this shop for lunch,

saw the Q and i gave up. haha. maybe next time with some buddies.

went to this. not bad i would say, but it's just kinda sad to have ur meal alone. lol

very nice with reasonable prices.

thumb ups!

a long list of celebrities who visited, which yea made my decision. :P

but it's just this two i recognize. :P

anyone who's interested, drop me a line and i'll be ur companion yoo!

*grins*

exhausted

2011-07-01T21:30:00.000+09:00

oh haa!

yes, it's Friday.

yee haaa!

since Weds, i've been thinking about the weekends.

no outings, means being a nerd through the weekends, gives me a lot of free time, tidying up undone stuffs for the past week and preparation for the next.

unable to do so for the last two weekends,

u see... busy celebrating... haha...

since i can enjoy my own sweet time throughout the weekends, decided to work harder on the weekdays.
staying back late after classes to move on my research....
done some shopping with the lecturer at a home center. damn, not that fun. haha, especially when u're left alone with him for like 10 minutes. wtf.

today, spent the whole afternoon in the school factory.

mother fucker. the Bangladesh, just scared me out, knocking my fucking window, without any fucking sound, asking where his cycle went, how the hell would i have any idea about. idiot.

ok, enough for those vulgar words.

sat, i'll fiinish up all my undone reports, and paperwork for my research, maybe some time for my PS3, can u imagine, it delivered on Monday, and i didn't even get to touch it for more than 2 hours. haha

then, yea,

read...
read...
read...
read...
reading...

but for the rest of the night, i'll enjoy my Makkoli, a Korean rice wine , surfing the net, planning for my summer trip.

TGIF everyone~!

a turning point

2011-06-28T16:25:00.001+09:00

gaaaa... lost count on how long I've written here.
maybe just a quickie on some... hmm... pretty big happening for the past few weeks.

first, yes of course it's about the university entrance thing.
passed the entrance exam and I get to continue my degree for another 2 years in this getting-more-and-more-comfortable-land. nah, don't ask when am I going back to M'sia, not even me myself has the proper answer.

lab, ~~god damn shit~~. Haha.
no worries, I'm cool. :P
here in Japan, (not sure about other places though) we has something like a graduation research, period due last year of our diploma/ degree, yea thesis about it too.
hydraulics really sucks ur brain's cells man. no kidding. plus all the pressure from the lecturer who demands a lot from his 'kids', lab-mates who were among the elites.
deep deep breath ahead of all the challenges entering ma lab. yea of course it doesn't fu*cking workout, get kicked with all those... ya, books books books.

i'll get stronger, yes, i certainly will.

yoga.
beginner,
nothing much to update about. haha
anyway, it's something really good for those who doesn't like outdoors, at least to get ur muscles moving *i got the movin' movin'* haha
ya, balancing among yoga and some outdoors i am.
oh ya, people, yoga ain't just for the women.
'walao eh, u guy do yoga, siao ah?' oh, get lost.

PlayStation 3.
for the sack of football gaming, yes, bought.
gonna wait for the new season to be out in like 2 to 3 months,
i'll do good with GT 5 for the time being.
no no no, i'm not going to get addicted. i SWEAR!!

outings.
outing, yea is something meant to strengthen the bond between human beings.
love it.
a friend, Carine, came down to Tokyo for the weekends and 8 of us went strolling around Yokohama.
Chinese cuisine buffet at a quite reasonable price at Chinatown, walking along the park beside Tokyo Bay, had super-duper-yummilicious Mexican cuisine, watched the movie, Super 8 (please cancel it if u plan to watch it), spent the night karaoke-ing.
it has been a while since we enjoyed together.
ya, i feel comfortable being with all of'em.
friends are a part of all of us, u won't feel great given being alone in a shopping heaven Tokyo, compared to a friend surrounded kampung huh? erm... not that sure about me, never mind, it won't take too long to find out the answer. haha
sorry, blunt me forgotten my camera. haha.

