a .maitai a day

Domo-kun & Yume Kanji Stamps!

noreply@blogger.com (.maitai) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:00:00 +0000

Need a stamp? I can handmake it for you! [^___^]

A Domo-kun stamp!

A stamp of the kanji for 'yume' which means 'dream' in Japanese.

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Smashbox's New BB Cream

noreply@blogger.com (.maitai) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 04:58:00 +0000

Has anyone tried Smashbox's new BB cream? I tested it at Sephora this past weekend and it seems pretty awesome! It's light-weight, non-whitening and it's like a tinted moisturizer. It has four shades: fair, light, medium, dark--said to be perfect for every skintone...It's said to help the quality of your skin & it's SPF 35~!

I'm so tempted to get it!
It's available exclusively at Sephora (and Sephora.com) until April 1st. After that, it'll be available on Smashbox's site. It's a small, little 1oz tube but I probably wouldn't use it daily anyway, so it would probably last me awhile. Still, $39 is a bit out of my budget.....sooooo tempted to try it tho. ;)

What do you think? ;)

And make sure you check out Jen's helpful video on how she applies BB cream:

(www.frmheadtotoe.com)

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YES!

noreply@blogger.com (.maitai) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 04:52:00 +0000

It came it came it came!!!! Yaaaay!!! My little piece of paper has arrived in the mail! :D I'm so stoked! I can't wait to get started on this.....

^^^Mmhmm mysterious eh? ;) haha. Just wait and see...

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Almost there...

noreply@blogger.com (.maitai) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:41:00 +0000

Plans plans plans....got lots of plans...but where to start??

I've got alot coming up so stay tuned. You're not gonna want to miss this ;)

⌈ 終わり ⌋ Ask me questions: http://www.formspring.me/maitai88Check out my Tumblr: http://maitai88.tumblr.com Email me: dot.maitai@gmail.com

Past

noreply@blogger.com (.maitai) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 08:48:00 +0000

Looked thru all my old Japan posts.... :( I miss those times...

Siiiigh. Aw well. What made my experience in Japan an awesome one was the people I met during that trip. We made our one-year in Japan an awesome jumble of memories and I wish I could go back to those times and just relive it for a little while. :(

Siiiigh.

⌈ 終わり ⌋ Ask me questions: http://www.formspring.me/maitai88Check out my Tumblr: http://maitai88.tumblr.com Email me: dot.maitai@gmail.com

Semester at Sea

noreply@blogger.com (.maitai) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 18:14:00 +0000

So my younger sister is headed off to Semester at Sea next week! She's going to be traveling on a school cruise ship for a semester and stopping in 12 countries around the world! It's so crazy! I'm so proud of her! [^__^]

If traveling interests you, subscribe to her blog: http://fromhawaiitotheworld.blogspot.com

She'll be blogging via email to her Blogger, posting pictures, etc. [^____^]

I'm so excited for her!

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AE Shoes

noreply@blogger.com (.maitai) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 22:31:00 +0000

American Eagle's been making some nice shoes lately! ;)

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Happy New Year!!

noreply@blogger.com (.maitai) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 10:00:00 +0000

あけましておめでとうございます！

[^___^]v

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2011 Recap, 2012 Checklist

noreply@blogger.com (.maitai) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 09:30:00 +0000

Let’s see, what happened in 2011?

Well, I fell truly in love with the most amazing guy (actually I guess that’s pre-2011 haha :P but it grew in 2011), graduated from the University of Hawaii at Hilo with two degrees (Linguistics & Japanese Studies), moved to Oahu, started a new life, grew closer with that same very special guy in my life :) , hit a few speed bumps along the way, started a new job, met lots of awesome new people, lost weight, gained a few new skills and experiences, learned a lot more about myself, and became a little bit more of a better person.

There were things about 2011 that I’d rather forget and, for that, there is 2012.
In 2012, I plan to: eat better, stay more hydrated, take better care of my health, work out more, shed a few more poundage, be happier with my physique, take better care of my loved ones, put more into my goals and hopes and dreams, save money, get back in touch with faraway friends, take a trip somewhere, put more into my relationship💚, and just be a happier person who is content&satisfied with her life. [^__^]

Bring on 2012. :)

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Review: HANA ShineShield Advanced Heat Styling Therapy

noreply@blogger.com (.maitai) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:14:00 +0000

HANA ShineShield Advanced Heat Styling Therapy
Price: $29.99 (6oz; sale price; regular price: $49.99; called "HANA Shine Shield Thermal Protectant" on Misikko.com)

Description:
Hana ShieShield is an advanced lightweight leave-in treatment that strengthens & protects your hair from heat styling and everyday stress. With silk proteins, botanicals & vitamins, ShineShield is a natural approach to repair damage & lock in incredible shine.

