However, short on money... my student loan doesn't get into my bank account until October so funds are VERY TIGHT. Doing my best though. Will survive. Yep yep. The move-in fees for my new apartment are painful, as they always are, but as long as I can get that figured out I should be in the clear and ready to stay in the new apartment till I leave.
It's a... 21 square meter single room with a bathroom, like what I'm in now but vaguely bigger I think? You walk in the door and have an area to take off shoes (of course), and you are greeted by the sight of my kitchen! ...Which is nothing more than a sink and small counter. Anyway. On the left is a window with a view of a RIVER (ohhh yeahhhh), to the right is a small hallway with a door to the bathroom, that connects to a larger room. (Which will be the bedroom/living area.) I have a small balcony at the back of the bigger room where I get to put my washing machine. No more dryers for me though, I hafta hang stuff up to dry now like all the other people in the country. Argh. (My coin laundry right now has dryers.)
However, the downside is that I have to buy furniture. That will get expensive... a fridge, cooking supplies, bed & sheets, a table and chairs or something... ughhhh. Moneyyy. I ALSO have to get internet set up which will take a while and is a separate cost (it's included in my rent now). Utilities are also separate and can get expensive... (Those are also in my rent now.)
So yeah, overall, probably more expensive... but do you know what I'm saving that isn't money? MY SANITY!! No more over-an-hour-long commutes... No more 15 minute walks from my apartment just to get to the freaking station in the first place! (Which only has one line that goes nowhere... sometimes I have to walk to the farther away station which is a THIRTY minute walk. Tortureeee.)
Anyway, I AM very very excited about the move despite all the expenses and the annoying back-breaking adventure of moving all of my stuff by walking/train from my current apartment to there... Ahahahaha this is gonna suck SO bad. But when it's all over I'll be grateful. Yep yep.
Well, that's about all that's been going on lately other than school. School is doing good. I think I might actually get good grades this semester and maybe pull up my GPA a bit!! Yaaaay. (I'm getting a bunch of required stuff out of the way too, good stuff!) They're still processing my transcript though which I gave them early September with the rest of my terms from Chemeketa Community College. So I dunno about those credits yet. Will update when I know how that went.
Tomorrow I'm going to be in a photoshoot for school pamphlets. Dunno if I'll actually be IN one or not, depends on if they like my shots I guess. We'll see how that goes too. Well, I'm off to study a bit and then maybe sleep early for once. Farewell all!
Also, looking for a new apartment now, will probably move in October. Was gonna move in with a friend but that fell through so I'm just getting one for myself again. But I'm moving right next to school, I'm DONE with this hour long commute everyday. Plus I'll save money on train fare. A lot of money. Yay! If you look in the right places the apartments in the area of school are NOT that expensive. A lot of them are even cheaper than the one I'm in now. Vaguely smaller, but just as nice if not nicer, and SO much more convenient. It's only expensive if you go with gaijin (foreigner) apartment companies. Gotta go with the Japanese realtors to get the good deals.
And I have a few things on my agenda coming up in... the future. In October I'm going to Gunma prefecture (it's the country-side of BEAUTY and AWESOME) to teach English to highschoolers for a weekend. (3 days.) I get paid $200 to teach English... go to a beautiful place in the mountains, eat delicious food, hang out with my friends at night (all of my friends are doing it too!!), and in general have a blast. A lot of friends did it last year and had a GREAT time, I saw the pictures and WOW such a beautiful location. I wanted to go last year but missed the sign ups, the space is limited to 15 people. I'm SO excited to go this year!
Also my friend Dorrie who was also a Rotary exchange student to Japan (in 03-04 to Tokyo) has regular contact with her host family still since she was in Tokyo, and they ARE RICH. And I am former Rotary. So they automatically love me too. And they apparently own some hotel in Kamakura (google it, it's an awesome place!! went there once a few years back) and are offering to let me and Dorrie stay there for some weekend this Winter! Excitement! Rotary has so many sweet benefits that AFS doesn't have... wahahahah.
Otherwise, all in all... life is quite good! This semester is looking to be really exciting for me, lots to do, fun classes, amazing friends!! Soooo happy. Off to sleep now, class bright and early tomorrow morning!
So, to pick up where I left off, eventually Starbucks did hire me and I worked there for month or two. Technically I still work there but I went back to America for three weeks in August to visit family and now that I'm back I haven't worked since so who knows. I'd rather do English teaching anyway. It pays better and is EASIER! (The Japanese work ethic is... well... not awesome.)
So I did the Summer semester thing, got not incredibly awesome grades but nothing failing so I don't need to retake anything, phew. The Fall semester started yesterday. I THOUGHT I had the most awesome schedule ever cause I had made it so I had no Tue-Thurs classes, buuut... I needed to change it cause one of the classes I had I wasn't even sure if I needed but there was a class I was positive I needed that's only offered on Tue-Thurs. So, I added the one I needed and dropped the one I didn't, but then I was like... 4 classes, and only one on Tues-Thurs. Okay, let's do five for once.
