Weekend

So this weekend was pretty fun. Friday, I had gone out to Harbor City to look again at the clothes shops since there was a sale, and managed to get two tops. Then, I came back to rest a bit before I headed out to the train station and to meet my cousin at the train station. I was going cousin’s house in the mountains for the weekend.

I had another run in with the train fiasco. This time I was scared out my wits because I actually had to travel far into Tokyo where my cousin was going to pick me up from the train station and take me to her house. She had sent me instructions on how to go. I looked at it once, was going to write it down later, but then the internet was down, so I only remembered a little bit of what she wrote. I set off at around 4:30 since the train station is just around the corner. I went to go buy my ticket, but forgot how much the ticket was when my cousin sent me the email. So, I was looking for Iidabashi station on the map, but didn’t find it. I did find a train station that I was slightly familiar with the station name, so I bought a ticket for that train station. I got on the first train with no problem because I knew I was going to Chiba station and I went there with no problems when I went to Sogo. After I got there, I wasn’t quite sure where to go. I knew that I had to get to the yellow line, but now I was beginning to doubt where I was actually going. I decided to get to the yellow line anyway in case I was heading in the right direction. I get off at Tsudama, the station that I had bought enough money for, go out and to look at the map. I finally see Iidabashi on the map. Turns out, it on the orange line, but the yellow and orange line are dual lines. I bought a new ticket enough for Iidabashi station and headed back onto the train. I was slightly relieved to finally find the station on the map, but again started to worry after passing about four stations out from Tsudama. I kept on looking at the sign for Iidabashi at every station I went, but no sign of it. I checked my phone and saw that my cousin had called twice, so I tumbled out into the small station of Ochanomizu. Almost about to give myself a heart attack, I frantically call her telling her that I’m at Ochinomizu station and that I think I’m lost. Turns out that I actually was going in the wrong direction and that I was only two stations away from Iidabashi. I quickly hopped back on the yellow train, but the train slowly drove up to Iidabashi. I made a dash for the closest exit when the train arrived, but turned out to be totally the wrong exit. I was supposed to go to east exit not west exit, turned myself around, made a sprinted towards the east exit and found my cousin’s car waiting for me. My god, at that point, I swear I gave myself a huge heart attack on the train, but I made it to the train station all right. I will never give myself that big of a scare ever again.

My cousin laughed when I told her this story, but it was a good experience for me to take the train by myself, because eventually I will be traveling around Tokyo by myself, which will be another great adventure. I think I’ll just get myself acquainted with the never-ending train fiasco before I do even greater adventures. I think I’m finally figuring out the train station, so hopefully when three months is up, I’ll know the ins and outs of all the stations. Anyway, my cousin took me to a great sushi restaurant that had a conveyer belt and sushi chef in the middle in case you wanted to order something special or order something order something that wasn’t yet on the conveyer belt. The sushi chef that we had was really quite cute. There was some sort of special communication between all the sushi chefs, and he would be the one to initiate the calling. He kind of talked to us once or twice because he served my cousin a few times. It’s really funny how he actually remembered her the second or third time she went (I kind of forget). Anyway, my cousin had finished eating her meal one day, and she was really quite full. The chef asked her if she wanted to have some dessert. She asked him if he could recommend any that wasn’t really sweet, so he suggested a dessert from the menu. My cousin asked, “Is it any good?” The chef replied, “I haven’t eaten it before, but I heard someone else say that it was good.” Not really convinced that it was good, she bought it anyway to try. When she went back the next time, she was surprised that the chef remembered her and asked her if the dessert he suggested was any good. She answered that it was pretty good coming from this kind of restaurant. The chef really was very energetic, and it was nice to see because the other chefs on the other side weren’t as verbose as the young chef. I ate so much sushi that night. I was glad that my pants were still kind of loose because I was stuffed. I really liked their miso fish soup. It was a huge bowl too. It really was one of the best meals I’ve had in my life. I love fresh fish. Man, if only I could get this kind of stuff all year… My cousin and I reached her house late. We made a fruit smoothie of small cucumbers and oranges. It was ok. Not something that I like, but it was healthy.

On Saturday morning, I don’t remember what time I woke up. Being at her house was really relaxing because there’s no schedule. I could do whatever I pleased, which I really liked because I could just forget about everything in the world. I really loved the birds chirping and the rooster crowing in the distance. There were clouds in the sky, but it was still really nice to look outside because there was a lush green color everywhere. For breakfast, we had made a fruit and vegetable smoothie and had some bread. I have a feeling I’m missing something from that breakfast, but oh well. I don’t really remember what we ate on this day too well. While eating breakfast, we were planning what we were going to eat for the next two days. It was really funny. We had planned mostly of what we were going to eat, but then we though we might forget. So, she went and got a piece of paper to write down what we were going to buy, but then forgot the entire list. As we were eating, one of us would suddenly go, “OH! We need to buy this!” It was mostly my cousin that remembered the list.


