"Forget the year party"

THE Japs have a tradition of having forget-the-year parties during the year end, to mark that the year has come to an end, that it's time to reminisce about the good times and forget the bad things in that year. My circle had it as well, and it was a lot of fun. An all-you-can-eat-and-drink yakiniku (bbq)! So here are some photos of the Jap version of bbq......in a restaurant mind you, not outside!!!

ps. This should have been posted before the Christmas one.....but too lazy to change so....hehe

last post of the year?

Oh well...Christmas came and left....so did my 21st. Can't believe that I'm officially legal in every (i think) single country in the world! WOW!

Didn't go to church on Christmas Day *gasps*. Kinda overslept...hehe... I had planned a Christmas cum birthday bash for that night in the dorm, and the turnout was great, almost 20 people! It's a small lounge next to my room, so if more than 10, it's already a nice cosy place. I managed to decorated that place with my pareo cloths (those things are just wonders!!) and lots of candles and yellow light. nice setting don'T u think?

In a nutshell, it was great fun, a good balance between foreigners and Japanese, good food (it was potluck) and great music (by me, of course ^_~) Here are some photos...not all of them are well taken as the lighting wasn't that good, and the flash kinda spoilt the ambience, but just for a feel on how I spent Christmas this year. For a first time in J-land, it has been a great one ^_^

Happy Christmas!

Dearest Everyone!

Happy Christmas! The year end is finally here! For all those who are back home, have all the fun on behalf of me too, ok? Your thoughts shall keep me warm in this cold country... ^_~

A big thank you to everyone who has made my life worth living, you all know who you are, thank you for being such wonderful friends. Love ya all to death!!As this year ends and a new year approaches, come what may people, I will be here still for all of you!!!

Have a great Christmas, may God give you a double triple x100 doses of blessings!!

love, joycie

Be-earliered Christmas Party in the dorm

hmmm
more photos!!
actually, the christmas pary was on the same day as the dance party. the dance party was in the afternoon while the other one was of cos, at night.

photos were actually taken after it was over, just to let u all see some of the folks that i hang out with.

dance party

alright...some waltz...cha cha cha...move right, take a step back...!!

my circle's annual dance party.... oh, did i mention that I'm doing ballroom dancing? ^_^ here are some photos from the party on the 11th last week.

i've no idea how the photos order's going to be. just a brief explaination.
1. Klara, Kirsty and me
2. Photo of the four pairs for the christmas waltz presentation
3. us on the train, exhausted.......

"Sugar Daddy? I'm a sugar man." - Nikhil

cold cold cold

well, even if i don't write, i could at least upload some photos.... thinks me ^_^
here, here; well said!! LOL

so here are some....from my hike up to Mt.Takao 3 weeks ago.... nice big group of foreigners.... the essense of globalisation...

halloween....

A pumpkin from me to you!!!

.......

Couldn't really figure out a topic, but they insist that I put one, so..... :) It's November already! ENd of the year! Yikes!! Right now I'm more worried on surviving the next few days, weeks, months to even care which year I'm living in...boo...

Sometimes I don't know what to write. Probably a brain defect on my part. I never say anything intelligent anymore, can't spell for me life, and really, I've no idea what I'm thinking about as I write this. OH well, one of those "moments".

Each time I hear Alanis's That I would Be Good, I wonder if I'll ever be that. Inner demons are scary monsters that pry on your sanity. I would give anything to not succumb, or maybe not. Temptations are awfully tempting, wish I didn't make so many promises to not give in...gah.

What's wrong with me?
I wish i knew. Someone answered nicely that there's nothing wrong with me, it's the whole world that's screwed up....hmm...thought to ponder. Maybe I shld do a huge survey and incoporate it as one of the many "social studies" material. Kill two birds with one stone, yeah!

If u stayed with me till the end of this, thank you for ur time, hope it wasn't a waste. Great stuff :-)

a passing note

OH gosh, before I knew it, it's been 2 weeks since I last wrote. Can't believe it. Time sure flies, too much for my liking...psh!

