I got to do today's Doodle for the Flat White! My favorite of all topics!! ☕️ The Flat White originated in Australia and New Zealand in the 80s. It usually has a double ristretto shot, and a very thin layer of microfoam. Great if you want more of the coffee flavor while still having a white (milk) coffee.

Day of stage one RFF phalloplasty

Recovery days 1 and 2

FRIDAY 1/2

5:18am: I woke up 2 minutes before the alarm. Maddy and I woke up about the same time, I gave her a hug and we got ready for the day.

5:25am: I had a shower, my last shower before surgery. I washed myself with some antibacterial cleanser and brushed my teeth.

5:47am: Mum and Maddy had some coffee and tea, and I had nothing. We had a little bit of a chat before surgery.

6:03am: we left the house and headed to the hospital. We were all a little in shock by how bright it was. The sun was up when we woke up at 5:20! No daylight savings and just being a little more tropical I guess. There were heaps of people out and walking their dogs.

6:46am: we made it to the surgery check in counter- we got a little lost! Just waiting in line to check in. It was mainly done online so it shouldn’t take too long.

6:55am: everything is all sorted. I paid for my excess and now I’m just waiting for the nurse.

7:18am: I went in for my questions. Mum and Maddy waited outside. Then we went to the bay area and I changed out of my clothes and into my gown. Dr Goossen came in and went over everything again, so everyone knew what was going to be happening. He said he’d ring mum once i was out to keep her up to date.

7:32am: I was wheeled down into the anaesthetic room and met my anaesthetist, Dr Booth. He went over my history again and put an IV in my hand. I was wheeled into theatre, but due to some issue the surgery was delayed. I was given something to relax me while we waited to get the go ahead. I’m not sure how long I was waiting for or when the op actually started because of that, but I believe it was about half an hour? (edit: I found out later that it actually was an hour and a half, it definitely didn’t feel like that) The nurses were really nice, we talked about game of thrones, trashy TV and Harry Potter. By pure coincidence, thinking out loud by Ed Sheeran was playing- the same song that was playing when I was going under for my top surgery!

~5:20pm: I came to in recovery. I wasn’t in too much pain, my arm was all wrapped up and there was a lot of padding around the phallus. I felt surprisingly good. I had a button to press for fentanyl if I needed it. They did the doppler on the phallus to check blood supply, and I could hear that it was nice and strong. Hans and Scott came down to see how I was going and I got to actually see it....and I cried a little. Not my finest moment and probably to do with the meds, I was just so happy that It’s THERE! My pain was sitting at about a 3/10, and it was mainly sore on my butt incisions and my groin incision on the right side. I could wiggle my fingers well. My hand was a little cold so the nurse wrapped the gallows in a warm blanket to warm them up a bit- worked a treat! I was taken to my room.

~7:20pm: I got to my room, mum and Maddy were there. I was able to chat to them for a bit. I wasn’t allowed to eat anything but I had a little bit of water.

Overnight I had some routine obs done every hour. This involved my blood pressure, temperature and pulse being taken, a doppler on my phallus to check blood flow, wiggling my fingers and checking blood perfusion and finally my pain out of 10. Surprisingly, even with all of that every hour, I still had a pretty good sleep! My pain never got higher than a 5/10. My arm didn’t bother me too much either which is good. It was really weird sometimes. It felt like my arm was in a different position to where it actually was, for example in my head I thought it was lying across my chest when really it was in the sling hanging up. I would sleep pretty much from when the nurse left until she came back again.

I’ve got quite a few bits and bobs coming out of me, this is the setup we’ve got going on: My right arm is up and in a sling. I have a lot of padding around my groin, including a drain from my abdomen. There’s a drain coming out of my phallus and a catheter in my new urethra to keep it open, as well as one in my current urethra for voiding. In my left arm I have two IVs- one with my saline and fentanyl and one spare. I’m on oxygen for the time being as well. I have to wear compression socks and pumps on my legs as well to prevent swelling . A lot is happening and going on lol. My night was just sleeping and having my obs done.

SATURDAY 2/2

8:40 am: Hans came in with another urologist to take a look at how I was healing. He said I will probably get the drain out of the phallus on Sunday if it continues with how it has been healing which is good. He is happy with how the blood supply is going. He said the nerve hookup went well and that I should have pretty good sensation once the nerves grow back. We discussed the incisions behind the bum and I asked if they were stapled like how it’s done in the UK. Huzzah, sutured! I thought they would be but it was comforting all the same. The last thing I’d want would be to have staples removed from below my butt. He said that depending on who was around on Sunday I may be allowed to get out of bed which would be amazing. Fingers crossed.

9:00am: catering came by and I was given some breakfast. I had some toast and jam, and some orange juice.

I was also moved to be in right position as I couldn’t reach my breakfast properly. Two nurses moved me further up the bed so I was in a more comfortable position. First they laid the bed flat then slid a red-silk piece of material underneath me by getting me to roll onto my side and sliding the material underneath my butt. Then I rolled back onto my back, they pulled the material through so it was properly underneath me and then used it to pull me up the bed. I wasn’t strong enough in my legs to push myself up the bed.

9:20am: I had some blood taken. The guy who was doing it seemed a little confused as to why a 22 year old man was here all the way from Melbourne. I just went with it lol.

~9:30 am a nurse came in and have me hot towels for sponge bath. She left me to my own devices and wiped down face and body as that was all I could reach. It was refreshing. The nurse said she would change sheets later, probably tomorrow (Sunday) and I didn’t really think anything of it. Relaxed for a while and waited for Maddy, mum and a friend from school who happened to be in Brisbane to come and visit.

