I'm surprised at how well the nylon and bbb I bought last week is working.  I had bad expierences with well-meaning grandmothers trying to detangle my hair with brushes with nylon tufts and stayed away from tuft-type brushes for years.  *eye twitches at memory of hair being painfully pulled out*  But when I read about how a bbb is supposed to be used and how helpful they are (esp. Mason Pearson), I got suckered in and got one--a good bbb, not one from MP.  Anyway, my hair is shinier and I've been able to extend the time between washes by one day.  I think I could go longer, but by the end of the 3rd day without a wash, I thought my roots looked a little too greasy and the sebum beads were increasing.  Ick!

I've tried CWC twice using the instructions on Anais' site and I love it!  If you're reading this, Anais, thank you so much for posting different washing methods!  Since our hair types are similar, the different methods will be very helpful in the future.  The first time I used it my mom commentted on how shiny my hair looked.  That made me quite happy since I'm growing out bleached (and dyed) hair and have been working hard to get the length decently healthy looking.

Speaking of bleached hair, never again will I do that.  I found a couple of old pics from 2001 when my hair was at it's longest (a bit past BSL) and it looked so nice and healthy (not to mention only one color)!  When I compare the way my hair looks now to the picture, I think, "What the heck was I thinking?!"  Actually, I know very well what I was thinking.  I had been trying off and on since the 8th grade to get my hair to a noticable red and been toying with the idea of dyeing my hair purple, pink, or blue.  Finally last year I decided that since I only had one more year as an undergraduate left, it was now or never, and bleached then colored my hair fuchia.  It looked really cool, but sometimes I wish I hadn't ruined my hair.  On the positive side, at least I got all that out of my system before I reach my hair goal.

It's a wash day tomorrow.  Will do the CWC again, but will dilute the shampoo a bit and see how that works.

Random quote: "I don't believe that libraries should be drab places where people sit in silence, and that's been the main reason for our policy of employing wild animals as librarians." --Monty Python

*Finally* updating this thing.  I can't even keep up with personal journal so I don't know how I thought I would be able to keep this one updated as well.  Moving on.

Changed my ACV routine.  This time around I diluted 1/4 cup of ACV in a condiment bottle and then clarified the roots only.  After, I added about 1TBS of conditioner and used that on the length.  That seemed to work a lot better.  The roots were fine and the length wasn't dried out like the last time.

Right now I'm addicted to the "Into the West" mini-series on TNT.  Watching the first episode reminded me of the phase I went through in the 5th grade when I wanted to be native American and not Japanese.  I think between the 5th and 6th grades I had seen "Dances With Wolves," "Thunderheart," and "Last of the Mohicans."  Odd fare for a kid without any native American roots.  I was a weird child.  Oh, but the stupid thing is that sometimes when I'm watching "Into the West," I'm only staring at the native Americans' hair and trying to figure out how they got their braids so nice.  Mine always end up looking kind of messed up in the back.

I think the biotin supplements are working.  It kind of seems like my hair is growing slightly faster, but it could also be the change in the weather.

I was able to return the Ultra Nourishair! Woo! The only thing was that I felt like a rube for bringing it back because I couldn't swallow it. I tried swallowing the pills after cutting them in half a few times, but that choking episode left an impression and I couldn't easily get the pills down. Oh well. I hope I never have an episode like that again.

July hair measurement: 25.75

I kept getting different measurements ranging from 25.5 to 26.25 so I'm averaging the two. I hope the biotin is working.

