10days, 1hr, 37minutes until toma's bday!!! ^.^

(the countdown here is 8 hrs early)

only 10 days remain!!

10 days left until his birthday. i'm happy but also nervous.
excited but also a little afraid...cuz dunno if i'll see my toma fan art in the coming Wink up or Potato issues??!!

oh well...toma's bday is de~finitely a HAPPY time,
and i'm looking forward to celebrating it!!!!!!! :D (and the meteor shower!) even if my drawings were not chosen, daijoubu des~

p.s.
since june/july, i've been to mitsuwa each month and checked wink up, potato, duet, and myojo for any toma fan art, but i still haven't seen any!! i wish more toma fans would send in fan art. =/

HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY, TL!!!! ^o^ and it's autumn now!!!! ^.^

here r some really pretty japan autumn pics i found last yr.
but don't have the links to credit except this one. sorry!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pauldavidson/65911003/ [the old couple walking pic]

COMING SOON.
(probably late tonight)

it's fall now!! aki des.
(too bad it's suddenly hot here again in CA, though. o_o)


(aiya, can't post till now. gomen ne!!)

YESS!! NEW AUTUMN BANNERS!!
the pics r from london (the banner above) and new york. ^_^

btw, here are many pretty pics of (mostly) autumn leaves/scenary i found! i don't wanna take up too much room here, so i'll post the flickr links to the pics in a comment below this post. =D


iya~ ureshii ne!!
TOMA LOVE'S 2ND BIRTHDAY!!!!
TANJOUBI OMEDETOU!!! ^o^

i don't need to talk a lot, cuz i pretty much have the same happy feelings as last year, so please take a look at my happy bday TL! post f/last year:
http://ikutatomalove.blogspot.com/2008/09/happy-birthday-to-toma-love.html

so...in 2008 i posted 168 posts in all.
in 2009, i've got 117 so far. wow....

in that post f/last yr, i said:"it's ironic, i'm updating the banners to a fall theme, yet today it's bloody hot here." haha. history has repeated itself. though it's cool cuz it's very early right now, but i know later it'll probably be around 90 degrees. yap~pe. -__-

so, this year too, TL has gotten more visitors (for a long while, i got 100 something visitors each day, but it's dropped down now)! :D and right now, 37 ppl are following this blog. ARIGATOU!! *_*

TL was on the 1st page of yahoo (if u search "toma ikuta") for a long while. =D now it's on the 2nd page. and can't find it on google's first few pages (if u search "toma ikuta"). that's fine. there's some ppl in my life....i don't want them to know i have this blog. lol. for certain reasons that i think u can guess?? u know what i mean... so if u ever happen to see me in public, pls don't come up to me and talk about this blog unless it seems like i'm totally alone (or not in a bad mood. xD). lol. thank u!! if i'm with people, i might just straight out deny anything u say related to this blog and that i'm not who u think i am. if that actually ever happens, let me just say "i'm sorry!!" here, in advance. and thank you!!

HOUNTO NI~~

THANK
YOU
ALL
WHO
COME
HERE !!!!!!!! ~_~

IN ORDER
TO NOT
DISAPPOINT
YOU~
I WILL
KEEP
TRYING
MY BEST!!!
TO KEEP THIS
BLOG UPDATED,
TO KEEP THINGS
INTERESTING HERE.
FOR EVERYONE~
THAT COMES HERE.

FROM NOW ON,
PLEASE CONTINUE TO COME
AND SUPPORT THIS BLOG (and me ~_~).
YAPPARI, PLEASE ALSO KEEP SUPPORTING TOMA-KUN!!
WE'RE COUNTING ON YOU.
YOROSHIKU ONEGAISHIMAS!! ^O^

like last year, i spent some time choosing the best/most interesting/most important, or just the posts that i really like, from september 2008 to 2009. it took quite a while, and i got way too many links. xD but it was really fun to be able to see and read my past posts and see how much toma's been through the past year...it would have taken less time if i didn't keep re-reading some of my posts and staring at toma's cute pics. lol. there's too much, so i'll post some below and the rest of them in a comment below. PLEASE DO LOOK AT SOME OF THEM. THANK YOU~! douzo!

http://ikutatomalove.blogspot.com/2008/10/to-be-continued-later.html
[toma's such a POSER! lol. many many of his cool poses shown here...]

http://ikutatomalove.blogspot.com/2008/10/tanjoubi-omedetou-toma-kun.html
[my -happy birthday toma!!- post ^^]

http://ikutatomalove.blogspot.com/2008/11/end-revenge-remorse-and-retribution.html
[the end!! :( my post about the ending of MAOU. BUT ALSO THE FIRST TIME I ANNOUNCE MY CHRISTMAS PRESENT FOR EVERYONE. ^^]

http://ikutatomalove.blogspot.com/2008/11/maou-vs-ma-wang-or-devil-vs-devil-haha.html
[of course, MAOU wins!! haha. but it's interesting, how these 2 dramas are actually quite different but both are awesome.]

