Crossroad - 49th Single

Hamasaki Ayumi's 49th single to be released this September 22nd, 2010.







Two CD only editions and one CD+DVD edition. All of them come with a First Press bonus (some kind of application card only valid in Japan) and a poster. The poster is a collage of her singles 1st through 25th.

CDJapan sells them for cheaper than YesAsia, but YesAsia offers free shipping, while CDJapan depending where you live can cost you an arm and a leg.

As I did with MOON/blossom, I won't be ordering these just yet. While I really like crossroad's covers better than MOON/blossom's, I don't feel over excited about them as much as I used to every time Ayu had a new release.

NEXT LEVEL was the best to me, and I haven't found as much satisfaction in her music since then. Possibly because I went all the way to Tokyo and saw her live twice. I accomplished my dream and now it's not a fantasy like it once was. Who knows. I don't feel sad or disappointed, I just seem to have lost my fangirl side. I still like Ayu, still listen to her music, just not into it to the extend I was last year.

Anyway. I'm still curious to hear what this new single will be like. Maybe if YesAsia lowers their price I'll order from them later on. For now, I'll content myself with YouTube. If her CDs sold out here in store, I'd definitely be there on release date, but that's not out it works :P

Her 50th single titled "L", is to be released September 29. Very short time in between both singles. Going for a bang for the big 50 I'm assuming. I hope she puts it all into it, I know everyone's going to be expecting LOTS out of this one.

We'll just have to wait and see!

Summer 2010 - Part 3

Part 3, final post about my short summer vacations.

It took me so long to write it because I had to go through all my pictures and pick my favorite ones to post. I took hundreds of pictures so it took me quite a while. But here we are!!

This was all on August 11. We left August 12 to come back home.

First we started the day with some shopping at "Les Galleries de la Capitale". It's this HUGE malls, with tons and tons of stores. And also some attractions! A mini amusement park inside!! How awesome is that?











There was a roller-coaster going by over-head. It was going really fast! This is the best shot I took...



And yes! There's even an ice skating area!



The carousel was my favorite!

Then we headed off to my god-father's place to relax for the rest of the afternoon. I took some time to get ready because then we were going out in town for the night.

Old Quebec City is one of the prettiest place I've ever been. We didn't go through it all, so you guys won't get a lasting impression from my pictures, but I highly recommended. Last year they celebrated their 400th anniversary!

Quebec is where the English and French battled for quite some time. The plains of Abraham is where it all went down. You can visit the fortresses and the citadel too. Very cool if you like history!

We found a free parking on the side of a little street and started walking.



This street is commonly refered as "La Grande Allée". Lots of restaurants, cafes, and bars.



This one for instance, is one of Quebec's most famous dance club. It's called "D'agobert". I was really impressed with the outside look, so I insisted we come back later when it's open.







Typical of Quebec city. Horse carriage for rides around town. I'd never done one and insisted we do one after we had dinner.



Part of the great wall that's attached to the fortresses and citadel, used to protect Quebec city way back in the old days.





The city's kept a lot of its old buildings and houses. Most of them have shops and restaurants at the bottom with apartments for rent at the top.

Then we found where we wanted to have dinner!



We couldn't have picked better. The food doesn't look like much on the pictures, but it was AMAZING!

It was a "table d'hote", with entree, make course and desert.



My drink. I can't remember the exact name... It had "sunshine" in it. LOL



I was so hungry I forgot to take a picture and started eating right away. Haha, oops!

When we got out of the restaurant it was dark. We walked around and tried to find a horse carriage that was free. After waiting in one spot for 15 minutes, someone came to tell us they were parked somewhere else. They should really put out signs!



(No flash not to scare horsey <3)

We got a chance to meet Gilbert and Mozart! Gilbert being our host and Mozart, the horse. It was a 45 minutes ride, which was awesome. I really liked it! Gilbert talked to us the entire time, telling us about things we went by, the history of the city and answered all our questions.



Mozart!



I took pictures of the city, but it was dark and my camera's kinda cheapo, so none of them turned out good. Sorry :(

After the tour, we went back to the Grande Allée and toured the clubs!!

Remember the picture above? The D'agobert? This is what it looked like after dark:



Looked REALLY cool on the outside. The bouncer started flirting with me when he asked for my ID. But then when we got inside, I was really disappointed. It looked old and super dirty. And everyone in the bar was... well for lack of better word, skanky. It felt like I was a strip club. The DJ was playing music from 2 years ago. I was not impressed. There are 3 floors, the top floor you can watch the people dancing on the 2nd floor, the huge dance floor. Then I saw 2 girls fighting, when security took them out, there were chunks of hair on the dance floor. I was disgusted and decided it was time to leave.