11:30 - just as my visitors arrived, two nurses came in and were confused as to why my sheets hadn’t been changed earlier and offered to do it for me. It was a similar process to how they move me further up the bed earlier with the silk. I rolled onto my side, they removed the old sheets and tucked the new ones under my butt. I then rolled onto my other side so they could pull the sheets through. They also replaced the absorbent sheet underneath me as I was oozing from my incisions a bit (perfectly normal but a little gross).

I had some time with my girlfriend, Mum and a friend from school. We hung out and had a bit of a chat which was nice. I felt quite awake and alert and was able to talk quite freely. They stayed until about 1:00pm, and also came back later at about 4:00pm. I had a nap in between. Throughout the whole day I also continued having hourly checks from the nurses.

SUNDAY 3/2

Overnight Saturday was similar to the first night but I was more restless so I didn’t sleep as well. It was very warm overnight, i has the fan on but my legs were still quite sweaty and itchy as a result of the combination of compression socks and the pumps on my legs as well as my leg hair. It was very itchy and hard to sleep because it kept tickling.

~8am on Sunday I had antibiotics and after that I had a sudden wave of nausea and felt like I would throw up. I told the nurse and she gave me a bag right away and I just allowed the wave to pass. I didn’t end up throwing up but I did come close to doing so. I was given some anti-nausea medication intravenously and that helped a lot.

~9:30am I asked if I could have my sheets changed as I felt really sweaty and clammy. It was pretty busy though so I had to wait for the nurses to be free. At about 10am Hans’ registrar came in and had a look at the phallus. There was minimal swelling and it was looking good so he removed the small drain from it. I couldn’t feel it. Once it was removed there was a little bit of bleeding coming out of the tip, but not much at all. He said everything was looking good. I video called some friends in Melbourne and then called Maddy to see what they were up to today.

~11:30am, a nurse came in to change over my sheets and give me a sponge bath. Boy, it was worth the wait! She wiped down my legs and changed my compression socks over, and then changed my sheets. It made me feel so much better, but did tire me out a bit. Maddy and Mum came over to visit me, and I had some fruit. Since Maddy is leaving Monday she got to stay for the day. We watched some TV together, but I was very exhausted so a lot of the time was spent with me asleep and her holding my hand (I love you for that Maddy, sorry I was so boring xx)

~3:30pm: Hans called me to see how I was traveling. He said I seemed to be doing well and said my blood work came back normal. He said he’d be in Monday morning to check up on me, and that I should be able to get out of bed then! How exciting!

~6pm Mum came back and her and Maddy helped get me some dinner. I had some decaf tea and juice, and that definitely helped give me a little more strength. I’ve got some fruit next to me that I can pick at overnight if I’m feeling peckish.

~6:30pm mum and Maddy left. Dr Ingram came down to check on me and he was also happy with how it was all going. He said he would touch base over the next few days and to let him know if I have any questions.

7:13pm: my last hourly check! The past 48 hours have been absolutely exhausting, mainly because I had to be woken up every hour for my check ups! Now that it’s been 48 hours I can drop down to checks every 2 hours. Doesn’t sound like much but I’m very keen for that.

9:27pm: I had the second spare cannula removed from my hand- it was just getting annoying at this point. My IVs also were falling off due to the tape, so a nurse has given me a little glove to keep them in place, and it’s worked a treat.

10:03pm: I’ve just finished off these notes and I’ll post them ASAP. All in all, pain has stayed consistent at about 3-4/10. Still have an IV and my arm in the sling. Still have my fentanyl button and oxygen. Legs are still in the pumps. I still have a catheter but that should come out tomorrow, along with my abdominal drain.

The catheter in the phallus will stay there, along with all the padding around it and my arm until I leave the hospital. I’m feeling a little more mobile, I can move my legs a little and scoot up if I’m too low on the bed, but that’s all the movement I’ve really been allowed to do for now. I’m gonna sleep now and will update in the morning hopefully when I’m allowed out of bed!

Thanks for all the kind words and support and I hope this has been helpful/interesting 😄

July 12, 2018: We’re Halfway There

안녕하세요,

I am finally halfway through the summer program, and the words my friend Valentino once said during the first week is starting to become reality: "Once we reach halfway through, it's going to go by fast". Now, I'm dreading the last half of the program knowing that I will be on a plane ride back to Los Angeles in a blink of an eye.

Happy three weeks here in Seoul! It's been an eventful week so this is how it went down. This blog recaps the events from Monday to Thursday only. A lot happened on Friday which necessitated a post on its own. Happy reading!

Even though I'm already halfway through, I still have not taken the time to explore the city and visit UNESCO World Heritage Sites or even done any touristy things like visit Gyeongbokgung Palace (경복궁) or even the Namsan Tower (N서울타워). I hope that it doesn't become one of my biggest regrets during this trip, but my mindset is that the bond I have with my friends right now is not something I could experience ever again but I can always go back to Seoul as a tourist in the future.

Monday, July 9, 2018: Florence messaged me on Kakao back in July 3 if I wanted to go to Super Junior's Ryeowook's fan meet since he was being discharged from the military on July 10. Being broke as we both were, we decided to just visit the cafés that were supported by Ryeowook fans: Café Ego, Café 333, and Andy's Coffee.

We decided to visit Café 333 and Andy's Coffee since they were both located in Hongdae.

Café 333 was our first stop and the place was decked out in Ryeowook's pictures. The counter had a welcome sign for his discharge, and tables were decorated with pictures of the idol. We ordered mocha and chocolate lattes and received a Ryeowook banner and two photo cards on top of the Ryeowook sleeve that came with our lattes.

Then we headed to Andy's Coffee just down the street from Café 333 where we ordered coffee and strawberryade. The coffee place gave us Ryeowook transparent fans and another cup sleeve with our orders.

