xiaxue

25 outstanding Social bookmarking icon set

2012-07-05T09:16:00.010-07:00

For every blogger what matter is there readers but what if many people are not aware of it, thus social bookmarking helps to find a way out of it. Its a best example of oral publicity. Which in turns gets the maximum traffic then from a search engine. So here i am providing you some [...]

How to Get Twitter Followers ! what's your score ?

2012-07-05T09:16:00.009-07:00

One of the best ways I’ve learned on how to get Twitter followers is by using the Tweet Spinner tool. With Tweet Spinner, you can use one of two different Twitter auto follow system. One is based on keywords and the other is based on a specific Twitter profile. Tweet Spinner provides a robust set [...]

Saving Facebook Conversations !

2012-07-05T09:15:00.010-07:00

How many times have you ever happened to pass important information in chat with your Facebook friends and then just when you need that we forget what has been written? To me personally many times, in fact whenever I do, I have to get back in touch my friend and me to complain, what at [...]

How to Chat With Multiple Facebook Friends Easily, Quickly?

2012-07-05T09:15:00.009-07:00

To access the chat app. from Facebook without any other information such as bulletin board, messages and all other services offered by social network, you can use a direct link to chat only to see your friends. Chat With Multiple Facebook Friends Easily By logging in to exclusively chat with multiple Facebook friends, you can [...]

Twitter quick guide and FAQ !

2012-07-05T09:15:00.008-07:00

What is Twitter?, How to Updateon Twitter?, How to get Followers in Twitter? The answers for these questions and some basic twitter guidelines are explained here. What is Twitter? Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service thatallows users to get connected and remain connected. I call it as one line blogging tool.

How Kids are Making Money by Blogging With Fun

2012-07-05T09:14:00.003-07:00

Earning money is the biggest passion for everyone, this makes you financially independent and you can buy things which you desired earlier. Maximum teenagers work part time to earn some money which raises their monthly pocket money. Now day’s internet becomes so much popular among every age person, it is not only used for the [...]

5 Secrets of Blog Traffic Generation That Work

2012-07-05T09:09:00.003-07:00

If you were not running any online business, traffic generation would have just been a common issue for you, but since you are digging in for the secrets of blog traffic generation that work, we suppose, you are an online businessman looking for the effective strategies or suggestions that will always take off your blog. [...]

National College

2012-07-05T09:08:00.010-07:00

The fundamental purpose of National College is to educate men and women for the duties and responsibilities of business life and to help place them in positions where there is opportunity for advanceme

American Career College

2012-07-05T09:08:00.009-07:00

American Career College (ACC) offers hands-on training that will prepare students for careers in the healthcare industry at three campuses in Los Angeles, Ontario, and Orange County, California. ACC's programs combine classroom lectures and hands-on training to prepare students for a Diploma or Associate of Occupational Science degree.

Argosy University

2012-07-05T09:08:00.008-07:00

At Argosy University we prepare individuals for careers that make a difference, whether in business, education, or psychology. Learn how you can make a difference in your life, and the lives of others.

Anthem Institute

2012-07-05T09:07:00.008-07:00

Get the training you need for a rewarding career in less time than you may think If you're looking for hands-on, career focused training, look no further than Anthem Institute.

Keiser University Campus

2012-07-05T09:07:00.005-07:00

Keiser University offers accredited degree programs in today's high-demand careers: Healthcare, Technology, Paralegal, Business, Nursing and Legal Studies.

Florida Career College

2012-07-05T09:07:00.002-07:00

Train for the real-world skills that help you launch a successful technology or healthcare career with a degree, or diploma from Florida Career College.

Keiser University Campus

2012-07-05T09:06:00.011-07:00

Keiser University offers accredited degree programs in today's high-demand careers: Healthcare, Technology, Paralegal, Business, Nursing and Legal Studies.