Thanks, Anais! It's nice to have an almost hair twin! Now if only I could get myself to update more frequently.

~~~~

I'm a bit wary to try this again. The Powers That Be seem to be doing Their best to not let me update this journal tonight. This is the third try for me! The first time my computer disconnected from the internet and my account timed out, then the power went out. I'm kind of tired to writing the same thing over and over again so this is an extremely  abreviated version of what I wrote earlier.

Did ACV rinse on Sunday. Nice except for all the shedding. Pretty sure it's from the extra handling, but it's still a bit scary to see a ton of hair in the drain. At least the next day I had less shedding than usual.

Now stretching time between washes to every four days. Not sure if I want to go more than that. It is funny when I say to myself "When was the last time I washed my hair?"

Biotin is working (or else I'm in a hair growth spurt). I don't think I had 0.75 inches of growth per month before the biotin. Then again, I wasn't measuring my hair before I started biotin.

For fun, the character I took my name from!

Agh.  I choke on those Ultra Nourishair pills too.     Didn't occur to me to try to take them back, so now the bottle just sits on my windowsill and mocks me. 

I'm trying to space out my washes more (currently every other day) and you've inspired me to give bbb's a go.  Thanks!

Quote:


Sorry to hear that you had a bad experience with them too! What was GNC thinking? It's like they were designing pills for horses. Well, the next time the bottle starts to mock you, mock it right back. 

Quote:


Aww, thanks, Divewench! I found that using a bbb before bed worked the best for my hair. When I used to use it in the morning, it made my hair look oily. Ick! Good luck spacing out your washes. The adjustment period is annoying, but it's worth it.

Okay, that sounds a bit weird, but it's been about two years since I made the decision to grow my hair out from a bob. I hope I never have to keep my hair short again. About three or four years ago I was under a ton of stress because I was taking four upper division summer classes and as a result, had major shedding. I don't think anyone could tell, but I was getting rather paranoid about my thinning hair and Mom suggested that if I cut my hair short my hair would look thicker. With that suggestion, I chopped off my hair and for a year or two, wouldn't let it get longer than shoulder length. I think my hair's recovered most of it's original thickness, but I know I lost some overall volume because of normal hairloss due to aging. I read somewhere that hair is thickest when you're 20, and I'm not 20 anymore. Yay?

Here's a pic that was taken on Saturday, Aug. 13. I know my ticker says I'm supposed to reach waist in about 6 months, but after looking at this picture, I don't think it'll take half a year...well, I hope it won't.



My mom laughs when she takes pictures of my hair. She says it's like I'm taking a mug shot. In a way it's true, but this wall is the least distracting backdrop in the house. ;;

edit: photo resized

Wow your hair is so pretty!  Congratulations on two years of growth! 

Cynde

That's great to hear! Your hair is in really lovely condition.

Anais

Okay, here's the ingredients for the Alba shampoo and the AO conditioner.

Alba Replenishing Shampoo: echinacea angustifolia, golden seal, nettle, certified organic aloe barbadensis, sodium lauryl sulfoacetate, disodium laureth sulfosuccinate, cocamidopropyl betaine, cetyl alcohol, glyceryl cocoate, vegetable glycerin, glycol stearate, certified organic jojoba, panthenol (pro-vitamin B5), phenoxyethanol, methyl/propylparaben, citric acid, grapefruit extract, and botanical fragrances.

Aubrey Organics: coconut fatty acid cream base, organic aloe vera, organic shea butter, wheat germ oil, organic jojoba oil, organic rosa mosqueta rose hip seed oil; extracts of fennel, hops, balm mint, mistletoe, camomile, yarrow, chrysanthemum, angelica, forsythia and magnolia; honeysuckle oil, carrot oil, aubrey's preservative (citrus seed extract, vitamins A, C and E)

I don't think I want to try the Alba for a second time. With the Nature's Gate jojoba shampoo, I could go four days before washing my hair, but last night I had to wash my hair on the third day. Not too happy about that. I don't see the NG jojoba shampoo at the store anymore so I  got a shampoo from Origins today. Hopefully that one will work better. I'll try it the next time I'm due for a wash and post the results.

I had a funny hair experience today when I went to lunch with one of my friends. We were coming out of Origins and she commented that she has to wash her hair everyday and could already feel it getting oily. I said that daily washing could be contributing her oily hair. When she asked how I learned that, I embarrassedly told her that I belong to a hair site. It's kind of sad that I was embarrassed to  tell her that; it's not like I belong to a group that promotes ritual goat sacrifice. Anyway, I ended up pulling out--er, not literally-- the things I learned from LL and gave her some suggestions on improving her hair care practices. The funny part was when she jokingly said, "Wow, I've never seen this side of you before!" (I don't normally talk about hair/hair care outside of LL).

Thanks, Panpeus! Daily conditioning works wonders. Acutally, I think I had about 13 inches of growth since I started growing; just slightly faster than the average 6 inches per year. I'm just under 5'4" so 12 inches of growth (had one inch trimmed in January) would look a lot longer on me than a taller person. *cough Panpeus cough* Sorry! Sometimes I get a little envious of tall people. ;;  I remember in the volleyball class I took last spring, none of us short girls could block the ball at the net.

I looked up sodium lauryl sulfoacetate and according to Toadie for Soap, it's used in bath powders, cream and paste shampoos, and other cosmetic products. Additionally, it is "milder to the skin than sodium lauryl sulfate. It is hard water stable. It is often used to replace soap whenever soap sensitization is found...Sodium lauryl sulfoacetate is completely biodegradable. Is much milder than other foaming agents and is safe for children's bath products." So, I guess it is a gentle cleanser. 

Ended up not washing my hair. I'm not planning on going anywhere tomorrow so it wasn't "oily enough" to deem a wash. It's funny, but four months ago I wouldn't have asked myself if my hair looked greasy enough to have to wash it. Man, that ALS is strong stuff.

I was bored and did this. I think John William Waterhouse is rolling over in his grave.

So true, Gabi. It's taken me a while to accept my hair. For a long time I wanted red or brown hair that looked like Christine's from The Phantom of the Opera.
~~~~~

