Blogging from the phone!

This is my first ever post from my android phone! I've had the phone for a while now but never got around to actually using it for blogging! Maybe now, I'll feel motivated to blog as and when the urge dawns upon me!!

And I'm giving you a picture of Sadaharu! Here's her, looking all serious and contemplative!

I passed! I PASSED!! I FREAKING PASSED!!! And then, I was broke....

Alrighty! For those of you who're wondering as to what the jibbers I'm going on about, I'll have you know that I have safely cleared my JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) N2 level safe and sound... okay. just barely! But whatever! I cleared! And that's all I'm bothered about.

 

N2 amigos! I am now officially somewhat knowledgeable in what I do.... I think!

And now for the sad part... I'm nearly broke! Well.... not exactly nearly broke... I mean, well... ah, forget it!


To celebrate the great news that is me clearing the N2 level, I decided I'd get myself a new pair of jeans! And since I'm monstrously tall (according to everyone shorter than me) and being infamously thin (again, according to folks fatter than me), I cannot buy jeans that are supposed to be for women because everybody assumes that you're going to be either gigantic or petite! Nope! No sizes in the middle!! And as is my wont, I was browsing through the Men's section of Jeans on the interwebz. (more on that, later!)

I found the jeans I wanted and added the bugger to my cart... and clicked order now! But for some reason, I just couldn't click checkout! I just couldn't bring myself to!!

And so, here I am. Broke... with a pair of jeans I terribly want... with just enough money to get it if I forgo food and commutation for the next seven days!!

 

Why? Why, oh Lord?!

 

I got a spanking new camera!

Yep! You heard it right! I got myself a camera, people! After countless years of sufferance when I was forced to observe people who had the best tools of the light yet couldn't take a decent picture and the ones who forever seemed to think having a separate camera was silliness, I've finally managed to get myself a camera... well... technically mommy-dearest paid for it. But technically, I'll pay her back with the salary... oh whatever gives! Please put your hands together for.......
*drumrolls*
The one.... the only.... (let's forget the billion others in existence right now!).... the stupendous....(What's that you say? DSLR? Pfft... What do you take me for? The merchant with the golden eggs?)

CAAAAAAAAAAAAANON SX 150 IS!!!!!!!

Dancing time!

And she's a beauty, my friends! A reeeeeeeeeeal beauty! :D And every time I see my camera, I can't stop myself from giggling like a twelve year old when she's in front of....er.... Edward from Twilight for instance? Just that my giggles have more reason to exist than those spent on a silly sparkly necrophiliac vampire who has no business existing!! (I would've said Fingolfin from Silmarillion... but I doubt if there are any people let alone twelve year olds who fan-girl crush on that poor bloke!)

Are you curious to know how my baby looks? Hmmmm? Hmmmmmmm? Hmmmmmmmmmmm? What's that? No? I can just jump into the sea for all you care? Awwwwww.... such love! Don't worry! I'll show you!

TADA!!!!!

The front!

Isn't she a Beauty? Huh? Huh? Huuuuuuuuuuh?!!!!!!

The Back!

I'm guessing there must be more than one person out there who's most probably wondering what's got me all this excited! You have no idea how I've yearned for a camera! Oh yes, we have, preciousssss!  And another thing, just so you know, the camera in the pictures above is not technically my camera... DUH! But if my camera has an identical twin who was lost in the quintessential Kumbh Mela when it was a wee lil' girl, it would be the camera above! 

Yay me! Oh... and Pochi!

GUESS WHAT! GUESS WHAT!!! GUESS WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!

I PASSED MY JLPT N4 EXAM! KYAHOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

Ahem... I'd really like to thank every single person out there who was praying for me or rooting for me! I would especially like to thank my Sensei - Ramesh-sensei and Shimizu-sensei. Both of them had such immense trust in my abilities and thanks to the gentle motivation I received from them, I felt loved and truly inspired to give it my all!
有難うご座いました、清水先生、ラメシュ先生！お蔭様で合格しました！

And I'm really really happy that I've finally managed to be good at something! Oh so happy! So very very happy!