After eating breakfast, we had set out to do some grocery shopping. The first stop was at a small market where my wanted to look in the store and see if there was organic vegetables. Then, she saw a rack of eggplant plants and stood there contemplating about it for a little before going to ask the store manager about the plant. She really wanted to buy one, but didn’t really know how to take care of the plant. She was quite excited about buy the eggplant plant after talking with the store manager. We went inside and grabbed some vegetables. The man was really nice. He walked over with a small bag of pi ba. He explained to my cousin that the pi ba were slightly sour, so they were to be used in a fruit smoothie. We thanked the man, picked up a few more groceries before we went to check out. While checking out, my cousin had noticed that there were some roots growing on the end of the san yao that we had picked up. The man was really nice He explained the end of the shan yao could be chopped off and planted in the ground. My cousin was quite overjoyed to hear this because she could now grow her own shan yao. Let’s just hope she put it in a good spot where it can grow because it seems she stuck the root under a tree….


After getting a great buy from the small market, my cousin drove to the big market. We milled around the market getting the stuff on the grocery list. We managed to get everything on the list except one item that was not a grocery, which was a scale. The shopping trip was pretty good for two people who had short term memory. On the way out, my cousin spotted the bakery bread, which looked so yummy. The first pan (Japanese for bread) we picked up was cheese bread, which I didn’t want, so we exchanged for a melon pan. They almost looked exactly the same. I must say, that melon pan was absolutely AMAZING. It was sweet, a little crunchy on top…. I think Japanese melon pan is one of the most addicting and astounding foods. I think I’m going to be eating melon pan for like the rest of the three months.


After buying the groceries, we had lunch, which I believe to be sushi. It was pretty good. It was different from the sushi I had on Friday night. I don’t quite remember what else happened that day. I do remember the air conditioning guy coming and fixing the air conditioners because three were broken. Then we had dinner, watched a Japanese mystery drama. It was really cute~.


So, Sunday morning, I think I got up around 8:30ish. I don’t really remember what time it was. I waited around for my cousin who had gone out on a rainy day to try to fix up the yard that was starting to overflow with weeds. I think she only managed to fix up the patch where she was going to plant the shan yao, which happened to be… under the tree. Oh well, she can either dig it back up next time she goes back or dig it up and plant it elsewhere in her yard. We had breakfast together, which was a pumpkin, shan yao and fan shu. It was quite good. I really liked it. Then, my cousin went out to buy some more groceries that we didn’t buy yesterday, and I stayed home to prepare for lunch. We were making cao mi fen in our own style. I cut up all the vegetables while she was gone. By the time I finished, I had a huge hand cramp and she had just come back, so she was able to go ahead and cook. I rested and watched TV while she cooked the cao mi fen. My cousin had originally wanted to put more vegetables than mi fen (the noodles), but it turned out that there was more mi fen than vegetables. The vegetables seemed to have gotten lost once they were all cooked. It was a really good meal. I quite enjoyed it. I think she does really well with cooking considering she only started cooking these past few years. I really did enjoy cooking with her because we’re both really bad cooks, but we had a lot of fun doing it. I know I cut the vegetables in the most horrid way, buy hey, it’s edible. Hopefully my knifing skills will get better!

After lunch, my cousin went to her neighbor’s house to ask about how to plant something. I stayed at home watching TV. I actually don’t remember anymore what was on TV. I was quite bored and actually fell asleep for a bit. My cousin finally came back and we went out to go to the hot spring. Now this was absolutely an eye-opening experience. Never have I been naked around so many naked women. I was quite surprised by how open the Japanese women were. They could just strip and walk out onto the deck like they were wearing a full set of clothes. I think if I didn’t have my cousin with me, I’d be running out the front door. Though, going to the hot spring was really relaxing. The water was really good. It made my skin feel really good. I hope to go to the hot springs more often while I’m in Japan.

Dinner was pretty good. I really enjoyed the vegetables my cousin stir fried. Her cooking is getting better as time goes on. I’m really glad she’s enjoying cooking for me even though she doesn’t cook very much.


Today was just coming back from her home in the mountains. This time around I actually knew what I was doing when I got on the train, so I wasn’t as scared. The train system in Japan isn’t as bad as I thought it was. I just need to get used to the many lines and different trains that come in and out of the stations. I did go to the market to get some more things to prepare for the curry I’m going to make tomorrow. I have some carrots, onions, and potatoes. Hopefully it will be enough to make a whole big pot tomorrow!

