…

Let’s see if I can start this up once more.

Here are some pics of the most recent (and largest) book I made:

As you can tell, I made the book to be a picture diary.  I created it to write my Japanese journal in because, just in case I write a bunch of Japanese garble, the picture will put some meaning to it.  This was motivated by the intensive intermediate Japanese class I’m taking right now.  The teacher assigned the weekend homework to be journal writing.  And so…the book was made!

The only problem with it is that the teacher made such a big deal about it that I was highly embarrassed.  I never could remember how to deflect compliments in Japanese.

Anyways, it would be doubley lovely if I could get an e-mail or three from my reading public (to test out everything, of course).

Once again, the address is charity (at) teasmartgarden (dot) com.

And bon voyage to my horrible track record of checking my account every couple of months!

Wee~!

I’m also going to add Surf.  Rather, Try To Surf But Instead Just Get Eaten By A Shark.

Does anyone else have any good ideas for things to do?  Realistically, hopefully.  For instance, as much as I want to eat at a yatai (food stall) in Fukuoka City, it’s just not going to happen.

I’m pushing it already with Hawaii, Kristen!

…

Unless you’re paying, of course.  I’ll leave that decision up to you, friend!

I’m also going to make this into a tab on my site so that I may add to it, and mark off anything I accomplish (or delete anything I realize is a bit too lofty).

Don’t judge some of my items (even though I, myself, am)!  I must do what makes me happy, and not base it off of what other people expect from me.

OK.  Here goes!

• Start my next summer with no incompletes
• Work through the げんき (genki) II Japanese book and workbook
• cook at least one item from each of my cookbooks
• Read through book 1 and 3 of １０分で読めるお話 (stories that can be read in 10 minutes)
• Get to 165 pounds
• Go hiking
• Go fishing
• Go horseback riding
• Fly a kite
• Camp
• Make S’mores
• Attend the 2010 NCPH (National Council on Public History) Conference in Portland, OR
• Go to an anime convention as event staff (the best way to go solo!)
• Get memberships to different Public History/Museum groups
• Have a 3.5 GPA (I wish, but hey, I’ll put it here anyways!)
• Make my own udon or soba noodles
• Set up my restaurant (kitchen bar with menu and seats…it will ROCK)
• Cook with vegetables I grew
• Sign up for the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) level 2
• Go to Atlanta
• Go to Washington, D.C.
• Go to Las Vegas
• Choose my bad-ass internship, then GET IT!
• Continue going to the gym for the duration of my contract (that’s a year, folks)
• Get 1,000 comments on my site (over 900 so far!)

These sound like a nice little bit to start with.  I’ll add more here and there, expecially if I finish a lot of them soon.  Because I’m so awesome like that.

I have grand expectations for my last year of being a twenty-something. This year had better rock!

And now I must go. My food’s here and there’s only so much length you want your post to be when it’s being typed on an iPhone!

I signed up at a women’s gym that is in the shopping district next to my apartment complex about a week ago.  I went through two different training sessions, including a run-in with a measuring tape.  I was glad the numbers were high (even for me), because it gave me a guaranteed improvement range.  As to whether it goes below the average…I have high hopes and low expectations *siiiiigh*.

So yeah, today is the first day that I am going of my own free will.  Ooh….

And thank goodness, too, because I love running in place and hurtful bizarro ab crunches *sarcasm*.

I love lower body workouts, though *not sarcasm*.

Good thing today is upper body *sarcasm*!

I’m outta here to run in place, be hurtful to my abs, and do some upper body workout!  Woo!!  My secret weapon for motivation is that after I’m done with all that nonsense, there is a belly dancing cardio class.  I love dance classes (if you follow me on Facebook, “learning hip-hop” was one of my top five things I wanted to do)!  It will probably be too hard for me (in regards to my stupid lower back), but it’s hard to deny that it strengthens the core, so I’ll try it out at least once.  If I can’t walk the next day, I’ll wait a bit before trying it out again.

I’m off to get buff like Linda Hamilton in Terminator 2!

Grad school is kicking my ASS!  It’s the third week into summer classes for me, and with it come two incompletes from the last (also my first) semester.  My incompletes are all related to papers I haven’t yet completed.  For my grand excuse, however, I have neither taken any introductory history methods class, nor did I, even once, have to write a paper for my concentration when an undergrad.  I’m still only knowledgable of the “intro, three main parts, conclusion” method of writing.  Hopefully these few 15-page papers are down with that format.  A paragraph every three pages?  Let’s DO THIS!!

My anxiety is at an all-time high right now, and I’m doing what I do to deal with it.  Which would be counseling, my old constant.  They’re also having me try out medication to see if anything works out for me.  I, too, would like to know.

And financial aid dares hold my loans until I complete those papers!!!

I would be more upset if I wasn’t taking a placating History of Motion Pictures class, where we watch old black and white films.  I have now become a huge Charlie Chaplin fan.

[youtube xoKbDNY0Zwg nolink]

Adorable with the little bread-feet-dancing!

Well, once again I’m off to the library.  My new carrel is pretty pimp, with a larger desk and three times the walking space.

I’ve gotta get this stuff done!

めんどくさ～い!