I really don't even know where to begin writing this.

And writing my thoughts about my birthday concert in three different languages is hard, too.

(BTW, I'm not sure about the precise lingo of the term "concert"... what would this be called, "mini-live"? show? hmm... if you know, email me?)

So to sum it all up, everything that happened today seemed so magical...

When I was on stage, performing, seeing my fans singing along to my songs...

It was my first time performing live in front of fans.

I'd have to admit, the whole process that led up to the event (all the rehearsals, juggling between other promotional work, studying Japanese, going to the gym to keep my body in good condition for the performance, training vocals from the CDs my vocal teacher made for me from our lessons back in L.A. while trying not to disturb my neighbors, practicing dance at home, frequently getting attacked by my furniture because I don't actually have enough space to move around--and getting bruises as a result of doing so, updating this blog which can take up to 3+ hours to write because I have to write it in three languages--well, and because I am a scrupulous perfectionist who tries to make everything look perfect, all the formatting, etc., and attempting to get enough sleep at the same time... and not to mention dieting + trying to stay sane from the lack of time to have a social life, LOL... let's just say, performing live is not the same as going karaoke-ing with your friends.) was stressful and exhausting, but tasting the fruits of our (my own, and the staff's) labor... was more than enough to convince me to continue my passion.

DO WHAT YOU LOVE.
LOVE WHAT YOU DO.

And this is the motto by which I will live.

Hmm, what can I say.
"Rewarding" is not enough to describe what I am currently feeling.

This is one of the best birthdays I've ever had.

I miss my mom, my dad, my brother... and my friends back in the states... but being able to spend my birthday with my family here in Japan--the staff, my friends, my fans...

Thank you all so much for making this birthday one of the most memorable times of my life.

And I received so many emails, text messages, facebook wall posts (LOL), even international phone calls...

And the presents... thank you.

And bouquet after bouquet of flowers... my manager says I could become a florist. (BTW, this is the right thing to give "my weakness is flowers," remember? ^_~)

And the collaboration song with 0 SOUL 7, as encore... was sooo much fun!!! Thank you guys!!! <3 <3 <3 Hip-Hop. Foh Life.

And to my lil brother, who happens to have the same birthday as I do: HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIDDO! I LOVE YOU!

And now for some random trivia... did you know that Mr. Shōwa, the previous emperor of Japan, was born on this very day as well? That is sweet. And because of this, my birthday is a national holiday in Japan... known previously as "Green Day," and apparently starting from last year (2007), it was renamed to "Shōwa Day," and is actually the start of Golden Week, which is one of the longest vacation periods of the year in Japan (for most people, anyway... but I think things work a little bit differently in the entertainment industry, 'cause I still got work for the next few days). I thought that was pretty cool. And why do I feel like my blog is turning into lecture hall/Tiana's learning center? Sorry. It's just that I like learning new things, and thought it'd be nice to share with y'all. BTW, I got another nickname the other day, "the walking wikipedia." ^^'' LOL~

So after the concert we all went to Outback and had the celebration dinner + birthday party. I had sooo much fun!! And I got a cake! And then everybody (staff + Outback people who brought in the cake and bouquet of flowers and ice cream sundae) sang happy birthday to me!

Thank you all so much. I had such an awesome time. <3

Thank you, my amazingly spectacular sexy dancers! <3 I had a blast!!

WOW! 0 SOUL 7~ they're so cool!! ^_^ *Tiana becomes a groupie* (LOL~ j/k j/k)

Mmm look at all the calories!!

24th: Recorded Chinese version of "Painting." Lyrics were written by me... and as for what it's about... well, that is (currently) a secret. ^_~

25th & 26th: Live Rehearsal

So uh, did you get KIZUNA yet? You know, my birthday is this coming Tuesday...

And if any of you are in Japan, please, please come to my concert! The concert is actually going to be held in celebration of my upcoming birthday, and it'd be awesome if I could spend it with all of you! ^_^

(I actually originally wanted to go to PROM, but since they don't have PROM in Japan, and I have to be here for promotion, they decided to make me work. What a celebration! Haha... but actually, even though I've been really stressed out over it, I know it's gonna be a lot of fun, so I'm really looking forward to it.)

