Puppy52 Art » LX3

Japan 2011 – Tokyo

chun — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 03:00:31 +0000

Long story shot, the trip which was pushed back to now happened!

Day 0/1

at YVR, burger king LOL it was made a little better than last time I had it ^^; I couldn’t finish it tho cos didn’t have someone to share the fries with :P

Watched a bit of KON on flight ^^;

Some point in time, I got a horrid migraine in flight and was saved by kind JAL flight attendents <3 They brought me some medication from their first aid on flight, and at least 3 attendents kept checking on me, which was really kind of them :) The last 3 hours of the flight felt really long as I battled the terrible pain ^^;

Took NEX into Tokyo, documented by husband who flew in from HK to meet me ^^

Still quite jet lagged, and poor husband is a bit unwell, on the first day we arrived, within hours I killed poorpoor LX3 :(

My carry on luggage with the check in luggage when I was rolling it off the escalator, luggage wheel got caught on the bumps meant for the visually disabled and… LX3 was in the front pocket… I had a sick feeling in my stomach as my carry on had other items which could had been badly damaged as well, I was very lucky those didn’t get damaged (so far, knock on wood) expensive lesson learnt, no matter how heavy it gets, best to carry it rather than putting it somewhere unstable…

The LCD screen is cracked, the camera still can take photos but without the LCD screen I cannot change settings or see what I am taking ^^;;; It is frustrating as it is money which I rather spent elsewhere *cough dollfiedream cough* but I guess it’s time to look for a replacement since I need it to take pictures not just for this trip but in general >_<; Unfortunately partly due to the yen being so strong, if I do get a replacement camera here it will cost me a lot more than we’d like to spend ^^;;;;

Day 2

Woke super early thanks to jet lag, felt hungry as it was late lunch time in Vancouver ^^; Around 8 am plus, I went outside and bought bread (パン) and coffee for breakfast :3 picture below taken blindly with broken LX3, had to crop it :P

I bought low suger red bean bun, still rather sweet tho, which surprised me a bit ^^;

Caused trouble by forgetting to say “to go” when I placed my order and the server making the coffee remade 2 new lattes for me (doh!)

Met up with Ken who kindly took time to hang out with us despite his busy schedule (Thank you so much Ken!) Do check out Ken’s iphone app: Photo Mess which I had a little part in some of the art inside :D I believe a new update is coming soon (we saw a live demo which looks awesome!)

Okay hopefully more later, I won’t have too much photos at this point in time thanks to my clumsiness by killing poor LX3 ;_; thanks for bearing with me ^^;

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Day trip to Victoria

chun — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 21:00:25 +0000

Went to Victoria for a day trip, carpooled with friends early in the morning, took a 2 hour ferry, then another hour ish in a car…

Had a blast XD Luckily the weather was awesome despite a bit cold :)

had a small snack in the morning :P It was a salad bar which charged by weight :3

There was free wifi when we wait for the ferry but it doesn’t work with skype or whassap unfortunately, but I was able to browse the net on my phone and send e-mails at least ^^

Seriously, the blue skies made it a bit better :P If it were rainy, the ferry ride may not be smooth ^^; With the clear-ish day, the view from the car is quite spectacular too :D

We traded scrapbooks and I did some drawings on the scrapbook I was holding onto :)

I drew the 3rd page some point in the 2 hours ferry ride lol

Yummy food kindly prepared by our host! XP

Time flies when we’re having a great time! Below we’re waiting for the ferry to go back home already >_<;

Had good company which made the long ferry rides more fun! I borrowed this skeleton duck from one of my friends who got it in her goodie bag :D after that I was too tired to bother taking more photos lol :P

Took a picture of my loot this morning ^^;

For more photos with dolls in em, check out my doll blog entry here :D

Random: This blog post is partially brought to you by… just kidding LOL

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Meat and Bread

chun — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 06:00:35 +0000

Niko to pan o tabemashita! (Meat & Bread eaten!)

Had some visitors from Singapore was visiting Vancouver and I hung out with them a little :)

I took them to Meat and Bread, it was my first time there too~!

