i love that i have things about me that can be funny. i feel uncomfortable around people who don't have anything i can laugh about.

• being "sooooo aaaasiannnn"
• my seeming unemployability
• how i make food very frequently
• being a virgin (until a couple months ago, that is, lol)
• being a whore (n.b. I'm not, according both to me and to my friends, but they had to find something to replace the virginity jokes...

So, I've become a slight smoker this summer (I exclusively smoke a pipe, so I don't smoke on the go, and the bowl is about the size of the tip of my pinky... just thought I'd let y'all know that when I mean slight, I mean SLIGHT)

• burgers
• things in teriyaki sauce
• watermelon
• toothpaste
• chocolate chip cookies
• baked sweets in general
• tea (also good during a smoking session)

• hard boiled eggs, egg salad, deviled eggs (never smoked directly after consuming these, and never plan to. eeeeeew. the very idea seems fucking gross)
• coffee and anything coffee flavored
• anything garlicky
• anything curry-ish (like the tandoori dip I made a couple weeks ago. good, but naaaasty when combined with tobacco)

i live on the ground floor, and my apt is GFW (ground floor west), so sometimes i have to tell ppl "g as in gorilla..." and sometimes it gets really bizarre

• g as in guppy, f as in fat, w as in weiner
• g as in gonzo, f as in fashion, w as in wimp
• g as in gandalf, f as in fairy, w as in walrus
• g as in game, f as in fame, w as in wonderbra
• g as in gas, f as in fart, w as in whoopie cushion
• g as in gizzard, ...

i think i made this before and deleted it...

• mango
• zara
• ltb (littlebig) (us, and turkey, i guess)
• guess (everywhere)
• bebe (us)
• morgan de toi (everywhere but here)
• la foret (harajuku; it's a mall)
• japan
• paris
• street fairs
• des filles å la vanille (paris, & if i'm lucky, certain boutiques elseswhere)
• lucky brand (us)
• uniqlo (nyc; for some reason, i don't dig the ones in japan)
• promod (france)
• topshop (england, and...

sometimes i watch a film or see a picture and i'm like, damn, i want that thing that she/he's wearing

• leopard print dress
• black vest corset-y thing, maybe velvet, like what asia argento is wearing at the seaside in the last mistress

as i am making this list, i'm having a scoop of tangerine and a scoop of strawb. this list is of the flavors i like.

• grapefruit
• raspberry
• passionfruit
• strawberry
• tangerine
• orange
• mango

now that i no longer live in student housing, i've been burning stuff in my room like some kind of closet pyro. there's been some good purchases in the field of nice-smelling stuff for burning, and so i guess i should take note of what these things are.

• the body shop's cranberry (fragrance oil)
• illuminations pomegranate red tea (candle)
• the body shop's spiced pear (fragrance oil)
• the body shop's passi...

• ken bubb (latin)
• cheryl (riding)
• eric thompson (comparative mythology)
• todd straus (french)
• pauline (french)
• nadine and the other two ladies who taught the prelim french courses in paris
• aya matsushima (japanese)
• k. nonaka (japanese)
• the guy who taught future of the rainforests at srjc
• neal weiner (cosmos & the earth)
• the lady who taught microecon at uop

• i finally noticed that there is a noticeable difference between osaka and tokyo styles
• tokyo specific:
• lotsa chicks here wear their hair in a bun on top of their head, w/ bangs long in front
• layering of clothing very prominent
• if i were a smoker, i'd be in heaven:
• smoking allowed in restaurants (though i don't see it done a whole lot)
• super cheap to buy a pack of cigs--about half the price of cigs in ny...

These definitely aren't all on my "crushes" lists. i just like their movies & their roles

• jack black
• uma thurman
• ellen page
• johnny depp
• nathan lane
• anna tsuchiya
• kyoko enami
• kyoko fukuda
• kiki kirin
• stephen chow (oh shit, i've gotta add him to my crushes!)
• bradd pitt
• colin farrell
• will ferrell
• seth rogan
• bruce willis (in the die hard films, at least)
• gerard butler
• emily mortimer
• qiu yuen
• keira knightley
• benicio del to...

i have been told that i am like these ppl:

• sophie marceau
• sailor moon (i don't know which one)
• ellen page
• pocahontas (i think the animated one)
• drew barrymore (?? i'm not sure why)
• the girl from the ring (american version; it's not really a compliment, but i think it's funny, and accurate at times, lol)

apparently i don't have one of these lists. maybe i erased it. lemme know if i actually do have one of these already.

