EVACOMICS BLOG

The only place that I would like to check out during my short holiday back home was the newly opened Marina Bay Sands hotel. 在我短暫的回家假期裡，我只想去剛開始營業的濱海灣金沙酒店看看。

Finally free to check out the Christmas Illumination in Tokyo! My friend and I decided to visit the one at Tokyo Midtown since it's said to be quite nice. We caught a nice view with Tokyo Tower as the backdrop :P Check out my youtube video below! 終於有空看聖誕燈飾了！聽說東京中城的聖誕燈飾蠻不錯，所以我們決定去那裡看看。我們的視野剛好對准東京鐵塔，所以還挺不錯的 :P 看看我的youtube影像吧！

I went to catch the Van Gogh exhibition today. Although it is a Friday, the exhibition was packed with many retirees, housewives and tourists! I forgot that Japan, with an aging population, has a lot of  retirees with lots of free time and money to spend. I didn't have a great time there because people were hogging in front of apparently hit paintings with their hearing guides (costing 500yen rental each, only available in Japanese). 今天去看了一下Van Gogh的展覽。雖然是星期五，但是展覽擠滿了退休人士，家庭主婦和觀光客！我忘了日本現在人口老化中，有很多老人有大壩的時間和金錢可以花。因為他們有花500yen租只有日文版的hearing guide（聲音機？），所以都卡在熱門作品的前面不動，氣死我了。

Oura Cathedral, located in Nagasaki at Kyushu prefecture, is the oldest church in Japan completed in December 1864. It was designated as a National Treasure on 23 Jan 1933. This church is also named as "Church of the 26 Japanese Martyrs". 大浦天主堂位於九州的長崎。建於1864年，是日本最古老的一棟教堂。1933年時被認定為國寶，正式名字為“26聖殉教者天主堂”。 How Christianity spread in Japan was largely credited to a Spanish missionary, Francis Xavier, who arrived on Kagoshima island in 1549. However it was later banned in 1587 due to feudal lord, Toyotomi Hideyoshi's fear that Christianity was a barrier to his plan of uniting the whole of Japan. Centuries after his death, the country was re-opened and Christians, who went into hiding, came out. Nagasaki, which was the heart of Christianity activity, still remains as a prefecture with majority of its population as Christians. －中文省略 XD －

The scholarship organization held a talk and sponsored us a trip to watch the traditional Japanese puppet show at the National Theatre today. Our ticket costs 3600yen/each between the 5~7th rows. 今天獎學金集團又辦了一個講座，和一起去日本國立劇場來觀賞日本傳統木偶劇。 我們在第5~7排，票價3600yen。

Sorry I'd been very busy. Now that I finally have a bit of time before my Japanese school exam (exams again!?), it's time to show off my recent online shopping loot :P 真是抱歉最近實在是太忙了。在日語學校的期末考之前，抽出一點時間來炫耀一下我最近的網購大收穫:P

  2 weeks ago, there was a Winter Sale at Gotemba Premium Outlets located in Hakone, where you can get a nice view of Mt. Fuji. Unlike the Chelsea Premium Outlets in California, this outlet has more branded boutiques such as Prada, Tods, Ferragamo, YSL, Jimmy Choo, Bvlgari, etc. It is also the biggest outlet in Japan. 2週前逛了在箱根的御馬場outlet，那時正有冬季促銷，還能欣賞到美麗的富士山風景。和加州的Chelsea Premium Outlet不一樣的是，這間outlet有比較多名牌商店，例如Prada, Ferragamo, YSL, Jimmy Choo, Bvlgari，等。御馬場也是全日本最大的outlet。

I finished my GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test) on Friday so I was thrilled that the autumn leaves waited for me to see them, thanks to the warmer temperatures which delayed this year's red leaves viewing. 今年的紅葉因為受到比往年更暖的氣候影響，所以較晚變紅。很慶幸秋季的葉子有等我在星期五考完GMAT :P

