to do in oh nine: february

monthly inventory.



☆2008 leftovers☆

3 13-keep in touch with friends back home - mail a letter to someone once a month (2/12)
i prematurely marked this one off last month with the intent to send a package to a friend, but i didn't actually send it. bad me. but, i sent it today, as well as a postcard to another friend. can i count one of those for january??

6 32-read more - read one book a month (2/12)
i started AND finished "south of the border, west of the sun" by haruki murakami. i would recommend it if you like murakami and haven't read it or if you've never read him before. i got the book from sara (thank you!) and am thinking she probably wants it back...?


☆habits☆
(beauty, diet, study, exercise)

1 stick with a face skin care routine
okay, i slacked off this month. i'd say i was with the program about half the time.

2 eat breakfast before work
i think there were a handful of days i didn't eat a decent breakfast, but i'm pretty sure i always ate at least something...not bad.

3 make a japanese study schedule and stick to it
japanese? studying? what's that? yeah, need to back on top of this one. ESPECIALLY since the test is being offered twice this year, which means JULY 5th, baby. yikes.

4 hoop (or do some kind of exercise) three times a week, even for just 10 minutes
my hoops have been behind the sofa all month. shame on me.


☆one time deals☆

1 clean out, organize and update blogroll/favorites/bookmarks folders
on the contrary, my bookmarks have increased exponentially with NO regard for organization!

2 buy curtains
done! funny though, i had the curtains picked out and went to buy/order them today. while i was waiting for the woman to check if they had 3 panels in stock, i saw another curtain i liked and, once again, couldn't decide. there weren't 3 in stock of my original choice but there were 3 of the "new" choice. so i went with it. they are a maroon-ish pink-ish color, with a bit of sheen and a french crest kind of paisly design in white, rimmed in a lime green color. my room is tatami with off white walls, so i figured a bit of color would be nice. and they block something like 99.8% of light. not the heat holding, sound blocking original choice ones, but 3,000yen less spent overall. we'll see!

11 go see a concert
i went to jason mraz on february 23rd AND 24th! it was amazing.


☆multiple time deals☆

1 apartment cleaning
kitchen pantry "area"
i bought (today!) a new wooden shelf unit for food and another for my shoes in the genkan and it's not done, but looking good. when i'm actually done, i'll post a before/after. :)

2 make 6 things on my sewing machine (2.5/6)
i'm still mid-project on my charm quilt, but it's coming along well and i'm LOVING it! i'm already thinking about my next project(s?!).

5 call home once a month (1/12)
i actually called home from work one day after my mom sent me a frantic email. she and my dad are coming to visit in april, and she was panicking because suddenly the group of 4 turned into a group of 7! my parents and 5 of their friends! yeah, it's gonna be crazy. i called her again this past week too about rooming arrangements because the travel agent was at school (the travel agent that the school uses for all their field trips and overnights is helping me plan my parents' visit)


things for next month:
○ figure out japanese school stuff (JLPT is 7.5.09!)
○ continue working on my charm quilt.
○ clean my apartment. really CLEAN it.
○ enjoy the last three weeks of my job.

quote of the day

"be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle."


there was a girl who moved into her grandparents' house near me when we were freshman in high school. our backyards were back to back and i remember being really excited to have a new friend so close. i invited her over, once we tie dyed t-shirts in her basement, i asked her to be my model for my photography portrait project freshman year. we got along alright, but she was painfully shy and we never became BFFs or anything, but just went our own ways.

my mom befriended her mom (a single mother of two, who was now living with her parents) i think the girl ended up working as a receptionist in my dad's office for a little bit but i went to college and then japan and we were never close enough to be friends across any distance bigger than our backyards. i vaguely remember my mom saying she'd moved somewhere out of state and then yesterday she friended me on facebook and i, of course, accepted. this morning, i woke to this message from her:

"Wow. Your pictures are amazing!!! I wanted to apoligize to you for being a little unfriendly in High School. I know you tried being my friend, but I had so much stuff going on in my family life I really had a hard time being a good friend to anyone. I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate the things that you and your family has done for me. It has really molded me into the person that I am today. I hope all is well for you and that your enjoying your life. Hope to be able to keep in touch."

awww....how sweet. i knew her family was going through some stuff but never really felt like i should somehow be getting "more" out of our friendship. i was nice because i wanted to be, and i thought she was just really shy.

messages like this always make me feel a little bit better about the person i was and give me a confidence boost, which i need especially when so many other things are up in the air right now.

