first time fuji from afar, so far.

first time that i was able to shoot the famous mt. fuji. the closest i got to see it, before, was a bad timing so i was not able to photograph the snow capped mountain. this is, so far, the closest that i got.

i used digital zoom on this

overlooking the islands of japan

seeing beyond the aircraft engine

beautiful. but what is that wound? a glacier? global warming? or was it there from the beginning?

misty monday

yesterday we woke up to a very misty monday morning in narita. the fog's so dense with the trees slightly peeking through it almost looks magical and scary at the same time. reminds me of the movies, videogames, and stories describing such.

right in front of our dormitory

feels magical and gloomy at the same time

shop and learn

i saw this website shopwiki.com and the name alone made me think it's like wikipedia with the added joy of purchasing things that you have just discovered and boy, am i right.

i tried looking into their sports section and i saw a familiar yet(at the same time) strange sports to me: the australian football. around five to six years ago i was hired to usher an event broadcasting a live telecast of the sports from australia to the philippines. i tried to learn as much as i could by watching what's going on in the telly but i really could not figure out how they play it. next thing i know men around me would suddenly roar with excitement. this website helped me understand a bit of it.

what's more exciting is that they give you a list of online stores to buy things related to your search. like that australian football game, they would show you things/accessories they use for the sports, for example the shoes specified, just click on it and they will show you the list with description and purchase details! i love the description! really helps you decide on what to buy.





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vent out in dreams

last night i was able to dream a rather scary dream. i saw money that is burning then suddenly it exploded. there was explosion and a man was badly burned by it. it woke me in the middle of the night, my heart beating slowly and hard by the fearful dream, it made me pray for those i love.

i tried to research on it and found nothing on what the burning money might mean. but the explosion, as per the dream dictionary says, symbolizes repressed anger. the interpretation was right on. i have an anger inside me that's almost killing my being. i remember i had dreams the other week which has a similar interpretation as this. i know where this anger is coming from and i know i have to make a move to be free from it.

like the stars v.2

i started consulting another dermatologist to cure my skin rashes and this time, she gave an ointment to cure some fresh wounds first then suggested to conduct skin peeling on my legs. i liked the idea and agreed to do it. i was caught surprised though with the price..30,000 pesos! but i trust this program more than my previous derma experience. at least this one tried to chat with me about the skin problem. i just hope this one works for good. with that price, i am expecting it to come good! can't wait to wear skirts and shorts.

the zen institute medical spa - where i am currently a patient for my skin problems. quite high-end if you ask me, i'm just thankful for the gift certificate i have to help me pay the amount =D

butterfly in thesky

look closely among the clouds. do you see it? it's the butterfly island. beautiful. too bad i was not able to take a closer shot. though this picture made the island look like a real butterfly playing in the sky. the island can be seen, at times depending on the weather condition and route from sydney going to narita. i don't think it is inhabitable, though.

so frustrated

i just finished watching the full first season of my fave tv show from childhood "the adventues of sinbad" starring zen gesner as sinbad and jacqueline collen as maeve, sinbad's supposed love interest.

what's frustrating about it is the stories never really told the real score between the two. the first few episodes showed the development of the characters' feelings but the rest are all concentrated on adventures. sinbad even got more kisses with guest characters than with maeve! they kissed in the episode "the village vanishes" and the last episode of season one showed them about to kiss when firouz [played by tim progosh], the scientist of the group, interrupted them.

worse, in season two, maeve's character got axed, and i heard they introduced another girl called bryn in the story. i will try to watch season two. but i'm really frustrated that their love story never really flourished. it is one of the reasons why i watched the show anyway.

milkshake in a pub

poster in the ladies' restroom

went to a pub in narita downtown with a friend. she is meeting a half filipino half american first officer in our airline, their last meeting as they believe but i really doubt it.

i am not quite sure who her friend is talking to in the pub but he seems to be in authority that night. as non alcohol drinkers as we are, we jokingly asked for a milkshake and even suggested that he buy at a store on the other street. not wanting to disappoint his guests, he actually went out and buy us milk and ice cream for our milk shake!

