End of 2016

First of all, I can't believe today is the last day of the year. I usually get a little sad about it but it's not the end of the world. This year was an pretty eventful year. So many things happened. A lot of it wasbad but I guess there was some good things. For myself, the best thing was going to a Hey! Say! JUMP and Hello! Project concert for the first time. I had the most fun in a long time during those two concerts. I was finally able to do something I wanted to do for so long and I was finally able to do it. However, I was especially glad about seeing HSJ. I've been a fan for around 8-9 years so it was always a big dream of mine to go. To be honest I've felt pretty frustrated about not being able to go for a long time and I still have some regrets but I think after going, some of that went away. So this is my last of the year and I hope that I'll update more next year!(Also I'm sorry if any of this didn't make much sense, I'm pretty tired right now) 

Long time no see

I can't believe it's already December. This year just flew by so fast. So lately, I have been very busy with school especially with myself procrastinating all the time. But now since I'm on winter break, I have more time to just relax and watch youtube videos. So this year, I started college and so far it's been great. I haven't made any close friends yet but I really enjoyed my classes especially because I learned so much from it. In high school, I would take a class wanting to learn but the teachers don't even know what they're teaching about so I really like how college instructors actually knows what they're doing. So that is it for now and I'll be posting more often since I have more time. I'm thinking of writing about my experience at a Hello! Project concert and Hey! Say! JUMP concert so I hope you look forward to that.

September

It's already September! The last time I updated this blog was when I was in Japan which was in July. Guess what? I have actually been back from Japan for around 2 weeks now. It honestly feels nice to be back in the States. However, there are things I do miss in Japan such as the public transportation and the shopping but at the same time, it's nice to be back in the countryside where I can relax. The reason for this was because the city can be rather stressful especially for someone like myself who grew in the countryside in both Japan and the United States. To summarize my trip, it was rather long. I was there for 2 months and by the second month, I just wanted to go home where I can actually be alone because I didn't have much privacy since I shared a room with my mom and brother. But overall, I was able to experience so many things and go to places I've never been to. Like I mentioned in my last post, I went to Hokkaido and Tokyo which was a good experience. But the best thing I did in Japan was go to the Hey! Say! JUMP concert. I will write a post about my experience along with my experience going to a Hello! Project concert but to summarize both concerts, it was the most fun I had in a really long time.

Life Update: Japan!

I am currently in Japan! I actually been here for over a month now. It's been pretty fun though it's a little hectic. I was able to go to quite a few places here which is something I haven't really been able to do here so that was nice. During my first few weeks here, I was able to get a rail pass where I can travel basically all over Japan for 2 weeks. That was pretty interesting. I went to Hokkaido, Tokyo and Hyogo prefecture. I was really glad I was able to go to Hokkaido cause it was my first time and it sure was nice. It's such a nice place to go and I honestly considered living there. However the biggest thing I was able to do here was go to the Hello Project concert. The concert was just amazing! I'll write another post about it but oh god, it was exactly how you see in the videos. Their performance was just so powerful and I almost cried. It even amazed my mom who doesn't know any of the current H!P members other than Momochi or any of the songs. So that is what I've been up to here in Japan.

June

It's already June! I can't believe it! School is over well, for me next week actually because I am graduating from high school. I am going to be honest, I'm happy I'm graduating. There were quite some good things that I was able to experience,  but the bad kind of outnumbered the good things that happened. Another thing I'll be doing is that I am going to Japan. I'm really excited for this because it's my first time in a few years to go and I'm planning on going and doing a bunch of things this time. For those who read my Japan posts from a few years ago, I didn't have the best time there the last time I went. So hopefully, I'll be able to enjoy Japan a lot more this time. Also I am planning to post things about my trip whether it's good or bad and I might be able to vlog if I'm alone.

How Hey! Say! JUMP changed my life

A while ago, I rediscovered this blog called nihonchique and she had a blog post called "Why Do I Love Johnny's?" That post got me thinking how Johnny's specifically Hey! Say! JUMP affected and changed my life so I decided to share what they are. 

