Kendo first grade!! ^^ (剣道1級審査OK!)

(from left)Katou san(teacher); Higuchi kun(kendo mate);me;Naito san(teacher)

in the kendo exam hall

Today I would like to share about [Kendo and I]!

Last year, Dec 13th, I passed my Kendo first grade(=coklat belt)

(hehe... sorry it is not up to date news.)

but, still hope to share the moment of happiness with you in my blog. ^^

During the exam, i have to fight with 2 opponents(about 1min each)

there are videos for me in the FIGHT! haha... My sensei(Naito san) took the video for me.

i was too nervous and i fall down 2 times at the first fight =.=

As for the exam judgement, as long as there are a bit of "skill of hitting", "spirit of shout" and "brave of attack", then consider pass. ^^

Have a look!

Fight Video 1 (i start from right)

Fight Video 2 (i start from left)

Some more photos!!

I have upgrade to 剣道一級! (my name: 洪麗君)

one of my favorite sensei(teacher) Tsuruma san

Received my certificate(temporary) of Kendo Grade 1

Kendo, still have very long way to go. Is very painful, but I love it. no pains, no gains

Planning to sit for black the belt exam this year April. Wish me luck. ^^

Japan Burger King + Malaysia Pepper

Dinner at Burger King @Kawasaki last Friday after kendo.

Was so surprised when i saw the Malaysia flag on the flyer and menu...

wondering what to do with Wooper?!!

then I read carefully....

[BLACK PEPPER WOOPER]!!! \\(^_^)//

>> they are promoting new flavor burger by using Malaysia produced pepper (Lada hitam buatan Malaysia... )!! haha....

My memory flashed back to the Secondary school Geography textbook, ya, Msia was one of the biggest exporter of Black Pepper! ^^

But is it to the extent of promoting using Msia Pepper?!! mm.... not sure how many people know about Msia pepper.

But at the end I ordered a Teriyaki Wooper instead of Lada Hitam one... hehe...

Typhoon = BAD DAY.... 台風＝不幸な日

Typhoon (grade 18) hit Japan severely this morning. I was one of the victims among... i dont know how many thousand hundred people... almost every salary man go to work by train were effected (maybe 50% of Japan citizen got effected). The trains had to STOP because of the strong wind. The famous Tokyo Yamanote Line was dead completely!!!


Normally, I just go to work at Kawasaki which is one station away from where I am staying. But, today, I have to go Shibuya (one of the station in Yamanote Line) for some training. It only need 45min to reach Shibuya normally, but today I spent 5hours to reach there!!! I got out from dormitory at 7.30am, but reached my training center at 12.30pm..... (-_-!!!) I was totally wore out when I reached...... @_@

The things became worse because....
--------my IPod ran out of battery!!! (oh my god, i dont know how i past the time.... )

Then the worst is....
--------one the way, my handphone battery also gone!!! (I was thinking to take photo and video of: the umbrella "flip over" and flip back again... girls walking against the strong wind with a hand holding on their skirt... people sitting at the staircase and all around the station... people "squeeze" themselves into a "sardin train"... but i could not.... )

what a BAD DAY....

More details at

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/feature/graph/typhoon18/glist.htm?gr=1874&ge=636

earthquake... 地震

”This morning , I was waken up by the shake of my bed. I was so frightened as everything around me was shaking and swinging... I thought i was dreaming.

Without a second, I realized it was EARTHQUAKE.

I kept sitting on my bed to observe the situation carefully before i run my life. With my blurred eyesight, nothing was falling from my rack or table, although there was still shaking continuously.

Before I decided to run under the table where I stored my 'emergency bag' (with food and medicine inside), the nightmare stopped.

Then I continue my sleep after looked at the clock, was 5am.... ” zzzZZzzzzz.......

While worried about the Typhoon from Taiwan, suddenly the earthquake came... This is my first ever 'biggest' earthquake I had experienced! (since last few times when the earthquake happened, I was sleeping deadly and totally didnt realize about it. ) It last about 20 seconds.

I was scared but luckily no hurt no tear. I am OK! dont worry :)

From the news, then only I knew that Tokyo and the surrounding areas have been hit by an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.6. Four prefectures were affected. The worse was the prefecture called Shizuoka（静岡）. The highway was collapsed, the room was messed up, the shop was in chaos... I am not sure is there any casualty. ok, im going to stop here, else i will become new reporter. .. . . :p

god bless us. and the earth...

more news about earthquake at Shizuoka (about 2hours drive from my place)

http://sankei.jp.msn.com/affairs/disaster/090811/dst0908111325042-n1.htm

(photo from the website)

Toyko Choufu Fireworks 東京調布花火

Although it is as hot as Malaysia, but I like the summer of Japan!
It is fulled with firewroks and various event. Last month 18th I went to Choufu, Tokyo with my bunch of Japanese friends to watch 120,000 shot of fireworks, from 19:20-20:30!!!

it is out "territory" which booked by my friends who went 3hours earlier than us. behind us is the train railway.

Satou Nozomi, with her beautiful 'Yukata'. 'Yukata' is one of Japanese traditional clothes which wear during summer. Its design is like kimono by it is thinner and cheaper.

behind us is the place to by food or drinks. can have picnic when watching fireworks.

there is also guy's yukata. (cant see his face.. sorry... : ( )

the place was flooded by about 250 thousand people!!

couple in yukata, so romantic!!

SMILE!!!

Mickey but only with ear and face....

small eye rabbit.

2 mickeys?!

tilted SMILE!

