It took forever, but I'm mostly done. At least with what I'm sharing here. Unfortunately, I didn't take a lot of photos on my own camera/phone. I was too busy running around organizing, making sure people were okay, you know~

But here's the bit I did take and what I'd like to share. I know it's not really related to kansai, but Shota was there and he's from the kansai area, so it's somewhat a 6 degrees type thing :P

I'll also try to keep the talk to a min. For collages, the talk will follow the comic-book reading pattern (left to right, top to bottom). Enjoy :D





★Arriving in Las Vegas. Jeebus that was a long flight D:
★Having a late snack/early breakfast? It must've been around 4am, with two people in our party asleep on the table.
★My sisters and her bff at an oxygen bar. We didn't note any significant improvements in health while there, but it was fun.
★On the escalators in Bellagio. It probably shouldn't take 5 minutes to walk from the street to the hotel, but I guess that's just Vegas.
★The strip, looking at New York New York from MGM Grand.

★Some winter decorations for the shopping area in Bellagio.
★Snazzy Bellagio ashtray. Makes smoking look almost classy.
★This huge talking tree in their autumn display.
★The garden out by the pools at Bellagio.
★The view from our room on the 19th floor.














★Hitting up the Fremont in old Vegas. It was really old smelling inside. D: I liked the newer hotels better.. but that's just me probably ;]
★Photo Op with a not-so-legit Big Bird?? Why not! Shota first~
★Vegas balls. Not gonna lie, I wanted some.. but what the hell would I do with that in Japan? Not to mention how I would get it in my suitcase.
★I did like this tiny, tiny casino. I forgot the name, but they sold "26 New Orleans Daiquiris." Still not sure what made them specifically New Orleans, but they were good.
★Late night photo out in Fremont with Shota.
★My New Orleans Daiquiri. It was called "Voodoo." My friend got "Dead Man Walking."
★My photo Op with the Bird.
★Shota and Darby, the two coolest kids I know :)


★Went to the Grand Canyon with mom dukes. Aside from being ridiculously cold, and me being in short-shorts, tons of fun!
★I forgot the name of this part of the canyon. It's in the south rim though.
★Hanging out by the edge.
★A Long drop.
★And then a warm fire :)













★A coordinate with red pants.
★A coordinate with tiny shorts and "A Clockwork Orange" tee. I love that tee..!
★Finally got to wear my batman maxi. Love it to pieces.
★Playing around in the gardens at Bellagio.
★Posing in front of Paris Hotel while waiting for the bus :P

 Did I mention I went shopping?? Pretty serious stuff~ I started off with a plan of what to buy, but in the end, I just started buying things I wanted. I hope I'm not the only person that happens to D: I did get JCs and a new pair of fringe boots like I planned. Almost everything from the second collage is from PacSun. I don't know if it's because I used to work there or not, but I definitely spent a lot there. And I was super disappointed with H&M's I saw. I always seem to go when the collection is shitty subpar, but I know they have good stuff because all my friends get awesome clothes from there. IDGI ;w;..
Anyway, I can't wait to wear those Litas somewhere..!! Maybe to a museum or something..

Some essentials (make-up wise) that I'm mostly sure I can't get in Japan. Like foundation, but I think that's a given. Japan also has a lack-luster collection of Maybelline and Rimmel mascara, so I picked up those. Plus, make-up is a little cheaper this way :P

ALSO, I'm willing to do a swap with anyone who can get me the Tokidoki brush set from Sephora. I totally forgot about it when I was in Sephora. I'll swap for anything you want from Japan that goes for around the same price (I think that set was around $50, so I'm willing to do 5,000yen flat on anything from Japan). Please, if you're interested e-mail me..!!

Damn you Sephora and your non-international shippin' ass >:







 And last, but not least :)

A collage of some photos from the wedding. I wish I had higher quality ones, but the company wanted $1.5K for digital copies, and I'm pretty broke to begin with so that wasn't going to work >: Plus the collage maker only saves photos in super low quality jpegs. I didn't want to bother with png~ Oh wells >':

So that's all..! Now it's too ridiculously cold in Osaka for me to go just wandering around the city, especially outdoors. So I'm looking for some nice indoor activities. I also had some more photos to share of Namba City and Namba Parks, but now it feels like they're too old and outdated because the Christmas season has started. DANGIT. I might write up about it anyway though because I've not written about Namba City on here yet.. I think. Or Parks for that matter.
As always, any requests/questions/comments/concerns, you can e-mail or comment. Or try telepathically if you like. :P

