tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55011846745816969192024-03-13T18:20:27.668+02:00+プラスラウラhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03403378118096547309noreply@blogger.comBlogger129125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501184674581696919.post-45515699696003316942016-01-12T16:01:00.000+02:002016-01-12T16:01:58.138+02:00Tracon 2015<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: large;">I</span>t had been a long time since I just attended a convention just as a "fan" or non-cosplayer, so I figured that Tracon would be the best place to have a break of some sort. Most of the time was just hanging out with friends, taking pictures and walking through artist valley. It felt quite refreshing!<br />
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/7STfTwRUQq/" style="color: black; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">今日、トラコンが終わる。楽しかったよ♪レイの抱き枕を買った… #traconx #tracon</a></div>
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Kuva, jonka ラウラ (@gjn7) julkaisi <time datetime="2015-09-06T10:35:54+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">6. 09ta 2015 klo 3.35 PDT</time></div>
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Though the picture is quite black and white in tone, I had fun! We drove from Pori to Tampere with Hanna and her brother, checked in the hotel and started 'sploring!<br />
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After taking tons of pictures of my cosplaying fans, we went to see Unreality's a capella concert. It was marvelous to listen to the famous tunes preformed by just multiple human voices. It kinda gave me the idea, that if I ever moved to Helsinki, I would most probably try to get myself into that a capella choir, since their focus is mostly on nerdy content, not some religious music we sang with VYK last autumn.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qZDzNUSQduA/VpUD5teG__I/AAAAAAAACP0/Di12AtnpFMQ/s1600/IMG_1346.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qZDzNUSQduA/VpUD5teG__I/AAAAAAAACP0/Di12AtnpFMQ/s400/IMG_1346.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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On the last day we attended another concert; Piano arrangements from movies from Studio Chibli. It was quite nice to notice, that before the pianist came to the stage, there was a huge pin beside the piano. I figured, that if that's there, the pianist will come in with a cosplay costume on. And I was right! She said that the movie The Secret World of Arietty is her favorite, so she came to the stage as Arietty. All the music she played was well arranged and enjoyable to listen to.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bIwF0xU_Qr0/VpUFgr93PDI/AAAAAAAACQA/3UWyQuTbAmQ/s1600/IMG_1445.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bIwF0xU_Qr0/VpUFgr93PDI/AAAAAAAACQA/3UWyQuTbAmQ/s400/IMG_1445.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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I also came across some Fushigi Yuugi cosplays! It's SO nice to notice, that some people still enjoy the classic shoujo series. If you don't want your picture here, please let me know :'3<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Miaka and Yui from Fushigi Yuugi!</td></tr>
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There was also a Nuriko cosplay, but the cosplayer was just walking out of a concert hall and I didn't want to cause a pile up just by stopping them for a picture. It was a nice costume, though!<br />
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I don't know how to end this thing.. have a duck from the park near Tampere Talo!<br />
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Bye now!<br />
<script async="" defer="" src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script>ラウラhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03403378118096547309noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501184674581696919.post-30301136643043254062015-08-24T17:32:00.000+03:002015-08-24T17:32:18.370+03:00Desucon 2015<span style="background-color: #f4cccc; color: white; font-size: large;">U</span>nlike last winter, this summer has been hectic in a way. First I got this crazy idea to cosplay again and of course with a too short schedule. Thankfully, this time around my costume was completed before the departure to Lahti, so I guess at least that goal was achieved! Also, this time I stayed at an old roommate's place, where she had moved to (and I had completely forgotten about..), so I got to see her and her cat after a while. Was nice to visit her :3<br />
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This summer I chose to cosplay Nona from a quite fresh and short series called Death Parade. But the attention whore that I am, I chose to make the dress version that can only be seen during opening credits. She doesn't wear it during the show itself at all. All in all it was quite simple dress, but I got some help from Milla, because I had never done an open-back dress before. Thanks to her help and some used tights, this dress was completed! Marika did those earrings for me :3<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DoYqazb1OR4/Vdsm3HEjYzI/AAAAAAAACMw/KoALtcf0c8Q/s1600/8bIfWzo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="174" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DoYqazb1OR4/Vdsm3HEjYzI/AAAAAAAACMw/KoALtcf0c8Q/s320/8bIfWzo.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the few seconds this dress can be seen</td></tr>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yntf_5FFh9s/Vdsm4zD0ZsI/AAAAAAAACNA/F312FcnFLXQ/s1600/shop2%2B%25E2%2580%2593%2BKopio%2B%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yntf_5FFh9s/Vdsm4zD0ZsI/AAAAAAAACNA/F312FcnFLXQ/s320/shop2%2B%25E2%2580%2593%2BKopio%2B%25282%2529.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TiWcf2wrAOw/Vdsm3Bk8wEI/AAAAAAAACMs/_AECAj5d2Cw/s1600/deviantid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="218" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TiWcf2wrAOw/Vdsm3Bk8wEI/AAAAAAAACMs/_AECAj5d2Cw/s400/deviantid.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture by Mikael Peltomaa</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture by Emilia Lahtinen</td></tr>
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Only one thing that disappointed me, was the fact that I rushed it through again. The dress is all wrinkly, even though I ironed it. Better off next time, I guess. Good news is, that I was chosen to participate in hall cosplay contest! It was a fun experience, even though I couldn't almost see where I was walking during the stage posing. Maybe I'm already too used to posing without any vision :D (FYI, I'm short sighted, and without glasses I can literally see only an inch or two away from the tip of my nose.<br />
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Here's a picture of all the hall cosplay participants:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_2H6A2ud6NM/VdspIv8Oo3I/AAAAAAAACNQ/wkWR33KJaOY/s1600/11313061_852669724799652_6808599628388461241_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_2H6A2ud6NM/VdspIv8Oo3I/AAAAAAAACNQ/wkWR33KJaOY/s400/11313061_852669724799652_6808599628388461241_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm kinda upset, that the moon didn't get any mentions.. it was an awesome costume!</td></tr>
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<br />The next day, aka Sunday, I watched the AMV contest, because I enjoy good music videos and once again, I made it to the finals. This time my video got a better spot on the viewing list, but didn't get any mentions. Slow and steady, I'll make it to the top! ..maybe :D <div>
Have a look at my lousy creation~</div>
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As you can see, I've made friends with Sony Vegas, and oh boy I love it! At least now it's more tolerable, even though YouTube kills some of the quality when there's lots of movement going on.</div>
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I'll be trying to get to the finals again! Now that I have a new computer (finally), I might be able to create more of my visions to your screens :3</div>
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Have a good one guys! I'll see you in my next post!</div>
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Bye!<br /><br />
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ラウラhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03403378118096547309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501184674581696919.post-71856590611315999692015-08-24T16:53:00.000+03:002015-08-24T16:53:14.640+03:00Desucon Frostbite 2015<span style="background-color: #f4cccc; color: white; font-size: large;">T</span>he last winter was fun and games when it came to Desucon Frostbite last February at Sibelius talo, Lahti. But unfortunately for my need of sleep, I decided to make a cosplay costume for this event, when it was only 3-2 weeks away! What an idiot I was.. All that quilting made me nuts and I was still sewing during the last hour before our bus was scheduled to depart.<br />
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We went to Pori to visit my friend's parents for one day (she has very nice parents! I'd like to visit them again some time!) and left from there the next day to have some fun for three days at Desucon Frostbite! With my friend's brother we drove to Lahti and arrived to our hotel in the early evening. With our check-in done, we headed to see, what Desucon had in store for the rest of the evening. Soon after that we returned to hour hotel room and (the idiot that I was) I finished my costume during that night. It didn't come as pretty as I'd hoped, but I was an idiot.<br />
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The next day I wore my Journey cospaly! I later noticed that there still were some yarn hanging about, but I can only blame myself for that, and for rushing through with this costume. The next time I do something, it better be done on time!<br />
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Here's some pictures of my costume:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture by <span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Kyu Eturautti</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Hj6BixNqeKc/VdscVQOYvnI/AAAAAAAACMI/J7UVTAAoTmk/s1600/KYU_7810.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Hj6BixNqeKc/VdscVQOYvnI/AAAAAAAACMI/J7UVTAAoTmk/s320/KYU_7810.jpg" width="256" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The mask was a total failure. I need to remake it some other time. Picture by <span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Kyu Eturautti</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-weBnBvrHW6Y/VdscVWwS0nI/AAAAAAAACME/PsjZbF89DJc/s1600/KYU_7811.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-weBnBvrHW6Y/VdscVWwS0nI/AAAAAAAACME/PsjZbF89DJc/s320/KYU_7811.jpg" width="256" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Picture by </span><span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Kyu Eturautti</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-824UB3yeoD4/VdscWHoW8UI/AAAAAAAACMc/rDN9eitJpYM/s1600/hannanottama3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-824UB3yeoD4/VdscWHoW8UI/AAAAAAAACMc/rDN9eitJpYM/s320/hannanottama3.jpg" width="139" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oiriginal picture by Harunaattori, photoshop by GJN</td></tr>
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Needless to say I had fun! I just roamed around and watched the cosplay contest during Saturday with that costume on and on Sunday went more casual look. On Sunday I also watched the AMV contest, because I finally broke the barrier and made it to the finals with a video! But unfortunately, my video was only about 1 minute long and viewed the very first, so we all know that it didn't stay in the audience's mind for very long. Also, Attack on Titan is a very used source material, so of course it didn't get any recognition. But I'm not saying, it should have gotten any. Now that I look back at it, it was pretty lame. Here; Have a look for yourself:<div>
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LOOK MOM, I DID A THING! :D</div>
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I made this with Adobe Premiere, but I've come to the conclusion, that it might be for the best to finally switch to Sony Vegas Pro, because I've had less problems with it than I had with Premiere (it also exports a lot better quality video). But at least I can say, that I didn't use the god damn first shot of the anime with the god dang geese in it! I swear to god, that shot is almost every Attack on Titan AMV I've seen..</div>
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But that's it for this boring update! Thank you guys for going to the convention with me!</div>
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Stay tuned for the summer Desucon update!</div>
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Bye!</div>
ラウラhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03403378118096547309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501184674581696919.post-16074122258067304712015-07-15T01:49:00.000+03:002015-07-16T02:27:32.704+03:00The miracle has happened! Trip to Japan, July 2014<span class="tr_bq" style="font-size: x-small;">(It goes without saying by now, that all these entries are running way far behind, but please bear with me; School life can be hectic. But because you guys are extra patient, this one will be an extra long post! With pictures!)</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #f4cccc; color: white; font-size: large;">H</span>oly goodness, I've been wanting to tell you guys about this trip for a long time and since it's been almost a year when I came back to Finland, this story has to be now told!</div>
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I bet you've seen that "I'll be there" -sidebar which has been inhabited by a picture of Japan. Now that picture can finally be moved to the lower bar that reads "I was there!" Yes! This is what years upon years of waiting and figuring out dozens of different options and ways to get there has finally come to.</div>
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It was the beginning of the second half of my first year in FKF and I just happened be on my period (yes, that's extremely important in this case) and out of menstrual pads. What does this have to do with anything? Well, Libresse (a menstrual pad and tampon brand) had a contest going on and I just happened to stumble across it while buying their pads; "WIN WHAT YOU WANT - 10 000€" was the big title slapped on every Libresse product. I was going to buy a few packs anyway, so I took a couple with the contest sticker on them.</div>
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Just to clear thing sup to you guys, this is how this contest worked: buy Libresse products, register points from stickers, play a mobile game to gather more points (this one was near to pointless - lol - but needless to say, I played it a lot just in case..) and try to get to the top 50 on their leader board. And only then, when you've reached the top 50, the judges will read the description of your dream prize and decide which of the top 50 is the best suited to win the first prize: anything that can be made reality with 10 000€.</div>
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Yeah, it was kinda fishy contest to get more sales, but nevertheless, I entered.</div>
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Of course I wrote a "heart breaking" story, how I've been invested with Japan and its culture nearly my entire life. Here's somewhat of a translation:</div>
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What is your dream prize?<br />
"A trip to Japan. Since I was a little child, the country in question has fascinated me with its culture and it has driven me to study the language. By now I've studied it for 7 years (and continuing my studies in the field of Japanology), but the very experience is still in the future. I write blog entries and enjoy telling people about the events that move my life. I graduated from a Senior Secondary School of Art and Music, and thus my hobbies include photography and modeling.<br />
I'd love to take hundreds of pictures during the trip. The only thing I lack is the funding for traveling, accommodation and of course for various expenditures (for example if we go to an onsen, a theater, a concert and so on during our visit). Due to my small resources, I haven't been able to travel longer than Sweden and Estonia. The dream trip of a small human is to the land of the rising sun with a friend. Will it now become reality?"</blockquote>
That last sentence was probably the one that triggered something in the judges.. But yeah! That was the basic shenanigans I always write in things like this.<br />
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During the contest I noticed, that the mobile game only was taking me nowhere near the top 50 and when I mentioned about the contest to my mother one time on a phone, she just took me off guard: she bought 11 packets (the needed amount of points I calculated earlier, in order to get to top 50). She then said every code on the phone to me as I registered them on the contest profile. But thanks to her, I was now 16th on the entire leader board. There was no point to try to get to the first place, since they would read all the 50 and I wouldn't want to be read either first or last (this is some tactical shit right here). So, I figured the 16th place on board was good enough.<br />
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After the contest was over, I kinda just let things happen; I either won something or not. Simple as that. So even when I was kinda waiting for Libresse to contact me, I had already accepted my fate and the table wouldn't flip just because I didn't get anything. At least I had a full year menstrual pad supply!<br />