Prism Career Institute

2012-07-05T09:06:00.008-07:00

Start your career with an education from Prism Career Institute. We offer programs in medical assisting, medical billing and coding, patient care assisting, paralegal studies, and practical nursing. Some of our programs can be completed in under a year!

Argosy University

2012-07-05T09:06:00.005-07:00

Woodbury University

2012-07-05T09:06:00.002-07:00

Take your career to the next level with Woodbury University. Our one-year Master of Organizational Leadership degree program is designed for busy adult learners to advance their careers quickly.

Southwest Florida College

2012-07-05T09:05:00.008-07:00

Southwest Florida College is listening to employers and embracing what they say are the skills that students need upon graduating. The College works with over 200 employers on advisory boards that offer insight into curriculum development. Upon completion of the program, graduates possess the knowledge and skills that their respective industry expects.

Marian University

2012-07-05T09:05:00.005-07:00

At Marian University, our vision is to provide an education that profoundly transforms lives, society, and the world. Our mission is to be a Catholic university dedicated to excellent teaching and learning in the Franciscan and liberal arts traditions. We welcome students of all faiths who seek an educational experience framed within the context of our Franciscan values of dignity of the individual, peace and justice, reconciliation, and responsible stewardship. Other schools may prepare you for a career. Marian University prepares you for life.

Central Penn College

2012-07-05T09:05:00.002-07:00

Earn a degree at Central Penn College and achieve your career goals. Choose from bachelor and associate degree programs in criminal justice, business, and technology.

Prism Career Institute

2012-07-05T09:04:00.002-07:00

Pepper Lunching

2012-07-04T04:25:00.003-07:00

Advertorial

I'm warning you guys... This post is gonna make you super hungry!

As you can guess from the title, I'm gonna be blogging about Pepper Lunch today! I've always made it known that I am a HUGE fan of Pepper Lunch so imagine how happy I was when they invited me down to try their new menu! :D

In case you have no idea what Pepper Lunch is about, the concept is really unique. Chef and inventor Kunio Ichinose wanted to serve quality fast food without hiring a chef. He devised a method using hot metal plates that are heated to 260 Celsius by an electromagnetic cooker. Customers then cook their own food using chopsticks to whatever degree of doneness they want! Not only is it delicious, it's also super fun! I get very excited when it comes to cooking the beansprouts and egg especially. :D

You can see me rave about their Beef Sukiyaki here. For a period of time I was like seriously addicted to it and had to eat it like once a week!

After that they came out with a special item called the "Thick Steak" and it was so good I seriously smsed all my beef lover friends to go give it a try. The thick steak was just like the Pepper Steak but super thick, like a tenderloin! At only $15.90 it was just the most value for money good steak I've ever had. Too bad this item is no longer available but the Pepper Steak and Rib Eye Steak are very, very close.

Do I sound like a crazy Pepper Lunch fan or what? LOL

And some of my tweets about Pepper Lunch: Here, here and here.

I was so overjoyed when an outlet opened in White Sands, really close to my home. T_T

This time round Pepper Lunch came up with 7 completely new items and improved some of their classics! :D

But first...

Me on the cab on the way there. Hahaha...

Special reception!

Section closed just for me and my friends.

Invited Qiuqiu and Kaykay to gorge with me.

Qiu looking excited

Drinks first: I had my favourite Iced Mango Peach and Qiu chose Iced Milo (as did Kaykay).

Qiu with Kaykay

Our first dish:

Guess what this is?

Curry Chicken Pepper Rice with Cheese!

Generous pieces of chicken thigh seasoned with flavourful curry powder and rice with corn and generous slices of cheese atop it... All sizzling on a hot plate.

When the cheese is melted it is HEAVEN! Look at the strands of cheesy goodness.

OMG... The rice is sticky and gooey with a really special curry flavouring. Spicy without being overpowering.

Us girls just attacked the plate till nothing was left.