My god-father knew of another bar he thought would be more my style. And he was totally right! We went for the "Beaugarte". With a name like that, I was like "Oh boy, another skank hole?" But no! It was SUPER classy! I loved it!!

I went on the dance floor and started dancing with a random guy. He was dancing by himself, but he was dancing REALLY good. And then I met with a random girl and we danced together. So, I forgot to take pictures, was having too much fun, sorry! n____n''

It was on a Wednesday, so there weren't that many people. But I was really impressed. There were 3 areas with bartenders, THEY HAD UNIFORMS! I'd never been to a bar anywhere in America, that had its employees wearing a uniform. The ceiling was painted in different colors. There were couches with cushions all around. Taller tables with stools. One wall had glass all over with water behind and bubbles going up and down. It was classy, they were playing remixes of the awesome songs currently playing on radio and everyone was super friendly and happy. I didn't see one single person hanging out by themselves, everyone was mingling together on the dance floor.

My favorite dance club, of all time! Next year I'm going back with pals for sure, on Friday!

So, that's it. It was a short vacations, but a well deserved one and it was fun!

Melludee Giveaway!

Melludee is this really sweet SWEET girl.

Today she wrote on how everyone is beautiful. I find that very inspiring, especially coming from someone her age. These days, the more it goes with society, it's only always about outer beauty. We always judge the book by it's cover. That's not fair. We should take the time to get to know people for who they are, because you never know, someone truly amazing could be hiding under there.

I will make this one of my new goals. See people for who they truly are and not what they look like. And I will look at myself as a beautiful person, inside and out.

You should check out Melludee's blog. Reading what she writes always cheers me up! :3

http://www.melludee.com/

And right now, she's having a giveaway! An extra reason to check her out.



Go go go!!

Car shopping

Earlier this year I finally got around to get my driver's license (about time, I know!). I've been practicing with my mother and took some classes. I will be able to get my full license this coming December 2010. I plan on buying a car as soon as I have my license if not before.

So, I've been shopping around, asking people their opinions, etc. My dad's been really excited. He LOVES cars, he let me borrow is Auto Guide 2010 and put some stickies on some of the pages.

For the past 2 years, I had my eyes set on the Mitsubishi Lancer.



The minute I first saw the commercial on TV, I was in love! Imagine what my reaction was when I found out the guy I've been dating has a Lancer! Lol I freaked a little on the inside!

I got to try it out, the way everything's placed inside the car is great, but it didn't leave me with the excited feeling I thought it initially would. And then my heart fell to the ground when I saw the price. EXPENSIVE! But... they ARE under waranty for 10 YEARS!! That's the longest waranty I've ever heard of, for a car.

Lancer is still an option, for now.

Then, I had my eyes set on the Mazda 3.



One of my neighbor has one. It looks good, it's not too big, not too small. The exterior makes it look like a car for younger drivers. When I sat in it, I didn't really care for the way the interior was done, though.

Mazda cars are really good cars. 5 to 7 years waranty on brand new. Mazda 3 is slightly cheaper than Lancer. Second choice on the list.

Then, my father suggested the Kia Forte.



I haven't had a chance to try this one yet. When I went to the dealer, they were closed. There were some Forte models outside, so I got a look at them. They looked much bigger than I first thought, as I stood next to them. The interior looks standard. I'll probably go back to try it out just for the heck of it. Good price, but it doesn't hit me like the others did.

And then...

Earlier before the summer started, I was at the movies, and right before the movie started, along with several other commercials. This pops on the big screen:



Brand new 2011 Mazda 2!

Apparently this car has been very popular in Europe and Japan. I'd never heard of it before, but it was like... love at first sight, literally!

The Mazda 2 is new to America. It just came out in June/July. I personally haven't seen a single one on the road yet, but the dealer was telling me he sold LOTS of them already. Where they have gone? Your guess is as good as mine!

So last Friday, bored out of my mind, I decide to go out to test drive the Mazda 2. The guy (SUPER CUTE!) didn't even ask for my driver's license, went out right away to get a red automatic Mazda 2 and handed me the keys. We went around for a good 15-20 minutes.

One word: WOAW!