• learn new languages
• ride horses
• snowboard
• read
• drinking (tea, alcohol)
• hang w/ friends
• dance
• listening to music
• "discovering" new music
• shopping if i'm in the right mood
• watching films
• walking
• hiking
• yoga
• taiko drumming
• living in big cities
• going to coffeehouses
• making art, if i'm in the right mood
• d...

purse

• wallet
• cell phone
• floss
• lip balm
• mirror
• morinaga caramels
• life savers (fruity ones)
• oral fixations (unless i'm out & can't find any)
• pad (i wish i didn't need fem. hygiene prods)
• metro card (or whatever they call it in whatever city i'm in)
• govt-issued id (always be ready to have a drink, i say)
• bottle-opener if i don't have my swiss army knife on me
• shuffle (daytime)
• book/mag (if purse is big enough/read...

i don't do these things yet, but i think i should try b/c i hate wasting half of my day feeling blah or worse just b/c i had a lil absinthe the night before. i believe that this is a case where i can have my cake & eat it, too. what do you folks do?

• shower (i do this every day anyway)
• scrambled eggs w/ cheese
• don't wash the dishes--too depressing
• put on makeup, jewelry asap
• grab a book & make a beeline...

maybe this isn't too interesting. sorry.

• tons of books
• mismatched sheets
• exercise ball
• candles, incense
• random odds & ends, usually of the cute or funny persuasion
• sweet stuff pulled out of mags
• cool postcards
• vintage pin-up pics
• shelves, preferably painted by me
• pretty cloth
• cool lamps
• some kind of chandelier
• red curtains
• soft blankets
• throw pillows
• metal japanese wind chimes
• film/band poster(s)
• album/dvd art
• vinta...

never thought i'd have nicknames, but i started to get them in high school and they just stuck

• marta
• mouse
• mimi (only by this one weird chick)
• fruit bat (by my mom)
• cousin (by, surprise, surprise, my cousin)
• mary (my name's pronounced marie, but hella ppl fuck up, and sometimes the fuck-up sticks)

• shower every day
• wash hair every other day
• socialize more
• do my other two final essays, asap
• take up bikram yoga
• clean apt.
• start to pack

note: i make my own hot cocoa from milk, cocoa powder and sugar. no premade stuff for me.

• malibu
• kahlúa
• vanilla extract
• cointreau

this year i resolved to be more aware of the products i was using. i can't completely eliminate animal-tested products (my favorite makeup brand, unfortunately, does not say it isn't tested, for example), but i try really hard to buy & use things that weren't. most of my skincare/beauty products are untested on animals, at least.

• method hand soap
• kiss my face hand soap
• jasön apricot scrubble
• kiss my ...

i'm an only child, so i don't readily let ppl borrow or otherwise use my stuff. on the other hand, i dislike having a ton of stuff, so i sometimes make random gifts of things i deem unnecessary in life, if the shoe fits (like, if there's a book i'm not in love with & i know someone it's perfect for, i give it to him/her)

• cooking utensils, so long as i don't need them at the moment & they get proper...

i also blame a lot of these things on the b.c.p. that i quit three months ago. luckily, my thesis has to be done by april 25th, after which the monster can give me back my life.

• the disaster zone that is my half of the studio apt i share
• the fact that i didn't realize daylight savings time began until about 3 days later
• being dumber than usual
• lack of fitness
• bouts of depression (don't worry guys, it's...

so my apt. (room/studio) search begins next month (movin outta student housing around may 1st. scary.). as long as the place has roomies (if it's a room. never again will i share a studio) that aren't heinous (relatively clean, not thieves, respectful of me and my stuff... i could go on, but to sum it up, decent ppl), a kitchen that i can use whenever, 3 people or less per bathroom, and is in one ...

now that i've got myself on a budget, these are the things i keep on hand at all times, for the end of the week when i have no more food money.

• chicken breasts
• pasta
• rice
• eggs
• spicy tarako spaghetti sauce (spicy cod roe sauce)
• hard alcohol (lasts a lot longer than beer--i have to restock maybe once a year)
• onions
• garlic
• ground turkey
• ginger
• frozen shrimp
• condiments, spices (important note: braising anything i...