One more awesome thing about Pepper Lunch? You can feel free to do add-ons to your meal!! Not enough corn/bean sprouts/cabbage/beans? Another serving is just 30c!! Adding cheese? 90c. Adding an egg is $0.50. And guess how much this dish cost? $9.90!

The chunks of chicken were really juicy and perfectly cooked too. :D

In the background you can see the Beef Pepper Rice too. Not gonna blog much about it as I think most of you have possibly tried it before.

The Honey Brown Sauce and Garlic Soy Sauce are the essential sidekicks to Pepper Lunch's food! I love a combination of the two and I love DRENCHING my food with the sauces. By drench I really mean pouring the sauces full blast for about 5 seconds each.

The sauces particularly go well with the steaks, and would you look at that steak?

You can hardly believe that such a large well marbled piece of beef can go for just $16.90 - theRib Eye Steak is super value for money (comes with mashed potato too).

Tip: The brown cream thing is special margarine. Spread it all over your steak! And also... You can thick skinnedly go to the counter and ask for more margarine if you want. LOL

This is my favourite dish of the evening! Qiu doesn't take beef so Kaykay and I finished it all.

Even cooked medium well the beef is extremely tender and melts in your mouth.

Next up is the Salmon Cream Pasta with Mushroom ($11.90).

A lot of people think Pepper Lunch offers just beef or rice which some people do not eat. But they cannot be more wrong as there is a huge selection of pastas and other different meats!

As I have never had Pepper Lunch's pasta before I had no idea how to cook it so a staff kindly helped us:

That's right you can request for tableside cooking too if you don't trust your own cooking skills!

The right way to cook this dish is to toss the pasta, salmon and mushroom till they are cooked, then...

Pour the cream sauce in.

This is actually Qiu's favourite! She loves the cream sauce being not too "jelat" (overpowering) and the abundant mushrooms. LOL

Next up is my favourite (tied with Rib Eye) Wagyu Sukiyaki with Udon:

At $13.90 this dish sure contains a lot of yummy stuff!! On the hot plate are chunks of fine marbled beef that melts in your mouth, cabbage and onion slices, an egg, udon, tofu, mushrooms and beans.

I was told that this dish is "improved" and the sauce is changed. I was really apprehensive because seriously I liked it fine the way it was.

But guess what? It's actually nicer now wtf!! They somehow made the sauce a little less salty and more watery. It used to be just a little too thick and strong so now it's perfect!

I cannot describe how much I love the sauce!! After it's cooked together with the cabbage it just has this sweet flavour to it that goes perfectly with a slice of quality beef. MmmmmMmmmm!

The slippery udon quantity also increased so udon lovers would be pleased.

Kaykay and I devouring it. Sipped every last bit of the broth!

New Item: Saba and Chicken! ($14.90)

I thought it was really adventurous of Pepper Lunch to try serving saba as it is not a very "common" fish. However, it's delicious! The saba is a premium grade imported from Norway. Juicy and goes really well with the garlic soy sauce.

The next item is from the new category of "Sizzling Curry Rice". Pepper lunch added 3 curry rice dishes:

Curry Rice with Seafood, with Beef and Hamburg Steak or with Chicken and Mushroom.

We got served the Curry Rice with Seafood! $12.90

Hello big scallop!! You are welcome in my belly!

A lot of people would think the correct way to cook this is to pour the curry in and mix everything up but technically the correct way is to saute the seafood, then pour the curry around the rice. That way you can gauge how much curry you want with each spoonful of rice!

Traditional Japanese curry is sweet and mild but the new trend is to have curries that are tasty and rich with a spicy kick. Combined with the freshly cooked flavour of the seafood this is really quite yummy!

Bursting with food, us girls were served our ice cream desserts...

Five different flavours!! From left:

Kuromitsu (caramel),

Passion Fruit,

Matcha (green tea),

Choco Nuts,

and Goma (sesame).

The passion fruit is a new addition! It offers a much need variety to the available ice creams because it is the only sour, tangy one while the others are sweet. I liked it!

