Shopping!

When I suggested that Emma-sensei, Ms. Fiona and I should go "girly shopping" during Emma's visit this weekend, I had no idea it would turn into a seven (7) hour shopping extravanganza during which we didn't leave the Canberra Centre. Good thing too, because it's starting to get really cold outside.

It was so much fun! Highlights: Fiona realised a lifetime dream when she purchased knee-high lace-up stompy platform boots. The boots are a freakin' work of art and possibly even cooler than you imagine: all the shoes in the store have style names, and these boots were called simply Trash. Emma found some very flattering jeans in a very pleasing size and I spent more money on a single pair of shoes than I ever have in my life. Fun!

The shopping just doesn't stop, either. I'll be meeting Emma-sensei in Sydney in two weeks for a shopping trip to Kinokuniya. Given how much time we can spend discussing Chinese vs. Japanese without being in a bookstore that sells books in each, I fear we may spend even longer in one single bookstore than we spent this Saturday. I also fear how much time I may spend planning an optimal route for ensuring that the maximum number of manga are purchased, while still giving us time to randomly wander.

And I asked Emma-sensei to teach me to count to five in Chinese. It's hard! I'm still fascinated by the similarities between the pronunciation of kanji in Chinese and Japanese and how the two languages can have such different grammar and sounds (there are no tones in Japanese), but so many of the abstract concepts are written the same way. For instance, the Chinese concept of the Tao (pronounced Dow) is written 道　(in Japanese: dou) and in both languages literally means, "the way".

Also in LindaNews, work's getting a bit stressy as I'm starting to actually demonstrate the prototype I've been working on for the past few months. People seem fairly pleased with what I've been doing, which means that I might shortly have to stop using "but this is just a prototype" as an excuse. Also, sorry if this is a little incoherent, I'm suddenly really tired. Zzz.