...is nearly impossible I've decided. Memorization will only take you so far. I could forever memorize words, conjugations, negatives, and past forms, but without actually putting them into practice I'll never be able to converse in Japanese fluently. After learning how to create the negative and past forms of adjectives was when I really realized this. It's a little disheartening to be honest.
However, I'm not giving up. Memorization is better than doing nothing at all and until I can take actual classes and start conversing with other in Japanese, it's the best I'll be able to do. If nothing else, I'll be prepared to really start forming sentences when I do take actual classes, even if it means being 'ahead' of the class in some sense. And it's not as if I don't have any way to really work on getting better though. Japanese music does help in the sense that I can pick out words and phrases that I recognize. I also have several TV shows and dramas that I've been watching and simply listening to the conversations there has improved my comprehension of the language. I just don't have a way to really practice speaking it. Understanding and speaking are two entirely different things.
Either way I'll just keep plugging along. Hopefully someday soon I'll be able to find someone who can either practice with me or help me get better. Wishing myself the best in that sense!
So I feel like sharing all of these with you. Don't ask my why, but I'm uploading pictures of all the Japanese CDs I own. haha
Here's all of them together, including the ones that I got today. :) Sad thing is I've been collecting these since January and I already have this many. The Japanese are going to make me go bankrupt. haha
First up are all of the Arashi CDs together! I freaking love this band. Love them, love them, love them! Yes, they are a boys band technically, but there's something about that that's just so different from all the other boys bands I've ever listened to. I really love listening to their music and watching their variety TV shows!
Their latest album, Beautiful World. It's got a lot of fun songs in it and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to hear Arashi for the first time!
Followed by another album, Boku no Miteiru Fuukei (僕の見ている風景). This one is my personal favorite at the moment! I love listening to it.
Arashi 5x10 All of the Best! 1999-2009 features songs from their debut up to songs released in their 10th year as a group! I loved the fact that this CD has so many of the songs that I like from their older albums/singles so I didn't have to buy the older ones for just a few songs. Love this 3 disc set! It was worth the money I paid for it.
Wild at Heart! I love this single! Really! The song itself is so fun to listen to and the extra two songs that come with it are fun as well. I can't wait to see their next album because I know this song will be on there and I know I'll be buying it.
Their latest single, Your Eyes, is beautiful! I got this today and I got the regular edition because the songs on it perked my interest more than the limited edition did. 花火 (Hanabi) and voice are the other tracks on this single and I love listening to them. This CD was definitely worth my money!
Onto my GACKT (pronounced Ga-koo-toe) collection! He was the first Japanese artist I really got into and I've really enjoyed listening to his solo career. I hope he'll continue for several more years. I just realized that his solo career is just as long as Arashi's. lol Fun fact. His personal career goes back further than that when he was with Malice Mizer.
His first single, Mizerable. I got this one basically because I wanted to get all of his CDs at one point. I do like the song, but not nearly as much as I do his latest stuff.
Mars, the first full album by GACKT. This particular version has some extra songs on it, which surprised me when I first got it. A pleasant surprise! There's also a track on this CD called blue which is strictly a piano piece he wrote. It's very pretty, though it does sound a little incomplete at the end. Oh, did I mention this guy writes ALL of his own music? Yeah, he's amazing like that.
Love Letter is probably my personal favorite of GACKT's albums. It's got a different tone from the others and you really get to hear his voice is several of the songs. I would recommend this CD to anyone interested in Japanese music in general. It's wonderful!
Released in the same year as Love Letter (2005) is Diabolos! When it comes to GACKT's rock music, this CD gives me what I'm in the mood for. I really like this CD and I was happy I able to get my hands on it. It was super hard to find when I was looking for it!
REDEMPTION was the first song by GACKT that I ever heard. It's the theme song for Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus, which happens to be an awesome game and the only first-person shooter I've ever really enjoyed playing. But REDEMPTION is widely recognized by fans and non-fans alike. I tried to get just the CD, but this single was harder to find than Diabolos. I'll just be happy that I have it, right?
One of the newest additions to my collection, No ni Saku Hana no You ni is probably one of my absolute favorite songs by GACKT. Hands down. It's absolutely beautiful and I had to get my hands on this single. The lyrics are beautiful and I love, love, love how encouraging this song is. In my opinion, GACKT outdid himself with this single.
And look at the disc!! Isn't it gorgeous!?
Here are the two CDs that came today sitting together. Now I just have to wait for the other two I ordered to come in.
These two artist are stealing all of my money... and yet I don't regret it. lol Thanks for letting me share this huge post with you guys.
EDIT: Wow, the day got even better while I was at work! Love so sweet and Arashic came in today as well! Super awesome!
Man, I'm bad at this blogging thing, huh? I guess I can try to catch you up from where I last left off. Well, here goes!
Let's see... 2010 after June... I got a part-time job at a local store here in Trenton. I work at Brown's Shoe Fit Co. It isn't the best job pay wise, but I really enjoy working there and my co-worker is great! She's spunky and a little blonde at times, but she's fun to be around. We've gone out to lunch several times and it's been really fun getting to know her better. By the way, I've worked at the store for a year now. It feels like it hasn't been that long at all!
