It's been a year since I started a journal and the old one was getting rather slow to load on my computer, so I thought I'd start a new journal.

Hair
type--1b
circumference--approximately 3.7"
original color--black
starting length--14.5" (chin length bob, mid August 2003)
currently--33" (about hip length, early June 2006)
goal--wherever 39" is on me (just past tailbone maybe)

shampoo--Nature's Gate Organics Tea Tree Oil and Blue Cypress
conditioner--Pure Essentials Hair Repair, Giovanni 50:50 Balanced Remoisturizer
deep conditioning treatment--coconut milk
wash method--CWC
wash schedual--every 4-5 days

color history since 2003
-March 2004: dyed red with Herbal Essances brand dye
-April 30, 2004: bleached once to a dark orange
-May 2004: dyed fuchsia with Punky Color
-August 2004: dyed black with Herbal Essances, color rubbed off because Punky Color was still present
-November? 2004: dyed red with Ferria dye
-June 2006: plan to go back to black using the two step henna-indigo method

~~~~~~
Reached another hair milestone this afternoon: a stranger pointing my hair out to someone else. I went to a parade and when it was over, this little girl looked at me, pointed to my hair which was in pigtail braids that went just past my waist, and said to her dad, "Daddy, that girl has long hair!:D" Dad glanced at me and nodded before ushering his daughter away. Not having any previous experience with a stanger talking about my hair (even if it was a child), I was more surprised than anything else. I guess I've finally reached a length that is longer than normal, even by Hawaii standards. Yay?

Pan Pacific Festival Parade--So like I said I went to a parade today with Mom. She thought it would start late, but it ended up starting on time and we missed about half of it. Anyway among the things we were able to see were a taiko group, a marching band from Texas, some Korean musicians in taditional garb, a couple of kappore (it's a type of hand-held noise maker that makes a clacking sound) groups, and even Konishiki. He was there with some of the kids in his Konishiki's Kids organization. I wish Mom and I had seen the whole parade, but not much we could do about that. Oh well. :P

Wow you come a long way! http://smilies.sofrayt.com/1/950/bouquet.gif Its great to get a hair compliments! Say, I use to be a big fan of Konishiki years ago.  When I lived in the states I use to watch his sumo matches on TV. http://smilies.sofrayt.com/1/950/sumo.gif  I love sumo but now I cannot get it up here in Canada. I think Konishiki is on the cover of the Areosmith CD "Big Ones." Cool ablum! 8)

Konishiki is on the back of Aerosmith's "Big Ones."  ;)

Egad, Juri, I've had some horrid colouring disasters too.  :P  Hope the henna works out.

Konishiki is on the back of Aerosmith's "Big Ones."  
Oh yeah!  I forgot! ;D

Thanks, Lisabelle and Angel Spun! Sorry to take so long to get back to you, but there were computer problems and I was busy. I didn't know Konishiki was on an Aerosmith album. :D I guess I should look for it the next time I go to Borders.

Hair--Did the henna-indigo method today and boy it was a pain in the butt. I decided just to color the bottom portion of my hair and even that was more time consuming that I had anticipated. The henna from Mehandi was kick butt. I didn't use hot water and I still got good dye release in three hours. Besides good dye release, the henna from Mehandi was really easy to rinse out.

The indigo, on the other hand... :P The indigo was ground rather fine, but it was still gritty compared to the henna and took forever to get the majority of the indigo bits out of my hair. Indigo smells bad, unless you like the smell of frozen peas, and my hair still reaks. BUT, my two tone hair is gone! Yay! I'll try to get some pictures up in a few days.

This color job wasn't smooth sailing. When I got my Mehandi order last night, I was rather tired and wasn't paying attention to what I was doing so I put the indigo powder in the freezer and the henna in the fridge, instead of the other way around. When I was going to make the henna mix this morning, instead of using henna, it turned out I was mixing indigo. Ticked off at myself, I had to dump about 120 grams of useless indigo mix. Argh. >:(

Henna mix
100g henna powder
1 part red wine to 2 parts water
1/2 cup "tea" made from clove powder
1tsp ACV
-Mix together, cover with plastic wrap, and leave for 3 hours before applying to hair

Indigo mix
200?g indigo powder
warm water
1tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp CMC powder
-Mix together and use immediately. The mixture should be really soupy

JET Program--Went to a Q&A session yesterday (Saturday) and arrived rather frazzled and 15 minutes late because of traffic. During the self-intros I accidentally knocked over my neighbor's energy drink. While we were taking a break I offered to give her money for a new drink, but she was nice about it and said not to worry about it.

The rest of the session went okay and at the end when I was putting away my things, one of the people responsible for picking who gets into the program told me good luck, and that the committee talked a lot about me. He said that I was really nervous at the interview, but had a nice personality, and after much debate, they decided that I would probably do a good job in the program. He meant it in a nice way and I was grateful that they decided to take a chance on me, but inwardly I was thinking, "ARGH, I almost didn't make it into the program again!!!!"

Had a revelation on how to solve the hula problem. While hula is interesting, I don't have that much interest in seriously learning about it so I decided to learn a silly hula dance. There's this old video by the late Rap Replinger(sp) and in it he does a mock hula that mentions a lot of local locations and foods. I thought I'd learn it and perform it for the students. I'd kill two birds with one stone because they'll get to see hula (sorta) and I'll get to teach them about a few of the things mentioned in the dance.

Not sure what's up with my browser, but for the past few days I kept getting messages going "you must be logged in to use this feature" eventhough I had logged into LL. At least it's working now. Still, not being able to participate at the forum despite having internet connection was rather annoying. Ack. :P

Hair--Took pics of my indigo'd hair, but unfortunately the digicam's slot reader is refusing to load anything on to the computer. Mom's going to try and download the photos to my laptop, burn a CD, and hopefully we'll both get to work on our photos and I'll be able to post something.

Despite the rather annoying and messy process of hen'digoing my hair, I'm happy to have black hair again. Some indigo comes off every time I shampoo, but it's kind of neat to see blue bath water. Hair still smells a bit like peas, though. :-/

JET--Got a call from my predesessor and supervisor in Japan last week Wednesday, and got more information about my placement. So, I'm going to work at one middle school three times a week and make a weekly visit to one of three elementary schools. Still nervous about going to a foreign country where I'm shaky on the language, but at the same time, I'm rather excited.

Last week Friday the local JET alumni association had a dinner for the new JETs and I got to meet some of the other participants from Hawaii and talk to some alumni. At first I wanted to cut out early, but it ended up being really fun and I stayed for the whole thing. After talking to some of the alumni, I'm not as worried about not being fluent in Japanese because none of them said they were really good at it before leaving Hawaii. However, I am concerned about the bugs!

Some of the current JETs on a JET forum I sometimes visit mention finding 6 inch long centipedes in their apartments and others have HUGE spiders. While I don't like spiders, I can kill them without getting that hebe-jibi(sp) feeling, but according to one alumni, the Japanese spiders are aggressive. The guy told me that he had to hit one with a broom three times before it died. After it curled up and died, it took up the bottom of a furikake bottle; so curled up, it was about 7 inches in circumference. I thought, "Oh my gawd, how big are those spiders?!"

As for centipedes, I HATE them! Ugh!!! There was a 6 inch long one in the house a few months ago and although I was able to knock it into a big container, I had to get my mom to get rid of it. We sprayed that thing with tons of bug spray, but it still wouldn't die and so I asked/made her dump it near the storm drain. I was doing the hebe-jibi dance for nearly ten minutes after that. Fingers crossed my apartment will be on the second floor or something and I won't have any run-ins with giant mukade (centipedes)!

Hi Juri Chan!

Wow, I can't wait to see your hair!  My computer has been acting crazy too.  I needed a new card reader for my dig camera as the old one went caput!  I got a card reader which works great.  Oh my lord the bugs in Japan sound nasty!  Centipedes?  Oh man now I'm doing the hebe-jibi dance! God, I think I would be armed with a stick or a mallet!  I've been having bug trouble myself and have to do a "bug bomb" on my place. The construction next door has all the critters on the move.  I can't wait for my flat to be finished then maybe I can find my hairtoys I packed!

Love
Lisa One e san :)

From what I understand, those centipedes are deadly, too. One of them once crawled up the back of my grandmother's leg...  :o

My father spent 3 years in Japan (his father was in the Navy) and came back with horror stories about the bugs. They also eat a lot of bugs over there. My dad used to tell stories about ants & crickets in cookies & stuff.  :P

Good luck with that!  ;D

Lisabelle 'nee san--Yeah, I never knew Japan had such gross bugs until I started to go to that JET forum. Oh, and not only do they have big centipedes and spiders, some wasps are also on steroids. One type can grow to be two inches long! Argh, what am I getting myself into? :P  Read about your bug bite. Ow! Hope your bug problem goes away soon.

Angel Spun--The centipedes are WHAT?! Holy crap, no one told me that before. >_<  Man, I think I'd have a stroke if a centipede started to crawl up my leg. :o They eat bugs? I've heard of some really weird dishes (eg. live gobi cooked in tofu or chicken cartilage), but I never knew they have buggy dishes.... I think I'll say I'm allergic to them if I'm ever served bugs. Ugh.

Misc.--A new airline had really cheap interisland fares so I will be going to Maui for two days with Mom. Will try to post pics of my hair and maybe some of Maui when I get back. Hope you all have a good Wednesday and Thursday!

Juri,

We're all going to have to pitch in and buy you some combat boots... while not wearing them inside the house, they would be good for bug removal..  :P

At least, when there's a big water bug in my house, I usually stand on a chair, scream, and throw a big shoe at it...  :D

As for going to Maui... can I ride along in you or your mom's suitcase?  I've always wanted to go!  ;)

Lisabelle 'nee san--Yeah, I never knew Japan had such gross bugs until I started to go to that JET forum. Oh, and not only do they have big centipedes and spiders, some wasps are also on steroids. One type can grow to be two inches long! Argh, what am I getting myself into?   Read about your bug bite. Ow! Hope your bug problem goes away soon.


Juri Chan,

My bug bite is getting better!  I haven't seen the little nasties in a while :P I hope they have some good bug killer in Japan.  I know they have a really neat incense for mosquitoes called Katori Senko.  I sleep with bug netting on my bed I got from IKEA.  Maybe you can get some, I know it would help!

have fun in Maui!

One e San  :-*

The JET thing sounds like such a great opportunity!  Grats on getting in!  Maybe you can find some kind of bug totem to ward off the 'pedes.  :)

Can't wait to see your pics when you get back!!

Argh, it's been too long! Just a quick message since I'm at work.

Japan is great! The town I'm in is really small, but everyone is friendly, and the junior high school and three elementary schools I visit are a lot of fun. Went to Hanamaki in Iwate prefecture last weekend to see their fall festival and it was a blast.

I don't have internet connection at my apartment yet, but I'll try to drop a line here when I have time.

Hope everyone is doing well! :)

Juri!!!!  So good to hear from you!!  We all miss you and hope you are enjoying Japan to the fullest!

Good to hear from you again, Juri!  :D

Juri Chan! ^0^!!

I missed you!  It's great to hear you having a good time in Japan. Wish I was there with you!  

Love
Lisa One san  ;D

Juri, I'm so glad you're loving Japan.

I hope you're well, and having an easy time adjusting.

Hope you get internet at home soon.

Take care-write when you can!!!

Yea!  So glad you dropped us a note to let us know things are going OK.  We think of you often (and miss you!!).

I look forward to your future updates.  :D

Woohoo, I switched to a new browser and was finally able to successfully log in! I finally got internet connection at my apartment last week, but for some weird reason I always got a message saying I wasn't logged in even though my name was showing up at the bottom of the page.

Anyway, thanks so much for the nice messages, ladies! I really appreciate them. I missed you all too. Sorry I didn't write again sooner, but since there's nudity on the forum menu(as artistic as it may be) I was hesitant to go to LL while at school. Students often visit the teachers' office, so I'd rather not have them say "Juri san is a pervert" or anything like that.

Doing well here, but sometimes I'm rather busy with work. The students at my schools are very nice and the junior high school tries to include me in a lot of their activities. In September my town had a fall festival and the school dressed me and some of the teachers in yukata (summer kimono) and I got to pull one of the floats. It was really cool to have a professional kimono dresser put me in a kimono. I'll tell you what, though, when I had the whole outfit on, it was a little difficult to eat, breathe, and walk normally.

It's not a lot, but here's some pictures of me in the yukata (I took part in two days of the festival so I got to wear two of them), a picture of the Dutch classic I had both days of the festival, and the most recent picture of my hair. I'll have more pictures of Japan later on.
red yukata
blue yukata
the Dutch classic
my hair in a pony-braid. It's not a full-on shot, but you get an idea of how long it's gotten.

Hi Juri Chan! ^O^!!

It's great to hear from you!  I am so happy your have a good time in Japan.  I loved the pictures! The yukata were lovley and you hair looks so nice!  You look so pretty in your teachers outfit. I gather you've ben catching the eye of some nice young men! http://smilies.sofrayt.com/1/950/desire.gif Don't mind old One e san, she's always trying to get people together!

"but since there's nudity on the forum menu(as artistic as it may be) I was hesitant to go to LL while at school. Students often visit the teachers' office, so I'd rather not have them say "Juri san is a pervert" or anything like that."  

I wonder why they would think that?  Anyway, I hope to hear from you soon.  Again I am so happy for you! :)

Love,
Lisa
One e san

Glad you're back,missed you!!

(((((((((Juri!!))))))))))))  :D

Good to hear from you again! Sounds like you're having all kinds of fun over there.  :)  I wish that the computer at my work would  let me see the pix! Ah well...I'm sure that you and your hair looked beautiful.

Hi!  So glad you could stop by and give us an update.  :D  Being dressed in kimono must have been an awsome experience for you.  Thanks for sharing the pictures.

Juri!  Its so good to hear from you.  Thanks for sharing the pictures-the blue yakuta is my favorite.  Your hair is so long!  Good for you!  I hope we'll hear from you more often now.

Take care!

Curlgirl64, Angel Spun, BB, Sakina--Thanks so much! I missed taking part in the discussions at LL and wondered how everyone was doing. Since my apartment is now hooked up to the web, I doubt I'll have extremely long absences again...unless I get crazy busy with work (but I don't think that will happen). I really liked getting dressed up in the yukata and the blue one was my favorite too. I wish I had been able to wear it both days, but we were told to choose another yukata on the second day of the festival.


Lisabelle wrote on Nov 8^th, 2006 at 12:30pm:

You look so pretty in your teachers outfit. I gather you've ben catching the eye of some nice young men! http://smilies.sofrayt.com/1/950/desire.gif Don't mind old One e san, she's always trying to get people together!

Thanks! *blush* Gah, I wish I've been catching the eye of nice young men! It'd be a lot better if they were SINGLE young men, but practically all the guys at the schools I visit are already married.  I have a crush on one of the Japanese Teachers of English I work with, except he's married. There's no way I'd encourage a guy to cheat on his wife so that puts an end to that.  :'(


Quote:

"but since there's nudity on the forum menu(as artistic as it may be) I was hesitant to go to LL while at school. Students often visit the teachers' office, so I'd rather not have them say "Juri san is a pervert" or anything like that."   I wonder why they would think that?

I think that was a wrong choice of words. What I was more concerned about was them talking amongst themselves and wondering why I keep visiting a site with a painting of a naked woman. I don't think that would have made a good impression.

Hair--Yeah, it's getting longer and I think I have the longest hair in all the four schools I work at. Since I came from a place where it was normal to have really long hair, its strange to be in an environment where hardly anyone has hair past BSL. Seriously, I've only seen a handful of people with hair past their shoulders. Some of the elementary school girls have long hair, but nearly all the girls at the junior high school have pixie cuts. I'm not entirely sure why that is.

Since I'm part of an extremely small minority, my hair (which is currently an inch shy of the end of my tailbone) has received a lot of comments from people at the schools. The girls seem to like it a lot and some of them have asked if they could touch it. They were really shy when they asked, so I said sure. As for the female teachers, they were amazed when I told them I did the Dutch classic by myself, but I've had at least two say that my hair is too long. I thought that was ironic since noble women in the Heian period had hair that reached the floor. Despite their comments, after growing it for over three years, I'd have to be crazy to cut it short.

Anyway, more pics!
Here's a view of Tokyo from the 42nd floor of the hotel I was at for the new JET orientation.
Now here's a view of my town!
I took this picture this morning before I left for work. The end of the tassel is just about hip length. Man, I never thought I'd have hair this long. I have a length picture from Nov. 11, 2005, so I think I'm going to a year's comparison later this month.

::sigh::  You are so lucky to be able to have this experience in a different country.  I wish I could have had such an opportunity.

It is interesting that shorter hair is more the norm there now.  I wonder if that is part of their desire to become more "Western"?  A real shame if it is....  :-/

You must post your comparison pictures - your hair has grown sooooo much!  Keep up the good work.  

Awww :-[... I know, married guys always seem to look best.  Of course there off bounds.  Cheer up!  There must be some single guys around! ::)  I understand now about the pictures on this page and not letting the students see them, oh that would be a no no. :o  I would have loved to go to the festivals you've been to.  I was talking with hubby and we think that you probably have many shrines to Inari where you are.  I would love to visit shine or even a little Jizo rode side one would be neat!

I just now got to this thread. It's good to have you back. Thanks for sharing the beautiful pictures.  :)

Was finally able to see the pix last night. I can't believe how long your hair is, Juri! hehe I have always envied Asian hair because it's so straight, black, thick & shiny...and it grows so fast! You are really lucky... :)

BB--It might be, unfortunately. When I went to the city yesterday I was paying a lot of attention to the length of people's hair. Compared to my town, there's more variation in hair length, but I think I've only seen less than 10 Japanese women with hair significantly longer than BSL.

Lisabelle--Hmm, there's a lot of small shrines, except I have no idea what they're about! Some are to special rocks, but I don't have any clue why they're special. Maybe the shrines are to rocks that are inhabited by a fox spirit? :-?

Galadriel--Thanks and you're welcome!  :)

Angel Spun--I can't really believe how long it's gotten either. lol, it's funny that you envied Asian hair because I  envied Caucasian hair! When I was into dying my hair, I always wished I didn't have Asian hair because it was so hard to color and get noticeable results. I'll try to post regular images and not links so you can see the pics at work.

Hair--Okay, so here are comparison pictures from November 11 of last year and one I took this morning. Except for S&Ds, I haven't trimmed my hair in almost three years so my ends are starting to get kind of fairytaleish.

Nov. 11, 2005; 1.5 years or so after bleaching it once and dying it three times (ack!)
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/hair/nov11closeupsmall.jpg

Nov. 12, 2006; I used a two-step henna and indigo process to get rid of the two-tone look.
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/hair/nov122006a.jpg

Today's pic was taken a couple of hours after I woke up so there's some morning poof. Not sure what's up with the awkward-looking arms. I think I was trying to compare where my hemline ends and where my wrists are. :P

WOW!  Your hair has really grown!  It looks fantastic.  Thanks for sharing the comparison pictures....it really shows how much your hair has grown.

"Lisabelle--Hmm, there's a lot of small shrines, except I have no idea what they're about! Some are to special rocks, but I don't have any clue why they're special. Maybe the shrines are to rocks that are inhabited by a fox spirit?"  

Yes!  They would be to the local kami.  

Wow your hair has grown so fast and looks beautiful!! ^O^!!!

BB--Thanks! I'm still surprised at how long it's gotten. It's actually at a length that isn't extremely common even by Hawaii standards, unless you're really involved in hula.


Lisabelle wrote on Nov 13^th, 2006 at 7:04am:

Yes!  They would be to the local kami.

Really? Cool! Learn something new everyday. In that case, there's a lot of them around here! Thanks for the hair compliment! Sometimes I think I need a small trim, but I don't trust myself to do it properly and with all the short haired women running around in this part of the country, I DEFINITELY don't trust the local stylists.

Japan--Work is good, for the most part. I like my job (I work at a junior high school three days a week and visit local elementary schools the other two days), but I hate the days when I don't get any classes to assist at the JHS. It drives me crazy when they don't give me any classes because I have to sit at my desk and try to look busy. I think I'm going to go nuts during winter vacation. The students will be on break, but I'll have to go to the BOE office and sit at a desk and try to look busy for eight hours a day. Groan.

On a positive note, I'm going to Tokyo on Sunday. Woohoo! I'm a bit nervous, though. Although I'm going to meet one of my friends in Tokyo (she's also from Hawaii and in the JET Program), I'll be going there by myself and that city is freaking huge. I hope I don't get lost. Except for Shinjuku, I don't have any exact plans, but I hope I get to go to Asakusa and see Sensoji temple (it's the most famous temple on Tokyo).

Hair--It's going fine. I kept finding little white dots when I first moved here, but I haven't seen as many recently. I was having a problem with constantly dry ends last month. Luckily I figured out that I would have to be more diligent with keeping my ends moisturized, especially since the air is getting colder and drier. I've never had to deal with a "real" winter with snow, so keeping my hair in good condition in the coming months will be an experience.

Juri Chan! :)

I would not trust the stylist either!  Perhaps one of your friends could do it for you if you show them how?  Ah yes Winter and Hair!  More oiling, deep conditoning and a really protective winter hat!  I have one of those funny looking  mohair hats with chin stings and a pompom that I wear with my hair hidden up in it .  Also a humidifier will help your hair as well, I sleep with one everynight and it really helps my hair and skin as it very dry in my part of Canada :P:D

Aomori means "blue-green forest"  I am still trying to figure out the local kami.  Take care in Tokyo, it will take 50 mins from Aomori to Tokyo by bullet train. When your at the shrine don't forget to pick up some lucky charms  ;)

Eeee!  There making you sit and do nothing during winter vacation? Nee san says get an Ipod and hide it in your blouse and use your hair to hide the ear peice! :D  Then you can groove to music and no one will know!

