Clelie just posted a journal entry, exclaiming how long it's been since she last wrote. But truthfully, I feel as if it's been even longer since I've done so! My last entry was a month and two days ago! Though I shouldn't be surprised...this is a recurring pattern for me during school breaks. I think I totaled two entries last summer.

To be quite honest, there have been times over the last month where I could easily have written an entry. It wouldn't have been a massive one...but there HAVE been times.

But journal writing for me is a little bit of a "right time, right place" thing - I have to be in the mood. Not necessarily to write a short one-sentence entry about the homeless lady that yelled at me at Starbucks (which happened), or about meeting an old elementary school acquaintance at UH of all places (which also happened)...those every day things that I really want to just shoot out at the computer get bogged down by the fact that, should I open the "post entry" box...I'd also want to post everything else that has happened to me. So a one or two sentence report would turn into 50 paragraphs.

Hence, this entry.

Today, I've been pretty productive actually. And I don't have a headache (which has been a frequent happening while I've been working at the lab as of late), nor do I have Chinese 101 homework to do. I've gotten a head start on packing for my move into a hostel for two weeks...and the stuff I could potentially be doing (such as working on that International Night proposal for ISA that's due this week), I accidentally left at home. Call it a Freudian slip.

So.

Things have been pretty good recently. Here's a run-down of my usual comings-and-goings: 

01. Work.

The lab is the same ol', same ol'. Sit in front of the internet for four hours at a time, watching over a nearly empty lab. With summer school in session, there ARE people here (hence, the reason why we're even open), but traffic is still minimal. Which makes for a relaxing $9.45 and hour. We've undertaken a massive archival project though, given to us by the up-aboves. And it requires the day in and day out un-stapling and scanning of thousands and thousands of old documents. Not. Fun.

I also wanted to post about this earlier...but something really random happened to me a couple of weeks back. I was sitting at the front desk as usual, when a girl comes to sign in for the computers. She looks super familiar, and when I checked her ID to see if it was validated, I quickly scanned the name at the bottom as well. Kelsey Harvey.

I knew that name, for sure. I wasn't sure where, but I was positive that I had seen the girl before. At first, I thought that maybe she was a girl I knew from high school...but when I searched my memory I couldn't recall her face. Then I thought about middle school. Finally, I went on facebook, and tried a quick search. I didn't think I'd find anything but...

Lo and behold...she was there as a UH student, and she was "mutual friends" with two of my childhood friends...from ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.

Now I remember why she looked so familiar. But oh man, elementary school?? I kept glancing at her throughout my shift, wondering whether or not I should say anything. She looked a lot like her younger self, which is how I recognized her. And she and I ran in vaguely the same social circles back then...we were even in the same class during the one-year period that I went to Brinker Elementary in Plano, Texas. But in the end, I never did say anything, because I realized that this is how the conversation would go: 

Me: Hey! Kelsey Harvey looks towards me. Did you once go to Brinker Elementary School? In Texas?
Kelsey Harvey: Yeah...?
Me: Me too! I'm Amanda Chin, remember me? I only went to that school for a year, but I was friends with Jenny Yates.
Kelsey Harvey: No, I'm afraid I don't. It's been eleven years.
I clear my throat, apologize, and she goes back to her computer.

OR:

Me: Hey! Kelsey Harvey looks towards me. Did you once go to Brinker Elementary School? In Texas?
Kelsey Harvey: Yeah...?
Me: Me too! I'm Amanda Chin, remember me? I only went to that school for a year, but I was friends with Jenny Yates.
Kelsey Harvey: Oh yeah! I remember you!
Me: Cool! How've you been?
Kelsey Harvey: Oh, great. Things are great. You?
Me: I've been good.
We smile at each other.
Kelsey: Um...so, it's been really nice catching up with you, but I really have to rush off now. See you later!
She never comes back into the lab again.

OR:

Me: Hey! Kelsey Harvey looks towards me. Did you once go to Brinker Elementary School? In Texas?
Kelsey Harvey: Yeah...?
Me: Me too! I'm Amanda Chin, remember me? I only went to that school for a year, but I was friends with Jenny Yates.
Kelsey Harvey: Oh yeah! I remember you!
Me: Cool. How've you been?
Kelsey Harvey: Oh, great. Things are great. You?
Me: I've been good.
We smile at each other. She stands frozen for a few minutes, debating whether or not now is a good time to leave politely. But she still has to finish her essay! She's only two paragraphs in!
Kelsey Harvey: Haha, well, I'd better get back to this. You know how essays are.
Me: Oh yeah, yeah. For sure, no worries. Have fun!
Kelsey Harvey: Yes.
She takes an hour to finish her essay. And, as the only person actually in the lab for that entire hour, she finishes in awkward silence. When she is done, she leaves and never comes back into the lab again.


None of those options were terribly appealing to me, as I was stuck in the lab for a good four hours after whichever awkward moment came to pass. But it was still kinda cool, knowing that somehow I've met someone from my past in such a random way.

Also - I'm getting used to Starbucks finally! I still don't know how to make all the drinks...and I'm slower at bar than the 4-years-under-my-belt average "partner" (what you call a Starbucks employee)...but I'm getting there. And going to work isn't so nerve wracking anymore. I'm actually enjoying riding my moped as well...though I rarely take it over 30 mph. Haha, I'm such a wuss when it comes to driving. I can't stand driving in the wind, rain, etc. Nor can I stand potholes and speed bumps. I'll be glad when I move to Japan and can bike or take the train everywhere. Oh, public transportation!

The homeless in Waikiki are hilarious. I've learned this quite well after working for Starbucks for a month now. Case in point:

The other day I opened the store (opening shift starts at 4 AM for us) at 4:30 in the morning. Around 5 AM, this middle-aged lady comes in. She's wearing what looks like a frayed tapestry over her shoulders, and a frumpy looking hat. She has on makeup, but it's so overly done and smeared in all directions that it's hard not to stare at her. But you shouldn't stare too intensely at the homeless...since the reaction you get is rarely a good one.

Anyways, she walks up to the counter, and demands change from me while holding out a ratty looking dollar. I had just finished ringing up another man for his coffee (yes, people actually wait outside at 4:30 in the morning for us to unlock the doors), so luckily my drawer was already open. When I hold out my hand for her dollar, so I could exchange it for four quarters...she gives me this look, and juts her chin out as if to say "are you retarded?", then refuses to give me the dollar until I hand her four quarters. This happens twice, before I finally just give her the four quarters. She hands me the dollar, sniffs, and then says "I feel SORRY for you." ...before stalking out the door.

She harasses customers sitting outside for another half hour before Dave the manager calls security.

Oh, Waikiki. How I love thee.


On another job-related note...I take my Barista Certification soon! I was supposed to take it last week...however I have been specially chosen to be the one that takes their test with the District Manager as a witness. Apparently he decided he wants to see how partners are tested, so I'm the lucky one that gets to perform my certification in front of him! Added to the fact that I'm the first person to have been trained at the Park Shore Starbucks (all other partners working at my store have been trained at slower stores), because Dave the manager thought "I could handle it"...I must be the luckiest employee alive (not). The horrors!

SO, due to the District Manager not having the time till after Independence Day...we're waiting till then for me to test.


02. School

There's only a week left before I'm free from Chinese 101! Our Oral Exam is Wednesday, and our Written Exam is Thursday...so technically tomorrow is the last day of class!

Granted, I've really enjoyed re-learning Chinese...because it's actually really easy for me. I'm surprised how much I remember. But I'm struggling to re-learn all the pronunciations properly, and doing the actual English-Chinese translations. Plus, pinyin is a bitch.


