Yep, that's right- in case I haven't been obsessing loudly enough and you've somehow missed it...

I'm going to Tokyo!!

Finally! After almost four years, I'll be making my triumphant return to the Land of the Rising Sun for my fourth visit the most fabulous city in the world. Seriously, no matter how much I love-love-love New York City, nothing can ever compare to Tokyo. I've been having weird, almost homesick bouts of nostalgia ever since I returned in 2007, and I've always intended to go back as soon as my money situation was stable enough to save up for it. About a year ago, my boyfriend and I were sitting discussing travel, and we made vague plans to go to Japan at some point in the future; a few weeks later, we decided that it was official, and that we would seriously start saving up and planning for the trip. After money issues on my side caused us to push our trip back three times (sorry, love!), we finally bought our tickets in September for my spring break 2011- so much better than Cancun!

Obviously, all of the tips I'm offering here are currently heresay; this will be my first time going to Japan on my own, without the guidance of a school group and chaperones. The high school I attended hosted a magnet school called the Center for Global Studies, which taught the language, literature, history, and culture of China, Japan, and... I guess you could say the Middle East/Arabia? Anyway, not only did we host foreign exchange students for two weeks, but we had our own two-week exchange program to whichever of the three programs you were studying- Beijing for Chinese, Morocco for Arabic, and of course, Kyoto/Tokyo for Japanese. It was an amazing experience that was made possible by absolutely fabulous people, and I am honored to have been given the opportunity.

But the nostalgia never stops. It's the little things that trigger it. Sometimes when the spring breeze trickles past me, it carries on it some kind of perfume- the same perfume it carried down Takeshita-Doori; or looking up at the innards of a black umbrella in a certain light reminds me of the year it rained every day we were in Kyoto. I can't fight it, and last year I decided to stop trying, stop whining, and start planning and saving. Here's the main problem, though: I had no idea what to save! My hand was held so much in high school that I really didn't know how much to expect a trip to cost. So here I am; a year of planning, saving, researching, and budgeting, and I've decided to write the guide I wanted to see. This is the preliminary stage: all of my plans, ideas, and thought patterns behind my trip, and since I'm officially leaving two weeks from today, I figured this was as good a time as any. I'll follow up afterward with how it actually turned out, but for now, here are my tips on the first, most important stage of your trip to Japan, or anywhere: planning.

Some websites will tell you that it costs no less than $6,000 to go to Tokyo. Such a fallacy! While Japan can be one of the most expensive countries in the world to visit, Tokyo is just like any other city- it has lots of price ranges. My school trips never cost over $2,500, but that wasn't enough to put me totally at ease because I knew that they got group rates on flights and hotel, which would be my biggest money-drain. That being said, having experience in Tokyo helped me a lot- I know I can eat decently for $30 or less per day, for example, and I know that there are plenty of traditional Japanese inns (ryokan) that are basically a bit better than hostels and can cost as little as $30 per night. A little travel-savvy can get you a long way, and let me tell you, I milked mine for everything it had!

Here's my budget (in USD):

Plane ticket (purchased in September for a March vacation): $880

Ryokan: about $70 per night for a two-person room; total about $250 each for 6 nights

Food: Breakfast- $5, Lunch- $10, Dinner- $15; Total $30/day or about $210 each

Transportation: $100-$150

Emergency: $100
Entertainment: $100
TOTAL: ~$1640-$1690

Okay, so we're not going to be living the high life in Tokyo. While ryokan are often very sophisticated, classy establishments that can include meals and hot springs, there are also many that cater to budget-conscious travelers and poor students. The one we're staying at was a referral from my brother, who called it "a glorified hostel." However, it's in the middle of Ikebukuro, only a few blocks from a large train station, and we get our own 4.5-tatami-room (which is tiny for two people. Seriously, tiny. But it's Japan, so really, you take what you can get space-wise); we're going to bring a can of bed bug spray and cut our losses. And yes, you can feed yourself in Japan for $30 a day! We did it every year in high school, and going above that meant paying out of pocket with our precious spending money- so yeah, we stuck to that budget pretty devotedly! Here's what I'll probably be eating: breakfast will be an onigiri (riceball) or pastry from a convenience store or supermarket, lunch will be a crepe or bowl of ramen, and dinner will be something cheap-y and probably fast food-y. Healthy? No, not really. Tasty? Yes. Cheap? Double yes! We'll probably also try to find a nearby supermarket and try to pick up bread or produce to snack on inexpensively- we'll be there for six days, but we're probably not going to have a refrigerator in our room, so anything we get will have to be kept at room temperature.

