Still more cheerleaders
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Finally a picture of the game
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More cheerleaders for you!
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Cheerleaders doing their stuff
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Keio Waseda Baseball game

Went to watch the Keio University and Waseda University baseball game, a highly contested game cos of the heavy rivalry since they are the oldest universities and the most respected universities in tokyo.

So I just post some pics lor... we won that game, well their cheering is like so organised then they spend more time organising the cheering than watching the baseball, so it's like quite weird...

Things just get better

Ok, you people are going to be jealous... Don't think I am going to watch Juve in action cos' BARCELONA's in town~~!!!

ok so I think I would go watch Barca instead of Juve... woohoo

Some interesting things I found today.

A bag which comes with speakers, it's a radio and u can connect your mp3 player or cd players etc. Has been heatproofed and can carry up to 8 cans of drinks. Ideal for a picnic.

Rainbow Maker: fancy a rainbow in your room everyday? Just add water and you get a nice rainbow everyday!

Sinful

I felt like I have sinned today. I have spent so much money these few days and I think I am going to eat grass for at least a week.

First, my new 36100=US$361 yen Sony mp3 30gb mp3 player arrives!
Then Mark and I went to the upmarket Roppongi hills area to take a walk... the area where the rich stay and the streets are filled with Branded goods... and where Grand Hyatt hotel is...
So we ended up in a restaurant and decided to go berserk, so we each spent 6500yen=US$65

And yes! Unless we can't get the tickets, my japanese friend is damn enthu to go watch Juve... it's not the full team but most of the stars are coming... the list of players are here...Juve Teamlist Notable absentee is Ibrahimovic... other than that I am not really sure...Piero, Nedved and Tacchinardi and Thuram would all be here...

Suddenly I realise something... Juve and Bayern... what do they have in common with Japan...??? History student anyone?? So can we explain why Singapore watch EPL than any other league??

my Creative vs my Sony
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My Creative vs my Sony
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Disneyland

My god I LOVE DISNEYLAND!!!

It's the place where you put everything behind your mind and become a kid all over again... I love mickey, minnie, Pooh & gang, Chip & Dale.... You have to be here to feel the impact... Now I know why Japanese kids love this place so much, because a 23 year old like me fell in love with this place.... It's packed to the brim today... some of the attractions took a 90 min queue... but it's this that makes the place interesting, the crowd and the kids.

Corrinne May is giving a concert in Singapore Esplanade on Aug 10th looks like I am going to buy the tickets soon. Growing to become a fan of a Singaporean born singer, she's great!

WOOHOO!! Juve's coming to JAPAN!!! I am such a happy and lucky bastard!
I am trying to psycho my Japanese friend to bring me there, they are playing 2 J-league sides from Tokyo and Yokohama. Matches are scheduled on 1st June and 7th June.. Both within 2 hours distance from my place (note: 2 hours travelling time is normal to Japanese). If I get to go... don't worry, no prawn, shrimp also can lah hor... let you people see some pics....
Bayern Munich is coming to play a friendly on July 28th too but I don't think that I would be able to make it to that game. Anyway, my Japanese friend would be in Singapore and nobody would be going with me...

Rudest Shock...

I got the rudest shock of Tokyo tonight....

I met up with Yuting in Tokyo. Sent her back to her hotel before running to the train station to make sure I catch the last subway back home otherwise it's gonna to be an expensive taxi ride home...

Ok, it's a friday night, and most Tokyoians don't work on saturday so understandably they are all out partying and drinking. I ran some distance before making sure that I actually catch the last subway at 0026 hours... ok there was a crowd waiting for the train... and to my horror, when the train arrived, it was packed to the brim, like the morning rush hour, worse than the morning rush hour... so the ritual carried on, squeeze push shove whatever you have... to try to make it into the train... since it's the last train, it's much more desperate attempts by the subway warrior Tokyoians, and moans of "oh shit" in Japanese by those who didn't manage to squeeze in. Well I managed to squeeze in to save about S$30 for my cab back.

So I took 2 stops of the subway, with my little brother stuck to the ass of the lady in front of me, and my chest on her back... and my face tickled by her hair, she's just like a few cm shorter than me...well don't say that I am a lucky guy, cos I don't feel anything except that my lungs were totally compressed...

When was the last time that we ever saw a Singapore MRT packed to the brim for the last train? Probably after this experience, I might never take the last train again anymore...

Playstation 3

Weee... PS3 is coming out next year, Spring 2006... means about March 2006...
A lot of software companies have already promised to manufacture games to PS3 technology... Devil May Cry 4 and Metal Gear Solid 4 among others...

and go watch the farniest trailer I have seen in some time... The MGS4 trailer, laughed for a while after watching this trailer

MGS4 Trailer

Enjoy!