life these days, hmmm...
hectic or not?
i would say i get to choose.

wanted to set up a to-do-list for the rest of the year but it still stays ZERO. damn.
i guess i'll just go week by week, and maybe for my soon coming 1-month-but-literary-1-week-summer-break.

the good thing to mix the the elites, u'll notice how weak are u.
and there pops up those room for improvements which some wouldn't had even find out.

i'm gonna read more more more books (not text-book)...
i'm gonna learn more about mechanical stuffs, motor, engine... both of this can already occupy my whole damn year. haha.
i'm gonna learn more about Microsoft Office, Words, PowerPoint, Excel, i'm pretty weak, especially when u use the Japanese version in school and the English version at home. u finally get to understand how to draw something in school but u go blank when u're getting started to do it at home. haha. irritating. but. interesting. see, i'll get to know how to use in both language... yeehaa! ~~covering the pain-less~~

sometimes, or all the times, things are complicated.
u get to choose to runaway with the easier path, enjoying good life...
but nah, u learn nothing.
no way u feel victory without experiencing failure.
avoid getting into ur comfort-zone, or get out of it.
guess, i'm going the hard way.

yea, perhaps tat's one of the reason i'm not going back home for the summer, besides some research to be done. of course i get to accompany my love ones back home, hmmm... but nah, i guess i'll get trained more here. sorry.
trying to do the most i can, by calling back almost everyday. bet no one calls back more than i do. :P

be a fuckin' dude, be an idiot, i guess i'll learn more.
god bless, i won't get killed so soon. haha

BOO

2011-06-12T17:12:00.001+09:00

Boo ! ! !

*cleaning some dust around*

okay, I'll try to update soon. :P

人生は楽な道を選ぶな！

2011-05-14T18:55:00.000+09:00

never u, choose the easier path, in life.

have been hearing this from different people.

first it was from an Indonesian senior, Agung.

chatted with him regarding my choice of university not long ago and he told me this.

saw a tv programme the other day, people inside the tv said so too.

u choose the easier path, u learn nothing.

life is all about learning.

kay, i'm not really feeling kinda guilty with my choice but yea, at least i have my next goal right after this.

'成功は最低な教師である。'

'success is the worst teacher' - Bill Gates.

stop dreaming, make ur dream come true people!

cheers.

this could yet to be the best MORNING

2011-05-05T09:46:00.001+09:00

owh i actually wake at 9, on a holiday!
yes, it happens once a ten year. lol

YOGA
... when i concentrate, i do can recall some i did for like 5 times(?) following mum when i was back in M'sia. it feels good, really good. i'm gonna add it into my daily routine. hopefully i can keep it up. hehe

BREAKFAST
... Lipton tea, mushroom-creamy-bun, a cuppa fresh fruits with yogurt. ohmygod, did i beat urs? hehe

yea, this could yet to be the best morning I always wanted... since... i forgotten! :)

oh sorry, another thing.

had a good laugh after checking livescore.com, getting to see this!

European Cups - Champions League
02:50	May 4

FT	Manchester U.	4 - 1	Schalke

D.O.F.O.R.J.A.P.A.N

2011-05-01T18:06:00.000+09:00

after 3/11, everyone's eyes are on Japan.

with all the chaos going on, you see studying here gives me lotsa mutual friends in FACEBOOK who lives in Japan, and there goes all the tense.

no one is going to feel anything through the mass media, yea neither did i, but FACEBOOK gave me a hell of it. when you have your friends, your belovED seniors posting articles, photos and stuffs your're familiar with.

thank god, things are cooling down now.

but this is when the tv programmes and local news started showing more tragedies, EPIC ones.

it was just a few days ago, when it was some prayers day for the dead.

ceremony held at a school hall.

those were all elementary school kids.

then there's one family, who lost their daughter to the tsunami.

they prayed hard, not that their daughter will be safe, but for they daughter to return home, physically.

their prayers came true and they found her back, not by recognizing the face (more than 1 month passed), but with some ritual rod tied around her leg.