Love
One e san  :)

Lisabelle 'nee san--Thanks for the suggestions! I really need to get a knit cap this weekend. The air is getting really cold and while I was waiting for the bus this afternoon, my ears were starting to sting from the wind. A humidifier is definitely on the list of things to buy. I keep forgetting to moisturize my hands so my knuckles are getting really dry and even cracked in a couple of places. I'll be so happy if I can get through winter without freezing to death.

I wish it only took 50 minutes to get to Tokyo on the bullet train. While I had to take other trains to get to my final destinations (Shinjuku and then my apartment), the bullet train took 150 minutes to go from Aomori to Omiya station in Saitama prefecture about half an hour away from Tokyo itself. Hahaha, love the lucky charms joke! ;D

Tokyo--So I went to Tokyo this weekend. It was fun, yet rather stressful. After being in a town with less than 10,000 people, it was such a shock to be there. The first place I went to in Tokyo was Shinjuku and there were sooooo many people. Although I had a map of the area, I felt rather lost and out of place. I kept thinking of the story about the country mouse going to the big city. However, I managed to find my way to the Marui Young department store and finally bought the jacket I've wanted to buy for nearly a year. I took some pictures of me posing in it and I'll post one later.

I met my friend a couple of hours later and we hung out in Shinjuku for a while before catching a train to the hotel so I could check in. The hotel was cute, with only 15 rooms so it almost seemed like you were staying in someone's house. After spending four hours getting to Tokyo, I was pretty tired so while my friend went out to dinner with some of her friends, I caught the train to the next station and walked around the area for a little while. It was rainy and cold, so I wasn't out for more than two hours.

The next day my friend's conference began and after checking out I went straight to Asakusa. I didn't know that a metro line shares the same tracks as the train I wanted to catch, so I had a bit of a scare when I realized I was taking the subway. Luckily, I was able to transfer subway lines and got to my destination without any other problems. I went to Sensoji temple and went nuts buying stuff from the vendors lining the street leading to the temple.

Let's see, I bought a collar for a kimono (I hope it matches my furisode). I saw a man attaching thongs to a pair of geta and I thought that was so cool that he makes the geta in he sells that I bought a pair for myself. What else did I buy? Well, way too many Hello Kitty cell phone charms, a Japanese top, senbei (rice crackers) for the teachers at my junior high, a bag made from obi material for my mom, and a fancy kanzashi made from chirimen silk, among other things. Sigh. Although I got paid yesterday, I feel poor now.

When I walked down a side street, I passed a shop with dozens of wooden combs and hand carved hair toys. I was practically drooling over the combs in the display cases. I swear, they looked so smooth and well made that my boxwood comb looked really cheap compared to them. I bought a hair slide that smells like it's made from sandalwood. It's soooooo niiiiiiiiice. I haven't figured out how to use it yet, so I just look at it and drool. Ugh, lovely image. Anyway, the next time I go to Asakusa, I'm going back to that shop and buying a detangling comb. I'm pretty sure it's going to hit my wallet rather hard, but I think it would be worth the expense. Oh, and the temple was pretty nice too. Hahaha.

Wow what a great trip! I would be broke too!  Whew -  long train rides...eeee!  ah but it was worth it aye!!?? 8-)  Can't wait to see your pics!  If I win the lottery this weekend I will come and see ya!! ;D

Love
One e san

Hi all! Sorry for the constant disappearing-reappearing acts. I'd like to post more, but when I get home from work I usually don't feel like writing anything. :P Living in a foreign country where I'm shaky on the language is way more tiring than I thought it would be. When I first got here, I went to bed by 10!

Anyways, it's probably better that I wasn't checking in for a few months. During that time I was feeling really down about Japan and my journal entries would have been about the latest family murder-suicide. Seriously, at one point in December, it seemed like every couple of days there was a case of someone killing a family member. Despite the fact that as a whole there's not much crime, there seems to be a lot of violent crime within families. Maybe the rate is the same as America, but it seems like it happens pretty often since the Japanese news reports more cases. I'm not even going to go into the reasoning behind a lot of the murders because they're just so ridiculous. I had to stop reading the English language newspapers because I was getting so upset with what I was seeing.

These days, though, I'm feeling much better about things. The days are getting longer and I've been having really good days at work so I think that's helped a lot. I have a student in her last year of junior high school who I helped get ready for the English conversation portion of the entrance exam to a really good high school. Much to my relief and joy, she passed! She wants to become an English teacher and that particular school has a really good English program so I think that will be a great stepping stone for her.

New Year's was interesting. One of the JHS teachers, Kimono sensei (not her real name, of course) took me to her cousin's salong/kimono dressing place and she did my hair and dressed me up in a furisode--a formal kimono for single young women. That was really neat and the hairstyle the cousin did is now my new avatar. She asked what I wanted done and I replied that anything was fine, but not to backcomb my hair. She used rats to get the required poofiness. My hair is currently a bit past tailbone so thank goodness she listened to me! If not, I think I would have spent the next three weeks getting the tangles out. After that, Kimono sensei, her daughter (she was dressed in a komon kimono), and I went to a local Shinto shrine to pray for the new year. It was pretty neat!

Me in the furisode:
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/kimono/me-small1.jpg

Close up of my hair:
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/kimono/me-small2.jpg

Oh, here's the picture of me in the Atelier Boz coat I bought way back in November. Erm, the fact that I blacked out my face in this picture but not the furisode one seems a bit silly...Please excuse the lame pose.
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/boz1.jpg

This is getting long, so that's all for now!

Juri Chan!! http://smilies.sofrayt.com/1/y/hearton.gif it's s great to hear from you! ^0^!!

I'am sorry to hear about all the murders, oh dear... that's why I don't read the paper here in Canada, we have one to many nuts out there.


Wow the pictures look awesome!  I love the kimono and your hair!  You look so lovely!! Juri Hime!!!


Love
Lisa
One e san http://smilies.sofrayt.com/1/r/girlie.gif

((((((((((Juri!!))))))))))))))

OMG, I loooove your outfit in the very last pic!!  :D

Good to see you 'round these parts again, chica.

Good to hear from you, Juri!  You look amazing in the furisode and kanzashi.  You're so lucky-I'd love to experience one time of wearing the traditional kimono.  Wow!!

I'm glad to hear your working experience is better.  I know its a real brain drain to be surrounded by another language-it happens to me every time I go to Indonesia, and I'm there only for several weeks at a time.  It must be super exhausting for months on end.

Hang in there!!!

Happy New Year  ;D

Juri!  So glad to see you stopped by to give us an update.  :)  I totally understand your being tired at the end of the day.  I can't imagine what it would be like to have to concentrate on the language constantly.  I too would be exhausted.

The outfits are fantastic!  What a wonderful experience for you.  I love your hair.  How long did it take them finish the style?

Juri!!!  Love the pics!  You look beautiful!  Glad you're back :)

Thanks a lot, ladies!! I feel bad popping in and out like I've been doing for the past several months, but I suppose it can't be helped.

Lisabelle--Aww, thanks! It would be nice if I could put on a furisode and do my hair as well as Kimono sensei's cousin, but that's way beyond my skill level. I can't even tie a nagoya obi properly yet. I think I need a lot more practice. I wonder how some people can put on a furisode by themselves and not have it look really messy.

Angel Spun--Thank you! I love the Japanese goth clothing lines, but they're so expensive! If I bought all the gothic clothing I wanted, I'd be totally broke. The cost of that jacket was almost the same as a round trip from my prefecture to Tokyo on the bullet train.  Thank goodness that (non-goth brand) shirt was only $10. Needless to say, that's the only Japanese goth item I currently own. :'(

Sakina--Thanks! If you ever decide to spend a couple of days in Tokyo, there are some kimono dressing companies that will go to your hotel and dress you up. I went to one website and there's different packages you can choose from which includes getting dressed and walking around town in a kimono. I don't know anyone who's done that, but it might be something to look into.

BB--Thank you! There was another woman there getting her hair done at the same time so I'm not sure how long it took; definitely more than 30 minutes I think. First E san had to set my hair on hot rollers, tie the hair at the crown of my head in to a ponytail, arrange the rest of my hair and rats, and then put in the kanzashi. I guess it took about the same time as a girl getting a fancy style done for the prom.

Curlgirl64--Thanks! Glad you liked the pictures! I printed out a few of them for Kimono sensei and she went around the teachers' office showing them to everyone. That was funny, yet embarrassing. It was even more embarrassing when one of her former students paid a visit and she showed the pictures to him as well! It'd be nice if I looked that presentable everyday...

Ya looked gawgeous in the pics and ya should know it and feel it!! :) ;)

Quote:

Angel Spun--Thank you! I love the Japanese goth clothing lines, but they're so expensive! If I bought all the gothic clothing I wanted, I'd be totally broke. The cost of that jacket was almost the same as a round trip from my prefecture to Tokyo on the bullet train.  Thank goodness that (non-goth brand) shirt was only $10. Needless to say, that's the only Japanese goth item I currently own.

Holy cow. lol I have heard about the horrendous pricing of Japanese goth clothing lines. Sacre bleu! Needless to say, I don't own any. That and I wouldn't be able to read the websites anyway. lol  ::)  You can find similar goth/Victorian items elsewhere for much, much cheaper.

Oh, and that red furisode is very pretty. You always look like such a princess in traditional dress.  :)

Curlgirl64--Lol! Thank you, but I need to tell you that I'm genetically unable to take compliments.  ;D

Angel Spun--Yeah, I don't know how Tokyo peeps can have a whole wardrobe of gothic clothing. I guess they're still living with their parental units and don't need to pay any bills.  >:(  I need to find some secondhand clothing stores. I know there's one in Harajuku. I guess I'll go there the next time I go to Tokyo. And thanks for the compliment about the furisode! *embarrassed smile*

Hair--Still growing. I'm only an inch away from my stated goal length, but I think I'll most likely try to grow it to fingertip length. I never thought I'd ever have hair this long and at times it's a bit of a trip to realize I'm at the length I used to fantasize about when I was younger. Okay, enough narcissism. I, um, have lots of little white dots that need to be cut off! There, I feel better.  

Work--This is something funny that happened last week at my junior high school. After lunch the principal and senior teacher were in suits, meaning there was a guest at the school. Well, the principal came into the teachers' office and said for everyone to take a picture. So me and the other teachers who were there went to the front entrance. The lone member of the school's sumo "team" was taking pictures with his mom(?) and this guy. I had no idea why we were going to take a picture so I was just going with the flow of things.

After the group picture, there was lots of bowing as the guy left and I asked one of the teachers who the man was. She replied that it was Takanohana (he's a retired sumo wrestler who made it to yokozuna level--the top level in sumo). But she said some other things so I thought he was Takanohana's agent or something and I was impressed he had come all the way to Aomori and talked to our sumo "team." (Can you have a team if there's only one member?)

Anyway, when one of the other English teachers came to the office, she asked me if I had met Takanohana. I told her I took pictures with a guy and she said that was him. I started laughing because I had been in the same room with a famous wrestler and didn't know it. Also, the whole time I had been thinking, "Okay, why are we taking pictures? Is that guy the kid's dad or something?" My mom laughed so much when I told her what happened. Sadly, this is only one example of how I have no idea what's going on at times. ::)

Egads, I haven't updated my journal since February! *groan* Well, it's finally spring in Aomori and I'm so glad winter is over. It seemed like this past winter was on the warm side, but considering where I used to live for the majority of my life, it still felt super cold. Not much is going on at work. Yesterday I had to go to the BOE office and the other ALT was there too. Office days are incredibly boring and I'm really glad I hardly have to go there. Anyway, the ALT and I ended up playing a singing game during lunch. Someone would say a band and the other person would have to sing one of their songs. It was fun, yet weird...

Some of these pictures are old, but here's more shots of Japan. My apologies to anyone with a slow connection.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/japan/IMG_2962Asmall.jpg
Close up of a camellia (I think) at Ueno park. March '07

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/japan/IMG_2921Asmall.jpg
Macro of some cherry blossoms in Ueno. March '07

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/japan/IMG_2640Asmall.jpg
Not a very good shot, but this is Harajuku station. Harajuku is really neat, but a bit too crowded for me (though you can't tell by this picture).On the weekends, there are throngs of people. It was still kind of early in the morning when I took this photo. Jan. '07

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/japan/IMG_2635Asmall.jpg
Here's the main gate in Asakusa that leads up to Nakamisedori (a shopping street leading to Senso-ji temple). The bamboo decorations are from New Year's. Jan '07

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/japan/IMG_2627Asmall.jpg
Here's part of Nakamisedori with the New Year's decorations still up. Jan '07

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/japan/IMG_2642Asmall.jpg
And here's Tokyo Tower! I couldn't believe how huge it was. It was winter, but the line for tickets and the elevator to get to the top of the tower where incredibly long. I wondered how long they would be at the height of the tourist season. When I wanted to leave, I couldn't find the "down" elevator and ended up walking down something like 1,000 steps. Man, that was a workout! Jan '07

Fantastic pictures - thank you for sharing them.  I'm glad the winter was not any more severe for you and that spring has erupted and is showing you the beauty of the land.

Don't be such a stranger - let us know what is happening.  What are your plans for the summer?

It's so good to hear from you!! :-*  The pictures are awesome!

Juri!  I'm so glad to hear from you.  I love your pictures, thanks so much for sharing them!!!

Take care, and keep in touch!  ;D

Cool pix, Juri! Such a fascinating place you're living in now. I have always wanted to visit Japan, but this is the next best thing.  ;)

'Tis good to hear from you again.

Thank you very much, ladies!!  :-*  I wish you all were here so we could go around the country together. Sorry about such a short entry, but when I started it, I blanked out on what I wanted to say. I guess I should log in to the board right after I come home from work and not wait until an hour before bed.

As for my summer plans, it should be fun, but at the same time leave me poor. My mom's coming to Japan in June and so I have to go to Tokyo to pick her up at the airport. We're going to stay there for a couple of days and then we're going up to Aomori. She's going to stay with me for a couple of weeks before we go back to Hawaii. Since I have to go to work while she's in town, I'm not sure what she's going to do during the day. My mom doesn't speak much Japanese (except for "arigato") so I hope she can get around to do some sightseeing without too many problems.

I haven't been back home since the beginning of August, so I'm really looking forward to spending time with my mom and seeing all my relatives when I go back to Hawaii. My friend since the seventh grade is also getting married and the new Harry Potter movie is coming out during my trip back so my vacation should be pretty exciting. On the other hand, I have to play for my plane fare, train tickets, and take care of tax stuff so I think I'm going to be out about $2000. Ugh.  :P

Golden Week is starting, but I don't really have any set plans. I have to work on Tuesday and Wednesday, but I have no idea what I'll do with myself on the other days. I think I'll go to Hirosaki one day to see their cherry blossom festival. Hirosaki (it's famous for its castle and cherry trees) is also in Aomori prefecture so I think round trip train tickets are going to be about 6,000 yen. I also want to go to Kakunodate (a former samurai town) in Akita, but the tickets are going to be about 10,000 yen, but I was also planning to take my mom there. Hmm, maybe I'll just go there with my mom in June.

Hair--Doing fine. Took a progress pic today and found one from April of last year. I'm kind of surprised at how close classic length is.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/hair/april06.jpg
April 2006  Eww, I can't believe how bad my hair color was. While the bleached parts weren't dried out, the two tone-ness is just....

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/hair/april282007B.jpg
April 29, 2007  

edit: added a sentence

Juri!!!!  Glad to hear from you.  Your hair is beautiful!!!  The pics are great,please drop by often :)

Wow! you have absolutely gorgeous hair.  

Holy shnikeys, Juri!  :o  Your hair has gotten sooooo long!!

Lookin' good, kiddo.  8-)

Ooh, nice pics!  Your hair is gorgeous!

Juri Chan! :)  

Your hair looks awesome!  I wish I was there with you to view the cherry blossoms!  One day I shall make it to Japan! http://smilies.sofrayt.com/1/w/thumbs.gif  This is going to be a great summer with Harry Potter, Spider Man and Pirates!!  I am so happy you dong well and will be coming home soon. http://smilies.sofrayt.com/1/r/hyper.gif  Old nee San has missed you very much! http://smilies.sofrayt.com/1/950/bouquet.gif

Love
nee San

OOoooooo - pictures!  WOW - your hair has really grown a lot in a year!! :o  Looks fantastic as well. Good work!

The cherry blossoms must be awsome there - be sure to take pictures and share them with us.  :D

Curlgirl, Kiraela, Angel Spun, La Diosa, Lisabelle, and BB--Thank you so much for your comments!!  They really made my day--no, week! ;D I must say, the things I've learned at LongLocks the past couple of years have really saved my hair. After one bleaching episode and four dye jobs in one year, I don't want to know what my hair would look like now if I never heard of CWC washes, S&Ds or ACV rinses. >_<

Kiraela--Glad you're at LL! I think your hair looks really great--it's so shiny and wavy!

Lisabelle--I hope you do come to Japan one day. Yeah, this should be a good summer for movies! I probably won't see Spider Man, but I'm really looking forward to Harry Potter and Pirates.

BB--Yes, the cherry blossoms are really nice! I might not go to Hirosaki to see their cherry trees, but I did take pictures of the cherry trees by the board of education office yesterday.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/japan/IMG_3020B.jpg
Here's the, um, picturesque highway going through one part of town. This is right across the board of education office. I hardly ever have office days so I guess I was lucky to have one when the cherry trees were in full bloom.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/japan/IMG_3046B.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/japan/IMG_3031B.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/japan/IMG_3024B.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/japan/IMG_3039B.jpg

Yesterday I had to pay 25,520 yen (around $222) for annual NHK fees and the trip to Hirosaki will cost around 95,000 yen so I might not go. This is a really lame thing about Japan. For some weird reason the television channel NHK requires everyone with a TV to pay them an annual fee even if they don't watch NHK. Plus NHK isn't a cable or satellite channel so I don't think the whole yearly fee makes sense. *gripe* Maybe I'll go to Hirosaki next year. Or perhaps I'll just spend the money and go this weekend. Well, we'll see.

Oh what heavenly cherry blossoms!!!!  They are like pretty pink clouds! http://smilies.sofrayt.com/1/950/onion.gif

how beautiful those cherry blossom trees are!!

Beautiful blossoms!  Thanks for sharing them and brightening our day!

those are beautiful blossoms, Juri. I like the new avatar, too.

And you're right, that fee is odd.

Juri, I don't know which is more beautiful, the cherry blossoms or your hair!!   8-)

Wow! Those are some serious cherry blossoms!

Love the new avatar!  :D

Glad you all enjoyed the pictures! I have pics of other parts of Japan that I've taken since then that will eventually get posted.

Well, it's summer so I guess that means it's time for what's turning out to be seasonal LL visits and journal updates. I really need to post more often.  :-/

Work--It's going pretty well. The students were on summer "break" for the past few weeks. I put break in quotation marks because although school isn't officially in session, they had to come for club activities and special classes in whatever subject they're not doing well in. I'm so glad I'm not a student or regular teacher in this country. During the regular semester, the kids are in school from 8am and, because of club activities, don't leave until after 6pm. The teachers have it even worse because they get to school earlier in the morning and don't leave school until even later in the evening. I've been here a year and I still don't understand why clubs have to meet every single day and even on weekends. One would think that not being tired all the time and experiencing burn out would be a good thing.

Anyway, I've been helping some third year students with a speech contest that's coming up in September. Two of the kids are really good with only a few pronunciation problems. But one girl... She's doing much better than the first time we worked together, but still. Because she's nervous, she talks really fast and makes more mistakes than she might if she slowed down. The 3rd year English teacher and I keep telling her to slow down and relax because she'll be even more nervous the day of the actual contest, but that hasn't seemed to sink in yet. I'm kind of worried about how she'll do at the contest. I hope she doesn't freak out.

Coaching for speech contests isn't too bad and actually kind of nice because I get to know some of the students a little better. The only part I don't care for is figuring out the correct intonation for certain words. Sometimes I hear them say something that doesn't sound quite right to me and then I have to try and break down the word so they say it correctly. It's a bit frustrating because I start thinking about the word too much and can't decide what's the proper way to say it. I probably look a little crazy to the kids because I'm repeating one word to myself several times and in different tones. Either that or I know something is wrong, but can't think how to explain what's the matter. Ah, the joys of English. *shifty eyes*

Hair--After several months of kind of neglecting it and not having done a deep conditioning treatment for a year, it got so dry. Two weeks ago I decided that enough was enough and dug out the can of coconut milk my predecessor left behind. I'm so glad I did that, the last few inches of my hair feel so much better. I also got a new conditioner and it seems to help a bit too. It contains charcoal, mud, and hikoni oil--whatever hikoni oil is. It sounds like an odd combination, but it seems to work so far.

Hair itself is maybe half an inch past classic. The hemline is looking kind of weird so I'm considering maintaining at classic until it doesn't look so odd. But then again, I've said I'd maintain at waist and then when I was at tailbone and haven't done either.  :P

Oh, when I was in Sendai last week, I found a place that sells dried herbs so I bought some rosemary, nettle, and a bunch of lavender. Tonight I'm planning to deep conditioning my hair with the Body Shop's Brazil Nut Mask and doing a final rinse with rosemary and nettle. I've never done a herb rinse before so that should be interesting. Boy, it seems like it's been so long that I've gotten excited at the idea of doing things with my hair. I know when I first started growing it out I was so gung ho at trying new things and then after a while, went "meh."

