will be heading to tokyo~!!

i am so excited for japan, i can't even begin explaining the way i'm feeling right now.
i miss all my friends, my host family and everyone so so so much~ i just can't wait to see them all again!

Kizuna Project Pre-Departure Orientation and Dinner~

Hello guys!

Today~ I attended the pre-departure orientation and dinner for the Kizuna Project which was held at the consul-general's home! May I just say how gorgeous his home was? Absolutely beautiful!!

There is a total of 6 university students (2x UWA, 2x Curtin, 1x Murdoch, 1x ECU) selected from Western Australia to participate in the Kizuna Project. At the orientation, there were also about ~30 high school students who were also chosen to participate in the program! Their itinerary was essentially the same as ours except that they leave earlier and come back earlier.

This orientation, although informative, I must say was more for the high school students. I did feel a lil out of place but still it's a privilege to be at the consul-general's house :P We we able to have a chat with the consul-general and was given a small souvenir gift.

The best part of this for me was the soba demostration towards the end~ The lady is originally from the Fukushima Prefecture, and when the March 11 Tsunami disaster struck, her soba shops were destroyed. Because there was a lack of food supply at the time of the disaster, she took whatever buckwheat flour she had left from her shop and turn them into delicious soba noodles for the survivors of the disaster.

Later, when it was time for dinner, along with other Japanese goodies, we got to taste the soba made the lady~ yum yum yum it was sooooo goooood!!

cold soba <3 <3

assorted sushiiiii

takoyaki

vegetable tempura yumm

karaage~

I had a really good time, met lots of new people and made a new friend from my university~
Can't wait to take off~ counting down 14 days!!

xx
rei

p.s sorry for the blurry photos here and there... I'm still a beginner^^

a little update^^

1) i've booked my tix from perth to singapore with tiger airlines: AUD 222.00
i've booked my tix from singapore to shanghai with malaysia airlines: AUD 218.00
will be booking my tix from shanghai to tokyo or osaka within the next few days depending on whether or not my cousin comes with me.. if he does, i'll be heading into tokyo, if not i'm going straight to osaka.. soo hopefully he can and then i will have the excuse to go to tokyo hehe

my friends stole my camera and took pictures with it~ good memories~~~

2) a month back, i entered this japanese language video making competition where you have to make a video incorporating the use of japanese language.. i entered a vid of me singing my original song 'ano koro kimi to'.. and i won hehe

"And finally, Rachel Ong of the University of Western Australia left us speechless with a stunning performance of her beautiful original song in Japanese."

http://video-matsuri.jpf-sydney.net/halloffame.html

3) the other day, my club 'korean cultural club' (kcc) had its final annual general meeting of the year where we had to handover of the club to the new committee of 2013~ bittersweet i must say.. sad to give up but glad and proud to passover something that i've created *sobs* kcc has really become something big! even though there were many hard times, i'm glad to have been part of it :)

my 2012 exec girls ^^~ thanks so much for being there for me and with me~

2012 committee~

2012 & 2013 committee ^^

4) what else.. yesterday we had to decorate my workplace with christmas deco... tiring but good fun~~ and i got my paycheck 2 days ago.. am pretty happy about it :P gotta keep working hard and save up as much as i can for japan woohoo!! in case you didn't already know.. i work at a board game cafe where i teach people how to play board games.. i admit i'm better at making the coffees than teaching people how to play games tho :P i love my job, my bosses, my colleagues~

well, that's all for now! 

rei

assignments in!

i'm so so so relieved!!
stayed up all night to finish the exegesis for my film... have been awake for more than 24hrs..
really need to sleep soon.. lolllll
so.. all my assignments are officially in and all i have left for the year are 2 exams~~ 楽！
after that, it's going to be the best adventure of my life~japan,singapore then japan again.. gosh!

forget.

don't wanna waste time on things that aren't worth my time.
i can do better. i can definitely do better.

Filming Course in Singapore!

Woooo! My life is full of adventures!!

I've been accepted to a 3 weeks filming course in Singapore at Temasek Polytechnic~~!