O.H.M.Y.G.O.D, I've gone too far.

back to the main topic...

it was the last weekend, my Japanese host family, the mother, Suzuki san who happens to be the chairperson of a volunteer organization, gave us the opportunity to lend a hand out to those who needed.

we had an evacuation center in the city here, staying those from Fukushima. initially there were hundreds over but some went back as you see the elders don't really like leaving their home, then there were 50 plus left.

our job was, accompanying the kids.

no one wants to experience such trauma in such an early age. don't you?

i was immediately welcomed by a lil kid, with a kick on my stomach. wtf.

he got scolded by his grandparents, cried out loud, and the others blamed me. wtf.

nah, he was just over-reacting.

i'll story through the whole day with photos then.

they had hot balloons ride for everyone. free of charge of course.

yes, that's the kid who gave me a kick and came back to ask for forgiveness after tat.

indoor playground for the kids. everything donated by the public.

donations #1

donations #2

donations #3

donations #4

watching One Piece.

now I know why most of the kids are not-well-behaved. -.-

she was teaching others origami

donations #5

donations #6

group photo

がんばれ！日本！！

i'll share just one 'special' thing here.

while everyone were waiting for their turn for the hot balloon ride, i over heard something.
there were a bunch of kids fooling around a high school (like?) girl. pulling her hands legs and doing what-sort-ever they can, for attention. there came a point when she had enough of'em, and shouted, "お前のチンチン触るぞ！" meaning "I'll touch you private part man!". (okay, maybe it doesn't sound that funny in English. haha)
anyway, they got the attention they wanted.

okay, I did something meaningful, rather than talk cock on facebook. haha. wtf. ignore me.

*phewww, finally finished this long pending post*

oh yea

2011-04-18T18:42:00.000+09:00

ignore the title. haha

basically, mind had gone really mad for the pass few days.

big decision (I suppose?) to be made.

it's something to do with ma lifestyle and the way I wanted it to be.

this might not be the best decision, not the one I really wanted but yea, who knows right?

*god bless*

don't think too much, and enjoy the present.

anyway, something really good to share with you guyz man!

cheee....ck it out!

ma new room

2011-04-17T17:39:00.000+09:00

just to make things clear,
i'm studying engineering, not fashion. lol

leaving for the cold

2011-04-09T01:11:00.000+09:00

finally, I'm heading back to the cold Japan.

yea, after all the earthquakeS, radiation things going on.

bye-bye everyone.

home-made bak gua.

Penang always the best

2011-03-30T14:01:00.000+09:00

managed to have a peep at the Penang for Japan Disaster Relief Charity held at the Straits Quay last Sunday.

friend of mine, Carine who was kind enough to inform me about this, and join the group as a volunteer.
too bad i wasn't free to give a hand, but yea at least I went to support. (?) hahax

the crowd,
the music,
the stalls,
the performances,

of course,
the LOVE

made it even warmer under a hot sun.

no way u can't spot any ang mo lang in any event held in Penang.

they're more supportive than any would have thought.

with all those charity events, fund raising going on in each and every part of the world (I hope so),
with all the collected being passed to those who are in need (without any corruption I hope so),

Japan will stand up, again,
stronger than ever.

bought all these at the charity. =)

p/s: low quality photos from my iPhone, therefore, no photos. hahax

no longer colour blind

2011-03-26T03:50:00.001+09:00

children nowadays aren't colour blind.
literally I mean.

got my new pair of boots,
hoping to have a game or two with some dudes at a playground nearby to the gf's house.

no dudes, but a bunch of kids. yea I mean real kids.

'tambi, I wan to join can ah?'
got ignored.

a boy who was kind enough, asked me to join "their Chinese team", against the "Indians".

wtf.

