Name:Jack's Spicy Chicken Country:United States State:California Metro:Cupertino Gender:Male
Interests:hold em, mt. biking, video games, film, taking many pictures, piano, singing Expertise:a little bit of everything Occupation:Financial Advisor Industry:Insurance/Finance
not mountain dew, jackie chan. i'm talking about my friend's 2 person singing group called "dew", who just had their new single debut on a japanese commercial!
here is the maxfactor (makeup) commercial featuring actress ayase haruka:
that's their song, titled "present". here is their music video:
my friend, haruna onishi, is the one in the back playing piano. the girl singing is yu shimizu. i met haruna during my year abroad in japan. we lived in the same dorm, and she often performed some of her songs during dorm events. i remember she wrote a "goodbye" song for all the people who were graduating that year.
dew released their first album "croquis" in august. their music style reminds me of jun shibata and kiroro...soft, sweet, and very calming. i'm already addicted to the chorus!
itsumo ichiban kirei na watashi de aitai itsumo ichiban taisetsu na anata ni itsumo ichiban kirei na watashi de aitai itsumo ichiban kirei na watashi wo ageru
it's amazing to see one of your friends succeed in the music industry! gotta go buy their abstract cover art cd now...
my heart is broken. my bears have fallen. the national championship looks so far away now, and is most likely out of reach. i can't even watch a football game without crying. i actually have football nightmares (seriously). my stomach hurts when i read espn articles on cal. sigh.
halloween is just around the corner. ladies, you know what this means right? it means justifying a revealing "costume" in the name of trick-or-treating/partying/getting drunk. here are some of the slutty outfits, or "slutfits", that i've seen over the years.
slutty nurse slutty bee slutty witch slutty cat slutty taxi driver slutty fairy slutty cowboy slutty native american indian slutty military soldier slutty pirate wench slutty jane (from tarzan) slutty slut
don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with wearing a sexy costume. what bothers me are the slutty slut slutfits. you have no idea what they're supposed to be and wondering why is there so much T&A showing. so you awkwardly glance at the bubble wrap strategically placed around her buttocks and genital area and ask, "and you're supposed to be..." and she replies, "oh, i'm a slut."
.....right.
and for the guys, either put some thought into your costume or don't do one at all. no half-assed efforts please. none of those "hey i put on a cowboy hat so now i'm a cowboy" or "hey i put on a construction hat so now i'm a construction worker" or "hey i put on a tiara so now i'm a homosexual". that's just lame. i know, b/c back in junior high i put on a jordan jersey and said, "hey, i'm an nba all-star! give me candy, beyotch!"
best costume i've ever seen (and actually remember): the soldiers from Metal Gear Solid. he even had an exclamation on the top of his head.
ok, if you missed this last weekend's cal vs. oregon game, you missed out. YOU MISSED OUT. i can't even put into words how i felt about this game....waitasec, yes i can! HOLY SHIT IT WAS FUCKING GOOD.
some thoughts on the game: 1) nerve-racking 2) goddamnit, longshore! desean was wide open on the first drive of the game!!! 3) can we stop going 3 and out? please? 4) desean, you are a GOD. actually, you can probably juke him and baby jesus. 5) that field goal was good. no, it was great. stupid pac-10 refs. 6) oh. my. god. ezeff...if we lose this game b/c of that ill-timed penalty, you're going to castrated by a lot of angry fans... 7) desean desean desean...add buddha and ganeesha to that list of juke-ees. 8) wtf? how do two oregon punt receivers run into each other? "hey, you wanna do something funny and get on ESPN?" "........sure, why not?" 9) fucking cal. can you please capitalize on these fucking turnovers and seal the deal? 10) omg. longshore is hurt. OMG WE'RE GOING TO LOSE. 11) ahhh forsett....you make my day. 12) oregon turnover again! 2 minutes left! WE WON, BITCHES!!!! 13) WHAT. THE. FUCK. how did the ducks drive down to our own 5 yard line? sigh...we're going into overtime with no longshore. goodbye 5-0 start. 14) ah shit, colvin's gonna make it into the endzone...overtime here we come. 15) FUMBLE AT THE ONE!!!!!!!!! gasp...what does this mean? touchback? did he break the endzone plane? biting nails...... 16) don't screw us over, replay officials....don't screw us! 17) YES!!!! YES YES YES YES YES!!!! you know it! you tell the story! you tell the whole wide world this is bear territory! beyotch!
we'll began the recap of the game with a brief introduction/prediction from the people at CSTV. yeah, sadly we're not favored. autzen, oregon is one helluva place to play at. literally, it's hell. very loud hell.