Lightweight leave-in conditioning therapy
Designed to protect and restore both hair and scalp from environmental and styling stress
Jojoba absorbs quickly without a greasy feel for thorough deep conditioning
Jojoba naturally dissolves soil, removing build-up from other styling products to leave hair clean & supple
Jojoba naturally excels at thickening keratin layers, bringing out your hair's natural color overtones, highlights and brilliance
Periodic use over time is proven to advance the quality of your hair & the health of your scalp

This liquid is clear, smooth and reminds me alot of the Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Smoothing Serum. It has a floral scent which I'm not a fan of (I don't really care for most floral scent actually).

How I use it:
I apply a little amount, about a little less than a quarter-size amount (I have long hair down to my lower back), starting at the tips of my hair which are the most driest parts and smoothing it up all the way to the top of my head. I take care not to apply any at the roots since my hair tends to get oily there if I have any kind of already-oily product near the roots. Most times I apply this to damp hair right before using a hair dryer, but sometimes I apply it on dry hair when my hair feels too fluffy and frizzy and needs some smoothing down, as well as right before I use a flat iron (I actually haven't used a flat iron since this past summer in an attempt to get my hair back to a healthy state, but I used a flat iron on my hair once in order to test the ShineShield's protection).

Pros:

Protection against heat
Very easy to apply & very easy to wash out
Smooths my hair WITHOUT weighting it down and making it feel oily
Lasts all day, even through humidity (for me anyway)
Can be used on dry skin

Cons:

At $29.99 (that's SALE price), it's a bit steep for me.
The floral scent: It's okay and I can endure it for a day, but I'd prefer not to smell it all day everyday.
Feels weird when used on skin (Makes skin feel slightly oily but still bearable)

The verdict: I love the protection and smoothness that the ShineShield brings to my hair, but since I'm definitely not a fan of the price and the smell, I would rather purchase this as a gift for someone with unruly hair than as a remedy for my own unhealthy hair.

Check out Misikko's flat irons and other hair care products!

This product was sent to me by Misikko.
This review was written with only my personal thoughts and experiences with this product and was not influenced in any way by this company.

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Neglected.

noreply@blogger.com (.maitai) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 01:48:00 +0000

Oh man, and here I am slacking again. Sorry guys! (Well, honestly, I don’t know if anyone ever reads this thing anymore. Lol. I’m thinking about just starting from scratch….but that requires me to be more consistent in my blogging. :/ I really wanna come back to Blogger for good but because of the convenience of blogging via Tumblr, I’ve neglected my Blogspot blog…again. [-___-] Sorrrryyy!!!

I won’t make any more promises to come back for good, I’ll just try my best, ok? :P So starting now, I’mma blog whenever I can. :)

It still surprises me...

noreply@blogger.com (.maitai) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 13:05:00 +0000

He makes me so happy. I can't exactly put into words the way I feel but...It's so crazy to think that it's possible to feel this way about anyone!

I really can't help the smile tugging at the corners of my mouth when I think about him in my life. I feel so content just feeling the warmth from his body next to me on those special nights when he stays over. I love the feeling of being wrapped in his arms. Of his kisses on my head/hair/shoulder. I love when we're lying down and he throws his arm around me and pull me to him, or will roll all the way across the bed to curl up with me...all while he's fast asleep.

I love how he's so understanding. How we can always resolve our arguments. How he shows me everyday in some way or another how important/how much I mean to him. How he can be silly whenevers. How he's opened up so much since we've started dating. How close we've come in the last year and 14 months...

I know it's corny but it's the truth so I can't really find any other way to say it. Lol.

Sent from my iPhone

Makapu'u Lighthouse Hike & Black Friday

noreply@blogger.com (.maitai) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 10:22:00 +0000

Helllooooo out there! Can anyone hear me???? <---ya, It's like I've been hidden away in a cave for a looooong time with the frequency that I'm posting on here. :/ Apologizing again!

