Cars, Cars, and More Cars

Hi All! So sorry I have fell a bit out of the loop with my blogging. This week was my first week of work. I have been relying on bus travel for the past 5 years down here in Southern CA, and let me tell you, these bus systems are HORRIBLE. The drivers are pretty good, although you get a few sour apples in the bushel, but it's the timing, the excessive amount of stops, the lack of more express buses. Now, I have to do a bus commute in between two counties for work. Imagine how much more trouble that is, dealing with two different bus systems. I have done my "Google-sensei" lessons and have discovered, the distance between home and work by car is only 19 minutes away. Get this, 19 minutes. However, with my buses of doom route, it takes me 1 hour and 48 minutes at the least to get to work. This is by taking one of the few express buses in the system. So this brings me to my current, and far more necessary need than ever, wanting a car.

There are only two cars I have a real interest in because I want to do far more with it than just go from point A to point B. I also want to join a car club, because back home in my Northern CA town, car culture is rather huge. So I want to be able to do car meet ups with other enthusiasts. I do not want any Hondas or Toyotas. The cars are really nice looking, but my area makes them EASY targets so I do not want to exactly risk that. I want to also do street legal races at the tracks down here, and street legal mods. As much as I love those movies, no Fast and Furious-ness up in here. So below I will list stock photos of the cars, (not exactly the specific looks I want, and I am asking for pros and cons of each.) So please help me out with that. :) The two cars I am currently looking at, based on the best used cars list from Consumer Reports are: the Mazda 3 (aka MZ3) and the Subaru Impreza.

2008 MZ3

Subaru Impreza Wagon WRX

So here's my task for car enthusiasts. Can you guys give me some pros and cons about the two cars mentioned. For instance, which generation is best, keep in mind, I tend to not go for the newest crayon in the box lol Also, in the future (when I choose a car) mod tips will be welcome. Thank you all! Also please be respectful of each other's opinions. In the semi-distant future, I'd like some American muscle too. :)

Update, I'll probably end up with a Kia for grad school, but then trade up in a couple of years. We'll see. (1/13/15)

Till next time!

Hachi

Busy Week

Hi All! So this week was rather busy for me, which is why I only posted on Monday and today. I started my job as an ESL tutor, this week and have to do long communities between counties using public transport. I am slowly getting used to it though. I am enjoying meeting new people and all my coworkers are kind people. I like when I have good relationships with my coworkers, it makes going to work all the more enjoyable. Another side thing I have been doing is "summer cleaning" trying to get my apartment clean before the summer ends. I am also in the process of starting graduate school applications so I hope that works out for me. I'll keep this short, but I think after the first couple of weeks of work I will adjust to this new schedule and be able to post tri-weekly again. Please do bare with me. I'll be doing a what's in my workbag post soon! :)


Till next time!

Hachi

Thank You!

Wow, it's been two consecutive "work" weeks that I have blogged. So far so good. I even have received over 85 views in these two weeks. I know that doesn't sound like much, but it is a lot for me. The first time I started to blog was at the beginning of the year. I did it for literally the whole month, and only got 70 views. So I ended up burning out on blogging, and deleted the whole thing. Since it was the summer, I decided to start blogging again. This time, however, my new goal was two Monday through Friday weeks straight of blogging. If I ended up with at least 40 views, I would continue my blog. Since I actually went a little over double that in nine days, I decided to continue my blog. The only real change I will be making is that, since I am starting up a job and an online class soon, I will have to blog a tad bit less. So instead of Monday through Friday, I will be blogging on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday (or Monday and Friday, depending) to see if that is a good fit for me. I would like to thank everyone so much for reading my blog. My long term goal is to get at least 50 followers by New Years. Even if I don't make that amount, just having exponential reader growth is good enough for me. With that being said, thank you all once again so much for reading my blog and I hope you enjoy my future blogs to come! Also blog topic suggestions are always welcome, if they are in reason, so let me know in the comments below! :) 

Till Next Time!

