You-Want's Life

The year 2013 is gonna end soon enough. It’s one whole year that I’m lekker satisfied with complared to past years, even though that there were still some flaws which I wish I’d never have them occurred.   2013, what a year?! The slithery snake hissed every one of us the perfect Chinese New Year and the exquisite amount of red-packet money. I’d got to have a year-end trip to a place where I really need to go to at least once in my life, Tokyo, Japan. I got the golden opportunities to attend several events like Chingay duty, St. John Area Comp and many more that I’ll try not to forget. Isn’t it eccentric to have trips and adventures like these?                             I was chosen to be a prefect, yeah, my blog received up to more than 24,000 pageviews. It’s really something that I’d never expected, it’s way too better than what’s going on in my m...

I had this idea of having A Japanese Fortnight last year, when I first joined the Japanese language class in school. I did it ‘cuz I think that Japan is an eccentric country, you know, with all those cultures. So I held an ‘event’ on my blog my in November for a complete fortnight.                       Well, we’d gone through a lot. Animes, sweets, national flower, people, which were all relevant to the high-technological country. But don’t you ever have thoughts that it’s kinda peculiar to have blogs about all those facts? So what’s most probably gonna be happening is that I’ll not be having ‘A Japanese Fortnight’ for the coming year, 2014.                            And right now, when I’m writing this essay, I’m on the flight to Tokyo, Japan. ^_^ It’s a family tri...

The trip was 6 days, the longest foreign vacation I’d ever had. I almost couldn’t believe that I was about to leave this magnificent country where the streets are always absolutely garbage-free, smoking restricted and the local residents are kind and polite, to be back to a play where reality means racism.   Perhaps I’d already started to miss Japan since I got back here, Malaysia. The cool, refreshing air, the messy crowd, the famous venues I visited and the people’s politeness with ‘Sumimasen’ and ‘Arigatou’ not leaving their mouths from time to time. But I’ll do my really best to remember this trip with the presence of several souvenirs and maple leaves I brought back. I’ll remember everything all too well and I’ll have every part of memories kept deep down in my abyss of recollection. By, Euan Thum.

I remember those 6 days with spiky breeze swirling around me. My legs were hurtfully sore but I didn’t see it reasonable enough to make myself an excuse for my family to slow down our journey. But thanks to the luck I gained before this (lol), I was able to enjoy plenty of awe-inspiring views of serendipity there. Let me show you some that really impressed me and had deep, meaningful impacts on me.   That particular day, the sun was shining in the baby blue at its familiar 45 degree position. I made my exhausted steps onto the sacred ground of the Zojoji Temple, located just a stone’s throw away from the famous Tokyo Tower. The look from where I stood was undeniably amazing and I couldn’t even have my lips pressed into one thin line, obviously, the view was greedy, it wanted every pair of eyes to be staring at it from time to time. And there was a trace of feeling, insisting me to cherish my life, asking me to live. Live to see more picturesque scenes. I smirked, as my heart wa...

The journey was always long for us, and above us, the Autumn leaves were brightly visible, some were falling down like pieces into places. My messy hair vibrated in the cool air without resting. The wind blew between us, swirling around, leaving everyone of us spirited away.   I smirked. What else could I do? My teeth sharpened and my jaw clenched, trying to resist the strong, frosty wind blowing towards us. It was on the pirate ship we took to cross the Lake Of Aisle, the air was flowing in a hurtful current. We were at the middle of a gigantic lake with trees passing us by and some bare distant views of Mt. Fuji. And I could hardly feel my hands ---- they were nearly frozen, probably. The atmosphere was chilly, just like a million pieces of needles trying to poke you as it reminded me of my trip in Shanghai, China two years ago.       The journey was long and I was so tired of looking at the blue-green coloured scenery. It seemed like a puzzle full of the ...

What do you expect me to eat if I say I was in Japan? Sushi? Sashimi? No, the actual daily diet for Japanese is rice, just like Chinese.   It wasn’t a big difference for me to adjust myself there as we ate rice. Rice, with dishes, of course. Most shops serve roasted beef bowls. It wasn’t big deals but it’s just simply luscious, it was something we can never find in Malaysia.     Delicious, yummy, tasty, luscious, tantalizing, delicate, toothsome, mouth-watering……what else can used to describe the fabulous tastes food has? The food we had in Japan was nice, beyond-nice, though every day was still the same as our daily diet, rice. But the only thing that stunned me from time to time was the taste they got for the roasted beef slices. That was impressive, and you have no idea about it.   It was just simply magnificent, you know, beef being sliced, marinated and fried. It was a wonder that it tasted that way, it was warm, dry, salty, aromatic and it made y...