After our trip, we walked around Hongdae and found the place where they filmed a scene in Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo (Yeokdo-yojeong Kim Bokjoo/역도요정 김복주) where Joohyung (Nam Joohyuk) was feeding Kim Bok Joo (Lee Sungkyung) with barbeque from the money he "found" on the floor.

We returned to Anam-dong a few hours after we started our day and I realized I have not eaten either breakfast or lunch yet, so I treated myself to one of my favorite places, once again. Remember that bossam (보쌈) place called Ssago (싸고)? I came back there for the third time since I arrived in Seoul, and even then, I was still learning new things such as Koreans actually referring Sprite here as cider (사이다). Odd.

It rained again that day, but it was not as humid as it usually is - the rain was freezing and I was out in Hongdae in a t-shirt and shorts. So, Florence and I went to Spao and bought myself a nice breathable summer sweater that's appropariate for Seoul's humid weather.

I also found out that Singaporeans call umbrella "brolly" thanks to Joyce. I am learning so many new things from Singaporeans, especially coming from being clueless about the culture just three weeks ago - I did not even know what a Singaporean accent was!

In Korean class, I told my professor that I was going to an event hosted by ISC to watch SBS's "The Show" rehearse and perform, so I will be missing class together with two other students, Andrea and Aubrey. The South Korean series is hosted by CLC's Yeeun, NCT's Jeno, and JBJ's Longguo. I got the line up on Monday which consisted of Apink, fromis_9, UNB, Golden Child, ONF, Kim Dong Han, MYTEEN, Jessi, Yoon Mirae, among others. KCON LA recently announced the lineup for this year's event which includes both fromis_9 and Golden Child, so I'm basically saving myself from spending an extra $100 to go both concert days to see the same groups I'm seeing here in Seoul for free.

Tuesday, July 10, 2018: SBS's "The Show" begins at 6:30 PM KST, so I had the whole day for myself - as expected, I did nothing. We were supposed to meet at the SBS Prism Tower lobby at 5 PM, and it takes about 40 minutes to get from Anam Station (안압역) to Digital Media City (디지털 비디아 시티); so I left at 3:30 to gave myself some extra time just in case I get lost.

There was a long queue outside SBS Prism Tower for ONF and MYTEEN fans. I was told that these fans don't have tickets and are hoping to go in to see their favorite groups perform, while I was in the lobby researching about the groups performing because the only thing I know about everybody was that they were Korean.

Heck, I thought fromis_9 was a boy group.

I was honestly only looking forward to see Jeno and Longguo with my own eyes.

My friends start slowly arriving and one of them went to a coffeeshop nearby that had Longguo on the cup sleeve, which made me more excited for the show to start. Salli and Carolina arrived and I didn't know they were even accepted to go to the show, so I spent the rest of the time until 6:30 with Andrea (Guatemalan), Aubrey (Chinese), Salli (Puerto Rican) and Carolina (Brazilian) teaching each other different Spanish dialects, Brazilian Portuguese, and Chinese words.

We were seated at 6:17 PM and the show started on time until 8 PM. BABA performed first, then TARGET, fromis_9, elris, Kyungri, Golden Child, MYTEEN, Kim Dong Han, Migyu, Jessi, ONF, The East Light, UNB, Gugudan SEMINA, Yoon Mirae, and Apink. Apink ended up winning that night - no surprises there.

Salli, Carolina and I took the subway back to Anam-dong together where Carolina told me about the Hanyang University Cruise Party - a booze cruise with unlimited drinks for an hour and ending the night at one of Gangnam's most revered clubs - Octagon - famous for being very selective with its guests. Octagon rejects most foreigners and men who are not up to standards with its rich beautiful image. Koreans usually get in for free and foreigners pay ₩30,000. The booze cruise was only ₩30,000 if we buy it before July 11 at 10 PM as a group of more than six people. One individual ticket is ₩45,000, and the tickets get cheaper the more people in the group.

Well, we managed to get more than six people within ten minutes and we bought the tickets together thanks to Wendelyn's credit card.

The three of us were starving when we reached Anam-dong, so I introduced both Salli and Carolina to, you've guessed it, bossam (보쌈) in the same place called Ssago (싸고). As you might have known by now, I am becoming obsessed with it.

After dinner, we went ahead to the Baskin Robbins place where I told both of them about the cute worker I saw last week. We checked the place out and no luck - though we ended up getting Pus in Boots cups and milkshakes to end our night.

I could not sleep later that night and I was still awake until 3 AM just in time for Thai, Davy, and Hyunjic-oppa (현직오빠) to get ready and meet up at Chicken Bus to watch the World Cup semi-finals with France competing against Belgium. I was awake already anyway so why not, right? I met with them downstairs. Matt and Sophie joined with us in front of Frontier House before going down the stairs to Chicken Bus. Later in the night, Wendelyn and Florence met with us at the restaurant itself while the game was playing.

Thai, Davy, and Hyunjic-oppa (현직오빠) were betting for Belgium to go into the finals, while Matt and I placed our money on France. Matt and Hyunjic-oppa (현직오빠) made a bet to pay for the winner's entire alcohol consumption for that night. We watched the game Korean-style with chicken and maekju (백주), or chimaek (치백), until the game ended at 5 AM, just in time for daylight to break.

If you've watched the 2018 World Cup finals, then you know that Matt and I won the bet.

Wednesday, July 11, 2018: I slept in until 2 PM that day and had no other plans besides updating my Blackpink blog. I went to the nearby PC bang (PC방) to play around and edit my Tumblr page and my past blogs in the late afternoon. I type my blogs on my phone and the Tumblr app has very limited options on setting up my page and my posts. I did not know the culture around PC방 prior to arriving, so I had to do some research.

