Happy Birthday to me!!!

I just turned 27. It was pretty much a shock to get a phone call from the sis' and the parents. It really brightened my day. As a gift, the family gave me the entire collection of Mister Ajikko DVD!!! I guess, I'll be trying new recipes in the future. hehe!

As for a report of my past events...firstly, I passed my entrance exams and will be starting my doctorate in April!Yay!

Secondly, I just got mahself a new pad. It is about 40 minute walk to Kunitachi station, but I am in front of Yaho station. Oh well. It is nice and cozy. A bit expensive, but I preferred to get a condo, unlike my friends who got apartments.

























On another note, every Thursday Kikay comes all the way from Saitama to take classes in Tachikawa. We usually enjoy a nice dinner and chat the night away. On one Thursday, Hanna had left for Okinawa, so me and Kikay decided to go to Fuchou and try a Ninniku Semmon Resutoran (Garlic Restaurant). To our slight disappointment, it was just restaurant that added garlic into everything. But the garlick-y flavor isn't that strong though. Oh well. We had a garlic fried rice, a garlic nan pizza and a garlic pasta. All were delicious, but the garlic flavor wasn't strong enough for our taste.



On a spur of the moment, before Kikay went home for research, we were able to get tickets to the Ghibli Museum. So me, Hanna and Kikay went on a Monday. Yes....the dream of every person who is familiar with Japanese animation. :) Unfortunately, pictures were not allowed inside the museum. So my pictures are limited. The experience is like Charlie entering Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. Simply magic!!! For lunch, since the main restaurant was full, we ended up eating from the take-out counter. I got myself a taco rice and Kaze no Tani no biru (Valley of the Wind Beer) hehe! I'm not really a beer drinker so I don't know the difference in taste. :) Anyway, it was a novelty. *Valley of the Wind is the english translation of the title for Nausicaa








Me and Julien went to the Tokyo International Animation fair. In one word....WOW! Sooo many anime and artists. We have to go through the booths quickly since we came in the afternoon. I tried a Bleach game and got myself a stuffed toy. I was aiming for a pillow though. oh well. Everyone will probably find something in the pictures to their interest.






































































































Finally, by the end of the month, Bac and his wife will be moving to Yokohama where Bac passed the doctorate exam. We had a dinner with them in a Vietnamese restaurant. They were able to ask for free papaya salads for the table. Wheee!