What am I doing here...

For the past two weeks or so, I haven't experienced anything, in real life, that makes me feel truly happy. Under a lot of pressure from trying to adjust to living with my family again, after living by myself for the past year or so.

Met a new friend about two weeks ago but ever since we've met up, we haven't really been in contact with each other, well, he hasn't been in touch. I don't want to make a big deal out of it, nor do I think it was because he didn't like me. It probably has a lot to do with his personality and the fact that he'd rather be back in Japan. Whatever the reasons might be, at the end of the day, it magnifies the loneliness that I have been already feeling from missing my fantastic friends back home.

What I want to say is, I miss my friends very much, because as much as my family means to me, my lovely friends are the ones who understand me the most. I feel like ever since I moved to Canada 13 years ago, my family - except my mom - have not been with me and thus, have not watched me grow at all. It's even worse that I'm not the type that is outspoken or tries really hard to show people what I know. It is fine, but the fact that they make assumptions about me frustrates me a lot. For instance, my grandma still thinks I'm this idiotic girl who can never recognize roads and directions. It might be true that I'm not particularly good at it, but it doesn't mean I am incapable of finding my way at all. Afterall, how could I survive a trip to Japan on my own, and living by myself all this time in Toronto, without knowing how to get to places? Pfffft.

Lately, the only time I feel happy is when I whatsapp with friends back home. It's a bit hard to say everything through text but it calms me down when I talk to them. Not to mention they make me smile to myself like an idiot.

Life isn't easy to deal with when you don't have someone who understands you by your side. Not to mention I can't express this to my family at all because rather than being supportive, they would probably say something like "then go back to your friends!", or, disown me lol.

I don't belong here.

Cherry Blossom & Capybara - Hanami at High Park ♥

Sakura/Cherry blossom is my favourite flower.
Not only does it represent Japan - my favourite country aside from my home countries (HK & Canada), but I just think sakura is really really pretty. I really like the shape of it and also its pinkish white colour.
Coincidentally the cherry blossom scent from L'Occitane is one of my favourite scent! I'm so obsessed with it! I use the shower gel, body lotion (rarely), and recently - its perfume.

I did my nails to match the sakura theme.

Back to the main point. After countless talks and planning, we finally went for a hanami (flower viewing) picnic at High Park - one of the few places in Toronto that has cherry blossom trees.

I've been to High Park for the cherry blossom 2 years ago, but we just took pictures, walked around, and chilled out.This time, we had a PICNIC - just how I've always imagined hanami should be.

I've made spicy salmon roll and tempura shrimp x tamago x cucumber roll (first attempt). Also, I've made egg salad sandwich - my favourite kind of sandwich. *nomnomnom*

cut up tamago-yaki to put in sushi

making spicy salmon roll

tempura shrimp roll

Before KK came over, she went to Centerpoint to get a table cloth so we can sit on the ground, and also some potato salad and macaroni salad.

I think preparation is a big part of a fun picnic. I love cooking and making bento boxes. However, I was running around frantically all morning cause there were just so much to do! At least KK came at 1:30 to help me out. However, we weren't ready until about 4PM.

i called shotgun.

so squished at the back XD

Bella drove us all down, but the traffic was kind of slow. It was also impossible to get a parking space! We took so long to find one - and at one point I had to ask these girls if they're going to their car, but they just looked at me and gave me this clueless blank look without answer my question! My fragile feeling was hurt - but then it was actually more funny than hurt hahaha....oh boy.


When we finally got down to the area with the cherry blossom, the place was so crowded, but lively! There were so much to look at, cosplayers, random hula hoop dancers, dogs, kids, babies. It was amazing.

View from our picnic spot.

We found a spot and quickly set up our picnic stuff. I think we were all pretty hungry by then and we just ate and chilled. There was a kid with her mom and sister, he was playing near our tree, and we made friends with him by giving him some sushi! At first I was a little worried cause it was spicy salmon, but I guess I didn't put too much spicy sauce so it was okay. Later, when he was about to leave, his mom said he didn't want to leave us! LOL. Then he asked us for a juice box - well it was a vita lemon drink. He seemed to like it nonetheless, so maybe we have infested some asian love in him. /Hopefully/ XD

epic picnic time ft. salad, sandwiches, sushi and OJ!

Us girls walked down the waterside to take some pictures ^^ The weather and view was so amazing.
Bella had to leave afterwards, but the rest of us just walked around - we visited the small zoo there!

The waterside was so nice.

Individual self-shots with my dearest dearest friends - B, KK, Terri ♥♥♥

self-shot group

A nice man took a group photo for us ♥

Last time, I was not impressed with the zoo because the animals all looked like bulls and cows. There were different species but basically they were kind of similar. The wallabies weren't on display last time and I was so sad.

This time however, the same bull-ish animals were still there, but there were also wallabies! Just as I thought it couldn't get any better - I spot one of my favourite wild animals - Capybara! I was crazy about them when I visited the Osaka Aquarium last summer. I practically ran to them when I saw them from a distance. Oh My God they were super cute! They looked like super big guinea pigs.