Other--I'm going home for a visit during the Christmas-New Years holidays. I had my mom look up ticket prices for me from her side and the prices she was quoted were so expensive. $1500 for round trip tickets was the cheapest quote she got. When I went to a travel agent over here, the difference in price was about $550! I had initially told the travel agent to reserve tickets for me on China Airlines, but then they had to have one of their planes explode and catch fire in Okinawa.

I was debating whether or not to keep the China Airlines reservations since one's more likely to get into a car accident than a plane crash, but after I looked up China Airlines' safety record, decided to switch airlines. Now I'm on Japan Airlines and rather happy about that. The tickets are a little more expensive than China Airlines, but now I don't have to worry as much about being involved a fiery explosion. And I belong to JAL's mileage program so I get to add more miles to my account. Yays.

Well, until next time; whenever that may be.  :)

Hi Juri chan!

It's so great to hear from you!  Wow, you've been a busy little bee with school stuff. http://smilies.sofrayt.com/1/950/bee.gif  That shampoo sounds really cool!  I use to use a black mud mask on my hair years ago that came from a volcano in Itlay. It was very soothing on the scalp.  I am happy your staying off China Airlines, god that was scary! Again it's great to hear from you! ^O^!!!

Love
Lisa One e San http://smilies.sofrayt.com/1/950/bouquet.gif

Just throwing my two cents in... yeah, it's been my experience that fiery explosions a mile in the air aren't typically the fun they're supposed to be... :(

I'm glad to hear you're doing well, and if you ever get time, post pics of your hair! I'd love to see it.

Good to hear from you again, Juri.  :)

Japanese folks do take their education verrry seriously, don't they? Hope the school stuff doesn't get too stressful. And yes, do stay away from planes that like to explode.

Juri!!  Good to hear from you!  You sound well,I'm glad.  Would love to see a hair pic!

Thanks a lot for the messages, ladies! I honestly don't mean to disappear from the boards for months at a time, but it always ends up that way. sigh

Yep, I'm also glad I'm avoiding that accident-prone airline. While being involved in a plane explosion would make for an interesting story to tell folks, one would have to survive it first. I wonder what the likely hood of that would be. But the people on the China Airlines flight that landed in Okinawa were extremely lucky. From the video I've seen, if they had been on the plane for another minute more, they would have been caught in that big kaboom.

Hair--Used the moisture mask and herbal rinse on my hair last night. Not entirely sure if the rinse helped, but I think coconut milk works a lot better for me than the Body Shop moisture mask. While my hair is softer, it's definitely not the same as when I use the coconut milk.

I wonder if powdered coconut milk would be as good as the fresh stuff. I've only seen coconut milk at foreign food stores and since I don't know how to drive, lugging 16oz cans on the train is a bit of a problem. The powdered version would make things a whole lot easier on me. Perhaps I should think of it this way, hauling a bunch of 16oz cans around would be a nice workout for my arms.

Since I've been asked so nicely, here's a length pic I took today. It's not the best picture I could get (kinda blurry), but I was too lazy to clean off the camera lens and redo it. The bottom third doesn't look as good as when  I was more diligent with the deep conditioning...but it's better than it was last month.
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/hair/aug252007.jpg

And here's where I started from four years ago. (has it really been that long?)
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/hair/aug03.jpg

Oh juri, you should be so proud!!!  Your hair is lovely!  Seeing the pic from 4 years ago and what it is today,serious hair envy!!  You go girl!!

You have hair envy?! When I see your avatar, Curlgirl, I always think, "Whoa, look at that shine! And the waves, wow!"  But seriously, thank you very much! I often think I could be taking better care of my hair, so it means a lot.  :-*

Hi, Juri!  Its so nice to hear from you again.  Your hair is sooo gorgeous!  Do you have any nice heavy duty canvas bags to carry your coconut milk in?  Maybe that would help!

Thanks for posting your picture, it is inspiring to me!!  ;D

Argh! Asian women have the best hair!
Count me inspired as well.  :D  Great hair, juri.

Hi Juri!  So glad you stopped by to give us an update.  (and invoke serious hair envy in so many  8-))  Your hair is looking good, you must be eating right to continue to get such good growth and keep it looking so healthy.  Keep it up.

Thank you very much, ladies! *blush* It's so weird to get that hair envy/inspriation reaction from others whose hair I think highly of. Plus, it doesn't seem like that long ago that I would look at the great hair pictures on this site and think "I wish my hair looked like that!" I still think that, but it's strange to know that people have those thoughts about my hair. I mean, it's a nice feeling, but rather unexpected. Did that make sense?

Sakina--Thank you! Are there any hair pics you've posted in the last few months? I'd love to see what your hair looks like now. I do have a sturdy nylon bag I use when I buy groceries which should work. I think the only thing I'm really dreading is carrying that bag to/from the train station. I'm so lazy.

Angel Spun--Pshaw, we so do not have the best hair, but thanks for saying that. lol. And can I expect any hair photos from you before the end of the year? *hint hint* j/k

BB--Thanks for the welcome and the compliment! I'm making another attempt to be more involved in the boards and not doing another disappearing act. As for the eating right, I don't know about that. I think I ate better when I cooked more often, but now I try to see how long I can go without having to do that. Even so, there aren't any fast food places in my town, so at least I'm not filling up on junk food all the time.

Okay, third day in a row that I'm posting something. So far so good. Hopefully this will once again become a regular habit.

Hair--Had some problems styling it before I left for work. At first I had it in a regular braid, but one part was tugging too much so I decided to try loop it around my head like a crown braid. After I pinned it, I thought it felt off balance because one side was a lot heavier than the other. Took out all the pins, redid the braid and it was even worse than before. Ended up going to school with my hair in a claw clip bun.

Natural recipes--Put in my first order from Mountain Rose Herbs. With my renewed interest in hair care and the scarcity of natural hair products in this country, I decided to try my hand at making my own stuff. Hopefully in two weeks I'll receive the following:
Coltsfoot
Fenugreek powder
Nettle
Rosemary
Cocoa butter
Kokum butter
Rose hip seed oil
Assorted muslin bags and tins

The coltsfoot, nettle, and rosemary are going to go into herbal rinses, and I want to try combining the fenugreek with coconut milk soaks. My hands get really chapped during winter (i.e. they crack and bleed) so I'm going to try making my own hand cream with the butters and rose hip oil. I originally wanted to get the seabuckthorn oil, but the 4oz bottle was a little more than I wanted to spend on something I've never tried before. I can't wait until my order arrives and I get to try things out.

"We both have the same taste in clothes"--Today during the lunch break I was looking at this particular jacket and bustle skirt combo (scroll down a bit to see the skirt paired with the jacket) from a Japanese goth brand and sighed. The English teacher who sits next to me--I'll call her Coach sensei because that's her favorite brand and she once bought a Coach bag that cost $435--looked at me and I showed her the web page. She said, "That dress is very cute! We both have the same taste in clothes!" I looked at her and asked, "Expensive?" Coach sensei laughed and replied, "We both like cute clothes." Anyway, I thought that was extremely, er, cute.

Other than ordering from the website via email, the only other way to get the Mille Fleurs brand is to go to the shops that carry them. Unfortunately, the closest shop is a three hour bullet train ride away. But luckily, Coach sensei offered to help me order directly from the website. Woohoo! I really want to get that outfit, plus this corset, but the cost! On the other hand, I've wanted Victorian style clothes and and a corset for most my life and a custom made outfit like that would be even more expensive. What to do, what to do. Knowing me, I'll most likely order those things and mentally kick myself afterwards, but still be weirdly happy that I finally have a Victorian ensemble. I guess the only real question is, where exactly would I wear all that? I mean, I can wear the jacket to work, but the skirt?  :-? :P

First, welcome back--always good to hear from you!   :)  Second, your hair is WOW.  And third, I love that jacket and skirt combo!   8-)

Ohh, Juri! That jacket/skirt/corset, wow!! I love Japanese gothic fashions. Sooo lovely, but so expensive!
Having a closet full of Victorian frills myself, I can tell you that some of it rarely gets worn, except for during the winter. And I have one skirt that I have never even worn in public, which is a shame because it's gorgeous - designer brand, black taffeta, just lovely. You kind of have to let life dictate your wardrobe decisions a little bit. Yes, it's wonderful to have the bustled Victorian ensemble with black lace and jet buttons galore, but how pratical is it, really, if you never have an opportunity to wear it out?

Clubs are one outlet for this because they pretty much allow you to wear whatever you want. Goth clubs, mind you. Not posh clubs, because they often have a pretty strict, trendy dress code. However, this only works if you're the clubbing type and don't mind staying out until 4 am in your eleborate fineries.

A lot of the time, Victorian pieces can be mixed with other items from your wardrobe and work beautifully. This is how most adult goths get the most mileage out of each item that we collect. Since it isn't practical to wear an entire Victorian-gothic ensemble to work, let's say, you can isolate pieces individually and combine them with more modernized things from your closet (the Victorian pieces also stand out a lot more on their own this way). Try the Victorian jacket over jeans or a simple skirt, for example. Try layering corsets over button-down collared shirts. The experimenting is up to you...this is where you get to be creative.  ;)

Also...accessories. You can still drive home the goth-Victorian idea while only wearing one terribly period item of clothing if you pair it with the right goth accessories. Victorian jewelry, cameos, jet, marcasite...you get the idea. This is also an area where you can be creative. A little word of warning, though...never combine too many accessories, fabulous though they may be, with an entire Victorian-goth ensemble. You want the look to come off as classy...not quoth the raven, "oh my God."

You get what I'm saying though, right? It doesn't have to be all or nothing. Just be selective and tasteful. With Coach sensei's help, I'm sure that won't be a problem.  ;)

Juri Chan,

Neat clothes! I still have some of my old corsets kicking around and I think that now that I lost weight they would fit me better. 8-)  The herb stuff sounds great:  The fenugreek powder will give your hair "slip"  I eat fenugreek seeds in food and put it in henna powder for body art.  For me coconut soaks and emu oil are the way to go.  For very dry skin on your hands the cocobutter should relieve it.  However, there is a cremes from the company Avene that can realy help as well, there just a bit pricy :-[  You can always creme up your hands and were cotten gloves to bed to seal in the mosture. Bring you creme with you at work and keep putting it on.  I have my creme's all over the house and when I can I make sure I do my hands and feet as I am a dry skin too!  Your hair still looks as lovley as ever!.  One e san has missed you a lot and is so glad your back! http://smilies.sofrayt.com/1/950/bouquet.gif

Okay, first off.. I love your hair... so long, so pretty. second off, we have quite similar taste in clothing too, although I am sadly, too poor to afford anything in my chosen styles...  :-/
for now... although I haven't gone to the thrift stores lately. Must do that soon. Anyway, glad to see you're posting more often, and I hope you keep it up.. your world is quite interesting...

Wow! I wasn't expecting so many replies to that particular entry.  :o Well, first of all:

Trisha--Thank you, thank you, and third, thank you! lol. It's nice to be back. I really missed this place and everyone here. Thanks for the hair compliment, but my hair's not totally damage-free. I still find lots of little white dots and small splits. Glad you like that outfit, but I think practicality is going to win in the end, which is too bad.

Angel Spun--Thank you very much for the advice! Having been too self-conscious to purchase goth clothing until now (along with not having money and having lived in an area not conducive to anything besides shorts), it was very helpful and put things in perspective. As much as I love that bustle skirt, there's probably no way it would see the light of day.  There's a simple black walking skirt from another company that I might get instead one day. At least with that one I can wear it to work or the city and not look like I've lost my mind.

Lisabelle 'nee san--Thank you, and I've missed you as well. The suggestion about wearing gloves and hand cream to bed sounds like a good one. I think I'd have to leave multiple bottles of moisturizer around because last winter I always forgot I had some and consequently always waited until my hands started to bleed before I would put it on. You should post some pictures of your corsets; I'd love to see them. And thank you for the hair compliment!

Kiraela--*blush* Thank you for the compliment! But, really, my hair is not as nice as it may look, and I still get those "when are you going to cut your hair?" comments. As for the clothes, hehe, you have good taste! I think the clothes I linked to are way too expensive and if I do order them, it's going to be against my better judgment. I missed LL so I'm glad I'm posting more too. I don't know if interesting is the word for my world. Maybe mostly uneventful with occasional bouts of weirdness and/or fun. Er, but it is more interesting than when I lived at home...I think I just negated my assertion that it's not.  :P

Hmm, this is turning out longer than I intended and it's nearly dinner time for me. I think I'm going to eat, finish prepping for tomorrow's elementary school visit, wash my hair, and continue posting afterward. Until then!

P.S. Random lesson learned today: It is impossible for me to take a compliment.

Okay, I think I've got everything squared away for tomorrow. It's sad, but I had to look back at that last entry to make sure I did everything I was supposed to. Is a failing short term memory something I have to look forward to as I get older?

Hair--Used the Brazilian nut mask pre-treatment, CWC'd, and combined some ACV with the leftovers of the last herbal rinse. If that herb-ACV rinse works, I'll do it more often so I can save some time on the days I need to use ACV.

Time permitting, I'm going to put my hair in a braided bun tomorrow. Since the claw clip buns I've been doing don't hold up too well during my elementary school visits, I usually put my hair in a regular braid, but I need to stop doing that because the younger kids are getting a little too grabby. While it's nice that they feel comfortable enough with me to touch my hair, the boys aren't that gentle with it.  

Speech contest--Practiced with the three girls today and they've shown improvement since I last heard them. But there's one speech where I'm not sure if I'm giving the right advice on how to read a particular section. This isn't the actual text, but it has the same feeling:

She wore a brown jacket over her brown shirt. The shirt matched her brown eyes. She loved brown

So when I worked with the student before, she read it normally, but today when she read that part, she said, "She wore a BROWN jacket over her BROWN shirt. The shirt matched her BROWN eyes. She loved BROWN." I was like, "Whoa, brown is important, but you don't need to stress it so much." and told her that because brown is used four times, she doesn't have to emphasize it like that. A little more emphasis is okay, but not to go overboard.

Afterward when I was talking to the 3rd year English teacher (don't have a nickname for him yet), I told him she didn't have to emphasize brown like that. He said that was his fault because when he did that speech a student several years ago, the ALT at the time told him that because brown is mentioned so often, it should really be stressed. I replied that the audience does get the importance of brown from hearing it four times, so practically shouting it is a little overkill.

Anyway, now I'm wondering if the other ALT was right and I'm wrong. Before I left today, I said that there can be some emphasis on brown, but not to say like "she loved BROWN." I told him I'd go back to the school after work tomorrow to help the kids again. I guess I can listen to that part of the speech once more and decide which way is better.  

Oh boy, five or six elementary school classes, then rushing to the junior high school, and speech contest practice until 6:10pm. Fun.  >_>

Ah, the intricacies of the English language, eh?  ::)

Waayy cute outfit!!  I LOVE the corset!!

I don't know if this will help or not, but check out www.recollections.biz.  I've got this outfit in black: http://recollections.biz/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=50804-1081S&Category_Code=modest&Product_Count=20, I wore it as a Mary Poppins costume.

My newest addition, also in black: http://recollections.biz/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=61234&Category_Code=collars&Product_Count=9

Also check out: http://www.wwmerc.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?category=home

I have this bustle dress, they don't have the pattern/color I have, though and I got the matching hat http://www.wwmerc.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?item=728-729&type=store&category=4130

And two styles of corsets: http://www.wwmerc.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?item=6709&type=store&category=5100, and http://www.wwmerc.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?item=6909&type=store&category=5100
I have both in black

I just thought this might be a little less expensive-and it does go on sale now and then!  Also, the ensembles come in quite small sizes!!

I think the last sentence should be she LOVED brown.  I can see how someone might emphasize all the browns, if you wanted to be over the top about it.

Good Luck!!

Angel Spun--lol, no kidding!

Sakina--Thanks for the suggestion about the speech. I had a chance to look at your reply before I went to work that day and told the student to say it like "she LOVED brown." Also, thanks for the links! I ended up ordering the Catherine boot and Gibson skirt in black from Wild West Mercantile.

Man, had some busy days recently. On Thursday I got home from work at 6:45 in the evening because of speech contest practice. I don't like arriving home that late, and having six elementary classes earlier in the day didn't help--I was so tired. On Friday I had another speech contest practice, but this time it was with a girl who isn't my student. Her grandpa lives in my town so he asked my supervisor if I could help her practice since her school doesn't have an ALT. I had been working with her through the month of August and last Friday was our final practice together before her contest on the 7th. And yesterday there was an informal welcome party for the new nurse at my school. It was fun, but I was really tired when I got back.

Hair--Did an herbal rinse with nettle, rosemary, and lavender. Also, did a coconut milk soak with a brand of coconut milk called Kara. Unlike other brands I used before, this one has a coconut extract of 90% (twice that of the others) and I could see the difference when I opened the can. This one was quite thick and didn't run off my hair like the others. Depending on the results of this soak, I'm going to buy more cans of this brand.

Thursday I did a braided bun and it held up quite well. So did the figure-8 bun I did on Friday. Yep, pinned buns will be the way to go when I make elementary school visits. Also, finally figured out how to make a rope braid. Yay me.

The speech contest was today, and WOOOOOOOOOOO, my students did great! There were two categories: original composition and recitation. E got 2nd place for recitation while M got 2nd for original comp. and A got 1st place! The 3rd year English teacher, I"ll just call him K sensei for now, and I were really happy and super surprised that they all placed. K sensei was the most surprised because he'd never been to a speech competition where all of his students placed. I think he and I were the happiest about M because she was the one who was having the most problems. The difference between when she first started and how she did today was like night and day.

Now since A got 1st place, she'll go to the prefectural speech contest on the 26th. I'm so proud of her (all of them, actually) that I don't really care if she places in the next competition or not. The students have been working over a month on their speeches and I'm so thrilled that their efforts paid off.  ;D ;D ;D ;D

When we got back to the school, the teachers who were in the office were really happy when they were told the news. One of them joked that since the students did so well this year, what's going to happen next year. The students, K sensei, and myself took pictures for the school newsletter, and we met with the principal for a few minutes. He congratulated the girls on their achievement and shook our hands. I'm sorry if the following will be  extremely conceited, but I couldn't cheer and whoop it up when my kids' names were called. Anyway, N- Junior High kicks speech contest butt!

Hair--The Kara coconut milk is fantastic. It left my hair really soft and conditioned. Even at the end of second day hair, it's still soft. The only down side is that the day after, my hair was so slippery, that I had a difficult time doing anything with it. All things considered, though, it wasn't a huge issue. Since dryness is a problem for me, I'd rather have overly conditioned hair than the opposite.

I'm not entirely sure if the herbal rinses actually do anything for my hair, but I've decided to do them every time I wash it. On Sunday I let it sit for a few minutes while I cleaned my bathtub. Hooray for multi-tasking.  

Hmmmm,can Kara cocnut milk be gotten in the states???  
Congrats to you and your students!  You must feel like a "proud mom"!

Congrats to you and your kids!  Hard work has once again paid off.  Good job!

Congrats! http://smilies.sofrayt.com/aiw/victory.gif

Congrats on the competition and your hair too, it's beautiful!

Thanks a lot, Curlgirl, BB, Lisabelle, and La Diosa! Yeah, I couldn't have been more proud of them. They worked extremely hard and definitely deserved those awards.

Curlgirl64--Not sure if Kara is in the states, but there was English on the label so it might be. If not, I think any brand with a coconut milk extract of 90% would be just as good.

La Diosa--Thank you very much for the compliment!

Quick entry today, just so no one thinks I've completely disappeared again. Been busy with work and things in general. My town's 3-day fall festival was a couple of days ago and I was preoccupied with that. I've been reading posts, though, but haven't had time to reply to any.

Hair--Shipment from Mountain Rose Herbs arrived today. I'm going to try simmering the fenugreek powder in water and then putting it in as a deep conditioning treatment on Saturday.

Keeping up with the herbal rinses and contrary to what I thought, rosemary does indeed darken hair. It's fine with me, though.

Okay, need to go and finish prepping for tomorrow's elementary school visit. Till next time! :)

Rosemary darkens hair?  Hmm....   [smiley=happy.gif]

I thought it was sage that darkened hair,especially grey.Hmmmmm.

Hey, Trisha and Curlgirl, I had to look up some information on the rosemary and got conflicting info on whether or not it darkens hair. From my experience, I'll just say that it can darken hair, but perhaps not as much as sage (though I've never tried that). I don't think it colors grays that well because my white hairs are as white as ever. But the bleached portions I didn't cover too well with last year's henna-indigo treatment lost their orangey-red look and have a decidedly brown cast to them.

Ordered the jacket and corset from Mille Fleurs and they arrived a couple of days ago. Sensibility won out so I didn't get the bustle skirt. Jacket is nice and the corset top is extremely cool. The skirt and boots from Wild West Mercantile arrived the same day as the shipment from MRH. The skirt is bigger and longer than I thought it would be so it has to go back. The boots are quite nice and will go well with the Mille Fleurs jacket. Now I just need to get a proper fitting skirt.

