I hope you realize that while I fail to update this journal I actually write in my blog regularly, just so you know. I just thought that since I don't actually get to speak with you all that often, maybe I should do some posting here.Maybe.

How's life?
Life is good. Thanks. I just finished my anthropology exam and got permission from two professors to head out early for spring break so that I can attend a freaking sweet symposium on environmentalism in Asia taking place in Kentucky University. Tatematsu Wahei, the author the book I wrote my final report on in Japanese last semester is speaking thursday night on current environmental issues in Japan and how they are reflected in fiction and the media. I'm am sooo exciting about attending! However, I don't really want to go alone so if anyone is free Thursday and Friday, March 20 and 21 and are interested in the Environment, you should definitely come with me and attend this thing. It will be sweet, because Tatematsu Wahei is a really good author, and an environmental activist (plus for a middle aged guy, he's pretty darn attractive if the pictures are anything to go by). Simran, you should come with me!!!!! Please! (but you don't have to. I'm thinking of asking my dad if he wouldn't mind taking that friday off work to come with me if no one else is interested. Im wimpy enough to be scared of going alone. Matt, you should tell Mr. Hochstrasser about it. You are taking Environmental Studies right now, right? Hmmm, I don't remember.

[link]

This is the website for the symposium. It's going to be educational, that's probably one of the reason's my professor's don't mind giving me permission to skip off for Spring Break early. That and I asked really early and I am a freaking sweet student that emits an aura or trustworthyness.

I finished my first full game on PSP, Legend of Heroes II, and have started Final Fantasy II. It's alot of fun, and it's quite nice to hear all this music I know that was reused in later final fantasy games in this early game. That and it seems like some new movies have been added in, i.e, a very good graphic intro movie that I hope there will be more of.

Anyway, you should all tell me how you are doing. Hows life? How's school? fighting off the depression easily enough?

I've been home for nearly a week now. I haven't updated the journal at all because I was a sick jet lagged wreck until yesterday. I passed all my time reading entertaining crap online (aka fanfiction). I'd lay around and nap all day, wake up shortly after my parent went to bed and realize that I couldn't sleep anymore. I was going to go insane. My being sick and needing to sleep while my body still assumed that day and night were switched really messed me up. It doesn't help that My flight home took off after a full day of activities in Japan (while I was sick and very surprised at my continuing consciousness). 9.5 hours to San Fransisco, 3.5 hours to Chicago, and one more hour from
Chicago to Cincinnati. Throughout all that time I never slept until that final flight to Cincinnati. I got home around 3:00 in the morning and could only sleep until 10:30 when I had to get up for a doctor's appointment. For once my doctor agreed that I was really messed up and not just complaining about a cold he couldn't help me with like the majority of the patients that come in. I even had an ear infection. I hadn't known about that. I thought my ears just hurt because I was flying for a prolonged period of time while seriously congested.

One of the single most painful moments in my life occurred during that trip home. My ears hadn't popped since landing in Chicago, so I was congested and nearly deaf wandering about the airport. Ordering my dinner at McDonalds was far more difficult that it should have been thanks to that. After eating with a small indian child staring at me for the whole meal I was blowing my nose. Without warning my ear finally popped. My head spun and I seriously thought I would either pass our or collapse from the pain.

Never mind the three hour delay in my flight.

But I Loved Japan and I really enjoyed the trip. I actually had a dream last night that I was still in Japan and traveling. Let's just say I was really confused upon waking.

Things are really busy in my house right now, so no company allowed. It's a freaking mess. Earlier this year there was a crack in the foundation of our house, so now whenever it rains, water leaks into our basement. We haven't been able to fix it yet, so our basement is a perpetual mes with all the stuff moved away from the wall iwth the leak and the carpet ripped out. Saturday my uncle arrived from Puerto Rico. He's going to be living with us until he gets a job and can get on his feet in Ohio. Once he's on his own, he's buying a house and his kids ( my cousins ) are moving up from Puerto Rico to live with him until they set up on their own. Even their youngest, Diana will be coming and going to college in the US instead of Puerto Rico. Natasha, my cousin who is a year younger than me and married desperately wants to leave Puerto Rico and is just waiting for her dad to get set up here so she and her husband can stay with him and get set up. Christian, a year younger than my brother will come up once he graduates college. None of them have told their mom about this (their divorced) and she doesn't even know that my uncle is in Ohio with us, just that he is now somewhere in the states. The family drama here runs DEEP.