Thank you guys so much for your support! <3

Yesterday I was at NHK for J-MELO and I met melody.!

The program was recorded entirely in English, so I thought it would've been a piece of cake for me... but it turns out that during the past few weeks or so, after returning to Japan, my English speaking level has completely deteriorated. And can you believe that I was actually nervous during the recording?? (Well, I could've just been nervous because melody. was too pretty... but... ^^;;) I hadn't used English in forever. It's weird. >.<

Anyways...

SoulJa was there too (for those of you who aren't sure who he is, he was the guy who did the original "Koko Ni Iru Yo", which featured Thelma Aoyama... and now Thelma Aoyama is one of the top-selling artists in the J-Pop industry. She just did a song called "Soba Ni Iru Ne", featuring SoulJa, a few months back, and it was a big hit. And I can see why. I LOVE this song. Definitely check it out when you get the chance ^_~). Unfortunately, our recording schedules were a bit far apart, so we didn't get to meet each other.

My dressing room. ^_^

melody. was sooo nice. And she's so pretty too! OMG <3 her. ^_^

A shout out to everybody at J-MELO! I had so much fun. Hope to come back again soon! ^_^ Thank you so much~

So KIZUNA was released today! We went to CD shops around the area to take a look...

Yay! Big sighboard/billboard thing. (See what I mean about my English skills now?)

Hey~ this looks kinda cool, too.

It's actually kind of cool to be holding your own CD and posing for a picture.

Whoa! Big.

Have *you* already gotten KIZUNA yet? ^_~

Wow that's cool... to receive a critique about me that says, "BoA meets Crystal Kay..." two of my favorite J-Pop singers!! And melody.'s CD is right next to mine! That's cool!

Alrighty. So... have YOU ordered/bought KIZUNA yet? ^_~

Here's the repetition thing again.

KIZUNA. Buy it. KIZUNA. Buy it. KIZUNA. Buy it. =P

Especially milk from Hokkaido.

Mmmmmmmm.

Alrighty.

Time to get ready for tonight's TV program shoot. And going to the studio to record a new song afterwards.

Laterz.

By the way... my 2nd single is coming out tomorrow! ^_^

I wonder if repetition works in this case.

KIZUNA. Buy it. KIZUNA. Buy it. KIZUNA. Buy it.

Alright, let's see how well this would work.

Anyways...

Sorry, I became a narcissist after discovering "Photo Booth". I mean, not that I wasn't one already to begin with. =P

I actually took even more photos, but if I uploaded them it would take too long. *sweatdrop*

So I got home today from my interviews and was studying some Japanese, and then Terry (Terry Lewis) calls me up on iChat and was like, hey imma set u up w/ crystal kay so u two can meet each other... and i was like, majide?! really?!! uso!! haha~ (okay sorry, i am too used to combining my Japanese and English nowadays... "majide" means "really" and "uso" means "no way!", in this context)

So I met her! (Even though it was on iChat... it still counts! =P The internet is owning these days.) She's so cool! Yay~ Maybe I should transfer to Sophia... but I think she's graduating soon... so...

Anyways, *happy* ^_^

Oh yeah, and I discovered this thing called "Photo Booth" on my Mac.

After my interviews today, I was talking to one of the guys who switched from the Osaka branch to the Tokyo branch at Teichiku (apparently they do this every year at the company, rotate job positions), and we were talking about the Japanese version of "My Sassy Girl." (it's coming out soon, except instead of a movie, this one is a drama) So then we started doing this personality quiz, "What % Sassy Are You?"

I only got 40%... And then the staff member goes, "Oh, you're fine." Yay~

So I guess, instead of "My Sassy Tiana," it's more like... "My Not-So Sassy Tiana."

And I know some of my friends would beg to differ.

