![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
I was in charge of 6 girls: 3 going into grade 4 and 3 going into grade 6. With such a wide gap of ages, it was obvious that there'd be problems...and yes, there were. But mostly related to disease.
2 of my younger girls got stomach bugs during the week. Which REALLY sucked; and of course contributed to their amassing homesickness. One of the older girls sprained her foot, which wouldn't have seemed like a big deal except she just had her cast off from a broken leg the day before camp started. She had to go home early.
The other 2 older girls both had visits from the nurse from skinning their knees. But they were troopers, and it wasn't that big of a deal.
The youngest child was actually going into grade 3, not 4 and was too young to be at camp. May, she was REALLY really young, and so hard to deal with. She was so difficult to motivate to participate with the other girls; she kept stealing their things; and would burst into tears (and tell us we were mean) when people didn't do things for her like carry her back to the cabin. *sigh* That was frustrating! But I survived, and I didn't lose my patience with her, which really is a miracle. She also visited the nurse frequently, but usually after one of the other girls did; and would claim the same problems as them. It was kinda' funny.
We had some fun games and things; but any time there were actual competitions our cabin never won; because of course mostly of the girls were sitting on the sidelines recovering from 'something'... We did win 'cabin clean-up' and the 'skit' though. One of the girls wrote the skit and made me play the part of 'Dora the Explorer'...It was rather hilarious!
We also had an 'Under the sea' adventure where we played in the Freezing river. The director never did tell us who won...but they gave us bonus points because I did the 'polar bear swim' in my street clothes...haha
Archery was pretty awesome too! I only had about 10 injuries (at least that's how many bandaids we used)...including cutting myself with the feather. The kids really loved it...especially when I and my partner presented it for the first time. We pinned eachother up on the targets with arrows, and pretended to be dead to illustrate that archery is dangerous. The kids and their shocked gasps...totally priceless...
- Mood:
sleepy
So, the comic book store guys have been bugging us to come in and pick up our books...It has been a couple months... Of course, I'm too poor right now to buy everything on my list (and there were a few new series I really wanted to start too...). oh well, there's always next month...
( What's new... )
- Mood:
optimistic - Music:COSMICOLOR -- MFLO
( Warning...serious NERDING IT UP...(Re. Otafest/Anime convention) )
- Mood:
busy
I did find a few jobs to apply for (nothing in Hokkaido tho). It's been a month and I really haven't applied to anything. I guess it doesn't help that my computer crashed and I've been using most of my computer time re-installing all of my hardware & software. It also took me several hours to recover all of my files. Unfortunately my emails seem to be lost forever. If anyone has suggestions on how to at least reinstate my email contacts...I would really appreciate it!^^ Anyways, my first application is officially being sent off tomorrow!
Also, I'm starting my third Japanese class this week! Tanoshimi ni shiteimasu ne! I'm really looking forward to it. Somehow I'm able to keep up in the high-intermediate class; but taking this low-intermediate class is really going to help with the basics. LUCKY! Right now I'm learning to express myself as a girl...which seems really lame when I'm in a group of only guys. I think my sensei enjoys making the boys talk like girls...^^
- Mood:
uncomfortable
My Saturday morning sensei agreed. But if she has to write a letter she said I should write it, and she'll just sign it... *sigh* Oh, well. At least I have two good reference letter writers ready and waiting.
I've already contacted the gentlemen who attempted to hire me last September (when I was too in-debt to leave in a week) to let him know I'm available again.
But after looking at job postings, it looks like competition is getting pretty tight. I did find a couple schools that take international applicants whose students are almost exclusively children; I think I'm looking to teach elementary/Jr. High. I've recently rethought kindergarten...I forgot about potty time... Scary!
Anyhoo, My big stumbling block now is writing that introduction essay. Who are you, why Japan, What do you think your/our role will be...yadda yadda... I've been so focused on wanting to go, I seem to have forgotten the exact reasons why. *aaaarrrrggghhhhh* My brain hurts.
