List of 10 -New Year's Resolutions 2013

I can think of so many reasons why I shouldn't make resolutions this year, but I am making them anyway for two reasons. One: I like making lists. Two: I like checking lists that I made.

So here goes.

1) start jogging again
2) lose all "baby" fat
3) do not cause/get in  a traffic accident of any kind, deadly or otherwise
4) save a million yen
5) visit parents at least 5 times
6) take a great shot for my driver's liscence when it needs to be renewed this March
7) go on a date with hubby at least once
8) read a book a month
9) train A to say hello and thank you
10) go on a trip to a hot spring

With little A in our lives, 7) and 8) are harder to achieve than you might think.

For 1), T has already agreed that he would tag along on a bike on weekends.

Until next time,

Sak

List of 10 -What I Mean to Do This Year

I was reading my last year's new year's post, What I Want to Do This Year, and I was dumbfounded at just how stupidly vague I was. I mean, read the list!

1) Read more
2) Overthink less
3) Stop more (at STOP signs)
4) Bitch less
5) Learn more
6) Risk less
7) Earn more
8) Buy less
9) Save more
10) Own less

There is only one out of the ten that I can honestly say I have done the last year, and it's 3) Stop more (at STOP signs). Am I proud of it? ...Not so much, really. What the hell was I thinking making that list?

So I'm gonna make one this year so that I can look back in a year and be proud to have done it all. And I'm gonna cut the obscurity altogether (what the hell does overthink less mean? like I'm going through a puberty?) and I'm going very, very specific.

So hear goes.

1) read a book a week
2) do not cause a traffic accident of any kind, deadly or otherwise
3) make a new friend
4) buy one fashion item, get rid of another
5) visit Ise Shrine
6) make something new in kitchen
7) go for a walk 5 times a week for 30 minutes or more
8) take TOEIC
9) find a job
10) save a million yen

How's that for being specific, huh?

Good luck me!

Until next time,

Sak

List of 10 - Summer Faves

The heat is extra-ridiculous this year, and one so desperately needs to find something to be positive about the hottest time of the year, so here I go.

1) water melons
2) tank tops for PJ
3) cumulonimbus in blue, blue sky
4) summer dresses
5) cicadas shrilling afar
6) C.C. lemon
7) Chanel shades
8) fresh veggies from mom's patch
9) hiyashi chuka
10) the long lasting day time

Have a great summer, and stay cool!

until next time,

Sak

List of 10 -What I Think Is Under-rated

1) pin-heels at work places in Japan
2) newspapers
3) karma
4) Japan-made toilets
5) vegetarianism
6) the art of sending holiday greeting cards
7) a white tee and jeans on men
8) reading books
9) libraries
10) public transportation

In no particular order.

Until next time,

Sak

List of 10 - Favorite Empty Calories

1) Haazen-dazs Cookies & Green Tea

2) Coca Cola3) Cup Noodle Seafood 4) Root Beer Float 5) Mac 'n Cheese6) Shin Ramyun7) Kara M00 Cho 8) Doritos Cool Ranch 9) Haribo Cola
10) Haribo Grapefruit
In no particular order.

Until next time,

Sak

List of 10 -Songs to Listen to When Feeling Blue

1) One & One -Robert Miles
2) For The Beauty of the Earth Tune Dix -Hymn
3) What Am I To You? -Norah Jones
4) Hallelujah -Rufus Wainweight
5) Chiquitita -ABBA
6) Angel -Sarah McLachlan
7) Hands -Jewel
8) Heart of the Matter -India Arie
9) One of Us -Joan Osborne
10) If We Hold On Together -The Land Before Time soundtrack

In no particular order.

Until next time,

Sak

List of 10 -Songs I Listen to When Life is a Bitch

1) So What -Pink
2) Living on a Prayer -Bon Jovi
3) I Will Survive -Gloria Gaynor
4) Burieid Myseld Alive -The Used
5) I Love Rock 'n Rill -Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
6) Bohemian Rhapsody -Queen
7) Bitch -Meredith Brooks
8) It's My Life -Bon Jovi
9) Just Like A Pill -Pink
10) Blue and Yellow -The Used

Best listened while driving on the highway at night, just to avoid people wondering why I'm screaming the English lyrics to the perfection like a crazy Japanese person... Or just to avoid people see or hear me screaming. Also make sure the volume on the stereo is explosive to some extent.

Better if you have a passenger in the car to scream with you.