Our first night was spent in one of these hostels run by the state government. The hostel name can be interpreted as "National Youth Nature/Exchange Hostel". These hostels are wide-spread throughout the nation and are always situated within nature bountiful mountains. They are popular with schools and companies who want to train their people because they are equipped with classrooms, assembly halls, sports and camping facilities. However be warned that there are a lot of taking off shoes and changing to slippers or walk bare footed in Japanese facilities and museums! 我們的初晚在這類國立宿舍渡過。名字可翻譯為"國立青少年交流／自然之家"。這類宿舍遍佈全國，而且通常位於充滿大自然的山上。因為裡面都備有教室，禮堂和其它運動和露營設施，對那些要集訓學生的學校，童子軍，公司等受歡迎。不過在日本的設施和博物館內，得常脫鞋穿鞋，非常麻煩。

I recently bought this silicone cookware which came together with its magazine to teach you how to use it with your microwave. For the price of 1680yen, it's quite cheap to consider if you're paying for both the cookware and the recipe magazine. 最近買了一本教妳如何使用微波爐和硅樹脂鍋子的小雜誌，還附上特別鍋子。以1680yen的價格來說，有雜誌又有鍋子算是蠻換算的。

During the 21st Oct, scholars from the same organization and I went for a 4 days 3 night study trip to Kyushu to learn more about the Japanese culture, history and customs, as well as to interact with the local Japanese. Our first stop was the Aso mountains located at the heart of Kumamoto.  10月21日，我和其他獎學金學生一起去了一趟4天3夜的九州研修。目的是為了對日本的文化，歷史和生活有更深一層的認識，並且于當地的日本人交流。我們的第一站就是位於熊本縣中央的阿蘇山。 Aso mountains is filled with man-made grasslands, wide-spread through human intervention of burning and clearing the lands for cow grazing. It was a nice change to walk around open space unlike the crowded streets of Tokyo. Though feeling relaxed, there is not much scenery to look at during that time. 人工草原遍佈了整座阿蘇山，這些都是通過人為燃燒出來的，為了就是能放牛。 在廣闊的草原中漫步和在東京的擁擠街頭是截然不同的新鮮感覺。雖然心情很放鬆，不過那時沒什麼好風景欣賞。

I don't usually celebrate any festivals, let alone Halloween. But maybe because I'm starting to miss the English language, and feeling nostalgic for those festivals celebrated while I was studying in San Francisco, I bought a little basket of candies and cookies, swapping some with other variations from my inventory. This is a good time to clear stock and bring in the new snacks XD 我平時都不慶祝節日和生日的，不過可能我開始想念英文和在美國唸書的日子，所以買了一籃糖果和餅乾來小小慶祝一下。當然也偷換了一些。這是清理舊貨換新貨的好時機 XD In US, you would put a Jack pumpkin outside of your house to indicate that it's okay for the kids to knock on your door to say "Trick or Treat". People would also dress up in costumes to party out with friends in the streets or at homes. Of course, in Asia, nobody practices the pumpkin thing, but cosplay is rather popular. 在美國，放一顆南瓜頭就表示小朋友們可以敲你的門來要糖果。很多人也會變裝和朋友在街上或家裡慶祝。當然在亞洲，放南瓜頭似乎不流行，倒是cosplay很受歡迎。

These buns, called either nikuman (meat buns) or anman (red bean buns), are popular during this season when the climate is getting cold. Basically you can heat them up by either using a microwave or steam them in a rice cooker. I'd tried both and found the traditional steaming method more preferable. However, unlike my Japanese teacher's comment that these buns were absolutely tasty, I found them rather okay. Maybe I should buy those authentic hot buns directly from the convenient stores. Since typhoon no.14 is now in Tokyo, these hot buns had become both my breakfast and lunch. Today's dinner is probably something else steamed... 這些nikuman(肉包子)和anman(紅豆包子)在逐漸變冷的天氣中賣得特別好。加熱的方法很簡單，不是用微波爐就是用電飯鍋。我兩種方法都試了，結果還是傳統的蒸法比較好吃。雖然日語老師極力推薦此產品，但是我覺得味道還是馬馬乎乎...可能要去便利店買正統的熱包子才會比較好吃吧!? 既然台風14號正襲卷東京，這些包子成了我的早餐和午餐了。今晚的晚餐應該也是蒸點什麼來吃吧...

