Video Blog: Japanese Pop/Soda

Brendan and I went to Chinatown over the weekend and picked up some Japanese pop (not soda ;) ... VERY interesting stuff to say the least.  We decided to do a video blog on it as well.  Hilarity ensues.  Enjoy!


(PS...I HATE this freeze frame.  Dammit YouTube.)

Music by the Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra.

Much love,

~E

Ticket to Ryde

It's Sunday and you know what that means!  This week my friend Naomi was kind enough to give us a tour of...

Is it odd of me to always think of Jimi Hendrix when I hear of this place?  Maybe.  Meh.  I was born in the wrong decade.

Anyways, take it away Naomi!

1.  Tell us about yourself!

My name is Naomi & I live on the Isle of Wight, which for you who don't know, is a place that looks kinda like a pair of lips at the very bottom of England. People always think it's fun living on an island, and yeah, to those who don't live here, it is.  But for us residents, it can be crippling trying to get to mainland UK. The ferries are horrible expensive...Anyways, I live like a minute from the sea, which is kinda beautiful.  I do love living by the sea & I like to see the mainland. It gives me hope. I live with my mom, Greta & our 3 cats: Phoebe, Phoenix & Tabitha. We're hoping to move soon though :)

2.  Can you tell us a little bit about the Isle of Wight? 

The Isle of Wight as I said can be somewhat crippling for us residents, however the tourists do seem to flock here. There's a lot of History here, including Osbourne House in East Cowes which was Queen Victoria's Summer house, as well as Carisbrooke Castle where Charles II was imprisoned.  If you don't like history there are some ok music festivals here.  In fact the Island is most famous for the Festival back in the 70s. The same festival was relaunched about 10 years ago & now sells out.  However, its all too main stream for me. This year, they seem to have gone back to when I was 16 for their main acts. The other festival is Bestival, which is way cooler. It's held in September at Robin Hill,which for the rest of the year is a tourist attraction. Now I've only been to Bestival once, but its way more chilled out then the usual stupid hat wearing, bottles of piss throwing idiots which reside at usual festivals. This festival has many tents, big tops & stalls, which make for a fun filled weekend.

Other than that there are the usual tourist attractions, The Needles, Donkey sanctuary, Botanical Gardens and some neat little places that you stumble upon. My personal favourite of late is the Owl & Monkey sanctuary just outside of Newport (the main town). It's got some really lovely animals and is so peaceful, its not massive,but well laid out.

For drinking, we have the usual British chain of Wetherspoons, and some local old men pubs. My favourite place is a little bar called The Wight Rock, which is kind of a basement bar, it's run by a lovely couple called Debs & Shaun. They have some good alternative bands on, and frequently have nights hosted by Platform One, the local music college. So odds are, you might see someone before they're famous :)

3.  So, what is life on the Island like?

Life on the Island can be pretty dull. There's a lot of unemployment here and a lot of businesses shut, but others open. There aren't a lot of big chains here, but there are some cool little shops if you wanna go off the beaten track.
 

The people...well, unfortunately because its a small island, pretty much everyone knows everyone, or if they don't then its kinda the 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon with someone you know, knowing them. I have some really decent friends here, and I love them. I wouldn't say there are really any past times that we enjoy here.  Like most places there are a lot of people who get really drunk at the weekends.

The summers can be beautiful and kinda hectic with all the tourists, as we are essentially a seasonal destination. The beaches in the morning are beautiful and I do like going for a bike ride along the seafront when the mood takes me. We also have some gorgeous sunsets, which are well worth a watch.  As for interesting things to do in Ryde, it's somewhat lacking. I used to work at Ryde Theatre, until it was closed by the council. There are some historic buildings, bars, shops and a cinema and bingo hall. 

4.  Any major holidays you celebrate differently from us in North America?

There aren't really any traditions or holidays that we celebrate here, but we do have carnivals, which can be kinda cool. They've tried to make them more like Nottinghill in recent years. We don't really do a lot of holidays. Nothing like you guys in Canada or America. I wish we did... 

5.  What got you interested in pen palling and communicating with people all over the globe?

Well, I remember having a penpal when I was way younger, and I loved it. I love getting home after a rubbish day and getting a letter and sometimes treats too! I love hearing about other peoples lives and I think sometimes my penfriends know more about me than my friends who live here. I find it easier to write things down, than say them out loud sometimes & so many of my letters from my penpals are like stories. I love it. Pen palling keeps me sane. 

