Bon Odori (And Other Stuff)

First of all, The phone line at home is still not fixed :(. So that pretty much cast me off from the Internet, but then it’s not a bad thing as I have some peace and quiet back home.

Anyway, just a recap of about what happened during the weekend 😊 :

盆踊り (Bon Odori)! 😄

Went to the Bon Odori carnival 2005 on Saturday together with Sook Lan, Eng Lee and Yuan Hui (my colleagues 😊 ), which is held at the open field of Matsushita Sport Centre.

And so it’s like… I went there by Yuan Hui’s car, who is accompanied by her boyfriend and mother at around 5.30pm. They are really nice and friendly, especially her mom. Considering that her mom owns a bakery and my parents are bakers, we do have something in common to talk about :). And by the time we reached there, the place is already crowded with people, and that pretty much filled up half the field (which the field is gradually packed at around 8).

It’s really exciting as we entered and saw Japanese people in their kimonos, that definitely makes up the Bon Odori mood ^-^. Not to mention that it’s a really great sight as we saw people enjoying themselves, having picnics and everything. Then we caught up with Sook Lan and her husband later on.

Then at about 7, the event kicks off with a Taiko (太鼓) drum performance by a group of teenagers (probably secondary school students). Honestly speaking their performance is a bit… um… uninspiring ^-^”, but nevertheless they do put effort in it. Then later on we are treat with cultural dances, which people can dance along below the stage. And it’s really enjoyable to see the whole crowd around me having fun as they enthusiaticly dance along with the dancers on stage. We have our share of fun as well. You know, flopping fans, running around the field, making simple hand dance movements (Parapara? :p)… it’s pure and simple fun, kinda remind me of my preschool years :).

Then there were Japanese cultural performances. One thing worth mentioning is there Japanese food there: They are… OVERPRICED! XDDDD (as if we never saw that coming!) I can’t believe that they really took the opportunity to hike their price which doubles from what we can get from their retail outlets! Bad call for me forgetting to have my dinner before going there. But the Hokkaido seafood soba and shaved ice (氷, Koori) is really good :). (although it’s not good for my wallet :p)

Eng Lee came a little bit later with his girlfriend at around 8. And finally we caught a glimpse of her in real life! She’s a sweet girl, and does looks matching by his side :). Chilled together then we took some photographs. Then we notice cute dog with its beautiful Japanese owner. Both of them seems to get a lot from attention from the visitors as people asking her to have their photographs taken with her and the dog :).

We left at around 8.30, as the second part of the dance along cultural dances seems to repeat the first one. It’s really a fun experience there! 😄

Stuff! <3<3<3

Bought this:

綾女王様～（はっはっはっはっ！） 😛

But then again, seeing the new volume of フルーツバスケット (Fruitsbasket) does make me fell so left behind (Volume 17’s cover is はなちゃん~ [Hanajima, or better known as Hana-chan in the manga]). The summary on the back of that volume doesn’t help to make me feel less eager to get this volume, as it mentions that it starts to touch about the Souma’s family curse. AHHHHH!!!! >_<”

Anyway, I did saw volume 4 of 不思議遊戯 -Part II-, which comes with a mini drama CD. I guess my sister would love to have one, I think I’ll get that for my sister next month.

And I just got this cute mug :). It’s a free gift when I bought a shower cream refill twin pack :).

Misc.

Finally I don’t have to house sit! ^-^ It’s been a few days that my aunt went back to Kuala Kangsar (our hometown), and I have been waking up very early to get the house sorted out. Then it seems that I have shown signs of catching a cold as I sneezed very badly these few days. Must restrain from any cold drinks :(. Then there were some other annoyances as well: strained wrist, ankle and back… I think I better stop ranting here.

Think that’s about it, will post photos soon!

[p/s: I KNOW the Harry Potter book is out, and as much as I DREAD to have one copy NOW, but I would want to wait until the hype cool downs a bit so that I can get it at a much reasonable (i.e. discounted) price. In the mean time, please don’t spoil me (as in giving me any indication regarding the storyline, but I would be glad if anybody spoil me with a real copy of the book. ;)). Just gotta love puns :p.]