1.I was able improve my Japanese-Before I started listening to Hey! Say! JUMP, my Japanese wasn't the best. Growing up in a area where there isn't a lot of other Japanese people and not going to Japanese school on Saturdays really affected that. My Japanese was more of a mixture of Japanese and English so there were times when my relatives in Japan who don't know any English had a hard time understanding what I wanted to say. Also it was just limited in general. But after I discovered HSJ, I started watching variety shows and dramas which made me realize there's different ways to talk to people which is something you don't learn from just talking to your parents. Honestly I still use Japlish when I speak in Japanese but I really feel like it's gotten better. 

2. Gave me a goal-I realized how ever since I got into Japanese pop culture, I started to have more things I wanted to do and have a job based on the things I like which are music, filming and digital arts. Also I noticed how I set up goals for myself for when I go to Japan such as going to a HSJ concert or a Hello Project concert and going to a bunch of places meanwhile when I was younger, I kinda just went with the flow. 

3.My love for music grew-I loved listening to music ever since I was little but I was never able to explore different genres so I just listened to anime songs and songs that were on TV. But when I got into HSJ, I realized how I wanted to branch out to other artists so I would listen to a whole variety of music. Although the music I listen to today isn't as diverse as it used to be, I realized how much songs I know. Another thing is how I was able to get better at singing. My singing before I started YouTube was awful. It still isn't the best but I can least hold a tune now.  

So those are the things on how Hey! Say! JUMP changed my life. Honestly, if I didn't start listening to them or even discovering them, my life would've been so much different. I wouldn't have this blog, I wouldn't done YouTube and my Japanese would've still been crappy.

Life Update

Lately, I realized I haven't been updating this blog for a while and it's just I don't really have anything to update about. I haven't gotten anything new, I haven't made a new cover and I'm currently just living life. However, for now I really want to focus on graduating from High School. I've been lazy so my grades haven't been up to par but I really want to leave High School feeling satisfied. So until I graduate and everything settles down, I don't think I'll be updating as often as I want to but hopefully I'll have some time over the weekend to write down this post I've been wanting to write about for a while.

May

I can't believe that it's already May! The year is going by so fast. So far this month hasn't been the best. Yesterday, I had a really bad stomach after eating a brownie that has been left in the oven overnight. I'm not sure why but whenever I eat something that been left in the oven, I always tend to get a stomach and that can last for as long to a day to a week. Maybe I'm just really bad with food that gets left in the oven especially when it's getting warmer. Also I got sick last week. Luckily I got better. But there has been good things. I did well on my piano adjudication and I got a perfect score which I never got before. So that is it for this post. I've been reading other people's blogs lately and it gave me some ideas on what I should write.

Birthday Haul

So last week was my birthday and I got quite a few things from my parents this year. My dad usually goes to Japan around this time of the year and brought me some gifts. 

 The first thing is the 2016-2017 Hey! Say! JUMP calendar. I really like this years calendar because it's an actual calendar. For the past few years, it's been a book so I tend to always forget about it and I never looked through it. So it's nice how I can just put it up somewhere in my room and remember that it exists. 

 It also came with this booklet that you can put pictures in it. I think this was pretty creative. You can choose the pictures that you want in the booklet and I think that's really interesting. 

One of the mangas I got was vol 18 and vol 19 of Assassination Classroom. I am honestly behind on this manga so I'm really gonna have to try to catch up. 

 Another manga I got was Mr. Nietzsche in the Convenience Store. I just loved the live action drama to this so much and for those who haven't seen it yet, I really recommend it. It's so funny and the actors were awesome in this. 

The 2nd to last manga I got was Non Non Biyori. This is one of the cutest manga/anime ever and I can't stop reading this. 

 Lastly, I got Watamote vol 9. I'm currently reading this and Tomoko is actually starting to get better. I don't want to spoil what happens but basically, the school trip was a success for her in my opinion. 

