things i love thursday

the cheesy new year's eve version.


happy new year!!




.friends.
.family.
.health.
.love.
.memories.
.smiles.
.hugs.
.adventure.
.new prospects for 2010.

things i love thursday

.talking to Ro despite a 14 hour time difference.
.my mom's cooking.
.christmas presents.
.dangly earrings.
.playing dominoes.
.falling asleep in front of the fireplace.
.hugging my dad.
.medicine that works.
.driving.

dental revelation

for years, i've "hated the dentist."

i went through those awkward middle school years with braces and dealt with retainers in addition to the twice yearly check-up and cleaning. i always just sucked it up and did it, though i do believe there was one cavity filling incident that left me in tears after whimpering that it hurt and my dentist practically yelling, "oh it doesn't hurt!"

so anyway, i'm not very trusting of japanese dentists (the general state of japanese people's teeth doesn't do a lot to convince me otherwise) and have now pared down my dental visits to the one time i'm home a year.

so, i went to the dentist yesterday.

my neighbor is a dental hygienist and she made the experience actually enjoyable. she shut up when she had her hands in my mouth, and asked easily answerable questions when she didn't. finally someone who gets it! i thought.

and i realized that i actually really like getting my teeth scraped and picked, polished and flossed. i love flossing, and someone else will actually do it for me?? it's a perfect deal.

but what i also realized, was that i don't actually hate THE dentist. i hate MY dentist.

eh well, i only see him once a year and even that is just for the final check, a glace at the x-rays, and everyone's favorite, "how's japan?" question.

i managed to come out with no cavities and of course a shiny new toothbrush, toothpaste and floss (which i will be using religiously to avoid cavities which could results in actual one-on-one time with my dentist.)

hey train

i made the hour drive down to my college on friday. my freshman year, after a rough fall soccer season and rougher adjustment to living with a roommate in a college dorm, i found myself befriended by the college's business manager. i was involved in the christian community on campus, and he occasionally attended events and got to know the students. while my involvement was never consistent, our friendship always was. now i make the trip down every time i'm home to catch up over lunch and coffee.

i love the drive down and back. the time to listen to the radio and just enjoy rural ohio driving. on the way home, i heard a song on the radio that i liked, but couldn't remember the lyrics to google later. luckily the dumbest smart girl you know had a perfectly timed post, and i discovered it was train.


it's like nothing i've heard from them before. i love train, and like the song, but am hoping the old sound isn't gone altogether.

the next two weeks will be like catching up on all the music that hasn't reached me in my tokyo bubble.

things i love thursday

i spent all of thursday in transit (7:30am onward, for 27 hours) so this got lost in the shuffle.



.english books and a scarf for christmas.
.5 yen coins on drawstring pouches.
.getting OFF 12 hour flights.
.in flight video games.
.peanut butter captain crunch cereal.
.visiting my college and seeing people i love.
.being home and seeing my family.
.my pillow-top mattress.
.getting my hair cut.

being a broad calendar contest

being a broad is making a 2010 calendar from photos taken by women who live (or have lived) in japan.  here are my submissions:

some never before seen 2009 mt. fuji photos, the gates at fushimi inari shrine in kyoto and three others you may recognize.

well, what are you waiting for?  the deadline is tomorrow.

send your photos to info at being-a-broad dot com. 



p.s. yes, i leave early tomorrow morning, my suitcase is still in the closet and this is what i'm doing.

happy 500 winner

congratulations....

nancy!!

please send your mailing address to jumpingoverboard at gmail.com!  :)

p.s.  i googled "random number generator," clicked the first result, deleted a zero from the max (default is 100) and clicked Generate.  yeah, random.org is way less anti-climactic than i had been hoping.  

this big kid's christmas list

i made this two weeks ago and never posted it...


fabric etc.
- echino fall 2009 fabric
- heather ross (far, far away?)
- this gorgeous quilt. the colors, the funky fabrics, the quilting...i love it.

books
- the pioneer woman cooks

nikon d80

iphone cover (perhaps this one i designed at gelaskins with my own photos)

itunes gift cards

le creuset
- any enameled cast iron piece in kiwi, cobalt or caribbean














or the heart french oven in cherry (saw the purplish pink one later and loved it as well.  either will do!)