My body clock is getting messed up. With the earlier sunsets and odd work schedules (this month I went to work on the weekend and got days off during the regular work week), I'm not always sure what day/time it is. This evening when I looked at the clock and found out it was 7, I thought "It's only seven?! I thought it was closer to 8." Because of the district-wide sports festival, I need to go to work this weekend and I know that won't help me any.  :P

Right now I'm sitting at my laptop with a bunch of fenugreek mixture on my hair. I hope the effects are worth putting stuff that looks like, well I'd rather not say in case anyone's eating, on my head. This the first time I'm working with fenugreek and I'm note entirely sure what will work best. Anyway, before I went to work, I mixed about two spoonfuls of it with 1.5 cups of water. I let it sit in the fridge and it thickened up quite a bit. I put it through a strainer when I got back and then slopped it on my hair from the ears down. After squeezing off a bit of the excess, I had just a little leftover. I plan to leave it on for a total of 45 minutes. I'll write the results later.

Currently, my hair care routine is as such:
wash days
-CWC every four days with heavily diluted Nature's Gate Lavender & Aloe shampoo
-1st conditioner is Charcoal and Hinoki Oil (not sure if it's available outside of Japan)
-2nd conditioner is Giovanni's 50/50 mixed with honey
-herbal rise made with 3 cups water steeped for several hours with 1 spoonful rosemary plus 2 spoonfuls each of nettle and lavender
-trying to incorporate an ACV rinse with every other herbal rinse
-attempting to do a deep treatment before every wash. Preferred deep treatment is coconut milk with a high c. milk extract percentage

daily
-application of shea butter in the morning before styling hair
-alternating braids between and up dos
-hair is in a low ponytail when at home
-detangle before bed
-sleep with hair loose, but flipped over pillow
-try to do a bit of S&Ding, longer sessions on my days off

Man, my routine seems more complicated when it's written down.

edit: fixed some spelling and grammar errors

Isn't anything worth having worth the complicted ritual of taking care of it? "Quality in,qualtiy out".  Juri,your hair is beautiful and it shows that you take the time and care with it ;)!

Curlgirl--hehehe, I suppose so. I know the months of not taking better care of my hair was really starting to show. My hair was starting to feel like crud and in early June I was seriously considering cutting it back to waist because the bottom felt so dry. And thank you very much for the compliment! It is much appreciated.  :)

Hair--Okay, washed it and did an ACV-herbal rinse. Hair kind of smells like maple syrup, but that's from the fenugreek. I thought it might be really overpowering, but it's not as bad as I anticipated. I think the Brazil Nut Moisture Mask from the Body Shop was the biggest offender to my olfactory nerves; it was just too strong for me.

Haven't drawn any conclusions yet about whether or not the fenugreek treatment worked, but I think I should see the results tomorrow morning.

I'm not sure if it's from the cooler weather or the herbal rinses, but this wash cycle, my hair seemed less oily and my scalp wasn't as flaky or itchy. I think nettle and lavender are supposed to be good for dandruff and itchies so perhaps I can thank them for this week's improved scalp conditions.

Yay, got to leave work early! I keep having to remind myself what day it is. It sure doesn't feel like a Sunday to me.

Hair--The fenugreek seems to be a keeper. The results aren't quite as good as coconut milk soaks, but it made my hair soft and shiny. Since the cost of doing c. milk soaks each week really adds up, this will be a good alternative. The only down side is that my hair faintly smells like I live work in a maple syrup factory. Maybe I should put in a few drops of EO the next time I use fenugreek.

Had a hair mishap this morning. Before I left for work I put my hair in a claw clip bun. I noticed that the top clip felt loose and when I adjusted it at school, it fell apart in my hand! Luckily I had an elastic band in my bag and put my hair in a braid. I think this is the first time in a year and a half that I've broken a mid-sized claw clip. I wonder if Argus Designs finished redesigning their metal claw clips.

Work--Today was the second and final day of the district-wide fall sports festival. I stayed at my JHS and watched the volleyball games being held there. The school's girls' volleyball team lost one, but won one match the day before. Considering how they lost both matches last year, they did much better. The boys were last year's champs and they won both of their matches today. I don't really know how the scheduling worked, so I'm not entirely sure if they're the champions again this year.

Another ALT in my town was at the volleyball games today and we hung out a bit. At one point when my students were filing into the gym to watch the boys' team play, they saw me and the other ALT together (I'll call him Lanky, because he is). Some of the girls were looking at us with this gleam in their eye and since some of them saw me and Lanky together at my town's festival and only a couple asked who he was, I had to wonder how many of them think he and I are dating. We're not. Not that I wouldn't mind dating him, but apart from us both being fans of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, we don't have enough in common. Plus it would be awkward if we ever broke up.

Anyway, I just find it amusing that the girls automatically assume Lanky is more than a guy friend. And at last year's sports festival, some of Lanky's female students were asking him if I was his girlfriend. I think the reason why I find it all so funny is that I've, erm, never had a boyfriend (I've only been on one date) and in a weird way it's kind of nice that the kids think I do have one.

AGH, I accidentally deleted everything I wrote! Okay, here's take two of today's entry. Hopefully I won't delete this one.  >:(

Today was a cold, wet day, but not as wet as yesterday--it rained all day, nonstop. While I like rainy weather, yesterday was just depressing. Plus the river that runs through my part of the prefecture floods really badly during big rainstorms. When I walked by after work, the water level must have been at least four feet higher than normal. Some of the rice fields along the river got flooded, and I hope the farmers didn't loose too much of their crops.  

Last month I was coaching a girl from H- city for the inter-city speech contest and she came in second. I was really proud, but later on I found out that her school has come in first place for the past 10 years. I was like "Oh, crap." But considering she's a 2nd year student and most of the contestants are 3rd years, I think she did extremely well. Lots of times 2nd year students don't even place. Anyway, her family was really happy and invited me over for dinner last night. I had a nice time eating with them and got to watch a video of the contest. Compared to some of the other contestants, she had a lot of feeling in her voice and didn't sound as if she was reading from a textbook.

To top off the great food and lovely handkerchiefs they gave me, I got paid(!). I hadn't expected any monetary compensation, so I was taken by surprise. If I were smart, I would have saved the cash, but instead I ordered a bunch of imps and a bottle of Samhain 2007 from BPAL. *looks sheepish*

Hair--It's doing fine and I've come to like the smell of fenugreek. It's embarrassing, but sometimes I sniff my hair to get a whiff of the maple syrup sent. In a way, the smell is oddly comforting.  ::)

Smell is very strongly linked to memory.  I just have to smell roses to think of my grandmother.  My mother is the scent of lavender.  Sometimes I have deliberately "assigned" a scent to a memory, just to ensure having it and more vividly.  

Probably the scent reminds you of someone who comforted you, or a situation you found comforting.  

Fenugreek would remind me of the Middle East.  I'm not sure I smelled it until then.  

I know when I was in Saudi Arabia that I wanted to make a carrot cake, and it took me FOREVER to find the coconut.  When I did, it had absorbed the smells of the other spices, which are just open in the shop, and I am pretty sure fenugreek was one of them.  NOT a flavor you want in your carrot cake, let me tell you.  

Also understand about the accidental deletion.  Done THAT  one more than once!

texian.traveler--Very true about the smell thing. Sometimes I get a whiff of something and get a sudden flash of an event in the past. I think the fenugreek smell reminds me of pancakes-->America-->home. Since I moved out of the country, home is definitely where my heart is.

Eww, after tasting some of it, I don't think I would want fenugreek flavored carrot cake either.  :P

Hair--Fenugreek'd and herbal rinsed this evening. I need to remember a couple of things when I do this:
1. Mushing the fenugreek powder in water works better than just stirring it
2. For a stronger rinse, the herbs need to be simmered in water for at least 15 minutes

BPAL--If anyone has tried any of the following from Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, let me know how it worked for you. I ordered all but the Samhain in imp form and I'm curious if anyone here has tried these oils. I feel weird for buying so many imps, but I wasn't about to pay $13 in shipping for only 6 of them. I figure trying all these scents will keep me busy during the winter. Anyway:
Aeval
Arcana
Bewitched
Jack
Ode on Melancholy
Embalming Fluid
Kabuki
Psyche
Baobhan Sith
Catherine
Kumiho
Masabakes
March Hare
Dormouse
Eat Me
White Rabbit
Glasgow
Sophia
Samhain 2007

I had gotten some imps from a certain fellow LongLocks gal(sweetie that she is :) ) and liked them so much.  I signed up for their newsletter and had a list,just like you, made up of things I wanted to try.  Jack was on that list.  The three that I was given were Sophia,Magus and Yew Trees.  I love wearing oils(have since I was in my late teens).  Let me know how you like the ones you try!  Hard to pick out of the three I have,but plan on ordering some myself though!

Curlgirl--How was Sophia? It sounded really nice from the reviews people were giving it on the BPAL forum. Unfortunately, you'll have to wait until at least mid-October before I can start reviewing imps. Slow turnaround time *sigh*, but I think the wait will be worth it!

I've been trying out some of BPAL's oils lately- I LOVE Delight, Anne Bonney and I just ordered Oblivion.  I got Oblivion as a free imp from BPAL and I just ordered the 5ml.  Then I ordered an atomizer to put it in...I think this is becoming my latest fancy.

Sorry, I don't have any of the ones you listed.

Good Luck!

Unfortunately, I haven't any experience with BPAL imps either. My skin detests oil, so I must avoid the fragrances, however tempting.  :(  But if they don't bother you, please record your thoughts about them so I can experience them vicariously. hehe  ;D

I really like Sophia!  I never ead the reviews,but it's nice other people are enjoying it!  I'd like to try Kyoto and Jack inparticular.  Eventually I get around to getting them.  I'm sure my list will be long after I read all the things that are in them and how they might smell.

Sakina--Thanks for the info on the BPAL scents you've tried! Anne Bonney sounds pretty nice. I should look into it the next time I place an order.

Angel Spun--I will, but my nose isn't too experienced with oils and separating smells in them. Compared to some of the evocative reviews on the BPAL forum (e.g. "The roses used are that of the darkest night and the midnight dew reminds me of a group of spirits converging on a windblown, moonlit landscape"*), mine might be "I can smell the rose, but don't know if I can smell the midnight dew. Does midnight dew even have a smell? Well, no one gagged when I got on the train so I guess that's good." :P *disclaimer: I've never seen anything written exactly like that on the BPAL forum, but it's close

Curlgirl--Glad you like Sophia! Besides Jack, it's one that I really want to try. Funny you should mention Kyoto because it was on my wishlist before I forced myself to cut it down. I'll probably end up ordering it the next time around.

Besides finishing A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore, did absolutely squat today. I really should vacuum after I come back from shopping tomorrow. There's way too many shed hairs on the floor. Oh, and I should start to clean my entire apartment as well. Some of the teachers at my school want to see it...and eat my cooking. I was like, "Errr, well, I don't cook too often, but okay." I told them to come some time in November so I would have enough time to get things put away and to practice making something. Sometimes I wish I were more domestic; I really dislike cooking and cleaning. I would have said no, but they really want to see my apartment (not sure why) and they're super nice to me so I agreed. Anyway, having a planned visit is a lot better than if they just dropped by and  saw the way it normally looks with clothes and books all over the place.

Hair--Unlike the first time I used it, the fenugreek smell has really faded on my hair. I'm a little sad, but it's going to be a good thing if it continues like this. I was planning to use the BPAL oils on my hair and I didn't want it to smell like a combo of maple syrup and perfume. Yuck.

Well, went to the city today and did some shopping. Bought a cute, knee-length black skirt with small white polka dots. I'm planning on wearing it to the dinner the English teachers and I are having on Friday. I want to wear my new Victorian shoes and jacket too. Considering a lot of the outfits I've seen here, I don't care if I look a bit mismatched.

Hair--Ended up trimming my hair last night. At first I only cut off an inch from the 10 longest hairs on my head, but then I cut off another half-inch. The ends are still wispy, but not as much as before. I want to thicken up my hemline so I'll probably maintain at classic for a while, trimming 1/4 of an inch each month.

Trying something slightly different with my herbal rinses. This time instead of 2 spoonfuls of lavender, I used 1 and added 1 spoonful of coltsfoot. The rinse wasn't as dark as usual; more like watered down Coke instead of strongly brewed coffee.

Tonight's fenugreek treatment is also different. I tried whipping some cocoa and kokum butters together, but ended up with cocoa-kokum oil. I wasn't sure what to do with it so I added it to the fenugreek after I strained it. The melted butters (think it was the kokum) turned into little solid balls and I had to nuke everything so it would melt again. When I put the mixture on my hair, it seemed a little silkier than previous times. I'm not sure if that was from microwaving it or because of the butters. I guess I'll find out tomorrow if heating/butters made any difference or not.

--BPAL--Been surfing the site and (unfortunately) there's more things I want to buy. I'm trying not to be taken in by the item descriptions and only pay attention to the ingredient list, but they make everything sound so good! Must resist ordering more until my first order comes in. I wish our resident cat-loving, BPAL guru was still here. :'(  Actually, I wish a lot of the currently MIA members I got to know over the years were still here (or at least popping in once in a while to say hi). I hope they're doing okay.

I don't mean to make any of the newer members feel bad or anything. Far from it! It's just that there aren't too many people still posting from when I first joined and I can't help but wonder how the others are doing.  

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I don't mean to make any of the newer members feel bad or anything. Far from it! It's just that there aren't too many people still posting from when I first joined and I can't help but wonder how the others are doing.

I know how you feel, Juri. I like to go back and read a lot of the older threads and see who was here and what they were saying. I joined LL the same year that you did.

Angel Spun--Glad to know someone else feels the same way. I haven't read older threads, but I do look through forum pages and think "I wonder how so-and-so is. Are they still growing out their hair?" I remember reading your posts from 2 years ago and I'm glad you're still around. :)

Had a weird dream last night. In a nutshell, I dreamed that I had moved back home and Anthony Kiedis was in love with me. And although I liked him, I kept refusing him because he had a pregnant girlfriend. Anyway, we were walking down my street when my neighbor, who in real life is a nice retiree, came out of her hair salon/house wearing this frilly white blouse with cherry print. She was in a panic because she had seen us together and demanded, "Juri, how can you do that with him?!" I was like, "What? NO! We haven't done that!! He's just-just a friend!" Then Anthony said, "But I love you." I replied, "I know, but you have a pregnant girlfriend! And with the age difference, I think it would be borderline illegal!"

Then somehow we were in a luxury motor home and I was bummed out because Anthony was looking at a Victoria's Secret catalog. I was looking out the window when he came and sat next to me and said, "I'm sorry, but I realized I have to go back to her. But we'll name out second child after you." I was sad, but I knew it was the right thing to do (although the news that he was having his second child and not the first was surprising, not to mention the whole naming-the-kid-after-me thing). Woke up and immediately thought, WTH? I'm not sure what that dream means, and I'm not sure if I want to know. And why am I so virtuous in my dreams? I've had a celebrity crush on Antony Kiedis for years and even then I don't hook up with him.

Hair--I'm really surprised at what a difference the cocoa and kokum butters had on my fenugreek treatment. With the fenugreek alone, my hair feels nice but it doesn't feel nice until after I put shea butter on it. Well, this time I could feel the difference right after I detangled and didn't even have to use any shea. It's almost as if I did a coconut milk soak! Even if I can't figure out how to whip cocoa and kokum butter without melting them, I should add them to my fenugreek treatments from now on.

Speaking of whipping butters, I'm starting to wonder if I'll just have to use shea as a base and add the cocoa and kokum to that. I think I should try whipping just the latter two first. If that doesn't work, I'll get out the shea.

Well, should go back to cleaning my apartment. *hmph*

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I remember reading your posts from 2 years ago and I'm glad you're still around.  :)

hehe Aw shux, Juri. *blush* God willing, I won't disappear anytime soon. I'm afraid y'all are stuck with me awhile. ;)

And lol @ your dream. At least there weren't any magical talking worms in yours.  :-?  And I'm sure you can do way better than Anthony Kiedis, babe.

wrote on Sep 24^th, 2007 at 5:44pm:

hehe Aw shux, Juri. *blush* God willing, I won't disappear anytime soon. I'm afraid y'all are stuck with me awhile. ;)

Would that be such a bad thing? Us being "stuck" with you, I mean. 'Cause I don't think so.


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And lol @ your dream. At least there weren't any magical talking worms in yours.  :-?  And I'm sure you can do way better than Anthony Kiedis, babe.

Well, if the magical talking worm offered me tea, that would be pretty cool. lol about Anthony Kiedis. Thanks for having such a high opinion of me. :)  As interesting as I think he is (can't seem to dislike a guy who's met the Dalai Lama), he's slept around so much that he's probably a walking STD. (Eww, that's a nice image. It's right up there with the Coughing Cold Sore and Jogging Smallpox. :P)

edit: unsuccessfully tried to fix color tags and edited a sentence

Quote:

Would that be such a bad thing? Us being "stuck" with you, I mean. 'Cause I don't think so.

Gracious, girl, is there no end to the flattery? I don't wanna get too used to it. lol  ;D
   As for Kiedis, I have never been impressed with his personal conduct, but that's a common trait for people in creative industries, whether it be music, fashion, writing, art, etc. And lol @ "Jogging Smallpox"...that'll have to be the name of my new punk-pop  band.  ::)

The talking worm in my dream did have the power to shrink me down to his size so that I could come into his bug house, so I'm guessing that tea was implied somewhere. lol Dreams are so bizarre.

wrote on Sep 25^th, 2007 at 5:32pm:

Gracious, girl, is there no end to the flattery? I don't wanna get too used to it. lol  ;D

Umm, no? hahaha

 
Quote:

As for Kiedis, I have never been impressed with his personal conduct, but that's a common trait for people in creative industries, whether it be music, fashion, writing, art, etc. And lol @ "Jogging Smallpox"...that'll have to be the name of my new punk-pop  band.  ::)

Yeah...even though I'm still aghast at some of the things he did in his autobio, my inner fangirl still squees over him (but that's because she's a complete twit). Sufficed to say, I would never go for a guy like that in real life. I'd like someone more reliable and trustworthy, who doesn't date women aren't even old enough to drink. (That part about him creeps me out way more than it did when I was 18 and first got interested in the Peppers)

Feel free to use "Jogging Smallpox" when you get that band together. :)

Oh, that worm. So silly. It's counterpart in "Labyrinth" should have shrunk Jennifer Connelly so she could meet his wife. lol, dreams are definately bizarre.

Work--Today was pretty good. I had team teaching with the 1st year students' English teacher. We were checking their short compositions about someone, either real or imaginary. Most of them wrote about a classmate, but some of the others...oh, man. One boy wrote about a "lecherously cool" pig mayonnaise (no idea what that is) from Beijing. Another wrote about someone from Japan and Kenya who was strict, but also erotic. Yeah....

Oh, and one boy wrote about a person from "Oden Village" (oden is a type of food) who is a fart and is also smelly. I take the blame for the fart portion. At first he wrote "He is a break wind." I said that wasn't grammatically correct and the only short word I could think of that would fit was fart, and so I told the kid to write "he is a fart." The teacher and I were happy that the students were trying to be creative, so as unusual as some of their compositions were, we let them slide.

Hair--Just put it in a bun today. This evening I got tomorrow's herbal rinse and deep treatment ready. Otherwise, not much else.

lmao Just WTF are you teaching those kids over there?!  ;D  I don't even want to know what "lecherously cool pig mayonnaise" is.

And thanx for letting me borrow the name. We'll be sure to thank you in the liner notes of our upcoming indie release. lol  ;)

Sooo funny that you would bring up the Labyrinth reference. When I first told my sister about my dream with the magical talking worm, her first response was, "like the Labyrinth?" Then she put on the worm character's accent and said, "I said 'ello!" Labyrinth is one of her favourite movies of all time and she isn't much older than you.


Quote:

It's counterpart in "Labyrinth" should have shrunk Jennifer Connelly so she could meet his wife. lol

Agreed, although she did still have to save her brother and stuff. If it had been me, however, I would've been like, "Take me instead! This place is awesome! I'll totally stay if you teach me how to do my makeup like that!" lol

wrote on Sep 26^th, 2007 at 12:27pm:

lmao Just WTF are you teaching those kids over there?!  ;D  I don't even want to know what "lecherously cool pig mayonnaise" is.

lol, I ask myself the same thing when I read things like "He is lecherous cool" and instead of telling the kid to find another word besides lecherous, say "Add a 'ly' to 'lecherous'." The more creative ones seem really pleased with what they write so unless they ask me to translate something REALLY inappropriate, I just work with what they give me. *shakes head*

When Jogging Smallpox's first album comes out, let me know where I can get a copy.  ;D

lol about your sister. She and I must both be Labyrinth freaks because the movie's talking worm was the first thing I thought of when you mentioned the one in your dream. Man, this makes me remember the time when my friends and I managed to work the worm's dialogue into our skit of "Return of the Native" for our senior English class. lol, I would have stayed as well if David Bowie Jareth asked me to stay in his labyrinth.

Work--Had all 6 classes at K Elem. I was dreading the 5th and 6th grade classes because they're always scheduled at the end of the day and by that time everyone's tired and wants to go home. But this time those classes were a lot of fun and I think everyone enjoyed themselves. I just have to remember to include a lot of competitive games when I have those grades.

The lower grades ended up being rather silly as well. I was teaching body parts and the 3rd grade class wanted to know what it's called when someone has a fat stomach. The Japanese call it "metabolic" and I taught them the term "beer belly". The kids thought it was quite amusing, but I'm hoping they don't remember. I have images of them seeing a guy with a gut, pointing at him, and then shouting "beer belly!" But Billy Blanks is super popular right now, so judging from the pronunciations I heard, they might say "beer Billy."