http://ikutatomalove.blogspot.com/2008/12/sss.html
[the fantasy of meeting toma!! a story i wrote, in which u can spend close to 4 hrs with toma!! ah.....]

http://ikutatomalove.blogspot.com/2009/02/winter-is-ending-soon-but-its-not-yet.html
[about how it rains A LOT in tokyo....some rainy tokyo pics too.]

http://ikutatomalove.blogspot.com/2009/01/httpwww.html
[ jan. 2009 toma LJ stuff... / TOMA~ CUTENESS~ OVERLOAD~! ♥ (the women get to touch toma's soft cheeks on Gutannupo)]

http://ikutatomalove.blogspot.com/2009/03/i-call-this-toma-in-plaid.html
[a bunch of pics of toma in plaid. ^^]

http://ikutatomalove.blogspot.com/2009/04/that-necklace-kates-questions-about.html
[THAT necklace!! questions (AND LOTSA PICS) about toma's (friendship) ring necklace...]

http://ikutatomalove.blogspot.com/2009/04/continue.html
[about the 2 important tv shows he went on: shounen club premium and sdk!!]

http://ikutatomalove.blogspot.com/2009/04/blog-post.html
[about japanese doramas/ Destination: Tokyo (Feb. 2014) (MY BIG DECISION: GOING TO TOKYO IN 2014!!!)]

http://ikutatomalove.blogspot.com/2009/04/toma-waratte-iitomo-i-wonder-what-title.html
[1 OF THE BEST GAME SHOW APPEARANCES BY TOMA THIS YEAR!! LOL. he was soooooooo cute, too.♥ laughing, his funny faces, being attacked (he tried to kiss him! xD) by the male host a couple times!!]

http://ikutatomalove.blogspot.com/2009/04/detailed-instructions-on-wherehow-to.html
[DETAILED instructions about where to read tomagoto / more kawaii toma pics! =)]

http://ikutatomalove.blogspot.com/2009/05/toma-looks-awesome-with-almost-any.html
[THE TOMA HAIRSTYLES POST!!!!!!!!!!♥ ^____^ (300TH POST!!!)]

http://ikutatomalove.blogspot.com/2009/05/usoooo-no-way-get-out-tomas-gonnna-be.html
[USOOOO!!! (no way!!! / get out!!!) toma's gonnna be in a movie!!!!♥ *fangirl scream*]

http://ikutatomalove.blogspot.com/2009/05/get-ready-4-highest-grossing-japanese.html
[GET READY 4 THE HIGHEST-GROSSING JAPANESE MOVIE OF ALL TIME!! (no pressure, toma :P) This is TOMA'S MOVIE REPORT #2!]

http://ikutatomalove.blogspot.com/2009/06/100-days-23-hrs-58-minutes-left.html
[my 2009 TOMA LOVE BDAY PROJECTS post!!!!!!!!♥ and now there's only 10 days left till his bday. whoa...]

http://ikutatomalove.blogspot.com/2009/06/about-ningen-shikkaku-press-conference.html
[*_* about the Ningen Shikkaku press conference... (and other toma stuff)]

http://ikutatomalove.blogspot.com/2009/06/im-scared.html
[I (ONCE AGAIN) TALK ABOUT MY UNDYING LOVE 4 TOMA AND WHY I'M A TOMA FAN *FOR LIFE*!!!!♥ and why i believe in our "marriage" and i'll always support him!! ~_~ (and also defend toma fans, all fans, really...)]

http://ikutatomalove.blogspot.com/2009/07/majo-saiban-episode-10-conclusion-notes.html
[majo saiban -EPISODE 10 (CONCLUSION)- notes]

http://ikutatomalove.blogspot.com/2009/07/happy-late-tomas-movie-crank-in-day.html
[A MUST MUST MUST READ!!! *______* see how amazing toma is while filming! read the fan report!!]

http://ikutatomalove.blogspot.com/2009/08/today-was-dayits-been-two-years-of-toma.html
[★today☀♪ was the day...it's been TWO years of toma Love!♥ (MY 2 YR ANNIV. OF BEING A TOMA FAN!! OMEDETOU!!!! ^^]

http://ikutatomalove.blogspot.com/2009/08/2-johnnys-jrs-that-i-likenakayama-and.html
[BARELY TOMA-RELATED,BUT STILL... I REALLY LIKE THESE 2 JE GUYS. kawaii!!! *_*]


mood: geeky
[credit: subliminalicon]

lots of toma LJ linkssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

hi there!

i am close to getting all the LJ links...
damn, there's a lot of things to see/read/watch there!!!! i am desperately trying to catch up. good grief, i really really hope toma takes a break after filming the ghost stories drama, even if he doesn't need a break, I need one!! lol.

seriously, though. xD
i am so behind. -___-

so...here is what i was able to gather so far for u all.
i'll try to catch up more and post more as soon as possible...

