Waterfall & Wings Version 2

Takitsuba Matsuri

2010-11-15T14:55:00.006+09:00

I really should be cramming for my JLPT exam coming up in 3 weeks but I'm getting VERY distracted with all the lovesickness for T&T and Takki. Hahha... Just stayed up until 3am yesterday to watch "Document of Takizawa Kabuki" (Disc 3) and omigoshh... i am so full of LOVE & R E S P E C T for Tono but that, shall warrant another entry. Haha...

I thought I should update my blog more often since i am not working now. But i find my layout going a bit bonkers. Like the background sometimes just disappear?? I haven't changed it since er.. 3 years ago, as a commemoration when Tono turned 25. The truth is, i am clueless how to create a new layout even if i wanted to. Anyone wants to help? Dithers? Moonie 001? *runs away*

Anyway, i just wanted to jot down some post 滝翼祭 concert feelings and comments. I am unable to write a proper report anymore because i didn't take notes or anything, and i can't remember what happened when! Dakara, my following comments will be totally random. Like me, haha.

- Am grateful that there's little concert goods this time. Save me money and lugging heavy luggage to/fro Narita airport! And i seriously have no space at the moment to keep my growing T&T collection. >.<

- Am so glad we made uchiwas this time cos we were right between the hanamichi (opposite the oyako seats) and centre stage and both Ts came by and stopped there so many times!! But until now, i still don't know if Takki saw our uchiwas because he was always looking above and ahead of us. The times when he did look down, i don't know if he registered anything because the spotlights were in his eyes. Tsubasa i know FOR SURE, he saw. Because he made this sort of smirk? grin? on his face after seeing them. And we were all like kyahhing away. Hahaha...

- I was speculating maybe Takki saw but since he got bad eyesight, he saw "シングル発売" instead of "シンガポール"???!

- Tsubasa mentioned overseas fans during one of the MCs, he didn't mention us. =__=;;; He said Taiwan and China??

- Reminds me of a hilarious comment that a Taiwanese fan told us. She said the boys used once said, "oh, we have overseas from Hong Kong, Shanghai and Peking today." But anoo..... they are all cities from the same country!!! &^B&CN*X*!&C! OK, maybe they really don't know where/what Singapore is. I once joked to my Japanese friends that Singapore is someone in Inner Mongolia and they actually believed me!!! (Makes a mental note to attach world map with Singapore marked out in next email to Avex and TakiChannel)

- There were visibly more T&T, Takki or Tsubasa uchiwas in the audience this time. Junior fans ni makenai kara. Yoshaaaa!!

- I saw this group of young Japanese girls with uchiwas that read "翼(or was it 283?)、秀明(or a variation of Takki's names), 無限に好き". Ureshii. =)

- I touched one of the Mis-Snowman boys when they came down to the centre block to dance, but alas, i don't know his name. And his face is fast fading from my memory (if not already). Is it Watanabe or something?? I thought i better find out because the last time when i was sooo near to a Junior during Takki's Dream Boy and didn't know who he was, it turned out to be Kame!! Kame was standing right in front of me but all i was thinking then was "Ehhh, not Jin".

- The tension for 5 Nov show was really really HIGH from the start. Usually, we need some time to warm up, but i think all of us really missed seeing them together after 2.5 years hiatus. The crowd was superb, and i think the tension may even beat that of senshuuraku. Tanoshikatta!! I screamed so much, I lost my voice on Day 1. LOL.

- Tsubasa was all SMILES when they first exploded on stage on 5 Nov. I remembered thinking "woah, he looks damn happy!" and that stole my attention from Takki for a while. :P

- I wondered if Takki was tense at the beginning because he's afraid of loud sounds and fireworks. Haha~~~~

- BUT, OMG, Takki was kira kira, kira kira, as always! Are there elves or fairies scattering gold dust around him all the time? It's like he has GOLD COLOUR CHAKRA, always glowing. And he was smiling a lot! Oh gosh, everytime i see his solo dimple and impossibly cute inverted-v eyes (like this: ^-^), 溶けちゃう...

- Takki went under Uesato during i-forgot-what-song right beside our seats!! Omg, CHOU MOE! The kakkoii meter just shot through the YokoAre roof. Uesato has grown to become quite an ikemen, but i was telling Car and Syl he had this "i know i am kakkoii" look. Hahha... Takki still beat him hands/feet/head/chest down though. I think Uesato may have seen our uchiwas cos he stayed there even after Takki ran off.

- Tsubasa shook his bonbons at the camera a lot. XD And he sure swung his hips way more than Tono in Ai wa Takaramono.

- We LOVED the huge vertical screens at the concert this time. They were much clearer than the in-built arena ones, and sooo grand. We should have them for every concert!!! (For fans with poor eyesight like me...)

- I didn't get to see Tono's 8 packs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Apparently, they only stripped on Sunday's noon show, which was the only show we didn't go for. =_____= *runs off to watch topless Takki practising drums in Kabuki DVD*

- Tsubasa permed his hair somewhat but i thought it looked pretty okay on him.

- Tsubasa was very funny during Takitsuba Ondo. He and Takki had to this head-turning kabuki thingy at one part and Tsubasa always struggled with it. Hahhaha..........

- During the TakkixTsubasa cheer, when Takki got "mad" and used his hands to tell us to use our diaphragm to yell louder for him, his actions were so funny!

- I LOVE To Be or Not To Be. That song always make me very high. And the T&T wrestle on stage after that (or maybe i got the wrong song), moemashita. Woohoo~ Then there were the dorky kime-poses they did after that, with Tsubasa kneeling on one knee and Takki in a variety of ridiculous poses. Hahhaha... T&T rashii! XD

- How everyone gasped when Takki didn't catch his stick during Serenade for senshuuraku. It totally fell off the stage and some staff had to pick it for him. When the song ended, Takki pretended to be upset with himself and kept practising on stage. Tsubasa was poking fun at him, telling us, "and he was telling me we have to do a perfect one for the dvd...". LOL.

- I love the live acoustic rendition of "Arigatou". And i dunno was it cos they were terekusai, but they sang the song facing different directions. Ufu. And did they really write the lyrics while lying on a 草原, with a picnic prepared by Takki? LOL.

- I love the fact that there were no solo corners. That they both stayed on stage and sang the solos of each T together. Very strong unit spirit. =)

- Takki's joke about how their new song should be re-named "Ai wa Diamond" when all the fans were yelling for "Diamond" when they wanted to sing "Ai wa Takaramono". LOL.

- I thought Tsubasa's singing improved a lot. It's richer now compared to when they first debuted.

- I was speechless when the intro of Epilogue started. How long has it been since i heard BOTH of them singing this live??? 感動しすぎて、泣きそうだった。

- Everyone rushing to grab the silver and gold stars, the coloured paper, the streamers with T&T logo and whatever else that dropped from the sky the moment the concert ended. Oh man, YokoAre should employ us! We are better than any cleaning staff!

- Senshuuraku show: I heard the most united and loudest TakkixTsubasa cheer EVER. The whole stadium was chanting in unison (not sporadic). "Takki! *clap clap* Tsubasa *clap clap*" I could feel the arena rumbling. And they kept us chanting a long time too, cos they started 10 min late. Felt so shiawase there... And there was an obaasan sitting behind me who's a Takki yori fan. Oh man, she is super on and LOUD! *thumbs up* I wanted to say "Otsukare sama" to her before we left the arena. Haha.

- T&T thanked the fans like a thousand times. 待ってくれて、ありがとうって。=)

- A non-fan friend who went for the concerts told me T&T fans are hardcore. She said everyone knew the furitsuke and she was struggling to follow! (I am still trying to remember the ones for Ai wa Takaramono!)

- Overall, the Matsuri concerts were fantabulous!! They go all the way up to the top of my list to share the first spot with Harucon! They were really really fun, with lots of unit love. I haven't enjoyed myself that much in a while. And most importantly, T&T looked so happy thoughout!!! 滝翼、お帰り！!

End of totally random and non-choronological report. Will add on as i recall.

Ahhh!! I need my Vitamin T!

やるなら、今だ！

2010-07-31T15:38:00.002+09:00

Life is too short to waste.

Do the things you want to do,
Go the places you want to go,
Be the person you want to be.