Oooh...Saturday morning Japanese class is going to be super fun! It's several weeks ahead of where I am right now, but I still seemed to get the best mark on the quiz at the start! Also, once we finish the textbook, she said we'd go through it again because my fellow 'classmates' aren't really up-to-snuff with their grammar. Yay, I'm not the dumb student...I'm just the average student... Ureshiiiiiiiii!!!!
On my Friday, I'm-the-dumbest-student-ever, Japanese class we had to compose Haiku. We have to put it on display next week to show-off our class. Poor sensei, she has me in her class, here's mine:
眠たい なあ [Nemutai naa] -------> I want to sleep
頭 が 痛い [Atama ga itai] ------> My head hurts
休みましょう [Yasumimashou] -----> Let's take a break
I told it to my friend in Kyoto the other day, when she complained that I never talk Japanese with her. She told me I sound like a lazy person...heh^^!
- Mood: sleepy
I'm in key, but about 10 octaves higher... And this is singing along to Ayu -- who already sings at the top of the scale. I bet I could communicate with dogs...
I don't think I'll be applying to that position... But I'm also not going to be insulted when my sister covers her ears when I sing in the car... I think this might spurn me on to sing louder... *evil laugh*
Also, I've collected my second reference today...only one more to go (which I'll get soon) -- I hope to send out applications yesturday...
- Mood:
lazy - Music:Utada -- Time will tell
I had written in January that I was NOT spending my next birthday in Canada -- and planning to apply for jobs when my class was over... Well, that's 4 days from now. Not my birthday, but my last class. Just a final exam left, and then... I'm so ready to start applying!!!
The job market in Japan has of course gotten tighter and more competetive, but I'm very hopeful that I won't have to look too hard.
I'm back to thinking about moving North though... I was reminded recently of Japanese Summer/Falls. I really don't like hot weather; really the colder the better -- hello snow! [so Kohaku, I think we'll probably be seeing eachother].
p.s. I went to the symphony last night...Verdi's 4 seasons...with harpsichord...I'm totally in a good mood now...I LOVE harpsichord...
- Mood: optimistic
Yup, so It's been about a month (or so) since I last bought comic books. I got a call from the store saying we hadn't been in in a while...and strangely, that means I have lots of new comics to read for this month... I bought 25 in total, which was a bit beyond my budget, but I didn't buy any new series, so...I really couldn't help it! It wasn't my fault!!!!!
Bleach 26 (I haven't read the last volume either, I guess a new book is the sign to get cracking!)
Comic 4 (Actually a manwha, and the story's not very strong, but it is still enjoyable).
Crimson Hero 10
High School Debut 8 (Yay, I love this series... But this volume is a bit of a let-down; not much happens and the author doesn't seem to inject as much sight/layout gags as she has in previous volumes).
Honey and Clover 5
Kaze Hikaru 12
Kiichi and the magic books 4
Love.Com 11
Me & my brothers 7 (It's hard to picture the main characters together (except that it is actually drawings) What am I to say what works and doesn't in a shoujo sibling romance style manga)
Naruto 34-41 (apparently there was a problem with licence renewals or some nonsense, which caused Viz to think that 8 volumes in less than 2 months would be a reasonable solution. I wonder if they consider that most people who buy this series don't actually have an income... This is out of control!)
Papillon 2 (This romance is turning out to be as angsty as Peach Girl -- but I think it's going to be a bit more fun to read.)
Scott Pilgrim 5 (Not manga -- actually Canadian; but much fun... It's been at least a year since I bought a volume of this)
Skip beat! 17 (There's a strange metaphysical development in this episode, which I'm not sure was the right direction for the story... We'll see how it worksout...)
Slam Dunk 2 (If Viz publishes past volume 5 I will be seriously pleased...Although the Japanese copy I have is much much nicer)
Tail of the Moon 15 (It's finally over -- and such a nice ending; with a super cute post-story at the end)
Tears of a lamb 5 (One of my favourite author's, but it is too angsty in an annoying way; that I actually don't like this series...)
