It's Dead, Jim.

Today I woke up to a dead laptop. "Fan Error" in white letters across a black, soul crushing abyss. Despite this dismal revelation, I feel no panic, no distress. I have the wisdom and foresight to realize that this issue, like many others, is merely temporary. In short, my laptop is down until Mike gets the replacement part and ships it out to me. Thankfully, it's just a fan and nothing else; very simple to replace. The only thing that sucks in the wait...

In the meantime, being without a laptop forces me to be more social (GASP!) or to do more leisurely things like read a book, decorate my room, or shop. I went down to Fuchu today to purchase my commuter pass for the train and at the station was a Daiso 100¥ store. Think of like a dollar store crossed with a Big Lots and that's about the idea. I bought a lot of organizational containers from them and only spent about $20 to help further organize my room, as well as a notebook, a new wallet, and various other sundries. Had I had more money, I would've bought out all of the housewares section. They had so many pretties...

This afternoon, I went to Kichijouji with Debra and Eyrun, and it was awesome. I'm glad I decided to go instead of wussing out and going home. What an amazing place. I went to the Sunroad Plaza which is a stretch of road that is canopied and filled with shops, restuarants, everything. I finally was able to find a decent book store and cookies to the first person who can guess what my first manga purchase was. (Hint: It had three movies, a live action series, and has always been dear to my heart ♥!)

Also found an awesome boutique with cute and cheap street style clothing. $10 for something that at the department store would've cost about ten times as much? Yes please! It was a small place called Jam*Pixy (http://www.jampixy.jp). I'll probably be shopping there more often.

What was unexpectedly spectacular about this trip to Kichijouji was that the local shrine festival was in full swing and the mikoshi (port-a-shrine with the Kami Hachiman inside) made its way around town before arriving back at the main shrine proper to be placed inside.

You know those cliche summer shrine festival episodes you see in some anime? THAT WAS ME. I WAS THERE! Okonomiyaki, Takoyaki, Yakisoba, Kakigouri, all of the Japanese festival food was there. It was so delicious. I visited the shrine proper and asked Hachiman-okamisama to grant me courage while I am in Japan and thanked him for his protection.

It was quite a moment, praying at my first Shinto Shrine ♥!

Afterwards, me, Debra, and Eyrun went hunting for Kaiten Sushi, but alas, we could not find a single establishment. Heading back towards the station, we stopped to watch a local band perform live. (Saturday Night Bremen - http://www.satabure.com) It was great music and the band had a great energy that went into their music. I ended up buying their EP, which I will get to listen to when my laptop lives again!

All in all, it was an awesome night!