6ヶ月目

2010-05-23T23:22:00.002+09:00

なぜか落ち着かない。何か足りない。何だろう？

自分の家がほしいな～

成増309号はどうなっているのかな？元気かな？

Sayonara

2009-11-22T23:05:00.005+09:00

And so, 3 years 1 month and 6 days later, my journey in Japan came to an end. Moving home turned out to be a hectic, tiring, expensive and most of all, emotional business. All the memories that came flooding back as I packed my stuff. All the things I have to let go. And all the things that I will miss.

I will miss living alone.
I will miss the delicious tomatoes.
I will miss the cool weather. (but GLAD to escape winter)
I will miss my handphone. (and the blinking blue LED)
I will miss its emoticons.
I will miss the refreshing cucumbers.
I will miss the highly complicated but efficient train system.
I will miss the morning wideshows.
I will miss the bagels.
I will miss my bed.
And I will miss some people.

Many things I will miss, but also several that I am glad to get away from. I look forward to life back home again. The sunny island may remain small, but I feel my horizons and thinking have definitely widened. I now have a better idea of how I want my life to be.

いろいろ辛かったけど、やっぱり行って良かった。
何時か、すべては良い思い出になるように。
それでは、

さよなら。

Takki & Tsubasa 7th Anniversary

2009-09-13T01:12:00.004+09:00

2 days late but...

滝翼デビュー7周年、おめでとうございます！！

Fellow T&T fans, Azuki and Kat got the overseas fans together to make a collaborative congratulatory video. I think it's so cute! Haha. Hope T&T sees it themselves! (And i am still wondering why the Merlion doesn't appear in the vid despite there being so many Singaporean contributors. LOL)

Spot me in the vid! =P

"Make that change"

2009-07-02T22:57:00.004+09:00

Michael Jackson - Man in the Mirror

I cried when i watched this clip.

I have been humming this song since the day Michael Jackson passed away. I loved it when i first heard it at his concert. And i rem how a few years later, my hockey coach played it to us, to teach us about changing ourselves for the team and unity. And it is also this song, that made me and my sister turned into somewhat environmentalists. We became very concerned about recycling (though not easy to accomplish in Singapore) and not wasting paper (for the record, i went through FOUR years of university education without using a single stack of foolscap. Except for the exams and term papers which i have no choice, EVERYTHING ELSE on rough paper).

This clip was in the concert VHS (thank goodness there is Youtube) that me and my sis bought and when we saw the A-M-A-Z-I-N-G crowd waving their arms in the air to his singing, we coined the term "ba hu effect". Haha. (Note: "ba hu" as in pork floss. Because there were sooooo many hands, they really looked like ba hu swaying in the wind.)

Anyway now that i am older, i think i appreciate the lyrics so much more. They really go deep and make you think. Plus MJ sang it with such clarity, power and energy, i can understand why the crowd, from young girls to grown-up men were crying. Oh gosh, i am suddenly SO GLAD i saw him perform this live!!!! And i wish everyone could have experienced his performance. I rem when he talked, he is soooo soft-spoken and gentle, but the moment he starts singing, he became this amazing powerful being. Never seen any other performer like him.

I'm starting with the man in the mirror
I'm asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you wanna make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself and then make the change

Such a mesmerising star, is he really gone?

Concert withdrawal symptoms

2009-06-30T01:02:00.004+09:00

I miss Takki.
I miss Takisama.
I miss TakiRanger.
I miss Takizawa Souchou.
Oh gawd, i miss him. =333
会いたい～～～～

Is he seriously 27-yr-old? LOL.

The three concerts have been FANTABULOUS!!!
Never mind the big bruise on my knee when i fell while running to Yokohama Arena. (haha)
Never mind the fact that halfway through, it become a "Power Ranger" show.
If Takki wants to act out his fantasies, we will gladly play along. =P
I will feed TakiRanger his "three bowls of rice". LOL.

Our boy can just morph from a pilot >>> idol >>> gangster chief >>> idol >>> TakiRanger >>> idol >>> Takisama >>> idol... Otsukare sama de gozaimasu. m(_~_)m

i REALLY enjoyed the concerts so much!!
I laughed and laughed until i got a wrinkle around my mouth!
Demo Takki no tame dattara, maa ii ka!

Haven't laughed so much in a while,
and i really forgot all the sucky stuff in RL and was truly happy during the three concerts.
ありがとうね、タッキー。
もうあのエロポスターをベッドの隣に貼っといたよ。
一緒に寝ようぜ～（笑）

RIP, Michael.

2009-06-27T02:14:00.006+09:00

At the precise moment my TV came on at 7:15am yesterday morning (i set it on alarm), there was a newsflash on Mezamashii TV and they reported that Michael Jackson was being sent to hospital for cardiac arrest. I remembered i was grabbing for my glasses. Then the whole morning as i was getting ready to work, i had one eye on the TV as the whole world was swamped and confused with mixed reports from the various TV networks that speculated whether he survived or died. I stayed to watch as much as i could until i simply had to run for work. The moment i reached my office, i switched on my PC and opened up my homepage, and there, on the Top Ten Google hits, NINE were about his death, confirmed. Oh no... ... T-T

It felt like the end of an era.

I remember how me and my sis were crazy about him when we were young. I was still in primary or secondary school when he came to Singapore for his world tour. He came twice, first for his Dangerous World Tour, then the History World Tour. I wonder if I still have the ticket stubs somewhere. I can't rem how we ended up going for the first tour. I think it's cos my cousins wanted to go, and they decided to bring us along. I think that was the first ever concert I've ever been too. It was at the National Stadium, and we bought the free-size (read: oversized) Dangerous t-shirts! I rem being very mesmerised by the design... (everyone ought to image google for "Dangerous Michael Jackson" at this point to know what i mean) I think if your first ever concert was by the King of Pop, at the National Stadium, it kinda set some high standards for future concerts....

Anyway, we became fans after that. I would buy all those expensive US magazines from Times Bookshop which featured him, and read about his crazy huge Neverland Ranch (must go visit one day), the amusement park and zoo inside, his albino snake and Bubbles, and all the weird stories like those about him sleeping in an oxygen tank. Me and my sis also dug out some VHS (albeit pirated) of the Dangerous World Tour at some flea market. (no money for official VHS? VCD? DVD? then) We watched those tapes sooo many times and were so amazed at the images. Oh and i rem freaking out when the magnetic tape of the VHS got stuck inside the VCR, cos mebe we watched it too many times? I had to CUT it in the end (sob) and then brilliantly taped the two ends together(ha!) and thank god, it could still be watched, thou it skips at the broken-but-mended part. Yea, was THAT crazy. (and i wonder where the tapes are now...)

Then when he came the second time, me and my sis had to BEG our dad to buy us two tickets to go watch again, which he finally okay-ed after MUCH negotiation cos i think the tics were over a hundred bucks each. Gosh, i rem making panic phonecalls to my sis using a public phone in St. Nicks yelling at her "Pa said okay already, quick run to Sistic at Bishan and buy!!!!". And ohhh... am i glad we made it.

I rem and LOVED his performances of "You Are Not Alone" (that voice...), "Black or White", "I'll Be There" (how it ended with an angel hugging him), "Heal the World" (that huge Earth Balloon that blows up slowly as he sang), "Smooth Criminal" (the dance, the suit and the fedora and that gravity-defying move which i can't decribe!), "Billie Jean" (THE IMPOSSIBLY SMOOTH MOONWALK!!! WE SAW IT LIVE!!!), "Man in the Mirror" (gosh, loved the lyrics) and sooo many more!!! Seriously, my memory is blur. I cannot rem which performance was from which tour, and maybe some of them I never saw live, but from the VHS. Through the VHS though, i found out that he kinda scripted his concert, like how he will always select a girl to hug him during She's Out Of My Life etc, but still, i loved it. And one of the toursm , it was just before or after his birthday in Aug and the entire National Stadium sang him "Happy Birthday". It was sooo sweet, or am i re-calling from some VHS again?

Anyway after that, we even bought the Michael Jackson game (i think it was on SEGA?), and at that time, there's no such thing as memory card!! Once u start a game, u can't stop bcos u can't save. If u stop, u have to re-start. Absolutely dumb, cos can u imagine how hard it is to finish those games with storylines?? But we did it. From morning til night. We just paused the games and rushed to finish lunch/dinner, bcos we were scared that the machine will auto-shutdown if left on pause for too long. LOL. And then i even bought a bloody thick biography on him which i still have at home!! And oh! I watched that weird movie "The Wiz", where MJ was the scarecrow too. Haha... he's really weird sometimes.

Oh gosh, so many memories of my child/teen?hood with him.