03. HK Family

What is there really to say...? Other than the fact that when I'm not working, sleeping, or in school, I'm pretty much out with these guys? We normally do dinner together every evening (when I don't close at Starbucks), and we go see movies a lot. Plus there's the beach on weekends...and they've had guests visit so we've done stuff like Dave and Buster's, Round Island trips, etc. for their benefit. There's been loads of gossip, which I try to keep Clelie updated on...and several nights of karaoke. Plus, I now own my own HI shirt (the trademark "uniform" of the HK family), which I can wear proudly when we meet up in big groups.

I'm really going to miss seeing them every day, when they're gone. They all leave this Monday (Devin to New York, Joyce to HK, and everyone else to Japan before going to HK)...and I'll have two weeks to myself before I head out to Japan as well with Brandon, Sherri, and Cullen. Brandon and Sherri are good friends, but we're not the type to really "hang out" together...so it's looking like a pretty quiet two weeks ahead.

I'm honestly looking forward to it though. I think I need to re-charge my batteries before I head out to a different country, staying in hostels and acting as tour guide. I won't have much personal space then, so I should soak up the private time now while I still can.

Plus, there's so much I still have to do! I have to buy some stuff for Japan (tank tops, hairdryer, travel-size toiletries, etc.)...I have to put all my music onto my iPod once and for all (there's still so much not on there), I have to post all those photos from this entire year at UH onto Facebook (before I take a gazillion more in Japan)...and I just started downloading the entire series of Daria so that I can sync that onto my iPod as well! 

WHOO DARIA! Haha, remember that show guys?? When my roomie China was watching it online, I was reminded of how much I loved that show way back when. So I decided to take it with me to Japan, for times like the flight there, or the long night bus rides to and from Osaka.

And...I think this is all the drivel I am motivated to type about today! Hey, thanks for reading up till now. I'm sure it's been enthralling.

Hey there Update Screen, it's been awhile.

Seven days, to be exact! A lot can happen in seven days.

For starters, I'm feeling much better than I was when I last wrote here. Everyone has been really supportive for the most part, and I've been so busy that it was too hard to remain woebegone.

What I've been up to:

The day after Takuji and Seiichi left back for Japan, I had to move into Wainani. It's literally a five minute walk from Noelani...so it was kind of annoying knowing that I could have just stayed in the apartment I've been in for the past year. But I'm glad I'm in Wainini for the first half of summer, if only because there are no cockroaches (a huge plus), the building is safer, and my apartment is so clean!

Since people who weren't dorming already didn't move into summer housing till the weekend, I had the apartment to myself for three nights. But I barely slept or hung out there, since most of my time was spent with the HK family. I spent the majority of my free time (whenever I wasn't working, basically), at Joyce's house, or going to the beach with everyone. It was really fun, though I'm glad that things have settled down a bit with the start of summer school. I'm not so sure I can lead a lifestyle where I'm always on the go. I'm the kind of person that needs my own space, without anyone else around me, every now and then.

Apart from having my very own space though...I'm also the kind of person that prefers the company of others over a solitary house. I mean...not necessarily a friend that I have to pay attention to all the time...but I like the idea of a roommate (or better yet, a housemate with our own rooms) because I'm not obligated that spend time with this person, nor am I obligated to play the part of the host. In essence, I like the idea of co-habitation. Where my roommate goes her own way, and I go mine.

That said, my new roomie is really great so far. Her name is China, even though she's Japanese-American (and apparently re-taking JPN101 this summer...so I get to help tutor, according to her). One of the reasons behind her name (and there are several), is that apparently her parents thought she looked like a china doll when she was born. She's pretty friendly, but not overly so, so we get along well in giving each other space and yet asking about each others' days when we come home from classes and work.

I'm lucky to have had good experiences throughout my college life, as far as roommates go.

Just having someone around, knowing you aren't completely alone in a quiet building (I'm not even sure if there are people living in the other apartments on my floor), is reassuring. This is also why I prefer living in cities or suburban areas, as opposed to the countryside. I like visiting the country a lot...and there's a lot to be said about the serenity and beauty of the less inhabited areas...but I'm a people-person at heart. And I find comfort seeing buildings lit up at night, cars still running at 2 AM, and lights on in apartment windows.

Other than moving, I've been working SO MUCH. Every day, other than the occasional day off from Starbucks. And no computer lab on the weekends.

Training at Starbucks has been really tough. But apparently I'm doing really, really well. Both the big boss Dave and the assistant manager Robynne are impressed with me, it seems. And I'm the first person to be trained at the actual Park Shore Starbucks I'm working at. All the other partners (that's what they call employees of Starbucks) were trained in slower stores. Because the Park Shore Starbucks is like the third busiest store in the state. I'm told that if you tell any other store that you work for Park Shore, they automatically want you when they need a "borrowed partner", or someone who comes in to fill for partners who are sick or on vacation.

There's so much to learn! People who work here are really, really into what they do. Which is something that I rarely see, and it's kind of nice. But oh man, all the numbers (how many shots, how many pumps, how many scoops, how many shakes...) are starting to get to me. I have to keep chugging! My barista certification is probably going to be next week!

Summer school has also started. I'm only taking one class...Chinese 101! Haha. It's kind of funny saying that, since I'm full-Chinese...but there are actually quite a lot of Chinese-Americans in my class who are like me. We can understand Mandarin, because we grew up in that kind of environment, but we either can't speak ourselves, or can't read/write. I wish I hadn't lost my fluency, all those years ago. It's something I kind of regret. But I'm trying to gain all that back now. And it's at least coming to me a lot quicker than for those in the class who haven't taken any Chinese at all. My mind is starting to think in Chinese again, which is good. It's like whenever I visit my family back in Texas.

I prefer the Bopomofo (kind of like the hiragana of Chinese, what Taiwanese learned when they were taught Chinese) to pinyin by far though. I think it's easier to understand, and less easy to get confused. All these x's and q's are having my head spin.

And aside from work and school...like I said before, most of my free time is taken up with hanging out with the HK crew. I think we're doing a round island drive this weekend. This past Sunday we went to the beach and saw Star Trek! We've also been to Buca di Bepo, and watched a Korean horror film (which I only managed to see half of) at Joyce's.

I've learned so much gossip about everyone from Joyce. Clelie, after this I want to write an email to you! I'm sorry, I had promised to earlier...things got really busy since then.

Perspective really changes, the more you know about a person. I may never look at Wing, Ivan, Devin, and Billy in the same way ever again.

Recently I've finished reading The Mysterious Benedict Society. Good book, everyone! It's children's literature, but children's literature at its best. The kind of story that I want to write for myself, one day. I'm excited to read the sequel. But for now, I've started reading My Sister's Keeper. Because I've meant to read it, since senior year English at LHS, when Frazer had us read an excerpt in class. But I've put it off on my "To Read" list, where book titles tend to get lost among the thousands on there (in no particular order). Now that they're going to be making the book into a movie though (with Abigail Breslin!), and now that I've seen the trailer (which looks really good), I for sure need to finish it before I watch the movie. One of my habits.


Basically, that's my life right now. I am going to try to keep writing as much as I can during these six-weeks that Summer Session 1 is underway...but I admit that it'll be tough. What with my schedule being crazy, and all.

Also, I still miss Takuji. Not the kind of missing where I'm unable to move on...but the kind where there's an empty space at my shoulder where he should be. And if I think about that empty space too much, my heart hurts. But I don't think about it too much...and we've been emailing and calling each other pretty much every day. Short messages, and short phone calls. But it's enough just to hear his voice, thousands of miles away.

I'm trying to take it one step at a time. One hour at a time.

I cried for two hours. And the feeling of "now what?" hit me like a speeding bullet train. I sat in my living room, looking at the now bare kitchen, and wasn't even sure if I knew how to move off of the couch. Talking with Clelie helped a lot. And then I had to figure out how I was going to continue living.