The Matcha used to be the worst among the ice creams when there were only 3 flavours available (other 2 being goma and kuromitsu). However, it is now improved and I can safely say it is putting up a good fight!! Kaykay's favourite is the matcha! Very refreshing and clean-tasting.

My personal favourite is either the Kuromitsu (also this is Qiu's favourite) or the Goma!!

Whenever I have my Goma I mix it up like this and it is sooooo delicious!! Looks cool too right? :D

Feeling like some Pepper Lunch?

Want it even cheaper than usual? Very simple!

Just click "Like" on Pepper Lunch's facebook page and print out the relevant voucher, or store it in your phone!!

Have fun cooking and eating!

Pixar for Cars 2!

2012-07-04T04:24:00.000-07:00

OMG I'm so backdated with my photos... Anyway photos from my trip to San Francisco again, this time to visit Pixar for the second time for Cars 2!

(For my first trip to Pixar you can click HERE)

Stayed at Four Seasons again, along imho the best street in SF - Market Street!

Huge 4 storey Juicy store, ginormous flagship F21 store, H&M, Abercrombie etc all within walking distance. :D

Didn't really feel like snapping a lot of pictures coz I was there alone and seriously, I get enough weird looks without taking out a blinged out camera...

First thing I did was to order food!

The kid's menu is so cute with food related jokes! I'm sorry I forgot the answers to those joke questions wtf.

I ordered Halibut coz the last time I had it it was so freaking delicious, but I think Four Seasons changed their menu/chef and this time round it's only mediocre. :(

Still, truffle fries are always good!

Emergency sign I saw along the corridor... I found it so funny that they had to make an onomatopoeia of the alarm I had to take a picture!! Seriously? Alarms never sound like "whoop whoop whoop", right? LOL woop woop woop is the sound Zoidberg makes!

Lonely lunch looking out of the window the next day.

This is my lunch set and it was quite horrible. :(

And I got ready for my Pixar 25th anniversary party!

On the bus there. Seriously, I must have at least a dozen of pictures of myself with someone staring at me with intense hatred at the background while I camwhore. I must appear very unlikeable. :( I blame the blonde hair.

What were you doing on April Fools' Day?

I was trying to spot secret hidden Pixar related emblems embedded in the new HUGE Pixar building.

In case you don't already know, Pixar is expanding their office space and it used to be this one hugeass airy, clean, steel sorta building but they built a new separate building next to it and it has a homey, country, cozy feel with red bricks, wood everywhere and even a fireplace!

The steel one reflects the taste of Steve Jobs (largest shareholder of Pixar) and the country one reflects the taste of John Lasseter, Pixar's Chief Creative Officer!

Heya Lotso!

I was not supposed to snap photos of these but talent needs to be shared!

Pixar store. Merchandise here strictly not sold anywhere else. :D

Last time I came the posters were all of Toy Story 3 but now it's all Cars 2!

Giant sofa!

I feel dwarfed!

No flash = no need for photoshop. The thighs a bit fat but I can deal with that.

In case you are wondering why I said I was attending a party and yet am shooting all these Forever Alone pictures, it is because, as you can see in the background, everyone is mingling up there.

I didn't know anybody so I felt terribly out of place. :(

And the worst thing is everybody there who is not from Pixar knows Pixar inside out so they can chat with the Pixar staff knowing their job scopes and names but I don't know most of them so I was really afraid it would be insulting them if I chat to them and ask them who they are!!

Plus small talk is soooooo awkward!

So I escaped downstairs to randomly snap pictures.

And yes this is an Acadamy Award!!

I felt so awed when I saw it coz Oscars are so freaking RARE and there were a few right there before my eyes in the Pixar display cabinet.

To Finding Nemo for Best Animated Film

Giant painting at the main hall changed too, from Buzz and Woody to Lightning Mcqueen and his friends.

I had one day off on my 4 day Cars 2 trip so as I mentioned before I flew to LA to meet Michelle Phan!