Another oft-overlooking aspect of budgeting is an emergency fund. This is incredibly important, whether you're taking a weekend at the beach or a three-week vacation abroad- no matter how close to home you are, you just never know what could happen. What if you bust a tire, or lose your bus pass, or miss curfew and have to stay in a capsule hotel? Okay, maybe that last one is really just one of my personal paranoias about my trip, but honestly- you never know what could come up, and the last thing you want to do is chose between your safety and eating for the rest of the trip. If it's the second-to-last day and it seems like you won't be needing it, start slowly using up your foreign currency and treat yourself to a little bit fancier dinner or buy some extra souvenirs for friends (hello, 100-yen store!)

You'll also notice that I didn't portion in any spending money. As a lolita, this will sound like suicide, but hear me out. Since I haven't had a stable source of income these past six-or-so months, I haven't been able to accurately estimate what I'd be able to save by mid-March. In fact, I only just met my minimum far more recently than I'd been hoping, and since I didn't want to have to worry about meeting an exorbitant budget, I set my sights as low as I could to make sure I got the basics covered. Even though I've met my minimum, I'm still going to keep saving, and everything I add thereafter is going to be counted as spending money. I don't recommend this method for big shoppers! To be honest, if I were to go again (and I hope I do!!), I'd make myself a budget and then save all my money up before I even made any arrangements or bought the tickets. It would really save me the stress, and since I'm sure I'll be a big girl once again with an apartment and bills and rent when I make the trip again, saving it all up first would be the best thing for me to do.

My biggest concern is the flight. A few months after buying the tickets, I took a tumble on some icy pavement this past December and set off what my doctors are calling a case of "congenital spondylosis"- it has a fancy medical definition I'm sure, but all it means to me is that I can't sit for more than an hour (if that) without intense pain that goes all the way from my mid-back to my knees. I'm in physical therapy, but I'm very worried about having to be on a plane for fourteen hours straight; if I could have, I would've book a flight with a stopover or two, but it's too late for that. Adding to my worry is that I'll be flying an America-based airline instead of a Japanese one, something I told myself I'd never bother to experiment with. While I've had some perfectly comfy flights on a plethora of American airlines,  they really just cannot compare to ANA or any other Japanese ones I've used. Not only is there a small TV screen on the back of every eat, which you use a Wii-style controller to change the channel and sometimes play video games, but stewardesses come around every few hours with (if I remember correctly) iced tea, hot tea, and warm broth- and they wear the cutest uniforms! It was always so worth it. This time, though, I'll be flying Continental. We'll... see how that goes. I'll keep you posted.

Like I said above, I'll be doing another post of a follow-up to this budget: was the ryokan worth it? Can one live off onigiri and ramen alone? Until then, here's an older article I wrote about Traveling in Lolita: Packing. And if anyone has anything to add to this, please let me know in the comments! Anything from suggesting places in Tokyo for me to visit to telling your own stories of traveling in lolita is welcome!

What's the first place you usually start when you decorate a room? In my experience, it's things like painting, getting new furniture, or replacing the carpeting- big changes that will drastically improve the look and personality of the room. Unfortunately, for some people, there's one problem with that: the problem of borrowed space. Simply put, borrowing space from others means that you can't do whatever you want with it. This encompasses a broad range of situations, but the most common are living with parents, renting an apartment, and living in a dorm room. In fact, one of my friends recently moved into her own apartment this past summer and asked me to write up some tips for her on ways she can make the space her own, so here goes!

