Two reasons for this post.

1. Yes, I am still alive.
2. For those who are thinking about Christmas, I have a request. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not get me anything. I am 100% serious. I have no plans to get people things, and I REALLY REALLY REALLY do not want anything. It would make everything so much easier if I didn't get anything. This is also a warning to not expect anything from me. I've never really mentioned this before, but Christmas hasn't been my favorite holiday for a LONG TIME, and since I don't know when I haven't particularly enjoyed it. Thus, I am pleading with my friends that this year we forgo the ritual.

Now to get ready for bed.

I went to the Ueno Zoo when I was in Tokyo on Valentine's Day. I took some pictures, so here they are! (look at me catching up!!)

( lions and tigers and bears and .... gorillas?! Plus two shots of Ueno )

( my Harry Potter husband )


Like I expected anything else...... (OK, there is one other that would have been OK, but this is better).

I found this quiz while looking for their pictures for something else. haha


(PS the pic came from here)

I said I may post pictures, and here they are. This is just a sampling of the jillion or so I took on my Christmas trip.


( Hiroshima peace memorial area )




( Hiroshima castle and Shukkeien Garden )





( Iwakuni )





( Miyajima )





( random crazy things on Miyajima )





( food )





( misc. )

Looks like I'm late in posting again.

( My life as of late )

If I feel up to it I may post some pics later on this week.

Wow..... it's been a while since I posted, huh? Almost a month actually. It's not that I have been too busy, or that I haven't done anything exciting, more like, I didn't feel like it. I haven't even been checking LJ! Oh well.

I'll just do a quick bullet-list run down, if anyone cares.

( the list )

Sometimes it is strange not being in the on-line fandom, but for the most part I am glad I am not involved anymore. It's funny because any time I think maybe I will rejoin, I take a baby step and then get chased away again. The same is true for a lot of things in my life lately though. It certainly doesn't make me regret any of my decisions, and contines to convince me that there is no need for me to go back to the way things were - fandom wise, or starting some new project (which unfortunately my brain hasn't seemed to realize and thus won't stop coming up with ideas - CUT THAT SHIT OUT!).

Random, but I found that two people had de-friended me sometime since..... whenever I last checked. I also let my paid account expire (no need for it really), so I had to go adjust settings again.

OK, back to sewing.

Today I went to Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine in Kyoto, finally. It was nice, and afterwards I had curry for dinner (and strawberry cake), plus I did a little shopping. Oh, and I fell in love with this cute cat at the shrine. It only meowed when I was there but it was scared of me. I wish I hadn't eaten all of my food at lunch because I would have given some of it to the cat. :( On the way home I sat by this really nice grandma who talked to me the entire time and was so happy that she could talk to me. She was so sweet and even though I didn't understand all that she was telling me (she was talking a lot about Japanese grammar), it was nice.

( around 15 pics )

ooops..... I forgot.

Day 4 (Dec. 3):
I am happy that I was able to eat real food (sandwich) and not get sick.
I am happy that I got to talk to a student for a while and the teachers let us talk.
I am happy that I had time to talk to one of the teachers while everyone else was at the staff meeting.


Day 5 (Dec. 4):
I am happy that my students are adorable. And idiots.... but let's focus on the adorable part.
I'm happy that my co-workers are great people (who sometimes give me stuff, but also remember to ask about me).

Day 6 (Dec. 5):
I am happy that the bad school wasn't as bad as they can be.
I am happy that if I stay next year I won't have to go to the bad school.

After feeling really sick for a long time last night, I managed to not actually *get* sick, and my fever us gone.
My students and the teachers were beyond sweet again <3<3.


This isn't something happy, but it makes me laugh for an unknown reason - I got some ads in my mailbox. They are ads for 2 call girl services, and the girls will do anything (it even lists their services, some of which I didn't know the Japanese for until just now!).

Things that made me happy:
I didn't get sick at work.
MY VP was sweet and kept telling me to go home early.
A bunch of my students said they were really worried about me. (<3<3)
I found out that a bunch of other teachers were sick this weekend too.
My dad E-mailed me.
I didn't wreck the rental car.

tagged by kenaressa.

The rules are that for 8 days you have to post something that made you happy that day.

i don't know if i will be able to post all 8 days but we will see.

i am happy that i was able to make it to the car place by myself and get back home safely. and i am happy that i can keep white bread and clear liquids down.

i'm supposed to tag people but i think most people i know have been tagged, so.... if you haven't been tagged and want to do it, go for it.

I think I have food poisoning.......

The new Harry Potter trailer just mocks me. MOCKS ME!

*shakes fist*

Look what I did in the handicapped bathroom of the Loft just minutes ago!

Really now....... really?

How many more times am I going to let this happen before I blow it all off?