oregon kickoff receivers making fools of themselves. "here's the plan. we'll BOTH catch the ball and return it for a TD. how does that sound?" "..........you are a GENIUS!!"
the last 24 seconds of the game. touchback = victory! touchdown = i'm gonna kick somebody in the nuts.
overall game summary. i personally like the music. others absolutely despise it. enjoy, cal fans!
if you would like to watch the game in its entirety, the torrent is here: http://thepiratebay.org/tor/3829202/California_at_Oregon_DVD
sumimasen...i apologize for the lack of xanga updates lately. i think i've sort of outgrown this xanga thing, or diverted all my attention to facebook. i'm tired of writing epic entries, uploading countless photos and videos, taking 1-2 hours of my life....but if others find it interesting and enjoy reading it, then it's worth it.
i've always wanted to take a trip with a group of friends. not just with one friend, not just a road trip to LA, not just a weekend in vegas, but a 2-week expedition to a different country. we live together, eat together, breathe together, laugh together, complain together, and make memories together. in other words, bond in ways that you couldn't do at home.
my philosophy is to, simply put, enjoy life. get out when you can, and if you can't....well, do it anyways haha. please don't take this literally; i'm not taking any responsibility if you get fired. unlike some other people who do not have the luxury of taking consecutive days off of work, i'm blessed with a very flexible job. but think about this: in 10 years, will you look back and remember those 2 weeks you sat in the office, or the amazing times you had traveling with your friends?
note: the following pictures are taken by me, alex, and henry. their pictures will be noted.
we begin planning this trip in april and before we knew it, it was time to go! unfortunately for us, august is the hottest month in japan. as soon as we stepped out from the air-conditioned train, we knew we were in for a non-stop sweat fest for 2 weeks. this sweat fest included stripping down to your underwear as soon as you enter your apartment and taking two cold showers each day.
our first night in tokyo eating udon. the first 3 nights we stayed at a cheap youth hostel in asakusa. we shared a tiny room with 4 other people, one who was from sunnyvale. as for the japanese language, i have to give props to henry who actually brought a little cheat sheet of commonly used phrases. phrases like sumimasen (excuse me), watashi wa henry desu (my name is henry), vejitarian desu (i'm vegetarian), and ikura desuka (how much is it?) are very useful. alex also brought a book with japanese phrases but used a grand total of, wait a minute let me pull out my calculator....ohyeah ZERO. haha jack tang was by far the funniest one. he didn't do any research before he came so knew absolutely nothing about the language. the first he word learned that night was sumimasen and proceeded to practice in a very loud voice, to which the waiter replied "hai? (yes?)". so jack's japanese skill began and ended with sumimasen...the rest of the trip consisted of "sumimasen, what's this?" or "sumimasen, how much is this?" hahaha honestly, jack hit the nail on the head when he said, "i don't really need to learn the language because as a tourist, you can definitely get by with just english. so many people in tokyo can communicate with limited english, picture menus, and lots of pointing. (photos by henry)
this is the first of many pictures of henry falling asleep. he passed out so quickly the first few nights, without changing or even taking a shower..."i'm sooooo tired......." (photo by alex)
kaminarimon temple in asakusa. our hostel was actually right next to this tourist attraction. (photo by henry)
all japanese temples have mikuji, or fortune-telling. your fortune depends on what number you draw. i believe alex got "normal luck". henry picking out his fortune.
i think jt got "little fortune". the pre-req to his own fortune was to help out others.
here's me, getting BEST LUCK mwahahahahaha....i deserve it because once upon a time in kyoto, i got 凶 (kyou), which means WORST LUCK EVAR.
b/c kaminarimon is such a tourist attraction, there's a long alley-like street lined with souvenir shops, food shops, and other random japanese junk.
the two cameramen: me and henry. the two GQ models: jack and alex. (photo by henry)
asahi beer building....shaped like beer mug. i wonder if the employees are drunk 24/7. or do they immediately become drunk (whether they want to or not) once they step into the building? (photo by henry)
mos burger is known for its healthier burgers, although much smaller in size. this was the 2nd day of our trip, and the point where the bonding/bondage and inside jokes began. if hamburger really is my life, then i'd like to kill myself right now.
waiting for the train: familiar sight.
while henry tries to figure out which stop to get off at, jt is figuring out how to get off on the cute girl to his right.
henry secretly admires alex's manly physique. i secretly take a picture to document his homoerotic escapades.
i wonder where mr. tang's left hand is....and why he has that look in his eye....
in the youth hostel lounge with one of the employees, yuri. (photos by henry)
after a chill weekend in tokyo, our trip really began: MT. FUJI in order to watch the sunrise from the top of fuji, we had to start climbing around 8pm. we took a bus from shinjuku to the 5th station of mt. fuji.
henry passed out once again. he really fell asleep in that position, with his hand hanging there. (photo by alex)
preparing himself mentally for the 7 hour climb.