There's a game called Fruit Basket that's insanely popular with little kids. You form a circle with one less chairs than there are players. Each person is assigned a fruit and the person who is "it" calls a fruit (eg orange). The people with "orange" have to change seats and the last person standing is now "it". If you want everyone to run, you call "fruit basket." This game can be played with any vocabulary words and so you can have Color Basket, Animal Basket, etc. Well, I played this today with vocabulary words for body. The only problem with this, is that the kids yell "Body Basket!" and I get all sorts of weird pictures in my head when I hear that. :P

Talking about the 1st years' creative compositions made me remember some of the presentations the 2nd year students did last year. They each had a picture of a person from a magazine and had to introduce that person to the rest of the class. Most of them said things like, "This is my friend Bob. He is a singer. He is cool. Thank you." But one kid said something along the lines of, "This is my friend John. He will lead Delta Platoon Squadron. He loves guns. Thank you." I don't know why, but the gun part didn't bother me. I think it was because I was too busy laughing at the portion with Delta Platoon Squadron. And one girl had a picture of a surfer guy and told us that was her friend Kim Jong-il. I had no idea what they were writing so I can't take the blame for any of that. :P/ ;D

;D  lol Oh Juri, you kill me! I seriously don't think that those kids know what lecherous means! And lol @ "Body Basket"...now that has to be the name of my new punk band! Sounds like a fun game, though.


Quote:

When Jogging Smallpox's first album comes out, let me know where I can get a copy. ;D

tee hee Friends get free copies, silly.  ;)

wrote on Sep 27^th, 2007 at 5:35pm:

tee hee Friends get free copies, silly.  ;)

Sweet. 8-)

I don't think they know what lecherous means either since the boy that wrote it had to ask me for a translation. I was like, "Erm...." But that wasn't as bad as having to explain what a fart is to the English teacher. :P

Okay, you use Body Basket for your band and I shall use Jogging Smallpox for the neo-hair metal band I'll set up. Once we have enough money, we'll fly to Cali and we can have a double-headliner tour. ;D


Hair--I don't think I should use kokum butter in my fenugreek soaks. It doesn't absorb into my hair very well and when it cools down, there's little kokum beads all over. Also, I shouldn't microwave the fenugreek. When I did it last week, it ended up being too hot and because it retains heat better than coconut milk, I had a lot of little white dots the day after. On Thursday when I didn't microwave the fenugreek, I didn't have any LWDs.

Stuffs--Had dinner with the English teachers at my school last night. We ate at a French restaurant and it was they type where there isn't a menu and the chef cooks whatever he/she feels like. The food was wonderful. My favorite part was the vanilla ice cream. I thought I had died and gone to heaven when I ate it.

After that we went to a pub-ish bar. That ended up being an endurance test for me because instead of only a "little while", we were there for two hours and left after 12. It would have been more enjoyable if the teachers had talked more in English so I could join in the conversation (or at least follow it), but it was 99% Japanese. Now, I didn't expect them to speak English around me the whole night, but after 2 hours of 99% Japanese conversation (which I couldn't understand) at dinner, I was getting fed up. If I had enough money, I would have taken a cab home after about 30 minutes at the bar. I feel like I'm totally whining, but since they are ENGLISH teachers and they know I'm crap at Japanese, I was hoping for a bit more conversation in English. Feh. At least the food was good.

Garlic Festival--Speaking of good food, today I went to the Garlic and Beef Festival with some of the other JETs in Takko Town (yes, that's the name). The food was great and the stage entertainment was interesting. There was a country line-dance troupe from Misawa Air Base and some hula dancers. I thought, "Gez, it's like I've never even left home."

Someone was selling wreaths made of garlic with a ribbon wound around each of them to form pentagram. But I'm not sure if the pentagram shape was intentional. I thought it was quite interesting (and only 500 yen) so I bought one with an orange ribbon.

After that, the group I was with met the former prefectural adviser and we went to climb the dragon tower in my town. I'm not sure how many stories high it is (maybe three) and a bit rickety looking. While I'm fine with hights when I'm on a building or staircase, but I don't like it when I'm on a free-standing structure. You'd have to pay me to go up past the 5th rung of a ladder.

Well, halfway up the tower, I looked down over the side and almost lost my lunch and said I'd wait for them to finish. M, the former PA who has had years of new JETs call her with their problems-both personal and professional, was very nice about it and convinced me to go to the top. I did, but I could not look over the side. I just looked straight ahead the entire time we were on the top platform. The view was really nice, but I wanted to go down before there was a huge earthquake and the structure came crashing down. Did I mention that I'm also paranoid about a big earthquake hitting my area while I'm still on JET?

Anyway, despite that nauseating trek up the dragon tower (didn't expect it to hit me so bad before I started climbing), it was a fun day.

Quote:

I don't think they know what lecherous means either since the boy that wrote it had to ask me for a translation. I was like, "Erm...." But that wasn't as bad as having to explain what a fart is to the English teacher.  :P

lol  ;D


Quote:

Okay, you use Body Basket for your band and I shall use Jogging Smallpox for the neo-hair metal band I'll set up. Once we have enough money, we'll fly to Cali and we can have a double-headliner tour.  ;D

YES!!! *rock horns*

Wow the festival sounded cool!  I know that your area  there is an apple festival as well.  Japan has a lot of neat festivals.  Did you know there'a a penis festival?  No kidding!  You would have never got me up that Dragon tower! ::)

Angel Spun--Wooo, yeah! Rock on!

Lisabelle--The festival was fun and I now have a lot of garlic in case any vampires try to get into my place. I think I might have heard of the apple festival, but there's so many I can't keep track of them all. Yep, I've heard of the, er, thingy festival! (the forum censor is fun!) I'm not sure if "interesting" is the right word, but it certainly looks ummm....crazy. lol

Work--It's going okay. Yesterday and today the 1st year kids were sharing their speeches. I got to hear about the lecherously cool pig mayonnaise and one boy called another boy erotic. I just shook my head and laughed/groaned.  

I want to make toilet paper mummies with my elementary school classes for their Halloween lesson. I know even if I tell them to bring their own empty toilet paper roll, some are going to forget so today I was walking around the JHS bathrooms, looking for empty rolls. Much to my amazement, I found 11 of them. Since I can't go through toilet paper that fast by myself, I think I'm going to be searching for toilet paper rolls everyday until Oct. 25th.

Oh, I nearly forgot. A, the girl who won 1st place in the district wide speech contest, came in 2nd in the prefectural contest. The top three get to go to the national speech contest in Tokyo, so she'll be competing in that next month! I'm amazed and her teacher is even more amazed since in all the years he's taught, he's never gone past the district level. Although the town's board of ed probably won't pay for me, I'm going with them all the same. I want to see her compete (as well as do a bit of shopping). I hope there aren't any expectations that my school will do just as well next year. It seems like a total fluke that we've made it this far. The planets must be in alignment or something.

Hair--Fenugreek soak and herbal ACV rinse yesterday. Hair feels nice.

On Sunday I was messing around, trying to make whipped shea with cocoa butter. I think I need to use less cocoa butter and more carrier oil the next time I do this. The butters got whipped, but perhaps because of the ratio of cocoa it seems to have set a lot harder than I thought it would. Still, the end result isn't as sticky as plain shea so I'm happy.

Did you use emulysifying wax and steric acid in  your whipped body butter?  Sometimes the ratios between the water,steric acid and emulyifying wax have to be "just right" and then you're ok.  Mine stays whipped for weeks and no problems,thank god!  I go through alot and sell some so turn around time is good.

Heheh!  I know the forum censors are funny!  There's also a thingy museum as well! :D  Me, I own some shunga art, I admit it! ;D  

Quote:

I got to hear about the lecherously cool pig mayonnaise and one boy called another boy erotic.

That's too funny!! ;D ;D



Btw, cool avatar! :D

Curlgirl--Er, no to the emulsifying wax and steric acid. :-/ The recipes I looked at didn't mention anything about them. I guess I'll try one more time without the emulsifier and if that doesn't work, I'll order some. Is emulsifying wax hair-safe?

Lisabelle--There's a thingy museum?! lol, That's definitely the first time I've heard of it. You have shunga? Ohohoho, you naughty woman! ;) ;D

La Diosa--lol, My kids are totally crazy. Some being crazier than others. ;D Thanks! I'm glad you like the avatar. It's actually from two years ago, but I felt like bringing it back for Halloween.

Work--Finished up the 1st years' speeches. What funny thing did I hear? Oh, the boy who wrote about a fart named Jaga did his speech. Before each speech, the kids had to hold up a card with a vocabulary word they're using that the rest of the class doesn't know. Well, he had "fart" on his card. He kept pronouncing it as "faht" so the teacher asked me to pronounce it for the class. That was soooo embarrassing, but soooo funny as well. I needed a couple of tries before I could say it because I kept laughing. The kids enjoyed saying it, though, and the boy's speech was hilarious.

Kay, I'm a bit bored so I think I'll finally post those pictures I mentioned in August(?).

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/japan/aug-oiraseriver.jpg      
At Oirase Gorge. It's a really pretty place. I'd live there if it weren't for the risk of flash flooding. I'm going there again on Friday with the 2nd year students.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/japan/aug-oirasesmallfalls.jpg
Oirase again

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/japan/aug-towadashrine.jpg
This is at Lake Towada. It's a super huge lake (by my standards) and you can take scenic boat rides across it.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/japan/aug-cherries2.jpg
In the summer, you can go to a cherry farm and pick your own cherries. This farm is across from the one Coach sensei took my mom and I in June. There's so many cherry farms in my part of town, that it's mascot is a little witch riding a cherry like a broom.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/japan/aug-cherries.jpg
This is the inside of the cherry farm we went to. It was a lot of fun, but a little expensive. You pay a fee to go in as well as for the amount of cherries you picked. Still, I'd do it again if I could.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/japan/aug-nebutabig.jpg
Aomori's most famous festival is the Nebuta Festival in Aomori city. This is at the nebuta museum. Basically, nebuta are huge floats made of paper and wire. Since it's so popular, unless you reserve early, it's hard to get a hotel room in Aomori city. Now that I know that, hopefully I'll be able to go next year.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/japan/aug-nebutakids.jpg
Also at the nebuta museum. I'm not totally sure, but I think they use floats like these at the children's nebuta parade. From left, Doraemon (a really popular comic and cartoon character), Pikachu, Anpanman. (another popular character)

I love the waterfall pictures!  (and all the rest too  ;D)  Thanks for sharing them.  The rest of us can live vicariously thru your tales and pictures.

Awesome pictures!  I would love to go to the Nebuta Festival!  Those waterfalls are gorgeous, makes me want to wash my hair in them! :D

Beautiful pics!!  I'm with Lisabelle on the thought of washing your hair in those waterfalls! ;D
The emulsifying wax is used to keep oil and water blended to together.  It is used in lotions,body butter,moisturizers,etc.  I have not made any hair conditioners with it though.  The aloe vera gela and glycerin and other ingredients are good for hair conditioners.  Me myself,I would not use that in a recipe for hair conditioner.  I'd use more moisturizing ingredients for it.

I like your new avatar   8-)

Nice pix, Juri! What an experience it must be...

Thanks a lot everyone! I'm glad you like the pictures. :) It's funny how so many of you want wash your hair in the waterfalls. I was thinking the same thing, but one part of me always pipes in about leptospirosis. :P

Trisha--Thanks! I'm glad you like the avatar.

Curlgirl--Aloe vera sounds like it might be good to try. I just put in an order for more shea butter so I guess I'll try *something* when it gets here.

Work--Had the outing to Oirase Gorge yesterday. It was nice, but so tiring. We had to walk about 5.4 miles in 3.5 hours. I want to know who's bright idea it was for us to walk that far without any real breaks or stopping for lunch. While the scenery was beautiful and the weather was nice, by the end when I was starving and my feet hurt, I was ready to kill the person who coordinated the field trip. Everyone else was tried as well, so I don't think I'm the only person who thought that.

On the bright side, my legs seem to be more fit than I thought. I assumed I'd be in pain today since I don't think I've ever walked that far in one day, but I feel fine.

Hair--Added about 1 generous teaspoon of cocoa butter and several drops of camellia oil to my fenugreek soak yesterday. I really need to do that from now on because my hair feels great.

Also swished my hair several times in the herbal rinse. After squirting some onto my scalp, I put the rest in a bowl and swirled/dunked the length in it. My hair seems a lot darker than previous times. In indirect lighting, there's even less of a contrast between my natural hair and the dyed portions.

Random--I can't wait to go back to America in December and see "Sweeney Todd." I keep watching the trailer for it and it looks great. I've only heard samples of the original musical so I won't have anything to compare the movie to. It's probably better that way. When the movie version of "The Phantom of the Opera" came out, I hated it because the singing was so different from what I was used to hearing. Oh, plus some of the visuals (e.g. Daae's humongous tomb despite being a poor violinist, and the Phantom's bat cave annoyed me. Darn you, Schumacher! >:()

Singing, period clothing, Johnny Depp, Alan Rickman, and Helena Bonahm Carter in a Tim Burton movie; what could be better? Provided it doesn't totally suck, I wonder how many times I can see it in a 3 week period.

Finally made my first good batch of whipped hair butter on Monday. I used the last of my shea and incorporated the shea/cocoa combo I made the week before. I also added more rose hip oil and used camellia oil. Since I used a lot more oil, the butter was a lot fluffier and was like buttercream frosting. Maybe it's because my bathroom is cold, or maybe the way it sets, but it's a bit firmer than when I first made it. At any rate, it's a lot softer than my second attempt at whipping butter and easily melts in my hands.

BPAL--My first eBay purchase and the imps I was sent by a lovely member of LL arrived yesterday. It was really hard to decide which to try first, but since I had paid for it, I went with the eBay.

*Hunger Moon, A Little Lunacy limited edition (from eBay): ozone, white sandalwood, crystalized white amber, verbena, oak moss, clary sage, white citrus rind. At first I wasn't sure if I would like it when I sniffed it in the bottle and put it on. "Pweewww," was the first thing that came to mind. But after the dry down, it was really pleasant and not at all overpowering. I don't want to be one of those people who bowl people over with their perfume/cologne, so "quiet" scents like this will probably be good for me.

*Les Infortunes de la Vertu, Sin and Salvation general catalog (forum member): leather, oak moss, orange blossom, amber, rose, French florals, incense. In the bottle it smelt quite interesting, but it didn't seem to agree with my body chemistry. While it smells nice, it doesn't seem very "me". A lot of the reviewers on bpal.org think it would be good on a man and I agree. If I had a boyfriend, I would totally test it on him have him try it. Perhaps it's the leather scent. On the positive side, at least I know that leather is an ingredient I should stay away from and I have a fragrance that would work on a future boyfriend (should I ever get one).

Movies--On a Vincent Price and "Beach Party" kick for some reason. Bought the latter on iTunes and put VP's line in my siggy. And besides "Beach Party," downloaded "Twice Told Tales." I think my favorite segment is "Rappaccini's Daughter." I don't want to spoil anything, but to me it's rather tragic and I love Beatrice Rappaccini's clothes! Every time I watch that part of the movie I think, "Oh, so sad....I wish I had her wardrobe!"

edit: just remembered what I wanted to write. I must be feeling nostalgic and so I bought "Beach Party." While I wasn't born until 18 years after it came out, I remember watching the Beach Blanket movies on TV when I was a little kid and wishing I was the blonde lady in Eric von Zipper's gang.

Weird dream--A couple of days ago I had exactly that. I can't remember most of it, but the part that sticks in my mind is when I woke up and discovered that I had grown a beard and mustache. I was surprised, but not terribly shocked. In the dream I thought, "That's what I get for not plucking my mustache hairs for two days." I tried trimming my beard and mustache so it didn't look so bushy. And for some reason I also cut my hair so it looked like a longer version of Hugh Grant's Floppy HairTM. It was quite cute on me.

Well, the weird part wasn't my new facial hair or the fact that I gave myself a bob. The part that disturbed me the most in the dream was the fact that I couldn't pass as a guy! I looked in the mirror and thought, "I can't go out like this! I look like a woman with a beard (as opposed to a man)." :P

juri wrote on Oct 10^th, 2007 at 6:40am:

[ I tried trimming my beard and mustache so it didn't look so bushy. And for some reason I also cut my hair so it looked like a longer version of Hugh Grant's Floppy HairTM. It was quite cute on me.

Oh my gosh!  That's too funny...!  Totally random dreams about hair are the best... and on a related topic, I absolutely adore Hugh Grant and his hair.. *sighs*

lmao It's Juri's bearded lady dream vs. my talking worm dream...you win, babe!  ;D

Novusfemina--lol Glad my strange mind is amusing, and not freaky. Hehehe, you're not the only one who adores Hugh and his hair. One of my friends used to tease me because I was so obsessed with it. ;D

Angel Spun--lol Thanks, but your talking worm is pretty weird as well! I wonder if I should be concerned with what my brain can come up with even without the use of drugs. :-?


BPAL--Wooo, my very first order finally came in!!! Besides the oils I listed on page 7 of my journal, they sent me free imps of The Raven, Zorya, Y'ha-Nthlei, Sheol, Twilight (funny because I was considering getting an imp of it anyway), and Midnight Kiss. I'm terrible at opening imps and ended up spilling some on myself and consequently did some preliminary tests.

*Midnight Kiss, Shojo Beat inspired limited edition: red musk, cocoa absolute, Nepalese amber, red sandalwood, aged patchouli, nicotiana, blood wine. I shouldn't judge perfumes from the bottle because they seem to smell totally different on me. Anyway, while it was still wet on my skin, I got a lot of cocoa and it smelt yummy. As it dried down, the cocoa faded and turned into a sweet, berry-like scent. Since I can't pick out most individual notes yet, I'm not sure what I'm smelling, but it's good. Compared to Hunger Moon, it's a "warmer" scent and kind of girly. I'm super happy I had already ordered a bottle of this and can send the imp to a certain lady here (you know who you are! :)).

*Eat Me, Mad Tea Party general catalog: white cake, vanilla, red and black currants. In the imp, ew. On me, CAKE! I didn't leave it on very long, but holy moly, this is nice and exactly like what you'd want your grandmother's kitchen to smell like--vanilla cake with something extra in the air. I need to test it again, but I'm most likely going to order a full bottle of it.

*Kabuki, Love Potions general catalog: cherry, red musk, star anise. Oh, Kabuki, how I want to like you, but you remind me too much of the horrible cherry cough medicine I had to take as a kid. I'll give you another try later on, but you smell like cherry cough syrup and morph into maraschino territory. I think this might be good for someone without bad memories of cherry scents. I guess I can't try Kyoto in the future because that has cherry in it as well.

That's about it for now. If I spill any more imps on myself, I'll do another update tonight.

Oh those sounds yummy! http://smilies.sofrayt.com/1/950/candy.gif  I get some freaky dreams myself.  I get the ususal hair dreams, either I cut it or dye it. http://smilies.sofrayt.com/aiw/shock.gif Mostly I dream of montsers and stuff.  Lastnight I drempt of being at a dude ranch and having to climb a tree casue a big wolf was after me.  Wierd! http://smilies.sofrayt.com/1/950/crazy.gif

You know, Juri, I keep reading "imp" and I get this mental image of little elves with perfume bottles dancing around your feet, ocassionally being naughty and pouring some of the smell-good elixir on you... LOL!

"Come, my fragrance imps!  I wish to smell of flowers!"

Yes, my mind wanders..  ::)

LOL Novusfemina!  ;D

That's kind of the image I get too...

LOL, you guys! Just too funny. ;D

Hair--Trimmed a bit today and did my usual fenugreek soak, CWC, and herbal rinse. But this time, however, I added some rosehip seed oil to the fenugreek. 's about it.


Sorry for not writing for a few days but life got in the way and I learned some bad news yesterday that made me too sad to post. Actually, while I've accepted the news, I'm still a rather sad about the whole thing. I'm afraid this entry won't be very lighthearted. I'm not sure if I should use proper names, but perhaps it doesn't matter since he's passed on and rather well-known in the tattooing community anyway. I doubt many (if any) tattoo fans read this journal, but if there are, maybe they'll get another example of what a cool guy he was.

Well, yesterday when I was on the internet, I found out that my dad's friend, tattoo artist extraordinaire and all-around neat guy, Mike Malone passed way. He actually passed in April, but I didn't find out until I googled his name just to see what he was up to. My dad and Uncle Mike (as I grew up calling him) knew each other since before I was born and my dad used to take me to his shop in Chinatown when I was a little kid.

When I would go there, Uncle Mike used to tell me a story about a mean haole man who made the poor, little Japanese kids build him a swimming pool in his backyard. While the kids had to work in the hot sun, the mean haole man would sit in the shade and drink cold sodas, but the kids had to drink from the garden hose. When the pool was finally finished and the man was about to jump in, a gigantic koi came up and swallowed him whole. The little Japanese kids rejoiced and swam in the pool all summer long.

Even after nearly 20 years I can recall that story. Apparently Uncle Mike had ad-libbed the whole thing because when my dad mentioned it to him when I was in high school, he didn't remember any of it and was amazed I did. It's weird, I can't remember what he looked like, but I remember that story, his paperweight with the scorpion inside, and the cockroach hole in the baseboard that I thought was a mouse hole.

After Uncle Mike moved back to the mainland for good, he and my dad lost touch. But when I ran into "Aunty" Kandi (another of my dad's tattoo artist friends) a couple of years back at an art gallery she had some of her work in, she told me how sorry she and Uncle Mike were about my dad. She also told me that sometimes when she calls him, they talk about my dad and wonder what I'm up to. I was really touched that Aunty Kandi, whom I hadn't seen in 10 years and Uncle Mike, whom I hadn't seen in nearly 20, still remembered me and my dad. I mean, it would be natural for them to remember my dad since they were friends. But with all the people they've met over the decades, I was amazed that they would even bother to mention me.