I really enjoyed the weekend. It made me really think about my life and how I want to live it. I know I’ve been depressed and had thoughts of suicide, but I think they’re going away. I’m really finding ways to help myself be happy and not be depressed. I’m really glad to have someone like my cousin because she really understands me. She herself had been unhappy for some time, but I think both of us are looking beyond the bad times and looking at how good the present really is. Really… what more could I ask for in life. I truly thank you to those who have been there for me. I’m really glad that my cousin enjoyed having me over at her house. We really talked about a lot of things and how we think and how there are ways to make our own lives happier.

Now, I must sleep because it’s 2 am and I am finished writing (four pages of pure spew in word) about my weekend.

Train fiasco

Well, so I took my shot at riding the train. For the first time riding it by myself, I think I did pretty well. I think I'm actually understanding it better. I took the train today to go to Sogo and Mitsukoshi. I bought a pair of black shoes that are really cute. Then I went to Mitsukoshi and bought a shirt that I can wear underneath my clothes when I buy the outer clothes. Then on the way home, I forgot what train I was supposed to take, so I had to call my cousin to see what line I was supposed to go on. Then, I actually took the wrong train and went to Inage instead heading towards Hon-Chiba. I had to take another train back, switch trains before I was heading in the right direction. I did make it back, which was all that mattered.

Overall, I think today was a success minus me using my poor Japanese to communicate. Though, I think I did pretty well despite only learning for a year. I really can't wait to start school. I really don't care if the school is good or not. I just want to keep on learning Japanese and learning about the culture. It's so different from Chinese culture. I'm really enjoying it here!

Japan!!

I've been in Japan for two days, and I'm really liking it! The flight coming here was pretty long. I actually didn't end up sleeping, so I played mostly on my Nintendo DS and listen to music. I actually watched The Other Boleyn Girl on the plane. It was really angsty I must say, but I liked the movie despite it being not very accurate historically (I might be wrong though. I did research on Anne Boleyn for a project years ago).

Yesterday, my cousin took me around to the school, and then went onto the train station. I must say, I have never been in a more complicated station in my life! At each station, there are at least 4 lines. Then each line has at least 2 or 3 trains. I am quite scared to ride the trains now, but I think tomorrow, I will make a great adventure to Chiba and try to go to Sogo for some shopping. It's going to be an interesting experience doing it by myself... However, the station that I am most afraid of is Tokyo station. This was the next station that I went to, and I was completely astonished by the masses of people. Ok, it was only Sunday, but still, there were so many people! I really don't want to know what Tokyo station is like in rush hour. I think I would be deathly afraid to be there when there are so many people packed into one station. I did have a nice lunch in Tokyo station. Soba is absolutely amazing. I wish I had taken a picture. I'll remember to take a picture the next time I have soba. Afterwards, we went to another train. We passed by the famous Akihabara. I must remember to take a picture for my surgeon to see since he was there many years ago. Then we went to Chiba station and got off there because out tickets were the cheapest that were supposed to be only used for travelling to one station.

The next adventure was going to the supermarket. The place I went to was actually a mall, but there was a supermarket inside the mall. I bought most of the supplies needed to cook (no groceries yet). There was a lot to buy. I actually bought a cell phone, which I'm most excited about, but also cringing at the price. I figured it was worth it to buy it because I wanted to make sure that I had a phone handy in case anything happened to me. I am quite afraid of getting lost, and it Japan, it is so easy to get lost if you don't know where you're going. I think it's even worse than Taiwan. In Taiwan, you can't really go far. The trains only run one way, and if you get lost, you know you're still in Taipei City. In Japan, one wrong train, and you could be on the other side of Japan. Not only that, walking on the streets is a zoo because there are so many different alleys that I can't even get straight. Err, I traveled off topic. Anyway, I got all the pots, pans, and spices needed for cooking. I had dinner at the mall. It was quite good. I had set dinner of pork chops. I wish I had taken a picture, but my mind was on so many different things at the time. I came back home, got acquainted with the girls on my floor. It's weird. Coming here, I never expected that I would have to use Chinese, but I'm finding that the majority of people at this school are Chinese. Glad I studied Chinese studiously for 3 years!