I bought the "to" ticket for March 31st. Naturally when I tried to buy the "fro" ticket the automatic system brought up the calender for April. Instead of clicking backwards to March 31st, I went to click forward and brought a ticket for May 31st.

Mar 31st and May 31st looks the same ok!

-_-

Thank god Delta is freaking awesome and had a flight back for me. I had to top up $100.

Michelle picked me up from the airport and brought me to Santa Monica!! Gorgeous

Californian weather is so perfect!

She's looking perfect as usual. What's new?

We bought Wetzel Pretzels to eat!! What do you mean I look like I have a penis?

Michelle insisted on cheese dips for the hot dogs. YUM

After shopping we spent some time just chilling at her place while the telly is on. This was the first time I watched LOTR in startlingly clear HD and we kept making bimbo comments on the characters' clothes, skin and hair etc. It was crazy silly fun.

Michelle setting up her camera to film our haul video. She has makeup books and makeup scattered everywhere! LOL

There she is updating the video. She even started to do editing on the spot. -_-

talk about workaholic.

Michelle and Carl treating me to an awesome seafood dinner!

LA traffic is horrible, took us an hour to get there.

Me! With my crab chowder and bits of parsley picked off something...

Carl and Michelle

My super yummy scallops!

In love with my Toki doki makeup from Sephora ♥

Bought a Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick from Sephora coz Michelle recommended it. Accidentallystole hers coz I thought the one on the couch was the one I bought. :(

And that's it! Flew back to SF. Concussed.

Final day at Pixar:

Should I bring a strawberry smelling Lotso home?

Ready for an awesome picture?

Me with John Lasseter after my interview with him!!

He is super nice and funny!

And I now can haz a Toy Story 3 poster with his signature on it :)

If you are wondering where the interview is, here it is, my Guide to Life on Cars 2!

And I got to watch 20 mins of footage from Cars 2 (yet to be completed then). It was so awesome!! Spy thriller style and super fast paced with heart warming friendship all put in of course. :D

Spot the little caterpillar

Real Ken and Barbie dolls, inspiration for their characters on Toy Story 3.

Oooooo... The Claw.....

Last pic in Pixar

Was so happy to find "roast duck rice" in the airport I paid $9usd for this or something. I expected SG portions but the duck is GINORMOUS and super delicious. Worth the money!

Ending this blog post with a picture of a man walking in front of me with an SQ sticker on his butt. I don't know why but maybe it's after 20 hours of flying, I found this hilarious.

I'm Stripping!

2012-07-04T04:21:00.000-07:00

p/s: One longass new post below this advert

Advertorial

And it's not what you think it is!

I'm stripping off my falsies!

For the past week I've been going out with only mascara for a change.

Now, falsies have always been a must have for me because they give great impact, are fuss-free, and lasts.

And now we have mascara that will do just all that!

People prefer mascara for loads of reasons. The most common one is that they don't know how to apply falsies. Another is that mascara is not as "exaggerated" a look - perhaps falsies are too dramatic for everyday wear.

If you are a big fan of mascara, now you can try the new mascaras from ZA!! The Impact Lash Mascara comes in 4 different types to suit all your needs!

Wide Eyes

This is my favourite! This mascara contains glossy oil, which gives a lustrous effect to your lashes. The brush is super unique and comes with a extra small jaggy coil with an extrafine pitch comb on the other side, ensuring every single lash gets fanned out and coated, giving you that dolly gyaru innocent look!

The end result is even and beautifully fanned out lashes that is non-clumpy.

Volume

If you have long lashes but too little of them, Volume is the way to go. The Volume-up Wax thickens and defines each and every lash. The brush holds the mascara evenly and is specially designed to fit Asian eyelids perfectly.

Long

And of course everyone wants longer lashes! See the little fibres in the mascara? This helps you to make your lashes become whatever length you want!

Last but not least, Mascara Base.

