Wednesday, December 21, 2005

Something Interesting... but not all of it is true...

The Keys to Your Heart

You are attracted to those who are unbridled, untrammeled, and free.

In love, you feel the most alive when your lover is creative and never lets you feel bored.

You'd like to your lover to think you are loyal and faithful... that you'll never change.

You would be forced to break up with someone who was emotional, moody, and difficult to please.

Your ideal relationship is lasting. You want a relationship that looks to the future... one you can grow with.

Your risk of cheating is zero. You care about society and morality. You would never break a commitment.

You think of marriage as something that will confine you. You are afraid of marriage.

In this moment, you think of love as something you thirst for. You'll do anything for love, but you won't fall for it easily.
What Are The Keys To Your Heart?

Guess which parts are true for me??

Monday, December 19, 2005

MIA!!!

I am so sorry that I've been MIA for SO long!! The end of the semester here has been a bit on the overwhelming side for me. I've never been this lazy a kid before and all of a sudden there was too much to do and too little time to do it in! EEEEK!!

But now... I am done! I am free and I am leaving for home tonight!! YAY!! I'm SO excited. Though, I'm tired... it's still nice to be done. And a big relief. ;-)

So... what have I been getting up to lately?!? Well... I've been trying to get all the finals-related work done, but I've also been having some fun too.

Last weekend I went to see Narnia... which was simply amazing! I loved that film. Only problem was that we went to the 11:15pm showing... so at a few parts I had to keep myself from falling asleep. I was fairly successful at doing that, thanks to the fact that it's not a boring film.

My friend Shannah left for home on Friday. So on Thursday she came over and we had some dinner and had a last chat before she left, watched a little OC and had chips and salsa. Was a good rest from paper writing for me.

Anyway... I leave for Alaska tonight. It'll be good. I think I should be able to sleep alright (it's an 11:59pm flight) and then I'll arrive in Anchorage tomorrow and have 2 hours to kill there until I fly to Fairbanks at 9:20am. I'm excited to be going home. We'll do all the great Christmas things that I haven't done in years... baking, decorating a real tree, Christmas Eve service. Everything!!! It'll be great fun. ;-)

Friday, December 02, 2005

It's been awhile... sorry!

Hello!!

I'm so sorry I've been off the radar for about a week. I didn't mean to fall off the face of the earth. Things have just been really busy!

Last week was amazing! I had a great Thanksgiving on Thursday with friends out in Kaneohe... beautiful area... too bad it was raining. Grrrr... But we had a great time. Though the combination of red wine and turkey was bad. I kept falling asleep... which everyone made a joke out of. heehee... what can I say? I think everyone will give me crap about that for awhile.

I then spent a lot of time with Kenzo...

Both of us were invited to a party by a friend of ours from class. It was pretty fun... then we went for karaoke. Sang a bunch... was good fun.

Anyway... it was a pretty good weekend...

This week has been really busy... not sure what's been going on... other than having homework poured on... argh!!

Just 18 days until I go home... and SO much to do!!!

Thursday, November 24, 2005

Hello world!!

Yesterday was a great day! Not only do I officially have a place to live, but I got a really great email in my university mailbox. That mail told me that I got a $1000 stipend for next semester!! YAY!!! Now, it's not a TON of money, but every little bit helps. So I'm grateful. Now all I have to do is get the right paperwork to one of the financial aid people and I'm all set. :-)

Had to share! Have a good one!

Tuesday, November 22, 2005

I have a HOME!!!

Just to let everyone know... I just got an email from one of the girls that I'll be sharing an apartment with... YAY!!! I'm SO stoked! I have a place to live... down in Waikiki... and cheaper than I'm paying now. BUT I'll also have to figure out the bus schedule for all my classes once I move... it could be worse... I could be homeless! ;-)

Had to share the good news!

Baby Carrots and Soy Milk

On Saturday night, I went to see Harry Potter with some friends. It was SO good!! I really enjoyed the movie... it moved so quickly and got the important parts all in. Yay for the new director!! Well done! Will probably see it again... :-)

Afterwards the four of us (me, Kenzo, Shannah and Yuudai) went for some food at this cute little '50s style diner near the theater. Fun times... we managed to devour 2 desserts and the others ate main dishes too! (The we on the desserts means we ALL dove into those...)

Following that Kenzo and I said goodnight to the other two because we were heading to a bar in Chinatown. We got there and met up with Ji yon. Now I was dressed uncharactaristically girlie that night... skirt and everything!! And Ji yon made sure that I knew (and Kenzo knew) that she thought I looked nice. Haha... after we closed down the bar (they close at 2 here) we headed out to catch a cab...

