Series: 33 - March 2024

Hi! It’s me! Lily!!!

LILLYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Most of the girls are here today.  We had pizza, and we’re eating chocolate and watching anime.  Yay!!!  Let’s see… what are we watching?  Yuki wanted to watch “I would die if my favorite idol made it to the Budokan”, and…  I think it might have given her PTSD.  Some of those otaku are obsessive.  But she said it was interesting to see it from the other side.  She also said some of the portrayals of idol life were pretty accurate.

Some of these anime have really long names.  I guess the reason is, that in some of the places where they show what anime there are to watch, they don’t have a place for a description.  So they make the title describe the anime.  “I was a teenage pop star who turned into a werewolf”, that kind of stuff.  Turns out there’s actually reasons for why Japanese do the sometimes weird stuff they do.

Like, did you know anime girls are supposed to look like cats?

I never looked at them the same way again, once I heard that.

So I guess I should go.  They’re starting to chant “onee-chan”, and as we’ve found out, nothing good ever comes from that.  Either I get pissed off, I turn into some semblance of a Japanese idol, or both.  Sigh.

There’s not much to talk about anyway.  Everything that was going on is still going on, not much that wasn’t isn’t, and it’s all good.

There’s a concert going on a little later at the shop, we might go over there and see if it’s any good.  I guess the Round Rockers came back.  They seem to like our venue.

Love you all!!! ❤️

Hi! It’s me! Lily!!!

It was a dreary and rainy day today, though at least it wasn’t cold.  Showers coming through and dumping on us, along with a few storms, and then they went on their way to dump on someone else.

Sabby told me to keep the practicing to a minimum today.  I think she’s worried about me.  I don’t blame her.  It’s what I need to do, but I probably do need a break.  So I just did the bare minimum today.  Otherwise the girls were over.  We went to the mall and, well, did mall stuff.  You know, eat tremendously unhealthy food, look at ugly (and a few cute) outfits, and just generally were a giggling clump.  It was fun though.  I do like the mall, though it’s not somewhere I could go every day.

Some malls are better than others, though.  We tried the mall down south once.  It wasn’t nearly as good as Lakeline.

So, otherwise.  Not a lot going on.  We did go to the show last night and it was fun.  The Round Rockers Rocked.  There was another group headlining too, they were kind of a joke band but still pretty funny.

I’m not sure they meant to be a joke band, but they rolled with it.

Today was mostly a good day to stay indoors and play games, though.  We had a lot of fun today.

Beth’s birthday is coming up.  I need to get her a present, or think of something to do.

Yuki is…  impressive when she gets it in her mind to do something.  She’s already got one of the pop songs roughly arranged, and is working with the arranger to finish it up now.  Two more to go, but at this rate, she should get it done in plenty of time.

Anathema was over today, too.  After working all night last night to help host the live music event, she had the day off.  There are other maids to cover.  So, she’s just being one of the girls.  She went out with Joe this evening though.  They’re getting along pretty well.  He hasn’t popped the question yet.  I don’t think he will in the near future… but I think he will eventually.

Anathema seems willing to wait.

She’s doing well, though.  Things seem to have calmed down a bit.  It’s funny how much people will forget about you if you just give them time.

Funny and sad.. but in this case a good thing, I think.

Anyway…  I guess we all should go to bed now.

Love you all!!! ❤️

Hi! It’s me! Lily!!!

It’s St. Patrick’s day!  Whatever that means. Four years since I was found and I still don’t really know what that means.  Guess it’s some guy who wears green and speaks with an Irish accent and goes pinching people under rainbows.  Or something like that.

So it was a typical Sunday, really.  Went to church…  I had a message but it seemed very targeted, because I didn’t really understand it and neither did most of the people in the congregation, but one person jumped up and ran out crying, so… it must have hit home.  I felt bad for wasting everyone else’s time, but that’s how this thing works I guess.

I felt bad for her running out crying too, but I don’t really get to choose the messages, and she came in a few minutes later seeming okay.  She didn’t seek me out after, though.  They rarely do, I think they realize that I didn’t really have anything to do with the message.