The air was relaxingly cool as we walked. Every step led a different view of the long, busy streets. The crowd was passing by; the birds were chirping; the street was mostly grey in colour, some parts were brighter, some were darker, giving off different shades of feelings from every side of its face.       The streets weren’t busy sometimes, and the walking paths were filled with dried maple leaves. Cold, but yet warm, partially different from any other city-faced places in Tokyo. Our legs couldn’t stop moving even though they were sore enough for us to collapse, but there were wondrous floras along the road which twisted our lips in to small, sweet, heart-warming grins. Their streets were clean, almost garage-free except for the fallen leaves, and beautiful. It wasn’t something that we could see in Malaysia, it was just, different, in a good way.   Shops, cafes….and there were 7-11 everywhere. I mean it---- everywhere .       Eve...

It was in the Autumn, not Spring, hence there was no Sakura (cherry blossom), it wasn’t in my expectations neither. But just with the fabulous view of the Fall, my heart melted away without any hesitation at all. The trees in Odaiba looked the same, but the colours differed. It was brilliant in orange-brown while the ones I saw in Tokyo were brightly golden. The sun shone through the tree leaves studiously, leaving exotic shadowy figures on the ground. I didn’t see any birds or more specifically, pigeons, which are extremely annoying. The sunlight wasn’t flaming as usual, and it was fine and comfortable in contact to our skin.   Leaving Mr. Sunny behind, we left the hill and the swirling wind for souvenirs at the downhill. Despite the fast-changing weather, the flowers have blossomed in their fullest, merriest state, as if they’re giving themselves away to the welcomed foreign visitors.     The flowers were something I’d never seen before in my v...

On the third day of my trip to Japan, we placed our steps into the world’s largest fish market at Tsukiji, namely Tsukiji Fish Market, which has been considered as a tourists’ spot since a few years back then.   I still remember the place, the floor was totally wet with cold water and scattered ice. There were workers busy driving motorcycles around with goods at the back, transferring them to their own stalls from the main gate of the market. The air there was breezily cool but it didn’t smell fishy from the outside, perhaps it only stinks inside where they set up stalls to sell their fish.   We walked into the market and it was ‘crowded’ with things and fresh seafood. There were Tunas, Salmons, squids, crabs, scallops, prawns and many more which some were still alive in the boxes full of flowing water. The paths were quite narrow in a way that will defeat fat guys and there were water almost everywhere, some spattered around; some dripping from the boxes of melting ...

What kind of ‘must-do’ that we have in Japan? Eating raw fish? Flowers Viewing? No no no no no. It is praying!   There are so many temples and shrines in Japan as the people often go to pray. The first temple I got to visit was Zojoji Temple, which was just a short walk down from Tokyo Tower. Well, believe me, the two buildings in one scene was beyond-gorgeous. The temple was big and it has a store selling souvenirs and praying papers. My Dad got one and he tied the paper near a wooden board, where people do the same thing there.     I went to Asakusa where the Kanimori Mon Temple was located. At the outside, it was terribly crowded with the murmuring people. Everyone was talking in some kinda language that I didn’t get to understand. I mean, I knew that they were speaking Japanese but I did not understand at all as they were all talking in a lightning speed. In the great hall, people were kneeling down and praying. Some were throwing coins into the wishing we...

Everything started when our train drove through the railway tracks, into the middle of Rainbow Bridge, which brought us to Odaiba, a must-go place in Tokyo.     The bridge was pretty long, but unfortunately I wasn’t informed about the actual length. We stopped at a station near the beach, where the sand was smooth and white. There was no unique sea shell there but I picked up a small beautiful stone right from the shore, and brought it back here as a souvenir. The bridge which connected us from the Tokyo mainland was vividly visible, we took pictures before moving on. And one fun fact was that Hebe Tien was here few days apart for her latest music video, ‘You Better Not Think About Me’, but tragicfully, I missed the chance to meet her.     There were several places in Odaiba where were crowded with visitors as plenty of beautiful sites which were really worth to go and pay your visits. There were the Flame Of Liberty, the Gandam statue, Palette Town and s...

Since 1953, a tower was built in Daimon, Tokyo; it was one of the most famous venues where people would love to go and also to have it as a scene in their videos. And up to the most recently, another landmark rose from the ground of Tokyo, having the height of double-up compared to Tokyo’s first high tower, and surpassing many skyscrapers all around the world.   It was in flaming colours of brilliant red and creamy white (at the top part), located just a short distance from Zojoji Temple. Tokyo Tower was once a likable place where people under the sun were all crazy about it. The height of 300+ meters allows visitors to catch the whole view of Tokyo, which is breath-taking enough to attract visitors from distant areas and foreign countries.     Tokyo Tower looked totally wondrous and I really wanted to go there as this golden opportunity wouldn’t be precious if I didn’t pay it a visit. The journey was long and before that, we’d almost forgotten about everythin...

We began our journey of the second day with the visit to the Imperial Palace, Which was just across the road from the Tokyo Station. But well…we didn’t know about the landscape there, so we took a pretty long time to look for it.   The Imperial Palace wasn’t being allowed for visitors hence we got no choice but not to go in. Of course the palace was not opened for visitors, why would they? For giving us chances to kill the king? But instead of pleading the guards, we walked to the garden which was just a stone’s throw away from the palace. The garden was not crowded but there were still some picnicking families, dating couples and also foreign visitors like us.   The tree leaves that were hanging on the branches there was turning golden-orange, which made them looked like yellow butterflies. The garden was mostly planted with Ginkgo trees and the leaves were falling down with the help of the faithful Autumn breeze, or were they flying down, the scene looked magnificen...