"everything is amazing right now...

...and nobody's happy."

this guy is GREAT! don't know who he is, but great nonetheless.

things i love thursday

.peaches and vanilla yogurt.
.less than a month left of work.
.unexpected texts leading to dates ( tonight ;) ).
.mr. men and little miss characters.
.encouraging lectures.
.good hand lotion.
.naps on weekdays.
.lazy sundays.
.jason mraz.

encore

the jason mraz concert tonight was also excellent. not as lively as yesterday, and at the same time, he was funnier. and, he kindly played a slightly different set list.

lyric of the night:

"fame is nothing more than loving someone and
fortune is nothing more than loving what you do."

p.s.

the jason mraz concert tonight was wonderful. i only wish i had gotten that 4th row seat or taken a boy i am romantically interested in...

macro monday

kyoto prefecture
february 10, 2008
8:29pm

number nerd

it's ☆2.22 22:22☆

charm quilt backing?

i finished the patchwork part of my charm quilt!!!


now i have to decide what fabric to use for the border and backing. i pulled out what fabric i do have, and only two of them seem to be real options.















or















or

go shopping!



cherry blossom:
i feel like the quilt is already fairly girly and want something that isn't too gender specific* and worry that the cherry blossom fabric is. i do like that it's "japanesey" though and i think the colors look nice with the rest of the quilt. maybe i should just decide to let it be girly?

polka dots:
i like the dark color when next to the rest of the squares, but wonder if it'd be too dark for the whole back? the pattern would making quilting easier though, because i could just connect the dots diagonally (i'm thinking of just doing straight line quilting) to give the patchwork another dimension as well.


thoughts?


*though until they are old enough to voice an objection, my kids will wear ALL colors, thankyouverymuch.

心の充電*

*literally "heart/spirit re-charging"

i had a fabulous day on thursday. i posted about it on mixi on thursday night but the headache (migraine?) yesterday and needing to get dressed and out the door today got in the way of an english post.


date: 2009年02月19日
time: 10:09pm
subject: 心の充電

昨日は土曜日。
そして、今日は日曜日。
けど、明日は普通に金曜日。
週の間週末が入りました。
...a mid-week weekend!

昨日は芸術鑑賞会があって「来なくていいです」と言ってくれました。午前中はず〜〜とキルト作ってた。今は１８列中、１０列ができてる。また近いうち写真アップするかも…

And then today, might be the first time I've taken a day off that wasn't because I was sick. （あっ、それはウソです。苦笑）ま〜つまり、風邪もなく、さけない用事（ってなに？！）もなく、ただの有休。

担当してる学年から半分の生徒がカナダ研修にいってる間、木曜日の授業がなくなり、この間「木曜日休みとりたいんです」と言いました。I was surprised at how fast he said,「はい、分かりました」If only it were like that all the time. でも、やっぱり、本当に休みたい時は一番休み取れない時期じゃないか。忙しかったり、試験があったり…など。でも、今日はゆっくり休めた。出かけてもゆっくりできた。

大学時代のともだちとTokyo Dome City にあるムーミンカフェで、ランチデート。ガルズトークやっぱり大事（笑）久しぶりに会ってても、時間が経った気が全然なくて、やっぱり親友はそんなもんだね。ムーミンも可愛かった。しかも、あの店は一人で行けば、でかいムーミンが相手してくれるよ。あ〜癒されるよ、ムーミンなんて。一人でも行こう。 I'm usually not a sucker for such cutesy characters but, for some reason, today was different.ランチに付く焼きたてパン食べ放題も最高でした。いちごパンたまんない！笑