Pretty pumped about it!! This will start around mid Feb? But I should already be in Singapore from the 8th of Feb to celebrate Chinese New Year! Can't wait for all the red packets wooo!! Then straight after this course... hello Japan 2013!!!!

My hard work is going to pay off all next year!!

KIZUNA project~ A short trip to Japan!

Sad love stories aside.....
I've been accepted into the KIZUNA project~~

In conjunction to my application to go on exchange in 2013, I spontaneously applied for another scholarship for a short exchange program. This particular scholarship is called the KIZUNA project which to my surprise is organised by AFS (the exchange company in which I was involved with for my previous exchange in 2010). 

The KIZUNA project is a program sponsored by the Japanese government with aims of raising awareness for the Japanese reconstruction plans, and promoting global understanding of Japan's revival efforts in response to the Great Japan Earthquake.

We will visit the affected areas of the Great East Japan Earthquake and learn about the situation of Japan's reconstruction from the disaster. Later, we will also visit schools and do various volunteer activities organised by Japan International Cooperation Center (JICE).

This program will commence in December 2012~ where about 200 Australian students and educators will be sent to Japan for 2 weeks.

A lot of my YouTube viewers have asked me about the earthquake that happened last year.. I will use this opportunity to film my experience and hopefully answer those viewers' questions :)

Pretty excited about it hey!!

:)

i'm happier today, definitely.
best friends, definitely.

i'm not gonna lie and say that nothing's changed.
.. cos something's definitely changed between us.

i'm glad though that i got my feelings out~
and he's not treating me any differently, and i'm so glad for that too.
somehow i'm also glad that he didn't accept my feelings, because in all honestly maybe i wouldn't have been ready for it anyway.

you're the best!

会いたくなる

i'm going through weird stages.

right now it is stage 「会いたくないけど会いたくなる」

maybe wednesday, 彼に会える。

heart will always find a new way

am trying hard to mend this broken heart of mine..

wrote a song.. dyed my hair.. helped a lil but still.. the more i think about it.. *sobs*

nah jks. i will be strong :)

Just a little bit too busy..

I’m into my 2^nd year of uni and I reckon I’ve taken on a little more than I can chew. I’ve decided to overload some of my 3^rd year units so that I can enjoy more when I am in Japan. Basically instead of the usual 4 units, I’m doing 5. Not too much of a difference but the thing is that 2 of the 5 units I’m doing are extremely hands on and it’s taking up a lot of my time. In conjunction to my studies, I’m also working heaps to save up money for Japan, and as the president of the Korean Cultural Club at my uni, I have to plan and organise events which in itself takes up so much of my time. On top of that, there are a ton of applications, health checks, meetings that I must do and attend in prep for Japan next year. I’m feeling the pressure.

But that’s ok, I’m sure it’ll be all worth it in the end.

Sooo.. just a quick update for last week, my lovely Korean Cultural Club participated in a food festival event~ We cooked Korean Spicy Ricecakes.. 350+ portions, selling out in less than 2 hours, not bad huh?

Later, our KPOP Dance Club (a sub group of Korean Cultural Club) performed a mash up dance to popular Korean pop songs, one of which was GANGNAM STYLE.. of course.. haha.

As tiring as it is being a president AND founder of a club (not boasting), I’m so glad how things turned out. I’ve always wanted to leave a legacy somewhere where ever I go, be somebody, achieve something. With this, I reckon I’ve made my mark~

Thanks for reading!
xx
rei

public transportation.. roar!!

Yes, I understand that there is absolutely nothing I can do about it, and no matter how much I hate it, I still have to depend on it.. PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION.. argh.

I had the worst day ever. One of the cables that provides power to the trains had apparently snapped causing trains to stop moving. I know it was a serious matter, but c'mon, they could have handled the situation better than they did today. It was absolutely horrible, guards with bad attitudes especially. There were replacement buses but it was so chaotic that everyone was getting onto the wrong buses. (See picture below) It was so FRUSTRATING. And unfortunately for me, I was the lucky few who boarded the wrong bus, but that was because the bus driver told me the wrong information. So.. my usual 1 hour journey to uni took me almost 3 hours. I was a very angry girl.. Thanks a lot Transperth.