Now my schedule goes:
MWF 10:00 - 11:00 - Political Philosophy
MWF 11:30 - 12:30 - Japanese Communication and Culture I
MWF 3:20 - 4:20 - Public Speaking
TR 3:50 - 5:20 - Media Management and Organization
TR 5:30 - 7:00 - Popular Culture
The Poli Sci fulfills a requirement for my writing intensive class outside my major, Japanese Comm & Culture counts toward a Japanese minor (if I choose to go that path, which would NOT be hard), Public Speaking is a required Communications Major class as is Media Management, and Popular Culture fills up one of the random BTMM (Broadcasting, Television, and Mass Media) classes I have to take eventually for my major.
Well, now that's out of the way... My vacation in America was really relaxing and fun! Got to see my friends and family which was nice. I also ran into my Japanese teacher from middle school at the State Fair! It was a pleasant surprise. 
Glad to be back in Tokyo though, I missed it and my friends and everything. Although it's cooled down here a bit, it's still SO HUMID! Even when I don't think it's hot at all, it's so humid I end up sweating anyway. Gross. And THUNDER STORMS!! Soooo many since I've been back, and even a ton before I left, what is up with this weather?
A friend of mine is having her birthday party this weekend and we're gonna go eat some kaitenzushi (conveyer-belt sushi) and maybe do karaoke or something else along those lines of fun stuffs? Looking forward to it though, I haven't really done anything exciting with any of my friends upon coming back! No karaoke yet, no eating out anywhere... so this should be fun. Weekend come sooner!!
Well, I will try to update more often now. Honest. I know I always say that, but I mean for real this time!! At least once a month, hopefully more? Depending on how interesting or un-interesting my life currently is. Okay then, farewell for now.
I swear! This week!
Currently in America on vacation. Got back on the 7th of August, leaving on the 26th! Will probably update on Monday or sometime after I get back to Tokyo. But I promise everyone an update, for reals!
Can't promise pictures... but... maybe.
So far for Spring break, I've... done basically nothing. Walked lots of places with Kyle, played video games, watched movies, relaxed, slept in until 2 or 3 in the afternoon... I'm trying to get back to my normal sleep schedule, but it's hard when we pull the occasional all nighter and then end up sleeping the whole next day away.
Well, I guess the only news-y thing is that I'm on a diet now, been on it for about a week. It's going so-so. I think it's gonna be harder since I already lost so much weight before. Well, I'll do my best.
Also looking for work now. Applied at an arcade, I think they declined me though, no phone call... also tried Starbucks, but the one I went to wasn't hiring, so they said they'd refer me to other ones in the area and have them call me, but no call there either and it's been a few days. Hmm. I might end up working at Saizeriya, the italian family restaurant I almost worked at last Winter. They actually were prepared to hire me but I declined for the sushi place. I don't realy want to do waitressing again, but if I had to Saizeriya would be okay I guess. Plus I have a "friend" there who's a waiter. I don't know him at all actually, but he's ALWAYS there when I go and recognizes me, he always waves when I come in, LOL!
But yeah, I will get a job for sure, cause I neeeeed one. Cause I want to take a trip to Hawaii this winter and I need money!! (Yes, I am determined to take this Hawaii trip!! I wanna do New Year's there with my friends!) I also want to buy clothes. So I need to save money so I can buy a ton of clothes when I go back to America in December... I did buy shoes yesterday though. Yay. All my shoes right now are basically dead too. The ones I bought are a VERY comfortable pair of open-toed heels. Really cute! They're so comfy it doesn't even feel like I'm wearing heels when I have them on. Gotta break them in though, even though they feel comfy they still give me blisters a bit. :(
Anyway, I think that's about it. I'll update again sometime... if anything ever happens! Bye bye.
Today (Sunday) I woke up at 5:30 to get ready to help out another classmate with his real filming. I have to be in Shibuya by 8:30... wargh. Then I'll leave at 11 and go to Hanami (Cherry Blossom Viewing)! A ton of my friends are going, it should be really fun. The sakura are in full bloom right now! I've already seen the sakura in lots of places already and took lots of pictures, but there will be more!!
On Friday I went to Megurogawa (Meguro River) for lunch and a stroll under the trees.
Megurogawa
With Chizuru and Kyle!
Then on Saturday I went to the main area of Asakusa (with Sensouji and whatnot) and discovered sakura there too <3 Also some maiko! (Maiko is like a geisha, but not...) There weren't any right next to the huge temple, but there was next to the shrine, so the third one is Asakusa's shrine that is near the temple.
Nakamise
Maiko
Asakusa Shrine
This is a little memorial of some type about 5 minutes or less from my apartment. I pass it everyday to the station, the sakura here are really pretty!