But their opinion obviously weighs less than the quiz, since the quiz has just got to be accurate. ^_~

Today was the last day for Mobageh's video shoot. (Mobageh is a mobile phone SNS (Social Network Service) site in Japan; possibly one of the most popular ones, or so it seems...) I'll miss everyone! You guys are great <3

At first we went to this place called Arakawa, which is mad far from my place, about 45 minutes away by train (well, train + walking). So I was in my high heels today, my feet were hurting like crazy, and I almost got lost 'cuz I didn't know what the 東浜東北線 (I couldn't even pronounce this... something like Keihin Touhoku Line) was... and then I realized it's one of the JR lines. (I usually only use the Yamanote Line, so I had no idea...) And I couldn't even pronounce the name of the place we were supposed to meet either... the kanji was 荒川車庫前... and honestly, when I first saw the name, I was like... wow... in front of the dried up river garage... ?? (that's what it means, literally)

Anyway, so we (as in staff & I) circled the Toden Arakawa Line once (we rented a train for the shoot), and I had to memorize all 30 of the station names on that train line. And I actually memorized all 30. Except during the actual shoot, I forgot one of them! ARGGG!! I'm so disappointed in myself. ;_;

It was a long day, but definitely worth it. I had sooo much fun!

But coming back home was quite an... adventuresome experience.

We worked until really late today, so I didn't go home until around 11:00 PM ish... and the streets of Roppongi are... so... dangerous... at night. I seriously got hit on like a million times tonight. One guy was particularly persistent in that he actually approached me twice... Mann... Although I have to admit, it doesn't feel too bad when my looks get complimented like that. =P

However, now I feel like I should learn some karate or wushu or somethin'... I've actually taken Tae Kwon Do before, but I was like... not even a yellow belt yet... -.-; *sweatdrop* And I forgot most of the moves I "learned."

Speaking of which, ninja techniques would also prove to be helpful in this case.

Too bad I don't have enough time.

If only I had 72 hours in a day...

Okay, so continuing from yesterday...

Favorite Food

Okay, this list will not work, because it would go on forever, so I'll name only the things I've started really liking recently.

Hokkaido Milk: It doesn't matter what brand it is, as long as it's from Hokkaido... I've already tried three different brands of Hokkaido Milk, and they all taste good.
Mochi Black Rice Walleye Pollack Tuna Mayo Roll (Yeah, long name, but it's really good)
Matcha (Green Tea) Azuki (Red Bean) Sandwich (it's like peanut butter and jelly, except green tea & red bean. and yes, I actually do like peanut butter and jelly.)

Favorite Sports
You mean aside from just the ellipticals at the gym? LOL...
- Basketball,
and Swimming.

Favorite B-Ball teams: Phoenix Suns & L.A. Lakers.

Favorite Anime / Manga
Death Note
Naruto
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Fushigi Yuugi (Mysterious Play)
Vampire Knight
Doraemon
Ranma 1/2
Inu-Yasha
Vampire Princess Miyu
Ouran High School Host Club
Kodomo no Omocha (Child's Toy)

Okay, this list is too long... I can't name all of them... ;_;

Anyway, that's it. If you want to know other stuff about me, just ask! ^_^

Hey everyone, I got a bunch of emails from fans lately! Thank you!!

A lot of people were asking me, what do I like?

So... today's topic is: Tiana's favorite artists / actors / actresses.

(the following is listed in no particular order)

Favorite Artists

J-Pop:
- Utada Hikaru
- BoA
- Hamasaki Ayumi
- Koda Kumi
- Aoyama Thelma
- Crystal Kay
- Amuro Namie
- m-flo

U.S.:
- Mariah Carey
- Christina Aguilera
- Paula DeAnda
- Rihanna
- Ne-Yo
- Justin Timberlake
- Chris Brown

Mandarin/Cantonese Music:
- Jolin Tsai
- Faye Wong
- Coco Lee
- Joey Yung
- Jay Chou
- Leehom Wang

K-Pop:
- BoA
- Lee Hyori
- SE7EN

Europe:
- Leona Lewis

It'd be so cool if I could work with any of them!