But now he's gone forever, and we can never see him dance live again. He was plagued with so many problems in the late ninties and it was so upsetting. I didn't want to believe the reports, and I still don't. I think he's just someone who live in his own world, who doesn't fit with the "norms" so people keep picking on him for that. I just kept hoping for the media to leave him alone.

As i grew up, he kinda went into a career recluse and i drifted away. Though no longer an avid fan, but always a supporter. (The Earth Song still sends chills down my spine)

And bcos i watched so much of him when i was young, i can tell his influence on other performers. Like in JJ's concert, when JJ imitates his... "crying part??", in Johnny Jr's concerts, where they sing Secret Agent Man, in Takitsuba's concerts, where they wear those suits with fedora etc etc... all MJ inspired.

Seriously, even my 60+ yr old aunties who can't speak English know about him.

Sigh. Still kinda surreal. Is he, really gone?
Just a couple weeks ago, i was still watching his Black or White mtv on YouTube...
I think i will forever remember this day, where i woke up to news of a pop culture icon passing away.

Rest in peace, Michael.
I hope you are in a better place. =)
I believe your music will survive time,
and the culture you created will have its influence on many generations to come.
Thank you for all the wonderful memories and inspiring music.
We will miss you!

By the way, for all those people who are wondering, the one Google hit that wasn't about his death read "Jeff Goldblum dead too?", and no, he's not. Just some hoax.

Learning it the hard way

2009-05-31T23:45:00.002+09:00

Recently I learnt that people can change, that you do not always get answers for the questions you ask, and that closure is something that comes from within.

My Own Digital Camera at long last

2009-05-17T17:07:00.006+09:00

After months of contemplation, research, constant bugging of friends about THEIR cameras and umpteenth visits to camera shops, i FINALLY settled on one, which amazingly is not even in my List of Considerations at the beginning. Heck, I didn't even really know the brand! Initially, I was bugged by the somewhat obiang design... *cough* but now I am starting to really love it and its vintage look. LOL. Need to learn more about its functions though.

Got myself a RICOH CX1!
I LOVE its super powerful macro mode, and the bloody high resolution 3 inch screen.
After looking at THIS camera's screen, I cannot bring myself to look at other cameras' screens anymore.

Presenting my best shot at present.
I just snapped without fiddling with any of the settings and it turned out real nice.
Kinda reflected my kimochi nowadays.
Dou?

The end of 2008

2008-12-31T01:12:00.013+09:00

Can't believe my 7th post is the last post for 2008! Have really been neglecting this blog too much. But at least making a conscious effort to update now before the new year arrives in roughly 22 hours. Hmm.. im really not a new year person. I prefer year end to year start, and not just because there are more holidays in Dec.

2008 has been rather, erm.. turbulent? With it coming to a close amidst all the nonsense of economic downturn etc, it further strengthens my distrust and doubt about the entire banking and finance institution. Morever at a time when i am planning to switch jobs. >_<

Anyway, introducing two songs that recently leave me teary-eyed...

Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's version of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow"
I love his rendition. It is so pure and calming.
Reminds me of my once carefree days.
過去の自分に戻りたいな
もう無理のかな？
何で、離さないの？
何で、忘れないの？

Jay Chou's 稻香
I LOVE the lyrics. How do some people find the inspiration to write lyrics like that?? Someday, i want to be able to write something like this too. Goes down to my "List of things to do".

そろそろ、2008年が終わっちゃう
早いね　ちょっと怖い
2008年は一文字って言ったら、何ですかっと聞かれた
ずっと前から答えがあったけど、
その時、「言いたくない」と、回避した

2008年って言えば、『涙』でした。
ねぇ、知ってた？

これからの2009年は、なんか良いことが待ってるのかな？
前向きしなきゃ

o(>_<)o

とにかく、暑いです。

2008-08-10T21:44:00.003+09:00

SO HOT IN TOKYO NOW. I am battling 31-36deg everyday. For someone like me who does not usually perspire much, i am now dripping with perspiration by the time i reach office every morning. Those powder sheets have become an absolute necessity. And my house, i think it's because i am on the top floor (3rd floor only actually), there is nothing above that shields me from the sun, so heat gets trapped in MY house in the afternoon, and even when i come home at like 9 plus, my room measures 33-34deg INDOORS. =___= i worry about all my facial and contact lenses solution that says they have to be kept at room temperature. I don't think 33deg is considered room temperature. Anyone ever tried washing your hair with warm shampoo?

Puppie fainting from the heat?
*LOL*

Was at a cafe with my friend and this WEIRD ojiisan, clad in bright lime green suit walked in carrying a doll (with a name tag that says "Rika" in Japanese). Everyone was trying very hard not to stare. But when he put the doll opposite his table and started eating, it was too hard. My friend sneaked a pic when the girls between ours and his table left.
Sasuga Nihon.

Went to this cafe called Milky Way at Ikebukuro and oh my god!! Everything was so cute and ★STAR-SHAPED★!! Even the sugar jar AND the sugar in it.

Then came our orders and yep, MORE STARS.
See the star-shaped almond tofu in the glass behind??

Found this inverted Apollo in the box!!
Usually it's pink on top but mine's choc! =DDD

Oh yah, i dropped my mobile down an entire flight of stairs today. =__= The fall broke one of the two beads on this omamori that i got from Kamakura. Erm....... i hope this means it has helped me to avert some disaster. *gulps*

Anyone getting married?

2008-07-31T22:59:00.003+09:00

Was just reading my previous posts and came to this one when i wrote about Kazu-chan telling Takki that he needed to get married between Apr and June this year, if not he will become an 「おん爺」. OK, i STILL dunno what that word means, but it's almost Aug SO WE ARE SAFE!!! lol.

No wait.
Or did he get married secretly during this hiatus??? O_O

3 days, 3 countries

2008-07-15T22:29:00.007+09:00

Just came back to Tokyo yesterday. Tsukareta... Went for a business trip to Singapore, Bintan and Johor Bahru. Yea, visited 3 countries in 3 days. I think Singapore is one of those few places around the region that you can actually accomplish this kinda feat? My Japanese colleagues were commenting about how they had to fill in the Singapore ED card TRICE for this trip. Haha. I'm so glad i'm a Singaporean. Hassle-free at Changi Airport (it's homecoming afterall), visa-free to Bintan (saved the US10 bucks) and a breeze through the JB customs (guess they are tired of the hordes of Singaporeans). I ought to try and claim back the visa fees that i helped my company save with my red passport. Though I still wonder why the Malaysian authorities let their citizens pass thru the Malaysian customs just flashing their passports. So technically, the country does not keep track and is unable to trace whether any particular citizen is in Singapore or Malaysia?? Sasuga Malaysia...

Anyway, everywhere was so hot this time, just like Tokyo now. Gosh... i was piling on the sunblock, but i think i still got dark. =( And my colleagues were saying how my hair colour seemed to have gotten lighter. Aiyo... bleached by UV?? *shrieks* Got a chance to visit a Malay Kampung and they made me don a Baju Kurung, complete with the tudung. My colleagues were saying "全然違和感ない". Erm... i dunno if i should be pleased. I just went around going "Minah desu". LOL.

Had only 1.5 days, or rather, 1.3333 days of free time for myself. After my colleagues went off to Changi Airport, i skipped to Keppel Bay to meet my SNGS pals + 1 fiance. LOL. Waahh.. never knew such a place existed. Actually, i STILL dunno where i was. Only that it was "some private island", according to Kun. Hmm... shall pour through my Street Directory at work tomorrow. Anyway, everyone seems to have plans for this group. One is getting married this year, one is getting married next year, and one is going away for studies next year. Chatted until 4am that day... was so tired. Haven't stayed up so late for a long time. Moonie 02 is losing her powers.

Yet i still had to wake up early the next day for bitching about RL with a 2nd batch of friends. Was supposed to be a brunch, but ended up as lunch + high tea instead since everyone was late, as expected (by everyone but Car of cos. LOLLL). And ohhh... how much we bitched and whined and laughed and Laughed and LAUGHED til i cried. Hahhaa..... oooh, i miss my girlfriends. I wish they are here with me in Tokyo. They made me forget all my nayami. THANK YOU SO MUCH GIRLS!!!! Can't wait to see you peeps again in Sept!!! =3333 Jas, rem that you said you will not be nursing a hangover next time ya?? Then it's home for dinner with my family, also a belated birthday dinner with my dad. Gosh.. his stomach got bigger again!! Gaahh.... he's so stubborn. =__=

Now i'm back to shuttling between Toshima-ku and Itabashi-ku, with a stupid report to write. Sigh... shall look forward to my trip with Fang this weekend.

