{tomatoe diary} __ v027: gohou.drug. _

.11-MAR-2005. [17:42].
SAKAI-SAN... SAYONARA!

Like I said before, here I am now back with another story of my life...

This time the story centers at Sakai Yoshio-san. Remember him? Yeah, he was the main MC of Jakarta Mikoshi Matsuri back in 2003. My friend Poppy and I were his co-hosts! ^_^ (Read about it here) Ever since that particular event, we've always had a casual friendship. I met him twice or three times more after the Matsuri. The last time was during last year's Kinokuniya Grand Opening, 5 July 2004.

Anyway, Sakai-san has stayed here for about 10 years. He came here when he was in his 20s. He has worked here and has established a company here. Now after ten years, Sakai-san is going back to Japan. Family matters became an issue for him if he continues living in Jakarta so Sakai-san has decided to return to his hometown in Kyoto. Today, he held his one man show in Balemang Cafe, Wijaya. It's like a farewell party but in the form of Sakai-san's comedy show. He was on stage, performing all sort of acts like dancing, singing, etc. I was invited there by M-san, my colleague in Kino, who's also Sakai-san's friend. I asked Poppy to come along with me. So we came.

It was a great one man show! Sakai-san is so multi-talented. He can sing, he can dance, he can do manzai jokes, he can MC... he's so funny! His jokes are so cool... there is no dajare when it comes to Sakai-san! Throughout the show, this is what he did mostly. Then there was a talk show where he invited his close friends on stage to talk about their experiences with Sakai-san in Jakarta. Towards the end of the show, Sakai-san did a street dance (breakdancing!) and sang a song. This guy has the most powerful of voices and... the fact that he can do street dancing!!! That's just amazing. Before he came to Indonesia, he said, he had been a street dancer in Harajuku! XD LOL! Omigod... it's impossible for me to NOT love this guy. >.< I just admire him so much! Even among his friends, he seems to be generally well-liked and much-admired. I can tell from the people who were invited that they all loved and respected Sakai-san.

I said it once before... Sakai-san is my idol. He inspires me a lot and he's taught me a lot of thing. The no. 1 thing he's always inspired me in was in terms of confidence and determination. He's never afraid to go all out for something and whenever he does something it always turns out good because he's confident about himself. Ever since I worked with him in the matsuri, I've always tried to follow his footsteps in this matter. He's a very special person in this matter.

So, next week, Sakai-san will leave with his family. Even though we're not close friends, as in, we don't hang out together all the time, I still feel like it's going to be TOTEMO SABISHII when he leaves. If he stays I might have another chance to work with him in a matsuri event or I can still expect to see him perform in other matsuri events. So now that he's not going to be here anymore, there won't be any Sakai-san anymore and I don't know who to look up to or look for in these events. I really wished he could have stayed longer here. I'm going to miss Sakai-san, and I'm going to miss his brilliant performances.

I wish Sakai-san a safe return to Japan and a wonderful life in Kyoto. :) I'm definitely going to visit him there again one day. I already have so many reasons to visit Kyoto and now that I know Sakai-san is going to be there, I'm more determined to get there. So, I hope Sakai-san always stays genki and energetic when I meet him again in the future.

SAKAI-SAN, ITSUMO GANBATTE KUDASAI! OUEN SHITEMASU! MATA ITSUKA AEMASHO! SAYONARA! ARIGATOU

.11-MAR-2005. [09:05].
I KNOW I'M HAPPY WHEN I EAT A LOT

There are several things I'm pissed off about (and this doesn't include the Tagboard problems; by now you know that it's going to screw up once in a while so live with it) that prevented me from writing in this blog. But now I'm cool about everything and I've decided to make good use of Tomatoe Diary once again.

Gosh, I feel so bloated even now... yesterday night, my mom asked my sis and I to go out to dinner with my Super IT Techie Professor (remember him?) and his wife. We ate at a Manado restaurant and ate a lot. Grilled fish, fish soup, corn cakes... *drool* It was one of the best dinners I had... partially because I could talk to Professor & his wife again after such a long time.