The back of the box
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Yes! Finally got my hands on one of these... the eggs that crack and a plant blossoms with a message, 5 days after you put water in it.... One of the lamest yet successful toy that the crappy Japanese invented
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Tokyu Hands

I have just got addicted to shopping in Shibuya... believe it or not... damn it i spent like 50 bucks this two days to some interesting shops in Shibuya... now I know all Tokyoians tell me that Shibuya is the coolest place to hang out. Anyway, you would always see that super big road junction with hundreds of people crossing the road at the same time, yes that's the main shibuya junction. And Starbucks has got one of the best location to set up a cafe... on the 2nd floor of the building next to the junction. If you manage to get a seat next to the window, you can look at the amazing number of people crossing the road. I am going to try it one day... and prob take a few pictures...

There are 2 shops that I really wish that they would open branches in Singapore...
1st is LOFT, and the 2nd one is TOKYU HANDS
they are really the best shopping marts I have seen in Tokyo so far... much better than takashimaya and seiyu or whatever we have in Singapore. I can't really explain why, but it just gives you the urge to shop, you don't really get that kind of feeling in Taka do you?

The last time I saw a LOFT was in Bangkok... I was shocked too, that shop was so nice, then after browsing around, shit, this is another holy crap Japanese shop, selling all sorts of interesting and colourful stuff, it's a big hit with the young people in Tokyo, why is it not along Orchard road?

Did some shopping at Loft 2 days back, was at Tokyu Hands today... anyway Dominic, I see lots of Howl's Castle models in Tokyu hands.smallest one about $15 to the super large one at about S$180, if you still want can just tell me... Large is like $100, and probably a few other sizes that I left out.

If you are a Hayao Miyazaki fan, that shop has all sorts of collectibles from the classic TOTORO, Sprited away and the lastest Howl's Moving Castle, and many others. So if you people want anything, feel free to ask!

My new handphone strap! So cute.. Calcifer and the dog (forgot it's name)
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Another Day in Tokyo...

After school, decided to go take walk in Shibuya... boredom got the better of me...
so I did some people observing as well...

Well find of the day:
1. If you are a pretty young lady above the age of 18
2. You are walking alone in Shibuya

Congratulations! You are now the prime target of some weird people soliciting you.
Well I don't know what they really want, cos I am not a prime target of obvious reasons even though I was alone in Shibuya today.
I would not like to have my mind run wild jumping into conclusions... but seeing how the ladies suddenly increase their speed when this guy starts talking to them, well it can't be something really good. Saw this twice today, while I was behind the ladies. Twice the ladies just walked faster and didn't say anything nor look at the guy. The guy followed the lady for about 50m before giving up.

Interesting sia, soliciting in the middle of busy streets is one of the main features of Tokyo, it always happens..

Die... I am so addicted Kimu Taku's drama showing on TV now, the drama called "Engine"... damn nice...can't wait for every monday to watch the show.
And now I agar agar know why SMAP is so well loved in Japan, I watched their regular variety show after "engine", known as "SMAP X SMAP Bistro" and they are really damn funny... and no matter how Kimu does stupid things or weird things, he still looks cool, this I really can't deny...

A close up... of my mouth and 3 Parfaits
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Parfait... the latest in Dessert in Japan... won't be surprised to see it in Singapore soon....
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Slang...

First take a look at this article and figure out how much bullshit it has in there... 小李 makes some sense but some comments down there just dun make sense

Speak good English

Dick Lee, Speak Good English Ambassador, said: "I have often found that Singlish is an essential part of me being a Singaporean. So if I eradicate that then, how? Does that mean I am not a Singaporean? Of course the answer is no, We can still be a Singaporean with standard English."

Dear Mr Dick,
how are you going to eradicate Singlish? The "Gaijins"(外人 in japanese slang)(Ang mohs in Singlish) don't speak perfect english here. I don't understand them sometimes. Everyone speaks differently due to their geographical location. Yes, we should learn proper english, and speak appropriately at appropriate times and places. Right here smack in the middle of Japan, if I speak singlish who's gonna understand me except Mark? Yes you can be a Singaporean with standard English but you can't be a Singaporean without Singlish. And mind you, there are actually Japanese who are fascinated and interested in Singlish.

P Prasad, Speak Good English Ambassador, said: "When I was in school I had very good teachers. I had a good literature teacher, Mrs Chong and she made lessons very fun and interesting. It's a never ending journey."

Dear Mr Prasad,
I am completely puzzled, so good teachers and good literature teachers make you eradicate Singlish? Come on, they gotta speak Singlish when they buy veges from the market lah! and sweets from your friendly neighbourhood mama shop.

