Day 267 - 24th of May

9:11am　地下鉄　－　銀座線

天気：雨天

We’re on the Ginza subway line, from Asakusa to Shibuya. From there, we will change to another line, get to Shinjuku, and make another transfer for 三鷹 (Mitaka), where we will find the Ghibli Museum. It’s a bit of a late start, but I think we’ll make it on time…

9:29am　山手線

Now we’re on the Yamanote line for Shinjuku. Wow, the trains here in Tokyo seem so much longer than those of the Keihan line. I’m thinking, “Isn’t that train coming up too fast?” but no; two extra carriages really make a difference. Also, the city train system is so complex; there are so many different routes you can chose to get to your destination. The trick is, is to find the most efficient, and economical way; I think we’re doing an okay job of that.

9:41am　快速

Finally on the rapid express to Mitaka. The tickets we have are for the 10 o’clock admission, and I don’t know how strict they are with the time. At this point I’m freaking out a bit; what if we don’t make it in time?

1:59pm　快速

We’ve just got back on the train, and we’re making our way back to Shinjuku to see if we can find the Square Enix building. The Ghibli Museum was amazing… After getting off at Mitaka Station, we walked briskly through the rain towards the museum, which was about 15 minutes away in a basically straight line past the waterworks. Every 200 metres there would be a sign saying how much further the museum was, and this only spurred me on; it was a little frustrating too. It was already 10 past by the time we made it, but I had nothing to worry about; they let us in no problem. As soon as we got inside, all the stress lifted, to be replaced with giddy excitement. I really did feel like a little kid again, entering a magical house of spiral staircases, corridors and cubby holes. It was such a wonderful experience, and I’m sure it’s one of the most kid friendly museums in the world; so many things to see, do, and touch. They even had a huge Cat Bus to play on and in; too bad it was for primary school kids or younger. We leisurely explored the entire building, learning about the history of animation, the animation process in an interactive and hands on manner. There were so many beautiful stained glass windows, and even the bathrooms were impressive; there were a lot of them too. On the roof there was a garden, and a statue of the robot from Laputa (I dare say life size), looking right at home. In fact, the whole building was covered in greenery, and it was surrounded by trees; a secluded world all of its own. The highlight of the museum would have had to have been the short film. We got to see こねこバス (Konekobasu – Kitten Bus), which was an adorable 14 minute story about Mei’s adventures with the kitten bus; it made me so happy. The language was really easy to understand too.

After that, we did a bit more exploring, and then of course, went to the gift shop, “Mamma Aiuto”. I didn’t go too overboard, I don’t think. We got really lucky, getting to the counter just as a huge line had dispersed. They even gave us an extra bag, just in case one got wet; so considerate. By this point, we were very hungry, so after we backtracked for our umbrellas, we went looking for something to eat. We found a Lawsons just across the road, and decided that that was more than satisfactory. After we finished making our purchases, we had the challenge of trying to find somewhere dry to sit and eat. The next 20 minutes consisted of us wondering around the nearby park, trying to find seats that were actually undercover; it was a little ridiculous. Eventually, we came to a Benzaiten temple, and ate at its base. It was a beautiful building, painted in a vibrant red. After eating, we spent some more time enjoying the park and the lake in the rain, and then made our way to 吉祥寺 (Kichijouji) Station. We’ve almost arrived at Shinjuku now. After the Square Enix building (if we can find it), we might also visit the Pokémon Centre…

2:41pm　銀座線

Realising it was taking too long, I went over to the map and realised that this line didn’t actually pass through Shinjuku; whoops. So, now we’re making our way back the other direction…

4:54pm　地下鉄　－　都営大江戸線

Now we’re on the Toei Oedo subway line, heading to 大門 (Daimon), to see if we can find the Pokémon Centre. Finding the Square Enix building was a success, although a little anticlimactic… Once we got to Shinjuku, we found an information kiosk, and soon had a map showing us to the “Square Enix Building”; it was a bit of a walk. This turned out to be the actual headquarters of Square Enix; just the 12^th floor of the massive building. The two women at the reception desk looked very confused, and I don’t blame them. I was a bit confused too, until they explained to us that this was the headquarters, and directed us to the goods shop; this was the place Rachael had actually been referring to. The way she described it, it had sounded really big. In fact, it was a single, small floor of goods; in the end I didn’t even buy anything. There really wasn’t anything that jumped out at me, and it was all quite expensive; I did get to take a picture of the semi-naked Sephiroth statue in the floor before the clerk came back though. So while it didn’t exactly live up to my expectations, I can now say that I’ve been to the headquarters of Sqaure Enix in Tokyo!!! I’m hoping it’ll be a little less hassle to find the Pokémon Centre, and that we have a good amount of time to browse…

