HP7 Madness and House Renovations

July 21st 2007. The release of the final Harry Potter book~ Like others, I was one of those who got up at 5 am to buy the book (more because I was trying to get the free copies thing then anything else XD *cheapskate*). So at 5.30 am, Nicole appears at my house and off we head towards Borders only to find 50 over people already there at 6~

So, seeing as only the first 7 are entitled to the free copy, we decided to head to Kinokuniya, which offers a 30% discount of we bought the book on the release date. So at 7am, when we reached KLCC, the first thing we heard after stepping out into the Ground Floor of the complex was Harry Potter MUSIC. I suppose the purpose is to get you into the Harry Potter mood or something, but it was kinda creepy at the same time cos all the shops were still closed and the Ground Floor was deserted, even though the lights were on.

But, at the 4th floor. We were met with THIS:

This was just one side, I was at the other, and the line actually curves in further in front, so yeah. It was a PRETTY LONG line.

Killing time, me and Nicole fooled around with the camera, discussed about Johnny's, Harry Potter, Japanese classes and a pretty good-looking Chinese guy dressed in wizard's robes and kept walking past us.

This is the crowd further up front. Can you see the Fat Lady?

While in Kinokuniya, I bumped into Vic Teoh! 3rd place winner of the first Malaysian Idol! Turns out he was the pretty good-looking Chinese boy me and Nicole saw walking up and down, and we never realized it. He was in the line as well, just a few feet in front of us. O.o

A second picture, for insurance... ^_~

Me, Nicole and the Fat Lady.

The doors to Kinokuniya opened at 7am, I got in at almost 8~ Can you see Vic? XD

If you look REAL close, I'm holding the children's version of HP7 and a Peacock Quill(free gift) and Nicole's friend is holding the adult version of HP7 and a Pigeon's Quill(also free gift).

Alas, even though I didn't get my HP7 free, I had lots of fun in Kinokuniya. It was loads of fun, met a number of people, friends and strangers alike. It was one of those rare times that you could just talk to some random stranger you meet in the shop, united due to our similar interest - Harry Potter. It was fun, the people were friendly (though I heard there was a stampede at 5 due to everyone eyeing the free copies) and it was memorable~

I've since finished the book and I must say: I like it~ It ended quite okay, although a little abrupt in my opinion, and it had my heart pumping like mad from start to end. I dare say its the best book of the whole series~

Meanwhile, my house is finally continuing its renovation on the second floor. And because of that, everything from the second floor has been moved to the ground floor and my whole family is squashed downstairs. THIS is what my 'room' (which is actually now joined with the dining area and which is shared with my brother) looks like.

The bed. Look at all my pillows and soft toys!

Another angle of my soft toys.

Part of the dining table, racks, boxes and computer table, all squashed in the corner.

The dining table~ See the kitchen? And the opening to my garden.

Brother and mine's study tables. Notice the dining table? And beyond that, the living room.

Dressing table and wardrobe, which is just beside my study table, and bed~

So yeah, I am currently living in a very squashed place but hey, the dining table, study table and bed are all just within 2 feet of each other~ Convenient for eating then playing the laptop then falling asleep without moving much.

All in all, life's getting hectic. Lots of things to be done, and I'm still waiting for my University letter. Soon, I'll be flying off to Reading. I guess I should appreciate my pampered life here while I still can.

Signing Off,
Rissa

Today's Feature: Harry Potter 7~ Because I loved the series~

3 Simple Steps

Rissa's guide to facing an exam~

1) Watch videos, loiter around the Net, chat with friends (of course, make sure your textbook is open and somewhere you can see it and glimpse it every once in awhile) and end up sleeping at 4+ am.

2) Wake up at 8 and get ready for class with confidence. Steal last minute glimpses at your textbook on the train ride till you reach the school.

3) Buy Cadbury's Dairy Milk Chocolates and finish the WHOLE thing by yourself (eat it before and during the exam! Yes, the WHOLE thing!)

Results : 96% for my Intermediate II Japanese exam~

Shiken wa yoku dekimashita! (My exams went well!) -^_^-

On another note, Harry Potter 7 is being released tommorow~ I'm among those who will be waking at 5 (or probably not sleeping at all tonight) and attempt to RUN for free copies~ Chances of getting there in time is like 0.0000000000000000001%. But oh well, its the last book. Everthing is all in good fun. Wish me luck! ^_^

Signing Off,

Rissa

Today's Feature: Ueda and Kame~ Because I like this picture. Uebo kakkoi~!

Bon Odori 2007!

14th of July 2007 was the day the 31st Bon Odori 2007 was held. Bon Odori is actually an event celebrated by the Japanese in which they believe it is the day that souls come back. A couple of friends and I decided at (quite) the last minute, to go check it out~

The Journey There:

The venue in which the event was to be held was the Panasonic Stadium in Shah Alam. Armed with two incomplete maps, our group (consisting of Kong, May Yeng, me and my brother), got ourselves lost, drove all the way to Kajang and after two hours, stumbled our way to Shah Alam, reaching just in the nick of time before the performances began.

I must say when we first came to the stadium area, I was utterly shocked at the number of people! People were literally crowding the streets, all streaming into the stadium. There were a number of people at hand, including traffic police, to direct everyone as to where to go and what to do. We ended up parking in some unknown parking lot that the police directed us too cos everywhere else was full~

In the Stadium:

We arrived just in time for the performances despite getting lost~ So after getting our free uchiwas, we watched the dance which was being performed on the stage in the middle of the stadium.

