ccxi) Los Heroes.

If it weren't for these bunch of intrepid people.

We'd still be stuck in the middle of the desert right now.

cxiii) Bridesmaid Dresses...

I approve.

#220: Heeeeeeeeeeeee...

I get a lil bit of stick for writing out these daily inanities...

And yet it seems like people are still reading them...

Have I become the online equivilent of reality tv and pulp novels?? (O_o)

#110: The Productive Abyss.

The internet is still down. It has been two days.

In those two days, I've finished the book I was reading (Feet of Clay - Terry Pratchett) and am a third of the way through my next book (Hogfather - Terry Pratchett).

When the net first went down, I'd only just reached the halfway point of the first book.
I started reading it in February.

#61: Not Even A Mouse.

At the beginning of Roald Dahl's The BFG, he talks about a time in the night when everything goes completely still, The Witching Hour. It's like all that is living goes silent and the is turned over world to those things that exist only when you believe hard enough.

It's also the best time to go blasting through the roads and picking up a snack at a soy-milk store.

It's always been my favourite book.

Everytime. Wow.

I know that really, it's the facebook b-day alert doing its thing, and that I've done this twice already in the past two years, but that doesn't stop each time being something, simply, awesomely, amazing...

I think I'll make this the last time I make a post like this since I can't be riding this wave forever. Mainly coz nx year I'll probably screendumping my twitter page or something... (See what I did there? Mwhehehe... ;)

But really, I'll make this the last time and I'll save future self-affirmations-of-finally-gaining-acceptance for my own private usage from now on. (^_^)b

The entry into my ninth year of being 19years old was marked by possibly the most number times I'd been truly surprised in one week.

- The first, well thats private.

- The second, would be the surprise song and tiramisu cake my workmates pulled on me at the school (damn you Amber... again!). Which really shouldn't have been a surprise considering we do it to all the teachers every birthday... but it really does seem to work... every time! (¬_¬) And that tiramisu was so freakin' tasty too!

- And the third, would be the Paintball II: The Second Ballage event that I setup together with Rich and Jenn. I originally thought maybe around 15ppl would come, 20 if we were lucky...
Here's who we got on the day:

37ppl. Seriously. Everytime. Amazing. =)

About Oz

At the end of my African trip, I was satisified that I had touched the continent, and that I could check it off my list of "Things That I Have Done In My Life".

At the end of my Australian trip however, even though I've spent just as much time there as I did in Africa, I don't think I'm quite done with it yet.

I'll definitely be back. ;)

Gratitude

Whoa...

I thought last year was pretty incredible in the amount of love received for surviving another 19th year on the planet...

But this year however...

Not including the paintball-event-which-wasn't-really-a-birthday-thing-but-I-made-it-one-anyways which actually turned out pretty well... though that's mainly coz of all the great people that turned up and made the day what it was. All I did was get people to help me book the event and organise the flyers, and *ahem* guilt people into coming along...

Also discounting the txt messages, the msn's, and the impromptu birthday song from one of my kiddie classes... (damn you Amber...)

But this year might've just pipped it on sheer amount of facebook wall-posts alone...

My dad sent me and my sis a cake too...

I know fb sticks a lil notice of everyone's birthdays on the home screen so anyone logging in in the past few days woulda seen it... but the mass flood I received today was just astonishing!

How in the world did we here?! I was always the awkward quiet shy kid in the back of the class... (O_o)

Love you guys,
Thanks everyone. =)

So that was 2007...

...if 2006 was all about "new beginnings", then ummm... 2007 might go something more like "lets just chuck the book out the window and go bonkers".

