Hello

(Picture unrelated, but when you look that amazing, who cares about relevance?)

Despite the fact that I now have less free time than ever, am testing for my second degree black belt in one week, have finals coming around the corner, and just missed eight days of school, I have decided to re-start this blog.

Call me crazy? Er, sure, if you want. I mean, it’s your own opinion, really.

First of all I’d like to apologize for having disappeared without notice. That is inexcusable (not to mention hypocritical. I’ve railed time and again against bloggers and webcomic artists who did that very same thing). Those of you still checking this blog, thank you very much for doing so. From now on, I’d like to continue to post in this blog. I can’t say it’ll happen on any regular schedule, or quickly, but I will post. I had decided to keep my fan opinions to myself and just enjoy being a fan for a while, but now I’ve changed my mind.

Now, here is the reason for that change of heart…

Above, I mentioned having missed eight days of school. No, I didn’t come down with H1N1 long after all of the cool kids. Rather, I was traveling. Thanks to my school’s Ancient Greece class, I and 30 of my classmates were able to travel to Greece for a total of 10 days. We were originally slotted to leave about a week earlier than we did, but then the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland erupted and we found ourselves postponed (for those still struggling to pronounce the name, here’s a handy pronunciation guide: vol-KAY-noh). Undaunted, we eventually flew out a week and half later. I had a lovelyish time, and managed to avoid getting sunburned.

This anecdote does have a relation to my blog and to Hello Project. Our group spent a long time wandering around the Heathrow Airport in London while we waited to see if the Greek riots would strand us in Britain (there are worse places to be stranded. The first time we attempted our trip, we ended up in CANADA). At the time I was wearing the Linlint-shirt highlighted in my last post (I was wearing some other things, but they aren’t relevant).

During one of my wanderings, I decided to go get lunch at the Wagammama noodle restaurant. They serve yummy (but overpriced) ramen and the like at long, cafeteria style tables. I ended up at a table with a group of people I didn’t know. I ordered and was well into my ramen when I heard a voice say, “Excuse me!”

I looked up and saw a youngish-looking Japanese man sitting across from me. I was immediately terrified that I had accidentally slurped my noodles too fast and sprayed him. Instead, he pointed at my shirt and asked, “You are Linlin fan?” When I nodded, he broke into a huge smile and pronounced, ” I am too! Linlin is number one!”

I have never talked in person with another Hello Project fan. Meeting that man was the biggest and best surprise of the entire trip. We spent the rest of our meal speaking in both English and Japanese about everything Idol. When it came time to leave, I went back to my group nearly in tears. Many of you in the blogosphere can understand how I felt. The majority of you must be like me: isolated in your love of H!P, never expecting to meet anyone who shares your strange hobby. The feeling of being a H!P fan- alone- is an entirely unique one. I never realized how lonely a feeling it can be. Finally meeting someone in person who knows what I mean when I say “Mitsui Aika needs to change her hairstyle”… I can’t put the feeling into words.

That moment spurred me to re-start this blog. I enjoyed the time I spent keeping my fandom to myself, but I think it’s time to return to this particular corner of the blogosphere.

I hope you will all forgive me for my unexplained absence, and welcome me back.