Diary Entry: Mochi Festival

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12/3/2017

Dear Reader,

Today, my friend Sam and I went to a rice cake pounding festival! We had delicious mochi, and had a lot of fun. It was held by the Japan Alaska Association, we learned a bit about rice pounding, and the traditions of it.

Then, we got to taste it! I kind of preferred this fresh mochi over the kind that you buy in the store. Usually it’s super sweet, but this mochi was plain, but was flavored by the fillings or soup. We tried one with red bean paste, which was super delish!

We also had some kind of mochi and vegetables in a fish broth soup, which was also really yummy! And plain mochi dipped in some starch that tasted like peanut butter.  Sam was not a fan of either of these two dishes, but I quite enjoyed them.

Anyway, it was really interesting, and I had fun! After we ate mochi, we decided to have sushi for dinner. I would have taken pictures of that, but the lighting was awful. . . Anyway, this was just a quick post to share our food adventure!

Have a great week guys, and good luck to any students who are about to face finals! As always, thanks for reading~ bye~

Love,

Rin

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Diary Entry: I Chopped My Hair Off

Dear Reader,

Sorry I haven’t posted in a while, not much has been going on, and I’ve been busy with the semester ending. I was actually in Wasilla for an eye-doctor appointment, and I had time before work, so I went in and got a hair cut.

I decided to cut my hair for several reasons. 1) it was so dry and damaged from the split ends, I thought I would lose my mind 2) my job requires me to wear my hair up, and I hate that, and 3) I just needed a change!

So now all my hair is gone!

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I got kind a slight A-line, where it’s shorter in the back and longer in the front. With long layers, and a face framing instead of bangs.

My hair is slightly curly, so I’ll have to do a little more upkeep, but I’m enjoying it so far.

My sister thinks I look like a soccer mom, but that’s okay. It matches my old lady aesthetic. I think I look like a 30-year-old office worker, like in the manga Idol Dreams, but you know.

I’m thinking about making a dedicated food blog post, but I’m not sure how I would go about doing that. Maybe a blog about good places to eat in Anchorage, Alaska? Or a, “What I ate in a Month” blog post? I won’t do it this month though, because I’m going on vacation at the end of the month, and I’m going to do a separate post about that.

Here is some pho I yesterday, it was really delicious! I also had some coffee and a apple tart from the Starbucks in Barnes and Noble. It was pretty satisfying! It was great. I usually post food pictures on my IG stories, so if you want to see more food stuffs follow my instagram!

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Also, happy december! Wooo, I can’t believe it’s already here! This blows my mind, honestly.

It’s been snowing quite a bit, but also warm at the same time, so it’s resulted in a lot of slush. I also put up our Christmas tree! I bought it when my sister and I lived in a tiny apartment, so it’s really small too. But I still like it, so there’s no need to waste money and buy a bigger tree.

So yeah! That’s what I’ve been up to as of late. Tomorrow, my friend Sam and I are going to a Japanese mochi festival, so I’ll take pics and share my adventures there.

As always, thanks for reading!

Love,

Rin

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Diary Entry: Christmas Shopping in November

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Dear Reader,

This week has been full of papers and job application deadlines. I’ve been so busy with my current job, and I had to write two papers for school, and a paper for the JET application, so it was a hectic week.

Also, don’t hurt me but, I’ve already started my Christmas present shopping. I got my adopted grandma a fancy cheese and cracker combo set! It looks really yummy, and she’s from Wisconsin so I think she’ll really enjoy it.

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(look at how precious my wrapping is! I’ve had this wrapping for three years, and it’s finally starting to run out. but yes, behold the fruits of my labor, and that’s not even a dent in all the gifts I need to collect…)

I hate present shopping, I’m always torn between getting something cute and useless, or getting something functional. Or, if I should just get people food or not, because what if they don’t like the present I got them? You can’t go wrong with chocolate and sweets! Or cheese and crackers in my family’s case lol.

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I’m still waiting until Black Friday to buy the bulk of my gifts, but it was fun to get out and see what’s on the market. Plus, I went with a friend, and we made a day of it. The only problem was the dark! We let her house at 1pm, and got back around 5pm, but it felt closer to 7pm due to the weather. I was tired when I got home that I just went to bed and watched the latest episode of While You Were Sleeping, but I didn’t do anything that strenuous.

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Oh, and the snow is back. It snowed on 10/23, and then it disappeared, but now it’s here to stay. The roads are awful, honestly Anchorage doesn’t take very good care of the roads because they spent their budget elsewhere. Last year they told us they had to either cut the police force or the road upkeep, and really this is Alaska. What did they think was more important than the road upkeep??

