Another week digest

Dear blog,

This week was a very very busy week, considering I got around 5 deadlines: Separation Processes I on Monday, DPS on Wednesday, Poster Presentation on Friday, HEX 2A on Friday and HEX 2B today on a Sunday. Not to mention next Wednesday I'll be having an end-of-term Japanese test.
Next week is actually the scenario week, but I thought what's the harm of it and got quite miffed when an email came saying that because of the time clash we (the 2nd year engineering students) can take our exams on January, which is no way in hell I'm going to do it because I'll probably forgot everything and I still have things due after Christmas!

Anyways. Today, when my brother and I were on the way to church, we pass by a build-a-bear workshop and saw a Pikachu doll with 'coming soon' written below it. In the morning I thought it's amazing they'll be having Pikachu available soon, but in the afternoon when I took a closer look... it kind of disappointed me because the shape of the head looks a bit weird, but it may be because of the filling so I'm not very sure. I'm looking forward to see it on the store though, so that I could check although I already have a Pikachu doll that I bought in Japan around 5 years ago.

I also returned my newly bought Uniqlo duffle coat yesterday because it got discounted again. When I first bought the duffle coat, it was at £79.99 with the original price of £89.99. I thought it was good enough that Uniqlo got a sale because their things are very comfortable and sought out so I bought it. And then christmas sale came and now the duffle coat is on sale for £49.99. That's a whoopin' £30 difference from the price I bought it for! At first I wasn't sure I can return it because I cut the tag off already but my aunt told me that I've only worn it outside once and I still have the receipt and they have 28-day return policy so why not try it out. When we went there, I was a bit skeptical but in the end they accepted my coat! So, when my aunt and I got out, she told me to quickly order another one online but unfortunately the blue one sold out already (I saw it in the morning and they still have it) so now I chose the beige one. The coat is actually already in store, but because today I'm finishing my coursework and studying a bit for my Japanese test I think I'll just take it tomorrow instead.

Oh! Almost forgot, Clip Studio Paint (The English version) is actually on sale right now. It started from Dec 10th to Dec 15th 17:00 JST, 70% off!!! So from £32 to £9.50 how can I resist that? I love Clip Studio Paint and I was devastated when my 2 year license from wacom expired! Now I have a permanent license that I can use forever! Yay for sale!

Signing off,
Janet

Weekday Digest

Friday, 4 December 2015

Dear blog,

I guess I've been busy for the past few days. What was I doing though, I'm not so sure about that myself. Really. The weekday was spent going to classes as per usual, doing lab report with the guys (it was by far the latest I've ever stayed in the library, 7pm) and doing coursework which somehow accumulated obscenely in the span of a few days.

This morning was the last lab to be done this year and the year onwards (for the regular ones anyway, might have other labs for certain subjects), which is good. Then again, we will be doing a poster presentation instead of the regular report, that's not good. Most of all, I'm doing Bernoulli's Equation experiment for this last lab and that scares me the most because the demonstrator is infamous for being very very strict when grading. The guy was pretty cool, but then again his attitude screams 'I enjoy the misery of my students/juniors' to me at some point. Aaanyways, let's just hope I don't screw this up. Especially with the mountain for coursework to do before christmas and during christmas.

Not to mention scenario week is coming and I'm having my in-class Japanese language test in that week. Someone save me. It's late and I just finished drawing up my Bernoulli apparatus and my neck cricks because I forced myself to draw it even though I'm so knackered

Signing off,
Janet

P.S. it's 5 December 2015 00.29am now

Unboxing Hyper Japan Christmas Market

Sunday, 29 Nov 2015

Dear blog,

I didn't go to church this morning, because big bro isn't sure he wants to and since I've taken a shower already I just go with it (I don't feel like it either though). So went back to laze around on bed, facetime-d grandma for a while and then I finally opened the Sailor Moon and Cardcaptor Sakura boxes from Hyper Japan Christmas Market. First is the Carpcator Sakura colour-cole deluxe box, for which I got this adorable Li Shaoran! Although I was expecting Sakura because there's a 5/8 chance of getting her (she got 5 versions in this line-up) compared to 1/8 chances of getting either Shaoran, Tomoyo or Kero+Suppi. Still, Shaoran is adorable and I wish I have more money to buy the rest. The quality is simply amazing, as expected from original Japanese product. One of the box cost only 700yen+tax in Japan, which made me really really want to move there and spend all my money on small figurines like these.

