Yesterday was supposed to be Dir en grey day. An 'Evening with Dir en grey at the Showbox at the Market'. BUT due to Kyo's health reasons the show was canceled. We were all really looking forward to it, especially my friend Calah who would be celebrating her birthday at the show but in place of a really great concert I got a really great day with a lot of friends I have been missing a ton.

The day started off with Michi and I driving down to Marysville to pick up our old friend Aya. Five years ago we met Aya through our friend Ryo, an exchange student from Japan. He was attending highschool here in Stanwood while she was attending in Marysville, about fifteen minutes away. We actually met at a party at her host family's house. Much Karaoke Revolution. Since then Ryo has sort of fallen off the face of the earth, but Aya messaged us from her new Facebook profile about a week ago. She said she would be in Marysville for ten days so of course we had to meet up with her! I really wish that Syl could have been here to see her too.

I can't believe it's been five years. o.o

Except for getting lost for twenty minutes in the same row of five streets everything was really great! I forgot how much I loved her and how much fun we had. Even with the occasional language barriers and Michi having to draw mussels on a napkin because both of them forgot their dictionaries we were never at a loss for things to talk about or laugh about. We went out for lunch at Olive Garden and just talked about everything going on in our lives. She told us about how she's almost done with school and how she saw Ryo about a month ago so at least we know he's still alive. She even gave me a print club picture she took with him. He looks pretty much the same. Maybe taller but that could have just been wishful thinking. She'll be starting work in Human Resources as soon as she gets home. Michi told her about how she's going to Japan in May and they started making plans. Going shopping in Shibuya, taking a day trip to Tokyo Disney. I'm so jealous! But I need to save money for school, blah blah blah :P

Michi

Me

Look how cool Michi's drink looks~ Some kind of peach mint tea thing.

Aya~! Look how prettyy~

Aya ordered what I did. :P Chicken scampi. Yum~

Afterwards we spent some time at the Outlet Mall just shopping around and having fun. Michi bought a SUPER cute pair of shoes that I should have probably taken a picture of.

Silly neck thing at Juicy Couture. Actually looks pretty cute. Haha.

Aya bought her mom some really great stuff from L'Occtaine. I'd never been there before. I like it.

God, I'm going to miss her so much. Michi gets to see her again in Japan but I don't. On Sunday we're trying to put together another time to hang out. We're going to go down to the Rock in Lynwood and get as many people as we can. Anyone's invited who has time! More info later~

After dropping off Aya Michi and I lost ten dollars at the casino, then met up with Calah and Savanna and their friend Bryan (who was lovely~) to go out for Calah's birthday dinner! No Dir en grey but TONS of laughs! We were going to go to Toyama in Everett but... they don't have cheese fries. And when the birthday girl wants cheese fries you go to The Outback instead! We sat at our table having a good time until close.

Only one group of people moved away from us. 

Savanna beat Michi at a napkin crane folding race.

So Michi decided to make a balloon instead. Turns out you can't blow up a cloth napkin...

Bryan and the birthday girl, Calah.

Cute face!

Awww~

Where's your cute face, Bryan?

I really do love our crazy concert buddies and I have no idea why we have SO much in common and enjoy each other's company so much and we rarely ever hang out. We always say it needs to change and then we don't do anything but maybe it'll actually happen this time! We need to discuss more Harry Potter and Zelda, and how retail sucks and it's weird that Savanna works with my dad at Boeing. There's just no way around that. Plus, I owe them some fried chicken. 

I hope Calah had an amazingly wonderful birthday even though she had to work and has an even better Seattle weekend~ Hopefully I'll get to see everyone, including Aya at The Rock on Sunday.

Why can't all my days be this good? I miss my friends... I should quit my job... :P

♥ Amanda Leigh

Sorry this took me a million years! But I did in fact have a birthday. I turned twenty-two and it didn't suck.

I hate birthdays, mine, that is. I really love my friends birthdays and getting them presents when I can, but when it comes to mine I just try to avoid having mini-midlife crisises and being mean to all the nice people around me. I've spent a few birthdays grumpy and drinking and telling people to leave me alone. ^^;; Sometimes I skip it altogether. My friends are always great, though, and treat me way better than I deserve.

Every year I decide too late that I want to turn my birthdays to the Hobbit tradition. Giving presents instead of receiving them.

A lot has happened in my life since my birthday last year, even if I think things have been at a standstill. Just a couple of months before February I got my job at McDonalds and at the time I was just trying to catch up and make ends meet. This year, the job I just got because I needed one has given me the independence I needed to get my life moving again. I work fourty hour weeks and make enough money to take care of myself. I have money in my savings and am ready when the apartment building calls me, with no fear of not being able to handle it. I am in the best place I have ever been with money in my entire life and I really feel like an adult. I am working towards moving out and going to school and bettering my life even more and I know by next year I will have accomplished that.

This year there was no rock stars, and no crazy partying or dragging Michi's drunk ass through Seattle (I really can't afford it right now if I want to move into my own place!) but I did get the great friends. Michi surprised me this year and for a few days before my birthday I had NO idea what she was planning. Or that she was planning anything at all! I did guess it while we were getting ready to leave but who cares?! When we got to Seattle to just generally dink around, Hana was there waiting for us!

