swing low satellite, hot white chariot

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 02:28:44 GMT

hrm looks like im getting around to this about every two months.

thankfully that food poisoning bollocks is gone. i'm just getting over a cold now, but i can deal with that.

work is the same as it usually is, but they switched some of the responsibilities of myself and the other sales coordinator around so that i only have two acct managers and he has the rest, but i still get to work with the Honda Team during their meetings, so thats good. Since i have a new account manager and she is for Nissan, I'm on the Nissan team too. I like going to meetings, they make the day go by really fast.

i started going to the YMCA in ann arbor in August. i met with a trainer there once the week before i was sick, and i'm meeting with her again tomorrow. i figure its getting colder and i sit in a 7 by 7ft square for 9 hours a day, and thats a good recipe for getting pretty chunky, so i'm being pro-active.

not much is going on right now. tim and i have the JLPT (jpn language proficiency test) scheduled for december 7th, then christmas with his family on the 13th.

we're also going back to japanland on december 20th! woooo :D
We'll be there until january 2nd, and we're going skiing the 30th and 31st in nagano.
only other thing we have planned is that my host sister (who has been in peru since february) is getting back to japan on the 27th of december, and theyre going to have a party type deal at her house on the 28th.

we're working on getting our ski hotel reservations by the end of this week. :D

i've also just been told tonight to start planning for our trip to ottawa in february, over the president's day weekend. there is no better way to celebrate the american presidents than by going to canada.

thats about it. i'm tired. maybe i'll update this again before two months is up. maybe not.

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 22:33:49 GMT

dear july:

you have proven to be quite a crappy month.

july 5th til 10th: gross blistery sunburn
july 14 and 15: stayed home sick from work due to food poisoning, actually went to the doctor's, and tim had it too.
july 16th til 20th: progressively felt better.

july 21st to today: stomach hurts like hell, showing no signs of stopping. hurts worst the first few hours of work, and right before i go to bed. i'm not nauseous or sick in any other way besides my stomach pains (much like as if i'd had milk), no matter what i eat.

no, i am not pregnant.
why does everyone ask me that?
food poisoning causes babies?
you had better stay away from the dairy queen in canton then, unless you want babies, in that case, go right ahead.

its too bad stomaches aren't like tonsils or appendices, i'd just get it removed.
it causes me too many problems.

"oh, you want to have ice cream, clam chowder, cheese, and alfredo? no, that's not happening. Not ever."
"oh, you want to have eggs. I'll only make you feel sick from those every once in a while."
"oh, you want to have anything fried, like shrimp, calamari, or fries? nope, that's not a good idea either."

i really hope that my stomach decides to stop being a little bitch (the all of a sudden pains, not the milk stuff, i deal with that) before i go to georgia in two weeks. at least its a short flight. i have to train this iku lady down there to do basically what i do, inside sales. for some reason she is really adamant about not flying to MI (i dont want to be here either).

the other crappy thing, is that the guy at my work, let's call him ACM (annoying chubby man) is not going to quit after all. he gave his two weeks, well, two weeks ago. and then decided that if they would let him stay and handle some of his own accounts and go visit them and stuff, aka start making him an account manager that he would stay here. except all he does while he is here is not do..... anything. complains about how its boring (if it wasn't boring they wouldn't call it work, it'd be called fun and we'd all be doing it, making millions.) basically, of the account managers, i handle stuff for brock (nissan/toyota/mitsubishi), rob and nick (honda), and nori (random honda and japanese stuff). he has erica (nissan), brad (domestics), jason (domestics), and joe (mixture).

except that ACM is known for not doing things on time, so those other 4 managers that aren't mine give things to me. and i don't really care that they do, as i rarely make it through the day withing gazing at facebook or trying to figure out spider solitaire, i clearly have the time to help them.

i was just kinda of looking forward to someone new, that would hopefully at least care a bit about what they are doing. and not talk only about softball. and not brag about eating two burritos from chipotle in one sitting. grosssss.

anything good in july?
got an iPhone.
got my license.

that's about it.

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 20:46:10 GMT

oh livejournal, how I ignore you.

recently Tim and I have been riding our new road bikes alot.

The bike computer says 206.6 miles on mine so far.

Today we looked around for the I-275 pathway (I think we made a wrong turn at Hannan and 94 service drive.... ended up down my Metro Airport and went through the city of Wayne). Just shy of 25 miles today.