As if that wasn't enough, my friends Inka and Galuh called me at 11.00 p.m. and asked if I could join them to go eat for a late supper!!! XD Holy frikkity sheeyat. :D The crazy thing was: I AGREED TO GO! Hahaha... not because I was hungry but it was more because, ergh, I didn't feel like staying home yesterday. I needed something to distract me. So I went. Besides, I've discovered that coming home past midnight is fun. I don't do that too often so when the occasion arises, I'm always excited to do it. Besides, I could talk to Inka and Galuh (for a change! XD Considering the rate that Shez Darling comes over...) We talked mostly about our mutual friends... talked about our jobs and bosses and colleagues. Quite fun.

I almost couldn't sleep, though. I felt so bloated. Yikes.

Anyway, changing topics... I think I'm going to get my Johnny's Jr. 2005-2006 School Calendar from Kino. It should have arrived already but I have no idea when it can be 'released' from Log1, now that we have stock take and all. But it should be available next week. *ka-ching* That's more cash for Kino, I'll have you know. *droop* And less for me. =____=

Speaking of calendars, Tackey & Tsubasa 2005-2006 Calendar is SOLD OUT!!! SOOOOLD OOOOUUT! Isn't that fantastic? Now that Kino has already had proof that TxT Calendars could sell, hopefully next year there will be more calendars without me having to prompt them for it! ^_^ Myahahahahaha... I also had some people e-mail me about V6 and Kinki Kids Calendars. Awww, so sorry for them who wanted these calendars but the merchandisers are really wary of the prospect of the calendars not selling well (or not selling AT ALL) so they didn't want to take chances and instead only brought in the TxT Calendar and the Johnny's Jr. Calendar; even I had to do a little begging for the Johnny's Jr. one. >.< (I heard somewhere that the Johnny's Jr. calendar this year is not good, though... @_@ But I won't believe it until I see it with my own eyes.)

OH SHOOT! I forgot to scan my fave Tsubasa's pic from the calendar... aieee...

And DANGIT! I forgot to pick-up my Monthly Television! >.< There are some off-shots from the TxT Calendar photo session. Hrmph. Fine. I'll just go get them tomorrow.

Lastly, from the world of J-entertainment, I've just discovered yesterday (which is so late already) that NAOHITO FUJIKI is co-hosting a documentary show on The Da Vinci Code, produced by FUJI TV. The main host is Ryoko Yonekura. They both went to Europe to film this documentary, apparently; Yonekura to France and Fujiki to Italy.

Did you read that?

NAOHITO FUJIKI WENT TO ITALY!

*clap hands* Lucky dog. I wish I'd gone along with him. What's better than having your favorite artists going to your favorite places. ^_^ Heh, heh.

Fujiki didn't only talk about Da Vinci, but also about Italian culture... which really psyched me up! I think it's wonderful that he's doing that... I'm half Italian, and I am so very much in love with that country. Not to mention, I LOVE DAN BROWN'S "THE DA VINCI CODE". I don't fucking care what anybody thinks about it. I see it as a great suspense/thriller novel and I will forever worship this brilliant piece of work. Of all people, they chose my NAO-NIICHAN to do that documentary. Hey, for all we know, it could've been someone else. I mean, why not Takashi Sorimachi? Or maybe someone from SMAP (they seemed more cultured than most J-pop artists anyway)? They could've picked Hideaki Ito? Right? But no! They picked NAOHITO FUJIKI! ^_^
I'm really, really happy that one of my favorite J-artists is being related to something else that I'm crazy about.
(As a fan, I'd feel really happy if I could be associated in any kind to my idols; Tsubasa's recent role as a half Portuguese guy in a TV Drama, for example, just rings so much bell to my own experience. Or, to a lesser extent, and lesser relevance, when I found out Junno had drunk Starbucks' Caramel Frappuccino during the period where I was crazy about it, I was ecstatic. XD LOL!) So yeah, I'm happy that Fujiki gets to do this documentary.

Anyway, there's a bunch of things written up on this topic but I have yet to ask permission to write in detail. So I'll go ask first. Yayness~

OK, now I think I better get ready because I've got a busy day ahead of me. I'll be back tonight with more stories of my life. ^_^

.7-MAR-2005. [18:47].
KEIJIJYOU NA BOKURA

WHOAAAAAAAA!!!

~~KEIJIJYOU NA BOKURA IS FINISHED!~~

... or so it seemed. Thanks to mochi*mochi scanlation site. XD I'm not really sure. :D I downloaded it at work today - a bold move considering that I was supposed to be working in the office and not reading yaoi - but I just couldn't resist when I found out the HTTP download was already up this morning when I turned on my computer. And thankfully nobody was around yet so after I downloaded I immediately read it and basked in the beautiful love story of Houryuu and Shouin! <3

I am not really sure this is the end. It looks like it could still continue. I sure hope it doesn't. :P Nothing against Touko Kawai... after all, she is a great mangaka but knowing that Keijijyou na Bokura is a pretty angst-ridden story, I'd rather that it stops there when everything is just all right between the two of them.