Next is the Sailor Moon: Let's Transform with New Friends! Version from MegaHouse/MegaHobby. The box also says Glitter version because some parts that sparkles, not very sure about the glitter part though, but they are very pretty. All three of them: Sailor Saturn, Sailor Chibi Moon and Sailor Pluto are of variant A, they have variant B which has different facial expression. Again, I wish I have more money to buy the others. But hey, at least I got Luna P which is randomly packaged! Lucky! They only cost 500yen+tax per box in Japan, I will definitely hunt for these if I have the opportunity to go there again.

I continued to lounge around today, didn't do much. Ate leftover bakwan for lunch and big bro's version (he used a different recipe than the one I cooked before for myself) of gyudon for dinner. Edited a bit of my DPS coursework and discussed some horrors that is coursework deadlines with my friends.

Signing off,
Janet

Lazy but Productive Saturday

Saturday, 28 November 2015

Dear blog,

I woke up this morning with backaches and sore legs. It was expected considering how tired I was yesterday from Hyper Japan, but I was also expecting to wake up later than I had. I managed to finish my experimental procedure last night before going to bed, which is something else because I was very much ready to drift off and sleep. Had fried eggs for lunch today and bakwan for dinner. Made a draft for Design and Professional Skills coursework and done my apparatus sketch. I managed to distract my brother from his Need for Speed by scanning my drawing and made him crash. He got quite crossed, saying that I can't scan at that moment. Luckily I finished my scanning when he said that and told him I finished already when he told me I can scan now. Today is an unexpectedly productive day. My only discomfort is that my period starts today (or last night).

I haven't opened my sailor moon and cardcaptor sakura boxes from yesterday... and the place I volunteered before, Work and Play Scrapstore, have an open day today but I didn't go because my body was sore and I need to do stuff... I think I regret it a bit

Signing off,
Janet

Hyper Japan Christmas Market 2015!

Friday, 27 Nov 2015

Dear blog,

Today is Friday! And as planned I packed Pikachu into my bag, went to do lab in uni and went straight to Hyper Japan afterwards (with a very hungry stomach). Citymapper guided me to Tobacco Dock, and frankly I will never know this area if it was not for Hyper Japan. Moving on, the venue is quite interesting and by the end of the day the venue became quite horrifying for me because I keep getting confused which way is which *insert nyoron here*.

First thing first is that I went into Eat Tokyo to eat (not knowing that there are other food stalls on the floor below). Ate some Salmon Don, which was delicious and nostalgic, and went off to explore! Next I went into the Tofu Cute area, which is crowded and is divided into two ways: left is when you wanted to see the dolls first and right is to the confectionary section. You can find Dreamy Bow selling their stuff inside at the corner. [Edit] I saw a cross-dresser here, and I wouldn't be able to tell the difference if not for him talking with his friends and a close up on his face when I was trying to get through them. He looked amazing, in my opinion, the dress he's wearing is absolutely lolita gorgeous *nyoron* [/Edit]. In the middle of the area, there is an arch with alpacasso and others attached and a bench with a HUGE cat doll for any of you who wanted to take pictures. Sadly, I didn't try any clothes on because I know I won't be wearing them often enough to appreciate it. And they never really have the size that fit me usually, so I'm out.