I bet he still goes to primary school.

not denying the truth that, I played with almost all Chinese since I started playing 'seriously', but some Indians, Malays and Singh joined once a while.
and you know what, there was once (like 2 weeks ago?) I was in town with mum, buying some kuih for teatime, finished buying and when we were about to cross the road, there came across a man on his motorbike with his mask on, waving to me. who the hell I would know you are with the mask on-lah.
He parked his vehicle aside, took off both his helmet and mask. guess wat, that's the Singh who carries his '4-month-old baby' inside his tummy, never does any running about, speaks fluent Hokkien (than me), scolds vulgar words on and off, who was a regular member of our neighbourhood weekend football.
He greeted me, so did I. He asked whether I'm in college, of course in Hokkien.
I was just way too happy to the fact that he actually do still remember me, mind didn't even bother to answer the question and I simply nodded him off with a glance of smile, really big smile (yes, you can imagine me in tat).
told mum who was him, mum didn't look that impressive though. haha.

*back to the main thing*

and we NEVER EVER like team up according to RACES like those kids did.

sad case.

nah, i'm not ~~yet~~ any big guy who could change mindsets of ~~all~~ Malaysians.
~~hopefully i do so, soon, really soon.~~

mum made my dream come true

2011-03-18T19:47:00.002+09:00

a special one

2011-03-16T17:14:00.002+09:00

Karpagam aka's wedding.
*'aka' doesn't stand for also known as, but it means sister in Tamil*

many were calling 'ah hao! ah hao!'
it's my second family...
i do recognize their faces but not names and who they actually are...
so sorry.

my first time in a church wedding.

may they stay happily ever after...

Splendid Cat City

2011-03-14T20:04:00.001+09:00

this supposed to be posted like a week ago...?
but yea, who cares. haha...

thanks to the girlfriend, we had a pretty cool adventurous one.

Sarawak Culture Village was ehemmm cultural.

Orang Utan ~~smth smth~~, my family went there and wasn't as luckily as us. they saw none but we saw 7!
the orang utans were kept in wildlife and they had some kind of feeding time to attract them.

Bako National Park was the best man.
wasn't really in our plan but somehow we woke at 6 a.m. that morning, hopped on the 7 smth public bus, took a 20-min-due speedboat (so lucky as we met some big waves which slowed down and made us shakky SHAKKY). got off at a beach, went jungle tracking. jungle tracking wasn't really a that big problem for both of us, the only problem (ehem, which was actually my problem as it doesn't seems to be her problem even it supposed to be her problem. haha!), she were only on sandals. u know, those sandals they sold for like rm10 per pairs. as expected it just went off half way and it didn't even last for 24 hours after buying'em. haha.
i guess, i would be totally pissed off and turn the other way round if it was me. she wasn't that affected by that, but enjoyed walking through the small pathways, rivers and played with the waters, bare-footed.

(tat's ma girl man, tat's ma girl.)

Home Sweet Home

2011-03-06T13:43:00.001+09:00

Heyoo!
I'm back in M'sia man... ermm for like the past 2 weeks. haha
lazy blogger I am.

Just got back from Kuching, the city of cat(?)
SPLENDID it was.

will try to blog something on it..
yea, and keep this alive yyaaayy

PIANO

2011-01-21T03:30:00.002+09:00

miss ma f**kin' piano.
swear gonna learn this piece when i'm back.
yea, and compete with ma sistaass, see who plays niceerr!

anyone having it?
pleaseeeee do share... :))

Van der Vaart & Tottenham

2011-01-18T18:04:00.006+09:00

his is just too good not to be shared.

For football lovers, you'll regret not reading.

I'm a Hotspurs fan now babe!

(picked from ESPNSTAR.com)

Talking Point: Rafael van der Vaart

Tottenham Hotspur's attacking maestro, Rafael van der Vaart opens up about his life and football at White Hart Lane.

Tell us about your early memories playing football?