[I LOVE HOW TOMA LOOKS AT HER, THEN SMILES in these 2 CM!!
kyaa!! kakkoii!!! i can't find this gum at mitsuwa yet though. credit: strawberry_gemm]

http://community.livejournal.com/tomalicious_frm/
[TFS has finally posted scanlations of the wink up ikita kotoba's!!! yey!!]

http://community.livejournal.com/ikuta_toma/463202.html
[Toma attended Arashi's Kokuritsu Concert!! *_* read the fan report here.]

http://community.livejournal.com/ikuta_toma/463749.html
[confirmed news: toma in a scary short stories drama!! sugeh!]

http://community.livejournal.com/ikuta_toma/464451.html
[ACUO 2nd CM w/ NANA {2 videos}]

http://community.livejournal.com/ikuta_toma/465495.html
[Lot's of scans featuring Toma in Ningen Shikkaku]

http://community.livejournal.com/ikuta_toma/465769.html
[[video] 'Making of ACUO 2nd cms']

http://community.livejournal.com/ikuta_toma/466633.html
[[scans] Potato, DUET, Wink Up 10'09{updated}]
[LOTS MORE SCANS, GO TO THE LJ TO SEE ALL OF THEM...]

----------
http://community.livejournal.com/ikuta_toma/467553.html
[Potato 0910 (Now in XQ) TOMAPI!!!!!!! TOMA X YAMASHITA!!!!!!]

http://community.livejournal.com/ikuta_toma/467860.html
[translation] Toma, Yamapi - Potato - Ocotber 2009
--------------


mood: relieved
[credit: subliminalicon]

eh....

gomenasai!
been busy (& tired!) in recent days...
i really want to post something new...
but i can't just yet.

tomorrow, then!!
see u then.

kate

a 2008 toma profile translation~~

doumo!
kate desu.

again, gomenasai!!
still so behind on toma stuff.

so for now, i'll post up the article f/2008 that i asked carly to translate for me. it's a fun read. =) thank you, carly!! (i'll also post this up at the toma LJ, i'll credit u as A there, as u wish, carly.) ac~tually...she translated it for me since around 1 month ago. just kept not getting a chance to post it up. sorry (laughs).

and this is 1 of my fav fav toma hairstyles!!♥ i even drew his hair like this 4 one of my toma drawings. :D his hair here is just so PERFECT and cool and i love this shade of brown, too. (it should have been a little darker, but in the light, i guess it looks lighter brown.)

have a cool weekend!
i'll see u later.
(i'll try to post something on monday...)

p.s. CARLY, I'VE POSTED 2 LINKS TO DOWNLOAD THE TOMA ARTICLE in the comment below, THAT I WANTed U TO TRANSLATE. IT LOOKS BIG ENOUGH TO ME, BUT IF AFTER U DOWNLOAD, U STILL THINK IT'S NOT LARGE ENOUGH, I'LL TRY TO MAKE IT BIGGER.

[credit, strawberry_gemm @ http://community.livejournal.com/toma_gallery/13234.html#cutid1]

Born:
10/7/1984 (23 yrs. old) blood type: A

A Memory Of His Birthday:
Happy 23 yr.s old!
my 23rd birthday was when i had 1hr before the show started, i was called that there were changes 4 the show. a band played happy birthday 4 me.

[kate's note: he was in the 2 Gentlemen of Verona play back then.]

- -- - -
Male

when i feel glad i'm a guy:
Girls are scary (laugh)
i think girl fights are scary (laugh). What's good about guys is that when guys get angry, they say what they want 2 say and become friends again.
- - -- - - - - -


Where I was born:
Muroran,Hokaidou

Memories Where I was born:
Muroran is next door city to Noboribetsu (city). It's quite country there. well, i have only lived there till i was 2 yrs old, so i don't really remember when i lived there. But it's real cold in the winter. It also snows and where i was born is cold (laugh).

[9/21 EDIT: for more info and pics of this city:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muroran,_Hokkaid%C5%8D]
- - - - - - - - -

Family:
Father, Mother, Me, little brother

What I Like about my family:
I'm quite friendly with my brother
I have a peaceful family. My brother is 4 yrs younger then me and a college student. When I came home on my birthday, there was a note saying " Happy Birthday". He's real shy and usually don't do this, but he gave me a present which he chose. We're a quite friendly siblings.

- - - - - - - - - - - -
Size:

Weight: 60kg
bust: 80cm
waist: 69.5cm
hip: 90cm

[size: (i'm sorry, it's cut off, and i can't see the size 4 how tall he is)]

shoe size: 27cm
-------
I suddenly got taller when I went 2 high school
Until 8th grade, i was small, and i was the 2nd or 3rd smallest in class. But when i became a high schooler, I was real tall. i don't know how much i got taller, but i got taller then people who where taller then me at first.