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Some time had passed and I was having a shower. When I got out, my cell was blinking that I had a missed call. I didn't recognize the number but I tried to call back anyways, because it was a cellular number. There was only an answering machine and I didn't leave a message. If they'd wanted to get in touch with me, they would call me again. Even better if the call was from Libresse. A few hours pass and I'm with my friend at a flea market, when my cell rings. Needless to say, my heart was pounding when I heard the words "Is this Miss *****? I'm ***** from Libresse". The rest is history! I can only remember me being just "oh.. great!" when the caller told me that I had won the first god dang place in their WIN WHAT YOU WANT contest. I guess I was in some sort of shock, needless to say. Of course I had to tell my friend what had happened, since she watched me jumping in excitement without a sound.<br />
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I'll skip the preparations and continue from the day we left with Jasmin to see the world I've been dreaming about.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It start's here.</td></tr>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-i1clE1PkswY/VaVkxuwuj5I/AAAAAAAACEE/iJMHniQU6IM/s1600/10547731_10204188485096870_2440413115882820349_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-i1clE1PkswY/VaVkxuwuj5I/AAAAAAAACEE/iJMHniQU6IM/s320/10547731_10204188485096870_2440413115882820349_o.jpg" width="320" /></a>With stomachache from pure excitement and nervousness, I arrived to the Helsinki-Vantaa airport. There, when united with Jasmin, we had a brief hype-talk before making the check-in and got our boarding passes. With them, we left our baggage to self service baggage drop and went to have something to eat. We barely were able to eat anything due to the nervousness we had been having for the whole week. We had a ham bread and almost right after that it was time to say bye bye to mom and sis and to go through the security check.<br />
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Then we walked by a whole lot of little shops full of souvenirs and headed to the passport check. Due to EU, our passports have a bio-recognition and we were able to walk past the long lines and let the machine to do the recognition for us. It was a weird but fun experience.</div>
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After that there was more shops we passed before we finally reached the gate 35, where our flight was supposed to depart. But when the boarding started, we were told, that our flight was switched to the gate 32 instead. So we ran back a couple of gates and made it to the right flight. It was Jasmin's first ever and my third.</div>
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The flight itself took forever and a little after the half way, the air pressure started to give me a headache. So, it was quite impossible to sleep. But generally the flight was pleasant and we were fed good. No complaining about the food either. Thank you flight captain Pasi for flying us to Japan!<br />
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It was still quite hard to believe, but we had landed to Japan! The flight was over and it was time to meet the passport inspector. After face picture and fingerprints were taken, we went to find our baggage. Thankfully it wasn't a rush hour, so we didn't have to guess which spot our baggage would be coming to.<br />
With our baggage we went to the lavatory for some relief. There were squat toilets but luckily the western bowls too. When we came out, some other foreigners looked at the squat toilets with horror in their yes and asked me "ARE THOSE TOILETS?!"<br />
So, it seems that people still go to Japan with too little of common knowledge about Japanese everyday life.<br />
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Somehow (well, by a train, obviously) we managed to get ourselves to the Prince hotel in Shinagawa, BUT we had to wait 2 hours before the check in opened. At this point we were dead tired! After the wait, we finally got the key card to our room and had a shower. I had to take a 1 hour nap before meeting up with the guide and rest of the tour group. Yeah, because this was our first trip, we figured it would be for the best to have it with a guide. He took our passports to get our Japan rail passes, but I found it rather unnerving. Since I gave my only ID I had to someone I just met. But it turned out ok; we got our passports and rail passes the next day.<br />
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We had a late meal at a more traditional restaurant and had a good night sleep. Some went to a fish market at 3.30 am but Jasmin and I slept so we could feel better after our long flight.<br />
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The next day we checked out from the Shinagawa Prince hotel and headed to Takayama. First, we took a 2 hour ride with a shinkansen from Shinagawa to Nagoya, were we switched to regular line to Takyama.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Iwatakan in Takayama</td></tr>
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Straight from there, we were picked up by a bus, that took us to Iwatakan ryokan, a Japanese inn. By the time we got there, it was about 5pm and at 6pm we had a dinner at a basic restaurant. We both had a plate of spaghetti and the dish reminded me of Vapiano back in Helsinki.<br />
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After the dinner Jasmin started to feel sleepy and stayed in our room, while I kept myself awake and had a bath. It wasn't a real onsen. Just a warm bath indoors. But, it was relaxing, nevertheless. With our yukata on, we started to sleep on futons.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hida folk village with my stupid face covering it :D<br />
The parasol is not the one I bought.</td></tr>
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The first experience at ryokan was great! Even though I didn't get into a real outdoor onsen. We had a traditional breakfast, which was a bit too salty for my taste (I'm a child of sweetness, after all). I got most of it down, though. It included a piece of fish, cabbage and salad, cucumber, miso-soup, an egg, rice, nori and green tea. A little bit big breakfast for me, who's not used to eat at morning.<br />
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Moments later, we headed to a morning market of Takayama. There were all kinds of vegetables, souvenirs and of course sake too. I bought a korilakkuma plushie for Marika from there!<br />
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Then we were picked up by the Iwatakan's bus again and it took us to Hida folk village. There we were introduced to the old houses of great people. The houses had small-scale museums inside and most of them also had an altar. There was a huge outdoor bell, where people could make a wish during the echo.<br />
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After the village experience the bus took us back to the down town area, where I bought a huge, more traditional parasol.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grilling their own meal :3</td></tr>
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We had almost 5 hours to explore, but at this point our legs were killing us, so we went back to the room at the inn. During the time there we watched some random old samurai drama, where old twins (identical) were fighting for a baby. One was good, other one was evil, obviously. Both of them seemed to be unforgiving, but when the evil one was trying to kill the child but didn't succeed, the good one suddenly forgave him. -sigh-<br />
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But now we were a little bit charged with energy and met with the rest of the group and the guide in front of a 7-Eleven and he lead us to a traditional restaurant, where beef was the local speciality. I had some soba-noodles and Jasmin had a soba-noodle soup with beef. To our surprise the chef knew a little bit of Finnish! But right after he had spoken and was ready to take our order, I surprised him right back with my broken Japanese.<br />
The food was great and when we got back to the inn, Jasmin and I both had a hot bath.<br />
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During the night I had to go to the lavatory and let's say that it was a bit of mind fuck and hilarious at the same time: one from our tourist group was sleeping on the hallway by our room door. I just ignored him and delivered my business, but when I went back to our room, he started snoring! I had to document that, but the pictures I took turned out black, because the lighting was so dim that my camera couldn't take a clear picture (no, it' doesn't have a flash). So, sorry that there's no evidence to show you guys!<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-92ht3Y0qF-c/VaWBuVpI1mI/AAAAAAAACFE/ymxD7cDEnNE/s1600/10921_10204188639300725_5501565926790289298_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-92ht3Y0qF-c/VaWBuVpI1mI/AAAAAAAACFE/ymxD7cDEnNE/s320/10921_10204188639300725_5501565926790289298_n.jpg" width="320" /></a>The next day it was time to say bye bye to Takayama. We left early from the inn with the bus and took a train from Takayama station to Kanazawa with one switch of trains. This time around our hotel was really near the station and so we didn't have to carry our luggage around. We visited the biggest fish market, saw some crafting and walked through a geisha district. It had beautiful buildings and expensive stores. One maiko was on her way to work.<br />
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At dinner we didn't eat that much; we were just too tired. But we did get something to eat and drink from the station's convenience store.<br />
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Our fifth day in Japan was hectic and we had a lot of things to see. The day started with a rain, since a typhoon had been screwing up the south coast for the last couple of days. We took a loop bus all the way to another geisha district. It was a smaller one but still beautiful!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ninja dera from the outside</td></tr>
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The next stop was at Ninja dera (Ninja temple). That nickname comes only from the traps, hiding spots and labyrinth like structure, but the place itself has nothing to do with ninjas. The building looks like a temple from outside, but is actually a fort. Whenever a lord was attacked by an enemy, by luring them to the fort filled with traps and hidden doors of this building, the enemy could be defeated. I'd like to have a house like that! Unfortunately pictures were not allowed. Only from the outside.<br />
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The next stop was at Kenrokuen, one of the top 3 of Japanese gardens and it was gorgeous! I'll let the pictures to do the talking:<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2wpbKWVOf7c/VaWF87DwJUI/AAAAAAAACGE/TiN3lvPuPls/s1600/10258626_10204208651881027_6949460866644323080_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2wpbKWVOf7c/VaWF87DwJUI/AAAAAAAACGE/TiN3lvPuPls/s320/10258626_10204208651881027_6949460866644323080_o.jpg" width="320" /></a>After walking around it was time for lunch and while walking along the restaurants, our guide suggested we should have katsudon. It was pork with eggs, vegetables and rice. At first glance it looked odd, but it sure was delicious!<br />
With our stomachs stuffed, our guide lead us across the street to Kanazawa castle.<br />
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Once we left the castle grounds, we made a stop at Noh-theater museum. This was the place were even I knew more than our guide (or maybe he just was unsure how to describe these points in English). And again, pictures were not allowed. Two people wore one of the costumes, though.<br />
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Last step of the day was at a samurai district. We entered the one house, which was open for public and, boy oh boy, was the garden beautiful! I wouldn't mind to live there.<br />
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<span style="background-color: #f4cccc;">-Note: here's the spot where I stopped writing notes during the trip. I know, I'm a lazyass. But the next bit is a glimpse of the things we did the rest of the journey. I'll leave captions!-</span><br />
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Miyajima Island, Hiroshima<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Noh-theater on water!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These bambies weren't afraid of people :3</td></tr>
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Hiroshima<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Three monuments in a perfect line</td></tr>
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Fushimi-Inari Shrine, We got a little lost in there ^^;<br />
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Kinkakuji Castle<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, 'hiragino kaku gothic pro', meiryo, 'ms pgothic', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.7600002288818px;"><br /></span>
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Nijo Castle<br />
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Mt. Fuji<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, 'hiragino kaku gothic pro', meiryo, 'ms pgothic', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.7600002288818px;"><br /></span>
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After Mt. Fuji trip we more or less were freed from our group and left our goodbyes the next day at our hotel. From there we had full 2 days to kill ON OUR OWN in Tokyo, Shinjuku. We mostly shopped and met with a Japanese friend of mine. First we visited the Square Enix's cafe, Artnia. Needless to say, I had to buy bunch of goods and of course we drank some drinks. Pictures for proof!<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, 'hiragino kaku gothic pro', meiryo, 'ms pgothic', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.7600002288818px;"><br /></span>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Strawberry sundae!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moogle :3</td></tr>
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After that my local friend took us to a hairdresser we had talked about before hand. Jasmin just sat back and watched as Ru and I got this kick ass sujimori hair styles! Moments later we were taking pictures in a purikura and playing games and won a big plushie!<br />
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And of course soon the day of return was upon us. Numerous times I told people that I wouldn't want to return and make that trip one way trip, but... here I am; back at home.<br />
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I hope I can visit Japan someday soon, because I'm feeling "homesick".<br />
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Here are the physical memories from the trip to Japan:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rOm58zjoiAo/VaWPz9qYe4I/AAAAAAAACLI/UlP0kuvGoN0/s1600/matkamuistot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="316" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rOm58zjoiAo/VaWPz9qYe4I/AAAAAAAACLI/UlP0kuvGoN0/s320/matkamuistot.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h1 data-reactid=".4.0.0.0.2.1.0.0" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: proxima-nova, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span data-reactid=".4.0.0.0.2.1.0.0.1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span data-reactid=".4.0.0.0.2.1.0.0.1.$text0:0:$end:0" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">For myself I bought FF XIV towel, FF XV file pocket, three games (Metal Gear Rising Revengeance, DMC and Kagero: Darkside Princess), CK One RED Edition for her, Nano - Born to be (cd), Nana 2 (live action movie dvd), NGE pillow and mug, Heartless plushie and bunch of different little bells. </span><span data-reactid=".4.0.0.0.2.1.0.0.1.$text2:0:$end:0" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">I won the big cat plushie.</span><br data-reactid=".4.0.0.0.2.1.0.0.1.$newline3:0" /><span data-reactid=".4.0.0.0.2.1.0.0.1.$text4:0:$end:0" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">As gifts to my friends I bought Free! file pocket, Young Black Jack file pocket and vol.1 manga, bunch of Levi goods, Spyair single, Zipper magazine, Liz Lisa upper and lower lashes, strawberry pocky, Korilakkuma plushie and a small Yuffie keyholder.</span><br data-reactid=".4.0.0.0.2.1.0.0.1.$newline5:0" /><span data-reactid=".4.0.0.0.2.1.0.0.1.$text6:0:$end:0" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Gosh.. everything didn't even fit in one photo xD</span></span></h1>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tCy9bThK8Yg/VaWPz6nMwfI/AAAAAAAACLE/mHpsdHxN5zs/s1600/moarmuistoja.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="314" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tCy9bThK8Yg/VaWPz6nMwfI/AAAAAAAACLE/mHpsdHxN5zs/s320/moarmuistoja.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h1 data-reactid=".5.0.0.0.2.1.0.0" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: proxima-nova, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span data-reactid=".5.0.0.0.2.1.0.0.1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Two doujins for a friend and Cyborg 009 manga and yukata for myself :3</span></h1>
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Hopefully you enjoyed this 'little' story. Have a good one!<br />
I'm off to buy some menstrual pads.<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, 'hiragino kaku gothic pro', meiryo, 'ms pgothic', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.7600002288818px;"><br /></span></div>
ラウラhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03403378118096547309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501184674581696919.post-7731698773122909582015-06-28T19:03:00.000+03:002015-06-28T19:03:35.204+03:00Girugamesh @ Nosturi, Helsinki 2014/06/11 (VIP)<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<a href="https://www.mediafire.com/convkey/6593/ip1zdj4u9uqbxlm6g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://www.mediafire.com/convkey/6593/ip1zdj4u9uqbxlm6g.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: x-small;">(This post is late as hell.. and short too, because can't remember most of the happened things anymore due to the lateness =u= -hits herself-)</span><br /><span style="background-color: #ea9999; color: white; font-size: large;"> L</span>ast summer girugamesh brought some contrast to the usual j-rock concerts in Finland, because usually every band visits Finland only during the cold season. This time girugamesh came to entertain us during early summer. Fortunately they were going to perform at Nosturi, so all the hectic atmosphere of a line up was going to be away from the heart of Helsinki. The location is at a harbor, so the line up was to be nice; early summer warmth with a little cool breeze from the sea! Just a simply perfect set up for all of us to get hyped before the show.<br /><br />Again, I was able to get my hands on the VIP ticket, which was sold as an upgrade by Neo Tokyo, as usual. With my wallet empty (due to the high price of the tickets), I waited for the VIP meet&greet with good people I always meet at concerts. Shared hype and joy brings always a smile to the face.<br /><br />The doors were opened to the VIP ticket holders late, again, but during the little time we had with the band, we had a blast. Girugamesh is a group of chill people and I could feel them and the fans enjoying the little conversation we had at the hall. Fans were allowed to ask questions and vice versa. What I regret now, was the fact that I didn't have anything special to give the band this time around, just Fazer's classic chocolate for each of the members. But what I don't regret, is the favor I asked from them to do for the picture the staff took of me with them:<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
「変な顔をしてくれませんか?」"Could you make a funny face?":</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U9LfWQzPWV0/VY36BEXLBKI/AAAAAAAACAg/70W99GYs6kU/s1600/CIMG1026%2B%25E2%2580%2593%2BKopio%2B%25E2%2580%2593%2BKopio.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="185" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U9LfWQzPWV0/VY36BEXLBKI/AAAAAAAACAg/70W99GYs6kU/s320/CIMG1026%2B%25E2%2580%2593%2BKopio%2B%25E2%2580%2593%2BKopio.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">For some reason, every time I have a photo with a band, my VIP tag is turned the wrong side up XD</td></tr>
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Totally worth it and what a priceless moment! But with the pictures taken, we rushed with my friends to upstairs and to the show space. The next picture is the only thing I have, because I don't enjoy my concerts through a 2" screen of my digital camera (meaning, that I don't take pictures - I'd rather be at the moment than keep taking pictures of it and not be part of it).</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hR3UBupZCP8/VY3_i9xY7CI/AAAAAAAACAw/dVIYqi-iJT4/s1600/CIMG1029%2B%25E2%2580%2593%2BKopio.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hR3UBupZCP8/VY3_i9xY7CI/AAAAAAAACAw/dVIYqi-iJT4/s320/CIMG1029%2B%25E2%2580%2593%2BKopio.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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The very concert was the shit! Even though it's been years when I first started to listen to girugamesh's music, they still managed to amaze me with the simple charisma they hold. It was ear candy for all of the fans!</div>
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<br /></div>
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Set list:</div>
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<br /></div>
<br /><div style="text-align: right;">
Intro (From "MONSTER")</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
Break Down</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
Drain</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
VOLTAGE</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
INCOMPLETE</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
antlion pit</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
CRAZY-FLAG</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
SUIREN</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
Resolution</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
Bit Crash</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
Dirty Story</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
Live is Life</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
Another way</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
Never Ending Story</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
Evolution</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<i>Encore:</i></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
BORDER</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
KOWARETEIKU SEKAI</div>
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ALONE (Instrumental)</div>
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Thank you for an amazing show! I'll be there next time, whenever you decide to visit Finland (or nearby country) again!</div>
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For now, bye bye~</div>
ラウラhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03403378118096547309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501184674581696919.post-22891062886547469102014-11-14T00:39:00.002+02:002014-11-14T02:18:22.486+02:00Miyavi @ The Circus, Helsinki 2014/03/16 (VIP.. sort of)<a href="http://jrocksuomi.fi/miyavi_banneri.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://jrocksuomi.fi/miyavi_banneri.jpg" height="320" width="139" /></a><span style="background-color: #ea9999; color: white; font-size: large;">W</span>ell - it has been a tiny little bit of while since I last pressed the button "write an entry".. I've got no excuse, except all the studying during summer in order to past the resits of kanji-exams and all other things that have been keeping me busy for most of the year. End of discussion! Let's move on to the rant I promised to write 6 months ago.. (holy hell, has it been that long? I'd better start to keep up, so there won't be this much of backtracking in the future..You wouldn't believe how long even this post has been in my scraps-folder.)<br />
<br />
For the first time in my life, I traveled back and forth between Vaasa and Helsinki because of concerts. And don't get me wrong; I love concerts, but this time the timing couldn't be worse, yet perfect. First of all, Miyavi's concert in Finland was scheduled to be on the same week as An Cafe's concert. Second, on that week I was scheduled to have a kanji-exam! But fortunately neither of the concert dates were on the same date as my school days or the day of exam - but instead the exam was between those dates. Because of this, I was spending money on train tickets.. as if the concerts themselves didn't cost enough already.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aPaun3d406E/VGUyQeonDkI/AAAAAAAAB94/5XbUnR6007k/s1600/julisteet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aPaun3d406E/VGUyQeonDkI/AAAAAAAAB94/5XbUnR6007k/s320/julisteet.jpg" width="180" /></a>You all know the story and anxiety of waiting by your computer and the time hitting 9 o'clock and abusing F5-key on your keyboard, in order to get the desired concert tickets (don't rely on phone booking anymore.. you should all know by now, that doing it yourself online is much faster), we've everyone been there by now. Let us say though, that when the VIP tickets are sold on the same site as the regular ones, do not expect anything marvelous from the VIP tickets. I've learned it now.And here on out starts the rant you've been waiting for so long.<br />
<br />
In the morning of the concert, we went to the door of the venue at 6 a.m. with <a href="http://rousuke.blogspot.fi/" target="_blank">Rousuke</a>; my sis also came to line up with us just to kill time (she didn't even have a ticket, yet she waited till the doors opened with us!) and talk to us as well. It was a sunny morning and after a while we were greeted by couple of fans with regular tickets and, oh boy, the wonder in their eyes, when they heard we were VIP ticket holders and yet we came to the line that early. Then the lining continued with cold winds and sun hiding behind buildings, letting us to freeze our asses.<br />
<br />
Hours flew by and by every second we were more glad, that we came at the line when we came, because in the end of the day, the VIP line was almost as long as the regular one. So, again, VIP tickets were overrated.<br />
<br />
And as you might have already guessed, yes, I made another sheet for Miyavi. We collected some greetings from the line and here's the finished product:<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0mPzJxZDQRg/VGUfzcURCwI/AAAAAAAAB9o/GftDyoU8Kio/s1600/10001369_10202674051385323_331126271_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0mPzJxZDQRg/VGUfzcURCwI/AAAAAAAAB9o/GftDyoU8Kio/s400/10001369_10202674051385323_331126271_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
We also guided people to the right lines and picked most of the garbage, because the official organizers were nowhere to be seen during the whole day and we wanted to keep at least j-rockers' reputation a little bit more positive, when it comes to littering.<span id="goog_911268693"></span><br />
<br />
Only around 1-2 hours before the doors were supposed to open for VIP customers, the VIP ticket and fan club membership holders showed up, so we had to let them go before us in the line. This is the reason I still go in line as early as possible, nevertheless I had all the memberships and everything else beneficial, because it might piss a little bit off those, who have been there from the very early hours. I want to feel like I've earned the spot in line, not just because I've paid more. Then again, that might be just me. These fan club members were sweet, though! Too bad, that I can't remember their names 8c<br />
<br />
About an hour (or more) late the doors finally opened for us and I can't describe the disappointment, when we received the bracelet to indicate that we were VIP customers; it was blank orange, paper bracelet. So far every god dang VIP ticket I've bought comes with a laminate and a key chain. Again, this might sound like a small thing, but things like these will annoy you, if the rest of the purchased product doesn't sum up. This is what happened with Miyavi's meet & greet session, which was held after the concert itself.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GZFgtMEuF4o/U45HVBzyrqI/AAAAAAAACl0/YOhIFz84BG0/s1600/1982355_10202696887196204_1067791446_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GZFgtMEuF4o/U45HVBzyrqI/AAAAAAAACl0/YOhIFz84BG0/s1600/1982355_10202696887196204_1067791446_n.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
The concert was enjoyable and Miyavi still had some energy in him, even though he admitted, that he didn't get to rest at all between Finland's and the last country's events; right after the meet & greet in there, he pretty much hopped on the plain and flew to Finland. Rousuke said, that we didn't sleep either, which Miyavi respond to with: "Oh, then shall we all get a sleep?" But of course not he didn't stop the live there. :'3 I still felt really bad for him due to the tight schedule he had.<br />
The tracklist was mostly candy to oldskool fans, and I really mean it. There was 1 or 2 songs that I've actually never had heard before! I know, I'm such a lazy ass fan and don't deserve to be in this fan base 8C<br />
I've got nothing else to say about the concert itself, really. I enjoyed it and it was refreshing to hear Miyavi live again! Here's the setlist:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
DAY 1<br />
STRONG<br />
Hell No/Chase It<br />
JUSTICE<br />
Secret<br />
CHILLIN' CHILLIN' MONEY BLUE$<br />
SELFISH LOVE<br />
Please, please, please.<br />
Kimi ni Negai wo<br />
Guard You<br />
Cry Like This/No One Knows My Name<br />
GANRYU<br />
SURVIVE<br />
FUTURISTIC LOVE<br />
Horizon<br />
<br />
-encore-<br />
Subarashikikana, Kono Sekai -WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD-<br />
Ahead Of The Light<br />
WHAT'S MY NAME?</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1MhH1DFbnfk/U45HVM2OjcI/AAAAAAAACl4/oQnAorrkEGg/s1600/1939558_10202676456405447_280020304_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1MhH1DFbnfk/U45HVM2OjcI/AAAAAAAACl4/oQnAorrkEGg/s1600/1939558_10202676456405447_280020304_n.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Then it was the time for the meet & greet...<br />
<br />
First of all, I made a mistake by leaving the sheet I painted to the cloakroom and I had to get it before we could go to the meet & greet. So, I went there and had to say bunch of times that I need my stuff back. A couple of times later I finally got my things and while I was there, I saw that some concert posters were handed out for free for everyone already leaving the venue. With my things, I got back to the VIP line with Rousuke and started to get ready to meet one of our idols. The last instructions were "no talking, no hugging, no touching and any gifts will be left to a gift box". I'll let that to sink in for a moment.<br />
<br />
Let me sum up here, <b>what were the promises</b> they made, when we purchased these tickets: early access to the venue, meet & greet and a picture with the artist. Only a week before the day of event, the ticket seller announced, that the photo will be taken in groups of 10 people.<br />
<br />
So, what ended up happening, was that we left our sheet in the gift box, grinned at a camera with bunch of unfamiliar faces, a poster (the very same poster which was given up for free to the regular ticket buyers as well in the hall) and a card were given to us and right after we were pretty much kicked out of the room. Some of us looked at each other with the look "what the fuck just hapened?" on their faces.<br />
I would say that even Miyavi had a wtf-face because we were all 'in a hurry' to get out of the room, which in reality was because of the organizers breathing in our necks with the look of "get out of here already!", AND he himself was the one offering handshakes and thanking people. Should we have been all silent at that moment, huh?<br />
And lastly, the photos that were taken had to be hunted down from Facebook on a different page than the official artist page. I also counted the amount of VIP ticket holders via these pictures. In Finland alone, there was 175 VIPs...<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UpvlOJR8spU/U45HU-_eIpI/AAAAAAAAClk/VnEittjoPog/s1600/10003998_10202683351457819_352159797_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UpvlOJR8spU/U45HU-_eIpI/AAAAAAAAClk/VnEittjoPog/s1600/10003998_10202683351457819_352159797_n.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(borrowed the photo from Rousuke's blog, because I was too lazy to search it up again)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
After that it was pretty much ranting to myself and going back to my sister's place. Needless to say, regular ticket buyers got much more out of their money than VIPs. Miyavi slapped his fans literally - in the face.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Here are the physical memories (I forgot to put the ugly bracelet to the photo, sorry):</div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-V1jRtgm5PmE/VGUykeaEPmI/AAAAAAAAB-A/W5oTmfZZ6IU/s1600/muistot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-V1jRtgm5PmE/VGUykeaEPmI/AAAAAAAAB-A/W5oTmfZZ6IU/s320/muistot.jpg" width="267" /></a></div>
<div>
<br />
Yup, that's about it. Sorry, that I made you wait for so long and yet it turned out this short.. My apologizes!<br />
Next up is going to be a entry about girugamesh's live at Nosturi from this summer! Stay tuned~<br />
Bye~</div>
ラウラhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03403378118096547309noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501184674581696919.post-26061838560532387852014-05-13T00:04:00.000+03:002014-05-13T00:04:39.466+03:00An Cafe @ Tavastia, Helsinki 2014/3/11 (VIP)<span style="background-color: #f4cccc; color: white; font-size: large;">T</span>his blog is mostly known for its slow-ass writer.. This live was 2 months ago and NOW my mind tells me, it's about time to write something down? God, I hate myself so much sometimes..<br />
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<a href="http://imageshack.com/a/img543/1946/gobh.jpg/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://imageshack.com/a/img543/1946/gobh.jpg/" /></a></div>
<br />
SO. There was a concert I went to. This band was the turning point for me to get permanently interested in Japanese back in the day and so, once again, the bond between them and us cafekkos had to be witnessed live at Tavastia. Of course I bought the ticket right away and some time later we received the craved and also feared e-mail from NeoTokyo: VIP upgrades we're going to be sold this time around too.<br />
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What I didn't, and still don't, like about NeoTokyo, is that they held information from consumers to the very last moments when the VIP tickets were supposed to go on sale; the dates were announced but the exact hours were unknown. The only statement they made was only in their Facebook-page on the sale date and it read "Today's tickets should go online at 13-15".. that's a pretty big time gap if you ask me. So, the only option was to rape the F5-button on our keyboards.<br />
<br />
<br />
Then.. at 13:20 or so, I spotted the VIP tickets to the concert in Finland and holy shit did I act fast. I almost felt my veins popping out of my skin because I was so nervous and hadn't slept that night at all. But it paid off! I stared at the screen furiously, fingers crossed and hoping for the best. And BAM! The order had gone through and when I tried to move somewhere else on their site, it wouldn't load. So, once again NeoTokyo's site was overloaded with all the traffic by cafekkos, surprise surprise.<br />
<br />
When it calmed a little and the site decided to co-operate and load again, I checked for the third time, that my order actually went through. After that it was about a week of waiting to receive the actual VIP e-mail and then print it out. Then.. it was time to wait - once more.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xtOcRoEvJE8/U20siBcHMpI/AAAAAAAAB0I/coA75ZB66Po/s1600/130186203.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xtOcRoEvJE8/U20siBcHMpI/AAAAAAAAB0I/coA75ZB66Po/s1600/130186203.jpg" height="101" width="400" /></a></div>
While waiting and the tour already started, some of us Finnish cafekkos saw the fan act in Poland via An Cafe's facebook. Of course we were inspired by this and also wanted to do something similar: during the live in Poland, the audience started to sing <i>Kimi no machi </i>when it was time for an encore. By no means this was original or anything and we were lazy to come up with anything else, but as the cafekko-side of me kicked in, I didn't care. So, the result was, we were going to sing a verse from <i>YOU</i><br />