There's not much I can remember of the last part of 2010 other than Jessica's wedding. :) It was a great thing to be a part of and I was honestly very glad to be able to get out there! Sean is a lucky man. They're super cute together.
It was great really. I know these two will be happy for a long time. Or at least, they'd better be. ;)
That's really all for 2010. 2011 has been eventful, but not too much so. I've been called as the Education Counselor for the Relief Society in the Single's Branch and I'm really enjoying it! Thing is, I might not have it for much longer. Our Relief Society president, Brittney Durfee, is engaged to our Elder's Quorum president and their wedding is somewhere near Thanksgiving this year! So I'm going to do the best and I can in my calling until I'm released. Who knows? Maybe I'll be called as the President (sheesh, I hope not!)! haha
Several other friends have gotten engaged including Alisa Cottrell! Wish I could be out in Utah for her wedding, but I don't have the money to really fly out to Utah. Maybe towards Christmas? I don't know. Anyway, I'm super happy for her and hope that she and her future hubby will be happy for all eternity!
I'm excited for tomorrow though! I'll be going to the Kansas City Japan Festival! For those of you who don't know, I'm learning Japanese and I would love to go to Japan so this is as close as I can get for now. I'm even tempted to move there! Of course, I'd keep my US citizenship, but I'd love to live in Japan, if for just a couple years. Anyway, I'm charging my camera battery as we speak and I'll be sure to post some of the pictures (and possibly videos) that I take. It's going to be so much fun!
I guess that's all for now. There really hasn't been much going on for me. Just a routine business that we all seem to have right now. Or at least, that's what I've noticed. Anyway, hopefully I'll be better about this blog, huh? lol Till later everyone!
PS. I've gotten into Japanese music lately and my favorite artist? GACKT! He's amazing! lol Just had to throw that in there.
I think I have had the most fun in the time that I've lived in Missouri this past weekend. I can't think of anytime that I've had such a blast. It was like when I get together with my friends back in Utah, when we were in high school and we'd just go out and party!
Friday afternoon was spent driving. I left my house at 12:40pm and we didn't arrive in St. Louis until about 7:45pm. Yes, it was a LOT of driving. We missed the opening address by the area seventy, Brother Reall, but we felt okay about that. After that, we went to the St. Louis City Museum. That place is nothing like a museum! It's like a giant hamster cage for people! There were wire tunnels, a wheel, skate park ramps, caves, slides, a Ferris wheel, shells of school buses and airplanes on the TOP of the building, plus so much more that we didn't get to see. If I ever go back to St. Louis, I am TOTALLY hanging out there again!
After the museum, we headed to our hotels and didn't end up getting to bed until about 2:00am on Saturday. Sleeping arrangements were insane! There were 12 of us, 4 guys and 8 girls. We had two rooms. Each room had a King sized bed and a hide away bed in the couch. That night we had 3 girls on the bed, 3 on the hide away, and 2 on the floor. Crazy right? We found out the next morning that the 2 of the guys had shared the bed, while 1 slept on the hide away and another on the floor! Needless to say it had us girls laughing.
We were up at 6:30am and heading towards the next location by 8:00am. Once there, we went to our assigned tables, met some new people and got to know each other before the meeting started. Bro. and Sis. Reall made us play this weird game, after which they shared a message with us. Once they were done we got lunch (I got a Chicken Salad sandwich) and we started working on a project at our various tables. It wasn't really much, but it was fun getting to know others.
Once that was done we were given free reigns to go explore St. Louis. I went with those of my singles branch to the St. Louis Zoo. It was smaller than I had expected and it was super hot and muggy outside, but it was fun going around with the other singles. Especially as I got to know those I was hanging out with better. Especially a few of the guys who will remain unnamed. ;) When we were done with the Zoo (which was later than we had wanted), we headed back to the hotel to get ready for the dinner and dance that evening. Getting ready too much longer than we had expected. We arrived at the church for the last 10 minutes of dinner.
The dance was awesome, fun, amazing, energetic, and crazy! Symber (that's one of the girls was with) started a contest between the girls to see who could get the most slow dances. Who do you think got the least? lol That's right! I got 3 slow dances. XD Yay for winning in golf scores! But I got to dance with one of the guys that I'm beginning to really like so it was all good. I should have worn heels though. He's a good foot taller than I am, at least! A few inches would have helped!
Got back to the hotel once the dance was done and went to bed at 1:00am. Woke up at 6:00am and were headed back home by 7:30. We arrived at the church around 12:00pm and I stayed there for church. I didn't get home until 6:00pm. So that's my crazy weekend! It was super fun and I wouldn't change anything we did (except for a few of the circles we ended going around in. lol). I would love to do another one and I hope it happens soon! I can only hope the next one is as fun as this one was!
I went to the Single's Branch yesterday and was really enjoying myself. I've made a few tentative friends down there and I'm hoping that those will strengthen. I desperately need some buddies here in Missouri that are within reach so to speak.