------------------
phone #:
(the #) it means watch hachikuro in japanese
(notice: this phone is not an actual phone #)


-------------
Parts Check:

Eyes
I use contacts:
It's real troublesome to use contacts. After I take a small nap, my eyelids stick and my face turns horrible.
>.< >.< >.<

Nose
Looks like it's a baby dinosaur's nose (laugh):
Nari-kun(Narumiya) told me it's a baby dinosaur's nose. other people around me agreed too (laugh)
>.> >.> >.>

Mouth
I don't really care about my skin care:
My lips are very dry. it's always dry. but since i don't hold on to a chap stick, it's dry.
v.v v.v v.v

Cheek
I'm proud of my cheeks:
It's my charm point (laugh). Everyone says it's soft and it always a topic 2 talk about.
^.^ ^.^ ^.^

Ears
I don't have my eyes pierced:
I don't have earrings. Cause it seems 2 have pain in it (laugh). Also, I listen 2 music in loud volume, so i don't hear well!?
~.~ ~.~ ~.~

Hair
I changed my hair style 2 HachiKuro:
There's isn't anything particular about it. 4 the drama, i made my hair a little brighter color then black.

......................................................................

ARIGATOU Carly-chan!! ^.^

i like toma's suit and tie for this photoshoot. very cool ne.

it's cool to know which city he grew up in. ~_~
and the drawing of his family is cute!! heehee.

it's nice to know toma gets along with his brother. he sounds like the opposite of toma, a quiet guy...he's so lucky to have toma for his older brother (though he can't spend much time with him and his family)!!!!

girls ARE scary sometimes. lol. especially when girl friends argue. but then again, it all depends...guys can have really bad fights too. and never be friends again.

of course, toma's a guy, but i think it's cute how he sometimes used "atashi" to refer to himself (not sure if that was cuz his bike was a girl's bike in H&C), and sometimes jokes about being girl-like (i can't think of a good example, but i'm sure he's done it a lot be4, like saying..."of course, i cannot be considered a girl, so..." xD). and being so pretty and he's got some very cute girl-like mannerisms...anyway...he'd be cute whether as a guy or a girl. but i'm so glad he's a boy (and i'm a girl), so i could like him in this way.♥ haha. (though if it's toma, maybe i would love him no matter if our genders matched up or not?!!! :P) i remember toma saying he's thankful that he's a boy, but i forgot for what reason....something about cuz he's a boy, he enjoys going to concerts? what?? i totally forgot. but it was something "manly" that he enjoyed doing. lol. but this is what he said: "ahh~ really, i'm glad i was born a boy!!"

a baby dinosaur's nose!! lol. it kinda does look like that!! :D

i love love his hairstyle like this. maybe it's simple, but i think it looks very very nice and cool!! ^^

EH! toma can't hear very well?? he's gotta turn down the volume of his music! and i like his reason for not getting his ear pierced. heehee~ my ears r not pierced either.

toma's cheeks!!♥
i wanna touch it, see for myself how soft it is!! ~_~


mood: embarrassed
[credit: subliminalicon]

another way to celebrate his birthday! ^o^ TOMA'S BIRTHDAY METEOR SHOWER!!!

an annual birthday meteor shower ESPECIALLY FOR TOMA?!

(sorry, some of u have already read this when i posted it last year. i have changed this post slightly, though. :P)

AWESOMENESS!!! so cool how it peaks around the time of toma's b-day! it's called the Draconids, but us toma fans can think of it as the TOMA'S BIRTHDAY METEOR SHOWER! if u get the chance, go out at night and see if u can see any meteors!! it's a great way to celebrate toma's birthday ne! and it's cool how this meteor shower is special in many ways, just like toma!! but i have trouble seeing the Draco constellation. i can see the little and big dippers fine, but can't really see Draco. well, it's in the middle of the 2 dippers, so just look towards them! (or just look northward, like they say.) to be more specific, look above the little dipper! here's a bigger pic to help u locate Draco: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Draco_constellation_map.png
they don't say a specific time, just evening. so i guess anytime it gets dark enough to see stars, go out and see if u can see any meteors, on the nights of october 7 and 8!! :D good luck!! i hope i'll see some!!

[credit: http://www.earthsky.org/tonightpost/astronomy-essentials/earthskys-meteor-shower-guide]
October 7, 8, 2009 Draconids

The radiant point of the Draconid meteor shower almost coincides with the head of the constellation Draco the Dragon, in the northern sky. That’s why it is best viewed from the northern hemisphere. This shower is a real oddity, in the respect that its radiant point is highest in the sky as darkness falls. The shower is definitely a sleeper, producing only a handful of languid meteors per hour in most years. But watch out if the dragon awakes! On occasion, fiery Draco has been known to spew forth hundreds – if not thousands – of meteors in a single hour. Since the waning gibbous moon won’t rise till late night, the evening hours provide some cover of darkness for observing these meteors. Unlike most meteor showers, more Draconid meteors are likely to fly in the evening than in the morning hours after midnight. This hard-to-predict shower is not predicted to have increased activity in 2009. Look northward for the very slow-moving Draconid meteors on the evenings of October 7, 8 and 9. October 7 and 8 are likely the better bets.

and at http://www.obliquity.com/skyeye/misc/meteor.html, they say the Draconids occur from early october to mid-october. usually peaking on 7-9 October. they're best seen in the northern hemisphere. they're usually slow, faint, and yellow in colour.

bday project #1 is d o n e!!! ^_^

[the 2 cards...please safely get to toma!! our love and wishes for him are all in here...]

i'm back~
i sent the 2 bday cards for toma this morning. ^.^
i'm really so happy i am done with 2 out of the 3 bday projects!!

now only #2 project left,
and it's much more easy and will take much less time. whew~

here's just a preview of the hearts,
what it looks like be4 i wrote on them...