We were there 3
Wild Ones 6
Now to find a place on my shelves for them....
- Mood: sleepy
I haven't posted my new comics in awhile, so I'm a bit behind. I'm not posting they that I've missed though... just this week's. It's a bit of a larger haul than recent weeks, probably because we haven't gone in so long...and also because I fell off the spending wagon -- as I'm also trying to pay off my debt. eheh...
Obviously, I've got a serious problem^^ Maybe next week, I'll get out of debt.
- Blank Slate 2
- Bleach 25 (The first new volume I've had in over 3 months)
- Haruka 3
- High School Debut 7 (One of my favourite new 'highschool' romance manga. There are so many with a similar subject, but this one shines^^)
- Kiichi and the magic books 1, 2, 3 (My favourite purchase this week -- a really fun and interesting story.)
- Koihime Soushi (Yes, it has cute characters, but the story leaves me scratching my head -- all I can say is, this is definitely the work of Koge-Donbo.)
- Kujibiki Unbalance 2 (Being as this was written as content for Genshiken, has a fairly decent plot and character development.)
- Love.com 10 (I really loved the series early on, but this one is getting a bit annoying. I think Nakahara should have considered shortening this a bit.)
- Name of the flower 1 (This is a really lovely gentle romance -- I'm really looking forward to the next one)
- Naruto 32, 33 (and it continues...)
- Real 3 (My #1 favourite artist -- YAYs)
- Sand Chronicles 4
- School Rumble 10, 11 (I think I've only read the first volume of this series. I think I really need to be in the mood, for this type of comedy.)
- Shugo Chara 3, 5
- Skip Beat! 16 (One of my favourite series!!)
- Time Stranger Kyoko 3 (This is the last volume. Pretty cute story, but I'm not a big Tanemura fan.)
- Venus in Love 5 (Still a terribly awkward translation. I hope they aren't in charge of any other series.)
- We were there 2 (The happiness at the end of this volume is too surreal... you just know its not going to last).
- Mood: satisfied
I had my first ambulance ride on Wednesday night.
...I was hanging out watching TV in bed, when i could feel my face get rediculously hot. My face and eyes were purple...and I started sweating...and then my heart was beating erratically...so I called my mom, cuz I thought I was having a heart attack. She called an ambulance, and by the time they showed up, I was gasping for air, I couldn't see, and was totally disorriented.
It wasn't a heart attack thankfully, but the doctor is suggesting that it may have been heart related. Apparently my Blood Pressure had dropped to dangerous levels... now I'm going to be going for some tests and things to figure out what this was. I feel like a pin cushion --
I am feeling quite a bit better. But I'm still edgy. I'm very conscious of every single heart beat. Last night I went out for dinner with my family, and felt my face getting hot...
I think I'll calm down a bit when we can figure out what went wrong...
- Mood:
nervous
We were learning the phrase "have you ever" ~koto ga arimasu ka? and were given sheets of paper to secretly fill out something that we've done that was unusual -- so that our classmates could, with the paper we'd written, ask eachother the questions. Now, sitting here, I still can't for the life of me think of something UNUSUAL that I've done...I really can't. Is this just a mental block...or have I been fooling myself all these years (maybe I'm not as strange or unusual as originally believed)? Maybe my unusual, has become so usual that I've lost touch with reality... hmmmm...I guess that's possible. You certainly can't fake some of the reactions I've gotten -- like meeting my brother's wife (then girlfriend) for the first time -- the sneer, oh, the sneer -- and she wonders why we don't get a-long.
So-oooo, What did I end up writing in the end you ask? [Yuniko--n ga arimashita] (I owned a Unicorn). Because, frankly, that's all I could come up with on the spot. It took me several brain cells to come up with this stupid-ism and we didn't even proceed with the activity because everyone recognized the writing on the paper...Except for me...Gaaahhhhhh!!!!! [I had sensei's...she rode a horse...yeah...]
