updated 50 for 2008

(original post edited july 1st)

i decided it's time to take a bit of inventory on my 50 for 2008 seeing as the year is half over. a lot of my goals were to do something more so, at the half way point, if i did that thing more than last year, i'm taking the liberty of crossing it off. i have slightly changed some of the goals that weren't as concrete (thanks for the advice lulu!!) and hopefully it makes them easier to assess in the end.

numbers 12, 17, and 47 are practically in the bag with a trip to bali at the end of july, working on top of mt fuji in august, and the approaching summer! if i take those out, i'm still looking at a list of more than 30. which means i haven't finished half my goals in half the year...it's time to take it up a notch!!

the list now looks something like this.

1-stop biting my nails
2-wear "adult shoes" to work more
3-cook dinner more
4-eat a better breakfast
5-bake more (cookies, brownies, muffins, etc.)
6-get a couch/sofa
7-clean on a regular basis - vacuum and wipe the floors every other week
8-be more organized at work
9-travel to hokkaido
10-travel to kyushu
11-take a trip by myself
12-go to a new country (bali!)
13-keep in touch with friends back home more
14-write my mom and dad more (letters, emails, etc.) - pay to CALL home once a month
15-exercise (hoop dancing!)
16-buy a longer tv cable
17-climb mt fuji again
18-explore my neighborhood - go to 3 bars or restaurants within walking distance
19-find at least 5 new restaurants i can take friends to
20-dress up more
21-set up my bills to be automatically deducted from my bank account
22-keep better track of my finances
23-make more "foreign" friends (this year will see a significant australian friend leave japan...)
24-learn the names of all the teachers at school that i already talk to all the time
25-go to bed earlier on "school nights"
26-take lots of pictures
27-learn to cook some three japanese dishes
28-learn to like sushi
29-take my lunch to work more
30-clean out my closet and get rid of clothes i don't wear
31-write more (and see number 37)
32-read more - read one book a month
33-study japanese more
34-read the newspaper every once in a while (actually READ it)
35-do something with my empty (and lonely!) balcony
36-keep a plant alive
37-keep a 3-line daily journal - write SOMETHING at least three times a week
38-clean out my itunes
39-discover new music to add to old favorites
40-move old digital photos to my external harddrive
41-read a whole book in japanese
42-create a reason to use all 6 wine glasses at once (invite friends over!)
43-throw things away that should be thrown away
44-clean all my jewelry and keep it nice
45-be generous toward others (time, money, energy, etc.)
46-invest a reasonable percent of my salary
47-be outside more
48-paint my toenails more
49-get a massage (or two!)
50-floss regularly


in progress
finished
july 1st additions

quote of the day

a little reminder from the Universe:

"The only person who should ever have to live by your standards is you."

in the whirlwind

life has been a whirlwind lately.

...and i'm loving every minute of it!

sadly it doesn't leave much room for blogging. it felt like just a couple days ago i was writing about having successfully posted every day for the month of may and here it is, the end of june. here's what i've been up to:

☆went out for a spontaneous dinner after work with my one 同期 (we started working at the same time)
☆attended calling hours for the father of a teacher at school who has always been so wonderful to me
☆went drinking with Bee, Style and a handful of americans who are interning in tokyo for the summer (can we say, herding cats?!)
☆had a first date with Parker
☆went to a gay bar with recent acquaintance (and he's tall dark and handsome to boot! ...too bad.)
☆went to an お疲れ様会 for the student teachers who just finished 3 weeks of student teaching. drinking with college kids on a wednesday - just like being in college again! haha
☆stayed at work until 8pm. semester finals season...sigh.
☆made brownies!
☆had dinner with Parker again. discovered that we have very similar music taste.
☆went to Ty's beach house for the weekend with The Group. we stopped at costco on the way and bought so much! then we had 2 days of eating, drinking, laughing, eating, sleeping, eating, drinking, and enjoying the company of amazing friends. the rain on sunday spoiled any beach action, but we had a great bbq on saturday and lounged around most of sunday. did i mention we ate? yeah, we ate. a lot.
☆went to Fragment. i made it for the last hour and met up with Hariken and bought some awesome stickers and pins from him. they are the same design as seen here.
☆got my LED hoop!!!!! i'm so excited! photos and more details to come!
☆met with with another artist, Kyori, and bought a painting of hers.

