Day three without stopping. Now I feel like I'm on a roll, but if I say that I know that tomorrow or the day after I'll forget to write and the whole thing will have been a waste of breath. Today is Tuesday, one of the worst days of the week, but at least it's finished. Most of my homework, at least everything that I have to do, is now finished, and the only thing that I have to debate with now is whether or not to go to the gym.
Really I should stop thinking about it and just go. After I go I could say that I am glad that I did, I don't feel so tired, etc. But it's cold outside and I really am tired and... Well, and some other excuses.
At least next week is fall break. Finally. When I say Fall Break, I mean that there's no classes on Monday or Tuesday, but at least that's something. All I want to do is sleep all day, maybe I could save up my hours for the time that's coming ahead.
Ah, too sleepy, I lost to the gym. Maybe if I'm feeling really perky I can go tomorrow morning. My first class isn't until 11:00 after all.
We'll see how it goes.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
Monkey Families
There's this Korean orange tea stuff that I absolutely adore. When I say "tea" you'd think of tea leaves or tea packets, but this stuff is different. Actually I don't even know if it's tea, but for now I'm calling it that. At least on the bottle it says "Honey Citron Tea" in English, and then some other things in Japanese and Korean that I can't read. Like a vat of jelly or something it comes in a huge jar. You take a couple of tablespoons full of what basically is orange goop and mix it with hot water to make the most delicious hot concoction you could ever imagine. How this stuff never made it to America I'll never know, I can only get it in the Asian market here in Ann Arbor. The first American company to catch on will be billionaires for sure. You can add a lot to make it really sweet, or just a little to flavor your hot water. Now I sound like a commercial, but I really like it.
Recently I've been doing a good job of keeping on top of things. At least I don't "think" I'll have to get up early tomorrow to play catchup. Tonight I'm memorizing the Chinese vocab for tomorrow's quiz, I can be proud that I'm doing it the night before instead of the morning of.
Even though I'm not as studious as I was last year, I think I can say that I'm a lot happier. So I'm going to get a B in Antrho because I would rather spend my time living my life than memorizing the different families and geneses and orders and kingdoms and species of some one hundred different monkeys. Whatever, as long as I don't get a C.
...Yeah, that would be bad.
Recently I've been doing a good job of keeping on top of things. At least I don't "think" I'll have to get up early tomorrow to play catchup. Tonight I'm memorizing the Chinese vocab for tomorrow's quiz, I can be proud that I'm doing it the night before instead of the morning of.
Even though I'm not as studious as I was last year, I think I can say that I'm a lot happier. So I'm going to get a B in Antrho because I would rather spend my time living my life than memorizing the different families and geneses and orders and kingdoms and species of some one hundred different monkeys. Whatever, as long as I don't get a C.
...Yeah, that would be bad.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Dorm Coffee
Today I woke up at like 12:30. Why do a lot of my blog entries start out like that? Maybe because it's the first fact of the day you have to face when you've slept through over half of it. Now I'm sucking on dorm coffee like it's water in an attempt to wake up and get something productive done today. Ever since I bought half and half the coffee that I make is now drinkable, and I'm very proud of that fact.
Looking at my last entries promise to write every day makes me smile, I think it's been over a month. When you get out of practice with something getting back into it seems harder than even starting in the first place. So if I'm going to write every day, instead of saying that I will I should just do it; the proof is in the pudding.
Sundays are awful. They're just the time that's before Monday, and a day when you have to do everything that you've neglected to do in the past two days. At least that's how it is for me. Today I have to do my study questions for Anthro/Bio, not my favorite class... All of my weekly homework for Chinese, and then my story for Creative Writing.
One thing that's interesting is that I see that people have been posting comments on my blog. Really didn't expect that. See, I thought it people would comment I would get some sort of email saying "Someone actually found your blog!" and then you could see the comment, but it looks like people for a long time now have just been popping in out.
Funny thing is is that there are a lot more comments on my Japanese blog than my English... Hm....
Looking at my last entries promise to write every day makes me smile, I think it's been over a month. When you get out of practice with something getting back into it seems harder than even starting in the first place. So if I'm going to write every day, instead of saying that I will I should just do it; the proof is in the pudding.
Sundays are awful. They're just the time that's before Monday, and a day when you have to do everything that you've neglected to do in the past two days. At least that's how it is for me. Today I have to do my study questions for Anthro/Bio, not my favorite class... All of my weekly homework for Chinese, and then my story for Creative Writing.
