These Peepers are Hep!

Hi all! I went home for the holiday and was able to pick up my new glasses! Although I take many photos without my glasses, I am practically a full time glasses wearer. My style of choice varies between large squares, small squares, and a simplistic vintage cat's eye. However, I am also a big fan of sunglasses, especially ones that encompass the vintage styles of the 40s and 50s. I am a huge history buff of the World War Two, and early post war era - (1945-1950s).  I really enjoy the styles because I am very interested in Pin Up. Occasionally, I will do pin up photography with my friends that are also hobbyists. Anyhoo, I came across this eye-wear company, Warby Parker, that specializes in vintage-inspired eyewear and unique sunglasses and fell in love!

You'll be a total cat wearing these binoculars! They start at $145, and that's a really good price for an American specialty brand, especially for being vintage inspired. Also, if you have an eye prescription, you can fill in the information and you'll be seeing 20/20 in no time! I'll clue you in on the newest sunglasses collection that Warby Parker has.

Photo from Warby Parker's Newest Collection

This collection just launched on June 13th. It's inspired by the 1955's look of bold brow-lines and mixed materials. The particular materials used in this collection are acetate and stainless steel. This means that the glasses will be rather durable and shouldn't break easily on you.

The style also looks good with no tint as well. I could see myself wearing these particular frames for a summer-esque pin up shoot. For instance, a high waisted pair of shorts or jeans and then paired with a Gretta top.

Photo from Warby Parker's Newest Collection

My favorite style of the collection, however, is the Addie. I am a bit of an odd ball and I feel like the style accentuates my eccentricities. It's very similar to a cat's eye, which was extremely in style with women in the 1950's and is currently making a comeback today, much to my excitement! Each of the styles come with two color options, but for the Addie, I would choose the Lapis crystal with Midnight Gradient Lenses. Blue is my favorite color, so I am a sucker for any thing blue. The threads I could pair with those are almost limitless. I live for A-line skirts, so that would be my go to for those. Either way, this whole collection sure is swell.

Photo from Warby Parker's Newest Collection

Here's glossary of all the 1950's terms I've used throughout the blog. Check out more terms here :

Peepers = Glasses
Hep = With it, or cool
Cat = Hip person
Binoculars = Glasses
Dolly = Cute girl
Flatter Bum = Good looking guy
"I'll Clue You" = "I'll fill you in"
Odd Ball = Someone a bit off the norm
Threads = Clothes
Swell = Great, good, or wonderful

I hope you've enjoyed today's blog and let me know in the comments below what styles of eye wear you like!

Till Next Time!

-Hachi

Worried About Dormitory Decor? Well I Say, No More!

Hi all! Apologies for the delay in posting. I was on a brief three week hiatus for personal reasons, but am back now! I hope my fellow Americans enjoyed their 4th of July, this past Tuesday!

So it has been almost two years since I left the Inland Empire and moved to Orange County. This is my second time making a big city move since I first started college down in Southern California.  Something about living alone with your pets and having a new slate to work with seems magical in a way. However, it can occasionally be stressful when you have to think about how to decorate your new home. I have lived in over four different apartments and the college dormitories over the past nine years. So I have learned how to decorate for both limited space and seemingly unlimited space. Keeping up with the school theme, I would like to help you out with figuring out how to decorate your dormitory with the help of Aura Frames.

Dorm Living:

Dorms, they're pretty small. Typically, you share them with one other person, but sometime you might have two, or even three other people per dorm. A lot of big box stores will give you check lists full of the most unnecessary things ever to buy just to get you to spend extra money at their stores. My list of essentials would have to be the most basic and the most realistic from my own personal experiences.

Bed: Twin XL - Bed set (for most dormitories, the best are Twin XL -some times you can find bed-sets that fit both regular Twin and Twin XL). They are fairly cheap so feel free to buy more than one, you'll be in that dorm for at least one year.

Pillows - You can usually find some good pillows on deal from Macy's or J.C. Penny.

Under the Bed Organizers - Remember that you are sharing a very small space with other people. If you have two or three roommates, you might also be sharing a closet. Under the bed organizers helped me out so much as a Freshman in the dorms.

Full body Mirror - Not all dorms will come fully furnished aside from the bed and desk (I bought mine at Target for under 4$.)

Bundles of Hangers for Clothes - most dorms have closets and dresser-drawers

Laundry Essentials - Baskets, Pods/Detergents, Fabric Softener, Iron/ Iron Board- Look for coupon deals on laundry items, believe me, you can find so many.

