Out from my chaos to grace

Because I ran across this while looking through my recent pictures and I am an incredibly narcissistic individual:



Oh, and because it makes Boy facepalm :D

I had it done today at Chop Stick Tattoo (1st shop) in Osaka (Nishi-Shinsaibashi/Amemura).

The lyrics are from "In Flames" and the design is original work by Nattsu. I usually design my tattoos myself but since I admire her work so much, I felt that it would be awesome to have something signature of her. I simply showed her the lyrics that I wanted and told her that I want plum blossoms in her style...and that's what she designed. Check out her work on the site, she's absolutely amazing!

Here it is, fresh off of the needle!



I am more than happy with the outcome ^_^

I've made this post a few times in the past, but this is yet another point that it is applicable:

Sometimes I remember why Luna Sea got me into J-rock in the first place all those years ago. They freaking rule.



(See the one second from the far right? Yeah, I saw him in concert. <3333 INORAN)

Am I alone in finding it rather tasteless and tiring when the fandom goes on and on and on about the "magnum"?

A couple of cracks here and there will produce a giggle out of me, but this obsession with the man's nether-regions is a bit much. Settle down, hormonal fangirls. Yes, Gackt is human. Furthermore, he is a man and therefore has dangly-bits that, from the right angle, resemble the last turkey in the supermarket on Thanksgiving. It's not an aesthetically-designed thing, really.

Ganked from onikoneko

1: Type in "[your name] needs" in the Google search:
"Rhiannon needs to give me head." *blink*

2: Type in "[your name] looks like" in Google search:
"Rhiannon looks like she really wants to dig in to that chocolate!" This is probably true.

3: Type in "[your name] does" in Google search:
"Rhiannon does not originate in the World of Men." Well, why the hell not?

4: Type in "[your name] hates" in Google search:
"Rhiannon Hates Tom o'myspace." Boy and I will rage upon myspace!

5: Type in "[your name] goes" or "..has gone" in Google search:
"Rhiannon has gone almost an entire week without having an accident!" Alright!!...?

6: Type in "[your name] loves" in Google search:
"Rhiannon loves all styles of dancing but feels most comfortable with the sharp, fluid moves of Jazz..." I can dance?

7: Type in "[your name] eats" in Google search:
"Rhiannon eats rats testicles." NO I WON'T!

8: Type in "[your name] has" in Google search:
"Rhiannon has a fan in Paul McCartney." O rly?

9: Type in "[your name] died" in Google search:
"Rhiannon died six days after hitting her head on the pavement." Well, I did do that a lot as a child during temper tantrums.

10: Type in "[your name] won't" in Google Search:
"Rhiannon won't take a pacifier and isn't terribly interested in giving her fingers more than a cursory mouthing." Yes...I think?

11: Type in "[your name] can't" in Google Search:
"Rhiannon can't help you, as she's no longer there when you arrive." Aww...I'm sorry :(

12: Type in "[your name] wants" in Google search:
"All their leader Rhiannon wants to do is rule over the two colonies together in peace with justice and fairness." Yeah...peace, justice, and fairness. Exactly.

Gackt...revealed his real age today. He's dropping the whole "born in 1540" thing.

He will be 37 next year.

Not that I didn't know that, but the fact that he actually publicly announced it makes it so...weird.

The past week or two have been mostly devoted to midterm exams. Despite this stress, I still managed to have a bit of fun.

Halloween in Japan isn't nearly as nifty as it is in the States. There is no trick or treating---only a select few who may don costumes for the day. The campus became like a giant outdoor cosplay event, really (yes, there were a lot of kitties, maids, and kitty-maids). Of course, the dressing up was mainly done by the 留学生(foreign students). Therefore, those of us who were in costume couldn't take 5 steps out without being stopped by the Japanese students and being asked to have our picture taken. It was fun and flattering for a while, until I was hungry and it took me about a half an hour to get to the cafeteria when it only should have taken me 3 minutes.

Aside from that, I went to Arashiyama today in order to pay a visit to the Iwatayama Monkey Park. It is a rather steep hike up a mountain, but it was well worth it. At the top there is a small park with a wonderful view of Kyoto. The best part, though...monkeys. Macaque monkeys running all over the place. It was glorious!