Passengers queue at Whitfords train for replacement buses. Picture: @Oana_Simon/Twitter Source: PerthNow

But on a good note, I ordered my camera today *^_^*
so I bought a Canon 650D DSLR Camera 
with a EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM Lens 
and a Canon EF-S 17-55mm F2.8 IS USM Camera Lens
and  a Sandisk Extreme Pro SDHC 95MB/s Class 10 SD card

Now I just need maybe a filter and a nice bag to put them in!

Can't wait! 

so sick of shallow love songs.. seriously!

I've always thought that sad love songs were the only type of songs that I could connect to.. even the songs I write, they're always about the typical heartbreak, unrequited love, loneliness. I also tend to always write about 'feelings' more so than 'stories' ie. typical lyrics in my songs would be 'I want to be next to you, I miss you, it hurts, I cried..' never a 'story'. I did attempt to write a song in a story format but it ended up more about feelings... again. hmm.

I did however find some inspiration today. I cried listening to this song.. like 5 times.. that's the kind of song I'd like to write:

Hope you like it too :)

 Lyrics to Tea and Toast

Tom was born in 1942
With eyes of blue
And the doctors said that his birth was far too fast
His heart stopped twice
But yet he survived
As he took his first breathe
His mother took her last
And his father knew that he wasn’t to blame
But he never quite looked at Tom the same after that
And he rarely spoke about her
But when he did
He said your mother used to say this
When the skies are looking bad my dear
And your heart has lost all it’s hope
After dawn there will be sunshine
And all the dust will go
Skies will clear my darling
I’ll wake up with the one I love the most
And in the morning, I’ll make you up
With some tea and toast
When we met through a friend
Who introduced them
The first thing Tom said was would you like to dance?
They moved with each other and when the music got slower
He said don’t let go of my hand
He said It’s only polite if I ask you tonight
Would it be alright, if I could walk you home?
That night he told of of his birth
And said when it hurt
He thought about what his mother said about tea and toast
Two quick years went by
They were side by side
And without a plan, they conceived a little child
He said women I love you and this you know
But I only have enough for our food and clothes
But I love you and this baby
Until the day that I die
She said we’ll take care of this little life
And we’ll fall in love with her baby blue eyes
And we’ll be alright from some advice that I know
She said I never got to meet her
But if I did, I’m sure your mother would have said this
When the skies are looking bad my dear
And your heart has lost all it’s hope
After dawn there will be sunshine
And all the dust will go
Skies will clear my darling
We’ll show this baby all the love we know
And in the morning, I’ll make you up
With some tea and toast
Well he took those words
And he made them proud
He worked day after day
And hour after hour
So that they could buy a little house on the outside of town
The little girl grew up and so did they
They said that they loved each other everyday
And forty years later, that brings us to now
And as they’re walking down the street
Her grip loosens on his hand
He puts his arm around her side as she falls to the ground
He hears her breathing and thats the only sound
Her body on the floor attracts a worried crowd
Tears rolls off his face as he says “don’t let go, now”
And he’s sitting by her bed in the hospital (ward?)
Their daughter walks in with a family of her own
She says “dad, I don’t know if she can hear you now
but there’s one thing mum would want you to know”
When the skies are looking bad my dear
And your heart has lost all it’s hope
After dawn there will be sunshine
And all the dust will go
Skies will clear my darling
Now it’s time for you to let go
And in the morning, I’ll make you up
With some tea and toast

Filming!!

For 10 weeks now, I've been working on a student film production for an assignment at uni and I've realised that I actually really enjoy filming. To be honest, it's not easy. If you're not careful, there are a ton of things that could go wrong. Continuity problems which could affect editing, bad time organisation which would meant that we didn't get through our scheduled shots during shooting time, and since we are using the school's equipment, we've encountered various equipment faults during our shoots (like yesterday when our camera was being a pain) and that is very ANNOYING! My group is great though, there are 8 of us and I honestly think we work so well together. Best group of people ever!

In saying that, I think I'd much rather be on camera than behind camera.. haha :) childhood dreams yep!