God, it never ceases to amaze me how Touko Kawai can twist her readers' emotions to 100 different tight knots and then straighten it out in her usual feel-good conclusion to the conflict. This is what happens in the latest and last installment of Keijijyou na Bokura. After the angst in the previous chapter, where Houryuu and Shouin seemingly broke up and went their separate ways, now they're together again... closer and sweeter than ever. I don't know if I should love Touko Kawai or just plain hate her. Hahaha. But no. I love it! I LOVE KEIJIJYOU NA BOKURA!

Now, I guess, I should just wait for LOVEHOLIC... whenever the scanlators feel like continuing that project. @_@ :P LOL. Ah, it's OK, I'll wait patiently.

*rushes off to LJ to talk about the same thing* .... but maybe after I take a shower. Just got home... :P

[EDIT TUESDAY, 8/3/05]
I don't think it's the end yet. XD I've decided, I don't want it to end. I love Houryuu and Shouin too muuuuuch. Besides, the scanlator just said that there was one more chapter left. >.< Heee... I can't wait for that. :)
[/EDIT]

.6-MAR-2005. [12:23].
HONESTY

I haven't abandoned this ship! I repeat, I haven't abandoned this ship. Meeow. I've only just been replying comments in Livejournal. XD LOLness. That was practically the only thing I ever got to do this week with sooooo many things that happened in my life. *sigh dramatically*

HONESTY #1. You know what my boss did on Friday? He gathered us in the training room and talked about our own internal conflicts with each other. Like... between Merchandising and Store Sales, between IT and the whole world, between JB and EB... you know how in the working world, people are secretly and constantly trying to stab you at the back and make you fall from grace... well, that happens too in the company where I work, I suppose. But Boss wouldn't allow that to happen. So he addressed us and told us, "Now that all of us are here, let's talk. What is your problem? Just be honest with each other!" So in the end we all bitched about the people we disliked IN FRONT OF the people we bitched about. We really did. Bitching session. But that was a good idea by the boss, IMHO, because you know what? I was already sick and tired of dealing with people being fake to me and to each other. I also hate being a fake. So that was good that we managed to pour our hearts out. Some people weren't too happy but we're all adults right. So, FACE IT LIKE A MAN/WOMAN! In any case, my respect for boss has now multiplied by 100. If anything, my boss is someone who is not afraid to confront problems and conflicts and try to bring us together even though we don't want to cooperate. YOU GO, MR. PT!

HONESTY #2. Sean Astin's {THERE AND BACK AGAIN}, which he wrote with Joe Layden, is a candid book that talks about the Hollywood experience and the LOTR experience of an actor, no, a MAN who grew up in Hollywood facing complicated situations that later make him one very complicated man. Fans of Hollywood or LOTR movie trilogy probably wouldn't want to pick up this book just for the brutal truth Sean A's writing about, such as Ian McKellen not being that humble, how Stuart Townsend got really hurt in realizing that he was not meant to be Aragorn, and so on and so on. I'm not sure if I like hearing all this, but I decided that I will eventually like it, because after all this book is written by one of my favorite actors who played in the ever memorable { TOY SOLDIERS } and it does have something sweet to say about the LOTR experience, as in not all the truths are BRUTAL. Plus, the way Sean writes... it's SO him. I can just hear his voice when I read the words. Absolutely brilliant. Sean's no Tolkien... he's probably not going to produce a best-selling fiction, but I still love the way he writes. HE RULES. Sean A rules. YOU GO, SEAN!

HONESTY #3. I'm absolutely hungry.

XD

That's all, folks.

.2-MAR-2005. [21:45].
MY MEAN TxT CALENDAR REVIEW

SOOOOOOOOORRRRRY, TxT!!! BUT... WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO YOU?!

Argh, I demand to know the photographer. WHO IS IT?! And who is the stylist?! WHAT HAPPENED TO MY SUPPOSED-TO-BE-SEXY IMAI AND TAKIZAWA?! Why did they have to put up with all those weird cosplay thingie?! Argh.