I was shooing a spider out of my room to the veranda when I spotted this large cute looking praying mantis. If you remember, my place had a lot of insects like worms , cicadas and mosquitoes . However, this was my first time seeing a live praying mantis in such close proximity. It certainly looked clean and green like our Singapore courtesy frog. Its body was approximately 7-8cm and its head can turn backwards. I was crazily taking macro photos and video for about 10mins. 在趕一隻蜘蛛出去陽台時，發現了一隻又大又可愛的螳螂！假如讀者還記得的話，我的房間有很多昆蟲類，例如 蟲子 ， 蟬 和 蚊子 。不過，這是我第一次看到還活著的螳螂!!! :D 它的身體就像我們的新加坡綠化青蛙一樣綠油油的。身長約7-8cm，頭也能往後轉呢！我就這樣在那裡蹲了約10分鐘狂拍照片。

If you think that girls keep their places clean and tidy all the time, you are wrong! In fact in our international dormitory , kitchens and wash basins at the girls' floor are even more dirty than the guys'. Besides lacking in hygiene, some lack common sense as well. Eggs, curry, mushrooms, vegetables, rice, seeds, and even plastic wrappers are some typical recipe to our dirty sink mixed dish. Even the filter inside the kitchen sink was never emptied by the culprits themselves, causing the sink to be clogged all the time. 假如你認為女生都一定保持場所乾淨又整潔的話，你就大錯特錯了！特別是在我們的 國際宿舍 裡，女生的廚房和洗面所竟然比男生的髒！有些女生除了沒有清潔意識之外，還缺乏基本常識。倒入水盆裡的雜物包括煎蛋，咖哩，香菇，菜，飯，種子，甚至連塑膠包裝都不放過！水盆裡的過濾網也都完全沒清理，導致水盆常常堵塞。

Well old friends and readers will know that I'd now "fallen from grace". From a rich lady with credit cards in hand, flashy branded handbags and always attending fashion shows, to a poor scholar living in a tiny dorm in Tokyo eating cup ramen (well, actually it's sushi). 讀過以前貴婦系列的讀者就知道我以前是一手拿信用卡，一手握名牌包，常去看時裝秀的貴婦啦。但是現在已經淪落到一名住在東京破宿舍，吃著杯拉麵的窮學生（其實我是吃壽司的）。 So here's my tips to save some money in Tokyo: 所以這是我在東京省錢的一些小祕方和大家分享： 1. If you need to buy books, either purchase used books from stores like Bookoff , or purchase a  Tosho card from a discounted tickets store . Use the discounted Tosho card to pay for all your books which are new, at those big bookstores. 假如需要買書，就去 Bookoff 買二手，或到 折扣票店買折扣的圖書卡 。買新書就用那張圖書卡買。 2. Even better, just stand in the bookstore and finish your book. I saved money for 2 magazines this way! 更好的方法：站在書店內看完書。我因此省下2份雜誌的錢！ 3. For girls, if you want to satisfy your craving for shopping, you can buy those magazines with freebies. Many magaz...

After sticking around for 6 months, aliens in Japan are allowed to open a bank account besides Japan Post Bank to access more banking services including online banking. However here's the catch, if you arrive as a group of 7 foreigners, the folks at Mitsubishi UFJ will try to split you up and have a few people apply for the account themselves at isolated "TV rooms". 過了6個月，在日居留的外國人可以申請任何銀行的戶頭來進行網上交易。可是當我們7個外國人到了三菱UFJ銀行時，工作人員竟然要我們幾個分開去“電視房”來自己申請戶頭。 I was persuaded to enter into a "TV room" which was an isolated cubicle with a computer kiosk which could perform webcam functions with a personnel stationed remotely. I talked with her using the attached phone receiver and she'd bow, stay bowed, until the webcam screen went off each time. This marvelous piece of high-tech equipment combined with first-class service was supposed to speed up the application and reduce workload for the bankers. However, they forgot that I am a bloody foreigner with limited Japan...