More about that later~<br />
<br />
So, a bunch of time passes and I arrived to Helsinki, stayed couple of nights at my sister's place in Espoo and the next morning was going to be THE day. It was about 10 am I took my spot in the line in front of Tavastia club. The weird thing is, there never really were security watching over the line up. Maybe they've finally learned that the rule of lining up starting at 3 pm is not working here in Finland if there's no line numbers handed over in the order people arrive at the venue. But enough about that.<br />
<br />
At some point during the first hours the members of An Cafe themselves just walked by us and in to the club. Teruki and Yuuki were looking energized and said "hi! nyappy" to the first ones in line before going inside. Others kinda smiled with their eyes and went inside (yu-ki's hot without his wig btw!). Oh well, can't really blame them for the cold weather. What I'm glad about, is the fact that cafekkos behaved! It's no surprise though, the screaming little girls were us back in the day after all and I guess we've matured a little since then :'D Still faithful fans, though!<br />
<br />
The time went by gathering regards and messages from all the cafekkos on a sheet that I had painted. Another cafekko gave away sheets of lyrics from the song we had planned to sing after encore. Rest of the time was shuddering in a cold wind and drinking whatever kept us warm.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zvhVkW3sT3Y/U3DeKwJHCZI/AAAAAAAAB0Y/Occp7KBH-DM/s1600/DVC00171.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zvhVkW3sT3Y/U3DeKwJHCZI/AAAAAAAAB0Y/Occp7KBH-DM/s1600/DVC00171.png" height="320" width="309" /></a>The VIP line had 30 or so people and couple of my friends and I were the first ones. I was unbelievably happy, when the staff came out to call the VIPs in, and I saw my name as the first name on the list (that means I made the very first purchase XD). After simple checking, we were inside with our laminates and gifts to the members of An Cafe.<br />
<br />
Behind the final door, inside the stage hall, we were given a poster and a face towel(? to me it looks more like a tiny microfiber cloth you sweep dust with xD). Then, in a neat row, we waited for a short while to meet our idols. And right before we knew it, they were before our eyes.<br />
<br />
But this was not the first time I've met the members face-to-face (first time 2011 at kanonxkanon live, the second time 2012), so I wasn't <span style="color: #93c47d;"><b>THAT</b></span> nervous, but still nervous. Does that make sence? lol<br />
<br />
First, An Cafe thanked us for being there. Then, of course, they didn't want to keep it that short, so somehow they had came up with Moomin names for each of the members and by the loudness of clapping they wanted to know how popular each member was and is among the VIP cafekkos. Of course, the classic winners were Miku and Kanon.<br />
<br />
After that the VIP cafekkos were allowed to ask questions. There were couple of non-questions too, like "I just want to thank you for being you. Your music has kept me going" etc. There was even a letter read out loud. Communicating was easy for all of us, because there was a Japanese-English-Japanese translator and so, those who didn't speak or know any Japanese were at ease. For me, though, it was good that she was there, so I could be sure I understood correctly anything the members were saying :3<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ERO0MVciaZU/U3Dj_ZO-V9I/AAAAAAAAB0o/3kLNz4pgAEk/s1600/CIMG1025-%E2%80%93-Kopio.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ERO0MVciaZU/U3Dj_ZO-V9I/AAAAAAAAB0o/3kLNz4pgAEk/s1600/CIMG1025-%E2%80%93-Kopio.png" height="314" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the third picture with you, Kanon-sama,<br />and you don't even realize it XD</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
When people ran out of questions, it was time for pictures! Each VIP got to pick their favorite member and after personally giving the gifts to the members, they had their picture taken next to their favorite member and the rest of the band right behind them. I was among the first ones, so once again, I forgot to ask for a hug.. TuT<br />
<br />
Anyways, I gave a Fazer's blue chocolate bar for each of the members in different kinds of wrapping paper. Then it was time for that god damn sheet I painted.. once again, they were surprised by the size of it (lol). After the picture I was given, by Kanon himself, the European press of Higakyaku Ziprock with all of their signatures on the cover.<br />
<br />
With 30 VIP, it took a little time, but everyone had their photo taken separately! Every VIP got an individual picture! Some cried some laughed and most of them got hugs. (TuT envious.) The final picture they took was on stage and it was with their staff.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kd1gy5qF8as/U3Drb45h_0I/AAAAAAAAB04/oMVNCqi2m7c/s1600/1617571_496407050465276_1156716732_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kd1gy5qF8as/U3Drb45h_0I/AAAAAAAAB04/oMVNCqi2m7c/s1600/1617571_496407050465276_1156716732_o.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The translator is that woman on the right with the hoodie with golden text :3<br />The guy on the far left with the same kind of hoodie took the VIPs' pictures~</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
After all that, we were given the last thanks and An Cafe started to retreat to backstage to prepare for the show. It took a second or two for all the VIPs to realize that now we were free to take our spots in the audience... but we all realized it at the same time. WHOOSH and SLAM! We all slammed against the safety fence so hard, that some of the bolts didn't hold and came off. Teruki saw the situation and was all like "woah!" with a laughing face. Then he retreated as well, while the security tried to fix the damage we caused. I'm sorry for that ;__;<br />
<br />
Almost right after that, the rest of the cafekkos started to pour in. Waiting didn't feel to take that long this time around, because it was warmer than outside and before we knew it, we were banging our feet to the floor and clapping, demanding the band we came here to listen to on the stage. I laughed at some point so hard, because some of their warming-up songs choises, that were playing in the background before the live, were hilarious. The one I couldn't keep myself laughing at was ABBA's <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkL7Fkigfn8" target="_blank">Does Your Mother Know?</a> </i>Something tells me, that they realize that their audience is mostly young teens and the band members themselves are mostly in their 30's (Kanon turns to 30 this July btw) XD Funny thing is, I just sang that song a couple of days before the live.<br />
<br />
The intro (this one is only used during lives.. it has never been on CD or anywhere else for that matter for sale) started and one by one, the band members made their appearance behind the smoke.<br />
<br />
To all of us surprise, the set started with <i>Smile Ichiban II Onna</i>, which is mostly known to be the very last song during encore. The spirit was all high up in the air as the smiles were reaching up on cafekkos' faces. It seems, that An Cafe wants to finally move on and come up with something as or maybe even more appealing than this piece. It'll be hard, though!<br />
<br />
The speeches between almost every three songs weren't that interesting really, since they re-used the Moomin-thing. Oh well, at least they tried to speak some Finnish, but mostly they communicated with English. I'm not disappointed, but the speeches never change. All the artists say the same things because of the limitations of the language barrier xD At the live it felt different, though. Maybe it had something to do with that hype every concert has in it (lol).<br />
One thing is worth of mentioning, though: Miku apologized for not giving a show within a year as he had promised the last time they had a show in Finland. We were happy that you eventually did give us a show, though! So don't sweat it XD<br />
<br />
The old-skool fans were treated with old classics, like <i>Wagamama koushinkyoku, Snow Scene, Tekesuta Kousen, Escapism </i>and<i> Maple Gunman</i> (the first song I ever heard from them ;_;).<br />
<br />
The show just kept going and going and it started to feel like that I was underpaying for the concert! There was always a song going and the list felt like it could have kept going for eternity. The hype and happiness never faded and the bond between An Cafe and their cafekkos was so clear, that everyone would have been able to see it by bare eyes.<br />
<br />
Every cafekko was dancing along the songs with furi that Miku and Yu-ki demonstrated. It really felt like the band was giving their everything and moving, not just emotionally, but physically as well! I mean, whew! It got hot in there!<br />
<br />
And oh my, when it was time for <i>Natsu Koi Natsu GAME</i>, I couldn't keep the dirty thoughts at bay at all! Of course they danced the choreography! I don't know if they realize this, or is it on purpose, that one move, that is part of the para para choreography, has actually the meaning of "fuck" in sign language. Or is it just me? Am I misinformed? You tell me:<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9h8UfrqFg-Y/U3D-kxp9vWI/AAAAAAAAB1I/AADlChORy3A/s1600/komedi_1399913925296_824.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9h8UfrqFg-Y/U3D-kxp9vWI/AAAAAAAAB1I/AADlChORy3A/s1600/komedi_1399913925296_824.gif" height="234" width="320" /></a></div>
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More speeches etc occurred and the final stretch began for me in a form of <i>Maple Gunman</i>. I know the furi, lyrics, the song in its entirety in the back of my head!<br />
<br />
After <i>Cherry Saku Yuuki</i>, it was time for An Cafe to retreat to backstage. Of course, there was an encore still to come, but only if we demanded with feet and clapping accompanied by shouting "Encore!" and "mou ikkai!"<br />
The demands were answered to and the boys stood on stage, one more time. Miku was even wearing a t-shirt he got from one of the VIP cafekkos. She had written on it "I'm sexy and I know it" and even I thought it was hilarious! Though, he IS a sexy guy.<br />
<br />
With a little bit of depressed voice, Miku had to say, that the next one was going to be the last song for that night. With melting hearts, cafekkos listened to <i>MY HEART LEAPS FOR "C"</i>.<br />
But it wasn't going to be over yet. Cafekkos had one more thing up in their sleeve. It was time for a twist.<br />
<br />
Like I said, it wasn't original, but the audience started to sign the first verse of <i>YOU.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Miku recognized the song right away and started to sing along without rest of the instruments. Somewhere people lost pace and started to giggle in the middle of it. I thought to myself that "NO! We WILL do this! COME ON!" and I started to sign with a louder voice, trying to be the driving force. And somehow we managed to sign the chorus without a fail. A couple of us in the front row started to demand one more song: <i>BondS -Kizuna-</i><br />
..by yelling repeatedly "BONDS BONDS BONDS!"<br />
<i><br /></i>
AND HOLY TITS BIT IT WAS WORTH IT!<br />
Miku asked if others were willing to perform the song and of course they were! It was the last show on the European tour, for god sakes! And so, with the last of their energy, they performed the song, sealing together the bond between us cafekkos and them.<br />
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<b>Set list</b></div>
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Smile Ichiban II Onna</div>
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ROMAN ~Let's make precious love~</div>
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Wagamama koushinkyoku</div>
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Snow Scene</div>
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Ryuusei Rocket</div>
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Amazing Blue</div>
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Tekesuta Kousen Anti aging ver.</div>
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Escapism</div>
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Kimi no machi</div>
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Bee Myself Bee Yourself</div>
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Natsu Koi Natsu GAME</div>
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Kakusei Heroism</div>
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Itai Onna ~NO PAIN, NO LOVE? JAPAIN GIRLS in LOVE~</div>
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Maple Gunman</div>
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Cherry Saku Yuuki</div>
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<b>ENCORE</b></div>
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MY HEART LEAPS FOR "C"</div>
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<b>ENCORE 2</b></div>
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BondS -Kizuna-</div>
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You don't even know how good it feels to see that last one on the list...</div>
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A couple of lucky cafekkos got the set lists the boys had in front of their feet as a reminder what to play next, because the boys handed them away by themselves. We girls really want every tiny bit there is on the stage so we can have at least something that they have touched at least once, don't we? XD</div>
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But, the show was over, though it seemed to be never ending happiness.</div>
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The last thing boys wanted to do was the tiramisu-routine. And then.. An Cafe was gone. They brought light to the dark spring of Finland. With the bond we share, they brought Nyappy to our hearts.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MCMFVcgxO3o/U3EGgHhJ1HI/AAAAAAAAB1Y/mvQd6d3uW7A/s1600/1890569_495530933886221_1194432924_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MCMFVcgxO3o/U3EGgHhJ1HI/AAAAAAAAB1Y/mvQd6d3uW7A/s1600/1890569_495530933886221_1194432924_o.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There's a fan-made Finnish flag too ;3</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I didn't buy anything, because all that VIP nonsense (was not nonsense at all, missy!! >8O) was expensive after all. And traveling doesn't come cheap either. Though, that tour shirt always teases me T_T</div>
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They did promise to come back... I hope the nyappy shines brightly in me until then!</div>
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I had to catch a train on the next morning so I could make it to the kanji test which was going to be on the same day.. You could tell it didn't go as smoothly as planned, but I will score next time!</div>
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But now..</div>
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..here's a picture of the physical memories~</div>
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Next up will be a RANT about MIYAVI's VIP meeting in Helsinki... so, until then: I'll see you next time! Have a good one.</div>
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THREE - TWO - ONE - TIRAMISU -TIRAMISU</div>
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ラウラhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03403378118096547309noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501184674581696919.post-67808500758824672452014-04-26T00:26:00.000+03:002014-04-26T00:26:44.560+03:00Yukicon 18-19/1/2014, Espoon Kulttuurikeskus<span style="background-color: #ea9999; color: white; font-size: large;">T</span>oday I'd like to finally talk about Yukicon I went to this January and.. Oh my..<br />
<br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VNYqv15yUmI/UzivMDseUNI/AAAAAAAABys/PQuGallkX_4/s1600/DVC00143-%E2%80%93-Kopio.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VNYqv15yUmI/UzivMDseUNI/AAAAAAAABys/PQuGallkX_4/s1600/DVC00143-%E2%80%93-Kopio.png" height="308" width="320" /></a>Let's start with the first day and the <span style="color: #b6d7a8;">POSITIVE</span> things. Rousuke and I went to my sister's place in Espoo on Friday (17th of January). There wasn't much time to stay awake, but we managed to play a few games and eat but right after that it was time to bed. In the morning we took our time to do the makeup and (somewhat) hairdo (Rousuke used wigs on both days, so she didn't have that much of a struggle with her hair xD). My sister had already left to work before we even woke up, so we had to manage our ways to the con by ourselves. Thank goodness we checked the bus we had to take in order to get there the day before, so there really wasn't any worries (I just checked it was the correct bus over and over again, though).<br />
<br />
So, we made it there and it was quite early too, but since neither of us was interested in seeing the 'grand' opening, we arrived about an hour 'late'. But as we all know, you can come and go whenever you like, as always. Pointless point of me.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lHzyeuPqIJU/UziwS05qqUI/AAAAAAAABy4/wcjtfkjjGn4/s1600/DVC00144-%E2%80%93-Kopio.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lHzyeuPqIJU/UziwS05qqUI/AAAAAAAABy4/wcjtfkjjGn4/s1600/DVC00144-%E2%80%93-Kopio.png" height="320" width="316" /></a></div>
Yukicon's guest of honor was Laeppavika (a Finnish gaming group on YouTube), because the con was mostly game-themed. But to be honest with myself, I wasn't that interested in them. The shows I went to watch on Saturday were a concert with wind instruments, Final Fantasy Fight, and AMV competition. All these three were entertaining and fun to watch, but now we can get into the <span style="color: #f4cccc;">NEGATIVE</span> things I've got to say about this convention.<br />
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The first thing we noticed, when we arrived at the convention, was a couple of organizers were on the floor wrestling with each other. To say the least, to me this seemed irresponsible of them and made me think "this convention seems to be held by children".<br />