One thing that's interesting is that I see that people have been posting comments on my blog. Really didn't expect that. See, I thought it people would comment I would get some sort of email saying "Someone actually found your blog!" and then you could see the comment, but it looks like people for a long time now have just been popping in out.
Funny thing is is that there are a lot more comments on my Japanese blog than my English... Hm....
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Catching Up
Originally I had wanted to keep my English blog and my Japanese blog even, so I would refrain from writing in here. Apparently though the days where I want to write a Japanese entry are few and far between, so i though that to just stick to this one regularly might be better after all.
Since I wrote last a lot of things have happened, but I'm not going to take the time to record them all. Almost a month has passed since school started. Since then I've changed my schedule around more than once, and today I was thinking about doing it again before the add drop deadline passed, but that's probably not a good idea.
Up until now I've had a a bad day, or at least I don't feel good about the day that I've had. Maybe tonight will be better. At 5:00 I'm going to see a conversation partner, and then hang out with a friend. But I don't want to bring my sour attitude with me... Should I take a nap to try and brush it off? Maybe play some music? That's probably a good idea, though I have to get these questions done for Antro/Bio done tonight so that I'm free tomorrow to go and watch a movie.
Japanese depressed me today. We went over a video and apparently we were supposed to fill out the accompanying worksheet before class, so I had no answers to give in terms of discussion. One of my friends from Middlebury sat next to me, and I saw all of his answers neatly written out, while his homework was largely free of red ink.
Maybe I can write about how the evening went later.
Since I wrote last a lot of things have happened, but I'm not going to take the time to record them all. Almost a month has passed since school started. Since then I've changed my schedule around more than once, and today I was thinking about doing it again before the add drop deadline passed, but that's probably not a good idea.
Up until now I've had a a bad day, or at least I don't feel good about the day that I've had. Maybe tonight will be better. At 5:00 I'm going to see a conversation partner, and then hang out with a friend. But I don't want to bring my sour attitude with me... Should I take a nap to try and brush it off? Maybe play some music? That's probably a good idea, though I have to get these questions done for Antro/Bio done tonight so that I'm free tomorrow to go and watch a movie.
Japanese depressed me today. We went over a video and apparently we were supposed to fill out the accompanying worksheet before class, so I had no answers to give in terms of discussion. One of my friends from Middlebury sat next to me, and I saw all of his answers neatly written out, while his homework was largely free of red ink.
Maybe I can write about how the evening went later.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Going Back
When I compare my Japanese and my English blog, I realize that I've neglected my English blog a little bit. Since the time I've last posted, I've moved to college, passed my placement exam for Japanese, changed classes more than once, and got an opportunity to do tutoring for my old Japanese class. Things that are all really important to me.
Today's a Saturday. Game day for Michigan. We're going against Notre Dame. Sadly I couldn't care less; instead of going I met up with one of my conversation partners. This is the first girl I've ever had, and it's a really nice change of pace. She was so sweet, a pleasure to talk to really. Guys are great, don't get me wrong, but I'm afraid that before long I'll start to learn Japanese that isn't very, for lack of better words, girly. And even more so than in English, playing your part is important when speaking Japanese I think.
When I was organizing the files on my computer, I found my old poem that I wrote for last year's Children's Literature class. Someday I'm afraid I'm going to accidentally delete it or something, so I'm going to put it here for safe keeping. Looking at it now, it's not that good, but maybe it'll be nostalgic to look at it later.