6:40pm　ラメン屋　－　大門

We’re in a ramen shop near Tokyo Tower, which is almost entirely shrouded in fog; only the base is visible. Walking around Shinjuku this afternoon, it was also very foggy, the sky pressing down on the skyscrapers. I can’t wait to see it when it’s lit up… Anyway, we did the Pokémon Centre with relative ease; it was just up the road from Daimon station. It was definitely the largest of the three I’ve been two; makes sense since its Tokyo. I didn’t buy that much; just a few more things for my brother. I wonder if I’ll ever get around to visiting the other Pokémon Centres in Japan; there are at least two more that I know of. Well, it’s been a super day; Ghibli, Square Enix, and Pokémon. And to top it all off Tokyo Tower is on the menu next. I have to eat the rest of Carly’s ramen now; she says she’ll spew if she has another bite. I’m not complaining; more for me!!!

9:00pm　浅草線

We’re on the train back to the hostel now from Daimon. The tower was amazing… We didn’t bother going up to the top, but we took plenty of photos from the base; the orange glow looked so cool in the fog. We made our approach through 増上寺 (Zoujouji) Temple, the tower a beautiful incandescent backdrop; a fusion of ancient and modern. We made our way around the main building, and through a cemetery, before reaching the tower. It was massive, and the first 4 floors were dedicated to shops; there was a Makkas of course. On the bottom floor, there was actually a Michael Jackson exhibition, the annoying voice over disturbing the otherwise quiet lobby; there was hardly anyone inside. After buying a few souvenirs, we exited and had a crepe each for dessert; my first and last in Japan. After waiting out a sudden down pour, we made our way back to the station… I think that’s it for the night; when I get back, I’m going to collapse!

Day 202 - 20th of March

天気：晴れ、風が吹いている
Today was so much fun, though very exhausting… I woke up at about 9:30, and got ready for the day. Since it was such a nice, sunny day, I put on some laundry, trying to be as quiet as possible; Hugo was still asleep. At around 11, I heard the reception desk bell ring, and I knew straight away that it was Ash, trying to sign her parents in; by the sounds of things, Otousan wasn’t coming. Soon after, Ash came to my room, and asked if I wanted to go to the park for a picnic; of course I did. I went out to meet her parents, and then let them know I’d catch up in a bit, since I had some washing on. Like Katie, Hugo was going to the graduation at Kansai Gaidai today. I had wanted to go, but at the same time, I wanted to go to the lake with Ash and her parents. After putting my washing out, I left on my bike, and in no time at all, caught up with them; Rachel had also joined. The walk to the park was surprisingly hot, and I found myself stripping down to just my shirt. Getting to the park and some relief from the sun, we made our way around to the northern side of the lake; I abandoned the group to take photos of flowers at one point.

I met up with them at an undercover area, and we sat down to enjoy our “picnic”, which consisted of grapes, Ritz, chips, bread sticks, and chocolate. We sat for a while and just talked about various things; Ash’s parents are very well travelled. At around 1, we continued our walk around the park, and came across a grove of what might have been sakura; not entirely sure. Indeed, there were many people taking advantage of the warm weather, lounging under the beautiful blossoms. It was quite windy by this point, and it was an amazing sight to see all the petals flying about; many other flowers were out too. We circumnavigated the lake, wandering through the bamboo grove, and watching the carp, before making our way out. Ash had decided that we go straight to karaoke; we would meet a few others there. So, we made our way back along the river, a route I had never taken, on to Makino; it was very pleasant, with lots to see along the way. Getting to Sanko, we stocked up on a few supplies, before continuing on to Karaoke. Rachael and Katie met us along the way, and when we got there I went around to the back to park my bike; by this point it was more of a burden than anything else.

