• I just started using TeuxDeux, and oh-my-god it is all I ever wanted in a to-do-list, and nothing more.
• Staying busy. I want to write something about the Norwegian saying “lediggang er roten til alt ondt” – is there an English saying with the same meaning? Something like “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop”? Seriously though, staying busy is good, my creative juices are always flowing when I don’t have enough time to execute any of the ideas. I need to get myself one of these High Expectations Asian Father to keep myself in check and start producing.
• Patterns, patterns, patterns! I can not believe I did not figure this out sooner. A super-awesome-simple-wonderful guide about how to make repetative patters! This has been on my mind for years, and now all of a sudden I felt it was a mixture between a duh-moment and an aha-moment. In any case, I went to bed smarter then I woke up after reading this.
• “I have no talent” I thought this article was worth a read – it is about how it is tons of practice that counts, not talent. I belong in that category as well. I do not have much talent, but I work hard. This article brought back memories from senior high – when classmates would comment that “you will always be alright, you always do well on the tests” – what they didn’t realize is the amount of hours I spent studying. I am pretty sure if they put down the same time I did they would have gotten at least as good results as I did, and quite possibly better results than I did. When I was younger I used to wish I had a special talent, but now I realize that the only talent I have is working on something long enough to get better at it. And I am actually quite pleased with that. It makes me think that quite a few people in the world can reach their goals, as long as you work hard enough.
• I know I am years after everyone else here – but Dexter! I started watching it from season 1 recently, and I am now on season 4, and I absolutely love how the characters does not fit the usual hero/villain theme. I do think that sometimes the female characters are a bit hysteric and flat (just like any other Hollywood show out there), but all in all I love it! I always make time for smoke breaks just when Dexter is doing the massive killing, even though I love it I am an absolute pussy when it comes to watching heavy violence on screen.

Another long stoppage in the 365 project, but I will just take it at my own pace and eventually I will finish. I am good at perseverance, although I might be slow at times. I have always loved repetitive patterns, and I have been dieing to know the secret to how to make them perfect and seamless for quite a few years now, and because of the wonderful magic of the internet, I now know how to do it. Not a master at it yet, but practice makes perfect. I wanted to make some wrapping papers with repetitive patterns, just pure line art in black and white, and this is what came out of it. I have been thinking about graphic prints for t-shirts, I love them on everyone else, but would never wear such t-shirts myself, so I feel it is kind of a waste to start producing things you can not wear yourself, no?

Hello Sandwich moved to Tokyo, and makes the most beautiful things from very simple parts. I am always amazed with how pretty her things turn out. I want to go to her workshop next month.

Gunvor is an absolutely amazing illustrator (which I even used to share artist space with a couple of years back!), and she has gotten great success in the real world, but more people should read her blog! Heck, I hardly knew she had a blog until I all of a sudden rediscovered it.

I have no idea how Jessica-Naomi makes time to do all the amazing things she produce, in between sketchbooks, perfumes, jewelry, sowing and crafting and taking pictures – I would need about 5 of me to produce half of the things she produces.

Sandra Juto draws amazing things, but she also takes cute pictures and I love seeing all of her little projects and pictures from everyday life.

All pictures belong to From Me To You.

I have been seeing these beautiful beautiful picures popping up all over the web, for the past half year or so, but it wasn’t until I read Jason’s blog that I realized those kinds of pictures had a name! I want to try to make something like this as well, they look so beautiful!

I am done with my classes! It feels strange and wonderful and sad and weird all at once. I did the best interview-test I have ever done (the one with the keigo-interview, I got 97.5%, wowzers!), and I passed all my main tests as well. Wonderful. I sure will miss my little class and all the amazing teachers. The classes got done just in time as well, I was just about to write a couple of days ago that Japan isn’t as hot and humid this year as previously, but two days ago the temperature went *poof* and it is so hot and humid it hurts to wear dark clothes because the sun heats them up too much. Now I am of to write an incredibly long to-do-list for all the things that have been neglected in the past couple of weeks. I think I need to sign up for High Expectations Asian Father to keep myself in check 😉

First, this is what it looks like when we have been eating all-you-can-eat-chinese-buffet. Om nom nom. It was absolutely delicious!