And oh ya, HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAROLYN!!!

超久しぶり・・・

2008-06-23T21:24:00.003+09:00

Oh gosh, i am really neglecting this site. My 3rd post this year?? And it's already almost July. Gomen ne, Dithers, i should be more active in updating the site that you designed for me. Gomen nacchai!

Anyway, really moody these days... T&T are the only things that let me remember, i was once a very happy girl. Trying hard not to fall into depression. But don't worry, i am still alive.
ARRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!! I need to scream.

The Koi Uta song, if sung from a girl's perspective, could be my song. ん～でもやっぱ外れてるかな。

すきじゃなくなりたいよ。
でも、なりきれない。
どうしよう
つらい・・・

Snowing

2008-02-04T00:15:00.000+09:00

Hmm... it snowed again today in Tokyo. It didn't snowed at all last year. Well, a bit, but a really really tenny-weeny bit. Chou bimyou. Before you realised that's snow, it already melted kind of snowing. But this year, it really SNOWED.

This was taken during 初雪 on 23Jan.
I was quite excited cos i never see falling snow in Tokyo before.
Or rather, i never see snow cumulating on the ground in Tokyo before. Of course, this is nothing compared to Iwate Pref which recorded -33deg that day!!! Haaaaaa.... was telling Loracyn we would have died there and then with Yoshitsune-sama had it been this cold when we went in 2005.
Then there was this Japanese girl from Hokkaido who wrote on her blog that when she opened her door that day, she thought she was in Alaska. LMAO.

And THIS, was the scenery from my balcony that greeted me when i woke up this morning.
Was pretty shocked to see even MORE snow cumulating this time.
Look at my buried washing machine with its half-blown away sheet cover. (5th cover by the way)

Change of topic.
Went to Gotemba Premium Outlet earlier this year.
Literally shopping in the mountains.
But a real cool dating place i feel.
Only that i didn't have a date. =__=
But i guess a car is totally essential to reach such places.

Dropped by the supposedly very popular illumination in Gotemba on our way back.
The Toki no Sumika Illumination.
Pic from official website so that you can see how the overall illumination looked like.
My friend was saying this is the #1 Illumination in Japan??
I think it won by pure quantity. LOL.
See below to know why.

Entrance to the Light Tunnel.

The tunnel was soooo long, you couldn't see the end!!

I wonder if the lights of the surrounding town dimmed when this illumination started...

Some really HUGE bell at Toki no Sumika.
Supposedly the world's largest functioning swinging bell.
(79,900 lb according to Wikipedia)
I seriously wonder how they brought the bell to the top of the hill.
Stood directly under the bell and oh gosh... you can feel the pressure...

Finally made the famous Takki-Nabe, and YES, with the very important PONZU!!! And though i had to improvise because my magnetic stove does not work with a nabe, it was still very delicious!!!

And ya, i was catching up on Naruto Shippuden episodes the other day while lying on my bed, half falling asleep. Then i thought, hmm, the new ending theme sounds familiar na... and then i bounced up from bed. EEHHH???? It was "Mezamero, yasei" by Matchy!! LOLLL... And guess what, i think it really suited the anime. Wish they will use T&T's songs for their next opening/ending theme. Can't wait for the next episode. Orochimaru is a nutcase freak with super rebonded hair. Haha.

It's 2008!!

2008-01-02T23:17:00.000+09:00

Oh gosh.. not a very genki way to start off the new year but i was just whining to Ribi, why do time fly past when we are in our twenties?? I don't remember our teenage years going by that fast. あっという間に、this is my 2nd winter in Japan. And this year's winter feel colder than last year's... brrr. Watching the 3hr special of Zubari on TV now as i type this post. Eto, Kazuchan just told Takki that he must get married by April-June THIS YEAR, or else he will be a 「おん爺」?!? Not very sure what that is, probably something like old bachelor??? Usou~~~~~~~~~~~ I do want Takki to get married!! Just not now... Chotto, give me a couple years more to get prepared. 汗 But Takki, please Please PLEASE do get married to a lovely lady ne. Because i strongly believe you will be a GREAT husband and the most absolute LOVING DAD.

And was watching 12Dec's Studio Park where Takki appeared and gosh, SO ENTERTAINING. Hahahahaha.. Tono was so cute!! (<-- for lack of a better word) Gaaah, can't get enough of his trademark solo-dimpled sunshine smile ^^! Now i'm very inspired to make Takki Nabe, even though i DON'T HAVE a nabe. Naah, will make do with a metal one. Shall remember to get all the necessary ingredients on my next trip to the supermarket. Beansprouts, leek, pork, salt, pepper and the ALL-IMPORTANT PONZU. LOL. So funny when he was stamping his foot insisting that the female host NOT eat the dish without the ponzu!! Hahhahaha... yes yes yes, tono, we WILL eat Takki Nabe WITH THE PONZU! *salutes* And i was LAUGHING SO HARD at his pro-wrestler nickname too. "HIGH-KICK SOLDIER" datte?? LMAAAOOOOO..... When he can't even do high kicks himself as he claimed to be quite katai. Oh gosh, the boy-man is so cute... kyaaaahhh... *pinches*

Much has happened since my last post. Don't know where to start, and wonders if anyone is interested anyway. *cough* Been neglecting this site a bit.. so here's a kick start for the new year. More photos! LET'S GO!

Went to Cambodia and Vietnam (company trip) at the end of October. Stayed only ONE NIGHT at each country so it was hella rush.

Once again trying to take artistic shots at Angkor Thom. Haha.

One of the gates of Angkor Thom.
Just AMAZING how people from those times built this.
If i am not wrong, it is just stones one on top of the other.
Nothing to hold them together but pure balance??
And this area of Cambodia does not get earthquakes at all,
so the structures have managed to hold up.
It is however, under weather erosion, so erm, go see it while it lasts!!

The more famous Angkor Wat.
The guide advised us to take pic from this spot as it will show 10 towers, and this is only possible when the puddle forms during the rainy season.
What can i say but, an AMAZING PILE OF ROCKS.
There are many hella STEEP stairs inside the structure.
(Note the green sheets covering part of the towers as the place is undergoing re-construction and conservation.)

Staff from our Cambodian office brought us to this pub.
Supposedly frequented by Angelina Jolie when she was filming Tomb Raider. And they (or she herself??) concocted a cocktail named after the movie, which we all ordered.
Very nice!

Didn't take any pics at Vietnam, i realised. Then around 2 weeks after Cambodia, another trip to Bali. Ahhh... Bali should really be a destination of 110% leisure and nothing else. I didn't have any time to myself at all!!! >_<

Went to visit some hotels and this is the view that greets you at Conrad Bali.
Waaaahhh... sasuga Bali.
Note: This is not a postcard but taken by my phone's cam.
And it was soooo amazingly HOT and SUNNY that day...

Some very holy temple (forgot name) by the cliff that has restricted entry.

Took a shot at sunset from a moving bus.

Another shot at sunset.
So pretty~~~
(Advice from Kazuchan that girls should not watch sunset all flies outta window. LOL.)

Last sunset before i returned to Japan.
Taken from my hotel.
Somehow reminded me of that scene in SOS.
Manato and Yui holding hands at the beach...

Made this sometime back.
Bacon & Cabbage Cream Pasta!!
自慢です。

Christmas cakes from a friend.
I found out that this thing cost 3500yen!
X'mas is beri expensive in Japan ne...汗

From a friend whom i haven't seen since i came to Japan.
He went to Hokkaido before Tokyo and when i casually joked that i want a "BIG BIG CRAB" as omiyage, he really bought it. LOLLL... Nearly fainted.
THANK YOU MOONIE 001.
Hope your remaining holiday with gf in Japan stays "lost-free".
Read the maps lah!
(Arrow points to missing leg, hence friend able to nego a discount. LOL.)

With such a big crab and living alone, it was kinda impossible to finish it on my own.
So when one of my colleagues bunked over,
i was all ready to offer her some crab.
A very crabby lunch. LMAO.
(Look at that whole plate of crab meat we scoured!!)

And of course, the Kuricon which has now become a fixed event.
Gyaaaahhh, nanka ne, やっぱりタッキー＆滝翼は好きです。
They made me forget all my troubles during the concerts.

Went to Disneyland on 30Dec with Syl and her friend.
SO BLOODY CROWDED!!!
We had to queue for everything, even popcorn and turkey drumsticks!!!