Quick update: life's a bitch. But then again, what's new about it eh. Some ppl has ben asking me about my MSN "coffee and cigarettes" line, so I'll answer them now. NO, am not smoking, although sometimes I do wish that I could just do that. Now I know why ppl says that stress makes a person want to smoke more. But no worries, I am not going to be doing that, so you can all breathe. As for coffee, can't drink that, and no change it that, so that's that. The line came from a movie "Coffee and Cigarettes". It's a rather interesting film, you might wanna give it a short. But be warned that it's a rather long black-and-white thing, you might get bored off your pants halfway through....

Major books atm? "Le Suicide:Etude de Sociologie" by Emile Durkheim. Ppl over here have been giving me rather strange looks when they see me reading this book. No, am not a suicide fanatic(might have suicide tendencies...?!), it's actually my textbook. It's a classic sociology book, thus it's a must for socio majors to read it...yeah..ok..whatever. Not progressing much, but have to admit, it's one rather interesting book. Try it when you're bored, if not, stay clear away fr it...

Oh well, back to class...Spanish class was canceled, that's why I've got time to write. Hitting French next....brr...

cheers folks!
Have a great week, wherever you are!!

*closer*

THAT should be the film of the week.... Just finished watching Closer, the film with Jude Law, Natalie Portman, Julia Roberts and etc. It's quite good actually, definitely a discussion film. Well, I personally like it, so there... it's my recommendation for the week.

Putting that aside... my week, has been hell. What a mess. Ever since returning here, I find one obstacle after another, one letdown after another. Seriously, if I'm asked to name the worst period of my life, I would say that NOW's a good answer. Other than my complusory classes being set at the same time, (I ended up "discussing" with the admin to change my schedule which resulted to nothing, so guess I'll have to hang out there more...grrr) I've also got a killer timetable to compliment it. And on top of that, my personal life ain't that great either, and my eating and sleeping habits have also jumped off the roof. I feel like I'm waging war with myself and my life... How typically normal.... Welcome to my life... any takers?!

So, what are my options? No idea. Study harder? Sure, to my grave. Yeah, life's a bitch but than again, life has always been one. IF you're wondering how I became so pessimistic and dark, well, welcome to the new side of me, sorry it took me so long to show ya all...psh...

So, it's all good, or it's all going to be good?! We shall see...


--Try lying for a change; it's the currency of the world.--
Jude Law in Closer

Europe Photos

Finally got the Europe photos up!!!! IT's in my Yahoo photos thingy. Access is by email invite only, so you've gotta drop me a note if you want to view it.

cheers!

joycie

Photo.

Just realised that I've never shown you guys any pictures of Marc. So here. Us at St.Peter's Square, in front of the Basilica.

back to school

ever get sick of that phrase? after all these years, we still at the education sector.

Well, classes officially starts today... boo! This sem is going to be tough I believe, let's see how well I'll survive it. If I do horribly, then I'm going to suck the next to years too, since I can't handle the prologue, don't think I'll be able to handle the real thing!! *shvers*

yeah, yeah, that was my inner fear talking, sigh. Had to release it somehow before it ate me alive...scary thought...

Well, time for me to start revising my thai and italian... 3 straight periods of languages... i must be mad! but then again, when am i never not? ~_^

weekend in Paris

There's this book written by a Sophie something English woman titled "Weekend In Paris". The excitement of partying on a boat, meeting a guy and so on just seems rather possible and far fetch at the same time. Somehow, I did wonder if my first weekend would be like that, but then again, reality bites. boo

But, that aside, I did spend a rather nice weekend. Sightseeing included Le Jardin de Tuileries (Garden of Tuileries), le tour Eiffel, Arc de Triompe and Champs-Elysees. Well, they were all on the same 5km long street! It starts from the Lourve, but that's for today, one whole glorious day in the Lourve. Yippie!

Went to the movies too. Man, so much cheaper than Japan, but can't beat home though. Well, can't complain too much either, although I do wish that they would stop the free-seating nonsense.

Did I ever mention that french food is fabolous but they serve in too large a portion? I know it should be "do as the Romans do", but heck, I just can't stomach that much of good food!! "Lucky" Julien ends up eating for me, guess the way through a guy's heart is his stomach?! *lool Lucky me...!