♥Walls: First and foremost, I'd start with your walls, since they're the biggest canvas you have. You could go with posters, especially common for dormers, actual pieces of art, or other. Posters can be found in many big stores, especially if you look during back-to-school time, for any price point from one or two dollars to twenty or more. They're versatile; they can be framed or even just hung with sticky-tack, pushpins, or double-sided tape. If you aren't living in a dorm, though, this can look a little...unsophisticated. I personally love to see framed photography or original paintings on the walls, but this can get pretty pricey- Beware! Try contacting some local artists, checking out coffee shops or galleries, or looking on Etsy or DeviantART. I firmly believe that everyone has some kind of artistic skill- if you're short on cash, plumb your abilities and come up with a few cute pieces yourself. This is really the best way to make your space really personal. I used to be fairly good at drawing, but since then have fallen out of practice; still, I made myself a cute poster for my room by writing on it in fancy lettering and coloring it in with markers and chalk pastels. Mirrors could be nice as well, and they make small spaces look bigger and more inviting, too. Some other small changes I've always loved the look of are fairy lights around the perimeter of a room, or hanging a simple string or length of twine between a few thumbtacks and using clothespins to hang photos or drawings from it. Note: Another thing to think about when you're renting or dorming: how are you going to hang? Posters are easy (see above), but anything heavy or framed can be difficult without putting a screw in the wall. Here's my secret: I use small Command hooks by 3M like these. They remove cleanly from every surface I've ever used them on, though sometimes it can take a little more elbow grease than the company likes to pretend! They also make hooks specifically for hanging pictures/frames, but I've never tried them.

DIY it: A fun craft to make dress up your walls for little-to-nothing is to make your own wall art. Take an old canvas and staple some pretty fabric over it; you can either remove the canvas itself from the frame and use it as a pattern for your fabric, or just trace the frame and add three or four inches to each side. This extra space will give you enough room to attach it without the staples showing; you could probably also just hot glue it if you don't have a heavy-duty stapler. Can't find a canvas? Use thick, high quality cardboard or foam board. This is also good if you want to add some life to plain white walls- make long panels instead of your normal-sized ones. Attach a ribbon to the back to suspend it from a hook.You could also then cover your art with clear contact paper for a DIY dry-erase board!



♥Floors: This is something I completely overlooked in all of my decorating adventures until just this semester! I bought myself a nice area rug last month, and I was shocked at the difference it had on my room. It brings so much warmth and life in, especially if you have damaged, drab, or outdated floors, as well as being a great way to create visual movement and tie the rest of your decor together. If you're renting your space, there are a surprising amount of non-permanent options out there; by which I mean, I wasn't expecting anything to be available, so the few options I've discovered are more than I had initially hoped for! First, of course, there are area rugs. These are rugs meant to go over existing flooring while only covering a small area of the actual room. Besides that, there are: A. carpet tiles, and B. floated or floating laminate flooring. They're pretty much the same thing made out of two different materials: you buy a number of small pieces and assemble them over your existing flooring to cover the entire space (as opposed to a small area). Both come in many different colors and materials. Carpet tiles can be mixed and matched to create interesting patterns on the floor. Laminate flooring comes in some lovely finishes like faux marble tile and faux hardwood, and are usually made with a tongue-and-groove system that doesn't need glue (meaning one side has a notch in it and the other has a "tongue" that you click into the groove); the only problem is you need a power saw to cut the pieces to size. If you're just starting out on your own and don't have that kind of equipment handy, I would recommend going with the carpet tiles- they're easy to change, easy to clean, and can add a lot of color and warmth to a rented room!

DIY it: When I was young, I read almost the entire series of Little House on the Prairie books, which (for those who aren't familiar with the American classics) detail the life of the Ingalls family in the Western frontier; in one scene, the two young sisters make their own rag rugs, something I've wanted to try ever since. In the book, they took old scarps fabric that were cut into strips and braided them together into one long braid, which was then wound into a circle and sewn into shape. This could be an adorable addition to a lolita's house in pastels, or if you used vintage bedsheets with small floral designs. For anyone who can crochet, there's a cute tutorial here, which I'm sure would be much quicker.


