a year of happiness :D

Man, 2009 went by in a flash.  Loved, lost, and learned to be happy through it all.  :)  The beginning of the year was a hard one.  But I made new friends and got to be more outgoing.  Summer '09 was one of the best I've had yet, and I became super close with my best guy friend over the course of the year.  ^_^  I've had to say goodbye to one of my best friends (her family moved out to Wisconsin) and hopefully we will see her again, and then another one of my best friends is now 6 months pregnant!  ah, that time in my life already?  XD

I made the executive decision to start my education at the Brook's Institute of Photography and will begin on January 8th.  For those who don't know what brooks is, it is a very famous photography school in beautiful Santa Barbara, CA.

 It's a 3 year, year-round program and by the end I will have a BFA.  :D  Not sure what my main focus will be (I wanna keep an open mind), but I love fashion photography and people photography (making them kinda artsy and all that stuff).  My parents used to want me to get a degree in Japanese (my first passion), but then I realize that to be a language major you should really start off at your four year, I decided I would continue to work on Japanese on my own (I've taken 6 years of Japanese).  I would love to live there for a year or so and just learn the language that way.  I know most of it, it's just the flow of it now.  Who knows what these next 3 years will bring me.  If all goes as planned I will be done Dec. 22, 2012.   :)  I'm ready to get out there and do stuff.  2 years at a junior college was good, and I got to be on nor-cal's team for the US Kendo championships in exchange and was able to feel confident with my kendo.  I will miss my friends from that the most.  And just the experience of being in it.  I hope to practice down in Santa Barbara someday and get back into it.

Since not many people know what it is, Kendo is a Japanese martial art that is sorta like fencing.  Except that it has MUCH more contact than the fencing that many people are used to seeing on TV.   You have headgear, a protective body armor and wrist guards.  You can hit an opponent at the head, wrist, body, (and for experienced players) the neck.  Your kiai (or yelling) is essential to scoring points also.  The idea is that you are making your opponent fear you by vocalizing.  haha.  I am told that my kiai is intimidating and I am usually very loud.  I like to help raise the spirits of my team mates when we have really hard and strenuous practices.  Here's a video of what a kendo match typically looks like.  These guys are the top of the world, so they're a different league, but it's the general idea.  haha.  Maybe someday I'll get a video of me on Youtube, but until then....




This is what I love to do.  I have been doing it since I started high school, which now would be...6 1/2 years now.  :)  I hope that you guys also have something that you're passionate about and love to still due today.  My life is about to take some crazy turns and I am hoping for the best.  :)  And I know most people will want to make resolutions like always, but I know that I won't go through with it.  I love my Dr. Pepper too much.  (I wish I could give up soda)  hahaha.  Good luck to you guys in your 2010 endeavors too.  :D

 "life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning how to dance in the rain."

Singing

I love singing.  I sing everywhere I am.  My family remembers me singing a lot when I was younger too.  I'm  no professional, and I might not have the greatest and most projecting voice, but I really do enjoy singing.  Back in my junior year of high school I met a guy who has now become my singing buddy.  :)  Keo and I have been singing m-flo and various other duets for awhile now.  We used to always sing The Love Bug by m-flo & BoA, and have been recently singing a lot of english stuff.  So far, he's the only guy that I have that wants to sing with me and do duets, which is nice, cause I love singing in the style of duets.  I was finally able to get him to record videos and tracks with me today, so I wanted to post a few and share them with you guys.  :D  So I hope you enjoy!  And I am hoping to get some m-flo covers on youtube very VERY soon.  Who knows, we might even end up being youtube rockstars for awesome m-flo covers.  haha.  (for those of you who don't know m-flo, you can refer here...)  I also have my own set of youtube videos of just me singing, so check them out if you so please. :D

shout-out to steph for making the beautiful necklace featured in the vid.  ^_~

Fashions

The holidays are coming around.  That means parties!  Well the kind that I usually have with my friends involve going to someone's house, eating, and playing games.  I'm still only 20, and many of my close friends aren't in the drinking phase.  But usually around the holiday times, the girls in my groups of friends are always like, "dress up party!"  Usually that entails wearing old prom dresses or getting cute new ones.  haha.  This year I bought myself a nice cheap dress from Forever 21 and found some black, sparkly tights from Urban Outfitters.  I also bought some shoes from Lulu's (an online clothing site), some sparkly nail polish, and of course, a DSK necklace.  =P  I can't wait to wear the outfit! (and I will definitely post some pics later)