Second, I need some inspiration for recipes! I don’t care if they are vegetarian or vegan or packed full of meat or fish, I just need some serious help getting the cooking going. The thing is – I absolutely love food, eat it, look at it, take pictures of it, discovering new food I haven’t tasted before… however, I can not cook. It is not that I am so terribly bad at cooking (well, not anymore!), it is just that no matter how hard I try, I can not find enjoyment in cooking. The more I cook, the more I dislike it. I enjoy making salads and things that does not involve boiling or frying or any kind of heat, but the moment heat is involved I don’t like it. But, a girl has to eat, so I need some suggestions! All I am asking is that they are simple enough so I can possibly pull them of without hurting myself or others in the process. Another thing is that I need to be able to find the ingredients in Japan, and cook them in Japan, which means no big turkey to put in the oven I do not have. Please share any recipes you might have which are easy, fun and taste decent. Thank you very much! ♥

Hello my dear neglected blog! I have good news for you, I am done with my tests for now! Which means I can update you more. Looking forward to interacting with you again.

The test today consisted of writing an essay about the IT-generation (is indirect communication a good or a bad thing?), 3 pages of vocabulary, around 30 new grammar points and the latest 200 kanji I have learned. (In total I am suppose to know about 1000 in total right now. Suppose is a keyword here). Last week I had a reading test (trying to decipher Japanese newspaper articles sure is fun), I had to conduct and interview in keigo (that is the very very polite Japanese that everyone keeps on hating), give a short oral resume about the extencive over-packaging culture in Japan, write up two conversations (one of them in keigo, one of them in good old fashioned friendly Japanese), two other interview-conversation-tests (one of them in keigo again), write an essay about Norway’s English education, and last, but not least, I had a wonderful listening test where the talking is deliberatly set up in order for you to pick the wrong option, I am sure of it. And all of this without using a dictionary. They sure like exams at my school. I should be used to this by now, this happens every third month.

In any case, my head is pure mush at the moment, so I will take the evening off, and start sorting my lists over everything I am suppose to do from this point forward which have been ridiculously neglected. When I say I am done with my tests for now, it is not entirely true, I still have the JLPT coming up in a couple of weeks, but right now that seems far away and doable. That is, after all, only one test.

& totally unrelated and just for fun: Here is a picture from some dinner I ate a little while ago. The sashimi was niiice. /over and out.

♥ learn at least 3 Japanese karaoke songs by heart just so I can charm the old ladies at the neighborhood bar the next time I go there. ♥ finally write a real letter on paper ♥ paint pictures on big canvases in my underwear while listening to Gene Pitney on repeat ♥ pretend I am a tourist even though I live here and take the train to random places in Tokyo and be amazed ♥ answer all of the absolutely wonderful comments I have gotten here on the blog lately ♥ make a decent dinner for my sweetheart from scratch ♥ drink wine in the morning just because I can ♥ spend lots of time in the bed and thinking about how beautiful people look when they sleep ♥ draw draw draw draw draw ♥ plan amazing photo shoots for the fall (and maybe, just maybe getting a little bit more serious about taking pictures again, who knows) ♥ make a list over what is important in my life, and by that find out all the things which are not important and I can be without ♥ sort all the files on my BFF-Mac and have it in immaculate state ♥ take pictures of all the the-palm-of-my-hand-size-butterflies that are fluttering around in the park down the street ♥

I always get a “Lost in Translation”-feeling from these.

& it is not really visible, but in the right picture above, the sun is setting over Mt. Fuji.

These are taken from one of my most favorite places in the world, the top of the Mori Art Center in Roppongi. If you ever go to Tokyo and you want the view, go here instead of Tokyo tower. It is far more spacious, and the 360 degree view is absolutely stunning.

A super quick post, I just had to share this beautiful sunset right outside the windows here. ♥