Today was our third day of shooting. It went a little longer than planned, but we finished our scenes.

The big news is that we're appearing on Countdown Japan, which I'm sure you all know about already. I was so happy when I heard. We're going to try to put everything Oreska's learned this year into our performance, so leave your calenders open!

Tomorrow I'm going to the doctor about my poor skin. Everyone in Oreska knows how much I love salt, but I think I'm finally paying for it. Yaz says that my kidneys are weak because I eat too much salt. So I've been trying to cut down on my salt intake. I love it so much that even my mom told me that I'd get diabetes. Yeah, I've finally realized that it's not good to go too far.

Soon I'll be 19, and the countdown begins until 20. I'm going to try to be the kind of woman who can stop herself. Com'on guys.

So anyway. The mood on the set was nicely tense, and nicely peaceful. Everyone of the staff knew exactly what their role was and everyone worked really hard, and supported each other. Like the camera man who cracked little jokes to ease the tension, or played pranks even during the busy schedule. It was such a comfortable atmosphere. I really love how relaxed it was.

Oh. Also, I want to leave you all with something my mother said to me.

Nothing is impossible. You're only making it impossible for youself. Take a step back and try to live your life with more flexibility.

I remember just how flexible that last line made me feel.It's something that someone anywhere might tell you, but it really helped that my mother said it. It made me glad to be her daughter. I feel like that leaves me really prepared for anything.

So I want to leave those words to you.

We've started filming somewhere in Utah. All of the other actors and staff are really interesting. There's a mix of the soundtrack, and it really is good. It's not like I'm happy every second of every day, but that's what makes it really good.

I wonder how to describe this atmosphere. I'm always imagining the future, whether it's 5 minutes from now, tomorrow, or even a few years from now. Even if I know that for better or worse, it probably won't come out the way I imagine. But I can't help imagining it. I love the past that helps me make those imaginings. With just what I've got here right now, I feel like I could defeat any monster.

Tomorrow we have to meet up at 8:40, so I was tried to write a little now, but I can't put my thoughts together right, so I'll end here.
I hope you get something from this post.

Today I was reading an article in a magazine called something like 'How men see women: 'This would be a deal breaker for me!''. One of things was if a woman referred to herself with the masculine pronouns like 'ore' or 'boku'.

Hey, I call myself 'boku'.

Today we had the read through. I started off how I thought I should do it, but I was blown away by the professionals. It was really inspiring.

We're the stars, we have to make this movie into something good. And not just something like 'they would good for amateurs'. I don't think it matters if you're an amateur or a professional, you can still make a good movie.

Ikasu talked a little about the lines, but really...if I say a line without feeling it myself it becomes a lie. It becomes empty. If I throw out empty lines to the audience watching the movie, there's no way they'll be moved by it. It's the same with when we make a CD.

Yeah. This is really such an interesting experience. We're not doing music right now, but I want to use this situation to try to think about and feel music from the viewpoint of something other than music.

I been meeting a lot of new people recently, and some of them have been people who got success really young. Meeting them made me realize that the thing that's so amazing about those people is the way they really took chances on things.

When we had our solo live that time, Tae-san said rather than starting at 1 with the right environment and the talent and building that to 2, 3 and 4, the hardest thing is taking that first step from 0 to 1.

I know a lot of people who ended their dreams because were too scared to go for their dreams, and blamed their fear on their environment or pretended that the world didn't work that way.

But the reason they couldn't make their dream come true isn't because the world is tough, or because they didn't have the talent.

It's only that they were too scared to take the first step from 0 to 1.
They just didn't believe in themselves.

That's how I think.

I don't want to give up on things just because I don't know if I can do them or not.

I've been thinking about so much I can't possibly write it all down.

So I'll say good bye here for today.
This was kind of a random post.

Long time no see! It's Ikasu. How are you all? I haven't posted in forever.

We had so much fun recording, but we finally finished, and now we're in Utah, the land of mountains.

Go out the door and all you can see are mountains. It's also snowing. Doesn't looking at nature make you feel alive? It makes me feel like that. You too, right? Hehe.

It makes me feel like I really am a part of everything on Earth. I don't know how the mountains feel about it though. Haha.

So anyway, we're in Utah now, land of desert-like dryness. Leader and I are rooming together. It's a lot of fun!

Today we practiced our lines with the casting person, Narahashi-san. This is something I've been thinking about and was told today during practice:

People, including myself, all talk for a reason. We try to put everything we're thinking and feeling into the words we're saying. I think that's so interesting.

It made me think about how even when we're just having a casual conversation, it's almost like a game of catch ball with our feelings. But as we make our lines our own, we have to really think about all those things that are usually so unconscious, so natural to us, like not using a word or grammar correctly.