We splurged on dinner and tried the 2500yen buffet dinner.
OISHIIIIIIII~~~~~~~~~
Look at that Mickey rice cake!!
Wahhaha.... basking in Disney Magic.

It was hella freezing cold as i stuck my HP outta the window and snapped a shot of the remaining daylight of 2007.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!

Skies in Japan

2007-11-12T01:11:00.000+09:00

Better than neglecting this site, let me at least make random posts. Hahah.. have been meaning to put up these pictures that i took with my mobile phone. Really, who needs a digicam when mobile phone cams are as good nowadays??

Anyway, as some of you might know, i went to quite a few places in Japan in Sept. And was trying to utilise my cam phone. Heheh... those below are the SKY Collection. Dozo!

This is my favourite out of these five.
I took them from my ryokan in Ibusuki, Kagoshima.
The room had a full seaview and i snapped this in the morning.
Feels damn surreal eh?

Another pic i took from my room in Ibusuki.
Could name this as:
"Every cloud has a silver lining."

This is taken from Umihotaru in Tokyo, some amazing big-scale underwater tunnel project.
Would have been perfect if my finger wasn't blocking the lens. =_=
But the sun was really glaring into my eyes and i actually couldn't see what i was taking.
That semi-circle thing down there, is a model of the actual monstrous size drill that they used to make the underwater tunnel.

Clear blue sky in Nikko.

It is so different to see Kegon Falls from this angle.
The amount of water collected high up in the mountains and everything...
Nature is indeed amazing.

Tackey & Tsubasa Album

2007-10-22T03:06:00.001+09:00

With Takki's name ingrained onto the cover of every copy of TACKEY & TSUBASA BEST, all chances of ever hoping that they may eventually re-spell his name correctly goes out of the door. LOL.

Anyway, I AM STILL ALIVE!!! Was looking through the BEST Album (and having loads of fun downloading the 携帯待受画像) and awwwwww.... i'm so... ... at a loss of words. So glad they are in my life. And so proud to be their fan. やっぱり、滝翼は大好きです。Review of this album warrants a separate entry. I *WILL* do it... later. XD On another note, ain't this a GREAT PRESENT to buy for our friends who know about T&T, but not yet into them. (Evil laugh) 営業担当 of Takiren, now is the time to do some sales for our 滝沢総長!!

And oh, went to watch World's Wing on Sat... and ahhh... love "Take Your Hands". Was all teary-eyed. Despite the fact that the "setting" of the song was kinda OTT (in Ribi's words) but still very beautiful. The underwater setting... for a split second i thought Nemo might appear. Haha. So that Shine song is in the album (流れ星), and i seriously thought the song WAS CALLED SHINE. *slaps forehead* But why is "Take Your Hands" not in the album yo..... gaaahh... AVEX!!! Will blog more about my one and only show of World's Wing... though i can't rem much. But i really think the stage effects were sugoi. And Tsubasa... aahhh... He really knows his stuff ne. Sugokatta yo!! Definitely worth the watch. *two thumbs up*

滝翼５周年、おめでとうございます！

2007-09-11T23:43:00.000+09:00

Kyaaahh... i have 15min to make a post before the date changes!!

さてさて、
滝翼、５周年おめでとうございます！！！
本当にあっという間ですね！
滝翼とともに、ここまで来られて、本当にうれしいです。
この５年間、滝翼だけではなく、ファンとしての私たちにも
た～くさんのすばらしい思い出ができました。
また、滝翼が私たちにどれほど影響を持ってるのが、
わからないでしょ。まあ、良いけど。（笑）
とにかく、ありがとうっと言わせて。
これからも、お互いに自分のペースでがんばろう！

Sea Paradise

2007-09-04T01:00:00.001+09:00

Went to Sea Paradise a few weeks ago and took a picture of this ridiculous pair of stonefish. They looked like they are in some serious trouble... LOL.

24hr TV 速報②

2007-08-19T21:46:00.001+09:00

And the show finally ended!! Minna, taihen otsukare sama deshita!!

Kin-chan finally reaching the Budokan and climbing down the stairs, plastered with well-wishing faxes from all over Japan.
I was so afraid he will tumble down the stairs at first...

Kin-chan approaching the stage.
And you can see the photo mosaic they made in the background.
Amazing... how do they make these kinda things??

Kin-chan hugging T&T when he finally passed the goal line.
Omedetou gozaimasu!!!!!!

T&T congratulating Kin-chan on his amazing feat.

Tsubasa, with his nice short hair.

Kin-chan, taihen otsukare sama deshita!!

Closer look at the photo mosaic.
Kin-chan when he hosted the 1st 24hr TV.
And him as the marathon runner 30 yrs later.

As cliche as it sounds, watching the many stories of other people on this show, really makes you re-think your life. Compared with some of them, my problems seem so negligible. And i seriously need to find something to "oil my joints". Somehow, someway, in this heat. (It is 35deg in Tokyo today... bleh) I feel like a 50-yr-old, always waking up with an aching body, neck and right knee. =_= I need to make full use of my last *peep* years as a twenty-something!!!

では、皆様、大変お疲れ様でした！！
Please go home and get some sleep now!!!

24hr TV 速報①

2007-08-19T20:28:00.000+09:00

Takki's IDOL Antonio Inoki came to the show and Takki was soooo happy and surprised! (like how we are when we see him. LOL.) He was literally bouncing away! Hahhaa... kawaii!! Both him and Tsubasa ran to him to get their erm.. ceremonial slap. LMAO.. Do-M dane!

Takki: Slap me!!

Tsubasa's turn.
(Think he lost his hearing for a sec. LOL.)

AND THEN, KYyyaahhh!!! Hahha!! The moment i have been waiting for... Tsubasa really prepared a letter for Takki!!! Takki was like "ehhh??!?" and got chotto tere-kusai. Wakakka... and Tsuba-chan, Tsuba-chan, he choked on his words!!! Could see his teary eyes but gomen na, i was too excited and didn't managed to take a pic of that scene. But i bet it will be the most downloaded part of this entire show for us T&T fans!! Kyaaahhhh!!!

Just before they showed a video of T&T's formation.

Takki & Tsubasa 13 years ago,
when they just entered the jimusho.

Takki & Tsubasa, when they made the decision to perform
"Run, run, run" by SMAP during Jr Con,
and well, found each other.

THE Performance to be remembered.
"Run~~~!!"

T&T debuted as an official group.

T&T now.
13 years of friendship.

Tsubasa's letter to Takki.

Tsubasa reading his letter.

Ahh... no words to describe.
Takki listened quietly while Tsubasa read his letter with tears in his eyes.
Awww....

Tsubasa getting really EMBARRASSED after he finished the letter.
The crowd went KYAAHH everytime they zoomed in on his teary eyes.
LMAO. WE ARE THE DO-S FANS??

OK, the show is ending as i type. Kin-chan is about 5-6oo m from Budokan now. And the rest are singing "Sarai". Woaah, he really is going to finish the 70km marathon. SUGOI!!! I don't think i can do 10km... =_= And the amount of donations as of now is about 3.6億円. Ano... chotto matte... that is about... JPY 360,000,000... which converts to about.... 4.5 million Singapore dollars!!! WOAH!!! And i think this figure does not include sales from the charity goods. Which i did not managed to get everything I want because..... T_T

まぁ、欽ちゃん、がんばれ！！

24hr TV

2007-08-19T02:37:00.000+09:00

Watching 24hr TV now as i type... This is so funny. They have artistes trying to break all sorts of records. Now is this guy who has been doing what I think is his signature "Get's" pose since I don't know what time. And get this right.. he is trying to do it 10,000 times!!! LOL. He just passed the 5000 mark. And T&T joined him for a couple. Hahhaha... i think that guy probably NEVER wants to do this pose ever again once this is over.

Anyway, went out in the afternoon to stock up on food because I don't intend to leave my puny house throughout this 24hr TV, even though I do not intend to stay up all night to watch (muri muri, gomen na, Takki). Passed by the magazine rack as I was at the cashier and woah... T&T on every single TV mag... LOL. Can't help but sneaked a pic. You don't get this everyday you know. =P

Now THIS is T&T tengoku.
LOL.

Actually had another post in the Drafts but someone it never gets to the published stage. Ahaahah... oh well, nothing new.