And then the girls came over to rehearse…  OMG Crystal is really coming into her own.  She’s not exactly hendrixing or anything like that, but she’s got a few more chords down and is getting better at doing the lead guitar thing rather than just strumming.  She’s going to be a force to reckon with in a few months.  We’re still not good enough to perform, but Beth is really getting better at vocals, Crystal is, well, like I just said, and Diana’s holding her own with rhythm guitar.  Her heart really isn’t in it, though.  I guess I understand.

Otherwise, we just had a lazy day.  I felt bad for not practicing, but Sabby’s right.  If I practice every day, it’ll do me more harm than good.

Yuki facetimed us with her former idol friends.  They’re pretty cool and think it would be neat to come to the US to perform with her.  She’s seeing if there’s any special visas they need.  But Yuki’s pretty good, she’ll figure it all out.  Sabby said they can stay with us if they want, Japanese folks are usually pretty well-mannered and David, well, he can deal.  Haha!!!

Poor David.  He’s got a thing for Japanese girls now.  I guess after Ai gave him an eyeful it kicked him into gear.  Aww.

Anyway…

Girls are all home now.  Spring break is pretty much over so they’ve got stuff to do.  Crystal told us all about her road trip, she had a lot of fun.  Diana brought back some Mexican souvenirs, which was nice of her.  And Liz, well…  she’s really studying hard.  I guess she wants to get a really good grade on her finals.

Jack’s studying hard, too.  I’m glad.  Wish I got to spend a little more time with him, though.

Oh well.  They say, be careful what you wish for, you might just get it.  And I wanted him to take his studies more seriously…  We still chat most nights though.

Love you all!!! ❤️

Hi! It’s me! Lily!!!

Practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice…

practice…

Aww.

But I’ve almost got it now.  I have a meeting with the conductor soon to go over it and make sure it’s ready to start rehearsing with the actual orchestra.  I’m looking forward to that, that’s actually maybe the most fun part.  To take something I’ve been working on for so long and have them add a whole different dimension to it…

And Yuki, well.. that girl’s a powerhouse when she gets going.  I see why she was such a successful idol.  I’ve never seen someone work that hard.  She’s got three different arrangers working on three different pieces at the same time.  I asked her where she got the money, and she said that the symphony would reimburse her reasonable costs, and, well, being a successful idol meant she had some stashed away anyway, so she could front it.  Anyway, she’s got everything well in hand, if it keeps going at this rate, she’ll have something to give to them around the same time I go to meet the conductor next week.

Miki’s group sold a LOT of blu-rays, a lot more than I thought they were going to.  I guess the otaku really wanted those handshake tickets.  They’re kinda taking a break right now, they had a successful launch, so they’re off at the yuuenchi (amusement park) or something.  I guess Miki and Rika got to know each other a bit better and Miki’s now returning Miki’s feelings.  A little.  Girl’s a bit obsessed, but it’s just senpai-kouhai I guess.

There’s a couple of girls there who, I think, well…  rub each other the right way?  How do I even put that?  But it’s not Miki and Rika.  Not telling you who, either.  It doesn’t matter.  Besides even that’s dangerous to say because what if an otaku reads this?  But this isn’t in Japanese, so…

I told Miki about the idols that Yuki wants to come over and perform with her, and she got all starstruck and said if she wasn’t so busy she’d come over here herself just to see that.  Man, Yuki’s pretty famous herself, but she’s not the only one, I guess.

Jack did go tux shopping and sent me a photo… oof.  I gotta cool down.  Boy cleans up nice.  He definitely deserves my slit-leg low neckline tummy-flattening dress Robert got me for the Oscars…

Can you believe I’m saying stuff like this?

My life is sure different than it was when I started this diary.

Oh, I showed Miki the still of me at the Oscars, and I thought she was going to die of jealousy.  I didn’t know why… then she said she had some crush on one of the movie stars.  Guess it all makes sense now.  Even Japanese know about American movie stars.  Though I do think some of them are just jealous of their chests…

Oppai envy!!! Hahaa!!!!

I guess I got mine from Robert’s side of the family, because my build is not Japanese… even though my face is.  Jack is very appreciative of that fact…  eh.. 

Anyway…  guess I should go to bed.

Love you all!!! ❤️

Hi! It’s me! Lily!!!

I’m tired.

I mean.. I’m really tired.

