Lifehouse's Everything Skit

If you haven't seen this before, I hope you will take the time to watch this. It takes less than 6 minutes, Kathryn and I thought this was really beautiful...

nice group pic

Do you see all the peace signs in the pic? That's how you can tell who's from Japan...lol Ayaka (the one on the very right) and I are also from Japan, but we have been in the US longer. We learned to control those peace signs a while ago. ;o)

hyper!!!!...lol

At a party we (Black Student Alliance) hosted a couple weeks ago. Believe me, above was the only way I was going to stay awake... lol

Tyler Perry's the Family that preys Trailer [HQ]

video

So, this is what I did on my Birthday/weekend! :o)

Hello, everyone. I know it has been over a week, but I finally have the pics, so I would like to share how my birthday/weekend was like!!

First of all, I didn't really plan anything for my birthday. I thought of getting a massage, but my schedule didn't work out.

[Friday night, Sept 12th]

So... For some reason, Symphoni (pic 1) talked me into getting my nails done. My friend had painted my nails once in my life, which was this passed summer, but I have never gotten them done professionally. I decided to get my toenails done, and Symphoni got her fingernails done. My favorite parts of the whole thing were the warm water and the foot massage, and my not-so-favorite part was when she was filing my nails. Filing nails give me chill, for some reason. Also being ticklish didn't help. lol However, honestly, I have never seen my feet so smooth and pretty!!!!! :o)) (pic 2)

After we got our nails done, Symphoni told me that she had to pick up some food for a club social that was going on at school, so we stopped by at Red Lobster's. Of course, I didn't question a thing...

We walked in, and there were a group of friends (pic 3) waiting for us. It was a surprise dinner!! My friends remembered that I had always wanted to try Red Lobster's, but I still haven't had the chance to go. And I just have to say, IT WAS AWESOME!!!! Their biscuits are amazing, too (pic 4)!! I ordered some shrimp pasta (pic 5), and also shared each other's food. They were really good!! I was really really happy!!!!

But the surprise wasn't over. After we finished our meal, a cheese cake with strawberries on it was brought in front of me. For those who might not know yet, I absolutely LOVE cheese cakes. It was SOOO good, I thought I was going to cry...lol

After we left Red Lobster's, we had to go to a movie theatre to meet up with some people because we had to figure out some details about an club event that was happening the next day. ...Or at least that's what they told me, and, of course, I didn't question anything.

We got there, they got me a movie ticket, and watched "The family that prays" with a whole bunch of friends!!! It was a great movie, y'all. I really recommend it. I posted the trailer after this post. Please check it out, if you would like!!

After the movie, I thought we were going back to school. Well, apparently, "that's not how college birthday celebration works," so we (pic 6) went to one of our friends apartment to hang out a little more. They had handmade ginger cupcakes (pic 7) there, and we just chatted till around 3am. It was really nice. Everything was a great surprise because I seriously had no idea about anything. I also can't believe Symphoni planned most of this whole thing, because we are together almost all the time. However, I just had to laugh when she later told me, "except 'happy birthday,' everything I told you today (Sep. 12th) was a lie. :-b" Well, those lies were pretty darn good because I didn't question a thing. lol In the pic 6, from the front left, it's Jasmine, KB, me, Dani, Symphoni, and Megan. Then from them back left, it's Ju-Ju, Tony, Boo-chi, Kir-Kir, Shalynda, and Larielle. Thanks, everyone!!!!


[Saturday night, Sept 13th]

My Asian friends (it just ended up this way for some reason...lol) at school invited me to go out for dinner at a really nice Indian restaurant called, Swab. I strongly recommend that you will stop by this place whenever you are in Roanoke. Their food is very very good. I ordered a type of curry that had lamb in it (pic 8), and, again, tried my friends' food, too. Ayaka, one of the Japanese students here, bought me a drink (pic 9) as a birthday gift. It was a yogurt-based mango drink. It was very thick, and I liked it a lot!!

After our meal, they brought out a desert with a candle on it (pic 10). I actually don't know what it was, but it was really good, and that's all that really mattered to me! ;o))

After we ate, we went to this placed called "202," which is this bar/restaurant that has a dance floor upstairs. It's one of the few places that allows legal drinkers to bring under-age friends with them. Everyone except Angel and I can legally drink. This place also have this huge screen that shows videos of different animals and landscapes in the world, and I was truly fascinated by it while I enjoyed my drink. FYI, my "orange juice" was really good. Below are my friends I was with. From the left, Kaori, Ayaka, Christine, Miho, Angel, and Kana.

After this, we went to Christina's room, and hanged out until around 4am... I was sooooo tired, and I don't quite remember much of it, but I enjoyed the not-very-important conversations we had. lol Again, thank you everyone!!!

I still might try and get a massage, but I'm still pondering on it. We'll see. Lots and lots of thanks from my heart to those who wished me happy birthday by e-mails, facebook, gifts, and phone calls. I am blessed to be surrounded by so many great people!!!

Chao!