I know that this isn't too detailed, but I'll let the pictures speak as their are a LOT of them.

VK kids on Halloween (Joseph, Shari, myself, and Dana). I have pink hair again!


( and some more... )

Oh eff you, timing. Seriously...eff you.

First, I'm a month too late to catch any of the Requiem et Reminiscence II tour.

Second, I received all of my Dears membership stuff a week too late to go to any of the Dears only shows (and a month too late to order any of the Dears limited 10th Anniversary goods).

Now, this:

Gackt On Stage: Starting in May, Gackt will take on the role of Nemuri Kyoshiro which was a popular TV series and set of films from novels by Renzaburo Shibata. The stories take place during Edo period (1603-1868) under the Tokugawa shogunate and center around the title character, a sleepy-eyed swordsman who is the son of a Japanese mother and a foreign father, who was conceived during a Black Mass.
More details to follow at press conference.

*grumble*

So, I'm totally bummed that I missed the National GSA conference this year.

That's right, I'm whining about the fact that I missed a science-geeky thing in PORTLAND, OREGON because I'm in JAPAN. I totally make sense.

>:P

ねぇ知ってる？金魚は、たまに「ギュッ」と鳴くんだって。

I totally biffed my oral exam for Japanese. Even in English, speaking [formally] is not my forte. I get all sorts of nervous resulting in me stumbling and forgetting things on the spot. I rocked my Japanese composition test, though. Why? Because I'm freaking amazing when it comes to writing---that's why.

I have my Reading/Writing Japanese midterm on Monday and on Tuesday, I have the written portion of the Spoken Japanese midterm. Blargh.

The only other midterm on the horizon is the one in my Japanese Popular Media and Culture class which will be on November 2nd. I'm not too worried about that one. Oh, and there will be a 4-5 page paper due the following week in that class. *scoff* 4-5 pages? Piece of freaking cake. As said, I'm freaking amazing when it comes to writing.

Now, I do believe that I shall roll around on my futon like an idiot. Good day.

I spent this past weekend exploring around Osaka itself. On Saturday, we went out to Amemura to see Chelsey in a kimono fashion show that was happening at a club there. Given the fact that she had only been trained that day, she did well. Though the club itself really wasn't my scene, it was still interesting. I found a nifty little VK (visual kei) shop there. It was well hidden, but well-worth the look. Compared to other shops that sell similar clothing, this was quite the deal! One of the girls who worked there was absolutely adorable---dressed up in a black/pink plaid bondage loli dress and cat ears/paws, welcoming patrons with a cute "irasshaimase~". She came over by us a lot and asked us about America (of course), and generally chatted with us. Seriously, she was so cute! I should have gotten a picture of her. I ended up buying a nifty hoodie and a hat...both of which were shop originals. I'll probably have to stop by there again. After that we went to Sweets Paradise, a buffet-type restaurant that specializes in desserts. It was rather delicious. From there, we bummed around the shadier parts of Shinsaibashi and ended the day hanging out in Doutonbori, watching the lights and the hosts do their business. Heh.

Sunday was spent going around Osaka-jo koen. First off, we walked through the park and saw a bunch of bands. One, in particular stood out among the rest. They were called Mutsunokamiyoshiyuki (yes, quite the mouthful). They're aesthetic is "Samurai x Rock" and their music is a reflection of that: traditional Japanese music with a modern rock edge. I bought their CD and intend to catch them in a concert sometime in the near future. After that, we checked out Osaka castle. It was interesting, especially since I shelled out 300 yen to dress up like a samurai. Win. The rest of the day was spent bumming around Shinsaibashi again (can you tell that I really like that area?). We plan on making another trip out there in the near future in order to get tattoos. Yay~

Samurai Rhi leads you through the adventure~

( And some more... )

Over the weekend, a few of us decided to try to catch tsukimi (moon viewing) in Kyoto. We all went out earlier in the day to find suitable attire. Since it is too late in the year to find yukata, we all found some nice kimono and accessories at the local second hand shop. We really did manage to pick up some good finds. After managing to get ourselves dressed (a few of the girls had a hand from the Sem 2 okaasan), we headed to the station. We found out upon reaching our destination that we had missed the event (there was some misinformation floating about, apparently). But the night was not a complete waste as we all found a nice restaurant and I got the best parfait so far. Win.