Oh well oh well, time to get moving on. Will never get to the Lourve if I seat here writing all day, now would I? :p

oh yeah!

did i mention that i went to Geneva as well? oh, it was so sudden. We were on our way to Annecy, and the highway takes us past Geneva, and Julien's dad just went: "oh, why not go to Geneva as well?" and voila... i was there for probably like 30mins.... just to take the picture of the symbol of Geneva, the "jar d'or".... madness!!

still ALIVEEEEEEEE

Yo people! By now I think some of you would have
1.recieved my long email
2.slaved through my long email
2.thrashed my long email

well, either way, i won't get mad, so no worries =) i just hate you from a distance, it's ALL good folks!

YEs, Europe is fabulous, France is great, Italy was even better. And no, no one is supposed to repeat what I just said.

Can't believe that it's already my 4th week here. Time flies so fast that I don't want it to fly more!!! urgh...! Miss you all loads, wish all of us were here together instead of just me you know. Screw the language, we'll be fine regardless.

ANyway, it's my last week in Lyon, will be heading off to Paris on Friday. More visiting around... =) can't wait...

Until then, I'll leave you guys with some photos... or it just one?!

don't be a hypocrite in front of me!!

I've never beeeeeen so pissed off.... as far as I can remember. On monday, I gave a presentation on fansubbing, it works, legality etc.(for all those who dunno, i think i wrote about it a couple of months back...go check).

Now, during the Q&A, I was seriously bullied.. boo! Instead of asking me questions about fansubbing, I was bombarded with questions about how to stop people from downloading those fansub episodes. I kept on repeating that no law will be able to successfully stop people from doing so, that it all depends on the individual. But no, bloody classmates, 2 actually, insistently argued back on how it's useless, but yet proceed to give me suggestions on how to stop them. ARGH... I was so ticked off! Best part? They admitted downloading those things also. If I had a clearer head then, I would have said: IF you really want to stop people from ripping of the internet, why don'T you be the example? ARGH...WASTED.

Note to all: Fansub is considered illegal, hence on general, only unlicensed anime will be fansubbed. A licensed anime is defined as having its distribution rights bought by a foreign company, in most cases, an American company, since the US is considered to hold the biggest market. The purpose of fansubbing is to allow anyone to have access to subtittled animes currently shown or only available in Japan. Thus once some company outside of Japan buys its rights and distribute it, fansubbers usually stop fansubbing that particular anime.

Lesson of the day:
1.don't contradict yourself
2.don't be a hypocrite in front of me.
3.don't tell me what to do if you don'T do it yourself.

If you can't comply with these, then piss off.
If you didn'T get what I was on about, it's fine. Just that t's already wed but I'm still pissed. Had to release it somewhere....

what's on my head

after spending about an hour thinking on what to write concerning japanese immigration and identity, i'm really getting stuck, not to mention pissed. who would have thought that some japanese youths still believes in the pure blood thing?! come to think of it, i think somewhere else too was very much into all this pure blood shit. Must be that Draco Malfoy influence...humph!

apart from that, moving on to something less serious...

looks like the bd thingy shld be either on the 5th or 6th Aug. You guys need to let me know which date is better. We suggest potluck, and venue could either be my place, or Su's. Juni's another option too, but need to check with her. Yeah, you may crash the night. Oh yes, I need to know how many ppl can come, cos i would love to get everyone something, so either you let your presense known, or recieve no present! it's your choice....muahahahahahhahaa

i'll be back in 5 weeks! Cheers!!!!!!!!

birthday bash!

Yo people!! Since we all turn 21 (ohmigosh, legally adult in every single country in the world.....) this year, regardless of the month, I think we should all celebrate in together in one big bash in august, when we all come back. What do you all think? Since it's a very special occasion, we shouldn'T miss the chance to celebrate it together. the probable dates are between august 3rd-10th. Please let me know what you think, and which day is good for you asap.......... you can leave it in the comment section and let me know.

well, stil more than a month away....but... hehe.... kinda getting excited about it, now that I know that YeanYik and Lifan will be back too! Plus Su and Cindy and WeiMing and me, GREAT!!!!!!

cheers!

I scared myself

Yesterday has been an eventful day. It started out as any other normal day, classes in the morning, then lunch with Mei Yen, a CCC staff, and then we went to the gym together. Other than the rain because of typhoon #4, it was as normal as any other day.