Ai. Anyway, I got new glasses! I had nerd glasses in the past, but now I have these cuteIMG_2095 granny glasses. I really wanted circle glasses, like the ones in snapchat filters, but they didn’t have any in the store I went too. Alaska is so behind on the times, I just wanted to be a stylish nerd, but now I’m a stylish granny. Which, I’m not that mad about, but you know…

(Ai, the border in this picture isn’t showing up, but it’s from my personal IG if you want to check it out @rinnn_0315)

Anyway, that was my week. How was yours? Let me know in the comments bellow, or tweet me @love_rinnn on twitter!

As always, thanks for reading, and I’ll catch you later~

Bye!

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Diary Entry: Halloween 2017 and Other Spooky Horrors

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Dear Reader,

This year was my last Halloween in Alaska! I didn’t even dress up L O L, but I wore contacts and a cute skirt. I told everyone I was a functioning human for halloween (as apposed to the zombie I normally dress like).halloween2

Sadly, it was a school day, but I took selfies in the cafe on campus, and had lunch with my friend Sam! Afterwards, she went to class at 3pm, and I went and hid in the library until my 5:30pm class and got caught up on the Korean drama While You Were Sleeping, which stars two of my faves Lee Jongsuk and Bae Suji! It’s soooo good, about a reporter and a prosecutor who have dreams about the future!

It’s really addictive, and I would 10/10 recommend! I’ve watched most of Suji’s work, and she’s so charming, but I would have to say this is my favorite drama she’s ever done. Same goes for Lee Jongsuk, I thought he was really great in Pinocchio, but honestly this is so much better! I never thought I would like him with anyone other than Park Shinhye, but he and Suji’s chemistry is off the charts! It’s seriously so good.

Anyway, that weekend, there was a gust of wind that came through from the pacific and melted all the snow, it was 40 degrees! So warm for October, but by Tuesday things had cooled off, and it caused Halloween to be spooky indeed: it was foggy everywhere.

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(The first picture is from the second floor of the library, and the second picture is outside on my way to class)

My inner goth child was really happy with the weather. After that I had class until 8, and my other friend and I went to the library until 11pm to work on our papers for the  history class we’re taking together.

After that I went home, ate some chicken, and watched some YouTube, then went to sleep. I had a pretty great holiday~

So, let me know how your Halloween went down below, and as always: thanks for reading, and I’ll catch you later!

Bye!

Love,

Rin

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Diary Entry: The First Snow

Dear reader,

So, we had our first snow of the season on Saturday (10/21), and I almost died twice. I left the house to go buy water at Costco, and the light turned red, so I break and I couldn’t stop because the road was slick. So I made a sharp turn, and I lived.

The second time, someone almost t-boned me. I was driving by, and they tried to break, but they kept sliding, and almost hit me. Had I been going any slower they would have hit me, but I missed them by an inch because I saw them slide straight into the road behind me. Thankfully there was no one behind me, but I bet they were scared.

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IMG: the view from my bedroom window Saturday night.

By the time today rolled around, most of the snow was gone, but it’s still hecka cold up here. It was 19 degree Fahrenheit this morning, and I heard it was even colder in Fairbanks. Which I can barely imagine, so I’m glad I live in Anchorage at least.

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Aside from the snow, I’m just filling out paperwork, attending classes, and working. As a hobby I’ve been taking pictures for Instagram, which you can see in the sidebar. I have two accounts, a manga account, and last week I started a personal account, so I can post pictures of my travels and stuff. (love_rinnn is my manga account, and rinnn_0315 is my personal)

So, there’s an update! Take care, and tell me something fun happening in your life down below!

Love,

Rin

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Diary Entry: Senshi Con 2017

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10.1.2017

Dear Reader,

I went to my first anime convention! Senshi Con is held in Anchorage every year, and even though it was a thing when I was in high school, I finally manage to make it like seven years later! Haha, it was a lot of fun!0.jpg

I went with my friend Sam! She drove us there, and then we walked to the event from the parking garage one street over. Neither of us have a sense of direction, and we may have gotten a little lost. It took us half an hour to walk to a place that should have taken us ten minutes… But I saw some interesting sculptures!

 

After we figured out we were going the wrong way, Sam lend us to the Dena’ina Center where the Con was being held (yes, I was the one who got us lost). From there we checked in (we pre-registered) and then walked into the venue.

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There were a ton of booths with art, trinkets, and merch! Between Sam and I, we probably spent $100 on just art. She has a thing for Boku no Hero Academia and it was EVERYWHERE. I got art from Kami-sama no Kiss, and Princess Mononoke!