Bleh, I know I promised pictures so here are a few!

Oh ya! And I should have thought about it earlier, but if anyone has an iPhone, you can follow me on the Instagram app. My username is MAITAI88 (sooo original Mai...EVERYTHING you have is 'maitai88' [-_____-] siiiiigh).

So here we go!

Recently (actually on Thanksgiving Day) some friends and I went hiking to Makapu'u Lighthouse on the east side of Oahu! I didn't get to go home for Thanksgiving, so I was glad to have friends there :)

You can tell the trail kept going up and up and up because this is only about a quarter of the way up the trail and we were already high above the ocean.

We made it to the top of the trail--the lookout!

And we were awarded with some awesome views!

There's the lighthouse!

We didn't actually hike down to the actual lighthouse since the trail is supposedly closed now and it's considered 'trespassing'.....oh well.

Then after, we went to Sandy's (the nearby beach, and a popular surf spot), met up with friends, had some lunch, caught some sun there and then rushed home because I was supposed to go to my great uncle's house for Thanksgiving dinner.

I actually only ended up staying at my great uncle's house for about a half hour (but I met most of my cousins and aunties and uncles who I've never met before. haha) because two friends (Felip and Kapena) and I had to get to Walmart to wait in line for the XBox 360 Kinect Bundles that were going for $199! Before we had planned this out, we had thankfully stocked up on essentials:

[^____^]v

We got to Walmart at about 6:30pm and already there was a full aisle of people waiting in line!

So jumped in and waited and waited and waited...

but luckily we had Pokemon to keep us busy! [^___^]

Then 9:30pm rolled around and things started getting crazy! The atmosphere completely changed from just a half hour before...everyone was pumped and going crazy trying to grab items from the crates that had been ripped open early. Xbox games were being fought over, people were being pushed and punched and shoved.....it was a madhouse!

An LED tv even got knocked off the wall and that area was blocked off for awhile to soak up the LED crystals...

The workers started surrounding the unopened crates, protecting them from being ripped open before the set time.

So as soon as we got to the front of the Xbox line, we grabbed our Xboxes and dug out!

3 Xboxes! Mission accomplished!

THEN! We went to Ala Moana for the midnight sales...

The crowd in front of Gilly Hicks, pre-midnight.

I didn't buy anything, but after that, we went to BestBuy so Felip could buy some stuff, and then Felip and I went to OfficeMax at about 3:30am where we fell asleep waiting for OfficeMax to open at 6am. lol. I woke up and jumped in the short line at about 5:20am. I didn't get the laptop I wanted, but I DID get a pretty good one for $100 less AND a cheaper service plan since it was a cheaper laptop. I figured I'd just upgrade it on my own...it'll most likely be cheaper that way anyways.

So all in all, it worked out and Black Friday shopping was a success! [^____^]

Aaaand now because we have the Xbox, the boys (and I) have been stuck to it a majority of the time.

I must say though, the Kinect is pretty dang awesome ;)

Alright, it's now 1am and I have to get up for work in 6 hours so I'mma say g'night! :)

Pictures and some reviews coming soon :P

⌈ 終わり ⌋
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Check out my Tumblr: http://maitai88.tumblr.com
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HANA Shine Shield Therapy Review coming soon!

noreply@blogger.com (.maitai) — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 10:17:00 +0000

Ohh my gosh! Here I go, slacking on blogging again! I apologize again! [>_<] Things have been suuuuper crazy with this 3-day weekend AND APEC to deal with [-___-].

Don't really have time to blog right now since it's 12:20am and I have to be up at 6:30 to get ready for work, but I wanted to pop in and let you guys know that I'll be reviewing the HANA Shine Shield Therapy which was sent to me for review by Misikko! Big thanks to John and the rest of the staff at Misikko for that and all the extra goodies!

I'm going to give it a try for a few days and see how it goes. So keep an eye out for that review post!