Kapibara-san konnichiwa!

They look so funny and cute♥

After the zoo, we started heading back. On the way, we found a playground, and Terri suddenly wanted to play on the swing! I guess she found her childhood back haha. On the other hand, we discovered that Ray never learned how to play on a swing. It was hilarious watching him try so hard to swing up, with Terri swinging happily beside him.

Terri happily swinging!

We took the TTC back, and it took about an hour. I was exhausted when I got home, and I slept at 10:30PM. I didn't even have to worry whether I should get dinner - I slept right through it.

 I had an amazing day with my dearest friends. It makes me even more sad to think that I have to leave them very soon, and won't be able to see them for 4 months. >w<"

♥

I hope I can go to Japan for the cherry blossom season some time in the future. From my penpal's pictures, it looks really amazing.

ending with a selca :)

Negative Energy

Been having a lot of negative energy lately.
I feel like I have so many complaints and when something is bugging me, I can't move on until I let it out.
On the other hand, I feel extremely guilty when the matter is around someone I consider to be close with.
So then I began to wonder, have I done something wrong?
Have I made myself an ugly person, because as much as I hate to admit it, I was essentially gossiping?
Am I being hypocritical and judgemental?
I wouldn't want others to think badly of me after they hear my rants.
However,I can't take back what I've said (although it's not thaaaat bad),  so I can only strive to be a better and more forgiving person from now on. Afterall, I do understand that nobody is perfect.

Anyways, enough about that. Had an amazing chilled day with B.
We went to Leslie's Cafe for cheap but yummy lunch.
Then onto Cafe Princess for a drink and more chatting/blogging (Bella).
I ordered a coke float and when it came, it literally exploded like those baking soda&vinegar volcano projects. = ="
We ended up coming home to do our nails and more chilling and talking. LOL we talk so friggin' much! At like 10:30 ish we finally decided we need to get dinner, so we went to Owl's.

at Cafe Princess. Unimpressed bears are unimpressed.

Was trying to take a picture of Bella while she was blogging, but she said no.jpg
I love chilling with B because she's so chilled. and she gets me. (at least I hope)

---
Went to Guu Sakabar on Sunday. Food was amazing although I'm disappointed that their sushi ball dish is off the menu.

sweet frigging jesus... .jpg

It's hanami season soon and they changed their decor a bit.

桜が咲いた!

I'm obsessed with cherry blossom.

After dinner, drove KK home to get the lovely Mr. Brownie.

aww Mr. Brownie why you look so sad?

.... I think he was just sleepy.
Once again, we are thinking of going on a short trip in April.
Will the plan work out this time? heh we'll see.

Beautiful Days in Japan - Osaka Romanesque 3

Time for another Japan post!
This is the last of the Osaka Romanesque series, in which I will talk about Namba (難波・なんば) and Kobe (神戸).
However, there will be more Japan posts to come!

You can read part one here: http://ilivelikethis.blogspot.com/2011/12/day-in-japan-osaka-romanesque-1.html

and part two here: http://ilivelikethis.blogspot.ca/2011/12/beautiful-days-in-japan-osaka.html

難波の庭園好きだったね
二人ではしゃいだ観覧車から
神戸まで見えたあの日が続くと信じてた...

I haven't really been sightseeing in Namba nor Kobe in my last two trips, but I stayed in Namba because it's really convenient.
Namba is a district located in the southern part of Osaka. It also includes Shinsaibashi and Doutonbori featured in my last Japan post (part 2 of Osaka Romanesque)
Many major train and subway lines pass through Namba, which is why I always choose to find accommodation in this area. Also, there's train service from the airport straight to Namba, so it's super quick and easy! LOVE IT!

Nankai Namba station & Takashimaya Department Store

南海電鉄ホーム - Nankai train platform (train goes to the Rinku outlet and airport)

四天王ラーメン Ramen shop near the Namba station #sweetjesusface.jpg

 There's many cool places in Namba that's worth exploring.

Den Den Town (Kansai's version of Akihabara, for electronics and anime fanatics) - although I haven't been there myself, my travel guide books told me that there's a lot of electronic stores, and a Mandarake (a chain anime/manga store) there. I've been to Mandarake in Amerika-mura and in Shibuya (Tokyo) and they were awesome! There's also lots of JE related goods like uchiwa, live tour pamphlet, tour goods, and pictures. I always have fun digging through that section.

Takashimaya (department store) - my mom loves shopping at the sales section, just digging for good deals. She got some makeup pouches and hankerchiefs for herself and as souvenirs.

My fav. part was the food section, which is in the basement. There are so many different stalls selling sushi, ALL kinds of salad, croquette, bentos...you name it. One time, we bought lots of food from the basement of Takashimaya and we had an epic meal in our hotel room. #megusta

potato croquette

daddy chose this sushi set for me even though he doesn't eat raw fish <3

Namba Walk is an underground shopping district that is connected to the Namba station. One time I missed my own exit because my attention was on the shopping district exit /laughs/. I ended up shopping there for a little while before heading back to the hotel.