[p.s. I apologize for this...these are the latent musings of a person whose just spent the last 2 hours in full Japanese immersion without doing any sort of mental preparations... "Atama ga itai dayo" (my brain hurts).]
- Mood:
bouncy
At any rate, I happened to mention to my folks that turning 29 was lousy -- which spurned a mini lecture on setting goals for myself. Just great... I guess right now, I really only have one goal for myself, and that is not to spend my 30th birthday in Canada. So, if anyone is interested, I'll be hanging around the Kansai/Kanto region in early January 2010. It'll be super.
We didn't have a family party... thankfully due to my aunt having the flu. And I am hoping to avoid that awkward event entirely, but am afraid they may try to reschedule for next week. *sigh*
I don't entirely hate birthdays, just my own. I did however, decide to honour the day by reading a classic comedy/horror manga called 'presents'. About a girl who never ages, because growing up no one ever gave her a birthday present. I particularly like the stories where she befriends Santa Claus who is able to see a child's future, and then punishes them with the present they want the most. eheh... Santa is scary!
Actually, I recommend the series. It does seem to have episodic/composite story lines, but each story is different enough to keep your interest, and there is minor progression from the unifying arc that begins near the end of the first volume -- Kurumi in search of the birthday present that she never received. The art is fantastic with Kanako Inuki using a similar style to Toru Yamazaki's "Octopus Girl" or Kazuo Umezu's "Cat Eyed Boy". So much fun.
Oh well, apart from work and "nerding it up"... I guess I also have become more serious about school. The new semester is about to begin and I am determined to not be the 'dumbest' in the class. If you are assuming I am joking...take your assumptions elsewhere. I AM the dumbest in class. This is rightly understood, when my sensei hugs me for trying...or when I get applauded for getting the answer right... If only there were a few more people in class to buffer my stupidity. Oh well, since that will never happen, I decided to take a second Japanese class which should really solidify my understanding of the basics. Won't that be fun!
When this second class is finished in 3 months from now, I am going to be applying for jobs overseas. Yes, we've all heard this before...and it is possible, we'll all hear it again. But for now, this is the plan...because somehow I'm not going to be in Canada on my next birthday.
- Mood:
pensive
My stalker gave me a present today; a stuffed animal. He also has burned some music for me -- and is bringing it to work tomorrow. He seemed pretty hurt and almost looked like he was going to cry (again) -- because I've got a new job, and am leaving him. This is an awkward situation...maybe he'll take the hint now that I'm leaving...FOREVER!! *sigh*
I'm going back downtown. The new job I've got is in acquisitions; and I'm really looking forward to it. I've been waiting for 4 years for this job! Yay. People were pretty shocked when I said I was leaving. At my current job I get told at least once a day that I can never leave and I'm the best, and what will we do without you...yadayadayada... (and I'm not counting my stalker's compliments). Ahahahaaa.... Everyone is so desperate and in a panic -- It's a total riot -- I've been a rockstar for a week. *menacing laugh*
- Mood:
devious - Music:Arashi
So, I'm finally back to school. Japanese school is in full swing again as of last week. Although yesturday was our first official class. Embarassment started early as I introduced myself as a Library mailing address... ooops! That was okay though, because I realize now that I'm going to have many many blunders during this year. Our sensei is teaching the class entirely in Japanese... Waaaaahhhh! Kowai ne! I think my brain is just sloshing around in its juices now. I'm going to have to actually study... *crying* It's still fun, but man this year is going to be difficult, and embarassing. Gambarimasu!
I'm so glad I decided to take a class at the university to buffer this one. Its going to really help reviewing the basics. I also got an email yesturday from an ESL school in Calgary... not for ESL though. I had inquired to them months ago about the 1 Japanese class that they offer -- at which time they said they didn't have a teacher. Apparently, they've now acquired a teacher and are trying to organize a class with all of the people who enquired over the last year. I'm not sure if I want to take a third Japanese class, on top of that I also have Language Exchange. hmmm.... Well maybe... Seems I will need all the help I can get this year.