It’s not that I’m physically tired…  Sabby calls it being “burnt out”… but right now I just hate practicing.  Sabby told me she was expecting it to happen… but it’s awful.  I’ve got so much to do and my motivation went to crap.

Awww.

So Sabby says I should take a few days and not practice.  I told her I need to.  She said do I want to power through now and maybe make myself sick for the performance, or do I want to take a break and maybe get my motivation back?

Well, when you put it like that…

So for the first time in months, I didn’t practice today.  Didn’t touch the keyboard.  I went to class, then I went to the park and played with Marie.  I threw the ball and she was happy.

I asked Liz how she deals with being burnt out, and she says sometimes she powers through, but sometimes she just can’t, and that’s when she takes a break and does something fun.  When’s the last time I did something really fun?

Even in Japan it was mostly work…

So we’ll figure something out, I guess.

Sabby says that’s why we call it recreation.  Re creation.  She’s pretty smart sometimes.

I’m surprised Crystal hasn’t burnt out but she’s pretty driven, in some ways in ways I’m not, so…  I guess we’ll see.

Anyway, I’m going to bed.

Love you all! ❤️

Hi! It’s me! Lily!!!

I practiced very little today.  I did my scales and exercises, and went through the piece one or two times just so I don’t forget anything, but other than that, I just did other stuff.  I went shopping this evening to get Beth her present.  I got her a present, but she deserves something more special, and I don’t really have any good ideas.

But Sabby did, so she’s going to run with it.  She says I work too hard on these kinds of things, and she’s her daughter, so let her have a little fun.  Fair.

Liz is over tonight.  We did a little practice on her piece (it was nice to play something else), and now we’re just kinda chilling.  Liz is pretty chill most of the time.  She doesn’t really like drama.  It seems to follow some people around, but not her.  Well, most of the time.  Her parents have been a lot more chill too.  They still expect a lot out of her – you can’t take the tiger out of the mom all the time – but they’ve become a lot more accepting of the fact that she needs to do normal teenage stuff too.

She’s… umm…  gone farther with her boyfriend than I have with Jack.  But she mostly keeps that to herself.  I asked her if she regrets it.  She said no, but yes.  Apparently he’s very gentle and considerate, but…  he hasn’t really committed yet, and it makes her a little insecure.

I guess I see why they say to wait.

Commitment is important.

Oh…  I got my SAT results back today.  I didn’t get the highest score ever, but I did pretty well.  Well into the realm of “get into any college I want that cares about such things”.  So I sent off my Meiji application today.  I think it’ll go well, but I have to jump through the hoops.  Good that I can pay for it myself, I guess.

I told my financial manager to make sure that I had enough liquid funds to pay for the four years, because I don’t want to be taken out by a stock market crash.  That was Dave’s idea.  So I have an investment account that has about half of my net worth, and a bank account with about the other half.  I’ll have to investigate how to move some of those funds to Japan, etc., but I guess one thing at a time.  I’m so lucky to have that ability – in some ways.  The shop is doing really well…  Sabby and I are working on finding a larger venue, because larger venues make more money, and our shop is really small for the number of clients.  She has a few leads and we’re going to look at them soon.  Truth is, while my share in the shop is worth quite a bit more than what I put in, I haven’t seen much of it, both Sabby and I are reinvesting.  That’s alright.  I’ve got plenty.  And I believe in what we’re doing.

Jack got his SATs back too.  He did well.  My scores are a little higher, but his are still good enough to not get in his way.  He’s considering applying to some pretty good colleges in the midwest.  It’s where he’s from, after all.

Beth got her practice SAT scores as well.  She blew me out of the water – if the scores had been real.  I’m not surprised.  She’s always been far smarter than me.

And Liz… hers were almost as good as Beth’s.

It hasn’t quite hit that we’re all going to be going our separate ways this fall.  I’m (hopefully) going to Japan, Jack’s going somewhere in the midwest, Liz… I don’t know where she’s going, but it’s going to be a dang good school…  Beth’s going to be home, but all of us won’t…  you know that scene in K-on where all the girls are against the wall and talking about all the fun they’ll have next year, and then it hits and they all start crying?  It might be like that.  It’s not yet, but.. it might be like that.