Damecon Review Part 3

2007-06-25T01:48:00.000+09:00

And i am finally getting to the last part. It's a bad idea to take such a long time to do it i know, but hianzz... sometimes i just can't kick the lethargy away. Anyway, i realised i've already written most of the stuff i wanna talk about in the past 2 entries. The remaining parts are really scattered memories. Ehheh... here goes.

I was REALLY touched when they sang Koi yo! Initially, they were asking the audience to guess what is this song that they haven't sang since their debut (something like that) and in my mind, i REALLY sensed it was gonna be Koi yo, but i just couldn't recall the title. When the intro came on, i was like kyahhing away. Mouuuu, NATSUKASHII!!!!! I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT I CAN LIVE TO WATCH THEM SING THIS LIVE. I thought all i can ever get of this song being performed is from Sugao 3. Wakkakaaaa.... super ecstatic!! And it was also the first time i saw the lyrics, since they had it on the screens. Muaaahhh, man, it's really natsukashii. And i LOVE the sepia clips they had on the screens while they were singing. Clips of them when there were still in Jr. Ahh~ those were the Golden Days of the Johnny's Juniors and it is amazing how much they have grown. THIS PART BETTER MAKE IT INTO THE DVD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

During the 2nd MC, Takki was saying about organising a T&T event that will go on and on for hours. And the 2 bakas started coming up with all sorts of ideas. Like a whole day concert with buffet lines. So fans can go pick up food while the 2 of them sing. Hahha... it's like the eto.. yearly FNS music event? (Not sure if i got the name right) Or better still, have kaiten sushi that runs around the entire Yoko Arena like the hanamichi. LMAO~~~ Only these 2 bokes can come up with such ridiculous ideas. But i must say they are also very creative. Let's hope these ideas come true one day!! XDD

The new song Samurai ne, a very fast song. I can't really remember the tune now. But i remember Takki was saying that this song is very kamiyasui... Oh well, he's the Kamikami Prince afterall. LMAO~ I think he said like during the very fast parts, he seems to be singing "Kaburai" instead of "Samurai"?? Hahha... not like we will notice. XD

The Juniors Corner, which i didn't really pay attention. But I think for my 2nd show where i was sitting at the arena, there were many chibikkos' mothers and siblings around me. They were always pointing to certain chibikkos that run past us on the hanamichi. And the chibikkos were maji chibi-sized.

The seniors of the Juniors were Yabu and Hikaru. And my gawd... Yabu is like sooo thin and long. And because i get to see him a lot from the side, he's like literally FLAT. Me and Syl determined him as "two-dimensional". Now my question is, how come Yayayah now only has 2 members?? Though i am not familiar with the juniors nowadays, i do recall that Yayayah had more members when they first debuted under the management of Domoto Koichi. Hmm, is he still their manager i wonder. So what happened to the rest of the boys? Not caught for drinking/smoking i hope... And like Yayayah, why does FIVE only have 4 members???

I haven't seen Tsuba's latest look nowadays but his hair during the concert looked messy and flat at times but sawayaka at others. But hmm... the centre parting though.... he is really taking on Tsuyoshi's style ain't he? It's quite interesting that the only 2 official duos in JE are so similar to each other. Fufufu.

OK, what else. Oh ya, the centre extension stage this time was particularly FASCINATING. O_O! I was so amazed at the many ways the different parts of the stage levitate and sank, to create so many different sets! Sugoi.... *pachi pachi pachi*

Lastly, Takki ne. This time i got to see him up close and yappari, there's this kira kira aura around him. His ^^ smile is still so infectious. And he can strike super kakkoii poses at one moment and turn into a playful little boy the next second. Gotta love this boy.

My FAVOURITE pic from the con pamplet, without hesitation.
When i got to this page, i had to take a deep breathe.
I cannot repeat enough how much i LOVE Takki's side profile.
Maji... KANPEKI.
*scatters kira kira stardust*

The tee that i wore for the 1st concert.
Pulled it out randomly from my wardrobe but until Syl commented,
I didn't realised how APT it was, with the crown and "Twinkle".
I think it's makes a better con tee than THE CON TEE. LOL.
(Sorry for the creases. I pulled it out from my laundry basket just to take a pic.)

So there, i FINALLY finished my long-outdated concert review. Can't wait for the DVD!!!!

Zubari 29Jul07 + Damecon Review Part 2

2007-06-04T01:54:00.000+09:00

Kyaaah, i got SUCH A KICK watching Kazuchan and Takki actually interview Orlando Bloom on Zubari last week!! I can't believe it!! Wakkakaaa.... how often do you get 2 guys you adore from different ends of the world coming together on one show?? And i've said in my blog few years ago (think it was still Xanga then, aka Version 1) that if they ever do a Japanese version of LOTR, Takki is definitely gonna be Legolas. Because i think they really look alike!!! (and therefore i am consistent. LOL)

Let's see, i feel that they have the same smile that just so... how should i put this... AKARUI and genuine.. And their eyes will turn into inverted U-shape, like ^^. Kyaaahhh, SO CUTE!! And then both of them have kinda deep-set eyes, which is common for Orlando since he's a Brit (right?) but rare for Takki, who's Asian. And then and then, Takki with BLONDE hair... he's pratically GLOWING like an elf. LOLLL... hellooo?? do we need more reasons?? XDD

And Takki kept saying on the show he thinks he and Orlando look alike. Gosh... i swear he reads our blogs.. LOL. It was a funny episode.. with Kazuchan even giving Orlando some ero advice which were beeped out. Hahhaha.... oh man. Even Orlando got a little embarassed and Takki was like desperately trying to stop her. XDDD

Anyway, back to Part 2 of my review. Ehhh, 3 weeks had since lapsed and i don't even know where and how to start reviewing... Let me ATTEMPT to recall chronologically.... *cough*

Opening song was "Crazy Rainbow", and wow, i must say it was then i realise how APT an opening song it was. Really moriagatteru. It is now my ringtone. Heh. For the first show, when the opening music of Crazy Rainbow came on, me and Syl were looking ALL OVER THE PLACE, like WHERE WILL THESE 2 BOYS COME OUT FROM?? Front? Back?? Side??? And we were all wrong. They came from the TOP. Hahhaha.... Initially my poor eyesight betrayed me and i was screaming excitedly at 2 figures at the far back of the centre seats until Syl kept slapping me on my shoulders to look at the top. LMAAAOOOO... What the.. ???!?? I conclude, mega-confusion for every 1st show of T&T's concert. See? That's why we need to watch the same concert more than ONCE. Cause the confusion and excitment from first show (plus the mega rush to buy concert goods) = not being able to pay attention to details. XDD What a good excuse yea? And you guys probably saw how the opening costumes looked like from the wideshow clips. Really a Crazy mix of Rainbow colours. I wouldn't say dasai, but definitely very attention grabbing. But hey, this is a concert costume afterall.

The grand entrance from the top sure did a lot to warm up the audience. But now i suddenly realise how bloody high up they were... abunai ne... So they started with Crazy Rainbow, then continued to sing quite a couple of songs without stopping. I forgot what songs exactly. But a mix of new and old. And i think it ended with "We are T&T" (eh? is this the official title??) and Takki was standing on an elevated platform with the huge wings balloon behind him and Tsubasa on the opposite side with the dragon balloon behind him. XD And then they threw out raburabu messages to each other as always. For the 1st show, both of Tsuba's parents came apparently? And Takki's mum and his granny too i think?? Awww... i think it's so sweet. I wished i knew how Takki's mum looked like. I saw Tsuba's mum's pic online before and if i ran into her at Yoko Arena, i think i might be able to recognise her. So anyway the song ended and both started the Takitsuba cheer competition again, appealing to the fans by stripping and what not. LOL. And it's like only the opening section of the concert but both were already perspiring SO MUCH. Cos they were running all around the Arena, singing and dancing. They REALLY have a LOT of stamina... being able to do this twice in one day for two continuous days. Even me as the audience feel so tired after every show, i wonder HOW they do it. Sasuga Johnny's. *clap clap*

Anyway, Takki's BICEPS. Ohhhh miii GOSH!!! I was sooo fixated at his biceps. @_@!!! So we all know he went to Guam for CM shoot and got himself a nice tan.. and man!! The chocolaty tan, coupled with the aesthetically pleasing bulge, a result of his gym workout (being a gym freak that he is), and shining from his perspiration.... his biceps were simply GLEAMING AND CALLING OUT FOR ATTENTION.... OISHISOU!!!!!!!! "Itadakimasuuu!!!" *munches* I want to CLING on to them!!! Kakkkeeee!!!!! Hahha... i forgot where he first donned a sleeveless costume, but ever since The Perfect Biceps caught my attention in the first show, i kept STARING at them whenever they become available (to our sight that is) Waaaahhh... oishikute, OTOKOMAE!

