As an individual, I believe that I am pretty meticulous…

… except during exam period, where books and papers are simply everywhere. I did that on purpose to ignite my passion to study! Sadly that attempt was a total futile, as that disorganized chaos has turned me off. In the end I procrastinate a lot and feel like doing nothing!

BAHHH!! CHAOS!!

Anyway, I abhor examination but I heart papers, written assignments and presentation. The feeling of working on the written exam embodies the feeling of being locked inside a chamber of gas, waiting for a slow and painful death *sobs*. That explained why I have never prevailed in written examinations, and I am glad that I only have papers left for this semester.

And my paper revolved around Russia and its central Europe communist allies in an effort to pursue financial liberalization during perestroika and glasnost period. It was really complicated that I’ve regretted to choose that topic. Moreover, I feel my writing skill pretty much deteriorating lately, as I found it hard to choose the right words (dictions) to convey deeper meaning on the issues. And that counted to double work!

ex-East Germany`s Berlin Wall

It is just recently that I fancy the old Marxism-Stalinism’s centrally-planned economy. I believe that the ultimate goals of this is to foster equality and prosperity for the people –but the external factors such as global integration prevents them to do so! Two years ago, I travelled to Bratislava and Prague, and couldn’t help to ponder about the fallacy of socialism. At that time I had a limited knowledge about this, so I couldn’t appreciate the history as much as I did now. I am really keen to revisit Central Europe’s post communist countries with sufficient information in hand, and that will be my next travel plan. The question is how to get the money…

Random corner @ Bratislava. Creepy ne? ;____;

But before that, I have to finish this paper! No more sleep for the next 6 hours!

(Rizaldi asked me to record a travel journal while in Japan, so here comes xD. Rizaldi you better read coz I have spent my opportunity cost writing this stupid journal xD)

To Live is To Travel, quoted HC Andersen....

.... but it was not necessarily applicable towards certain people, particularly a first semester Kenkyusei/Daigakuinsei who just starts the semester, and feels like dying.

Sakuras at Tokodai

Gosh, I think Japanese is the hardest language EVER! I have committed more than 4 hours a day just to learn Japanese (2 hours everyday during the intensive class, and at least another 2 hours at night to catch up the materials). This misfortune happened after I took the Japanese Placement Test. I had no idea of what I have done to the answer sheet, but the result shows that I got the class which pre-requisite is to have mastered more than 200 kanjis. WTH! (Pardon my bad bad bad English, coz i feel that my English is zettai gradually deterioriating in here. Eh, zettai is not an English word? whatever.. iro iro kotoba wa shikatanai yo). In fact, i never really study Japanese before, coz I am easily bored and just quit impulsively (I am infamous of being restless, in terms of moving prematurely toward other commitments without really finishing the previous).

I am zombified everyday. I study until very late, say 3-4 AM, and then wake up early morning to catch the superuber crowded morning train, and thats quite a turn off. I want to scream out of loud "HEY I AM DAMN TIRED, GIVE ME YOUR F***ING SEAT!!!!" but thank goodness am sane enough not to do that -coz I dont think that people do understand English anyway. This is just my third week and I feel like I study for the exam everyday. In fact, I am always in Trans-Am/SeeD/Trance/Sage mode, and wondering if i will be easily burnt out in the latter time.

But...

A couple of really good friends, my nakama, went to Japan for holiday, and I cant resist the temptation to travel together. HC Andersen is damn right, To Live is To Travel! I have to travel in order to live (Obaka!) Consequently, I missed my 3 Japanese and 1 International Econs Class, and now I feel like devour people coz I have to catch up for so many things. Nevermind, Golden Week is coming and I will use my time wisely. I promise. Hopefully xD....

In a nutshell, we covered greater Tokyo, Nara, Osaka and Kyoto. Here comes the brief report...

Tokyo

Asakusa, Kaminari-Mon

Ueno Park, Eki Mae

Asakusa inside

Went to Asakusa and Ueno Park before heading to Akihabara. Asakusa looks like Japaneses Chinatown for me *grin*, while Ueno, being attractive of its shrines and park, is not really interesting without the overwhelming Sakuras.