and i honestly say it was very very delicious! i wonder how he made that? i tried once to make myself a milkshake but it tasted otherwise. then he made a second milkshake and it was even better than the last with hersheys in it. really nice. but then i got paranoid that he might have poured something or mixed alcohol in it, so i was not able to finish it off.

and the surprise in all that? a few customers came and asked what we were drinking...and you guessed it, they ordered the same thing! hahaha. it was unbelievable! a milkshake in a pub??? hehehe. we were convincing him to add it to their menu...we just have to check back.

P.S. the pub's name The Jetlag Club. most aircrew who stay in narita go there for a drink. don't really know if it is qualified as a pub but the place reminds me of the word.

birthday stamp

airline crew doesn't really get stamps from the immigrations officer when they get in and out of a particular country -but with some unbelievable struck of luck, the immig officer from sydney stamped my passport with one most the most important dates of the year for me..the date of my birthday! it was such a sweet gift i couldn't thank God enough for all the luck and happy things that happened on that day. simply extraordinary!

the passport stamp from sydney airport

up late

*narita, japan 02:24HR.. still awake. finding it hard to express myself. i used to admire myself for being a writer, but now im not sure anymore.

*im so looking forward to winning a make over prize worth 100,000php courtesy of my credit card provider. i need that make over to uplift my self esteem and simply because i need a make over badly.

*probably tonight's the first time i didn't sleep over in a room with a close friend while abroad. really really can't understand why boyfriend disapproves it. somebody explain please

japanese pagoda

this photo's quite outdated. probably taken two months ago, we just happen to run to a small japanese festival or celebration or what ever it is while on the bus in narita, japan.

chibivee

my laptop! yey! ahahahaha. and btw, i changed her name from yuki-chan to chibivee. the name yuki i gave to her 'cause i was sad at the time that i bought her. now that i don't regret buying this anymore, i renamed her chibivee -chibi which means little or small one in japanese, and vee, just a cutesie spelling for the first letter of my name- yeah, this laptop's just gonna be lke the mini me =) love it!


p.s. that orange thingy on top of the keyboard is my optical mouse. got it for just 255php! ain't it cute?

recurrent training

on tuesday i will be having my recurrent emergency training in tokyo and i'm clearly not looking forward to it. i haven't answered my emergency booklet yet, and i am online trying to..umm i don't know :) just passing the time.

like the stars

yesterday, i consulted a dermatologist for a cure on my never ending battle with some skin problems. her clinic runs until 18:00 and i got there a little around 17:35, so it was no surprise to me when i got in and it only took one look from her to give me medications that summed up to 5,300php! she did not even say what the skin problem was called. though i pretty much have an idea of what it is from countless consultation from other doctors.

the medication included four topical treatments that went under her own formulation. then she prescribed to me clatidyne and glutathione. glutathione! that is like what celebrities take for that flawless looking skin! i've heard about it before and you can have it over-the-counter. this time, i've got the permission to have it. i'm excited and a bit nervous. can't wait to see what the drug promises.

the irony

funny. how, when i finally got my own laptop, that i didn't find the time to write online as opposed to what i expected and intended to do when i'm away from home.


p.s. writing from desktop in manila

show me the manual

the new laptop i bought comes with a very friendly, cutesie, easy on the eyes manual. the only problem is --everything is in japanese!

sure i can read hiragana and katakana but a LOT is written in kanji/chinese characters and that is not included in my brain's vocabs yet.

i tried to research for an english manual online, but all i find are those BORING conventional manuals unlike the one that i got that is printed in full color complete with drawings of people [japanese style].

though i'm not a manual fan, this time, i felt the need to know a lot about my laptop since it is running in vista [first time for me to use] plus it's a tablet pc! i really really want to optimize the touchscreen thing =D

got it

got approved on the uS tourist visa!

though i don't really plan to go there unless it an invitation from delta [as i said], it's still good to have it.