買い物もして、ここちゃんというキャラクターに出会いました。元気な女の子と抱っこしたくなる大きいシロクマさんのカラフル絵に、さらに癒された。

帰ってきて、久しぶりの自炊。そして、Flickrをぶらぶら見てて、次のキルトのアイディアを集めてた。雑な図なんだけど、楽しく描いてた。次なににしよっかなー。

あ！あと、今日は自分にあることの一年記念日。この前日記に書いてたけど、Things I Love Thursdayという毎週の木曜日、「これが好き！」とか「これがあって、感謝してる」みたいなリストを作ってる。毎週。９個。必ず。もう、一年間経ちました。すご〜い。Being thankful is easy when life is. Practicing thankfulness makes it easier to be when life isn't. ちなみ、今日のリストはこんな感じ.

今日、心の充電ができた。それだけで、本当に感謝してる。
さらに、恵まれてるのこと、あらためて分かったし、
何があってもわたしは大丈夫っな気がちょっとしてきた。

…まだまだまだやれるよ…

things i love thursday

this "things i love thursday" post is brought to you by gala and the number 52. gala for the inspiration (then and always. thank you!!) and the number 52 because, well, it's been a year since i started "things i love thursday". (i didn't post them while on mt fuji, but i have written lists for those 3 weeks...somewhere) i'm actually quite impressed with myself - that i stuck with it. and made it! being thankful is easy when life is. practicing thankfulness makes it easier when life isn't. here's to another year of loving things on thursdays!



.sewing.
.four pounds of grapes.
.this apartment i love it.
.pocari sweat.
.mid-week "weekends".
.rewriting lecture notes neatly into a crisp notebook.
.feet!!.
.honey roasted cashews.
.lunch dates with girl friends.

charming

today i have yet another day off! if this is what work was always like, i might reconsider quitting. but, this is what 3rd term is like, ONLY.

i finally got around to making a flickr account. for someone who loves taking and looking at photos as much as i do, i'm way behind the curve! it was mostly spurred on by all of the photos in the scrapdown group; i wanted to be able to upload my photos too (i'm a sucker for peer pressure) because here's what's been happening at the sewing machine:

monday night




wednesday morning



i had to redo part which involved ripping apart a bunch of seems, to re-place a particular bird, but it was a quicker fix than i expected. EVERY time i look at the last photo though, i see squares i want to move. they never seem to be in exactly the "right" place...i guess that's the charm of a charm quilt?

school daze: 甘い親*

*soft parents (spoiling their kids)

over a week ago, 59 of our 3rd year middle schoolers left for a 4 week stay in canada. for many of them, it's the first time out of japan, so i can understand the parents worry and the kids are nervous. but i couldn't believe one of the parents today.

she came into the staff room and handed over a bag to her child's homeroom teacher, who happens to be going to canada for the last 2 weeks (leaving soon). as she left, we made eye contact and i said "hello" and she smiled and then sighed, telling me what she was doing at school today:

"my daughter lost her camera...on the first day!! so, i got on the internet and bought a new one and had it shipped quickly and had to bring it in so her teacher can take it over when he goes for her. at least she lost it on the first day before she had any photos already on the memory card!"

i think my mouth was hanging open. she just went and bought ANOTHER digital camera to send over to her daughter (asking the teacher to put it in HIS bag, which deserves an entire post altogether, as we discussed the things he's planning on taking. you wouldn't believe it!) because she lost hers and...what a travesty that must be. give me a break!

i wanted to say, "hey mom, it's called tough luck. you lose something? too bad! tell your daughter to learn to take care of and keep track of her things. you know what people did BEFORE digital cameras?! ...disposable cameras."

and you wonder why these kids don't take care of their things (the lost and found at school is out of control - you'd think they'd MISS their eraser/towel/water bottle/dictionary/pencil case/gym shorts/etc! but they don't seem to care.) everything is disposable to them. lose it, it's okay, mommy and daddy will buy another one.

yeah, it's beyond me.