So I just took one step at a time.

One hour trying to smile by watching the newest Atashinchi no Danshi. Three hours at the computer lab. Half an hour commuting to Waikiki. An hour staring blankly at the beach and the sun setting. Four hours working hard to erase everything from my mind and focusing completely on learning my new tasks at Starbucks. Then, finally, sitting at the bus stop in the dark...and realizing that nothing in my heart has really changed. The hurt was just put aside for awhile, before flooding me again with a uncomfortable feeling that something was not right in this world. Or rather, someone was not in my part of the world, where I felt that they should be.

But Takuji called while I was on the bus. It was a brief call, since international charges are expensive...but he made it to Tokyo safely. And I could almost touch his hand, and his cheek, in those five minutes that his voice came in through the airwaves. He was sitting right next to me. I was desperately clutching my phone like a man crawling through the desert, running towards a mirage.


I'm so emo right now, it's not even funny. But I really am trying to keep going strong! The one remedy to this, having Takuji on this side of the ocean with me again, is not going to happen anytime soon. I have to accept it.


To everyone that's been contacting me all day...thank you. The hugs, the reassurances, and the advice from people who have also gone through the same thing...they mean a lot to me. Even if they're just a minor distraction, a text to make me laugh, or a debate about Japanese girls and white guys to get everyone talking at once at work...things like that make me feel like I can still be myself, even with a part of me missing. It made me realize that I am still me, and I am not half a person simply because the one I love isn't here, physically, by my side. I have to learn how to keep him close to my heart, despite the separation.

And to those that gave advice...they're a really big reassurance that things will be okay, eventually. And I needed that, even if I still feel like my world is falling apart.

Takuji left. My chest hurts. I can't stop crying.

What I've been up to since last Wednesday:

01. Finishing up finals (my take-home for ENG100 and my WS151 final)
02. Fumika leaves. :(
03. Last couple of days at Edible Arrangments
04. GOT HIRED for STARBUCKS
05. Barbecue with Hong Kong crew, goodbye party for Clelie
06. Helped Clelie pack
07. Clelie leaves. :(
08. Shige's graduation party at Sunrise (Okinawan) restaurant. Say goodbye to Jaime.
09. Jaime leaves. :(
10. Jacuzzi time and bowling with the HK crew.
11. Help Takuji and Seiichi pack and move stuff into my apartment. One big, happy family.
12. But they'll be leaving soon. :(

That's a lot of sad faces!

I'm having fun so far...going to parties and hanging out with friends...and I'm really glad I've made friends this past semester that will stay with me over the summer, like the HK crew, Oliver, Kazu and Kiyoshi, etc. Otherwise, I don't know what I'd do! The majority of the friends I've made this year are already gone, or leaving. It's been a little lonely these past few days. Especially with all my roommates gone (I'm doing interim housing until I move into my new dorm for the summer session), and the apartment bare.

But it's been cozy these past couple of days, with Takuji moved in with me, and Seiichi in the other room. It feels like the Big Island again, only with just the three of us. Last night, we got together with Shige and Seigo, and made pasta and pizza. We sat around in my living room till around midnight, sharing youtube videos (since I don't have a TV anymore), and the differences between Japan and America. Things like language, and culture, and food...what they're looking forward to when they go back, and what they're sad to leave behind. Rating their year in Hawaii...apparently Fumika had a 100 (when Seiichi asked her before she left), but Seiichi and Takuji only had 70s. Seiichi, because of the lack of a foreign girlfriend, and Takuji because he didn't get a chance to research here.

I feel the transition period really strongly right now. For some reason, it gets harder and harder to adjust, the older I get. I feel like, with each passing year, I put more weight on my memories, and I value them more as I become more aware of how much I've done in my life. And each time I say goodbye, I feel that separation more strongly, because possibilities are not always endless. I mean...you can do anything, if you try and want to hard enough...but as you become an adult, you take on more of that responsibility to proved opportunities for yourself. As a child, it was always the parents who paid your way. And now, you're the one who needs the earn the money or find the time to visit friends in a different country.

Saying goodbye to Fumika and Clelie in particular was really difficult. Not being able to properly spend time with Fumika before she left, and helping Clelie pack all afternoon...both of those times were rough in different ways.

It'll be okay though. I know that. I'm not sad because I'll never see anyone ever again. I'm just sad because a whole time period in my life is now over.

I've been keeping busy though, so hopefully I'll start cheering up again! Like I said in my list...I got hired at Starbucks! My first day is today! It's the store I really wanted to work at, too. :) My luck really turned around right after Mother's Day weekend! I'm excited, though I'm hoping that my uniform will be okay. I bought a black polo, since I don't own one...but it's got a little while logo on the chest. It's hard to find a polo that's completely plain at Ala Moana! I'm hoping that's okay...since the boss didn't specify, and we have aprons.

This is it for now. I'll write more once Takuji and Seiichi are gone. Oh, my heart!

I had the most terrifying dream last night.

( Cut for the possibly squeamish )



On a happier note, I have my second interview with Starbucks today! I was surprised with how quickly they got back to me...they called me yesterday morning in fact. And then I slept all of yesterday, due to my fever. Thatʻs actually probably why I had such a strange dream in the first place.

I also just finished my Japanese final. That was a huge endurance test. By the time I got to the application portion, and had to translate an article about the merits of games in virtual spaces such as "Second Life"...my mind fried just a little bit inside.

This morning, I had really wanted to write this entry, and start it off with an interesting bang. The creative writer in me doesn't like it when things are too standard and unoriginal, after all.

But after a long day, and the beginnings of a cold, my energy levels have gone way down! I felt perfectly fine yesterday evening...all the way until I hopped into bed and rested my head on my pillow. At that moment, I literally felt the beginnings of a sore throat. And I'm pretty sure I wasn't just too distracted to notice earlier. These things catch on fast! 

I'm pretty sure it's not the swine flu though. AJ has been sick with a cold at Edible for a little while...or rather, not a full-blown sickness, but just a kind of sore throat and sniffly nose. I probably caught it from her.

Speaking of Edible...this past week was RIDICULOUS. Words can hardly do it justice...so here's the simple breakdown of what I had going on since my last post:

Tuesday: Woke up extra early so that I could head down to Waikiki in the early morning and drop off yet another application at the Starbucks I want to work at. Since my summer schedule is now fixed, I could change my availability. I rush back towards campus, and transfer buses to go to Edible Arrangements. Work from 10 AM till 3:45 PM, and then rush back to campus to meet up with Fumika so we could work on Clelie's surprise birthday gift. We spent all night on it...till around 8 PM. After which I worked on my Japanese final report till around 1 AM and went to bed.

Wednesday: Last day of classes! Woke up at my usual 6:20 AM, worked till 9:30 AM, and went through three of my courses in quick succession. Skipped math (as per usual)...went home to get some sleep instead. Came back for my last EALL272 class, and work till 7 PM. A quick dinner with Takuji, and then straight to bed since the next day...