Yesterday, we went out to Shelby for the 4th. We road the paved part of the Macomb Orchard Trail from my grandma's house up to 32 mile between Van Dyke and Van Dyke Expressway and then back. About 18 miles.

On Thursday we biked from our apartment in Belleville out to Lake Erie Metropark, right where the Detroit River comes into Lake Erie and then back. Our route was down 94 service drive to Haggerty south to Huron Mills Metropark. We went through Huron Mills and then Willow Metropark, and then followed Huron River Drive through Flat Rock, Rockwood, and to Brownstown Twp to Lake Erie. Total: 48 miles.

Last sunday we both rode in EcoRide 2008, that raised money (over 30K at the end) for the Ann Arbor Ecology Center. We started at around 8am in Hudson Mills Metropark in Dexter and we did the 25 mile loop.

We only live about 2 miles away from Huron Mills Metropark, and there is a bike path that starts there and goes through two other park along the Huron River, about 15 miles from our apartment to the end of the path.

So yea, the road bikes are pretty much the only new thing worth writing about.

Sun, 18 May 2008 22:12:43 GMT

i went shopping today.

yayyyyy.

that is all.

Fri, 16 May 2008 01:25:56 GMT

so.

tim looks like jim from the office...

and i have the same haircut as david cook on american idol.

aren't we just so cool?

(read: so cool = not quite so cool at all.)

Sun, 11 May 2008 18:27:05 GMT

p.s.:

yesterday, i fell off the bike (well, more accurately fell with the bike since my shoes attach to it) while mountain biking at bloomer state park, and whacked the left side of my jaw on the right handle bar, managed to bite the inside of my mouth when that happened, and then spit blood out of my mouth for like ten minutes.

pretty sweet.

i like showing the people at work my bruises. they think i'm crazy.

Sun, 11 May 2008 15:46:32 GMT

its been a while.

this past week i went down to georgia with 3 other new people at work for orientation.
that was pretty cool.

highlights:
-seeing the spring making machines at the metals plant (even cooler in person. not just on How Its Made)
-barbecue
-the sports bar with the beer taps at your table
-best 21oz steak ive ever eaten
-the weather

i also got a car yesterday.
still no license to drive it though, but im closer.

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 12:18:53 GMT

grocery shopping yesterday was less than the usual amount of pain.

this is pretty much my life now:
http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/new_pet.png

oh. so my work phone. they say it works. i mean, it does, i can call out. but when it rings its always like this.

phone rings once. doess't ring again.
immediately after one ring, some other phone in the office rings.

i think my phone thinks its the switchbaord. (>__<)

i only answer it if it rings twice.

its never rang twice, outside of when we were setting it up and joe called it from his cellphone to see if it worked.

thats okay though. its not like i actually do too much yet. i like to make people confused with the ePC.

Q.) Wow, that's small.
A.) Yes, its small.

Q.) Is it a working computer?
A.) Yes, its a real working computer. (what would I be doing with a fake computer?)
A.) No, its actually a giant cell phone.

Q.) What is it?
A.) Its a giant eyeshadow compact. A 10 by 6 inch eyeshadow compact.
A.) Its a flat frisbee. It makes the frisbee golf much more complicated.
A.) Its a My-Size Barbie laptop. It makes the stretch convertible and the dreamhouse.

Q.) What does it do?
A.) My bidding.

another rant about grocery shopping

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 01:35:32 GMT

another fun day of grocery shopping.

usually there aren't as many people at kroger as there were today.

PACKED.

I also said last week that I wasn't going to get anymore plastic bags anymore, at least bring anymore home. Well, I forgot to bring my bags with me. So, I came home with a bag from the Tsai Grocery store, except I got a little laugh out of it when I realized it was a Wal-mart bag, and clearly Tsai Grocery does not equal WalMart.

When in Kroger, I realized my bag conundrum, so I bought a giant breast cancer tote bag (no, really, its HUGE. like take this tote to the beach HUGE.)

Anyways, as you've all heard before, the grocery store is an area of much anger for me. After I actually started eating responsibly, I've felt the need to stand at the front of the Kroger check out lines, and not permit people to enter unless I approve of their food choices. I'm a pretty 'meh everyone can do what they want' kinda person, but seriously, you don't need 3 boxes of donut holes.