Hachi

Travel Nostalgia

Wow, I look back at old photos of my time in Japan and realize it has been exactly eight years since I was last there. Kurume, Fukuoka was the city and prefecture. I was sixteen and a 2006 summer student ambassador for Sister Cities International as a representative of my hometown. We spent part of the time with our host families in Japan, and then our high school aged sibling would come spend time with us and our families in our American city. We'd go to various castles, and temples in Japan. We even got to participate in this awesome water festival in August where at the end of the festival, we got hosed down with water. It felt great given the intense humidity of Southern Japan. The food was AMAZING! My host mother made amazing Japanese curry and I think fueled my Japanese curry obsession, which during college I would make for my old friends. Also, we saw an apprentice geisha perform, which I had video taped and posted on Youtube. You can see that video by clicking the link. One of my favorite times in Japan was when my older sister (nee-chan) played the piano and my younger sister (imouto-chan) and I danced around. We all had a good time doing that. Even though it has been over eight years, it barely feels like five. I do still keep in contact with my host family on occasion and consider them a part of my family, and they do of me. Flash forward to 2014, I am currently on another sister city committee, this time for Sendai, Japan. I am working to connect high school students in both cities together to do high school exchanges, or at least a group skype conversation session with one another. I do hope this works out and that future high schoolers get the chance and experience that I did. In fact, I might get to visit Sendai in a couple of years. I am looking forward to it, and I am looking forward to meeting my host family again, and my friends/former conversation students in Japan again. Here is another picture from my time in Kurume. Sorry for the quality, other people took these pictures for me. :)

Have any of you traveled? If so where, and how long? Did you do an exchange, study abroad or for work?  Let me know in the comments below. I enjoy discussing travel. :)



Till next time!


Hachi

Grocery Haul!

Hi All! So I went to Ralph's today and grabbed a few things. Not everything is pictured though, got hungry and at it before I got home.lol So here it goes! :)

2x Kroger Brand Stir-fry vegetables with noodles and 3 pepper & onion blend

2x roma tomatos, 1 packed of teriyaki marinated chicken breast, 1 large package of Buttoni mixed cheese torellini

1 carton of Simple Truth Natural Cage Free brown eggs, 1 package of Banquet Chicken Breast Patties, 1 six pack of Crunch Bars, 1 package of Pepero "pocky" sticks

1 liter of Sprite, 1 small package of Kroger powdered donuts, 1 package of Kroger Swiss cheese, 1 package of sliced watermelon wedges

Overall, I purchased 22 items at $34.52, meaning that I essentially only spent $1.56 per item. :) A grocery shop job well done if I say so myself! How do you guys like to shop? I try to go for store brand items whenever I can to lower the price. For example, every package of frozen vegetables above was only 1$ each.


Till next time!

Hachi

Cinnamon Roll Recipe! :D

Home-made cinnamon rolls

Hi! So today I am writing about a very popular cinnamon roll recipe I use often, yet modify a tad bit. My mods will be in brackets

You'll need:

A baking sheet [9x13-flat would be fine]
Parchment paper

Ingredients

Original recipe makes 12 rolls 

         Rolls:

• 1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 2 eggs, room temperature [I use brown eggs]
• 1/3 cup margarine, melted [I use salted butter, so I will either omit the salt, or use 1/2 teaspoon]
• 4 1/2 cups bread flour [All purpose flour works just as well)
• 1 teaspoon salt [If you use salted butter, you will not need as much salt]
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast
•   1 cup brown sugar, packed

• 2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
  
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
  
  Frosting:
  
  
  
•   1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened [I use 4 ounces]
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt [I use salted butter, so I omit the salt]
  PREP: 20 minutes, COOK: 15 minutes, and READY IN: 3 hours (due to letting the dough rise)

  Directions

• Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select dough cycle; press Start.
  
  [For those without bread makers: Dissolve the yeast in the warm milk in a large bowl. Mix in the sugar, margarine, salt, and eggs. Add flour and mix well. Knead the dough into a large ball, using your hands dusted lightly with flour. Put in a bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place about 1 hour, or until doubled in size.-credit: ANDYTAMI]
• After the dough has doubled in size turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon.
• Roll dough into a 16x21-inch rectangle. Spread dough with 1/3 cup butter and sprinkle evenly with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Roll up dough and cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes. While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.
  
  
  That's it! It's pretty simple, and tastes just as good, if not better than Cinnabon. If you have the time to make them, go for it! You won't be disappointed :)
  
  
  
  Till next time!
  
  Hachi

Review: myCharge Energy Shot - Portable Charger

Hi all! Today, I'm doing a review on the portable phone/tablet charger I got at Target, last week. I first mentioned the charger in my "Super-Mini Target Haul" blog I did on Thursday, the 7th. A bit of background info on the charger: myCharge Energy Shot - Portable Charger is the name of the model, I got it in a light blue with polka dots. It was $19.99 and boasted 9+ hours of talk time and 7+ hours of data browsing at 3G levels. You get one month to return it as well if it does not work out for you. However, I am not quite sure what this would translate to for my phone. Most phones have 4G/4G LTE now, which means that the hours will vary depending on your data plan. The technical information is: Capacity - 2000mAh, Input - 5VDC, 1.0A , & Output - 5VDC, 1.0A