As usual, my first reaction was, "Calendar? What calendar?" It took me, like, 10 minutes to figure out that that small thing that is half the size of a regular paper is the calendar. Separate shots for TxT. As if that's not bad enough. GRRRRHHH. Then I checked out the , erm, booklet... TxT magazine. The booklet was OK. Schedule planner, right? I managed to figure that out in 30 seconds. Yay for me. But the magazine is just... man, I don't know whether to laugh or cry. ^^;;;

Sometimes, quantity is just NOT the way to go. I don't know what happened. But this calendar is just... Well, it's not that I regret spending money for it. After all, I'll gladly have anything TxT ... BUT. Seriously, I miss something like in their 2003-2004 calendar. The one by Shueisha. That was lovely. Lots of "futari de" pictures of Takki and Tsubasa. I could even make a story out of it. And the pictures are just beautifully captured, camera-wise. I want to see something like that again. Something more serious. Something neater. All of these things, I didn't get from this year's calendar.

I think the only saving grace of this calendar is a shot of Tsubasa where he looked totally KAKKOII. I'll scan it later and show it up here, if I have the time. Otherwise, I'll just mention which one is it with reference to its page.

I'll shut up now. Will cry about the calendar in private. Myahahahahaa.

Maybe I'm the only one who's mean at giving out this review but who cares... I'm just saying what I really think anyway. That's right, THE TRUTH HURTS. XD Maybe. XD Ahahaha...

.1-MAR-2005. [13:05].
BYE BYE TSUBANAMAE BC!

Eh, I dunno if anyone's going to read this. LOL.

But as I have told Jenn and Yona, I am resigning from the Tsubanamae Blog Crew.

Reason: I am moving on.
Blog crews and forums and all other good things in the Internet are good but I don't have time for it anymore. Right now I'm working. I have my goals and plans for my future. I want to be serious at my job although sometimes I rant and complain about how sucky my job is. I want to be a good career woman (like my adorable mother). This year, there are lot of things going on in my company and I want to be a part of that, for better or for worse. I love this "brand" and I love working for the company who owns this "brand" (not the company, just the brand and the working that comes along with it... LOL! XD Which is why I'm a certified workaholic now). So that is my FIRST PRIORITY in life. Whee. Nothing will ever come first in my life other than this job for the time being.
So, I'm quitting all the unnecesary things that I used to do in the Internet, simply because I don't have time. Plus, it's too much of a burden if I have to keep up with everything and everybody. I don't always agree with everyone and I have my own opinions on things. So far I've always avoided speaking up because I don't want to selfishly impose on those other people. But now, I want to be able to speak up more and I want to express myself more. Being an individual who's slightly detached from organized fandom will give me freedom of speech and expression.

Good luck to everybody in the BC. It was fun. Jenn, Yona, thanks for becoming my friends since Day 1. ^_^ Sorry for any inconveniences and misunderstandings caused. Hope everybody continues to have fun and love Tsubasa. Oh, but this doesn't mean I'm cutting off communication with everybody. I'd still love to talk to you once in a while. And you know where to find me. Meeow. (And for the Indo members, please do contact me if you need any stuff on TxT - PBs, magazines, calendars... XD *promoting my store*)

GANBATTE, MINNA! IRO IRO ARIGATOU!

Tsubasa will always be my idol and tsubAMI will always be here.

.1-MAR-2005. [01:20].
THE 2005 OSCARS

Otherwise known as the 77th Annual Academy Awards.

Before I start reviewing the ceremony and all of its pre- and post-shows frenzy, I'm going to admit that this year for me the hype is very low... in fact, it's practically nonexistent. I haven't seen any of the films that were nominated and I didn't have any favorites. Even if I did, they're all based on the FAVORITE factor, more than their performances in that particular film/role that they are nominated for. For example, I rooted for the ever mighty JOHNNY DEPP, whose role in {FINDING NEVERLAND} I have completely no idea of. But since he's one of my fave actors, I still favored him anyway.

PRE-SHOW. Red carpet. Lovely times. I watched the pre-shows on E! Channel and saw the filmmakers' entrances. Too bad, no interviews with Orlando Bloom and instead I had to see Leonardo DiCaprio. (Then I suddenly had the idea that Orli and Leo should be a yaoi couple. XD) The most interesting interviews were probably between Star Jones Reynolds, who hosted the Live From the Red Carpet show on E!, with the Gyllenhaals and Oprah. Some display of camaraderie. That was sweet and lovely.

