Worst Day Ever?

Okay...

Wednesday? Wasn't that hot... this isn't for the faint of heart...

but here's the recap:

I woke up around 11:30 to head to school and print off my paper so I could turn it in. I do manage that after getting stuck behind lots of slow people on bikes, having it rain lightly, and nearly hitting an old lady who doesn't look both ways before crossing anything.
The rain held off mostly until I got into the CIE building so I was grateful. Overall, these weren't so bad. I end up chatting with my psy professor for a while about what I'd want to do in the future and well, get a job hopefully. Other people came in and we discussed our feelings about Japan. The good, the bad, and the stuff that you know you should knock on wood about when you say it hasn't happened to you yet... >.<*******
I guess I was asking for it by mentioning how lucky I've been... >.<*************
If I see that guy again, he will have his own broken fingers ripped off and shoved into his mouth, eyes, and ears. (I can't wait to drive my car again)

Well, I grabbed some soft serve ice cream cause it was small and cheap and I didn't want to eat anything big since I was kind of skipping lunch. That was yummy but I forgot, I have my mother's stomach and I have to eat well-balanced meals... or something better than Mc D's ice cream and chocolate sauce... So that was an ugh moment later at home.

I luckily grabbed my bike and got home in a break in the rain but finally had a bug fly directly into my eye... oh, gross. I was blinded so badly, I actually had to stop my bike.

I got to chat with Miwa and the kids for a bit before I went to my room to relax and begin typing up copies of papers so I don't need to take them home. It's only my Japanese stuff from Genki that might be useful like stories and vocab. Unfortunately, I forgot which one I had left off on last time and realized it was the only lesson I hated. You know, it's not that I didn't understand something grammatically or did poorly on. It was the story. I forgot how uncomfortable I felt in class when we were going through it. It's about these two people who are dating, one lives in Osaka and one lives in Tokyo. They are trying to set up her friend with his coworker and well, basically... the friend ends up being a total sleezebag and the boyfriend an a-hole because they "fall in love" and the best friend never mentions anything about it. The boyfriend avoids talking to her until he finally sends her a letter because he's a pansy after 2 weeks. Did I mention the guy said he couldn't come to Osaka to visit the girlfriend because he had a business trip? But instead, he actually goes to Osaka to visit the girlfriend's friend... I was soo angry about this. We had to give our responses to this story and man, did I tear both of those two apart. If I knew bad worse in Japanese, I probably would have called them that.
-_-*
So yeah, after sitting through typing that up and then getting nervous about trying to find the swing dancing place on my own in the dark, I end up getting sick a bit (due to the not so good eating). Then I change my clothes to something to keep me a bit warmer since I don't have a coat besides the red wool one. I grab my stuff and catch the bus to the station. The way to the station close to the dancing place was easy and besides standing the whole way because the seats were filled, it was only slightly awkward. -_-*

I manage to grab some nikuman for dinner and get some directions to set me off in the correct direction from the station. I had a map and the address but in Japan, not all maps tell you which way is north. So I had to ask for directions twice because I got confused a bit and turned too early. Then somehow, my second set of directions got me there without me realizing it at first. I look to my right and suddenly there is a huge sign for the building. I wasn't expecting it there. Oh, it's been raining this whole time so I've been using my tiny-going to break soon umbrella that I borrowed from Miami's LLab lost and found 2 years ago. It's sad that it lasted longer than the big one from Korea.

Well, I walk in and slip on the stairs to the basement, where the dance is being held. I successfully busted at least 3 blood vessels in my right wrist and jam my left wrist. Thankfully, my right hand never went numb so nothing more than really bad bruising happened. I found the place, got scolded for eating in there... Oh well, the only sign was hidden on the door and there were drinks in there, so it's slightly hypocritical... It said no to both. Whatever.

I did manage to make some friends and get someone to walk back with me to a station. The dancing was really fun and there were lots of different people there. We did a snowball and a new people circle (rather than a bday circle). So I got to dance a lot and I felt a lot better. I plan to meet some of them on Sunday hopefully at the Osaka castle live band event! Yay!