It was a cloudy and sometimes rainy day, quite windy too, but I was glad to meet them, one of them being a friend from “Friday Weekly”, a student paper’s reporter/editor from my teenage days who watched me grow up :P

We had Pork and bread sandwich, the pork is very juicy, I didn’t like the fatty part tho, and they had really crispy bits — probably the skin lol, mustard on the side is very mild and goes well with the meat and bread was chewy with a slightly crispy skin ^o^

Quinoa salad, it was interesting — don’t think I ever eaten it before!

After walking around and doing some shopping for souvenirs (omiyage) we my friends, we had a short drink break and a Honey cruller from Tim Horton’s — shared between 3 people lol! For some reason it is a lot sweeter from what I remembered ^^; I guess maybe that is why we don’t go there as much as before ^^;

Omake:

Hotel which they were staying at

It was their first time visiting Vancouver, and since it’s autumn, they were very excited about the colourful autumn leaves :D

Chubby sparrows getting ready for winter?

Tabemono~!

Strida Mini adventures 5 — potato run

chun — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 01:00:41 +0000

Went to pick up some potatoes at a small stand somewhat near our place. It’s a long a busy busy road so…. I was on the pavement ^^; I generally get off the bike to walk if I come across pedestrians tho.

Weather has been weird these days ^^;

There are times it’s really cold and rainy, felt almost like winter, but by afternoon when the sun comes out for a bit it feels quite warm, even comfortable?

It’s easier to ride Strida Mini when it’s not rainy or too cold.

Managed to sneak one of my dolls along with me, in attempt to take photos near to a “dream doll house” lol

Hopefully next time I will feel brave enough to actually ask for permission to take pictures… tho there’s a possibility of getting refused if I do ask (doh!)

Strida Mini

Evil food documentation

chun — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 07:00:17 +0000

Oops realise I haven’t blogged here for a bit ^^; Time flies!

Have a bunch of food pix to document :3 along with some miscellaneous pix :)

Went to talk to a neighbour when she was having a garage sale to clear old stuff out XD and she gave me this little flower from her yard :)

Meat… was supposed to be BBQ but something wasn’t working so the meat was pan fried

BBQed meat and pan fried tastes different for some reason

Baked potatos nomnom my favorite!

Baked brussel sprouts

Fruity dessert ^o^

Uli’s yummy noms (attended a birthday dinner with family :3)

Crab cakes and cobbs salad to share, love it!

Burgerrr I loved the fries lol

Really good sheared scallops with some kinda green sauce with peas the bits were mutton (goat?) bacon? There’s a slight after taste which I didn’t care for, but the sauce and scallops were excellent!

So good, it deserves another shot :P

Passed by this neat looking japanese restaurant on way back from dindins

^o^

Strida Mini adventures

chun — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 04:07:24 +0000

So here’s another post about my outtings with Strida Mini ^^/

Sometimes while I wish I brought a doll out too, but I need to get used to riding Strida Mini a bit more before I carry more stuff with me when I am out and about ^^;

Last week was definitely a “Summer” type week in Vancouver, I was running low on certain colour fabric and materials so I used that as an excuse to make a trip to Fabricana with Strida Mini.

This is the 2nd time I took Strida out on a bus, the first time I did I went to Stanley Park with Mai chan ^o^ When I came home we got a ride back with my husband haha :P

As you can see Strida Mini is folded up, and I try not to take up too much room… Luckily the bus was not too crowded at the time.

I used the elevator at the skytrain station… It’s quite slow haha later I actually just carried the bike down the stairs when I can.

Inside the skytrain.

Now instead of standing around waiting for the irregular buses, I can actually ride quickly under the shade. I don’t trust my skills nor the drivers in Richmond to ride on the road. ^^;

Took some small street lanes where I can ride on the bike without too much cars around me, and I reached Fabricana in about half the time compared to if I walked or took bus!

I was able to roll the folded bike around with me in the store — I remember people actually push their strollers in Fabricana, so I figure I could do the same with my small bike, the staff did not say much (haha)! But at the cashier, an elderly customer who was queuing up to pay asked me a little about Strida Mini. :P I told her that it’s kinda wobbly to ride, and she remarked she had an elderly friend who fell off the bike and broke something ^^;

Since I saved some time on transportation, I was able to shop a bit longer :P a bit dangerous to the wallet tho ^^;

If I did not stop and take photos, I probably would have left sooner.