CEREMONY. CHRIS ROCK RULED! I loved all his jokes. I love ass-y MCs. Billy Crystal was an ass last year but Chris Rock is ass-ier. When he poked fun at {ALEXANDER} I rolled around on my carpet, just laughing my ass off. Plus, the whole Russell Crowe playing in a movie about 3 weeks ago was just... damn hilarious. That's the kind of joke I like to hear. So yeah... YAY FOR CHRIS ROCK!
An assy presenter... Robin Williams. SpongeBob Tight Pants and all that... XD *ROFL-ing again* Oh God, that's a William's classic.
Orlando as a presenter... ergh... he seemed to exasperate Kirsten Dunst. But he had that cute curly hair look. Still... I thought he should've been at the Oscars last year when LOTR: ROTK took home all 11 Oscars. I kinda thought he was a year too late to appear at the Oscars.

Speaking of, there was no TRACE whatsoever that LOTR:ROTK made a clean sweep at the Oscars last year. Peter Jackson was nowhere to be seen. Understandably; I'd think these award shows didn't fit his character. But... Elijah Wood... missing from the action! I thought he should've been there, along with Kate Winslet... at least. You know? Their film was nominated for something!!! But, you know what... I think, it's just plain WONDERFUL that the Lord of the Rings were still mentioned by those people. Edna Mode and Pierce Brosnan made references to LOTR's costume designers, Ngila Dickson and Richard Taylor, who won last year. The special effects people from Spiderman 2 were grateful that there was no 4th installment of LOTR. XD And there was Joe Letteri, one of the special effects guys from LOTR: ROTK who won last year. He's in another film this time; I forgot which. But the moment his name was mentioned, I recognized him immediately as one of the LOTR: ROTK Special FX guys. You know you've got it bad when you don't only know the actors and director of a film but also the name of its particular crew member and which department he worked in. Hahaha.

Other than that, the thing that really attracted me the most to this year's Oscars was the musical performances. I loved all the performances. Beyonce and the choir boys, Carlos Santana and Antonio Banderas, Counting Crows (I LOVE THEM!) and even Yo Yo Ma. Plus, I loved the acceptance speech of that composer of "AL OTRO LADO DEL RIO", Jorge (...) -- forgot his name sorry, who didn't say a word of thank you but instead sang his Oscar-winning song. THAT WAS BRILLIANT. That's something *I* would do if I ever won an Oscar (one day, man, one day). The music is great. Even though I hate Josh Groban, I still appreciated his performance. I know he's trying his best. :P

POST-SHOW. I didn't watch too much of it, but Jamie Foxx's press room interview was cool and fun to watch. Once again, I got the scenes from E! Channel, but I didn't watch it then and there because I had to go to the bank when it was broadcast so I have it on tape and haven't watched it at all. I will give comments later.

WINNERS/LOSERS. Congratulations to {MILLION DOLLAR BABY}, a film I am sure I am never going to watch. But congratulations anyway to everybody who won from there. :D
Even though I didn't have any favorites, I am happy for {THE INCREDIBLES}. Sorry for {SHREK 2}, another favorite of mine, but {THE INCREDIBLES} really deserved that one. So yay! Lovely, lovely. I am happy for that.
Now I'm not sure what to say about the other winners/losers. The whole Martin Scorcese thing, about him not winning again this time... I'm not interested to discuss about that. I'm so not in position to discuss any of the winners/losers because I know nothing about most of them. But, all in all, CONGRATS!

FASHION. Last year was better, IMHO. Renee Zellweger's red dress is gorgeous but it doesn't beat her white gown last year. I did like Cate Blanchett's yellow dress. It's elegant and suits her very much. Another favorite of mine is Laura Linney's overall look. But that's about it. Everybody turned up with the mermaid-like dresses... I don't really like them. Most of them looked like they used drapes for their dresses. Sorry. No matter what people say, nothing just worked for me this year.
Even worse are the guys. Please. I don't know what happened to them. Nobody wore anything decent. *sigh* OK, I better shut up because obviously I criticize more than I compliment. So... *shutting up*

IN CONCLUSION. I enjoyed it. Not much, but it was good entertainment. I didn't find it exciting but it was interesting. I didn't mind losing a lot of sleep for it. Finally, please have Chris Rock again next year (if he can stand doing another Oscars ceremony).