Thursday, January 31, 2008

- the worst pies in london -


* MRS. LOVETT *
Wait! What's yer rush?
What's yer hurry? (She sticks the knife into the counter)
You gave me such a-- (Wipes her hands on her apron)
Fright. I thought you was a ghost.
Half a minute, can'tcher?
Sit!
Sit ye down! (An order)
Sit! (He obeys)
All I meant is that I
Haven't seen a customer for weeks.
Did you come here for a pie, sir?
(Todd nods. She flicks a bit of dust off a pie with a rag)
Do forgive me if me head's a little vague--
(She plucks something off the pie, examines it)
What is that?
But you'd think we had the plague--
(She drops it on the floor and stamps on it)
From the way that people-- (She flicks something off the pie with her finger)
Keep avoiding-- (Spotting it moving)
No, you don't! (She smacks it with her hand)
Heaven knows I try, sir! (Lifts her hand, looks at it)
(She wipes it on the edge of the counter)
But there's no one comes in even to inhale--
(She blows the last dust off the pie as she brings it to him)
Right you are, sir. Would you like a drop of ale? (Todd nods)
Mind you, I can't hardly blame them-- (Pouring a tankard of ale)
These are probably the worst pies in London.
I know why nobody cares to take them--
I should know,
I make them.
But good? No,
The worst pies in London--
Even that's polite.
The worst pies in London--
If you doubt it, take a bite. (He does. It's horrible)
Is that just disgusting?
You have to concede it.
It's nothing but crusting--
Here, drink this, you'll need it-- (She gives him the ale)
The worst pies in London.
And no wonder with the price of meat
What it is-- (Grunt)
When you get it. (Grunt)
Never (Grunt)
Thought I'd live to see the day
Men'd think it was a treat
Finding poor (Grunt)
Animals (Grunt)
Wot are dying in the street.
Mrs. Mooney has a pie shop,
Does a business, but I noticed something weird--
Lately all her neighbors' cats have disappeared. (Shrugs)
Have to hand it to her--
Wot I calls
Enterprise,
Popping pussies into pies.
Wouldn't do in my shop--
Just the thought of it's enough to make you sick.
And I'm telling you them pussy cats is quick. (Leans on counter, exhausted)
No denying times is hard, sir -- Even harder than
The worst pies in London.
Only lard and nothing more-- (As Todd gamely tries another mouthful)
Is that just revolting?
All greasy and gritty,
It looks like it's molting,
And tastes like--
Well, pity
A woman alone
With limited wind
And the worst pies in London! (Sighs heavily)
Ah sir,
Times is hard. Times is hard.

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

- frailty, thy name is woman! -

what happened in the last 7 days..
*****
26 jan - me birthday!

we ate at Sweets Paradise @ Shibuya, sang for an hour in a karaoke-box, watched Johnny Depp's award-winning musical film Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, took some purikura..... and i returned to my dorm for a bit, to collect my 2nd-hand electric blanket. while the others had their dinner at T.G.I. Friday's. at the dorm, other than the blanket, i was offered a comforter, a can-opener and a small blanket as well. later i went back to Shibuya at 10pm, to meet the latecomers who disappeared before the movie and decided to show up again. took more purikura.. and finally return to home sweet home. when i arrived at my doorstep, it was 1am.

lalalalala~

frankly speaking i haven't had a personal dinner with my mom, even though she promised to have one when she's free. anyway she's always free.

now, picture time! these are what i received for me birthday in 2008 >>>>>

bath gift set?

2 packets of aromatic bath salts (melissa & hayflower fragrance),

piggy bath/shower gel container,

and a cute white sponge with a face on it :3

seki-san, arigatou!


Shiono Nanami's

The Stories of Romans: All Roads Lead to Rome!

wooooooo.. current "my-boom", sorry.

thank you, kiwi!


ooo....... how should i describe this combination?

a gift set containing a yellow nail polish,

champagne-gold nail glitter,

purple eyeliner (this is where the cosmetics end),

heart-shaped valentine chocolates wrapped in pink,

and a teaspoon with a heart-shaped (or spade?) end.

thank you, linlin twin!

nothing beats this.
actually you know what, i might just find it useful for my drafting assignments.
thank you, the girl who lost her wallet and camera!

mmm?

oooh..... sweet.
the ichigoprincess is forgiven.


this i believe, comes from one of those UFO catchers.

judging by the fact that hakucho-kun is famous for his skills with toy crane machines,

this at most cost him 500 yen.
wimu-kun, NOT forgiven.
anyway, thankss!

more pictures coming up, but for now be patient!

p/s we made a birthday cake by collecting different types of cakes in SweePara. some kind soul (eh?) brought some candles and a lighter.