She got me to the station and I got on a train... it was the packed kind that only happens when it's in the last hour before the trains stop... That's when I decided, the perfect fate for chikan. At least the other people around me weren't loathsome creatures like that one guy... I did not give him the pleasure of attempting again. He would have gotten a broken finger or two.

So now, feeling frustrated and violated, I get to Hirakata station at midnight. There are no buses that run at midnight. So I decide to start walking the way the bus normally takes to get me home... it's dark, and I'm not that familiar with that way... why I took it? I was not thinking straight. So I end up in some shady side of town that if this were anywhere but Japan, I probably would have been assaulted. Don't worry, I was fully aware of it and getting more and more upset as I turned around and went back the way I came. I then take the normal walking route home and for those who don't recall, it's a 90 min walk. I put in my headphones and put on my "on the go" music and took off.
So I head back but stop at a conbini (convenience store) to borrow the bathroom because I drank a whole bottle of water at Swing. As I begin walking out, I note a chocolate ice cream cone like the one I had in Korea. I bought it immediately and devoured it because my meals were pathetic that day. I continue my trip home and even walk up the mountain and back down. As I get closer, I start running home. My music at the midway on the mountain was Gundam Wing so I knew that would get me home safely.

I get inside the house and have to peel off my socks and shoes. I had a blister. Then, I went straight to the bathroom, washed my face and hands and brushed my teeth. I got to my room and had to peel off my clothes because although, it wasn't raining enough to notice. I was completely soaked. I just had to pass out once I got to my bed. I wanted to sleep on the floor, not even my bed but I needed comfort.

I'm so glad that day ended.
Today will be better! I'm staying home all day and hanging out with my host family!

Oh, on a good note. I actually made it home in 90mins which included going the wrong way and taking a conbini break. Yay for pump up music and anger!

Wings

So, I've successfully completed all of my exams and my paper. As a prize, I slacked off the rest of the night and morning... ^_^* So I'm going to go to school tomorrow and turn in my paper and print off a few things and be finished! There are a few other things I'll be doing at school later but that's about it.
It's like I can fly!

1 and 1/5 to go! Be OVER WITH already!

Okay, so you know that feeling when the end is coming? You can see it coming but you get a little bit nervous and a little bit anxious because you're not really sure what's going to happen up to that point, nor after it... well, that's life right now.

I have successfully survived all of my classes and my first final exam. I have one more tomorrow in the class that I dread above all. Our teacher has already told us that this test is going to be very hard... what comforting words from our professor who makes our minds blank by calling on us... But yeah, I've been acting like I have bad ADD or something because I have been all over the place today. Trying to pack, sorting through papers, trying to study, trying to nap, airing out old smelling clothes... I'm a bit concerned but after my exam tomorrow morning and finishing the last two pages of my psychology paper... I will be COMPLETELY finished! Yay! No more schoolwork!
It doesn't help that the weather is suddenly beautiful again! You know the kind, it makes you believe it is summer break already and lures you out into the world but then you remember you still have so much to do... yeah...

Well, as I was saying, Saturday I spent most of the day inside working on my 10 page psychology paper. Yay 2 pages left!! I also took a brief nap and a short bike ride with Chihiro who decided to hop on the back of my bike... there's a first time for everything, right? So long as no one dies...

Sunday, I woke up early and ran late again... I barely caught the bus to meet my friend at 9:30 at the station to hunt down this Cathedral in Osaka. Well, we make it after getting lost a bit and wander inside after a few photos. It was really pretty and the reason we were there was because it was International Day. As a result, there were tons of different people there and lots of different languages and we sang to each of them. Failing at some worse than others! We had the Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, and English down! Vietnamese and Korean were a bit more troublesome... oh well, it was fun! We met up with the other people from the Hirakata parish and went to this festival afterwards. It was fun and there were live performances and music and food and stuff to buy. It was crazy. I got to dance with people and take some pictures and videos so look forward to those! Once it was all over, we got a ride back to Hirakatashi and I jumped on a bus home since it was almost 7 and by the time I catch a bus, it would make me late to dinner. I missed my bus by about 1 minute so I had to wait around for another 15... ugh, well I got home and everyone was out at the grocery still but they had a plate of spaghetti out for me. I felt so gross I just wanted to shower and sleep but that couldn't happen yet since I had a exam to study for and had to wait for my time in the bathroom...

