46...myspace encounters and snapshots of lazy afternoons

It's been a i-want-to-stay-in-bed & drink badly made tea and listen to The Fray - Look After You type of day (pretty sappy i know but i'll add a link below so you can listen to it too) for me but how about you?

Today i met two people who had finally physically met for the first time after knowing each since 2005 (i wish i could say it's the people in this shot above but they're not (though these two are equally as lovely)...i'll probably see them again in a week or so so perhaps i can get some shots of them then!). They seemed so close that i thought that they were childhood friends or so. I've only known my friend Hanna for a month or so now but when i see her, she always asks about my life and school as though we've known each other for much longer & today she introduced me to her friend from Israel and we bonded over some green tea and wagashi (japanese treats). She talked about her long week of going to language school and taking tests and he talked about his love for green tea and about his trip to Japan and they would smile at each other once in a while during topics.
So i asked them the obvious: "So...where did you two meet?" (i had a hunch that they were more than just friends).
And Hanna laughed and said "Oh, we actually just meet yesterday...physically. Remember when myspace was around before facebook? That's how we met in 2005."
And he added "And though there were some blank months, we kept in touch with the occasional birthday greetings and messaging. And do you want to know when i came to Japan? Yesterday. I began planning my trip on Tuesday, worked on Wednesday and jumped on a plane on Thursday. But it's funny, I always thought we'd meet in Israel or England (where she lived before)".
All i could add to that was "Well, that's the beauty of meeting on the internet."
It just made me feel lucky that i was there to be in the presence of two friends (or more, who knows? Well it's their life, i shouldn't butt my nosey head in) who were finally able to actually meet after knowing each other so long - that's not something that happens everyday nor something that happens to a lot of us. It takes the right mix of timing, friendship, commitment and luck and hopefully when i'm 35 (their age) i'll have some experiences like that of my own to share!

Though it's pouring cats and dogs (and possibly frogs and cows at this rate) i uncovered some photos that i'd taken in August in Yokohama on a b-e-a-utiful day.

Wherever you live, be safe and stay warm and hope you have a week where you get to eat something new and sing songs in the rain. 

45.5...the best kind of energy boost

Maybe it was because i saw Miwa's post yesterday, or maybe it was because i was craving pancakes (i always am...), i was so lucky when my childhood friend suddenly invited me out for pancakes today. I had a four hour class in the afternoon and only half of my reading assignments done, but how could i say no? I hadn't been able to see her properly in a while, and i had so many things i wanted to hear about from her, so it was a lovely catch-up brunch before i dashed off to school. Lovely company + good food has always been the most simple equation to instant happiness in my life.

At Latte Graphic in Japan

45...time travel in Bra(s)il

Can you believe that it's almost October? i always use cheesy cliche phrases in my posts but aiaiai, TIME FLIES. Halloween will come, then thanksgiving (though my family and i don't really celebrate that - it's hard to find a full on turkey in Japan), followed by Christmas and bam, it'll be New Years before we know it. Honestly speaking, i actually look forward to the new year, it's become my favourite time of the year - for the past few years, my family and i have travelled to different locations on December 31st so
a) we don't have to worry about the whole new years culture of cooking for hours on end to prepare for January 1st (quick Japanese lesson: we call it gantan)
and b) we can spend the first day of the year relaxing in a nice hot bath.
But there are so many things to get through before all that, so before i get ahead of myself, i'll just enjoy the now and the fall along with the good food (hope you all do too).

Before i forget to do this, here are some more snapshots from my summer - these are from my trip to Brazil (i prefer writing 'Brasil' since that's how they spell it over there *respect*) If anyone reading/seeing this has photos up from their summer, i'd love to see them so please leave your links in the comment section below!

Taken in New York during transit - such b-e-a-utiful weather,

i wished we had more time there!

i just HAD to eat stuff at the airport but aiaiai,

bad idea, they gave us so much on the plane though it was already 12pm at night...D:

On our way to the bookstore - Since i was in Brasil during the World Cup 

(didn't get to see the games live but just being in the country was enough to feel the

excitement buzzing all across the country)

there were many places decorated like this. I've always loved how patriotic this country is.

Outside Livaria Cultura (one of the best bookstores i've ever stepped foot in - picture below!)

this display was up to celebrate the previous five wins for Brasil.

(i wish i could tell you who the five golden players are! - does anyone know?)

i would definitely live here if i could :)

(This is the Livaria Cultura in Av. Paulista, Sao Paulo)

Rua Pamplona at night

There is so much graffiti covering the buildings in Brasil but this was one in support

of Corinthians (Mini Football info: They won the 2012 Fifa World Cup against Chelsea)

THE SKIES.

Though it rained a bit during our stay, the sky was usually so beautiful.