So I waited until my phone got to 15% and plugged it in. Before it got low and died on me, it got my phone back up to about 56%, which was great for what I needed it for. It did not overheat and is compact enough to conveniently carry in a handbag. Not sure I would keep it in my pocket though, considering it is actually a battery inside.It does however boast that it has multiple levels of battery protection, such as from overheating, or short circuiting.  Also, this is review is based off it's pre-charged levels. The pre-charged level starts on green, but green can mean anywhere from 71-100% charged. For now, I am giving this a 7.5 out of 10, just because I thought it might have recharged to a bit higher than 56%.  I will do an update when I fully re-charge it and test it out again. I'll post some photos below of what you should expect to see or deal with while using the charger.

This is what the package includes: charger, small instruction manual, a carrying pouch, and the recharging usb cable

This is what you will see on the top of the charger, when you plug it into the large usb port, you are charging your phone/tablet, and when you plug it into the small usb port, you are recharging your charger,

This is what it looks like when you plug the usb in for recharging.

There are three ways to charge with the usb recharger: computer, usb compatible car charger, or usb compatible wall plug. While it is charging, it will either flash red, (maybe yellow), or green to show it is charging and at what level it currently is in.

To test to see if the charger is full, or mostly full, give it a shake and it will shine green. The levels are as follows: red 0-40%, yellow 41-70%, & green 71-100%.

Hope my review helps! If you own this portable charger or any other kind, let me know how it is going for you. :)


Till next time!

Hachi

Random Scenery Photos!

Hi there! So I was searching my phone, looking through old photos to make room for new ones until I get a new microUSB for my phone and came upon all my cloud, Amtrak train, and sunset photos. I love looking at the clouds and the sky so I have a tendency to take photos of my surroundings wherever I might be. Mind you that these aren't those amazing SLR or DSLR camera photos every would be photographer does, these are just lazy Samsung Galaxy S4 photos I take when I feel interested. So please don't judge them too harshly. With that said, I present to you some photos of Northern and Southern CA taken with my Samsung Galaxy S4.

Inland Empire, CA

Santa Barbara,CA (Paseo Nuevo)

Central Valley, CA (Amtrak San Joaquin)

Central Valley, CA (Amtrak San Joaquin)

Central Coast (on the way to Santa Barbara), CA (Amtrak Pacific Surfliner)

So I hope you liked my random photos, I apologize that they aren't amazing. It's just a random hobby of mine. Do any of you like photography? If so, what kind? :)


Till next time!

Hachi

Super-Mini Target Haul!

Hi there! So yesterday, I went to the mall to find some clothing for my new job that starts later this month. On that score I came up short due to all the people at the mall and stores buying things up for "back to school" shopping. However, I went to target and picked up a few items and got one work shirt in a medium from Merona. I would have gotten more, but just about every medium in every color I liked was sold out. I will be checking online later to see if they have more colors later. A few other things I picked up will be useful for work too either appearance wise, or practicality so I will do a mini haul of the few things I picked up from Target. Once I get more things, I will do a bigger haul. A few of the items used I will make separate review posts about them in the near future. Without further ado, here are the items I got at Target:

Merona Women's medium ultimate V neck black and white striped shirt.

.

Rimmel London- Eyebrow Pencil 004 (Brown Black)

Sally Hansen - Strengthening Top Coat nail polish

Yes to Cucumber - Soothing hypoallergenic facial wipes

myCharge Energy Shot- Portable Charger

Hope you enjoyed my super-mini haul! Reviews to come soon!


Till next time!

Hachi

How about that shrinkage? (Natural Hair)

Shrinkage. My, oh my, the dreaded shrinkage. Or does it have to be dreaded? Can't it be embraced as well? We see everyday in the media, women with long, usually straight hair. So as a collective of  curly haired people, some of us come to desire this sort of hair. Typically it's achieved through the utilization of weaves, or wigs, and for others it is by heat styling. However, this euro-centric viewing can be damaging to the self-esteem of curlies. Some of us strive to achieve length in our hair after going natural, yet when all we see is shrinkage, we start to feel discouraged. However, why? If our hair is growing healthy and strong, why should we care how long it is? We are not defined by the length or style texture of our hair, but by the content of our character. We need to embrace what we have and flaunt it. Although, sometimes my shrinkage does annoy me, I do like the way my hair looks at that length too. My hair looks fuller and more youthful so to speak when the "shrinkage is real".
Also on the topic of natural hair, I get that the movement is more geared towards us African-American women, with "Afro-textured hair", but there are curlies from all walks of life.  Curlies from every country, every age, every gender, every ethnic origin,. What bonds us together is our refusal to accept the euro-centric concept of hair beauty. We refuse to chemically alter our hair. We leave it as it was, as it always will be, curly. We cannot cause this divide amongst ourselves, we must stand together if we are to stand at all. If you are wondering where this slight rant is coming from, it all started on Facebook. I am a "fan" and product tester for naturallycurly.com. This website has men and women from all nationalities and ethnicity and posts pictures of people in their wavy or curly glory, as such. However, I am sad to say that recently whenever Naturally Curly posts non-Afro textured people, others people will bash them as not "true naturals". Truthfully, it makes me sad. We should not be acting like this at all, we should embrace our curl family and support each other on our individual journeys. As our journeys do and will intersect each other, and we should all be there for each other. You can agree or disagree with me as that is just my opinion haha. Take care all :)