Not in particular order.

Until next time,

Sak

List of 10 - Things I Want to Do This Year

1) Read more
2) Overthink less
3) Stop more (at STOP signs)
4) Bitch less
5) Learn more
6) Risk less
7) Earn more
8) Buy less
9) Save more
10) Own less

Happy new year!

Until next time,

Sak

List of 10 - Christmas Wishes

I was reading a friend's blog where she listed all the things for Christmas that she wants to wish for, and was very much inspired to make my own. So here it is. And since I am nearing 31 and no longer a little girl who is simply good or naughty (I'm hell of a lot more things than just good or naughty, thank you very much), lemme just blur out like a grownup woman without bullshits.

1) a kitten
I love all animals and wouldn't say no to having a dog. But cats are lower-maintenance, and for a woman with very little energy who can't bear the idea of going for a walk twice a day every day, a kitty will do.


2) an oven
Ovens are hard to come by in Japan, and I am dying for one. I haven't baked much this year, unlike last year when I blogged about my baking goodies a lot, and I partially blame the lack of oven system in this country for it. Sure, the gas price is sky-rocketing. But hell, if I had an oven like this one below, I'd save money on ... on... something, to bake pies and muffins all year long.


3) an apartment in Paris
Like, why the hell not?


I mean, what right-minded girl would NOT want an apartment in Paris, where she can go on a morning stroll along Seine or go museum hopping in the afternoon, or have a croissant-and-a-freshly-squeezed-OJ brunch on the balcony overlooking the Eiffel tower?


4) a TV
By July 2011, I need to have a digital television by law to watch TV in my own household. While I am not a big TV watcher, I will be very sad to miss out on The Big Bang Theory and The Mentalist on SuperDramaTV. So, a new TV by July, I need. And since I am getting one, I might as well get a nice one, the kind I will love for the rest of my life and my grandchildren will be saying "Your TV is so old, grandma!"

5) more time off
I want more time off. Time to be NOT working or doing or even thinking about things related to work. I have less and less of that, lately.

6) consecutive days off
And I want a consecutive two-day off on a regular basis. If I had that, I get to "not think about things related to work" that I mentioned in 5) at least one day, on the first day of the two days. Since I have Tuesday and Sunday off, I am thinking about Wednesday on Tuesday, and about Monday on Sunday. I'd looooooove not to do that, at least one day of the week.

7) a home library

You know the beginning scene from Beauty and the Beast where Belle goes town to the bookstore and finds her favorite book from the shelf as she rides on a sliding ladder? The first time I saw that when I was, like, 11, I was electrified. I was in love with that book shelf with the ladder. And I still am, as I approach 31.

Dad was a major book collector/reader, and still owns thousands. Mom, a not a big reader, has been trying to think of ways to get rid of them all. Hell to the no! I want to take over all of dad's preciousness and make me a home library one day. So mom, stop cleaning the loft!

8) a car
A Mustang, and a yellow one at that, has always been my dream car...

...but here in Japan, any American vehicles don't quite look right, not to mention driving one like a Mustang or a Corvette is a tad difficult to pull off in style: the roads are freaking narrow and curvy, parking lots are limited, and gas is super duper expensive. So lately, I am prone to droll at a Mini Cooper whenever I pass by one on the road. A European coop seems better suited for a country Japanadian girl like myself than an American convertible.
9) a central heating system
Oh my gawd it's cold in winter! And oh my gawd they need a better heating system in Japanese houses!

10) a fireplace
That's one thing I reeeeeeally miss about living in British Columbia. The smell of the cedars burning. The sound of the logs cracking. Now THAT is Christmas time.

Thank you, Santa, for at least reading my list. Show me what you got, alright?

Until next time,

Sak

List of 10 -Things That Never Fail to Cheer Me Up

1) pancakes
2) The Big Bang Theory (click for the theme song)
3) shopping on line
4) Walking With The Dinosaurs
5) a hand written letter
6) pedi and mani
7) a bouquet of flowers
8) Versailles Philharmonic Quintet
9) fruit
10) my little baby nephew

In no particular order.

Until next time,

Sak

List of 10 - My Pet Peeves

1) an unmade bed
2) a sealed envelope/bag (bills, Doritos, gummy bears, anything) that's vertically ripped open
3) a weak handshake
4) people who don't get jokes
5) an unorganized bookshelf
6) girls who sound like they're speaking from their nose (we spot them a lot in Japan)
7) men who pluck their eyebrows (we spot them a lot in Japan)
8) a telephone operator who ought to work on not sounding like he/she is obviously reading a script
9) a father who has no idea how to hug his little kid
10) a person in front of me holding an umbrella

In no particular order.