Bath Supplies - Flip-flops, Shower Caddy, Towels, and the basic shower essentials (body wash, soap, shampoo, conditioner. (The reason that I recommend the flip-flops is because you will be sharing those showers with several other men or women and can risk getting foot fungus.)

Frames for Photos - You can be low tech and get very simple frames to put up photos to combat homesickness, or you can be high tech and get some pretty neat digital frames like the ones that Aura Frames has.

Posters - Posters can be a cheap way to decorate your apartment as well, and it's also a good way to really personalize your space with posters displaying your interests.

Stuffed Animals or other comfort items - If you were like me and moved to a college far from home, then bringing moments with you can help combat homesickness as well. For me, it was old stuffed animals, but it could be something different for you. 

If you are artsy, I recommend that you draw some pictures or make some little decorations for your dorm side. Even have your friends help you!

*Desks are typically included and lamps/lighting as well. If I think of anything else to add, I'll let you know! Highly recommend a trip to Walmart and Target for some cheap dorm supplies. Good luck with your first year at the dorms!

A picture from my freshman year in my dormitory at UC Riverside - East Lothian ( Nine years ago).

If you guys have any comments on the items you brought with you to the dorms, feel free to let me know in the comments below!

Till Next Time!

-Hachi

Time Travelling Letters

Hi all! Today's blog is a little bit different. I am teaming up with Earnest, which is a S.F. based tech-enabled student loan refinancing company, to reminisce about my college days in the form of a letter to my past self. It was almost 10 years ago since I was a freshman at UC Riverside, and now, in just 10 days, I will be participating in the hooding ceremony for my master's degree from Cal State Fullerton. I am both excited and nervous because I did not get the opportunity to walk with my friends for my undergraduate graduation. As a result, I did not participate in it. This time around, I get to walk with some amazing people from my graduate cohort. Anyway, I hope you enjoy my letter!

Dear 18 year old Dawn,

Hi there! Would you believe that you are almost 28 years old now?! Time sure flies! I cannot begin to tell you about all the interesting people you will meet and things you will do with your life. You will have many fun experiences in college, some of which will dictate how you live out your life until this very day.

You were never much of a party animal, but as soon as you turned 21, kickbacks with friends became a weekly thing. You would invite everyone over to your apartment to play Super Smash Brothers Brawl and drink blended margaritas. You really thought you were a good bartender/hostess those days. You went on road trips to Laguna Beach, Long Beach, Los Angeles, and many other places. You saw Salvation Mountain with once close friends and visited their family.

Unfortunately, like many instances in your life, friends came and went, but you always cherished the good times despite that. Some of your friends you made in college, you still will spend time with.  Did you know that you took over two and a half years of Japanese classes as an undergraduate and grad student and picked it up pretty well? You also became a Conversation Partner and made many Japanese and Korean friends from this program as well that you still connect with. You're still as into anime and manga as always, and even got more into cosplay. Through this, you made life long friends that you meet up with at every convention. Also, can you believe that you have gone to FanimeCon over 12 years in a row, and that you would be volunteering for Comic-Con International going on 5 years now? I bet you didn't expect a hobby like that to extend throughout your young adult life.

You felt like you would be tired of school many times and that you would stop with just your bachelor's degree. Well believe it or not, you are now about to receive a M.A. in Linguistics with specialization in Disorders of Communication. Congrats to you! You persevered, changed majors once, stayed one extra year & a quarter, and still embrace the scientific/analytical side of your personality. You are a seasoned researcher that has both presented at and been invited to several different research conferences in many states and one country. You are a smart young lady! Never forget that! There were many challenging classes you'd take as an undergraduate and despite not having the ideal GPA, you still got into graduate school and thrived! You're in a prestigious international honor society and one of the top students of your graduating class of grad school. Be proud of all your accomplishments and all you have went through and will go through. You have the passion of a highlander with the strength of a titan and you will overcome all obstacles. Nothing can stand in your way.

With love,

27 year old Dawn

18 year old me vs present day me. Do I look that much different? Haha

I hope you guys like my letter to myself. This actually isn't the first time I have done this. If I remember correctly, one of my undergraduate classes had us do this as an assignment. It was either an English class or a Japanese class.  Have you guys ever written a letter to yourself? Let me know in the comments below. *Random factoid: Travelling is the British English spelling, while traveling is the American English spelling. I tend to write using both dialect styles.*

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