Thursday:

2:30 AM : WAKE UP
3:00 AM : Meet Takuji so he can drive me to Edible Arrangments
3:30 AM - 10 AM : Work!
10 AM : Head back to campus, print out photos at the computer lab, head back to my dorm, work on yearbooks for three hours.
4 PM : Get dressed fancy for dinner later, then go to work.
5 - 7 PM : Work at the computer lab. Hurriedly finish up all the yearbooks.
7:15 PM : Meet Takuji at Sinclair Circle, drive with Seiichi to Ala Moana. Shop for a birthday gift for Jaime and Sho.
7:45 PM : Meet everyone at Macaroni Grill for an end-of-the-year dinner! Celebrate Clelie, Kele, Jaime, and Sho's birthdays.
10 PM : Everyone goes back to Fumika's house to hang out and sign each other's yearbooks.
12: 30 PM : Get Takuji to drive me home, say goodbye to everyone.
1 AM : Bed (for 2 hours)

Friday: 

2:45 AM : WAKE UP
3:15 AM : Meet Takuji, go to Edible Arrangements
3:30 AM - 1 PM : Work!
2 PM : Arrive back at home, immediately crash on my bed.
5 PM : Overslept, wake up all disoriented and panicked. Quickly shower and dress up for the ISA Spring2009 Banquet.
6 PM : ISA Banquet! It was a video awards theme...lasted till 10:30 PM.
10:30 PM : Was convinced to join in on the karaoke after the banquet. Wouldn't have (need the sleep!), but Wing offered to give me a ride to work the next morning. Takuji wouldn't be able to, so it was my chance of getting a free ride (instead of a taxi).
2:45 AM : Arrive back at home, bed (45 minutes!)

Saturday: 

3:30 AM : WAKE UP
3:45 AM : Meet Wing, get driven to Edible Arrangements. Almost trip over Kyle (one of the drivers) on the way into the store, since he was sleeping up front on an air mattress. That's dedication right there.
4 AM - 4 PM : Round 3 of work! 12 hour shift! I am a non-functional human being after this.
5 PM : Stagger in pain back to the dorm. The walk back is the longest I've ever taken. Bed immediately.
7 PM : Wake up to a text from Takuji. Go to dinner with him.
8:30 PM : Meet up with Clelie and Fumika at Clelie's dorm so we can watch the Kanjani8 47 Tour DVD. Fun stuff!
12:30 PM : Crash into bed again...I can barely get my PJs on before I'm out.

Sunday: 

12 PM : WAKE UP. Ahaha...I'm not working today! I was supposed to...but I pleaded with Ester for a day off. I didn't think I could physically take another day of waking up at 2:30, or even 3:30.
1 - 6 PM : Study
6:30 PM : Dinner with Takuji
7:30 PM : Study
1 AM : Bed





As is obvious...it was an incredibly long weekend. Of course, some of that lack of sleep is my fault, I admit. But all things considering, it's just bad timing for Mother's Day weekend to be around the time of Finals and all those end-of-the-year parties. 90% of my friends will be going back home to different countries! I can't possibly ignore that fact and not go to the banquets. But because of that, I had to accept the consequences of no sleep and 5, 7, 9, and 12 hours shifts at work. The karaoke thing too...I slept during the last half of it. And I honestly wouldn't have gone, but I didn't want to make Wing drive me to work if I didn't go to karaoke. So I went anyways, and made do with the amount of sleep I had.

The banquets were so much fun though. I wouldn't change a thing. Even if I (probably) got this cold because of my very ill-planned weekend.

( Thursday: JPN Family )


( Friday: ISA Family )





Photo slideshow aside, I would say that if I could have managed my time more wisely this weekend...I would have. But I wouldn't have skipped out on any of the festivities, in retrospect. So at least I'm not regretting those decisions. I'll just have to be really careful not to stress myself out and make this cold even worse.

Random sidenote: I love Atashinchi no Danshi! I absolutely cannot wait till episode five comes out! AAAH! It's just an amazing show so far.



And...today was a good day. I had my MATH100 and EALL272 finals today, as well as an interview with the Starbucks shop that I want to work for! After my morning shift at the computer lab, I hopped on a bus and headed for Waikiki. I had the interview at 11:30, and it went really, really well. So well that the assistant manager, Robin, told me that she would particularly recommend her boss (Dave) to call me back for a second interview! I'm so happy about that!

The only thing is...I still haven't had a chance to tell them about Japan. This first interview was all the basic interview questions...and it took quite a bit of time. So they know at least that I'll be here for the long run...throughout the next year and possibly longer. But I hope that when I tell them about Japan during the next interview (that is, IF I get the call-back), they'll still be interested enough in me to hire me on. That would be AMAZING.

Also, though my last two exam scores were kind of dismal in MATH100...I aced my final! Exam results just came up online, and I got an 80 out of 80!! I'm really happy about this, since if I didn't do well, I would have gotten a C in the course. That would have just hurt my pride more than anything. Good thing I know my calculus! For some reason, I test so much better in Calculus than in Geometry or Basic Algebra. I wonder why.

And I think I did well on my EALL final. I have a really good A in that course anyways, so I think it'll be okay.


Right now I'm still at the computer lab, working. I work till 10 PM...after which I'm going to karaoke again...this time with Fumika, Clelie, Max, Seigo...and others from the Japanese family. It's our last night together before people start heading back for Japan. I really want to just call it a night and go to bed...but I know I can't miss something like this. I'll just soak in the atmosphere and enjoy everyone else's singing.

To all those that commented on my new haircut, thank you! :D I still really like it, even after it lost its "new haircut direct from the salon" sheen, I still am really happy with it. Like Krystle said, I will have to take some photos in natural light soon. Clelie posted a decent one on facebook, after our night spent at Joyce's house (including a jacuzzi and action figures!)...but for those who don't have a facebook (BFF), I'll see if I can get a good photo in the near future.

Life has been decent recently.

Well, when I say "decent"...I don't mean that it's been mediocre. It's just that I feel silly, always saying "there have been a lot of ups and downs"...because that's kind of obvious, right? But that's always the case, and I never know how to properly summarize how LIFE has been. Because life is life.

For good things, recently I've gotten into playing "Restaurant City" on facebook! Haha...such bad timing though, with finals just around the corner. But practically everyone in the ISA has been playing, and I've finally jumped on the bandwagon. It's strangely addictive. Though I probably shouldn't use the word "strangely", since I've been addicted to games like SimTower and Rollercoaster Tycoon before. I like creating things, and the fact that you can interact with friends and "rank" on facebook, is kind of neat. Plus my character is so cute! Clelie has acted as my suga' mama in buying me sweet clothes.

Last week was pretty low stress, as far as schoolwork goes. The only thing major I had going was my final presentation in Japanese on Friday...though that was pretty exhausting since even after taking the time to collect survey data and write out my speech a week beforehand...I still had to stay up till 3 AM finishing up my powerpoint presentation and memorizing everything. 7 minutes in Japanese (more like 10, considering how much information I tried to cram in) is a little difficult!

But the presentation went well, I think. And I'm glad I got it over with on the first day, even if I went on the same day that all the "native speakers" (those who have either lived in Japan for some of their life, or who grew up in Japanese homes) decided to go. How embarrassing.

This week will be pretty good, if I can not slack off for these last few days before finals. I don't have much to do...it's just my level of motivation is still going ever lower.

Saturday evening I went over to Joyce's house to hang out with the HK family, Clelie, and Nozomi! Loads of fun, that was. Joyce's apartment is so sweet...though her immediate family isn't super wealthy, her grandparents sure seem like it. They apparently own several places on Hawaii, and only come here occasionally for vacations and such. Plus they don't rent out their places, so Joyce gets to stay in the Ala Moana apartment for free. I wish Uncle Howie let me do that! Her apartment is right next door to Uncle Howie's condo (literally), and is just as nice. The HK family normally spend several evenings over there, having dinner and hanging out together.

Not all of them are related, but they really are "family". Hanging out with them reminds me of my time with all my cousins. I really miss seeing all of them on a regular basis.

Joyce's apartment complex has a lower building with a swimming pool and hot tub on top. After dinner, we all went there, sat in the hot tub, and played chicken in the pool. There's a glass divider at the edge of the building's roof, and the pool goes practically up to it. So you can see out across the Ala Moana area...with the beach and Magic Island and the great dark sky. It was really fantastic.

That was also my first time playing chicken. Sorry Wing for lasting so long! I didn't realize that it'd be so hard to knock girls off of someone's shoulders.