(they sell le creuset at the mall near Ro's house. we were out to dinner on friday night with friends and on our way out, we stopped by to look (and drool) at them through the window. then, last night, he called me an hour after we had already talked and said goodnight. he said, "oh, i just wanted to tell you that i stopped by the mall tonight and...well, i bought something really nice. but, it's a SECRET!" haha. i think the Jo&Ro christmas will be tomorrow night before i leave on thursday. though in reality Ro's christmas will be spread out over a few days thanks to my friends at kuroneko. or, that's the plan at least. we'll see. i am getting into the christmas spirit. gave 500yen to the salvation army, who were parked in front of shinjuku station today, trumpeting christmas carols. and now i am about to settle down and make all those drawstring pouches for my family.)

so much sewing

(my happy 500 will be open until wednesday morning (tokyo time) so that i can get the surprise in the mail before i leave for ohio on thursday. say hello!)




i just uploaded 95 photos off my camera onto my computer. the last time i uploaded photos was only 15 days ago. i may go a bit overboard with the photo taking. at least this time i sort of have an excuse...

i've been sewing up a storm. and giving all those projects their own photos shoots, of course. ideally i would give each project its own pretty post, but every time i make promises like that, i never follow through. plus i also have 2 thanksgivings, some roppongi hills' illumination shots, some cool cloud and building photos, plus some iphone photos that i think i may have promised (oops). so this will have to do for now.


☆ here's the book cover i mentioned earlier.

☆ i also decided i wanted to make Ro pajama pants for christmas since he borrows, and seems to like, a pair that i have, but i figured i should make a trial pair first. so, i am now the proud owner of whale pajama pants.

i ended up having to add fabric at the bottom, and did it perpendicular to the rest of the leg just for fun, but would rather have a shorter "hem" at the bottom. yes, note to self: be extra generous when cutting leg length next time. the fabric is a double gauze (or something like that) and i imagine it'll only get softer after each wash and dry.

☆ on saturday, i went to nippori with Ro and he picked out fabric for his pajama pants (i see a christmas tradition in the making), which i finished tonight.

☆ i also picked up some fabric that reminded me of echino designs, but at a much cheaper price. i bought some coordinating zippers and spent saturday evening trying make the perfect lined zippered pouch (or, at least one that matches the image in my head), but it has thus far alluded me.  they're not bad, just not what i want.

☆ while we were waiting in line to get my fabric cut, Ro spotted some funky fabric with japanese writing on it, so i made the executive decision to actually make drawstring pouches for everyone on my christmas list. i had jokingly toyed with the idea, but thought i should try to think of something more...appropriate(?). but, since it's getting closer to christmas and there are no other good ideas in sight, and the fabric practically jumped in my arms, what else am i supposed to do?? i bought different kinds of japanese candy at the supermarket (one box or chocolates or caramels or other candy for each bag) and the bag becomes the wrapping for the candy. i've now eliminated the need for wrapping paper - excellent! i haven't even started them yet, but am hoping to get some kind of assembly line going tomorrow.

☆ yesterday i spent the day making baby pants because this afternoon i went to visit a woman i used to work with, to see her 8 month old son and catch up. it was my first attempt at baby clothes, which was challenging seeing as i have no idea exactly how big an 8 month old is or pants to use as a pattern, but i asked her to measure some pants he already has and just drew the pattern on newspaper free hand. then i roughly followed this tutorial. the finished pants fit a little (too?) snug in the butt and were a little long. but not too bad for my first try at baby clothes.

i took them in a matching button close pouch that i made with some left over material. he was way more into that than the actual pants.

total cardboard box syndrome. a kid of my own heart, i love it.

the end of a chapter.

my unemployment chapter, that is.

i just replied to an email which included the words,
"we would like to offer you a position with us."


wow.


i quit my last job at the end of march.

so, now, after nearly 9 months of being unemployed,


i have a job.




yeah, weird.

things i love thursday

.fleece socks.
.week long sleepovers.
.folding laundry.
.my laundry being in Ro's laundry.
.DARS chocolate and apple slices.
.TheBathroomGirl.
.Unblock Me (addictive iphone game)
.rediscovering articles of clothing.
.decent interviews/possible jobs.

japanese proficiency test revisited

unfortinately i'm not confident that i passed. kanji killed me again. i was fairly confident i got 85 or 90 on the listening until i had lunch with some people from my japanese class and we compared answers. i probably pulled in under 70% on the reading/grammar section because i couldn't remember all the grammar terms and was umsure on half of the 34 grammar questions. i was sort of feeling good about the reading part but that probably means i did poorly.