is it a cultural thing? many of my coworkers have agreed that parents these days are too easy on their kids and let them get away with a lot. are american kids being spoiled rotten as well? i used to think my mom was so strict and mean, but i'm learning to appreciate the fact that she raised me to take care of the things i have and if i didn't, to learn what tough love is.

macro monday

kobe, hyogo prefecture
october 23, 2008
9:41am

spring

last night i was outside sometime after 11pm, and it was unusually warm, and windy. then today was sunny and beautiful. i went to the convenience store in jeans, a t-shirt and a hooded sweatshirt. and wasn't clutching my wallet, cold.

around noon, i noticed the sun streaming into my bedroom. i'm rarely home to see the sun during the afternoon when it actually comes into my apartment and i thought it got at least a good 2 or 3 hours of sun but today i discovered the truth:

and not even TEN minutes later:


there's a building across the street that pretty much blocks out peak sun shine hours. i knew the time was short, but didn't realize it was THAT short. it's probably even worse in the winter too. it's one thing i'd change about my apartment. if only i lived on a higher floor to escape being in the shadow of other buildings...

anyway, for those 10 beautiful minutes, i sprawled out on the floor with the warm afternoon sun on my face, with the balcony door OPEN!

outside, it was still sunny and warm so i didn't wear a jacket when i left to visit my friend (old coworker who quit last march). just a light sweater, my suit jacket and a spring scarf.

haruichiban blew yesterday in tokyo. yes indeed, spring is on it's way.

squeeze

the place that is telling me to be myself and do my best and making me feel like i can do just that, is at the same time making me feel like i have to hide or suppress some part of me to fit the mold.

i'm feeling like i'm in a juicer.

or a pressure cooker.

or something.

charm quilt

i called in sick (again) today. see, i was actually sick on monday when i called in sick. today, well, i don't have any classes, and i hardly have a voice, and while i'm still a little stuffy and sneeze-y, honestly, i just couldn't be bothered to go and sit at a desk for over 8 hours, just wasting time, looking busy, counting down the time until i could go home.

after putzing around most of the morning, finally doing the dishes, and sending out an email to my parents and their 5 friends who are coming to japan in april, i sat down with my scraps. i have received 24 envelopes so far. add in my own set and right now i've got 250 squares. they look something like this:


and they are so much fun!!! i debated all the different ways i could make them into a quilt. i wanted to only use the scraps from the scrap exchange, with no border (apparently this is called "sashing") between the squares or anything. i love the random look of the baby charm quilt (here) and originally decided to make one like that.

then i thought, i could make 10 square strips, one from each person and then line them up in two lines for a 13 by 20 square quilt, with each person's squares in a row.

but then i saw this and this and liked the rainbow/color organized idea. so i sorted:


then i started laying them out on a sheet:


and eventually it looked like this:


it's currently spread out in my bedroom and every time i walk by, i switch a square or two (and even looking at it now, there are squares i want to switch!). i have two holes on the green side because i'm still waiting on one last envelope (it's in the mail) and there were a couple squares i didn't use because they were a bit too small. i'm not sure what i'm going to do about that. even with another ten, i won't be able to make another row, so i'll have to figure something out when i get the last ten and see where and how they fit into the color pattern. i might take out a couple of my own squares (or my favorites) and sew them into the back to add a little character. we'll see!

i'm excited to get sewing and can't wait to see how it all comes together. fun fun!



p.s. i just realized this is my 300th post. wow.

things i love thursday

.mt fuji.
.raiji taiso.
.long train rides (oddly enough).
.cocowheats on sick days.
.being sassy.
.kiwis with a spoon.
.drinking with my fabulous coworkers.
.being complimented on my work ethic.
.playing "hooky" (i don't have any classes today).

quote of the day

"You can't go from the first floor to the second floor without taking the stairs."*

-a recently reacquainted friend from college here in japan



* his actual words were something like this:
「階段を使わないと、１階から２階まで行けない。」

macro monday

tokyo
august 3, 2008
6:37pm

quote of the day

"sometimes you need to put away some parts of yourself

the neurotic parts

until you actually get to a secure place."