1. PC방 are ubiquitous in Seoul - meaning that there is a PC방 in every corner of the street, almost as many as noraebang (노래방) places. Some PC방 are membership only, so you need to sign up and make an account to use the computers. Some, such as the one I go to, would hand you a card with a number on it and you log in using that card number.

2. They're insanely cheap! The PC방 I've seen can go from ₩500-₩1,500 per hour, so sometimes whenever I have nothing to do during the day and all of my friends are in class, I hang out in a PC방 and scroll down Tumblr or watch Are You Human Too? (Neodo Inganini?/너도 인간이니?) in DramaCool since both Viki and DramaFever are not working here in South Korea.

I logged out and caught up with Matt, Florence, Sophie, and Minki-hyung (민기형) at Sulbing Korean Dessert Cafe (설빙) just next to Chicken Bus and Seorae Korean Barbeque. They ordered Green Tea Snowflakes and Mango Snowflakes, while I got the Chocolate Brownie snowflakes.

Sophie asked me what I ordered and after telling them, everybody started laughing.  Minki-hyung (민기형) made a guess earlier what I would be getting and he guessed right - I was becoming too predictable.

And when I got my order, I did not realize how humongous the portion was.

I keep forgetting that I am in South Korea and not America - the portion sizes here are way bigger since most of the cafés and restaurants are catered for couples (again - couple culture dominates Seoul).

Going back to our dorms, we bumped into Valentino and Cara where we stood in front of the cheap street food restaurant everybody constantly buzzes about (Goreun Aetsal/고른 앳살) for a good hour.

Thursday, July 12, 2018: It was exam day for me, and it was my first one too. So as the good student that I am, I decided to dedicate my whole morning studying - in Donghae's Haru & One Day Café.

I planned to spend a few hours studying for my Korean exam on basic conversational sentences while sipping on Donghae's drink then head to the nearby Kondae (건대) shopping and food district to eat out.

I ordered a glass of lemon juice, took advantage of Donghae's Wi-Fi, and studied.

For ten minutes.

Then I sat there for the next hour looking at fans come and take pictures with the giant Audrey Hepburn portrait hanging on the wall. I was very distracted that day and decided to just walk around Kondae (건대) and look for something to eat.

I scoured through the whole place under the 96-degree weather and found nothing - I was craving pork or beef that I did not have to cook and was within my ₩10,000 budget, but to no avail. Most of the restaurants I've found served pretty much all chicken or meat you have to cook yourself and other menu items I was not craving.

Kondae (건대), the area surrounding Konkuk University, has plenty of Japanese restaurants, which is very lacking around Anam-dong, the area surrounding Korea University. Sometimes, I just want to take a break from Korean food and stuff myself with something different - Japanese, Mexican, Vietnamese, you name it.

I went back to Anam-dong to try out the cheap street food restaurant by the campus to see what was the hype about. The menu was all in Korean, but luckily I know enough for me to differentiate ramen (라면) from tteokbokki (떡볶이).

The prices were very cheap - regular kimbap (원조김밥) was ₩1,500, tteok-ramyeon (떡라면) was ₩3,000, and Busan fish cakes (Busan eomuk/부산어묵) was ₩2,000. Having spent some time around Myeongdong and Hongdae, I knew these prices were within range. One stick of fish cake in Myeongdong was about the same price, so I expected to be eating a plate of kimbap, a bowl of tteok-ramyeon, and a stick of eomuk.

Bad idea - I really keep forgetting that I'm not in America anymore.

The portion sizes were humongous and the three plates took up the entire space of my whole table.

It looked like I was about to film a mukbang video.

I messaged my friends who were nearby to crash at the place and help me finish my food - Florence, Matt, Lina, and Wendelyn came to rescue.

Florence and I ran out of the restaurant to catch our 4:50 Korean language classes right after the rest arrived.

We took a different route and entered the Media Hall where they had a TV situated at the hallway leading to Woodang Hall - and they were playing the K-Pop flash mob dance we filmed a week prior.

The class was starting in a few seconds and my professor wanted us to be on time for the exam since she was not extending the exam time for us if we come late.

Well, the exam was easy - it was actually a quiz. I was mentally preparing for a midterm-type exam since everybody else was studying for midterms.

I finished it in six minutes and lecture continued per usual.

After class, I invited my friends to go to Dongdaemun with me to walk around and maybe buy some clothes and souvenirs - Joyce, Valentino, Matt, Sophie, Wendelyn, and Cara joined with us and took the subway together to Dongdaemun History and Culture Park Station (동대문 역사문화공원). We walked up and past the LED Rose Garden and met up with Thai and Davy, who just came from eating live octopus at Gwangjang Market, then we headed to eat street foods by the Migliori Mall.

We took the bus from Dongdaemun back to Anam and met up with Minki-hyung (민기형) for some makgeolli, rice alcohol famous for its hangover headache, at Tosokjumak Makgeolli House (토속주막 막걸리) just under Monaco Bar. I have never had makgeolli before, but I had an understanding that makgeolli is sipped from a bowl with both hands, but I did not know that it was actually served in kettle pots! The ahjumma (아줌마) serving us placed two kettles next to me and I did not know what it was for - I asked the group if they ordered tea and Minki-hyung (민기형) laughed and told me that it was the makgeolli.

We played drinking games for the rest of the night - such as taking a sip if we say the word "you", rotating our names and responding to the name of the second person to our left, placing everything on the table with two taps, and removing the little man from everything we picked up and called him Hyunjic-oppa (현직오빠).