*****

28 jan - the end of creative writing!

aww.. it was interesting, though tedious. the first half of the lessons were translation classes. each week we're asked to translate an extract of an english novel into japanese, and the teacher (a professor in american literature from the infamous Todai) would comment and discuss on our works. in the last week (of the first half) we translated the prologue of Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, which has been translated by Murakami Haruki few years back.

next the second half, were short story classes. each week we're asked to read a short story selected by the teacher (a japanese novelist who majored in french literature, graduated from the infamous Todai) and discuss about the writing style. as the final report, we're told to write a short story and everyone commented on each other's stories. even though i wasn't the best writer in class (obviously, since i was the only foreigner and the only first year), i made friends with both teachers (the former is a friend of my mom's, and the latter is kinda like a fan of my mom's..) and i'm invited to attend their literature lecture for graduate students. at the infamous Todai.

(what's wrong with you and todai?)


*****

30 jan, morning - the prince's revenge

to be precise, the second half of Hamlet the movie. i thought it was better than Kafka's The Trial (which i had a headache after watching it), but some of the others criticized it - it's in black and white, it's english was not understandable, hamlet looked as old as his mother (or the other way round, gertrude looked too young) and ophelia was so horrible she looked like a mad person with that hair and behavior even before she became mad.

well yeah it's an older version of Hamlet you can't blame the movie for not having colors. and if you haven't studied things like the old english or rhetorical devices, of course you wouldn't understand the long-winded sentences spoken throughout the story. neither could i (i stared at the japanese subtitles most of the time), for i am not proficient in literature and linguistics. hamlet, he was probably blonde, but on a monochrome screen he looked as though he had white hair, thus making him look older (on the other hand, gertrude had dark-coloured hair). ophelia, well.. i didn't have problem with her behavior. it's probably just that you people love to comment on the others.

30 jan, afternoon - group presentation

about underground development. we proposed creating huge farms 3000~4000km under big cities, so that the self-sufficiency problem in Japan could be resolved. at that depth, the ground is said to be 5 times as hard as the concrete, so the underground facility is less likely to be destroyed by earthquakes. however due to the depth the farms must be monitored by autonomous facilities. "but how about the vegetables? we can't harvest with robots, can we?" moment of silence. and then our leader spoke on behalf of us, "let us pin our hopes on the development of science and technology."

definitely it was a boo-boo. but the phrase was surprisingly useful too. we were the 2nd group to present. later it turned out that 2 out of 5 other groups quoted the phrase because they couldn't answer the questions.

30 jan, evening - TOEIC competition

received an announcement e-mail from the school office. it seemed that although the average TOEIC score for the first years was 410/990, we still have many tough competitors in the university. for TOEIC competition, anyone who's confident in his/her TOEIC results may take part by submitting a copy of the score sheet. i was not even qualified for a sub-sub-prize. the only reward is a clear file with the university's name on it. but i doubt i need it, since i have lots of files at home. conclusion: next time if i ever wanna compete in the same competition, first i'd have to get a perfect score for TOEIC.

Friday, January 18, 2008

- it is snowing outside?! -



Yuna Ito solo version:



USA mix:

Sunday, January 13, 2008

- i really don't feel like bukatsu today -



poor ayu. i wonder what it feels like to be half a beethoven. must be very uncomfortable having only one ear functioning..

*****

was a bright sunny saturday. i was waken up forcefully and was asked to a little favour for my parents. "since you're free today, why don't you bring your sister to disneyland?"
and there i was, with my sister, at disneyland. (何っ)

a proper entrance ticket is gonna cost a bomb, so we decided to get the Starlight Passport - ¥4,700 for adults (18 and above) and ¥4,100 for juniors (12-17 years old), can be used on weekends and national holidays after 3pm. problem is, we arrived at Maihama around 1pm, and we could only buy the tickets at 2.30pm.. had no choice but to spend our time outside, having lunch and walking around..
entering disneyland after 3 is definitely cheaper, but lining up for rides.. i don't think so.

first of all, most of the fast-pass booths were closed by 3. and we checked the notice board for waiting time - splash mountain (the ride with waterfall thingy), closed. beaver brothers canoe, only available till sunset (the sun was already setting). peter pan, 180 mins. big thunder mountain (roller-coaster), 210 mins. which means that, by the time we reach the roller-coaster, it's gonna be dinner time.

so it was back to the basics, the simplest rides in a theme park - merry-go-round and teacups.. surprisingly it was quite exciting. especially when we spinned the teacup. it was more like a.. So-You-Think-You-Can-Spin-It-Fast-Enough contest. more than half of us who entered the attraction were young adults, and many of the boys were spinning at 200km/h. it was like, woooooo.. wooooooooooo.. wooooooooooooooo!! ..... yeah. some kids and old couples kinda freaked out at the sight.

but we didn't end up doing nothing. we had a plan. in fact, our main purpose was not taking rides, it was the year-end shows.
light-up event - sneak peek.



cinderella castle before, during and after light-up event (sorry for the poor resolution, it's from my mobile).


electrical parade - took pictures of this event when we came to disneyland last year, but version 2007 is better, because we managed to find a place to sit by the road. was quite cold, though.


and then, the fireworks... damn we were trying our luck at the haunted mansion (the nightmare before christmas ride) when it started suddenly. managed to record bits of it while running to catch up with the queue.


it was 10pm when we heard the "thank you for coming to disneyland, we are closing soon..." announcement. that was my first date with my sister (eh?). hope we can hang out like that more often... =/


ze tree! as promised, heeheeheee.. and the camera ran out of battery at that point. AGAIN.