I got some free Halloween nail art stickers a few weeks ago (yay free!!) so I decided to put them on for Halloween. I have elementary school Thursday and Friday so hopefully the kids will get a kick out of it. I wish there had been some more designs, but hey, whatever. Free!

I don't know what is more frustrating: the cost of my insurance, the fact that I gave to pay it every month, the fact that I have to pay it at certain banks only (because no one bothered to tell me I could have it automatically withdrawn) OR that said banks close at 3 on Fridays.

I wonder if I can change this at city hall today because ugh!

EDIT: I went to the city office and they told me a bunch of stuff that I didn't understand, except the part where I have to take this form to the bank to fill out. If I had time to do that I wouldn't be coming here in the first place!

Banks in Japan are such a pain in the ass. I know that banks in the US close early, but they are open on Saturdays for a half day at least. None of the banks around me are. And now I know that they close at 3. WTF!

I'm at work from 8:10-5:30ish every day. The only reason I wasn't there today was because I had elementary school in the afternoon. I made sure to have my meeting, etc., during lunch so that I could leave early and pay for my insurance. I have an elementary day that I could work this all out again with (I leave elementary after lunch and go to my junior high, but they are having tests so if I am a few minutes late getting there no one will notice/care). But still.... bank hours suck!

Today, pretty much for the hell of it, I went to Kyoto. First I went to the Kyoto National Museum. Their special exhibit was black and gold makie. Some of the stuff was absolutely gorgeous. You can see some of it here. I then headed over to Tofukuji since it is just one stop away. As I was leaving some dude came up and asked to take a picture of me in front of the temple. I was like "umm.... OK." Then he wanted to get one of us together. So, we did. I stood there for a second trying to figure out if he still wanted to talk to me but he moved off so I just left. He didn't chase after me so I have no idea what that was all about.

Anyway, I was too early to see the autumn foliage (haha), but I still took a bunch of pictures. Highlights are under the cut.


( a bunch of pictures under here )

Should I take the high road and treat people like I want to be treated? Or should I treat them like I have been treated? And if I should pick the first one do I have the right to be upset or disappointed when I am turned down or mistreated or taken advantage of or whatever again? More importantly should I even care or bother?

Not many students commented on the apron (I think a lot couldn't see it since when they saw me I was behind people or behind the counter, etc.,) but the cookies were a success!

We made Kanpyou cookies. If you are like me then you are wondering "wtf is kanpyou." So, I looked it up on Friday as soon as I got the directions (which I translated over the weekend for myself). I found that kanpyou is "strips of dried gourd." .... great that tells me nothing. So, I turned to wikipedia. It told me that they are calabash, and I followed a link to that article. I was a bit distrusting because it didn't sound much like a cookie (especially when I looked at the ingredients), but it turned out pretty good. The kanpyou tasted a bit like dried fruit when put into the cookies.

( mixing, raw, cooked! )

Ever since I started at my new school I wanted to join in with some cooking. OK, not since the beginning but ever since I found out that the kids cook. Anyway, I mentioned it to the home ec teacher and this time she invited me to join the kids elective class tomorrow (we are making cookies). Of course this meant that I needed an apron.

I went and bought a black one with the intention of decorating it a bit. Now, I didn't do too too much seeing as this is for cooking and all (not that I ever wear aprons). I know that I made the pirate patch crooked, but I don't care. I did my best sewing it on by hand there at the corner of the pocket.

I feel like it is missing something, but I am not sure what....

( yay apron )



EDIT: As per Annie's suggestion I ended up adding my name. I messed up a little as I pulled the film off the letter "B" but I think it still looks OK. I mean, I did the letters and some of the sewing with a fever and a bad headache so not too bad at all.

( addition )

Two weekends ago I went to Osaka. I rode the Ferris wheel at Hep 5 and we were there just as the sun was setting. So, I snapped a few (haha) pics. Here are a select few.


( Captured rays )

“Hypocrisy can afford to be magnificent in its promises, for never intending to go beyond promise, it costs nothing.” - Edmund Burke

“Every man alone is sincere. At the entrance of a second person, hypocrisy begins.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Sometimes it really sucks to be right.

OMG Heroes! <3<3<3<3

I can't wait to see what Television Without Pity has to say. And THANK GOD it was two episodes long. KYAA!

In other news, did anyone else watch the first episode of SNL? I watched it because I read about the Tina Fey/Amy Poehler doing Sarah Palin/Clinton skit. That skit was class but the rest of the episode.... blah. It had been ages since I watched SNL and I had no idea Kenan Thompson was on the show now. I remember back in the day when he was on All That.

The Subway (sandwich) restaurant in my town is gone. NOOOOOOO

*hoping it just moved*



PS - I had some errands to run, and since it was a half-day I took advantage of it. Lucky for me because I got a refund to cash, and that can only be done at certain hours on certain days.