Most of what I've been up to this past few weeks, instead of posting in this here live journal, is studying Korean on free "learn Korean" websites. I wasn't able to do this with Twi before I left for Ghana, and truthfully even if I had been able to, I probably wouldn't have made the effort. This time, though, I have access to a wealth of knowledge and literature about the Korean language, because so very many people have to do business there and teach there.

So far I haven't gotten a job. I am on the list of three different recruiters, with my eyes set on just about any location big enough to have a subway line. Most of it is a win win situation. If I end up in Seoul, I get to be right at the heart of the action, where everything in the country happens. If I land a job in Busan, I get to be in a quirky city (which Rough Guides claims takes dear pride in being different from Seoul.) If I end up somewhere else, in a smaller coastal city, I'll have the ocean beside me to keep me calm. Truly, I'm not sure how I could be placed anywhere TOTALLY bad!

Though, chances are, if I'm going to be teaching English, I ought to curtail my grammar faults a little bit. Ah, well. I'll go back to my old diagramming days. Maybe. Chances are, though, with my set of experiences, I will probably end up with younger children who don't need to know the fine points of grammar, and who still have language-picking-up-brains. That would make my job easier, huh?

I've been working at the East African Women's Center again. I go in three days a week, but maybe more if I decide later. (Four day weekends are terribly nice, but get really long. I need to keep active or my mind gets lazy!) The nice thing about working for free; ie, volunteering, is that I have some responsibility but not a lot. I'm just there to help. I'm there to hold a baby when a baby is crying, read a book with the older girls, and help play games when the people who are really in charge are doing important stuff. It does feel good NOT to lead, especially since I'm learning the ropes of how to deal with kids. I used to think that I was NOT A KIDS PERSON. That was all through college, but that's just silly, because my whole life I have been a babies person, and it's not too far of a step away. Though I tell you, they are adorable and frustrating and you want to kiss them and kick their faces in all at the same time. But it really is the best 'job' I've had so far.

On Wednesdays they do 'traditions and culture' day, and that means that one of the older Somali ladies, who is kind of the matriarch of the center, I think, teaches them how to drum and dance. It is a whole BUCKET of fun. All the older women get involved, to show the younger girls, and then they make us silly white girls do it, and it's a LOT of fun. I just love it.

Last Monday I had my hair cornrolled at the WOW fashions shop that belongs to my Ghanaian friend. It was fun just to sit there and talk to her and her kid, who is quite adorable. The kid just starts going through my purse and my backpack and finding everything she can. Then she takes out my planner and starts drawing all over it. She took out my marker bag and Amelia, her mom, says: "Why do you have all those markers??" So I showed her my sketchbook, and she loved it. It was so great. I don't usually show it to people that I'm just getting to know, but hell--she braided my hair for free so we're good enough friends for that! (Plus I think she has decided that I'm going to get married to her brother.)

I don't think I would ever have gotten the cornrolls while I was at Hamline. There's something about living in the suburbs, where I'm mostly anonymous, that makes me less self aware of it. The only place where I'm not anonymous, really, is the Womens center, and they loved it. Do here I didn't have to worry about anybody judging me. I think it's good to feel some distance from school, because I really don't feel affected by the school drama of this or that. I don't have to have a black-and-white opinion about this or that. I don't have to care about certain kinds of propaganda or opinion stances. I can do what ever I want.

The only thing about getting cornrolls, though, is that your head is exposed to the sun where it was once not exposed to the sun. And then it burns and peels and you look like you have horrible dandruff, when in fact your dead scalp is flaking off because you let it bake during Girls Group. Hah.

It will be okay, and better than you imagine, even when the world seems to cave in.

You can do anything. But not everything.

Embrace feeling terrified and anxious - some of the best things in life come only after you put those feelings to work.

It's never as bad as you think it is...sometimes it's just your mind playing tricks on you...

No matter how low you consider yourself, there is always someone looking up at you wishing they were that high.

You are a little part of everyone, and everyone is a little part of you- our humanity depends on yours.

If you'll regret it in the morning, sleep 'til noon.

Sometimes it's more than okay to be terrified.

The darkest hours are the hours in which we discover ourselves.

Everything in life is only for now. Life may be scary, but it's only temporary. This too shall pass.

Never forget to hug your inner child before giving your adult self a pat on the back.

It's ok to be scared and it's even ok to fail; you don't have to be perfect.

You will make it. But someone will love you even if you don't.