There was also kpop merch, and I got cute folders of Nu’est and Teen Top, but they were both older from around 2012. I also got a Black Pink folder, which was their lastest comeback, As If It’s Your Last! I also got a cute plushy, and three enamel pins!

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After that, we went to the 5th avenue mall, and hung out for awhile. We ate a late lunch in the food court, which wasn’t very aesthetically pleasing, so I didn’t snap a pic of it for you… Oh, and we went into Hot Topic, Sephora, and Lush! We didn’t get anything, but it was fun looking around.

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I really enjoyed the con, we mostly looked around, and talked to vendors! I was able to find some new artists to support as well. When we went home, Sam wished she had bought more posters, but I’m pretty satisfied with what I picked up. Next year, I won’t be able to go, so I’m glad I finally had a chance to experience Alaska’s tiny comic con.

Anyway, that’s all! I went home and wrote a paper that was due at midnight, and made dinner for my little sister. The rest of that Sunday was pretty uneventful.

So, as always, thanks for reading! Don’t foget to follow me on all my social media, and I’ll catch you all later!

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Question of the day: have you ever gone to a con? Tell me you experience down below!

Love,

Rin

Travel Blog: Fairbanks Days 2&3

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Dear Reader,

So, we didn’t do much on the second and third days. Mostly homework, and I ran around UAF a lot, but I didn’t take many pictures because there wasn’t much to see. I had fun though, so that’s all that counts!

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This is about to become a food blog post, because that’s most what I got pictures of, lol. On day two, I had coffee with my friend, and we studied in the coffee shop for a bit. To be completely honest, UAF’s coffee is way better than UAA’s coffee.

We get our coffee from Koladi Brothers, which is honestly really weak. Just the other day, I had a caramel macchiato at UAA, and they burnt my coffee. It was gross, and I didn’t finish it. Which ruined my day, so thanks UAA.

Anyway, I also had this pastry puff thing that was layered with nuts and honey, and it was really yummy! After that, I went off with a different friend (my childhood best friend), and I hung out in her room for awhile. I lived in the dorms at UAA when I was a freshman, and the walls at UAA were hella thin. So you heard everyone’s business. It was the same, if not worse at UAF. Her neighbors were getting it on really hard, and I commented on it. My friend is pretty innocent, and she was all like “maybe they’re roughhousing.” GIRL. They were definitely doing the do, the nasties.

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One thing that got me while visiting, was all the walking. Which wasn’t bad, but it was all uphill, which *wheezes* I am so not fit enough for. They had shuttles running on the week days, but you were on you own during the weekends. So that was an interesting experience. I lowkey wish they had told me head of time so I could have brought some better shoes. FullSizeRender (12)

I wore my black boot heels, I could have brought tennis shoes, but I thought it was going to be fine. I do most of my walking in heels, and I work in heels, so I’m used to walking on flat ground. But I had grown used to it by the time I went home, so I guess it wasn’t too terrible.

After spending some time with my friend, I went back to my other friend’s apartment. I ate dinner there, it was ham and beans soup, which was soooooo yummy. The best comfort food! We also had corn bread, which was subpar because she made it from the box, and she messed it up and it was too dry. Which made her sad, because she really loved cornbread. Then, after dinner, I watched as our other friend prepared her costume for a local anime convention, Senshi Con. She was beating holes into leather to make a pattern, so that was neat. Once that was over, my friend and I went back to her room, where I was spending the night. And that was the end of day two!

The next day, everyone had classes, so after we got coffee, I stayed in the library to work on homework (and blog). I actually got a lot of homework done, so that was nice! I had spent most of the Friday before getting homework done so I wouldn’t have to worry about it over the weekend, so I ended up working on stuff that’s due this weekend. FullSizeRender (13)

 

After that, I met my childhood best friend again for lunch, and the boxed sushi they had was actually pretty decent. I had a rainbow roll, and then some spring rolls. I

FullSizeRender (14).jpginstagramed a little, and then we finally took a shuttle back to her room. She had to work on getting her new cell phone set up, so we did that, and fought with AT&T for a bit.

However, at around 3pm, she had to go to class, so I said bye to her, and went back to my other friend’s dorm room. We were going to eat dinner in Fairbanks with other friends, so after she worked on her speech for a class, we left to go get Thai food.

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I had Pad Thai, and it had chicken and tofu in it, and it was probably the best pad thai I’ve ever had! It was honestly so good, and I would 10/10 recommend!