⌈ 終わり ⌋ Ask me questions: http://www.formspring.me/maitai88Check out my Tumblr: http://maitai88.tumblr.com Email me: dot.maitai@gmail.com

tumblr link repaired

noreply@blogger.com (.maitai) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 07:54:00 +0000

Just wanted to let you know that there was an error in my post "signature"....my link "http://maitai88.tumblr.com" wasn't working before, but I fixed it in the past couple posts and it should be working fine now. :) So if you have a tumblr, follow me and send me a message in my 'ask' box so I know you're a fellow Blogger! [^______^]

⌈ 終わり ⌋ Ask me questions: http://www.formspring.me/maitai88Check out my Tumblr: http://maitai88.tumblr.com Email me: dot.maitai@gmail.com

Go-karting, Oahu road trip, waterpark, shave ice, honey toast

noreply@blogger.com (.maitai) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 06:13:00 +0000

So! As promised: PICTURES! [^___^]
Here we go!

During the second week of having moved to Oahu, Casey and I went go-karting at the new indoor go-kart course in Kapolei! We went with almost all my first cousins (just missing my older sister and our oldest guy cousin), plus my little sister's boyfriend Zoey. I had gone go-karting before but that was in Japan on an outdoor track with gasoline-powered go-karts so this was my first time at an indoor track with battery-powered karts! It was sooooo much fun!!

This is me going outta the starting "gate" with my cousin Ces and my sister Miho behind me...

And we're off!

Casey and I, waiting between races. He always makes weird faces [-____-] lol

These were the times for the first race! I beat Casey! Mwahaha! lol. I actually passed him on the 10th lap or so (there's like 20-something laps in one race). :P

But I did horrible on the 2nd race. I think I placed 6th out of 10 racers [-___-] lol.

But! It was still suuuuper fun! [^____^]v

The cousins and some of our significant others!

L to R: Zoey (my younger sister Miho's bf), Miho (my younger sister), Casey (my boyfriend), me, Daniel (my cousin), Ces (my cousin; Daniel's sister), Russell (my cousin), Rina (Russell's gf), Creson (Doug's gf), Doug (my cousin)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Then another weekend, we decided to go on a road trip around Oahu Island! [^___^]

This is at the Pali Lookout! It's EXTREMELY windy here! People say that if you lean out over the edge of the railing, you won't fall down because of the strong winds...but DON'T TRY IT!! I'm sure people have died from trying to do that :/ It's a looooong drop down!

One of our must-stop-at spots on our list was Chinaman's Hat! It's an island that looks like, of course, a chinaman's hat! haha :P

The girls!

The guys!

And Casey "wearing" the hat. lol.

And we stopped at Giovanni's Shrimp Truck!!!

If you go to Kahuku, you MUST stop here! They make the best best best best BEST shrimp ever!!

Garlic butter shrimp! (WITH lemon! I looooove putting lemon on my garlic butter shrimp :D)

Then we stopped at Waimea Bay for some swimming and tanning ;)

Yeah...another one of his faces...[-_____-;;] lol!

And we of course stopped on the side of the road to take a picture with the infamous Haleiwa sign! [^___^]v

And then we watched the sunset from a beach in Haleiwa!

The boys. haha

The sunset was so pretty!

Casey and I :) He's actually semi-smiling in this one! *Shocked*!! lol :P

My friend Yu & I!

She's holding the sun! [^__^]

We LOVED the view [^___^]

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On another day, we went to the waterpark!

Waterpark fun!

Racing!

Floating down the lazy river!

Lol this is Kapena...holding my foot. [-___-;;] lol!

He's a total goofball! I wish you all could meet him!

This was The Shaka! It's a U-shaped ride...So you get pushed off a ledge and drop down this huuuuuuge slide, then you slide up the other side of the U-shape. I HATE that feeling of falling (ya know, when your body raises up) so I thought this was going to be a hooorrible ride for me...but it was actually REALLY fun! So I went on it again. lol!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On ANOTHER day, we went to Waiola for some shave ice!

Us! Yaaay! :D

The yummy shave ice!!

If you ever have shave ice, you MUST get one with ice cream inside and root beer syrup & melon syrup with condensed milk on top! Mmmmmm! It sounds strange but it's oh so good! [>_<]

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oh ya! And we go to Shokudo every now and then for some honey toast!