i even almost lost the chance for it. my interview time's at 1400 [manila time] and i got there at around half past one! hahaha. one guy who was up for the interview tried to be friends by starting a conversation. he asked: "so did you just arrived? or were here hours ago?" i said i just came and he was like "i just arrived too. did you get scared?" haha! he got me there. i did get scared. imagine, paying 6ooophp for that appointment and you fail not because of the interview but because you were late??? haha! but i said to him. "no. i'm just fine." wahehehe. i hope he got my message that i didn't want any talks *wink*

it was pretty scary at the interview area. you will be able to overhear some interview going on. sometimes the consul would sound irritated saying "what?? you dont have any jobs and you want to go to the uS?? how are you supposed to pay for your trip??"

when it was my turn, it was like scary but a was a bit confident that my job would get me that approval. and it did. =D

just a tip for those who plan to get a uS tourist visa. don't give the consul any hint that you won't be coming back or that you are broke. one applicant said she planned to stay there as tourist for six months and she got denied. another one is that she got more relatives in the uS than in manila and she's only applying for a tourist visa and that got her denied.

be confident and be true. that's all.

veinly lightnings

arriving at around 1845hr in narita [japan time], it was all dark clouds. in the bus on the way to the dormitory, i saw for the first time lightnings so veinly, stretching so widely i actually compared it to varicose veins =D but seriously, i kinda thought it was dramatic. i love it.

snow

i finally got my own laptop yesterday, and i named it YUKI. it's japanese for snow.

in the stars

Someone's giving you just enough information to keep you interested -- keep playing. ~yahoo! horoscopes

the key word there is keep playing. i have just been in a conversation with God knows i love her[she's my friend] but the scar[some college days academic issues] she left me is just too much it still affects my self esteem. and so my horoscope today says it all, right on. i had to half-play half sincerely make that talk.

it's sad. i don't want this. but it can't be helped.

the visa

just last night, i finally applied for a uS tourist visa. my scheduled interview date is on the 26th of august, though im not sure if i will be given work duty on that day and the days when my passport will be staying at the embassy...i'm saving up my allowable leaves for that uS vacation, so i gambled on not filing the leave for two weeks.

honestly, i don't have any concrete plans of going to the uS for pure pleasure. my thrifty self wouldn't allow it. if i had to go there, then i must receive the invitational call from delta which i've been waiting for six months now.

i had news that an acquaintance is ready and willing to provide me and a friend tickets and hotel accommodation to go there but...you know i'm not that kind of person to receive such gift immediately. besides, i don't my boyfriend to feel ill about it.

what'll i get????

i am aching for an mp4 player. or anything that could play music with quality sounds and most importantly, i want it to be able to read text files or better yet, a pdf file.

i'm torn between these:

an iriver clix gen2 or an ipod touch.

with all my research, an iriver brand far exceeds an ipod for sound quality. but it can only read text files. cheapest that i found is worth around 119usd.

with the ipod touch..well you might already know by now what it can do, plus you can install a pdf reader to it. cheapest find is worth 215usd in ebay [but my boyfriend doesn't trust online shopping, by the way].

so what will i do now???? arrrgggg

small town malls narita

in kouzu no mori, where we stay in narita, these are the nearest malls you can visit.

ito yokado [your elm] mall

this one's[picture above] so near to our dormitory it's like 5 minutes or less walk, but we always opt to ride a bicycle to get there. you can also get here via 200yen bus if you're staying in a hotel. we love the daiso "100yen shop" at the top floor. it's way bigger than the one in aeon mall. there's also the disney store at ground level. sometimes when you're lucky, they put up clothes, shoes, and trench coats for sale which are like only 240php in very good condition and quality.

bonbelta mall

bonbelta mall [above], which is accessible through the 200yen bus, is more like the mall for grown up people. most of their clothes are like for mothers and ages above. though they have a small children's clothes area at the top floor which sell more interesting stuff in the kid's section of ito yokado.