You can see me applying it here. Prime lashes for maximum volume, length and separating effects while enhancing curl power and the adherence of your mascaras.

I love this base coz not only does it care for our fragile lashes with treatment complex, it has fibres in it to lengthen! :D

I was presented with a "Go Go Kit" by the awesomesauce Za girls with all these new products:

Inside contains all these pretty stuff like Za products, hair accessories, a mirror, and even *gasp* a spanking new Panasonic Lumix GF3 camera for me!! :') Why they so nice one!! ♥♥♥

The girls also told me the secret to achieving gyaru eyes is "layering". The correct order is to apply the base first, wait a while for it to dry, Wide Eyes, Volume, then Long, so here goes:

Applying Wide Eyes. Fanned out lashes!

Look how super long and kawaii!! No photoshop on the lashes at all!

And the end result after I apply a coat of Volume and Long:

TADAH!! I'm loving how my lashes really open up my eyes!

And in case you are wondering, I am using only Za products on my eye make up!
No falsies for me.

Their Ever brows eyebrow pencils have always been a best seller because not only is it rotatable so there is no need to sharpen, the end has a brush so you can even out harshness after defining your brows!

Perfect brows

They come in a variety of colours too to suit all skin tones and hair colours, and my favourite isHoney Brown, which is a light ashy brown colour. Suitable even for people with very light hair.

And my eyeliner? It's the new Liquid Eyeliner from ZA!

Deep jet black colour and it's super long lasting.

No smudging or fading. Waterproof.

The tip is so fine it's ridiculous!

Check out the minute imprint of my Chinese name drawn by the Liquid Eyeliner. LOL

Interested to buy ZA's smashing new products yet?

If yes, why not WIN A PRIZE WHILE DOING SO?

Show you the prize first to entice you:

It is a gorgeous PINK Panasonic Lumix FX 78 camera! The camera even has a cosmetics and touch up function so I'm sure you girls will look gorgeous with it.

And the best part? This is not a lucky draw so whoever takes part and meets the requirement will win prizes!!

How?

First, you purchase any of Za's new products (Za Impact Lash Mascaras, Ever Brows, Everliners, and Liquid eyeliner) and keep the receipt.

See the poses these ZA ambassadors are in?

Have fun with your friends and snap snap snap away!

Upload 20 photos: Win a $50 goodie bag

Upload 50 photos: Win $200 goodie bag

Upload 100 photos: Win $1,000 goodie bag, including the LX 78!

Awesome prizes or what? The camera is limited to the first 5 snap shotters only so HURRY UP!!

Check out and like Za's facebook fanpage for more details!

Here's a picture of me with Qiuqiu wearing mascara only!! Ok sorry I forgot to ask her to pose with me in the picture so here is my Forever Alone version of the ambassadors' poses:

FML I cannot wink. When I tried I looked like I had a toothache and I was pulling out a tooth. This pose is difficulty level 28 or something.

And double FML all the pictures I took turned out mirror imaged. *bimbo

Impact Lash Mascaras all at $17.50 each, with the except of Mascara Base at $15.90! Available at Watsons or any other cosmetic shops.

Have fun joining ok?

ZA's facebook page here!

Last gratuitous photo of myself

Kthxbye

Otaru, Hokkaido - Part 3

2012-07-04T04:19:00.000-07:00

Woooot I'm blogging about my holiday with Cheesie in Hong Kong and Otaru again!! This is my fourth blog post about this so here is...

Number 1 - In Hongkong

Number 2 - In Otaru

Number 3 - Also in Otaru

The last time I left off saying we went to the Otaru Aquarium!!

I was super excited to go because they have dolphins and seals and cutesy animals! Plus, the weather was JUST PERFECT. :D

Cheesie took this for me and made my leg look so long and chio lol

Instead of the saying "The grass is greener on the other side" Singaporeans should say "The sky is bluer on the other side". Someone told me it is true that colder countries (during their fine weather) have skies more intense and vibrant. Perhaps it is the lack of clouds or smog?