6.  Any photos you want to share?

Below are some pictures Naomi sent.  Thank you!! 

Eastern Gardens

Fog

Phoenix

Tabitha

For these next two photos, Naomi writes: "Here is a couple of photos from the 50s diner I like to go to, which I completely forgot to mention. Shame on me! It's called Phil's Diner in Newport. It's awesome and does an amazing American Spice milkshake :D"

Very cool!  I'd love to travel to the Isle of Wight one day...mainly because I've never actually been to an island!  Thanks again Naomi for telling us a little about your life!

Next week we'll check out another amazing country...

Much love,

~E

Fuck Yeah New Cameras!

Yesterday was an AWESOME mail day.  Two cameras that I had ordered off the internet finally arrived.  Ahhh, patience is a virtue.

First off I want to introduce you to my new partner in crime, the Lomo Fish-Eye.

Ain't she a beauty?  And can you see how it sparkles?  Oh yes, I love me some sparkles.  This camera already lives in my purse and so far it's been on a few adventures.  I'll post some photos at the end of this...

My second camera is....(drum roll).... my 1970s Nikon FM SLR!!!  

I am SO happy I found this camera.  It's awesome.  The seller was kind enough to through in some film, batteries, and a camera strap.  Sweet deal!  I've been tinkering around with this for the past day now, no film developed yet.  Believe it or not, I had never operated an SLR before this.  Brendan had to show me how to use it!  It's a blast to take photos with, though.  I plan on buying some lenses for it VERY soon.

So, needless to say I'm a happy camper at the moment.

I got my first roll of film developed with the Fish-Eye, here are some of the shots that came out...

Driving...

Dammit Brendan, what did I tell you about doing the duckface?!

Highway to Hell...err, Edmonton.

Jack's Drive-Thru, home of the best burgers in Spruce Grove!

Bad case of the om-noms.

Brendan's brother ordered the Sufferin' Bastard.

Malaysian Food! THE BEST.

Later gators,

~E

NO, I'M NOT DEAD...

I'm still alive!  WHOA!  Lots has been going on...besides work and such, we had a somewhat close call/connection with the quakes in New Zealand.  Not fun.

Also, good mail day today.  I mean REALLY good.  I think you may know what that means.

Details later.

E

The Suck That Is My Apartment

The story I'm about to regale happened happened a few weeks ago.  I had been eyeing a certain comforter set from a catalog for sometime.  It was perfect...a mix of purples and leopard print and zebra print.  From the moment I saw it I lusted for it.  I needed it.  It took me a while, but I finally placed an order for it.

When my comforter set arrived, I was giddy with excitement.  It had been ages since I bought new bedding, and our current bed attire was...well, rather drab.  This new set was bold and wonderful...and very Erin.  Brendan and I picked it up, and all I could think of was curling into it and drifting off to sleep...

Naturally when I got home I immediately opened the packaging, and there it was right infront of me...my dream comforter.  It was a mix of various fabrics, all oh-so soft to the touch.  I needed to wash it that instant.  No waiting for me!  Nuts to that bullsh-t.

Comforter in one hand and detergent in the other, I headed downstairs to throw in my laundry.  I stuffed my comforter into the washer, loaded it up with suds, popped in my laundry card, and away I went.  I noticed it was a bit tough getting the comforter in the washer, but hell, it had to be done, right?  I'm assuming washing your bedding is a normal part of apartment living (I'm looking at you, bed bug hosts.)

{The floor doesn't actually look like that...but it wouldn't be surprising.}

I went about my business when about 10 minutes later I noticed a laboured-sounding high pitch squeal coming from somewhere.  I didn't think anything of it.  Maybe a car in the parking lot?  Another 5 minutes past.  The sound was still there.  Then the thought occurred to me...MY BLANKET.

I rushed out of my apartment and was welcomed with the smell of burning/smoke.  Oh shit I thought as I entered the laundry room.  

Sure enough, the washing machine had turned into the 7th Portal to Hell.

JUST MY LUCK.  Smoke was coming behind the washing machine.  There was some water on the floor.  Amidst the worry of a potential fire, all I could feel was rage for my beloved blanket.  The blanket I had been waiting patiently for ages to order.  This was proof that something out there hated me.

Some fellow apartment minions had rushed out to see what the fuss was about.  Two girls walked in on me as I tried to pull my blanket out of the washing machine.  It was a shitty machine anyways.  They were thankfully understanding...if they would've started yelling at me I probably would've punched them in the ovaries.  Just sayin'.