Lynn Wakerman, Speak Good English Ambassador, said: "When I speak English I make sure I don't have any lah or lor behind, I don't need to speak fantastic but just speak correctly."

Dear Wakerman,
WAKE UP! Hope that you know people from Hawaii and Ireland sometimes do add words to the end of the sentences to express emotion... that's why japanese is so fascinating to me... a simple 'ne', 'yo' 'jyan' or 'ke' expresses all different emotions.... Yah, it may not be the most proper english, but this brings me to my next point...

Q:What's the use of languages?
A:To communicate....

In that case, why should we be so intent to sticking on to something that is so "unchanged"?. There is definitely ways to make it more efficient... Languages change to man and environment, not the other way round.

I was having tea with some japanese friends, well to sidetrack a bit, I am like addicted to this 980 yen (S$15) parfait(dunno got this spelling or not), it's like cake without sponge, loads of whipped cream and chocolate and fruits, the ultimate dessert. And it's only a cup, so it's damn ex....but it's so nice, I am addicted...

Ok back, they taught me a few phrases that young Japanese use nowadays, basically slangs and short forms...
1. the place where I live : 三軒茶屋(Sangenjaya),the young people call it 三茶(Sancha)
2. the subway that I take everyday: 田園都市線(Denentoshisen), the young people call it 田都(Dento)
3. Disgusting, or I feel nauseous: 気持ち悪い(Kimochi Warui) becomes きもい(Kimoi)
4. Irritating, troublesome: 面倒くさい(Mendou Kusai) becomes うざい(Uzai)
5. Depressed: 落ち込む(Ochikomu) becomes 鬱 (Utsu)

The list is not exhaustive... so they are changing the language everyday, not to mention that the dialects always end the sentences differently, like singapore's lah lor.... so they got like hundreds of slangs...

They make their language more efficient (I think) by shortforming and not confusing it with other words... I see nothing wrong, languages work for human, not humans work for languages...

That's probably another good point that they speak their "own" language, unlike Singaporeans who are bound by languages adopted elsewhere...

Japanese perception of Singapore...

Well talked to a couple of profesors in school, and you would never guess the most interesting perception of singapore...not the merlion, not the weather, and not the amazing number of trees we have there compared to tokyo

Well, let's just leave that dangling for a while, and I would talk about other stuff... I took the business module and we ended up having to do a project about the Shotengai(商店街) just outside the campus. The shops change there regularly, so we were asked to check out what's the population there like... what sort of people actually go there and eat.

So I met up with the rest of the project group, 1 cute girl, 1 quite cute girl, and 2 other guys, all japanese. Went into the longest staying shop along the area. He's been there for 35 years, operating a tea/coffee house. It's even longer if you consider that he was selling caps and hats before that. As you would expect, it's the usual customers who come. The place is something like "Prince" in Coro. (Sorry for the non Chinese high and Hwa Chong people.) Rustic, nostalgic, relaxing feeling, and it also plays those old tunes like in Prince... total contrast with the super busy street just outside it. And then after staying inside for 4 hours, discussing and talking to the boss... out of nowhere... A rat fell from the ceiling, it caused a major uproar among us, the girls were screaming... luckily we were the only customers in the shop, but it was really funny. The boss said that it's the first time it happened in many many years... Maybe we were bad luck or something.

Ok back to what I was saying... The most common thing that my teachers ask me about Singapore...

Teacher: "Is it true that Singapore has a government matchmaking agency for graduates?"

Me(Sheepishly): "Yeah, how did you get to know about it?"

Teacher: "Oh, it's pretty interesting.... and it was something that caused a stir when we first got to know about it. Is the situation for graduates that bad?"

Me: "Yeah, Singapore graduate girls just hate Singapore guys... The girls in University all hate me..."

Teacher:" Really?"

Me:" No, just joking..."

Well, I haven't spent some time explaining to them what the whole freaking SDU is all about... apparently they take interest in it, and seems like they wanna know more... whether it really works, how is it carried out and stuff like that.

Amazing huh.. bet you guys didn't know that foreigners would actually know about the SDU shit...

Anyway for Japanese Drama fans (Yes, Youreng, I am talking to you) 竹内結子 (Takeuchi Yuko) is getting married. For those who don't know her... if you have watched 婿殿　(Mukodono), ランチの女王(Queen of Lunch), Kimu Taku's (short for Kimura Takuya 木村拓哉) partner in the show "PRIDE"... she's the main lead in this 3 dramas...
No.. she's not pregnant, at least that's what they claim, we shall see... and yes, the guy is also an actor, rich and respectable family cos' their family line is a famous kabuki 歌舞伎(famous japanese traditional entertainment) Clan. That guy is not that wonderfully handsome, but he's a well like actor in Japan. And one lucky son of a bitch too..