Until next time,

Sak

List of 10 -Habits I Have

1) touching earlobes when bored, nervous, or absent-minded
2) cracking fingers
3) "Seriously?"
4) plugging both ears with middle fingers when sitting on toilet.
5) reading something when eating alone
6) reading something when brushing teeth
7) "Crap and a half!"
8) Imagining giving a finger to a bad driver
9) Imagining giving a finger to a moron in front of me
10) making a joke in mind and starts laughing myself before telling it

In no particular order.

Until next time,

Sak

List of 10 -Words I Love Saying

1) galaxy
2) Galapagos
3) triskaidekaphobia
4) prehistoric
5) philharmonic
6) Kodak
7) espadrilles
8) Scandinavian
9) falcon
10) triceratops

In no particular order. I think I am prone to the "ck" and "ks" and "s" sounds. Feels good uttering them for some reason.

Until next time,

Sak

List of 10 -English Words I Had Trouble Learning How to Pronounce Properly When I was 15

1) fifth
2) literally
3) martyr
4) executives
5) Bartholomew
6) Vancouver
7) thesaurus
8) cathedrals
9) itinerary
10) Clinton

All because of f and v and th and l-and-r-confusion. And I was forced to move my tongue and lips in the way that no Japanese is physically capable to.

In no particular order.

Until next time,

Sak

List of 10 -Things I Collect

1) magnets from cities and countries I visited
2) macrobiotic-related books
3) Kate Spade
4) handkerchiefs
5) dinosaur-related books and DVDs
6) glasses (eye wear)
7) nail colors (mostly pink)
8) 500-yen coins
9) Issey Miyake fragrances
10) scrunchies

In no particular order.

Until next time,

Sak

List of 10 -Things I Want To Try

1) horse-back riding
2) bungee jumping
3) sky diving
4) cruising
5) tae kwon do
6) bread-baking
7) hato-bus tour in Tokyo
8) camping
9) archery
10) painting

more or less in order of preference.

Until next time,

Sak

List of 10 -Things I Cannot Live Without

1) books
2) blotting sheets
3) Shu Uemura eye lashes
4) Issey Miyake fragrance series for women
5) soy milk
6) Vogue
7) FANCL skincare products
8) my glass nail buffer
9) internet
10) fruit

In no particular order.

Until next time,

Sak

List of 10 -Favorite Restaurants

1) Brown Rice Cafe - Aoyama, Tokyo, Japan
2) La Creperie Cafe - Belmont Shore, California, USA
3) Hotel Auberge de Noves - Noves, Province, France
4) Pho 2000 -Garden Grove, California, USA
5) Coctus Club Cafe - Vancouver, BC, Canada
6) Hatake Aoyama - Aoyama, Tokyo, Japan
7) Original Roadhouse Grill -Long Beach, California, USA
8) Seoul Soondae - Garden Grove, California, USA
9) Shore House Cafe - Orange Country, California, USA
10) Tofu Sosai Dining Ao - Jingu-mae, Tokyo, Japan

In no particular order.

Until next time,

Sak

List of 10 -What I Wish Changed About Japan

1) the ridiculous prices on fruit
2) anti-cofrontational behaviors among grownups
3) how a visit to a gynecologist makes me feel like having to go on a trip to a China Town just to buy some bok choy and non of my Chinese speaking friends is coming with me
4) that no one knows how to make jokes
5) heterosexual guys with no muscle in his arms or abs who wear a tank top, worse if they have pale skin
6) men who use "girlfriend" and "cooking" in one sentence
7) uselessness of credit cards at so many stores and restaurants
8) how everyone makes a complete stop at a "stop" sign
9) what "cute" seems to mean, especially to school girls
10) the way "a stranger" acts really strange to a stranger

In no particular order.

Until next time,

Sak

List of 10 -Things I Love About Japan

1) the ridiculously delicious fruit
2) seasonal changes of nature sceneries
3) services at most restaurants and hotels and stores
4) nerds and geeks
5) how people are earth-friendly in general
6) ramen
7) kimono
8) mannerism
9) high-tech toilets and bathtubs
10) my parents' house and its vicinity

In no particular order.

Until next time,

Sak