We left the makgeolli place at almost 2 AM and I bumped into my drunk friends from my Korean class - Darren, Peter, Angela, Cindy, and Sharon. Peter, Cindy, and Angela had too much soju for the night and we walked them back to Frontier House and Anam Global House. We spent a whole hour outside the CU Convenience Store just under the hill from CJ International and Frontier House trying to get Peter off of the streets and back to his dorm.

Darren and I managed to get him to his room and back to our dorms by 4 AM and Darren messaged me that he was treating me with a drink sometime for my help - earlier in the night, he was lightheadedly telling me how high his alcohol tolerance was and I wanted to challenge him since my tolerance is also in the higher side.

So, I'm looking forward to the night when we actually find out whose tolerance is actually higher - hopefully we find out this week.

My week 3 blog ends here, and I will be starting on my Friday blog hopefully today.

It's Monday of week 4 and I am looking forward for this weekend since this Friday is the booze cruise - I invited other people for the event, those I haven't had the time to hang out with or the people I met for a few minutes but want to get to know better.

I am dreading the end of this summer program. I have noticed that I've been taking my time absorbing every moment, looking at the faces of the friends I've made here and the buildings that have been part of my daily walks to school and realizing that I only have two more weeks to go to make the best out of this amazing chapter of my life. I really hope that one day, I will find the time to reunite with each and every one of them and relive these moments together.

It would be very easy to reunite with the Singaporeans since their country is so small and more than half of my friends are Singaporean.

This gives me the biggest incentive to visit Singapore very soon since I expect it to be one big reunion. Until then!

고마워요,

Chris 「크리스」

P.S. I will not miss the 112 steps going up the Frontier stairs and the neverending hills around this campus. Oh, my God! I will not miss it at all.

P.P.S. The couple and PDA culture here is still insane.

A very hot cool day: Tokyo Disneyland

Hello after a very long day at Tokyo Disneyland!

I am a spoiled brat considering this was my fourth time in as many years, and actually seventh if you count DisneySea, oops. Anyway, so I figured I wouldn’t take that many photos – I eh, still took about 300, ahem. In my defense, my new camera is truly a blessing and I now finally have decent pictures of the evening parade, but you’ll see those later, haha.

The park opens at 8 AM, but considering it’s open until 10 PM, I wasn’t in any rush to make it in time for the opening. I woke up a little after 7, got up at 7:30, and realized belatedly that that landed me right into morning rush hour, oops. I waited out two subways because people were being pushed in – but the third one was pretty okay, all things considered. I eventually was able to take a seat, I mean, come on! Rush hour in Japan! Okay, probably not a lot of people on a Monday morning going to the transfer station to Disneyland, but still.

From there (Shin-Kiba), it was a quick ride to Maihama, the station that connects to Disneyland. The station’s tune is actually It’s A Small World, which, thanks, I really wanted stuck in my head right from the beginning, haha.

As it turned out, I had managed to pick the hottest and sunniest day so far to go to Disneyland. That sounds nice until you realize that means it’s at least 32 C, and with the sun shining bright, it definitely felt hotter than that. Luckily I was prepared with my fan, summer hat, sunglasses and sun cream, but I did end up sticking to every surface, ew. Oh well.

Two steps into the park and I was immediately sprayed by a water hose, courtesy of Donald freaking Duck. Thanks, duck, this camera was not cheap but okay. Luckily no harm done, and I was quick to run for cover so I could take pictures from the distance from the current small parade, the summer festival one.

That’s the thing about Tokyo Disneyland: it’s Disney, but because it’s in Japan, it tends to incorporate typically Japanese festivities. Two years ago for example was the Tanabata festival, which means Mickey and co walk around in summer kimono. Not a sight you see very often in the American cartoons or Dutch comics, huh. Naturally all the merchandise is exclusive too, and it makes for a fun and unique experience.

Be that as it may, it was flipping hot already barely past 9 AM, so I fled into Pirates of the Caribbean. They handed you a treasure seeking map to celebrate the new movie, but it relied on QR codes, and I didn’t have an app installed on my phone and Disneyland doesn’t have wifi (I know, right?), so I wasn’t wasting my data on that. It was too hot to go treasure hunting in the park anyway.

The line outside was non-existent and inside was the cool relief of airconditioning – I was so happy that I was almost disappointed when it was already time to board the boat, haha. I really do love Pirates though, and this time I finally remembered when the drop would be (and I was still scared, because I am very obviously a thrill seeker and one drop in an indoor boat ride is enough to send me into a near-frenzy, oops).

After Pirates was the Enchanted Tiki Room, which is technically aimed at kids I guess, but screw that, the songs are adorable and I love Stitch. Also, airco again here, haha. I kind of fled from indoors attractions to the next, to escape the heat. Next up were the Philharmagic (in which Donald messes up Mickey’s orchestra, because you can always count on Donald Duck to mess things up), which is still my favourite attraction, and then the Haunted Mansion, which I do really love. Also, it helps with the cooling! In Japan, they tell ghost stories in summer instead of winter, because the scary stories are supposed to give you the chills, get it.

It was around lunch time then, so I went into the King and Queen of Hearts’s place (Alice in Wonderland). The queue was the longest I had that day actually, pff, but the food was good! And heartshaped, haha.

I was still kind of melting, so I fled to Pirates again and then bought a giant iced coffee to sip in the shadows,while mentally preparing myself to go back into the park again. Yikes, I wasn’t going to last in this heat. Thankfully the wind started to pick up, and with my blood mostly replaced with iced coffee, I dared to venture to the parade route.

The parade is – the same as the last two times, oops, I’ve been going to often. I still took a bunch of pictures because hey, new camera! So uh, now I have 3 different photo sets of the Happiness is Here parade, oops.