Till next time!

Hachi

Let's talk a bit about comics

Hi there! So let's talk about comics! Everyone likes comics! Well....not everyone, but it'd be nice if they did! Comic books helped people cope in the darkest hours of WW2. Although many of them were filled with anti-axis propaganda, comics did lighten the hearts of kids and adults alike. There are five ages of comics: Golden Age (1930s-early 1950s), Silver Age (late 1950s-1960s), Bronze Age (1970s-early 1980s), Iron Age (late 1980s- early 1990s), and Modern Age (late 1990s-present). So being said that there are five ages of comics, I will say as a comic book collector, I mostly just collect Silver and Bronze Age comics. I find them the easiest at comic book stores, and conventions, such as San Diego Comic-Con. Speaking of SDCC, I am a volunteer for them, and I find it a very rewarding experience. I highly recommend it, three hours of volunteering gets you a volunteer t-shirt, all the swag that regular attendees get, and you get the rest of the day free while you're not volunteering. Anyway, when it comes to comic book collecting, I look at the quality before I make the purchase. Here is the grading scale for comics. Typically, you want high numbers. I just buy 5's and up.
10.0 Gemstone/Mint GM
9.9 Mint MT
9.8 Near Mint/Mint NM/MT
9.6 Near Mint NM
9.4 Near Mint NM
9.2 Near Mint NM
9.0 Very Fine/Near Mint VF/NM
8.5 Very Fine VF
8.0 Very Fine VF
7.5 Very Fine VF
7.0 Fine/Very Fine FN/VF
6.5 Fine FN
6.0 Fine FN
5.5 Fine FN
5.0 Very Good/Fine VG/FN
4.5 Very Good VG
4.0 Very Good VG
3.5 Very Good VG
3.0 Good/Very Good GD/VG
2.5 Good GD
2.0 Good GD
1.8 Good GD
1.5 Fair/Good FR/GD
1.0 Fair FR
0.5 Poor PR

Ok enough of that, so why did I start comic book collecting? Well my father is a comic book collector as well, and I picked it up off of him. Now on to my latest comics I got from the last two SDCCs! :) Ps. I mostly just collect Marvel, but my father collects both Marvel and DC. Are any of you guys comic book collectors? Or do any of you read comic books? If so, leave something in the comments below. :)

Till next time!

Hachi

Well hello there!

Hi, I'm Hachi. Well, not really. Hachi is my nickname, my real name is Dawn (I do go by both, although more of my given name). I'm a 24 y.o Northern California native, living in overly sunny, Southern California. I am a natural hair enthusiast, and am interested in home improvement. Semi-fresh out of college, I am currently in education limbo while taking a year off in between undergraduate and graduate school. I have a bachelors of arts in Linguistics and intend to apply for masters programs in Linguistics with some sort of specific emphasis, as well. We'll see if I get in, fingers crossed, haha. In the meantime, during my limbo between school, I am trying to keep busy doing whatever I can. I am currently a research assistant in Psycholinguistics, and tend to do research projects for conferences. It's both fun and stressful, as is life in general. So other things I am doing are: "working" on a novel (I get bad writer's block), joining groups and committees, going to comic book & anime conventions (love comics, anime, manga, cosplaying and attending cons), comic book collecting, and working out. I also take one online class every semester at a local community college so I am used to focusing on school work and not to get too lazy. Not sure if you can tell, but I like to stay active. This blog of mine will mostly focus on various life observations and ramblings from me and my adventures in Southern California, with a few Northern California ramblings as well, when I go home to visit. I hope you enjoy the ride, because it will either be very long and boring, or very fun, and fast paced. We shall see, hehe. Also feel free to post comments, but please note, unpleasant comments will be deleted. Let's keep this blog happy and positive! :) Tell me about yourself too, if you'd like. :)

Till next time!

Hachi (Dawn)