Going Back
You children of the coming year
And untold, future day
Please listen closely to these words
And what I have to say
There was a time, not long ago
When I was just like you
But now I have just memories
Of things I used to do
There was this kind of magic
And it laced all that I saw
The Earth remained a beauty
And her features had no flaw
Her forest was my temple
With it's turrets arching high
Green leaves, so much like little bells
Would ring and sweep the sky
The sky was like an ocean
With a deep and virgin hue
Great clouds, like ships, would sail along
And race across it's blue
But colors now are fading
And my world's in shades of gray
And I've been wearing blinders
That restrict my sight today
Blinders that perhaps now shade
The things that I could see
Might lead me onward to the path
That matters most to me
Some animals would talk to me
And take food from my hand
They'd whisper in a language
Only I could understand
But now they are afraid of me
And speak to me no more
Time, I think, has known I've aged
And closed that magic door
My father was a noble king
My mother was a queen
My brother was a haughty duke
Both petulant and mean
But the king and queen are now divorced
They're faulted, and I see
The duke, who I had used to loath
Is now a friend to me
My family has changed with time
To strangers I don't know
The masks they wear hide faces still
They they have yet to show
With every year they're dying
And it pains me when I know
The place to which they're leaving to
Is somewhere I can't go
We travel by a place but once
Before life moves us on
To unknown journeys, grand and new
Until our time is gone
Remember every storybook
And fable, false or true
Remember every fairytale
And what it means to you
Come listen to the unheard songs
The whispers of the trees
And harmonize to melodies
That float along the breeze
Go taste the crimson morning sun
And smell the pallor moon
For these are kinds of memories
That leave you all too soon
We as adults cant do these things
With age there comes a cost
It's only when we're older
We can see all that we've lost
But memories are all they are
Just shadows of the past
And now I've come to understand
That nothing good can last
Your childhood is but a dream
From which, someday, you'll wake
And sometime soon you'll have to choose
The path you wish to take
At times I've tried to search for it
This heart that I now lack
But I've grown up and now I know
I'm never, Going Back.
Today's a Saturday. Game day for Michigan. We're going against Notre Dame. Sadly I couldn't care less; instead of going I met up with one of my conversation partners. This is the first girl I've ever had, and it's a really nice change of pace. She was so sweet, a pleasure to talk to really. Guys are great, don't get me wrong, but I'm afraid that before long I'll start to learn Japanese that isn't very, for lack of better words, girly. And even more so than in English, playing your part is important when speaking Japanese I think.
When I was organizing the files on my computer, I found my old poem that I wrote for last year's Children's Literature class. Someday I'm afraid I'm going to accidentally delete it or something, so I'm going to put it here for safe keeping. Looking at it now, it's not that good, but maybe it'll be nostalgic to look at it later.
Going Back
You children of the coming year
And untold, future day
Please listen closely to these words
And what I have to say
There was a time, not long ago
When I was just like you
But now I have just memories
Of things I used to do
There was this kind of magic
And it laced all that I saw
The Earth remained a beauty
And her features had no flaw
Her forest was my temple
With it's turrets arching high
Green leaves, so much like little bells
Would ring and sweep the sky
The sky was like an ocean
With a deep and virgin hue
Great clouds, like ships, would sail along
And race across it's blue
But colors now are fading
And my world's in shades of gray
And I've been wearing blinders
That restrict my sight today
Blinders that perhaps now shade
The things that I could see
Might lead me onward to the path
That matters most to me
Some animals would talk to me
And take food from my hand
They'd whisper in a language
Only I could understand
But now they are afraid of me
And speak to me no more
Time, I think, has known I've aged
And closed that magic door
My father was a noble king
My mother was a queen
My brother was a haughty duke
Both petulant and mean
But the king and queen are now divorced
They're faulted, and I see
The duke, who I had used to loath
Is now a friend to me
My family has changed with time
To strangers I don't know
The masks they wear hide faces still
They they have yet to show
With every year they're dying
And it pains me when I know
The place to which they're leaving to
Is somewhere I can't go
We travel by a place but once
Before life moves us on
To unknown journeys, grand and new
Until our time is gone
Remember every storybook
And fable, false or true
Remember every fairytale
And what it means to you
Come listen to the unheard songs
The whispers of the trees
And harmonize to melodies
That float along the breeze
Go taste the crimson morning sun
And smell the pallor moon
For these are kinds of memories
That leave you all too soon
We as adults cant do these things
With age there comes a cost
It's only when we're older
We can see all that we've lost
But memories are all they are
Just shadows of the past
And now I've come to understand
That nothing good can last
Your childhood is but a dream
From which, someday, you'll wake
And sometime soon you'll have to choose
The path you wish to take
At times I've tried to search for it
This heart that I now lack
But I've grown up and now I know
I'm never, Going Back.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
We're In The Money
And then there were eight.
Ok, so really seven, but I'm still counting my old conversation partner in there, who I haven't heard from this summer but I'm assuming he'll still be good for the upcoming year. That's not too bad, right? Say you see one a day, and then two on one day and then I'll be fine.
(As long as I keep saying that to myself.)