Drunk....

Well I didn't get drunk, almost...

Went out with the jap guy, Nakamura to a restaurant near school, where we drunk a mug of bear each and then shared a 1 litre bottle of Shoju, the traditional Korean wine which is a hit now in Japan... 20% alcohol content about 500 ml each, and the beer did have their effect... Well I made it back to dorm safely...

There were 2 waitresses who were obviously not Japanese, well at least Nakamura could spot that their accent was a bit off, but I couldn't. One girl was from Tianjin, and Nakamura decided to test my Mandarin. Hah, underestimate me... cos he's interested in learning Chinese when he comes over to Singapore, so he was hoping I could help him a bit. Of course with my buay pai chinese, sure can talk with mainland chinese one what...

Later there was this waitress from Indonesia, suddenly felt like... hmm if only I could make complete sentences with Bahasa... maybe I would go learn some Bahasa when I get back. I am a very language person, so ya, I really hope I can speak like 5 or 6 languages, though if you include dialects now, I am almost there...

Well, sometimes good things just keep happening, and I can't stop them... I got grouped with the cutest girl in class in the Business module, well nothing great you may say...but hey being in the same project group with the cutest girl makes the project not that boring, agree???

Anyway, there is this blind Russian (I think), not very sure, but her name sounds russian and she looks russian, in my Japanese speech class. Give it to her man... despite her handicap, she lives in a foreign land and learns a foreign language, I wouldn't be surprised if she knew Japanese Braille.

This place is pretty friendly to handicapped people to say the least, compared to Singapore. With lotsa ramps, lifts, and trails for blind people. Noisy traffic lights
and stuff....

Champions League Finals

Yes, my dream final is realised.. Liverpool against AC Milan... although I think PSV did really well, and Guus Hiddink is really a great manager. But Milan being Milan, they always have that bit of luck and that bit of inspirational moments from one of those world superstar (but still a team player), though it was Ambrosini who saved their asses this time...

Yes, PSV played better both games, but to beat Milan, you can't just play better than them.. you have to be luckier than them...So would Liverpool have the luck?

Anyway the Korean Park Ji-Sung was like the inspiration for the Dutch team... so an Asian can play amongst the best in Europe and shine... I wonder if he still plays for Korea in 2006.... what sort of results would Korea produce again....

Autographed cover, if she gets famous... wahahaa, she should release her CD in Singapore
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Was at HMV today to catch this singapore lady in action...OLIVIA...
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Good things do happen when you wake up

When I woke up today,

first: Chelsea lost the semi-final, now that's all it matters. Hopefully, I get to see a Milan-Liverpool final, best match we can have now from a neutral's point of view.

second: Corrinne May has finally released her album in Singapore.
Here
definitely my favourite Singaporean singer for now. I hope it's a simultaneous release in Japan, since I am going to HMV today, hope I have some luck, if not... sighz... listen on the net first.
Finally something that I can't find in Japan that's in Singapore which I am interested in..

The very delicious but not so cheap cakes... one about 160yen = $2.50
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There you go, the imperialists! if you understand chinese, you know what's going on.... I don't know if their education is abnormal now or something
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Chichibu

Went to this place in Saitama Prefecture, next to Tokyo Metrpolitan area. It was a 2 hour train ride away. It had shiba-sakura, another breed of sakura. It's pink and it's like a shrub. So it's mainly on the ground. Bought some really delicious confectionary, it doesn't come cheap too like 2 plus dollars for a small piece...

The pictures are mainly on Mark's camera so I would have to wait for him to send to me. That was not the main event. So we went to Ikebukuro, on the west side of Tokyo, I finally found the first Hello Kitty shop!

Anyway the most interesting thing was there was this modified bus... It had 天皇復活, and 教育の正常化 and 大日本の壮志塾. So I was trying to catch what they are trying to propaganda to the people. I don't think it's something good. Probably trying to revive their imperialism shit or something. If I have some super big truck or something probably I would just slam the truck into them.

Ikebukuro is one of the busiest station in Tokyo, so they are trying to pass the message to a lot of people, but i think it backfired on them, cos it's just too noisy and messy for people even to catch what the hell is going on.

Anyway saw on TV that Singapore's Lee Jiawei pair lost to the Japanese pair of Fukuhara Ai pair in the World Table Tennis Championship in Shanghai in the Round of 16... Singapore threw away a 3 game lead to lose the match 3-4...Off...

Even table tennis, which is not a very popular sport over here in Japan gets decent coverage when it comes to World Championships... if Singapore is not even showing it on TV, Table tennis arguably our highest medal yielding sport, really Singapore should buck up it's sports scene...

SONY Imagestation pic no. 278 onwards