i feel a bit better than after the test in july and i only missed passing by 15 points, so maybe there's still hope to be had. but, eh, i dunno, mostly i'm feeling pretty defeated...

did get some cool photos on the way home; will share later. Am at Ro's and we're getting ready for bed...

christma-fied

i picked this up on my way home from an interview today. i was walking back to the station in an area i don't know (but really liked); they were outside the flower shop calling my name.

this is as christma-fied as my apartment gets. but it's enough for me. :)

p.s. i posted this from my iphone and then logged in on my computer to find that i'm way too picky about the formatting of my posts (eh, already knew that, really). so, of course, i promptly fixed it. i don't imagine i'll become a mobile blogger anytime soon, but nice to know it works in a pinch.

things i love thursday

.canned mikan.
.the twilight series.
.water proof bandaids.
.making my own designs at gelaskins.
.converse shoes and skinny jeans.
.french toast.
.finding perfect christmas presents.
.making kanji flashcards on my iphone.
.ohio in TWO weeks.

happy 500

because we all love free things.

and because it seems like

a 500th post deserves

something.


so



say hi!





nope, i'm not even asking you to answer a question.


just a hi and a smile will do. they're free afterall.

and we all love free things (we covered that didn't we?)




and be sure to put your blog address in there

so in case i don't already read your blog,

i can start.


and i will,

addictive-ly.



eventually i'll close the comments

and pick one lucky winner using one of those

random digit generators i've heard about

but never actually ever investigated.


if you win, i'll send you something.

(apologies, the something hasn't
quite been decided upon yet...)





oh, and here's a pre-emptive

hi :)

to you.

hello december first.

i just realized that yesterday's photo
was already in last last wednesday's post.
my brain is all over the place lately.
i've started a handful of posts in my head,
but none ever make it, even into a draft.

i woke to a phone call from Ro.
at 10:56am. 4 minutes before my alarm.
he waited until after 10:30. good boy.
we had a conversation last night
that left me in tears and unable to sleep.
but finally managed to at 4.

so he apologized and clarified
what he so inaccurately was trying to say the night before.
it made me feel a little better.
fractionally.

then i went to japanese class.
and for the first time,
passed the in class practice test.
everyone else thought the questions were easier
than other practice tests we've taken, too.
so, i'm not convinced that it means anything.
unfortunately.

i stopped at mcdonald's on my way home.
and the guy at the table next to me
actually struck up a conversation with me.
at first i was obligingly polite,
but his english was quite good.

he just returned last month
from three years in belgium.
he admitted it was hard re-adjusting.
then as i was packing up my things,
he gave me his card.

the whole exchange was awkward.
it's moments like that i really feel
the fact i've been in japan so long.
in shouldn't be awkward.
i don't know how to strike up conversations
with people i don't know anymore.

i left mcdonald's, with the intent of heading home.
but i turned the wrong way
at the bottom of the stairs.
and, feeling silly doing a one-eighty
in the middle of a shibuya sidewalk,
i went into the bookstore a few doors down.
and i browsed the magazines.
and wandered the aisles aimlessly.

then i came across something
that grabbed my attention.
i bought two.
one for me and one for Ro.
i'm going to make book covers.
it's part of his christmas present.
(will show you when it's done...)

i asked him the other day
what he wanted for christmas.
he's still bitter
that i nonchalantly said,
oh, i'm going home the 17th.

apparently i was supposed to be
more solemn and/or dramatic about it,
or consult with him before making my plans.
(eye roll please?)
so he seemed surprised that i was even
planning on getting him something.
he's still thinking.

i told him i won't get him
only and exactly what he asks for anyway.
he said then what's the point?
he's apparently missing the point of christmas.
having a wish list and not knowing
which (if any) of those things
will be under the tree in the morning.

i'm working on my wish list.
there are some doozies on it though,
so i'm not really expecting anything.
it all becomes another something
i have to fit into a suitcase or a carry on.
Ro can't believe that i even get presents from "santa" still.
oh he's got so much learning to do.

and i must admit that my local library's
ironic sense of humor is lost on me.
i've read 460 pages in the last two days.
the jlpt is on sunday?
nope, don't know what you're talking about.
i'm not even a teenage vampire love story fan.
but i can't put it down.

trying to channel the same 夢中 intensity into studying.
i've tested myself on 1431 words.
and only 1092 more to go.
i think getting that number down to 800 is more than lofty.
so here goes.