One thing to enjoy in Japan besides food and scenery is shopping. Especially if you're on a tight budget like me, buying Japanese magazines with freebies will actually satisfy any shopaholic's craving. They usually cost cheap like 700-1500 yen, and come with branded freebies, usually a collaboration between the magazine and the design house. Because of this, the "freebies" are usually well-designed and don't look like those cheapos in Singapore. 在日本，除了享受美食和美景，就是逛街了。假如妳像我一樣沒什麼錢的話，購買附有贈品的雜誌（稱：付錄）將滿足任何購物狂的慾望。而且一本雜誌的售價約700-1500yen之間，相當便宜。因為贈品是雜誌和品牌公司一起合作的，所以設計方面都蠻好看，不像一般在新加坡找到的那種便宜貨。

Finally Fall is here as the weather gets cooler and cooler. Eating mackerels is a Japanese customs or habit to welcome the new season. This also marks the end of our simmering hot days! 秋季終於來了！ 吃秋刀魚是日本人歡迎新季節的習慣，也代表炎熱夏天的結束！

Discount ticket shops are shops where people sell their unwanted tickets, cards and vouchers, and where people can buy them at a discount of up to 5% off the original price. The shops are always located around major train stations with a shinkansen stop. In Shinjuku, there are many outside the West gate and I find that the furthest one provides the best savings, although negligible to most people. 折扣票店賣的是比市價便宜5%的各類門票，車票，讀書卡，電話卡，購物券等。因為這些都是那些不需要它們的人賣出去的，所以大家可放心購買，都沒問題的。店鋪通常都位於有新幹線的主要電車站附近。在新宿西口也有不少，越遠的會賣得越便宜。 These shops sell anything from concert and baseball match tickets, shinkansen tickets, rail passes, department store vouchers, to telephone and Tosho cards. 任何演奏票，演唱會入門票，賽票，新幹線車票，電車票，購物券，電話卡或圖書卡都能在這些店買到。

In Japan, oranges and apples are the major domestic fruits but the sales for them has been declining. Replacing them in the fruits sales chart is bananas from South-east Asia. I'm not a big fan of bananas, but if you want a convenient fruit to eat when you're lazy to wash hands or grab a knife, bananas are your best choice. 日本的土產水果主要是橙和蘋果。可惜的是他們的本土銷售額年年下跌，取代榜首的竟然是東南亞的香蕉大王！雖然我對香蕉沒什麼喜愛，但是當你不願洗手或拿刀子時，香蕉的確是很方便的健康水果。 Cherries　櫻桃 The cherries season is usually in the spring season around April. Japanese cherries are smaller and more reddish than the Californian cherries. Oddly, Japanese cherries are more expensive than their Californian counterparts and tasted more sour. For example, one small box of Japanese cherries costs 700yen but the Californian cherries costs 450yen. I'll prefer the Californian cherries anytime.  櫻桃季節通常在四月份的時候。日本櫻桃比加州的還要嬌小和紅潤。雖然日本櫻桃比較貴，但是比較酸-_-。一小盒的日本櫻桃可賣700yen，但是加州的只賣450yen。你說我會買哪兒一個呢...

Due to cost-cutting measures, I decided to walk all the way from my dorm to Shinjuku station to meet my friend. This would save me 130yen instead of taking a train and getting 35mins worth of walking exercise. This is equivalent to a plate of Kaiten (conveyor belt) sushi! And oh, I get to see the Danjiri Matsuri (Japanese: Festival) at the West exit of Shinjuku station as well! 因為要節省開支，所以我決定從宿舍一直走到新宿見朋友。 這讓我省下了130yen的電車費和得到35分鐘的運動，相等于一盤旋轉壽司店的壽司！ 而且在新宿西口巧遇日本的Danjiri祭！

Well for some time, I'd found it rather hard to get into sleep, so I asked the know-all Google on any holy advises. Here are some of its recommendations: Drink milk. Take a hot shower before sleeping. Use the bed only for sleeping. (except for those things which couples would do) Dim the lights to prepare your body for sleeping. Sleep at your regular time, even during weekends. Read a boring book. Do something boring until you're tired enough, then sleep. I don't like to drink milk and don't like to shower late, so I picked tip #6: Read a boring book. Now I know when to study my Japanese! P.S. IT WORKED!!! 有一段時間一直很難入睡，所以請教一下萬能的Google。以下是一些提議： 喝奶。 睡之前洗熱澡。 只有睡覺時才上床，不要躺在床上看電視或唸書。 把燈光調暗，讓身體意識要準備睡覺了。 即使在週末也要按照平時的時間睡覺。 讀一本很無聊的書。 做很無聊的事，直到很累才睡覺。 因為我不喜歡喝奶和晚洗澡，所以我選第6項：讀一本很無聊的書。現在我知道要幾點唸日語了！ P.S. 這方法果然有效！