The first performance. At this time, it was still bright, and it wasn't so crowded yet. Yes, it became EVEN MORE crowded later despite already being CROWDED when I first arrived.

Some of the event's people dressed up in Japanese costumes~

Look at all the PEOPLE! The whole stadium was so crowded, you'll lose your friend if you go more than 10 metres away from each other. Seriously.

Halfway through the night, I bumped into Sam and her brother! It was so good to see you again after 2 whole months Sam! Really missed ya~ >.<

The Food:

RM6 okonomiyaki! Which really tastes like Takoyaki, to me anyway~

Kong aka my driver (no offence meant Kong~ ^^;;) and onigiri.

Kakigoori! Some sort of sweet, blended ice~?

Pics with friends:

Bumped into many people - Sam, Kelvin, Melvin and Ifana!

Night Performances:

Everyone watches and follows the dance!

Since it was the last performance of the night, we joined in too. ^_^

The Finale - Drum Performance:

Young Japanese boys in cosutmes, playing the drums~ How cool is that? XD

A picture of me, my brother and 2 of the drummers I managed to catch~ Most of them ran away after the performance~ I wonder why. XD I am still abit embarassed about the BROKEN Japanese I used to speak to them, although I don't think they heard me cos the moment I approached them, they went something like "Nandayo, MATTA? Uso, maji de?" (trans: What, AGAIN? No way, really?) I suppose, there's no need to wonder now why the rest ran away. Lol~ But they were really nice about it anyway so... :-) Rissa is a happy girl~

The Haul:

The Uchiwas which were given out when we first entered~

Some souvenirs. I love my orange ball! Its rubbery, stretchable, cute and emits colourful lights when you squish it!

Um, Lotte Ichigo Daifuku. (Guess who advertises for Lotte in Japan? XD) I bought this early in the night but didn't eat it~ So obviously when we came home, it wasn't very uh, solid anymore. (See? Rissa, rissa. Who ask you be so greedy buy so much?)

Upon opening the daifuku. A bit out of shape but still edible~ Very sweet!

Another ice-cream. This one chosen by my brother.

Even more severely misshapen than the daifuku. XD But the coffee taste was EXCELLENT.

Beryl's chocolate. They had a promotion. These 3 boxes for RM10~ Who could resist?

The event ended at about 9.30 so we ended up reaching home at 11. All in all, the night was a fun one~ There were lots of things that I got to see and even more food that I didn't get the chance to try out! (I didn't get to buy Beard Papa which was also on offer that night and also the many ice-creams that got sold out before I even got to see them! XO)

Next year, if I have the chance, I'll be sure to go again~!

Signing off,

Rissa

Today's Feature: Um, for once I don't know what to put here. So I'll just end this with a pic of me and my bro posing~ Yes, behold our vanity~

Just a short post~

Japanese classes have begun again. I'm tired, and classes are getting tougher. Everyday is a challenge, but a fun one.

I'm also currently waiting for my University letter to arrive so that I can finish dealing with the visa, flight tickets and everything troublesome that comes with going overseas. The earlier I get it over and done with, the better.

There's a Bon Odori event going on this Saturday in Shah Alam. Still in the midst of deciding if I should go or not~ There'll be dances and shops so it could be interesting. But first, I'll need to figure out the transport.

On another note, Taylor's has entered the Finals for the Law Debate and the finals itself will be held tommorow. Good luck guys! Although I can't be there, I'll be rooting for ya~!

So that's it for now. Just a short update to let people know I'm well and kicking (Japanese) butt.

Signing off,
Rissa

Today's Feature : Kato Shigeaki(NEWS) because July 11th was his 20th birthday~ The coming of age in Japan. Do watch his latest drama, 'Papa to Musume no Nanokakan', a Freaky Friday style story about a father and his daughter switching bodies~ XD

Otanjoubi Omedetou Gozaimasu!

Spend, spend, spend!

Today was an extremely tiring but productive day! I finally got my Kanji dictionary from Kinokuniya along with two Mags!!! (Dict=RM163.80 and Mags=RM28.10 EACH)

Altogether I spent more than RM220 today! XO But at least now I can read the Japanese kanji! One more step towards my short term goal of being able to read and UNDERSTAND Jap mags~ But heck books/mags from Japan are DEFINITELY not cheap~ =.=

What's more, I came back today to find that HMV has finally restocked NEWS's up and coming Limited Edition DVD con!!! Finally, I've been stalking the site ever since it went out of stock after what, only the second day of taking pre-order~ Now I can finally cancel my order from CDJapan, which sells the same thing for a 1000yen more, which is about RM30-40 more? So yeah, now that I can order NEWS, I'm taking the chance to order KAT-TUN's Real Face DVD Con too~ So that's easily another RM300 gone~ O.O I WAS planning on buying some new dramas tommorow at BTS buttttt I think it is unwise~ (Note: Every single purchase I mentioned so far was paid for with credit card, which means the person who ultimately foots the bill is MY MUM~ XO)

Now, ever since the last time I've posted, I've finished my Japanese Course up till Intermediate 1. I was kinda sad when it ended. I've never had so much fun in classes before~ I'll miss the teachers and my classmates. We've all had some good times together, I'll miss doing everything we did.

Class K1-128 of ICLS 2007. Started 28th May and ended 29th June.

On the bright side, Intermediate 2 begins next week! And you can bet I'll be continuing, although some of my ex-classmates won't be~ T.T I've only got this week off before its back to studies again. Classes are tiring, yes, I should be working or doing attachments, yes, but it's something that I don't think I'll ever regret doing.

Today's Feature: Ueda Tatsuya (because I miss him although I think of him everyday)