皆、合格しましたよ！万歳！

Oooo... and there's a wee little puppy near my institute! I've decided to call him Pochi!

♫ ♥ Pochi-chan! Pochi-chan! ♥ ♪

Happy news!

I know I haven't been the most judicious with updates as far as this blog is concerned but pray forgive! I have a valid reason for not posting for so long!

Get this!

I've finally managed to get a job that's just tailor-made for me! I'm officially a Translator! And I've never felt surer about what I am good at! This job, it's made for me, baby!

This must also explain my inability to contribute as much as I'd like in my blog! And not to mention that the classes for N3 have started and believe me, now I see why they call this language difficult! But it's all so interesting! It feels like I'm discovering a part of myself that was lost long ago... in some other lifetime! It feels like homecoming to me.

Recipes in Japanese! And why does Indesign cost so much! T-T

As is the case with most of the women who're readied for marriage, it has become my lot to learn the culinary arts of feeding people without killing them. And so, I've been asked to learn as many of the basic dishes as possible before I'm shipped off for good. It's a boring task, let me assure you! I've as much interest in cooking sambar and rasam as Tolkien had in GoGo dancing!

And so, in a bid to inculcate more interest than I was genuinely feeling for the art of cooking, I decided to do something that would challenge me as much as teach me the right proportions of spices and vegetables! I decided to take the recipes down in Japanese! Now that, my friends is a sure shot way for me to take up just about anything! Imagine... learning cooking while at the same time getting to know so many new verbs and adjective and not to mention.... KANJI!!!!!!!!!!

And sooooo.... I've managed to translate the recipe for the staple sambar completely into Japanese complete with pictures and stuff! If it actually is even half as good as I want, I'll make sure to post it online. Who knows? There might be a few Japanese folks out there who're looking for the recipe for Sambar in Japanese! :D
I'm writing them all using Adobe Indesign CS5. I should say.... it's awesome!  I get to make really pretty PDFs without having to turn to MS Word! Ah.... but this is a trial version ne.... I'll need to get the original thingy ne.... but that's so expensive ne.... Ofcourse not many I know in real life would see the difference it makes to document preparation ne.... these are just my silly ramblings that are lost like the 'blub-blub'blub's of a drowning person ne... it sucks being poor ne.....

My first student and an infernal itch!

I had my first student today! And that too in Japanese! (Well... technically it's only for Japanese phrases. But whatthehellI'mnotlisteningtoyouplz!)


And it's really nice when someone actually trusts me enough to come learn from me! :D My student is to go to Japan in a few months for a few days and I'm going to make her the best there is! I'm being overenthusiastic now! LOL Don't mind me flailing here!


Aaanyway, I'm sending her the day's phrases all tabled up and highlighted. It's so wonderful planning the day's classes and sending out resources! It's the best thing ever! :3

Well, thanks to the fact that I have a cold and have not washed my hair in three days, I feel like I'm having weird lifeforms in my head! I sincerely hope that's just my imagination playing with my senses. I have had cousins almost smother me with affection and I cannot exactly vouch for their scalp hygiene! I swear if I find even a single *unmentionable* or white flake, I shall seriously lose all hold over my sanity! But gods... how it itches! I've worn my scalp red with the scratching! It's not fair... seriously not fair! I don't care if I contract the flu because there's not a chance in Angband that I'm leaving things be! Hah! Let's see how these infernal things like the good 'ol shampoo and good scrubbing!

P.S. I love Lucky Star! It's the funniest anime ever... Oh wait... that's Gintama! Well, it's the second funniest anime ever! On second thought, there could be funnier anime out there - AUGHHHH!!!! AN ITCHY SCALP MAKES ME THINK WEIRD STUFF!!!!

Kurosawa's High and Low

Today, we had the screening of Akira Kurosawa's High and Low.

I should say, after watching Ozu and Naruse, coming back to Kurosawa feels akin to hopping onto a speeding train from a stationary platform. The way the camera moves is slick and as expected from Kurosawa.