♥Furniture: In dorms, you don't get to buy your own furniture; this is also true of pre-furnished rentals. As a matter of fact, in my dorm, you get in deep trouble if you try to remove the furniture in your room and replace it with your own (except, say, a desk chair, maybe). However, even if you have your furniture provided for you, that doesn't mean it has to stay drab and boring! For almost any type of chair or sofa, a slip cover can be created; this is a fitted piece of fabric that covers the item to protect or hide its finish or appearance. Desk chairs that can't be covered could get a cute chair cushion tied to them, or could potentially be painted (check with your landlord/RA first!) Have an unsightly bed? Mine's plain black metal with chipping paint perched on black plastic bed risers. A great way to disguise this is to get a long bed skirt, or, if you can't find one that's long enough, try a sheet that's a lot bigger than size of your bed or a long, rectangular tablecloth; fold it and lay it underneath your mattress. It'll cover up whatever you're storing underneath while still having a cute, shabby-chic vibe.

DIY it: Another great away to dress up dull furniture is with throw pillows. Have a printed tote bag or cutsew that's too stained to wear, or that shrank in the wash? Cut it into a square or rectangle, turn fabric right-side-in, sew up the sides while leaving a few inches open. Turn it right-side-out by pulling it through the hole, stuff with batting or fabric scraps, and sew up the hole by hand. Voila! A custom piece that'll cuten up the scruffiest sofa or blandest bedset.

For those of you who are borrowing space, what's your favorite way to cuteify your quarters without violating your terms?

(pic credit: Photo taken by my friend Marrisa, photoshopped by me!)

Hey everyone, this entirely unspectacular post is just letting you know that there will probably be no article this week. My boyfriend's father passed away today, and while I have some pieces mostly typed up that I could probably half-ass, I'd really prefer not to. I try not to let this blog get overly personal, but I'm just really drained and can't put together anything I'd be proud of on schedule this time around. I'm being kept busy helping out his family, and I'm probably not going to be attending classes for the rest of the week, but if I have some free time I'll try to get something up for you by the weekend. If not, I'll treat you guys to two articles next week to make up for it.

Sorry all. Hope you're having a better week than anyone I know is. When it rains, it really does pour :(

I'm very excited about this sub-series! I've been wanting to translate my English major into this blog for ages, but I couldn't figure out just the right way to do so. This is a branch of my Literary Lolita series that hasn't gotten much love in far too long.

Charles Baudelaire was born in 1821 in Paris. He is regarded as a poet, critic, and essayist; his best-selling collection of poetry, Les Fleurs de Mal (The Flowers of Evil), was first published in 1857, though it was revised many times both before and after his death. It was quite the scandalous read, touching on topics like lesbianism, erotica, vampirism, and the macabre, which were very taboo at this time, and was one of the many forerunners to the Modernist movement. It caused such an uproar that he, the publisher, and the printer were all fined heavily for creating an offense against public morals, and called for the suppression and removal of six of the raunchiest poems. As well as being a critic and essayist, Baudelaire also translated Poe into French very prolifically; it is said that he alone was responsible for making the American writer accessible to Europe.

In my opinion, Baudelaire is the quintessential poet for gothic lolitas to know. He's absolutely perfect for those interested in the macabre- I mean, the man wrote a love poem about a dog carcass, for crying out loud. Common themes in Baudelaire's work include the natural vs. the man-made (he's in favor of the latter, which was crazy for his time), boredom as the ultimate agony, lost innocence, drugs, and the oppressiveness of modern living. Anyone who knows Modernism knows that these are hugely common in works of that genre.

One of Baudelaire's opinions that I find fascinating (because it's the polar opposite of my own) is that of the natural being evil and the man-made being the only good. For example: crime is natural, he says, and it is only the imposition of laws and morals that allows society to function- otherwise, we would only live by our natural urges. Nature disgusts him; he sees no reason why it should be regarded at all, let alone emulated. Another example he sites is make-up, he says that he only approves of it if it is outlandish and unnatural; natural make-up to enhance one's features is something he cannot stand. This fits well with lolita- gothic black eyeliner, sweet rhinestones and stickers under the eyes, for example. He also believes that boredom is the worst pain one can feel, but that it is only born in city-dwellers. He posits that it is only through excessive over-stimulation that boredom hits, and that because those who live in cities are so constantly bombarded by stimulation, they are also subject to a ennui more potent than anything felt by country mice. This boredom, and the many uses of doing away with it, is another big theme in his work.