So yeah, my uncle is living with us. I hadn't seen him since I was 11. It's weird. And now a bunch of realtives are moving up here? I've never had realtives all living within reach, I don't know how to handle it.

Also in the house right now are my brother and his girlfriend. So my house in packed and a mess. My uncle's boxes are all over the place. And to top it all off, the drying machine broke this weekend. My mom was going to have a panic attack. I spent Sunday morning at the laundromat with her. Clothes there for six people, with two weeks worth of clothing there from me and my trip in Japan, there was alot of clothing that needed washing.

At least now the dryer has been fixed. My mom and I took the pets to the vet for their yearly chekcup this morning. This will blow your minds, but Snow the adorable dog was viscious. Pokey the demon cat didn't even try to bite and was handled without protest. that right there is a mind boggler.

Jeez, I rarely write this much, and there is no news in here about my time in Japan! I guess I'll do that update later. Stay tuned!

Hey, I leave for the airport in five hours. Then I'm on my way to Japan! I don't think I'll be updating any journals in my time away, but I will keep a travel journal to keep track of all those good stories!
I'm sure everyone goes back to school before I get back. Enjoy spring semester. Have fun!

After a proper period of mourning for Renji, and increasing depression having no other living things in my room beside my room mate (this fact is sometimes contestable...) I have gotten a new beta! I wanted to buy it towards the beginning of my fall break so that I would have the week to make sure he's healthy and likely to survive. So far he's very healthy and active. I'm going to wait to name him until, you know, he survives. I don't want another Dante. I named him then he died five days later. That's depressing.

But he is a beautiful fish. I nearly left him to get a crowntail instead, but I decided that the crowntail betas are scary looking, even if they are more vibrant than the regular betas. They scare me too much. My mom was pushing me to get the really bright turquoise fish, but once again I went for a darker fish. He's a nice sapphire blue, some variations in the shade on his body and fins. His lower fins fade into a nice vibrant red. His fins fan out nicely. Now I'm just waiting to see how strong he is in the long run to name him. But I'm open to suggestions now!

I went to the Ren Fest on Saturday. Met Jen there, and Isaw Kathryn! I was not expecting that! But I spent most of the day with my mom. This was her first Ren Fest. She liked it, and I thought she might pass out laughing watching the shows. However, neither of us bought a lot. I got a stone wolf pendant. My mom got one of a white cat. I also bought a chain mail choker that stretches!!! It is sooooo cooooooooll!!!

My mom and I did more shopping yesterday. I tried on like all of the jeans they carry at Kohl's, but still couldn't find any that fit comfortably. I was tired of trying things on and was just going to go to petsmart to check out the beta, then go home. My mom has us stop at Old Navy, and I ended up finding alot of good sales. We splurged in the clearance rack. Got a bag full of $2 and $4 merchanise! And I got some very comfortable jeans for $20. All good for a day's shopping!.

Oh, and I don't think I've told any of you this yet either. My mom's van sucked, we had to repair it monthly, with the repairs being in the upper hundreds and thousands each month. They finally got sick of it, got rid of the van at a loss, having to pay the place to take the van ( we hadn't even finished paying for it yet!!!). My parents did some car searching and ultimately bought a Toyota Prius! It is so cooool! I drove it to the Ren Fest and out shopping yesterday. It's so cool. And the gas mileage is amazing. I'm so happy! Its spacious inside and it has a moniter that tells you how much battery you have and where the power your using is coming from (using gas, using battery, charging battery). I love this car! Sad thing is now my geo is parked outside. Before the van didn't really fit in the garage, so my geo got the spot. Now the prius goes there. I don't mind, I just hope the geo survives the winter outdoors. It turns 12 this year!

And final news! Pokey turned 12 on October 1. My cat is a senior citizen ( that can still kill people). but she is getting sweeter with old age... to our family.

Guess where I'm going for Winter Term.




JAPAN!!!!!
YAY! I just got the news by email on Monday. (If you'd read my japanese blog, you would know already cause I got really excited and went to write about it right away...in Japanese....)

anyway, i should be getting more information soon. I know I'll be spending 2 and 1/2 weeks in Tokyo and Kyoto conducting research of my choice, my choice being Japan and Environmental issues. Still waiting for more info, like travel dates, total cost (somewhere between $750 an $1000) and all that junk. Oh man, I'm so happy!