alive and kickin'

I'm ALIVE!!!
It's been another 2 or so very fruitful weeks. Living life to its fullest (as usual)!

The not-so-new part is that I've been bucking up and doing research. CONCRETE WORK. Woooo. That's a new QL to many of my friends out there. Friends eh...*coughs*

Realizing that we only have something like a month left, Shing Lam and I decided to throw aside our stingy habits (instantaneously, that is) and taste Japan like all good food-loving humans should. And so we did.
MMMMM. Legendary Japanese KYOHO Grapes. Kyoho can mean GIGANTIC HUMPS and well, you can probably have a glimpse of why these grapes are "gigantic humps". Seedless, juicy, HUGE grapes. Oh, they taste like wine too :D
One good way to describe the feeling one derives from eating these can be as follows.
"I carelessly grab a grape and toss it into my mouth. As my teeth penetrates its first barrier of defence - the skin, I felt a strong resistance as it pushed back against my teeth. Excited like a pirate having found the treasure chest, I relentlessly exerted more force via my teeth and as the grape kingdom collapsed under the great pressure, a sweet spring of grape juice broke free from the walls that once stood and gushed into my mouth. Greedily, I drank the sweet juice as though I had not drank water in days, only to find myself yearning for more. My heavy pants become more frequent and harder as I uncontrollably crushed every inch of the grape that remained in my dark dungeon of a mouth. The luscious fragrance that first dragged me by the nose once again appeared mischievously, as though to bring out the ruthless streak in me. It was too great a temptation to resist, and before long, I have been brought into the world of the grape. Alas, temptation has gotten the better of me again."

Point is, try it some day, friends :)
This picture was taken with some of my fellow exchange students at Tokyo Institute of Technology :) We went on a visit to Asahi Breweries and of cos, we had plenty of (free) beer. Notice the white tee-shirt? It cost 500 yen and it was an impromptu decision for each of us to get one and make it THE YSEP t-shirt :)
Just to add on, I met up with Jerry and Grace and but of course, we went on a good food hunt. Check out the smiles on their faces (hehe, I was smart enough to not barge into the picture. ain't I a good friend indeed?? :P) Oh, and their hairstyle even looks similar!
This setting was in a Tonkatsu shop in Shibuya, where almost no one is under-dressed. Back to the object that we're all concerned about. Jerry ordered a CHEESE Tonkatsu, Grace got a ROSU Tonkatsu and I got a NIBUTA Tonkatsu. They all held the key to a different world, to be fair to each of them.
It's like, the ROSU Tonkatsu, when blended with the sauce and the cabbage salad, became a wonderfully orchestrated piece of work with you tasting the juiciness of the pork, the immense fragrance from deep frying it and the slick, sophisticated function of the salad.
However, the CHEESE Tonkatsu painted a picture of "East meets West", in summary. Deep fried to a golden crisp, its mouth-watering appearance was suffice to lure any person to sneakily steal a bite. It's aroma however, surpassed its appearance and was so lethally attractive a vegetarian could bang his head against the wall and curse his decision to shun meat!
The REAL deal (in my opinion) comes in the form of the NIBUTA Tonkatsu. Broiled first before getting a new layer of crumbs and then getting deep fried, this is indeed a work of the Devil. Ironically, it is so near perfection it strongly suggests a trace of divine intervention from above... Fighting through the pain brought about by 3 ulcers, I sunk my teeth into the juicy piece of meat... *CRASH* The dam has been released, and the senses have come flowing in!!! The first thing I MUST emphasize, is that it really MELTS in your mouth. YES. You've read that correctly alright. It MELTS in your mouth. BUT!!! That is not all! As it melts, it forms an ultra flavorful layer that envelopes the other food and it is as though a neverending stream of goodness and blessings has just come our way. While you are experiencing this tide of flavor, having been tossed as high up as the heavens and flunged as violently as would Zeus throw a thunderbolt, the taste lingers in your mouth, as if it were the epitome of eternity.
Oh, before I end this section. Jerry and Grace got me a present!!! And with my newly developed doggy-nose, I correctly identified it as Warabi Mochi (Adeline's gonna hate me if she reads this). Yes, MORE WARABI MOCHI!!!!!!
Yay~~~~QL loves Jerry and Grace for getting him what he likes.
Proceeding to the last section of this entry...it is PARK'S birthday today! (ok it's a few hours past his birthday actually). We surprised him with a "Rare Cheese Cake" (it is REALLY known as a rare cheese cake) and some snacks :D
Park is an exchange student from Korea who goes to karaoke with us sometimes. To be frank, we sometimes still have language barriers and we weren't sure if it would go well. Thankfully, the joy on his face and his constant proclaims of "Oishii" and "Arigatou" were more than enough to assure us that he had a great time. After all, it is his first bday celebrated away from home and while we thought the longing for home might overcome him, he instead found companionship in us and appreciated it. I think that's what friendship feels like. Appreciating one another.

Oh, and I've come up with a short chorus for a song again. Yay. Perhaps I should give up studying and concentrate on this eh? *smilez*
NOT