<br />
At the wind instrument concert on the other hand I couldn't believe my eyes or the bad manners of the audience: about half of the crowd had their smart phones in their hands and didn't pay attention to the music. From you I wish to ask: why do you line for a ticket to hear the music and then blow it for yourselves? The musicians were convicted to play music for you and you pay them back by not listening? To me, this is the same as going to movie theater and then sit there with smart phone suns. I'm not saying it's impossible to concentrate on two different things at the same time, but in this case, I doubt it.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QpkX8jCGVws/U1rK03ifnbI/AAAAAAAABzM/7WmQjsJ9-4Y/s1600/DVC00145-%E2%80%93-Kopio.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QpkX8jCGVws/U1rK03ifnbI/AAAAAAAABzM/7WmQjsJ9-4Y/s1600/DVC00145-%E2%80%93-Kopio.png" height="320" width="305" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Espoon kulttuurikeskus is so gaaaaaaaay XD</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Final Fantasy Fight was awesome on the organizers' part, but some of the fighters weren't that entertaining and the mood was lowered almost by every single fight. It was quite sad to witness the lack of imagination. Hopefully FF Fight won't stop here though.<br />
<br />
The final show I went to see was the AMV competition. And.. oh my, the horror we had to witness. Though, this is only my opinion, I think many of the people can agree, that the playback wasn't good for loud action AMVs. They almost made me insane and afraid that the speakers would blow up at any time. The winner videos were great and I'm glad they won. But just to let you know, there was waaaaaaaay too many Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan) AMVs! By the half way through the entire show, I could hear so much sighing every time a title of a video showed it was going to be another SnK video.<br />
<br />
After the first day, we headed back to my sister's place with Rousuke.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r76HPK9rz5U/U1rNLLLKxJI/AAAAAAAABzY/70DjkcqCvAc/s1600/DVC00148-%E2%80%93-Kopio.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r76HPK9rz5U/U1rNLLLKxJI/AAAAAAAABzY/70DjkcqCvAc/s1600/DVC00148-%E2%80%93-Kopio.png" height="320" width="305" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Her jewelry was so cute >u<</td></tr>
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The next day we had our stall at the Art Alley, so we went there a little bit early in order to get the best spot. Yes; the stalls had no numbers and people could choose whichever stall they wanted to sell at. I'm surprised that the person responsible for art alley even was there on time, because we had to send her emails over and over before the actual event, because she hadn't sent the info early enough. What I'm saying is, that she didn't seem to care at all.<br />
<br />
We spent the whole day at the art alley with Rousuke, TRYING to sell as much as possible. She was able to sell some of her jewelry, but the day still was poor. Customers had spent all their money already on Saturday. And wouldn't you know, I didn't sell even one hat (okay I sold one, but it was pre-ordered by a friend of a friend).<br />
<br />
And I guess Rousuke's products took most of the attention anyways. Just look how pretty and cute they are! And next to them was my lousy creations in a tight pack:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pz2ik9p9BNI/U1rN5QAr59I/AAAAAAAABzg/8atb0OhmODg/s1600/DVC00149+%E2%80%93+Kopio.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pz2ik9p9BNI/U1rN5QAr59I/AAAAAAAABzg/8atb0OhmODg/s1600/DVC00149+%E2%80%93+Kopio.JPG" height="320" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">dun dun duuuuuun</td></tr>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ox1HhnHlyFE/U1rPqRilQbI/AAAAAAAABzs/oTZior4H5kE/s1600/DVC00141-%E2%80%93-Kopio.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ox1HhnHlyFE/U1rPqRilQbI/AAAAAAAABzs/oTZior4H5kE/s1600/DVC00141-%E2%80%93-Kopio.png" height="310" width="320" /></a>Like I said: nothing was bought from me. Fortunately, I put all the hats on sale in a local Facebook flea market and via that I sold most of my hats, but I've still got a couple left. I think I should stick with selling paintings, at least that went a lot better than this. *in tears*<br />
<br />
After a long day with no sells, we headed back to Helsinki to catch our train back to Vaasa. Luckily, when we arrived to Helsinki, we had more than an hour to spend before the train would depart. So, we made a stop at a nearest McDonald's. Yeah, very original. But it lifted my spirit a little bit, because with Happy Meal I was able to get a Mario mushroom as a toy. It even makes the sound it makes in the video games, when it reveals itself from a brick! I still have it on my desk, that little cutie :3<br />
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A little bit depressed, we took our train and headed home.<br />
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I should also mention, that before the event even was around the corner, I got an honorable mention from Yukicon's art competition with this lousy piece of "art":<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rS4yBF39b9c/U1rRDxMv_VI/AAAAAAAABz4/UeRQIrnvPGk/s1600/ensilumipieni.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rS4yBF39b9c/U1rRDxMv_VI/AAAAAAAABz4/UeRQIrnvPGk/s1600/ensilumipieni.jpg" height="400" width="288" /></a></div>
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And the prize for all honorable mentions was a Yukicon's poster. Guess what; I never got mine. I posted my contact information with the artwork in the very first email and when they contacted with a congratulations, they asked my info again.. I sent them another email with the info but still I never got my so called prize. Oh well, after what we went through during this convention, I don't think I would want a Yukicon's poster at all.</div>
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So, all in all, this convention for me was a disaster. We'll see will I attend the next one.</div>
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Also, pardon me; this post is over 3 months late, but you'll probably understand very well why.</div>
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But you guys have a good one! See ya next time~</div>
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Bye.</div>
<br />ラウラhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03403378118096547309noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501184674581696919.post-69130624640770962892013-12-09T08:31:00.000+02:002013-12-09T08:31:32.539+02:00Plans on Yukicon! o(>u<)O<span style="background-color: #ea9999; color: white; font-size: large;">Y</span>e-hes! I bet you didn't see this coming, that I would write another entry without hell of a time gap. The thing is, I've got some news for you (for Finnish readers mostly, maybe)~<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EF50XdsVeag/UqVZ0nnXgEI/AAAAAAAABsE/XJQo6Gasbk8/s1600/hattuu+lauraaa+004+%E2%80%93+Kopio.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="295" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EF50XdsVeag/UqVZ0nnXgEI/AAAAAAAABsE/XJQo6Gasbk8/s320/hattuu+lauraaa+004+%E2%80%93+Kopio.jpg" width="320" /></a>Since Desucon turned out to be a little to expensive that even my wallet would've cried out loud "what the hell, woman!?" if I used my money on that, my first convention of the year of 2014 will be instead <a href="http://www.yukicon.fi/en" target="_blank"><span style="color: #ea9999;">Yukicon</span></a>. It will be held next January, from 18th to 19th at Espoon Kulttuurikeskus. And on Sunday (19th), my friend <b><a href="http://rousuke.blogspot.fi/" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: #ea9999; color: white; font-size: large;">M</span><span style="color: #ea9999;">arika</span></a></b> and I are going to be there selling handmade accessories. Marika sells pastel-gothic-styled jewelry and possibly customized iPhone 4, 4s and 5 cases.</div>
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On my end of the table you will find..</div>
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<b>GJN EXCLUSIVE</b> - handmade cat eared -hats and <u>only one</u> handbag! Every single hat and the bag is made by me - with love of course~</div>
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There are many colors to pick from and also shorter versions without the pon pons available! The prices are as follows:</div>
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Hopefully these will sell. It would be a shame if all this work would be thrown to waste.</div>
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So, if you are visiting Yukicon, please check out our table on Sunday at the Art Alley! You won't be disappointed!</div>
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That should be it. Have a great one!</div>
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~GJN</div>
ラウラhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03403378118096547309noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501184674581696919.post-57897043238855575242013-12-07T03:49:00.000+02:002013-12-07T05:05:10.596+02:00the GazettE @ The Circus, Helsinki 2013/09/29<span style="background-color: #f4cccc; color: white; font-size: x-large;">G</span>JN/ラウラ here (whatever you wanna call me)!<br />
I bet you guys were all like "wheeeeeeeen is she gonna write a new entryyyyyyy??", since I haven't written anything for over a month, right? I've been busy with my studying here in Vaasa and there will be a different entry about that. Just thought it would be nice to give you some reason for my silence.<br />
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Of course this is late as fuck. I don't deny that. Yet, I do think that if I wrote this during the aftermath of the actual event, it wouldn't have been that good of an entry, full of typos and grammar mistakes because of all the hype. So by that, I justify my slowness. My apologizes.<br />
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And now, boys and girls, here it finally is: my blog entry about the GazettE's concert in Finland.<br />
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Let's start off with the hype we all experienced when the band made an announcement there will be a world tour. Oh BOY, it was simply unbelievable to let that info sink in: after 6 long years of waiting, the GazettE was finally going to return to Finland's shore and the city of Helsinki. Even more unbelievable was the fact that the tickets were going to be sold half a year before the actual event. And, as usual, I was stalking the tickets non-stop - day and night. When the morning came, I was sitting in front of a computer I usually use during the situations like this, at the school I was studying at when I still lived in Savonlinna. Clock hit 8 a.m. and I was in the online line for tickets. One more hour frustration and fright. Finally, at 9 o'clock, it took me less than half a minute to make full purchase of my VIP ticket. I ran to the class I was supposed to be attending and cheered to my classmate "I FUCKING GOT IT!"<br />
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The rest of those 6 months is just history of hyping and deciding what to wear. Though, there's no point trying to look good during the show, because all the effort will be thrown away along with sweat, my brain still tells me to "look swagalisious in the line". Fuck you, brain.<br />
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And finally, it arrived; the day when I lost my gazetto-live-virginity. And oh joy, it was totally worth the money, even though all VIP and FC members didn't get the gift. All we got was VIP and FC laminates and (sorry to say) a garbage bag looking bag which we could have bought from the goods table with 3€ anyway. Not really a FC or VIP gift.<br />
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I was at the Circus at 6 am and noticed there was already about 6 people before me, even though jrocksuomi had forbidden it (yeah, I was breaking the rules too XD). The line was made at 8 am and by then there was couple hundred people already. It was such a hassle, because there was the regular line and VIP line, which included 3 sections of different 'levels'. In the head of the line was us with VIP tickets and fan club membership, then the fans with only VIP ticket and the last section was for the fans with regular ticket but with fan club membership. In short: VIP+FC>VIP>FC+REGULAR.<br />
And in the top of that, jrocksuomi kept their rule of randomized lining numbers, which I really don't agree with. You may call me selfish, but why doesn't the rule of the jungle go here? Fast ones eat the slow ones; that's how I was taught as a kid, and find it hard to sympathize with people who cry "but we come from far away! We should have the chance to get in front too!" Tough luck then, you little shits. The concert was on Sunday and you all probably traveled to Helsinki already on Friday. If you really want to get to the front, you need to be there really early, or are you suggesting that you come in line half an hour before the doors open and think people would let you go by pass the mass in the stage hall? It might be good for you, but isn't fair for the rest of the people.<br />
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So, I got the number 19 and the girls behind me number 1. But still I got quite in the head of the line, since the VIP+FC section didn't even have that much people. In reality before me there was about 10 or 12 people.<br />
And what are the odds of that the friend of mine I only see at concerts gets right behind me? It's just like we're linked somehow! I met couple of old and new friends at the line. In their company time fled by fast.<br />
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While still in line the gazetto staff was filming and interviewing people who had made gifts for the band and asking where did we hear about the GazettE and how long we've been listening to their music. If (un)lucky, my interview might show up on the world tour DVD. Whopsiee..<br />
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After the hassle in the line up we finally got in. I only purchased the hoodie and went right after to the audience. I made it to the second row and was quite happy with my spot. Good that I use shock hair colors so it's easy to spot this head :DD<br />
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There we stood and waited for one of the biggest names to show their face and let us hear their music.<br />
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And my second question of the day is: what are the odds that every god damn concert I go to, there's always a foreign girl who doesn't care and makes me to carry her arms on my shoulders? Because of the weight she made on my shoulders, I ended up hitting someone's face in front of me with my elbow multiple times. If she reads this; I'm terribly sorry for that!<br />
The girl behind me also tried to get in front of us with her hips. I don't know was this only stupidity or was she actually trying to hold her ground. Either way, I couldn't possibly make any room for her in any direction and as a result we were squeezed against the row in front of us and people next to us. I kept trying to push the mass back since I was holding from the security fence, but oooh no, people just can't believe that no matter how they push, they are not gonna touch any of the artists. The girl behind me appeared to be Russian and luckily my friend near us is half Russian so I asked her to communicate with her, but the girl just ignored her. So there, you didn't give good impression of yourself at all.<br />
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Apart from that, the audience was really good behaving! What my friend told about her experience in the balcony(?), she didn't see any cameras on audience. Impressive guys! I'm proud of you!<br />
It might have been something do with the announcement before the show JrockSuomi made, because everyone heard it and wasn't just a tiny side info on a website which nobody knows about.<br />
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When the concert finally started I immediately was disappointed with the mixing: Ruki's singing couldn't be heard that good in the front and was quite muffled. This is why I'm seriously considering to go back or to the balcony next time.<br />
But despite all of that, I enjoyed the live with my full heart. I experienced the emotions the songs should deliver and could even see images in my mind. The lights were gorgeous and dimmed at the right moments. Funny add was the word "HOMME" on Ruki's back.<br />
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During some songs Uruha seemed to worry about some short fans in the front rows, but this is just my assumption. Maybe he had a headache or something and that's why he had that worried look on his face.<br />
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The show was over fast and we had one encore after long time of repeatedly shouted "encore!" pleas. At first the fans couldn't keep themselves in sync and when they finally were able to do it, our voices started to fade. So, we started to bang the edge of the balcony and stomp our feet to the floor to make a perfect sync and more sound. We were together in this. Finally the GazettE returned and we got a thumb up :DD (that sounded wrong)<br />
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<b>The setlist</b></div>
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[XI]</div>
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VORTEX</div>
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LEECH</div>
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Before I Decay</div>
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Gabriel on the Gallows</div>
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VENOMOUS SPIDER'S WEB</div>
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THE SUICIDE CIRCUS</div>
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DRIPPING INSANITY</div>
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UNTITLED</div>