We pondered going home or going to another bar... well, when we got in the cab Kenzzo took charge telling the cab to go to a grocery store near his house. Where we would then pick up supplies and head to his house to continue the night. Ji yon stayed with the cab... but made sure that we knew to get baby carrots and soy milk for her (she's special! haha!) along with the other things that we were going to get. We got cheese and crackers, baby carrots and soy milk. Though we tried to buy wine... apparently they stop selling it at 12 in Hawaii. Who knew!?!

At Kenzo's we just sat around and talked... admired his cat (Nana-chan is SO cute!! And I don't like cats usually...) and ate some cheese and crackers... and had a nice time. Eventually around 4 I said that I really had to go... and at about 4.25 or so (it was definitely before 4.30) I actually left.

And now... I'm still trying to recover from the lack of sleep!! I had to wake up at 7.30 yesterday in order to get to work! Eeeek!!

Hope you have a good day!!

Sunday, November 20, 2005

Looking up...

Now, I've said this before... but I think things might be looking up a little bit for me... maybe...

The end of my week went really well! Thursday I had an awesome day. I spent the day with a good friend and talking to him made me think that things might actually work out alright. With the apartment search and the job search... Maybe he's just level-headed enough to make my freaking out seem silly. Who knows??

Friday was also good. I ended up meeting up with Kenzo and he made me speak Japanese a whole bunch! Which is great because my speaking is the area that seems to be getting weaker instead of stronger. SO... Kenzo, the only mean Japanese friend I have (jk), makes me speak in Japanese a lot to practice. Did that, then went down to Wal-mart and ended up in Barnes and Noble afterwards.

Bookstores are so comforting. They're just nice. Only problem... at Christmas time it's really nice to step into a warm bookstore because it's cold outside. Hmmmm... yeah, that doesn't really work here. If anything it's a relief to step out into the warmth outside!

Hope this is a nicer message to read. I haven't meant to be such a downer lately... it's just kind of happened that way.

Take it easy.

A xx

Wednesday, November 16, 2005

The Week so far...

Well, I've been trying to refrain from writing much on my blog. It's been a pretty bad week so far and it's only Tuesday night. The week in review...

Monday, I sent a deposit in for an apartment that I really liked. Tuesday morning (before my 7:30 class), I got an email saying that the place had already been rented. Last Friday, my friend Chris said he'd ask his boss on Monday if I could come in for an interview to replace him (he's too busy) at his position. This morning, I found out that the boss wants someone with TOEFL teaching experience (that I don't have).

So... I'm completely back at square one. Needing to find a place to live before I go home for Christmas (Dec. 18th) and needing to find a new job in order to pay any rent now or in the future. And to pour salt in the wound... the guy that I kind of like has a girlfriend (last time people heard, which was back at the beginning of September).

All in... I'm having a really crappy week. And tomorrow I have a Japanese test that I'm not sure I'm really ready for, but I'm just going to have to do my best.

Sorry for the downer...

Saturday, November 12, 2005

What a difference 24 hours makes...

I had a much better day today... I found a place to live. Yay!! I'll be putting my deposit in and try to get in there by December 1st.

To top it all off... I had a weird, but in a good way, thing happen to me today.

I was sitting in Waikiki at the bus stop. Just sitting eating my lunch (power bar)... and there was this guy just walking down the street who suddenly said "Hey gorgeous, how are you today?" Now normally, I'd just be weirded out... but I was in such a good mood that it just made me smile. How often do you get told that you're gorgeous by a random person on the street??

Anyway... glad to have had a great day!! :-)

Friday, November 11, 2005

Kicked when down...

So... this week has been... less than stellar.

First, I found out that I will have to move before January because the rent's going up. And I can't afford it.

So, I've been looking for an apartment all week. Not much luck yet... but am looking at a place tomorrow.

And then there's today after work... I was basically told that my schedule isn't what it needs to be and I have been relegated to working one day a week...

So... now, on top of having to find a new place to live... I have to find a job too. It's been a tough week... and I'm wondering now if I'm supposed to be here... the signs right now are pretty sketchy.

Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Cross your fingers!!

I just found out on Monday that I'll be moving pretty soon. Why?? Well, because my landlord is hiking the rent to $700 a month. Which is really only $75 more than it is right now. The only problems: a) It doesn't seem like much, but it's enough that I can't pay my other bills, b) the place isn't THAT nice, and c) all my roommates, though I like them a lot, aren't my age and I'd like to live with younger people.

Now, I talked to a really nice lady this evening and I'm going to go look at a room on Friday near-ish to where I live already. SO... cross your fingers!!

Tuesday, November 08, 2005


So, we all know Halloween was a week ago... but I just haven't gotten around to posting anything about it... well... here's some interesting pictures! The beautiful "lady" in the middle is my friend Kenzo... On Halloween he made us all amazing Hiroshima-yaki and then disappeared to get into costume. None of us had a clue what he was going to "be."