"I was quite young, 10 years old, when I joined Ajax and my big idol was Jari Litmanen. Sometimes I was training and thinking it would be a dream to play with him or against him' and a few years later we were playing together.

"It's strange when you have an idol and then you play with him. He was the best. I loved playing with him at Ajax. We are similar players, the same position.

"You always remember when you are young and you meet footballers. If you are asked for an autograph you have to give it, otherwise it will make a big impression on that child. Now I can make everyone happy.

Everyone always likes that story. It's a lifestyle in Holland, not so unusual. But I remember I was always playing on the street, always playing with a football and you had all your family around you. I started with my dad, shooting at bottles.

"It was a good upbringing and then when I was 10 I went to Ajax and everyone was really proud that a boy like me, from the caravans, was playing for a club like Ajax. I dreamt of playing for the first-team and then that happened and everything changed."

What was it like living in a caravan as a youngster?

"You are different. You are from Holland but you are treated like an immigrant. At school I had to sign papers, stand in a different queue, it brought extra attention on me.

"For my parents it was difficult. For me, I didn't care. My mother explained it, she went to the school and asked why because I am from Holland that I had to fill in these different papers and it was then that I realised‘'okay, we live a different lifestyle.' I never thought that I would live in a normal house. I thought that was strange.

"I still go and visit my family on the caravan site. They are still living in the same place. My parents now live in a house but my uncles and aunts are still there. They still like the lifestyle.

"It's a good feeling going back because the caravan where I lived is still standing there, almost like it was. Sometimes I go back to that caravan.

Do you think becoming a famous footballer has changed you?

"Of course you change when you become a footballer, you become more famous, you have more money but I still feel I'm the same. It's a great lifestyle and the people are fantastic and that's why I always like to go back.

"When I was 16 I got my first contract at Ajax and I earned some money. I bought a house for my parents and they are still living in that same house.

"For me it was nice to give something back to my mum and dad and my brother. It's not easy for them, especially for my brother. Now he's my biggest fan. I'm a lucky guy. He's not jealous. When we lost against Everton I called him and he was upset, he reacted like a fan.

Why do you think Holland produces so many good players considering they have such a small population?

"The main thing for us is to enjoy the game, play on the street and to fight for your position.

"Here when you are aged 21 or 22 you are called a talent'. I am 27 and I have almost 90 caps. When I was 21 I had 30 caps or something like that. Here [England] you are regarded as a‘talent' at that age.

"In Holland it's different. My first game in the first-team I was aged 17. And for Robin Van Persie it was the same. Wesley Sneijder, Ryan Babel also. Everybody. Maybe it's easier in Holland because the league is not so strong as the Premier League and maybe it's better for young players to go there.

"Now Arsenal and Chelsea are buying a lot of young players from Holland, their whole families move over and I don't think that's good. They should stay in Holland, play in the first-team there and then come over."

What do you think of English football?

"I love it because everyone here loves football. Saturday afternoon at the stadium, with the kids, the people live for the club, every year the quality is better. It's good football and that's what people like.

"In Holland there are now a lot of Tottenham supporters, not just because of me but because of the way the team plays. Everyone is interested and that is a compliment to the club.

"I was surprised that we won so easily against Inter [Milan]. It was a fantastic game, even though I only played 45 minutes because of my hamstring. But I scored a goal and played against Wesley Sneijder.

"We are good friends and have always played together so that was the first time we have been against each other. Before that it was Ajax youth, first-team, Real Madrid for a year, the national team. It was strange against each other but we won.

The move to Spurs happened very quickly, tell us what happened on the last day of the transfer window from your perspective?

"It was a strange day because I was in Holland with the national team. I went there and everyone was asking me ‘are you staying (with Real Madrid)' and I said ‘yes'.

"We always go for a rest and a sleep for two hours in the hotel and I woke up and there were a few calls from my agent and he just said ‘Spurs wants to buy you, do you want to go?' I said ‘yeah, of course'.