-Bee, some love advice.

sunday ☆s

☆ friday night i went to a lecture about stocks. in japanese. thankfully it was dumbed down for people who didn't know anything about stocks because even that was a challenge for me in japanese. but i managed. at least now i know what's going on with all that money i invested last month! ha.

☆ yesterday i woke up fairly early but lounged around all morning. i finally got my stuff together and headed for the train station. i left at 1pm. i arrived at the base of mt fuji just before 4pm. i went to an overnight gathering of friends of a friend of mine. we had dinner and then came back to our log cabin and drank and chatted. if you thought younger japanese people believed blatant stereotypes about foreigners, try talking with anyone over 50. it got on my nerves that they kept saying "gaijin this" and "gaijin that." it got old. FAST. this morning, we had to assemble at 7am and all the women in my room woke up at 6am. the lights went on soon after that and they all just started chatting like it was the middle of the afternoon. at 6:20, someone leaned over me and said, "'morning!" and from under the covers, i begrudgingly replied, "good morning." and they said, "you really sleep a long time, don't you?" (i had gone to bed early, at 11pm, because i was tired) and i said, "well, i've been up since 6, so it's not like i'm really sleeping in." and they laughed and said, "oh, well, we have to be out at 7am so you should probably get up." and i'd had enough. still under the covers, i said, "we don't have to be outside until 7am, right? that means we need to leave here at 6:50, right? well, it'll take me TEN minutes to get ready. i'll fold up my futon and everything so don't worry. we've got PLENTY of time." they didn't seem to believe me, but i'll tell you, i was the FIRST one down on the pavement at the morning assembly. suckers. if you couldn't tell, i am NOT a morning person. my daily (and SILENT) hour long commute is my students' saving grace! haha. anyway, it was enjoyable enough (being close to mt fuji and doing "rajio taiso" in the morning facing the mountain was wonderful) but i was ready to come home in the morning.

☆ in the middle of the night i got a text from Yokohama. he's got the 11th and 12th off. i have the 11th off too because it's a national holiday. and i don't have class on thursdays for the next 4 weeks (my 3rd years are in canada) so i'm debating calling in sick. or asking for the day off ahead of time. i replied this morning and am waiting for a reply from him. but, hopefully we can spend the day together on wednesday. (ben harper's on my computer singing, "you put the happi in my ness." yes, things are good.)

☆ i bought tickets to the jason mraz concert in shibuya on the 23rd and 24th. Yokohama said he'd go with me if he has the day off. yeah, i'm a sucker and bought 2 tickets for each day, just in case. i really really really hope he has one of those off.

☆ i picked up my suits on the way home today. i tried on the pants (to double check that the alterations were correct) in the store and they fit great. yay for looking put together. fake it til you make it, girl.

☆ i got home around noon, did two loads of laundry, hung my comforter and blanket out on the balcony, vacuumed my bedroom, and then got in a fight with my vacuum cleaner. i took it apart to clean the vacuum head and it wasn't cooperating during the going back together process. but in the end, i triumphed. and now it sucks. literally. haha.

☆ my thumb is still only partially functioning. it's been over a week now and it's still a bit swollen and slightly purple. it doesn't hurt to touch it anymore, but i can't really push on anything with it just yet. i showed it to the school nurse and one of the gym teachers. they say it's not impossible that i have a hairline fracture. at least i can partially use it, but i'm guessing it's gonna be at least another 2 weeks until it's fully functioning. sigh.

☆ my throat hurts. we left the heater on in the room last night and that's a sure fire way to give yourself a cold. the dry air, the winter season, the flu going around. yeah, just great. every time i get sick, it starts in my throat, so i'm hoping it's gone by morning. fingers crossed.

☆ i'm going to dinner with Newbie here in about 15 minutes. i haven't seen him in awhile and it'll be nice to catch up on things.