So what happened? There I was, working out happily in the gym when my stomach started to ache (period pain). So i went to the bathroom to compose myself and when I got out, took one look at the mirror, took one more step, and passed out. Thank GOd that it was in the locker room, and a lady caught me before i hit my head on the floor. Thank God too that i met another friend by accident there, if not for her painkillers, I would have gone to the hospital!

Few things that I learnt from this: God is amazing! He provided me with friends that just happened to be there, and even sent me home. Wow. The other thing is that there's only one body, one JOyce, so if I don'T start being careful, I'll be.....(touch wood)

OH yeah, FYI, i'm fine now. Don'T end up like me people!! ^_^

summer plans

I've finally managed to set the dates and stuff, yeah!! *applause applause*

GOod question Juni, now I can answer you.
Will be arriving in M'sia on 2nd August around 7-8pm. Guess will reach home after another 2-3hrs, so make it 11pm or so. YOu all may go ahead and ring me all ya like on the same day....!! hehe

I'll be leaving for Europe on 12th Aug, and will only be back on 20th Sept. I'll be leaving for Japan the following thursday, on the 29th.

Most, or all of you won't be around anymore in Sept, so I wanna meet up with you guys in Aug! Open up your timetable if you can for me, let me schedule an appointment somewhere k =) I don't care, find time for ME!! LOL

Oh yeah, might be heading to London for a few days around 9-12th Sept. Back in UK then? Let's see if we can work something there too. =)

Looking forward to summer with ya all!
Food! Shopping! More Food! hehe.... will be expecting you all to do it with me as well.. ^_-

and there it goes....

Well well, it took me quite a while to realise that i've not been blogging... My last entry was May 8th, seems ages ago.

During the past few weeks, I've had classes (oh duh!), went for a weekend dance camp and came back with a cold that's still giving me headache and fever.... psh... To top it off, I twisted my foot on monday while playing tennis, had to skip basketball on tues since I can't exactly run (thank God that it doesn't hurt anymore!), can i... argh.... damn unlucky this week... I wanna get well by tomorrow!!!!

Speaking of tomorrow, i'll be going for a Van Gogh exhibition... yeah! something to look forward to after being in bed for 2 days. No Kidding.

Oh yeah, for those who's overseas and will be coming back, or are already back, when are you guys leaving? I wanna know d dates.... most prob I'll b back on d 2nd of Aug, and leaving for Paris on d 12th, and only coming back after Sept 9th. Shld be heading for Tokyo around the 28th or 29th. It's d plan now, subject to changes due to loads of loose ends on my side.... *sigh* well, let me know so that I can catch up with u guys during my short week back home...

cheers!!! hoping to see you all soon!!!

hiring time

Finally it's May!
It's supposed to be summer now, but it's still the springy weather that makes me wonder if summer will come. Well, I don't really like the extreme heat, as long as it's not too cold, and doesn't rain, then, now's great.

So, the big question: why am i hiring time? If there's time for hire, then i want! Things have picked up so much then 7 days just whizz by before i know it. Now i want more time to do my work, and also, to relax, catch some zzz, watch anime, read books, do nothing, hang out with friends etc. Things have become busier than i thought, but, i'm enjoying them. Well, make the most out of it right?

Wel, am a bit envious of those who are already in their summer hols (u know who you are...) not fair that you get such a long break.... =( but yeah, will be back home for a short while in aug, if all goes well. keep your fingers crossed!

cheers ppl.

a quick thinga-ma-bob

err...that word came from....little mermaid? it was in one of the songs, but no idea if spelling is correct or not... *shrugs*

yes, joyce+tennis is odd combo, but so is joyce+basketball. but joyce has been doing basketball for one sem, and will be doing it this sem as well...lol...

Tennis is fun. I finally managed to hit some balls, but man, i can't serve for my life...sigh... it either went out, our it won't go over the net. psh... but we had volley practices today, it was pretty cool. all i need is some control in strength and ball direction. easier said than done. weiming, how in d hell did u master tennis? must be all the swimming muscles working. i've got nil muscles at the moment... should head to the gym, i say. psh, more work for myself.