Clelie and I slept over that night. And it was the evening that sparked within me an interest for KPop.

I've always been generally interested in Korean music...but it's kind of weird since I've liked the Korean artists that have made breakthroughs in Japan. Groups such as Big Bang and Tohoshinki. But Joyce is a huge fan of KPop, and she spent the evening showing me all these videos that made me really want to learn more on my own!

Plus, it's good timing. Because I downloaded a recent Music Station a week or so back (for Arashi's "Believe" performance), that had Tohoshinki's "Survivor" as well. I'm in love with that song now.

And after that time with Joyce, I'm also in love with Big Bang's "Haru Haru". What is it with me an my affinity for rappers?

As for things that have been stressing me out...on a superficial level, finances and jobs have really been on my mind. I really, really, really want a Starbucks job. But I'm not sure how good my chances are since I'll be in Japan for four weeks during the summer. I feel like my availability is good though, especially after Julia (one of my housemates), who works at the Starbucks I want to work at, checked over the schedule I gave her and approved.

After this summer, I won't need to be saving up for another year of college anymore. But I will be wanting to go to Taiwan over spring break (to visit Clelie!), and I know that I need to save up as much as possible before heading out into the real world. Therefore, even though I could live just on my computer lab earnings alone...I think it's better if I have two jobs to build a nest egg of sorts.

I could possibly stay at Edible Arrangements...but over the summer I would only be able to work on weekends, since my computer lab job will require me to work from 9 to 4:30 on weekdays. That's the probably with having two day jobs! This kind of issue would probably carry over to the school year as well...so it's best if I move on to another kind of work.

Another big thing that's been troubling me is the end of the year coming up. I'm happy for the summer coming, really I am.

But everyone will be leaving after finals. Clelie, Maaza, Fumika, Seiichi, Jaime, Seigo...Takuji. People that have come to mean a lot to me over the course of the year.

Yesterday evening, I ate dinner with Takuji, and we came up with a list of things that he should do before he leaves for Japan. Eat french fries one more time. Go to the beach one more time. Surf one more time. Eat with friends one more time.

After dinner, we sat in my living room before studying, and I cried into his shoulder.

I know I need to prepare myself for this kind of thing...and of course I knew what I was getting into when I made international exchange friends (and got an international exchange boyfriend). But sometimes I just  want to box up this loneliness. It's too sad to think about.

Hair!

 


Hope it's good for everyone! I'm happy with it. Only 15 dollars too! But I don't photograph well so...I think it looks much better in person than it does on here.


I registered today! I got every single class that I was aiming for! YES!

12:20 AM and...I'm done writing the first draft of my final Japanese presentation! Yes!

Haha, I feel like, as far as meat and potatoes goes (I'm stealing Clelie's analogy for this), I'm done with the "meat" of my work on this project. Which is a really, really good thing. Because, with this draft done, I just need to give it to sensei to correct. Then I need to break it down into slides and create a power point presentation (which shouldn't be too hard, since I'm going for simplicity). Finally, I need to memorize the entire thing so that I can smoothly go through all the information on Friday...the "smoothly" bit is kind of necessary, since I didn't realize how much content I wanted to get across until I had to write it all out tonight. There's a lot! Apparently, even with the minimum (I had thought it was minimum at the time) research that I'd done, it was still a lot to express in my basic Japanese.

日本の子供とアメリカの子供を比べたら、小学校と中学校で学習習慣について発表するつもりです。

Friday is also the day my last EALL paper will be due! I plan on whipping that out Thursday night.

Throughout this week, I need to constantly be reading Murakami Haruki's Dance, Dance, Dance, for EALL. Over 100 pages every two days! Oh man...it's not nearly as much as I used to read in my English major days...but with all my other work, it feels like a back-breaker.

Monday, my "letter to the editor" is due for ENG. And I can't procrastinate on this, since we're supposed to print out our email submission to an actual newspaper, so that our professor can check the time-stamp. Goodie.

BUT, if I can make it through Friday...and squeeze out one last drop of motivation for doing that editorial over the weekend...then I'm done with coursework!! All I'd have left would be to study for finals!!

This is an amazing point in time that I'm looking forward to. Please, please allow me to make it to Friday.




Oh, oh...and I got my haircut today!! Haha, it was a last minute epiphany. "Last minute" meaning...this past Friday was when I decided to go for it. With how hot it's become in Hawaii (it's weird to think of all the snow back at home in CO), my long hair has become unbearable. And with the lack of attention I've been giving it all semester (I haven't had a haircut since December), the layers have all grown out and become shaggy. I don't know how locals do it...according to Kele, long hair has always been the style for local girls. So, growing up, he didn't often see girls with short hair. I completely don't understand.

That's beside the point though. The point IS...that I chopped all my hair off! And it's REALLY cute, if I do say so myself. I'll post a photo tomorrow, if I remember.

Haha, I just sent my mom this "Chocolate Calculator" thing that Leigh forwarded to me...and she sent me back the actual mathematical equations that the email was based on. Oh, mother.

That last entry was about Buca di Beppo, by the way. Fumika, Clelie and I were going to meet the guys of our little crew, and it took us TWO HOURS to get to Ward Center, when it only takes 20 minutes by bike. Maybe half an hour if we had just walked, instead of trying to take the bus. To be lazy has its consequences. BUT, I wouldn't have changed a thing (as Clelie agrees to). Because it was literally two hours of singing 「裸になって、何が悪い？」 over and over to different songs. Even Beyonce and Phantom of the Opera. Like I said, it works surprisingly well for Arashi's "One Love", as far as JE songs go...but it works amazingly well with Beyonce's "SIngle Ladies"! You can even dance to it!

Oh バス・バス・バス・バス・バス・バス・バス・バス・乗る・乗る！

Recently, I've been watching a lot of videos online. I've been re-discovering my love for Arashi no Shukudai-kun. I'm not sure why this is, but out of all the Arashi shows...AnS is by and large, my favorite. And have you seen the episode with Ayase Haruka?? I was in tears, it was just too funny. Boobs and confession queues!

Also, for this drama season, I've for sure picked up two series to watch: The Quiz Show, and Atashinchi no Danshi. I'm still mentally debating whether or not I want to watch Smile. Seeing Matsujun act as a half-Filipino named Vito, with potentially interesting hot topics to be discussed could be interesting though.

So far I've finished the first episode of The Quiz Show, and two episodes of Atashinchi no Danshi. I'm in love with both series! They're both stellar in their own unique ways.

The Quiz Show is spectacularly intense, and I'm impressed with the acting of everyone on the show so far. My own expertise as far as acting goes is not very expansive...but I for sure didn't expect Sho to put on such a brilliant performance in that first episode. I really love his transition from poor mentally-unstable, slightly psychotic ward in a white room, to charismatic and hard-hitting TV show host with the ability to transition from light-hearted banter to intimidating interrogation and back with great ease. Yoko is also really, really hot as the evil producer, and his acting is by far better than it was with Yukan Club. The females of the show (the older lady and the really, really adorable younger one in the suit) were also awesome. I don't know their names though!

Atashinchi no Danshi is wonderful on a completely different level. I've half-followed the promotional bits simply because I was in the right time and place on LJ that one fine day when I caught on to the rumor of Horikita Maki's new drama. I ended up following along for the "son reveals", and having my anticipation rise. So, this drama series is a bit different for me from The Quiz Show, because for The Quiz Show, I had no idea of what to expect. I had only barely heard of it from Clelie before it was starting to air already, and I had downloaded the first episode purely on the fact that Sakurai Sho was in it. I knew of Atashinchi no Danshi beforehand, and was already interested in the story, so I wasn't just thrown in.