Meanwhile, the evil washer was still overflowing with water...slightly.  Not too bad, but there was a puddle that was starting to go into the hallway.

The girls and I were slightly freaking out.  We opened the back door and some hallway windows to air out the place, but now what?  There was no actual fire.  Do we call the fire department and be a nuisance?  Call 911?  Possibly get scolded by some hot, hot firemen?

We were VERY unsure.  The only time I had ever called 911 was at the scene of a car wreck and this wasn't exactly a life or death situation.  We opted to call our building manager, whom I will call A.  He'd know what to do, right???


First, girl #1 called.  All she got was the secretary to his office.  Just great.


We waited.  No A.  Just secretary.


Girl #2 called.  No sorry, secretary couldn't get A.  Secretary didn't care about our little situation.


I lack patience.  I was beginning to get an aneurysm just waiting... waiting... waiting...


Finally, I called A's office.  Secretary answered.  No sorry, she can't get A.  A is in his office.


I got fed up.


"IT'S A BIT OF AN EMERGENCY!  CAN YOU NOT PHYSICALLY BRING HIM TO THE PHONE?!"

Her reply: 

Oh.  Well.  Just great.  Thank you for your help.


By that time the smoky smell was gone.  There was no noise, no nothing...just a washing machine sitting in a pool of water....VERY shallow pool mind you.  


Finally after pestering the secretary a bit I managed to get through to A.  I told him what had happened.  He was very nonchalant.  It was cool, he said.  He'd get someone to come out and have a look.  No fire?  Good thing you didn't call the fire department, har har har.


Yes.  Funny.


Brendan and I dragged my blanket and plopped it into our bathtub.  It was dripping wet and smelled like wonderful, flowery soap.  Come hell or high water, I was going to sleep under those covers that night.  


I began to wash the blanket in the bathtub with Brendan's help.  We draped it over the rocking chair to air dry.


And you know what?


I slept under that blanket.  So hard.  So damn hard.

Sweet dreams,

~E

{Done in photoshop...incase you're wondering.}

Hurry up...

Dear Post Office,

Please hurry up and bring these hither to me.  I lack patience...slightly.

Vintage Shoes

Sometimes when I have free time to surf the net all I do is just buy things.  Lately it's been cameras...but when I saw those shoes my heart skipped a beat.  You should see my "Favourites" on Etsy...it's pages and pages long.  Eeeek!

So, in 2-3 weeks the shoes will be mine.  Oh yes, they will be mine.

I've been thinking of doing a weekly segment where I post all the wonderful things I find off Etsy.  Shana Logic too.  Anything vintage and hand-made.  I lurve that stuff.  What do you think?  Or maybe I can ask some of you to submit your Etsy finds?  That might be kinda neat...I love seeing other people's taste in clothes and such.  Maybe perhaps also discussing about why you were drawn to certain items?...

Just an idea I'm throwing out there.

~E 

Giveaway Winner....

Just a short post, but Kelsey announced the Giveaway Winner to our $60 ModCloth gift certificate...using Random.org, the winner is....

Follow Your Heart!

Congrats!!  Have fun, and hopefully you can score a sweet little outfit with the gift card!

Thanks for everyone who participated.  I'm hoping to have another give away sometime in the next few weeks...I've hinted at it before, but it will involve Lomography.  So analogue camera lovers, be on the look out.

Ciao!

Erin

A tale of two countries...

Hey there! It's Sunday (here at least!) and time for My Neck of the Woods!  This week is going to be interesting, as it's about life in 2 countries...

My friend Mikaela hails from Finland, but is currently studying Film in London.  Pretty damn cool, right?  She agreed to be interviewed this week.  So, without further ago, take it away Mikaela!!

1.  Tell us about yourself!

My name is Mikaela and I just turned 22. I come from a group of islands (around 6700, some big and some small...mostly small!) called Åland, which is an autonomy of the lovely country Finland! Our only official language is Swedish, due to a long history of Finland having been a part of both Sweden and Russia; when Finland became independent in 1917, Åland desperately wanted to keep the Swedish language. Swedish and Finnish are two official languages of Finland, but in Åland you don't have to learn Finnish. At age 11 you can choose between Finnish, French, German, and you have to study English of course. Our only town is Mariehamn (='Marie harbour'), and there are almost 28 000 inhabitants. Agriculture, fishing, shipping and tourism are important for the economy. 