I always seem to encounter at least one person at the store that makes me (>_____<)

Today it was the lady in front of me.

-told the boy to bag everything in plastic (as if stores still actually give you an option), including the 3 gallon jugs of milk..... THOSE HAVE HANDLES. seriously, if you have to buy 3 gallons of milk a week (normal shelf life of milk from kroger), then you probably live with someone else, probably children, and you should make them carry the groceries in the house anyways. she also used a plastic produce bag for oranges... oranges that were already in the plastic mesh bag.
-paid with a check. and it took forever. so not only did she have enough food to feed a couple third world countries (and those have big populations of hungry people) but she had to pay with a check that the cashier had to have her manage like, authorize it or something.
-didn't bring her kroger card, and then had to put the phone number in on the credit card thing. AND could not remember what phone number it was under. okay, so i forget mine half the time, and i just tell them i can't remember the number and they scan the one behind the counter.

i was so close to saying something to her about the bag thing. whatever, i know we all can't turn 180 and use totes, but you really don't need them for milk jugs. I mean, I yelled at a lady in Outback Steakhouse about 2 weeks ago (another patron, not a waitress, mind you) and I am capable of doing it again. (let me know if you'd like that story.)

i think i am going to start my own grocery store. except not everyone can shop there, kinda like a sam's club. the only rules for joining the club is that you must not irritate me.

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 01:39:01 GMT

i'm not the shortest girl at my new job.

there is an indian girl who has to be like 4'8"... and i can really tell bc my shoes make me about 5'1 or 2 and she wears flats.....

i can has tall feelings?

yes i can.

recently in the life of Jessica:

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 00:25:51 GMT

there has been:

*biking: now that Michigan has decided it wants to be spring again, I'm out and about with Tim. I got a new bike on sale at the bike place in Novi last Saturday, and it has 19.2 (approx) miles on it since Saturday. Its also pretty sweet black and green colored. *and* I actually went out and rode it without Tim yesterday around here. The riding at Stoney Creek made my butt hurt pretty bad, and its kind of sore, even with the padded bike shorts.

*working: There was a bunch of shit with the drug-testing facility, so I couldn't get tested until Saturday, so my start date had to be pushed back until tomorrow. Needless to say, I'm probably ridiculously overly nervous to start this job. I haven't been this nervous for a first day since the MSU telemarketing job (which turned out to be enjoyable, so hopefully this will too. I doubt I'll get to play Boggle on break here though....) And I get to were cute office clothes, which is a plus.

So, I had to get a drug pee-in-a-cup test done for work, to prove I'm not on heroin and stuff. The website I had to go to for Quest Diagnostics has you enter in your zip code and it shows you the closest places you can go to. So I had arranged last Tuesday to go with Bryan to the JAMS center in Westland. The website said it was open 9am until 2pm, and that weekends were appointments only. I assumed from this that weekdays were walk-ins. We get there, and the door says "6am til 9am; 5-7pm; appointments only." AND it was sketchy. In a strip mall. No big light up sign, just a poster board in the window that said JAMS. Even had a sign that said to take off all dark colored sunglasses and hats before entering. Googled "JAMS" when I got home and its like, Jail Alternatives for Michigan.... the kind of place I'd go to in order to convince my parole officer I'm no longer using the meth lab in the ditch in front of my house or something crazy like that. So when I get home I called that location, and asked them when they're open. I was told that to get a Quest test done there, I'd need to make an appointment with the Quest lady, who is not there at that time, so I gave them my name and number to have her call me. She never did. I call back the next day in the morning, and this time they gave me the lady's number, I call her, and instead of just making an appointment then she had to call me back, and she never did. So needless to say, I wasn't going to mess about with this ridiculousness anymore. Called the actual Quest place in Livonia and was told that I could walk-in on Saturday starting at 8am, so thats what I did. It had a waiting room and was just like a regular doctor's office. I was satisfied.