Statue 1
Torii
Statue 2
Also, because my parents wanted to see how short/long my hair is now, here is a better picture of me than the sakura one above.
Myself!
It's actually still fairly long as I'm sure you can see, but it was MUCH longer. I cut off at LEAST 3 inches from it last time! Anyway, my hair is still pretty straight from my straight perm which is awesome. My bangs have grown out now and curl easily again, but the rest is basically okay. Yay to my hair. (It looks kind of messy in that picture though cause it was last night after I'd been out in the strong windy night filming movies!)
Anyhoo, I need to be off now to get ready. Parents, I'll email you sometime in the near future! Farewell all. <3
I know you were all waiting for this.
What have I been doing?
...School.
Anyway! Here is... OLD NEWS:
- I quit my job. Too busy! BUSYBUSYBUSY SCHOOOOOL. This was in January sometime. But I racked up around $1000 working there over winter break, so there!
- I found an AWESOME yakiniku/buffet place near my apartment. It's amazing. 1600 yen (about $15) for all you can eat korean barbeque, fried chicken, fruits and veggies, rice, curry, ice cream, waffles, macaroni salad, kimchee, cake, ETC ETC! And also all you can drink soft drinks / tea! It's SO GREAT! We don't go often though cause we don't want to get fat or poor. :( But it's still awesome. There is also an Indian curry place that has the best curry and nan EVER that's super near my apartment. Cheese nan?! YES PLEASE!
- I've been going to live houses a little bit here and there. One of my friends introduced me to a band he's been following called Hachibana. They're just a local band of course, but I LOVE them!! Their music is good, just rock/pop stuff, but they are so so so entertaining and energetic on stage!! It's like just watching them perform makes people happy in seconds. Seriously, you could be having the worst day ever, go see their concert, and then your bad day will be forgotten. And they're friendly too, we talk to them a lot after their performances cause my friend is friends of them. Fun stuff! My friend is also a photographer, so he's taken lots of pictures of them. I'll share some sometime!
- Just for fun, here is a photo project I did for my Media Arts II class. The assignment was to take an object for your "theme", and then place it in situations where it shouldn't belong, or "humanize" it, that sort of thing. We were supposed to take three photographs, and make sure we were paying attention to lighting, framing, etc. My prof complimented me a lot for this one! I call it... "A Morning In The Life of Monokuro Boo" (Monokuro Boo is the cute piggie in the pictures.)
Vanity! (Make up? lol)
Awaiting toast!
Ready to face the day!
- It snowed a couple of times. Once was said to be the biggest snow fall in Tokyo in 3 years!! I have pictures for this too... but... later...? When I'm not lazy?
Newer News:
- Midterms are technically over, but the work isn't!! It's been the same level of work for 3 weeks straight now, so for me it was like 3 weeks of midterms even though they weren't ALL midterms... after tomorrow though (if I get my paper written on time... and my presentation done...) I should have LESS work for a bit. Yay.
- I cut a couple inches off my hair. Same style, just a little shorter. Still below the shoulders.
- I'm going to a semi-formal school party on Saturday for White Day (A Japanese holiday, it's like the sister holiday of Valentine's Day) and I... I... splurged a bit... (I'm sorry!) on a REALLY REALLY cute dress for it. It's SO cute. Really! Now I just need a date... Hm.
- I'm learning Mandarin Chinese! Seriously! And by seriously I don't mean in the slang way, I mean, that I am diligently studying Mandarin everyday now and am really really trying hard! I listen to ChinesePod.com's podcasts all the time, watch Taiwanese dramas with English subs, listen to music in Mandarin on my iPod during transit... (This is the way I learned Japanese, so it must work for other languages yeah?) Yes. My life is Chinese right now!! I WILL BE FLUENT IN A THIRD LANGUAGE!! I will!! Just you all wait! And I know lots of kids that are native speakers at school too so I'll harass them to help me out. It will be great. I'll take actual Chinese classes when I go to OSU. I'll take it every semester until I graudate! YES! (I'm excited. Please be excited for me. Ahahah) I plan to tackle Spanish after Chinese. I want to know 4 languages fluently before I'm 30!
- I am working hard in school, of course. This is not new news! But I have gotten a couple of sparkling A's lately, which is a SUPER ACHIEVEMENT for me, because all of my profs are known for grading difficultly. I'm working hard on my film for Media Arts II now, straightening out the plot and stuff. I feel like I've learned SO much about film this semester! I can talk about camera angles and framing and style and lighting and all kinds of stuff and actually know what I'm talking about! It's pretty cools. My film prof this semester is really helpful.
Well, that's all that comes to mind for now. But I'll try to do something picture-related here one of these days... like a post with just pictures sometime. I would do it now cause it's not like I mind at the moment (the weather is so great, it puts me in a good mood), but it's getting late and I have a paper to write and a presentation to work on! (...and a bath to take.) So, farewell for now. Hope you all enjoyed the update!