(I WILL CONTINUE THIS POST TOMORROW,
explain a little more, more pics...good night~!)

9/17 edits:

-forgot to say! thanks again, everyone who took part in this project!! :) we were able to get over 10 ppl after all, like i had hoped.

-just FYI, for the japanese text, i had to copy it in pencil first, then go over them with the pen later. that's why i was using the eraser. (also to erase the penciled outlines of the hearts.)

-an umbrella (especially a clear one) also reminds me of tokyo, cuz it rains so much there. ^_^

-i only started using "kate *umbrella*" recently, so i didn't get to use it for my pen name for the first 2 toma fan art. but then if i use it for the last 2 fan art, i am afraid toma and everyone will think it's 2 different kate's that drew them, instead of 1 kate that drew all 4. so i just left my pen name the same: kate. =/

-also, this time i didn't even think to include a picture of me inside....ma, it's somewhat a little embarassing and bold to do that, actually.....i kinda regret including pics of myself in last years' cards to toma, so now i kinda hope toma has not read them at all. lol. no, not completely...


ohayo gozaimas!!

so~
i sent the 2 cards yesterday morning.
this time was opposite of last time...the post office lady seemed cranky and i got mad when she just carelessly threw the cards into the mail bin. =0 last time, the man there was a lot more friendly and cheerful. anyway, she says it will take 2 weeks to get there, probably. so that would mean around sept. 29 or maybe a little later for the wink up (white envelope), cuz i wrote the address in english. well, cuz there is no japanese version for it. it can't be helped.


lol!! i just realized...! the 2 envelopes. orange and white. orange-kun and white-san!!! toru and izumi!!! sugeh! ^o^


and before mailing them, i wrapped them in this nice purple cloth i bought at mitsuwa. purple, orange and white. makes me think of majosai again!! haha.


and here's my comments about the cards, hearts, etc.:

--the tissue paper hearts are very fragile and transparent. that's why i had to write everything on 1 side of the heart only. but they look really pretty, right? *_* they remind me of cherry blossom petals, actually. cuz of the pretty shades of pink and when u toss them up in the air, they will slowly float, flutter down just like sakura petals!! but cuz of this, i hope toma, when he opens the card(s), that he's not in a WINDY place then. lol. cuz then they'll just all fly away!! (though that might be a pretty sight, too! :P)

--there was NO GLUE (to seal it up) at all on the cool, shiny white envelope!! EHH!! i think it's the first time i've encountered this. lol. this card was a little more expensive than regular cards, you'd think the fancy envelope would have glue on it 4 u, for the extra money u paid!! :P but nothing. i had to just dab some glue on it and spread it evenly. well, at least i'm sure it's sealed very carefully!! it's not gonna easily open, this one!

-the weather has been lovely and cool, with the sky filled with soft, puffy, white clouds each time that i send off toma stuff this year!! i think last year was also like that?? ^_^ on the day i sent these 2 cards off, it was a lot cooler than previous days, and the blue sky full of drifting white clouds. and at sunset, the sunlight shined thru some trees...it doesn't show up very well in the pic at all, but the bright light shining thru the trees' leaves...it creates an effect kinda like twinkling starlight, so i really love seeing the sun set behind trees (which i can only see around this time of year, the end of summer, cuz the sun's path changes throughout the year...). ii neeeee. ~_~

-this is really weird, but i swear, almost everyday (or every few days), i would look at my watch/my cellphone and see that the time is EXACTLY 10:07am or pm!!!! 0__o it's happening A LOT, really!!! i rarely see 7:10am/pm, but 10:07, i see it so so so much!!! it's getting a little eerie, actually. lol. doushitte?? it's like i can sense when it's 10:07 now or something?! but really, it's cool...each time i see it, i think "toma's bday is coming!!".^^


...........................ABOUT THE MESSAGE 4 TOMA:

[click on this pic to read the message clearly]

-the parts in japanese (WOW, IT'S SO HARD TO WRITE IN JAPANESE!! took me some time to copy all of it...), in the order that they appear say:
. toma-kun, tanjoubi omedetou!!! ^_^
. gambatte ne~!
. toma-kun, daiskii.♥

-i was thinking of writing "love, kate" like last time, but then i really like how "yours truly" sounds. *_* it's actually a formal end greeting to a letter to mean that i honestly, truly meant everything i said. but of course, in this case, i also mean that literally! lol. remember, 1 toma fan said toma doesn't belong to any of us, cuz WE ALL belong to him? ~_~

-i didn't make the japanese text bigger on purpose! just that when i'm trying to copy it, i automatically had to write it a little bigger so that it'd be easier to copy it. -__- but i guess it's good that those most important parts are bigger...