Loved the American serving sizes :))

Wooow, it's been quiet around here..
Sorry 'bout that, I went out to Vegas to have a wedding, gambled and drank a lot. I wanted to pull a Hangover type deal, but really I'm not that exciting :0

This also meant that I was totally dependent on generous (and free) WiFi scattered throughout Vegas so that I didn't destroy my AU cell bill (I'm sure I did with phone calls though D:). I was able to read some blogs, and do a little commenting, but I mostly left my inboxes to overflow. It felt like an early Christmas once I got back home to check everything :D

But now I've cleared out everything computer-wise, all that's left is organizing you know.. my actual house and such. Lots of suitcases and bags about, omiyage to sort through, new clothes to put away (and take photos of for Pupegirl!!). Oh, and then there's work..! I started back the day after I arrived so now I'm short on sleep. Eek :/

However, most of that should be sorted by this Wednesday.. night.. or Thursday morning. Depends because I just started playing Batman Arkham City and it's AWESOME *nerd mode.* Ugh, evening just got more complicated and cluttered :) I like it.

Hope everyone is doing well..!! I'm gong to start blabbering all over your blogs now ♥ More updates to follow. Oh, and if you'd like to see anything about Osaka, let me know ;D

I'm probably guilty of a lot of things this week: Not taking better care of my health, not taking more time to just enjoy myself, being bitchy, not preparing for this week better, the list could go on. But I guess admitting to what I'm guilty of is a nice first step. The next one, correcting those offenses, may take a while..

Anyway, this past week was pretty boring in Osaka. We started of with our formerly weekly karaoke trip, but our usual spot (Round1), was full of idiots (or so I supposed), so we got fed up with the service and left. One hour gone.

We wandered around Shinsaibashi/Namba for a minute, taking some purikura, before settling on Rainbow Karaoke, which I believe is a spot maybe only for kansai. At least my friends from Tokyo had never heard of it, and I've only seen it in Osaka. The place definitely had the Osaka vibe, smoking allowed, drink buffet with ice cream, decor looking like remnants from the 80s. But it was getting late so it was either that or go home, and I needed my karaoke.

They did have a black light inside the room that showed planets when you turned it on. Pretty cool but, as one would imagine, totally unnecessary :)

The room was really small too D: Ugggh, I really wanted to stay at Round1 but I swear their service quality has just plummeted recently and I can force myself to pay for bad service. >:[








Then it was off to work Monday (last week), which was Halloween. I did have a Halloween party for my Monday classes, so I got to dress up but the mall totally ruined the Halloween vibe with the Christmas decorations and music. So soon AEON!?
I was not ready.

But I thought their Japanese Christmas tree was super cool. Made from bamboo and origami'd things. And the random tabi thrown in.







They also had these constructions of armor from a children's program I think..? They're not made out of LEGOs, but they kind of look like it. Anyway, I thought it was cool so I snapped a photo of it.














Then at the end of my uneventful week (see how I just skipped 5 days?? Straight from Monday to Sunday~), we had a school trip to the zoo in Osaka. I was moaning about it all week because it was taking up one of my days off, but actually ended up enjoying myself a lot. And my students impressed me a lot by speaking a of English and not crying (the babies).

A good time was had by all.

That baby in the front is one of mine :D Tsurugi and his pop. I think he's 2 yrs old, but he's a smarty and a playa. Got a bright future ahead ;D.

Then after work, I ran away from my co-workers and joined Shota at the nearby Q's Mall for some quick shopping before we head to the states Wednesday. I needed to pick up a "Jimi Hendrix hat" for my trip out into the desert, but ended up with some new shoes as well (leopard creepers..!!). Damn you WE GO.. bane of my shopping addiction.

That being said, I love the new hat and shoes and have worn them almost everyday so far. :D Except today, since I'm doing an up-do. But if I could put a hat on an up-do..!! I would..









That's it for this week..! Next time, I might be sharing my adventures overseas with Shota and his family. I'm really looking forward to hanging out with them since it's been a few months since we've had any kind of gathering. AND I'm totally looking forward to some Q.T. with my fellow Americans in Las Vegas. I'm bringing the batman maxi dress. BE READY.

A song to hum to yourself (and the title of this editiong ;D)
One of my favortite movies and probably what opened my mind to a more realistic (or not) kind of romance (versus the Disney kind :P). Love this movie~ Subs all the way.