I never really used to be into fashion.  I never cared about what I was wearing, if it was stylish, I just liked to be comfortable.  But when I got a job at a thai restaurant when I first started my college days, I knew what it was like to have money, and haven't looked back since.  My style...I guess you could say it's urban/girly.  I love the urban look (like Hellz Bellz and Married to the Mob) but I also love floaty tops, flats and jewelry.  :)  Jackets are my one vice.  I have tons of them.  My mom is always getting on my case and telling me that I need to stop buying them.  But...I can't help it.  They're always so versatile. Plus, it's always nice to relax around the house with a comfy sweater or two.  :P  My favorite jackets right now have to be my Hellz Bellz Heartbreaker jacket.  It's simply a cardigan (no buttoning up) with half-length sleeves and an awesome grey color.

American Apparel (even though I think it's overpriced) has very comfy sweaters.  And I love that color with the white string and zipper.  The contrast works very well in my opinion.  :)  I own it in the orchid-like color, and the bright pink (kinda salmon-ish) color.  Notice in the picture, I happen to be rocking Steph's Bubbi Necklace and PH heart earrings?  ^_~

I also have a cheap (but still awesome looking) fake-leather jacket from Forever 21.  My best guy friend, Eddie rocks the punk style, and in the past year it has really been rubbing off on me.  If I could pick any style to emulate, I would want to be a badass punk.  haha.  Sorry if this is seeming to be a post of just pics of me... XD  I don't have enough time to go take some pictures of my stuff.  Maybe when I get home from my Spanish final today.  :)  What about you guys?  Have any vices when it comes to fashion?  Any favorite things to wear  or styles you like?

Headphones

I have a thing for headphones, especially really interesting looking ones, or really big DJ type ones.  I don't know why I love them so much...maybe it's because I've always  thought DJ-ing was really cool and that I wish I knew how to do it.  But I really love photographing people with them on too.  I think the main reason is because I love music so much.  People see headphones, they think music.  The thing is, the nice ones are always super expensive!  But I've found some really cool ones that I want to share just cause they're so awesome.  :D

So, let's go from most expensive to cheapest of my favorites.

Beats by Dr. Dre (about $300 standard, $500 colored)

These not only look really cool, but you can send them to colorware and have them customize your colors!  So cool!  I will probably never own a pair or get them colored, but one can dream.....Click here to make your own color scheme!

Heartbeats (going price approx. $119)

These beautiful works of art were a collaboration of Beats and Lady Gaga.  Now I like to think I'm an anti-gaga fan, but recently, her music just makes me really happy.  It makes me want to get up and dance around and just have fun.  But I love the way these look on (check out her Bad Romance video for view) and their a super fashion-forward approach to ear buds.  I like them best in shiny chrome, but it also comes in black and red/pink.


WeSC Bongo (approx. $80)

                                                                               WeSC Alpine (approx. $150)


WeSC (We are the Superlative Company) is a Swedish clothing brand that sells brightly colored, and often times unique looking headphones.  My favorites are the bongo ones (to the left).  They come in a variety of colors (ones I've seen are black, white, green, blue, purple, pink, orange).  They have smaller earphones on ones called Oboe headphones, and they have square sliders on ones called Alpine headphones.


Alas, I have yet to get any really cool headphones, and will have to save my money for them soon.  I kinda want the heartbeats ones, but we'll see....

In Progress

Currently working on a DSK jewelry haul blog.  But I gotta figure out how to use my new camera to take pictures to do the work justice.  :)  In the meantime, enjoy some of my current favorite songs from youtube!

A good song to duet with.



Not my favorite version, but youtube doesn't have the one I have.



Electric Six just makes me want to get up and dance.  


Upbeat is my thing lately.  