That night she gave me Uncle Mike's address so I could write to him. But at the time I was in my last year of college and trying to finish my honors project, so writing to my late father's friends wasn't a super high priority. Sending a letter to him got put to the side and was eventually forgotten, put on a to-do list, and forgotten again. Then I moved out of the country and forgot about it again until yesterday. Imagine my shock and sadness when I learned that my dad's friend had been dead since April.  

While I think it's a bit silly for me to be so sad over the passing of someone I haven't seen since I was probably in the first grade, I feel so much regret for not having gotten in touch with him while he was still alive. I had nearly two years to contact someone who told me a story I still remember and despite the hundreds of people he'd met over the years, never forgot who I was and even wondered what I was doing with my life. But I didn't, and now it's too late.

Rest in peace, Uncle Mike. I'll never forget you and the humor you showed to an easily entertained little kid.

Oh Juri!  I am sorry for your loss!!! :'(  Although I am not in the tatto world,I do love the art work of gifted artists and appreciate their work.  Your story of "Uncle Mike" made me feel like I got a very small knowedge of very cool guy who the world in general will miss.  If they didn't know him personally,it was a loss;if they did know him personally,they were fortunate and lucky to have known a special person.

Juri, I'm sorry for your loss.  It's not silly at all, a part of your childhood has died.  I hope you'll give yourself the time to grieve-the little girl "Juri" is feeling the loss for sure!

Thanks for sharing your story of Uncle Mike.  He sounds like a totally cool guy!  I have 2 tattoos, BTW.  I'm sure I would have enjoyed his work.

Take care of yourself!!

Aw Juri, I am sorry, hon.  :(  *hugs*

I just lost an Uncle Mike too.

Thanks so much for your words, Curlgirl, Sakina, and Angel Spun. They really mean a lot to me. I have a hard time expressing feelings of sadness in real life so I'm grateful that I can do it here and get such support. I'm feeling better, but sometimes when I think about it, I get teary eyed. Besides a part of my childhood dying, it also feels like I've lost another connection to my dad. But perhaps Dad and Uncle Mike are now sharing some Dos Equis and eating magic brownies together (er, yeah, those types of brownies. Don't ask). I'm hoping I can see Aunty Kandi when I go back home  during the Christmas/New Year's holidays and touch bases with her. And maybe get that tattoo I've been thinking about since I was in high school. I don't know for sure, but in a weird way feels like the right time in my life to do it.

The Star-Bulletin had an article about Uncle Mike, Aunty Kandi, and Ed Hardy when they had their own showing at the Contemporary Museum. I went down there and was amazed by their art. I would have bought Uncle Mike's "Moon Shot", but at the time I didn't have $2000 to throw around. (Well, I still don't but since I have a job, I can justify the purchase more.) I hope it went to a good home.

Sigh. Well, enough sad feelings for now. I feel like I've had my fill over the past couple of days. I did have something nice happen to me today. When I got to work this morning, I found my order from Chagrin Valley Soap sitting on my desk, waiting for me to open it. I ordered a bunch of samples and a full bar of Pumpkin Spice. Man, the soaps smell so good. I wonder which one I should try first. The labels are too cute and the Patchouli Herb package has a little Hippie on it. As soon as I smelt it, "headshop" was the first thing that came to mind.

BPAL--Been trying more scents over the past few days. I haven't had any more "ZOMG, I lurv it!" experiences yet but I've found some pleasant oils.

*Baobhan Sith, Diabolus GC: grapfruit, white tea, apple blossom, ginger. Nice, light, citrusy. I'm not sure if I'd get a whole bottle of it, but it's nice enough.

*Jack, Bewitching Brews GC: pumpkin, peach, clove. At first it smells like Buttered Popcorn Jelly Bellies. But then I get the peach and some cloves. Not sure if I'd use it as a perfume, but it makes a really nice room scent.

Masabakes, Diabolus GC: black currant, myrrh, mimosa, mandarake. Potpourri through and through. Definate no.

Samhain 2007, Halloween Limited Edition: fir needle, black patchouli, pumpkin, clove, nutmeg, all spice, red apple, mullein. Because of the fir, it's a very sharp, cold scent. It seems to match the weather we're getting now. Overall, it's a "yes but no" for me.

Zorya, Excolo GC: spices of the Orient with crystalline white musk, midnight flowers, cereus, jasmine, primrose, vesper iris. O ye gods, this is a definite no. From the moment I put it on, the jasmine started screaming "Smell me! MEMEMEMEME!" I had to wash it off.

March Hare, Mad Tea Party GC: apricot and sweet clove. Very apricoty and cute. It would be a good daytime perfume.

You know, I'm glad you're seeing your dad and Uncle Mike sharing magic brownies and beer... I always envision my grandma and my Uncle sharing a good giggle over the kids who used to ring the bell in their front yard.. and watching grandpa chase them around the neighborhood when they did it.  Memories keep loved ones close to your heart.  *hugs*

And.. magic brownies.. hehehehehehehehe!  I won't ask, even though I'm tempted to.   ;)

I am sorry about your uncle Juri Chan :-[ Forgive me for missing this!

I'm sorry about your honorary uncle, Juri *hug* I'm glad, though, that you're remembering the good times, and seeing him in the afterlife with your dad, partying it up.  ;)

If I didn't have to worry about paul's allergies to certain scents, I'd be ordering some of those, just based off your descriptions. :/  I'd hate to get something I liked, though, and have to give it up... Meh. tempted anyway.

Quote:

And maybe get that tattoo I've been thinking about since I was in high school. I don't know for sure, but in a weird way feels like the right time in my life to do it.

We must be linked or something. I'm going to try to do the same thing in January for my b-day.

And I hope to God that they don't have "magic" brownies in heaven. That's just wrong.  :P

Isn't it funny how little packages in the mail addressed to you can make even sucky days seem kind of cool?

What do want to get?  There's so much cool art its hard to decide.  I recommend being completely sure before you set foot in the shop.  You'll want to change your mind a million times after you see all the designs.

If you want something really specific i.e. asian art, look for an artist who specializes in asian style and you'll get a better result.

Do not get tattooed the week before or of your period.  Our pain tollerance is naturally lower at that time of the month so save yourself some discomfort!!

Thanks a lot, Novusfemina, Kiraela, and Lisabelle. As absurd as the idea of them having *special* baked goods is, it's cheered me up. As for the brownies, the only thing I can say is that they met in the 70s and my dad told me he was impressed by Uncle Mike being able to eat a couple while he couldn't finish one, so...I'll just leave it at that.

Yeesh, I feel like I'm painting a picture of my dad being a total stoner. He wasn't or else my mom wouldn't have married him. I think he just did it on the weekends and he stopped before I was born. Still, that didn't stop me from teasing him that the residue must have stayed in his body or else I would be more normal. He replied, "Good!" :P

Angel Spun--Wow, that's pretty interesting! What kind of tattoo are you thinking of getting? I dunno, my dad's idea of heaven would probably include magic brownies, Cajun music, cute Filipina girls, and/or Jamie Lee Curtis. He was, err, a character.

Sakina--While I've considered various ideas over the years, the one that's been a constant--a phoenix on my shoulder with the tail feathers trailing down the top half of my upper arm. If I do go through with it, I'd get that design. Thanks for the tip. Did it hurt a lot when you got your tattoos? Right now that's the only thing that would prevent me from getting one.


BPAL--I've come to realize that florals don't do very well on me, especially iris and jasmine. I seem to do better with foody scents and those of the Oriental variety.

Kiraela, they have a ton of variety so maybe you could try some he might not be allergic to. Just a thought. I'm not trying to enable you at all, I swear. ::)

*Bewitched, Bewitching Brews GC: blackberry, sage, green tea, berries, musk. It started off a little musky/musty, but as it dried down it had a nice berry scent. While it was lighter than Midnight Kiss, it's a heavier perfume compared to something like Dormouse. Overall, it's a nice scent. 5ml bottle perhaps?

*Psyche, Love Potions GC: Bulgar rose, Chinese white musk, lavender, orchid, frankincense. I didn't get any of the lavender, but I could really smell the rose. It was nice, but I'm not sure if I'd get a full bottle. I might use the rest of the sample, though.

*Kathmandu, Wanderlust GC: saffron, sandalwood, Himalayan ceder, lotus, chiuri bark, Nepalese spices. Kind of woody/incensey. Got a lot of the ceder after it dried down. It's a nice scent, but I'm not sure it makes me smell like wood chips or not.

*Kumiho, Diabolus GC: white tea, ginger. A very simple, refreshing oil. It reminded me of Origin's Perfect World toner with some ginger added to it. I like Origins so it's a definite yes.

Hair--Same old same old. Used some of the whipped shea as a leave in and then put it in a bun. Not much else otherwise.

BPAL--Trying to keep up with the backlog of reviews I have.

*White Rabbit, Mad Tea Party GC: black tea, white pepper, ginger, honey, vanilla. After reading Galadriel's review of it, I got out my imp and tested it for the first time. Yep, it's really sweet and pretty much the only thing I could smell was the honey. Still, I like this scent quite a lot and could see getting a bottle of it.

*The Raven, Bewitching Brews GC: violet, neroli, iris, white sandalwood, dark musk. Iris. Agh, iris! I'm glad this was free because it didn't work on me at all. There was a weird underlying scent in Zorya and after trying the Raven and smelling the same odor, I've figured out that I can't do iris at all.

*Sophia, Excolo GC: lavender, musks, star jasmine, black rose, delphinium, gentle spice. I really, really wanted to like this one, but the jasmine! While it didn't go crazy like in Zorya, the jasmine is making this a definite no. Even though the jasmine didn't dominate the perfume, it smelt a little like a rotting bouquet of flowers on me. That would be fine if I was aiming for that, but alas...

*Catherine, Diabolus GC: orange blossom, rosemary, rose. In the imp it had a sharp citrus-herb smell. On me it was slightly soapy, but not really bad. It was one of those scents that reminded me of something and I had smelt something like it before, but I couldn't place it. This is ranging from an OK to hmmm.

*Y'ha-Nthlei, Picnic in Arkham GC: marine notes with bergamot, eucalyptus, ambergins. I wasn't sure about the marine notes and it's something I wouldn't have bought myself, but I'm so glad the lab staff sent it to me. This was great! It had a nice aqua scent and had a good, but not overwhelming throw. After all the so-so tests I've been having, it's nice to finally find something that I can like without any reservations. I hope I have good luck with other marine notes in the future.

*Twilight, Ars Moriendi GC: lavender, jasmine, honeysuckle. The jasmine didn't go crazy and I think that might happen when it's paired with iris. At first it had the rotting flowers odor, but it went away. After about an hour it started to remind me of the pages in a glossy magazine. Well, not completely, but that's the closest comparison I could think of. So far it's a "most likely, but not complete no".

Oh good, that was the last one for now.

I haven't been online in a while, but I want to say how sorry I am for your loss.  *hugs*

juri wrote on Oct 16^th, 2007 at 8:45am:

Sakina--While I've considered various ideas over the years, the one that's been a constant--a phoenix on my shoulder with the tail feathers trailing down the top half of my upper arm. If I do go through with it, I'd get that design. Thanks for the tip. Did it hurt a lot when you got your tattoos? Right now that's the only thing that would prevent me from getting one.

I've also been considering a phoenix,  to balance out the dragon on my left hip.  I must say that in general I have a high pain tollerance.  It is an irritation, like being scraped by a straight pin.  My other tattoo is on the inside of my right wrist, its red & black, and the he took a LOT of time working the red in.  Right over those tendons.  Just as I was about to tell him a needed a break he was done.  I'd have to say, for myself, that they did not hurt alot.  You can always tell your artist that you need a break.  The moment they take the needle off, it quits hurting.

If I can be more help, let me know!!

Quote:

Angel Spun--Wow, that's pretty interesting! What kind of tattoo are you thinking of getting? I dunno, my dad's idea of heaven would probably include magic brownies, Cajun music, cute Filipina girls, and/or Jamie Lee Curtis. He was, err, a character.

Sounds like it...

Since the age of about 16, I have wanted to get a rose on the lower left side of my back, just above my left kidney. Nothing major, no more than about 4" in length. The stem, leaves and thorns (if any) will be black silhouette, though I've not yet decided whether the head will be black silhouette as well or some sort of colour...like burgundy/purple with black tips or something. Very gothic, though. Just a discreet little something that says "me."

Hi, all. Sorry for not being around for the past couple of weeks, but I was getting distracted with work, trying to get the muse to work her magic on my own stories, and BPAL....Er, mostly with BPAL, to be totally honest. :-[ Um, anyway. Trisha--Thank you very much for your words. I've had a lot more time to process it, so I feel more at peace with it. I'm not sure if those are the right words, but I can't think of any other way to describe it at the moment. *hugs back*

Sakina--I think the phoenix-dragon combo would look really good. We must think alike because if I ever do get the phoenix, it's eventually going to be paired with a dragon (providing I decide to get a second tattoo). Okay, the pain involved with getting a tattoo doesn't sound as bad as I imagined. I always thought it would feel like a dozen ticked off cats trying to claw my skin off.

Angel Spun--Your design sounds like it's really well thought out. I think it'll look really nice if/when you get it. Be sure to write about it in your journal if you do.


BPAL--Yep, the obsession with it is going strong. Before the October Lunacy update went up (they usually have some special oils on sale for only a few days around the time of the full moon), I told myself that if I didn't at least get the pattern cut for three strawberry shortcake charms I promised some teachers, I couldn't order Lunacy oils this month. Well, I worked on them during the three periods I had free last week Thursday and ended up finishing all three felt charms the next day. Hello, Lunacy oils!

My poor debit card. I made a Lunacy/Halloween/Yule order and bought 10 bottles. I couldn't decide which Pumpkin Patch oil I wanted and I don't want to track anything down after the Halloween oils get taken down next month so I ordered the entire 5 bottle set with a bonus imp of Murder of Crows, plus All Souls 2007, Vampire Tears, Diwali, Gingerbread Poppet 2007, and Ivanushka (one of the Lunacy blends). There's a bunch more Yule blends I want to get (as well as some Stardust and Carnaval Diabolique blends) so I'm probably going to put in another order around the November Lunacy update. My birthday is a few days before next month's full moon so whatever I order can be a present for myself. *gak* Sheesh, why does everything at BPAL have to sound so dang good?

Halloween
*Pumpkin I--pumpkin with pear, white wine grapes, jasmine iced tea.
*Pumpkin II--pumpkin with tobacco, champa flower, carnation, tonka.
*Pumpkin III--pumpkin with white chocolate, caramel, pomegranate, and cream.
*Pumpkin IV--pumpkin with cactus blossom, sage, sweet grass.
*Pumpkin V--pumpkin with benzoin, bourbon vanilla, lemon peel, neroli, blood orange, red ginger.
*Murder of Crows--Sleek iris, verbena, grey amber, benzoin, devana, and glossy herbs.
*All Souls 2007--incense with the soft, sugared currant scent of offertory soul cakes.

Yule
*Diwali--lotus root, mango, tamarid, cardamom, clove, almond milk, cashew, rice flower, coconut, supari, raisins, incense crafted from red sandalwood, aloeswood, cedar, spikenard.
*Gingerbread Poppet 2007--gingerbread spiced with nutmeg, clove, cinnamon.

Lunacy
*Ivanushka--soft, velvety fur and warm musk, brushed by forest woods, and dusted by dry leaves.

Shojo Beat
*Vampire Tears--wisteria, white grapefruit, neroli, green tea, jasmine, white ginger, honeysuckle, iris, tonka. When I got the imp in my last order, I thought the jasmine-iris combo would be terrible on me, but the blend smelled really nice.

I'm going to try and catch up with the rest of the journals, but I think it's going to take a while. Sorry, guys.

Quote:

Angel Spun--Your design sounds like it's really well thought out. I think it'll look really nice if/when you get it. Be sure to write about it in your journal if you do.

You know I will.  ;)

wrote on Oct 29^th, 2007 at 5:24pm:

[quote] You know I will.  ;)

:D

Work--Had an interesting day. Today me and a bunch of other ALTs helped with a trip simulation for a high school that will be going to my home state next month. Considering the trip is only four days, the simulation was pretty elaborate. They had fake boarding passes, cardboard chicken/fish/beef airline meals, passports, money, and traveler's checks. I helped last year and this time I was a flight attendant, immigrations inspector, hotel lost & found worker, and a homestay big sister.

The kids' English abilities seemed really good this year and I rarely had to repeat myself. I hope when they go on the trip, they don't forget to get their passports back when using travelers' checks and/or leave their belongings lying around. It's so weird how safe Japan can be. There's so many times when I'm at a shopping center and someone will leave their cell phone/purse/wallet/whatever unattended and no one takes it. Anyway, I hope the students don't feel like they can to that in America, or anywhere else in the world, because their stuff is going to get stolen. At the lost and found station I manned, we had a bunch of forgotten passports, bags, and money. sigh

During the closing remarks I told them not to leave their passports lying around and to remember to get it back because they're "very important." Then I started to say, "It's a small thing, but important.  I mean, they're important but small...(thinking, what the heck am I saying?!) Just have a good time." But that wasn't as bad as the ALT who tried to say that they need to look out for each other's things and to take their friends' bags for them if they leave it. Except it ended up sounding like just take anything that's lying around even if it doesn't belong to anyone you know. Hopefully the students will take away the message that their passports are IMPORTANT and that leaving stuff unattended is a bad idea.

Things are cooling down considerably here and the leaves have turned lovely shades of red, orange, and yellow. I wish we had "real" falls back home.

Work--Been going pretty well the past couple of days. Whenever I'm at an elementary school, I always wonder if my kids are having fun, especially the 5th and 6th graders because they seem the hardest to please. Well, yesterday with the 5th and 6th graders at N Elem. School, I did simple shopping conversation with them. They didn't seem to into it until I gave them fake money to cut out and use for their shopping simulation. I broke them into groups and had them take turns being customers and salesclerks. They had to ask the prices of things I brought from my apartment and pay for it. The kids seemed to have fun and I was really pleased when their teacher went "sugoi!" (trans. WOW!) when she saw the play money. I was even happier when she got the digital camera to take pictures of the kids going "shopping".

Today when I was at M Elem. school and was eating lunch with the 1st graders, they were worried about the JHS teachers that were going to come later in the day to observe. It's a tiny school so the four 1st graders were saying that the JHS teachers are scary. Their teacher told them that I'm also a JHS teacher and asked them if I'm scary. The kids said no and I was so happy. I know the kids could have said that because I was in the same room, but since the conversation was in Japanese and they could have assumed I wouldn't understand, I think they gave an honest answer. I always doubt my competency as a teacher and whether or not the students like me so it's always a huge relief when they enjoy my lessons or seem happy to see me.

Hair--Doing well so far. The air is getting drier and I can feel a difference in how moisturized my hair seems. I tried using the CV soap bars as a shampoo bar a couple of times. I know they're not formulated the same way as the shampoo bars, but I wanted to try it anyway. I liked how my hair felt after it was completely dry, but until then it had a gummy feeling. I also learned that the soap bars aren't good at getting all the oils off from my oiled fenugreek soaks. The third time I used the bar on my hair, I just used it on my ends and final C'd with the mud-charcoal-hinoki oil conditioner. That combination seemed to work pretty well. I think I'll do that again the next time I need to wash my hair.

Got a hair compliment from the 1st grade teacher today. During lunch she said that my hair looked nice and asked to see the back. I was kind of surprised because it was just in a simple (and slightly lumpy) cinnabun. I obliged and the teacher and kids were going "wow!" She asked how long my hair is and motioned to BSL length. I said no and had to stand up so I could point to my rear. The girls were going "whoa!". Those were nice compliments and I'm glad the teacher didn't tell me my hair is too long. Sometimes it's still weird to be in a place where hair past shoulder length is uncommon.

Whipping Butter--My MRH order arrived last week and on Sunday I tried making another batch of whipped shea. This time I heated kokum, coconut, and shea butter in a cup I partially submerged in hot water. The butters melted, but it happened a lot more gradually then when I put it in the microwave. I added rosehip and camellia oil and this time I used an actual whisk to whip the butters and oils. I had to add lavender EO because the shea smelled too much like rubber.

The batch came out a lot fluffier than when I used two forks and somehow it doesn't seem as greasy. It absorbs quite quickly and I've been using it as an after shower treatment on my legs and hands. Last year I had problems with dry skin in those areas and judging by the results I've gotten so far, my dry skin problems might not be as bad this year.

Your teaching experiences sound wonderful!  What a great enduction system they have that they integrate the language skills in such a way.  I wish the US schools did that more consistently.  It sounds like you are a very creative and effective teacher for your students - keep up the good work.  :)

BB--Thanks a lot! Some of my lesson plans could be more exciting, but for the most part I *think* they're okay. I wish the education system here was always integrative, but alas, no. I don't know about the high schools but the junior high school students don't get too much practical use with English because they have to prepare for high school entrance exams. It's sad that in a lot of prefectures, if they fail the high school entrance test, they either have to go to a technical school or start working. With that kind of pressure, the teachers really have to focus on the textbook. I think I'll just leave it at that since after working here for a year, I can see so many things that could be changed for the better here. As for the elementary schools, since there isn't a set curriculum for English, I have a lot more freedom and can introduce the students to things they can use in a real life situation. Whether or not they remember is another story.