Look, Look, Look!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For those who might not know, I turned 20 years old last Friday. Thank you everyone who wished me a happy birthday. In Japan, you become legal when you turn 20, so it's supposed to be a big deal, but, since I'm not in Japan, I wasn't going to do anything special. However, my friends made sure I had an amazing Birthday/weekend. lol Thanks, y'all. I will share about my B-day/weekend on another post once I get all of my pictures together.

In the meantime, I have something I really want to show you all!! Below is what Super-K's mom sent me for my B-day. Is this cute, or what?? I really really like it!!!!!

Today (around noon), in microeconomics class, Symphoni passed me a note that said, "After this, I'm gonna go to Olive Garden to have some fried Calamari, and do my homework. You wanna come?" Guess what I wrote back? Of course, "Sure!" Our lives have been a bit on the busy/hectic side ever since the term started, and we just needed a time away from campus. I didn't order anything, but I enjoyed picking out of Symphoni's plates...lol Being in all the same classes this term, we try to help each other out to get things done. At Olive Garden, we did our Accounting homework. BTW, I'm really liking that class. Below are us at the restaurant, and the amazing Ravioli!!! :o))

First thought and observation of my 20th year on earth.

"ARGEEE...

My STRESS is TESTING me out..."

(I have a Spanish test today...)

And my roommate said,

"You look like Shrek in this picture!!!" LOL

Thank you TJ & Gail!!

Today, I was able to start my day with a lot more excitement and happiness. You wanna know why? That is because I received a birthday package from TJ and Gail!!! I am turning 20 tomorrow. It included all my textbooks that accidentally arrived to their house, my blue water bottle that my friend, Symphoni, gave me that I left at TJ & Gail's house, the little teddy bear that sings "Jesus loves me" that I also left at their house, and some pistachios nuts and Trail mix (with M&Ms in it!!!!! <3).

I'll call it "moved in"

¡Hola! ¿Cómo estás? (Hello! How are you?)

For those who might not know, I've been living out of boxes and suitcases for the passed 3 weeks. After tripping over everything possible in my room, I got tired of the unorganized space. So, I just decided to take out everything I need (except winter stuff) out of the boxes and suitcases. I also decorated my side of the room a little bit. It seems much more open and homey in our room now. I might have to move out the room in a week or two, but that's that.

We have started our 2nd week of classes, and I also had my first rehearsal of this semester! I cannot wait to start having more of them. I just LOVE dance rehearsals!! lol Classes are going well, I think. Not having dance classes every day can be a downer, but I try to find time to be in the studios at least once a day. My Spanish teacher's teaching style is new to me, and I don't feel confident about the class now, but I am determine to get an A!

The pictures are my side of the room.

Did you know??????

OK, I just learned this, and I thought it was kinda cool, so I'm going to share it with y'all!!

The reason engagement rings and wedding rings are wore on the 4th finger is because that is the only finger that its vane connects strait directly to our heart. <3

And I also didn't know that the color BLUE symbolizes peace and purity. 

end of first week of classes

Hello.

We officially started classes this passed Wednesday, and I am excited to finally start them. (Except, I don't even know where to begin to describe how sore I am from my dance classes...lol) This semester, I am taking Spanish I, Microeconomics, Accounting I, Dance technique, Imaginative thinking moving and crafting (composition), and Friday dance showings. I'm sure they will keep me busy. I hope my textbooks will get here soon. One thing I got really excited in my Spanish class today while we were learning how to pronounce alphabets in Spanish was how similar their pronunciations are with how Japanese syllables are pronounced. It was funny because I felt like I was back in my 1st grade of elementary school in Japan. lol

I also applied for the Residence Counselor position that opened up after I got to Hollins, but it's taking the Residence Life Staffs a while to figure things out. Since, if I do get the position, I will have to move to another room, I have been living out of half-opened boxes and suit cases for the passed 2 weeks. AND, from what I found out today, it looks like I'm going to have to live like this for another week or two. It really doesn't bother me, personally, but I feel bad for Kathryn.

Anyways, over all, I think I'm starting on a pretty good note, and I'm looking forward to another year at Hollins. :o)

Opening convocation

Today, we had the opening convocation for 2008-2009 Hollins academic year. From being here earlier than last year, I feel like things are starting very slowly, but I am more excited than ever about the year coming up!! :o) The video is from "First Step," one of our famous Hollins traditions. We have a section of grass on campus called Front Quad that only seniors are allowed in. Most of Hollins students take this seriously, and "First Step" is the ceremony where the new seniors take their first step on Front Quad. Each seniors have a bottle of apple cider in their hands, and, after getting it all over each other, they go to the cafeteria to eat and drink wine. They used to use alcohol for First Step, too, but the school had to change it to non-alcoholic drink for First Step due to State Law (because it's in public)... lol Another fun tradition Hollins has is decorating senior robes. Seniors can decorate their own robes with whatever they like to. I wonder what I will do with my own 2~3 years later from now...
(FYI, I can't see what I'm taking because my camera screen is cracked, so there are parts of the video that shows nothing but trees. I tried...)