But that's really meaningless details. What's important is that after watching the first episode of the series, I loved it enough that I went and downloaded the second one immediately and watched that. I love Horikita Maki!! Haha, it's a cute, fluffy drama for the most part...some "serious" bits added in with illegitimate children and yakuza...but for the most part, it's a kind of feel-good family show. Complete opposite from The Quiz Show (so far...you never know with Japanese dramas). I like the dynamics of the family a lot, and one of the guys from the now-defunct Shuchishin is old classmate working in a net cafe! That was a happy surprise.



...Um, fandom aside...life has been okay. I keep feeling the urge to get a new job, but at this point in time I have little to no motivation. Tomorrow I'll be calling more Starbucks, to see who's hiring and who isn't.

Finals are coming up soon. My Japanese presentation is on Friday, and I have one more paper left (also due on Friday). But...after that final ENG paper...I'm feeling a lot more relaxed. I want to revise my ENG paper...but it's not a "must do for a good grade" kind of situation, which is nice. I've been getting a lot more sleep lately, and I've been doing my homework at decent hours.

The week before Finals is going to be crazy though!

Classes get out on that Wednesday, and that evening I have a banquet to attend for the employees of Campus Center.

Thursday, I'm planning a big birthday/end-of-the-year celebration for my crew and the extended family (those who normally come to parties at Fumika's, and then some)!! I'm getting help from Takuji as far as his opinions go...we decided on a really nice dinner at a restaurant in all formal dress. Then a party at Fumika's after, with a potential sleepover. It'll be so much fun, if I can pull it off. I had the idea of making mini-yearbooks for everyone, with Clelie and Fumika's help. Photos and pages for everyone else to sign their goodbyes and "nice-to-meet-yous".

We want to make it a special occasion, because everyone is from everywhere else. People like me, who are only around for a short period of time in UH as transfers, people like Clelie and Max who will be studying abroad, people like Maaza who will be graduating, people like all the Japanese kids (a.k.a. everyone else) who will be going back to their own country after the year is up...for all of us, Hawaii is a transition point. It's the train station you stop off at before getting onto the one with your next destination in mind.

But even as a transition point, it's still something special, to meet all these people coming and going and connecting with one another. So we want to make one last good memory, in Hawaii, before heading out. Of course we'll all probably meet in one way or another in the future, but this is the last time that we'll have THIS: students together in Hawaii, doing our thing.

Friday there's the ISA end-of-the-year banquet! I'm excited for that. Clelie and I went shopping this past Saturday, and bought lovely dresses (for classy ladies). I'm stoked to show off our video too, that our group spent so much time on.

Love:



And finally, on top of all of this going on that week...it'll be the few days before Mother's Day weekend! Mother's Day is the busiest day (hence, the busiest week) of the year for Edible Arrangements. Even busier than Christmas and Valentine's. I honestly have no idea if I'm working on that actual Sunday, but I can bet that I'll at least be caught up in the days beforehand, where it's "go, go, go, GO!" all the time. Maybe I should stay all night this time. I didn't last time, since I had a test the next day...but I could potentially this time. It means more money.

Loads of things to do in the future. I must prepare!

裸になって、何が悪い？？

I feel really bad for him and the entire group, as far as consequences go. But I think that gives me more of a reason to laugh about it...because SOMEONE has to. Clearly Japan isn't going to! And I feel like it's such a harmless, stupid thing to do...that laughing about it is the only way to make all that awkward tension go away.

Fumika, TOKYO DOME.

バスの番組とか。。。

I feel like if Arashi ever needed someone to cover for them, Fumika, Clelie and I could ad-lib something amazing. We've already written several ditties in regards to 「裸になって、何が悪い？」, inserting variations of that phrase (somehow developing into Shingo's birthday and being in jail and etc.) to Arashi hits. It works surprisingly well with One Love.

This past weekend was a good one. I've been spending so much time with ISA friends these days though, that I haven't seen the likes of Jaime or Seiichi in awhile. I think maybe I should remedy that, and hang out with them in the near future. Though I think there's a sleepover planned at Joyce's this Friday...

Oh hay...THIS:



I'd completely forgotten about it until Clelie posted the photo today! (Early, early this morning...why weren't you doing your homework??)

It's a picture of a snail, obviously. But isn't it ENORMOUS? I keep forgetting to take photos of them myself, since they're an everyday occurrence for me. And by "everyday occurrence", I mean they come out in masses every time it rains. Especially in the apartments area of the dorm complexes, which is where I live. Some evenings the sidewalks are so littered with these gigantic buggers, that I have to tiptoe around till I reach my door. I don't mind...since actually stepping on one is a really gross (and sad) feeling. I've only done it once! And in my defense, I was sick with a high fever. So I didn't notice it before I felt the pathetic little crunch underneath my flip-flop. Sigh.

Anyways, I think these are called East African land snails. They're enormous...if you can kind of tell by the photo. This one was a particularly nice specimen. We found it near Frear hall as well, which isn't that normal (I generally see them near the apartments)...and it was just a great photo-op. If you had put it on my hand, then it'd probably almost cover the length of it. And I've got long fingers!

Again...oh, HAWAII. Haha, I honestly don't mind any of these "pests" (the moths, the geckos, the snails)...it's just the cockroaches I can't stand. And even then I've become accustomed to the tiny ones. Now it's only the large cockroaches that I can't (and probably never will) tolerate.

In other news, this week has been going pretty well so far. I'm so relieved to have finished my final draft for my ENG100 paper. Not to say that it definitely won't need revision (I'm supposed to conference with my professor today to see if it needs any major changes before final submission), but having the majority of the work done is an incredible relief to me. Now I just have two smaller papers to worry about (my WS one due this Friday, and my EALL one due in the near future)...and I'm done before finals!!


Finally,stolen from tinyangl , THIS:

( Oh, ANIMATION )


Over half! Not bad!

Doing that meme just made me realize how many movies I had loved so hard when I was child, and have subsequently forgotten as the years went by. It's a little sad. But it makes me also really want to have just a movie night where I marathon a bunch of those old animated flicks.

And is it funny that I had no idea who this Don Bluth was, before finding out from here that I've watched practically all of his stuff? And that's the list with my most "loved it"s! Wow. It's nice, to see films like "Rock-a-Doodle" and "Pebble and the Penguin" on there, since when the general public thinks of animation, they assume Disney (the majority of those living in America anyways). It's hard to remember the times when I watched quite a few animated films that had nothing to do with Disney. Oh man, I wonder if you can even find those anymore.

And "Fern Gully"! I had completely forgotten that it exists! And "Last Unicorn" and "Little Nemo in Slumberland"...oh man. What ever happened to those films that were animated for "children", but had darker themes that really got you in the gut? The kind of fantasies that were so brilliant, that they both delighted and frightened you? I suppose we're past that age. Though, movies like "Coraline" really are like a blast from the past. I hope the trend continues!

There were several that weren't on there that would have been fun to see...films like "The Pagemaster" or "Happily Ever After" (that one "Snow White sequel" thing). But I'm just glad to see a lot of old favorites already.

I've watched a lot fewer anime films than I had imagined. Huh.

I upped this for Nikki, but I thought I'd put it here as well...in case anyone wanted to see Base Ball Bear's brilliance! Haha. It's their newest single...came out this past week:

神々LOOKS YOU

If anyone wants any other music of theirs, just ask. Here's a link to their PV on youtube: AWESOME.


Anyways, I've been doing well. Not looking forward to writing my final draft of my ENG paper today...but that's because it's already given me a big headache so far these past three weeks. I'll manage somehow. Before that though, I'm going to dim sum with the Hong Kong kids, Clelie, and Yhelee. Mmm, dim sum.