LOVE!

with my lousy LUMIX DMC-FS3 this is the result.... i guess it was a Hello Kitty! haha

a star going to explode!

galaxy!

delicious lollypop! :p

the last shot was gorgeous!

full house photo at the train station before we leave! Enjoyed! it was a fun day! :)

im reading.... [The Last Lecture] 読んでいる本「最後の授業」

Have been started my work since May 2009. Life is busy with learning.working and learning.working...

But stil, soul nutritious from the habit of reading is playing important role in my life (altough it has been quite sometimes i really reading a book seriously...)

Recently, I am reading a book named "The last lecture" which is recommended by my friends. Feeling relieved when reading it because I can get rid from Japanese for a least that moments... :)

I am still working on it, currently at page72 over 206 pages. It is a true story and is all about LIVING. I was touched for several times although just read < 1/3 of the book. He was a brave man.

"We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand."
--Randy Pausch, the author of the book.



The book is about...

" When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give such a lecture, he didn't have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer.

But the lecture he gave--"Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams"--wasn't about dying. It was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment (because "time is all you have...and you may find one day that you have less than you think").

It was a summation of everything Randy had come to believe. It was about living."
quoted from http://www.amazon.com/Last-Lecture-Randy-Pausch/dp/1401323251

I bought the book at
http://www.amazon.co.jp/Last-Lecture-Randy-Pausch/dp/1401309658
with the price of 1737yen, but now the price is cut down to 1141yen (after one day i bought it.... :( )

Official website
http://www.thelastlecture.com/

Youtube of the last lecture
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo

Enjoy reading, Enjoy life! :)

Learning Kendo 剣道の稽古に参加する

I am learning Kendo (剣道) in my working place (小向工場).
Kendo is one of the Japanese martial arts which has about 300 years history. I think it was started during Samurai era...
mm... the reason i am learning Kendo... might be to get myself occupied (other than work and Japanese language) and get to know something "Japanese" and its cultural.
　
the photo taken during a welcome party for the newbies(after practising Kendo)...

JOIN me anytime if u are interested! :)
Place: Kawasaki Komukai
Date: Every Wednesday(after work), Friday(after work) and Saturday(morning)
(Free of Charges, except have to spend some money to buy the weapons and outfit)
and it is FUN! FIGHT while SHOUTING!

1st November back MALAYSIA!!!! [my sister wedding and 3rd sis to-be-born baby!!!] 十一月帰国する予定

my dear friends... i going back soon! my memory lane of my university life... randomly pick from my old photo... MISS THOSE DAYS... ^^

2nd college, POWER! ^^

MMK also power! haha.

hope you guys a doing great... :) (shuiyu still being shuiyu? katak still like katak? robin.. wait for my touch n go ya!! )

CC pangkor trip, but i cant remember this taken in which year CC trip ... haha

Cameron Power!! haha.. we jumped high high

putra jaya firework... a big gang of us went there by 30 motorbikes??!! like mat rempit na... (lynnwey, i think u are really lenglui NOW!)

malaca final year trip.... nice pose huh

malacca again... (duno saulong losing weight d or not le?!!)

study hard in BBG with my ex-room mate. miss those days.... with the smell of KL gate burger. haha... (wansien still loving chocolate like before? miho still like to eat like before?)

house 41.. cooking fun... (chukit, have you turn into shengchiat d?)

cadcadm and manuc BIG family photo!! ^^

cadcam tioman trip...

class mate in UM with Dr.Hamdi, angel teacher of us.

was so YOUNG!!! I am missing those times in university... the days as student... riding my red broombroom to UM... buying delicious PJ gate karipop... waited at 3am for eating karimee... doing project sleeplessly... going to pasar malam and eat `tou fu fa tang yuan`...

I am back to see you guys fresh up my memory!!! :) soon... haha

[Incrediblely amazing] Salad+onigiri Dinner! すごいお握りと美味しいサラー

As I mentioned before, I have to save money for flight tickets........
So tonight I decided to have a light dinner (so that i can keep fit too ^^).
My main dishes were SALAD and ONIGIRI (I bought 134Yen for 2).


First of all, let me introduce the salad, which was Incrediblely Amazing Delicious Salad with low calorie! (but sorry for the bad dressing :p)
I got extra carbbage in my fridge, then just simply put it the canned sweet corn, two kawaii tomato... and one more secret recipe: fried small union which sent from Malaysia (i like fried small union! ^^).
When i was eating, i really couldnt believe that the fried small union match so well with the vegetables!!! really really tasted good!
Feel free to try it if you are "fried small union lover". (of course, Miho wont even think about this salad - she hates it)


Secondly, is the ONIGIRI (rice wrap by seaweed and normally it is in triangle shape). The main point I want to express here is "the convenientness in Japan". The first time I ate, I was so surprised. Let`s have a tour of the ways of eating Onigiri.

yaaa... is a triangle Onigiri. but where to start to take off the plastic wrapper?

It goes according as the numbering shown... 1,2 and 3.

first, tear from the tip... (number 1)

untill the backside of it...

then tear from the left hand side tip... (number 2)

actually should use both hands to do it, but i dont have 3rd hand to whole camera!!!

then ok!!!

now right hand side pula... the same way. (number 3)

ten ten ten ten.... the plastic wrapper was sucessfully taken off !!!

(after one bite) it was soba chicken flavour. not bad. ^^

Question: Maybe you will wonder why dont just wrap the rice with seaweed?!!!

Answer: Seaweed is in dried form, it will be kind of melt/stickcy after contacted with the water/air. To ensure it last longer, the clever businessman think about this wrapping method. [it is just my stupid personal opinion.. hehe]