I got a bad sunburn. My friend got asked if I was his wife. I skyped with Mom. I passed out.


Monday! I got some paperwork, my exam finished, and lots of exercise biking my friend around school and the dorms. I also convinced my friend to get Indian with me... she liked her lasagna so much, we're going back tomorrow... I guess I created a monster... At least, she's not eating Mc D's everyday anymore. The thought of that makes me sick, even if it is better here. I'm going to attempt to cram 4 months of Japanese into my brain again before tomorrow. Hopefully, all ends well!

I'll deal with the packing issues later... (^_^;)

Bye!

Oh yeah, haha! It's May 17th! It means something to me! (^_^)v

Mou sukoshi!!!

So let me reiterate this awesome feeling of Closing down:

CLASSES ARE OVER!

I only have to write a 10 page paper by Wed and take my two Japanese finals Monday and Tuesday and I'm 100% academically free! Although, there are a few minor details I will need to take care of that's not too big of a deal.

So I also thought I was going to run out of money before the end but thankfully, that's not the case either. ^_^* I'm kind of taking this weekend easy since I plan to be well prepared for these exams and finish my paper writing before Wednesday. I might still stop by just to chat with the teacher as a final goodbye sort of deal. He was really cool. Plus, I might need his assistance getting that class to count for the Miami Plan back home. -_-* ugh...
But I've been thinking a lot of sleeping and wondering if all of my stuff will pack well. Heh, >.> <.<* I should look into that before it's too expensive! I don't think it'll be a problem but better safe than sorry, right?

I've had a lot of fun here but I'm definitely ready to go home. I even sorted through the papers from my anthro class already-pitching the ones that I don't want/think I'll need for anything. Packing this all will be interesting!

Oh well, back to my relaxing and procrastinating! Oh and I was RIGHT! Shuu DIDN'T die! Hahaha!

closing down

Since I'm still awake and a little too agitated to sleep well right now, I'll just briefly update. My writing is not journalism style- hence my novel-like entries usually. I really desperately need to find a job this summer, not just to pay back bills and stuff but I don't think my mental health can handle another unproductive summer. I work so much better with time limits and restrictions that have a real penalty behind them. One would think with all the wide range of experiences that I have both in country and out, that I could get a job... *sighs*

Anyway, I realize that no one is really able to keep up with this so that's why I've been slacking on the entries. Don't worry. As soon as I get back State side there will be no more updates. I normally fail at stuff like this... I had some tests and papers and interviews but they're finished. I did pretty well on them so I'm happy about that. This week, I only have an oral exam and a final quiz... then exam week... I have a 3000 word take home essay exam and 2 written exams so as of a week from tomorrow, I will be completely finished school-wise here! Yay!

I skyped for over 6 hours with someone Sunday... the rumors are true! I did manage that and get to school the next morning--meaning waking up about 3 hours later for my longest day of the week. I managed to nap for 2 hours while at school though.
I made plans for going Karaoke with my speaking partner this weekend and am no longer scared of being short on cash the last bit of being here. I'll be able to hit up Den Den Town one last time (Lindsey's first time all semester), I'll be able to karaoke with them sometime too. I feel more comfortable too because I discussed it with my host mom and she has offered to drive me to the train station so I could leave earlier and not worry about suitcases on a bus.
I've just been really blessed this whole semester, longer too but it's really visible right now. (^_^)

Tokyo Time and Off with the Ankles!