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DERANGEMENT</div>
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HEADACHE MAN</div>
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SLUDGY CULT</div>
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COCKROACH</div>
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Filth in the Beauty</div>
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<b>Encore</b></div>
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SHIVER</div>
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RUDER</div>
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LINDA~candydive pinky heaven~</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/2tmc8rJgxUI?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe>After the encore we tried to have another one, but the staff was already packing away the instruments and lights were lit. the GazettE left us with Guns'n'Roses' "<i>Knocking on Heaven's Door</i>". I sang along with couple of my friends while the audience started to fade out and have drinks.</div>
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I was pleased. My virginity wasn't given away for nothing. Thank you the GazettE. You reached out to my soul.</div>
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When most of the audience was headed out, we sat with my friends a little bit and then a member of the staff came to us selling the little towels with lower price. Of course I bought one, since I had the right amount in my pocket.</div>
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And here they are, my small purchases.</div>
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And the butt ass expensive hoodie</div>
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So there you have it. after long wait you finally got to know my thoughts on this concert. I hope you enjoyed XD</div>
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And a little extra side note here: mail finally brought me the membership card of HERESY. We'll see if I get anything from this membership.</div>
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In more news, MIYAVI and An Cafe are heading to Finland next March, so I'll be at those concerts too (I hope). See you guys there!</div>
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Bye~</div>
ラウラhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03403378118096547309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501184674581696919.post-36148062703985484482013-08-03T15:48:00.003+03:002013-08-03T15:49:52.944+03:00Moving complete<span style="background-color: #ea9999; color: white;">M</span>AN! It was a ride. (Technically I've been living in Vaasa about 1.5 weeks already)<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/WGVFYHADWGA?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe>As most of you already know, I moved to Vaasa. The ride itself wasn't that pleasant, but let me start from the very start. And have some music we listened to during all that driving:<br />
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Of course there were issues right before we even rented the van: the price was two times more expensive I was told (or heard) on the phone. Thank god mom was paranoid enough, so we made the rental guy to be actually present at the office before we rent anything. There we found out the actual price and made an agreement. And that Monday morning at 7.51 am I paid the rent and drove the van in front of my yard. Then my sis and I started a furious load up.<br />
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The previous night I didn't get a good sleep, because I was continually filling my head with a thought "all this stuff won't fit in the van.. they won't fit... they won't fit.."<br />
After the van was loaded up my thoughts were proven wrong. They all fit.<br />
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Right after we locked the doors and left the place at 10 o'clock, with our empty stomachs.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-22nCb86RySY/UfzzRAFqmDI/AAAAAAAABlo/-AH-G5-qCfg/s1600/wheel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-22nCb86RySY/UfzzRAFqmDI/AAAAAAAABlo/-AH-G5-qCfg/s320/wheel.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My sis on wheel</td></tr>
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The only stops we made was at Varkaus, where we picked up Karo, bought something to eat in the van and at Jyväskylä, where we switched drivers. At Varkaus I phoned the landlord in Vaasa to inform that I was on my way there but might not get there by 5 o'clock and if there was a possibility get the keys to my new apartment via any other way. The only answer I got was "I cannot do that. We are then closed."<br />
I drove from Savonlinna to Varkaus, my sister from there to Jyväskylä and all the way from Jyväskylä to Vaasa I drove furiously and without breaks; 268km without breaks.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These F*CKERS!!</td></tr>
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When we got closer to Vaasa, the time was running against us. So there was no other option but break the speed limits. When speed of 80km/h was allowed I drove at 90km/h etc.<br />
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But you can only imagine the rage I let out every time we hit the zone of 100km/h and there's these f*ckers on our way. Well, that's a mean thing to say, but these old people and god damn CARAVANS driving 20km/h below the speed limit. (I know there are specific speed limits for caravans and bigger transports, but they still pissed me off, when they were slowing us down)<br />
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Because of these we were in Vaasa at 4.57 pm and of course I made a mistake and turned to a wrong direction. So, I ended up running the last 300 meters by foot. It was 5.01 pm when I reached the office, but thank heavens they were still open (THERE WAS STILL 3 WORKERS ON DUTY ALL TOGETHER). While wheezing I managed to get my key and sign the rent contract.<br />
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After that we had the time to take our breath and we went to have a good load up of our own: FOOOOD!<br />
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At the time we really didn't want to have any "experimental" food, meaning we went to a restaurant we already knew contents of. Golden RAX was a perfect choice for us, since we could eat as much as we could and we were, so to say, starving.<br />
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No pics from there though. We weren't in our best XD<br />
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In the evening we unloaded the van and almost right after went to sleep. In the morning only sis was able to take a quick shower and we already had to get going back to Savonlinna in order to return the van. We left at 9 o'clock (this time we did have a little breakfast) this time sis on wheel. During the part of the trip to Jyväskylä we ate a good dinner and filled up the tires. From Jyväskylä sis drove to Varkaus and we even had some spare time, so we visited a store of used video games I've been wanting to visit for so long. To my surprise, the selection had changed a lot. There weren't that much of PS One games anymore and the remaining games were only football and hockey. The good news is, there's a better game store here in Vaasa~ Of course I've locked my eyes on a couple of games I'd like to purchase and try out already.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">During the trip to Helsinki we came across a funny license plate.<br />
Only An Cafe fans will understand XD</td></tr>
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Karo left from there to Kuopio by bus and we continued our trip to Savonlinna. The next day I returned the van and sis drove me to Helsinki, since she had a borrowed car to return of her own. And from there I took a train to Vaasa. It was a little bet cheaper and easier to travel from Helsinki than it could have been from Savonlinna to Vaasa.<br />
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So. Right now I'm in Vaasa and have already met another student going to study at FKF! By what I can tell from the only chat I've had with her, I can tell she's quite nice! Hopefully we'll have good time studying together :3<br />
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Right now I'm in a middle of decorating my new apartment, so you'll see what it is like in another post~ You'll also hear what kind of flaws it had before moving in.. But now I've said my goodbyes to Savonlinna. I don't know will we meet again anymore.<br />
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So, moving - Complete.<br />
Bye now :3ラウラhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03403378118096547309noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501184674581696919.post-8684185667360106092013-07-17T23:18:00.000+03:002013-07-17T23:18:45.564+03:00BIG news!<span style="background-color: #ea9999;"><span style="color: white;">P</span></span>AO! Today Taokaka will represent my moods throughout this post :3<br />
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Like some of you might have read from last post's comments,<b> I got accepted to FKF</b>!<br />
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<a href="http://www.fightersgeneration.com/np5/blaz-cs/sprites/2/3/tao-twirl2.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="107" src="http://www.fightersgeneration.com/np5/blaz-cs/sprites/2/3/tao-twirl2.gif" width="200" /></a>The story goes, that when I posted the last post about waiting, the very next day that very waited letter popped down in my mailbox. For the whole time I had been half asleep and instantly woke up at the time a doorbell rang or the mail slammed on the floor through the mail box (it's not a box, you idiot.. it's just a whole in a door. with a lid.).<br />
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So, basically when that letter arrived, I didn't care at all for the results from the universities. And when they finally arrived, turned out, that I wasn't accepted either of those. So FKF is the only place I got accepted to. But thank heavens for that, I still can roll on the floor for all the joy! I finally can study Japanese "full time"!<br />
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After that I instantly had to send applications to couple of landlords in Vaasa, so I could get a roof on top of my head too. And it was getting to drain my sanity, when there was no answer until 5 days ago. I was offered an apartment with ~420€/month rent, which is basically all I get as financial aid from government. All this automatically equals "TAKE A STUDENT LOAN". I really don't like the idea, because I already had that for one year and the amount creeps me out. But in this situation, it seems there's no other option at this time.<br />
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<a href="http://www.fightersgeneration.com/np5/blaz-cs/sprites/2/3/4/taokaka-run.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="186" src="http://www.fightersgeneration.com/np5/blaz-cs/sprites/2/3/4/taokaka-run.gif" width="200" /></a>So yes, I GET TO MOVE OUT FROM HERE! Finally! After 4 long years in Savonlinna, I'm moving all the way to the west coast. Bye bye, Russian tourists!<br />
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This also means, that there won't be mommy visiting me every weekend (and maybe not even every other month). So it'll be stretching out my wings, though I'm a little scared.<br />
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I can thank Emma for being my friend and telling me about FKF's existence. Without her I would probably cry on the floor right now. You'll be hanging out with me while I'm there, right? Pretty puwease!<br /><br />
Also my friend Karo deserves to be thanked. She helped me out with the application I sent to FKF, so also big thanks to her!<br />
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The apartment I'm moving in, is quite big for one person to live. But I won't complain, I'm just thankful they found a free apartment right in time. I'll be moving out 22nd of July. That's 5 nights from now, so.. I'll guess we're back to square one: waiting.<br />
I've rent a van for this trip and I guess my sister and I are going to drive that ~470km of road together. Karo is also joining us to help with unpacking the car. The nasty part is, that neither of us (my sister and I are the only ones with driver's license) have any experience driving a van. Wellp, it'll be an adventure for all of us :3<br />
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But, though I'm ready to go, I've still got to wait the 5 nights. And clean up the apartment I'm leaving from. Simply put: I can't hold myself still...<br />
<a href="http://www.fightersgeneration.com/np5/blaz-cs/sprites/2/taokaka-crouch.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="168" src="http://www.fightersgeneration.com/np5/blaz-cs/sprites/2/taokaka-crouch.gif" width="200" /></a>I've already packed my PS2 and PS3 and neither have I a television anymore, because the old one was on its last days. So, basically I'm out of entertainment. I just can't wait before I get to purchase a new tv (or projector perhaps), couple pieces of furniture and a new game to play before school starts. I already have my eyes on a game that I've never played, and hate myself for it. Here's some music as a hint:<br />
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Bye now :3ラウラhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03403378118096547309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501184674581696919.post-68438531953592484622013-06-27T02:16:00.000+03:002013-06-28T18:09:09.796+03:00Still waiting... and waiting<span style="background-color: #ea9999; color: white;">P</span>OW! How's it been with you guys? Let's skip the usual apology and get straight to the topic.<br />
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Yeah, I graduated alright. And I still don't have any pictures from the party, because it takes some time to get them from my sister... So you guys MAY get to see some pictures, IF my sister sent them to me some time soon.<br />
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So, there's been a couple of entrance exams before and after graduation.<br />
First one was for Lahti's university to study furniture designing and I didn't even get to the exam part; my works, that had to be made before handed, didn't score that high, so I was rejected.<br />
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Second one was for Helsinki's university to study Japanese language and culture, and the preparing for the test went BADLY wrong: I was reading mechanically, so I wasn't mentally really there when I read the history book (didn't even get to the half way..). AND the Finnish language book I had was the wrong one. So, basically one book I couldn't finish and the other wasn't even the correct one. Well, you guessed it: the exam went horribly and I was the very first one to leave (after 1 HOUR I've sat there, trying to write something.. I'm sure I sounded like a first grader in everything I wrote..). That leads to my conclusion of this exam: I'm not waiting to get accepted. It's impossible.<br />
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Right after graduation I sent my application to Fria Kristliga Folkhögskolan in Vaasa, to study Japanese language, culture, history and society. I had been writing that 1.5 pages long text for couple of months and I still think I didn't sound convincing enough to get my spot in their classroom. And I actually had to resent the papers very next day, because my school messed up with my grades: they forgot to put a mention about two courses I had attended to (without those I would had only 73 courses, which isn't enough to graduate from Finnish senior secondary high school). The answer SHOULD reach me by 28th of this month and I've still heard nothing.. Only two mornings with mail to go. Keep your fingers crossed!<br />
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The last entrance exam was a couple of days after the graduation and it was to Tampere's university to study game creating. In my opinion it went quite well, but I can be sure only when I can hear something from their way. They will release the info about accepted students 1st of July at the earliest. So, still waiting for that too.<br />
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One month has gone by and only one more to go, before I need to move out from this apartment. Kinda sad, since I've lived here for 4 years now, but it's finally time to move on and stretch my wings.<br />
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In the mean time I'll be playing games and translating for JaME. A friend of mine introduced me to the most popular fighting game in Japan: BlazBlue. And I'm already in love with its characters, especially Taokaka. She's stupid, but also represents the character of a cat: lazy and always hungry as fuck.<br />
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I hope I can get this blog up and running in the way I want soon, too. But for now, bye~<br />
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~~~~~~~にゃ~・・・まだにゃすか~~~?</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(nnnnnnnyaa... Still not nyeeeeeet?)</td></tr>
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ラウラhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03403378118096547309noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501184674581696919.post-86790524663378611502013-04-15T17:45:00.004+03:002013-04-15T17:45:54.379+03:00VIP for the GazettE's concert..<span style="background-color: #ea9999; color: white; font-size: large;">o</span>btained!<br />
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Now, is there any among my readers, who are also going to attend this concert in Finland? Do you have a hunch how many VIPs there are all together? Would be nice to say hi in person. :3<br />
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It was a war to get a ticket to this concert. Tiketti.fi opened the line for these tickets at 8am and sales at 9am. Many didn't know, that there was lining even at the online store, so they kinda came to purchase their tickets 'late'. I was able to get a spot of very first customers in line, so there was no worries. I've got a VIP ticket for me and my good friend Henkka :3<br />