Hmmm now that I think about it, I maaay have to have a full post of just food pictures! :D
If you're my friend on FB, you know that I loooove food (I have an album fully-devoted to all the good food I've eaten since I started the album which waaaas...just about a year ago :D

So...maaaaybe I'll post food pics next ;P

I hope you enjoyed my pictures! There will be more to come soon. Right now I have to get back to my episode of Make It or Break It on NetFlix...I'm only on EP 8 of Season 2!! I'm so far behind!! [>___<]

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iOS 5 update---BEWARE!

noreply@blogger.com (.maitai) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 09:34:00 +0000

iPhone 4 owners: Some people are having problems when updating to iOS 5! For some people, their contacts, music, photos, AND/OR apps have been wiped with no way (so far) to restore!! If you wanna update, make sure to backup!! But...I think imma wait a bit to see what Apple says about this fail iOS 5 release. :/

my cousins and a few friends were able to update with no problem but three other friends had all their stuff wiped, with no way to restore from the backup. :/ I wonder if there’s a way to save the backup file to another destination besides in iTunes system folder… :/ that might be able to solve the “no way to restore” part. But so far that I’ve heard it’s been 3 outta 6 AT&T iPhones that have had this problem. Not sure if there’s anything differenece with VZW iPhones…??

Someone DID suggest to save all data externally and THEN do the backup and update...Mmmm but I'd rather not chance it. :/

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1 year anniversary

noreply@blogger.com (.maitai) — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 08:41:00 +0000

(this was actually written on Sunday morning at 4:30am)

It's kinda crazy to think that EXACTLY a year and a day ago, he took his own [crazy] advice and just "walked out with his balls out" lol. I wish I could remember more about that party, that night, prior to that one moment...we have pictures to piece together some of it...but our recollections are a bit hazy... :P Even though 'us' started out in a craaaazy, and slightly embarrassing way...I'm glad it happened the way it did...(despite the lack of memories, it created more memories, yaknowaddamean?) ;)

When we first became good friends, I neeever expected something like this to come of it. But we became good friends so fast...hitting it off was such a surprise to both of us, just because we had known each other for a couple years and hung out in the same group of friends, but had never really gotten to know each other until about two months before we started dating. It was such a surprise to find that we had so much in common and had so many things to talk and laugh about...

It's so crazy to think that he was RIGHT THERE all along...But, I know things wouldn't have turned out as great as they have been this past year if we hadn't gone thru all those separate experiences that helped shape us into the people we became on that first day. :) And we're still evolving today.

We've both changed in a multitude of ways since a year ago. He's taught me so much and has made me want to work towards being a better person at a time when I believed that experiences and certain persons had unknowingly shaped me into a bitter, impatient, stubborn, ignorant, naive and slightly egotistical person. I was unsure how I was to go back to being the [better] person I was before that...I just couldn't find the patience. But he changed all that. Today, I feel better about who I am and who I want to continue being. And even though he doesn't know it, it's all thanks to him. [^__^]

I love this guy ☆〜（ゝ。∂）

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Hellooooooo Blogger World!!

noreply@blogger.com (.maitai) — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 08:36:00 +0000

Whew! It's been AGES since I've been on here, I know. I'm sorry :( I feel like I've abandoned this blog...siiiigh. Lately I've been hooked on tumblr...(yes yes, I'm a traitor). lol. The guilt finally set in so I felt like I owed this blog an apology aaaand...dun dun duuuuuun A POST!

So what's new with me...hmmm...well, lemme list them for you:

I've fiiiinally moved to Oahu! It was such a crazy experience to completely move islands by myself. Packing and shipping aalll my stuff, shipping my car, getting all my financial and mail stuff sorted out, etc. etc. etc....the list of 'things to do' were endless back in August (I've been here since Aug 10th! :D). But! I got through them, thanks to the help of family and friends and now I'm all settled into my new place (pictures to come, later :P)
I originally moved here intending to enroll in school full-time, but I dropped down to half-time. I'm currently taking online classes for a Travel and Tourism Associates Degree program and will most likely be doing the same next semester too. ;)
After about a month of job-hunting (filled with job apps, phone calls, interviews, skills tests, etc.) for an office/admin/something-of-the-like position, I fiiiinnally secured a full-time job! I'm a teller at a bank! [^___^] I know, it's pretty random for me (I have B.A.s in Japanese Studies & Linguistics) right? haha. A friend of mine works as a teller at another bank and she loves it so I decided to apply to a couple banks while I was job-hunting...and I was selected! :) I had training all last week and this is going to be my first full week at the branch so I've been getting hit with ALOT of information on regulations, policies, procedures, banking lingo, etc. to learn and memorize for my teller certification test but it's been crazy busy and fun so time goes by fast [^__^]v
My boyfriend Casey moved up to Oahu as well, and I'm glad he's here because this place is so fast-paced and different from the Big Island, that it's really nice to be able to help each other get used to living here (he's a total country boy [>_<]). I used to come to Oahu like 5-7 times a year, every year since I was younger for school or family, but I gotta say, visiting Oahu and living on Oahu are two completely different things. When we first got here, we were constantly tired and we were taking naps all the time. I got used to driving here REALLY fast because I had to go pick up my car from the port the day after I arrived...mind you, this was my FIRST time ever driving on Oahu. And lucky me, my first time driving just HAD to be during pau hana traffic (after-work traffic). [-____-] But it was so much fun and I enjoy driving here. I don't really mind sitting in traffic but Casey gets irritated pretty quickly. lol.
Some friends and I indulged a bit and went to the waterpark one day! (will post pictures soon!)
A couple weekends ago, Casey and I went back to the Big Island to visit friends and go to the annual Ho'olaule'a in downtown Hilo! I've only missed it once since 2006 and I'm not planning on missing it again. :P It was really nice to be able to see everyone and just chill and cruise for the weekend. We were such lazy butts...we slept in, watched TV, enjoyed being away from the fast-paceness, ate good food that we missed sooo much, hung out with friends we missed just as equally, and got drunk, danced and enjoyed the local music of Ekolu, Natty Vibes and Sudden Rush at Ho'olaule'a. Oh! And I fiiiinally got to eat poi balls again! [^____^]v

I know this blog post was fuuuuull of words and lacking in pictures, so to make up for it, my next post (okay, the post after the next) will be FULL of pictures! [>_<]

Good night everyone!

⌈ 終わり ⌋ Ask me questions: http://www.formspring.me/maitai88Check out my Tumblr: http://maitai88.tumblr.com Email me: dot.maitai@gmail.com

Tired :/

noreply@blogger.com (.maitai) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 08:47:00 +0000

Ugh. Didn't go walking today after getting home from campus. Body felt really tired so I came home and just crashed out. I woke up 3 hours later to the bf's phone call that he was on his way over, but he went to fill gas on the way and I dozed off again. Woke up for like 10 min when he got here but fell asleep again. And I didn't wake up for about an hour and a half later...when he was all pau studying. :/ He had to go home so he could get up early for classes tomorrow and here I sit...with my paper unwritten incomplete and no motivation. Ugh. All thanks to not eating breakfast this morning and forgetting to take my vitamins because of it. :( ...I've noticed that I get tired easily if I don't take my multis in the morning :/
And the internet's out right now. *siiiigh*
Sent from my iPhone [^_^]

Blog sale--Shoes

noreply@blogger.com (.maitai) — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 23:16:00 +0000

Sales information:

* All sales are final.

* First to pay gets the item.

* Item condition/usage is as stated/shown.

* Paypal buyers only.

* It is the sole responsibility of the buyer to correctly input his/her address.

* Once payment is confirmed, item will be removed from listing.

To buy:

- Email me at dot.maitai@gmail.com with the following:

item nam
your Paypal email address (so that I may send you the invoice)
your mailing address (double-/triple-check this!)

Shipping information:

* Shipping cost will depend on weight of items.
* Ships from Hawaii.

* Items will be shipped with: USPS Priority Mail (cost depending on total weight of items) or USPS Priority Flate Rate ($5.00)--I will use whichever is cheaper for you.