So, today I woke up at 5... 5 in the morning! I can't seem to sleep longer. Maybe it's jet lag, but I actually like waking up this early. It's quite nice. I went to the conbini (convenient store) in front of the train station and bought a chocolate sandwich cake for breakfast. Then I went to register and take the test for placement. The test was actually quite easy since it was a beginner's test. The front desk person gave me the harder test and wanted to see if I was willing to take it, but declined because it really was hard. Hopefully, I'll be placed in a class that is kind of easy and kind of hard. Should be interesting... After, I went to the supermarket. The supermarkets here are absolutely huge! I'm not really sure how long I walked around. I actually was trying to decide what to cook. I picked up some chicken, pork, and beef. I picked up some random asian vegetable that looked like cai xin that my mom cooked for soup. I'll try stir frying it and see how it comes out. I also picked up some mikan (tangerines) and peaches! Everything looked so fresh in there. I swear I just wanted to pick up everything and cook a whole mess of things. LOL... I really can't cook. I could be seen by the first meal I actually cooked today. I had cooked some eggplant and pork. It actually tasted pretty good. I was quite surprised. I did wish that the eggplant didn't turn out so green when I cooked it. I'm not really sure what happened there, but it just looked really discolored (I'll post a picture later). Apart from that, I think I'm going to really enjoy cooking for myself. I'm going to be cooking silverfish and egg tonight. I can't wait to see how it turns out tonight.

I hope everyone at home is doing well. I miss everyone. Time for me to go cook dinner!

Last night

So, today is my last night at home. I'm finally leaving tomorrow to go to Japan. I'm all packed and ready to go. I'm really excited. I just need to somewhat clean up the disaster mess in my room before tomorrow...

I really almost gave myself a heart attack these few days by checking my grade every few hours, but now the grade is posted. I can finally go to Japan with no worries at all. I'm so glad I passed my exit requirement. The prof gave me a good review, so I'm just complacent. Now it's jut an easy year from here on out. I can focus on Japanese and working towards a possible mini recital for piano next year. Life couldn't be better. *sigh*

Doctors are EVIL

Well, today was my annual check up for my pouch. I must say, I DREAD going to his office every single year especially with his scope and air pumper in hand... really gives me chills down my spine. =,=;; Anyway, I can say that I am a healthy little old buggered running around. Plus, I got to do some shopping! I got 4 tops for the summer weather. I absolutely love them and can't wait to wear them. I'll be sure to post pictures up when I do wear them. I also had chocolate covered strawberries as well as a raspberry cup from Godiva!!! Man, it was so good. I nearly cried! T___T I felt like a little kid today.

Oh yeah... I have a funny story from yesterday. My mom and I went to Costco. I never would have thought that I would be questioned that I was 13. So, here was the conversation...

(At the sample stand.)
Lady: Is your mom around?
Me (looking at her funny): Yeah. She's right over there.
Lady: How old are you?
Me: 22
Lady (looking embarrassed and handing me the sample): Oh, you look so young! You're very lucky!

Wow, I would have never guessed that I looked so young. Though, my brother was mistaken for 20 years old even though he's actually 27. I guess my family just looks young in general, which I think is a blessing.

Anyway, that's my funny story. It's bedtime now. Night~

Bored

Today I went out to eat dim sum! I haven't had it for three months. I was so happy, but now I feel a tummy ache coming on. I ate so much... I even had duck for dinner. My poor tummy isn't doing so well. >.< I really should have eaten less, but the food was so good, I couldn't stop T^T. And I do hope that it isn't the crab that's making me sick... Glad it wasn't lobster... >.>

After I cam back, I just played on the piano, played some Zelda, and got some clothes sorted out. Resorting stuff is such a pain. I have so much stuff that I don't even know what to do with some of the stuff. I need to be like a guy that doesn't need like anything. >.< Sometimes I hate being a girl...

Anyway, spirits have been up lately. I'm really excited to go to Japan. I'm glad it's something that I can look forward to. I really want to learn more about the language and the culture. It's quite different from Chinese culture. I can't wait to do a lot of eating and a lot of shopping! LOL... it was so funny, my dad actually wants me to do shopping while I'm in Japan. I'm surprised he's letting me use a lot of money to go shopping... oh, I can't wait!

On a side note... I do wish a certain someone would email me back. I hope working graduation for him was ok. I just hope he hasn't forgotten about me.

Leaving Santa Cruz, Reflections

This is the first time in my college years that I am actually going to miss Santa Cruz. I've always somehow felt so alone at school, but I have finally found someone that has made me happy, and made a few new close friends. I thought I would never in my life be sad about leaving Santa Cruz. It's always been a place where I've felt alone. I had no friends. I was always depressed. Not living sounded like such a good solution to my problems at the time, but it was a stupid solution. Had I killed myself, I would have missed out on what happened this year. I truly thank who have helped me through these years. I am finally healing from the hurt from 7th grade and my illness. I'm moving on. The people whom I met in group, I thank them for their support. I know I have not completely healed from the traumas I have experience in my life, but I feel that I have taken a huge step forward. However, I know these feelings of loneliness, depression, and suicide won't leave me for a while, but I am able to handle them better. Thank you everyone.