But that was much later in the day.

First I slept in! Oh my God it was amazing!! My birthday also happened to be my first day off in fourteen days.

So left we left at one-ish. After I guessed my surprise. :P

Bwaha, Michi wears her work shoes like real shoes. Aaaand they look good. Haha.

First! We had the super exciting task of going to the bank and then the DMV!! What? We don't get to use the car very often. Haha.

We had to go to the bank to fix Michi's card first. Because she decided to commit fraud in Japan. Or... something. The night before she had been trying to book her room in Tokyo for May and her payment didn't go through on the website. She was sad but moved on to try and find a new way to send money. Money order or something. In the middle of the night she got a text from her bank asking if she wanted the odd transaction to go through. Because it didn't go through on the website she said no. So they blocked her card. We had to get that fixed.

The banker we talked to was so nice. He had to have a very long and apparently annoying chat with the man at the fraud agency and got everything fixed up. He just wanted to talk about Japan all day, but we had to go.

THEN we went to the DMV to ask them to resend me my ID that never showed up at my house! Apparently we're just difficult.

 I know. Birthday fun!

But we did get to meet Baby White Roger!! Or... for those of you who don't understand, super crazy adorable kid in a sparkly hat!!

It was very exciting.

Just so you guys know...

But we finally got to Seattle after battling traffic and showing up late and found Hana hiding poorly in Kinokuniya at Uwajimaya, so I attack hugged her. And we set out to run around Seattle! It was just so nice to see her and get out of the house! We could have sat at Uwajimaya all night and I would have been happy.

Hana, Michi, and Me

We grabbed some snacks and headed over to Oasis for bubble tea. Mine was free because it was my birthday~!

Regular milk tea, strawberry, and almond. Guess which belongs to who. :P

On our way from the International District to Westlake we noticed this sign on the back of the bus in front of us. Michi pointed it out:

"Did You Turn Switch off?
Pull Both Poles Down 
Tap Poles Together
Before Checking Shoes."


Yes, it has been explained to us. In technical terms. But still! What the heck?!

We stopped in at the giant Forever 21 that Hana used to work at and ran around trying to keep ourselves from buying things we couldn't afford. Window shopping is fun too, though! And Hana got to see and introduce us to her old friends.

We went to get dinner. Mexican food~~! My friends love me~! It was on the third story of the building, Michi pointed out the club she had gone to on our friend's birthday. I wanted the Mexican food, of course, but a lot of my decision was based on the fact that I wanted to go up the building. 

And we got a window seat! How?! We even had to wait for our table and still got a really cool one!

For a good portion of our meal we watched as two men wandered down that alley next to Forever 21. One of them seemed to just want to get to the other end. The other man was either drunk or way, way too entertained by his situation. It took them FOREVER! Man number two had a lot of detours to take. Taking a pee break, sitting down...

I got a coconut margarita~ Om nom nom~~

Hana got a pina colada.

I do not remember at all what Michi got. Something citrusy. Or peachy. I don't know.

I make faces while Hana tries to take nice pictures.

I ate way too much food. Tomatillo chicken enchiladas.

Michi's... something... something sauce enchilada. Wow I do not remember anything she ordered!

I believe Hana had rock fish.

On our way out Michi and Hana paused to say hi to a friendly Penguin. Isn't he sweet? And quite the pimp.

The Pricula machine at Game Works was broken again! So we played games instead.

Apparently Hana and I are not good at the Taiko game... Even when we panic and tap out. Michi on the other hand, got a perfect score. I wish I'd gotten a picture of that...

DDR wasn't much different. Michi's feet were flying, as usual. But Hana did do a lot of cute side-stepping. It was like Michi had a back up dancer!

Again, I didn't do much better. XD It's actually a little embarrassing.

This game is hard! You have to put your hands over the sensor things when it says, or under them, or both at the same time or one on top and one on bottom or- @.@ Michi was still better than us but... only a little.

This is when I dropped my camera and didn't notice! Luckily the nice people behind the counter had it. ...When I came back in looking for it.

Across the room we found a three person racing game. Hana and I knew we were going to lose but we played it anyway. In fact, we played three rounds. The first one Michi won, then Hana, then Michi. The levels were increasingly difficult and by the last one we all crashed into the same corner and Michi won because her car pushed mine out of the way and was slightly closer to the end. -_-

XDD So bad. I was... trying to figure out how to sit in this stupid giant seat! So very ladylike.

 
We wandered for a bit, just enjoying the night.

I got Hana to stick her finger up her nose and then we drove her home to the sick boyfriend.

Hopefully we can all go see Arrietty soon! Miss you Hana~! <3

After leaving Seattle Michi and I decided to hit a couple casinos on the way home, hoping to get some free money  for my Birthday. Tulalip gave me twenty-five free dollars and I lost it all!

So we stopped at Dennys when we realized we had stayed out too late and continued home.

It was a really simple night but exactly what I needed. 

A few days later while waiting for my ride, Adolfo and I walked over to Haggen and he bought me a little birthday cake. ^^

I love my friends.

I love you all.

♥ Amanda Leigh