Okay, taking a break from a major attempt at cleaning my apartment. I bought two BPAL limited editions from someone on BPAL.org the other day and just discovered Nocturne Alchemy (crap, like I need another obsession :-[). I realized how much I've spent on perfume oils and feel totally guilty. In order to assuage some of that guilt, I'm doing something I really don't like: cleaning.

Well, the bottles I bought from BPAL.org are:
*Red Moon--warm amber, red musk, heliotrope, dragon's blood resin, sunflower, crushed orange peel, chamomile, rue, elderflower, and marigold.
*Enraged Groundhog Musk--cranky groundhog musk sweetened up by chocolate covered black cherries,cardamom, French vanilla, and caramel.

Limited edition purchases from Nocturne Alchemy:
*Vampire Pharaoh--cypress, myrrh, blackberry, dark musk, merlot wine, grapefruit zest, Egyptian and Indian karnataka sandalwood, fresh Egyptian herbs.
*Phumpkin Pharaoh--cinnamon, honeycomb, sweet milk, vanilla bean, red amber, Egyptian black rasberry, Egyptian blackberry, hazelnut, black vanilla, caramel, pumpkin, tea leaf.
*Ra's Chocolate Chai--dark chocolate, black tea, honey, milk, cacao, spiced chai.  

Nocturne Alchemy bases their blends on ancient Egypt, hence all the pharaoh references. Now I need to get back to work and resume wondering what happened to me. I hate store brand perfumes, but can't get enough of BPAL and now I've started on Nocturne Alchemy. *insert freaked-out icon*

I checked out Nocturne Alchemy... drool!!!!!   I found this place http://www.villainess.net/home.php?cat=17 Yet another neat site, the soaps look really cool! 8-)

Lisabelle--Eeek, must not look at Villainess site! Oh, who am I kidding?! Enable me, 'nee san! ;D  Sigh, those blends at Nocturne Alchemy look yummy, don't they? My poor debit card...

juri wrote on Nov 5^th, 2007 at 6:19am:

Lisabelle--Eeek, must not look at Villainess site! Oh, who am I kidding?! Enable me, 'nee san! ;D  Sigh, those blends at Nocturne Alchemy look yummy, don't they? My poor debit card...

8-)

Work--Today was okay. I had to correct some speeches the 2nd year kids wrote about what they want to be in the future. One that sticks out in my mind is from a girl who wrote the first part in English and the second half in Japanese. She wrote about how she likes animals so she wants to be a vet. Then in the Japanese portion, she wrote the same thing, but added that she doesn't actually want to be a vet. She wants to be an animal! The teacher and I cracked up over that and when the 3rd year English teacher came, she showed him the speech and he started laughing as well. I think this is the first time I've ever heard a 13/14 year-old say they want to be an animal. ;D

BPAL--'cause I can't get enough of that, right? *shifty eyes* Joined two decant circles for a lot of the Yule scents I want to try, but would go broke if I actually bought them in bottle form. I think $36 for 9 decants is a lot more reasonable than spending $162 on bottles I've never sniffed before. I am cutting down in purchases, though. Sort of. Unless it isn't available in sample form, I'm trying to stay away from bottle purchases and limiting that to what I REALLY want (too bad that's almost everything). Still, I haven't gone so overboard that I can justify spending more than $25 on a single bottle and even that's pushing it (thinking of eBay auctions that went to $40 and even $200 for a blend). I love BPAL, but I love having money in my bank account as well.

If this is anything like my kimono obsession (which I hope it will be), I'll spend a lot of money the first few months and then it'll taper off quite a bit and go down to one or two purchases a month if even that. *crosses fingers*

Today was a good day! Woohoo! Yesterday was on the blah side, so today was very nice. For one thing, my Banana Republic office pants finally fit again. I gained 9 pounds during the winter so I couldn't wear them anymore, but now I'm only one pound more than when I bought them. YES! I really like those pants and they go well with my Atolier Boz coat so I'm stoked that I can wear those two together again. Hmm, I think I'll wear them during my Tokyo trip two weeks from now and hang out in Harajuku. :D

Next, my bottles of Enraged Groundhog Musk and Red Moon arrived today! The groundhog on the label is so cute. And after I left feedback for the bpal.org forumite I bought them from, I updated my bottle list and found out I got one (reward) point. I was really surprised because I hadn't done anything to deserve one. I thought, "I have a point? WOW!!111" Also, the organizer of one of the Yule decant circles I joined ordered the bottles today. With any luck, I'll have those decants before I go home for the holidays.

What else. I didn't have any classes to team teach so I had time to take down the Halloween decorations I had put on two bulletin boards, and display my Thanksgiving/Fall pictures. My goal for this year is to change the bulletin board decorations for each season and holiday. For next month, I want to have pictures and info. on Christmas, Kwanzaa, and Hanukkah. The students all know what Christmas is so I want to include celebrations they probably don't know much about.

And tomorrow is Saturday (for me)! It's been three or four weeks since I've been to McDonald's, so I'm going to have that for lunch and after that, get a longer coat for late fall/spring. The pea coat I have now is good, but my legs freeze.

Um, I think that's about it. Expect more BPAL reviews in the future.

It was cold and overcast, but for some reason it felt like a really nice fall day to me. I think it's because it was nippy, but not freezing, and I couldn't smell anyone burning dry leaves (don't really care for the smell of smoke). I didn't find my coat, but I found some other things that made me happy. The store that was supposed to have the long coat didn't have it in stock, but they had two nice blouses in their bargain bin. So for less than $20 I got two nice, slightly old-fashioned blouses I can wear to work. Hurray for Japan's I-love-new-clothes-so-overstocks-get-marked-down-a-lot obsession! Maybe best of all is that one of them is a blouse that I wanted to buy in August, but didn't because it was a little too expensive.

BPAL
Enraged Groundhog Musk, A Lunacy forum-only LE. Yeah, this one is weird on me. In the bottle it smells chocolatey-oatmealish. On me, I get vanillaish cinnamon which makes me think of oatmeal for some reason. That in of itself isn't too bad since I seem to like foody scents a lot. Well when I tried it yesterday night, it smelt fine. Today, though, it's actually making me a little nauseous and bordering on Play-Dough. I hope that's not going to happen every time I put on EGM in the future. >:( I'm going to let the groundhog go back to sleep for a couple of weeks and if it makes me sick again, maybe I'll decant it to give to people and keep the bottle.

Okay, time to add sort-of yearly comparison pics.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/hair/web-dec2003small.jpg
Dec. 2003

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/hair/nov11closeupsmall.jpg
Nov. 11, 2005

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/hair/nov122006a.jpg
Nov. 12, 2006

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/hair/nov112007b.jpg
Nov. 11, 2007 (There would be a little more grown between 2006 and 2007, but I've trimmed off around 2 inches since September.)

It's been four years since I began my hair journey? It does, but--at the same time--doesn't feel like it's been that long.

Wow!!!  Gorgeous!!  I wish I had the forsite to make an annual pic of my growth.  I love the current color of your hair.  I'm jealous!!!

Thanks for sharing-its inspiring to me to keep on growing.   ;D

Awww, thanks, Sakina! :-*  I was really obsessed with my growth progress in the past so I ended up with annual pictures. I like my natural color a lot so I want to trim off all the bleached portions. If I maintain at classic, that should happen sometime in 2009. 2009?! :o

I have to say WOW as well!  Your hair is perfect, long, healthy, shiny, everything... absolutely perfect! :)

Sweet!  Your hair looks sooo good!!  It reminds me of the ladies in the Heian period of japan with there long flowing hair! 8-)

I have to give you a WOW too, Juri chan. Your pics remind me of a young Anais Satin, although I think her long hair journey took a bit longer. Keep at it, girl - you're doing great!  :)

La Diosa--Thanks for the compliment! I wish my hair was perfect (it's a constant battle against splits and little white dots), but thank you for saying so! It means a lot. :D

Lisabelle--I never would have compared it to the Heian ladies, so thanks! I usually consider it similar to Sadako/Samara from The Ring (except combed). ;D

Angel Spun--Anais? Really?! I have to squee a bit because she was my main hair idol when I first joined LL. :D

Much hugs and good hair wishes to everyone out there! :)

Juri, your hair growth is fantastic!  Thanks for sharing the pictures.

Quote:

Angel Spun--Anais? Really?! I have to squee a bit because she was my main hair idol when I first joined LL.  :D

Absolutely Anais. Your hair might even be longer than hers.

Your natural colour is great, btw. I wish my hair was that colour!

BB--Thank you! I owe a lot to LL. I think if it weren't for this forum and the people here, I probably would have cut it short again a long time ago.

Angel Spun--Hmm, I wonder how long her hair is now. I should pop over to the forum she's modding and say hello. And thank you for the compliment! I wonder if there's anyone here who hasn't done the "I wish my hair was ____ color". :-? I know I do that a lot.

Work--Next week is the ALT mid-year conference for my prefecture and I have to do a presentation. AAAGH! Yesterday I got an email saying that the lesson plans we had to submit for the conference were looked through and the most interesting ones will be presented by its creator. So I'll have to do it a total of 5 times in front of groups of my peers and answer any questions they might have about it. I'm kind of flattered that my activity was chosen, but at the same time I'm thinking "oh crap! I have to do a presentation?!" I think I would be more excited if I had put a lot of thought into the activity, but it was something I pulled out of the air because I was getting tired of playing Rock, Paper, Scissors, and telephone games with my students.

Well, my activity is based on a game called karuta. In regular karuta, the kids get into pairs or small groups and are given a set of picture cards. The teacher calls one of the cards and the first person to grab the correct card gets to keep it, and the one with the most cards is the winner. So in my version, the class is broken into three lines. Each group has a set of cards on the chalkboard, I call a card, and the first person to find the right card gets a point for the group. Then the person who just had a turn goes to the back of the line and the next person goes, etc.

And when I thought of it, it went pretty much like this: Well, I don't want to make fifteen sets of karuta cards. How about if I broke the class into teams so then I only have to make three sets of cards? I can put the cards on the board, and when I shout for a certain one, the kids can run and throw themselves against the chalkboard. The boys'll like that! *ponder for a few seconds* Okay! Sounds good to me.

Yeah, so not too much deep thinking went behind the activity, hence the apprehensiveness. Demonstrating the activity should be okay since it went over well when I used it in my elementary schools. But I'm not sure about the Q&A session. I hope the other ALTs will be really tired from traveling to the conference and won't have very many.  :-/

Congrats on having your activity picked!  I'm sure your presentation will go well, and as for the questions, if this is based on an activity they are already familiar with, there probably won't be many questions.

Your activity kinda reminded me of a game we played in 6th grade to help us learn the history of Minnesota.  The teacher had the room divided into 2 teams.  Each team had a stack of cards with each card containing a question about the history.  The cards were "pitches" and there were 4 bases.  One team would be "at bat" and the other would be the "fielders".  The first "fielder" would "pitch" a question to the first "at bat" person.  If they could correctly answer the question, they would advance to first base.  If they could not answer the question, it would be returned to the stack and another question would be asked.  There were only 2 chances to get on base.  If you could not answer the 2nd question, that was an out and the person went to the end of the line.  The next person would come to be "at bat" and the next fielder would ask the questions.  Points were scored when the on base people came "home".    Three outs and the teams would change places.  Sometimes the game would be played just until all the players had been at bat at least once, sometimes we would play until the first team reached a certain score.  By the end of the school year we were no longer allowed any "strikes" - we had to answer the question on the first try, and we were limited to a certain number of "at bats" before changing sides (this was because we were no longer getting any outs).  Of course the teacher would progressively add harder questions to make the game interesting.

Keep up the good work!

Your hair is simply fab-YOU-lous!  8-)  I, too, immediately thought of Anais when I saw your photos.  Great job, babe!  :)

Eeeek! Work presentations are scary. I hate public speaking!  :-[

You'll nail it though. They wouldn't have picked your lesson plan if they didn't think that you were onto something. Good luck, sista!  ;)

And yeah, I hear you on the "I wish my hair was ______ colour" idea. But dark hair is something that I have always coveted. It may be my goth nature...or it may be growing up the only light hair in an immediate family of dark hairs. Of course, I've always had a fascination with red too...  ;D

Wow. Juri.. just.... wow. Sorry I'm late catching up, but... wow. <3 your hair. I hope mine looks half that good at that length.
Nothing to say about the presentation... I'd freak. I'm not afraid of public speaking, oh no... but people I don't know? that's another story.

Thanks for all of the comments and support, everyone! I read them all, but haven't had time to respond. This won't be much of a journal update either, but next time I'll be sure to get to each reply since the last time I posted. In a nutshell:

Work--Presentation went well, my student did a good job at the speech contest in Tokyo, but didn't get into the finals. That's okay, though. She did her best and her teacher and I couldn't be more proud of her.

At the contest, saw a member of royalty in person for the first time in my life and even stood behind her for a huge group picture. The person was Her Imperial Highness Takamado, but apparently she's not *that* famous because that was the first time K sensei ever saw her. I didn't care, it was still cool.

This coming weekend is the teachers' trip. We're going some place in Miyagi prefecture.

Secret Santa--Wondering what to get my person, but getting good ideas.

BPAL--October lunacy order and one decant circle came in. Yays!

Other--Turned 26 last Tuesday. Yay, but ack. Went out to have a birthday dinner with three of the JHS teachers. It was a lot of fun.

Finally bought the walking skirt and corset (my first one) that I've had my eye on for a few months. woo

Happy Belated Birthday!! http://smilies.sofrayt.com/1/r/bigdance2.gif

Happy belated birthday, Juri!

And yays to the skirt & corset - I'm sure they both rock.

Congrats to your student on giving it her best - that's all one can ask.

Aww, happy belated birthday!!   :)

Happy Birthday Juri! [smiley=birthdays.gif]

Belated Happy Birthday!!!!! :)

Thanks for all the birthday wishes, everyone!!! Sorry it took me several months to get back to them.

Yep, so like some sort of migratory bird, I'm back again for the time being. I hope I can eventually break out of this "come back, leave, come back, leave" cycle I'm in. :P  I have to get ready for bed soon, so here's a quick up date. Tuesday's a holiday (woo!) so I'll have more time for a longer entry then. In a nutshell, though:

Hair--I've gone from classic to vertical-smile length. I started to cut it shorter in December because it was getting a little too time consuming to care for plus I was getting tired of the unsolicited comments from adults about how long it was. I have a whole rant about it, but it'll have to wait.

Positives
-Went home for three weeks during the winter break. It was really nice to be back home with my mom and dog. Oh, and not having to worry about freezing pipes or black ice was great.
-Went to Kamakura for the first time last month. It's a cool place and I didn't have enough time to see everything I wanted to. I'll have to go back again one day.
-Managed not to gain much winter weight. Yay! Last year I gained about 15 pounds! Ugh. I lost most of it during the summer and fall. The lowest I got down to was about 110lbs. However, within the past few weeks the scale went up two pounds. I've switched to heavier weights when I exercise, so I'm telling myself I've gained a kilo of muscle. Ha!

Okay, it's past 10pm here and I need to brush my teeth. I'll be back either tomorrow or the day after. Have a good day, everyone!
 

I'm glad to you stopped in and that everything is going well.  Can't wait to read your rant. ;D

((((((((Juri!))))))))))

So nice to hear from you again.  :)

Sounds like you had a good vacation. I too am stuck between the 110-120 lb. range and can't seem to shake it. Bleh. All the best to you and I'm looking forward to your rant also.  ;)

We are all waiting with baited breath to hear more stories.  We'll wait for when you have time, but hope it won't be so long this time.

Thanks a lot, La Diosa, Angel Spun, and BB!! :) I tried writing the hair rant for 15 minutes, but kept deleting it because I couldn't put what I wanted to say into coherent sentences. I think I have to try again later. Sorry.

But there is something I can write about: I can't believe how pervy some of the students' dads are. When I was at a party last month, the former school nurse was there and one dad kept trying to take a picture of her boobs. She's rather busty compared to most Japanese women and so there was maybe a half inch of cleavage showing (not much compared to what I've seen back home). Anyway, while she (I'll call her Nurse A) was talking to another teacher, we noticed that the guy was standing right beside her and had his camera focused on her cleavage. I was grossed out, but she and the teacher laughed and the dad went away.

A few minutes later, I glanced across the room and saw the guy standing with his camera trained on Nurse A's breasts again. While I can't be 100% positive he was trying to get a picture, it sure looked like it. He even tried for a THIRD time to get a picture of her cleavage. This time he stood right next to her. I yelled her name and she managed to cover herself before he managed to get a shot.

Well, I was completely disgusted by the guy and when we were lined up to say goodbye to the guests of honor, I had the misfortune of being stuck near him. We were standing next to the dessert table and while we were waiting, I heard him call my name. I turned around and he had a mini dessert tart in his fingers and was sticking it right in front of my face, maybe an inch from my mouth. By that time I was ready to punch him, but unfortunately I couldn't. I thought, "What the f***!!!! You must be high if you think I'm gonna eat from your damn fingers!" I was bending backwards away from him, but he just kept moving the tart closer and closer. Thank goodness for all the ab exercises I've been doing for over a year or else I would have fallen over since he could not read body language at all.

Since he was dense enough not to get the message that I wasn't going to eat from his fingers, I had to slap it out of his hand. I wish. It would not have been undeserved if I had done that. Anyway, I ended up grabbing the tart and held it for a while before I shoved it in my mouth. Lame ending, I know. But if I had been in the same situation when I was younger, I would have been really meek and let him feed me, so at least I ate the stupid thing on my own terms, not his. My mom had a good laugh when I told her what happened and she was glad I didn't let him do what he wanted.

I'm still a little "WTF?" about the whole thing. While I know perverts are everywhere, I sure wasn't expecting a student's dad, who's a member of the PTA, to try MULTIPLE times to take a picture of the school nurse's cleavage and to try and feed me something with his bare fingers. The students here have "moral education" lessons, but I think the parents need to take them as well. Good grief.

I, unfortunately, have another story similar to this that will have to be saved for another day. Ah, Japan, the land of borderline sexual harassment. [/sarcasm]

What a jerk...  At the risk of getting fired, I would have been tempted to shove that ****ing tart up his nose.   >:(

Borderline???

There is nothing borderline about it, Juri. That IS sexual harassment and whomever hosted said party should have been notified of this man's behavior and asked him to leave.

As for the tart, I would not have eaten it. You don't know where those hands have been! The appropriate response would have been to duck out of the way, look him in the eye and say, "No thank you." And, of course, to avoid him for the rest of the night. Yeesh.

While I understand the cultural difference, that doesn't mean that you should have to tolerate behavior that is unacceptable to you.

Huh, I would've never guessed that Japanese men could be openly pervy.  I thought their culture was more proper and subdued. :-?

I wouldn't have eaten the tart either.  Not because I'm badass or anything, I'm just a germophobe. ::)  I would've most likely held it in my hand and thrown it away later. :P

Anyway, I hate perverts and have had the misfortune of running into far too many in my lifetime.

Trisha--Yeah, I wish I could have done that, but I think I could have said goodbye to my job. Or maybe not. It costs the town around $5000 to replace an ALT so maybe they would have docked my pay or something.

Angel Spun--I'm glad someone thinks it was sexual harassment. I thought it was, but given everyone's (the teachers, Nurse A-though perhaps she was actually offended and didn't show it) non-reaction to what was going on, I wondered if I was being melodramatic. Thanks for the suggestion about what to do. Some other guy tried to feed me later that month so I'm sure there's going to be another opportunity to use what you told me. I'm so sad that I had to write that. What is it with this country and sexual harassment?

La Diosa--That's what I thought as well. I knew about women getting groped on packed trains, but I wasn't prepared for such blatant perviness. I wondered about the tart thing too, except it was after I ate it. :P But for me it's not so much a germ thing (since I've been here I've had to try raw horse meat, raw whale meat, deep fried fish intestine, sea squirt mixed with raw egg, baby fish with the head still on, etc.) as a power issue.

I've been wondering about the picture taking and feeding issue and I think guys are under the impression they can get away with being perverts because it seems like inappropriate behavior is excused if you're drunk, and no one talks about what happens at parties so they don't have to worry about people bringing it up later on.

After the second instance when some guy tried to feed me, I asked a teacher I'm friends with if that's culturally acceptable here (that and the incident with Nurse A). She asked if he had been drinking and I said yes. She got a look that read "yeah, that explains it" and nodded, but didn't seem particularly disturbed at what had happened. She did say, though, that even here feeding near strangers is "dirty". I'm not sure if she meant dirty as in unsanitary or inappropriate. At any rate, at least I know it's not okay.

And it seems like sexual harassment in general isn't taken that seriously. I mean, Nurse A and the teacher sitting next to her laughed about the dad trying to take pictures of her cleavage. Perhaps Nurse A was hiding her true feelings, but outwardly it didn't seem like she had a problem with his behavior. And when the dad tried to feed me, the school councilor was standing between us, but she didn't try to stop him or say "what do you think you're doing?" It doesn't help that the school treats the parents with kid gloves so I don't think the guy would have been thrown out if I had complained (the school hosted the party). Gah, this country, I swear... But I must say this, not every guy I've met here is a pervert. Most are normal and not given to such inappropriate behavior.

And now for something completely different: I want to take ballet again when I move back home so I've been trying to improve my ankle and foot strength. It's only been a week or two, but I can already feel and see an improvement. Each day I write the alphabet from A-G several times with my feet and much to my surprise it actually works. I think if I keep this up and continue to do the NYCB ballet workout, I'll be in good shape when I finally get to resume ballet lessons. Maybe after a year or two I'll get to go on pointe again. woo!

I'm going to be gone for a few days. It's Golden Week and I'm going to Iwate and Akita prefectures. I'll be back next week. Have a good weekend!