I must be insane. I just bought a furisode from Ichiroya.com. For those who don't know, a furisode is a formal kimono worn by young, unmarried women in Japan. On Coming of Age Day, parents usually buy their 20 year-old daughter a furisode and, traditionally, that signifies that the young woman is an adult and single. I have no idea as of yet where I can wear this, but I've been looking at it for a few days and unfortunately it's not one of those things where I can wait a couple of weeks before I decide to get it. There's only one so someone could have bought it before I did. At least that's what I'm telling myself. Oh geez.

Oh my, that Waterhouse spoof is GENIUS

Khrome--Thanks! You're right, you know. There's different types of kimono and furisode is one of them. Then it gets complicated because there's subcategories depending on the length of the sleeves or the pattern of the fabric.  It's kind of confusing. I don't know all of it myself.

Anais and Gabi--Thank you! There's several more in my Photobucket account that are waiting to be posted. Yay?

Edit: got rid of a redundant "confusing"

Juri, the colors on the Furisode are beautiful!!  Between you and Lisabelle I'm learning about the different types of Japanese outfits.  And drooling over the colors and patterns.   

I love the thoughtbubble on the Waterhouse as well. 

Lisabelle--Heehee! I have to thank you for enabling me. When I saw your kimono I thought, "Oh, why the heck not?" I haven't bought an obi yet. After spending $311 on a furisode, it'll have to wait. But I do like this fukuro obi. Can't wait too long, though. I think it will be hard to find an obi once the "Memoirs of a Geisha" media blitz gets into full swing.

Maroula--Thank you! The kimono on the Ichiroya site are really nice. If I had tons and tons of money to throw around, I would order a lot more things from them. *dreamy eyed look*

Divewench--Thank you to you too! Oh, you're lucky to have a wedding kimono! If it's anything like the one on Ichiroya's site, it must be very beautiful. I wonder if kimono are like potato chips; you can't have just one.

~~~~

Hair stuff: Finally washed my hair yesterday night. I don't think I've gone five days without a wash since intermediate school. I left the Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose conditioner on for longer than usual and now there's nary a tangle. I'll have to do that more often.

The Origins shampoo seems to be a good shampoo (so far). Hair looks clean without feeling stripped or "weirdly shiny."

Hi again juri!  Yes, I am beginning to think that kimono are like potato chips - I definitely need more after spending some time at Ichiroya!  Mine is most like this one: http://www.ichiroya.com/item/list2.php?number=75713
except that the cranes on mine are embroidered, not woven.  And from the prices on that site, I think I got a terrific deal.  Now I just need a wall big enough to display it on!   

Divewench--Ooh, that's a pretty kimono! White ones are nice; elegant in a subtle way. As for the price of yours, heehee, you can't beat free!

Lisabelle--Thanks! I like that book too. Have you been to Monkey Peaches? They have info on the "Memoirs of a Geisha" movie and some of the pictures link to a Zhang Ziyi site with gorgeous stills from the movie.

~~~~~

Hair ramblings--put it in a bun today and held it with my Ketylo sticks. I love those things. The best part about up dos is taking them down and having silky hair. I find myself checking out the hair of longhaired men and not the men themselves.

Kimono stuff--sent in the payment for the furisode. I can't wait until they send it and I'm holding it in my hands. *sigh* Bought a kimono accessory kit off of eBay. Aparently I'll need padding and other dodads if I want to wear a kimono "correctly." It's a good thing I didn't wait to buy it. When I checked back later in the evening, it wasn't listed anymore. I guess some people bought the other two kits.

