Junchanのブログ

Oh no! Quick Update.

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 06:27:16 +0900

Despite listing not to forget about this blog in my NY resolutions, somehow a slew of laziness came in, and so many events and happenings passed while feeling constantly too lazy to update on them. Oh, procrastination.

There were plenty of small things to update on, and a handful of big things. I really wonder how long this blog would've been if I updated over the course of last month!

As for the bigger things, MCing for Yukie's concert, weekend trip to Disneyland for one of the maids' birthdays, week-long snowboarding/resort trip to Tahoe with Yuni and Bento, working hard on Fanimaid Cafe 2010, working out!, spending time with friends and family in SoCal, and our friends' Super Mario Bros. themed wedding.

Overall, this year has been increasingly more and more eventful. It's a shame thatI hadn't taken more photos and updated more often.

I blame this on the convenience of Facebook. (-з-)

Meitantei Conan Marathon

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 05:11:17 +0900

It's been so busy lately, I haven't had a chance to update my blog! Though a big highlight of my free-time lately have been dedicated to marathonning Meitantei Conan, of which I'm not even a quarter the way done. There are 567 episodes that have aired! ( ﾟ ▽ ﾟ ;)

Meitantei Conan was my favorite anime as a child. I remember whenever my mother was around, we'd go to a VHS rental shop where she'd pick up dramas for herself, andConan and Doraemon for me. I stopped following the series around when I graduated from elementary, but don't remember why.

Recently, when a friend ours came over, we went through anisong rankings to see which ones we could remember. A lot of them brought back a rush of nostalgia, especially "Nazo", a really old Meitantei Conan OP that I'd forgotten for years.

Eventually, I spontaneously decided "Hmm... I should re-watch the first episode, for nostalgia's sake." And from there, I guess I couldn't stop. ww

I cheated a little bit and looked at newer episodes too, and episodes of when Shinichi temporarily returns. I was amazed by how much the animation has changed, whily still retaining the same artstyle, the direction and animation quality was like magic. As a fan, it was a very exciting sight to see.

When I was younger, I had a HUGE crush on Kudou Shinichi. He was charismatic, sarcastic, and quick-witted while still a vulnerable and whole character. I feel that, as Kudou Shinichi was possibly my "first crush", even if fictional, he became somewhat of an outline of my ideal man throughout my life without realizing it.

But back then, I think I wanted to be more like Shinichi, rather than be with him. ( ´艸｀)

真実はいつもひとつ!! (･｀ω´･)

Goldfish

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 11:58:41 +0900

Today, I stumbled upon a photo of a cute goldfish-shaped purse on someone's Flickrpage!

It looks really cute, even if it is a little silly. ( ´艸｀)

I've always really loved goldfish, as they're very pretty and colorful, not to mention friendly as pets. Growing up, my grandfather kept a big aquarium of koi and goldfish (I'm not sure if it's actually ok to do that, but they all lived together happily.) Every morning, he would give me a bit of their food to feed them and watch them eat. It was always a very cheerful way to begin the day.

Though, my grandfather had passed a few years ago, only one of our fish from long ago still remains in that tank. Many of them were old (most of them over a decade old) and died over time. The one that remains was a small feeder fish I kept as a pet about 10 years ago that survived all this time, and is 20 times its original size!

Contrary to popular belief, goldfish aren't as dumb as most people think. A myth has said that their memory only lasts for about 3 seconds at a time, whereas truthfully, goldfish have strong associative learning abilities, are are able to socialize with other goldfish and their owners. They're able to recognize their owners over other people, and can also learn to love them as well.

It's a nostalgic thought, that every time I came home from school, a bunch of goldfish and carp would swim towards me to welcome me home.

I'm considering maybe keeping a couple of goldfish in my apartment, eventually. Though, I feel that I probably have enough work taking care of my two snakes. ww

はいはい、金魚金魚～ ><>

Cute kitty avatar generator!

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 17:36:19 +0900

I made this cute kitty avatar!

Isn't it cute!!!
You can create one of your own, here: http://neutralx0.net/tool/bnmk.html

はいはい、にゃあ～ (=゜ω゜=)

Singing

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 14:14:08 +0900

Singing has always been a big part of my life, and I always get excited to go to karaoke with my friends. Since last April, me and many of my friends that I've met through the maid cafe have been regularly going to karaoke together, a few of them which are amazing singers.

Left to right: Me (Jun), Yoko, Yukie at Gamba Karaoke for the first time, together. (-^^-)

Yukie is our local idol in our akiba-kei scene, and attends local conventions regularly to perform. Yoko is a lyricist in the Japanese music industry, who's been an amazing singer for a long time, and never fails to impress people with her voice whenever we go to karaoke. Both of them, good friends of mine that've pushed and inspired me to get better at singing, myself.

I've worked hard to practice singing as well as I do now, but my voice isn't particularly good. It's a little weak, and my vocal range is limited. Nonetheless, I practice my favorite songs whenever I can in hopes to someday become better at performing, myself.