Much to our delight he came out looking like... that!! ;-)


Kenzo and Kana (left) and Ji yon.






















The group shot was taken just as we got out of a taxi down in Waikiki... look at that beautiful collection of people... Haha... We did have a great night... but all paid because 3 of us had 7.30am class the next day!

Other news...

This weekend was a really good one. Went out with Ji yon on Friday... went to a really cool club down in Chinatown... one of the better places I've been since I got here. We also ended up walking for a bit to "sober up" haha...

Saturday, I had kendo in the morning, which was really good fun. I went up against Mark-sensei... who is slightly scary, but difficult so I worked really hard! Then I came home and cleaned. We officially have a clean fridge... oh man it was DISGUSTING!!! And hadn't been cleaned for a LONG time! So, now it's sparkling! Yay!!

Then I met up with Kenzo (not in drag!) and Ji yon down in Ala Moana Park for a bit of soccer before going to a barbecue. Really good fun!! But I must say, playing soccer without shoes can be dangerous... My toe can prove that!!

After the barbecue festivities came to an end... we all headed back to Ted's apartment (a friend of Kenzo's that I've met a few different times!) and other people drank, but as I had work in the morning I only had a beer and some random drink that was pink and tasted like Skittles.

Anyway... good weekend... even if I'm really tired (calculated the number of hours I slept over the weekend... it's somewhere around 8)... I had fun and that counts for a lot.

Hope to hear from you soon! Sorry I've been slacking!

Sunday, November 06, 2005

GREAT NEWS!!!

My good friend Ian Reynolds and his lovely Japanese girlfriend (now wife) JUST got married!!! Yay!! Such good news! YAY!!! Sorry... lots of "yays" in this post!! But it's so exciting!! ;-)

More to come...

Saturday, October 29, 2005

NANOOKS WIN!!!

OMG!!!

I checked out the hockey scores just now...

UAF (ranked 20th) BEAT Univ. of Michigan (ranked 1st) 4-2!!!!

This news ROCKED my world!! Not only has UAF never won the first game in a Michigan series... but they have hardly ever won any games against them. And usually when they have won it's been on the road in Michigan!! WAHOO!!! Stick it to the Wolverines... they've been a powerhouse too long!!

Just had to celebrate a bit!!

Oh yeah... the Redwings won today too!!

Friday, October 28, 2005

Thursday

This week has actually been pretty relazing on the whole. I've had some extra days off from work... which has been nice. I don't miss the commute to work at all!! Haha...

Last night I went to kendo and had a renshu-jiai (which means 'practice match') for the first time. I actually tied. Which is not bad. The only thing... I had a clear shot... and didn't follow through. I saw it, didn't make it... and went ARRRRGH!!! inside. But at least I didn't open up to be hit. :-) That was really good... but I hurt my thumb. It's a bit funny when I try to bend it. Oh, well... I'll be ok enough to practice on Saturday.

AND... in good news (speaking of Saturday)... I ran into one of my kendo sempai (like a mentor) yesterday and we chatted a bit... and then she asked what I was doing after kendo on Saturday. Answer: nothin'. So, instead of nothing I'm going with her and a few other young kendo people to Chinatown to hang out. Am SO stoked!! I have friends. Just when I thought I was losing friends... it turns out I'm not. :-) YAY!!

Anyway, am headed to Starbucks to study... then do a bit of shopping (have NO food!) and then birthday drinks with my friend Jiyon and some other people from our 7:30 class. Whee!! Am a regular social butterfly, ne??

Talk to you soon!!

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Weekend and Update

This weekend was GREAT!! Saturday was the best day ever. First, I got up and went to kendo. Which was pretty difficult since we're getting ready for our tournament in November. All the sensei are pushing us really hard! Wheee...

Then in the afternoon I took it easy and watched the opening game of the World Series. Was sad... I've become an Astros fan thanks to Lauren. Thank goodness the series moves to Houston now. :-)

After that I headed to Waikiki to meet up with some friends from one of my classes. Jiyon and I had talked about getting people together for awhile... and it was finally happening. It only ended up being Jiyon, Kenzo, Doug and me... but that was perfect. First we went out for yaki-niku (Korean barbeque in other places) at a place called Gyu-kaku (Lauren I missed you!!!). It was great. We had some beer... had lots of meat and had a great time. Then, we moved across the street to the karaoke boxes!!! Heehee... that's right. I went and did karaoke Japanese style. Oh man!! It was so much fun. Everybody could sing and we alll sang some really good/funny songs. And I busted out some Japanese songs even. Yay Ulfuls!!! ;-)

Then at around 1 (we didn't even realize how late it was!) we hiked back to Doug's car (a BMW!!) and he gave us all a lift home. Yay!!! Was SUCH a great night.... lifted my spirits entirely.