Hopelessly Romantic

I noticed that when I feel lonely, I tend to watch movies or j/k dramas that are "cheezy chick flick" type status.  In the end I am a total hopeless romantic.  Any little sweet gesture in a love story makes me feel happy.  I have seen two movie trailers recently that pretty much show the whole movie in the trailer, but I can't help but feel like I want to see them.  One is Letters to Juliet and the other is Leap Year.  Letters to Juliet stars Amanda Siegfried (Mean Girls, Mama Mia) where she moves to Verona, Italy with her boyfriend and goes to this wall where people write letters to Juliet (of the story Romeo and Juliet) asking her to help with their broken hearts.  There she finds a letter and decides to help the woman find the love that she didn't go after.  Together with her grandson (maybe caretaker...I'm not sure the relationship) the three of them go around Italy finding this "Lorenzo" and along the line it looks like Amada's character ends up falling in love with the guy and realizing that she doesn't feel the same about her boyfriend.  The trailer as a whole pretty much showed me the whole movie.  XD  But for some reason, I know it will make he happy in the end and I would want to see it.  :)

I'm a sucker for romantic movies...and pretty much any small gesture of love that a guy can give you.  I might have a tomboy type personality when it comes to my friends, but really, I love the sweet things that happens when you're in love.  I easily cry when it comes to things with elderly people in love,  especially in things like Up or Yellowcard's song "Dear Bobbie."  For those of you who have seen Up, I cannot help but cry EVERY time I see the opening scene and towards the end.  I don't want to spoil it for those who haven't seen it.  But no matter what your view on animated movies is, you MUST see this movie.  It has a heartfelt message that everyone can relate to.   To have someone to be in love with for the rest of your life, it is something that I want to find someday.  Life has a funny way of suprising you when it comes to things like this.  I am curious to see what it has in store for me.

Sorry for the little heartfelt post.  Like I said, when I'm feeling lonely I tend to think about this sort of thing more.  I wish the best to those of you with a loved one, and to those who don't...well there's a song you might remember that fits well with that.  There is also a quote from How I Met Your Mother.  Ted, the protagonist, is talking about how he's tired of waiting for the girl of his dreams.  The person he tells this to says to him.  "She's out there Ted.  And she's coming as fast as she can to you."  That quote also makes me happy and hopeful.  :)

Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  Enjoy the time with family, friends, and loved ones.  :D

Dramas & Favorite Actors

I have to say that I go through stages of watching j/k dramas.  That's only because it takes so long to download a series through torrents!  But I've been watching them probably for about 4 years now...and there are so many good ones!  :D  I think that Japanese ones are good because they are only 45 mins an episode and usually only run 10 episodes.  Korean ones are good because they really take the time to work on the characters and getting you to like them, but they're usually much longer and run 1 hour or more.  You start to recognize actors from various dramas and develop favorite actors/actresses.  My favorite kind of drama is comedic ones.  I can't take those super sad Korean ones where someone is crying in every single episode and it is just tragedy after tragedy after bad timing.  XD  The best ones are one that make you laugh, have good characters, and sometimes the occasional cry.

I definitely have favorite actors.  :D  How can I not with so many good looking Japanese/Korean guys?  =P  At this point i have to say my dream guy would be Hayami Mokomichi.  He's the star in Zettai Kareshi and is also one of the main guys in Gokusen 2.  There are a few other dramas that he has been in as supporting roles and a few starring ones.  He's super tall and just look at the picture... I need not say anything more.  haha.  But for anyone else who is a fan, Zettai Kareshi is definitely the best one to see him.  It's a drama about a girl who gets a "perfect boyfriend" (who's really a robot) made to her liking and conditions as a trial run...and the series is about how you fall in love.

Another one of my favorite actors is Ninomiya Kazunari.  For those of you who don't watch dramas at all, he was in the movie "Letters From Iwo Jima."  He is also part of a boy band called Arashi.  But he has a very cute quality to him.  I first saw him in Stand Up!! a drama about 4 boys trying to lose their virginity....but we is the best in Yamada Taro Monogatari.  In that one he plays a kid who is super poor, but his good looks and top marks in school make everyone think that he's very rich.  It's about how he works extremely hard to get money for his six younger brothers and sisters and scatterbrained, but loving mom.


And of course, I can't say that I love Boys Over Flowers and not like the guys in there.  =P  but I have to admit, that at first I did not find any of the guys attractive.  Well minus Kim Bum, who plays the playboy type.  But after a lot of watching and getting the personality of the guys in the Korean version, I really liked Lee Min Ho who plays Jun Pyo (or for the Japanese watchers, Domiyoji).  The Boys Over Flowers love story always makes me happy to watch.  To have someone who will love you no matter what your social standing or care what people think about you is a beautiful thing.  And I know that everyone hopes to find their one true love.  :)  There's a fan video that this girl made that has ALL 3 versions of Hana Yori Dango and the relationship between the main couple.  Everytime I watch it it makes me happy and gives me hope that I will find a guy like that someday.