So 2007 for me, in no particular order:
- Started off on a bridge in Osaka with a bunch of friends
- Went to the Ghibli Museum for the first time ver
- Did a lot of izzy-kaya-ing...
- Did a looooooooooot of izzy-kaya-ing
- Went to my first open air festival
- Saw some amazing sunrises, from my Abiko apartment. *sniff*
- Had my first joint-birthday party with somebody that wasn't my sister.
- Went bowling more than a few times...
- Got to teach the cutest classes ever. (EVER! I don't care what you say Shireen)
- Ate some good food.
- Ate some gooooooooooooooooooooood food.
- Watched another yet cousin get married. Guess who's next in line? (>_<)
- Missed my best mate get married in Germany (>_<)
- Flew Business Class for the first time ever.
- Went to Korea for the first time ever
- Went to China for the first time ever.
- Went to Germany for the first time ever anyways.
- Went to Hong Kong for the sixth time ever.
- Gonna be on TV! Woo! (^_^)
- Travelled around Japan on the best roadtrip ever.
- Visited Initial D Mecca
- Went snowboarding for the first time ever.
- Went snowboarding for the second time ever.
- Moved outta Japan
- Became truly nomadic
- Made some incredible new friends.
- Met some with some really ancient old friends.
- Played Cranium. Oh how I've missed the Annual Cranium Challenge.

---

A year condensed into 58pics... surprisingly not so easy...

---

As for 2008? Same as every year, have no expectations, love everything, stay alive.

Happy New Year everyone. =)

7hrs left...

Wow... the love I've been shown in my time here has simply been something... amazing.

I love you guys. =)

*ahem*


*grunt grunt sniff*


Final pics. Gratitude.

*hearts*

"What The Hell Are You Waiting Forrrrrrrr?"

Coz I'll always love the original line, I'll apply every freakin' place I can...

In Japan I have failed just as much as I have succeeded. But I love my life. I love my friends. And I wish upon anyone, my kind of success. (^_^)

Birthdays all over the place

Just a really chilled day. =)

Goodies! IV

One of my sweetest school managers gave me this really classy bag of goodies yesterday for my birthday.

Can ya guess what it is yet?!

 

I guess I really am pretty well cared for out here.

It's probably one of the fanciest wrapped bag of exotic groceries I've ever seen in my life; Camembert cheese, tinned fruit salad and beef jerky... Oh yeaaaa - I'm not too sure what kinda diet she thinks I have, but it's uncanny that she got all my essential food groups covered....... =P

And finally, I made two impulse buys this weekend... remember that R/C Ding Dong copter I passed in a toy shop last week?

...that was Impulse #2.....

謝謝你的愛 (^_^)v

Today I enter my 7th year in a row of turning 19years old. Must be some kinda record...

Actually I just wanted to post up a bunch of pics which show just how much people love me... use the one day I'm legitimately allowed to bask in the glow of my own self-awesome-ness. Hee! (^_^)b

So this is what my lil brother sent me...

Although why is it that Shireen gets the one with the heart in it?? (¬_¬)

Facebook is crazy - with old skeletons coming outta nowhere and bringing out deep-dark-long-buried-traumatic-childhood-memories back into the glaring light of consciousness. *whimpers*
On the other hand, it does make for a pretty cool looking Wall-view. I mean there're names from my primary school, secondary school, college, uni, as well as a bunch of my old different jobs in the past, oh and family, all in one place saying Happy Birthday to Me Me Me!!!

And this is just Facebook... there's also the emails, letters, etc...
Woohoo! I guess I'm doing something right then eh? *gloat gloat gloat*

Thanks Everyone!
*I rock!* (^____^)

(Tomorrow, the Self-Depreciating-Snarktastic-Brian shoves the Narcissistic-Egomaniac-Brian back into his hole and normal service resumes.)

Cooorrr... I Can't Help Being Amazing (O.o)

One of the cooler things about this job is that the acknowledgement you get for the work, is both more frequent, and really does feels that lil bit more genuine.

Appreciation ranges from sardonic one-liners...

 

...to the offerings of daughters by way of thanks... (the line in the postscript is something she 'subtlely' hints to me at the end of every lesson... (>_<)

 

I touch lives, people!