(click pictures to enlarge--in a new window)

Qupid Ball Stilettos

Size 7

Worn 4x
Selling for: $12

Qupid Dark Beige Stilettos

Size 7

Brand new, never worn

Original price: $26

Selling for: $12

Forever21 Jocelyn-13 Black Stilettos

Size 7

Brand new, never worn

Original price: $29

Selling for: $12

Qupid White Buckle Heels
Size 7.5 (fits like a 7)
Brand new, never worn
Original price: $24
Selling for: $12

SODA Chain Flats
Size 7.5
Brand new, never worn
Selling for: $6

Cobian Wedge Slippers
Size 7
Worn 2x
Selling for: $4

Neon Green Slippers (Flip-Flops)
Size 7 (fits like a size 6)
Brand new, never worn
Original price: $4
Selling for: $2

⌈ 終わり ⌋ Ask me questions: http://www.formspring.me/maitai88Check out my Tumblr: http://maitai88.tumblr.com Email me: dot.maitai@gmail.com

Lifeproof & tokidoki iPhone 4 Cases--waaant!

noreply@blogger.com (.maitai) — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 21:08:00 +0000

So, last week I upgraded from my Droid Original phone to a brand-spankin' new iPhone 4!! And not just any old iPhone 4....the white one! [>_<]

I'm so stooooked! [^_^] I was debating and debating about whether I should stick with Android or get an iPhone but after asking eeeeveryone about it, I finally settled on an iPhone. And me, being a "typical" Japanese, (lol) was ooobviously going to get the white one! :D

Now I'm just in the process of breaking my Hanging with Friends, Words with Friends, and Tiny Tower addictions (add me if you have any of these!! username: maitai88), and getting a new case!

Again, it's another debatable topic. lol. Do I go with something that's super sturdy (lack of phone insurance, mind you--$70 for Apple Care for an additional year?! You must be nuts!) or something that's pretty protective BUT also cute?

Here're my current options!
The super duper sturdy option would be:

The Lifeproof case!
$69.95 on www.lifeproof.com

Now this case seems soooo amazing! Because you can..."Experience the freedom to surf, sing in the shower, ski, snowboard, work on construction sites and have true mobile freedom anywhere you go!"

Really! It's like LIFE-proof! lol :D

I'm not one to take my precious phone underwater, but the waterproof-ness of it could come in handy whenever I'm stuck in the rain or drinking something near my phone.

If you're even remotely skeptical of the validity of its claims, you goootta watch the videos they have of the Lifeproof case in action in all kinds of situations/weather: http://www.lifeproof.com/pr/videos
In these videos, they go snorkeling and playing in snow with their phones. They even bowl their phones down the sidewalk numerous times to show how shock-proof and sturdy the case is, and a lady even washes her phone case (with phone inside!) in a cup of water when she (grossly) spills the innards of a burger on it. lol.

But on the oooother hand, I would looove a cute phone case since I haven't had a cute one in awhile!
I've been eyeing these two...

$40 on tokidoki.it

Toootaally cute right? I love the tokidoki prints. :P I looove the white one cuz, well, it's white and stylish. But I looove the black one cuz it's so "original tokidoki"...ya know? ;) I wish I could get the cow/milk carton one that I saw for iPhone 3 and iPod Touch at Borders! I gotta see if I can find another pic of that. :/ If anyone know which one I'm talking about, and knows were to find it, please help me! :D I will foreeever be in your debt, because that is the ultimate tokidoki case! I waaaant it! :D

So what do you think? ;)

⌈ 終わり ⌋ Ask me questions: http://www.formspring.me/maitai88Check out my Tumblr: http://maitai88.tumblr.com Email me: dot.maitai@gmail.com

IntenseDebate is giving me a headache so I've decided to stop using it for now. :/

noreply@blogger.com (.maitai) — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 20:21:00 +0000

I've moved on to Disqus commenting system! [>_<] I love it!

Sorry your previous comments won't show up anymore. I appreciate all of them! :D

I hope to start blogging more often now...mostly random stuff, whatever catches my attention at the moment. lol. I'm sure it'll be a very A.D.D.-like blog. :P

If you follow my blog with Google Reader or anything else that uses my Feedburner URL, make sure you update it to: http://feeds.feedburner.com/amaitaiaday

Thanks for sticking with me through all these blog changes. As long as all goes well from here on out, I'll be keeping to a .maitai a day, and there won't be anymore url changes, etc! Soooo sorry for all the confusion!

