1. Bousouzoku is the Japanese version of American Harley gangs.
2. Unlike American motorcycle gangs, bousouzoku go very very slowly.
3. They also like to swerve around on their motorcycles.
4. Bousouzoku’s motorcycles also make a lot of noise because they don’t have mufflers.
5. If you’re new to Japan, you may think, Oh those poor kids! They can’t afford to fix their motorcycles.
6. However your sympathy won’t last very long…
7. Bousouzoku love to ride at night and be as loud as possible to keep everyone awake.
8. After a week of no sleep, you may be tempted to shoot bousouzoku from your balcony.
9. Bousouzoku members are usually young.
10. They are also not very academically inclined either. If they were, they would be in cram schools.
11. You should never attack a bousouzoku member. Bousouzoku travel in a big group (even if you don’t see the others) and if you fight one, you have to fight them all.
12. Now if you are Jet Li, the above scenario is probably okay.
13. I’ve yet to see the local police arrest bousouzoku.

There were just too many books for me to do real justice, but here are the top thirteen books I read this year (not in any particular order):

1. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
2. Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay
3. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
4. Kushiel’s Scion by Jacqueline Carey
5. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
6. The Smoke Thief by Shana Abé
7. Doublespeak by William Lutz
8. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini
9. The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud
10. The First Five Pages by Noah Lukeman
11. Create a Culture Clinic by Holly Lisle
12. My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult
13. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

The full list of books I read is going up on December 31.

…not in any particular order…

1. “When a man does exactly what a woman expects him to do she doesn’t think much of him. One should always do what a woman doesn’t expect, just as one should say what she doesn’t understand.”
2. “A simile committing suicide is always a depressing spectacle.”
3. “And, after all, what is a fashion? From the artistic point of view, it is usually a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months.”
4. “He is really not so ugly after all, provided, of course, that one shuts one’s eyes, and does not look at him.”
5. “A thing is not necessarily true because a man dies for it.”
6. “No great artist ever sees things as they really are. If he did, he would cease to be an artist.”
7. “It is through art, and through art only, that we can realize our perfection; through art and art only that we can shield ourselves from the sordid perils of actual existence.”
8. “There is no sin except stupidity.”
9. “Bigamy is having a wife too many, monogamy is the same.”
10. “I have nothing to declare except my Genius.”
11. “In every first novel the hero is the author as Christ or Faust.”
12. “Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go.”
13. “I have but the simplest taste — I am always satisfied with the best.”

1. We went to a river-side oyster restaurant.
2. Mom cooked Korean pancakes, and we ate them all. Yum yum!
3. We went to Miyajima.
4. We sampled various oyster dishes at a restaurant near the fire station.
5. We went to the gym.
6. We watched Boss Landing Plan.
7. We talked.
8. Mom taught Hero Material how to say “blessed / auspicious” pig in Korean. Now that’s Hero Material’s new favorite Korean word.
9. We ate sushi.
10. We watched some K-Dramas.
11. Hero Material ended up eating dried ginseng, which he thought tasted gross but couldn’t spit out without insulting Mom.
12. Mom brought Hero Material some Korean snacks, which he ate with gusto.
13. We took a long walk after lunch. Hero Material and Mom seemed okay. I, however, suffered horribly since I’m not much of a walking person.

Thirteen Things I’m Grateful For:

1. My family’s healthy and well.
2. My boyfriend, too, is healthy and well, and our relationship’s still going strong after over three years.
3. My health — because I’m generally healthy and don’t get sick often.
4. Muse, who hasn’t deserted me.
5. My friends, whom I love dearly and who enrich my life.
6. My writing buddies and Passionate Critter girls. :heart: you, ladies.
7. Life difficulties, because they taught me valuable lessons and made me stronger and wiser.
8. Little pleasures in life — because they teach me to appreciate every moment.
9. All the kind personalized feedback from agents and editors who help me become a better writer.
10. Brave writers who tell the truth. Thank you for giving me wonderful hours of pleasure.
11. Ms. Sakamoto — because she helps me sit in front of computer pain-free and always greets me with a big smile.
12. Agents / Editors who blog — because you teach me so much about industry and craft.
13. To all of you who read my blog and followed my journey. Thank you for letting me that I’m not alone.

