quick review: mandom cleansing express

The popular, watery makeup remover doesn't seem to be doing much for my skin. My forehead has small acne bumps that aren't going away. Perhaps it's stress though. Going back to Fancl's cleansing oil to see if that helps.

Biotherm, Trish McEvoy

Biotherm and Trish McEvoy lipstick have nice packaging and formulas, but sadly they've gone bad, so I doubt I'll repurchase.

Tokyo travel: Ryokan Shigetsu

There aren't that many hotels in Tokyo that offer Japanese-style tatami rooms, but this place in Asakusa does.

However, they have a curfew of 11pm, and they are pretty strict about non-guests being in the ryokan after that time.
I took my relatives there, and we arrived just before 11, thanks to poor traffic. The elderly gentlemen checked them in, but before showing them to their room, he said to me "Sorry, we close at 11. Only guests. Sorry." So I couldn't even see my relatives to their room and had to take off.

When I made reservations, the lady answering the phone was very nice and friendly, but their strict non-guest policy is a bit uncomfortable.
I understand why they have their policy, but Annex KATSUTARO Ryokan is a bit more amenable to the needs of travelers. Annex Katsutaro staff are not always so personable though, but the rooms are pretty nice.
Next time I'll recommend the Hotel Grand Palace to visitors, even though they don't have Japanese-style rooms. It's the most friendly to the needs of travelers.

Restaurants: Bay Area California, U.S.A.

* Mercado Marlen Taqueria: 2528 California St., Mountain View, CA 94940. Telephone: 650-947-9611. They have the best tripas and lengua open-faced tacos. Divine. Greasy but really good. The lengua is extremely tender and quite tasty. Once in a while they're not as perfect as usual, but I've never been disappointed and at $1.25 a taco you have nothing to lose. I usually get 3 tacos. I would like to get 4, but it feels a bit heavy afterwards.
* Happy Cafe, San Mateo, CA: you have to try their thin sliced beef tendon , the sticky rice with fried pork inside, and the steamed shanghainese dumplings.
* Joy Restaurant, Foster City, CA: The fried pot stickers, fen zhen pai gu (some kind of steamed pork ribs), scallion pancakes, the steamed sea bass (with some kind of soy bean crusting/seasoning), and 3 cup chicken are all highly recommended. On weekends they have nice Taiwanese dim sum offerings.

InRed - Marc Jacobs daisy pouches

I picked up the latest InRed magazine from the convenience store today. I haven't opened the magazine yet, but the pouches are quite nice. They're a faux leather material, and they're even nicely lined inside. I'm not sure how long the daisy pattern will last, but the pouches are decent for the price.

Shu Uemura - Rouge Unlimited Supreme Shine SS WH 03

Not the most practical of purchases, but this moderately sized glossy lipstick sparkles so prettily. The moderately light and emollient formula with the delicate Shu scent makes this a little luxury for me. Pretty on its own and on top of other lipsticks and glosses, the formula is sadly a little too soft, as it has already started tilting to the side of the lipstick barrel. Also, the hard plastic top case has slight cracks around the base. My previous Shu Uemura Rouge had no such problems with its packaging so I'm a bit disappointed by the drop in quality.

As such, I probably won't repurchase this particular lipstick, although I look forward to trying the standard Rouge Unlimited line, if it doesn't have similar issues with cracks in the case.

just got an acer netbook

It's nice to have a new computer!

Gonna see if I can revive my Sony too.

Gotta start shifting my data over.