Go with the flow of balance and simplicity, as in the end most else won't matter.

If you're not living on the edge, you're wasting space.

Feel the pain. Let it engulf you. Then let it go.

The path to happiness is not linear and may not always be apparent, just because the first thing your tried didn't make you as happy as you thought it would is no reason not to try something else that will make you happy.

"to do is to be" - nietzsche
"to be is to do" - kant
"do be do be do" - sinatra
only your song matters in the end

Nothing lasts forever.
Mistakes aren't always regrets.
You can't start a fire without a spark.

Don't ever let school get in the way of a good education.

The wisdom of Dr. Seuss will always ring true in life.
"Today you are you, that is truer than true. There will never be anyone youer than you."

Illegitimus non carborundum - don't let the bastards grind you down.

Amor vincit omnia- Love conquers all things.


http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2009/02/16/having-problems-means-being-alive/

Here is a link to where all my old icons live... there are a heck load of patterns there too so just help yourself to whatever you like =)

一ヶ月だけかかったけど、もう日本の生活にほとんど慣れた。私の日本語は全然ペラペラじゃないけど、電車とかコンビニとかレストランにも、もう慣れた。アメリカに戻る時、カルチャーショックを経験するかもしれない。でも、日本へ来てから、本当に親切な人だけに会った。先生方と学生方と日本人、みんな親切だし、よく手伝ってくれるし、それにもし私は質問があったら、いつも親切な説明してくれます。先生方はいつも学生達のために易しいと面白いレッスンを考えてくれる。時々、テストを受けた後で折り紙とか他のクラフツを持ってきてくれる。それに私の日本語はもう少し上手になったと思う。少なくとも、文法が少し上手になった。ｗで、昔より今長い文を作れる。

先週末はとても忙しかったｗ金曜日はゲームセンターに行って、ポップン18（ザ・ムービー）とBlazblue（ブレーズブルー）をやった。とても楽しかった＾＾IIDXもあるけど、本当に上手な人がダブルスをやっていたので私はちょっと恥かしくて、やらないことにした。

土曜日は新しい友達と名古屋に行った。実は学校から友達は私に紹介してくれた。彼女も嵐が大好きだから、すぐに仲良しになった。ジャニーズの店に行って、11枚嵐の写真を買った。グッズはあまりなくて、私は沢山お金を持ってこなかったので、11枚しか買わなかったｗ。それからカラオケ館に行って、約4時間歌った。嵐とかPERFUMEとかNEWSなどの曲を歌った。帰ってから、寮の友達とバーに行った。寮の友人のご主人は次の日にタイワンに帰るから、ちょっと皆で出かけた。あのバーは凄かった、本当に。本当の日本のバーと思う。バーの人は皆浴衣を着て、畳の部屋で遊んだｗ。それに凄く丁寧な言葉を使っていた。でも、私たちは多分ちょっとうるさかったと思うｗｗまあ、、楽しかった。寮の友人と彼女のご主人はあのバーによく行くから、バーの人を知ってると思う。

日曜日は買い物をしたけど、この書き込むはもう長く過ぎになって、やめたほうがいいと思う。

英語で書きたくないｗｗまあ、、このままでいいと思う。またね

Sorry for the neglect :x I don't know why I keep putting off entries and such. I'm just busy studying, and worrying about money.

Well to start off.. we got 5 new people into our dorm this week, so it's definitely become much more lively around the house, which is nice. I had bought a whole bunch of flour, milk, and eggs so that I could make pancakes cuz I was kind of craving them. I didn't really know what to do with the milk, cuz there was so much of it.. so I suggested a pancake party lol.

( Pancakkkesssss )

( Let's see.. it took us 10 minutes to devour it.. )

The poster :D


I'm wondering if I am over doing it?? rofl

I've given up trying to find the limited edition of this, but they had the regular edition USED. The Arashi section in the used section is always empty. So... I had to ^^;;


I also found this in the used "clearance" section for.. get this.. 260 yen. It's the DVD/CD. I couldn't believe it..

( I ended up spending 300 yen trying to figure out the menu, cuz it was really strange. In the end, I figured it out.. )

aichijet

( I restrained myself, I swear. )

chop_sockey

It was nummy :D

But I got too much and I could hardly finish it haha. (The donut holes were 100 yen for the whole thing)

Hi everyone!!

The other day I decided to change photographis into a community !!
Don't worry, you will all still be able to view the entries =)

So, as I changed to a community, I had to delete all of my old entries, I'm going to get you a link to my photobucket where they are all stored though, so don't worry!