*starting to actually do all the environmental/recycling things I'd just been thinking of doing:
----hang drying all the clothes (had to to it in Japan, no reason why I can't do it here);
----since we live in an apartment, there is no curbside pick-up, so I started using one of the two laundry baskets as a recyclables basket. The closest drop off center that I found is in Ann Arbor (well, there were others, like a Waste Management one, but I'm not sure if it really is one), so we can just drop stuff off there. It also means taking the trash out less, which Tim knows I hate doing.
----not accumulating any more plastic bags from the grocery store. I have one canvas bag, which isn't big enough for all my groceries because we only go once a week, but I figure I can just bring old plastic bags with me, as long as I don't bring anymore home. If you knew the type of baggers they have at the Kroger at Michigan Ave in Canton, you'd want to choke them with plastic bags, although this still doesn't compare to the anger I feel inside when I enter a Meijer, which both are different stories.
----taking a reusable container to coffee type places. used to do this all the time at MSU, but my coffee place visitings have gotten less predictable.... until today I found off that Starbucks knocks 10% off when you use a reusable container... and it doesn't have to be a Starbucks one.
----washing, hang-drying, and reusing plastic ziploc-type baggies

*journaling: in the food journal. Its been almost two weeks now, and so far I've logged everything with the exception of the alfredo chicken pizza Tim made, partly because it would take a long time, and partly out of fear of how bad it is for you. I'd like to lose some weight, since starting its been about a pound each week (albeit only two weeks). Mainly its helped in learning how much to eat, that I eat too much sodium, etc.

Other thoughts for tonight:
Jason Castro just played the ukelele on American Idol.... to Somewhere Over the Rainbow.... pretty sweet.
Yay for new episodes of The Office this week.

And a question for.....

Ayla!
I'm sure you know this, what currency is used in Ireland? I know I could easily Google this, but I figured I could ask you too and wait for an answer since its not a life or death need to know situation.

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 01:59:05 GMT

A real entry? Maybe?

I got the job offer last week at Piolax in Ann Arbor. Its a Japanese-owned auto parts supplier, that makes like plastic and metal fasteners for tubes in cars and stuff. The position is Sales Coordinator, but don't think that I'm actually going to be pitching our products to Tier-one car companies.... I don't think I could see fasteners for cars yet, maybe fasteners for coats or sweaters, I'm more used to those. But alot of the companies they work with prefer to do business in Japanese with minimal English, so I'd be working with that, and various Excel fun times, probably a lot of paperwork.

Because of this new job, I had to add to my wardrobe of office clothes. In order words, I spent a couple of hours at the mall in Dearborn trying to find pants that don't make it look like I have 'secretary ass.' I was successful. I also got two pairs of Steve Madden heels on sale at Macy's.

While I was shopping for clothes, Tim was at Best Buy. We came home with an Xbox, Rock Band, and Guitar Hero 3, so if you want to come over and be friends..... *wink wink*

I've played a lot of drums and guitar in the past two days. Not good at singing in Rock Band, not good at all. I've only passed one song (Coheed and Cambria- Ten Speed (of God's Blood and Burial)) and that was because Tim didn't know any of the words before, and I at least knew the words so we switched instruments.

Well, I think its bedtime.

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 16:24:34 GMT

so.

i have a real "growned up" job.

weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 13:53:40 GMT

Being someone that is very excited about the new Indiana Jones moving coming out in May, I thought it'd be interesting to read an article on Entertainment Weekly online (while I perusing for articles about last night's American Idol vote-off, which was crap, by the way.) that was titled "Indiana Jones: 15 Fun Facts." Most were like "okay, haha, that's cute" but the #3 fact about Last Crusade was the best thing I've read today, well maybe.

When Connery and Ford filmed their conversation at a table aboard a zeppelin, it was so hot that both actors shot the scene without any pants.

I wish I could've been there to film that.

In other interesting news that I read today, a lady in Australia stabbed her husband for not allowing her to listen to Bruce Springsteen.... guess she showed him who's the Boss, huh?

(I'm sorry, that was a terrible pun. I take all responsibility for it. Stabbing your husband is a serious matter. This is serious blog.)

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 16:48:49 GMT

so when i last left you i was getting bombarded with japanese telephone conversations and heading up north to go skiing.

its two weeks later now, and i've talked to her on the phone a bunch more times, went skiing, caught a bit of tim's cold, and learned of my new found love for guitar hero.

two of the jobs that i talked about before both emailed me and told me no, one because i didn't have enough 'real job' experience (which is true, although i am good at scraping wax off dorm room floors), and the other because they thought my japanese wasn't good enough.

i never spoke to them in japanese, so i don't know how they figured that one out. i talked to a recruiter for their company in english, so yea, whatever.

but i talked to the lady again today, she wanted to schedule a time when i can come to her office in southfield and talk to her more, doing that next week tuesday. and i also have a telephone interview tomorrow with one of the companies she showed my resume to last time i talked to her. so yea, always good. half in japanese, so yea, always scary.

but for now im just gonna worry about being hungry, and that giant pile of laundry.

no, i'm not going to eat it.