Right before we were going to leave the church (I had stayed behind to help sing in the choir), I checked my phone to find a text message from Kimber saying that my dad was suffering from severe stomach pains and that my mom was taking him to the hospital. My dad has had a lack of an appetite and stomach pains for a while, but I guess this was just agonizing. It scared me so bad to get that message. I wasn't totally sure I'd be able to drive myself and the four others in my car home safely (I did. No worries. lol)
While on the road I was told that my dad was getting a cat scan and I was glad I had a distraction because I was tempted to break down and cry. I had already done that at the church and I really do hate crying. It makes me feel icky. I got home and I discussed things with my family and found that the doctors thought it was a kidney stone, but that's all they knew.
My mom called shortly after and told us that my dad had two kidney stones, one starting to pass through the passage, and another that was inside the passage and was making everything around it starting to swell up. The procedure couldn't be done in the local hospital, so my dad was transported by ambulance down to the Liberty Hospital, which is a good hour and a half drive from where we live. They only went by ambulance so my dad could have the pain medication as they went.
Mom, Kimber, and Danny followed behind them. I would have gone, but I was already so exhausted (driving to and from the single's branch amounts to more than 3 hours of driving) and I really didn't want to break down and cry in front of my dad. I had been so scared for him after all!
The doctors decided that they were going to do surgery, to slip a tube or something inside my dad's kidney to get at least one of the stones to pass through and quickly. They had to give him a double dose of morphine though as the pain was terrible. My cousin (who got the message) said that it was as close to the pain of childbirth that a man can get. I felt awful for my dad. I've had morphine and I can tell you it knocks you flat. At least it did me. For him to need two doses? Wow...
Woke up this morning and texted my mom, hoping to get more details. They were able to get one of the stones to pass through surgery and I guess they're trying to figure out how to get the second one through. My sister fainted from the lack of food while she was there, but at least she was already in a hospital. I wonder if they made her lie on a gurney...
So there's my bit of news. I hope my dad continues to get better, but let's hope it doesn't take long either.
My grandmother and grandfather are coming out to Missouri today! And they'll be here for a little under a week. Funny how a week ago, I was in Utah visiting them. There's actually a lot of family trips going on this month it seems Interesting how that works out. In fact, I'm going to tell you what's happening just so you can understand what I mean.
My mother and I went to Utah at the beginning of this month. My grandparents are coming out now. Instead of flying back, they will be traveling with my dad and brother back to Utah and they will stay there for about a week. A week after they return, my sister and a friend will be coming out here. That should roughly be in the first part of June. At the end of June, my family will be traveling to Utah again for another trip (as school will be out and everyone will be able to go). When they come back, my aunt's family might come out in July to visit us.
So in under three months there will be a total of...six trips to and from Missouri and Utah. Isn't that insane?! We're a traveling family. ;) I won't be traveling with my family in June due to the fact that several people want me to go back to Utah in August, if not later in the year. I need to save the monies! And hopefully find a job, but we're not getting into that.
Busy, busy, busy!
Well, it's good to be home again, though I still miss the mountains. I don't think I'll ever get over that. I'm glad I got a lot of pictures, even if I wasn't able to go up the canyon. That would have been nice, but beggars can't be choosers. Perhaps things will be different if/when I get the chance to go out in August.
Thursday and Friday were spent at Women's Conference, and over all, it was a wonderful experience. The speakers I listened to were very much inspired and while I may have fallen asleep towards the end of both days, I still really enjoyed it. It was nice spending time with family, as I don't get to see my aunts and grandmother often. Of course, it wasn't all good. Ah, the joys of being female.
Saturday was fun. I got to spend a good deal of time by myself at first, but I was picked up by Nick around 2:30 (if not later lol). We were going to go see a movie, but then decided to go see Alisa instead, who wasn't feeling well. We talked with her for a while before Lamoni and his wife, Nelly, joined us and then the three of us scooted off to Zupos. To be honest, I wasn't absolutely amazed, but it was rather good. Maybe I should have gotten a sandwich and soup instead of a salad. *shrugs* We'll never know.
After Zupos, we went to Wendy's for Frosties and Fries. Who doesn't love that combination? Nick apparently. He said it was gross. He's so weird. We met up with Eric at Wendy's and after a while we decided to go back to Alisa's to play a game. Lamoni and Nelly went home instead of coming with us. Eric went to pick up a couple friends, Necia and someone we hadn't met name Sueon. The six of us sat down to play Phase 10 (my first time) and it was a blast. I'm hoping I can share a video of that night with all of you somehow. :D
Sunday was spent with family, mostly at their Stake Conference. It was a relaxed day so that was nice. Nothing eventful happened though. Monday was a get ready to go home day, though we did have our fun. We went to the Training Table as a family, to Burlington Coat Factory after our meal, and then to see my sister's apartment. It was rather nice, other than the carpet. She and her roommates want to get that changed soon.
Tuesday we flew home and that ended the trip. Overall, it was really nice. And I miss my mountains, but I'm sure I'll survive. :)