"ahm ready to tehhk on dis mont fujiiii grahhhhhhhhadls;kfjaosdfjh"
jt looks awfully smug and confident here....a little too confident. actually, he had no idea what he was in for. JT: "hey jack, what's the distance from the 5th station to the top?" me: "umm, about 5 miles i think." JT: "sweet." he read in the guide book that "old ladies and young children often make it to the top" so he thought this was going to be a nice and easy, nature-y night hike. basically, a cake walk. oh mr. tang, little did you know....pretty boy tang ain't gonna be pretty no more.
we arrived at the 5th station around 7pm, thinking that the restaurants would still be open for dinner. WRONG. the only thing open was this store that sold various climbing tools, souvenirs, and bagels. so all we had for dinner was bagel cheese sandwiches, corn dogs, fries, and aquarius (sports drink). (photo by alex)
definitely not a good way to get started. oh right, alex's friend from SD, karen, also joined us on the hike. (photo by alex)
jack to the second power didn't want to be blinded by the flash. (photo by henry)
streching is important, kids. (photo by alex)
look at these happy, clueless fools....oh if i could go back in time and warn them!
a 6 second exposure allowed me to capture what the naked eye couldn't see.
6th station! we ain't gonna be smilin no more.... (photo by alex)
OMG. karen looks like she straight up stepped out of a horror movie. henry's worst nightmares consist of scary little asian girls with their black hair covering their faces, ie. grudge girl.
you can purchase snacks and drinks at each station, if you like spending $4 for a bottle of water. i know i did.
jack was the least prepared, having no gloves, no windbreaker/waterproof jacked, and no flashlight. it wasn't cold at all from the 5th station to the 6th station. but
once we started hiking to the 7th station, the cold wind kicked in.
the sweat that i had accumulated in the beginning was now causing me to
shiver; i was freezing! in the arctic, hikers move at a very slow pace
in order not to sweat. once you start sweating, you are prone to
hypothermia. so once we reached the 7th station, JT had to borrow a windbreaking poncho from alex to keep himself warm.
i was so happy that i brought my north face jacket. mr. tang is wishing he could be in my north face jacket. (photo by alex)
a rare refuge of light in the pitch-black night.
7th station baby! (photo by henry)
no more smiles now, eh hsiao?
after the 7th station, the trails were steep like a mother. sometimes, we actually had to climb up rocks and steady ourselves with both hands. (photo by henry)
i had climbed mt. fuji back in the summer of 2004, but only up to the 8th station. from there, it's another 3 hour climb to the top. and it's a tough and tiring 3 hours. the air was getting thin so we were gasping for air after a few steps. "oh shit i'm tired. let's rest" *3 minute rest* "alright, everyone good? ok let's go!" *5 steps later* (pant pant) "WTF. why am i tired again?"
(photo by alex)
we were damn tired and sleepy during those 3 hours, not to mention that we didn't get a decent meal before we left. luckily, i had brought some powerbars from home. alex: "hey jack, lemme get at those powerbars." *tries to eat* alex: "holy shit this is rock hard! it's basically frozen! i can barely bite into this!" *takes another bite* alex: "but it's sooooooooooo good!"
me devouring a pbar. (photo by henry)
henry was on a whole different level. all the hikers were basically walking in a line, and henry couldn't take the slow pace. "omg if we walk like this i'm going to fall asleep. i'm jumping ahead." he was a good 15 minute ahead of us, not feeling the pain the rest of us were feeling. in order to lighten the mood and break the silence, i asked a question. "how much would you guys pay for someone to carry you to the top right now, in US dollars?" i wanted to gauge each person's mental and physical limit in terms of money. alex: "i would pay $100." karen: "i think i would pay $200." and then jack tang, without skipping a beat, proclaims, "$1000 US DOLLARS!!!" the three of us immediately bursted out laughing. man, his reply was so funny that it re-energized me. after we caught up to henry i told him of jack's answer. henry broke down laughing but he too, also felt re-energized. thanks JT!
