Two weeks into JAPN100, and this is more or less a good indication of my progress thus far.




Should be legible, yeah? It's a self-introduction for the first paragraph, and then I describe a classmate in the second (which is why it's so much shorter). I really don't go into too much detail, which is why I'm putting it up. Plus, why would I write something super personal if I'm going to hand it in? It's in all hiragana or katakana because I don't know any kanji, and even if I did, the instructions were to write it all in hiragana.

If you notice anything about my writing, please do leave a comment. I only recently realized that I was writing ま (ma) wrong ^^; so give me a shout if you notice that I'm writing something else wrong. ~_~ My handwriting is pretty bad, and I'm aware of this, so you don't have to tell me.

Anyways, so far I've learned all the hiragana, and I'm more or less completely fluent with them. The only problem with them is that I can read them, but half the time I can't understand what I'm reading.

I'm currently working on learning all the katakana, but seeing as how I learnt hiragana in about a week, katakana should more or less be done by the end of the week. I think we might be starting kanji this week, so hopefully it doesn't get too busy.


This is the textbook(s) we're using. We use げんき, both the workbook and textbook. The pink one on the right is optional, and really is more of an English grammar book than a Japanese one. It's handy though, as it compares the grammar structure of English and Japanese. Those with keen eyes may notice a funny looking top right corner on the workbook. My info is there so I painted over it before I put the photo up. Can never be too safe about these things...

Image by Kyuu Umi

A lovely Kanako at a full grand. I really wouldn't mind a full grand. Not at all. The problem would be where to put it.

For those who are keen eyed, you might have noticed that the Comrades section has grown yet again. Okay, so maybe not again, but it's grown. Anywho, if I did this right, clicking on the image should take you to his photo blog, but if it doesn't, click here to be warped to his blog at warp speed (it depends on your connection speed actually). He's a buddy of mine from high school (god I love saying that. It makes me feel so wonderfully aged.), as well as a rather skillful amateur photographer whose skills I currently envy. Anywho, visit his blog whenever you find the time. If you're reading this post, you definitely have the time.

Anywho, back on topic. Let's kick this post off with an egg tart. Yes, an egg tart. Tasty little buggers, these things. This is from a little over a week ago.This was probably a part of my 'balanced' breakfast.

Indeed it was. The wrapped thing on the right is filled with browned ground pork, ketchup, sri racha (fun stuff) and loads of cheese. Can't go wrong with that combination...though it did, and I ended up with a gnarly stomach ache for the rest of the day.

Nom nom nom. Picked up Subway from Waterfront Station on my way back. Also got a free cookie. :3 Wash it all down with a nice bottle o' Barq's and the world's a happy place.

Mm. I actually forget what went in this. Some sort of ground pork...ketchup and sri racha...and yeah. I don't remember. Pretty darn tasty though.

Looks a tad bit unappetizing, but it tastes better than it looks. Well, that's actually subjective, but it's my opinion that matters, so can it. Anywho, I haven't the foggiest on what you'd call this, so let's just call it Red Bean Sticky Rice wrapped in a Banana leaf. 

Now this was funky. Sesame...paste I suppose layered and molded into a shape reminiscent of a slice of cake, with a sprinkle of sesame seeds on top. It's really stick, has that odd sesame paste / desert taste and takes a bit of getting used to if you've never had it before.

These spiders have really been bugging me as of late. In this week alone I've relocated two and accidentally killed one, all around the same size as the one pictured. That's a record, so I'm starting to suspect that there might be a nest hiding somewhere or something...

My dad made the sandwich. Even to this day (it's been about a week since he made the sandwich), I don't know what the heck went into it. He took some meat that my mom had cooked and chopped it down and mixed with all sorts of stuff, and stuck it between two slices of bread. Not that tasty alone, but with a generous dollop of ketchup and sri racha (which makes everything better), the sandwich was quite tasty.

I've been back at school for about...a week now, and I've been a good deal busier than I was in the summer. My Week with Kenn posts will probably slow down a good deal, but they'll get pushed out...eventually.