-the 2nd card (purple/pink), i really had to write so small to fit in the whole message. aiya...

-my message turned out longer than i planned, but i really wanted to say all these things to toma...and i tried to write everything very simply and capitalize words i think he'll understand, so hopefully toma will get the main ideas (laughs). ^^;

-the umbrella emoticon next to my name: i am using it here at the blog, too. =) see, i've always really loved rain (partly cuz it's quite rare in california), cuz i love cold weather and the sound of falling rain, and how rainy days seem a little more mysterious and special. also, sometimes u'll see rainbows! or lightning! my cellphone has an umbrella charm. and 1 of my main email accounts has the word rain in it. i like how an umbrella doesn't only represent rain, but also safety/shelter. protection. and in japan, it kinda represents love. it's romantic for couples to walk in the rain under 1 umbrella and young couples draw umbrellas (instead of hearts, like in the usa) on walls and write their names under them to show their love for each other. for all these reasons (but mainly cuz i love rain), that's why i'm kate *umbrella* now. :D
........................

[i bought this good eraser very recently, though i wish i had got it sooner, it could have helped me a lot while i was still drawing the fan art!! just realized today, i think it says "eraser-kun" on it?! kawaii!! haha. xD]

A LOT OF toma/toma's co-stars/japan's CMs/pics/news...

hi everyone~

ehhhhh...
i have built up a lot of links and news i wanna share with u all. a lot of it is not about toma, but still interesting...

zehi~ please take a look!!
(i'll try to post up all the cool new toma LJ links soon...)


was looking thru old toma pics to find the right hairstyle to draw in the fan art, and i came across these pics from 2008. kyaaa!! *-* i LOVE LOVE LOVE these pics.♥ 1 of the best winter photoshoots EVER. just one of my fav set of pics of toma, COMPLETELY!!♥ he is just so incredibly cool and cute... sexy but also gentle, boyish. just too beautiful neeeeee.♥♥

but i've never seen the high quality scans. if anyone knows where i can find them, pls tell me!! or if u have it, could u pls pls upload it 4 me somewhere?? ^.^ i've only seen them in high quality in these wallpapers i found at baidu or something. maybe i can ask at gemm's toma gallery later if no1 here knows...



-NEWS ABOUT HIS 2ND MOVIE, FILMING RIGHT NOW:
http://asianfanatics.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=684282
[Toma Ikuta, Kumiko Aso star in "Seaside Motel", Thursday September 10, 2009 Japan]

-NEWS ABOUT HIS LOTTE "COUPLE" CM (& translation of the CM dialogue!):
http://asianfanatics.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=681881
[ Ikuta and Eikura Work Together for First Time, Monday August 31, 2009 Japan]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nana_Eikura
i was curious about who eikura is. WOW, SHE'S INTO MMA (mixed martial arts). MAYBE THE MOST TOMBOY-ISH GIRL THAT TOMA HAS WORKED WITH. it's rare. cool. (she is cool/kakkoii, i mean. :P) she looks prettier w/long hair, though.

[credit: www.flickr.com/photos/g2slp/2140453203/]

-SOME COOL TOMA VIDEOS...

youtube.com/watch?v=zjVmaX_4kNQ
[tomaki MV. them promoting hana kimi. =) there are some hana kimi extras with chinese subs.]

youtube.com/watch?v=rmAfdIK95ZU
[Toma Ikuta MV] some quite nice/cute/cool toma moments f/various tv shows/behind the scenes moments. (some in slow motion ♥)...i haven't seen some at all!! sugoi~]

-2 old toma CMs, in case u dunno about them:
youtube.com/watch?v=WvnsioIzw6c
[old CM]
youtube.com/watch?v=DL69ceOuhqk
[2008 KFC cm]


-WHERE TO BUY THE MAJO SAIBAN DVD BOX SET:
http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=TCED-590
http://www.yesasia.com/us/majo-saiban-dvd-box-dvd-japan-version/1020528442-0-0-0-en/info.html
....................................


YAMASHITA AND RYO GOT SICK, H1N1 FLU!! 0__0 INFLUENZA A!!
luckily, they're ok now. here's some news/a staff blog about it:
http://unleashthegeek.blogspot.com/2009/09/buzzer-beat-blog-comeback.html
5th September 2009 (Saturday)
http://unleashthegeek.blogspot.com/2009/09/ryo-and-yamapi-down-with-influenza.html

[credit: http://www.shiorisuki.com/, impulsivesocialite.wordpress.com]

http://www.shiorisuki.com/
read news about she shiori (haruka f/maou) is getting her first role in a movie, so i tried looking for info about her and found out she's the "pocky princess", she became really popular after this CM?? lol. she's completely hyper and happy in this CM, dancing around...i'm so not used to seeing her like this, but she's cute...u can see her CM at the fansite above.