Those are the things I got for my birthday! They're of course the usual but I'm really satisfied with my gifts. And I'm sorry if the pictures aren't that great. I was finally able to get a new camera and I'm still kind of learning how to use it. 

April

I cannot believe that it's already April! Time is just going by so fast! Anyways, this month is going to be a busy month for me. First of all, my birthday is coming up! I'm gonna be 19 on the 19th. Man, I'm getting old lol. Also, this year is going to be my 6th year on YouTube. I still remember when I first started YouTube as that 6th grader who couldn't sing. I feel like I've come a long way since I've originally started. My amount of subscribers haven't increased since I keep on moving channels but oh well.

Thoughts on the upcoming Fullmetal Alchemist live action movie

Although I usually try to write reviews and rants on my other blog, I thought I'll just write it on this one since it's not going to be very detailed. So today, it has been announced that there is going to be a live action version of Fullmetal Alchemist that is set to be in theaters in the summer of 2017. I was honestly surprised that they're planning to make a live action movie. Although I never watched the entire anime, my initial thought was that it's going to fail like Attack on Titan. But what made me feel worse is how the main character Ed is going to be portrayed by Hey! Say! JUMP's Ryosuke Yamada. Due to being a fan of HSJ especially Yamada, for some stupid reason, it just got to me. I guess I started feeling worried as heck because I kind of figured that it's not gonna go well which was my initial thought. I just don't understand why they would touch an anime/manga that should just stay an anime/manga. I understand if it's a romantic comedy that's placed at a school since that's not going to be hard to recreate into a real life setting. To wrap this up, I have bitter thoughts about this movie but who knows? It might actually go well like Assassination Classroom.

Not a very good day

So yesterday, my day wasn't the best. First of all, my mom got really mad at me because I didn't know what I was doing when she wanted me to make yakisoba. That's because I didn't know I had to make it on my own. Also, she didn't tell me what I should do. After that, I got forced to take my permit test because I'm too lazy to study and my mom thinks it's something that's extremely important and big to study on. It just frustrates me sometimes because my mom doesn't know what she's talking about and she calls a permit test a written test. That's what happens I guess if you're parents aren't from here. The final thing is figuring out that Hey! Say! JUMP is releasing their upcoming single on the same day as Morning Musume'16. That pissed me off so much! It's just that a Johnny's group always releases a single on the same day as Morning Musume whenever my favorite member is graduating. As much as I love HSJ, I'm probably just gonna buy Morning Musume's single and buy HSJ's new single when I'm in Japan.

Sping Break

It has been forever since I've last updated this blog! It's just that time has been going by so fast and I just haven't able to update it. So for me, it is currently spring break. I haven't been doing much. Just at home, going on Netflix or YouTube. But today, I finally started recording my cover. I got this recording software called Ableton over winter break and I haven't been able to figure out how to change the buffer size. But my dad was able to figure it out for me so I was finally able to record.

Feeling Stressed

Although my goal this year was to update this blog as often as I could, there honestly isn't anything interesting going on in my life right now. But recently, my stomach has been hurting again. It tends to come and go but since it keeps on happening, my mom decided I should see a doctor. The doctor didn't tell me what I had specifically but for now, I have to avoid basically any food that is fatty and greasy. This is going to be a little hard for me because I LOVE foods that are fattening lol. Anyways, I've also been told it might have to do with stress. This I'm not surprised. I have been a little stressed these days. There is this girl who just wants to be friends with me apparently but she just does it the wrong way. She takes pictures of me and sends it to my friend on Snapchat. Also she even recorded me during school. The worst thing this girl did was find my YouTube channel. I understand that anyone can find it but I just don't want this girl to tell every single person she knows about it. If I want someone to know about it, I would just tell them.

February

I can't believe it's already February. I feel like 2016 just started yesterday. So today was the start of 2nd semester. It wasn't bad as I thought it would be. I kind of miss some of my classes that I don't have anymore this semester though. But overall, I feel like this semester is going to be more easier. I don't have a full schedule so I'll more time to study. Also, I'm finally preparing a new cover. I've been so busy with school especially finals that I didn't have the time to sing. So for the next few weeks, I think it's going to be pretty chill so I won't have as much schoolwork.