later, we saw this couple eating a hardboiled egg....and it looked FREAKING DELICIOUS. i asked everyone, "how much would you pay for that egg?" alex and JT both said $10, karen said $6, and no more than $3 for me. oh the things you do when your body and mind are at their limits...
during that 3 hour span, we were all expecting to reach the 9th station b/c we thought there were 10 stations total. when we finally did reach the next station, we realized that this was the top. "wait what? we're here? we're done?" we arrived around 3:30am, so the entire climb took us about 7 hours.
alex and i were so damn hungry and cold that we gladly shelled out $4 for this tiny-ass can of hot corn soup. oh my god, best money spent ever!! (photo by alex)
celebration time, come on. (photo by henry)
karen is so relieved that the death march is over.
hikers hiding from the bone-chilling temperatures. seriously, it was FREEZING outside. when i had to go out and take pictures, it took exactly 20 seconds for me to start shivering and dying. i wasn't going to shiver what was left of my energy away. you can order anything from corn soup to ramen. henry, alex, and i had 2 bowls of ramen each, $9 per bowl. best money spent ever!!! no pain, no gain. victory dance!!! (photo by alex)
everyone trying to grab some much needed sleep before sunrise . (photo by alex)
various mt. fuji flags.
henry passed the fuck out again. this guy can sleep at the drop of a hat. (photo by alex)
what we came to see: a beautiful sunrise from heaven.
it's so difficult to capture the essence of the mt. fuji sunrise.
this one guy led a small cheer during the sunrise. banzai~!!
we conquered mt. fuji!! (photo by henry)
alex taking in the sight before heading down. (photo by alex)
i can't believe this guy climbed up in a doraemon suit. he should have used his teleportation door. i know jack tang would have paid $1000 US dollars to use it haha (photo by alex)
since there was a post office on the top of mt. fuji, i wanted to send some postcards to everyone. so, during sunrise, i scribbled some 15 post cards. i was so damn tired and so damn cold that i couldn't think straight. therefore, the content of all my post cards revolved around me being "so damn tired and so damn cold". moreso than the coldness, it was definitely the lack of sleep that crashed my body. all i wanted to do was take a 30 minute nap. instead, i literally walked around like a zombie, half-dead and half-asleep, all the way to the post office, which was another 20 minutes one-way. you guys better appreciate my effort!!
the long trek down begins. it takes about 3-4 hours to get back down the 5th station. by this time, my whole body was begging me to stop and go to sleep. there were a few times when i was resting, closed my eyes, and almost fell asleep. i seriously wanted to roll down the side of the mountain. (photo by henry)
my shoes took a beating.
hiking through the clouds on the way down.
much appreciated plant life among lifeless rocks.
they're only smiling b/c we're almost back to the 5th station!! actually, near the end we passed by a horse-drawn cart offering to take you to the 5th station for $10/person. i passed, but jack and karen both jumped at the chance. as i walked on ahead, i caught up with alex and henry. suddenly, we hear horse steps clicking and clacking behind us. yes, it was the horse-drawn carriage with about 20 ppl riding it. and there was jack tang and karen, enjoying their little bourgeois lives. so i ran next to the cart like a peasant, begging for any spare change. but prince tang and princess wei were cold and showed no sympathy to a streetrat such as myself.....oh, how unfair life is....then i broke out into song: "riff raff, streetrat, i don't buy that. if only they'd look closer...would they see a poor boy, no sirree..."
but little did they know that the 5th station was only 15 minutes away by foot haha
so concludes our most memorable excursion in japan. as the japanese adage goes, "one who never climbs mt. fuji is a fool, and one who climbs mt. fuji twice is twice the fool." i've climbed it 1.5 times now, but henry says he'll probably climb it again if he ever has the chance. jack tang, however, would pay $1000 US dollars not to climb it haha.
to sum up our feelings of mt. fuji, henry said it best: "i thought this was going to be like fern gully, but it turned out to be a death march through mordor."
many things have happened since i last posted, notably the purchase of a new digital slr camera. a canon rebel xti to be exact. with 2 lenses and a bag to be even more exact. $1956.78 to be precise.
actually, i don't even know how much i've spent already haha
with this new fondness in the art of picture-taking comes a need to find a place to showcase my beautiful amateurish photos. now, a warning to all those expecting professional looking shots: i still need to learn photoshop. so until then, please don't get your hopes up. http://www.flickr.com/photos/aznpursuit
in other news, henry, mr. jack tang, and alex will be heading to our 2-week getaway in japan in the beginning of august. yes, it seems like i just came back from japan not too long ago. yes, it seems like i go every year. yes, i really should go travel someplace else.