My cat

It's obviously a small place, everyone knows everyone and people like to gossip a lot. To go to the mainland or Sweden, you have to take the big ferries, since flying is quite expensive. I have a mum and a dad, a 13-year-old brother, 3 wonderful cats and a Romanian boyfriend living in Åland!

Because there are not many opportunities to study at a higher education level, a lot of students go to the mainland or Sweden, a few have even got as far as Australia. I had been dreaming about studying media and living in England since I was 13 and made my dream come true in 2009. Since then I'm studying Film and Television at a university in a suburb of west London! The area where I live borders on the countryside, my house is somewhere north of Heathrow airport. It's a rather nice area, quiet and not that crowded. 

2.  Can you tell us about your home town(s)? 

Me outside Hampton Court Palace

Here in England I like to hang out with my friends, we usually go to the cinema or to a pub...the English way haha! I have done a lot of tourist things with my family and friends who aren't from here too. I sound like a tourist brochure now, but I love the architecture and the history of London, and there is so much to do! You can really feel the history, everything from kings and queens, music and fashion to executions and Jack the Ripper;) I love just visiting sights like Tower Bridge, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Notting Hill and Hyde Park to take photos. Walking by the Thames is really nice. The Tower of London is probably my favourite place, I'm not a big fan of museums. I went to central London a lot more last year with my other international friend who studied here then, nowadays I'm mostly stuck where I live, but we have plenty of shopping opportunities out here too so that's good! ;) For tourists I can recommend those places I mentioned, those are easy to access if you don't have time to see the countryside. Madame Tussaud's Waxworks is fun as well, and Camden is definitely worth a visit for all the metal and punk fans, and for anyone who wants to see a mixture of styles, people and nationalities. 

Cake in Chinatown!

There is great food there too! And don't forget to check out the cute cake shop in Chinatown:) In Leicester Square you have loads of good restaurants, going to the cinema is quite expensive there but sometimes they have red carpet premières for new movies, check it out before you go! I missed Harry Potter but I did get to catch a glimpse of Johnny Depp last spring!:D I would recommend to go during the week if you can, since London tends to be very busy and way too crowded during weekends.

Walk along the habour in the spring

Since Åland is small there is not much to do in my opinion, although the place has a lot more opportunities for tourists to explore the island in the summer. Visit Åland from the middle of June to early August, that's the best time and we have more hours of sun than any region in the north! ;) In the winter it can usually be anything from +1 to -20 °C, and we handle snow a lot better in Finland than in England, but if the ice is too thick the ferries have problems, and you might not be used to the cold...there is nothing to do in the winter apart from some wintersports! In the summer you can visit the lovely isles in the archipelago, go to museums, visit markets, walk around town and see the pretty, colourful houses and other buildings, buy handicrafts, watch the ferries come in to the harbour, have coffee and homemade chocolate cake at one of the cosy cafés, play minigolf...I would recommend you to take a bike or a car and go around the island; in my opinion the main attraction is the landscape! Sitting on a cliff a warm summer night with a view of the sea is amazing! In Finland and Sweden a lot of people have summer cabins or cottages, in Åland you will see a lot of them close to the sea, it's where we relax, have a barbecue, go swimming and fishing! We have one, in what is probably the most beautiful place in the world. We have a sauna too, of course! :D It's a must in Finnish homes.

Helsinki, Finland

I couldn't live without the countryside, although I love the city too, but because Åland feels too small and people tend to be too narrow-minded, I love visiting my relatives who live in a city just outside the capital Helsinki, where my dad grew up. Helsinki is beautiful and the Finnish mainland seems more like home to me, I might move there some day! <3

3.  What is life in London and Åland like?  What are some differences between these two places?

My University

I have made many friends in London and I have a lot of fun at Uni, I do miss my home country and when my parents and boyfriend cook for me...I do not care much for the British "food":D Fortunately I think all the countries in the world are represented in London, so there is plenty of food to choose from! 

England's climate is much more damp compared to the Finnish dry climate...autumn is long, which I love, and winters are freezing here too but the days are mostly grey, rainy, cloudy and in London snow isn't very popular as they do not have the right machines to remove it quickly from the roads. If schools closed in Åland because of snow, they would pretty much be closed from October to April. Spring comes much earlier in England and is prettier because there isn't all that snow that has to melt that makes everything muddy.  