Sabby says that graduation is the closing of one era of your life and the opening of another… but I like this era.  I like spending time with all my friends and not worrying about anything but studying and practicing, and all the fun things I get to do with my family and friends….. and it’s all going to go away soon.  Just a matter of months now.

I won’t lie.  The thought hurts.  It hurts a lot.

But there are very few people who haven’t experienced the exact same thing.  Right?  I guess it’s what Dave calls a rite of passage.

Think happy thoughts, Lily.  It’s still months away.  Think happy thoughts.  It’s just sweat.  I’m just sweating.  From the eyes.

Love you all!!! ❤️

Hi! It’s me! Lily!!!

All the girls are over tonight.  We’re about to go to the shop to see a couple of bands perform.  We’re pretty popular now, which is cool.  Word’s gotten around that we treat bands fairly and don’t take too much of a cut of the merch, so they like coming around and performing.  Sabby and I are talking about doing a competition at some point, but not quite there yet.  Maybe when we get a bigger venue.  That’s coming, I think.

Otherwise, pretty quiet, today.  I still didn’t practice a lot, just enough to maintain.  I’ll start again next week.

Yuki has all of the arrangements, and has a couple of idols who want to come over and perform with her.  But the catch is, she can’t pay them.  I think I mentioned that Sabby’s okay with having them stay here for a little while, though, and they get to come to the US and see the sights.  One or two idols dropped out on hearing that, but it looks like she should have a team of three.  That’s plenty!  Now it’s just costumes and choreography, but Yuki’s a madwoman when she gets going, so I don’t think that’ll be a problem.  And she’s competent, so…

Speaking of which, one of Miki’s coworkers/friends reached out to me, she wants to chat.  I wonder what she wants, but…  sure.  I’ll hear her out.  They’re not my sisters yet, but they’re friends, if they want to be.

The eclipse is soon!!!  Yay!!!

All this excitement for four minutes.  Reminds me of romance… oops.  Did I say that out loud?  Haha!! No, I’m not talking about Jack.

Okay, well, the girls are watching anime and I kinda want to see what’s going on.  They’re watching a stupid one about a guy and a talking java finch. Wut?

Love you all!!! ❤️

Hi! It’s me! Lily!!!

Beth had a surprise birthday party today!!!

My job was to keep her busy.

So she and I had a sister spa day.

I took her to the spa and we had a massage and all that good stuff… and then she came home and, well… got surprised.

Girl burst into tears and started blubbering about how much she loved everyone.

Her best friends came over, but also her singing teacher, my other sisters, Jack and family, Anathema and Joe, and Emiko and family came over too!!!

(i haven’t seen Emiko in a while so it was nice to catch up)

She had a very big chocolate cake and lots of presents.  Lots of books as well, but Sabby also told her she’s getting good enough that she can perform something at the shop soon!

She had a really good time.  She says she doesn’t feel any different now that she’s seventeen (on Monday) but that she’d better get cracking on finding a boyfriend.  Dave looked a little sick at that, and she just smirked.  She knew what she did!!!

In other news, Miki’s coworker wanted to chat with me about how to practice to get better.  Apparently Miki has been showing the video of me performing that Schumann concerto to everyone who’ll watch, and they’re really impressed.  They all seem to be of the opinion that while they’re more famous and better at being idols, that I’m by far the better musician.  I don’t know if they’re right, but I guess they might be?  So I just told her to practice a lot, find people who can teach her what she doesn’t know, and be sure to take breaks.

Japanese people can be very bad at taking breaks, sometimes.

I’m actually a little surprised she’d ask.  Apparently, while they get training, most of what they do is “sink or swim” – they get taught basic strength training and the things they need to be idols, but not so much the things they need to excel at being idols, or the things that might help them springboard their career.  They’re on their own for that.  The Japanese idol industry isn’t… great… sometimes.

All the girls are over now, we’re full of chocolate cake and are whittling down what’s left (it was a big cake, Sabby had baker make it and spared no expense), and everyone’s kinda rubbing their belly and in a sugar haze.  Anathema has the night off (last night was the big concert night so tonight’s more laid back), so she’s here too and giving makeup and beauty tips to Beth.  I guess that’s her present.  She’s darn good at it, though, and all the girls are listening very, very intently.