Love this photo!! I love the fat starfish, they are so cute, like the stars in carebears. AND I look like I have a glorious tan. :D

WTF I don't know how the hell they managed to even know that seals are capable of doing this before they can even commence with the training. It's just like how did the first person know he is capable of a back flip before trying? Certainly the first 100 tries he would be unsuccessful, right? Why did he persist instead of giving up??

Dolphins jumping up to the platform super close to the audience. ♥

Honestly I was a little distracted watching the show, you know why?

Freaking Japanese babies everywhere and they are CUTE BEYOND WORDS. Like are you even serious?!

You see? A little boy that is polite, quiet, super stylish, and is not sticky or sweaty!!

Ok I didn't touch him but he doesn't look sticky!

And their parents... All so young and stylish and good looking! HOW? Sometimes I really feel like it's so unfair, we (Chinese) are Asian, they are also Asian... Why are they so much better looking and advanced wtf.

Walking down the steep slope to see the penguin show. Cheesie almost died in her wedges (by hers I mean mine, explanation later) and had to hold on to me. *hero

Look at this happy seal. Just look at him. HE IS SMILING.

This is the life, lolling on a rock with sunshine bathed over you and fish thrown at you. Hell yeah.

Oh god the penguin show was freaking hilarious!!!!!!!!!!

There were about 30 penguins there and they refused to do 80% of the trainer's commands. I could see that the trainer was itching to give them a kick into the water HAHAHAHHA!!

Then something super OMFG happened:

SOMEONE RECOGNIZED CHEESIE AND I.

A JAPANESE PERSON!!!!!!!!

The gyaru mom above said she saw the episode of me (and Cheesie) on NHK's Kawaii TV and she actually remembered us from the show! And she wanted a picture!

I am made! I am famous in Japan!! This is crazy! When Cheesie said everyone in Japan watches NHK I thought she was just exaggerating but it turns out it is true.

Our awesome cab driver from Park Hotel Otaru then told us he was going to bring us to seeSNOW.

I thought he was going to bring us to a mountain top but he just took us a barely 5 mins drive away to the bottom of a slope where lo and behold:

SNOW!

Much dirtier than I anticipated but snow nonetheless in 26 degree weather. He said Otaru is so cold in wintertime and gets so much snow that in summer, it doesn't really get melted away.

I didn't believe him and thought maybe it's salt but I touched it and it IS ice!! Crazy!

Next we drive to the famous Otaru Canal:

I think Cheesie took all these. Gorgeous but lacking something...

ME!! LOL

I'm not the only self centered one!

Love this pic!

Along the canal were these little pushcarts selling touristy trinkets. I stopped when I saw this:

Let's start with the dude. Man, he looks like he walked out of a manga. Like some martial arts shifu!! People all think manga characters look so ridiculous but I feel when you go to Japan they really do exist wtf.

When Cheesie and I walked past him we heard sounds like bullets and jumped out of our skin but it's just this guy firing rubber bands at an aluminum tray!

He actually invented the "guns" themselves and they can fire like up to 15 rubber bands consecutively!! I found it so funny I bought one for Mike to play with. :D

And we also got handmade necklaces. They were not expensive either! Not 1,000 yen, less than that, but I forgot how much.

Next we went to walk around Otaru's town center or something...

I think this is their melon mascot

Visited their Hello Kitty store. :D

After that we saw a shop we HAD to go into.........

It had people roasting live seafood!

He is cooking scallops with all sorts of magical Japanese sauces

and the smell was just wafting up our noses...

200 yen (SGD$3.33, USD $2.60) for a scallop is not expensive either! You can have your choice of all kinds of seafood, including live sea urchins cracked open before your eyes!

It's kind of gross coz they simply dig out the orange bits and you eat it... It's like eating innards raw.