Akihabara is still my most anticipated destination. I bought 3 BL mangas for 100 yen each (Obaka Obaka Obaka, Setsuyaku jyanai yo!), and found superduper cheap Gundams (1000 yen only for Athrun's Justice 1/100 scale! And 100 yen for Exia and Friends 1/144 scale!). Graaah, I hate of being bimbo! I have to hurry find out the part time jobs!

Shinjuku

Kabukicho!!! LOL

Went to Shibuya and Shinjuku at night. Spotted an interesting nightlife at Kabukicho (plentiful of hosuto kurabu LOL!!!!). Lucky that I read Tokyo Babylon before coming, coz CLAMP's vivid depiction of Tokyo is almost precise. Tokyo is all about modernity and ancient at the same time, whereby the modernized citizens still take out various superstitions.

Venice Doppelganger

???

Disney Sea tengah2

NAKAMA POSE!!!! YEAH!!! (One Piece Reference)

Spent a day at Disneysea, which reminded me of Epcot at Florida, USA. Fooling around with deadly rollercoasters and thrilling attractions such as Tower of Terror, Journey to the Centre of the Earth, Indiana Jones, et cetera, et cetera.

Kyoto

The day after i rushed for classes, I had a test before taking Shinkansen to Kyoto (bah, what a bad bad bad Daigakuinsei I am). Kyoto is reaaaaaaaly pretty, especially if thou art fond of ancient Japan; mentions samurais, wars, temples, shrines, onmyoujis, geishas and all (abundance of depiction at the mangas).

Awww Beautiful Geisha

Ryan D'Massiv?

Mesmerised by Gion area in Kyoto, a place whereby so many geishas are still existed. I feel like being brought back to the ancient Japan and enter the PeaceMaker Kurogane's world (or mention any other similar manga in here).

Inari Jinja... I liiiike

Kyoto Eki

Small shrine at Kiyomizudera

Inari Jinja

Next day, run to the Kiyomizudera as well as Inari temple. GOSH THEY ARE SO DAMN PRETTY!! Nevertheless, I found Inari Jinja more appealing due to its tranquil environment, unlike Kiyomizudera that is so touristy.

ONMYOUJI!!!???

Kiyomizu

Inari Jinjaaaa

Nara

Contemplating... gosh life is so tough yet here I am fooling around

New nakama: Tony Chopper

Have no idea why we ended up being in Nara. Reason being is because our two Oniichans are the big fan of Lucky Star and intend to run a weird errand: do the Lucky Star pilgrimage at Nara (whereby Konata CS went for a study trip to Nara).

Lucky Star pose!! LOL

freak Onii-chamas

Nara's mocchi is the best mocchi i have ever tried! And a lot of maccha flavor tidbits could easily be found around Kyoto-Osaka. Tanoshikatta!!!

Osaka

Osaka Castle

keren deh, LOL

One word for Osaka is, unique! The people, the food, and the culture. Osaka is the place for having fun! We covered just Osaka Castle and Denden Town.

Tried Okonomiyaki, Yakisoba as well as Takoyaki in here. SO DELICIOUS! Had a great time too listen to Osaka-ben (Osaka's accent everywhere LOL). And, Osaka is real Osaka with a Karaoke session -and this is where the unfortunate event began.

Takoyaki hunting

Dotonburi

Had a crazy Karaoke session, sing plentiful of Anime and Japanese songs (GOSH I AM SO DAMN HAPPY!), ranging from GReeeeN, Orange Range, One Piece's Crazy Rainbow Star, ARASHI's, Naruto's, Code Geass', Gundam's to AKB48 =___=. But, we missed out the last train to Kyoto and had to spend a night as vagrants! Hostel or Hotel are so expensive that we choose not to opt for it, and finally we went to Manga Kissa to wait until morning to catch the earliest train.