Here are a bunch of old banners I made a long time ago which I thought you might like to see.
Hope everyone is well, let me know what you're up to, I like to know =)

Xx


( very large post!! )

( leave a comment to be added to the list... )

1 - 36 Twilight Cast (Mostly Kristen)
27 - 42 Adventureland Cast
43 - 52 Dawson's Creek
53 - 68 One Tree Hill

Teaser:


See the rest HERE @ flutterbiesurgh

i left work really mad last night. just before leaving, i had someone come in and yell at me because he was too stupid to figure out how to use the parking ramp. i was pissed. i tried to help, but he didn't seem to care because he kept interrupting me to yell some more.

anyway, in my flustered state, i guess i forgot to lock my car when i got to "my" house on palace ave. - the palace - norma's house. whatever. this morning i found that someone had been in my car. that person went through my things and took some not-so-valuable items. i'm not upset about losing not-so-valuable items, but i'm sure upset about feeling violated. it's my stuff! ugh. things from my glove compartment were all over my front seat. i am hoping no documents with identifying information were stolen. i dont think i'm at a big risk, i didn't have much there - expired insurance papers, old tab info... and those were still in my car - strewn about. but still, with what my dad went through, i'm nervous. ...i'm kinda glad i hadn't gotten around to putting my current insurance info in my car yet. it's there now, and i'm gonna make sure my car stays locked.

everything was taken from the compartment between the seats. im guessing it had a few napkins, some change that would add up to under $1. and possibly my really old, now dead ipod. it's really dead. can't function. so i'm not missing it, but what a stupid thing to steal.

another change drawer had been opened, but not all the change was taken from there. why steal under $2 in change. why bother at all?

and i had plenty of other things in my car. one could probably get more money out of stealing the shoes and blankets and whatever else... but whatever. i'm glad i'm not missing too much.


then this morning i talked to my grandma, and she suddenly tells me i can't have my friends up at the cabin... when i've been planning this for a month! i finally found a weekend that worked for my friends, and i got the time off work, and i even spoke with grandma about it since there was no one one the calendar for that weekend yet. i thought i was set to go. i even confirmed with my friends... and now there's no room for me at all. i'm so mad.

my uncle barry quit his job and so he and carlos are flying in from boston soon. they are going to the cabin the weekend i was planning to be there. so is my uncle ben and his family, and my uncle steve and my parents. so even though none of them were going to be up when i was planning my whole weekend, now they are, so there's no room for me. ugh. i'm just so upset. it sucks!

there's still a chance i could find space in another cabin or the lodge. and i'm even willing to go as far as to camp outside the cabin if that's what it comes to, but i'm still sad. i just wanted a weekend with my friends. julian's gonna have a whole week in august up there with his friends! ugh.


i'm not really having a good day.

i have a new house! for a month, well... three more weeks to be exact. i'm house sitting for some friends, and with that comes a cat, norma... and some fish, and snails. =)

norma is a sweet little kitty. she's soft, and surprisingly tolerant, but she does live with kids. the first night i slept there, i woke up in the middle of the night because she had attacked my foot. she definitely has sharp claws. so i kicked her out for the other half of the night. but i'm still impressed that she can swat at you while playing without clawing at you too. good kid cat. she's quite silly, which makes her even cuter. half of the day today she was running around with her tongue sticking out the side of her mouth. silly norma.

the house is a cute little one in the highland park neighborhood. i like that it's closer to work. less driving. closer to the cities. in the cities, even! it's really too bad that the mississippi market coop is moving this weekend. it is only 3 blocks away now, but will be moving to a different neighborhood.

i'm enjoying the change of space. it's got a cute backyard, and an awesome garden with veggies, berries, and herbs. there is a cute bathtub (with a shower head, but it's still just a tub). so i took a little bath when i woke up today.

it's just a really nice place. i'm hoping to use this opportunity. there are a few things i'd like to try to accomplish while i'm staying there. my house is so cluttered and makes me more stressed out. i just need to get back to ep for some things... ugh, but i've enjoyed staying out of the suburbs for a week. i think july 28 is going to come too soon.

Hey everyone, I recently created an Owen Wilson fan site with a street team, forums & more. There's even a Wes Anderson thread, and a thread for every movie Owen has ever been in. Go chat it up!

There's even a Livejournal representation of it, owenation.

Feel free to contact me with any questions!