Yesterday was so busy! Woke up at 7:30 on a Saturday morning (there's something wrong with that, I think), and went to go volunteer for T.A.G. (Totally Against Graffiti) with members of the ISA. Though I'm not totally against graffiti (I like it as an art form, so it depends case by case for me)...generally the graffiti I've seen in Honolulu is the destructive kind, so I didn't mind going around and painting all the bus stops and etc. to make everything look good again. I was put on a team with Billy and Ivan, and we had to walk from the Hard Rock cafe, all the way back to Kuhio Elementary. It was HOT. There was a bright orange vest (one of those construction ones) that one person was supposed to wear as our group's "leader", however none of use really wanted to, so we ended up rotating the vest around. At Ivan's turn, he just kept making lame jokes like "I'm inVESTing my time in this. Get it? Ha.Ha.Ha."

We got to ride on the back of a truck though to get to our starting location! There were two groups in the back of the pickup, and ten people. Clelie, Yhelee, Wing, Fumiya, and Kana were the other group...so we had a nice little pow-wow. I don't know...riding on the back of a truck in CO isn't common. Not only is it illegal, but especially in the winter...who would want to? Most of the trucks have a cover on them. So this was probably my second time doing so. It was fun. Apparently it's legal in Hawaii, as long as everyone is of age.

One of the other people in my group was a middle-schooler, whose legal name was Ninja. That's just cool.

After getting completely dirty and sweaty from painting all morning, we all went home and took showers. Then I met up with my ISA video group: Clelie, Yhelee, Oliver, Joe, Iyo, and Leandro. For the past couple of weeks, we've been in the process of filming a video for the ISA end-of-the-year banquet! The theme for this year is kind of going to be like a video awards show, so we had to get into groups and turn in a video people could vote on.

Our video is going to be spectacular, guys. I'm not going to reveal anything on here yet...other than it's a parody of Charlie's Angels...and Clelie will be "the Asian one". It's just...it's actually going to look NICE. Clelie's got video editing skills, and we're going to have all sorts of nifty stuff like panning shots, spliced scenes, voice-overs...the kind of stuff I can't do. But I think I want to learn, since that kind of skill is useful.

We spent around four hours filming the meat of our epic fight scene, and now all we have left is to do the editing, soundtrack, and voice-overs.

After THAT, I had some dinner, then met up with Takuji. We had originally wanted to go to the dollar theater for an economical date...but what we hadn't planned on was the dollar theater being so nice and popular. It was the first time for the both of us, and we had the image of it being kind of shady because...well, all my experiences with dollar theaters have been that they're kind of small and run-down. But this one was really cool looking. And, with the economy being so bad these days, I guess everyone is in the same boat, and no one wants to spend ten dollars at the regular theater (Ten! That's just ridiculous) to go see something they could just wait a few months to see for a dollar.

So, since it was so popular, all the shows we wanted to see were sold out. We ended up just coming back to my place and watching Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift. But both of us had been wanting to watch that anyways. Haha, cool cars and Tokyo...awesome.

The last of my papers will be due this week! Both my large ENG one, and my WS one. Therefore...all I have to worry about now are finals. Which is a really, really good thing.

And I shall call this...

THE ENTRY TO END ALL ENTRIES.


(No, not really.)


BUT. This will be the entry that summarizes (hopefully, succinctly) my life so far, from Spring Break to now. Here are my points:

01. I said in my "preview" entry that I would comment on my last FNF (my "Friday Night Fevers" , as I've taken to calling them) before the week-long break. It was basically the usual crowd (Seiichi, Jaime, Takuji, Fumika, and I) with nothing better to do, so we decided to be cheap and cook ourselves dinner instead. Kele came as well! He was originally Clelie's friend...a young freshman who is SO ADORABLE. He dances well, and carries around a Hello Kitty bag with him everywhere...and when people had "coming out" stories at the GLBT coffee hour (well, I don't go to those...but Clelie fills me in), he just said that there never really was a "coming out" period for him. It was generally known since he was born. And that pretty much sums up who Kele is.

Anyways, we just had a quiet evening eating pasta and watching episodes of Friends. Since then, Kele's been a staple in our FNFs! Also, the participants have changed somewhat. Some Fridays it's all of us together (Seiichi, Jaime, Takuji, Fumika, Clelie, myself, and Kiyoshi) with Kele occasionally for dinner, or the movie at Campus Center, or something. And then Fumika, Clelie, Kele and I have recently gotten into the habit of watching Johnny's things. Well, more like we spent two weeks watching Arashi's Kokuritsu concert, and we're in the middle of Stand Up! now. I think we might watch Kanjani8 this weekend, if everyone is up for it.

So, FNFs have been a good staple in my life so far!

02. In my last post, I said something about wanting to talk about working on Saturdays. But that's the probably with having a "preview" post that's 15 days before the actual one. So, I only worked two Saturdays...though they were lovely Saturdays. Even with having to get up ridiculously early, I enjoy the knowledge that I worked five hours straight and earned my money. As opposed to this three-hours a week thing. Ah, well. I'm diligently working on getting another job. In between the stress that's been my coursework. Now that finals are starting to rear their heads!

03. And...the BIG ISLAND.

Okay, so...it was awesome. It was four days of Seigo, Jaime, Seiichi, Takuji, Fumika and I. We stayed in both Hilo and Kona, and traveled through the Volcano National Park, visited Mauna Kea, lounged around on beaches (including a black sand one!), and generally had a good time. The most memorable bits were definitely...

 A. The driving. Loads, and loads of driving. We rented a car which sat only five people, and Seigo drove. Which was an experience! I remember a lot of curvy roads, and driving 80 mph on a 30 mph road. For only a short period, thankfully, before we all panicked and told Seigo "30! It's 30!". Car rides also came with a soundtrack. Initially, all we had to listen to were Seiichi's CDs (the only one who remembered to even bring anything)...so we spent two days listening to hard rock, non-stop. I didn't mind so much, since I was asleep three-fourths of the driving time...but I think Fumika got a bit tired of it. So, when I went and bought one of those AV cables to plug into the car and my iPod, she was pretty happy. We spent the rest of the vacation switching who got to be DJ, with my expansive collection of music. Whenever Jaime was DJ, he kept putting up all these nostalgic songs...like SMAP, and Kinki Kids. Huh.

B. The wind and the cold. It was definitely colder than in Oahu. Not really much to say there...but there was snow on Mauna Kea! And when we went, we almost ran out of gas at the top of the mountain. I bought a bumper sticker that said "Beware of Invisible Cows".

C. Hilo. Was...pretty sketch. I wouldn't recommend it as a vacation spot. But the hostel was really nice, and we got our own room to ourselves. There were two bunk beds, and then a double bed which Takuji and I shared. The hostel is a hotel that got renovated, and it was really, uber clean. Only 25 dollars a night! We made our breakfast and dinner each day. It was very campy and family atmosphere. I actually enjoyed more, than if we had gone out to eat every night.

D. Kona was really tourist-y. It was definitely nicer looking than Hilo, anyways. And it had all the good beaches.

E. We got lost going back to the rental car store on our last evening. Thus, we had to run up the stairs into the jet that took us back to Oahu! Haha, it was a really eventful last night.


Sorry, those last two points were ridiculously short. I ran out of steam, as far as descriptive ability goes. But, as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. Some photos of our vaca:

( BIG ISLAND )

Um...what else has been going on in my life! I've been hanging out with the ISA members a lot more as of late. On the Saturday before we got back from the break, we all went out ice skating and for yakiniku afterwards. It was hilarious, since none of the Hong Kong boys knew how to ice skate. Joe, Yhelee and I jammed out to Beyonce while dancing around on the ice, and we slammed into the plexiglass more than once. Ivan is, as always, an awesome person. Even though he kept making "I'm so cool" comments during yakiniku, interrupting my meat-time.

Our (fairly large) group! I'm not going to try to name them all for you...but maybe in later photos.