And so, my dearest Nakamas went back to Singapore and Indonesia last Sunday. And i feel like those fun we had are just fatamorgana (SOBS!!!!). I have to deal with the reality: crazy workload and tough life. Zettai sabishii desu kedo, GANBARU YO!

Oh sh*t, its already 1 past and I have to prepare for today's classes. GRAH i need another holiday (Obaka-sama, please die).

I dreamt of playing survival game at Angkor Watt ^o^

Its time to alienate myself from the hustle bustle Singapore; go to random sanctuary in the arbitrary 3rd world country and desolated windy place where nobody could understand what I speak ^o^.

Sadly, it is too hasty to plan and do itinerary by the beginning of the month, since all cheap airticket has been fully booked *sobs*. Initially I want to go Angkor Watt (Siam Reap, Cambodia), however the budget airticket has been sold out and only left with pricey SilkAir. Same thing happened with Hanoi and Kota Kinabalu or Kuching (graagh I am obsessed with Eco-venture). While Jetstar's service to major city in Thailand was unavailable during the blackout period. If I am still student and have plenty of time, I won't mind taking night bus to the north, but this is ordinary salarywoman we talked about =(.

Finale, we decided to go Kuala Lumpur and Genting Highlands (okay I know that this is way too boring =_=, but nevermind, rather than rotten at home or stuck as usual at the National Library and waste my 4 days holiday).

And so, Happy Chinese New Year! Talk about Genting talk about gambling, boo!!! Who knows I win the money worth return airticket to Tokyo *major LOL*.

I Need Luck! Aplenty of Luck!

I think every debater will bombard me with 'inconsistency' issue when i start blogging about this. But now i really need luck. Aplenty of them. Please cross your finger. I don't want to be penniless for the rest of the months while staying in a foreign country. I am ugly and fat, I've got no body to sell (wtf *lol*).

I have resigned from my current job. Affirmative. Yet i need to find another source of earnings in order to realize the 'next' step in my life. I once claimed that i intend to do academic research or community development (and no longer corporate), but in the past few days, i got chance to attend interviews for an investment banking company (and a public service company). Did i just say that i dont want to do corporate? Well, money is the root of all evil, and money did talk *evil grin*! There goes my consistency...

I know that the feeling of being jobless and penniless isn't really healthy. It'll eventually consume our positivity and self-esteem, especially when being in here, an (in)famous red dot lifeless land. Even thinking about the rise of inflation and the skyrocketing rent fee make me chocked, since the rate of inflation didn't justify with the rate of increment *lol*. Now i sound like i give up being a dreamer and turn into a loyal realist.

So now im crossing finger. I'm certain that He will always give the best (and therefore grant everything we want in just a matter of time).

Talking about positivity...

When im thinking back the old days, i have been bestowed upon countless of luck as well as 'lucky coincidence'. I used to be adventurous and unpredictable yet my carelessness level is Godlike! (Can you imagine, how frustrating the combination could be?) However, i tried to be positive at all times. I keep ensuring myself that everything will be fine, just chill up and enjoy everything even though as if we're standing motionless in the abyss of gehenna.

These are true story about positivity (and not stupidity!!!). Hope it inspires you (the positivity, not the stupidity coz im talking about positivity whatsoever!)

Giant Anchor embodied decisiveness! (actually pic is a bit unrelated -_-)

1) I have mistakenly booked my flight during my Mediterranean-Bohemian Euro trip. That time i was en-route from Thessaloniki, Greece on the way back to Copenhagen. I actually supposed to take connecting flight from Bratislava, Slovakia while i thought that i'll be taking flight from Vienna, Austria. And i just realized my mistake on the D-Day, 4 hours before departure! For God's sake, Slovakia and Austria are two different countries, and I am ALL alone with zero ability to speak in Slovakian or German. Let's say i can reach Bratislava sound and safely but there's still a big chance that i'll miss my flight. The horror images of 'The Hostel' haunted me by the time I reached Bratislava. Will I make it? WILL I? But fortune favors the bold! I am sure that I can make it! And then, yes, i can make it on time...

"I can make it!!" An Imbecile thinking about the future then suddenly haunted castle comes up (??)