It was sort of bearable to walk around now, so I took a scenic route, took some pictures, went window shopping and then went into Peter Pan’s Flight, another favourite, because I don’t go to Disneyland to do things I don’t like, duh. After that, the Haunted Mansion was supposedly a 13 minute wait – I laughed because haha, thirteen, but it was in fact a 13 minute wait, whoa.

It was starting to get dark out, so there was barely any difference inside or outside the attraction, haha. I had about half an hour to find a good spot for the evening parade, Dreamlights, which should have updated (finally – it’s been more or less the same since my first time here in 2010).

And it was! Granted, the majority of the floats are the same, but some were definitely upgraded and a couple of new ones were added, most noticeably floats for Tangled and Frozen. I was super happy and took a bunch of photos with my shiny camera, which I really love, because none of them are blurry. I finally have good shots of Dreamlights! Whoo!

I was getting pretty hungry though, so I went to the Blue Bayou, which is one of the most expensive joints in Disneyland, oops. Ah, nothing like serene silence with crickets chirping and screaming in the distance (the restaurant is inside and looks out over the Pirates attraction). It’s super fancy and I got a dish with lobster, lalala. Actually, I still think it wasn’t that ridiculously expensive – I’ve had lunches more expensive than this in the Netherlands, and that was outside of attraction parks.

After merchandise shopping, I went into Philharmagic again to end the day with, although then I noticed that there were like 5 minutes to spare – and the Pooh’s Hunny Hunt attraction was still open, so I quickly rushed in. It’s a fun ride, but it’s super popular and it’s just not worth it to wait over an hour in line (the line runs outdoors). Now though, I could just walk in and almost immediately hop on! Nice. (I’m not sure what’s in that honey by the way, but things sure get trippy near the end. Pooh are you okay.)

Now it was really time to go, as it was 5 past 10 PM and all attractions had closed. That was a much longer day than I’d been expecting in this heat, but luckily the wind took off and the sun sets pretty early here (yay, no daylight savings!). But it was tons of fun, I’m really happy with my photos, and I’m super full with good food, haha.

More food tomorrow as I’ll be going to a theme cafe (Final Fantasy, for those of you that play games), and probably not a lot else since the weather is going to be bad. The cafe is in Akihabara, which also has a store I wanted to visit for specific merchandise, so more shopping it is then! I’ve definitely not spent enough money already, oops.

Good night for now and see you tomorrow!

Halloween, Volleyball Playoffs + Make A Wish

Happy Monday Friends! I promised last week that I was going to start doing weekly recaps and here is the first of many! Last week was Halloween but we spent the majority of it playing volleyball. Monday I woke up at 6am and decided on a yoga strength workout I fell in love with last year. If you are interested you can find that workout here. I decided last weekend to refocus my attention to workouts that I enjoy doing. I am done doing workouts that make me miserable or that I don't want to do. This was a good way to start off the new week. 

With Halloween being the next day, I had Jeremy's aunt over after work to make her a shirt. I love the way it turned out!

I made my own shirt as well. I really am loving the glitter heat transfer vinyl. For dinner that night I made homemade chicken nuggets and potato wedges. I will have to share this recipe, I've made it twice now and I'm a fan. Tuesday was Halloween. I woke up at 6am again and did a PiYo workout. My body always feels strong and beautiful after PiYo and I'm getting back into making it my go to workout. Work was quiet but fun but I was ready to get home. Halloween night has always been enjoyable for me, especially once Jeremy purchased our house. We pass out candy while sitting around a bonfire in the driveway. Last year we also started playing a movie with the projector onto the big window in the front of the house. Unfortunately this year it was a little less enjoyable. Driving home is usually pretty uneventful but I had made mention to Jeremy right before I left work that traffic was a nightmare. Boy was I right. When I was almost home a car cut over in front of a semi truck to where she was almost horizontal across the highway and then ran into me. I am actually thankful, which is not a normal feeling I know. If she had not run into me to get out of the way of the semi truck the accident would have caused much more injury and may have even taken a life. My car took the brunt of the damage and luckily I could still drive it afterwards. We were not able to do the bonfire and we ended up ordering pizza because Jeremy spent a lot of time on the phone with both insurance companies. Once he was off the phone we had dinner together while passing out candy. When we hit a lull in trick-or-treaters we took the opportunity to introduce ourselves to the new neighbors across the street and then turned off the light to take my little cousins trick-or-treating for a few houses. It was cold and it was getting late plus I was worn out from the accident. Wednesday morning I got up early again and pressed play on PiYo again. After getting into a car accident that could have been much worse I wanted to enjoy what my body was still able to do. My left shoulder was sore from gripping the wheel so tight but I moved through it and enjoyed the flow section to the fullest. I drove Jeremy's car to work and left mine at home for convenience. Jeremy took my car up to get an estimate of the damage from the accident. I spent the afternoon giving my statement to the insurance companies and was so ready to get home afterwards, it was more stressful than I would have liked. By the time I got home all I wanted was to curl up with the heating pad but we had volleyball to go to. I am really glad we went. I got to work through my stress instead of letting it swallow me up. We headed to the store afterwards to grab coffee and a sandwich for dinner. We got three new brands to try, Caribou - Mahogony, Kicking Horse - Kick Ass Dark Roast and Peet's - Major Dickason's. Ke$ha's new collar also arrived and I got to put it on her when we got home. Turkeys for November! I got mine off Amazon and will be ordering from this brand again. I thought I would end up taking the leaf off but I ended up loving it and it's not bothering Ke$ha so we are going to keep it on. Thursday morning I slept in until about 7am. Had I remembered there were no leftovers to take for lunch I probably would have gotten up sooner. Volleyball playoffs were that night and I was asked to play with another team before our games so I didn't need to get up and workout. Sadly, our team couldn't get over the hump like usual and we lost both of our games. Friday I was over the week and ready to get to the weekend. The day stalled at work but the drive home was quick and without incident thankfully. We didn't have much food left in the house so we made a quick Indian dinner, I had a glass of wine and we watched Friends. Jeremy was not feeling well so he hung out with me. Saturday morning Jeremy was feeling worse but we had committed to two hours of volleyball and didn't want to cancel. We were playing for a little girl to go on a Disney Cruise through Make a Wish. It was the first time ever we've played on carpet. Not my favorite way to play, that's for sure! We spent the rest of the afternoon grocery shopping, we made breakfast for dinner and then Jeremy and Ke$ha ended up falling asleep really early while I read.   We ended up going to bed early which was not smart seeing as it was daylight savings. We were awake by 6am. While Jeremy tried to get rid of a headache I got Ke$ha up in bed with me to cuddle. I don't get to do this as often as I'd like because I'm usually the first one up. I am so thankful because as I was petting her I felt something odd on her head. She tends to get a scab here or there and I usually clean her up. I turned on the light in the room and to my horror found a tick. A big one too. Poor pup. Even after we treated her with flea and tick repellent and her heart guard actually guards against them if they bite her, she got one. It cooperated and backed out with it's head in tact so now we are just watching the spot. I spent the morning prepping dinner, doing a PiYo workout and finishing the going away cake for my coworker. It's German Chocolate Cake base with raspberry filling, homemade chocolate buttercream and chocolate ganache. Um, hello decadence. I love flooding cakes with ganache. There is something so satisfying about it. After that I piped the boarders with chocolate buttercream and our inside joke with him "Thanks Stupid". You can get away with more with a homemade cake. My only regret is being impatient with the butter coming to room temp. I would have had a better handle on the writing if it wasn't cold. Oops. Oh well, it's going to taste amazing. Then, as if that wasn't enough, Jeremy has been requesting a pumpkin pie. Since he is sick, I happily obliged. Dinner was chicken taco chili and Jeremy said it was my best batch yet. I used it to start a recipe book for my uncle. He's been asking for one for over a year now. I am hoping to get something together by Christmas. Off to start a new week!