I was able to find some kimono accessories locally at Shirokiya (a Japanese department store at Ala Moana Shopping Center). Yay! Here's a list of what I found:

*Kimono underwear/juban = $48 for the full-length. More expensive than on-line, but 100% cotton and it's hard to find on-line anyway (on-line ones are synthetic) and shipping may make price difference almost nil.

*Kanzashi (hair ornaments) = nice, well made ones in pretty colors for approx. $58.  Expensive, but way cheaper than the ones at this site. Other ones at the store and on-line aren't that nice. When I looked again today, the ones on the link are much more complicated and there's more labor involved--explains the high cost; plus you get two ornaments.

*Formal geta = $23. Black with yellow thongs. I hope they have other colors. Checked today (Friday) and they have red and a yellow/ black combo.

*Obi = they have. Not much difference in the price between the store's and the ones on the internet. Lack of shipping would make Shirokiya a possible place to buy. Also have obi for yukata (lightweight summer kimono) for $35; pretied $45-75. The fancier they are, the more expensive.

*Tabi (split-toe socks) = $22 approx. Need to have shoe size in centimeters. Have it in white and black.

*Misc = there's kimono accessories (such as the padding and obi ties). Not sure of the cost.

Khrome--I think the ornaments with the dangle-thingies are kind of like hair forks. I don't know how strong the metal prongs are (there's usually two) so it might be a good idea to secure a bun with pins and then slide the prongs through a couple of times. The ones with only one or two flowers on them probably won't hold anything up and are just for accents.

I got an email from Ichiroya not too long ago and it said that the furisode is on it's way! Woo! Hopefully it'll arrive by this time next week and I can take pictures of it.

edit: weird grammar

You're welcome, Lisabelle! After seeing the trailer, I cannot wait for that movie to come out. 

Woohoo, I'm finally a diamond! Yay!     

After putting it off for a few days, I finally did an S&D. Found a lot of little white dots and tiny splits, but I wasn't too surprised. However, I was dismayed to find a few half-inch splits and one that was an inch long. Ack. Still, that's better than the 4-9 inch long splits I would sometimes find before I began doing S&Ds on a regular basis.

LOL! I was doing the same thing as you! I was going, "Ooh, there's Ken Watanabe! Oh, there's the guy who was in the Japanese 'Shall We Dance?'!"

Yes, people were upset, at least in the Asian internet community, about the lead actresses being Chinese. I have mixed feelings on that issue. On one hand I was annoyed because of the way Hollywood portrayed Asian characters. A long time ago there was one Chinese actress named Anna Mae Wong (that may not be the right spelling) who was stuck in supporting roles because seeing an Asian woman kiss a Caucasian man was "scandalous". And in "The Good Earth" Caucasian actors were made up to look like Asian characters. And then there's the implication that the different Asian ethnicities are interchangeable.

On the other hand, I myself can't tell the difference between, oh a Scotsman and a Welshman, and I don't get upset if an Australian portrays an Englishman, etc. So in that mode of thought, it's hypocritical of me to get annoyed that all the leads aren't Japanese. And at least Hollywood stopped using other races to play Asians so I'm happy that there's a movie with a lot of Asian actors in it. I don't see very many Asian actors in Hollywood so I'm grateful for what I can get.

I hope that made sense. ;

ETA: on the whole I'm glad "Memoirs of a Geisha" is coming out. Now I just hope it doesn't suck.

edit: the use of three "happy"s in one post drove me nuts. Had to put in some synonyms (sp? ack)

I used "happy" too many times in one post! Argh. I think my vocabulary is getting worse the longer I'm out of college.

I think I heard about the controversy about Lea Salonga. I think there was also a problem with Jonathan Price playing that--oh crap, I can't remember the name of the character--guy (sheesh) because the character was supposed to be half Asian.

And I do agree that some of the problems surrounding the casting of the Memoirs movie comes from ethnic pride. After I saw the trailer many of my concerns were laid to rest. I should check the messageboards at IMDB and see what other people have to say.