another one i've been to, is the aeon mall. very convenient if you're staying in a hotel in narita since almost all [if i correct] hotels have a free shuttle service to it.

adored

back from an 8day work pattern, i would usually fall straight to sleep having difficulty to even call my boyfriend due to obvious tiredness but, this time's different. recovering a left book at the aircraft on the way to sydney, my in-charge permitted me to read it knowing that when passengers leave their books, especially at the plane's own magazine rack, it probably meant that they don't want it anymore.

and as soon as i past about three chapters of it, i was not able to put the book down. can't believe i stayed up all night after my flight to read it. i got so hooked i can't explain. even now, after finishing it more than 13hours ago, i still can't get my minds off the events in the book. though it used a lot of profane words and a lot of obscene scenes, the deeper romantic side of the story really got my mind out of control. at one point i realize i was already crying for the protagonist's fate, and also i found myself screaming and begging for the character to know how much the other loves her at one scene. i even actually got scared the character might die!

i can't really find words to it. i'm just drawn to the characters in this story. i totally adore them!

MAC STORE SYDNEY

the foreign girl is officially blogging from the newly opened MAC STORE in SYDNEY! ROCK ON! MWAH!

baby birdie

my grandma found this little bird who probably fell from its nest. i tried to take care of it. built it a nest. fed it. and in that small time i already felt attached to the little bird. knowing his/her fragile condition, i was very careful handling her. at one point when i tried to get close to her makeshift nest i said "baby!" and the little bird, though weak from the fall, suddenly was flapping her wings, opening her beak, and was coming towards me -even when her eyes were closed!.

when i tried to feed her, i would tap her beak and she would raise her head and open her beak, so very like the ones seen on tv!but i became soo scared at one moment after giving her food and water, blood was coming out of her mouth! i shouted "baby!" and she was like just flapping her wings and opening and closing her beak, trying to come towards me.

the bleeding would stop and go. i left her for a while as i needed to take a bath. she was still breathing i swear, but after my bath, i checked on her again and..she was dead. my baby birdie's dead. i wanted to cry.

then i went online and tried to research on how to take care of a little bird. to my shock, one entry says "don't try to give water as it might probably just get into their lungs". i was just sad, i was just trying to help..i know my baby birdie understands me. i never meant to get water into her lungs...

...goodbye baby birdie...i'm so sorry...

time for sydney

don't know about other parts of australia but in sydney, it is obvious they love their victorian style buildings complete with clocks, be it hanging or crafted at the facade. i took the picture above inside queen victoria building or qvb as they call it. it has an explanation of world's largest or highest hanging clock..can't really remember which. but i appreciate it, their thing about clocks. i love knowing the time, though i don't really care much what's it telling.

[oh and yeah, so you can imagine the times i was walking around sydney taking them pictures. *wink ]

clock found outside too, of qvb.

and on the creepy side of st. james station. but they have a reason why they preserve it's creepiness.

there's also one at paddy's, "tutuban mall" of sydney for me.

of course at the central station.


at a building along george st.

victorian style building with clock along some street in sydney.

ocean of clouds

these are stolen shots from my workplace to the magnificent view outside. sometimes i forget to look outside, but when i do, the view never ceases to awe me. when i see an ocean of clouds like these i just want to open the door, jump outside, and roll over those soft fluffy white clouds ~but we know i can't. nobody can't! *secretly wishing someday we can* so, i just steal some time and capture them on my lens.

sunrise lit clouds

fluffy clouds

dark and heavy storm clouds. hate the window glare. look, the city peeps through ~looks like an elven village in an rpg game to me.

crazed and in love

Gosh! this is my third time to feel something so strong towards a guy.

first was when i saw my daydream guy come into life commuting like any other people in manila, but i was so young back then i never got to chase him.

second was when i saw a passenger who clearly do not look like any other actors who played superman but you'll know that he is superman when you see him.

and now this! just watch. my heart's just jumping and lying still at the same time.

on the highway

i'm just proud of this picture i took on the highway. very dramatic.