Singing has been one of the only hobbies I've kept and been wanting to get better in since I was very young. When I first began, I feel that I was probably a terrible singer, much of my singing felt off-key and harsh, mostly due to physical limitations from lack of practice. After much practice, I became better, probably up to part with any normal person in a karaoke booth, but I had horrible stage fright. To remedy this, in the 10th grade, I entered a on-stage talent show at my school and sang in front of an audience for the first time.

Last year, the first year of me running Fanimaid Cafe, I scheduled an hour-long on-stage performance for all the maids and decided to try performing again. I had a lot of fun, though unfortunately, my singing and dancing skills were still very minimal. Not only that, but I felt much nervousness, and I was overwhelmed by Momoi cheering for us. ww

When Momoi invited me up on stage, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that blew me away. I was exhausted from cheering, singing along with the songs from the audience, and doing otagei, so I was very out of breath and even MORE nervousthat I had ever been! I look back onto the moment with fond memories, but I had only wished that I had an amazing voice then... because in reality, all the exhaustion made me sing terribly!

However, I have improved much since then, from either practicing on my own, or going to karaoke with my friends. Each time we decide to go is very exciting for me, and I look forward to each time after. Sometimes I feel sad for my voice being so weak and unimpressive, but I hope with all my hard work that it'll become better someday, and that I'll become better at performing for others.

Like Momoi, I have many talented figures to look up to. The amazing singers that my friends are, and all my favorite artists. I grew up for many years admiring Shiina Ringo's music, and jazz vocalists, but in order to perform well in those genres, I'd need a much stronger voice to carry out the soft, sultry lyrics that they do so well. Though, lately, I've been becoming more obsessed with singing enka-- particularly songs by Teresa Teng (and her covers) and Ishikawa Sayuri, which have proven to be very challenging.

I hope that I succeed in my endeavors, as I'll be working harder than ever to achieve it. I have many things to work upon, this year and on...

Wish me luck! （;´▽｀A``

Delicious food!

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 13:19:56 +0900

The past week has been filled with delicious food! What stood out the most was probably this delicious Carribean Tapas place on Haight & Ashbury called "Cha Cha Cha" my friend Yoko took me and Mei, and most of all, the delicious beef curry I madelast night. (-^□^-)

I failed to take a photo of my own curry before all of it was eaten, so this is a photo from the internet. (^▽^;)

Curry is one of my absolute favorite comfort foods (among probably many). I've only began seriously practicing cooking since the middle of last year, and never really thought to change anything from the basic recipe. We had a guest stay for dinner last night, and Mikey had felt like eating curry, and I just so happened to experiment a little. I felt that curry will be good no matter how to make it, since it's such a simple dish, it'd be difficult for it to taste bad.

But little did I know, just a few subtle adjustments and changes in the recipe can do wonders, and our curry last night ended up tasting very delicious. I had leftover bacon-fat from the day before, and decided to sautee the onions and beef with it. I didn't have enough time to marinate or tenderize the beef much, but decided to wash it with mirin for some sweetness, also in a lot of Asian cooking, using any sort of rice alcohol is good for getting rid of any "shin" taste. (I don't know how to explain this.) I poured in the water and brought it to a boil, spooning out any excess fat from the broth.

On a separate skillet, I simply grilled some negi in big pieces with a little bit of salt and added it. The flavor came out surprisingly well, as I was worried any taste left in them would disappear into the curry. The rest was just basic S&B brand curry blocks and a bit of shichimi togarashi.

I didn't add any carrots and potatos, as I didn't have much time to allow them to melt. I prefer them to melt into the curry before serving, rather than leaving them chunky, as the carrots taste too strongly. Next time, I hope to try new ways of tenderizing the beef. A friend suggested I try marinating them in cola, which sounds very interesting and will be something I'll do in the future.

I'm also not very familiar with Chinese curry, but I hope to try to experiment with a few Chinese cooking herbs (though, some are also used in Japanese cooking as well) when making curry. I'm also a fan of Thai and Indian curries, but that may be a project later in the future.

My cooking has improved substantially since I've began, and I feel that many people in my family seems to have a natural talent for it. My grandfather was a hardworking chef, and my grandmother is an amazing and resourceful cook. Even my stepfather cooks as a hobby, and often gives me tips and sometimes helps me out with dishes when he visits.

I haven't tried many cuisines, outside of Japanese and Chinese, and sometimes Italian, but I hope to learn many tasty dishes as I practice. So far, I don't feel that I've made anything that hasn't tasted pleasant, so once I become better at it, I hope more others are able to enjoy my dishes as well.

はいはい、カレー　カレー　(´ー｀)

Friends and Gifts ヽ(^∇^)ﾉ

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 11:10:33 +0900

Winter has been filled with friends and gifts, which has made me truly grateful for knowing so many wonderful people. While sometimes, it's felt lonely because a lot of people were out of town during the winter break, it's relieving whenever any of us are able to spend more time together.

Kazuko just got back from Atlanta, and she brought me and Mikey back some adorable panda cups! ♥

We had a house-warming party last month, of which many of our friends were kind enough to bring us lovely food and gifts. Many made desserts and their own dishes to share with everyone when we were here. There were lots of sweets! Even Yukie-chan had brought over a box of special cream-mochi from Kyoto after she came back from her trip.