Now there has been some interest in the drama in my life as of late.... here it is...

When I arrived in Hawaii, I met a guy called Hikaru. He is originally from Sendai (which is really near to where I used to live in Japan) and so we just hit it off. We'd go out to dinner, talk about school, missing Japan, etc. He always managed to calm me down when I was super stressed out (usually about Japanese!!). We were just good friends. Well, I kind of started liking him at some point, but was never going to act on it because we were good friends and I didn't want to ruin it. Well... a few weeks back, he made the first move. But apparently he's still hung up on his old girlfriend. That's as much as he told me in the one email I've gotten from him in the last 2 1/2 weeks. For my part, I reassured him that being friends is fine... but apparently he can't do that. The drama is mostly on my end... I can't figure out how a person I called a friend could actually just decide to NOT be someone's friend anymore. So basically I've lost a really good friend and I was pretty upset about it. Now... I've just given up. I can't do anymore to "persuade" him that I want to be friends.

You may be disappointed by the "drama" but that's it. :-)

Hope you have a good monday!!

Saturday, October 22, 2005

Test Time!!

Well, I have another Japanese test today. Funny thing... I feel like I haven't studied enough. Not that I've been slacking on studying, but that the material we have... isn't really that much. Compared to the previous chapters I feel like this one is pretty easy. Not sure that's good or bad.... but am studying all morning before the test. SO, if I missed anything... I'll get it before the test. :-)

Other than that... the week has been super stressful and overall pretty lame. I won't go into all of the drama here. Some of it was self-induced drama and some of it was... well, not. Haha... If you want more details let me know... am trying to keep at least part of my life (blog) semi-drama free.

Have a good one!

Thursday, October 20, 2005

Hump Day!!

I am SO glad it's Wednesday. I have Wednesday's off from work. Which is awesome!! No hour-long commute for me today. YAY!!!

Things are getting a bit hectic around here... I have a Japanese test on Friday. Studying starts today and will be continued right up until I enter the classroom to take the test. :-) Wish me luck!!

My friend Hikaru, who has been MIA for a week, is back on the radar. Let me just say that boys/men (Lauren and I discussed this... we're all still boys/girls until we have kids!!) are just dumb. And they don't always ask for help when they should... but we all knew that. Prime example: asking for directions!!! ;-) Haha...

Anyway... I'm keying up for a good day. Hope yours is good too!!

A

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Monday!!

It's MONDAY!!! And I'm in a good mood. AND I got to sleep in this morning!! Wheee... How nice was that? Very. I never sleep in because usually I have Japanese homework to do before I go o class. BUT, we are watching a video in class today and the homework he's collecting is homework he forgot to collect the other day... so it's already done!! Yay!!

This weekend was pretty fun. Saturday (my day off!) I went to kendo. Didn't get to practice with Nakane-sempai... but that's ok. :-) I'll definitely practice with him next week!! Heehee... then I met up with my friend Jiyon and we went and had lunch. Yummy!! And then went down to the mall... and I picked up a couple of cute shirts for work @ Old Navy. Thank goodness for Old Navy! I'm too poor to buy clothes anywhere else! Haha.

Then we headed to Waikik where I met my friend Johnny and she met up with some of her friends. Johnny and I headed to Tiki's. A great rooftop restaurant... it was really nice. Then we headed to Kelly O'Reilly's (maybe) Irish pub for a couple of pints. I'm seriously in need of practice... I can't hold my alcohol (and we're talking BEER!!) at all anymore. Hmmmm... have to fix that somehow. Haha.

And yesterday I worked and got off early. Which is always a great surprise... we almost always work late on Sundays!! So yay for getting off early!! :-)

Hope everyone else had a good weekend too!!

A

Friday, October 14, 2005

Thursday... at last!

Man... this week is feeling VERY long!! I can't pinpoint why... it's fairly normal... not much going on with school. Other than school itself. No tests or papers even... I guess I'm just feeling really drained and am not entirely sure how to turn that around. Maybe I'll hibernate a bit this weekend. We'll see...

In good news... it's THURSDAY!!! Which is the day before FRIDAY!!! Yay!! It doesn't take much to get me excited. ;-) hahaha...

Have a good one!

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

a call for tips!

Hey there!

This week is finding me pretty stressed... and it's only Tuesday. At present I'm getting ready to go to class completely unprepared because I didn't finish the readings for class. ARGH!!

So... here's what I really need... tips for being relaxed and getting things done! Either I get things done and am stressed or I get nothing done and I'm relaxed. Is there any way to fuse the two and get the benefits of being not completely stressed while also getting my work done?? Anyway... just wondering what y'all think.

Oh, and... my Japanese professor has become a tyrant... so that's in addition to all the reading I have to do! Wheee...