phew.

things i love thursday

.the smell of brownies in the oven.
.boys who can say "what's your number?".
.jason reeves.
.homemade garlic bread.
.microwave popcorn.
.feeling useful.
.red toenails.
.good hair days (two in a row!).
.open curtains at work = fresh air and seeing green from my desk.

date recap

he said "you're different. you talk like a japanese person, but your texts and what you talk about...they're different. it's not like most japanese girls."

at first i couldn't tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing. he explained that a lot of japanese girls just "act" a lot and he doesn't like that. i said i probably can't "act" or pretend to be "cutesy and girly." but apparently that's a good thing. he is a strange mix of a japanese guy and an american. some things about him are so heavily influenced by the 6 years living in the US.

he also made a comment that i appreciated SO much:

"you want people to understand that you are american, right? not in a racist kind of way, but in the sense that you speak japanese but you are not japanese."

yes, EXACTLY!

we ordered the set (course) menu at an italian restaurant that i've passed before but never been to. it was good; i would probably go again. i ate tuna and scallops with no problem too!

we talked about everything and anything from his experience going to an american middle school having next to zero english skills, to families and house rules (and how japanese parents are too soft with their kids), to relationships (and love hotels! i quote, "they are about as necessary as rice." haha) to the ever popular "can you eat ___?" game.

after finishing our post dinner tea, he got up to "go to the bathroom" with the check and his wallet and when i said, "hey! don't try to be sneaky like that!", he just grinned as he walked away and didn't give me a chance to chip in.

on the way out of the restaurant, the inevitable "how tall are you?" question came out (i'm taller...) and i said "i wish i was shorter." he said "why? lots of japanese people think being tall is 'cool.'" i said "yeah, i know, but i think short people are cute," and he said, something like, "fine then, i'll say 'you're cute' instead."

too sweet.

we walked out and headed back toward the station. it was still a little early so we went to a coffee shop; i paid, but it didn't put a dent in the check from dinner. oh well, next time. ;) we talked until they kicked us out.

i had a really good time and i wouldn't be opposed to a second date.

i am still looking forward to my eventual date with CB (still three weeks away...), but i have a sinking feeling conversation with him isn't going to flow like it did tonight, or has with other guys in previous "date-like" situations. i'm pretty talkative, so i don't think a guy has to work too hard to keep conversation with me going, but if he can't, we've got problems. yep, CB's got competition.

meet Parker, of The Royal Park Hotel.

things i love thursday

.dates (not the fruit!).
.watering my growing garden.
.the night breeze after a hot day.
.my new camera.
.getting a package.
.local art.
.the sun's reflection in flooded rice paddies.
.the smell of tomato plant leaves.
.getting to bed before 11pm.

bali baby!

i just bought my plane ticket to bali!!! i've been talking about going since at least spring break and now summer is upon us. plus, july was just begging for a vacation (and, number 12!)

i have a japanese friend working at the bali hilton and what better excuse to go vacationing! i can't wait for the beach, fruity drinks in the shade in the afternoon, sightseeing, and general RELAXING for a whole week!!!

quote of the day

"...your life is as fun as you convince yourself it is."

-martini



amen!

dates?!

somewhere between incoherent sleepy text messages and morning train commutes, i got myself two dates*.

one is this weekend, with a guy i met through Ms. Ohio.

and one is nearly a month from now, with...CB. !!!