Sugar hazes are the best kind of haze to be in, I guess.

Whoever Beth eventually ends up with is going to be a very lucky guy.

This…  might be the last birthday I get to celebrate with Beth for a few years.

I…  I…  oh damn it.  Damn it all.

Love you all!!! ❤️

Hi! It’s me! Lily!!!

Beth kicked me out today!! Awww!!!

The girls came over for our weekly practice and we were doing some practice, then after an hour she told me to get out and go to the mall or something, there’s something she wants to surprise me with.

Awww.

Is there anyone else who can play the drums?  I guess we’ll find out.

So I went to the mall or something.  When I came back she was looking really satisfied with herself, but I guess we’ll find out.  She wants to book next weekend at the shop/venue for a concert…  but I guess we’ll see what she’s cooked up.

All the other girls weren’t telling me a thing. AWWWW.

Anyway, I trust Beth, she won’t do anything too embarrassing.  I almost said she won’t do anything embarrassing, but then, I’m not a minor celebrity in Japan (and at anime conventions) because she wouldn’t do anything embarrassing…

She wanted to practice “Idol” too.  Girl’s really gotten good at singing.  I mean, she’s not professional, but I’d feel comfortable on a stage with her.

She’s gotten okay at guitar, too.  Nowhere near Crystal levels, but she can strum out a few chords, so she’d be okay at rhythm guitar.  I guess she goes over to Crystal’s house sometimes after school and practices with her.  If we were to Bocchify our roles, I’d be Nijika, Beth would be Kita, Crystal would be Bocchi, and Diana would be Ryo.  I have no idea how they managed whatever they were doing without a drummer, but…  Beth wouldn’t have looked so self-satisfied if she didn’t have that covered…

Diana’s getting a little more into the band stuff.  It’s still not her first choice, but I think she likes spending time with her friends and making music.

Oh… and Crystal keeps improving by leaps and bounds.  At this rate she’s going to be a top-rated guitarist in a couple of years.  How she pulled that one off, I don’t know, but I admit… I had discounted her.  Maybe she’s found her calling.

Anyway… Sabby’s booked us, for better or for worse.  I guess I’m going to have to make sure to have brushed up on the drums, too, amongst everything else.  Oh well.  Of all of us, I have both the easiest and most difficult job, so I think it’ll be okay.

Next Friday night!  Come see us!  … come to think of it, did we ever actually name our band?  Hah!!!  If we did, we’ve never really used it, so I genuinely forgot.  I should ask the girls.

Oh, ummm…  dangit.  We have to talk costumes.  Maybe Anathema can hook us up.  I refuse to wear anything too rocker chick though.  Torn leggings and knee high boots…  okay.  Jean skirt and tube top… okay.  Temporarily dyed hair… eh, but okay, I guess.  KISS style makeup and leather body?  NO.

Sabby would kill me, anyway.

Love you all!!! ❤️

Hi! It’s me! Lily!!!

I still don’t know what Beth’s up to, but she’s really preparing for something.  The girls came over this evening so we could practice, and then after a while she kicked me out again.  Awww.

Oh well, I went to get a chocolate shake, she even threw money at me so I’d go, so… win-win, I guess.  Maybe I should be upset.  I’m not, though.  I don’t know why.

Otherwise, I’m going back to practicing, but not quite as intensely as before.  I mean, I’ve got it memorized, I can play it through, it’s not like I’m not going to be prepared.  So I’ll be alright I guess.

Sabby promised she’d take me to the waterpark after my concert.  SCORE.

Anyway… ummm… nothing else big going on.  Just the usual stuff.  Practice, school, other practice, even more other practice (Liz has her concert coming up too), and…  ummm…  yeah.  Just a lot going on, and most of it musical.

Wonder how that happened?

Oh well.

I think it started with Bocchi the Rock.  Crystal got inspired, and, well…

Sigh.

Oh, it turns out, everyone else forgot if we made a band name, so we just took a bit of time and thought of a new one.  We’re “Crystal and the Rockiest Rocking Rockers that ever Rocked in Round Rock”.  But we just abbreviated it to “Crystal’s Rocking Rockers”.  None of us care that she gets top billing.  It’s pretty much her band right now anyway.  We all just did it for her.

Love you all!!! ❤️