Orientation...

is over. So I just have to take placement tests for English, math, and Japanese. Blegh.

All this orientation stuff makes me feel like a freshman again.

I played L4D tonight with Lee. I only actually died once, I was amazed.

Aki & Paul, our dorm managers, are pretty chill, which is nice.

Japanese trains still freak me out a bit.

I'm continuing to meet people, which is good.

Seeing certain things around Tokyo make me giggle. Mostly silly Engrish, but other things too.

Walking from the train station to campus, you can see (what I think is) Tokyo Tower.

I hope to explore more of Tokyo this weekend if I get a chance (though I won't be in Roppongi at night).

Places I want to visit before I leave Japan (if I have the time & money):
Nagoya
Osaka
Kyoto
Hokkaido (mostly Chitose)
Taiwan
Seoul
Shanghai, Beijing, or Hong Kong
and of course I want to go back to Sadogashima!

Japan

So I spent all of New Year's Day flying.

I effing hate airplanes.

I finally got to Tokyo, got to my hotel, passed out.

Second day, I decide to venture. I didn't know where the shuttle was going. This tan foreign girl next to me asks, I tell her I dunno. Her name is Saba, she's Persian and lives in Canada.

So we make our way to to the temple in Narita (there was a crapload of people there). We poke around, take pictures, look at different shops.

We make our way back, chill, then part ways (she's in Malaysia now).

Today, I woke up, showered, had milk, coffee, and an orange for breakfast. Headed to the airport, then took the bus to the hotel where I'd meet the TUJ people. From there, we came to the dorms.

My dorm is TINY (pics later).

I met a some girls on my floor, Yuni (she's from Singapore), Lucia (she's from Paris but I'm pretty sure she's Chinese), Jade, Samantha, and one or two more.

So, yeah. Orientation begins tomorrow.

Another suckerpunch

So, not only do I not get to attend TUJ this fall (I'm going to Pacific University), but my mother has decided to move to the Valley with her boyfriend. She just assumed it would be okay for me to move in with my boyfriend and his roommate.

Yet she wants to come to Parent Orientation Night at Pacific.

Mixed signals much?

I'm totally looking forward to a more liberal, greener town. Alaska has almost no recycling whatsoever.


In other news, my hair is purple again (yay!) and I'm fascinated by the steampunk subculture/subgenre. There are some awesome custom-made steampunk-styled laptops out there.

The current RPGs I'm in right now are my boyfriend's Rokugan (3rd edition) game and his roommate's Shadowrun (4th edition) game.

XKCD updated today! I love this webcomic. I don't get most of the programming or math/physics jokes, but most of them are hilarious. Randall Munroe, you are awesome.

I should be sleeping right now, but I have insomnia and the roommate's up anyway. Hooray NCIS!

I've been debating whether or not to "paint" a visual of my "Red" poem. Mr. Brown (my art history teacher) wants me to, though. I'm a writer for a reason- I can visualize things in my head and describe them fairly well verbally, but I'm not very creative.

I must buy new clothes before heading off to college, and get rid of things that don't fit/I never wear anymore.

Also, I'm seeing a doctor tomorrow. Blegh. I hate doctors, but I've had this toe infection for about three months now. It hurts and all the pus and occasional blood bothers me.

I'm going to go forage for food.