Finally!

 So last week, I finally got my copy of Tsumetai Kaze to Kataomoi and bunch of other things from my dad's business trip to Japan. 

 I just got the regular edition since those are the ones that comes with a picture of one of the members. This time, I got Ayumi. 

Also, I got some mangas. I got Non Non Biyori, Assassination Classroom and Watamote. First of all, I got 3 volumes of Non Non Biyori. I just loved the anime so much that I had to get the mangas. 

 The 2nd manga I got was Watamote or Watashi ga motenai no wa dou kangaetemo omaera ga warui. I got volume 8 which is the latest one. As usual, it was really funny but at the same, I feel like Tomoko is starting to have excuses on who to be friends with and she just ruins her opportunity to make friends.

The 3rd manga I got was Assassination Classroom vol 16.I originally saw this at Kinokuniya and although I haven't read volume 16 yet, might as well get it since I can just read when I'm done with volume 16

 

Lastly, I got this years Morning Musume'16 calendar. I really regret not getting this as I saw it but the thing is that I tend to hesitate and you can only buy it online. 

So those are all the things I got. I'm really satisfied with it and I already read some of the mangas and they're awesome as always. 

Seattle Haul

During winter break, I went to Seattle for 2 days and bought quite a bit of things. Basically all of the things I bought are either from Daiso or Kinokuniya since there isn't a Daiso where I live. 

The first item I got was a heat-tech camisole at Uniqlo. I honestly did not know there was a Uniqlo at Bellevue at first and when I found out, I knew I had to go there. The one thing I didn't like about the Uniqlo was the lack of graphic t-shirts they had. I go on the Japanese Uniqlo website sometimes and they have the most cutest graphic t-shirts so I kinda hoped they had something similar in the U.S store.

 So after going to Uniqlo, we went to a Daiso. I have to admit, my parents and I went a little         crazy there. We kind of bought too much stuff but it was worth it. 

 So what I got at Daiso is some led, a surgical mask and some notebooks and a letter set. I've always wanted a surgical mask because whenever I clean my room, it gets dusty and I'm allergic to dust so I would end up sneezing and feeling sick after I clean. Also because I love cute notebooks, I had to get some more. The Daiso I went to didn't have the cutest ones but I still liked some of them. 

Lastly, I went to Uwajimaya in Seattle and went to the Kinokuniya there. The only thing I bought there was a fashion magazine called mini. This magazine isn't as mainstream compared Seventeen, non-no, Cancam etc but I really like it because it's more casual and boyish compared to the mainstream fashion magazines. Plus Takahashi Ai models for it :) 

 Also, this picture was the last I was able to take before my camera officially died(R.I.P)

                              And it came with this pouch :) I really like it. I think it's cute. 

So those are all the things I got at Seattle. I notice how I only get Japanese stuff but like I said, it's really hard to get some of these things where I live so I have to binge buy these stuff. 

Shocking Party

So last week(or last year), I uploaded a cover of Shocking Party by ARISE(Love Live). It was my first cover after a few months. I honestly think I did pretty good. As always, it might not be the best cover. Also I'm hoping I'll be able to record one or two covers but it'll depend on my schedule. 

Breaks give me more time to think

Today is the last day of winter break which I am very sad about because I don't want to go back to school. Onto the main topic, I've realized how during these kinds of longer breaks give me more time to think about things I usually don't when I have school. So for the past few days, I've been thinking about why I haven't been to a Hey! Say! JUMP concert despite being a fan for a fairly long time. Looking up at the past tour dates and watching their older concert DVDs, it just makes me wonder why something that someone who lives in Japan can do as soon as they become a fan(or more easily than I can) is taking so long for myself. 