⌈ 終わり ⌋ Ask me questions: http://www.formspring.me/maitai88Check out my Tumblr: http://maitai88.tumblr.com Email me: dot.maitai@gmail.com

Feedburner gave my feed url to someone else??!

noreply@blogger.com (.maitai) — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 09:41:00 +0000

Ummm okay....so because of that, I had to make a new feedburner url...

http://feeds.feedburner.com/amaitaiaday

I'll probably lose alot more followers now because of this :/ I was WONDERING why there was barely any traffic on my site recently :( Now I know why

⌈ 終わり ⌋ Ask me questions: http://www.formspring.me/maitai88Check out my Tumblr: http://maitai88.tumblr.com Email me: dot.maitai@gmail.com

"Who you choose to be around you lets you know who you are."

noreply@blogger.com (.maitai) — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 13:27:00 +0000

I've been wanting to write about this quote for some time now. I believe Han was right when he spoke these words in TD, but I also think that there's more than just this.

Just because a person is friends with someone or associated with someone doesn't mean that that is the type of person that s/he is. Take for example a person who has had the same best friends for a very, very long time. Just because you've been "bestest friends" with that group doesn't mean that you will all remain the same people through the course of those many years. Personalities change, hopes, dreams, goals, ideas, opinions, priorities, perceptions....all change. But even though there is all that change, it's hard to let go of the friendship you have. You've all gone through tough times, memorable moments, laughs, cries...these friends have been with you through thick and thin, and that's hard to break.

So in these instances, I say there's some leeway to Han's statement. Sure, the people around you maaay be like you, or you them. But most often than not, you have your differences, you may not share the same ideas and you may not agree with the things they do.

I, personally, am the type of person that doesn't want to surround myself with people who I don't approve of most of the things they do. Sure, my friends'll do stupid stuff occasionally, and I'm fine with that because I'm the same and everyone has their own preferences and mistakes to make...but it's the extremes that I'm not happy with. Hurtfully lying to your friends' face, cheating, purposely verbally/physically hurting someone because of any reason at all....that, I do not condone at all of a friend.

I guess in a way, I wanna see my friends in myself. I wanna see that we are good people who try to do the right thing in life. And I know we all stray from that path many times in our lives...but I think that how you recover and fix your mistakes is the most important part. If you know you've done wrong and you never try to fix it, that's not doing the right thing, that's not being a good person. And I can't stand that.

I'm not saying I'm perfect. I'm not saying I'm right all the time, because lord knows I'm not. I'm saying that I try my best to repent for my mistakes. I try my best to make wrong right and my best to make sure my wrong never happens again. I feel like being a good person isn't about being perfect, it's about knowing that you did something wrong, coming to terms with that, and trying your best to right it.

One thing though: I have never cheated, nor ever thought of cheating on someone. And I never, ever plan to start. Because of past events in my life, of things happening to me and to those close to me, my heart cannot condone cheating of any kind at all, of my significant other cheating on AND my friends cheating on their significant others. I despise it. I loathe it with a passion that can't be laid to rest, and I don't understand how other people can do this without a care in the world. In my heart, these people are one of the lowest of the lows and in my mind, I can never forget what they've done. I believe that there is always a way to avoid cheating. I don't ever see how there can be a good reason to cheat on your significant other. If you choose to be in a relationship with someone, then you should stick with it. When you're in a relationship, you give your whole heart to that person. You entrust that person with the most precious thing you possess. If you decide that you are looking for someone or something different, then end it or make a choice, but don't drag it on and do something behind your partner's back. Be a man, be a woman. Grow some balls. You can't have everything. Deep down, you know you would want your significant other to give you the same honest courtesy and you would most certainly want them to take the utmost care with your most precious gift to give anyone: your heart. So why can you not give them the same honest courtesy that they would give you?

For these people, I have a much more difficult time coming to terms with what they've done, but I think eventually, if that person understands his/her wrongs, is truly regretful of it, does not hide if from the one they've deceived, and never does it again, then I have an easier time looking past what they've done. I will never forget nor forgive, but I can look past it. Like I said, what makes a good person isn't what 'wrongs' they didn't do, it's about what 'rights' they've done to fix those 'wrongs'.

Whew, I've gone off on a tangent...

Like I was saying before, sometimes friendships remain because of memories and years of history, but even if that is so, that doesn't mean you should follow in your friends' footsteps. Just because your friends or your family think something is 'okay,' does that mean you have to lower your standards and follow suit? Or should you do what you believe to be the right thing?

Think about it. Who are you?

⌈ 終わり ⌋ Ask me questions: http://www.formspring.me/maitai88Check out my Tumblr: http://maitai88.tumblr.com Email me: dot.maitai@gmail.com