I passed my Japanese Language Proficiency Test level 2 again!!! This time with higher rate than my just previous passing score of 240/400 taken 9 years ago. Everyone, including the teachers, thought that it was rather easy to pass this year's level 2 examination based on the higher passing rate than previous years. Looking at my results slip, grade B is actually between 34~66%. What this means is even if you failed your grammar, you can still receive a grade B. Strange isn't it? Moreover, they did not reveal the passing mark so no one knew exactly where the line was drawn. It was rumored that if you scored more than 19/60 for example, in Listening Comprehension, you could still pass, provided that the overall score was decent. For those of us who had taken the 5500yen test in Japan, we need to pay an additional 1000yen if we want to receive the A4 size certificate. I'll think about forking out that cash if I pass N1. 我又2級合格了!!! 這次的比率比9年前的240/400還高:P 因為今年獲得合格的學生比往年多，所...

This is what we eat every morning, buffet! :PPPP 這是我們每天的吃到飽！*開心 :P

Some of us visited the Cheese research center. What they do is to research on what kind of cheese that Japanese like. Based on their findings, Japanese typically like cheese which has 1)No strong fermented smell, 2)Not sticky, 3)White color. Although they were told by Europeans that their cheese is really bad, but they don't mind because Japanese likes it. 我們有些去參觀起司研究所。他們專門研究迎合日本人口味的起司。根據他們的研究結果，發現日本覺得好吃的起司是：1）沒有強烈的發酵味道，2）不黏牙，3）白色。即使歐洲人覺得他們的起司不好吃，他們還是覺得只要日本人喜歡就沒關係。

First day's lunch. 第一天的午餐。

This is my first bento meal bought from the station and eaten inside the Shinkansen. To tell you the truth, the packaging was gorgeous but the taste was...so so. 這是我在新幹線車站買的便當。老實說，包裝是很漂亮，但是味道不怎麼樣！

I attended this life drawing session called "Dr. Sketchy" in Shibuya last month, and was quite amazed to see so many foreigners and a few SINGAPOREANS there! Believe me, I'm the only Singaporean in my Japanese school and nobody, nobody would understand my Singlish LEH! 上個月參加了一個非一般的繪畫沙龍，名字叫"Dr. Sketchy"。很訝異的是竟然有那麼多外國人和幾位新加坡人!!!在日語學校裡，只有我一個新加坡人，根本沒人會了解我的"新"式英語T_T

While washing my hands at the far,far away washing room, I spotted this apparently dead cicada on the floor. The length seemed to be approximately 6cm from head to wing. By far, its the biggest insect which I'd ever seen, apart from dead specimens..  Suddenly it twitched... 當我在遙遠的洗面所洗手時，發現這隻似乎已經死掉的蟬。長度約6cm。 除了標本以外，這是我有史以來，看過最大的昆蟲！ 可是它突然掙扎了一下...

Guess what is this? It's a bag of course! But wait...it's also a... 猜這是什麼？（-_-白癡問題嗎？當然是塑膠袋啦！）不過，這也是一個...

The results of Morning International Comic Competition (MICC) was out a few days ago: http://morningmanga.com/micc/ Unfortunately me and the other Singaporean artist (omigod) didn't get into the finalist round. So I expressed my disappointment in my twitter and facebook and became "emo" for a few days. Thanks to friends who cheered me up, I'll try my best to stick my butt in a Japanese university to learn about how to do my own ebook comics and try the contest again after I'm done with all the hardcore Japanese studies... AJA AJA FIGHTING! 前幾天，講談社的國際漫畫獎成績公佈： http://morningmanga.com/micc/ 可惜我和另一名新加坡人都落選了，因此消沈地在twitter和面書發泄了一下。 感謝支持我的朋友和妹妹，我會加油設法咬住某大學院來研究電子漫畫的自行販賣策略。 當然有機會的話，會想再參加比賽...(不過得先解決日語的苦讀...) 唉，所謂人生就是有起有落吧 但願這只是個過渡期。 AJA AJA FIGHTING!