Sorry that this is so whiny!!

Tuesday, October 11, 2005


Windsurfers off Diamond head!! How cool... I may not be that interested in surfing, but this... I could get into this!! Posted by Picasa

Me in the rental car pretending to drive...  Posted by Picasa

Another Kristi pic by the beach!! Posted by Picasa

Me and Kristi hitting the beach! We ran to the mall, got take-out from the food court and went to eat at Ala Moana beach. Nice, huh? Posted by Picasa

After practice talking with him again... I have no idea what we were talking about... ;-) Posted by Picasa

Me and Nakane-sempai... he's super hard, but that's a good thing... I think I'd be much lazier if I didn't have him pushing me ALL the time! Posted by Picasa

So, for the first time on Saturday, I had someone who could take my picture while I did kendo...  Posted by Picasa

These are my boys... Zack on the left and Jayce on the right... we were having a photo session with my camera. But could I get them to make "normal" faces?? NO!! Posted by Picasa

Sunday, October 09, 2005

KRISTI'S HERE!!!

Yes, we finally found each other!! Or rather, she found me! Haha.

We went to my favorite Japanese restaurant last night, Jimbo. The food was amazing as usual and she was a trooper and refused to use her spoon... chopsticks all the way!! Heehee...

We're going to go walk to a little bakery and get something for breakfast and then at 10... we're going to kendo. And then... not sure... exploring maybe!!! :-) Heehee...

Anyway... gots to go have fun!!

Friday, October 07, 2005

Wednesday

Well... it's over... Wednesday is anyway. I kept trying to write a blog entry yesterday... and it never quite happened. ;-) So here I am, before my 7.30 class, writing...

So, yesterday was a good day. After all of my classes I decided not to go to kendo... because I had too much to do to get ready for my friend Kristi when she comes to visit... TOMORROW!!! Yay!! But I made a fatal flaw... I asked Hikaru to come over for dinner...

I made tacos!! The meal mom's love because it makes a lot and kids like because it's good. And he'd never had them homemade before. :-)

Then we watched a bit of TV... (RO, I didn't miss the OTH season premiere!)

It was a good Wednesday... and today will be even better... and then tomorrow... KRISTI COMES!!! Yay!!

Believe me... everyone over here has been hearing about it too!!

Monday, October 03, 2005

STOKED!!!

So, today I got a voicemail from Kristi Builder (formerly Willenberg)... one of my best friends from my days at Truman. Anyway, to make a long story short... she and Andrew (hubby) are going to be in Hawaii for the Ironman... and we're going to be able to meet up. Actually, even better then that... Kristi will be staying with me next Friday night and we'll get to spend all of Saturday together chilling out and having a great catch-up session. I can't wait!! I'm such a lucky kid!! :-) YAY!!!

Also... in other news... I have a Japanese test tomorrow... am going to try to do BETTER than last time (I got a B-) so I've been studying almost all weekend. Big shout out to Hikaru for coming over and calming my down last night... I seem to be having a habit of freaking out before these tests. ;-) Haha...

Anyway... wish me luck!! I'm going to need it... and a bit of skill too. :-D

TTFN!

A

Sunday, October 02, 2005

Hello again!!

Well... I've finished another week of school... but this time I have a job. And I'm dying!! I really like my job... the people are great, the works not too tough... it's really nice. Only problem?? It's really far from where I live AND it takes me at least an hour and a half commute each way! Blah!!! If only buses here were like buses in Japan... and what I mean by that (for my dad...) is I wish they were ON TIME!!! You can't ever count on the buses here... they may show up regularly at a given time for a week... and then they'll be at different times every day the next week. Grrr... Oh, well... I'll live. :-)

Just got done practicing kendo. yay!! I love it still... and I think I'm making more headway... I have some habits that I really need to break myself of... and I'm moving slowly in that direction. :-) Whee!!

I have a major Japanese test on Monday... which means that after I get home from a movie (going to see Just Like Heaven with my friend Jiyon) I'm getting down to studying. Grrr... how lame... studying on a Saturday. :-) The price you pay when you go to school. :-) Heehee...


Anyway... take care.

A

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

The Lost Blog entry

On Saturday I could have sworn that I updated all three of my blogs... well, I did... only I accidentally posted this update on my kids' blog! I'm a dork!! So, here's some infor about work and stuff that I posted on Saturday. :-)

Yay!!!