Getting inside, I signed us in, and then we had to wait for about 30 minutes to get a room. Peter arrived just as we were about to go in; perfect timing. Since it was almost 4, we decided to get daytime free time, which goes till 7. We soon found Peter to be an amazing singer; I was equally as impressed as I was jealous. Seriously though, his singing voice sounded completely different to his normal voice, and he really knew how to get into it; he was doing funny things with the mic chord. Rachael didn’t feel comfortable singing much, but we made her sing a few, as we did Ash’s parents, finding out that Ash and her Mum have the exact same singing voice. All in all, we had a wonderful time, although I was a bit disappointed we didn’t stay that long. Peter had to leave a little early, so he missed out on doing purikura with us when we got out; we had to do it with Ash’s parents. After that, we walked back, intending to go to Sandoru in Makino for dinner. When we got to Sanko, both Rach(a)els decided to go straight home, Rachel because she was going to Tokyo tomorrow and had to eat the rest of the food in her fridge, and Rachael because she isn’t too keen on Japanese food; Rachel was kind enough to take my bike back with her.

When we got to Sandoru, we soon realised it was closed; Friday and Saturday are regular holidays! So that idea went out the window. We walked back down the street, and ended up coming to a place called Zenya; the menu looked good so we thought why not. After a short while, we were seated; the interior was really nice, and traditional. After ordering, the conversation began to flow. For a Japanese restaurant, it actually took an uncharacteristically long time for our meals to arrive. And, there was a bit of a mistake. Ash had ordered two of the same set for both her parents, and they only ended up bringing out one. When we realised this, we promptly informed the waiter, and eventually Ash’s Dad got a meal. That sorted, we all had an enjoyable dinner, and I even got to finish off Ash’s rice and her mum’s meal; so lots of variation for me! After hearing Ash being referred to as Chirstina (or Chris or Chrissie) by her parents all day (it is her name after all), I had to bring up the, “Why is your name Ash,” question; and tonight, I finally got the answer, and not from Ash. Her mum proceeded to tell as that Ash was short for Ashley, a boy’s name Christina liked and would use as part of her pen name if ever she were to publish a book. Ash herself had completely forgotten this, so it was really awesome to have the mystery behind the name finally revealed.

At around 9:30, we made our way back out into the windy night, and Ash escorted her parents back to the uni, so they could find their way back to the hotel, and Katie and I went home. I was quite tired by this time, and was very grateful to Hugo for bringing my laundry in. I spent the rest of the night chatting with Carly and Alex. Much to my surprise, I found out that Alex would in fact be in Kyoto tomorrow; the time just stuck up on me. So, after going to Nipponbashi for the parade tomorrow, I’m going to go meet up with Alex, and her Aunt and Nan, and we’re going to go to karaoke; can’t wait…

Day 179 - 25th of February

11:07pm　セミナーハウス

天気：晴れ

Today was a wonderful day, and went a little differently to how I had planned it; always a good thing… To start off with, I ended up staying home this morning (slept in pretty late), and getting my homework done for Reading and Writing tomorrow. I got to uni for my Speaking class at 12, and then went on to Religion, with a snack in between of course. We talked about 靖国神社 (Yasukunijinja – lit. “peaceful country shrine”), in Tokyo. It is a shrine dedicated to the Japanese war dead, in which they are all deified, the good and the bad alike. This has of course led to much controversy. Part of the controversy arises from the Prime Minister’s annual trip to the shrine, which in the citizens’ minds is a breach in the constitution, separating church (i.e. religion) from state. This brings back the question, what is religious, and what isn’t? And coincidently, the end of the war in Japan (August 15^th), and the day the Prime Minister is expected to visit the shrine, is the same day as the お盆祭り(Obon Matsuri – “Festival of the Dead”), the day which the dead are said to raise again; creepy right. Outside Japan, there is also a great unrest concerning the shrine, especially in China and Korea, where protests are held against the Prime Minister visiting the shrine; an act which is seen by them as worshipping their enemies in war.

And even the shrine itself is a little controversial. It has a war museum on the grounds, the first thing you see being a kamikaze plane. Also of interest are the bride dolls, that have been given as a kind of offering to the fallen soldiers, most of which would have never married, since they were so young. Our professor told us that they have a whole room filled with dolls; that would be really cool to see. Outside, there are statues in honour of the animals that aided the troops in war; dogs, horses, and pigeons. This is again an attempt to placate the spirits. So yeah, that’s another thing I have to put on my to-do list when I go to Tokyo. Earlier today, Katie brought up the fact that mid terms were only two weeks away, and likewise, the professor told us we’d been taking this class for a month now. I really believe how fast it’s gone; my time in Japan is rapidly running thin! But that’s why I have to make the most of the time I have left, and that’s exactly what I did this afternoon; Plum blossoms at Yamada Lake!!!

