25.9.10

::Meet me in San Francisco, honey.::

Shortly before SWEET STREETS, I was requested by Sebastian of 6% DOKIDOKI to follow them on their world tour in San Francisco; needless to say I was both overwhelmed and honored. (Turns out that I'm a fan of Sebastian longer than the majority of girls that work at 6%, because I used to be a reader of his column "What is Lovely?" in KERA! magazine, from its first issue)

I left LA via airplane on Wednesday, and unfortunately my flight kept on being delayed due to the foggy weather in SF... Once I got there, mama Caro picked me up from SFO and I was dropped off at NEW PEOPLE, where my first job awaited.
{l to r: moi, Sebastian, Patrick}
This was my second time translating Sebastian's talk show, so things weren't as challenging as the first time, but as always, it's not easy to try to keep the speaker's subtle nuances as close to the original when translating... Hopefully I did a decent job for the listeners!

{Mausy Mausy Mausy Maus.}
The ever amazing Amy and Kevin were kind enough to let me stay at their kitty palace, where I suffered from constant allergy attacks, but was instantly in love with their lovely kitties. Although my heart fell for Little Brother (who has his own little tune, which is still stuck in my head dun dun dun), my favorite was Maus, a nihilistic, misunderstood but lovable bad boy. He seemed to open up his heart for me, and as Amy was telling me that he liked me, he gave me a kiss. With his teeth. Yeeeouuuch! ...But I still love him.

{l to r: Yuka, Michelle, moi, Trevor, Caro, Vani, Sebastian}

{l to r: American Cupcakes. I miss you already.}
{世界の皆と電話する〜♪増田セバスチャンでーす!!}

There's no such thing as "enough" partying when you're with the DOKI DOKI family. Almost every night I was eating delicious food. $$$ was flying out of me, but my taste buds were crying in glory. American Cupcakes def turned out to be one of my favorite spots in San Francisco, I'm coming back for sure!!
I also got to spend a couple nights with the DOKI DOKI crew as well; which meant BONUS, I got to see the shop girls in their bare faced glory. Obviously it was a strict NO PHOTOS PLEASE policy (haha), but let me say one thing. THEY ARE ADORABLE, NONE THE LESS. Esp Vani, since I first bumped into her sans maquillage when I came out of the shower, and she was coming out of her bedroom, and she squealed "Oh no, I don't have any make up on!". I told her she looked just fine, and there was nothing to worry about, since we were the EYEBROW-LESS SISTERS. ...Saori and Kedama, Sebastian's assistants, kindly told me I had a Anna Tsuchiya-look when I was sans war paint, but I think they're a little too kind.

{obligatory tourist shot. One item I regret not buying in SF}

{l to r: Michelle, our new boyfriend, moi}

{michelle and I busting out our cameras on our ride to the Wharf}

And then I had some break from working and headed to Fisherman's Wharf with Michelle and Caro! I love the tacky touristy-crap there, as well as the incredible food (YAY FOR CALAMARI and FRESH BOILED SHRIMP!)

J POP SUMMIT::




{l to r: My new gay husband Trevor and I}

Then came the SERIOUS WORK DAY at J POP SUMMIT, held at NEW PEOPLE. It was truly a busy day, early wake up time and bustling around until late at night! The event was a great success, and I could tell that a lot of people loved the show. I was truly lucky to be a part of all of this, and was so proud as I watched the audience from the stage.

{l to r:: Vani, Sebastian, moi and Yuka}

Then came the last day with my new family. It was last minute chatter and fun times, as I found out Sebastian was close friends with 阿部サダヲ (Sadao Abe) since middle school (!!), one of my favorite actors of all time. I gushed my love to Sadao to him, and he told me that he was always jealous of him because he was more popular with the girls since middle school, although he's a "shy boring guy" (according to Sebastian, that is). However, he promised me to arrange a meeting with him and I when I go back to Tokyo. OH NO!! ...but my heart sank as he told me he was married and has 2 children. Oh noes.

{autograph,bitches.}

I also got super lucky and bumped into Mori Chack, the creator of Gloomy bear!! I've been a great fan of Gloomy for years now, and snagged an autograph using my SEBA-PASS (セバパス。Short for "Sebastian-Pass", a magic pass you use using Sebastian's name. I introduced myself as Sebastian's translator, and voila, no need to spend $125 at BABY, and I got my autograph free of charge. muwahaha.) Mori Chack spotted my Gloomy hand key chain, which turned out to be a FAKE. Super embarrassing moment. I was in more shock because it was a gift from a friend of mine, and he consoled me by telling me "If that's the case, it's real." (Either way, he told me that it was made so well that only his assistant or him would be able to tell) He was a super nice guy, and I blurted in out my Osaka-ben (happens when I'm super nervous), which seemed to impress him. haha.


{Vani, Yuka, DOKIDOKI fans and I during the fashion walk}

Overall, + needless to say, I was super happy to be a part of such great tour. I made so many great friends, and got to be a part of what I used to be a mere fan of. Kedama and Saori told me by now I was no different than a shop girl, Vani thanked me countless times, and Sebastian told me I was a part of the DOKI DOKI family now. It was more than just hard for me to leave SF, and even though I clenched my teeth and tried as hard as I could not to cry, I couldn't help myself when I saw Saori crying. ...Don't cry!! We're gonna have an even more CRAY CRAY time in Tokyo when I'm back there!! ...and I was en route to Angel City.

A big thank you to those who were super hospitable to me while I was there! And a big big I miss you to all my SF peeps! Hopefully I can see you all once again, very very soon!<3>

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