Friday, January 11, 2008

- so long, farewell, i need to hang myself -

this is depressingly stupid.


Thursday, January 10, 2008

- why do the birds go on singing? -

there was this special documentary on tv last week.. about global warming and environmental problems evidently caused by human activities. one of the most saddening facts is that the Aral Sea, once known as the fourth largest inland sea with rich environment, has now shrank to a fifth of it's size nearly 50 years ago. it used to feed a large population in Central Asia but now, it's polluted and has high salinity, all thanks to us mankind who wanted to benefit ourselves.

and then we have the melting ice. this is mentioned on tv almost everyday.. in a 100 years' time, the average temperature of both ends of the globe might face increase to a point where there won't be any ice left. and that would mean that, if no actions are taken, countless islands and cities along the coasts will go "under the sea", literally.

goodbye err.. singapore, hong kong and taiwan? sorry can't recall other names at the moment..

or maybe hawaii or even japan. the real Nippon Chinbotsu.

and then there's the "end of the world" fuss. another tv programme about world mysteries, mentioned about the Maya civilization. this civilization began in the middle of 3rd century and was colonized by Spanish at the end of 9th century (?)... yet they had a calendar (365.2420 days in a year) very similar to the current one which we are using (365.2422 days). despite the fact that they did not have a telescope because the telescope hasn't been invented then.. which brings to the conclusion that they are good in astronomy (and perhaps mathematics). and my point here is, they had actually predicted the end of the world, or "the end of a cicle". which is 22nd december 2012. several books regarding this date have been published, apparently.

well who knows what will happen on the eve of the Emperor's birthday? one of the commentators of the show said that on that day, something supernatural will occur and human will evolve to have superpowers. yeah right.

i remember some prediction was made about year 2000.............. but i'm still alive!

anyway, a very serious beginning for 2008.

and here's a song for everyone.



この世に限りはあるの?
もしも果てが見えたなら
如何やって笑おうか愉しもうか
もうやり尽くしたね
じゃあ何度だって忘れよう
そしてまた新しく出逢えれば素晴らしい
然様なら 初めまして

but still my dear if the end draws near, what should i do?
if you hold me tight i'd feel all right, but still be blue
but if a song were to play just for us for a moment
to take the heartache away
well then i'd say, i'll make a song for you
nothing too old, and nothing too new
sing to the light of day
you'll smile for me, we'll be happy that way

just turn away and take this point of view
nothing is old, and nothing is new
when you look at me and say i'll forget you...

if you were me who would you be when the sun goes down?
two faces bright but i fear the night might come around
and if reflections appear from the past, all our moments,
smiles, love and laughter, i fear...
well then i'd say, i'll make a song for you
nothing too old, and nothing too new
sing to the light of day
you'll smile for me, we'll be happy that way
and take this point of view
nothing is old, and nothing is new
when you look at me and say
nice to meet you, would you mind if i stay?

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

- i might just like this better...... :o -

gotta love my sister. she's soooooooooo funneh.

i think she's succeeded my talent. (なにっ)

she got me into this. just take a look at how bored we are.. jeez.




behold the high-pitched "Get Out~~~~~~~~~!!"





fergie sounds less annoying here..





aaaaaah...





lol i just had to put this...





i can be your hero, baby!

err.. you can?

Tuesday, January 08, 2008

- this is democracy, malaysian style -

goodness..
distraught?



quote this dude...
Demokrasi=diamaukerusi; Jadi, semua orang mau kerusi tak kira dia siapa. Tetapi, yang susah pastinya rakyat yang buat kerusi untuk dia orangkan? Sekarang rakyat sudah terikut-ikut dengan peradaban Barat yang sukakan tunjuk perasaan. Sementara itu, Barisan Nasional pun terikut-ikut juga supaya menambat hati pemilih yang kononnya mereka juga wira. Tapi, cuba kita fikir adakah ini cara yang kita sukakan?

wah, geng ah.

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

- kinga shinnen -

謹 賀 新 年


謹んで新年の御祝詞を申し上げます。

お健やかに初春をお迎えのことと存じます。
旧年中は格別のご厚情を賜わり有難く御礼申し上げます。
本年も相変わらずご交誼の程ひとえにお願い申し上げます。

寒さ厳しき折柄皆様のご自愛とご健康をお祈り申し上げます。


平成20年元旦 siaokia