Although I passed the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) level 2 seven years ago, I went for another round of torture to challenge the new JLPT2. Apparently this time, the organizers had turned clever and decided to pass examinees based on how they fared in each section such as grammar, vocab/kanji, reading comprehension and listening comprehension. Unfortunately for me, my grammar and listening is weak and so the chances of passing is slim... -_- For now, I'm glad that one test is over. The next agenda is to look for a Japanese Graduate School. Believe me, it's a pain in the ass to apply for Japanese Universities... I'll do a more detailed post on that when I'm more free <-which might not happen any time soon because of my scholarship activities too... I'm so BUSY that everyone commented that I'd slimmed down ever since I came to Japan. No time, little money... SIGH! What to do? At least I can watch a few FIFA matches in Japanese. 雖然7年前我幸運地過了2級，但是...

While heavy rain caused unexpected flash flood in Singapore (OH MY ORCHARD!) but it also rained throughout Japan as we enter into the rainy season. So while washing my hands in the far far away toilet , I spotted a rainbow in a short distance and rushed back to my room. Unfortunately by the time I return from my long trip, the rainbow had begun to fade and I only managed to capture this bit. This also reminds me about a comic post I drew a year ago on rainbow: http://www.wretch.cc/blog/evacomics/12114682 . Not that I'm getting all poetic here, but it makes me think how short our lives are and that we should be making full use of our brief earthly moments on meaningful things and not waste time on trivial matters. 大雨除了導致 新加坡多處淹水 以外，還遍佈了進入雨季的日本。在 非常遙遠的洗手間 洗手時，發現了一道彩虹！於是我趕緊回房拿相機，可是我回去時，彩虹已經開始消逝了。 這讓我想起一年前畫的一幅關於彩虹的日記漫畫: http://www.wretch.cc/blog/evacomics/12114682 . 。～突然感嘆彩虹有如我們的生命一樣短暫。我們是不是應該充分利用在這裡的時間，做一些有意義的事，而不是浪費在那些無味的雜事呢？

This time a worm had breached my wooden wardrobe or it was forced to evacuate because I'd put charcoal and insect repellents inside. So far I did not find any on my clothes taken out from the wardrobe. So if you think my life in Japan is dreamy and wonderful, think again!!! P.S. I'm experimenting with a new innovative way to alternate posts with good food and insects posts. 最近在衣櫃外面抓到了這種毛毛蟲。不知道是不是我在衣櫃裡放了驅蟲器和竹炭，把它熏出來了還是它本來就在外面徘徊了。 不過還好目前為止還沒從衣櫃裡拿出來的衣服上找到任何毛毛蟲。看來我的日本生活除了每天挑戰日語，還加上了與大自然的對抗...

Sorry for the lack of updates as it has been a really busy week of exciting classes which I will thrill you to death when there's more time. I'll leave the photos to do the talking. 抱歉最近都沒更新。有空再向大家報告我精彩的課程，保證讓你驚歎不已。 現在就讓大家看看一些我在日本吃到的日本料理吧！

Yesterday's temperature suddenly shot up to nearly 30 deg so all insects which were on hibernation finally came out to party. Despite of my room being equipped with a natural insect repellent gel, I still caught nearly 30 mosquitoes using my sticky tape! The battle with insects never ends. 昨天的氣溫突然射到30度，所以很多冬眠的昆蟲都出來party了。雖然我的房間放了一罐天然驅蟲膠凝體，但是還是有很多蚊子入侵我的房間。看來我與昆蟲之戰是沒完沒了的。

Weeks passed by very quickly with so many things to learn and see everyday. Frequent readers of my blog will know that I like to watch TV, in fact, I can also brush up my Japanese listening, killing two birdies with one stone. Today I  caught a Japanese Disney show with Japanese dubbing. To my amazement, Mickey sounds like Mickey, Minnie sounds like Minnie, and Donald Duck sounds like Donald Duck! The tone of the voices are very close to the original and they managed to pick up Japanese earlier than me, how's that for cartoon characters! 一轉眼又過了一個星期，每天都有好多東西學習～ 常來的讀者會知道我很喜歡看電視。而且可以讓我的日語聽解進步，一石二鳥多好啊!  今天看了一部日語的迪士尼節目。驚奇的是，大家的聲音都很像原裝的。日本唐老鴨也有那沙沙的聲音！唉，回頭看自己...怎麼卡通人物比我更早精通日語啊...