Also, we got to dress up and receive lots of weird looks as we were obviously Westerners in wafuku (traditional clothing).

A few pictures:

Kimono time! Yes, I'm wearing boots. I rule.

( A few more... )

Super Typhoon Melor is coming to hand me my ass.

Lawl.

Melon soda-flavoured e-ma...

NOM NOM NOM

Also, 月見(moon viewing) in Kyoto tomorrow. Yeah~

Sign of an obscenely awesome relationship (word choice--intentional and rather apt):

When he can make you all fluttery from over 6,000 miles/10,000 kilometers away in the same manner that he did when you were close enough to catch a hint of the Aussie in his hair and the magical Speed Stick that metamorphosed Boy-smell into something oddly good.

I loveseses mah Boy.

Even if he didn't write supremely wonderful things that make me gleegasm (*^-^*)

Another update, and so soon!

Today, Dana and I went to Kyoto again. First, we visited Fushimi-Inari shrine. It's an expansive shrine filled with torii gates and various statues depicting kitsune (as they are very closely linked with Inari). Of course, I know of at least one person back in Wisconsin who would be enthralled by this place. As for me, I was completely taken away and it shows in the sheer amount of pictures I took. It was wonderful.

After that, we wandered about shopping areas around Shijou-kawaramachi for a bit. I got an good idea of things to pick up at some point while getting acquainted with the area. As soon as the sun began to set, we headed over to Gion. We had very good timing because only about 20 minutes after we got to the street we were looking for, the geiko and maiko began shuffling out to their appointments for the night. I didn't get too many pictures of them because I didn't want to delay them...so I took what I could. They were so pretty!

We eventually made our way to the station and headed home.

Onto the pictures!~

Fushimi Inari Station:

( And there are a lot more~ )

I'm finally settling into the whole "school mode" as opposed to "vacation mode". I dropped one of my classes, so now I have a little lighter load. I figured that while here it isn't the wisest to take on a full load. Though the Popular Culture as Social Practice was incredibly interesting, it got the axe simply because it started much later in the day than all of my other classes. At least now I have a bit more time to focus on my language skills and making the most of my time here.

Last week was the nice extended weekend that is referred to as "Silver Week". It is comprised of the typical Saturday/Sunday weekend followed by three consecutive national holidays. A lot of people went to Tokyo for the duration of the break, however I stayed in the general Kansai area...though that doesn't mean that there was any less excitement. I ended up going to Takarazuka and seeing a show at the Revue. For those who don't know, the Takarazuka Revue is known for its all-female cast. The first part of the performance was a spin-off of their popular rendition of the "Rose of Versailles". The second half consisted of "EXCITER: The Sparkling Show"...and it was definitely sparkling. It was a lot of song and dance in very elaborate and flamboyant costumes. It was great. I intend to go back later in the year and see their performance of "Casablanca".

Tuesday I went out to the Nanba area to see INORAN in concert. We bummed around Doutonbori (a popular district in the area) for a bit beforehand, and then went to the venue (Nanba Hatch). I must mention that INORAN was the first Japanese musician with whom I became enamoured. Finally seeing him live was nothing short of awesome. He is an amazing musician.

And now, onto the pictures!~

Takarazuka...the city and the theatre:

( More Silver week pics )

Tonight, Indian food. Nom nom nom...

The 2nd week here is over, as is the first week of classes. I'm taking 5 classes in total including Spoken Japanese, Reading & Writing Japanese, Japanese Popular Media and Culture, Popular Culture as Social Practice, and Sumi-e. I've had to take brutal placement tests for the Japanese classes, and then review tests to make sure that we're in the correct classes. I've taken my level 4 Spoken test and passed. Today, I take my Reading/Writing review test. Oh joy.
Other than that, the week has been filled with adventures and plans for more adventures. Next weekend, Takarazuka!

Until then, pictures from the past week:

This is where I live:

( MOAR PICTURES! )

...stolen from Boy (onikoneko)