Yes, I was officially hired by a floral company that supplies Japanese weddings with flowers. Apparently, and I did not know this before, lots of Japanese people come to Hawaii to get married... not just to vacation or go on their honeymoon. Who knew!?! I sure didn't. Haha... I started yesterday... I got to meet a bunch of people that deal with flowers. :-) And got driven around to find all these places... eventually I will have to do these same drives on my own. I'll get it eventually... just need some directions as well as one drive... heehee! I'll be fine I'm sure. Then after we got back from that excursion... I got to help prepare some of the flowers (roses)for use. Wheee! I think I stabbed myself on the thorns at least half a dozen times. Haha!! I'm sure I'll get better at that. ;-)
The really GREAT bonus of this job is that everyone speaks Japanese. And that's pretty much all anyone was speaking yesterday to me or to anyone else... it was great! I didn't expect quite that much Japanese. But it was definitely a GOOD surprise. :-) Yay!! Here's to practicing conversation. Today I'm off... but tomorrow afternoon I work again. This is great... I'm FINALLY making some money!! Yay! Now I'm less stressed about things... ;-) Anyway... off to kendo now!

TTFN! A

Monday, September 26, 2005

Am bad...

I'm sorry!! Once again I said I was going to post on my blog more regularly... and then didn't. Boo on me!! Hahaha...

Well... I have a little good news to report... I HAVE A JOB!!! Yay!! Good news indeed, eh? So, I started on Friday and I go in to work again today. It's actually a tough-ish looking schedule right now. I just need to get everything sorted out with school and work... as far as making sure I get everything done. Haha! Soon it will be a non-issue.

Yesterday was great. I went to kendo in the morning... got thoroughly sweaty and exhausted... then came home and called my friend Ji yon back (she'd called me during kendo)... showered... then, because I had nothing planned, I called her again and we decided to meet up and go to Starbucks.

Funny thing... the Starbucks that we ended up going to... was full of our classmates from our Contested Issues in Modern Japan class... and we kept laughing about that. Heehee...

Then last night I met up with my friend Shannah (raced home on the bus actually) and we went to see Corpse Bride... which, to my complete surprise, was really enjoyable! Yay!! I love it when I am pleasantly surprised by things. ;-)

Anyway... I have a VERY full day today... church, meeting a partner for Japanese, and work!! Whew! Going to be a tough one! ;-)

Take care.

A

Monday, September 19, 2005

A great time...

Yesterday was a great day.

First, I woke up early and went to kendo... and had SO much fun!! I was completely worn out (and today I have battle scars...), but it was so good. I got tons of tips... and one of my sempai told me that I was actually improving... which is good coming from him because he's SUPER tough!

Then I came home, showered, started cleaning my room a bit... and got a call from Hikaru. So, we met up shortly after and headed for Ala Moana Shopping Center. The food court there is crazy big!! So I got a wrap and he got yummy Japanese curry... and we took it out to the beach and had lunch and a good chat. Eventually the sun got too hot and we went back inside to get a drink... and I needed to get some omiyage.

So... we went exploring the shopping center. I've never seen more name brand stores (Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Prada, etc.) all in one place. The only one we went into was Coach... Hikaru thought they'd try to speak to him in Japanese... but they didn't!! ;-) Finally we found ourselves downstairs buying macadamia nut candy for me to send to one of my kids (I promised!) and were out of there.

We road the bus back to campus and when we got off he said he'd walk me home... not too long after we got to my place, the boys showed up... and we got roped into playing forever! I think Zach and Jayce have a new favorite friend... they loved Hikaru!!

It was just such a nice day... Today was good too... but nothing truly spectacular happened. Yesterday was definitely the weekend highlight!!

Sunday, September 18, 2005

Good Morning Sunshine!!

It's sunny! Yup, you heard me... and as far as this week is concerned it's a surprise to have sun!! It's been raining every morning since about Tuesday. It's a VERY good thing because then I don't have to walk to kendo in the rain. I'd do it... but it wouldn't have made me all that happy.

Yesterday was pretty cool. I only had one class and so after I got home what did I do?? I napped! I was absolutely wrecked from this week. I needed to get some extra sleep.

Post-nappage, I got up and got ready to go to the Japanese Culture Club on campus. I wasn't too sure if I'd really like the club or not, especially since our Japanese professor kind of indicated the club might be full of anime geeks. (Sounds mean, but I'm sure most of you know what I mean when I say that.) I was pleasantly surprised that the meeting was pretty full and the events that were scheduled looked pretty good. So, looks like I might join. :-)

Anyway... I'll be off to kendo in a little while... but boy, am I tired!! Zzzzzz... but Em was right... 8:30am is nothing!! ;-)

Thursday, September 15, 2005

Rainy in Paradise!

Yup... it started raining last night... and has been raining off and on ever since. Grrr... worst bit about it is that I forgot my laundry out on the line when it started raining last night. Assuming (as is logical) that it would STOP raining and my clothes would dry... I left them outside. It's still raining... Grrrr... have I ever mentioned the fact that I don't like rain? Yeah... not a fan.