Anywho, this is my new binder. This design makes it so much easier. Sure it's a little bit fatter, but this one won't break that easily, or add a weird bend to all your pages because the rings are situated in the center of the binder. 

Lunch (at about 3pm) on Thursday. Home made phở! No rare beef, but I've got the bo vien (meat balls), and some strips of beef tenderloin floating around in there somewhere. As always, it's tasty to one of the highest degrees. :3 Ate while watching the latest episode of Occult Gakuin. 

It's around that time of year where all the Asian cultures that celebrate the Lunar festival chow down on these intricately molded pastries of occasional deliciousness. The top three images correlate with the bottom left images, while the bottom right is stand alone. 

Bottom left is a 'Durian Snowy Mooncake', i.e. a frozen desert-like moon cake made of durian. It's super tasty, and is also really pretty. Bottom right is just your regular moon cake filled with a combination of egg yolk, nuts and all that other fun stuff that you find. My dad said the number on it is for the bakery to keep track of which one's are ready and stuff like that.

'Twas my cousin's birthday recently, and we all had cake. The end. 

This is a piece of the cake. We always have lots of left over pieces whenever we get a birthday cake, so we wrap 'em up and stash them in the freezer for devour on a later date. 

Yesterday's late night snack. Two cha siu bao. My habit of sploshing a dollop of sri racha on everything applies to these too. I take a bite out of it and squeeze some of the red sauce into the cavity. Super tasty.

Back on to the topic of school, this is our play list for choir. Going from left to right:

 Image by Kurojishi

Recently started playing Phantasy Star Portable 2 on the PSP. Imported my character from the first game and discovered that you receive a fairly powerful saber (very strong at the beginning of the game) for importing save data. My character is a female CAST ranger named KOS-MOS. Tried my best to make my character look as much as the character she's named after, but there's only so much you can customize. 

Been grinding them levels and after about a day or two I'm at level 26ish. I usually run and gun with twin hand guns, racking up a combo count before blowing enemies to kingdom come via a level two charge shot.

Image by socha

So....tired. Anywho, first one in a whiiiiile. I'll try to periodically post these, but I won't guarantee anything.

Hit the jump and read til the end! I stuck a poll at the end, so vote in it!

A while back we spotted this critter 'on the fence'. It dropped the fruit it was carrying and went to grab it. Squirrels are real ninjas. They somehow scale walls and jump from said wall to the fence with a perfect landing. The one problem they have is that they dart across the street at bad times and can't ninja dodge cars.

This, my friends, is a Jackfruit. Looks kind of like a durian, but it's innards are quite different. It's seeds are a bit smaller, and it's flesh is firm and stringy, unlike a durian which has mushy innards (kind of like a living organism). Anywho, this bad (in more ways that one) boy's from Mexico, and I have to say, it was not very good. Not at all. It wasn't sweet (which they usually are), and large parts of it weren't suitable for consumption. And this stupid thing costed about $35. 

Cereal of the week. Kellog's Raisin Bran. Can't say I like the bran flakes all too much, but everyone knows you buy it for the raisins, which are a tad bit scarce in the box. Anywho, the raisins are the best part. 

Also ate Post Selects Great Grains (Cranberries) this week. It tastes a lot better than Raisin Bran, but isn't quite as healthy, though both of them are very healthy. 

Vegetable soup with sliced slow cooked beef brisket. It's like the ones you get on your phở tái. Also have those bow tie pasta noodles that I don't know the name of. They're delicious though (they taste like any other pasta noodle to be honest). 

Speaking of delicious, browned ground beef and pan fried potatoes. I always thought I was a meat and potatoes kind of guy. With Italian seasonings, black pepper and a pinch of salt. Derishous. 