If I didn’t stop for photos, I will probably reach the station in about 15 minutes… If I had waited for bus or walked, it would take me way longer!

On my way home, I was just about to get on a bus — which was about to leave the terminal station, the female bus driver told me I couldn’t bring the folded up bike up the bus… o_o?! I was a bit surprised, so I replied to her, “You want me to get off?” and so I did, didn’t make sense to argue with her :P I was a bit surprised, BUT I was kinda expecting this to happen some point in time — I saw that it happened on a part of a (rather long) youube video about Strida before :P

Lucky for me tho, the next bus came in 10 minutes, and it was not as full, also the bus driver didn’t even care! It was awesome to be able to ride home quickly after too, I needed to use the washroom lol!

Pros:

Way faster than walking whenever I can use it.
Some exercise, I feel it especially on my arms ^^;
Get to near by places quickly, see more interesting places/things in bike-able distance
Can buy small stuff I need without having to bug husband to drive me out to do it…
Quite easy to ride the skytrain.
Managed to roll my folded bike in places I generally go to, not sure about into small cafes tho…

Cons:

Not all bus drivers are tolerant about having a folded bike as small as (or even smaller) than a stroller…
Cannot buy anything too big or heavy
Too dangerous to ride on the road, too wobbly and may not be visible for traffic.
Cannot go uphill due to only single gear ^^;
Get sun-burnt if not careful, or get injured if I fall :P

Next little round with Strida, I wanted to check out a farmland area with what seems like purple flowers, walking will probably take me a longer time and the sun/light conditions will have changed by the time I get there ^^;

The Strida Mini has no suspension so riding on a rocky bumpy trail is not fun ^^;

Luckily did not take too long to get there ^^

Beautiful sight ^^

Almost forgot to take a obligatory Strida Mini in the background shot :P

One more shot before heading back.

I was able to find a smoother path to ride back home, and there was minimal traffic — perhaps most people were either having dinner or watching TV? Overall I am very pleased to be the owner of Strida Mini ^^ I look forward to using to expand my adventures :)

Strida Mini

Beautiful Portland USA 1 – flight and hotel

chun — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 03:00:25 +0000

Due to BlytheCon 2011 which happened last monday on the 20th June 2011, I had the chance to experience beautiful Portland in USA! Heartfelt thanks to the lovely Blythe people who made this trip possible! :)

It was my first time in Portland and I wasn’t sure what to expect, except I hear great things about it from people who visited it before :) I was very lucky that I had Jade (bluestarbaby on flickr/bluestardolls blog) who was able to take me around to places she had been to, and she was awesome to room and share food with :P

We claimed airmiles for our tickets, but the times were a bit weird, we had to get up super early to catch our flight >_<

I had to fill up a form to get a USA visa — thankfully it lasts for a couple years so I don’t have to do it again if I travel within the period… These pictures are taken after we checked in our luggage, we had to pay $20 each way for our check in ^^; We were amused to see a “Christmas” shop!

Sneaking in a Blythe shot :P

or 2?

Jade is a good photographer(bluestarbaby on flickr/bluestardolls blog), I enjoy her photos ^o^ I’m looking forward to see her photos when she get back lol (She’s away on a family trip at the moment :3)

We took a small plane which meant it take a lot less time to have everyone on board ^o^ The ride itself was about an hour plus-ish, we were so excited we kinda chatted all the way to Portland, hopefully we did not disturb the other travelers. ^^;

ittekimasu!

A morning flight is good I guess, the view was stunning!

Photos did not do the view justice!

I believe the mountain is Mt. Baker?

Below is a crater, not sure which it is ^^;

Check in luggage checked out

Cool revolving door allow luggage and bikes to come out touchless ^^

The Max light rail station is outside the airport to our right when we exited. :3

We bought our tickets before we left the airport thru the revolving doors… it cost $2.05 usd to get to the station we need ^^

The really neat thing about this transit system is that within a certain part of the city, you get to ride for free!

It took about an hour (a bit less probably) to reach our stop.

We were lucky we arrived on a nice day! I took some pictures thru the windows.

