PMX 2011

well this year's PMX was a hell of a lot better than last year's. very smart move on their part to bring it back to the LAX Hilton.

we didn't do much. there honestly wasn't much to do unless you're hardcore into anime/karaoke/buying shit. or unless you like the band, D, who performed. i've heard of them plenty of times and seen them in nearly all the magazines i've looked through. i never really bothered to listen to them though. i'm only assuming here, but i can't get into hard, metal-sounding rock. i'm more into singing than screaming. which is the reason why i can't follow dir en grey anymore. anyways, they sure had devoted fans, lining up hours before for the concert, and after for autographs. i saw them when they came out for autographs and boy are they pretty. even after a sweaty concert their curly, hairsprayed hair and caked on makeup look good.

me and my friends just kinda walked around, took a bunch of pictures and went to the dance on night 2. here are a bunch of pictures (of mostly me...what?? i didn't take any pictures of the con) well, enjoy!

hello blogger

and just like that i have a full blog on blogger/blogspot.

i just imported/exported and edited as much as i could my posts from typepad to here. so ignore it if some old posts are a little wonky. the entries actually started at Vox, which got shut down and everything automatically transferred to Typepad, which is what i've been using. i tried to start on Tumblr but then i realized it isn't really meant for actual blog entries. so since i had an account here already, i spruced up my page and voila!

see you around.

class of 2003

i was looking through old pictures to find some from a particular event, but found something even better.

look at this. we are all in the second grade (well, the majority of us. there were some 3rd graders) and just completed our First Communion.

and this was right after our graduation ceremony (in the day, for the students). we all went to the south bay galleria mall and took these pictures. we thought we were hot shit, walking around in our flowy blue gowns, because we just graduated. FROM 8TH GRADE. god, it's so embarassing to think about sometimes. i look at 8th graders now and they look like children! ugh xD

i'd post one of the most recent group shot taken in august during a last minute and impromtu reunion, but the girl whose camera it's on swears she doesn't know how to upload pictures to facebook. i'll edit this post and add it if she ever does though. i want to show the progression of everyone.

EDIT: my friend FINALLY posted the pictures!!! it only took about a year, right? =P (not really) here they are...

 that was a fun night.

btw, this is my elementary school class. 8th grade class of 2003. i always find it odd when people are so shocked that i'm still friends with my elementary school classmates. i guess it's different for public school kids. but the majority of us traveled from classroom to classroom for 8 years together. ♥

finally feels like fall

today it's raining and i'm wearing a scarf! so i didn't write for two months. i'm not surprised, and you shouldn't be either. =P

i can't even begin to try and catch up on everything that's happened...went through some less-than-happy stuff, but things got worked out and everything's good again. decided at some point that me and my mom are going to japan for new year's. did some unnecessary shopping ^^; and had a lame halloween >=[

i wish i would update this more. i'm lazy enough with actually WRITING in my journal, if i can't take 10-15 minutes to TYPE something...that's a whole new level of laziness. but i think i already knew that. on to the entry!


right now i'm just procrastinating from work. so, what's new...oh! i've been really into disney again for some reason. i found the mousewait app and the lounge so i've been reading that everyday. i bought two sweatshirts from forever21, one with Mickey that says "Tokyo" in red glitter across the top, and another with a vintage-looking screen print of Aladdin. and because of my recent renewed obsession with disney, i planned a disney day with my friends and there were about 12-13 of us traveling around the park. it was during october so i want to do it again during christmas time.
i've also been wanting to go to disneyland with new people. i love my friends and i have fun when i go with them, but it's always a new kind of fun when you go with new people. i don't care if they have passes or if they haven't gone in years. although going with someone who has never been/hasn't been in years is fun because it's like going with a little kid and everything seems new to me too.

here's the ultimate group picture from our day.

okay, so i guess i better get back to work. until next time!

best and worst of summer...

it's now september. i decided i'm not going to bother with keeping up with design changes so i picked something simple and neutral for the time being.

well, august was fun. my party bus in particular was crazy fun. some of my elementary school friends were able to come and that made it so much better. but there was about a week and a half of craziness for me so i'll start there...

august...

ok, so i'm back here. i felt like writing something and i felt bad for leaving this blog. so i decided i'll just double post my entries to tumblr.

i skipped all of july [and most of june]. and i changed my design again. i think i might've used this last year on vox. but it looks summery because of the beach and like i mentioned in one of my past entries [can't remember which one], i associate august with like a golden color.

plus it's my birthday month! how can i not post something.

but what i really wanted to vent about was drama. there is drama in nearly every aspect of my life right now. even the places i thought i'd be safe from drama.