2) Due to a mistake in flight booking again (this time it's my friend's), i need to spend 2 days ALL alone in Paris, France. I haven't booked any hostel while in the meantime people said that Paris is not that safe (and on the top of that, I can't speak French nor read map). So i decided to camp in Charles-de-Gaulle airport! My parents worried like mad, but hey this is the flame of youth! This is the essence of travelling! And in the end, equipped with amazingly dense-positivity i am still surviving without experiencing any pickpocket or whatsoever. Positive, positive and positive always!

Yes i dont want to leave this place but that doesnt mean that im okay with missing my flight T_T

3) On the way back to Singapore from Copenhagen, i ran to the wrong flight gate. Instead of running to British Airways -my actual flight, I bumped into Scandinavian Airlines and almost board the wrong flight and missed chances to go back to Singapore again. But then again, I kept telling myself that I will REACH Singapore for certain no matter what happens *the fire of youth starts igniting*. My actual flight was delayed so I can make it on time. Yes, it was a miracle, and i do believe that being positive is one of the key factor to reinforce it.

4) Et cetera et cetera.

I know that I cannot always effortlessly depend on luck and no others; but in fact i think i always do 'something' to reinforce that luck; I put extra effort like mad and pray like mad and being positive and confident like mad also. So here is the formula :

Luck = Effort + Prayer + Positivity

And it is absolute form of equation and cannot go on the way round! Thus you can't change that into this :

Luck - Positivity = Effort + Prayer

Or this :

Luck - Positivity - Prayer = Effort

Thats epic FAIL!!

After going through the dark tunnel, you'll encounter a very blue sky! ^o^

Hence, for you who already read this up to this point, i am not writing crap anymore. This is serious post even though the way i write is bimbotic (it has been always like that, I wonder). Let the luck emerges perpetually in our life, by doing non-stop effort, praying and being positive!

I was deadly swamped with work and fatigue from business trip in the past few weeks, hence, my sincerest apology for not updating this for a very long time.

Ladies and Gents, this is Apratz’ most anticipated posting EVER!

L’Arc-en-Ciel L’7 Tour Live In Hongkong Report !

Day 1 : Friday, 23 May 2008

Work is getting ridiculous in terms of everything. Clients are very demanding, Superiors set too high expectation, timeline is too tight and I myself have problem in touching up with everything. I am a human too, and not a bulky machinery that can be used as Thou please! Yixian and I worked until 12 AM while we will have a flight at 6 AM in the morning! We almost missed our flight since our body can’t awake that early…

Behold, our eyebags T_T!!!

After so many hiccups, we were able catch the flight. Surprisingly, we noticed so many Singaporeans inside the flight intending to go for L’Arc’s concert too, since some of them dressed in prominent grotesque gothic.

In Bus to Hongkong island. Sleep deprived state!

By the time we reached Hongkong at around 12 PM, we were super duper tired. We rushed to our hostel to get proper rest and recharged our energy for tommorow concert. After just 2-3 hours of so-called beauty sleep, we catched up with Chu Yang (Yixian's friend) in Causeway Bay who treated us very decent Hongkong cuisine dinner. Then he brought us around Causeway Bay area to enlighten us about what to shop later.

Times Square- Causeway Bay

Apratz, Yixian, and the sacred tickets :p

Looks like Hongkong mafia movie in 80's, no?

Day 2 : Saturday, 24 May 2008

D Day!

Intending to go earlier to get limited goods of L’Arc-en-Ciel, but surprisingly; the queue was already damn long by the time we reached Asia World Expo. There’s no way that we wasted our time just to queue for a super costly t-shirt!

DVDs, hehe

In exchange, Yixian and I hunted for cheap Live DVD instead *grin*. They came up sweetly with a special poster of the Hongkong Concert.

This is only 3 PM, while the concert will only start at 8 PM -_-"

Booth selling DVDs and CDs

Yixian signed the banner :p

... then me signing

Cielers from China

With Pam and her sister -facebook friend who helped us grabbing the tickets. Thanks a million!