Whoa you’re kinda Cute

Harrison belongs to dark-blue-mondays

“Well thank you!” Harrison said, always pleased to receive a compliment.  “I don’t believe we’ve met.  Harrison Drake-Scott,” he says, extending his hand with a smile.  

“I read about you” she remembered. “I’m Belle Kent and so pleased to meet you” she added, taking his hand - and extending a wing to cover his side. She met so many versions of Megamind, greetng Harrison was like seeing an old friend.

“The pleasure is mine, Bella,” Harrison replies warmly.  “If you don’t mind me asking, do you know another bat named Bruce?  I haven’t met many of your kind, but he assists my husband with his heroic work.”

“Oh, it’s my little brother” Belle replied cheerful. “Assisting” she repeated. This was just adorable. “Interesting. I’ll have to meet your … husband, too, then. I’ve seen posters, but not the real one jusr yet” she remembered. He looked real nice in that white suit …

“I thought I spotted a certain resemblance.  And he is always talking about taking care of his family,” Harrison replied with a gentle nod of his head.  He’d heard that pause before husband, but wasn’t sure what to make of it.  Still he continued on.  

“Are you on your way somewhere?  I would be happy to walk with you.  It’s such a nice spring day after all that rain of the last few weeks.”  He makes a face at the thought of all the wet cold.  Today the sun was shining and warm, the perfect day for a stroll.  

Oh, actually … “I was just following the smell of candy stores” she laughed. “The next one’s over … um … there. You … you know my family’s running a factory? I’m checking the competition. Try samples… I’m having a good time.” Obviously. And hey, someone to keep her company? Great!

“Well,” Harrison said, clapping his hands together with a wide grin.  “I never turn down candy.  I say we go spy on the competition.  I’m perfectly willing to lend my experience with corporate espionage in exchange for sweets.”  He makes a wide gesture with one hand, indicating that she should lead the way.  

A partner in crime she found then, huh. Belle giggled, fanned her wing out and stepped forward to lead the way, pulling Harrison with her. He was so thin and fragile looking, but she thought to know better.

“Then off we go. The weather is real nice, if a bit sunny.” A thing that, given she was a bat too, was not quite optimal. Her contacts saved her from most of the brightness, but she’d have to have a coffee soon.

Harrison let himself be pulled along, trying to subtly study the musculature and skin of her wing without staring.  “Yes, I did wonder about that,” he replied, breaking his concentration with something new to pique his curiosity.  “Bats on earth are nocturnal, but both you and Bruce don’t seem to have much problem moving about in the daylight.  Then again every time I’ve seen Bruce, he seems to be hyped up on even more sugar than I could eat.”

Belle found this amusing for no apparent reason, but replied eventually. “Means his mate’s taking care of him. Or friends. I use contacts myself” she admit, indicating at her eyes. It were colored lenses, but in her case the part of the pupil - usually blank - was covered for the most part as well, not letting too much light hit her eye. It was hard to see clear colors and gave her a little tunnel vision, but it proved to be safer when she was out. She had her echolocation to get around with, so it wasn’t al that bad.

“Otherwise I’d fall asleep on your shoulder right now. Though I can see fates worse than that” she laughed.

Harrison nodded along.  He hadn’t thought of that but it was a brilliant way to get around light-based nocturnal bio-rhythms.  “His mate?  You mean Zagem.  How does Zagem help or hinder Bruce’s nocturnal tendencies?” Harrison inquired, fully engaging his natural blue curiosity, especially when it came to learning about another alien species.  