Well, we finally got what we wanted, right? Warm, spring days? Okay, maybe more like hot summer days. I go to Tokyo and this is what I get and return to? Yikes! I'm sweating up a storm here! Okay time for the recap!

Friday night's night bus endeavor was well a continuation of my sleep deprivation from the prior week. It was an experience, one that I would like not to repeat! After getting to Tokyo station later than scheduled and with less sleep than expected, we (Nate and I) wandered around trying to meet up with the others to drop our stuff off at the hostel and then meet up with Danielle, Cass, and Lauren for Akihabara. <- the Den Den Town of Tokyo... I think I like our (Osaka's) Den Den Town better. Less arcades and ufo catchers... I don't even bother since I know I won't win those. We did that literally all day and still didn't cover everything we wanted because the line for the Gundam Cafe was a 3 hour wait and we were exhausted and didn't want to hunt down the Gee! Store either. So we went back and crashed.
That was Saturday.

Sunday, we went to the Tokyo National Museum and got chocolate covered bananas! Yay Fruit! My body was jumping for joy! Then we(Iain, Nate, Jackie, and I) went to meet my friend Sunny (Yay, I found Sunny!) in Harujuku for lunch. We got Shakey's Pizza tabehodai... that basically means all you can eat pizza with no time limit. It was interesting trying all the Japan's pizza styles... corn on reg cheese, corn on cheese with mayo (bleck), banana-chocolate-cornflakes, they are into their desserts... we had to wait in a long (45 mins?) line for getting in but it was fun getting to talk to her and see how she was handling all the Californians at her school. We then wandered around Harujuku seeing the sites: a condomania (I couldn't enter-- it was too awkward for me -_-*), lots of little tourist shops with clothes and shoes, a body line (where I bought a pretty outfit that cost a pretty penny)... we pretty much wandered around trying to find the Square Enix store too. That didn't work out so well. Eventually, Sunny had to head home and we left for Tokyo tower to meet up with the others. By the time we got to Tokyo tower it was too dark for many good pictures! Curses! But we did finally meet up with Cass and Lauren who bought fedoras... and I wanted one but when we found the store they were gone... T_T*
We grabbed cheap dinner at the McD's of Japan-- not a real McD's but the Japanese equivalent- fast, cheap, and everywhere... It has a black and orange sign but I never remember the name. It starts with Yo... After that we went back to the hostel, looked at our purchases, and started to plan the next day. Once that was taken care of Nate and I took Danielle back to her hostel and we searched for the arcade nearby. Well, we found it eventually but it was not letting people in at that point... Oh well, we also found a love hotel when Danielle was still with us and Nate got a picture of it. I have now definitely seen one. It was ridiculous... neon lights every which way and lots of different colors. I had to laugh. Prices for Rest or Stay...
Oh Japan, you're such a hypocrite. "We're super conservative and very polite!" *>.>
Yeah, anyway that was Sunday. I also found out some SUPER good news about a friend and am SUPER excited about it! ^_^