friends - but that's kind of a given. at the moment it's not necessarily between my close friends, that just ended. but i'm sure there's some kind of drama somewhere.

home - sure every family has something going on...but ugh. this is kind of bad. when i look at my situation then look at the little things people are complaining about, i think everything else is so trivial.

work - yes, work. the place i thought i would be safe. it's not directly at me, nor do we have to deal with it constantly throughout the day, but it's there if you bring it up. and guess what. the people who are stirring it up? they're in their late 20s, 30s and even 40s!!! you're 40 years old and you're bitching about "he said, she said" shit. ugh. it's SO annoying. people claim they're mature and want to move on...but are you? psh, no.

you know the saying, "Wisest is she who knows she does not know." i think that could be switched up to be about maturity. i can't word it all pretty, but you'll get the jist. i think those who claim to be mature, are nowhere near it. because right now, i can think of two people who've said similar things and then did a total 180.

btw, that quote. i know Jostein Gaarder said it in the book, Sophie's World. but is it original? it seems like something socrates or some philosopher would say. it seems like something good to get as a tattoo. as a reminder to be humble and keep learning new things.

alright, i think that's it for now. byee! =]

june bug

it's juuuune!

and i changed my design to something more "summery". i swear, typepad sucks with designs but i feel like i can't change to another blog site because i have a lot of entries here already. so yeah, this is a soft lime green and seems bright and summery enough.

hmm...maybe i'll switch to tumblr or something. everyone seems to be using that one. which one did you recently sign up for george?

so last saturday i went to disneyland for a full day. yes, a full freaking day. since tony took the day off and could get in free thanks to the ap star tours thing, he wanted to take advantage of it. and boy did we ever. we got there a little bit before 9:30 i think. but because we didn't know the details of signing people in, we had to wait for katch so we could sign everyone in at the same time. i can't remember how long we waited or exactly what time she came, but we didn't wait that long [although i think tony might beg to differ].

maayyyy!

i'm slacking on my may update. so here it goes:

the first weekend [coming in from april] was my work's las vegas vacation. it was very relaxing and a lot of fun. i sunbathed for the first time and it felt nice. i swear i almost fell asleep a couple times because it was so nice. we saw the Lion King show and wow, that was cool. i want to see it again. and of course i cried. once because i couldn't believe i was seeing it and it was so cool, and twice because of the ending when simba takes his place as king. the part gets me in the movie too. we also ate at great restaurants. the first night was at canaletto in the venetian and the second night was the eiffel tower restaurant in paris hotel. i definitely like italian food over french food xD

oohh, got in another april post.

just in time! hahaha

well, for small talk, the weather has been bi-polar all month. after i posted my last entry, we had a week of gloominess, a week of normal, cool, etc. it's like it can't decide if it wants to be full-fledged springtime or not yet.

i'm too lazy to try and remember what happened during the month of april. so i'll just write about the ren faire.

me and kelly went to our first renaissance faire last weekend. oh my gosh, it was so fun. i wasn't expecting much to be honest, but now we can't wait to go back. and we're going back on may 14th! steph's aunt got us tickets and amanda is joining us this time. the only thing we have to hope for now is that the garb we borrowed will be free that weekend. dressing up was half the fun! people who talked to us assumed we were regulars since we had the whole freaking outfit. down to the shoes! i'm so thankful that brian's [kelly's friend] mom let us borrow the costumes. another big part was hanging out at brian's camp. towards the end we just chilled there and was entertained into next week. the guys were slowly drinking since noon and were a total riot by the end. of course, the attention we got was nice too xD. me, kelly and steph also rode the giant bench swing. it was simple, but i thought it was so fun. i also bought a bunnie! it's handmade and just looks "old", like old-fashioned. it's also the kind that's meant for you to make clothes for. that was the only thing i bought besides a pizza for lunch.

this weekend, my work is going to las vegas!!! and this time, it's for vacation! weeee~ no work for once! iyan ryokou. we got a suite in the mirage for the first night so all the girls can drink and just crash. the second night is separate rooms, but we're all going to see the Lion King show at mandalay bay. at first it was just me and my mom but i guess the other girls were talking and decided they wanted to see it too. i'm excited for the show. i've been wanting to see it for a long time and figured the only way i'd see it was on broadway in new york. we're all so excited at work. "ベガス・ベガス・ベガス ♫"

that's it for now, bye! =]

happy april!

and it's starting to finally feel like spring. i can walk out the door without a sweater.

for goodness sakes it was freaking 80+ degrees yesterday. it was so hot.