My family all pitched in useful kitchenwares (I was obsessed with kitchenwares when I first moved in) and my new step-dad had given me a cute handcrafted tea-set, along with a few cans of interesting teas. Mikey had chosen me a new yukata for me to wear to upcoming festivals of this year, and my friend Yoko brought back some cute stockings, a limited edition Macross-F strap, and a "otome hanger" when she returned from her trip to Japan.

I spent a few of these days this week with my good friend, whose nickname is "Oniko". I've known her since I was about 14 years old, and she's always been very nice and generous. When she came to my apartment, she brought over a big box of Beard Papa fondant cake, which she knows I love!

Many of our friends are so thoughtful and generous to us, so I hope that I'm able to be generous in return whenever I can.

はいはい、友達友達　(^^)

Fanime Cosplay '10 Plans

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 10:54:55 +0900

This year for Fanime, I have a few cosplay planned! Though, because I run the maid cafe event (Fanimaid Cafe), I am mostly in maid uniform most of the time. But there are times in the evenings to cosplay! Excited!

First off, I have a Ga-Rei cosplay feat. Yuni-chan. I will be cosplaying Yomi, and she'll be cosplaying Kagura. My amazing cosplay commissioner friend will be taking care of all our cosplays. I'm excited! ♥ I'll have boxes of chocolate Pocky prepared for yuri-kei photos. ( ´艸｀) Mikeywill also be cosplaying Noriyuki, who is Yomi's fiance.

Our swords will also be crafted especially for our cosplay. Kelly is going to have her Michael-12, and I will be having Yomi's Shishiou.

My other cosplay will be me and a couple of my maids in a Tegami Bachi group. I'm going to cosplay Lag Seeing, Yuni-chan will be my Nicchi, Yoko is Gauche Suede, and Mikey is Largo Roid. One of my other maids, Izumi, may be cosplaying Aria Link.

All that's left for me to do, is to choose a new maid uniform for Fanimaid Cafe '10! I'm unable to wear my previous maid uniform, as I had given my apron to Momoi last year as a gift.

I'm really excited for this year's FanimeCon. As more anime conventions come up,I will try to be planning more cosplays in the future. (´▽｀)

はいはい、コスプレ～！ヽ(・ω・)ﾉ

New classes!

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 09:45:22 +0900

Though I am Taiwanese-American, I find that I've become dislocated with my own culture, while being more familiar with American and Japanese culture moreso. So to mend that, I've signed up for public classes to study more about Chinese culture!

In a little over a week, I begin classes studying traditional Chinese herbal medicine. Over the years, I've learned from other family members simple traditional remedies using traditional herbs. I was a sickly child while growing up, so I would often visit Chinese herbal shops, and was fascinated with the vast amount of drawers carrying different herbs, watching doctors put together what is most suitable tohelp me get all.

I am also beginning to take monthly Taichi lessons at my local park, of which I will learn to do on my own on a regular basis to promote good health. Alongside that, I have been practicing daily cardio training. My legs are sore! (´д｀)

When I become more advanced in studying Taichi, I've already fallen in love with a specific Taichi practice sword that is perfect for me! You can see the sword here. It's engraved with double-bats, which are considered lucky animals in Chinese culture.

I've also been learning and cooking more Chinese-based foods lately, of which I've already learned basics, as it's fairly similar to Japanese cooking styles. I've always loved Chinese-cuisine, as it's both healthy, savory, and immensely flavorful.

In my childhood, I was surrounded by culture, mostly centered around food and annual celebrations like the Lunar New Year (春節/Spring solstice), the Moon Festival (中秋節/mid-Autumn festival), Qixi (七夕/Tanabata), and Ghost Festival (盂蘭節/Obon). My grandmother had also taken me to a Buddhist temple every week, when I was younger, where priestesses held lectures cultivating the study of Tao and Confucianism. While I'm not very religious, becoming familiar with it was an interesting experience.

Also, Chinese clothing on manga-chara is moe. ( ´艸｀)

はいはい、ブログブログ　(゜∇゜)

New phone!

Fri, 08 Jan 2010 07:46:03 +0900

I finally got a new phone!

My m.m.m. Official Momoi Halko 2010 calendar also came in the mail! (≧▽≦)

My phone is now a HTC Droid Eris. My old LG enV2 was getting old and broken down, so I've wanted a new phone for a while now. It's my first smartphone, and it's really convenient! I never really had the luxury to be able to use the web or look upmaps, before, so it feels like a big step up. (^^)

I don't need to mention how often I wished I could look at Google Maps from where I was to find out the best bus route somewhere, while I'm out. It's really frustrating, if you think about it! Imagine if you were out, and suddenly want to go somewhere, but have no way of knowing how to get there until you're in front of a computer! But now I don't have to worry about that, thankfully.

Other than the convenience, though, it's been really fun playing around with it the past couple of days. I guess this is how it is whenever anyone gets their first smartphone. ( ´艸｀) ww

はいはい、じゅんちゃん電話～ ('-^*)v