People I hung out with. From the bottom, it's Machiko and Ayaka (Ayaka's in the blue)...in the middle row there's Yhelee and me, then Yurina (with the mittens) and Heyse (with the hat)...and up top it's Wing (with the green jacket) and Billy.


We all went paintballing the weekend after that! It was...my first, and probably my last, experience doing so. I honestly don't understand the appeal of shooting each other with paint that feels like bullets. Even with protective gear on, I was hit in all the area that were protective geared. It was crazy! I got hit TWICE on the exact same knuckle! Do you people know how much that hurts?? I even got hit on the top of my skull...right above my face mask! I seriously have bad luck with these kinds of things. But, at least I wasn't as bad off as Ross. Who...actually really likes paintball and was all getting down and dirty...hence he had bruises of all kinds.

Here's proof of my amateur status. Compared to Heyse, who has played before...I had to constantly clean paint off my gun, my protective gear, my hair...


Finally...

This past three day long-weekend, I studied every single day. However, in the evenings I got to have fun. Including a Chinese hot pot dinner and mahjong with the Hong Kong kids, Clelie, and Yhelee on Saturday night. Yhelee came in so drunk, it was hilarious. We watched re-runs of SNL, and I managed to win two consecutive games! Plus, the Beach Boys should never be played at night in the rain. I feel like that is sacriligious. But Jay Chou is okay.

As far as my mood goes...I'm pretty lacking in motivation. I think I've foreshadowed this before...in that preview entry. I had had a really rough week then...and for some reason the work keeps on rolling in! Aren't hell weeks only supposed to come once every few weeks? Not every consecutive week until finals? 

I seriously did study all of Friday, Saturday, and Sunday this past three-day long weekend. I even woke up at 7:30 in the morning on Sunday, to desperately try to finish everything by evening. 3 PM was my ISA video group meeting, and I had a quick dinner, then got right back to work. I actually ended up working through the entire night, and STILL NOT GETTING EVERYTHING 

I am coming out of a daze.

My movements are really slow today. I just pulled an all-nighter for the first time since...that night I packed to go back home from Japan. Back then, it was just Namiko and I staring out at the sunrise from the rooftop of the dormitory, and I only had a long plane ride to look forward to. Today, I left my dorm at 6:30 in the morning, and am expecting to be on campus till 7:30 tonight. I have to get through the passing in of my (supposedly) 8-10 page English paper, which isn't actually 8-10 pages because even though I've spent a diligent two weeks straight on trying to get this down...I still feel like it's a struggle. My topic is a broad one! That's the problem!

After the paper hand-in, I have a vocabulary quiz in Japanese which I'm just now starting to study for, and discussion on an assignment that I've only barely looked at. From there is Women's Studies, which I had to miss last time because of a dental appointment, and which we have an upcoming paper in that I need to start thinking about. Next is Math, with a text that I've managed to study for (somehow), squeezing half hours here and there between thinking and thinking and thinking and writing and writing and writing my english paper. I still don't quite understand the text, because our professor likes to explain really basic math concepts in advanced mathematical terms. Feels unproductive, if you ask me.

There will (finally) be a break after that. But I can't take a nap, because I didn't even get to finish Confessions of a Mask, which we're going to be discussing in Japanese Modern Lit. today. I supposed I could kind of skim it, since I'm already doing really well in that class...but I'll need to finish it anyways for the exam so I shouldn't slack off in that aspect.

And after all that class, there is another work shift from 3:30 to 7. Clock out, leave for the dorm, arrive back by 7:30 PM. Awesome.

It's not like I can say that "you deserved this", in any way. I mean, I've been keeping on top of my work all semester long. And I can honestly say that I've earnestly worked at my papers and test preparations in advance, instead of cramming things in at last minute. So how did I end up with barely half my work finished by Sunday evening? Even after studying all of Friday, and Saturday, and even waking up extra early on Sunday and studying all THAT day? How??

As a result, I am now incoherent. I hope I can make it through my tests.

Oh and...as it turns out...one hell week turned into two. Um. I will try to make a gigantic post (more likely for my sake than anyone else's) as soon as I can possibly get my brain to think about it. Other stuff happened! Like our way awesome ISA video, and Hot Pot and Mahjong, and Stand Up and Arashi, and loads and loads of cool music. Including a Hong Kong Superstar. (Drink Tea, Eat a Bun.)

I just walked past a moth larger than my two hands put together. It was on the sidewalk, a foot away from my leg before I noticed it. It was brown, and fluttery, and crawling towards me.




Oh, HAWAII. You have topped the gecko-scare!

If something like this had ever happened to me...

I would be beyond devastated. I can't even imagine.

UC San Diego apparently screwed up somewhere in their administrative efforts to let the 18,000 people out of 46,000+ prospective students know that they were accepted into the college. Instead, they clicked on the wrong server group, and told the other 28,000 students that THEY were the ones "accepted".

I honestly don't even know what I'd do when I got the apology email a few hours later, explaining the mistake. Probably cry a lot.



Oh, and in case people haven't guessed, this has nothing to do with the promised post from my previous entry. This is actually just me wanting to say stuff because I don't want to do my EALL paper. Or my ENG one.

And, a meme from Kim:

( Because Papers Await )

Hmm. I have not posted a thing since two Fridays ago. I feel like there's a trend going on here...I barely post anything during any holiday season! This goes for this past winter, and summer...and last winter...though I seem to remember posting a buttload this past spring because I was just hanging about Nishinomiya and going to koto club practice for two months straight.

Anyways. This isn't a REAL post (I feel like I should make some reference to Magritte, but I won't because I can't call forth the mental stamina to link the two together). It's just a listing of stuff I should be posting about within the next few days. Or...actually. This week is (kind of) going to be hell. Friday, in all of my classes (the ones I actually go to anyways...which is four out of the five), I have something major going on. (In essence, a paper, a paper re-write, an exam, and another paper). In preparation of this, I have been studying till around midnight every single day this week. I feel proud of my endurance, but I fear that these seven days alone will dry up whatever motivation I have left for the semester's course load.

BUT. That being said, my next post will (hopefully) include:

01. Our traditional FNF (Friday Night Fever) - A homemade pasta and Friends dinner with my crew.
02. Working on Saturdays
03. My spring break trip to the Big Island! (with volcanoes, and black sand beaches, and awesome hostels, and cooking for ourselves every night, and loads and loads of driving)
04. Dentists
05. Outlet shopping, the Ice Palace, and yakiniku.
06. The beach!
07. WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE

...Along with anything else that has cropped up since making this list. Which will probably happen.

Feel excited, folks. There will be PICTURES.

P.S. I really like Lily Allen.

Blaaaaaaahhh.

Japanese test today. Shouldn't be horrible.

I'm ready for the break! Haha, but I have to get up at 5:30 tomorrow for work. Oh well. At least I can get coffee.

I should've done this much earlier...but Iyo (from ISA) has like a zillion connections around Waikiki. I just asked her yesterday if she knew anyone that was hiring, and it turns out that her store, Remix, will probably need to hire someone new around May. Since she'll be gone for most of the summer, and there are only like two other girls working there besides her.

She doesn't recommend 88Tees though. It's always insanely busy in there, and she said that to work there means you're pretty much refolding clothes all day long.

Either way, I'd be satisfied with one of those jobs!

Just recently, I re-watched "The Great Happiness Space" Other than my BFF, Clelie, and probably Nikki, has anyone else heard of this documentary? It's about a host club in Osaka, that I've actually been inside in. Accidentally though.

Anyways, for those who haven't heard of it, watch it please! It's insanely interesting. I've seen it like five times already. And I just sent it to my women's studies professor...since she seems to really love documentaries, and "The Great Happiness Space" has all sorts of interesting gender studies issues that could be analyzed.