Required reading:

• À une passante (To a Passerby)
• Danse Macabre
• Les Deux Bonne Soeurs (The Two Good Sisters)
• L'Invitation Au Voyage (Invitation to the Voyage)
• Les Métamorphoses du vampire (The Metamorphosis of Vampires) -- NSFW!
• Le Rebelle (The Rebel)

Now, while one of the main themes in these pieces is the macabre, those of us with weaker constitutions shouldn't be scared away. I wouldn't describe myself as skittish, exactly, or weak-stomached, but I definitely dislike any of the many things that I classify as "distasteful;" unchecked eroticism and detailed descriptions of decomposition rank highly among those. Despite that, or maybe because of it, I find Baudelaire intoxicating. His word choice is beautiful, even to the point of transcending the errors of translation (though on more than one occasion I considered brushing up on my French, just to read the originals), and his imagery is absolutely spot-on to creative the exact emotion he intends. Anyone in my shoes should start with the first on this list, To a Passerby, which is a very short, poignant love poem that is still one of my favorites I've read- potentially ever. As an avid reader of poetry, that comes as quite a recommendation!

Do I contradict myself?
Very well then I contradict myself,
(I am large, I contain multitudes.)

~Walt Whitman

You see it all the time with celebrities. A star swears off pink, and then, two seasons later, is strutting her stuff on the red carpet in a fuchsia Gaultier gown. The style-watchers lose their minds over it- what a hypocrite! How awful! She said she'd never, ever, ever wear pink, but what, it's okay because it's Gaultier?! That girl is a walking contradiction!

Oh no! Stop the presses- someone in the public eye exposed herself as human! Of course, as bloggers, we're no where near the level of, say, Paris Hilton or Rihanna, but when you put your life in the public eye, there are some sacrifices you're expected to make for the prices of ~fame~. That sacrifice is your privacy, your time and effort, and plenty others (your bank account, if you're a fashion blogger...); however, your sense of self and personal fulfillment shouldn't be one of those. You may have sung the praises of your current lifestyle til the cows came home, but if one day you wake up and realize that that lifestyle isn't personally fulfilling to you, you are not contractually obliged to continue doing it. No matter what. Maybe you've been prattling on about raw foodism for a year, but you realize one day that you just aren't feeling good enough to justify the effort. Does that mean that everything you've been talking about for the past year is wrong, or less important, or any less correct? No. It just means that something that worked for you for a while stopped. Or you might have just broken up with "prince charming," after spending all these months or years writing post after post about your eternal love. It always sucks to realize that something you've not only spent time on but also staked your reputation as a blogger on is just not working for you, but the sooner you realize this, the easier it'll be to cut your losses and admit your mistake- especially if you learn something from it. Yes, then you need to confront your readership about it (otherwise, what's the point in stopping?), but this will be better than continuing to live a lie, or having someone else figure out our double-life and rat you out. Remember, though- your readers trust you, and no matter how embarrassed or hurt you are, it's not permissible for you to lie to them. Pretending the past doesn't exist is shady, and could discredit you in peoples' minds, but to flat-out say that it's never happened, or to harass people when they make the same mistakes you did, is, in my opinion, the real mistake here. Especially for LoliBloggers- you may not believe in ~The Sisterhood~, but everyone has to admit that hypocrisy does nothing for this little community we've built ourselves.

The thing to remember is that everyone's human, and this goes for blog-readers as well as blog-writers. Yeah, okay- maybe that blogger is saying something differently than she did a few years ago, and maybe that's a grave offense in your book. It's not okay that she made you feel that way, but I promise, it's more than likely that she didn't do it on purpose. Sometimes people just change their opinions, beliefs, or priorities, and some things might get lost in the shuffle; so when that vegetarian blogger you love so much posts a picture on Facebook eating a big ol' cheeseburger, remember that you're not the one she's trying to make happy with her life. You're just along for the ride.