I got home, and Hugo was there, having come back in his break between classes to do some homework. I went up to have lunch, watching the Olympics, and then got my washing in, before going out again. I had my camera and tape recorder prepped, and sped toward the lake on my bike; probably only took 10-15 minutes to get there. I rode around to the north side of the lake, and was at first worried, and confused about the lack of flowers in the trees; where were all the blossoms? Then I rounded a corner and a flash of colour caught my eye, and soon enough a sea of whites and pinks stretched out before me. I quickly parked my bike, and then dived in, consumed by the intoxicating smell of the blossoms. I busied myself taking as many photos as possible, using the macro setting on my camera feverously. I was honestly overwhelmed; there must have been at least 200 flowering trees. And the colours were spectacular, with a huge range from white through to deep pink. There were a few people picnicking, but overall it wasn’t very crowded, so I could walk through at my leisure, taking video at one point.

I spied Sydney, capturing the moment in another way, with her pencil and sketchpad. She was so focused that she didn’t hear me come up to her (fair enough she had head phones in), and accidently took out her earring in surprise; sorry… It was fine though (she said it happens all the time), and we soon got chatting. She told me she came here almost every day, and had therefore seen the transition, which she said was very sudden; one day buds, the next day an explosion of colour. She also told me that I’d come on a good day. The wonderful sunny weather had brought the masses out here yesterday. I soon let her get back to her drawing, and continued taking photos. She told me about the bamboo groove to the east, and while I had indeed seen it before, I’d never ventured through it. So I made my way over there, passing a fair few cats. It was a bit more open than I had expected, but still very beautiful to walk through, and I came out by the Australian fauna part of the park; the wattle were already flowering. I slowly made my way back to the bike, taking some more photos from the top of a hill of the lake, and the plum grove. Keeping my bike company was a sad-looking black and white cat. He probably wanted food, but unfortunately I had none to give. I really do feel sorry for all the stray cats, a lot of them don’t look to be fairing very well. However I did see a rather fat ginger cat a bit earlier on, so I guess some of them are doing well for themselves.

I rode past more gardens, and cats, and decided to check out the open fields to the south, where I had previously gone for a BBQ with the clubs from Gaidai. There were many people with their dogs and a few kids too. It was getting dark and windy, and threatening to rain, so after taking a few more photos of a small corpse of plum trees, I made my way back home. I decided to go back via the highway, to see if I could find the park Simon had been talking about with all the plum blossoms, before realising (due to his directions), that it was indeed Yamada Lake he had been to. Since I was out this way, I decided I may as well do some grocery shopping (fun), so I went to Kirindo, and Fresco before finally riding home. I put away my purchases, and then soon returned to the kitchen to make dinner. Since I had to use up the rest of my vegetables (especially the potatoes), I decided to make stew, not exactly the right kind of meal for a warm day but still; this meant though, that I had to wait an hour for it to cook. In the mean time, I talked with Katie, Ash, and Rachel, telling them about today’s exploits, and urging them to see it themselves. Ash seemed eager and, weather permitting, we might go Saturday morning. Didn’t stay in the kitchen quite so late tonight; got back down here at about 9:30. I played Plants vs. Zombies for a while, and did my readings for Gender and Sexuality, and then got ready for bed. Hugo still isn’t back…

Day 137 - 14th of January

11:01pm　セミナーハウス
天気：曇り
I had an eventful day today. Well, I should stay, eventful afternoon; I only got up at 12… After breakfast, I went into Hirakata by bus, my first stop being Animate. I’d gone to the one in Den den town, and remembered Ash talking about one in Hirakata. I found out it was in the department store by Makkas; I’ve been there several times. It was vastly smaller than the one in Den den town, but I still found some stuff. I got two more Hetalia cans (Germany, and Japan), a “China” badge, and the manga. Out the front, they had a bunch of capsule machines, and I wanted to get another Hetalia key chain. The first time around, I accidently put my money in the machine above, and ended up with a badge from an anime I don’t know. Still, it was another badge, so I eagerly added it to the collection on my bag, along with China.