After that, we were supposed to go get crepes, but they closed at 7, and we weren’t watching the time, so we missed it… But that’s okay, the Thai food was really good!

After that, we went back to the dorms and hung out for a bit, but had to sleep early because I had a flight at 7:40am, and I needed to be up at six. I bought starbucks again at the airport, and they finally got my name right. The flight was pretty short and relaxing, and we had an awesome view of some mountains! Here’s a pic of that:FullSizeRender (19)

Overall, I had a lot of fun, and I would like to visit again! Although I don’t know if I’ll be able too, I’m glad I was able to make memories with my friends before my big move next July!

As soon as I landed, I had a 10am class, and even though I was a bit tired, I don’t regret being able to spend that extra night in Fairbanks. So, that’s a wrap! Thanks for reading everyone, and as always follow all my social media @love_rinnn, and I’ll see you in my next post!

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Love,

Rin

 

Travel Blog: Fairbanks Day One

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9.23.2017

Dear Reader,

I went to Fairbanks to visit my friends going to the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF)! I haven’t seen them for awhile, and most of my hometown friends attend school there, so it made sense that I would go visit them instead of them visiting me. I only have school twice a week, so I finally had time to do this! I’ve been saying I would make this trip since we finished high school, so, finally after three years– I made it!

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I currently live in Anchorage, which is about 300 and some miles away from Anchorage, however, because I didn’t feel like making a eight hour drive, I flew. It was probably the shortest flight of my life at 40 minutes. I was also functioning on 3 and a half hours of sleep, because I have terrible insomnia and that wasn’t the best night for me.

After my sister fumbled with her contacts for twenty minutes, and we were thoroughly

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late, we finally made it to the airport at a decent time. This was my first flight checking-in using the Alaska Airlines app, and also using a digital boarding pass. In the past I was against it because I liked to keep my old boarding passes as a souvenir, but I was lazy and didn’t feel like printing it out. On top of that, the check-in stations were a crazy mess,  thatI didn’t feel like wading through.

Then I had to deal with TSA, which was an utter pain in my ass. Literally, we inched through the line, and they opened several people’s bag, including mine to look at some candy I had as my snack. The Ted Steven’s Interational Airport is pretty small, so usually TSA is a breeze, but not this trip. It was so painful.

After that, I stopped to get coffee at Starbucks. Normally I go by my legal name when I order coffee, but it’s a long name and I didn’t have that much time, so when they asked for a name to write on the cup, I said “Rin” and I even spelled it out. However, what name did I get on my cup? RAIN. I was flabbergasted. How do you mess up the name “Rin!?” I mean, they weren’t even that busy, but whatever.40c8b35fe6a96308e2f3666316870d21b7beff7d_hqSo, then I got on the plane, and read “My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness” by Nagata Kabi, and I listened to some j-rock and k-pop (which I’ll have a travel music playlist out soon). Twenty minutes later, they announced our decent into Fairbanks. Which really surprised me because I was just getting comfortable. I’m from Alaska, so in order to get anywhere our flights are usually six hours long for West Coast trips, and more for anywhere else.

We were twenty minutes early, so I had to wait for my friends to pick me up. Luckily, the weather was super nice so it wasn’t bad! Afterwards, my friend drove us to her apartment where we all chilled for awhile. She recently got a new dog, so we took him (Akela, what a cute name!) for a walk and got coffee.fairbanks campusAfter that we hung out for a little more, and then I went to meet my childhood best friend for dinner. Dorm food is nasty, and UAF was no better, I had mushy macaroni and cheese, and I also had a salad, which had baby corn, and that was pretty good. After that, I took a nap while my friend played on her new phone (our foster grandma bought her a new phone, and I flew it up). After that, at 8pm, we went to a party. Okay, it was a FullSizeRender (10).jpgUniversity event, and she had to volunteer at her church booth, and I met up with my friends from earlier.

It was a huge bond fire event, and we watched them burn several student made mounds of wood. Several of them were Game of Thrones themes, and I do admit I wouldn’t have been surprised if the mother of dragons had walked out of the ashes. We stayed for about two hours, but my friend and I were standing in the stoner pit, so I consumed a lot of secondhand smoke, and was feeling pretty lightheaded. A feeling I usually didn’t feel unless I was walking through the Vegas Strip, but you know.burn

 

So after that, I went to my friend’s dorm, and we talked until 1 am, gossiping about life and catching up.

So yeah, that was the first day of my Fairbanks trip! Hopefully you enjoyed this post, and if you want me to review My Lesbian Experience, let me know! Also, follow me on all my social media @love_rinnn and I’ll see you later!

Love,

Rin

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