today is also april fool's day. i never really liked april fool's day. i don't really like being the butt of jokes or being tricked. i remember the first "trick" someone played on me. i was in either 1st or 2nd grade. i don't remember how she knew me (either a play leader or some family/buddy thing) but this girl in 6th, 7th or 8th grade comes up to me in the morning when i arrived to school and asked me all excitedly, "brandi! did you see my new cat?" from what i can remember, my first thought was, "you brought your cat to school? you can do that?? i don't think so..." i like to think i was pretty observant and detail-oriented even as a little kid, but i digress. so after a second of doubt and confusion, i answered with a "no..." and she points over across the parking/play area towards the church and says something like, "yeah! right over there!" i look over, see nothing, look back and she says, "april fool's!"

honestly, i was confused. wasn't sure what had just happened, and being the unsure, self-concious child that i was, i think i kinda wanted to cry. i hated being embarrassed even if no one else thought it an embarrassing situation.

later that day i played a "trick" on a friend of mine at recess. i think we were standing around playing dodgeball (or something) and i told her, "elizabeth! you have a spider on your head!" she had a mini freak-out and then i said, "april fool's!" she didn't like it at first so i had to explain what april fools was. about a minute later she says, "oh...you have a spider on your head too!" i knew she was lying. i mean come on, think of something better and NOT a minute later. i humored her and freaked out and she laughed and said, "april fools!"

that was my first memory of april fool's. and i feel like i just told a little kid's story.

now, grown-ups can do some april fool's tricks too. theirs can be a little more convincing and cause people to have mini-heart attacks. some are harmless and cute and you can tell right away it a joke. but i feel like i walk on eggshells all day, questioning everything's validity.

anyways, enough of that. today i'm going to DISNEYLAND!!! i like how i still get excited about going even though i have a pass. i've been itching to go in the day time since me and george usually just go at night, after work. i'm actually leaving work early to meet up with everyone. amanda, her mom, gareth, stephanie and george are going. they're going to see world of color later. i don't know if i can get a fastpass for the same time/section as them (if at all) since i'm going later in the day. they're supposedly leaving between 10-11 so we'll see.

that's it for now, bye!

come quick spring!

this design is so pretty! it's so bright and fun and everything spring-y.

so...a couple big things.

one is the most important and talked about thing around the world right now. the crazy 9.0 (or 8.9) earthquake that hit japan last friday followed by the even more devastating tsunami that washed out most of the coast of sendai and surrounding cities. seriously, the images and videos are insane and it's hard to image something like that could even happen. the earthquake alone would have been fine. i know for a fact japan could have easily survived and handled that huge earthquake. it was the tsunami that did the real damage. it's always the after-effects of large earthquakes, be it fire or tsunami, that causes the trouble.

most of my family in sendai live more inland towards the hills so they were far from the tsunami and weren't affected. but my one uncle apparently lived close enough to the water. we FINALLY got in contact with him today with the help of someone working in our japan office. apparently his house is so water-damaged he can't live there anymore. he's been at a shelter this whole time and he said it's ridiculously cold.

just an update

let's see...

valentine's day weekend was pretty fun. georgie came over after work and we watched Tangled at del amo. then we went all the way to woodranch because someone had to have their caesar dressing. we did some grocery shopping at ralphs and then cooked dinner. meat [tri-tip?], mashed potatoes [that we actually mashed ourselves! but had no idea what we were doing], salad and garlic bread. yum. we were pretty stuffed after that.

the next day was super lazy. i did absolutely nothing except eat and watch tv on the couch. but it was nice ^___^

me and georgie watched Tangled AGAIN last thursday. this time in 3D! it was so pretty in 3D. i kept looking at her dress because i want to cosplay her [but we know that'll never happen].

yesterday was my daddy's birthday so we went to king's fish house in long beach. haven't been there in years, and although the food is good, i would go to parker's lighthouse over them anyday. their fried calamari tasted like french fries! o_O

sign language is really fun so far. it's getting confusing and a lot of us are getting lost in class, but it's really cool. i also started peer facilitating again. hah...that first meeting was awkward. i wish i was better with words. also, this other part of school is starting to scare me. i mean, i've worried and thought about it before [and i usually go through this phase a couple times a semester], but i don't know what to think. i feel like i don't have anyone to talk to about this. i mean, i do but, i kinda know what they'd say. ugh.

i guess that's it for now.

happy february

and my blog is now pink!

typepad sucks with designs. -___- vox had WAY more options. this was the cutest pink one in my opinion.

so i just found out that august's MAGIC is the 22nd, 23rd, 24th this year. ON MY BIRTHDAY. grrrrr...so mad. and we'd be leaving the 21st [sunday] so if i were to do anything, it'd have to be on the saturday before. who cares if it's 6 months away. i like to think of plans for things months in advance. ESPECIALLY if it's my birthday. i mean, i knew i'd have the celebration with friends before since it's on a tuesday...but i at least wanted to be home and NOT working on my actual birthday. ugh.