The movie starts out slow and in the most natural way, gains momentum until the end is nigh. There are times when we reacted verbally to what was happening onscreen. And by principle, I tend to not do that. But this movie was one of the few that managed to get an opinion of the story's happenings while I was watching the movie. Toshiro Mifune is one actor who has always managed to bring in an inexplicable energy into the scene with his mere presence. Whether is it just him standing there, gazing at the scenery before him or speaking animatedly to an extortionist who demands his entire life's savings for the life of his chauffeur's son, Mifune manages to do it with elan.

But in this movie, the most endearing character (or characters, rather!) happen to be the bunch of police officers who go through such extreme situations just to nab their man. It was one of those times when I laughed while at the edge of my seat! Little tidbits of humor that never offsets the pace of the story are things that are a rarity in movies that are made where I come from!

Many of us felt the ending was a little abrupt. Just envy could drive a man to such measures was something many of us could not comprehend. But I feel the ending is perfect. The way the kidnapper seems to try in maintaining a facade of arrogance and nonchalance in front of the man he hoped to destroy was probably the only way one could've ended this movie.

P.S. Sensei was really happy that we were trying our best in reading the kanji credits that was displayed before the movie! Too bad we did a really horrid job at that! :P

Toryanse....Toryanse....

I'm sure most of us have had that feeling of anxiety and utter desperation as we search for something that eludes our grasp the more we try reaching for it! (Gosh... this sentence sounded awesome in Japanese! T-T)

The other day, I was watching some arbit news channel when the commercials kicked in and voila! They were playing the new (comparatively) advert for the Japanese tourism board. It had a song for background and for lack of another adjective, it sounded divine! I've been hunting that particular song ever since then! It has been months and it feels longer than that since I'd first heard that song. But with only the tune in head and a warbled sense of the words, I couldn't ask my sensei what that song was or of its origins. And so, yesterday, having conveniently forgotten about that song or the sleepless nights it had given me, I was at my grandpa's house, watching anime and practicing kanji when in the anime that I was watching, the same song started to sound! It was almost like someone had opened the floodgates of my memories and I just positively HAD to find out the name of the song.

And so, I launched my search with the name of the anime - Shangri La. I knew the episode number and searched in vain to spot some forum thread that spoke of this particularly interesting piece of music interwoven into the story. But not many were interested in that minor detail and almost everyone wanted to express their approval on how good the anime was progressing! But then, there was one entry where the person asked if anyone knew what the music that played from the very scene I was interested in, was! They also gave out the info that the traffic signals in Fukuoka play this one when the pedestrians have the green light to cross! That was quite the lead I was hoping to find! Another search on traffic lights in Japan showed me pages upon pages with info on how the Japanese played music so that visually challenged pedestrians could safely cross the roads knowing that it was green when the music was played! And without a doubt, the most favoured music was the one I was searching for!

It's called "Tō ryan se" (Please let me pass)  and is apparently a very famous rhyme from antiquated times in Japan. For the full song, click here!

Apparently, in ancient times, there was a lot of poverty and people had a lot of children. Sometimes parents found it extremely difficult to rear all of their progeny at one go and would choose to abandon their children at Shinto shrines where they hoped that the shrine would take them in and give them a living. But since children are thought to be the children of the Kami (Gods) until the age of seven, they couldn't be abandoned until then... doing so was a very heinous crime! Now, mothers found a way around this whereby they would take their children to the Shrines and would lie to the Public officers that they wish to go into the shrine to buy an amulet (ofuda) for her child who has completed seven years of age. They did this because the officer would not let her pass otherwise. But once inside, she leaves the child there and returns alone.

Moral of the story: To go somewhere without problems does not mean one can get back just as easily!

There's another legend that says that due to high infant mortality rates in Ancient Japan, this song celebrates a child having crossed seven years of life without problems! This song is also fashioned into a childrens' game. And it has become quite famous as a Warabe uta which literally means "young child song".

To listen to the song, click here!