☆ and one last one: my parents are coming to visit in april. what started out as them and another couple (friends of the family) has now turned into 3 couples and one woman (who is coming without her husband) making our group a whopping group of 8. yikes. i'm off to the travel agency this week because there's no way i can plan for that many people all on my own. at least not stress-free. i can't wait to show my parents where i work (well, by the time they get here, where i worked) and my apartment, and just my life here in japan. of course we're going to do the obligatory traveling, for the others in the group all of whom have never been to japan, and it'll be a tough schedule and i'll probably get sick of stringing along 7 other people all over the place, but i'm excited.

things i love thursday

.7-eleven cinnamon rolls, after 30 seconds in the microwave.
.getting mail. REAL mail.
.hair dryers.
.the 7-eleven bento i had for lunch three days in a row.
.matching your bra and underwear.
.feeling "put together" in a skirt suit.
.rewriting lecture notes (organized and legible).
.he thought of me while skiing near mt fuji.
.planning for valentine's day.

much

with the flu going around, we had a lot of absences at school today (teachers and students alike) so they ended up cutting the last two classes and letting (aka sending) all the kids home. it didn't make my class load any lighter, but yay for early dismissal when you aren't expecting it!

Cheer and i headed home together and stopped in the basement food court of the station where we usually say bye. we tried for starbucks, but there were no seats, so we had mcdonald's (at which, i'm generally not a frequent customer, but i do love it once in a while. AND mcdonald's has a flavor of Qoo, white grape, which you can't buy anywhere else. yeah, it's my favorite.) we sat and chatted for awhile. mostly work woes and my impending unknown future with a sprinkling of boys, travel, study and costco. ;)

even after an hour plus of chatting, i still got back to my station earlier than normal. i stopped in at the electronics store on my way home and bought an extension cord (the kind with the multiple outlets with switches by each one so you can turn off the ones you're not using - super convenient!), a hair dryer (about time, right?) and an iron (bring on the charm quilt!!)

speaking of which, i came home to SIX more envelopes with fabric squares!! :) getting mail is so wonderful. funny though, i got distracted with my iron and haven't even opened them yet! i am going to listen to a lecture tomorrow evening and have to wear a suit. now, i have two suits, technically. the jackets are alright but one pair of pants is too big (the suit i brought with me from the u.s. over two years and five kilos ago) and one pair of pants is too small (dry clean only means dry clean ONLY. live and learn, right?).

i tried to pawn the larger pants off as fitting last saturday when i went to meet up with my friend who invited me to the series. everyone looks so sharp and put together. i felt silly and desperately wished i had a proper fitting suit. i subsequently went shopping yesterday and spent way too much money on two proper fitting suits which are getting hemmed and altered and will be ready for pick up this weekend. luckily i bought a plain black pencil skirt when i was home over christmas so i can wear that tomorrow. so, i broke out my new iron and pressed the skirt, some shirt collars and button holes. then i spent about 45 minutes trying on all possible combinations for tomorrow. i don't think suits look good on me, or maybe i'm just not used to the collared shirt/suit jacket look on me, but i can't seem to find something that looks "right." i don't know that i even decided on anything. ...sigh.

while we're all sighing...this morning i got an email from the president of the canadian company i had been hoping to get a job with in november (2009) and he said he understood my situation but that they aren't currently looking to expand. double sigh. i knew there was the possibility of that, but it's still disappointing.

maybe i'll just distract myself with pretty colored fabrics.

oh, and only because i've actually referred to him as "yokohama" to Cheer, i think Noki will become Yokohama. possibly to be confused with the actual city yokohama, but i'm sure you'll manage to follow along. on that front, i emailed him yesterday and asked if his shift schedule was out yet for next week (after the 9th) and that if possible, i wanted to get together. he wrote back in the middle of the night (per usual, since he gets off work after midnight) saying that it wasn't out yet but would tell me when he knew. hopefully something will work out, being valentine's season and all. ;) and then there's the potential jason mraz concert in three weeks too, if he has the day off. hopefully we can still get tickets by the time he knows his schedule, which is only about a week in advance. hmph. hard to plan anything...but oh well, keeps things spontaneous i guess.

so, lots going on, much to look forward to, much to be uneasy about, much to think about, much to be...

macro monday

mt. fuji
august 24, 2008
4:47pm