i'm also looking forward to valentine's day. i've always liked that holiday. it's so pink and cute and i dunno. gives me an excuse to do things xD like wear a ton of pink, buy/eat chocolate, etc. girly stuff i guess haha. ALSO, i found out that i might have to work on the 13th [sunday]. attending for work...but my mom's going to try and get me out of it. first of all, it would be by myself, for the first time. i've followed along with my coworker once last year, but...once isn't enough. and i'd have to drive to LAX. i mean, i think i can handle it but my mom swears i can't. usually i'll fight her about it and say i can do something, but in this case, i'll let her talk for me. even my coworker said i wouldn't be able to do it xD. we'll see what happens. i already have plans for that day...

first day of school

for me at least. the official day back was yesterday but i only have classes on tue, wed, thur.

and i'm only taking two classes. today i had my first class of ling 151 - intro to american sign language. the teacher himself is deaf and kind of mute i guess? it is amazing how someone like that can still be a teacher and teach a whole college course on a subject. it's definitely going to be different. definitely confusing at some times too. i hope i can make a friend in there so if/when we have to go out to events or something i'll have someone to go with/talk to.

i'm in the library starbucks right now waiting for this next class i have to go to. it's not my actual class, but i have to go to the first meeting to sign up for a time slot so i can facilitate for wgss 101 again. i hope i get the time slot i want.

my mom's birthday was last friday. after work, we went to eat at RA at del amo and then we watched Tangled. it was such a cute and funny movie. i wanna go see it with you, george. but there are less and less times everyday, so we have to hurry. we were supposed to go to disneyland the next day but couldn't because our new oven was going to be delivered. and guess what happened. in the morning, they call my mom saying it's postponed because the range we ordered is not in stock. hm...THEN WHY THE HELL DID YOU CALL THE NIGHT BEFORE TO SCHEDULE THE DELIVERY??? do they not have communication between their departments over there?? so by the time they called it was too late to go to disneyland anymore. so the three of us went to dinner at night and me and mommy are going to disneyland this coming saturday if nothing happens.

on sunday there was a little "surprise party" at amanda's for teressa and nathan. surprise party but not really. me and kelly bought some random snacks at the LT market while amanda took them out to walk around LT. george showed up after we got back and then we just waited for them. when we heard them we hid in amanda's room and me and kelly jumped out yelling "surprise!" and george followed by tripping over something and ruining his surprise. jun came about 20 mins after i think. and that was it really, haha. the rest couldn't show up so me and jun cooked/baked while the rest of them played this wii game. it was a chill and fun night.

ok. gonna do other stuff to kill time. george, if it's playing and we're both free, want to see tangled this friday at del amo? =]

happy new year!

it is 2011. also the year of the bunny.

well, i got to do what i wanted to new year's eve. i got to wear a pretty dress and party it up without freezing my butt off. we had a small, chill little party at kelly's house. really last minute so not many people came, but a decent amount to make it more party-ish. kelly made her soup and spanish tortilla. we had drinks and ice cream and snacks. right before midnight we poured out the apple cider and champagne [rather hastily, mind you since we didn't pay attention to the time], then we counted down and cheered all around. and of course, i got my new year's kiss. ♥

the following wednesday me, kelly, jun and george went to necropolis for "white out night". it was chill. we mostly stayed outside and took horrendous pictures of each other which we then proceeded to zoom in as far we could without it becoming blurry to see what disgusting thing we could find on each other's faces. oh yeah, that's what we do when we go to necropolis. party. xD [btw, i always want to type "necropolish"]

after that was finally time for Anime LA. everyone was waiting for that since pmx pretty much sucked. and it was SO much better. we got a room on the pool deck, RIGHT NEXT TO THE POOL. we literally could have ran out and jumped in since we were at the deep end. it was a fun con. no one we really wanted to avoid. instead there was someone we tried to annoy. xD saw a few friends and met a ton of new people whose names i don't think i remember. after the con we went on a search for ramen. we went to one place fairly close to the hotel only to find that it closes between lunch and dinner...darn japanese restaurants. so we drove down to gardena and went to shinsengumi. me and george figured out that you only come out smelling like oil if you go at dinner time because that's when they seem to fry a ton of things. the lunch menu was pretty light. i went to georgie's house after and we took a long nap.

now...i can't think of any major outings right now. i'm going to disneyland with my mommy on the 22nd for her birthday and amanda wants to throw a party for visiting friends the next day. any day in between i'm working. yay~