*i don't know if they think they are dates, since the d word never came up, but i'm pretty sure a one-on-one dinner with a guy constitutes as a date, on some level. but more importantly, how will i make it, waiting another FOUR weeks??

play by play

the past seven days have been ridiculously busy. mostly i just want to get it all down somewhere. so, a play by play:

monday
i had the day off. it was rainy and yucky and i did some laundry, but i made my way out in the evening and went to dinner (indian food!) with a girl i met in kyoto, back in february. she works at the hostel i stayed at and happened to be in tokyo for a couple weeks working at the tokyo branch of the hostel.

tuesday
after the acupuncturist, i sent out a last minute email to a bunch of friends to see if anyone wanted to go out for dinner and it ended up being just me and Ty, a guy from The Group. we get along really well and had a good evening just chatting and laughing and talking about going to the beach with everyone in a couple weeks. he's a really really nice guy, who always says how awesome he thinks i am and gets touchy flirty when he's drunk. it never really occurred to me to think about it, because he had a girlfriend, but now that he's available...

wednesday
after stopping by boudoir (summer is upon us my friends!) i went out (yes, again) with Capey, a american girl from my japanese class during study abroad, and Style. Capey is back in japan for a couple months just hanging out and living the good life. her birthday was tuesday so it called for celebration! Ty stopped by for a quick drink and Style left after a couple hours. Capey and i stayed and drank way too much.

thursday
i woke up feeling horrible (surprise). i don't have class until 11:50 on thursdays so i called in and said i'd be late. i went in, taught my first class, ate some yogurt for lunch, went to the nurse's office and laid down for 25 minutes, then taught my second class. i felt like a student, going to the nurse's office! ha.

friday
friday the 13th, hooping in meguro baby!!! i had an amazing time. i was feeling exhausted from the week and was a little worried that i would too tired to hoop, but once i got there, i got really into it. there are still some tricks that i really want to be able to do i got a little frustrated that i just can't "get" them, but i'm sure they'll come in time.

saturday
i went to costco with Ty and Bee. i got lots of stuff (including TONS of brownie mix, which i am so excited about) and while it put a dent in my wallet, i know that to have things like popcorn, trail mix and other stuff i ate in the US, it's worth the splurge. (don't worry, this isn't all mine! this is the cart we SHARED)
however, after that, the spending continued! we drove to shinjuku, picked up Style and then actually parked in the shinjuku station parking garage. it was sort of surreal. i didn't even know there WAS a parking garage at the station! we went to yodobashi camera. Bee bought a playstation3 and i bought a new camera. i bought a shock and waterproof digital camera from olympus. mostly for mt fuji this summer so i don't have to worry about the weather, but also if i end up going to bali this summer, it's good up to 10meters underwater. after that, we drove back to Ty's to drop off the car and headed out to dinner. another great evening of good food, good drinks, great company and lots of laughs.

sunday
i went white water rafting! a guy i know invited me (and i took Cheer along, who brought her sister) in what ended up being a group of 22 people, to go rafting in gunma. the organizer of the the whole thing rented a big bus and made the reservation and all that; we were all just along for the ride. we had a really tasty lunch (spaghetti) that one of the guys in the group made and then relaxed at the base camp until it was our turn. we got wetsuits and helmets and life jackets, loaded the bus and drove to the start point. it was so much fun. part way there was a big rock that everyone jumped off of into the river, and while our boat never flipped, we all pushed and pulled each other out of the boat during a lull in the rapids. the water was freezing and my ankles and hands were partially numb but it was an awesome time. the organizer of the whole thing rents a bus and does all kinds of things like skiing, strawberry picking, onsen trips, and i'm hoping to be able to make it on another one sometime soon! sunday night there was a flurry of text messaging going on, and too bad i was half asleep and couldn't full enjoy it. back a couple month ago, Ms. Ohio invited me out with her ohio high school friends (they were all japanese kids living in ohio who went to a japanese supplementary school on saturdays so they didn't forget/fall behind in their japanese) and she said that one of them wanted my contact info and wants to go out again (a date? in a group? i'm still not sure), so she gave it to him and pretty soon he texted me and we texted back and forth a couple times before i fell asleep before i knew it.

