EVACOMICS BLOG

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;;

You might have read about the Japanese culture of giving gifts, especially to people who would be helping you. So I was advised to buy some local gifts as well. I recall bringing my pack of merlion bookmarks to USA which ended up never given away because nobody was exchanging souvenirs/gifts! They eventually landed in my roommate's hands, an unwilling party, and remarked that the bookmarks were rather useless, but what the heck... 你可能讀過關於日本人喜愛送禮物的文化，特別是給那些特別會關照自己的人。 所以在前輩的建議下，我也去買了一些新加坡特產和紀念品當禮物。 雖然這讓我想起以前去美國唸書時也帶了一堆魚尾獅書籤... 但是因為美國沒有這種文化，所以最後我都沒有機會把它們送出去！ 結果回國時，室友無奈地接受我的“禮物”，還嘮叨怎麼會送那麼沒用的東西...呵呵... 因為以下是關於那裡可以買到便宜的新加坡紀念品，所以我就偷懶不翻譯嘍～ XD Mustafa Centre --------------------- It's located at Little India but the closest MRT is Farrer Park. Just locate exit A and cross the street to Serangoon Plaza with a linkway to Mustafa at level 3. Serangoon Plaza sells souvenirs at the same level with the link-way. However there were little customers and lots of seemingly skiv

Apologies for the lack of comics and photos as my room and mind is in a bizarre state of packing up for my studies. Anyway, yes, JUGAS (Japanese University Graduates Association of Singapore) was very kind to invite me for lunch with the MEXT (Monbukagakusho aka Monbusho) Scholars who are also leaving in April this year. Seniors and JUGAS committee members shared their valuable experiences in Japan and encouraged us to network with each other and join the association when we return. It was a nice orientation and I found out that there were quite a lot of MEXT scholars for undergraduate, probably 7-9 of them, and around 3 for postgraduate. From what I heard, the MEXT undergraduate scholars have to study Japanese for a year in respective universities then pursue their 4-years studies. A total of 5 years fully paid for! Too bad I failed my MEXT Japanese paper last year so if you're interested in this scholarship, you do need at least JLPT2 to be safe. For postgraduate applicants

So I'd been watching the exchange rate recently and the Yen seems to be getting stronger ( SGD/JPY forex chart ). So I rushed down to change my money before I lose more. The exchange rate was: AMK Hub $15.7 Mustafa $15.51 Suntec City $15.48 As you can see, the heartland mall exchange rate is not very good. After checking the forex rates at  Mustafa 's website, I dashed down to do my exchange. But when I went to Suntec City to cut my hair, I found out that their rate was slightly better. I also heard that The Arcade's rate at Raffles Place area was the best. So now you know where to change your money! Update 2011: People's Park Centre offers a better rate than Suntec! 看到日益強勁的日幣後，我趕緊查詢哪裡換錢。結果社區的購物中心果然匯率不好-_-。所以特地去小印度的Mustafa換日幣。之後去新達城剪頭髮時，才發現原來那裡的兌換率更好！不過還好不是虧很多，下次知道要去哪裡換是最好的！

I'm proud to say that I'd been living on a P4 machine with only 36GB hard disk and 512mb ram for 2 years of my civil service. I did request for a faster PC but I was always rejected by the same reason that there's no more machines around!? Anyway it's a Windows XP and runs faster than my Dad's Windows Vista! I can run Photoshop and do small paintings but opening a 3D software(Maya) is like waiting for the tadpoles to become frogs.