My Top 10 Dramas



1. Nodame Cantabile - a music school based comedy

2. My Girl (Korean) - a girl who is very good at lyring, works with a hotel manager to pretend to be the long-lost granddaughter of his dying grandpa.

3. Hana Yori Dango the entire series (Japanese) - a loosely based Cinderella type story where the poor girl stands up to the rich elite of the school






4. Boys Over Flowers (Korean) - the Korean version of Hana Yori Dango








5. Yamada Taro Monogatari (Japanese) - a poor kid looks so handsome and is so smart that everyone thinks that he is super rich











6. Zettai Kareshi (Japanese) - a girl gets to pick out her ultimate type in a guy and ends up getting a love robot who wants to give her everything










7. My Name is Kim Sam Soon (Korean) - the "unattractive" baker girl ends up posing as her employer's fiancee to please his mother...but of course it's a korean drama so nothing goes smoothly.... =P

8. Yukan Club (Japanese) - the school's elite group acts as detectives to help solve problems in the school






9. One Pound Gospel (Japanese) - a undisciplined boxer comes across a church and meets a Sister who he falls for and spends most of his time trying to win her over.

10. Gokusen the entire series (Japanese) - the granddaughter of a yakuza boss becomes a teacher for delinquents and reforms them.  Each season she has a new class (usually it's made up of the current, "of the moment" boy-band members)

Getting Personal

So, I usually don't post things like this on public sites, but I realized that blogger sites are not searchable in google, and I'm sure that people who read this aren't going to be super random.  So back in about May I dated this guy that I had been friends with for the past 2 years.  We met in Japanese class and had known each other by name and face in high school, but since we only knew eachother we became good friends.  He had a steady girlfriend and at some point I liked him, but I did not want to pursue anything.  After breakups and all that stuff, we decided to go out.  And I have to say I was really into it.  But througout the time, he would say stuff like he didn't have that "first week excitement" or he'd hang out with another people and not ask me to come.  But about the 2nd month, I felt love.  And it seemed mutual..but when school started, I guess it just kinda died off for him cause he broke up with me.  It was only a four month relationship, but I really did think something came from it.

Then....I started to notice that he was getting pretty close to my friend.  This girl I had just gotten to be good friends with this year...so I guess you could say she didn't have any close bond or anything.  So for about a month now they have been going out.  The funny thing was, he told me that he liked being single.  He wanted to be "free" as he so well put it.  And as for my friend....well I really just want her to be happy.  But at the same time, I just can't help but feel hurt.  Maybe she doesn't think of us as close friends....or else I think that she wouldn't have started to going out with him.  His favorite phrase was "you can't help your feelings."  But I think that really, that translates to "I can do whatever the hell I want.  Screw your feelings in the process."  So in the end, I wish I had never gone out with him.  And perhaps we were just going on our old feelings for each other and not really thinking through it.  I regret ever being with him, and it also sucks cause I lost 2 friends.  Both of them don't really talked to me and they probably feel awkward.  I don't want to lose my friendship with my friend Jessica.  He's just not worth it.  But I feel like she doesn't want my friendship unless she has to interact with me.  I think they both feel guilty.  My friend told me, "if it doesn't work out, then she will have lost time to have friendship with you.  It's your friendship that she's missing out on."  And I guess it makes me feel a little better, but I still want to be there for her if she needs me.  In this situation most girls would be mad at the friend for doing that, but....she deserves happiness too.  And in the end, if she makes her cry...my friend and I will definitely be paying a visit to him.

Someday I will find happiness with someone.  But I need to see my dreams come true for my future.  I'm focusing on going to Brooks and finally being satisfied with my education.  I am ready to go without anyone or anything holding me back.  I can't wait to see what the future holds.