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 19:25:21 GMT

so today, on my way out of douglas j salon in ann arbor, i heard my cell ring, but i couldnt get to it to answer it in time. but there was a voicemail, which i listened to when i got home. it was from a yukihiro yoshida, from pasona MIC, a japanese recruiting company (saw the resume on career builder). which is cool. but, the message was in all english, and i couldnt understand the last four numbers of the telephone number.

i dialed what i figured was what it was, and i expected him to answer the phone, in english, like the message he left me.

NO.

i got broadsided by the japanese speaking secretary, and i was so deer in headlights i only got out a "yoshida san, irrashaimasu ka?" (Is Mr. Yoshida here/available?") before she went into a 2 min long keigo spiel, which i assume meant "no, he's not here."

not only am i not good/confident yet at speaking japanese on the phone, i was not prepared for that, and i didnt want to listen to a bunch of keigo that i was not going to understand, so (maybe) i prolly hurt any chance of a job by asking her (in japanese) if we could continue the conversation in english, to which i got a "Oh, you're not a Japanese person." response.....

so we talk in english for a bit, then switch back to english once I'm not so deer in headlights anymore. when im ready for it, im alright. she asked stuff like how i got interested in japanese, about my study abroad, if i'd been on the Michigan showboat in japanese (lol because i totally have). then is like, okay, we'll call you back.

i thought she meant in a couple days.

NO.

called me back like 4 min later, but a different lady called me. started in english, then went to japanese. pretty much got asked the same stuff (minus the michigan showboat questions), and she actually wanted me to come out to southfield tonight to further discuss it, but i cant.... leaving for charlevoix tonight...

which means, im having a phone conversation with her on monday.

SPEAKING ON THE PHONE IN JAPANESE IS THE BANE OF MY EXISTENCE

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 03:43:26 GMT

tim and i got our first pet today.

its (pre)-name is roomba, and it amuses us by vacuuming the carpet.

its actually quite funny when it bumps into stuff.

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 01:59:57 GMT

wow, from entries twice month to entries twice a day... here we go....

so it probably seems like we've been spending a ton of money lately, but the wedding gifts left us with a ton of money, so well, my new toy came in the mail today...

yay for new laptop! and its pink, and its really tiny (like really tiny) with the 7" inch screen. i'm gradually getting more used to typing on it. got the asus Eee PC on tim's recommendation (because he says I think that small things are cute), and i'm rather pleased. also in case you didn't know, as most probably didn't, the laptop i've been using isn't mine, its my friend gowtham's, so now we can ship it back to him. but yea, this will work good for grad school and for like $400 i think it's pretty sweet.

tim got a nokia n800 thinger, which is smaller than this, but its not pink, so minus 450 points for it. (i guess that makes it the nokia n350 now...?)

and, because i am a good multi tasker and can do things while watching american idol, here's a survey....

1. Are you taller than your best friend:
i think i'm only taller than 9yr olds. so no, i'm not taller than my best friend.

2. Do you have a favorite type of pen:
well, i can tell you that my least favorite type of pen is the kind that doesn't work when you're on the phone and you need to write something down.

3. Look at your planner for March 7th, what are you doing:
no clue

4. What color are your toe nails usually:
regular nail color

5. What was the last thing you highlighted:
things in my textbook for chinese history last semester

6. What color are the curtains in your bedroom:
they're blinds

7. What color are the seats in your vehicle?
grey, but its tim's car

8.Have you ever had a black or white cat:
both my cats have black and white on them