Off to the next area still on the top floor, went inside and around carrying my Pikachu. I think I saw LadyBeard's back profile when I entered the area being photoed. Wanted to take a look but I don't listen to LadyBaby so it will be awkward *nyoron*. Again, moving on the Kawaii Kollective booth is in this area here and I hung around observing the Cardcaptor Sakura goods. I think I took quite a while asking for prices and going to the other side of the shop and in the end I bought my Sakura Key earphone jack and mini Clow Wand pen as well as Loppy's multy pouch. I walked in into another area, which as NHK world stall and some Japan tours stalls. Spotted Alpha Japanese Language School stall, which was the stall I had visited in the previous Hyper Japan, and I don't know whether the lady remembers me or not, I think it's the same lady and we kind of nodded our heads towards each other so I think she remembers me because I had talked about how I had lost my japanese speaking ability when I met with May J. Continuing, next to this stall is the AEON Department Store stall which I had been very very curious about since they said they'll be selling Japan's famous 'randoseru' (ランドセル, taken from the Dutch word 'ransel'), which is Japanese children's typical school bagpack. They have all sorts of colours, from black to reds to various blues, green, pinks, purples, browns. I asked them how much they sell it for and it was for £200 (or was it £220?) which is expected because they're made with leather and is designed to be sturdy so it can be used from the start of a child's elementary school until their graduation (6 years). I also asked whether they only sell it at this event and they said for now, yes. Does this mean if possible they'll be able to sell it here? I've seen the Japanese school children around my area carrying these bags and I'm so curious where they got it from whether they sent it from Japan or not. Afterwards I filled in a questionnaire and got myself WAON (AEON's dog mascot) handkerchief.

Next area is the lower ground area, they got food stalls there selling yakisoba, takoyaki, sushi and such even Yo! Sushi is there. Not to mention I saw an Asahi beer stall. So I entered one of the Kawaii area and looked around. Found a few lolita accessories booth and some other things I'm not really interested in. Luckily, I found yykawaii's booth. yykawaii is a decoden maker in instagram whose shop is on etsy and she creates custom made decoden as well as other decorated stuff (DS case, trinket box, contact lens boxes, etc). I met with the lady behind the decoden making, which is quite amazing in my opinion because I've only read her instagram posts. She also sells figurines (figma, nendoroids, ichiban kuji, etc.) and other merchandises, also found on instagram here. I had spotted a Sailor Moon phone strap, similar to the one I had bought in Comic Con. I asked her whether this is the second set, because they have different sets and I've also bought Usagi last time around. She said yes and then somehow I kept on blabbering asking about the CardCaptor Sakura saying I got the pocket watch from the Kuji and stuff before her husband (I think it's her husband? Not so sure...) came carrying the price A figurine for CardCaptor Sakura Ichiban Kuji. Now that I took a close look at it, I don't think I want it, which is good, I think. I bought the Sailor Moon phone strap as well as the CardCaptor sakura little figurine from her and left. I spotted a petit red Beargguy being sold for £8, sadly mom said it's not on sale in Indonesia yet so I can't compare the price.

Moving on to other area, there is a game area and when I look at the flyer the place is actually near North Acton which means it's actually not too far from the flat, what a surprise. Moving on again, found more stalls selling more stuff and found Doki Japanese Tableware, which was the tableware shop that I didn't manage to get the name of from previous Hyper Japan event. My aunt was curious about it since last time I told her about this shop. Although they don't have name cards displayed at the till, their banner has the address so I took a picture of it as well as some cute bowls and plates with cats designs on them. Near this area is a green tea and confectionary stall, Ippuku Tea. They got macarons and green tea, which they prepare very carefully. A guy had a green tea order and the japanese man said that it has to be boiled at 50 degree so needed some time before the order could be ready. I decided to buy one green tea macaron (they also sell vanilla macaron as well as green tea chocolate buttercup thing) and the take away green tea bottle. The bottled green tea was great, the macaron was too so it was good because it made my stomach happy. Next to that stall is another confectionary stall, Minamoto Kitchoan. They have sake stalls and lounge around that area as well and near the door is Wagashi Japanese Bakery, where I had bought my green tea powder before in previous summer's Hyper Japan, as well as a stall called Supercute which also sell confectionaries.