I'm absolutely going to go and live in Japan next year for at least a year (unless I die, or I become extremely ill, or some other tragedy strikes...or I don't get hired). JET programme applications are first... because after all, they are the best organization to go with. My aim is to be in Japan by next April if I don't get accepted with JET, August if I do. Actually I had accidentally applied to an organization about a week and a half ago. A friend of my brother taught with them and said they were looking for someone, and I should talk to them. Of course, I didn't realize that they thought my questions meant I was applying, or that they really liked me after talking to me, or that they'd need someone in 2 weeks... Which by the way, is totally insane! So, it seems that I was bumped off of the top of the list because of my availability... eheh. Oh, well.
- Mood: optimistic
- Music:Toshio Masuda -- I think dirty thoughts are bad
Because I'm bored; and am strangely addicted to song memes. Thanks Amber for posting. Oh, and yes these are my real answers; some of them are really suitable. I only skipped three songs because I couldn't read the kanji. That's a legitimate reason, right?!
( Proceed Captain )
( Proceed Captain )
- Mood:
bored - Music:gegegege
On a lighter note, Stampede is starting next week, and I'm actually looking forward to it. I'm not usually a fan. This year I'm going with my Japanese Language Exchange friends. I think it'll be a lot of fun. I'm really finding that hanging out with tourists in your own city really makes 'old' things interesting. They always notice things that I take for granted; and make me try things that I wouldn't normally do. They're a lot of fun; a total gong show.
Work should be fun this week too. Something came over the manager, where she'd like to have the windows painted 'Stampede' style. And somehow I got suggested.... I'm actually really looking forward to it. I was told, however, to keep it clean! All the people need to be wearing clothes, and she doesn't want to see a lot of udders. heh.
- Mood:
indescribable
Since Otafest was happening this weekend, my sister and I ventured out on Friday before the Con to pick up any books that we needed. We always like to visit our local store before going to any conventions.
( New Manga )
Saturday and Sunday we ventured off to Otafest '08; which was incidentally their 10th anniversary. Which my sister and I were reading through their guidebook we realized that we have actually been to all of the cons but the first one; which is really sad... and kinda nerdy... and may also account for why we're so dull when we visit these events.
( ODOUR-fest )
- Mood: bored
Ah, I was looking up the tour I took last February... there's a promo video -- can anyone spot the nerds!??
Also, there's a PERFECT tour coming up in August that I am sorely tempted to join! How could they add it so soon! Sell your original doujin in Japan at comiket! THAT's INSANE! How did they know I was drawing an original Doujin?? I'm gonna die!
So my sister and I ventured down to the Calgary Toy & Comic Expo at the Round-up centre... we decided that we're pretty boring people. We walked around and looked at the vendors booths; but didn't even look at the 'celebrity' booths or local art. We didn't go to panels or anything... all we wanted was cheap manga & anime. I bought one CD -- the Arjuna soundtrack. Which I'm pretty excited about. The music is composed by the same person who did Escaflowne; and if you know... quite lovely.
I guess we probably didn't buy so much because we visited the comic book store yesturday. It was time. Both bought 21 books:
( New Mangas )
Ah!
- Mood: jealous
I guess some Arashi (or Matsumoto Jun) 'fangirls' read the newspaper. This is about the article I had posted on the 8th; where our tour was interviewed while in Japan. Anyways, this site has some cute reactions to the article... All about my sister... teehee!
http://vanillacherryice.wordpress.com/20
- Mood: chipper
Okay... Last week was one of indulgence; especially considering the massive bills I've been attempting to pay off. But I just can't go 3 months withough manga so here's the new additions for April:
( ...and...manga )
I had to leave about 10 books behind for our next 'haul'. Beginning of May expect to read a lovely and excrutiatingly large manga list... I've really gotten behind lately.
- Mood:
crazy