http://unleashthegeek.blogspot.com/2009/08/inoue-mao-shonen-magazine-no38_21.html
[mao in hawaii pics!! so pretty ne~~ both her and the scenary! wish i could be there.]


http://asianfanatics.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=681100
[Eita and Three Others Pretend to be the Fab Four, Friday August 28, 2009 Japan] eita, shun, and 2 other guys got to go to the UK and film these CMs!!! lucky!! read the news, and there's a link to watch the cool CMs!!

http://asianfanatics.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=680118
news about how JE is trying to stop ppl from selling JE concert tickets online for insanely high prices...read the comments and u'll see why it's almost impossible for overseas fans to buy concert tickets to johnny's guys' concerts. =0 so unfair. -__-


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5IlnAlqrKE&feature=related
[arashi's 5x10 song] arashi is celebrating their 10th year by doing all kinds of awesome things. :D one of them is by writing this touching song, thanking their fans/everyone that likes/supports them...i think the lyrics are so sweet and touching, hounto ni!! listen to the song and check out the translated 2 eng. lyrics!!]

http://asianfanatics.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=682261
[Arashi's Best album met the million mark on its 13th day of sales, a 1st since debut., Wednesday September 2, 2009 Japan] OMEDETOU!!! ^_^v

http://asianfanatics.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=681463
[70,000 people go wild for Arashi's 10th anniversary at Kokuritsu!, Saturday August 29, 2009 Japan] toma might have been here!! he went to one of their concerts with ryo (?)!! :D
...........................................


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8229988.stm
News about the big election i talked about earlier. finally, a new ruling party in japan...


i love these funny signs/posters they have in public, in Japan, to remind ppl not to do certain things. lol. they're so creative, the text and drawings they come up with. :P

http://stephendavidsmith.net/tokyostory/tokyo-metro-manner-posters/
[metro manners posters]

http://stephendavidsmith.net/tokyostory/dont-smoke-in-a-crowd-coats-are-expensive/
[smoking manners signs!!]


mood: cold
[credit: subliminalicon]

ano....about the toma bday project DEADLINES

not sure if i can post today...

too much stuff piled up over the last 2 wks of
working on the fan art and so i am still catching up w/everything....
if i can't today, then i'll post tomorrow. =)

oh, thanks to paige for pointing out i told some1 the wrong info for the deadlines of the bday projects. bday project #1 is the bday card w/hearts, #2 is the fantasy trip around the world PICS, and #3 is the fan art. just real quickly~ about the deadlines:

-project #3...it's too late to send in bday fan art for Potato, but possibly for wink up, u can still try sending it in, since they say 1 month be4 yr idol's bday is ok...and if it's regular toma fan art, then of course u can send them in at any time.

-deadline for project #2 is october 6, 12am, japan time.

-deadline for project #1 is COMING UP SOON: sept. 13. let's say 11pm that day, PST time (california, USA time). but this might be extended, cuz not sure if i'll be able to send the cards on time...i want to send them on sept. 14 or 15. i'm sending them early cuz it might take up to 2 weeks to get there. usually only 1 week, but just in case...SO, MAYBE EVEN BY SEPT 14, U CAN STILL POST AND BE INCLUDED...

have a good one (weekend)!!
see u later, everyone~

TOMA'S IN ANOTHER MOVIE!!!! :D ....yey?? =0

[credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/willshoot/2615050585/, Fisheye pier @Guam]

for some info/pics about Guam:
http://www.visitguam.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guam

just checked, and the weather there right now is rainy and hot. =/
i think it's a little cooler in tokyo than guam these days...

news about the movie, SEASIDE MOTEL (based on a manga) here:
http://community.livejournal.com/ikuta_toma/469829.html#cutid1

good lord, another movie?! =0
toma is really working non-stop this yr!! @_@

but i'm happy he gets to star in another movie, and filming at guam must be nice, pretty beaches and all...it's nice to be able to work on a tropical island. (except if there are hurricanes...) technically, i'm in the same country (America) as he is now!! sugoi~ but still very very far away from him. ppl in australia are even closer to him than me (but that's good for u, paige!! haha). -__- i wonder if there r any toma fans in guam??? a lot of filipinos and other asians there, maybe there are!! the plot sounds cool, but his co-star, i wish she was prettier. haha. oh well. she's 30-something yet playing the role of a 20-something? eh...nande.

if i remembered correctly, he finished filming for ningen on august 24. that would mean he only got around 6 days off until he had to work on this new movie?!! toma, take care of yourself, don't get sick!!! especially don't get h1n1 flu!! =[

but, wow, really...this is really awesome news!!! ^__^
since ningen is a really dark and serious and 1940s movie, and toma's hair was not so good....this present day movie (comedy/serious) will be a good way to show ppl toma's regular, bright, funny, cool, CUTE side. I WONDER WHAT HAIRSTYLE HE HAS FOR THIS MOVIE???

the last time i went to mitsuwaaaa...