Not in a terribly great mood today. Sometimes all of this divorce shit just gets to me sometimes, and I don't want to deal with it anymore. But it's not a choice, it's just a fact of life. We all have to keep moving along, whether we want to or not. This time it's about money; but I guess it's always about money. College is expensive, and this year I'm having a hard time making sure that things fall into place. And it's not just tuition. There's books, clothes, and hanging out with friends occasionally. All of this costs money, even if you don't indulge.
But where can it come from? That's the million dollar question of these past few weeks, and nobody has an answer. At least the GI bill came through, that should help some, if everything is approved.
Whatever, everything will be ok; I just can't wait to get back to college so I can ignore this epic drama that's my parents divorce a little easier.
Ok, so really seven, but I'm still counting my old conversation partner in there, who I haven't heard from this summer but I'm assuming he'll still be good for the upcoming year. That's not too bad, right? Say you see one a day, and then two on one day and then I'll be fine.
(As long as I keep saying that to myself.)
Not in a terribly great mood today. Sometimes all of this divorce shit just gets to me sometimes, and I don't want to deal with it anymore. But it's not a choice, it's just a fact of life. We all have to keep moving along, whether we want to or not. This time it's about money; but I guess it's always about money. College is expensive, and this year I'm having a hard time making sure that things fall into place. And it's not just tuition. There's books, clothes, and hanging out with friends occasionally. All of this costs money, even if you don't indulge.
But where can it come from? That's the million dollar question of these past few weeks, and nobody has an answer. At least the GI bill came through, that should help some, if everything is approved.
Whatever, everything will be ok; I just can't wait to get back to college so I can ignore this epic drama that's my parents divorce a little easier.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Geeked Out
Last night I couldn't sleep at all so I took some medicine to help me fall asleep. This morning I woke up at around 12:30. (New record for the summer!) Though I've found that if you sleep in really late, the day goes by faster, which is nice. That, and more things are happening in the evening too, which gives me more incentive to stay up late and sleep in.
Right now I have six conversation partners. Six. And right now I'm starting to think that's too many, that I'll want to kick myself later for signing up for this, but I just can't help it. Getting a new conversation partner is like meeting a new friend and improving your language skills at the same time. So cool, and I get so geeked out about it. Actually I want one more for Chinese. Just one more wouldn't hurt, right? Right?
Recently I've been getting geeked out about language learning in general. Today I found some really neat sites for learning, and I was so excited you'd think it was Christmas or something. And it basically was, except a lot cheaper. Now I can listen to Japanese podcasts! Not podcasts about learning Japanese, but real Japanese podcasts. That's just the coolest thing ever! And now I can watch Japanese TV, and all of this is for free! "Oh, happy day!"
Just talking about it I get so psyched and it's like I'm a geek at a Star Trek convention. But I'm just so glad that I'm excited about what I'm learning in school. My future seems so bright, I think that I'll be a great professor someday. That's my dream, and I know I can get there.
My river painting is coming along, but right now it's still in the boring stage. Maybe if I let loose with the paints I can get it to flow a little more. My next mode of attack is to darken the land masses so that the sky and the river stand out more in comparison. Will it work? Only time will tell...
Right now I have six conversation partners. Six. And right now I'm starting to think that's too many, that I'll want to kick myself later for signing up for this, but I just can't help it. Getting a new conversation partner is like meeting a new friend and improving your language skills at the same time. So cool, and I get so geeked out about it. Actually I want one more for Chinese. Just one more wouldn't hurt, right? Right?
Recently I've been getting geeked out about language learning in general. Today I found some really neat sites for learning, and I was so excited you'd think it was Christmas or something. And it basically was, except a lot cheaper. Now I can listen to Japanese podcasts! Not podcasts about learning Japanese, but real Japanese podcasts. That's just the coolest thing ever! And now I can watch Japanese TV, and all of this is for free! "Oh, happy day!"
Just talking about it I get so psyched and it's like I'm a geek at a Star Trek convention. But I'm just so glad that I'm excited about what I'm learning in school. My future seems so bright, I think that I'll be a great professor someday. That's my dream, and I know I can get there.
My river painting is coming along, but right now it's still in the boring stage. Maybe if I let loose with the paints I can get it to flow a little more. My next mode of attack is to darken the land masses so that the sky and the river stand out more in comparison. Will it work? Only time will tell...
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