Aaaaaah.... it feels so good when one finds what one searches for!

Memories of a happy day!

Today, we had a blast at the Japanese school! Shimizu-sensei had invited me and a couple of other students for the Vijayadashami Celebrations. There was a lot of press and not to mention photos! We had the Consul from the Consulate General of Japan, Kayako Furukawa. We also had Tetsuo Suzuki from Kubota Agricultural Machinery and Noboru Kato accompanying her.

By the time the new class was inaugurated, we were ready for the webconference with Japanese students and Professors from Iwate Prefectural University! It was unlike anything I'd ever done before! I got to talk to them in Japanese and they got to talk in English! It was funny... I kept answering their questions in Japanese while they answered ours in English. And they were all such wonderful people! :)

And Sensei has promised to lend me more movies and I'm really looking forward to seeing more Ozu and naruse movies in the year to come! :) Awwww... now I wish I didn't have to move out of Chennai! I'm gonna miss this city so much! And the wonderful people here... So... very.... much! :)

Swarna-saaaaaaaaan! Arigatou!

I've an all important test coming up in my Japanese class and though I've been studiously preparing for it, I'm that type of person who tends to forget everything at the right moment and end up staring in despair at the crack in the wall at the exam hall! And so, for the sake of not embarrassing myself in front of the people who think that I am really interested in Japanese (and that's a fact!), I'm putting in extra effort this time! And for every single person out there who's ever doubted my resolve in Japanese or has thought of this vocation as something bereft of monetary advantage, this would be a wonderful chance to get back at them and show them that I'm truly happy doing this!

But... as though the fates were testing me, I was sitting with the mails that my sensei gave us when I had an idea to clear the sent folder. Now, the tech savvy amidst you might already be having the "LOL" face but for the sake of the others, I'll describe what happened next! I didn't think that when I deleted messages that were my replies to emails, it would send the entire conversation with the original mail into the bellies of a horrid Black hole where it's shredded into indecipherable 1s and 0s! And the moment I saw those messages vanish from my Japanese folder in Gmail, I felt like the entire world was coming to an end. There are other resources out there and I'm sure my sensei must've sourced it from somewhere out there in the Interwebs himself. But still... I cannot bring myself to ask him again! It was my own fault for not saving them beforehand. And so, when I'd lost all hope of ever seeing those precise and condensed resources with pearls of knowledge scattered for me to partake, I have my darling friend Swarna-san call me!

It was almost like the gods were feeling sorry for me and had sent me a saviour! And after hear me incoherently blabber and rant about the missing resources, she has promised to mail me her copies! Isn't she the best?! :)

ｽﾜﾙﾅ-さん,本当に有難うございました!

JLPT N4! Here I coooooooome!!

♬Today is the day! Oh yeah.... Today is the day! Today I'll have my way. Oh yeah! Today is the daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!!!♬

Ahem...As most of us on this side of the planet struggle to get our peepers open so early on a Sunday morn, I'm full of beaming energy! Today, I submit my JLPT N4 application form! There's another reason why I'm so super-cali-fragalistic so early in the morning! Yesterday in class, I was actually able to understand the Kanji and the context of the story more easily than most in class. It could be because I knew the story of Urashima Tarou beforehand but still... I feel elated that maybe I am not as hopeless in this new class as I had feared! And, I also  realized that the few who were really good (one guy who seems really nice but is a little "show-off"y at times) actually was taking this class for the second time! And yesterday, Swarna-san and I managed to garner some attention towards ourselves in the positive sense! There were enquiries of where we did our N5 (though we mentioned it at the first class itself!) and how long ago we'd started learning! Swarna-san was able to crack N5 with just two months of preparation! Hah! Take that, you people who think we're not good enough in what we learn!