Thanks for sharing your opinion, Khrome!

~~~~~

Washed hair today. I like the Origins shampoo. It cleans without stripping the hair and my hair didn't look super greasy by the end of the day.

Where is the sailor moon hairstyle link?  I just gotta see it >.>

My hair can't hold a style unless its dirty.  It drives me crazy sometimes!

Tha'ts the one! Thanks, Khrome! 

Whoo, the mailman came a few minutes ago and had my kimono!!! I'm gonna go and oggle it. Bye for now!

Awesome! Can't wait to see it on you!!  My pic's will be coming soon!!

Thanks, everyone! I'm still waiting for the kimono accessories kit to come in (the furisode will be easier to wear). I'll post some pictures after it does. Hopefully by then I'll have figured out how to tell Mom I bought something so impractical as a kimono. She knows I had my eye on it and she said, "It's up to you" when I half-jokingly told her I wanted to buy it. I don't think she expected me to accutually do it. I'll say this about the furisode, it's soooooo much nicer in RL! The pics on Ichiroya's site doesn't do it justice.

I finally have my job references lined up. Yay! It's past 11pm here so I'll work on my resume and do some serious job searches tomorrow.

Ok, I'll try to wait patiently for pics.   

Good luck at your job searches tomorrow!!!

Juri don't rush with the pictures, I'm apatient woman.

Hope your leads work out for a great job! 

Wow, the journal is on page 5! 

Maroula--Thanks again! The accessories kit arrived today. Perhaps I should put the furisode on and say to my mom, "Look at what I bought!"

Khrome--lol! Did you have trouble getting both odangos to look the same? I can get the one on my right to come out, but the left odango looks mishapen. I wonder if it has to do with being right handed.

Job Stuff: I saw an ad for a job fair at Borders next week. I'm gonna go and apply. It would be nice to get a job there; I love that store.

Hair Stuff: Washed scalp and length. I used some Aubrey Organics gel today and had to get it off. Hmm, not much else to say about my hair other than: "I wish it was 39 inches long already."

Quote:


ROTFL!! I tried again yesterday and I still can't get that style to work. I think I'm throwing in the towel until all of my layers are at least elbow length. 

I don't know what happened with my browser, but from Friday until this morning, I could log into LL but when I would click on a board, the top of the page would say "Welcome guest." I'm glad I can finally login and reply to posts. It was annoying to be able to read posts but not reply to them. 

Anyway, did a CWC wash yesterday. I'm due for a ACV rinse, but I don't feel like doning one yet. I really should, though. I'm not sure when's the last time I did one.

BPAL is evil. After visting their site several times, I compiled a list of 13 imps I want to get. Whether or not I acually buy them is another story. >_<

Quote:


lol! One of my friends always uses a body spray so I think I'm going to try and get her addicted to this too.   

Hair stuff: Washed tonight. I'm not actually due for a wash until tomorrow, but Borders is going to have a job fair that day and I don't want to go with 4th day hair. Ick.

Finally did an ACV rinse. I changed how I did it and hopefully it was a change for the better. Here's the steps to my experimental rinse:

1) Used 1 1/2 Tbs of ACV and instead of working it into my hair like shampoo, just squirted it on while lifting sections of hair. That used about half of the rinse.

2) Added more water to the condiment bottle, stopping 1.5 inches from the top.

3) Added 3 squirts of honey to the ACV and shook the container until the honey was dissolved. There was a nice frothy head to it (looked like beer, but smelt like honeyed vinegar). *interesting*

4) Dunked the ends and squirted the ACV on the length as usual. Let it sit for a couple of minutes and rinsed.

5) Did the final C of the CWC and did the rest of my shower duties before rinsing that off.

My hair is still damp, but it feels so nice and soft! When I was rinsing out the AO conditioner, it felt so silky and I kept thinking, "Aaaaahhh, lovely." If this turns out well, I'm going to stick to this ACV routine and possibly add honey to the AO conditioner when I do a CWC.

Quote:


That's what I thought after reading about it in 13bodies' journal and seeing it mentioned on another longhair site. Let us know if you buy anything from them.   

Hair stuff: Put hair into a bun today and used the Ketylo sticks. I'll be happy when my layers are all the same length. I don't really like the stray hairs that don't get bunned and end up sticking out from the main coil.

