Pre-Halloween

Last (and only) time I carved a pumpkin for Halloween was my second year in the States, with my host family. This is the one I did then.

↓ Haunted House

It was a lot of fun, but I didn't get to do it for various reasons after that year.

This year, my boyfriend and I decided to carve pumpkins! We got pumpkins from Safeway and carving tools from Target. That carving tool kit came with a book of patterns, so I picked one out among them. And here it is!


Can you tell what they are? Wolves!! I think I did a pretty good job ;p
It's sad, however, that it's been 2 weeks and my pumpkin is all dried up and shrunk.. before Halloween!! We shouldn't have done it that early.. but it's OK, I enjoyed it a lot :)

Now I have to go buy a costume! I'm sooooo excited!!

Over and Over

今持ってるものに満足しないで
すべてをほしがること

これは向上心？
それとも欲張りでわがままなだけ？？

夢と現実の狭間で行ったり来たり

もう何回繰り返したか
あと何回繰り返すのか

自分で決めた道だけど
頑張るって決めたけど
分からなくなる

一体何をどう頑張ればいいの？


弱ってる日の私の小さな本音。

The Phantom of the Opera

TA-DA!
Yes, I went to see "the Phantom of the Opera" at the Paramount Theatre!! As you can see in the pic above, the play's last day was October 5, which is a while ago.. Anyway, that very last day was actually the day we went. Still can't believe that we were able to get tickets. We were so lucky!!

The play was awesome! It was my first time to see opera performances, and it was very enjoyable. I knew the story beforehand (only parts, though), so that was helpful. Now I want to read the original book :) Also, they used really cool effects that I didn't expect to see at the play. On top of that, I fell in love with this theater! It's such a beautiful building. I mean, the outside is not that great but the interior is so nice, all classy like a European castle. Here's a picture I took in the hallway.

Isn't it beautiful?? I'm pretty sad that I could only take a couple pictures in the theater.. I have to go back soon!! ;p

Hello My New Laptop!

It was a couple days after my laptop died.

I came home from work, and my boyfriend told me that we should do laundry that night. I was really tired, so I told him we could do it next day. Then he started saying, "I hear a weird noise coming from the dryer.." I was like "Really?" and went there to check it.

What I saw there? A box with a big ribbon bow! I knew it was a surprise present from him, but I seriously didn't realize that was a brand new laptop until I opened the box!!

I was really surprised and told him that I would pay him back. But he wouldn't say yes. I still feel bad about that part..but I'm very happy that I now have a laptop that works really well ;)

He bought this laptop on the next day my old one broke online. He even had it delivered at his parents' house so that there would be no chance for me to know his plan!

What really touched me, however, was what he said to me.
"It was very difficult not to say anything about this present! 'Cause I'd been so excited since the day I bought it, to see your smile!!"
"I'm so happy you liked your gift. I know I didn't have to, but I was glad I was able to do it for you."

It wasn't the very laptop that made me so happy; it was his kind heart and his big smile. This is why I'm with him and I love him so much :)

Man, I've got to get a really nice Christmas present for him this year!! ;p

Goodbye and...

Hi there,

It's been a while since my last post. I've been pretty busy, and on top of that, my laptop broke down! It's really sad because I'd been using it for all these years in the States. We experienced all the good and bad together, you know? ;p But I should probably be thankful for its 5 years of its great performance.

When my laptop died, I was upset. Why? Because I didn't have the data backed up. Yeah, I know I should have.. Anyway, then here comes my best friend, Matt. He knows a lot about computer and already fixed my laptop once last year. He figured that my hard drive was failing, so he did some crazy stuff (I seriously have no idea what he did..). After that, I was able to get most of my data!! Thank you so much, Matt! I'll buy you dinner next time as I promised :)

That made me feel a little better, but still, I didn't have a computer. It was a big deal, since I use the Internet A LOT. I'll tell you how I got my new laptop in my next post. It's a very sweet story, too ;)

Appreciation

何もかもがうまくいかないときでも
自分を支え、愛してくれる人達がいるという事実

それに感謝。

**************************************************

What I'm grateful for:

Having people who support and love me
when it seems like nothing is working out for me

**************************************************

毎日感謝の気持ちを忘れず生きていきたいと思う今日この頃。