Back to the show. LOL. They sang To be or not to be. I always love how this song is super moriagatteru. And the dance was meccha kakkeee!!!! Love love love the chereography!!! There's this part where they will do this pumping action with their arms and uwaaaah, it's SO OTOKOMAE... i dunno how to describe. THANK GOD this concert is coming out on DVD. Because for all my 3 shows, i wasn't able to see the dance from the front. Always watching it on screen. I need a frontal view!!!

For Takki's solo, he sang a ballad version of Kiseki. Man, this song is really so versatile. Has so many versions. Anyway, when he appeared, and the junior with him started playing the intro on the electronic piano, everyone was sooo excited. Cos the opening was REALLY nice. I thought it was a new song. Then found out it was Kiseki. But i really LOVE THIS VERSION. I loved the part when Takki goes high on the chorus at the 1st part and then strong on the 2nd part. It's like the same chorus but totally different presentation. Was practically melting. Awwwww....... i'm so glad there's a DVD.

In case some of you are going o_O?? No this review isn't in chronological order anymore. Haha.. im just writing whatever I remember and that left an impression on me.

Sadame!! I love the outfit even though it's a very common theme. Kira kira black suits with red, gold chains and black hat. (sorry, forgot what those kind of hats are called but Takki looks VERY GOOD in them) For this concert, I think they sang many more songs live than usual. Sadame though, was one of those few that i think Takki didn't sing live. But i was concentrating more on the moves. The dance drew a lot attention to his very well-toned arms.. and oishii iro. And it made me like this song a lot more. A very Takki-rashii song. Luckily there will be a DVD.

And since Takki sang Sadame in his solo part, of course Tsubasa sang Edge during his. The dance was oh hoho.... KAKKOII!!! I think it was somewhat MJ (as in Michael Jackson) inspired, some of the moves. The part where he ran out to the runway and dance above bellowing wind/smoke. I am sure Tsubachan spent a lot of time picking out the perfect white shirt which will fly properly in the wind yet still cut a kanpeki silhoulette. I was also very distracted by this crease design on his crouch area. =P Cannot help looking at it. The dance was really very neat. Sasuga Tsubasa. Slick and kakkoii. But yappari the lyrics to the song is chotto weird. Hurr...

Oh, they sang Pride and Diamond again after many years! And they sang this on the circular extension stage so for our 1st show, we were seeing the dance within 5 meters... kyaaahhh!!! THE DIAMOND DANCE!! THE GURU GURU LEGSSSSS!!!!!! I was spazzing out. LOL~~~ KAKKOIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Never thought i will live to see this again at such close distance after Thailand. I love the pissed off look Takki does when he sings Diamond. The "don't mess with me" look. Ohohohohoho... and yappari Takki's sideview wa saikou! Why didn't they make a PV for Diamond yo..... But luckily, there WILL be a DVD. Teehee.. cannot help repeating.

OK, thought i will post up all in one shot, but seems like i'm taking too much time again. Will continue in a Part 3. Do check back!!

Takki's 24hr drama + Damecon Review Part 1

2007-05-21T00:48:00.000+09:00

Oh my god... i was so surprised to read about the 24hr special TV drama!! Takki is going to act as a father, and Fukada Kyoko as the mother?? Waaah, everyone has really grown up... The drama is about this couple who has a sick 5-yr-old child stricken with Ewing's Sarcoma. So the drama will centre around family love and support as they fight the disease. (Source) Hmm.. sounds sad. And hey, if the child is 5, wow, that's a very young pair of papa and mama. =) REALLY EXCITED to see how Takki takes on this role as a dad. Very refreshing role change don't you think??? And i'm sure he will do a good job, because acting is his forte. *hearts* But i expect to see him frowning a lot in the show.. and oh no.. crying... *heartbreak*. I hope the show will not merely be a tearjerker but bring more awareness about this disease like how Ichi Rittoru no Namida did with SCD.

On to the next point, actually i really like this Takki-Fukakyo Combi. I was kyaahing away at all the sweet parts between Manato and Yui. Kekeke. I know some people don't like Fukakyo but i think she is so pretty. She looks like a doll on Domoto Kyodai!!! (FYI, she is now a regular on the show) I can't help staring at her everytime i watch the show. Really doll-like but not overly done like *cough*Ayu*cough*Momusu*cough*. Hmm, does this makes LUCKY Fukakyo the actress who gets to act opposite Takki the most number of times?? She acted as his little admirer in "News no Onna", then his half sister-cum-sweetheart in "SOS", then now husband and wife in this new drama with a really long name, "Kimi ga kureta natsu ~ Ganbareba, shiwase ni nareru yo~". A very 24hr special TV dorama-ppoi name, i would say. LOL. The drama airs on 18 August on NTV. CHOU tanoshimi ni shiteru!! q^-^p

Tsugi, the delayed Damecon review. Well, you people should know by now that my place ain't the place to look for updated and organised info. My thoughts fly all over (and OUT of) the place. XDDD Anyway, I watched all shows at Yoko Arena except the 1st show on 13 May. And since i didn't take notes (nor recordings), and i didn't really read fan's reports of the hall concerts, my memory doesn't allow me to write a detailed report. That's why it's called a review. XD

What i need to scream out first is.... OUR SEATS FOR BOTH SHOWS ON DAY 1 WERE BLOODY GOOD!!! やっぱりFCで取れたチケットは違うね！さすが。

OK, rewind. Let's do things in order.... Haha. Well, found out the previous day that they released new pamplet, tee and uchiwa for the Arena cons. And i haven't even got the Hall ones!!!! Unfortunately, they were not selling the hall ones at the arena anymore. Great. Now i have to go hunt for them. =_=

Outside Yoko Arena just before the 1st concert.
~~"Mountain people, Mountain sea."~~
"People Mountain, People Sea"
Luckily the weather was good.

This time round, they stopped sale of goods at the booths outside 1 hour before the show started and only resumed AFTER the show begins. And kept encouraging fans holding tics to get their goods INSIDE. I guess it's to make fans settle down earlier instead of queuing outside until the last minute. But guess what? They started admission late, at 1:15 instead of 1:00, so once again, there was a BIG RUSH as everyone ran around crazily trying to get things done within the 45min. Grab the goods, visit the toilet, get drinks, eat, last minute art-and-craft work on their uchiwas, etc etc. And now when you buy the goods, they scanned the barcodes, so it took even more time. Me and Syl were totally like =_= at the goods queue. We already came earlier this time, but the result was the same... Syl's friend (a non-Johnny's fan) on the other hand, was just amazed at the mad rush. LOL.

Took pics of the booths while waiting for admission.
Sorry, the wind was strong so the pic ain't clear.
But the half nekkid unit poster is chotto yabai... haha.
I think if we put it up in our rooms, the singles will stay single and the attached will get ditched/divorced/kicked out of the house. LMAO.
Controlled myself this time and didn't get any posters.
But i really like the way they stand out against the black background this time.
And i kept thinking the unit poster is 2 smaller solo posters.
Blame my poor eyesight. XD

The centrepiece of Damecon just past the entrance.

Oh yes, and we were so dumb. Neither me nor Syl knew how the Hall pamplet looked like, so if they had not labelled the Arena pamplet with the words "NEW", we wouldn't have known which was which. And so happened that all the booths selling the goods outside put up the WHITE side of the new pamplet as sample. Then when we went inside the arena to get the goods and saw the BLACK side of the pamplet at ONE of the booths, we thought that was the Hall pamplet. LOL. And because we were RUSHING for time, with the antagonisingly slow queues and show starting in 20min, we asked Syl's friend to help buy the "Hall" pamplets while we get the other stuff. We figured it was the easiest thing to buy if you don't speak a word of Japanese. "Just point to the pamplet and show 2 fingers at the staff.", we advised. But 10min later, i realised "Alamak!! The pamplet is BLACK on one side and WHITE on the other!!! IT IS THE SAME PAMPLET!!!" LMAOOO.... Luckily the queue at Syl's friend side was bloody slow too and i managed to stop her in time, if not we will end up with extra copies. So we got all our stuff and ran like MAD to our seats at like 3min to 2:00pm. Mou... why is it always so hectic before T&T's 1st show?? *pants pants* Flustered and stressed out until... we found out how GREAT our centre seats were...