This (Portuguese)
&
This
&
This

I'm pretty sure that that's Luiz Felipe Scolari...

Shopping Paulista, one of the biggest shopping malls near Av. Paulista.

A church near Paraiso, Sao Paulo

i wish i knew what this plant is, i find it quite cute. 

Paraiso, Sao Paulo, the first place i lived in 12 years ago in Brasil.

...and some more graffiti for you to enjoy!

There are more photos to come (along with more photos of food - i'd have to say that out of all the places i've been to, i still believe that Brasil has the best food), but here's some for now. There are so many more places i would have gone to in Brasil but it was so nice walking down streets i spent some of my childhood afternoons on; i may have grown but going to Brasil was like seeing an old family friend who doesn't age. It was nice being back to one of the places i call home!

Have a nice week :)

44...pot-pourri

Though i didn't get through half the things on my 'TO-DO OVER THE SUMMER' list, one of the unexpected fun things i did do was make pot-pourri from roses - the petals are still in a bag while we wait for their aroma to increase (if that's even possible?) but i can't wait to open it to see the outcome!

(Perhaps this is a bit embarrasing to admit but i didn't know that pot-pourri also meant "A combination of incongruous things" till this summer...well it's always interesting to learn.)

Of course, while we were waiting for them to dry, i took some close ups of these gorgeous petals before they turned brown so i thought i'd post those shots to start my blogs with photos from the summer.

Now i will get back to snacking on chocolate and reading about Antonio Negri and Michael Hardt (the chocolate helps me stay awake) but hope everyone gets some well-needed rest before another busy week. 

Interesting fact of the day that has nothing to do with anything on this post - apparently Mercury reaches it's greatest elongation today so if you're a stargazer, you'll be able to see that along with Spica on its right.

｡:*+゜゜+*:.｡.*:+☆

43...diy

Having spent the first half of my summer vacation travelling around (i will get around to uploading photos soon), i think it's time for me to sit down and sort out things in my room and start...well getting a move on with the next section of my life (way to go at being dramatic!). There are so many clusters of items i've collected over the years, which i can now only see as bits and bobs that take up the majority of the space on my bookshelf, causing the actual books that should be there to be piled up elsewhere in my room. So here i'm making a public announcement of things that i need to clear + do:

1. Sort out whatever it is i've jammed into these drawers.

2. Figure out what to do with these little things.

Too many stuffed animals - they're all too precious to throw away though

(i have too many keyholders hanging around in random places...)

Now that is a mess. 

3. Find a better way to store my bags.

i feel like this picture says it all ^^;

4. Think of a more practical way to store posters and fliers (since they sadly don't have a place on my wall)

5. Dig deep and find my creative mojo and diy this bag.

What're things you need to do over this summer:)?

42...music + art

Mini post: My sister has recently been on a roll and she's working on more artwork than ever, moving on to bigger projects and pieces - and i am so happy to see her back with her "creative juices" (as she likes to call it).

Some more artsy fun for you:
・I LOOK & MOVE
(Stop motion video)
・Ballet dancers in random situations
(From Lost At E Minor - i want to do this:)
・fuckyeahillustrativeart
(One of my favorite tumblr accounts)
・Minieco
(Cute craft blog)

41...tokyo rainbow pride

Yesterday, i was able to go to the Tokyo Rainbow Pride (held at Yoyogi park in Shibuya, Tokyo) for the first time - and as the little cloud on the banner stand says, "Happy Pride" was everywhere i turned. There were people from all sorts of backgrounds there, all gathered to support and share love with the LGBT community in Japan. For those of you who don't know what it's all about, you can go here (Japanese) or here (English) to check it out.

Quick background info: The first ever Tokyo Pride Parade was held in 1994, but due to lack of funding and organisation, it took over 8 years until it was held again. The TRP is currently an NPO run by volunteers and supporters and this year it was funded by the Bureau of Social Welfare and Public Health in Tokyo, as well as the American, British and German embassies in Japan.

While walking along with the parade, i saw a few same-sex couples holding hands and supporting the parade from the sidewalk. Out of the 11 years i've lived in Japan, i don't remember seeing that while walking around everyday. I don't know how much people suffer just to be able to proudly hold hands with their loved ones all around the world, but if small things like this are going to help open more minds and create a safer and better place for everyone, i'd like to be a part of it.

Of course, i couldn't resist taking a ton of shots at such a colorful and wonderful event so without further ado:

Just two of the many glamorous people we bumped into

Since it was the 27th, we showed off some love by supporting #27GO,

a movement that began in January this year supporting LGBTs in Japan.

27 GO

People who turned up to the event that day could show their support by

joining in with one of the 15 floats in the parade. I joined in with Tokyo Diversity/東京大行進 

TOKYO NO H8, a group striving to lessen racial/sexual/social discrimination.

TOKYO DIVERSITY