But it's so delicious and creamy. Love it! Ok this bowl of sea urchin is from another dinner of ours but just to illustrate my point.

Lady cooking our corn!

YUMYUMYUM

Even though Cheesie and I were so full we couldn't resist, bought melon too. SO SWEET.

The shop had other customers too and among them were a group of teenage Japanese schoolboys.

I couldn't understand what they were saying but they kept going OISHI OISHI OISHI at everything and making very appreciative noises at their food lol

And guess what?

They asked if they could snap a picture with Cheesie and I!!

I cannot begin to explain how much it is of an ego boost that a bunch of teenage boys found 27 year old me attractive (enough for a photo) lolol. :D :D :D

WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY COULD HAVE JUST LIKED CHEESIE I DON'T CARE I CHOOSE TO BELIEVE THEY ALSO FOUND ME BEAUTIFUL OK

Any way our happiness was very short-lived because shortly after the boys took the picture with us we continued eating and another group of men came into the shop.

This time round they were Taiwanese or China tourists and were a bunch of disgusting older guys all holidaying together.

They mistook Cheesie and I for Japanese locals and asked for pictures, which we truly didn't mind but they fucking put their hands on our shoulders and HUGGED US WTF!!!

We could hear the photographer saying in Chinese "Closer! Put your hand on her waist" and more degrading shit like that. They thought we couldn't understand them. It was so fucking disgusting, like getting molested, but I guess at that moment I just thought I'd tolerate through one picture and that's it - but they kept switching people to take photos with us one by one.

I didn't want to make a scene and Cheesie wasn't objecting (aloud) so by the time I wanted to yell at someone they were done and left and both Cheesie and I felt so violated.

The bunch of teenage boys were staring at the Chinese tourists the entire time looking really incredulous at how rude, rowdy, and classless they were. In contrast the Japanese boys took ONE picture with us, nobody touched us, and they were thanking us profusely afterward. The Chinese men just made sexual remarks, laughed and left. It really puts my race to such shame. :(

After that Cheesie and I had time so we went to talk around in the mall just beside our hotel!!

And they had neoprint machines so of course we had to take some. :D

No these are not neoprints but the lighting inside was so good and there was nobody waiting in line so we camwhored a little!

The machines are crazy!! They automatically make your eyes super ginormous. LOL

LOOK AT CHEESIE'S SHOES!!

This woman is ridiculous I tell you. She brings a grand total of ONE pair of $20+ wedges to a 7 day holiday.

And nothing against budget shoes but anyone who had wedges like these before know that the above ALWAYS happens to wedges like these!!! And you don't want to be caught on holiday with broken shoes lol.

Anyway I kept asking her to buy a new pair but she didn't see anything she liked so she just kept either wearing my shoes or continue wearing hers.

If you look carefully at the bottom shoe she already stuck scorch tape around the entire wedge to stick the sole to the wedge.

I asked her why the hell she had tape in her luggage and she said she was scared this will happen. But why did she still bring this pair of shoes? LOL!! Alas, the mysterious mentality of girls. I think it's because she thought it matches all her clothing.

Fhl, the next day proved too much and the other sole also broke free from the wedge.

But obstinately enough Cheesie continued wearing them, until finally one of the straps also broke so she had no choice but to buy another pair at the mall. HAHAHA!!

My purchases of the day. I regret to say I didn't take pictures of the other purchases. The bunny Hello Kitty is limited edition from Hokkaido!

Cheesie said "I can't believe you bought Hada Labo in Japan just coz of the Minnie mouse." After a while she said "Actually I would do that too. *LOL*"

We ended our first day in Otaru by lounging in the posh hotel room in our bathrobe eating this:

A melon we bought in the day!

FREAKING DELICIOUS!!

YES WE FINISHED HALF A MELON EACH.

p/s: Cheesie's post on the Otaru Aquarium!

p/p/s: And of course special thanks to Park Hotel Group for their kind sponsorship of our fantastic accomodation! :D