After Animate, I went down to the men’s floor, and bought just one item; a long sleeve shirt. After that, I went over to Makkas for lunch, trying the new Texas burger. It was actually really nice; beef, bacon, cheese, mustard, barbeque sauce, pesto, and some sort of crunchy bread flakes. After that, I had a quick look in Book Off, and then decided to go on an adventure. Out of Book Off, I turned right and followed the train tracks toward Osaka; my destination would be Hirakata Park; just one station down. This was by no means a boring walk; there was so much to discover along the way. First, I came across the 一乗寺 (Ichijou temple), and a park that offered a view of the city from the top of its slide. I continued walking up the hill, and into a forest, up and up stairs, and found the 意賀美神社 (Okami shrine), at the top.

It was such a beautiful complex, with the main shrine, and a number of other smaller shrines attached. Calm washed over me as I walked through. It was so quiet with only a few people coming in to pray and drop off their “holy garbage”. I feel such a connection with nature whenever I enter shrines, much more so than I do when I’m in temples. The location probably has something to do with it (shrines are usually situated in forested areas), but I think there’s more to it. I continued down the other side of the hill, to find myself in a plum tree grove. Surprisingly, some of the trees had already started to bloom. I continued to make my way over to a park, and took in the amazing view of the city and river, and mountains beyond; I’ll definitely go back in spring. Down the hill I went, past some very photogenic cats, and then through the streets to another temple. I can’t find the reading for this temple (大降寺 - daikouji?), but across from it was a 願生防 (ganshoubou – priest’s residence); I’d love to live in a place like that.

After taking some photos of the ハボタン (habotan - ornamental cabbage) out the front, I made my way over to the tracks, and took some photos whilst standing on them, only to be scared out of my pants when the warning signal sounded. I scurried off, and made my way up another hill, to find yet another temple, which I also can’t find the reading for (臺鐘時 – daishouji? - “standing bell temple”). It was, like the previous one, deserted, and there was a rock garden with some cool statues. Around the back was a cemetery, and I continued walking through it, going into more streets. Hirakata Park’s Ferris wheel was in sight, so I knew I wasn’t far off, and true to my prediction, I soon came to Hirakata Park station. It’s all yellow and purple, and adorned with characters from the park. I made the short walk over to the park and took a quick squiz. I definitely want to go there; it’ll have to wait till spring though.

I was now feeling very cold, and my feet were sore, so I got on the train, planning to take it to Makino and then walk home. When I got to 御殿山 (Gotenyama) however, I jumped off the train; what was I thinking. Gotenyama is one stop away from Makino, and the closest station to the university. I was on a mission to find more Final Fantasy elixir with figurines and I knew the Lawsons near the uni had them in stock. So choosing a totally random route, I made my way there, not really knowing where I was going; I really do love getting lost. I climbed another massive hill, only to be rewarded with another impressive view, and soon had the university main administration building in sight; good thing it’s so tall. I found my way back to the main drag, and excitedly made my way over to Lawsons and bought the box set. I was over the moon when I found Snow Villiers inside, but disappointed when I found the same design on the can. I’m thinking, I’m going to go back and try and see if I can do and exchange with another can; can’t hurt to try. I walked back through the uni and homeward.

Unfortunately, Avail was calling me, and I couldn’t help myself; they were having a winter clearance; it was also a nice reprieve from the cold. In the end, after trying a number of things, I only bought a jumper; I was going for a really good price, and I love the Engrish on it. I returned home, and talked with mum for about an hour before going up for dinner. I made egg, tomato, and cheese toasted sandwiches with rice. As an added flavour, I crunched up the rest of my corn chips into the rice. It actually tasted really nice; I enjoyed the texture too. For dessert I had two taiyaki (caramel filled) that I had bought just before going into uni; they were so good! I kept Jacinthe company during, and after dinner for about an hour; she’d had a nothing day. I was good to talk. She also showed me the textbooks for Japanese 4; they look heavy! Aki came over and told us she’d be moving over to seminar house 4 next semester, so that will leave Yuji and Asumi (to come) as RAs; Hiroshi will be returning to seminar house 3. After trying to read through a few passages of Doumo (Speaking textbook) I said goodnight, and come back down here and showered. Today was a lot of fun but now I think it’s time for sleep…