In other news... I have a rough draft of a paper due in one of my classes today. It's been a LONG while since I've had to do the "writing thing" so I'm very glad that it's just a rough draft being turned in today. It's coming along... kind of.

Anyway, I hope you have sunshine and not rain today...

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

Tests

So, today was my first official Japanese test. I was so nervous beforehand that I was shaking and nearly made myself sick. Seriously... it sounds weird, but a couple times before the test I thought I'd be running to the nearest toilet! Why?? I can't really pinpoint it... but maybe it had something to to do with the fact that I haven't been in school for three years combined with the fact that I knew that our prof is tough. Making for an interesting reaction to the whole test "thing." I think I did alright. Though I know I'm going to need to work on a few things before the next test... mainly writing full, meaningful answers in Japanese. :-)

Anyway... thought I'd report on that... for now... it's bed time!!

Sunday, September 11, 2005

KENDO!!! saturday part 2

Oh my gosh!! Kendo was AWESOME!!! I had the best time. There were 14 players and their sensei, Baba-sensei. They were amazing. It was so good to have Japanese kendo people around again. It was like home!! ;-)

And I got a lot of help from one of the girls who is probably about my level... a bit better and more confident... but around the same level. Oh man... it was great!!

It's hard to be more specific... but trust me... at the end I was tired and excited and happy. Just wanted to share!! Have a good one!!

Saturday Morning!

It's 8:30 on Saturday morning and I've been up for half an hour!! Yup. I may sound slightly crazy... but I'm only up for the kendo!! :-) Hahaha... THAT almost makes me sound crazier!?

Today is supposed to be really excitinng... we have 15 people coming to practice from an elite kendo school in Japan. Which means that I'll probably get smacked around A LOT today. But I'll feel better about kendo afterwards. Or something like that. We'll just have to see. :-)

I'll probably have an update later on.... stay tuned....

Friday, September 09, 2005

I'm a GIT!!

I meant to write this past weekend up AGES ago... but did I manage to?? NOPE! Of course not. So, there you have it... I'm a git. ;-)

Last Saturday, I went to the annual Okinawan Festival in Kapiolani Park. Which is a really nice park down near Waikiki. It was SO fun!! My friend Shannah and I met up with Hiroki and a couple of his friends (Akiko and Shige) and took the bus down there. The weather was hot and sunny... and when we got to the Festival the food was smelling SO good!!

So, what could you have?? Tons!! You could have pigs feet soup... which is a pretty famous dish from Okinawa. You could also have Okinawan soba (SO good! That's what I had for lunch!), yaki-soba and all sorts of other festival foods. Yummy!

After we had all stuffed ourselves with yummy food... we headed to the stage to watch some of the performers. We saw some amazing Okinawan drummers and a group that came all the way from Okinawa to perform... those were the highlights for me! I want to learn how to whistle like the guys from Okinawa!!

THEN after all that... we went and watched, and then, participated in the Bon dance. It was all the girls from the pictures... we decided to go dance... and since the guys didn't have any interest in dancing... they watched our stuff!! Haha... none of us knew what we were doing, but we just joined in. We made friends with this nice man who looked like he knew what he was doing... and followed him through all the dances! :-)

The rest of the weekend was pretty tame... Shannah and I met up on Sunday to work on our Japanese oral exam stuff... then went for katsu don at a really great restaurant near my house!

This week has been really busy... I've had two tests (small) in Japanese... I have an essay test tomorrow in Japanese and then I have the main unit test on Monday. EEEEK!! I'm a little worried... but so far I feel like I understand everything... I'll have to study some of the grammar stuff a bit more, but other than that I feel good. It helps to have a great prof!! He speaks Japanese the entire time... UNLESS there's a possibility that we might misunderstand something in the Japanese. :-)

Anyway... I promise to be better about writing on my blog! I'll talk to you all soon...

A

Monday, September 05, 2005


This is the whole group of us! Front row: Akiko, me, Mayumi and Orie. 2nd row: Robin and Shannah. Boys at the back: Hiroki (he's from Okinawa), what's his name, and Sho. :-) We had a great time.  Posted by Picasa

The Bon dancing girls!! :-) We had so much fun! Posted by Picasa

We had a special guest for some of the dancing... a SHI-SHI! This one was so good... they'd do rolls and jumps and stuff. Really cool!! Posted by Picasa

The drummers who were accompanying the Bon dance... they were so cool!! Posted by Picasa

Bon dancing at the Okinawa Festival in Kapiolani Park near Waikiki! It was SO fun!! But this dance was a little difficult. ;-) Posted by Picasa

Friday, September 02, 2005

Sorry...

I've been horrible about updating my blog!! It's not because I'm neglecting you... it's just there's really not much going on... at all!! I've got classes, I come home... do homework... etc.