I'm actually also thinking of getting a DSLR: Canon 650D with 17-55mm F2.8 IS USM Lens with either 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS STM Lens or a 40mm STM Pancake Lens. I'm excited, and will doing some final research on the camera and lens, hopefully purchasing it tonight or tomorrow :):)

The application process

There are a gazillion things you have do in order to go on exchange..

Not to say the stacks of application forms both online and on paper, you've got the health check ups, the insane amounts of documents that need copying and certifying, the amount of passport photos you have to take.. it's actually very EXTREMELY time consuming and annoying money wise.

Yesterday I had to go to the doctors so that he could fill up a health form. In order for the doctor to actually complete the form, I had to get a blood test and a chest x-ray, which meant that I had to go get that done first, wait for the results and then come back to the doctors AGAIN. sigh. I did however manage to get all of blood and x-ray stuff done in a day though.

Costs:
Doctor's appointment: $66
Blood test: free (thank you Australian government)
Chest X-Ray: $80 (I should get half of that back from private insurance)

Other than that, I still need to take 4 passport photos, collect my academic transcript, finish off the EXCHANGE application, and finish off the SCHOLARSHIP application (a totally different application to the exchange application). On top of that, I still need to deal with my everyday university studies, work to save enough money for exchange, club responsibilities, trying to keep up with my Youtube channel.. it's rather overwhelming..

I wouldn't be surprised if there were more to come..

Japan 2013; Kobe University

Ok.. so I lied.. I know I said I would write more regularly, but yes half a year has gone by and I barely wrote 3 posts.. I feel a bit silly.. haha

But good news! I've recently applied to go to Japan in 2013 as a university exchange student, and I got accepted! I should be going to Kobe University, for 6 months and maybe after that I can extend my exchange and stay in Japan longer.. and then extend again, and again so I can stay there forever...?

Ignored by the guys!?!? why!!

after 3 hours of editing i'm finally done!! better get some rest now.. haha goodnight!!

SM Audition 2012 in Seoul

lololol hey guys, if you don't already know, i'm actually in korea at the moment and it so happened that the SM Global Auditions 2012 were on during my trip so i thought i'd go and give it a shot... and maybe... my time will come..? nah, to be honest it was all for the fun of it! it's kinda like i wanted to test myself.. you know, even though i've had my fair share of performing on stages and pubs and stuff, i can't help but get sooo nervous before performing and while i'm performing, and sometimes even if i'm NOT nervous, my stupid knee trembles for some weird reason. it's quite annoying really.. so i thought going for auditions in a way can help me deal with the nervousness and chill out a bit.. singing and performing is supposed to be fun!!

anyway back to the audition.. so i made my way to apgujeong station and walked around about 30mins and arrived at the SM building. not as grand as i thought.. hahaha but it was nice inside. there were a good number of people that were lining up, sitting down waiting for their turn and etc. the place was filled with posters of their idols, and on the big screen were the music videos of them too. so anyway, i went to sign up and filled in the required forms and handed it back to the lady. my number was B80.

everything was in korean and it was a hard time trying to figure things out and working out what's going on when, but luckily there was this nice girl, probably much younger than me who helped me out.

i was the last of 10 people in my group. we lined up behind another group of10 people, ready to enter the judges' room. this time round, i applied as a composer not singer, so turns out that i didn't even need to sing, meet the judges, or even enter the judging room LOL! i just handed over my demo CD that i had prepared earlier to one of the staff and was told that was it. Lolllll? so i left and that was it..? yeah. damn.. i really wanted to see the inside of the judges' room haha sigh-.


anyway, later on, after the 'audition', to celebrate my success!! haha i went for a loner lunch at this random burger place, bought myself some delicious tarts and then did tons of shopping at myeongdong and then had a bbq dinner hahaha!!! gosh! what a day!!

 

rei

in the year of 2012..

hey guys!!

i thought i'd start the year off with something super random like starting a blog..? hopefully i'll be able to write and talk about random stuff and other more personal things compared to the videos that I upload onto Youtube! so if you're interested, stay with me, and become part of my life!!

rei