Favorite Actors / Actresses

Japan:
- Oguri Shun
- Matsuyama Kenichi
- Hayami Mokomichi
- Kimura Takuya

Korean:
- Jang Nara
- Chae Rim
- Kim Jae Won
- John Yoon
- Kim Tae Hee
- Lee Wan

Mandarin/Cantonese:
- Alec Su
- F4
- Ming Dao
- Cyndi Wang
- Raymond Lam
- Tony Leung

U.S.:
- George Clooney
- Nicole Kidman
- Zac Efron
- Vanessa Anne Hudgens
- Benjamin McKenzie
- Reese Witherspoon

Okay, that's it for part 1!

Tomorrow, part 2: Tiana's favorite food and sports, etc.

P.S. You know, you may think this list didn't take much time to write... but it took me forever.

Hey guys! I recorded the main vocals on the Chinese version of Painting (KIZUNA's Coupling Song) today at the studio.

It's been a long time since I sang for the entire day, all day long... but it was fun. ^_^

There was this new band recording in the studio next to the one we were using... the guys were really hot... too bad I was in sweatpants and had like no make-up on x_x; Kind of regret it...

Oh well... got dance lessons early in the morning tomorrow, so I'm going to bed now. Good night! ^_^

Hey everyone, I'm really sorry for worrying you guys. I got better, so don't worry! ^_^

I've been really busy for the past few days, which is why I hadn't updated my blog. I mean, I wrote it... but I didn't get the time to upload it until today! I'm so sorry guys!

Alright, I have to go into the studio tomorrow~ Gotta go to bed early!

Nite~ ^_^

The fruit juice was so good. I think I got better after drinking it (hehe).

So I got up this morning and I was like, okay, let me get up and take a shower. And as I was standing in the bathroom, in front of the mirror, I almost fell down and it took me so long to get back up again... my ears lost hearing for like a minute, and it was one of the crappiest experiences of my life (health-wise). [Over the weekend I stayed up really late one night (like until 5:30 AM) to do some work (and plus I ate some raw food... so maybe that didn't help either), and that resulted in a fever... which I had thought would go away by today, but it didn't.] Yesterday when I woke up my eyes were all hurting and so was my head... and my stomach and back and every part of my body possible. But I thought that if I had just slept, it would all get better. But it didn't. I slept the entire day yesterday (took a nap starting in the afternoon and woke up at night 'cuz I had more work to do) and ended up sleeping late because I had to write my script and memorize it for today's shoot.

Anyway, so when I was showering this morning, I was all like, OMG, why did this happen to me? I have work today! And it's a video shoot! And I worked so hard on the preparation! Why does my body have to be in this condition! And while thinking all this, I was struggling to stand up... and almost passed out like three times x_x;;

And then my manager comes over, and she was all angry 'cuz I didn't take care of my own body (sorry). *sigh* I was mad at myself too, actually.

Okay, anyways...

Today's video shoot was fun! ^_^ My condition got a little bit better after the make-up artist started (I was sitting down), and my manager went to get me some miracle drink that made my body feel better temporarily. It didn't taste very good, though. So the shoot didn't go as badly as I thought it would have, given my body condition. I started out pretty well for Monday's part, and for Tuesday my pronunciation got a little weird and choppy but at least I remembered what to say... and then Wednesday's was a little... more choppy... and it sort of got progressively not-as-good... but I ended it alright, so I guess it was a kind of dip thing. Imagine the y=x^2 graph.

After the video shoot, we were all getting our stuff ready to leave and the staff goes, "Tiana!" And I was like, huh? So I went outside my dressing/make-up room to see what was going on, and I saw them bring in a birthday cake... I was so surprised!

Thank you so much~

You guys are too kind. <3 you guys. I actually started crying when they sang the happy birthday song to me 'cuz I was so moved... yeah, I know, I'm such a sap.

Anyway, so we went to this cafe called nana's green tea in Roppongi after work, and the food there is soooo incredibly amazing... both the main dishes and the dessert! And in order to tempt you, here is a link to the official website so you can look at the pictures of the food and start having cravings.

Okay, so I just got home earlier today, and I got the mixes of the final two songs for my album. OMG~ Jam & Lewis... their work can be described in one word: amazing. No, no, no, lemme rephrase that, amazing is not enough to describe their work. I was like, totally... enraptured... enthralled... enchanted. Can't stop listening to the songs!!! Ahh~~

Aiiiiite, I'm sick, so gotta go to bed now.