Another interesting place worth visiting is the 千日前道具屋筋商店街 (sen-nichi-mae prop street). Ever been to Japanese restaurants where they have those yummy looking food models on display? You can most likely find them on this street! Even if you don't own a restaurant, you might be able to find some weird/funny things as souvenirs for your friends and family.

There are more places in Namba that I haven't been to, but I will definitely check them out when I go there again.

The final place that concludes this series is Kobe.

I've only been there for an afternoon+evening. I met up with Angel there during my trip in 2010, and had the time of my life there!

Although I didn't sightsee, I did everything I wanted to do in Japan in that afternoon/evening.

First, we went to karaoke - my first time in Japan! Although we only went for a short while (about an hour), Angel let me sing more since she has way more opportunities to do it. I got to sing most of the songs I wanted and I was super satisfied.

Then we went shopping! Although I had been shopping a lot in Osaka too, it's always nice to shop with a buddy. Angel called that street "The Cursed Street" because she and her friends always end up spending money there. Of course, we also did a little damage that day. It was hard to resist when things were on sale!

a recent picture of me with a top i got that day.

When the stores started to close down, we took a quick look at China town.

cute panda vending machine

I'm not really a fan of the overly stereotypical decors of China town, so I didn't really take pictures (except for the above two).

We went to have dinner afterwards. We decided to go to a yakitori place which ended up being Torikizoku. I was super excited because it is owned by my favourite favourite man (Okura-kun from kanjani8)'s family and I have always wanted to try it! It was fate because Angel probably didn't do it on purpose, but she made my dream come true! The food was really yummy, and many ikemen (good-looking)servers. #eyecandy

We had fun time catching up and enjoying nice food + drinks.

menu ♡

my drink that Angel chose for me, some calpis-based drink - super yummy

yakitori!!!

some rice dish in the bkgd and fusion pho?!

 I was going to buy a Torikizoku logo phone strap but I forgot :( I better get to go there again!

To conclude the night, we went for some purikura but I'm too lazy to dig it up.

Karaoke, Shopping, Izakaya, Purikura - everything I love about Japan all in one day!

I'll be back with more Japan posts - hopefully with better, more interesting pictures. /laughs/

♥♡ MY BIRTHDAY (✿ฺ´∀`✿ฺ) ♥♡

MAR10. BIRTHDAY.
another year older.

Coincidentally, the theme for March is party...and my tacchon bb is holding a red heart balloon. #megusta

My guys are celebrating with me ･:*:･(*/////∇/////*)･:*:･

Not that I really care about birthdays, but since I did take some pictures and received some gifts from my sweet sweet friends, I guess I would do a post on it.

My lovely lovely cousin treated me to a grilled brazilian dinner at Copacabana. It was delish!
It's basically all you can eat meat - like ALL kinds of meat. steak, pork, sausage, lamb, chicken etc. you name it. Guys come around with sticks of meat, and if you want some, they will cut off a piece for you.
They also had a salad/side bar, where you can get some salad, fruits, and stuff like pasta/mashed potato/rice. Although starch is really filling, I couldn't help it, I had mashed potato.
Since it's near Yonge and Eglinton, where my fav. macaron/sweet shop is located, I went there earlier to get some macarons for my cousins and my friends.
Cousin got me the naked2 palette as well. My cousin spoils me ♥

chipmunks and naked 2 from Heidi  +(*´∀｀)ｂ

Next day, I went to Inakaya with some friends.
I had a high expectation of the place because I've heard good reviews about it.
However, as it turned out, it's not really that special.
Although there's nothing wrong with the food, it really wasn't THAT amazing.
Worse yet, we ordered about $35 of food per person, but we were not even half full when we left.

part of the food we got (the ones I have on my phone)

In the end we got takeout wings & fries as round two. /laughs/

sweetjesusface.jpg

Bella also came over (temporary release from house arrest), and we had wings and cakes.
Then we split up and half of us (Joie, Bella, KK and I) played pictionary, while the rest were playing their usual drinking games.

b-day cake!

pictionary team ♥

♥♡

drinking games team!

and of course, self-cam ---

Joie ♡

Bella (and her fab hair) ♥

KK ♡

It's nothing too out of the ordinary for us, but still special because I got to spend the day with my lovely friends. #somuchlove

More gifts ♥♡
Last time we (Ray Bella and I) went to Smart Maple, I was looking at the Hello Kitty pot below and thought it was cute. So Bella decided to get that for me and made me a "HK basket gift basket" with other HK cookware. #HKexplosion
(FYI I'm not a HK fan - but the pot is really cute!)

"disgustingly" matchy matchy HK cooking set from the gang

random but funny book from Pansy.

Lastly, my own gift to self. #foreveralone

can't wait to watch ♡