effing textbooks

An update, finally.

Since the last post, I have moved from Japan to Georgia and then from Georgia to Virginia, without much pause or even slowing down in between. I'm pretty tired now.

The journey up to Charlottesville and my first few hours here were not that much fun, but since then, I've been having a pretty good time. The C'ville area is really pretty and the weather is so much nicer than Georgia and an amazing improvement over Japan.

My apartment is almost together. It was a lot smaller than I thought it would be, but I like it a lot. The hardwood floor downstairs is very pretty and I have nice big windows. I also have a washing machine and dryer and a dishwasher! I'm so happy about that!

I have yet to finish putting all my clothes away, so my bedroom is still a mess, but I'm pretty much finished with the living room/kitchen area, and it looks really nice. I'd post pics, but I can't find the cable that connects my camera to my computer. It's probably somewhere upstairs in a box or a suitcase. My living room looks a lot like one of the little showcase rooms at Ikea, except not quite as nice. But it's close. Once my clothes are put away, my bedroom will look nice too.

I got my new computer last week, and it's really nice. Unfortunately, I don't yet have wireless access at home (thanks a lot, Comcast), so I can only use the internet on my old computer, but whatever. I can use it at school, which is the important part.

My parents left on Sunday, but Ali was here from Saturday to Tuesday, so I haven't been too lonely. Seeing Ali was great, as I hadn't seen her in about a year and a half, and it was just like old times. Except that she reads the Twilight books now. (Thanks for the e-card, btw.) I just wish she lived closer! But I'm going to try to make it out to Albuquerque before they move.

Since Ali left, I've been chilling by myself, running some errands and watching a lot of TV. Mainly the Olympics and movies on AMC. I bought my books for this semester today, and they totalled almost $700. I wanted to cry when the guy told me how much it would be. At least he was nice. I also met a girl in my section. Julia. She was there with her parens. Seemed nice, but it's hard to tell.

I rented some movies from Blockbuster (Hellboy, American Dreamz, and A Prairie Home Companion), so I have something else to watch other than Red October and The China Syndrome on AMC.

I can't believe I'm starting class in less than a week. I finally figured out that my class schedule was posted on the school student information system, so I at least know that much. I have the standard 1L fall semester: Civil Procedure, Contracts, Criminal Law, Legal Writing, and Torts. I have 3 classes a day Monday through Thursday, but only one on Friday, and it's not until the afternoon.

I was going to buy my train ticket for Thanksgiving, but after spending most of the rest of my money today on books, I'm going to wait until my loan money comes in to do that. Alas. In the meantime, I will try to avoid spending money.

prayz da lawd

I AM DONE! SO HAPPY!

I'd be a lot happier if I didn't have so much fucking stuff left in my apartment, but oh well. That doesn't dampen my spirits much.

I've got one suitcase packed (aside from the pockets on the front), and I put my purses in a big box and 10 pairs of shoes in another. Plus I did 2 loads of laundry, paid my bills, and took my biggest box to the post office. So productive!

I don't think I really have a whole lot of stuff left to pack, it's just strewn about everywhere, so it looks like there's more. I hope that's the case, at least. I'm so glad I have 3 whole entire days to pack and clean.

It bears repeating: I AM DONE! SO HAPPY!

counting down the hours

Today I had my last class as an ALT. I never have to teach English again. I am tremendously happy about this.

We went to Kinomoto kindergarten and they were actually pretty good. They've been a lot better behaved the last few weeks, so I guess the new teacher is getting them in line. Excellent. I wish she worked there last year.

I still have tons of packing to do, but the weekend is coming up, so I will have plenty of time to stuff my shit into boxes and suitcases. At least I hope so. And tomorrow, Kuramoto-sensei is coming to pick up my piano, so that will give me extra room to spread stuff out.

I had thought about watching Atonement at the hotel on Tuesday, but Michelle said that it's the saddest movie she's ever seen and had to pause it to catch her breath after sobbing so hard, so I think I'll just watch Harold and Kumar again.

In other news, apparently Mattel owns the drawings that those awful Bratz dolls are based on, so there's a possibility that Bratz may one day soon cease to exist. But the CEO of the company that makes Bratz made a comment that I found interesting:

"Under no circumstance will Mattel be able to assert ownership of the Bratz franchise — which will always belong to MGA[.]"

I know what he's trying to say, but it almost sounds like he would burn the place to the ground if the future rulings didn't go his way, just to prevent Mattel from taking over. It made me laugh.

ugh

Packing fucking sucks.

omg it's hot

It is miserably hot today. I feel so gross. I walked here this morning, and then 10 minutes after I got in, I had to go back to my apartment with one of the office guys so we could remove the couch and table that I no longer want. Of course, I had to rush around and clean up before he could come in, and then we had to lift the stuff, so by the time I got back to the office (and walk up the stairs again), I was in a right state. At least the AC is on. But it's not working fast enough.