"It was strange because I stayed with the national team and I was a Spurs player for 10 days before I went to London - for the first time.

"It was quite an easy decision though because Real Madrid had told me I had to go and that they would not play me. I knew when Kaka came that I could fight for my position and I played 25 games that season but it was different.

"You know, I really wanted to have a really great feeling again with a club. When Tottenham came in I decided I wanted to go to London and make a fresh start. I knew Tottenham, I knew the players - I watched Match of the Day and saw all the games. I knew it was a big squad, one of the biggest in the Premier League. Last week against Charlton the ‘second' team played and it was full of fantastic players."

What is it like working with Spurs' manager Harry Redknapp?

"He's really open. You can go to him and talk to him and that's great for a player. Always for the press he is good - he's funny and everyone likes him. It's one of the reasons why people like Spurs because he's the main man. I'm not used to having a manager. In Spain and Holland you have a trainer with an assistant but he's the manager and he's standing there, he sees everything. He doesn't say much but when he says something it matters. It's very simple - enjoy the game, show your skills.

"From the first day I felt really important, it was the main thing for me. If I had been playing badly everything would be different, I know that, but I've had a great half year and you see how Gareth Bale plays, how Luka Modric plays. Everyone likes to play with each other in this team."

What have you made of the amount of attention the arrival of David Beckham has brought the Club?

"I thought all the cameras were for me!?!

"He's the biggest star in the world, he's like a movie star. You see that. He's won everything and done a lot of commercial stuff. Of course he's a big star but he's also a great guy.

"I've met him a few times in Madrid when he came back to watch games and now he is training with us at Spurs which, I think, is a good thing for the players and the club."

What are Tottenham's chances of challenging for the championship now?

There is a chance especially when you have a few games in the row that you can win. We have a chance of winning the league although, for us, the main thing is still finishing in the top four and qualifying for the Champions League.

"When you don't believe, you can't win anything. With the Dutch national team, last summer at the World Cup, our trainer (Bert Van Marwijk) said ‘we believe or we stay at home'. And we said ‘no, we are going to go and win this title' and every day I told myself we are going to win it and I believed we would. In the end it was only the toe of Casillas that stopped us.

"It's difficult but it's football. I'm always realistic. They were better than us in the final and Spain deserved to win the game but it was so close.

What convinced you to join Spurs?

"They told me that they wanted to build a great squad that one day would win the league and the Champions League. You have to believe in something.

"I believe we can beat anybody. I have played for Ajax, Hamburg and Real Madrid and the difference with this squad is not big. But you have to believe you can win big games. That's the main thing. When you go to Milan you don't have to be afraid. It's a big stadium with great players but there is no reason to be afraid.

"It's all to do with belief. Maybe that is one reason why Spurs bought me. With a big game you have to have the feeling that you are going to win and we had that against Inter.

"It was one of the biggest games but, of course, there was the game against Arsenal at the Emirates when people were crying behind the goal when we won there. It was a strange game - 2-0 down and then we win the game."

What do you do in your spare time?

"I stay at home, play with my son - occasionally go for a nice dinner in the city. We play almost every three days."

What did you make of not having a break over the Christmas period?

"Christmas was too much. My body is not used to it - it's used to two weeks off. But Boxing Day was fantastic, not only did I score two goals but it felt like something special. I always like to score, it's the best feeling in the world."

the minor

2011-01-18T17:52:00.001+09:00

as usual, the lazy lecturer came in.
as usual, he was 10 minutes late.
as usual, distributed some exercises and made us do'em.

he found some evaluation forms inside one of the desks.
it was meant for us students to evaluate our lecturers.
something like we get to circle like 5 lecturers who ~~we thought~~ did a great job,
and just a lil space below to write down some comments if there are any.

he was damn lucky to actually flipped through it and saw his name.
nah, not being circled but being mentioned at the comment box.
someone complained about him being not committable enough.

hell, we're done.
i firstly thought.