I like the results from adding honey to the ACV rinse. My ends and length don't feel as dry as they used to when I would add NG's aloe vera conditioner to it. I guess I'll use this method in the future.

Job stuff: Went to the Borders job fair today. I wasn't completely expecting to be interviewed at the fair, but I was. I guess that was a good thing; killed two birds with one stone. After signing in, I had a pre-screening with one of the employees and I guess that went well. The only question that I was really stumped on was when she said, "Tell me about yourself." I don't like that question. It's too broad for me; it's so much easier when they ask questions with a narrower focus.

After the screening, she showed her notes (or whatever she was writing) to the manager and I got called for an "interview" several minutes later. I was surprised at how short the interview was. I was expecting more questions like the ones from the screening, but the only real questions I got were "Tell me about yourself" and "Do you have any previous retail experience?".

I think I was only in the manager's office for a few minutes and I was rather worried about that. I can't believe I actually asked, "Should I be worried that this was so short?" The manager kind of laughed and said no and that making it through the pre-screening was a good sign. So after I fill out the on-line application and do the personality test, he's going to call my references and I'll get a response in a few days. He wasn't kidding about the personality test. The sucker was 37 pages long.

I hope I get that job. But if not, there's a largeish job fair a couple of weeks from now and I'll go to that.

Good luck on the job!  Those personality tests that are so long should be banned in my opinion.  Unless interpreted by a qualified professional in conjunction with interviews, they can be very misleading and provide questionable value to the employer.  (I'm speaking as a person that has worked with those tests for many years in the mental health field).  But don't let the test worry you - I'm sure you did just fine.

I hope you get the job!!!  No worries!

Good luck on the job.  I have to admit I think personality tests are obnoxious ...g

Oh you got another one!   Buying kimono can be addictive, I bought another one myself Making that three! Hubby said "No more!" LOL yeah sure... hehehe!
I found that Obi's can be really expensive too!  I got a silk tradtional one, takes about an hour to tie and I got two pre-tied.  There's a seller who has the pre-tied ones for a resonable price.  PM me for details if you want.  Wow we have to put on a fashion show of pictures for everyone here.  Oh and I love your new avatar!

What lovely kimono!  A picture with you wearing one would be a treat. 

Quote:

LOL  Uhoh!  How are you hiding it??  It's so large!  My mom always goes hunting around in my closet.  I've found it's easier to hide things if I leave it right out in the open.  I don't think that would work for a furisode though. 

Your bun looks lovely!  I think it came out looking like a seashell or a flower.


Cynde

Very pretty bun and the new avatar both 

Ooooh - your second try is fantastic!  Good job!

What an impressive classic!  If my hair was longer I would give it a shot.  The kimonos look very cool!  The back one is a tomesode, right?

I always check out Yamatoku for kimonos.  You gotta dig through a lot of damaged garments, sometimes.

The bun looks fabulous  And the kimonos are very pretty. I favor the second one.
And like BB said: Pictures, Pretty Please 

Nice to see you back Juri, you have been missed.

Welcome back!  I was starting to wonder what happened to you.   

Cynde

The last time I updated this was on Sept. 24? Yeesh. Well, since the last time I did a somewhat thorough on my hair and haircare info was in June, I'd better update it now.

Basic hair info:
*Type: 1bNCii/iii (ponytale is 3.75")
*Length: somewhere between 27.5" and 28" (1/2 inch discrepancies[sp] are annoying, but I know it's grown more than .25" in September)

Products
*Shampoo: Origins' Knot Free
*Conditioner: Suave Natural's Milk and Honey, Aubrey Organics' Honeysuckle Rose mixed with honey

Haircare routine
*Everyday: condition with Suave
*Every 3-4 days: CWC
*Every 2-3 weeks: ACV rinse with added honey

Vitamins and supplements
*Nature Made daily multi
*1200mg calcium
*1800mg biotin
*500mg flax seed oil--on a break from it for now due to oddly timed acne. Amazingly that's made a difference