I was getting a bit overwhelmed by the venue's maze-like area at this time and went to sit for a few minutes before walking again. From the beginning I've been looking for konpeito, the little sugar sweets which for some people is familiar from Studio Ghibli's Spirited Away, because my aunt and my brother had taken a liking to them as well. I was lucky I found Sushi Noms at this point, because I remember I bought those from them last time in Hyper Japan summer 2015 as well. They still have the 3 for £2 price for the konpeito so I bought 6 tubs of them. Saw they also got CardCaptor Sakura's nendoroid and both Sakura Wand and Clow Wand's chopsticks but I don't have enough cash so I have to leave their place before I got lured to even more stuff. It was a bit awkward for me when I saw them selling the Moekana flash cards though. Unfortunately, I did not end my shopping here because I entered the Japan Centre area. I thought they'll be selling the stuff they have in the main shop but no they actually have figurines. Saw these Sailor Moon ones and decided to buy 3 of them because I'm using credit card for this one and those who accept credit card all have £20 limit. Anyways, so I bought them and the PokemonAU!Sherlock bag I'm using to carry the stuff I buy is filled so it's an indication that I should really stop. Because of my curiousity, I entered an area with 'workshops' signed on them. In this area I found a Shogi workshop, Kawaii makeup workshop and needle-felting workshop. There is another workshop at the back but I didn't see what it was, the area was almost completely empty. I was watching someone doing needle-felting and got asked by the workshop demonstrator (Ms. Hiromi Watanabe, more info here) whether I wanted to try or not. In the end I decided to try it out because I was thinking that it is very hard because it looked hard. Here I spoke Japanese and little English with Hiromi-san, was given a choice of loose felt of various colours and was told to decide on a design first before doing anything. The area is a bit cold and it was late so I just decided to do something round (which ended up as a cube in the end). Predictable, I decided on pink and red and started punching. It was quite therapeutic, Ms. Hiromi said, and I think so as well especially when you're angry you can just punch needles into the felt to tame them *nyoron*. Both Ms Hiromi and I chatter for quite a bit, it was nice (will be better if the room is warmer though).

So that was my activities in Hyper Japan Christmas Market. Below is a photo of the stuffs I bought in Hyper Japan.

Signing off,
Janet

Thursday Night Panic

Thursday, 26 Nov 2015

Dear blog,

Basically I spent my Wednesday and Thursday doing lab report with the group. Wednesday I met up with my friends in the departmental cluster room and on Thursday we met up in the Science Library (and I skipped maths tutorial for this). I think my eyes are going to give up on me when I edit the equation numbers to be in order and to match to the previous ones. Anyways, my laptop is at its very end (3% battery) so I had to leave as it was also quite late, 5-ish pm. I even went to the library staff to give my input on putting more electric plugs and putting the electronic booking device on the library pods, which was actually an impulse more than a planned action.

Afterwards when I got home, my brother wanted to cook Pork Loin Steak with Cream Shallot and Mushroom Sauce so we ate that and I continued on with the group report. And lo behold! When I was doing it, Microsoft Word did become a bit strange and SUDDENLY IT CRASHED! Do you know how panicked I was when I opened it again and the recovered document was not the one I was working on? I was so sure I saved lots and lots of times when I was editing and the recovered document was a blank document as well as the previous previous version! I had even spoken my panic in my group's whatsapp group. I took a deep breath then started looking for my document, which actually had been saved in my university work folder. When I opened the document and saw that I was right and had saved the latest version of the work before it crashed, I was so so happy about it and continued despite having a bit of a headache because of the shock.

So there it is, the Thursday Night Panic.

Signing off,
Janet

Nothing here

Tuesday, 24 Nov 2015

Dear blog,

Tuesday was boring, and I forgot to buy milk

Signing off,
Janet