Japanese Wannabe

I just realized that recently I've been all "Japan this" and "Japan that" - and it occurred to me that it can be pretty irritating to other people. Just like how I sometimes scoff at girls who excessively pick up South Korean mannerisms and all, other people may be doing the same to me whenever I spazz about how awesome Japan is. Either that, or they show the reaction below:

That's only because Japanese culture otakus like myself aren't common especially among girls, unlike those starstruck South Korean drama/pop/culture majority of girls.

And Japan is awesome. That's a fact you can hardly deny.

It's just that I probably need to cool off on trying to emulate Japanese people. However, learning their language is still acceptable, right? I mentioned briefly in the previous post that I've begun to take learning Japanese seriously (beyond just picking up bits of common words from anime) - investing in a super thick elementary level Japanese textbook and a notebook to practise.

There you go. I bought the book from Kinokuniya at Liang Court (you can find a lot of Japanese people here!) where a really nice Japanese attendant helped me locate the book. After watching "Abroadin Japan", a Youtube channel by this British teacher living and working in Japan, I decided to get the book as per his recommendation on how to speak Japanese fluently in 6 months. You should check out his channel as he presents Japan from his perspective, and inserts his own "dry British humour" into his videos.

Right now I'm happy with my learning progress, because my speed at reading hiragana and katakana has greatly improved!

Anyway out of randomness' sake, here's something good for you to see:

My current eyecandy of the moment - Japanese Men's Non-no exclusive model Sakaguchi Kentaro! I got to know of Ken-chan through the manga Hirunaka no Ryuusei (My Daytime Shooting Star), which I wrote about last year, as Ken-chan here is the model on which the illustration of character Mamura Daiki was based! He will be appearing in the live-action movie of the manga Heroine Shikkaku as Hiromitsu Kou, set to show in fall this year! Not too sure if it will show in Singapore though.

Ken-chan also appeared in this five-volume 'The Colors of Japan' series on Youtube, which you should watch - not just because of Ken-chan (heheh) - to appreciate the beautiful places in Japan and admire the nice filmography.

I sometimes envy the experiences of the Japanese people especially their school life which always seem so eventful and exciting. However it might only be my unreasonable impression garnered from all the anime and dramas I watch.

But thinking back on my own school life, I did have a few "Japanese schoolgirl" moments, such as admiring a senior in college (*senpai notice me!*), hanging out with fellow girlfriends like in Lucky Star etc., and I have no regrets I guess.

Especially the "senpai please notice me" part - I can't stop laughing at myself. Just 2 days ago on Friday I was back at VJC to attend my juniors' Perfect Fifth 2015 Guitar concert where I saw my senior again after a long long time. Sad to say I didn't get to talk or say hi to him (which would be a lot easier for me now compared to last time when I was still an embarassed junior hiding behind walls to peep at dear senpai), but just seeing him again made me feel the nostalgia all over again.

So you see, as much as I don't wanna annoy people with my Japanese mannerisms, I really can't help it as it's become part of my life. I'll still work hard towards my goal of mastering the language and then probably work in the countryside of Japan as a teacher, just like Chris Broad in "Abroadin Japan"! Which reminds me - I'm no longer going to WKWSCI to study, and will be attending the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) at NUS instead! I'm interested in taking up Japanese Studies as a minor as it won't be practical at all to major in it. As for what to major in, I'll still have to decide.

Writing about what I love really makes me feel a lot better. I've been in a foul mood these days because of my work at the Zoo as I mentioned previously. Even on my off-days, I still can't entirely shake off the stress from work, so I'm real relieved that I'll be quitting in mid-June. I'm the sort of person who unconsciously gives my all in my work, which makes me regret sometimes when I get disappointed from colleagues not sharing the same work attitude or angry when I find that putting in so much effort is useless and not appreciated at all. It just brings back those same foul feelings from band days in secondary school.

Well for now I'm just looking forward to watching the Naruto Live Action show on 6 June with Iggy at RWS Theatres! We got our tickets some time back online, but Iggy went to request for the physical tickets for keepsakes - WIN! As Haruki Murakami, one of my favourite authors, said:

Read: itami wa yokerarenai. kurushimi wa opushion desu.

Life will always pile shit on you, but I don't have to suffer and let it get me down forever. I still have all these things that I love to keep me positive, and just for that, I am thankful.