One of the answers I came up was I hesitate. Ever since I was little, I had a hard time speaking up. So I ended up not telling my parents things I actually wanted until years later. Another reason is I tend to overthink about everything. I start thinking about what my parents will say and how they would feel when they go to a place where I wanted to go to. So in the end, I just have a hard time telling people what I want to do because I would feel like I'm selfish. 

My second answer is how I just hoped I would be able to go to Japan when there's a concert. The problem with that is how concerts(well at least some concerts tours) tend to be around the holidays or when there isn't school. As I got older, plane tickets became more expensive so I usually went around the cheapest time so early in the summer or around Thanksgiving Break. There actually was a time when I was able to go to Japan when there was a HSJ concert. Sadly I wasn't able to go because the trip was planned around a month before and you have to get tickets as soon as the concert tour is announced. This made me have some regrets. I thought to myself "maybe if I told my parents as soon as I saw the dates, I've would've actually gone" or "If I actually planned to go to Japan for it, I would've not have any regrets". But at the time, I was young and I just thought I can go next time. Obviously that still hasn't happened. 

In conclusion, it's basically my fault for hesitating and not taking the opportunity that was given to me. The reason I decided to write this post was because after seeing someone's post who just became a fan around last year saying how they went to the Countdown concert had me wondering what I'm doing with my life. It made me wonder what I have been doing for the past 7 years. It also made me wonder why I just gave up just because I stopped going to Japan for a period of time. Finally, I feel like this post made me sound like a spoiled brat haha. It's just that I felt kind of upset about this for a while. Also to end this, I'm thankful for the fact I can go to Japan. I don't go every year but I have an opportunity to do something so many people are dreaming of. Also a lesson is if you have a dream, go for it. Whether if it's going to a concert or becoming something, don't give up. Don't be like me who just hesitates just because you're with your family or friends who aren't interested in the things you like. 

Happy New Years!

Happy New Years! It is finally 2016! I seriously can't believe that it's already 2016. Like I think every year, it felt as if 2015 was only a week or so. As always, I would like to share my new years resolutions. 

1.Update this blog and my other blog more. I felt like I kind of neglected this blog and I was very lazy last year which led to me posting the least amount of times out of all the years I had this blog. Also as much I want to update my other blog with my opinions, I realized how much time it takes to actually do that. But I will try to update as much as I can on both blogs this year. 

2.Be able to stand up for myself. I have always been that shy girl who had people stand up for me. But there has been certain times when I didn't have that comfort so I wasn't able to say anything back. So I would like to change that and be more stronger. 

3.At least be able to learn how to drive. I'm 18 and in the United States, 16 is the legal age to drive. So basically mostly everyone in my grade is already driving. I have gotten frustrated about this and so many people has been pressuring me which I think is stupid. This is the reason why the United States is considered one of the fattest countries in the world. Because people drive rather than walk.(Sorry for my rant). Since I am graduating high school this year, I need to be more of a adult so I think this will be one of my steps toward adulthood.

4.Be able to go to a Hey! Say! JUMP concert or Hello Project concert. This has been my dream since I was around 12 and for me it's sort of a risk. Since I live in the United States, I can't go to Japan every time there's a concert and I can't go to Japan in general that often. Also I tend to hesitate. I'm scared of people judging me about this and what my parents will say. But in order to make my dream come true, I need to step up and be stronger. 

5.Make more covers. As much I love to sing, recording just takes a lot of time. My goal is to upload 1-2 videos a month. Also I my goal is make them the best covers as I can make them. This is because I would rather spend a lot of time on one song than just recording live and uploading it as soon as I finish it. 

6.My final resolution is to keep up on school work. I have actually been doing well on this this school year so I just want to keep this up. 

7.Practice piano and clarinet. I tend to be lazy when it comes to practicing and I'm just never motivated. But after listening to this one person in my band class during sectionals, I realized how much practice is key and even if they're taking private lessons, they're never gonna be good unless they practice. 

 Those are my New Years resolution for 2016. They're mostly the same every year but I still like coming up with these.