listening: asst. bossa nova mix minidisc
watching: monterrey bay aquarium jelly cam
today marks one week since i got to japan. my journey started out pretty terribly, mainly due to the airline that handled my first leg from austin to california. the counter staff were strangely hostile, they misplaced my bags on a different flight (eventually JAL got them to me a few days later), severely damaged one of the bags, and the wifi on the flight was busted. but everything got better once i was with JAL. i even got a whole row to myself on the 12hr flight from san francisco to tokyo. 
i've spent most of my first week unpacking boxes i sent to myself, and organizing the unpacked items. this house is smaller than our old place in the US, although that one was pretty small by US standards, since it was a duplex home the size of a large apartment. however, i think this house is laid out much more practically, with less wasted space like garage and wide hallway. the closets here are incredibly spacious, and i've been doing my best to make use of that.
the house itself was built in 1981 and remodeled in 2018. it has a fairly traditional style, but a lot of nice modern upgrades. i love that the lights and bath have remote control, but not app-associated 'smart' tech (hate that stuff). traditional japanese style design is taking a little adjustment, but overall i like it. because the room layouts are based on a standard 'tatami' measurement, it's easy to find furniture and storage items that fit exactly, without having to do a ton of research or measurements. my main problem is remembering to close the sliding doors in the correct direction, so the handles aren't covered up lol.
i've spent most of my first week unpacking boxes i sent to myself, and organizing the unpacked items. this house is smaller than our old place in the US, although that one was pretty small by US standards, since it was a duplex home the size of a large apartment. however, i think this house is laid out much more practically, with less wasted space like garage and wide hallway. the closets here are incredibly spacious, and i've been doing my best to make use of that.
the house itself was built in 1981 and remodeled in 2018. it has a fairly traditional style, but a lot of nice modern upgrades. i love that the lights and bath have remote control, but not app-associated 'smart' tech (hate that stuff). traditional japanese style design is taking a little adjustment, but overall i like it. because the room layouts are based on a standard 'tatami' measurement, it's easy to find furniture and storage items that fit exactly, without having to do a ton of research or measurements. my main problem is remembering to close the sliding doors in the correct direction, so the handles aren't covered up lol.
not much seems to have changed in my neighborhood while i was gone in feburary. there's a house under construction next door, but it's still just concrete slab and wall bases. the soda can that some kid stuck in a home drainage pipe down the street is still there lol.
my neighbors seem well; i brought them some bluebonnet scented soap and a bluebonnet embroidered hand towel as hometown souvenirs. i had gotten them a reed diffuser back in january as kind of a "sorry i keep getting furniture delivered on our shared walkway" present, and they mentioned that they really liked the smell of that. one small change, the local bus stops got some nice LED marquee signs! it's nice seeing small improvements in this neighborhood, we're a bit out-of-the-way, but still get plenty of conveniences and modernization. (it photographs poorly because of framerate, but it looks normal in person.)
my neighbors seem well; i brought them some bluebonnet scented soap and a bluebonnet embroidered hand towel as hometown souvenirs. i had gotten them a reed diffuser back in january as kind of a "sorry i keep getting furniture delivered on our shared walkway" present, and they mentioned that they really liked the smell of that. one small change, the local bus stops got some nice LED marquee signs! it's nice seeing small improvements in this neighborhood, we're a bit out-of-the-way, but still get plenty of conveniences and modernization. (it photographs poorly because of framerate, but it looks normal in person.)
i had originally packed a lot of my lolita wardrobe in the moving boxes which will come much later via seamail, but i ended up moving a lot of that to suitcases and boxes i mailed by shorter methods, so most of it is here now! i haven't had a chance to wear lolita just yet, because it was prettty cold my first week here (it snowed?!?!) and all my velvet pieces were in the mailed boxes. i hung up what i'd put in the suitcases, along with my everyday clothes. i hadn't had my 'normie' and lolita clothes in the same closet for years, and something about AP and versace hung up together feels really good lol. 
since this photo was taken, i received a lot more of my lolita wardrobe; still in the process of organizing that for now.
the buttoms on the side of the waistline are so flattering and charming, definitely the high point of that design.
i also bought a btssb skirt off closet child's online shop, but it went straight in the sell pile because the color was much more vibrant than i had expected.
since this photo was taken, i received a lot more of my lolita wardrobe; still in the process of organizing that for now.
the buttoms on the side of the waistline are so flattering and charming, definitely the high point of that design.i also bought a btssb skirt off closet child's online shop, but it went straight in the sell pile because the color was much more vibrant than i had expected.
besides organizing the house, i set up an aquarium! so far, there's just blue velvet shrimp and live plants in there. watching the shrimp scoot around and rest on the plants is nice and soothing. i will eventually be adding a couple of snails, and a betta, when i find a betta with colors/markings that i really like.
the one outing i've made so far (besides boring stuff like combini/grocery store), was hitting up tsuzuki, probably my favorite part of yokohama. i go there a lot, because there's a history museum, two huge thrift stores, sushiro, yuzawaya (sewing store), and more, all in the 1km between two stations. it's very convenient to the train line near my home.
i went to one of the two thrift stores in the area because i'd seen an N64 back in january, and wanted to get that if it was still around. it was gone, but i actually found a heart e jsk from 2005 while there! i've heard stories of people finding lolita at regular thrift shops, but never thought i'd be so lucky for that to happen to me. the color isn't my favorite, but the fit is super flattering on my body type, so i'm definitely keeping it. the nice light fabric will be comfortable in summer, too.
i also grabbed a bunch of cheap dreamcast/PS1/wii games, and had lunch at sushiro. i also checked at an aquarium store for a fish. the store was under the train tracks by the station, which i thought was really cool! i appreciate the way space is used around here, and i find it a lot more pleasing than shopping centers the size of small towns like back in texas
i went to one of the two thrift stores in the area because i'd seen an N64 back in january, and wanted to get that if it was still around. it was gone, but i actually found a heart e jsk from 2005 while there! i've heard stories of people finding lolita at regular thrift shops, but never thought i'd be so lucky for that to happen to me. the color isn't my favorite, but the fit is super flattering on my body type, so i'm definitely keeping it. the nice light fabric will be comfortable in summer, too.
i also grabbed a bunch of cheap dreamcast/PS1/wii games, and had lunch at sushiro. i also checked at an aquarium store for a fish. the store was under the train tracks by the station, which i thought was really cool! i appreciate the way space is used around here, and i find it a lot more pleasing than shopping centers the size of small towns like back in texas
as of writing this, the weather is starting to warm up, and we've been getting a good mixture of sunny and rainy days. having lived in areas without distinct seasons for most of my life, the transition between winter and spring is very exciting for me. i'm also really happy to be back in a lush and humid environment. i grew up in a humid subtropical climate, but have sadly lived in dry grassland for most of my adult life.
the sakura aren't out yet, but throughout my neighborhood, i've seen little buds on all the trees. the plums are already blooming, and this gorgeous camellia is growing on the neighborhood trash bin corner!
ps: shout out to this defunct lolita blog that inspired the formatting for my diary. i found it browsing btssb's site from way back, where they had a BBS for lolitas to connect.
the sakura aren't out yet, but throughout my neighborhood, i've seen little buds on all the trees. the plums are already blooming, and this gorgeous camellia is growing on the neighborhood trash bin corner!
ps: shout out to this defunct lolita blog that inspired the formatting for my diary. i found it browsing btssb's site from way back, where they had a BBS for lolitas to connect.