9. What is the last thing you put a stamp on:
envelopes with money orders in them for the wedding stuff

10. Do you know anyone who lives in Wyoming:
Nope

11. Why did you withdraw cash from the ATM the last time:
needed to pay doreen to do my hair for the wedding

12. Who is the last baby that you held:
i don't think i've ever held a baby

13. Can you spell well:
yes, but not necessarily when i'm typing, my fingers get confused

14. Do you like Cinnamon toothpaste:
no, i'm not really a fan of cinnamon anything

15. What kind of car were you driving 2 years ago:
the same kind i'm driving now, the non-existent kind

16. Pick one: Miami Hurricanes or Florida Gators:
no?

17. Last time you went to Six Flags:
i go to cedar point

18. Do you have any wallpaper in your house:
no, i don't like wallpaper

19. Closest thing to you that is yellow:
the tool box that holds all the cords for the tv/dvd/hooking up computer to tv

20. Last person you gave a business card to:
i don't have business cards

21. Who is the last person you wrote a check to:
i don't use checks, but last time i gave a money order was for wedding stuff

22. Closest framed picture to you:
the picture that gowtham sent tim and i of the ducks, its not up on the wall yet, but its close to me

23. Last time you had someone cook for you:
this weekend, at outback steakhouse

25. How many emails do you get in your inbox daily (excluding spam):
maybe 10 or so, i don't get any spam, but it emails me everytime someone does facebook stuff to me, so it varies alot

26. Last time you received flowers:
well, i got flowers for my wedding, and technically i received them, had to pay for them though

28. Do you play air guitar:
nope

29. Has anyone ever proposed to you:
well... yes.

30. Do you take anything in your coffee:
depends. at home/restaurants, no; at coffee shops if i actually get coffee its usually a latte type drink of the soy milk and caramel type.

31. Do you own any Willow Tree figurines:
no, i dont, but i sold alot of them at vollmers in high school, they're easily sellable for alot of occasions (esp. when precious moments are too much money)

32. What is/was your high school's mascot:
an eagle

33. Last person you spoke to from high school:
today? megan, on aim.

34. Last time you used hand sanitizer:
i don't keep track of these things. november 4th, 2007 at 3:26pm.

35. Would you like to learn to play the drums:
if they're bongo drums maybe

36. What color are the blinds in your living room:
we took them down adn put up white and beige curtains

38. Last thing you read in the newspaper:
i read about obama being ahead of hilary on cnn

39. What was the last pageant you attended:
little miss short girl USA....... /sarcasm

40. What is the last place you bought pizza from:
nowhere, i can't eat pizza

41. Have you ever worn a crown:
i wore a tiara for the freshman farewell dance in 9th grade

42. What is the last thing you stapled:
i stapled a business card to my piece of paper of things to do when i was in after hours tuxedo, the day before the wedding

43. Did you ever drink clear Pepsi:
that just seems wrong

44. Are you ticklish:
Yes, but i can kind of turn it off and on

45. Last time you saw fireworks:
i saw firecrackers in NYC for chinese new years

46. Last time you had a Krispy Kreme doughnut:
year or so, i like tim horton's better

47. Last person that im you, and you actually responded:
jon

48. Last time you parked under a carport:
i don't have a car

49. Do you have a black dog:
no... no dog.

51. Are you an aunt or uncle:
neither

52. Who has the prettiest eyes that you know of:
i don't pay attention to eyes much, usually when i look straight out all i see is chest/shoulders

53. Last time you saw a semi truck:
yesterday, it delivered my mattress

54. What is the last song you belted out in the car:
whatever happened to be on the radio

55. Do you have a little black dress:
i have a black dress, but its kinda poofy/not very little

in other news, ive started a bit more studying for the JLPT, and yea, i know its not til december. but last time when i took it, the 1-kyuu kanji was what killed me, so i've been spending alot of time on renshuu.org, kanji quizzing it up. i'm going to sign up for 2-kyuu this year, since i think i've forgot some since not having an actual japanese class in over a year. i have also, today, found out about the BJT, or business japanese test, and the categories it gives online--i haven't decided if it seems at a medium level, or ridiculous hard. its also in the end of november and in NYC, while the JLPT is the first weekend of december and in chicago. i don't think i could put that much studying into my head, especially for that short amount of time, nor do i think that i could afford going to NYC again this year (especially because i'd go to the ninja restaurant and see a show while there.) JLPT is more important to me anyways.

lately my job search has been alright. i've sent my resume out to more companies/postings that i can count, with minimal responses back. i do have one lead though, i got a call back on the japanese administrative assistant for fujitsu at their HQ in plymouth. so hopefully that will work out ^____^

oh, and you should check out the movie Kung-fu Panda, i saw a preview for it the other day on TV, and it looks cute.