Belle shook her head, not meaning it that way. “You say Bruce eats sugar but … he doesn’t have something when he’s all on his own. He’s well thanks to … this Zagam, I bet.” She grinned. She had a feeling she’d like this one.

“You sure it’s just sugar?” she had to ask for her own curiosity.

“Wait, what?” Harrison asked, cocking his head.  “Is he not well when he’s not with Zagam?”  He is totally lost right now.  “I just mean he always has pockets full of candy that he’s trying to give us….”

“Gotham Candy” Belle figured, her expression soft. “He’s eating that?” she wondered, honestly doubting.  

“Well,” Harrison drawled as he tried to think carefully about each of his meetings with Bruce.  “I don’t know if he ever eats the candy in his pockets but we went out to dinner and all he wanted to eat was fruit and pie.  All sugars.”

“Don’t tell him I told you but … All sugars isn’t good. He should eat his veggies.” She grinned, then stopped, her nose telling they were there. Sure enough, a few feet ahead to their right sid, another candy store was to be found. Huginn had his problems in there since it was so crowded, but this time Belle had slimmer backup.

“I told him that, Wayne told him that, even Zagem told him that.  But he doesn’t listen to use.  I think Zagem got him to eat one or two veggies, but not much more,” Harrison elaborated with a theatrical wave of his hand.  However since they arrived at their destination, he was content to let the matter drop.  

“So is there a plan here?” he asked, turning to his companion.  “Any particular products you’d like to try?”

“Oh yes.” Belle nodded. “We pick all candy I know Bruce can do better - then convince him to move Gotham Candy from Gotham to … well, Metro City” she explained, “And then … I don’t know yet.” Belle smiled, approaching the store’s door now that they were settled.

Harrison hadn’t been aware that Bruce made the candy, he thought it was just something he bought.  Though that did make sense, what with Belle wanting to scope the competition.  

“Okay here is the plan.  I say we go in and pick our personal favorites, then ask for a recommendations,” the bue man advised.  “You can tell a lot about a place by trying what they are most proud of.  Then we’ll take our spoils back to the park and sample them all.  While taking copious notes of course.  For business.”  He finished laying out his plan, then flashed her an excited smile.

Ohh… That was working. Belle looked still at Harrison as she pushed the doors handle down and nodded at him excitedly. They’d do it like that. As she opened the door, all scents hit her at once - chocolate, hard candy, caramel, vanilla, fruit and syrup… Nothing she wasn’t used to.

“Good afternoon~” she greeted the employee who wasn’t just in sight yet. She held the door open for Harrison to enter. When her voice wouldn’t lead them here, so would the bell that was announcing their visit.

Harrison took a deep breath of the sweet scents of the candy shop and his eyes take in all the delightful confections.  As he approached the front counter, he sees a selection of fudge and his mouth begins to water.  The girl behind the counter is staring at them a bit slack-jawed, but Harrison is used to that by now.  For most humans, he is the first alien they’ve ever seen up close, even here in diverse Metro City.  He long got used to being gawked at.  Coming into the shop with a bat alien by his side probably doesn’t help.  Without hesitation, he approaches the counter.  

“Hello, this is my first time in your fine establishment and I’d like a half pound of each of your flavors of fudge, a bag of saltwater taffy, a pair of chocolate covered strawberries and oooh two of those marshmallow cups.  And feel free to give me two of any of your personal favorites-” he drawled, looking at the name tag on her shirt, “-Marissa.  I would think someone who spends all her days among sweet treats must have a discerning palate.  I only want the best my dear, and money is no object.”  In a flash he’s waving around a black AmEx and giving her his most dazzling grin.

“Don’t scare the poor thing” Bruce warned chuckling. She stopped for a moment to witness the scene, but moved on the to the shelves in the back thenn. She was interested in arrangement and appearance as well and from what she could see, they did pretty good.

Harrison was also taking in the scenery, trying his best to assess the marketing and display of the candy.  He didn’t know much about retail sales, having always preferred to invent the object and let someone else figure out how to sell it, but he did enjoy the colorful accents and the massive wall of what appeared to be jelly beans.  

It didn’t take long for Marissa to pack up Harrison’s choices as well as a few of her own.  “Is there anything you want my dear?” he asks Belle.

Being spoken to made her turn and accidentally expose all things she took. She was going by smell, really, and then took whatever she found especially pleasing to the eye. Wrapping was important, too.

Looking down to the pile, she let out a chuckle. It must have been just in time for someone to make her stop. “I’ll be good with that.” Belle approached with the intent to pay for herself, if not also for Harrison’s share.

Before she can pay, he waves off her money and insists on swiping his luxury credit card first.  They bought so much that it actually takes the clerk a while to bag, and soon she is handing Harrison several cute little paper bags with the store logo, each nearly filled to the brim.  

“Now,” Harrison says, turning to Bella with a dramatic finger point skyward despite his arms being laden with bags.  “To the tasting!”

That made her laugh. He always put so much effort into all he set his mind on. Belle pocketed her wallet for now. She’d make sure to repay him in some form, though.

Least she could do was to open the door. “Have a very nice day” she said to Marissa before her attention turned back to Harrison again.

Harrison follows her out the door, and to a nearby bench on the street.  He sets the bags down and motions for her to sit next to him.  “Where should we start?  Fruity?  Chocolates?” he asks.  “You’re the expert here.”

Harrison asking for her opinion was really kind of sweet. Belle thought he should assume he was the better business man.

“A candy is just as good as it’s easy to give away. That’s why the wrapping’s important. I’d like to make sure each one looks like a present” she started. “But … Sure, taste is important as well.”

She took seat next to him; the sweets they got in between. Really both of them should taste all to judge a little better. Sure the main target were humans, but aliens deserved good candy, too… “Fruity?” she suggested, kinda in the mood for that.