So today the weather was amazingly sunny and warm so I went out for more shopping... but wait, that's not my main point, what I'm trying to say it's the WEIRD WEATHER! According to the news, it seems that from tomorrow onwards, it will be the beginning of summer, called "Rikka" in Japanese. 今天的天氣又特別好，所以我又出去逛街了...不過這不是我的重點，重點是這個奇怪的天氣！根據新聞，明天就是夏季的第一天了!? Temperatures rose to as high 24 degrees in Tokyo with other areas of Japan up to 30 degrees. So it was snowing in mid April and now summer in beginning of May!? What the hell is going on??? I wanted more cooling comfortable weather, not extreme cold and hot! 東京的氣溫今天達到24度，其它地區甚至有升到30度呢！明明4月中還下著雪，現在才5月初就夏季了，搞什麼鬼天氣啊!? 我本來很期待舒適涼爽的天氣的，不是忽冷忽熱的怪天氣啦! So back to my shopping, I purchased some insect repellent devices because mosquitoes had awoken from their deep winter sleep and worms had begun to appear inside my closet. I seem to be always plagued by insects of different kinds in different countries. First there were...

I went to Uniqlo Sale with the intention of spending not more than 2000yen on 2 polo shirts. But I ended up with 12 pieces of garment for 12,500yen, 32% off usual price! (approx. SG$183) I reasoned with myself that summer is coming so the money was well spent (this is what women usually do to justify our shopping sprees) XD 昨天去Uniqlo大減價，本想用2000yen買2件球衣而已。但是結果花了12,500yen買了12件衣服，省了32%!  呵呵～ 這種時候，女人都會想出一些理由來說服自己狂買是合理的。因為夏季快來了，當然要買一些新衣穿啦！XD

So what to do when you're staying in Shinjuku? Of course, SHOPPING! 住在新宿能幹什麼呢？當然是逛街啦！ Harajuku is dotted with many famous foreign brands like Gap, Laura Ashley, Chanel, Bulgari, etc. There's also a huge Nike retail shop which allows you to customize your very own shoe for approximately 19,000yen. You can choose a shoe design which you like, then use their computer to change the color and material. I'm saving up for it! 原宿到處都是外國品牌的專賣店，而且你可以花約19,000yen，在Nike設計你自己的鞋子。首先要選擇你喜歡的鞋款，然後利用他們的電腦把顏色和布料換掉，製作只屬於你自己獨一無二的鞋子喔！

The Meiji Shrine is located right next to Harajuku station. No wonder it is a popular tourist attraction as well as a great place for Japanese people to relax. However, like any other gardens, the iris garden located inside costs like 500yen per adult.The shrine itself is free entry. 明治神宮位於原宿站附近，難怪能成為超人氣的旅遊景點和讓日本人放鬆心情的好地方。不過裡面的花園和其它花園一樣都要收費。我記得成人大概是500yen。神社是免費進入的。

http://e-morning.jp/mimc/result4/english_1.html Thanks to my friends who sent emails and left me messages to congratulate me on the selection!!! :D I was thrilled with tears when I know the 1st screening results but I hope that I can get into the next round, because after all, I'm already in Japan learning Japanese everyday!!! *口* 感謝祝福我的朋友們！！！當我知道第一輪成績時，感動流淚了。但是希望能進入下一輪啦！ 畢竟我已經在日本每天學日語了！！！

There was lots of sakura during the first 2 weeks of April so ASJA (the scholarship provider) organized a "Hanami"(flower seeing) to Shinjuku Park on 3rd April. But... 4月的前兩個禮拜有很多美麗的櫻花，所以4月3日時，ASJA獎學金機構就約了大家一起去新宿公園賞花，不過...