Does that mean the thinking about things comes from them being unconscious?

Huh?

I'm kind of confused now.

But there are somethings that won't happen unless with are conscious of them.

I don't know.

Anyway, that's the kind of think I've been thinking about while we study our lines.

Also, Narahashi-san said something that really stuck in my head as an actor..

"The best way to act is not to act. Because these are people."

But that's really difficult. Actors are really amazing. With a really good actors, the movie or tv show feels like a documentary.

It is pretty attractive.

I was never a big movie person, but I want to start watching them more.

We make such a great soundtrack, so I really want to make a great movie to fit it. I want both to be able to stand on their own.

I want each to be amazing.

So I'm going to do my best!

Yahoo!! I'm going to take a stand! (Not that I'm sitting)

It's fun. It's a lot fun not to have free time. Because it means I have things I want to do.

It feels great!

It's Moriko! It's about 10 am right now.
We've been here for two month already. It's really cold here in Utah, as cold as it usually is in Mid-winter. (Okay, so maybe I'm exaggerating a little, but it's so cold it' shard to get out of bed in the mornings.)

The first thing I want to do when we get home to Japan is go to the music store. It's the first time I haven't brought my instrument in for maintenance in over three months. (With this new one, anyway)

I used to think it was enough to bring it in for maintenance once every six months, probably because that's how long we went for the piano at home.

I'd like to go as soon as I have time now. They also teach me how to do some maintenance on my own.

Lately we've been in movie mode, learning our lines and taking dance lessons, and all of that, but I think all of us are looking forward to put all our feelings about it into music. I know I am.

What do you think it means to 'think'? I think it's about coming up with your own answers. Because if you don't think that deeply, you'll never be affected by anything you experience. I think that it's when you've gone that deep that you first start having conflicts with people, and really facing them. It is hard, but it's the only way to move forward.

And that's what I want to do. Keep on moving forward.

Morning!

We went to go see the Polysics, who are touring the US right now. It was a lot of fun!

Last year the Polysics were playing in the way back area of the west side of Countdown Japan, so I hadn't really been able to see them properly then, so I was glad we got to go.

I also bought their CD. Go me!

It feels weird to see a Japanese band in the US, but it made me happy too. LOL

We're going to the museum to see the dinosaurs now. I've been wanting to do that since I saw Jurassic Park way back when!

I'm way too excited about this!

How are you all? We're all doing great.

The place were staying in Utah is surrounded by the mountains. Tomi says they look like Heidi should live there.

Having grown up in Japan, it's really an amazing view. The atmosphere and the scenery here are good for the eyes and the heart, I think.

There's so much I have to do every day, it's almost too much. LOL

But these aren't things people told me to do, or things that are on my schedule. Of course I do also have things to do that are on the schedule too.

But you know, you're the only one who knows how you want to be.
So the only one who can turn you into your ideal is you.
We can imagine the future, everybody, And that's why we can have goals.

No matter what we do, Oreska is Oreska. We're musicians. And that's how we want to be.

No matter what we do or who's around us, in the end it's all up to us.

So how are you all?

You know, you just need to take one step at a time.

And all you have to do is when we're having a ball sometime, just run over and see us.

Day off!

Today was a day off, so we went to this place where we could see what I think is the ski slopes they used in the Salt Lake City Olympics.

It was so much fun! But so cold! In Japan it's not usually this cold until the end of November.

I really needed to go to the bathroom today, and the bathroom I finally found turned out to be the men's room. LOL. It was kind of exciting. LOL

All of us except for Leader went out. We went shopping in the cold.
Ikasu bought tons of necklaces. LOL

Utah is different than LA, but it's very chic and trendy.

Oh yeah! There was this store that sold stuff like in Indiana Jones, and Terry and I found samples of these trick snake eggs. How were they trick snake eggs? Well you give them to someone and tell them 'There are snake eggs inside this bag'. And then when they open the bag, the rubber band snaps and the eggs move. And then they think there are snakes inside the eggs. It's kind of stupid.

First I did tried it on Ikasu who jumped and yelled.

Then on Tomi.

But the rubber band snapped before Tomi opened the back so she wasn't surprised.

Next was Moriko.

She gave the best reaction. She was all 'Ahhh!!! Eeek!!'

It was great.

Then we decided to go by the mall near the hotel on the way home.
It was a big mall. They sold a lot of band t-shirts, so I bought so. It made me happy.

I went to the fountain to where we were supposed to meet up. As I was waiting for Tomi and Moriko, the clock struck 4, and there was a show with the water (the fountain) and music. I was really hyper, so I made it into a show with water, music and Saki. I got soaked, but it was fun.