Dancing is fun! I can see Jo's head nodding in agreement. LOL. I'm no expert, only been to 2 lessons, but am damn enthusiastic about it... can't wait to get my dancing shoes. the only downside is that it costs 7000yen! that's about 70usd... ex huh... but, well, for all things there are sacrifices... ^_-

and before i sign off (bed's calling me....jooyceee) i've been good to myself by only taking 10 classes this sem, compared to the 18th that i had last sem. (applause). LOL the reaction i get when i tell ppl about my classes... my parents are cool, marc's one happy guy... don't think i'll hear "you're overdoing it joyce" this sem... yeah!!

and on that note... i'll go sleeep...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

latest anime..oh-la-la!

April, is known as the new term over here. It does not just mean school, it means everything else too....work, new projects, tv programmes etc. Well, TV's slightly off but usually, esp for anime, they try to end them in march and start afresh in April.

So, what's new? hmm... I only know of 2 - Ichigo 100% and He is My Master. Originally a featured manga for guys. Ichigo 100%'s manga is still being published. Well, that's not the point. Wanna know the story? Sure you do...

Ichigo 100% is about a guy and 5 girls. A plain looking guy who for some obscure reason, has 5, yes FIVE hot high school girls falling for him and fighting for him. LOL... Definitely a guy's dream...

He is My Master is even...A young rich guy, prob 14-15, with his 2 maids (it'll become 3 later). He's fav thing to do? Make his maids wear costumes that he designed. In other words, cos-play. Sigh...as if Harajuku is not enough already!

These kind of anime is only possible in Japan, me thinks. What thinks you? You'ld agree with me, no doubt yeah!

cheers to my supporters...LOL

oh yeah, if you'Re wondering why i'm writing about them, well, i had nothing better to do....yeah right...yeah, serious!

Anyone interested in anime??? *lelong, lelong* I'll recommend....muahaha

yes, yes, going nutters. time for bed. laterzzzz

europe - vote

so ppl, i've got a lil' dilenma... should i go study in france for summer? or shld i just go and have fun? lol..i need d moolah man..... any donors?? lol

oh yeah, suggestions ppl, for which part of europe i shld go during my hol. florence is already on d list. rome is worth going..... oh yeah, romania sounds cool. long live dracula-land!!!!

suggestions suggestions!!!!!!!!!!!!!

sports and diet

lol.....if i actually manage to diet....lol

but this sem will b fun, well at least sports class will b. doing tennis and basketball...!! hey weiming, din know that tennis is damn tough. i'll break my wrist someday. need to stop trying to swing d 250g racket like a badminton one. sigh....my arms ache.....ouch!! but hey, give me lessons next time? i wanna learn how to do a twist serve...lol....does it even exist...lol

joined d dance circle!!! yeah...it's on sun 2pm though, right after church. but it's fun. yeah...i'm happy..... =D

the weather and i

japan's gonna be a desert soon...

or so most of us felt since april. hot days + the occasional strong wind during the day, and cold winterish nights that just reminds you of the savana...not like i've been there before but, u get the picture. all we need now is sand and sand and some quicksand.

after that, comes a few days of cold winterish days and nights that rains non-stop. enough to put chills in ur bones and make u hibernate. what is wrong with spring??? grr....

and to top of the weirdness, joyce has started teaching chinese conversation, as a part time. yeah ppl, go buy toto, lotto, or whatever lottery that's near you. it's a private thingy, 9yr old kid, absolutely adorable. it's fun and good money. i need fun, fun and more fun this sem. time for partying and travelling!!!! (at least i hope so...psh..)

my first week

What a boring week...boring semester it will be....so i thought as i start my first week of 2nd year. geez, now that i've got most of my credits, i don'T need to take a lot of classes. it's a good thing, but heck, the classes that i wanna take seems to be at the worst hours, creating holes in my timetable...!! argh...... still fixing that problem at the moment. well, good news is that i've passed all my exams..yeah!!

so, what else have i been up too? slacking, would be the word of the week. as i cut classes out of my timetable, they are even days that i don'T need to go to uni!! good thing is that well, it's a hol of some sort, bad thing is that, it'S in the middle of the week, not a monday or friday....so no long weekends for me...boohoo!!

oh yeah, started to fansub yesterday. ??? u might think... Basically, i translate anime episodes from jap to eng, and together with the team, we hammer everything together to make a subtittled episode. people will download the finished episodes from the internet or through IRC. am discovering a new fun world out here. not like i'm getting paid or anything. it's fun, good jap practice, allows me to meet up with loads of ppl around d world who are anime lovers... amazing. currently doing translation check. fun fun fun!!

just one thing

classes start tomorrow. enuff said.

the unfaitful

wow, it HAS been a while. looking back at my last blog. perhaps you guys have stop reading. who knows? i might have just lost my touch to blog, well, maybe just maybe.

