another year older...a bit wiser....(?)

i am now 27. never even thought id reach this age....it seemed like a galaxy away.

time sure flies. it feels like it was just few weeks ago we were JUST doing dinner celebration for my bday back in PV PLUS Becky and Marc's engagement (as they were out dressed up in public as an engaged couple)

im just thankful that i was here in PV, my hometown, with my special people whos been a part of my life. everything happens for a reason, and it all turned out perfect in the end.
Peet's tunred out to be what i was meant to be doing - my favorite place with favorite people. =)
*good times

then all in all, zoolander movie nite to tie up the wonderful tranquil night.

truly blessed.

**Breast Cancer 5K RUN/WALK Sept. 27,2009 @ Newport Beach.

prepping and stretching.


The power of pink coming all together as one in hopes for finding the cure.
Missing you lots, mom Georgia.

Thanx Lora, for these awesome photos.

Rebecca's Bridal Shower

Sister of the Bride & the Bride

After completing the days of Rieko's Bakery, the Bridal shower for Becky was so wonderful thanks to her amazing Aunts and Uncles. Plus all the guests just showered Beck with so much love, it was a great shower.

=)

*amazing tea sandwiches and vegetarian options....yummiest Deviled eggs with smoke salmon.

*mingling and enjoying ourselves with the bride-to-be.

*here is the cake, Bake Fest Finale =)
(Strawberry sponge cake with chocolate, strawberry, and whipped creme layers.)

Being back in PV sure is awesome --- Ralph's with Beck, and meeting Tracy! =D

Bake Fest Day3: cupcakes - chocolate 3 doz; Vanilla buttermilk 1.5doz. =)

*The personalized M&Ms for favors. =)
"Hooray 4 BECKY!"

Greatness...

...it feels so good to be "home" in my hometown.

its always nice to have your own room, your own words, your own car.....but most of all, knowing you have a place where you can call "home" with your loved friends of lifetime....
Met and had coffee with Cody, and thats his Book...! He is a published writer...! wow!!! =)

Finally got to meet Tracy, Becky's sister...she is so cute and awesome. aww. =)
this should be in the next post but thats all good. =)

THE count dowwwwwn....!

*Summer day in SANGENJYAYA - visiting my second brother. =)

the shrine(Jinjya...is that a temple or a shrine?)well, loved the serene atmosphere....

he is so rad.

it is the morning of my departure back to my hometown, PV....feeling good and a bit nervous. but this is the GOOD kind of nervousness. honestly in about 3 hours, the taxi is coming to pick us up.

did a brisk morning walk but its still hot....when is autumn season coming!? cant wait for the falling leaves. =)

just some bit of updates.
*you'd have to sorta tilt your head to see this lovely "mom's home cooking" style lunch plate i got at this lil Japanese delicacy shop. I went on a walk with my old friend, Suke-san and i was actually looking for a lil WARABI-MOCHI shop. They were serving lunch and its like the menu is set by the owner and just brings you all the stuff. I told her i dont eat meat and she had this amazing broiled white fish (tasted like Tilapia? ill check the English name later for MA-DAI) and lil salad plates. it was healthy and tasty! and dont be surprised...it was only 750yen! ($7) the volume of the food was just too much but still, good amount of protein and veggies - good times.

*Walking on the trails along side the SUMIDA-river with my friend from old work, Yamada-san who by the way is really awesome.
im still very surprised that shes never been to the US because she just feels like "one of us". she has that aura in her, she is very "americanized". but thats prolly why we get along and she can put up with me. heh heh. i really do appreciate the meeting we've had from our old job, because even though it was only for a short while that we were sitting next to one another at our office, we are still keeping in touch. She knows all the nice walking routes and THANK GOODESS she LOVES COFFEE/CAFES.....!!!! =D

-walked over to ASAKUSA area and found this "monjya croquette" shop FINALLY...there it is, since we were gonna find a cute cafe for lunch, we split one. interesting food. アイスクリームの方がよかったかもね。next time.
- PELICAN bakery: known ONLY for their white bread loaves and dinner rolls, but well-known popluar bakery thats been around for ages. She wanted to finally get one, so it was great we found it!
- Lunch at a cute-ass cafe, itonowa: egg & cheese curry w/ brown rice. i did the "Japan thing" = eating curry in the summer time. but this one was really mild and tasty...very homemade. type of food that makes your heart warm cuz you can see the people that made the food....very warm cafe owner.=)

gotta pack my laptop away.

long hours of movies on the plane is one thing i love about traveling.

updates on koala

geez, its already September...and i realized that IM GONNA BE BACK IN PV SOON! (in 2 days to be exact!) its been a while since my last blog so i thought id catch up and update a bit.

Things been good. been busy in a way but just felt like time flew by in a blink of an eye.

The month of August was pretty good I'd say. Got to tackle some places I wanted to go check out, some stuff Ive had in mind, so let's just say i "kept busy"...which is always a good thing. =)

finished Becky's Bridal shower cards back in July..all set and ready. and I did the Bridal Tea cards, also....DONE. =)

Just the other day I heard this awesome song at the gym and found out that Sting sang with Sheryl Crow....love it. its amazing. ...so, okay... staying cool in air-conditioned malls and what not wasnt too shabby....haaa.

**EXCURSIONS**
i guess ive experienced the BIGGEST EVENT on my "to-do list": KABUKI!!!!!!!EBIZO-kun!
I got the ticket to see EBIZOU (guess he is known as the hottie of the Kabuki world, haa he is only 31, not bad!) starring as GOEMON, a japanese-style Robin Hood (as I would relate) who robbed from the rich and helped the poor back then in history. The story was great. I had NO CLUE whatsoever what they were saying, but i saw the whole show as an "art form" rather than understanding the script. this show was a blast.

*theres me with the ticket before the show. haha, i had asked the worker there to take this for me on my cell.
And there he is, the poster, Mr. EBIZOU. =)

*before the show - the stage already looks very asian. great. loved the design.

Walked by this huge CLOVER plant....the same one that Becky gave me before. this one was purple-ish. aww.

*went on thie TAIYAKI adventure, and went to look for this "Flat Taiyaki". Interesting.
(Kanda, Ogawamachi-station)

*Shibamata adventure- Tora-san:

a lil-down-home area in tokyo. very at-home district. Ive been wanting to check it out and it was just neat. had lil shops around.

the famous statue that stands proudly at the station, Mr. TORAJIRO-san.

He is somewhat a Japanese legend in the Japan's hollywood world.(?)

and thank goodness for the HIRAGANA and the English...!

funny how this depicted the actor the BEST more than any other illustrations and portraits of him. LOL.

*amazing carving job....amazing history of art.

the entire temple is made in the style where its using only 1 block of wood being carved in.

*these are lil gifts I got from Keiko-sama's sister, Hideko-san.
Tokyo Tower Cookies and 5-yen coin cookie...!
ありがとうございました！みてみて、５円といっしょにとりました。ご縁がありますように。

＊Other random events and shot:

*got to check out my oldest brother at his baseball league at one weekend. He used to play baseball in highschool, so it was a neat experience to catch him in this type of situation. bro-sis bonding. LOL but hot as heck that day.....

*found a cute Kyoto-based ice cream shop in SHINJYUKU station. gosh, this station is just INSANE, always feel like getting lost. but the green tea soft serve with black sesame paste....yummm

*found a shrine/temple as I was wondering around Tokyo for an Art critique. Never see this in LA...randomly passing by residential area and run into a shrine. LOL


okidoki, got a bit more to blog about before i take off.
CHEERS.