Rat Race
I was just reading about the federal budget on the newspaper, & I realized that I don't even know who our current finance minister is...x_x Which is a shame considering how I used to be such a politics buff. I would read the Toronto Star online every morning before I go to school, just to make sure I'm kept up with the current events. This love for politics only strengthened when I actually took the course in my final year of high school. Till this day, Time remains as one of the two magazines that I can't live without (the other:EW)...although now I tend to skim through it. Really quickly too. I just can't stand reading yet another article on the "crisis" in Iraq...<rolls eyes>
My fondest memory of my OAC politics class would definitely have to be the simu-election that we were forced to partcipate in. For some reason, much against my wishes, I was assigned to be part of the Canadian Alliance. Honestly I really didn't care much for the party, I've always been more of a Liberal, not to mention I really hated Preston Manning back then. So ya, I wasn't necessarily happy with the assignment...to make things worse, I was voted by my group members to be the leader of the party, so my main job was to run for Prime Minister, AS THE HEAD OF CA...O_o Before the actual election we had a campaign party where we were to serve food & drinks & to mingle with the other parties & candidates. I distinctly remember that my group managed to make everything blue & green (the official colours of CA): blue & green jello, blue & green cups, & we served Sprite as our drink (it's the colour of the bottle that we went for, lol). I wore a blue suit with a bluish-green shirt with a flashy-green tie (I actually have pictures...but no, I'm not gonna show the world =P), which was quite geeky I have to admit. Anyway, party was fun. People asked me questions regarding my platform to which I just bullshitted my way through. The next day was the debate between the party leaders...somehow, I managed to shame all my opponents by pulling stuff outta my ass. =P I remember throwing all these law terms that I learnt whenever I wanted to shut someone up, & that worked well, lol.
The election was the day after...& I lost by two votes. Wasn't necessarily disappointed, I knew from the start that it would be a close race between me & this other guy. Some of my party members were missing too, so lost more votes there. But I was most upset knowing that Mr. English DIDN'T vote for me...I was his pet for crying out loud!! Gurrrrr...
Here's the election pamphlet that I made to give out during the campaign party. Ghetto huh?? I think I made it in 15 minutes...came up with the platform in 5, typed it up in 5, randomly selected & added those images in another 5. =P There's also a picture of me there, scanned from some sticky pic that I took YEARS ago...God look how geeky I was...xD
P.S. Oh how can I forget to mention our campaign video?? That was bad. Very bad. I looked like a hybrid of some cocky businessman & Marlon Brando from The Godfather. Eeesh.
P.P.S. I just remembered...the Canadian Alliance doesn't even exist anymore - they're the Conservatives now. Psssh. New bottle, old wine I say. =P And Stephen Harper is still a creep...

Kakeru @ 00:52 +

"The Happiest Place On Earth!"
The latest member of the Disney theme park family, Hong Kong Disneyland, will officially open on September 12. Located on Lantau Island, construction began in 2000 & will finish by mid-2005. It is expected to draw 5 million visitors in the first few years & 10 million thereafter. The tickets are prized at HK$295 (US$37) on weekdays & $350 (US$45) on weekends & holidays. Once opened, it will be the 5th Disney "Magic Kingdom" theme park in the world, & the 2nd in Asia (with Tokyo being the 1st).
So, after some serious news report, here's my take on it: I REALLY WANNA GO!! Despite the fact that the last time I went to a Disney (at Tokyo, for the 2nd time), I was already so tired of it I went crazy shopping in the giftshops instead, to me it makes a big difference that this one is in my hometown. Although it'll probably weird me out seeing all those names translated into Chinese on the map <shivers>, I'm sure it'll still be quite the experience. Lantau Island is kinda far though...I remember having to take the ferry for an hour every summer just to get there (my dad's company had cottages on the island, so we'd always go there during the holidays). I also remember it being infested with bugs & lizards & the likes, hahaha. But I suppose that IS the only place in HK where you can find enough space to fit a theme park of such big size...after all they already made the airport there (again, FAR), why not Disney?? (And really, transportation is much better now...you can take the ever-so-cool MTR!! <3)
I'm definitely visiting the next time I go back to HK, which I still don't know when that would be. Most likely after I finish my undergrad, or if I'm lucky, this Xmas (I'm keeping my fingers crossed). I can't wait to speak Chinese to Mickey & Minnie...=P

Kakeru @ 14:05 +

Rising Sun
After 2 major breakdowns, my computer has finally decided to make nice with me. Somehow, my scanner of 2 years is now scanning super fast (like it finishes in SECONDS) with super high quality. So I decided to abuse it while I can & scanned some random pics from my trip to Japan 4 years ago. More to come later tonight.





EDIT: More pictures added. The one at USJ is actually my favourite from the whole trip...I liked it so much I framed it. Look at that architecture!!

Kakeru @ 11:38 +

Kakeru @ 14:25 +

Kakeru @ 00:08 +