Hmmm.... Shimizu-sensei was so happy for Swarna-san that I still grin like an idiot when I think back at how her eyes shone with pride when she gave her the mark scores! And I seriously cannot let her down! So, henceforth, I am going to become the bushi of Japanese and shall take down anything that stands in my way of complete Japanese mastery! :D

On a completely disconnected note, the folks who're staying as tenants at our place seem to be intent on breaking the doors before they leave! There's this really old man with them and by the gods above! If he weren't old... I swear I would've given him quite the lashing for all the garbage he spews around the house! *sigh* I shalln't spoil the good mood I'm in right now and shall reserve these issues for another post.

Shh.... I'm hunting Fonts!

For anyone out there who's still reading my drabbles, I'd like to inform that I'm not kicking dirt nor am I pushing up daisies of any hue!

For those who're wondering what in the name of God's bunny rabbit slippers I was up to,

TA DAAAAA!!!!

I've been hunting all sorts of fonts! I don't know why.... but just that I seem to have developed an Obsessive Compulsive behavior of sorts that compels me to download every single good looking font that I see! And there are so many good fonts out there! :) But fey fate! There are a few that aren't free! Oh.... the pain of not being capable of getting those fonts.... *sniffle*

Aaaanyway, I'm thinking of doing one collage a week where I use one of these numerous fonts that I have and showing it to you! This way, I get to let my mind run free! And who knows... we might be onto something here! SOMETHING BIG!!!! (>__<)

My wishlist of jewellery!

Despite the fact that I cannot distinguish an NC from an NW (They're skin tones apparantly... don't ask me, I'm stumped!), and not being capable of applying the basic foundation or concealer without ending up looking like a yurei from Ju-On, Aaaaand despite the fact that I am not the greatest fan of bubblegum pink (I run in the opposite direction whenever I encounter this colour!), I do love cute things... and if that makes me a girly-girl, so be it!

I was just going through the internet, unmindful of where my browser took me (my browser is overrighteous and shall never stray from the path of goodness... or so I hope!), when I chanced upon one of the most beautiful pieces of jewellery every crafted!

Now, I'm a real sucker for hand crafted jewellery and though I hardly have the monetary means to pay for  these babies, I would love to buy them one day... when I can afford them. It sucks to be stuck with little money... especially when your materialistic dreams are not that very avaricious! I mean, I don't ask for gold or diamonds! Why can't I afford to buy something this cute once in a while? And why do the brands at my place overcharge just because they have an air-conditioned store in a posh mall?! Not fair...

Aanyway, just to let the entire world know what I love, I'm posting pictures of the jewellery I was drooling over a while ago. And for the makers of the jewels, I'm giving you guys some free advertising! Can't you spare me a piece? :P And for all the others who can afford to buy them and wear it for everyone to see, darn you!!!!!! Ah... have fun.

The first one is from Enchanted Leaves. I've always had a thing for Autumn! And somehow, the name Enchanted Leaves reminds me so much of burnished foliage and the general magic that surrounds that time of the year. Unfortunately, we don't have autumn where I come from. It's Summer all through the year with muggy rains in between. Ah, one of my life's dreams is to be in the midst of the maple and oak trees when their leaves turn! 

Site: www.enchantedleaves.com

I found their website to be incredibly awesome! Like I said, everything seemed so autumn-y. And since it's one of my favorite seasons (the other being winter), I was instantly hooked! Aaaanway, all pictures below are from the enchanted leaves website and clicking on any of them will direct you there! :)

A cute little acorn that'll brighten your day!

I've a thing for Seahorses!

Like I said, I've a thing for Seahorses!

And feathers... pretty feathers!

And leaves!

wings... mothwings! Who doesn't love these whimsical things!

And lastly, this is from Etsy. I'm definitely not the only one who goes through the shops drooling over the very pretty and cute things they have there! And how can I not have one featuring one of my all time favorite creatures? The Dolphin! I love these wonderful beings from the bottom of my hearts! It is also said that dolphins bring good luck to travellers... I mean, how can they not? What with their sweet dispositions and the ever present earnestness to help? Bless their doplhiny souls!

This beautiful necklace is from AgHalo.

It's a DOLPHIN! I LOVE DOLPHINS!

There you have it folks! My love for all things jewellery! :D Now, if only grooms in India and their parents accepted brides decked with such jewellery! Oh well... wishful thinking!

