Happy, Happy New Year!!

Wow! We've come to the end of 2007!
It's been a real interesting year!

Here's a quick wrap-up of what I managed to get done:

1. amazingly, I've learnt a whole lot of new things (mainly programs),
2. designed my own website (finally! with loads, i do mean loads of help
of course, I am still getting loads of help hugs*)
3. started a couple of blogs &
4. made lots and lots of new friends (hi there from asbooooooo !)
5. "re-strengthened" (i don't think that's a word!) bonds with old friends
within this short span of time.

I would like to take this time now to thank everyone for
sharing this journey with me!
So here's to a happy, happy New Year! ^- ^;;
May your 2008's be even better & filled with all that you wish for!

Much love*
Lynn

p/s- The figurine featured is called Yotsuba! I absolutely love the series, I got her from Akihabara for half the price compared to the same ones available back home in Malaysia, sigh..I do miss Tokyo @ times! chuckle*

Merry, merry christmas everyone!

+ new Jinjerup patterns updates!
Featuring snowmen (in the greeting above), candycane, gingerbreadmen
& a pitter patter of patterns!

Kamakura

I think i left my heart in Kamakura.
It is absolutely so quaint & cute, loved it to bits!
Some earlier visitors have advised that I should have gone to Kyoto to experience the same minus the temple admission fees but due to time constraints, I was unable to. (Kyoto will definitely be on my list in the future!) Kamakura is one of the 2 places I truly enjoyed visiting during my brief stint in Tokyo due to its scenic nature.
Back to the post at hand!

(Apologies for the harsh grey-white sky, it was rainy-cloudy 85% of the time we were in Tokyo. We had to make do with what we got!)








A train arrives at
the Kamakura train station.




















PASMO robot is cute.
This is the first time
i see him bowing.

(PASMO is a rechargeable contactless smart card ticketing system for public transport introduced in Tokyo & their robot is their logo)





















We had to take a little train through narrow pathways behind & around houses.






















Cleansing.
A ritual of purification for those who pray at the shrines. First the cup is dipped into the water & then used to cleanse hands & mouth.






















My fave Daruma picture!
He was sitting on this window sill of this shrine's ticketing window, just waiting for a shot! ^- ^;;






















Fur for the winter.
The kitties get all decked out
in their thick,lovely coats.

























A statue of a monk amidst
the fauna of his shrine.


















I can't help it,
even their manhole covers
are so design-y.
















Fresh rice crackers
being grilled daily to be
sold in the shop behind.























Cute little piggy statuettes
line up infront of a store.




















There were these hundreds & hundreds of little statues lined up on ledges,
on the ground.
























The great Daibutsu
of Kamakura.



















Day & night, locals & gaijin come to p(r)ay a visit to Kamakura's many lovely shrines & temples.














Plenty more pics to come.
Turns out our trip this time around was more of a photo trip.
Eating, sleeping, toilet business & let alone shopping were just essential tasks to be done along the way to our next photo destination!

YAY!!! ^ -^;; Congratulations!!!

I can't stop grinning!
I can't stop chuckling!
I can't stop feeling so happy & proud of u!!
Hugs & Kisses! (aww.. I know how shy you are ^- ^;; )
Congratulations again!!!

The Star, a Malaysian mainstream newspaper has featured Ivan of Mangada!
Here's an excerpt & a screenshot of it!

Ivan Song, 33, won first prize for his manga, Falling Flat Out into Space, in the IMAF category, “One-page Theme Comic” (the theme was “flight”).

Indeed, Song got off to a flying start with that short manga, which took him some four days to complete. It also caught the attention of Ilya. “I had a look at BNM1 and didn’t even imagine that I would be in the next volume!” said the freelance website designer. For BNM2, he drew a six-page black-and-white manga named Beat Me – his first published work and a “comedy/action story about doppelgangers,” according to the author. “It feels fantastic to see your work on paper, which looks different from when it’s on the web. There’s some value to it, and there are people around the world reading it,” Song smiled.

Reference: Excerpt of Article & Picture from TheStar Newspaper 16-12-07

Pages from Ivan's latest comic strip Leeroy!
(Click on the comics to enlarge the pages)

Stay tuned to find out what happens next! ^-^!!

Shinjuku Night Lights

Shinjuku. City. Nightlife. People. Entertainment. Shopping. Red Lights.






First up, this is one of my favouritestest shots of the whole lot. We were on the way on the way to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building to observe the cityscape when i caught sight of this lone person sitting & reading by subway station light.

















Passersby curious as to what i was shooting got included into my shot of this magazine vendor looking cozy in his little nook.














Burst of autumnal colours. Trees lit by lamplight.




















Scooter-bike-car thingamajig.
Cute to watch them locals zipping around in these.


















Spoilt for choice of the male kind. Male Escorts

Lovely ubiquitous vending machines. I got so used to seeing them around, I missed my instant espresso, perfect strawberry milk & hot cocoa the moment i set foot out of Japan.

Taking a stand.
Can anyone translate what these ladies are campaiginig for?



















More night scenes of the bright, bright lights of Shinjuku.
The people and their city
don't seem to sleep.

















Up next, lovely Kamakura with its many, many shrines & temples!!
Not to be missed!