book shopping

maruzen bookshop just had their annual book sale... english paperbacks!!! i guess those book arent really a best seller here in japan so they need to get "rid" of them real quickly... SO, that means we foreigners are really lucky... being at the right place, at the right time!

dad, sorry ya... just cant help it! accidentally spent around 8000yen on books these past days... yup, went twice! hey min, i bought a few grisham, including the brethren, the street lawyer, the firm, and i forgot the rest... and the order of the phoenix too, hardcover for only 800yen! agatha christie's, patricia cromwell or was it cornwell? haruki murakami's the norwegian wood and the elephant vanishes, memoirs of a geisha, some non fiction on japanese culture-of kamikaze, geisha, and a lot more! i also bought the book on the royal selangor... in japan eh! for only 500yen... i think it cost more than RM90 in malaysia! and another one, P.S. I love you... i heard it's kinda a sad story eh... hahahah, can last me for the whole of 2005... no worries, min! you can read them when i'm done! hahaha! dad, those are for your collection in your future library in 21 Jalan A8 Taman Melawati... haahhaha! dad, i want a bookcase to store all of them... mini library eh! hahahah! oh ya, there's a new dict in the market right now, jap-english... i think it's a mass media dictionary where you can find words which appear frequently in the news and media lah... politics, social and stuff... can i buy?

books cost much more in malaysia i feel... i mean, if you wanna encourage young people to read... reduce the price of those books lah! and another thing, we seldom get discounts, rarely i would say... kinokuniya, MPH, times... hardly... one paperback cost at least RM32.90... and those books in the library... sad lah! even those in our national library... USM's library... those available for loan... sad...

enough of book talk for now...

been lazy these days

haven't blogged for a while... for your info, and a note to remind myself... school had already started... 2 days ago. well, here we go again... assignments, tests and etc... tak kisah lah! bring it on... 5 new students in our class...

was thinking of blogging bout my kinki area trip (nara, kyoto, osaka, ise, gozaishoo) BUT lazy lah... cant possibly write em all down... in a nutshell, i was tired and exhausted like )*&%$^ but i did had a great time lah! met u with grace too, in osaka! tasted some really nice ramen and kimchi, some not so nice takoyaki, and some really cheap cheesecake too! like the ones sold in miki no ojiiasan omise in Isetan KLCC.

the grand finale of the 3day trip.... tadaaa... outdoor onsen (hotspring bath) with snows as the backdrop! imagine, chilly cold weather plus steaming hot bath... outdoor eh, no kidding! felt really good! this is the one thing that i'll miss most when it's time for me to go home lah i guess! oh ya, they say lah, onsen has healing properties too! like rheumetism, hypertension... i dont know lah but i felt that my skin felt a lot smoother and silkier after the 2ominute dip in the onsen! yoohoo! plus... you get to scrub and wash... jacuzzi (the indoor bath)... socialise with the other bathers (jap women)! this is the japanese' favourite pastime ya know? enjoyed it very much myself! i could see myself going to onsen more often this remaining 5months! no worries ma, i didnt felt a thing when i went in there, i wont stay longer than i should! for your info, some people would get dizzy lah i heard.

earthquake on sunday 9th jan 2005

it was 6.59pm here in nagoya when it happened... if i were to describe it with only one word, it would be "terrifying"... well, those minor quakes back in september 2004 was really kacang putih compared to last sunday's a richter scale magnitude 4.0 earthquake in nagoya and gifu... though it only lasted for maybe, 6seconds... cheh... some of you might think... hahahah! but the whole building shook, those cupboards in the kitchen... could feel the ground shake! like some explosion took place undernearth your very own feet! the ceiling... walls...