1. Because no matter how much you think butter and sugar make delicious cake, you can’t add an unlimited amount of both. Just like no matter how much you think showing is better than telling you can’t write a story by showing only.
2. Because stories and cake come in many different flavors.
3. Because it takes skills. And some talent.
4. Because it takes a very short time to enjoy the finished product, but takes much longer to make it.
5. Because it can be as big as or as small as you want.
6. Because every layer must be of the same high quality in order for it to be just right.
7. Because presentation matters. Ugly covers are like ugly deformed cake. Nobody really wants to buy fugly cake.
8. Because both jobs can be sweaty and messy.
9. Because I like both.
10. Because I’m still trying to improve both.
11. Because they both require patience from me.
12. Because I can share the finished product with others.
13. Because when done right, finished products are decadent in their own ways.

1. They have the best roasted chicken with special secret sauce I’ve ever had.
2. They’re located in the mountains with petite red-leaved maple trees.
3. There’s a pretty pond with gorgeous –and gigantic! — koi and ducks.
4. They have funny looking buddahs with hats and bibs — all in matching crimson.
5. Crows eat whatever’s left over — after you leave the table.
6. Gurgling streams provide nice soothing sound.
7. They have a beer vending machine.
8. Fantastic hospitality.
9. During Golden Week, they’re open until 5 a.m.
10. Everyone knows this place around here despite the fact that it’s over 1.5 hours away, one way.
11. They not only have some of the best chicken I’ve ever had, but some of the best rice dish I’ve ever had.
12. And the most delicious dumplings.
13. Did I mention the food?

I’m turning 29 on April 21. And you know what? I hate it. Here’s why…

1. I’ll be one year older. Soon I’m gonna hit that 3-0.
2. My life is more than 33% over.
3. I don’t think I’ve done enough with my life.
4. I’m definitely seeing the changes in my appearance and metabolism (not good).
5. I’m worried that when I hit 3-0, I’ll be in the same place I am now.
6. I want to eat cake, but if I eat it…I must hit the gym.
7. I still don’t know what I want for my birthday.
8. I’m panicking. (See #2 and #3)
9. Being an adult is grossly overrated. I learned this when I turned 21.
10. I feel like I’ll never have enough time to do everything I want.
11. I still don’t know what I want to do with my life.
12. Is age really just a number?
13. I want to be a teenager again.

1. It never looks right and forces me to recode everything.
2. Security flaws! Security flaws!
3. Not as cool as Firefox.
4. Its search engine is MS Live Search or whatever. Totally lame.
5. It’s behind its time.
6. O.K. Because I had to spend about an hour recoding something that works in every browser except MSIE.
7. And Chris got cranky because he had to recode his site also.
8. I’m mad at MS because I can’t get rid of their stupid browser if I want to get the security updates for Windows and Office.
9. And the above is just lame.
10. Because sometimes MSIE makes my pc crash.
11. FF has more features and functionalities than MSIE.
12. Even Safari is cooler than MSIE.
13. Because I think FF has a cuter mascot.

What’s not to love about the lovable polar bear? For once news stations are reporting something cute and fuzzy rather than murder and depressing stuff. I present you my first YouTube TT.

1. Just way way too cute.

2. Again…adorable. Does anyone know what the kid’s singing? I don’t speak German.

3. I like the zoo’s idea to create more Knut. Even Pakistan sent reporters.

4. I have no idea what the woman’s saying, but don’t care.

5. Knut the Exploring Bear. He makes the funniest noise before he gets fed.

6. More cute pictures.

7. Even more cuteness. What a bundle of joy.

8. I sooo want one.

9. Knut’s Debut. :wub:

10. Knut Ist Gut — I have no idea what they’re saying, but who cares?

11. Knut Music Video

12. Knut’s Debut

13. You gotta check out Knut’s blog for more uber-cuteness.