the foreign girl

she just used to dream of being in japan. that was before, when she was still crazed about japanese cartoons. there has been an unfinished novel recollecting the foreign girl's adventures in japan. and she was called the foreign girl by its characters only because she is non-japanese.

that dream of being in japan has come true. never expected it. didn't remember about that unfinished novel until recently.

but the foreign girl's dreams have broaden. she wanted to extend her horizons and travel the world. she wanted to meet her prince, her knight.

let this dream be here. let it come true too.

expecting a call

i am expecting a call.

expecting. anxiously.

anticipating. nervously.

i hope to fly to the U.S. mainland by this week.

if that call comes. i hope it comes.

latest cheap buy in japan

a bit outdated. but hey, with all the technological advances, you buy a gadget today next week a new version will be out.

since my dad's aching for his own camera, saying a 2mp used camera will do, i searched around kouzu no mori [narita] area for the cheapest that they have. though i doubted i'll find a 2mp camera still on sale in narita, i just resorted to a price ceiling of 100usd.


i did find a 75usd 5mp used panasonic camera...but i wanted to search for more.

i went to K's denki, an electronics chain, and found the unbelievable --a brand new 7.1 megapixel olympus fe-220D with free camera case for just 96usd! the model's a bit outdated, yeah, but it's still a good buy. i know my dad's gonna love his new camera. say cheese dad =D

the accompanying proof of my cheap buy. love it.

the great barrier reef

i was praying to see the famous butterfly island again on the flight back to japan from sydney, and take pictures of it so i can show it to you. instead, i was blessed to see the great barrier reef! it was such a sweet treat. thanks to God for that good weather i was able to see the great barrier reef clearly. thank you God for the blessing.

C for coral reef

the great barrier reef: beautiful from above, what more at sea level

hungry jack in sydney

every time we see hungry jack's' store in sydney, burger king always comes to our minds. their store and logo really look like burger king's. after buying something for breakfast i read in their bag that hungry jack is burger king after all. no wonder it tastes good and familiar. i actually liked it better than mcdonalds.

yoshinoya japan

my last holiday in japan we planned to go to sanrio puro land but ended up going to aeon mall, the nearest mall to our hotel in narita with free shuttle to get you there and back. we had lunch at yoshinoya, just in front of the humax bldg. unlike in manila, they only serve their specialty there - the famous gyudon [beef bowl]. plus a few other to enhance the gyudon experience like the miso soup and some eggs. upon entering the resto you will be greeted by a loud "irasshaimase!" [sort of welcome greeting] from all of their staff, even the ones in the kitchen who don't see you enter the store anymore. then they serve you a glass of water automatically when you sit down. the price of their gyudon's cheap and the taste's great, typical to most japanese food. we thought the lady who served us is a filipino but she just kept on serving us professionally talking to us in english. maybe they're not allowed to chat friendly with customers.

the humax bldg. read from left: batting game.cinemas8.pachinko slot

jusco: aeon mall's grocery store

yoshinoya in japan. yum

their prices: 380jpy something for a medium sized beef bowl

the family roadtrip

last weekend, the family planned a vacation to go to the beach in la luz resort laiya, batangas, philippines. it was a long way to get there. we left the house around seven in the morning and got there by 1130. we just rode buses and jeepneys to get there. very tiring. it was dirt road when we got to the province. arriving at the resort, we were surprise to find all resorts in laiya fully booked! we were kind of disappointed.



mom proposed we head to laguna province and just settle for a pool resort. so we headed back. we arrived there at around 1630 to 1700hrs. we were all tired and icky from the travel. we plan to rent a private pool so we can have the whole for just us. unluckily, the cheap and the decent were taken, so we opted for a cheap semi-private pool. it was ok. though the accomodation's not so...oh well, what do you expect from renting two rooms for just 3000php. the place's ok since we were like just three groups in there and we are the largest, so pretty felt the place to be ours alone.