Monday was the dojinshi con for half of the group so the others (Jackie, Nate, & Iain) and I had to explore on our own. Iain actually went on his own to the Square Enix store because we were planning to go to the Gundam Cafe, well that didn't happen since I saw a temple with lots of cute tourist stalls and convinced them to let us stop there. I think it was successful and people enjoyed that, although the street was so packed it felt like you were swimming. I bought lots of cool stuff for people (yay almost finished!) and then we realized the Gundam Cafe thing wasn't going to work out... the lines would be murder at lunch time. Instead, we hunted down the Blind Samurai studio for Nate, and attempted the Imperial Gardens for Jackie. Both were let down as the studio just showed previews of the movies and didn't have anything blind samurai in it while we never actually got into the gardens due to poor positioning of maps and signs. We just crossed a desert of rocks and disappointment. We managed to crack up and be ridiculous though, so I had fun even though I got appointed spokesperson for everyone even those who weren't with us and had to make the plans and negotiate with the other group... wth? So eventually we met up at the Square Enix store--not where we thought it was and so I had to ask for directions from a Koban (police station) twice. It was funny because both times the older officer wasn't sure what I was talking about but the younger one in back was well informed of it. haha, it was funny seeing it twice. So we got there and man, that place was awesome! Sooo cool a bit pricey but that's to be expected. I did manage to get a souvenir or 2. ^_^ As we sat out front at the tables to relax for a bit and rest our feet that are constantly in a state of utter and extreme pain at this point (wish I had my real gym shoes), Nate and I witnessed a motorcycle-car accident.
... yeah, that was terrifying. We both thought the guys head was run over. He managed to get up and moving and someone called the police. His motorcycle managed to get under part of the taxi next to him... it was the yellow cars' fault, it clipped him and sent him flying under. Yellow car, red motorcycle, green taxi. I didn't even realize what happened at first before the sounds but those colors were imprinted already. I hope he's okay. I'm sure he is, he was moving and walking and talking. Yeah, that was a bit unnerving seeing that... the others were getting hungry so we left and got Subway for dinner and then got back to the dorm and proceeded to be silly with taking pictures. At least the night ended on a good note, stupid yellow car driver. He didn't even stop. That was my Monday.

Tuesday was our last day in Tokyo. We woke up early, fully packed, and took off for Akihabara to reach the Gundam Cafe and Gee! Store. We got lost at first because we didn't know which exit to use from the station so my Japanese powers were used and we found the area we needed! We got to the cafe and it was only 9:30 and a 3 hour wait... so we settled for the gift shop and taiyaki section of it with only a 30min to an hour wait. It was really cool but I was a bit disappointed as it didn't have a large variety of stuff besides food in the gift shop and it was all specific to maybe 2 different Gundam series... there are a lot and I was expecting more options. A bit of a let down but I still was happy to be in it and see it and get pictures! The cafe only opened like 2 weeks ago so the lines would be super long still. Then we hunted down the Gee! store which didn't open for another 10 minutes. We hung around and then gashapon heaven hit! So many gashapon! I walked out with a Vivi (to the envy of everyone else), a Vash, a Alucard, a Kaede and Kohaku! Huge success (or almost anyway)!
Then to Tokyo station to drop off our stuff in a locker before hitting up the gardens... this is where Lindsey separated from us as her bag wouldn't fit in the lockers/there were no more and she wouldn't let anyone help her take it around but wouldn't take it around herself. I didn't find a locker for my stuff either so I went all Gundam/transformers on it and made it into a backpack. It helped but I was grateful to dump it eventually in a locker thanks to Jackie! We wandered the garden and it was more like a park. We weren't too impressed although it was still pretty. I think we were a bit too tired and sore and stressed. Oh well, pictures and videos. ^.^ After dropping off the stuff, we went to Shibuya for the huge crosswalk... we got there at a quiet time apparently, it wasn't too crowded. I got some pictures as it got worse though. We then got lunch (hehe, yeah first meal of the day besides snacking on bread while walking at 3pm) and went to Ikebukuro for meeting up with everyone and seeing the Sunshine 60 building. It was impressive and kind of sad. There was soo much smog above the city at floor 59. It costs money to get to 60... We hung out there for a bit waiting on the others to come find us or what not... there were so many moments of directions and communication fails, it was not even funny...
We got delicious crepes with ice cream and stuff. Mine was strawberry, banana, whip cream, chocolate sauce, and cookies n cream ice cream. Yum!! After that wandering, we went to an arcade to burn time since our bus didn't leave until near midnight... I now have the experience of playing in a Gundam fyi! It was soo fun! I'm bad at it but that's cause I can't do first person shooters! We then visited the book off across the street and I walked out with a cd (21 songs) and a 2 book full series for 650 yen, yay! Ikebukuro was pretty sweet, that's the place to go for just being entertained all day! There's a new Trigun movie, along with the new Detective Conan movie! Sounds cool! Well, after that we returned to Tokyo station- after playing on the trains a bit ^_^ --collected our stuff, and found our bus stop. We beat the others! There were 5 of us and I thought we were going to be sitting 5 across the back of the bus but the driver made Nate and I move in front of them... wth? Then 2 other Japanese guys sat there... >.> <.< yeah, that wasn't nice of them.
After thinking we were going to die or crash multiple times through the bus ride, we finally fell asleep and made it there early enough that the trains weren't running yet. Ugh. I led everyone the cheaper-slightly longer trip home. We parted at Hirkatashi where I jumped on my bus and took off home. I saw everyone at the house this morning when I got in around 7:30-7:50am and then said goodnight!