monday
despite being exhausted, i didn't sleep well and was feeling drained from being in the sun all day sunday. i got to school and i was "having exothermal tendencies," as one of the british guys at work said (he's so funny!). my arms just felt like they were radiating. they weren't hot to the touch and i didn't have a fever, but i went to the nurse's office and got some ice to help cool down. (yeah, i'm such a wuss) the day was fairly uneventful except that i made another stop at the 100yen store for more plant pots because...my cucumbers have ALL sprouted. i can't believe they're already up! as of this evening, half of my sunflowers have sprouted and more than half of my green beans are up too!! the only thing is, i planted them pretty close together and they'll end up choking each other out if i leave them that way. so, i have to space them out into other pots. i transfered some of the cucumber sprouts but i ran out of soil, so that's a trip for tomorrow so that i can transfer my sunflowers and some of the green beans. maybe i'll be able to keep a plant alive this year (number 36) after all!

balcony update

my balcony got a mini face lift!

back in april i talked about these plants that i got from Chelsea. she named one of the plants bernadette and the other four were her groupies. i didn't transfer them as soon as i should have and they became root-bound in their original containers. i transfered them into two long planters, but two of the groupies didn't make it. i'm still holding out to successfully complete number 36 of my 50 for 2008. number 35 will always be a work in progress i imagine.

anyway, bernadette and her remaining two groupies did really well in the planters but i've moved them again. now they each have their own pot (the groupies are in the hanging pots) and the long planters are a garden in the making. hopefully soon i'll have cucumbers, sunflowers and green beans.

things i love thursday

.mt fuji.
.spontaneous dinners with friends.
.drunk courage.
.seeing old students.
.new toothbrushes.
.new fonts.
.いちごがおいしいヨーグルト.
.tootsie rolls.
.anticipating vegetable sprouts.

from the Universe

i have seen talk of the Universe over at sushizume so the other day i followed a link and signed myself up to get daily emails from the Universe too:




Q: Jo, what would you call a world where each challenge bears gifts, your enemies are ancient friends in disguise, and by simply pretending your dreams have already come true mountains are moved?

A: Earth.



Q: What would you call a Being who is as ancient as they are young, as clever as they are innocent, as powerful as they are humble, and who is inevitably destined to work and live at the summit of Mt. Fuji?

A: Jo. Duh?



all this talk of mountains and dreams has got me on cloud nine. :)

pins and needles

a couple weeks ago i was sitting at my desk and my upper back and shoulders hurt so bad that i just needed to do something. i asked around if anyone knew a good massage place and acupuncture came up. i was willing to try anything because it was getting unbearable. i called and made an appointment and that appointment was this afternoon.

i wrote down back and shoulders as parts that hurt/were in bad condition and when the doctor came in and checked them out, he seemed genuinely shocked at how tight they were. he showed me the needles and explained how far in and how he would put them in. the needles are so thin and flimsy that he uses a metal "straw" to guide the needles as he gently taps them in about 4mm. he also explained why they don't hurt and why they don't cause bleeding; the end of the needle is actually round because the goal is not to break veins (unlike a shot needle, which is sharp so it can pierce the vein to insert medicine). interesting stuff because as far as i could tell, they were sharp little buggers!

i laid down and he put some needles in my shins, then the outside of my arms, then the insides. i kept my eyes closed most of the time, but from what i could tell, he tapped the each needle in and then removed it before moving to a new spot. occassionally it would pinch but more than that, i was ticklish when he was feeling around to find the spot to put the needle. then he had me roll over onto my stomach and did the same on my back. then he said, "okay, you have about 10 needles in your back right now. and i'm going to leave them in there for about 2 or 3 minutes." !!!! then he left. it didn't hurt at all, actually. i could hardly even tell there were needles still in my back.

when he came back he had me roll over again and felt around my neck and the base of my scalp. right away he knew i was left handed and said my neck was tighter than normal too. then i rolled to my side and he put a bunch of pins in my neck, behind my ear and down along the top of my shoulder. these hurt. i think half of it was that i could heard the head of the needle clinking against the metal straw as he tapped on the needle. but also it pinched as it went in. he did the other side and then said that was all.

basically, he couldn't believe that at my age i have a back and shoulders that are as tense as they are. he said that acupuncture will help. and, for lack of another solution to the daily tension and pain in my back, i'm willing to believe him. i plan on going again sometime soon for some more pins and needles.