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This time the sales were more furious and fast than the last time the GazettE visited Finland; tickets were all sold out within a half an hour. VIPs were sold out a lot faster. But still I like tiketti.fi's methods of using online line up. I guess those, who have experience with buying a VIP ticket via neotokyo.de, know why.<br />
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The last sixth of this year in high school is about to start. So, there will be only a few posts coming up, but I guess you guys have already gotten used to it, haha! After the school ends, I'll be telling stories about the party and the submissions I'm sending/have sent to the universities I'd like to continue my studies at. After that.. there might be some reviews of clothes. I dunno. We'll see~<br />
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Bye now!<br />
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<br />ラウラhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03403378118096547309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501184674581696919.post-56563022410673750942013-03-29T14:04:00.000+02:002013-03-29T14:04:36.339+02:00An Cafe & the GazettEThis is only a short notice, but I think it's good to inform you guys.<br />
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An Cafe informed about a release of their new single, BUT it can be only purchased from their Japan tour, starting from Shibuya AX 21st of April. I'm a little disappointed, since I really wanted to buy their new single! "Kimi no machi" is available in 5 different covers:<br />
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The next thing to inform is, the fact the GazettE is coming to Finland next September! Exactly 6 months from now. And, oh boy, I'm going even if it was raining knifes from the sky! Finally I'm able to hear their music live! And I hope the Finnish fans won't be total jackasses this time. I've heard horrible stories.<br />
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<ul style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'ヒラギノ明朝 Pro W6', 'Hiragino Mincho Pro', HGS明朝E, 'MS P明朝', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 28px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 30px 0px 0px; text-align: center; zoom: 1;">
<li style="list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; text-align: center; zoom: 1;"><span class="date" style="zoom: 1;">9/6 Jose Cuervo Salon@Mexico City(MEXICO)</span></li>
<li style="list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; text-align: center; zoom: 1;"><span class="date" style="zoom: 1;">9/8 Teatro Caupolican@Santiago(CHILE)</span></li>
<li style="list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; text-align: center; zoom: 1;"><span class="date" style="zoom: 1;">9/11 Teatro Vorterix@Buenos Aires(ARGENTINA)</span></li>
<li style="list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; text-align: center; zoom: 1;"><span class="date" style="zoom: 1;">9/14 A Seringueira@Sao Paulo(BRAZIL)</span></li>
<li style="list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; text-align: center; zoom: 1;"><span class="date" style="zoom: 1;">9/20 Le Trianon@Paris(FRANCE)</span></li>
<li style="list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; text-align: center; zoom: 1;"><span class="date" style="zoom: 1;">9/22 Le Phare@Toulouse(FRANCE)</span></li>
<li style="list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; text-align: center; zoom: 1;"><span class="date" style="zoom: 1;">9/25 FZW@Dortmund(GERMANY)</span></li>
<li style="list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; text-align: center; zoom: 1;"><span class="date" style="zoom: 1;">9/27 Muffathalle@Munich(GERMANY)</span></li>
<li style="list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; text-align: center; zoom: 1;"><span class="date" style="zoom: 1;"><b><u>9/29 The Circus@Helsinki(FINLAND)</u></b></span></li>
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But now, it's bye bye~<br />
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<br />ラウラhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03403378118096547309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501184674581696919.post-39007591523646069282013-03-27T13:47:00.000+02:002013-03-27T13:47:51.748+02:00For goodness sake..<span style="background-color: #ea9999; color: white; font-size: large;">S</span>orry for this more and more expanding time period with no posts. The truth is, I've been way too busy with my final exams and remaining courses and pre-missions for universities. Now I was finally able to find some spare time and write to you guys a new blog entry. Here's some music for the funzies~<br />
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So, a week ago a listening diary was sent to me via post. They asked me to mark every fifteen minutes I've been listening to any radio or recordings (like CDs and mp3s) from 7 days time period. Today is the last day and mostly the recordings-column is filled with marks. All the columns with radio stations are entirely empty, but no wonder; Finnish radio stations mostly play mainstream- or classical music. YleX sometimes plays heavy metal and I can swear I heard Dir en Grey once from their station. But the rest of the time all we can hear is Minaj.<br />
What do I get from doing this diary, you ask? Every diary which are sent in time will give you a free scratch lot. It would be funny, if I actually won something from it. All the filled diaries also participate in a raffle, where you can win something valued 500€. So, well see, if this gave me anything.<br />
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Next thing worth of mentioning is the fact my final exams went pretty surely good enough, so I passed. The real confirmation will be given only two weeks before the graduation day - sucks, right? But right now all I can do is to participate entrance exams and finish up with this high school. I really hope I'm able to start studying Japanese in Vaasa or Helsinki. Or then I can look up some universities abroad, but I doubt my papers will be good enough for studying out form this country.. And it would be more ideal to be taught in mother's tongue. So, we'll see. There's always a chance I find myself studying in UK or US.<br />
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The next time I'll photoshoot, I'll be doing a review of the new clothes I purchased from wholesale7.net and if you wish, I could continue doing more reviews in the future too. Mostly I'll be writing about my studies (I guess), but reviews will be a nice refreshment among the posts. There WILL be vlogs too. I promise! The question is: would you like me to do them in Finnish or English? I would prefer Finnish, since it's easier for me to speak fast, BUT being more international is kinda good thing too. So, let me hear your opinions on this~<br />
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And surprise surprise, I'm about to change the design of this blog again. But it'll happen after the photoshoot.<br />
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I hope you guys will have a good one!<br />
Bye.<br />
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<br />ラウラhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03403378118096547309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501184674581696919.post-65464788312774244072013-02-24T13:54:00.000+02:002013-02-24T13:54:17.439+02:00なつかしい~!<span style="background-color: #ea9999; color: white; font-size: large;">Y</span>o!<br />
Today I thought it'll be a good day to share with you guys what were the cartoons I used to watch as a kid in the 90's. Yup, that's how lame this post is going to be, but of course you can bare through this! At least those readers, who are at the same age as I am.. you youngsters may not even recognize the cartoons at all. And it's kind of sad too, because nowadays' cartoons and kids' shows are lame and awful. I guess I'm starting to get old XD<br />
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But let's start our kick off: First series I can think of is of course Pokémon. I never watched other seasons but the first one, but I have seen first three movies plus Mewtwo returns and one other movie which's name I can't remember right now (and I'm too lazy to go find it).<br />
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This is the very rare exception, when I think the Finnish version of the theme song is way better than English.. I can't explain why, but of course it does have to do something small with the fact it's the first version I ever heard of Pokémon. Overall, I still love to watch the first two movies~ They both have such an awesome soundtrack I can't stop listening to them! Everyone knows the song "The Power of One"!<br />
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The next one is of course Digimon. I can't recall watching this that much either, but this time I'll have to say, that the original Finnish dub sucked REALLY bad. Only the opening and closing themes were made with good taste and talented singers.<br />
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But honestly I can't remember almost anything about the plot itself.. I guess I missed so many episodes so the plot and dialogue were too absurd to me at the time.I might re-watch this series some day, with some popcorn and friends!<br />
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Now, let's switch from Japanese anime to some western cartoons for a moment. The Magician (original title El Mago) was a French cartoon of a superhero-like magician, which amazed me again and again. The pace is really fast even in the intro, but it still has its magic touch. I guess it's the music which does it. It has a kinda mysterious and at the same time creepy end in its tone. I don't know why that is the reason it keeps me on my toes and gives the urge to watch the whole episode after seeing the intro. I just like it!<br />
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Get ready to rock! Now, may I present you three assholes from Mars - with their motor bikes. Many of you may know this cartoon, but because of its newer version. This is the original 90's version and, should I say, more BADASS! The music, the jokes, the simplicity and concentration on the speed of those bikes.. to put it short: EVERYTHING makes you to remember this series!<br />
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Biker Mice from Mars is obviously an American cartoon (and the target audience is actually little boys, but I still love it! I used to play them in kindergarten!), since the scenarios are located in Chicago. I totally recommend to watch this series as it was in the 90's! I still can't get over that electronic voice repeating "Biker Mice from Mars -- Biker Mice from Mars -- Biker Mice from Mars".. it was something so unique at that time and it can't be compared with anything! I still want Vinnie's red bike!<br />
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Also, the trio of Throttle, Vinnie and Modo has a bro-code, which you can totally sense while watching the show. Home-brewed beer, hot-dogs and more heavy metal to everyone! Brofist!<br />
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There are many more cartoons I used to watch as a kid, but I'm going to close this post with two animes.<br />
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Candy Candy was actually made in the middle 80's, but it was released on VHS in Finland in the 90's. I was son little back then and thought the intro song was in Estonian.. oh, silly me :'DD Well, what you can do? Your world image is still so small as a child, though many times you might think outside of the box<br />
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The series itself is about a very naive girl and her life from an orphan baby to an adult. There's nothing much more to say, because there are tons of events she confronts during this series - well, it is a long time period after all. But, what bothers me, is that she keeps her naive attitude towards every f-ing person she confronts, even though they are complete douchebags right from the start. She does say what she thinks about things though.<br />
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And for last but not the least:<br />
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Well what else could it be except Sailor Moon? :DD I honestly remember nothing else but the fact the sailors actually did nothing against the bad guys BEFORE the mysterious man with a rose appears during every freaking battle. And suddenly all the sailors know what to do (I don't know does the rose he throws have some magical powers to wake girls up from their panic or whatever..) but before that all were just shivering in fear, lol.<br />
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But that's for now! I'll leave you with a longer video with a Finnish dub song I totally like as it is. The original lyrics go "I need a hero" but in order to fit the lyrics in Finnish with the beat, they changed it into "I want a man". May I present you: Shrek 2 - Mä Miehen Tahdon<br />
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Have a good one!<br />
Bye.<br />
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<br />ラウラhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03403378118096547309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501184674581696919.post-39339045300172274532013-02-19T01:30:00.001+02:002013-02-19T01:30:07.304+02:00Desucon Frostbite 2013<span style="background-color: #ea9999; color: white; font-size: large;">F</span>inally I've been recovered from the sleepiness I had.. well that's what you should expect after three nights without sleep. Yes, I didn't sleep for the entire weekend. And I already need to apologize for the lack of pictures, because I know you would love them. However, I remembered to take out my camera way too late and the stress I felt before art alley kept me barely going. I almost fainted during those 4 hours I was selling those paintings. Luckily, I had wonderful feedback.<br />
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But first, on Saturday we left from Savonlinna with two of my friends and one girl I didn't know. She was quiet but nice and I hope I'll see her next time too :3 She cosplayed Connor from Assassin's Creed III and that awakened my urge to cosplay Ezio Auditore from Assassin's Creed II.. hopefully I can make that costume for some upcoming con. Stay tuned for that ;3<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_BTfH5qn3p0/USKaswKVRDI/AAAAAAAABgU/vIq5pHt8n0o/s1600/HPIM0799.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_BTfH5qn3p0/USKaswKVRDI/AAAAAAAABgU/vIq5pHt8n0o/s400/HPIM0799.png" width="400" /></a>By then I haven't slept for two nights and was already hype about everything - I felt like a wnb japan-fan again! But I had drunk 3 small bottles of ice coffee and it made me feel sick. I almost trowed up, but nothing came out. By the night I was back normal again and figured out, that all that coffee made so much air in my stomach that I had to burp and fart all the time. Before bed time it was over and I was finally able to paint my last product: 30x70cm Shinya-sama in made-costume! It looks awful though, but that's something you should expect.. since it's painted in hurry.. during night.. in a bathroom. It was the only painting that didn't sell, too. Here's some WIP-pics and during the bus trip back home~ I think he will be on my next apartment's wall, even though I'm not that satisfied with the result.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-teCMCET8pQc/USKdhAMn2dI/AAAAAAAABgw/_6AktCpL0Y8/s1600/0001hw25.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="249" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-teCMCET8pQc/USKdhAMn2dI/AAAAAAAABgw/_6AktCpL0Y8/s320/0001hw25.png" width="320" /></a>All together 7 paintings were sold out of 8. There was Ruki from the GazettE, Hamasaki Ayumi, GACKT, Miyavi and Jensen Ackles. There also were two ordered paintings: Reita from the GazettE and T.O.P. Both customers were satisfied with their purchases :3 Also, if you liked to order a painting of your own, please contact me and I'll keep in touch (random salesman talk..).<br />
I stood about 4 hours at the art valley and all those 7 were already sold and I was able to leave back home about 4 hours earlier than originally planned! Thank goodness I didn't pre-order return ticket but only one-way. It made deciding when to leave much easier.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"I think I'm adorable."</td></tr>
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Thank you again to all customers for purchasing my lousy art~! Jensen was the one who turned everyone's heads towards my table XD And yet, he was the second last one bought.. And I thought he would be the very first one to go!<br />
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There's pretty much nothing more to mention, since I was half asleep during the whole weekend. We exchanged fast greetins with <a href="http://excitermomentum.blogspot.fi/">Jani</a>, but too bad I wasn't quite PRESENT.. more like a ghost or spirit in the air, lol. My mind was completely having some strange thoughts.. literally! I also noticed the same phenomenon while painting Shinya-sama: I thought all the lines in his hair were soldiers and a huge battle was about to begin where actually there's a white reflection of light... Those times when you really want to ask your subconsciousness "what the actual fuck?"<br />
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What else? Well.. we did watch "PUTOUS" with the girls in our hotel and laughed our ass off with stupid jokes. One was a mind-image of an aboriginal man hanging upside down outside our room's window saying "you rang? How about a small breakfast?" with broken Finnish: "kutsuiko? Ehkä pieni valipala~?" (the Finns seen that creme bonjour commercial may remember that chef dude in a fridge giving a woman a piece of bread) I know it sounds crazy, but it was fun during the time XD<br />
Maybe it'll be funnier if that aboriginal was replaced with Ezio Auditore.. See? I knew you would smile :DD (maybe I should draw some fanart out of this mindimage.. or could somebody from you guys do it for me, puwease? ;'D)<br />
