Day 115 - Christmas Eve

And there's NOTHING to do outside!

Everything is closed by 6-7pm. Some shops are still open but they're packed! And most of those shops involve spending 20+ euros for a decent meal.

Well, things were a little different in the day. Shops were open as usual, except Tesco. So I had to go to LIDL for my grocery shopping. Not that I had much to buy. Until I saw today's promotion. 50% off all fruits, vegies, some meat products and bread.

WHAT!!??

There wasn't much left though. Housewives doing last minute shopping for tonight's Christmas dinner took almost everything within the first 2 hours. When I got there, the meat section was already empty and half their vegetables were sold out. I ended up getting only carrots, potatoes and garlic. ...What happened to the garlic? CRAP!!!

And for the very first time since coming to Dublin, I actually caught the no. 10 bus just before it leaves. I always had to wait at least 5 minutes for a bus...

As for dinner, I was hoping to go out for a nice hot meal in a Western restaurant. But... the cheap restaurants were all closed, including the bars. I had 2 choices then, the ungodly expensive high class restaurants or McDonalds. And I so did not feel like a burger at the time. So I came back... to find that I really had no intention of cooking. So... pizza. Yeah, McDonalds sounds so much better now, but I really didn't want to go back out into the cold.

Unless it snows. Why the hell isn't it snowing!? I want a white Christmas! That's it! Next year, I'm going to some other country for Christmas!

Well, Christmas Eve sucked for my adventurous side. But at least my otaku side is celebrating Christmas for the very first time! Christmas anime specials all the way! Woohoo! And sweets to boot! I wasn't able to get wine because everything closed early though.

Alright! I'll get drunk from grape juice!

Small Nibbles Of Water (S.N.O.W.)

Okay, the title didn't make much sense, but anyway, it's snowing!

Couldn't take a picture though. But I recorded a video XD I caught one in my hand, and it was like tiny chunks of frost you'd find in your freezer, or like somebody poured ice kacang through a sieve. YAY!!

Darn exam! If it wasn't for that, I'd be running around outside like Tsukimiya Ayu.

Random thought: How I wish I had lots of female otaku friends. I'd cosplay Yuuichi and the rest of them can be the girls from Kanon.

Now, if only it would snow long and heavy enough to accumulate on the floor like a white sheet of blanket! Ahh!

*Winter romance scenes, winter gathering by the fireplace scenes etc playing in head*

Right, study! Hopefully it snows down at the City Centre tonight. It would look so beautiful with the Christmas lights! ...I think.

Another Masterpiece is Born!

I am so an FF-fanboy if I can call it a masterpiece having not yet even played the game. But, I trust in Square-Enix and the Final Fantasy series more than any other company or series (except maybe Atlus, but Eternal Poison and Etrian Odyssey let me down).

Anyway, I am so getting this game regardless of anything. This the last part of my "3-part master plan" I've been mentioning since the start of the year. Phase 3: Get PS3, get FFXIII.

Meanwhile, I'm just gonna pump these two songs into my brain:

Kimi ga Iru Kara - Sayuri Sugawara


My Hands - Leona Lewis


And FYI, Kimi Ga Iru Kara >>>>>>> My Hands as a Final Fantasy theme song. They should have either translated the JP theme song, or changed the lyrics of My Hands. My Hands isn't bad, but the lyrics are just too realistic.

"Go into the shower"? "Put on my makeup"? That's not Final Fantasy at all. It just looks like another way to promote her album. Well, hopefully that's the only difference.

Random Update

Things just get interesting when you have to memorise something like this:

Day 89 - Japanese 3 Finals

It was easy as pie. The difficulty was way below even the Japanese Language Proficiency Test for Level 4 back in Malaysia. I REALLY should have taken Japanese 4. Darn you, Nobuko-sensei for scaring me so much during orientation! I just wasted an elective!

Ah well, I'll be fighting really hard next semester when I take German level 1. I guess European languages should be harder than Asian languages around these parts.

The sad thing is that I won't be seeing my classmates anymore after today, unless Kevin really pulls off that farewell party for the Japanese exchange students.

Then, I joined Jin Yit, Peng Yit and some others to town. The girls really know their grocery shopping. We ran from shop to shop buying stuff extremely cheap. Guess that's JPA Chinese students for ya.

Histology report is still far from complete. And I've only 3.5 days left!! And what about studies!? ARGH!! I hate histology report!

Day 86 - Japanese Speaking Exam

Classes today were canceled or relocated for a nationwide strike, except my Japanese Speaking Exam.

Confident that I could do well, I volunteered to be first. That way, I would be setting the standard for my classmates. I guess I didn't do too bad, though I could be better if I didn't still have that fear of interviews.

We were just supposed to say something for three minutes and then describe a picture in as much detail as possible. Panicking helped me forget lots of words. Thank you, panic. Yes, that was sarcasm!

After that, I just stood by and watched my classmate's nervous faces, glad that I was the first to rid myself of that wrinkle-producing emotion. Samarsa had the most interesting character then, panicking like crazy even though her standard can easily best even most of the level 4 students.

A surprising number of people aren't taking Japanese level 4 next semester for various reasons. Samarsa has hospital placements since she's in a nursing course, the three Chinese girls are going for an exchange programme next semester and Kiaran is already taking two electives this semester. So, I might be meeting them again in Japanese 4 next year.

Or maybe not. I'm thinking of taking Japanese 4 in the 2nd semester of my 2nd year, since I might want to take Psychology or Business during the 1st semester.

Anyway, gotta prepare for my written exam this Saturday and finish up that blasted Histology report! I still have 16 more to go and it's due in a week!

The Sore Feet Song - Ally Kerr

This is the opening theme for the 2005 hit anime "Mushi-Shi". The melody is nice and sounds like a lazy country bumpkin playing a banjo on a cloudy Sunday. But the lyrics are weird. So far, I haven't been able to sing the third verse without laughing. And yes, it's in full English.



Lyrics:

I walked ten thousand miles, ten thousand miles to see you,
And every gasp of breath I grabbed at just to find you,
I climbed up every hill to get, to you,
I wandered ancient lands to hold, just you.

And every single step of the way, I pay...,
Every single night and day,
I searched for you.
Through sandstorms and hazy dawns I reached for you.

I stole ten thousand pounds, ten thousand pounds to see you,
I robbed convenient stores coz I thought they'd make it easier.
I lived off rats and toads, and I starved for you.
I fought off giants bears and I killed them too.

And every single step of the way, I pay...,
Every single night and day,
I searched for you.
Through sandstorms and hazy dawns I reached for you.
I'm tired and I'm weak, but I'm strong for you.
I wanna go home, but my love gets me through.

Lalala....