~~~~
Washed hair today--a day earlier than I was supposed to--and did an ACV rinse. Um, yeah.

After resisting for a year, last weekend I finally succumbed and joined the ranks of people who watch "Lost." Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I had held off before because it seemed like everyone else was watching it. Mom's BF has the season 1 box set and I spent last weekend watching all of it. Ack.

Since it's filmed on Oahu, I usually end up playing "Name that Location" when I watch it. Apart from a lot of the interior shots, I've been able to ID the following:
*YWCA on Richards Street
*stair case in the downtown First Hawaiian Bank
*Hawaii Convention Center (the Sydney airport)
*Honolulu docks
*Ala Wai boat harbor
*Costco in Waipio Gentry (not too far from my house. Neat!)
*underground storage area in Waikele
*neighboorhoods in Nuuanu or Manoa Valley
*St. Andrew's church
*the Mall at the University of Manoa (it was out of focus, but the background looked like the Mall)
*Valley of the Temples
*some wetland near Chinaman's Hat--a small off shore island
*rocks near Makapuu/Blow Hole area
*a room that's probably in the old court house near the state capital building

According to IMDB, the cave scenes are filmed in the old Xerox building. That's the place where Byron Uesugi shot and killed several of his coworkers in 1999, so that rates a 11 out of 10 on my creepy scale.

Still waiting for the black kimono to come. I hope it arrives soon.

Your new avatar looks great, BB! Figure 8 buns always look so cool. 

lol! While more movies and TV shows may be filmed here, the cast and crew have to deal with super humid weather. Ick.    As for the locations used in "Lost", some of the scenes end up being unintentionally humorous. It's too funny when I see local spots that are supposed to represent places in Australia, Korea, England, etc. And I laugh every time I see the grassy area that's used as a "golf course"; that place has been used in so many movies that I keep expecting George of the Jungle, dinosaurs or Godzilla to start walking across. 

Funny. Hubby does that too. We watch a movie and he tells me where it is and when he's been there. Especially movies playing in or around the Washington area. 

WOW!  That's some progress!  Cute picture.  8)

Cute picture!

Whoa, you must have some fast growing hair!!  You're so cute hehe!

Yaay photobucket looks like its back up and running.  And you are WAAAY cuter than "not hag-like!"

Panpeus--lol! Thanks again! I think the "not totally hag-like" bit comes from an extreme case of Asian modesty (i.e. put yourself down even if you don't think you look that horrible). Ack.

Moonchild--Thank you! As for the hair, I think I've been really lucky that my daily caffine consumption hasn't affected my hair's growth...so far. *knocks on wood*

Hair stuff--Figured out how to get my bun to stay. Earlier this summer I was pushing the ends through the middle of the bun, but since that doesn't work anymore, I need to push the ends through only part-way. The result kind of looks like a doughnut with the center put back in.

Kimono rambling--The black rinzu kimono finally arrived today. I'm surprised that the SAL shipping method took this long, but the seller said that US customs is taking longer to process packages. Anyway, it's very nice and the pattern in the kimono looks cool (it looks like some sort of leaf). I'll have to take a picture in that one and post it.

I also need to take a pic of the yukata (a light summer kimono) my grandma gave me a couple of days ago. She used to wear it to bon dances (I'll explain what that is in a later post) when she was a girl, so it means quite a lot to me that she let me have it. Actually, I had never even seen it before until this past week. Anyway, although it has some age spots, it's a lot nicer than any yukata I've seen on the internet or at the store.

Lisabelle--Yes, the yukata is really nice! I think people put more work into things back then; it's only a yukata, but there's a lot of detail in the fabric and even flecks of gold paint (I was extrememly surprised to see that). Heehee, I've only seen "Full Circle," but I love Michael Palin's travel shows!

Housework--I tried to straighten up the spare room I store most of my books and misc. junks in, but didn't get very far. There's too many things in there! I think I'll weed the yard a bit so I feel like I did something productive today.

ChiliPepper--Thanks! I agree, it's fun to see what LL members look like. 

Kimono ramblings--I finally got some pictures of the kimono from eBay and my grandma's yukata. I don't have an obi for either of them, but hopefully everyone gets the general idea of what they look like.

Here's the eBay kimono:


The yukata:


Then I got "creative" and tried to copy a drawing of Oriya from the manga "Yami no Matsuei" (aka "Descendants of Darkness"). If I do that again, I think I'll need to get a wind machine.  o^_^o



edit: photos resized. new and "improved" with special watermarks!

I love the kimono and yukata.  You give them a very traditional, sophisticated look.  Thanks for sharing your pictures.

I love them both!

Thanks everyone!   

Because the yukata is around 70 years old, I think it would be better to store it nicely and not wear it in public too often; I'm rather nervous about ripping it or getting it stained.

Thanks, Moonchild!    I was surprised at how well the yukata aged, especially since my grandma lives in a rather damp area and things are prone to mildew.

Hair--CWC tonight. Hmm, not much to report other than that. Oh, so exciting.  >_<