Sorry to bore you with this first picture...but these were the books our teacher gave us on the first day! So now you know why I haven't got the time to update my blog often, holy cow! 第一天老師就丟了一堆課本給我們！現在知道為什麼我無法常常更新網誌吧！我的天啊！

這日記漫畫是在無名網誌2號連載過的。這次搬到這裡回味一下往日的風采～ 請在這裡下載PDF 。

This comic series was based on my everyday life in Singapore, with a little bit of imagination and humor! Translated from my previous Taiwanese blog. Download PDF version here .

This was what I saw when I arrive at my Shinjuku school dormitory on 1st April. It was really small at 9 sq metres, equipped with only a bed, study table, chair, side table and wardrobe/shelf. TV and fridge was passed down from seniors who had graduated. 這是我4月1日進入新宿宿舍時看到的情況。 面積只有9sq m，設備只有床，桌子，椅子，旁桌和衣櫃兼書櫃。電視和冰箱都是之前畢業的前輩留下的。

Of course I must visit Universal Studios before I leave Singapore! I forced asked my friends to go with me on a Saturday which costs $72, very expensive. Because their hit attraction Battlestar Galactica was closed for tweaking, they gave us $10 meal voucher and $5 retail voucher :( 因為快離開新加坡了，所以當然要先去環球電影城玩玩啦！ 週末票價為$71真貴！由於其中一個主要景點Battlestar Galactica無期關閉，所以當局分發了$10餐飲券和$5購物券。但我覺得還是不划算。

The people from Yamato Kuroneko came down to pick up my luggage in the afternoon, fully prepared with weighing scale, carton boxes, forms, brochures, money and packing materials. Basically everything is taken care of! If you're also flying to Japan to study or work like me, here's what I did: 通過黑貓宅急便，把我的大包小包先運走了! 黑貓人員準備得很齊全，如秤，箱子，表格，解說冊子，零錢和包裹用具。 基本上，全都被妥善處理！我無須費心呢！ 以下是準備包裹的過程，方便那些也要去日本唸書或工作的讀者： Call/email Yamato Transport to arrange for delivery of their boxes so you can start packing. Also arrange for the pick up date as well. Their boxes range from: Size A 92x46x22cm Size C 66x46x33cm Size D 46x33x33cm Just stuff your things into the boxes but make sure each is less than 25kg and $2500 in value. No need to write anything on the boxes and leave them open in case you want to do any last minute re-arrangements. Insurance is included. There will be a couple, one Japanese who will help you with the forms, and the other busy packing and writing on your boxes. They w...

Sorry for the lack of comic updates! I've been busy playing packing and catching up with friends before I fly. You'll see a few more photo diary updates before I tuck my tablet into its box and ship it together with my other parcel.

Today I decided to pay a visit to MDA(Media Development Authority) to thank them for the Media Education Scheme (which they don't categorize as scholarship) as well as to inform them that my "commitment period" aka bond had finished. The start of the conversation was unconventional. It was my rant of how difficult it was to reach the building. Firstly, Bouna Vista is not centrally located and the East-West bound trains are rather slow... Secondly, I had difficulty locating the shuttle bus stand. After waiting for 30-40mins, I ran out of patience and took a cab with another confused lady who was also heading to MDA. Apparently, the free shuttle buses stated on their website were non existent during off-peak times. So finally we reached this "Fusionopolis" which is basically a rather large futuristic building. It looks impressive from far but...it's just a building, no "polis". And if you should make a trip down, you can also take bus 91 from Bou...

Today's errand is to go Bras Basah Complex to collect my 7 yr old watercolor painting of Clarke Quay. I originally copied it from an A4 print-out (as you can see in photo) as a practice in an Intermediate Watercolor class at Lasalle. 今天的雜事就是到書城去拿回我七年前畫的克拉碼頭水彩畫。 如照片所示，我是在Lasalle中級水彩班時，照一幅A4影印畫來練習的 不錯吧？ You'll find a few shops at the 2nd floor which does custom framing. I did mine at Pin Xuan Ge Art Gallery #02-31. An A3 custom framing service with their cheapest material and acrylic cover would be $30. I find it pretty well-done. Any cheaper would mean buying those plastic cover frames from Ikea. As I exit the door, I noticed this HUGE BRUSH!!! 正當我走出店時，發現一個巨大的畫筆 OoO;;