was to celebrate my 2nd anniversary of being a toma fan. ~_~

it was fun, crowded, and hot. dunno what happened to the A/C?! the coolest thing that happened, though, was that almost immediately after i came in, they started playing arashi's Truth in the market!! SUGOI!!! and i was just thinking about maou and looking forward to watching maou's dvd extras then, too! (they replayed the song several times afterwards, too!)

so~ here's some pics and comments about that day...

italian TOMAto cakes~~ i bought 1 piece of tiramisu. yummy~ :P

TV news, showing the election voter turnout? this was the day where the election results were announced in japan, and the party that's been in power for like, 50 yrs, LOST, so it's a big big deal, i read about it in the news that day...CHANGE has come to japan!! hope this new party will be better.

gakt looks so cool/cute and anime-like here!! *_*
and eita was on several magazine covers.
when will toma get to be on several covers at once?? =/

was able to buy the myojo october issue. ^_^ and also bought the nyc boys/yuma n. and B.I. shadow CD. heehee~ 1st time i bought a japanese CD. i'm glad that it could be them, for my first time!! ja, i bought a lot of things that day...



the LOTTE ACUO gum!! it's sold here!! yey!! didn't see the white powder one, but maybe later they will. ano...this gum is not that strong for a minty gum...it's ok...but it loses its freshness/flavor FAST. i was kinda disappointed. it tastes pretty much like any minty gum u've tasted. nothing special. BUT i do love the cool green/white shiny, cool packaging, and each individual green piece of gum is wrapped neatly in a shiny silver wrapping. and chewing it makes me think of toma. :D i hope i can try the powder one too...

the CM for the powder gum is very silly, but toma is CUTE in them. his smile!! kyaa!!! and i was relieved there was no close contact between them, though they were supposed to be a couple. (cuz in the usa, minty gum CMs with couples always involve kissing in some way. -__-) i think every1's seen them by now, but if u haven't, go here to watch. i watched it on the 2nd day of my 2 yr anniv. celebration. :P more toma love 4 meeeeee.

http://www.lotte.co.jp/products/brand/acuo/cm.html

i sent the 2 toma drawings!! *sleepy*

doumo!!
kate desu.

i did it!!
i finished!! yatta!! *_*
the 2 drawings for WU and POTATO.
sent them this morning.

iya~ ureshii ne!!

but i'm really so exhausted.
i didn't get much sleep cuz i stayed up late drawing...
but i'm really so relieved i got them done.

this time, to make things more interesting, i'm not gonna post up the 2 drawings (yet)! though i really wanna show u how it looks!! lol. but i think it'd be more cool if those of u that can buy the winkup and potato magazines see it for the 1st time INSIDE the magazine, IF they do print my drawings. *_* and for those of u that are not able to buy the magazines, and whether or not they do choose my drawings, i will certainly post them up, but only after i find out the results around the start of october...probably a few days after toma's bday, i'll be able to get the November issues of winkup and potato at mitsuwa...

so maybe around october 10th or so, whenever i get a chance to go to mitsuwa and check, then i'll post up pics of my 2 drawings and also talk about how i had a really really hard time drawing them. -__- but the result was good, and i actually like these 2 more than the POTATO bday one i drew!! so~ please look forward to seeing them in 1 month. ^_^

BUT i will tell u a little about the drawings!!

-toma's wearing a tie in the WU one, and wearing a vest in the POTATO one.

-toma's hair is BLACK this time for both, cuz 1) his hair is black right now, 2) black hair = no need for any shading. haha. 3) i remember paige likes toma with black hair. ^_^

ja, i'll post again tomorrow. (and also reply to any comments then!) i gotta go to sleep now. i've been yawning so much tonight. lol. and my right hand is aching f/drawing too much. =/ but it's all worth it!!! if they do choose my drawings...and toma might see it!! ahhh...

oh, oh!! after going to the post office to mail the drawings, i went to get something to eat, and guess what happened when i looked at the receipt?! the time of my order was exactly 10:07am!!! 10/07, toma's bday!!! SUGOI NE!! i hope this is a sign....that i really will see my bday drawings and these drawings in the nov. issues of these magazines???!!

good night~!
oyasumi~!

almost finished!!

did u see the pics???
toma x yamashita!!!
a photoshoot/interview together. ♥

though this took place in june. near the end of filming for majosai.
i'm so glad they straightened his hair for that photoshoot!! his hair looks so nice like that. but i guess partly cuz it'd be funny if both guys had curly hair...

well, if u haven't go to the toma LJ. ^^

ehh... i am close to finishing!!
ok, i am only starting on the Potato drawing,
but this one should be fast. and done with WU drawing. whew...

i will try to post several new posts soon, but it will have to be after i'm done with the fan art, so probably sometime on tuesday....please wait for me~

i'm tired... it's late.
good night everyone!!
(also, happy labor day to those in the usa.
but cuz of this, i have to send the fan art 1 day later than i wanted. -__-)

p.s. thanks to my new followers and some new ppl commenting here at my blog!! for coming here, for supporting toma! thank you~ i'm glad u found this place. *_*