Two years since my last trip to Shanghai in 2011, my Dad brought us up to Air Asia X once again to have a brand new holiday journey to Japan. It was a 6 hour flight, way too long but full of adventures and eyeful of beauties on the plane to our destination, the flight attendances were absolutely gorgeous.     The air was chillingly cool when we arrived at Haneda Airport at nearly midnight, the atmosphere was different, I could see how much advance Japan was with just taking a simply look at its airport, clean bright and fast in many aspects such as services, they were so much better than Malaysia. We took another long train ride to Ningyochyo, the night was darker than I expected, the street was silent with only a few 24-hours convenient shops hand their lights turned on.   The walking paths were full of dried maple leaves as they fell off the trees in the Autumn breeze. We walked to our hotel, which had 9 stories and looked great inside even the room space was a...

Right before the creation of Fairy Tail, the author, Hiro Mashima, had another anime released, which was his first animation work.   Rave Master, which was originally released in Japan with the title of The Groove Adventure Rave, tells the story of a boy name Haru Glory, who was born in a magical world, and was in a quest to find the five pieces of the sacred stone Rave with his partners in order to bring peace to their world by defeating the criminal group Demon Card. It was released from October 2001 to September 2002 with the total episodes of 51.   The anime received many good, positive reception and remarks from many aspects and it surfaced the author the idea of another story. Hence, if you noticed, there were plenty of similarities between Rave Master and Fairy Tail, such as Plue, some magics, the fashion-designing company Heart Kruez and so on, though some details were changed in the latter anime as to make them more appealing and enthralling.   Hiro Ma...

***It’s nearly midnight. What a sporting day I had, I stole an antique vase and I’d gonna sell it at the market tomorrow. The air was cool, the sky was dark with little stars shining luminously up high. Everything was too silent, even the fall of a needle on the floor could be clearly heard. All I thought was to sleep right away, I was so tired. I simply left the windows opened, knowing that no one’s out there and climbed into my bed. There left things to happen mysteriously. *Yet, I’m on another secret mission again. Gosh…what a frosty night. If it’s not because of the money, I ain’t gonna be here. Mr. Oka’s vase was stolen by that bastard too, I’m requested to kill him no matter am I getting back the vase, he just want him dead. I put my legs on a quick, light run, speeding on people’s roofs in a quiet mode. **Here I am again, trying to kill that idiot. He made my mission failed last night. But thank god he left his windows opened tonight, stupid. What made him such a careless ...

Is learning a foreign language essential? Yup. And perhaps people would wanna learn Spanish, French or maybe Italia, or maybe Korean. But, I, Euan Thum, go for Japanese. Obviously.     Being a student in English College, one of many issues that make me feel proud is that we are offered free Japanese classes. I feel beyond grateful that I have a chance to learn the language here and I’m under our very own Azah Sensei’s guidance. She’s a funny, responsible and great teacher. I’ve only got classes for like, two years, but I’m now okay with reading, writing and basic communicating with people in the language. Thanks to our teacher, it’s all her efforts that make us feel that Japanese is both enthralling and easy to be learnt.                       Not only talking ‘bout Japanese grammar, Azah Sensei also talks about the delectable cultures they all have in Japan, news f...

Cosplay, what a weird name for the strange but cool, adventurous world of the anime fans.   In Japan, anime fans often gather around and put on clothes or make-ups as to make themselves look like those anime characters. Characters from famous animes such as One Piece, Reborn, Naruto and many more get even more chances to come alive with such tremendous fan bases under the sun. Anime lovers who are not so obsessed with mimicking will just simply make their eyes widely open at the exhibition hall to take in as much as they can.   So, basically, that’s the theory of Cosplay, not real, just fake.   But this culture has not only occurred in Japan but is also famous and welcomed in any other countries like America, England and even, Malaysia. I believe most of us are pretty aware that Cosplay exhibition have been set up in our nation and it’s obviously getting active thanks to the support of anime fans around. As I recall, there was a Cosplay gathering at Plaza Sento...

Her hatred, her bravery, she fought back, for herself, for her fellows, for her loved ones. She sent her punches, she flew her kicks, and she waved her swords. Her swords came in various powers as she slashed them through the air and that was when she owned both victory and fame. For her being, Titania, Erza Scarlet. (*End of the short story)   When she left her friends behind for her own freedom, they were abandoned and were left alone. Erza’s crush, Jellal, was sucked into the terrible darkness and he got hold of the tower with mysterious powers. Meanwhile, Erza, in Fairy Tail, put all her effort in missions and of course, her S-Class exam. She helped to save Jellal later and get rid of the haunted tower. She became one of the examiners during the latest S-Class exam and most of all, she did it great for being tough enough.   Since young, Erza and Jellal were fond of each other. They shared many things as they had extreme crushing love feelings occurred betwee...