夏 @ 3776 meters

that big phone call from tuesday became a second big phone call today.

i sent my (japanese) resume out on wednesday evening and have been waiting to hear back. then, i had to work today for a special school event, and i wasn't at my desk most of the day. but early on in the morning, i came back to my desk to find i had two missed phone calls and one voicemail from the owner of Yamaguchiya.

the voicemail just said who he was and that he'd try calling back later. i called him back right away. as the phone rang i was so nervous. he had some questions about my resume but then plainly said, "i'd like you to work for me." i don't think i could have smiled bigger.

he gave me details about the
・job (taking food orders, selling souvenirs, checking in guests, etc)
・schedule (up at 3am to bed at 8pm)
・lifestyle (laundry&bath once every ten days, teeth brushing&face washing once a day)
・pay (a daily rate that i'm not even going to calculate into an hourly rate)

i asked a couple questions, including "can i bring my hula hoop?" he said there'd probably be somewhere to store it, so yes!! hello hooping at 3,776 meters!!

finally, he gave directions to his house, where i'll spend the night on august 4th before heading up to the top of mt fuji on the 5th for 20 days.

p.s. i'll be working at a place that looks something like this:

things i love thursday

.pretzels and chocolate.
.corduroy.
.slumber parties.
.cheap drinks in wine glasses.
.homemade beef stew.
.funny japanese tv shows.
.making posters.
.bounce dryer sheets.
.laughing 'til you cry.

some non sequitur ☆s

☆yesterday i started looking into flights to bali for the end of july. they're a little expensive, but i'll be able to stay with a friend once i get there, so i guess it balances out. i can't wait to go to the beach and swim in the ocean!!

☆i'm kind of hooked on a tuesday night drama, おせん (osen). 10pm-11pm. channel 4. it's about a large old japanese traditional restaurant and the handful of people who live and work there. and actually, before that (at 7 or 8 i think?) there is a variety show called 踊る！さんまの御殿 (odoru! sanma no goten) where Sanma-san basically talks with famous people about various topics for the good part of an hour. sounds boring, but Sanma-san is pretty funny and i actually laugh out loud at some of the comments made by the stars.

☆i made a big phone call today. then i spent most of my free time at work filling out a japanese resume. no, i'm not quitting my current job, but there's an additional job in my future (hopefully!!) i'm really excited but don't want to go into it and get all excited before i know if it'll happen or not.

chronicling

june first. June First. JUNE. FIRST. whoa.

it feels like just the other day i was putting my suit on for the entrance ceremony. and just before that i was in canada. and before that, i was making my resolutions for 2008.

for the last month, i've posted at least once a day (except for may 2nd and 30th) which was fun and a bit challenging, but also made me addicted to my blog. every day i was on the lookout for "material" and thinking about things to write about. when i first started this blog, i didn't "network" or comment on other peoples' blogs. but things evolve and now i have an mini audience and writing to get my thoughts out of my head* is now also partially writing to entertain. and lately it's become a record book of sorts. life is always an adventure and recently i feel like i am always off doing something, seeing something or thinking something and it's all worth writing down.

i started blogging back in college, when xanga was the IT thing. the other day i logged in to my old xanga. it was interesting to see what i was thinking 5 years ago today. to see the angsty poetry or cryptic messages of a struggling girl who has come so far since then. five years later and i'm again realizing the importance of journaling. or writing down something, anything, a word, a poem, a picture, a snapshot of life on that day, in that moment.



*people will made the argument that "if you're just writing for you, why put it on the internet?" and i don't really have a concrete rationale. but i think that in this huge world, people just want to feel connected to others. they want to be known not for what they look like, not for what they do for a living, not for where they live, but for the thoughts and emotions that make us all so human. and that's why blogging is so popular in a day when we may talk less to our families but will pour our hearts out to strangers over the internet.