Bringing camera inside the venue is definitely a no-no in every live concert, and not to mention L’Arc-en-Ciel! Luckily my fangirl instinct saved the day! I hide it somewhere in my cosmetic case so that camera could safely enter the venue! I managed to salvage the camera!

Get Out From The Shell!

The concert is finally started with ‘Get Out From The Shell’, voiced beautifully by our sex god Hyde. We turned into frenzy fangirl mode after seeing Hyde’s effeminate face in the big screen.

aaa visual orgasm!

This is our current exclamation:

What is Hyde? SEX!
What is Sex? HYDE!

His voice is sex! You can feel it through your ear.
His every move is sex! You can taste it though your eyes.
His scream is sex! You can sense it through your heart.

Everything about him is so so so so very deadly sexy! He is so addictive! The concert is totally a visual orgasm for both of us!

He is probably a vampire -too sexy to be true *_*

Creepy things are, Hyde looked like he doesn’t age! He was still the same as the past SMILE concert in 2004 –and looked even hotter! Sometimes I wondered that he might be a vampire who maliciously drained mental energy from the audience in order to gain eternal youthfulness. Who knows? *start fantasizing*

'Revelation!'

I was really thankful that I made the right decision to come for the concert. People might think that I am crazy and wasting money, but hey, I am a conscious working adult, and I paid everything with my hardwork. I have been waiting for 7 years to watch their Live concert, and thank God I had been given a chance to watch them. I am really very thankful :)

Fanservice during 'Killing Me'

I managed to record small part of ‘Driver’s High’ until my body can’t deny to dance and unison with the music! And so I kept dancing during ‘Seventh Heaven’, ‘Daybreak’s Bell’ and ‘Caress of Venus’.

Hyde MCing in Cantonese

Yixian started to pour tears during ‘Kasou’ and ‘Forbidden Lover’. She still can’t believe that she is there, watching them LIVE. It continued with ‘Honey’ and ‘Winterfall’. And they had ‘P’Unk-en-Ciel’ in ‘Stay Away’! They are so damn talented! Bands and singers come and go very often just because they are not supported with sufficient talent, and L’Arc-en-Ciel proved their existence until today not just because of talent and gift, but also hardwork!

Ethereal scene of 'Anata'

We were so high and went mad in ‘Revelation’, ‘Ready Steady Go’ and ‘Link’, but we felt extremely sad when ‘Anata’, the last song was played. This is the end of the surreal feeling. After it finished, we will have to go back to reality and leave this fantasy world.

Oh ah why such a darling face!

The concert ended.

But our heart was still there.

We didn’t want the concert to end! We wanted to stop the time and be in that night for eternity! (Nay, I’m exaggerating, but you should have known my feelings. The feeling of that night is still overwhelming even until now. I’m so happy with just having a slight recall of that night. I am so proud of being a Cieler and I sincerely thank God for everything.

Day 3 and Day 4 : Sunday-Monday, 25-26 May 2008

We went to Sino Center, famous for being Hongkong’s Akihabara, and spent like hundreds for DVD concert and some cute stuffs for gift

It's like small authentic ramen restaurant in Japan

very cheap but super decent Jap food

All in Chinese, I can't read. Lucky got Yixian with me :)

Things we got from Hongkong's Akihabara. Yixian's DBSK stuffs and my L'Arc's stuffs

Central area!

Looks like Singapore's CBD

Met Yixian’s friend in the evening and spotted Hongkong’s magnificent night skyscrapers in Central area.

Hehehe

awesomeness!

Hongkong's famous beefsoup

Gifts and stuffs i bought

Day 5 : Tuesday, 27 May 2008

Time to go back to the living hell. We didn't want to leave Hongkong! Hongkong has huge resemblance to Japan –just that the people there are speaking Cantonese! Guys are cute and girls are very fashionable. And everything there is cheap, especially the food! Yes, called us dumbass since we went to Hongkong without even trying Dim Sum coz we went for Japanese food instead.

I will definitely go back to Hongkong If I can. For the guys and for the good food *grin*.