Ah, a fellow former ballerina. I've always wanted to get back into it too.  :)

As for sexual harassment in Japan, well, all over Asia, women are viewed as very secondary to men. That's the way their culture has been for thousands of years. But rather than stand up for themselves, the women stand by and take whatever treatment they're given. Their role is to be provided for - not to provide for themselves. This is why the men feel that they can get away with whatever.
   Asking women who have lived there all of their lives won't help you because the gender roles have already been imposed upon them from birth. You, however, are an American and were not raised with such roles...hopefully. And as an American, you were taught to recognize sexual harassment and put a stop to it immediately (again, hopefully). At home, you have rights and laws that protect you from unwanted advances...that is your background.
   Other countries don't work that way. So this is where you have to rely on your instincts. No matter where you are, if someone is doing something that you're not comfortable with, don't let them!

Of course, in every country, there are a lot of guys who are just plain clueless. They act on their instincts and don't even realize that they're being inappropriate (especially if they're drunk). Guys like these are just lost causes IMO and your best course of action is to avoid them.

As for Nurse A, she could very well have feelings for this pervert dad...God only knows why. Her actions would certainly suggest that she does (although she may have had a few drinks as well). Or she may be quite accustomed to drunk men perving on her and it might not bother her that much. But...that's her, not you.

You're also absolutely right about the pervy dad's motives being about power. Kudos to you for recognizing that. Remember what I said about gender roles? This is why you shouldn't have taken his tart. This man was not trying to offer you something - he was trying to force it.
   
Unfortunately, men getting drunk and making unwanted advances on women is as old as time itself and happens everywhere, regardless of culture. This is why it doesn't matter where you are or what the circumstances. Trust yourself and protect yourself 'cause in the end, you're the only person you can rely on. Savvy?  ;)

Have fun this weekend, kid. Oh and *ahem ahem* take your camera with you if possible *ahem*  ;D

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So this is where you have to rely on your instincts. No matter where you are, if someone is doing something that you're not comfortable with, don't let them!

Quite right!  Of course accidents happen...  I'm one of those clutzy people who might ACCIDENTALLY dump a cup of hot coffee in such a man's lap...  Or spill a cold drink down his back.  Ahem.   ::)   8-)  

;D  lol Trisha

I've been thinking about what you had to see and I am sorry.  I have known that the Japnese culture can be very different then ours.  Sex is looked at in a different way.  A friend of mine when to Tokyo a few years ago.  He was shocked to see young children reading Henti in the streets.  Kelly Osborne had a TV show of her trip to Japan and she was most up about some of the going on as well.  This also had to do with pictures being taken of women.  Again I am so sorry you had to see this side of Japanese culture.http://www.smilieshq.com/smilies/love0028.gif

The Japanese have a different sense about sex than us raised in Western culture.  If some man treated me that way it would be extremely offensive, and I'd probably wig out.  For the nurse and father though, it didn't seem to be an issue.  :-/

Angel Spun--I didn't know you took ballet. Neat! How long did you do it? About the other issue, too true. From an incident at a PTA and teachers' party this past weekend that involved a parent pressuring a teacher to do something she didn't want to do, I noticed that both here and back home people tend to side step issues to avoid confrontation, myself included. I really need to learn how to put my foot down and just give a direct "no". Sorry to be so vague and abrupt when you wrote such a fabulous post, but I'm trying not to think about this too much at the moment.  :-/

Trisha--lol! I wish I had your guts. I know I'd have the urge to do those things, but wouldn't because I'd feel guilty after. yeesh

Lisabelle--Thanks for the hug. Please don't feel sorry, it's not as if you were responsible. Eww, I'm so glad I've never seen any of my students reading hentai. I think I'd probably shout "OMGwhatdoyouthinkyou'rereading???!!!!" and then have an aneurysm.  :P

Citrine--Hullo! I'm not sure if we've "met," but nice to have you here! Yeah, no kidding. I kind of knew things would be different here, but actually experiencing those differences is something else entirely. I try not to judge some events from an American standpoint, but it's hard to do that in situations like this.

Sorry to have been away so long. I had just expected to be away for a few days during Golden Week, but it obviously ended up being a lot longer than that. I blame laziness and an addiction to YouTube.

Well, I have a fun trip. On the first day I went to Hirazumi to see their spring festival that honors Minamoto Yoshitsune and the Fujiwara clan. Yoshitsune's an extremely famous person in Japanese history and he had fled to Hiraizumi in Iwate prefecture to escape from his older brother who wanted to kill him. I had learned about Yoshitsune in my pre-modern Japanese history class and was able to see the parade that recreates his procession to Hirazumi. Amazingly, Hirazumi was the northern seat of power of the Fujiwara clan (the most powerful family in the Heian period, about 1000 years ago), but now it looks rather like my own sleepy little town. In fact, I was walking down one street and thought, "Man it's like I never even left N----- town."

On the second day I went to Geibikei gorge to go on its famous boat ride, but a lot of other people had the same idea and I didn't feel like waiting in line. I just took some pictures of the area, ate zunda (some sort of plant) soft ice cream, and bought more Hello Kitty cell phone charms that are exclusive to Iwate. Then I took the train to Morioka and checked into my hotel.

On the third and last day I went to Kakunodate in Akita prefecture. Kakunodate is an old samurai town and is one of the best places to see cherry blossoms. Unfortunately, the cherry blossoms bloomed early this year so by the time I got there, there weren't any in bloom. Still, it was a really nice place and I took a lot of pictures. And bought more Hello Kitty charms. :P  

I'll post pictures from my trip and write more about what I did in another post. Until then!

It must be facinating to see the places in history that you have read/studied about.  Just curious, are you doing this traveling alone or do you have a travel buddy?  I hate traveling alone, especially to scenic/historic places.  I'd much rather have someone to share the experiences with.  I look forward to your pictures.

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Angel Spun--I didn't know you took ballet. Neat! How long did you do it?

Yup, when I was young. I only did it for a year or so. My mother decided that it was an inconvenience to drive me back & forth to lessons, so she stopped signing me up.  :'(  Which sucks because it was something that I loved to do - I was one of the lead ballerinas in the class.  :)

BB--It is rather neat and makes my trips more meaningful. But I think it would be a little better if I could remember more of my pre-modern Japanese history. I do almost all of my traveling solo. Sometimes it would be nice to have a companion, but I kind of prefer traveling by myself.

Angel Spun--That's cool! It's too bad your mom made you quit. I hope you can start again one day. It's never too late! I did it off and on during elementary school and then for 5 years during high school and college. I stopped because I was becoming too busy with school and needed a break.

Travels--Here's some pictures I took last month in Iwate and Akita.
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/japan/IMG_5060a-festivalposter.jpg
This is a poster for the Spring Fujiwara Festival. The guest of honor was Ryo Kimura. I had no idea who he was, but apparently he's a well-known actor in Japanese dramas.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/japan/IMG_5189-ryo.jpg
Here he is as Minamoto Yoshitsune. It was funny how large crowds of people followed him down the parade route.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/japan/IMG_5217b.jpg
One of the parade participants. I almost shouted, "Wow, a woman!" because the vast majority of the riders were men.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/japan/IMG_5227a-paradehorsesB.jpg
And a back shot of some of the riders.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/japan/IMG_5323a-motsujilakeB.jpg
After the parade I went to Motsuji temple. This is the famous pond/lake at the temple complex. The rocks are supposed to represent something, but I can't remember what.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/japan/IMG_5307a-motsujistatueb.jpg
A large statue of a bodhisattva at Motsuji. According to legend, the jewel in his hands is supposed to grant a person's wishes if he/she believes in the bodhisattva's power.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/japan/IMG_5142-park1.jpg
There was a park next to Motsuji and there were a bunch of food booths and places for people to relax.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/japan/IMG_5354a-geibikeisakura1b.jpg
This is from Geibikei Gorge. I have macro skillz. haha

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/japan/IMG_5390a-moriokashinkansenb.jpg
One of the many types of bullet trains in Japan. I took this while waiting for the Akita bullet train. This is the same model of train that I take when I go to Tokyo.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/japan/IMG_5407a-akitashinkansenb.jpg
The view from the Akita bullet train. Nice, yeah?

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/japan/IMG_5419a-kakunodatemanholeB.jpg
One of the cool things about Japan is that a lot of the man hole covers have elaborate designs, though not all of them are painted. This is from Kakunodate, Akita.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/japan/IMG_5435a.jpg
One of the many traditional-style gates in Kakunodate.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/japan/IMG_5597a.jpg
I went to one of the samurai houses that are open to the public in Kakunodate and this is the view of one from the street.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/japan/IMG_5527a-kakunodatewellB.jpg
A well from the samurai house I visited. I'm really glad for indoor pluming.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/japan/IMG_5550a.jpg
The outside view of part of the samurai house.

That's about it for the pictures that I resized. Agh, I'm so lazy. I'm going to put up a few more on another day.

Hair--Don't have a rant or anything for this post. Just an update on my current regimen.
-CWC every 3-4 days
-shampoo: Shiseido's Tsubaki. It works well, but has SLS
-conditioners: Lush (not sure what the American equivalent is, but the Japanese version translates to something like "South Island Coconut") and Ichikami. The Lush condish is REALLY thin compared to what I'm used to. I don't think I'll buy another bottle when this one is gone. The Ichikami works very well, but I'm concerned about all the cones in it.
-leave in: my own batch of shea and cocoa butter whipped with camellia and rosehip seed oil.
-deep conditioning: none because I'm too lazy to do it.

Health and Fitness--Couldn't exercise as much as I would have liked this week because I had a fever last Sunday and am currently fighting off a sinus infection. The sinus infection is nearly gone so yay. I hope tomorrow I can get back to doing my full core and upper arm routine.

It's kind of frustrating being in this country because so many of the women are so friggin' skinny. I try to exercise 5 days a week and I think I look good the way I am, but when I look at the other women--argh. I don't feel like I'm fat, but I definitely feel large-ish compared to other women my age. Intellectually, I know I'd rather be muscular and fit (which I'm trying for) than just skinny with no muscle tone. But when I go out, a stupid part of my brain shouts, "Good grief, look at that girl! Does she eat? Does she exercise 10 hours a day? Her waist is so tiny!...Why can't I look like that?" I'm repulsed/annoyed at how extremely thin women are in Japan, but at the same time I'm envious that they are so tiny. I don't know. I'm just rambling now.

On the positive side, after months of almost daily stretching, I can do this:
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/swan_lake11.jpg
Not me (obviously), but you get the idea. I could never do this before, even when I had four ballet classes a week, so I'm extremely pleased at how flexible I've become. Still can't to the splits, though.

I used to be skinny and you know what, most of the time I hated it :o  Mainly for the reason that some people would say, "You are so skinny" as if I didn't know it >:(
And, back then I would eat a lot more than I do now but then I was a lot more active mainly riding my BMX (Bicycle Motorcross) bike and/or my mountain bike a lot.

But, now I am older and less active so I have put on some weight.  For my height I am a little overweight and I would like to lose a few pounds but I am satisfied with my weight.


I don't know about other guys but personally I am not attracted to skinny ladies.  In fact, if they are very skinny like most of the supermodels I think it makes them look less attractive but that is how that industry is ran ::)
As the saying goes, I like some meat on the ladies bones.  Obese and very obese is very ugly to me but ladies such as Camryn Manheim  are pretty especially since she has long hair.  And Oprah was not that bad when she was overweight and there are other examples I could give.

What really annoys me is when a lady looks not skinny but not overweight but she thinks she is fat :P  To me, that could lead to anirexia (sp?) and/or bulemia (sp?).

Jerry

Your pictures are fantastic!  Our own travel guide.  :D

I totally understand your image issues.  You are a product of the advertising you were exposed to growing up.  "you must be skinny, thin, tiny, petite".  Plus you are in a country where the general female population will be tiny and petite.  I know I would feel like an elephant compared to the women there.  But you are right to remind yourself that there is more to it than appearance.  HEALTH is more important.  If you are eating right, exercising regularly, your vitals are in a good range, then you are healthy.  (My doctor keeps reminding me about this - she tells me that I am healthier than most of the women my age, yet I still have 30 pounds that I'd like to get rid of.)

Hang in there!  I hope you recover from your sinus infection soon.

I love your pictures!

When I see skinnier women, I often feel the same way...unfortunately.  It's my own fault though.  When I was skinnier, I couldn't appreciate it because I was teased about it as well.  Now that I'm no longer as thin, I try to exercise and keep in shape but I know that I'll probably never be as thin as I was because I'm getting older.  I just wish that I could've ignored the people who said that I was too thin and just enjoyed it.

I hope you feel better soon!

Beautiful pictures, Juri!  :D  Can't wait to see more!

Honey, don't worry about not being as thin as the natives. Their diet and upbringing are much different than yours has been. You'll probably also notice that the general population is quite a bit shorter there than in the States. This is also diet-related. So don't sweat it. It's just a difference in culture.

Hope you feel better soon. Sinus infections are nasty things!

Beautiful pictures!  Thanks!  I hope you fell better soon!  Sinus infections are the pits!:(

That looks like an awesome trip to take, the pictures are great!
I completely relate about seeing skinnier women, those same thoughts run through my mind too.  Sometimes I would simply stare at my Japanese Sensei because she was so little  :o

Hi, all! I'm really glad so many of you liked the pictures. Posting more will be this weekend's project. Thank you for the get well messages! The sinus infection is gone. yay

And thanks a lot for all your comments about weight. They made me feel better and I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one with those types of thoughts. I know in my head that since I'm a little taller than the national average, of course I'll need to buy bigger sizes. On the other hand, since I'm 5'3" with a BMI of 20 (on the smaller side back home), it's annoying that most of the time I need to buy a large over here. I feel like I'm stuck in the junior department when I go shopping. Oh well. At least I can find clothes that fit. I feel bad for one of the teachers because she's about 5'8" so she has a really hard time finding clothes.

Work--I'm really glad this week is over. It was so hectic! On Monday afternoon I found out that I was supposed to do a presentation on Thursday for the students who are going to Hawaii next month. So on top of my usual classes, prepping for my elementary school visits, and reading students' English diaries, I had to throw together a talk about Hawaii. I was going, "Aaaaaaaaghhhh!"

But everything came together and the presentation went really well. I managed to make a 3 page handout for the students and the two other ALTs who were there to help yesterday were impressed. I hope the kids have fun and get to practice their English with native speakers. Most of them should be fine, but some...I wish them luck.

Fitness--Didn't get to exercise yesterday because of the Hawaii presentation, but I had exercised Sunday-Wednesday so I counted that as my day of rest. I think I need to work cardio into my routine because I was playing tag with one of my 4th graders during lunch and after 5 minutes of chasing him around the gym, I was going, "Okay, I need a break." :P

Life in Japan--On Saturday I went to a mall named JUSCO in Shimoda town (about 13 miles from my place). The train and bus ride to get there took about 40 minutes, but it took me almost 3 hours to get home! When I was done shopping, I thought the bus I took from the train station to the mall would go directly back to the station, but it went all over the district. At one point it stopped at a train station that's 6 miles away!

It took about an hour to reach Shimoda station and then I had to wait another hour for the next train to come. After that I had to wait 45 minutes at Hachinohe station for the train that would take me from Hachinohe to the station in my town. I was so tired by the time I got home. But I wasn't too tired to call my mom and say, "You won't believe how long it took me to get back to my apartment!" And she laughed.

lol Ahh, public transportation.  ::)  ;D

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it took me almost 3 hours to get home!

:o

That sounds like a nightmare!  Is that normal, or was there another train that would've gotten you there sooner?

La Diosa--Well, in the more rural parts of Japan, it's not unusual for many local trains to only run once an hour. Because I had missed the train I intended to take, I had to wait about that long for the next one to arrive and then I had to wait another 45 minutes in order to catch the train from H station to my town. :P

So another three months have passed since I last wrote in my journal. I hope when I move back to the States, I'll start to write in it more regularly. Anyway, my mom came over for three weeks in late June/early July. We went to Hokkaido for a week and had a lot of fun. Then after that I went to Tokyo for a few days to see the American Ballet Theatre (awesome) and went to Tokyo Disney Resort (also awesome). And earlier this month I went to the Nebuta festival and the Sansha Taisai (another festival) in Hachinohe.

Hair--It's now approximately 33.5 inches. While having classic length hair was cool and made me feel slightly goddess-like, I think this is a good length for me. It's still long, but at least I don't have to worry about sitting on it nor do I have to use as much conditioner. Also, I think I've finally gotten rid of all the bleached portions. Not having to constantly look for little white dots and split ends is rather nice.

Fitness--Totally messed up schedule in July. Prior to last month I was exercising 5 or 6 times a week, but since I was doing so many things it went down to 2 or 3 times a week. That kind of sucked because I felt like I was losing what I had gained and it's not like I gain muscle very easily. Anyway, this past week I've been pushing myself to get back on schedule and had 6 exercise sessions. Woo!

Guys--Trying to stop myself from majorly crushing on J, one of the other two ALTs in my town. I've kind of liked him (romantically) for the past two years, but recently I been thinking about him a lot more. It's so annoying.  Physically, he's my type--tall, lean, kind of lanky--and he's really, really nice and makes me laugh a lot (two major pluses in my book). But he's so much more active than me. For example, he biked from our town to Tokyo in a week (389 miles!), does marathons, and wants to do triathlons, whilst I tend to debate going outside if it's too sunny. While I think it's great that he can do those types of things, I'm not at all an outdoorsy person. Yeah, we'd last for about a week if we actually did start to date. :P

Well, despite the unexpected snow fall on Sunday, spring is in full swing in my part of the world so I guess it means it's time for one of my sporatic updates.

Hair--Not much going on with that. I've been keeping it around waist length and it's looking a little worse for the wear. I've gotten lazy and stopped doing CWCs and don't normally use shea butter on it before putting it up for work. However, I still look for split ends and refrain from heat styling it.

Guys--Started to go out with J not long after my last entry. I thought it would only last a week. Boy was I wrong; we've been going out for nearly 9 months! I'm the first girl he's dated for more than four months and he's my first boyfriend. Ever. Today's his birthday so I made him a card and treating him to dinner tonight.

Work--My contract as an ALT is over in August and I'm looking forward to going back to America. Japan has been nice, but it's time for a change. I don't envy my superviser. Since J, me, and the other ALT in the town are all leaving, he will have to take care of the paperwork for three departing ALTs and our replacements.

This update is a little shorter than I'd like, but I need to get going. Tomorrow is a holiday so I'll probably finish it up then. Until, next time, take care! :)

Juri  *hugs*  Nice to hear from you!!   :)  I'm happy for you and J.  What will you do, jobwise, when you return to the states?  Or have you thought that far ahead?

(((((((((JURI!!)))))))))))))

Great to hear from you again! And great that you'll be coming home this summer! And great about you & J! Sometimes, it's the guys that we don't think we have a shot in Hades with. ;D ;)

Have a good holiday tomorrow!

Trisha--Thanks! *hugs to you* I'm still thinking about what I want to do. Right now I'm thinking that I'll go home, get my driver's license, and move to the mainland US by August 2010. Any job I get before August would probably be temporary to help pay for living expenses and the used car I'm going to buy from my cousin.

Angel--lol. I suppose that's true, except I don't have any other experience with this! haha. Although he's dated a few other girls before me, J said this is the best relationship he's been in. Given my earlier doubts about how long we'd last, I was really surprised at that. I think it's because we both hate drama and try to resolve our issues by talking things through.

Okay, this follow up is a few days late, but I've been unexpectedly busy. On Wednesday J and I went to Hirosaki castle for the cherry blossom festival. The weather was awesome and the cherry blossoms were beautiful.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/japan/IMG_1297b-1.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/japan/IMG_1274b.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/japan/IMG_1245b.jpg


And yesterday J and I went to Mt. Osorezan. This is a pretty good description of the area. In a nutshell, though, it's the Japanese version of the River Styx. It's Golden Week in Japan, so there were a lot more people than I expected. I mean, the parking lot was pretty full.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/japan/IMG_1395a.jpg


Oh, over the winter J, some ALTs, and I would go to the Hakkoda mountain range. J tried teaching me how to snowboard, but I couldn't really get into it. Here's some images from Hakkoda, though. The first one is of the famous "snow monsters". Can you believe those are actually the TOPS of pine trees?!

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/japan/IMG_0667a.jpg

This one was taken in January so it was still early in the season. The snow walls on that particular road get a few feet higher.
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/japan/IMG_0262b.jpg

This pic below was taken the first day a road that had been closed all winter was opened. For the first three days it's open to foot traffic and a lot of people come to walk down it. Two ALTs we know are on the left and I'm the one in the orange jacket on the right. It looks empty because we were there before the official opening hours and, er, hopped the fence.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/juri1977/japan/IMG_1018b.jpg

Wow! What awesome pics!  And I thought Canada got alot of snow... ::)  The cherry blossoms are so lovely, it must have been so romantic for you and J :)  I am trying to win a trip to Japan!  8-)

Juri!  Good to hear from you!  Sounds like you've been busy!  I'm so happy for you and J,congrats :)  The pics are awsome!!  The cherry blossoms festival must have been wonderful,they are so pretty.  Glad you'll be home soon,change is good.

Hi ya, Juri!  I'm glad you're doing well.  Thanks for the pics-gorgeous!!

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I think it's because we both hate drama and try to resolve our issues by talking things through.

That is key. And it's actually a huge part of why my first marriage didn't last.

Beautiful pix, girlie. Japan is such a lovely place, even in the frenzied, urban areas. What an awesome experience for ya. :)