I also need to get rid of my piano. A new JET is looking at buying one, but he can only pay about half of what I'd like to get for it. So I'm going to call up my old supervisor who helped me get the piano and see if I can't sell it back to the guy I bought it from for more.

It seems like I have so much left to do here before I leave. I really need to pack my shit up, as I'd like to have my big bags packed by Saturday, so Kuroneko can take them to the airport. So I will be doing that tonight. Yes. I don't care how tired I will be.

Last night we went out to Sakai for my last yakiniku dinner. It was delicious. Then we went to karaoke for longer than I anticipated, and of course, I found some new songs that I'm good at singing, but I'm leaving the land of karaoke, so they are no longer of use to me. I know they have karaoke in America, but it's different.

Mama got my Comcast installation set up, so I definitely have to be at the apartment by August 6. I'm getting their Triple Play option, with cable, internet, and digital phone service all in one. I hope it works out.

I think I might go on a Facebook crawl today, see if anybody is doing anything interesting.

Would anybody be willing to see Batman with me while I'm home? This is a pressing issue. I feel like I should go ahead and buy my tickets.

para mi hermano

I will update soon, I've just been busy.

I'M LEAVING IN 9 DAYS! HOORAY!

air cooooooooooon

The weather today is cloudy, but pleasant, in that it's not hot as the devil's balls. In fact, when the breeze picks up, it's bordering on cool. A nice change from typical June weather.

So why, I wonder, has the air conditioner been on ALL DAY? It's not even hot outside! This is especially curious given how, on the hellishly hot days we've had of late, it hasn't been turned on until late afternoon, or only for an hour or two. It's been on since 10 o'clock! And it's still on!

I really don't understand this place.

noah's ark

Via the JET wankfest that is Big Daikon, I have found perhaps the worst site on the internet. How I didn't find it on Encyclopedia Dramatica, I'll never know, since that's where I usually find these things.

Anyway, this internet abomination is FurrsFurChrist.com. I refuse to link to it, but feel free to Ctrl+C & +V. It's a forum for Christian furries, complete with bad poetry and ridiculous "theological" discussions.

Here's a quote, so you can see what kind of shit these "people" talk about without sullying your browser history:

"So my hatchday is coming up next month, & since I'm both in college and saving up for a fursuit, is it wrong to ask mostly for money as a gift? My first instinct is to pray about it, of course, but....I dunno. What do you think?"
I'm assuming "hatchday" is like a birthday for dragons. My favorite part is definitely "My first instinct is to pray about it, of course." LOLZ IT'S A FURSUIT FFS.

Anyway, I hate furries more than terrorists, and I've been especially intolerant of Christians of late, so the combination of the two just proves that there is no God. At least not a just one. Though maybe there is a God, and he has put these miserable creatures on this earth for my amusement. Either way, I think they are an abomination.

Aside from wasting my time at work on such sites, I've been playing the taiko game a lot. I've gotten quite a few on the demon level, which is quite an accomplishment, as that shit is hard.

I've also been watching Hairspray almost every day, which is fine with me. Any day with a little Corny Collins is a good one. But it has made me dream about civil rights. Not that I'm complaining, it's just a strange thing to dream about.

I found out that I'm leaving on July 23. Less than a month, yay! Unfortunately, I'm flying on United AND I'm connecting in San Francisco. Ugh. I hope that doesn't fuck me over.

The new girl finally contacted me and was very nice and gracious, so I'm feeling a lot more charitable. I hope she's nice, for Catherine's sake.

Now, every time I see the word "sake", I think of the drink. Thanks for that, Japan!

wah

There is a tiny baby somewhere in the neighborhood, perhaps even in my apartment building, that cries all the time. Just cries and cries. I find it very annoying, and usually turn on a movie (which is usually Hairspray), and try to drown it out. God help me when/if I have a tiny crying baby of my own.

Today was my last day at Kinomoto JH, and quite frankly, I am happy I never have to see some (most) of those kids again. The three classes I had today were so bratty. I really wish Japanese teachers could kick the disruptive kids out of class. Of course, that would mean kicking a third of the class out, but whatever. They would not be missed.

I am so, so sleepy, but it's very early, and I would feel lame going to bed now. But I don't know that I can stand being awake for too much longer. Maybe I will just go to bed and rest up for my busy day of sitting on my ass at the office tomorrow. Perhaps?

bread

The mouse-over text for one of my favorite Dino Comics sums up my feelings about bread perfectly:

you might question choosing humble bread as a favourite food, but next time you're eating it consider how good it is, and how we've had like three thousand years to perfect it. imagine what pizza will be like in three thousand years. that's what bread is like RIGHT NOW.

That is so true.