When it was over all the Americans who'd been watching the water, music and Saki show applauded.

Thank you, thank you.

I had a great time today just having fun.

It's Moriko.

We're in Utah now.

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. About people, and about myself.

Even if I try to tell someone 'I'm not that kind of person', we both see differently, so I can't judge their opinion.

But I think that's okay. It wouldn't be good for me if I everyone thought like I do. Difference make you realize things, and it's realizing things that makes me want to do something.

I want to use that as a chance to take a step forward.

Of course that leads to conflicts within myself. That's the crux of it. Right now I'm saying it's good thing, but when it actually happens, I hate it, and I'm full of doubts.

It's important to stretch yourself, but it's not everything. My goal right now is to just get as close to people as I can.

Utah rocks!
The internet here is great! I can connect every day! I can write in the blog, and check my mail. Yahoo!

We had yakisoba for dinner, it was so good.

But the air is so dry in Utah, my skin is sore!
My cheek hurts! It's really sore. My lip split this morning. LOL. It hurts!

My skin's going to be so dry tomorrow!

I haven't posted in a long time. Sorry!
Recently we went to Disneyland, to see Disney on Ice, and shopping. I've been having a lot of fun.

I bought shoes. Blue Doc Martens. They're really cute, and they were cheaper here than they are in Japan. Yay!　

We're in Utah now.

The other day we all did that whitening thing to whiten our teeth. But now my front teeth are really noticeable. LOL I didn't know they stuck out so much. You can only tell now that they're whiter. LOL

The hardest thing about the whitening is that we could only eat white things. So I made stew with onions and potatoes. And we couldn't have coffee, which was hard on Moriko and Tae.
There's not that much without color, is there?

So now we're staying in a lovely hotel in Utah. I'm rooming with Tomi.
The rooms are: Tae and Mori, Leader and Ikasu, Saki and Tomi.

We have separate rooms but we share a kitchen.

And we each have a shower, which is really glamorous!

Also, Tomi and I are doing Billy's Boot Camp again to lose some weight.

We only have one month left in the US.

Time goes by so fast! I don't know if that's because I'm older, or because my days are so full.

But it's really quick.

This is such a pain. Really. I have to pack for our trip to Utah. I have so much more stuff than I did when we checked into the hotel in August, so I'm throwing things away and getting things together to send to Japan. I have to do something about it all before tomorrow!!

But the recording is over. We had such a wonderful time, it's the first time I've been so sad to finish. Kaz, and Stacy and Greg and Stan and MuraJun, and Evan and Sam, and Dave, and Jamie...we worked with such amazing people, and it was an honor to make music with them.

They taught me that making music with someone else doesn't mean that our music becomes someone else's, it means that our own world gets bigger. I can say with pride that we made something amazing.

It's been a while!

We've finished recording. We recorded about two songs with each different producers, and every one had a different style. The style each had towards the songs and what was important were very different. It was all so stimulating.

I can't wait to make our second album! Please wait for it.
Because we'll explode soon.
We'll show you what we've been doing now, what we've been thinking and feeling.

Just wait, we'll make something amazing!

There was some big news today. I'm sure you'll find out soon. I can't wait!

I've been having some trouble with my skin because I'm eating too much salt now. I hope it gets better before our photo shoot! It really makes me thankful for the balanced meals my mom feeds me. It's such a pain to have to wash dishes every day. But my mom must feel the same about that too.

Anyway, this has all be a great experience. Living alone would be even harder. Thinking about that makes me realize how much support I get from my family. I just made what I like to eat without thinking about nutrition, and ate too many carbs. LOL. I have to look our for my own health, because no one will make food for me.

Well, if you don't have your health, you don't have anything
Everything in moderation. But I guess that's obvious.

Since the recording's done, I've been doing all this shopping for Utah. We go to Utah the day after tomorrow and start the shoot.

We're really getting started now. And soon we'll be back in Japan.

Look forward to it.

Stupid Internet. It just wouldn't connect.

Is there something wrong with my computer? With where my room is?

It just pisses me off, because then I I forget what I wanted to say!
Dammit.

Anyway. I was reading my friend's blog, and she talked about New Year's money.

Ooh! I get New Year's money in only two months! Because I'm not 20 yet!

That made me realize a lot of my friends are turning twenty...

I can't wait for New Year's!

Leader and Moriko's mothers are coming to Japan today.Yaz, one of the members of our US staff is like our mother here. Today we're having a party at her house.

She's such a good cook.

I'll have to watch out so I don't eat too much!