to tell ya the truth... i was "stunned"... all i know is that i have to call home somehow, though it was not really necessary, but i yearn for voices, familiar voices from a place call home! called pa... really wanted to go home badly at that moment... anak manja... i felt like taking the earliest flight out of nagoya, head straight for KLIA and never come back, who cares bout my jap language and travel plans, just wanna go home... hahah! tak mungkin lah... just cant leave like that! not that easy eh... oh ya, if it's god will, i might even come back for another 2years... hahah... still praying bout it lah... if the tokai earthquake happens within 2005-2006, then i would choose to come back to central honshu, japan... either the kansai area, kinki area, or maybe tokai area lah... that is if it's god's plan for me to come back lah! pray bout it...

felt like i could feel how the tsunami victims had felt when it all happened... it is one thing to be prepared for natural disaster like typhoon and earthquakes but it is another thing when it strikes... like me... i stood there, stunned for a few sec... well, actually we're supposed to turn off the gas stove, all electrical appliances, keep the doors wide open, and go take shelter under a table... so much of my drills and stuff huh? tak guna betul aku pada ketika itu... scared stiff!

first post, year 2005

new year resolutions... never ending `to do` lists... and i`m not getting any younger by the year... what a way to start my 2005, you might think... hahaha, kidding lah! is this the szehwei you know? budak tu asyik dengan sikap `acuh tak acuh` lah... `shuang jiu hao la`... yeah, that`s the spirit!

by the way... spending oshoogatsu (new year) with the aikawa`s was indeed a great experience... we made motchi (rice cake) with azuki (red beans), it is something like our penang`s `muar chee`! then... we made osechi (new year`s bento)... all the jap names for mushrooms (shiitake), and bamboo shoots (take no ko) and lots of fish roes... i cant remember them all,　just kazu no ko, mei tai ko... salmon roe lah... apa-apo saja lah... it is kind of chewy thought... very salty... shio karai to mean salty in jap! black beans (kuro mame)... kuri (chestnut), satsuma imo (sweet potatoes)... ikan bilis- like fish... walnuts... what a bento...

mrs aikawa made sukiyaki for dinner... with lots of onions, and mushrooms... with the famous yummy matsuzaka beef... sukiyaki is something like our steamboat lah... beef is cooked for less than 10seconds... then, after being dipped in raw egg... makan lah! had sushi, sashimi... everyone, otoosan & okaasan, mo-chan, and yuki-chan (motomi`s younger bro) and me, in the small lil kitchen-dining hall, had our reunion dinner... otoosan kept serving me beer... hahah! coz the rest of them dont drink... hahahah! speakin of japanese beer, i think i prefer kirin to asahi... havent tried sapporo though... and i tried malt too... you know the black one... eh, gung gung likes that, right? dessert... we had oofuku, this vanilla ice-cream and strawberry wrapped inside the motchi... then, wine and cheese... luxurious huh? not forgetting sake, and amazake (sweet rice wine)... only to keep myself warm at night lah... excuses... blah blah blah!

had soba noodles the next day... and the infamous nato... served with raw eggs... for you guys out there who are die hard fans of the Iron Chef programme, you know what nato is lah... the sticky slimey semi-fermented smelly beans... sze jie told me you have to stir it for 15times with chopstick before eating them eh... it`s edible lah... not that yucky, not to say that i like it though... kobe beef steak, half done! capsicum, grilled... black pepper and salt! glutton! i know!

went to the shrine at night... nah, i didnt pray with them lah... made known to them that i`m a christian... went visiting the next morning... just like the chinese! went to their grandparents house... ojiichan and obaachan... nice lil jap family... grandpa was a war veteran... fought in WW2... no kidding! i drew him a map, explainin to him where i`m from... mind ya, he`s 89 and half... and still pretty alert and in the pink... but he wears a hearing aid in the left ear... gotta speak out loud when talking to ojiichan... they gave me otoshidama (like the chinese`s ang pau) too... heheh... so chinese-like huh? made me miss ma famille (family) even more! HOMESICK! awwww.... wuahhh.... I will survive, will not cry... coz i`ll be back in no time! ahahahah!

gotta go now... dont know when will i have time to blog... lazy to come out of my shell in the cold... all the way up the hill to nanzan uni to blog... malas, i know!

well, congrats ya! yeun, on your first job! love, a.j.