So, as much as I love my three-year-old Converses, the holes up the sides multiply each time I wear them. I won’t retire them yet, but I’m thinking about buying some snazzier successors…

I’ve never owned Nikes or Vans. Oh, and I bought new concert shoes a while ago. I love Kenneth Cole! I’d been searching for these particular shoes for about a month; then I found them at Nordstrom. Only one pair in my size!

I dig simple, sometimes elegant clothing. Usually Target is the place for me. But lately, I’ve had this craving for Abercrombie and American Eagle, two stores where I’ve never shopped in my life! I don’t like their trademark sweatshirts with huge logos, but these Abercrombie shirts are really sweet.

I like these shirts from American Eagle.

If nothing else, please watch the second movement. He plays it perfectly. I would cry, too.

I’m back from Japan! So in late June I went to Oregon to visit my cousins, and after a week or two we left for Osaka. The weather was very warm; my violin went all crazy. We spent the days sightseeing and visiting friends. I filled my entire memory card with pictures I’ll post here later. But first, shopping…

With clothing at Target, it’s either hit or miss. They have the cutest rainboots on their online store, yet I’ve never found a pair of shoes I liked in stores. They have really cute bathing suits during the early summer, but after early July they don’t ship any more. But one thing I love about Target is the many variations of solid shirts they stock; I favor the V-neck ones (either $8 or $5, sale price. I have six!). Cheap and no logos!I bought those graphic print sweatshirts for $18 each.

Lately, I’ve been shopping the cheap stores and I’ve found so many deals! I’d wanted a brown, woven belt for such a long time, but I couldn’t find exactly the style or color I wanted. At Abercrombie they had something pretty close to what I wanted for $45, but I happened to go to Marshall’s and found something I liked more for just $15. And I had store credit, so it was basically free =) I also found these Steve Madden sandals I’ve wanted for a long time. They were about $70 at Nordstrom, and still $56 on Zappos, so I decided to hold out. I got them for $20! By the way, did you hear that Steve Madden went to jail?

I know I come across as completely fashion-obssessed, and that’s definitely true, but for a good reason: I’m 19 and I have almost no clothes of my own. I have two older siblings; that means countless hand-me-downs. Even my brother’s old Clash shirt. I wore that before I even knew the band’s music. Sure, from time to time I get some really neat stuff– my sister gave me her old Burberry scarf when she got a new one– but most of the clothes just aren’t what I have in mind. I mean, my sister is four years older than me, so by the time she gives me her old stuff it’s pretty out of date. Like her Lawrence Road Middle School sweatshirt. Since I have an okay-paying job and I don’t splurge for designers (hello! I buy my shirts at Target!), I don’t feel too guilty posting my shopping list:

• black crop sweater with sequins
• dressy black shirt
• brown furry boots
• really dark jeans
• cheap, plastic necklaces
• strapless bra in nude color
• various colored shirts from American Apparel
• light grey cardigan
• a really great dress I can play concertos in =)

Honestly, right now I feel like the best thing about playing a concerto is dress shopping.

ただ今料理を習おうと思っている。イタリアの料理が好きだし、パスタを料理するのが簡単だし、私は作れると思う。できたら、寿を作ってみるつもりだ。そうして上手泳ぎ方も習おうと思っている。今泳げるけど、すぐ疲れるし、速く泳ぐのができないし、とても下手だ。来月プールがある家に旅行するので、あそこで練習できる。もちろん、買い物もしたい。今日本語を書きたくないので、また書く。

So, as the semester is over, my sensei wants us to practice our Japanese over the summer by writing letters, etc. I think I’ll write in Japanese every so often to practice =)

ただ今、バイオリンに興味がない。今朝起きてから、バイオリンを練習したくなかった。音楽者になるのにつまらなくて難しいと思ってる。でも、バイオリンが時々本当に大好きだ。どうしたらいい？音楽者になった方がいいかな。手伝ってくれない？そしてバイオリンをひくと、背中がすごく痛いし、手も痛いし、困ってる。がんばるつもりだけど、来週まだ痛かったら、お医者さんに相談する。じゃ、夏休みは楽！休みに買い物をしたり、旅行しり、仕事をしたりする。体重が増えるので、運動もしたい。で、日本語を書くのがあまり上手じゃないから、勉強してまた書こう。

How I feel about the above:
+ 13 (albeit short) sentences! Record!
+ I knew every kanji above! I’m not just abusing the system!
- I’m not very experienced with writing about my feelings, as most of my essays are things like “How to Buy Books at a Bookstore” or “My Best Friend” or “Pollution Problems in Big Cities.”
- That was probably grammatically a heart attack.
- It’s too lame to even translate into English for non-Japanese readers

If you haven’t read Latawyna, the Naughty Horse, Learns to Say “No” to Drugs, you should do it now. Some memorable quotes:

“The author would like to thank God. ‘Thank you, God.’”

“‘I had a friend who secretly took drugs,’ said Father horse. ‘He accidently took an overdose and died,’ said Father horse.”

“Using drugs will kill. So be for real. Using drugs is not a good idea. You can call me names and you can talk about me too. I don’t use drugs and neither should you.”

I think the book is a thinly veiled reprimand of her own children– the author, like the horse parents, has eight children. And one of the horses is named Sylvia.

I’ve been pretty busy practicing my concerto recently, but not too busy to shop. I remember seeing these J Crew sandals a year or two ago, but at $30 I abandoned them. Then I found this eBay seller selling them for $10! I really do love eBay.

Of course, the J Crew website just added some shoes of the same design.

I never have enough money to buy anything at Anthropologie, and even if I do I feel so guilty blowing it on a dress that I don’t buy anything. So I usually look at the Anthropologie catalogue for inspiration, then go to Macy’s and buy a cheap dress and spice it up with some ribbon. Even so, these are just too pretty.

I don’t love American Eagle, but their new line of shoes for Payless is pretty cool. However, I started browsing the Payless website and found that I liked the offbrands even more than AE!

I really want these! Sure, I shop when I should be practicing, but I am a music major, after all.