We were right next to the centre round extension stage!!!
See the blue railings up there?
The centre stage was just BEHIND that.
Oh my goodness... *goes dizzy*
Never thought I will ever have such seats again without emptying my bank account.
I think i was even CLOSER than during Thai Con!!!! XDDDD

And then our seats for the 2nd show.
The tickets showed Row 7 at the Arena. But little did i know that there were NO Row 1-5!!!
Which means that, WE WERE ACTUALLY SECOND ROW FROM THE HANAMICHI!!!
Like at EYE LEVEL??!?!??
Man!!! Had we made uchiwas this time, T&T will DEFINITELY have notice them.
But holy cow, the view was DAMN GOOD!!
T&T ran past us together with the whole load of chibikkos like so many times,
i lost count. XP

And then the view from our seats on last Yoko show up at the stands.
We were Row 4 at the absolute edge.
So we couldn't really see the main centre screen.
But it's OK, since me and Syl have already seen it 2 times earlier.
Though we were FAR from stage this time, I think this show was the time when i got the NEAREST to T&T, cos they came up to the stands to do fan service.
Syl was like 3cm short of touching Takki.
Me, i didn't try to grab him.
Just VERY MESMERISED seeing him less than 1 meter away.
And those DELICIOUS BICEPS!!!! Oishii!!
(The biceps need a separate paragraph on its own. LOL)

Seating at the stands enable me to take an aerial pic of the arena.
Pink cross = Our seats on 12May 1st show
Yellow cross = Our seats on 12May 2nd show
SUGOI DESHO???

There were these 2 huge balloon figures at each side of the arena.
A dragon and a pair of wings.
Which is what 滝翼 means in Chinese.
I wonder it if was inspired from this.
Even though the kanji 滝 in Japanese really mean "waterfall",
but i guess it's not really erm... aesthetically symmetrical to make a balloon figure of a waterfall??

Anyway, that's all for pre-concert review. Review of the concert itself will come in next entry!! Still in the draft works. Teehee...

The last hour of Golden Week

2007-05-06T22:44:00.000+09:00

And 9 days of holidays just flew past.
Well, technically 7 days, because Tue and Wed weren't public holidays, but i was on holiday mode nonetheless.
And now, before i know it, it's back to office tomorrow.
Gyaaahhhhh~~~

Apparently this kind of depression has a name in Japan.

５月病
"Go-gatsu byou"

It's post GW Depression in other words. Haha.

Sorry guys, for being MIA for over a month... wow. I can't believe i didn't update since Takki's birthday. Gomen yo... Sometimes lethargy just kicks in. I keep telling myself i will update enthusiastically during GW, but ended up im only doing it last minute at the last hour of GW. *cough* And it's been so long that i almost couldn't log in cos i forgot my password! LOL. Blogger was just about to kick me out thinking that i'm a robot trying to hack my own account.

Anyway, i didn't go anywhere for this GW. Just no money and its peak season for travelling, so everywhere's expensive and darn crowded. Was just practically going for lotsa nomikai (drinking parties) and erm, rotting at home? Haaa.. so unfulfilling ya? But man, i think i really drink a lot since coming here. JAPANESE REALLY LIKE TO DRINK (and Takki's is no exception). i don't think they can have a meal at night WITHOUT alcohol. Nowadays i'm always drinking plum wines. I think my drinking ability has power-upped. LOL.

Anyway, shall post up some pics i took. Must make use of my 3.2 megapix phone camera ya?

Don't you girls think this is a must-take?? LOL.
When i saw this at the supermarket, i was laughing away to myself and trying to sneak a pic without looking like a weirdo.
It's funny how this thing is related to Takki.
And no, i still dunno what the hell it is. XD

My contribution to Takki's 25th Birthday Project.
Theme: BLACK BUTTERFLY
Initially thought that i have nothing to write, but filled up the card in no time. Was planning to design it some other way, but kept procrastinating and ran outta time. So i just cut out shapes of butterflies and stuck them on Takki PINK paper. It turned out nicer than i thought it would. Impromtu isn't always a bad thing i guess.

Went to Kawasaki in Yokohama with colleagues and we stopped by this park next to an industrial area. Higashi Ougijima Koen. Many people were fishing there even though the waves were really choppy that day.

It was really impromtu trip but amazing cos i was just telling someone that SAME MORNING, i want to go somewhere where i can see the sea. And i really did in the same day. Hoho...
Anyway, i just realised the pic on the left has pretty good erm... angle? I like how all the lines converged on the left.

Left: Dead and dried up starfishes along the pavement. There were a lot of these.. Chotto kimoi.
I think they were caught by accident by those people who are fishing.
Right: The "remains" of a starfish.

The wind was REALLY strong that day. My colleague was suggesting we do BBQ at this park next time but i think the BBQ will end in half the intended time as all our charcoal will burn up at twice the speed with that wind!! LOL. Anyway, the air really smelt a bit different with all the factories around, so not a good place to hang out for long.

The choppy sea. And the factories in the background. I thought it looked rather bleak. As we were driving there, the whole area was ALL FACTORIES. With chimneys and all. It's like those visuals you get when you watch programs about global warming. And a certain scene from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Haha. But my guy colleague was so excited. He kept saying "kakkoii, kakkoii..." O_o??

Very strong winds...

Dou? A photo blog is better than me ranting on and on about crappy work right? XD Will try and update again!! I think i should aspire to make short posts. It's easier to keep up.

ONE WEEK TO YOKOHAMA CONCERTS!!!! Gosh, has been 5 months since i last saw Takki live. Ano.. and i'm right here in Tokyo. Ah doiz... =.=

Happy Birthday to~~~~~~~~~~ My Dear Takki

2007-03-29T01:20:00.000+09:00

タッキー殿へ

あっという間に、また１年経ったよね。

「黒澤光」に魅了されて、タッキーのことが好きになったのは、昨日だったのような気がする。
でも、実は７年前のこと。
タッキーが自分の幼なじみみたいに一緒に成長して、一緒に大人になりました。
（中身はまだまだ子供ですが。笑）
不思議なことかもしれませんが、タッキーは私の人生で重要な役割を果たします。
最初は「黒澤光」のおかげで、タッキーのことがわかりました。
そして、タッキーのおかげで、日本語を勉強し始めました。
それで、日本語のおかげで、シンガポールを出て、今日本で働くことができました。
さあ、もしタッキーが私の人生の中にいなかったら、今の私はどういうふうになってるんだろう。
でも、やっぱりいてくれて、ありがとう。
タッキーを見つけて、良かった。
殿の家来として、滝沢総長のスーパー社員として、タッキーのファンとして、自慢できることです。
もうほんっとに、ありがたいのです。
いつもいつも刺激と感動を与えられて、ありがとうございます。
言いたいことはまだまだいっぱいありますが、誕生日カードに書き込みます。
みんなの気持ち、ちゃんと読んでね。

これから素敵な年になりますように。
もう「福は内、怪我は外」的な感じでいきましょう！笑
ジャッキーとの映画を楽しみにしています。
くれぐれもお体を大切に。
もう二度鼻の怪我みたいな事件はないように。

それでは、いつもの通り自分のペースで、タッキーらしくて、輝いてください。

最後に一言。

Happy 25th Birthday.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Presenting Version 2 of Waterfall and Wings, all done with the help of Dithers *muackz* for our Takki's 25th Birthday Double Reveal. You can't be thinking that i suddenly became so proficient in blogsite building did you?? Hurrhurr... Thank you Dithers, for actually responding to my whines about not being able to make a new template for W&W, and making time out of your super busy schedule to do this. I appreciate it a lot!!! Thanks for all your emails, sharing our fangirl tsubos and RL. Can't wait to see how is the OTHER REVEAL. Heheh.

To all decent self-proclaimed Takki fans and followers out there, it is Takki's Birthday today!!!! Let us all wish "our pride" a FANTABULOUS YEAR and many SUTEKI DAYS to come. Let us continue to share and spread the Takki Love. And we will remain as NICE PEOPLE and NICE FANS so that he can stay proud of us. =)

Anyway, the 1st installment of Zubari 2hr SP (aired on 27Mar) is a MUST WATCH. It is soooooo funny and full of Takki goodness. He truly is my Vitamin T. (And Vitamin T2 is a power-up version. LOL) Imagine seeing TakkiNeo (as in Neo from Matrix) and Magician Takki. Uwaahahhaa.... i just sat through the show and laughed and laughed and laughed. You guys must see it!!