DISCLAIMER: I am not affiliated with any of the sites listed above and these are just my personal opinions. I am not being paid to write about them. 

A new Favicon!

Yep! I guess nobody noticed but I've changed my favicon. That's the usual icon that comes before a webpage's name on the address tab or on the top of the browser... you know what I mean! :P It was about time my blog got it's own favicon! I mean, the old one from blogger seemed so drab and did not distinguish my blog from the million others on the site! Now, every time you see that cute little toaster in a backdrop of black, you'll know Kikyo's close by, typing posts away in a frenzy! :D

Of Illustrators and Tablets....

My feelings exactly when I draw!

If you haven't noticed it yet, I'm currently focusing a lot on drawing stick figures and other...erm... illustrations for my posts. I'm quite proud of the fact that I can actually draw coherent images that don't resemble a mammoth's hiney when in reality I intend to draw someone's face!

But all that being said and done, I must also admit that drawing with the mouse is quite the pain in the nether regions! Oh, how I long for a wacom tablet! :) Will there be no one for me who can gift me that? Hmmmmmmmm......? Will this artistic talent be left to rot in the back alleys for the simple fact that she could not afford a tablet? Will there not be a saviour who shall provide the said tablet and release onto the world, a talent so pristine and wonderful that the world shall look at that person like a messiah?!

Okay.... I know that's pushing a bit too far... So... yeah... that's about it!

Minu's getting engaged! Yayness galore!

My friend is getting engaged tomorrow! Everybody, please pass your best wishes and prayers her way! It's about time she got some happiness in life!
And I prepared a silly little card for her. This is the first time I tried my hand out at stick figures. Believe me... I am NOT a great artist. But it's the thought that counts, right?

Yay you, Minu! :D

Yessir! Yessir! A refrigirator full!

Happy day! Happy day! I went grocery shopping at Nuts 'n' Spices and managed to get all the sauces that I love in Subway! And sooooooooo, right now, at my place, I have -

• Mayonnaise! Well... we always have mayo here but still, yay!
• Barbecue sauce! Yay again!
• Vinaigrette! This was such a lucky break... I wasn't even looking for salad dressings today but this baby just wanted to come home with me!
• TERIYAKI SAUCE!!!!!!!! Yes! I have it finally! So there! I'm doing the happy dance here. :)
• Italian Seasoning! I've been wanting this for the longest time and just recently managed to procure it.
• Lychee juice! I love Lychee... Absolutely love lychee! If I get enough arable land, I'd plant the entire place with Lychee! I'd sleep in a bed of lychee if I could! That's how much I love lychee!

So, thank you to every single one of you who'd sent positive vibes my way to aid me in the quest for the elusive sauces and salad dressings! And another big thankies to everyone of you who thought of places in Chennai where I'd get these and were about to let me know after their Sunday brunch! :D I still love you guys!

Hmmmm.... now comes the task of finding room in my 冷蔵庫 for all these babies! :D

I'm going to paint! :D

It has finally been decided! We'll be repainting the prayer room. And if anyone's ever seen a Hindu Prayer room, you'll know that most of the walls tend to blacken thanks to the camphor and the diyas (oil lamps) that one lights up.Right now, our pooja room(prayer room) looks like someone had tried arson there!

It took some cajoling from my end to get my folks to agree to do the repainting without calling any of the professional painter folks! I mean, it's a teeny tiny room and if we can't even do that, it would be a saddening fact brought to light that we can't be self-reliant!

So, starting from tomorrow, Dad and I will be repainting the room. And I already have some ideas regarding the project! Yay! I'm going to be allowed to get messy paint all over me for once!

P.S. Mom actually let me have ice cream for breakfast today! Did I just die and go to heaven?

I cannot believe this!

I need to pinch myself... I need to make sure this isn't some sort of hallucination! Did my parents actually for once agree that my Japanese classes were of worth?!

Wow! Now, I'm being encouraged to do what I love the most! Yay me! God exists, I tell you!