Such an amazing car!! It's like it was built FOR ME!! It's a small car, ok? You can easily compare it to the Hyundai Accent and the Ford Fiesta. It's really not a big car. But from the inside, it looks big!! The windows are super wide, I could see SO well all around me, mirrors were perfect. The steering wheel was just the right size, the pedals were super smooth!

I got out of the car and wanted to buy it right away!! Of course, I didn't. But I really wanted to!! Lol





At first, I had my mind set on a white car. No matter what it was going to be, Mazda, Lancer, Kia, whatever. It was going to be white. But then I saw the green Mazda 2, IN PERSON. And it's just SOOO pretty! It's a really happy color!

In the pictures you see here, the green looks a lot like the color of grass. In person, it's a little lighter and comes out so much better!! So, if I do end up buying the Mazda 2 (I'm kind of sold on it right now, but I'm gonna force myself to go try out other cars just to see what they feel like... I do want to make the right choice!) it will definitely be green!

Their website has this shot:



GREEN RIMS AND BODY KIT! Badass looking, isn't it?

I spoke with the sales guy and he said I could get a deal on winter tires and body kit when I buy it. TOTALLY GETTING IT!

So, do any of you guys have a car? Personal experience on buying/trying one out?

Which one would YOU choose?

Ayu on ABC News

Global Pop Sensations You've Never Heard Of
You might not know their names, but plenty of others do.



"Nearly a decade before Lady Gaga donned her "Poker Face," Japanese pop star Ayumi Hamasaki put on hers, releasing the song as her first single in 1998. Dubbed the "Empress of Pop" by her loyal fans, Hamasaki has dominated the Japanese airwaves, having sold more than 50 million records since her debut. Widely considered to be the best-selling artist in her country, she is the first artist to have a number-one album for 11 straight years."

Yeeessss!! Take that Lady Gaga!

Lol. No really, I like Lady Gaga. I saw her in concert. But no one will ever beat Ayu for me.

I spent 75$ for my concert ticket to see Gaga last November 2009. It was a last minute ticket, I wasn't planning on going. We had a blast, it was fun! I don't regret going.

I spent 1,100$ for my plane ticket to Tokyo. Some 900$+ for the hotel, some more on food. And then, 325$ for my FIRST ticket to Ayu's concert on October 22nd 2009. Then, 160$ for my SECOND ticket to Ayu's concert on October 23rd 2009. I spent over 300$ worth of Ayu goodies at the concert stands. I spent 200$ on Ayu books at Nakano Broadway. I spent another some 400$ on CDs and DVDs ONLY purchased in Tokyo. I haven't counted all the stuff I bought online before I went to Japan, all the CDs and DVDs. Had the best time of my life. Accomplished my life long dream to go to Japan and see Ayu live in concert.

I'm not rich. I have a full-time job and bills to pay like everyone else. I've just got different priorities. And I can be very motivated when I want to. Lol

Anyway. All this to say, I'm really happy Ayu's getting some recongnition outside Japan. I'll post pictures of when I went to see her another day, if you guys want to see.

Gotta love Ayu <3

Summer 2010 - Part 2

Part 2 of my summer vacations!



One afternoon, we went to the Aquarium in Quebec city. I was a little disappointed because I thought it was going to be really big! It is big, but not as much as I thought.

I took a lot of pictures though!



I was a little disappointed because it was very cloudy that day. But we had brought our umbrellas so we were ok!



First you walk outside into what looks like a small park. Very pretty!



Once you get inside it looks like this.





This one made me giggle n___n Long nose~~ Haha!



Starfish!



The jelly fish tank was really cool! There was a light that changed color, so they were changing color too!





This picture I took with flash:



Then there was a tank with some of Finding Nemo's fishes!







This one looked like he was mad:



Then there was an area we could walk into that was like a tunnel, with fishes swimming above us.





Then, outsides were the seals!! There were 2 kinds.



These guys were the smallest.







These guys were a little bigger~





I think this is the best picture I took of the whole trip:



Tee-hee!



These ones, there were 3 also, but I couldn't get a good picture because they were far from the observation point. They're called "morses" in french... I can't remember what it is in english.



The polar bear area was hard to see. The observation spot was very high because these bears are 10 feet tall when they are on their back legs. Normally there are two, but when I was there, there was only one. His name is Eddy.



I think he was sad because his girlfriend was inside. :(

That's it for now! Hope you enjoyed the many (too many?) pictures n___n//