Things has been rather messy and rather uninspiring on my end. from ending exams to finishing reports to having spring break, celebrating CNY and etc. Things seem to all come together and go together. *sigh* sure makes life loses direction. not that i've got much of it to complete about anyway.

so, what has been on my mind lately? hmm... too much yet too little. can't organise myself properly anymore. feels rather hollow-ish and empty. feel like a mechanical being with no sense in what i'm doing other than living each day like a routine. this is so un-hol like, but to be honest, i really don't have the will to do anything. no urge to move forward, nada. being stagnant has it ups and downs, and other i'm feeling ok with where i am now, i know, deep down that things are not supposed to be this way. all sense of enthusiasism seems to evade me. sometimes i wonder if i've become an empty shell. there is no more satisfaction in pursuing anything or getting anything done. just, as i've said, it's a routine to live with doing what is expected of me.

is this supposed to be life? i wonder.

releasing....

I am officially done with ALL my language papers!!!!!!!! yeah!!!!!!!!! err..if you guys are wondering why I'm so chirpy when I still have 4 more exams to go, well, those four are tough, but i'm glad to be done with the language papers. FYI, took a lil' bit too many of them this sem, had about 6 finals just on languages. nasty stuff they are....

well, later folks!! hasta luego! a tout a l'heure!!!

Life is Like a Boat

Words & music: Rie Fu

Nobody knows who I really am
I never felt this empty before
And if I ever need someone to come along
Who's gonna comfort me, and keep me strong

We are all rowing the boat of fate
The waves keep on coming and we can't escape
But if we ever get lost on your way
The waves would guide you thru another day

遠く息をしてる　透明になったみたい
(breathing at far, looked like it has become transparent)
暗闇に思えたけど　目隠しされてただけ
(you can think that it was darkness, but had only be blindfolded)

祈りをささげて　新しい日を待つ
(offering prayers, waiting for a new day)
鮮やか光る海　その果てまで
(until the limits of the glowing shiny sea)

Nobody knows who I really am
Maybe they just don't give a damn
But if I ever need someone to come along
I know you would follow me, and keep me strong

My current inspirational song. 'nuff said.

stressing out

this is the time of the year that i hate. thankfully, it only happens twice a year. what am i jumbling about? exams! silly. what else drives you to the wall?? being in uni means exams and final reports, presentation etc etc etc. Gosh, how i miss the high school times. those were definitely easier moments.

at the moment, i've started an anime-watching marathon to de-stress myself. it's working great, but i'm slacking so much that i should panic, and i will, soon. *sigh* blogging's another good way, but, too lazy to access the net at times, so all ya folks out there who take the time to read my blog, a very very big sorry to ya all!!!!!!!!!!

and now, back to the things that i'm supposed to do.... >_<

landslide

i took my love, i took it down
climbed a mountain and i turned around
and i saw my reflection in the snow covered hills
'til the landslide brought it down

oh, mirror in the sky
-what is love?
-can the child within my heart rise above?
-can i sail thru the changin' ocean tides?
-can i handle the seasons of my life?
i don't know.....

well, i've been afraid of changin'
'cause i've built my life around you
but time makes you bolder
even children get older
and i'm getting older too

oh, take my love, take it down
climb a mountain and turn around
-and if you see my reflection in the snow covered hills
well the landslide will bring it down

-and if you see my reflection in the snow covered hills
well the landslide will bring it down
the landslide will bring it down

Fleetwood Mac's song. Fell in love with it the first time I heard it. Somehow, it just appeals. The lyrics fit. Just a good song to reflect on.

Drop me a note if you want a copy of the song.