Online Shopping

It was never until I hit college that I started getting into clothes and how I looked.  I think it was after I got my first job and started getting money that I decided to look into online clothes.  Now, I am absolutely a online shopping junkie.  I have a select few sites that I absolutely love and check every day to see if there are new things.  My all time favorite site is Karmaloop.  I've been shopping there for 2 years now, and have also been a sales rep for them.  But I have a hard time advertising.  I'm not very good with graphics stuff so I never make anything to show off.  Karmaloop is an urban street brand site, and includes the greats like Hellz Bellz, Married to the Mob, Insight, WeSC, Gentle Fawn, Crooks & Castles, and 10 Deep.  And what is so good about Karmaloop, they are constantly bringing down the prices of their stuff!  I found that a lot of clothings sites NEVER lower the prices on their merchandise, but Karmaloop slowly brings it down and down, you just have to keep watch.



I also really like this site called ModCloth.  My style aesthetic is very much urban, but I also love looking girly.  So, as a balance, I love checking out all the cute dresses and jewelry on ModCloth.  They actually just brought standard shipping prices, so that's quite lucky.  Unfortunately, since they are a much smaller company, there are rarely price reductions or sales.  Most of the things sell out super quick because of the low stock that this "vintage inspired" company caries.  So you have to buy things quick or else they will sell our for good.

Yesstyle is another ones of the sites I can't seem to stay away from.  Unfortunately for me, I'm not the size of a typical asian girl, so many of the things will not fit me.  But they have very cute labels such as  Googims, Sechuna, and this super cool shoe line called HVBAO.  HVBAO has these painted sneakers with very unique designs.  Typically they run for about $40 which is a pretty good price for these cute works of art.  Yesstyle actually just opened a store in San Francisco's Stonestown mall (the one located next to SFSU) which I have yet to explore.  Thankfully yesstyle has just recently lowered their standard shipping to the US rate to only $9.99.  But the best bet would be to order big with a friend and get the free international shipping.


So, I encourage you to check out these cool sites!  Oh, and if you stop by karmaloop, and see something you like, get a 20% discount off your entire order!!!  Just input the rep code "emi16" in the space available and get your savings!  20% goes a long way on Karmaloop.  I hope you guys find great things on these web sites.  It's always so much fun getting packages in the mail.  :)

First Post & Birthday Celebration

Hello everyone! My name is Lauren. I'm a 20 year old living in the central valley of California and soon to be moving to new places in the world. :) I've gone many years looking at other blogs and I finally decided to start one. So, here it goes. I guess my main focus will be on music, fasion, and photography. oh and maybe throw a little baking in there.  Those seem like easy topics to start with.

So, the main reason I want to post is because today, October 7, 2009 is m-flo's 10th anniversary!!! m-flo is my all time favorite band and I love spreading the m-flo love to everyone. :D It all started back in 2003 when I walked into the Kinokuniya in San Francsico (Kinokuniya is a Japanese bookstore chain in the US for those of you who don't have one near you) and went to the music kiosk. At these things, you could find a music video that had just been released and watch it. At this time I was a big fan of BoA and I see a music video called the Love Bug. with Boa and a group called m-flo. So I started to watch it, and instantly fell in love. I raced to the CD section to find the single, and I haven't looked back since. Ever since 2003, I have been diligently looking out for m-flo releases and spread my love for it to anyone who would listen. Verbal is my all time favorite rapper and I absolutely love his style in clothes and rapping. :) So, this is my short tribute to m-flo today, and I wish them happy anniversary and good luck in their future endeavors!

For those of you hoping to get into m-flo, here are some of the best of the best.

*means that the video is up on youtube and should be watched.

*miss you//♥melody. & Ryohei

*the Love Bug//♥BoA

*Let Go//♥Yoshika

Loop in My Heart//♥Yoshika & Emyli

*Picture Perfect//♥Monkey Majik

Love Me After 12AM//♥Alex (clazziquai)

The Other Side of Love//♥Emyli (sister e)

tO yOUR bEAT//♥Yoshika

*Lotta Love//♥MINMI

*Love Don't Cry//♥Crystal Kay

*Dopamine//♥Emyli & Diggy Mo' (soul'd out)

*Can't Stop Lovin' You//♥BBBB & Emi Hinouchi

Star Struck//♥AI, Emi Hinouchi, Rum (heartsdales)

Tripod Baby//♥Lisa

*One Day //♥Miliyah Kato & Kreva

Distance (m-flo remix)- Utada Hikaru

Come again

L.O.T (Love Or Truth)

Yours Only

Here's how it all started:

Well that's pretty much all for this first post. I will be hoping to find more people to network with and I hope you enjoy my ramblings. :D mata ne minna!