I only slept until 3pm and have been organizing and calculating and sorting since then. I've got a big test tomorrow so I'd better start looking that stuff over too. Evil Japanese class... I will be grateful to be rid of this thing soon! I can't wait to shower, although I frankly think I have lost the ability to walk temporarily. The pain... >.<

PS: Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

PPS: Gene's been INJURED! Someone call a Seamstress!!! T_T

4 weeks left

Sorry about not updating everyone about yesterday. It was the peak of craziness for the week!

Well, to begin... I finally fell asleep Wednesday night after 5am sometime... O.O Yeah, I know. I have no idea why I couldn't sleep but I wasn't the only one of my friends who had a rough sleep night that time. I was just up the latest! So besides that throwing off my sleep schedule entirely, I got to my skit practice a little late because I almost crashed my bike 3 times on the way to school. I had to ride my bike because as of late, the buses have become unreliable for getting me anywhere on time in the morning. We totally aced our skit! Or that's how I felt anyway, even though I was exhausted and not in the right mind! I barely managed to stay conscious for the afternoon. We got lunch and ate it on a nice sunny patch of grass then I hung around waiting for my psy partner to practice for our presentation. Well, needless to say that one could have gone better since I in a normal state have no sense of time, so Katie + sleep deprived = major timing fail -_-*
Well, I hope it still turned out okay. We had to breeze through the second have of the presentation but we weren't the only ones to have issues with the 10 min max for time. *sighs* Hopefully, it turns out okay! I had my paper done at least! I don't understand how so many people didn't... I really don't get it. So I am good with time management but bad with timing?????
Yeah, I don't get it either. Whatever.

I got home and took a 2 hour nap before dinner and hanging out with the host family for a bit. Chihiro made me a friendship bracelet. Yes, girls in the audience you know what I mean. Those twisted string bracelets that you just tie around your wrist and don't take off ever. It was really cute. I watched a couple episodes of Conan last night and chatted with some people on fb chat then had issues failing asleep again. Not as bad this time though!

I think it was about 3am this time... but I woke up and skyped with Jon. Skype is really a bad thing to use if you have a bad internet connection. It can't connect. So we switched to using gchat's video feature. The only real reason I have a gmail account... ^_^* Because I got that all my stuff (this, googledocs, and youtube) are all linked... so if I delete it, bye bye blog and well. Stupid GOOGLE! Then there's the Facebook scandal going on too, even I've heard about it here in Japan. Stupid Corporate America and your insatiable greed--you're the reason we're not going to recover!

*cough cough* Anyway, I cleaned my room today and am just hanging out before classes tomorrow and getting ready for Tokyo! I leave for Kyoto by train after 9pm and get on a night bus at almost midnight there bound for Tokyo! I'm not bringing my computer so relax! You'll have a long time to catch up on blogs! I'll do my best to take more pictures than write in my diary while I'm there. I know someone will have their computer so I can charge my camera when necessary! Yay for computer addicts! Otherwise, today I'm just reorganizing my desk because since I've been sick things have just gotten crazy in my room. Hence I cleaned it! But I'm going to go do that or take a brief nap since I'm getting a sleep deprivation headache again. 45 mins-1 hour max so as not to further mess up the cycle! I think my body is telling me to go home because it's trying to align with home's time zone. Not yet! Just another 4 weeks from today! Love you guys! Bye bye!