lesson for us: get a reservation! and if you are planning to visit philippines, laguna province, especially in pansol area, they have private pools which are serviced by hot spring waters. very nice and calming. try it!

shopping at woolworths and at coles central

look at all the goodies i bought from woolworths the last time i was in sydney. all cheap except for one thing -that roast chicken bag. so foreign shoppers beware. they sell cooked/fried chickens in a corner of their basement, and if you happen to be there with the snobby lady at the cash register, be sure to double check the name of your buy plus their displayed price. at first i thought it was just me that didn't tell the lady my exact order prompting me to pay double of what i really bought, but then my friend told me that she was also being billed higher that what she expected. doesn't sound like an accident to me. but all else, everything in woolworths is good.

i would have to mention coles central as well. there are items which are cheaper in their store, plus their you'll love coles' brand and their breads [see the croissant in the corner of the photo?] are just tasty and yummy i'll be bringing me some more of 'em when i get back

hacked. or something like that

for a minute i thought somebody broke in to my account. had to click on the forgot password link and already reset my password when finally i got in. 8 days i've been away plus one full day of rest at home then an overnight family vacation-turned-family roadtrip until i'm finally back online.

no free connection?

news came that after arriving from sydney, we will be relocated to a hotel where there will be no free internet access. and i should care because, i'm planning to buy my own laptop so i could write all my travel stories right after they happen. nobody wants to read a travelogue that is written almost always after a week they happened , right? and i don't to write about it after a week as well.

a chat with god online

last night, after hearing a disappointing news about work, i felt sad again. wanting some consolation, i turned to the internet. i tried searching for a site that would give random bible passages that would serve like "God's message for you today" but found non. typing in some words i ended up with "chat with God". then first on the list came iGod: Artificial Intelligence Chat. though at the second line it reads Funny Artificial Intelligence chat in a Flash interface. Jokes. Repenting made easy. i gave it a try anyway.

the conversation went something like this:

Me: Good evening, God
God: Thanks for the compliment. who are we talking about here?
Me: about me
God: i haven't heard about that. what is it about you?

i know it was all just a game. some pre-programmed sentences to be delivered for something that you write on. but the chat feels good, especially when it referred to me, so i continued anyway.

Me: i'm sad
God: can you tell me what makes you sad
Me: because of my present employer

oh i forgot how the conversation actually went. but it felt good until reality bit that it was all just AI. but i would try it again someday. when depression attacks. hoping that maybe God will use that to really communicate with me =D

second time in sydney

oh that's me! wandering around sydney. this picture..my second time to be there. look, there's the famous opera house behind me. chris says the architect of the famous building was excommunicated from australia! talk about gratitude, huh.

anyway, the first time i was there, i didn't appreciate the city at all. i found it so boring with most [if not all] of the stores were close as early as 16:00! but when i returned to sydney this month, i totally loved it. i went around the city by train and i got back at the hotel around 23:25. it was such an exhausting day, but it was fun. i saw a lot of sydney but i'm going back to see more. i haven't cuddled a koala yet, and i haven't been to the local grocery store to shop for anything i can bring back home yet. so, those two will probably be my priorities when i get back. can't wait to go back.

what's hapening with blogskins

tonight i tried changing my blog's appearance by downloading some from blogskins.com. unfortunately they all have something wrong in their tags. what's up with them?!? quite impossible for ALL of them to have similar tag errors.

i'm getting frustrated. i want my blog to look white simple and..dreamy and girly. things that associate with the foreign girl.

it's quite late in the night right now. i'd have to sleep already. goodnight!

first online

the foreign girl is online.

i wanted to retain my name "the foreign girl" for the blog's url but it turned out the name's already taken. gosh,oh how it was so hard picking a url for my blog. i have been so attached to my title i really didn't want to give it up so easily. tried typing "foreign girl" but it was taken as well. i considered having thegirlisforeign.blogspot.com but it just didn't feel right. so i settled for theforeigngirlonline.blogspot.com. quite long, huh? but i guess that would explain this whole thing anyway.