The REALLY exciting thing is that I have been going to kendo since last Saturday. YAY!! I'm LOVING it! My stamina for kendo is completely decimated (which is what a month away from it does to ya), but by the end of next week I should be good to go. Or at least I hope it'll only take that long! :-) Haha!

Tonight I'm going out to dinner for the first time since I arrived in Hawaii... My buddy Hikaru and I are going out for Japanese food. He's craving it... as am I. Perfect, eh? The cool thing about him is that he's from Sendai!! How crazy!?! This world really is a LOT smaller than we like to paint it. :-) Anyway... he's definitely someone I can talk Japan with... without him getting annoyed with me. What's more... he's a teacher! Anyway... I can't wait to feel like a real grown-up again. It's been awhile.

Sad news from this week... my housemate that I like the best, Robert, got shipped out to Dallas for the next month. He works for a bank (not sure which one!?!) and the New Orleans branch is now in Dallas (the computer bits anyway), so people from all over the country were shipped in to help out. Which means I won't get to see my buddies, Zach and Jayce, nearly as much as I'd like. But I'll see them once in awhile.

That's about all for the time being... I'm still keeping on top of the ol' Japanese. It's actually been pretty fun... so far. First test is in the next couple of weeks. Eeeeek!!!

Take care...

Tuesday, August 30, 2005


This is my pink cup. Yep! This is the only thing that I like that's pink... everyone will be surprised to learn this I'm sure! I got it as a going away present from my buddy Yui. How sweet was that?? Posted by Picasa

This is big brother Jayce. He moved right as I took this picture. I promise I'll get a better picture of him soon...  Posted by Picasa

This is my buddy Zach! He's 5 years old and has a birthday coming up in September... He's SUCH a cutie!! He's eating a really sour candy and made such a funny face that I had to take his picture!:-) Posted by Picasa

Thursday, August 25, 2005

Wednesday!

Well, I've made it through 2 days of classes so far... my last new class is today. It's the seminar for all first year Asian Studies Japan focused people. There will be precisely 5 people in class. Should be fun!

Yesterday, Japanese was REALLY fun! We did self-introductions... which sounds boring, but it wasn't. Then we were told we had to talk to a student in class who we haven't spoken to before. I talked to a guy called Chen. He's SO cool! Anyway... we got to talking really casual. And the teacher came around and reminded us that we aren't old friends and we should be speaking in polite Japanese. :-) Heehee... it's hard! I've been schooled by my kids in Japanese... and they NEVER spoke in super polite terms. ;-)

After class I had a pleasant surprise. I ran into Hikaru. I met him on orientation day and, dumb me, didn't get his meishi or email address or anything! So, it was really good to see him again. And this time I got his meishi!! Yay... a Japanese speaking buddy. Plus, his English is excellent. I'm SO bad... we spoke all in English yesterday. Next time, Japanese!! ;-)

Ja... I'll talk to you all later!

A

Tuesday, August 23, 2005

How was class??

Well, I went to Japanese class today... it was really good! I think I'm going to like starting out in the lower level class... then I get all the grammar sorted out BEFORE I'm expected to go REALLY fast. ;-) Heehee... only bugger is... I own some of the books that are required for the class... but they're still MIA (in the process of getting here!). ARGH!! Don't I wish I'd thought to bring them with me in my luggage. Oh, well... would probably have had to ditch it anyway as domestic luggage allowances are 20 pounds lighter than international. Grrrr... to the airlines!

Hope all's well... later-gators!

A

Classes begin today!!

Yes, today I officially become a student again... Eeeeek! I'm not actually worried about the student bit... I'm more worried about the Japanese bit. I think that the classes I'm taking are great, but I'm just crossing my fingers that the Japanese class I've chosen (one lower than I'd like to be taking) is going to be at the right level. We'll just have to see when I go later today.

I'm thinking that grad school is going to suit me ok... the only day that I have be be on campus past 12:30 is Wednesday... other than that I'm outta there by 12:30 at the latest. And on Thursday I'm done at 8:45!! (There's a 7:30am section I'm taking... we'll see how that goes!)

Anyway, I hope that you are all having a great day! I know that all my students are back at school now, slaving away over tests in just a little while (well... in 4 hours they will be anyway...). Take care!!

A

Monday, August 22, 2005


The mango tree... it's on the corner of my street! Pretty cool, huh!?! Posted by Picasa

The potato tree!! Or that's what it looks like anyway... :-) I have NO idea what this tree is... but it's kind of funny, eh?? Posted by Picasa

Cool lantern... in tea garden! I think this is my favorite site on campus Posted by Picasa

Koi in the tea garden! Posted by Picasa

The sign in the Japanese tea garden.. Posted by Picasa

A stand of bamboo... in the art complex! Posted by Picasa

A much cooler view of the Korean Studies building... cool, huh? Posted by Picasa