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I'm sorry, but there's no pictures of my lolita costume I wore, yet. Only one guy took a picture right before I was heading to get back my things and leave the whole city, lol. I should've taken a picture or two before heading out from the hotel, since that time was pretty good for it (and now when I think about it, I even had the camera in my hand! Guess I was so exhausted I didn't realize..). BUT I might take some good photos in our school's studio some day soon.<br />
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All together about 80€ profit was made out from those paintings and I think I might do something similar again.. with better prepared schedule of course. Last minute panic isn't the bast answer for this kind of thing, at all. Now I've got some money to put aside for the time I move out from here. Moving is expensive, like everything else. Speaking of that, I purchased Assassin's Creed Brotherhood and Assassin's Creed Revelations in one disc from dischop.fi! It cost only 19.95€ to buy that double game and it's much cheaper than buying them on separated discs. So, technically there's 3 games to play: mom bought Valkyria Chronicles for me a couple of days before my birthday. Thank you mom! :3 BUT I made a promise to myself that I won't play any games before I graduate from Savonlinna Taidelukio, so.. I guess I bought that 4 month license for Xsplit for nothing xD Also, I'm trying to get an HDD from huuto.net with a low price.. there's a possibility that I'll get 500GB with less than 40€ and that's a very good deal! The bad thing is, that the auction ends about 3,5 days from now, so there might be others to bid me out.<br />
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And while speaking of games, here's a short video from Sony, which creeps me out: I can clearly smell PS4 coming out already..<br />
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Want to know why I think so? Because this totally reminds me of the GazettE's commercial of their two-parted live tour which ended at Tokyo Dome, WHICH was one of their ultimate goals to get to perform at. They didn't directly say it in their commercial at that time but it was kind of obvious they were teasing, since otherwise all the tour-dates and places would've been released without any hesitation. And this Sony's commercial is just the same: giving the date, but not actual content.<br />
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I put myself on the e-mail list, so I'll be informed right away what the fuck is all this fuzz about. And I will burst into flames in a bad way if this was PS4 that is going to be released. BECAUSE I JUST GOT PS3 SUPER SLIM. That would be so short time period between PS3 SS and PS4 release dates.. oO I guess we'll see tomorrow..<br />
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But as I usually do with posts, I always link some music too. Here's some that brought me back some memories from my childhood and PlayStation one games.. dunno why, but it did~<br />
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Take care!<br />
Bye.<br />
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<br />ラウラhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03403378118096547309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501184674581696919.post-69363814088373424952013-02-06T14:05:00.000+02:002013-02-06T14:22:26.508+02:00Nyappy b-day desu...ka?<span style="background-color: #ea9999; color: white; font-size: large;">Y</span>up. I'm ill. Day after tomorrow's a final exam of Finnish language however and I must be there, no matter how bad I feel.<br />
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The good news is, that the second ordered painting is nearly finished! I'll give you some treat, aka a WIP-picture~<br />
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And I'm finally 20 years old, which means I'm legally an adult in Japan! My second goal in life is completed XD<br />
I'm not gonna throw any party, since it's in the middle of a week, I'm sick, all friends are from out of this town and the top of all I need to paint. Must. Paint. @__@<br />
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It'll be a pity, if I'm not able to sell everything away in DF after I've sacrificed all the time to do them. If there was gonna be any 'left overs' I'll be selling them online. So you should check on that, if you didn't manage to get the ticket to DF.<br />
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But now I shall return to complete this work and start a second one. You guys have a good one..<br />
..and some pleasuring music!<br />
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Bye!<br />
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<br />ラウラhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03403378118096547309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501184674581696919.post-40358782192904466722013-02-03T20:06:00.000+02:002013-02-03T20:06:41.033+02:00Feeling a bit ill..<span style="background-color: #ea9999; color: white; font-size: large;">T</span>HIS IS NOT THE TIME TO GET SICK! I'll be painting no matter what!<br />
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But to give you a little update, here's the AMV I sent to Desucon Frostbite's AMV-contest. Today I got an email it didn't make to finals, so I decided to share it with you guys already :3<br />
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And now when I think about it.. how the heck did I even thought THIS could be a winner material? xD Silly me.<br />
Sorry to leave you guys with another short update like this again, but school and upcoming finals are eating the time. I'll be updating at least something about Desucon Frostbite.<br />
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But for now; have a good one.<br />
Bye.<br />
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<br />ラウラhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03403378118096547309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501184674581696919.post-48557646787247890712013-01-20T12:55:00.001+02:002013-01-20T16:33:37.200+02:00All aboard the fan girl train!<span style="background-color: #ea9999; color: white; font-size: large;">S</span>o, it's the first blog entry of this year, though it's already the 20th of January. Pardon me for such a long silence, once again.<br />
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The 18th of January I took a train to Helsinki in order to meet my sister. We had a nice Saturday and today I left home, and to be exact, still siting in the train. About in a half an hour there will be a switch of trains, so I'd better make this entry as fast as possible. There's really nothing that in particular to "report" on, though.<br />
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Well, I did buy the caddy for PS3 Super Slim but it still is on its way, since I bought it on Friday. It still hasn't got the chance to get on the road.<br />
So, all that is still missing is a 2.5" SATA HDD. I'm still looking, so please let me know, if you've got one you could let go with a small price :3<br />
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I'll shut down my laptop now and when the train reaches Savonlinna, I'll be continuing the painting of those orders.. I'm really behind from schedule, but things will sort out. Promise.<br />
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See you guys later! Here's some music, and you can see I've been watching way too much Cyborg 009 (2001 made remake anime) once again XD Can't stop listening!<br />
May I present you: globe - What's the justice?<br />
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1..2..3..4..5..6..7..8..009.<br />
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<br />ラウラhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03403378118096547309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501184674581696919.post-40538643043524182862012-12-31T21:18:00.005+02:002012-12-31T21:18:49.486+02:00New year..wopee?<span style="background-color: #ea9999; color: white; font-size: large;">Y</span>up, it's new year already and I didn't come up with anything to do to you guys ,_, I'm really really sorry, but my laptop wouldn't co-operate. So, I'll be spending my hours by painting these babies I've been babbling about through last couple of blog entries~<br />
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Also, GIGANTTI had some middle-day-sales and only on one specific day they've lowered the price of a PlayStation 3 Super Slim all the way to 169€! It's the 12GB flash memory version, but I'll buy an HDD and the caddy for it at some point. And I swear I'll spare some tens of euros by buying these parts as used and NOT directly from Sony. Sony is just making money like this, leaving the caddy out from the 12GB version, just you could purchase it with higher price. But for now, I'll see how long I'm able to play with this thing without any HDD. (External hard drive could be an option too..).<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So, please tell me, if you have a 2.5" SATA HDD you could sell me with a low price ^-^</span> ( I bet that's never gonna happen.. )</div>
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But here's the main message:</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Goodbye 2012 Hell-O <span style="background-color: #ea9999; color: white;">2013</span>!</span></div>
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<br />ラウラhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03403378118096547309noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501184674581696919.post-9708425469240101222012-12-27T16:21:00.001+02:002012-12-27T16:21:08.751+02:00My presents to me<span style="background-color: #ea9999; color: white;">T</span>his is me at the moment:<br />
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...or at least that's how I feel. Selfish and ignorant. And the best way to heal this feel is to start finally painting those portraits. Now I honestly start. I promised I would paint these during the holidays and I'm gonna keep that promise - you can count on that!</div>
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And while I'm at it, I'm waiting for SOME parcels to arrive my place.. 4 to be exact: 3D pre-designed nail tips, 10 pair of lower eyelid false lashes, lolita dress and earphones purchased last night. The first three are all for Desucon Frostbite. I want to look at least good when selling those paintings and all. Maybe I should start finishing the two AMVs I've been making.. they've been in ice for a while to help me get new ideas while I'm not staring at them a whole time. It's good to freshen up a bit like that~</div>
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So, only one more DBZ episode and I'm off the computer and painting :3<br />
Here's some music from an artist I think needs a little bit more attention. If he had a gig in Finland, I bet I would be in that party:<br />
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ps. I'm still wondering what to do to you guys on new year.. On Finnish time FOX airs the Asian music awards after new year midnight, but I don't think there would be any surprises.. PSY of course wins and there's a tiny chance that I could see GACKT, An Cafe and the GazettE in that very same program - but only a tiny chance. And I can stare at them on computer anyways, so I'll pass.<br />
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<br />ラウラhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03403378118096547309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501184674581696919.post-45142702670576041382012-12-20T11:05:00.004+02:002012-12-20T11:05:48.081+02:00(TTuTT)<span style="background-color: #ea9999;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;">I</span></span></span> should be ashamed of myself! It's been over a month since my last post and I've still not done with the SPEEDPEN video.. I hope you guys can understand, when I say my mother's tongue portfolios have been taking most of my time and effort and therefore I've had no more strength to do anything else alongside that. But now the situation has changed and I'm all cheery again!<br />
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The Christmas is on its way and I have no idea what to do during the holidays. Well, I'll be sitting and painting those orders some of you my readers have made (that also means more SPEEDPAINT videos) :3 And of course I'll play with Muumi! He seems to love me, so we get along pretty well.<br />
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However, I've got an idea what to do to you guys during the new year, if you're not busy watching fireworks: I'd like to play live a Spyro game for PlayStation 2 with Piia, but the problem is, my computer crashes after 10 minute broadcast. Mostly I know it's because of Xsplit. My laptotp doesn't seem to like it that much, even though I've installed the latest updates! Other than that everything works preeety good.. It's possible I may have to use Piia's laptop, all though I rather not. If I wished to broadcast with her laptop, I should install Xsplit, EasyCap and perhaps the microphones all over again on it. And I doubt it would work.. If it was a deskset, it would be a lot better because of its higher power. I even purchased a 4 month license for Xsplit so the broadcast could have at least higher audio quality.. So, what to do?<br />
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And I'm still taking orders for the paintings! Leave comment on this post or the one before this or on any post you like! Just remember to mention your email-address and I'll contact you with further information :3<br />
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But here's a couple of prices I've calculated:<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A4: <b>15€</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A3: <b>30€</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A2: <b>60€</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A1: <b>100€</b> </span>(I doubt anyone wants to order that big xD)<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Prices with posting prices included (inside Finland)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A4 + sending: <b>21,90€</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A3 + sending: <b>36,90€</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A2 + sending: <b>60€ +</b> (shipping cost will be calculated from the weight)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A1-sized painting is too big (80cmx60cm) to send. I also paint in smaller sizes if you like.</span><br />
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I hope these prices won't scare you :'3 You can still make an offer, if you had any doubts on the prices listed here.<br />
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Now here's some music from DAZZLE VISION, which I totally missed while being all hype about An Cafe's concert (was released 14th of October) :3</div>
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Stay tuned for the info about new year's broadcast!<br />
End of the world isn't coming any time soon! And ps. only 4 more pageviews and this blog has reached 10 000 hits! I like the sound of that :3<br />
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<br />ラウラhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03403378118096547309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501184674581696919.post-86152188665529015862012-11-15T20:30:00.000+02:002012-11-15T20:30:02.626+02:00Quick notice - Desucon Frostbite!<span style="background-color: #ea9999;"><span style="color: white;">H</span></span>ey-ho!<br />
This update is mostly for Finnish readers, but if you're planing to visit Finland and Desucon Frostbite in Lahti, this might concern you as well :3<br />
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<b>ANNOUNCEMENT!</b></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Example of the quality of my work - Esimerkki työni laadusta</td></tr>
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I'm taking orders! I'll be selling on <b>17th (Sunday) of February in 2013</b>, in <a href="http://desucon.fi/frostbite/">Desucon Frostbite</a> watercolor portraits of celebrities (I paint on canvas). So far I've got no other examples except for this Ruki, but I hope it gives you some image of the quality of my work and if it pleased you. Price depends on how big is the size of the portrait. However, you can still suggest a price and I'm sure we'll can make an agreement! Leave your message below this blog entry in the comment section and I'll contact you :3</div>
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I've already received an order of Reita sized A3! It still doesn't mean that you couldn't order a portrait of him too :'D</div>
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You can reach me by <b>the desk number 12</b> in the art alley!</div>
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Otan tilauksia vastaan! Olen menossa <a href="http://desucon.fi/frostbite/">Desucon Frostbiteen</a> <b>sunnuntaina 17.2.2013</b> myymään vesiväreillä maalattuja muotokuvia julkimoista (maalaan canvasille). Vielä ei ole muita näytettäviä kuin tämä Ruki, mutta toivottavasti antaa jonkinlaista kuvaa työn laadusta ja siitä miellyttääkö se. Hinta riippuu muotokuvan koosta. Ehdota kuitenkin hintaa, niin uskon pääsevämme yhteisymmärrykseen! Jättäkäähän ilmoitusta vaikka tämän blogimerkinnän alareunaan kommenttiosastoon, niin otan yhteyttä :3</div>
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Olen saanut jo yhden tilauksen Reitasta A3-koossa! Se ei tarkoita kuitenkaan, ettetkö sinäkin voisi sitä tilata :'D</div>
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Tavoitat minut taidekujalta <b>pöydästä 12!</b></div>
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<b>-end of announcement-</b></div>
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Other than that I've got nothing more to announce, except I'm gonna have a new family member: a bunny! He's 4 years old already, but he can't stay in the house he is right now, because the family is allergic. So I'll be rescuing it from putting down. I hope he'll like it here!</div>
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But have a good one guys!</div>
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ラウラhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03403378118096547309noreply@blogger.com4