he gave a glance,
and said . . .
'if each and every lecturers are that committed, everyone of you will die of stress.'
お前らホンマ死ぬぞって

*i leave the rest to your own imagination*

people, let's TWEET!!!

the wide wide world

2011-01-16T19:27:00.004+09:00

weekends always come late, and end just before u'd realized.

mine was good if wasn't great for this week.

pace was slow. really slow. haha.

there was a English Day Camp organized by my English teacher.
it's just a english talking session with some of the natives for few hours.

today was my second one, and without doubts it was nice.
we had John from Crystal Palace, England and Eric from The Philippines.
two good-looking gentlemen (ehem, three actually including me. lol jkjk.)

not many Japanese attended. there were just 8 in total.
we started yea of course with some self-introductions.
names, nicknames.

for your information, 'bananas' are called so because they have yellow skin, but something different inside.
never knew about it, or maybe I've forgotten about it, though being called so all the time. lol

John and Eric took turns introducing themselves, and of course their nations.
I must say they were really really good.
why?
because seriously I can't wait to go!

anyone ever confused about England, Britain, and United Kingdom?
I do, I mean did, and did do some research about it.
kay, lucky enough, got a native to explain everything about it. :)

(refer to the map above for clearer image about it)

England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, N. Ireland are different countries, with their own government.
Britain represents England, Scotland and Wales. NOT including Ireland and N. Ireland.
United Kingdom or we always say U.K. is the combination of England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and N. Ireland.
clear? haha.

although they're all different countires, they're all under the England queen.
no borders between, so passport ain't needed to cross over.
according to John.

football and music are their life. lol

poor Eric, didn't really had much time for Philippines after long Q&A session with John. haha.
so, Philippines...
hmm...
they had the world biggest mango, weighted 3.5kg.
bananas found in Japan are mostly imported from there, so our main topic was actually BANANAS. haha.
they make a lot of cuisines out from bananas.
one of them is the maruya.

ever heard about 'banana cue'?
from the word barbecue. A Banana cue or Banana Q (Tagalog: Banana kyu) is a popular snack food in the Philippines of deep fried bananas coated in caramelized brown sugar. Banana cue is made from a type of banana called Saba. It is usually skewered in bamboo stick, and is sold on the streets. The skewer stick is just for ease of serving and eating. It is not cooked on the skewer (as opposed toGinanggang). The term is a portmanteau of 'Banana' and 'Barbecue' (which in Philippine English refers to meat cooked in a style similar to kebabs).^[1]

-Wikipedia

*for those who are too lazy even to click on the link. :P

had been to Philippines for once, not London.
but yea can't wait for the chances to come man.
anyone joining? :))

guyz, the world is wide, way too wide for us to explore in one life I suppose.
people use to say it's a small world when it comes to meeting people, but when it comes to culture, nah, it's a lifetime journey, learning.

let's get kicking!
(come on, stop wasting time facebook-ing! LOL)

monday in another few hours, have a great week ahead.

ohya, Tottenham is taking Manchester tonight, knock them out Spurs!
end up their unbeaten record for the season! yea!
I've given up on being a Manchester United fan, turning to Hotspurs.
for those who haven, be fast!
HAHA!!

the end, the start

2011-01-11T18:56:00.004+09:00

10/1/11
was a great one for me.

guyz, please, it wasn't because of what u guyz thought.
it's something else, no one did really noticed but yea it meant a lot to me man.
blah. whatever, who actually cares. :)

MSAJ (Malaysians Students' Association in Japan) had our Annual General Meeting at the embassy.
it was great, trust me.

look back, i haven't been writing for ... who knows how long but yea it was for some times.
and, i'm BACK. MUAHAHA!

heavy burden is off.

ehem, not totally though.

finally, i started my university entrance preparations.

engine power turns ON.
don't stop me, u'll get urself hurted. ROAR.

ohyea
my new year resolution will be the number, 1, decided today, on 11/1/11.