After we arrived to our stop, we started walking towards Ace Hotel Portland.

We were surprised to see some street vendors as we walk along. ^^

After walking for a little bit, we reached our hotel! We were lucky our room was ready when we arrived so we could check in as we got there ^o^!

Tadaima!

Bright, nice and clean room on the 4th floor ^o^ we did not dare to sleep on the top bunk tho! We were very lucky to have this room, as apparently our other friends who are staying at Ace did not have such a colourful and relatively quiet room! :)

One thing I want to take note/remember: We found a slip of paper which showed some pricing of the items in the room, and next to water, was blank we felt unsure so I called the front desk (at about 1 am), we were told by someone (forgot to get the name) that water was free, BUT when we checked out we were told by the lady at the front desk that bottled water wasn’t free o_o; but she waived the cost of the bottled water we drank over the 5 days, I hope they get that clarified/resolved with their staffing ^^;/

We do not have our own bathroom, but we are sharing a bathroom with a couple other rooms in the same floor :) It’s a little cheaper than the regular room as we were on a budget :P

I slept under the bunk bed, and Jade slept next to the window ^^ The bedside lamp was made such that it won’t disturb the others, which was perfect if we slept at different times.

The stairways on the top floor has some really cool mural art, we were so distracted on the first day that we joking said we’ll never get out of the hotel as there are so many photo opportunities! We had a little trouble trying to get on the free wifi in Ace at our room tho…

Funny sign in the elevator :P

One of the shared bathrooms ^^ This bathroom was huge! I could do a cartwheel inside I think lol! It is also kept rather clean throughout our stay :)

Had to wait a while for the water to heat up lol, I would suggest before jumping in, turn the water to the hottest and wait, when it warms up, turn it down to the temperature you like before stepping in ^^; (let’s say I learnt from experience LOL)

(to be con’t)

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Busy months!

chun — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 08:00:39 +0000

Been so busy, no have much time to blog, finally got some time to resize some photos, want to make note of the beautiful days and memories this year…

Had a fabulous birthday sometime last month :) secret cake was snuck into the house by husband after he came back from work lol

Yoshi being a guard cat?

And either just before/during the busy period (forgot ^^;) , had the great pleasure to work with Danny Choo on the Winter Uniform Design for Mirai Suenaga chan <3

Recordin of busy – part 2

Activities and food :P

chun — Sun, 15 May 2011 05:00:55 +0000

I dug out the clover seeds given to me years back (the seeds supposedly expired but they still work ^^; ) I have a black thumb… so I hope these guys make it :P

The next 4 photos of the clover seedlings are taken using the LX3, in P mode, with manual focus setting! It was quite awesome :P

9 May 2011

12 May 2011

Adorable Jessie girl <3!!!

Okay ready for evil food pix? You been warned!

…

I wasn’t intending to have another crepe but the night before I saw some very evil and tempting dessert photos from my husband who was in HK at the time… and got my excuse to eat one :P

Had company one evening and they took me to eat Vera’s burger :3

The decor is a bit different from what I remember :P It has a more “fast food” chain feel now?

I tried the turkey burger, lots of flavor — well marinated patty ^^ Fresh fries are fresh XP I shouldn’t have had the whole burger tho ^^; was so full that evening, I couldn’t sleep XP

Husband back nao! :P We went to Torarenbo (last minute decision :P) for sushi after going to pick something up.

Salmon sashimi

Chopped scallop sushi

House roll

Random: If you ever see this person on this weird looking bike on the streets, try to get out of her way, cos she may run over you ^^;

Snowstorm, some artwork, all you can eat sushi

Gorgeous day

chun — Tue, 03 May 2011 19:00:39 +0000

Beautiful day out today, really sunny some point in time, but rather cold due to the breeze — when I went out for a moment I felt like I was being blown away :P

A bit hard to focus where I wanted to when the branches were moving about ^^;

Weeds tend to florish as well in nice weather ^^;

Breakfast :P rice balls made from rice from the day before, Aoi nori dusting, inside is canned salmon flakes with mayo :3 yum!

Lunch -cream of mushroom soup and a couple pan fried frozen prata (french onion flavor :3)

Furmonkeys (after their breakfast)

Tabemono~!