Nites~

My nails are getting too long.

It slows down my typing. ;_; And I am making more weird typos when I chat with my friends.

or maybe I am just... still mac-retarded. x_x;

So apparently my friends found out my website got a new makeover before I did. Hmm...

Well, that's cool too. Do you guys like the new layout? I think it's kick-butt (not allowed to use the a-word, sorry).

I really hadn't been very diligent in updating my blog lately, I'm sorry. You know how they have this thing called "summer blues" or whatever (right? i think? well, if not... sorry, I'm a FOB. kinda. I mean, I am as FOB as an ABC can get. And for those of you who don't know what FOB means... it's sort of like the opposite of ABC... F.O.B.=Fresh Off the Boat. BTW, ABC = American Born Chinese... or I guess, in my case, American Born in China... okay, enough ranting.), right? For me, it's kinda like the "spring blues"... or something close to that. Or maybe it doesn't really have anything to do with the season (actually, lemme rephrase that: most likely, being blue has nothing to do with what season it is).

Gotta fight the blues. (BTW, the new Utada Hikaru CD is soooo amazing. I love it! "Fight the Blues" is sooo inspiring. OMG, I cannot express enough how much I love Hikki. <3)

So I've been paying a little bit more attention to my surroundings lately (unlike the last time I was in Japan... I was kind of oblivious to everything then, maybe because it was out of a sort of fear or something for the unknown... mainly the language, and perhaps even the culture, even though I've been watching anime/reading manga since I was little... but umm, I don't think anime and manga can encompass everything about Japanese culture.)... the advertisements (ooh, I can read Japanese better now~ yay), etc...

And I saw this ad for a new drama (it's not out yet though! comes out in 9 days, I believe) "Absolute Boyfriend" (Zettai Kareshi) and it features this really hot guy that I saw on this clothing advertisement last time I was in Japan... been dying to know his name... and now I know! Mokomichi Hayami. OMG~ he's so cute... haha~ And the series looks really interesting, too (but the main reason I want to watch it is because Mokomichi is hot ). I hadn't been following the anime/manga scene for a while, so I was kinda out of the loop... and I didn't find out until today (when I searched for it online) that "Absolute Boyfriend" is actually originally based off a manga by Yuu Watase (who wrote Fushigi Yuugi, one of my favorite shoujo anime series)! Mannnn, what a coincidence. Nine days until the drama's release, huh... too bad Wikipedia spoiled the story for me (curiosity... spoils the drama). But it's okay, Mokomichi is in it, so that makes up for the fact that I already know the ending. Thank God for the existence of superficiality.

And speaking of dramas, there was this other one I noticed (saw an ad in the subway station) called "Aren't You A Criminal?" The ad looked really interesting.

But honestly, I don't think I will actually have time to watch dramas. Although, my life is already kind of like one to begin with, so maybe I don't need to? I mean, just kidding. And honestly, for the record, my life is not all that dramatic. It's just that dramas reflect real-life too much. Umm, yeah. Okay, I'll stop while I'm ahead. Or sort of ahead. 'Cuz I don't really know what I'm talking about anymore.

And then there was this girl (according to Wikipedia, her occupation(s) are: Actress, Singer, Idol) I noticed... she comes on TV like every single day (in commercials), her face is on one of the huge buildings by the Shibuya crossing, and I see her face while I'm in the JR too... let's give it up for (drum roll) Aya Ueto! I really think she is adorable. She has suchhhhh a cute smile!! Hmm, and apparently she is often said to resemble (physically) Momoe Yamaguchi, one of the biggest idols in Japan's pop history (*reading Wikipedia, stalking researching people now...*).

And last but not least... I've been listening to this song sooo much lately... Thelma Aoyama's "Soba Ni Iru Ne". This song is wayyy too awesome. <3 <3 <3

Alrighty, this post is getting way too long, and I am basically just ranting. I'll try to update more often, k? ^_^ ttyl~

And send me emails! I like to read them. =) =) =)

Scottsdale, Arizona. Dusk.