Near my flat

Most people are very friendly and the British are very polite! If you get lost, some man with a thick cockney accent is very happy to tell you which way to go, but you might not understand a word, haha! I have also noticed it takes a lot more paperwork for some things here than what I'm used to, some things are just too complicated and not as organized as back home, in many ways England is so old-fashioned compared to Finland. Windows are thin, bathrooms are freezing, you have one tap for cold water and one for hot in many bathrooms, often thick carpets instead of wooden floors, flats/apartments seem small and narrow...even supermarkets seem smaller! And they drive on the wrong side of the road:D Okay, these are just minor differences. The main difference is the weather, and that there is more people living here, and a lot more nationalities represented here!

4.  I imagine there's many different nationalities living in London, right? 

Tower Bridge

London is of course very multi-cultural, sometimes I hear Finnish among tourists, but more often Swedish which is nice! There are Scandinavian restaurants, but the largest ethnic nationalities represented are India, China (Asia in general), Africa, middle-Eastern countries and many other European countries like Poland, Germany, France, Spain, Italy etc. In Åland there is a lot of people from Iran, Thailand and Romania.

5.  What are some holidays and traditions that you celebrate?

Aland, the boat house at our summer cabin, around 11 pm

Finland is mainly "Christian", Evangelic-Lutheran, which means we celebrate a lot of, supposedly, Christian holidays like Christmas (a lot of people cut the Christmas tree themselves, and we usually decorate it a few days before or on Christmas Eve which is when we exchange and open the presents), Easter, All Saints' Day and we also have the Scandinavian tradition of celebrating Midsummer which occurs in the middle of June. It seems like most people only go to church when they have to, for ceremonies like funerals, weddings and Christenings. Christenings and weddings are becoming less and less common though! Engagement and kids does not mean you have to get married anymore. I am not religious but I like to see the mixtures of old Pagan traditions! 

Aland, Midsummer pole

We celebrate Midsummer because it's the only day of the year when the sun doesn't go down at all. People like to stay up all night, partying. Scandinavia is famous for its long, white summer nights, when the sun sets very late (after 10 pm) and rises early (around 3-4 am), depending on how close you are to the Arctic circle. The summers are not completely bright, but there is this blue-yellowish light that lasts all night, and it kind of looks like a cloudy day! You need dark curtains to make sure you can sleep at night! In winter the sun rises after 9 am and goes down around 4 pm for us in Åland, so the situation then is completely different; you need as much sunlight as possible! 

Aland, table set for Midsummer dinner!

Midsummer is usually celebrated with good food, parties, drinking (for some people, not me), and in the Finnish mainland they light bonfires. We decorate and raise a Midsummer or May pole, and usually children dance around it. Don't ask me why, apparently it's a tribute to Heathen gods, but the date in the calendar has a Christian meaning.

6.  How did you start pen palling, and what does it mean to you?  

I started writing letters when I was about 7-8 years old because I saw some ads in a Finnish-Swedish magazine for school children, where girls looked for penpals. I thought it would be fun to write to kids my age, so I sent in an ad and a few weeks later, I got 4 replies in one day! I exchanged letters with some classmates too, and I had 33 penpals when I was 11, but none of them continued writing for long. I only have 3 penpals left from when I was 12-13 years old. Back then most of them were Finnish-Swedish girls, and I had a couple of pals in Sweden, only one from Latvia that I wrote to in English. When I was 18 I thought 4 penpals was too little and I decided to join Interpals which I randomly found on Google, and now I have lots of great friends, not just penpals, from all over the world! :) I have found a lot of bad penpals too, and people who say they will write but never do, I'm sure you understand...but I'm very happy with the friends I have now! At the moment I am very busy with University, coursework, life and such, and don't have enough motivation for letters, but I don't think I will ever stop penpalling! It means so much more than "chatting" with random people. Since I find it easier to write about my feelings than talking about my problems, penpals mean a lot to me. I think my friends on paper (sometimes we get to meet too!) are better and more true friends than the ones I have closer to me. Thank you for being my friends! :)

7.  Give us a sneak peek of London and Åland?

Below are some photos Mikaela was able to send.  Thanks doll!! 

Aland, harbour walk.

Near our house in Aland.

Our house in Aland.

Typical church in Aland.

Landscape of Aland.

A viking market in Aland.

Aland, what is left of a fortress built by Russian troops during WW1, although Aland is demilitarized.

Finland.

Winter in Finland.

Bath, England.

Leicester Square, England.

Tower of London.

London Eye.

I want to thank Mikaela so much for telling us about her life!  These photos are gorgeous, aren't they?  I dream of going to Scandinavia...

Tune in next week where we'll check out another country.

Ciao for now!

~E