Guess what I dug up! Our old ZOIDS! Whne I have time I'll cover these guys a bit more, but as it stands right now, I'm up to my ears trying to get into all the right courses before the end of this week. Anywho, from left to right, RZ-042 Command Wolf, RZ-041 Liger Zero, RZ-039 Raynos. I'd love a Shadow Fox, but these older ZOIDS models are pretty hard to find. 

FIRST DAY OF CLASSES. This is what goes into my bag. A few things missing, and those few things I didn't bring with me today, which left me in despair. 

From what's in the picture, it's typical stuff. Two water bottles, one for when I'm on the road, and one for the actual classes. Binder, pens, pencils and erasers are self-explanatory. Keys are near the top of the bag (that white figure is on my keys). PSP for the trip, though I never used it today. I also pack my laptop in my bag, and all together it ends up weighing somewhere around 20 lbs. It's probably too heavy, and bad for me, but I'll get through the year...somehow. Ignore those cards on the wallet. I put them in the shot for fun because I probably won't be using them for a looong time. Castle Fun Park wasn't very fun either.

Memory Stick Pro DUO adapter

Laptop charging adapter

iPod USB connector cable

It meant that both my laptop and iTouch were running on limited battery life. Luckily my iTouch managed to survive for over 5 hours on only 15% battery charge.

Breakfast this morning. The mornings are cold over here, and especially cold up in North Vancouver. The same vegetable soup, except this time with rice vermicelli. Warms you up, but I can't say that it's very filling.

Left the house at about 6:50 am to catch a bus to the train station. Traffic was pretty nice this morning. Hopefully it'll stay like that throughout my two semesters. I get a Student uPass, which is a transit pass that gives me unlimited zone and ridership until the pass expires at the end of the semester (in December), so Transit is the cheapest and most convenient way of getting up to Capilano.

Coming off the train. Vancouver's newest Skytrain line, the Canada Line, makes it super, super convenient for me, as I live conveniently near it. It cuts travel times from almost an hour from here to Richmond to just under a a half hour. Also cuts the time it takes to get downtown by at least 50%. The line opened just before the Olympics came to our neck of the woods and was super welcomed. The trains have a top speed of 80 km/h. Bet most Vancouver residents didn't know that. Doesn't seem very fast, but it bypasses all traffic, so it's never impeded. Unless someone tries to commit suicide and jumps on the rails. 

At Waterfront Station, I hopped on the Seabus to cross the Burrard Inlet and get to Lonsdale Quay, North Vancouver. The weather was really nice today. Also was on the new Seabus on both trips too. A shot of downtown Vancouver from the Seabus.

Inside the cabin of the Seabus. Nothing really special. It's only a 12 minute crossing. The Seabus seats quite a few people, and I have never seen it operating at full capacity, though I know that it does during peak hours and celebrations (like the Festival of Lights). 

You can't read the text on the boat but, I kid you not, it said Port Kenny. You might not realize it, but Kenn isn't exactly my actual name. For those who don't know me, my full name is Kenny, not Kenneth, Kennedy, Kentucky, Kenninineet, or Kenjinder.

That's how long it takes, approximately, to get from my place to Capilano. About an hour and fifteen minutes. It says 12 because I started the stop watch kind of late on the first bus.

I'm proud (not) to call this my lunch. There's actually three cookies there, but I ate one, and another is in the bag. That coffee left me feeling really, really funny for the rest of the day. Felt really tired and needed to use the washroom all the time. Also think I was twitching all day too.

Image from Danbooru

Spent a good chunk of the day on my laptop, named Nanami as it runs the Windows 7 Nanami theme. As I forgot my adaptor, Nanami only had a limited charge time. I probably should change the settings back to energy saving mode. Tried to blog from the campus library, but my camera's memory card wouldn't fit. Nanami doesn't accept Memory Stick PRO Duo. Anywho, I now know that not many people are online at around noon. Izzy, Weej, and Ivy eventually kept me company at around 1~2 pm.

Vote and help prove Izzy wrong!

Image by meneru

=3= Crim exam today. A few food things, a trip spoiled by weather and a newly acquired item.