Day 124 - 1st of January

12:59am　祇園
天気：雪
Happy New Year!!! We’re in the line (more like the mass), waiting to get into the Yasaka shrine; only one way to enter. Chionin was amazing. We were at the bell for New Years; we got to hear it ring about 30 times. Apart from the yelling of the security guards, beckoning us to advance, it was a truly magical event. At New Years, a lot of foreigners cheered, but I was against that; it’s not the right thing to do at a temple. We got to spend about half an hour at the bell, which was more than ample, before we were swept away by the tide of people. I gave the girls hugs and congratulations, and watched in awe as it snowed lightly; I was so happy that, although I didn’t get a white Christmas, I got a white New Years. We walked down into 円山公園 (Maruyama Koen – Maruyama Park), and the girls bought some 甘酒 (amazake – sweet sake). I got a sip from Katie’s cup; it was… interesting. Nadezhda brought mocha, and we shared that, and my coconut sable. We thought we could get into the shrine through the park, but we ended up having to walk all the way around and back onto Gion, the main street…

1:26am　祇園
Still waiting…

2:26am　祇園
Almost there… We’ve been occupying ourselves with songs, riddles, and jokes. It’s snowing pretty heavily now…

3:34am　普通
We’ve just gotten on the local train back to Makino. Yasaka shrine was really beautiful, so I guess it was worth the wait; wow, I can say I’ve done hatsumode!!! I bought a burger which looked really nice, and it was huge, but it was also stone cold. I think the girls made a better choice getting takoyaki; oh well. We gave our offerings, made our New Years wishes, and then made our way out, and back around to the station. Jo’s going to go shrine hopping until 4pm, when she can check-in to her hostel in Osaka. I was game to join her at first, but now I just want sleep…

11:41pm　
After getting back from Kyoto, I found Ryan to be awake still, but managed to get to sleep just fine. I didn’t wake up again until 2:30. I made pancakes, something I haven’t done in a while, and watched some traditional performances on TV. At one point I was watching a traditional instrument ensemble consisting of three koto players and a shamisen player. They were all elderly women, dressed in the formal 黒留袖 (kurotomesode) kimono; it was a very enchanting performance. After that I talked with Carly for a while before watching Labyrinth with Alex, India and Nadezhda; it was so funny watching that movie again. We took a break, so I could go make some dinner (shepherd’s pie), before sitting down for Watchmen; we were joined by Jeremy. I can’t say it was one of the better movies I’ve ever seen, but it was certainly different. And that was my New Years. I was really glad I got to participate in hatsumode; certainly a unique-to-Japan experience. Walking back from Makino station this morning, I realised there was a solar eclipse. I looked it up online to find that it was only a partial lunar eclipse but still very rare. That and the fact that it coincided with a blue moon last night makes 2010 seem a very auspicious year to me; I certainly welcome it…

Day 54 - 23rd of October

8:54pm　セミナーハウス

天気；晴れ

As far as a day off goes, I was pretty productive. I got up at about 8:30, had a shower, then breakfast, then I vacuumed the room, and aired out the futon. We received our winter blankets today, and not a moment too soon; I was feeling a bit cold in bed last night. After lunch I mailed post cards to the Nanny's and the Poppy's, and then walked over Avail; I didn't end up buying anything though. I walked across to a park and took some pics, then walked to uni; so much for not going to uni today. I had to withdraw some money, then I bought some international envelopes and ice cream; Hokkaido melon i.e. rock melon! I met up with Carly, and walked with her to the bank so she could cash in some traveler's checks. Then I walked over to Top World. I was trying to find a glass dish cause I wanted to make Shepard's pie. I had no luck; I might be able to find something at Midori tomorrow.

Feeling a little deflated, I walked home, past the rice fields, now harvested and bare. I brought in the futon and then went out again, to the sentou; a different one to last time. It actually wasn't as good as the one I went to before but still, it left me feeling very relaxed; the top of my right foot still feels weird though. On the way back I went to Sanko and bought mince; I decided I would make Shepard's pie anyway. I started cooking at about 6:30. I didn't have any gravy (only when I was cooking did I realise Mum uses it). Instead I just used the leftover noodle flavouring, and cube of chicken stock; it was a little watery. My mashed potatoes turned out great though. I put the mince and veggies on the plate, covered it with the potato, and then grilled cheese on top in the the microwave; it has a grill setting! Then I finished my rice pudding. The bananas weren't such a good idea; they turned brown. I still ate it though and it tasted fine. After dinner Amber and Carly came down, and for the past couple of hours we've been watching Potter Puppet Pals on the computer. It's absolutely hilarious. Well... I've spent way to long on this blog already; I've been so distracted. This weekend's looking great, but I still need to study for next week's Japanese exams.