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 13:20:43 GMT

so, i really want to go see the Dalai Lama at U of M.

really really.

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 15:31:22 GMT

this is me procrastinating making the apartment presentable for the mattress delivery people.

well more than make it presentable, i just spent like two hours rearranging the furniture in the office. yay.

i figured itd be an okay idea to do a re-cap of the last weeks or so, let people know im still alive. i read my friends' list numerous times a day, i just don't people want me to write everyday saying the same thing: today i washed dishes, cleaned, watched some tv, and realized further that i'll never get a job. its not that interesting.

BUT! tim and i went to NYC last week, the 3rd til 8th for our honeymoon. (see, now thats interesting.)

our hotel was at 48th and 8th, which was rather convenient (there is a starbucks around the corner, always nice) and we didnt really have to walk far for anything. we got in late sunday night.

monday the 4th: MY BIRTHDAY! yay for being 22 now. monday we took a tour of the United Nations headquarters, which was sweet because you get to go in all the big meeting rooms and everything. for lunch we ate at the yoshinoya restaurant near times square (if youve been to japan you probably know what yoshinoya is, if not, its not too important.) after that we went to the natural history museum, and then out for my birthday to this japanese restaurant called yakitori taisho, which was amazing. small, crowded, with cute waitresses that don't really speak english.

tuesday the 5th: hit up the guggenheim and met. museum of art in the morning/afternoon, then mostly wandered around for the rest of that night. up 5th and across through central park, wandered around the samsung experience store for a while, watched people skate at rockefeller (but my feet hurt too much to do that.)

wednesday the 6th: went to the modern art museum when it opened, had to wait in line to get in, but not too long. went out for sushi lunch at a place not too far from our hotel, hung out for a while. had dinner at utsav festive indian, which was realllllly good (and on the 2nd floor, i like to people watch), and then we saw A Chorus Line after dinner.

thursday the 7th: woooooo chinese lunar new year! went to chinatown, which was alot of fun. there were lots of mini-parades with the dragon/lion things (i dont know which they are, help tiffany?) and we ate lunch there, and one of the most amazing things, was that the bubble tea i got, unlike bubble tea in east lansing was ONLY $2.75 for the same size as at bubble island. amazing. that night we went to the ninja restaurant. which i dont know how much i should say about it, but OMG. that pretty much sums it up. the main jist of it is that all of the waitstaff dress like ninjas, the restaurant is decorated like 15th cen japanese village, waiters will hide in teh ceiling and scare you, they carry katanas, pretty amazing.

our meal:
*floating sashimi- comes in a big bowl, with a platform in the middle, a thick leaf lays on that and holds the sashimi on it, and in the bowl is dry ice so it looks as if the sashimi is floating
*spicy salmon roll and eel/avocado roll- good, both tempura-ed
*shabu-shabu
*bonfire- this lamb cutlet dish, where theyve take then 4 lamb bones and set them upright, and in the middle of them its this herb butter, server pours what im assuming is alcohol on it, then BAM lits it on fire. takes his sword out and cuts the bones so the butter drops onto the plate, which then also sets on fire, and he melts the butter on the plate until the fires out and you can dip the lamb in it. very nice.
*rose chocolate- dessert, i dont know how to describe it, so this is from the website: Chaud froid served with four layers of Chocolate, Flan, Cream, Sorbet and caramelized Mousse.

there is a ninja that came around (a white guy ninja, lol) and did magic tricks, i was thoroughly in awe, as any magic impresses me. and i guess, the japanese owner who cant speak any english was there, and our waiter had him come over and talk to us, and he was at our table for like 15 min, he mustve been so happy to have customers he could talk to. he came around after we were done and gave us some keychains, woooo.

i'm not going to say how much that cost, but it was worth it.

saturday the 9th: tim, nathan and i went to the state theater to see flogging molly :D we've got tickets to see panic! at the disco in may or something like that too.

yesterday: tim and i thought we were only going to LOOK at the mattresses, but ended up buying one of hte tempurpedic mattresses, and then realized we needed a bed frame, went to ikea, got one, actually fit it in the car, and today the mattress is being delivered. yays.

i wrote alot.
i'm not really doing anything much more now, although there is a skiing trip planned for two weekends from now, i believe.

guesssss what i did.......

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:00:37 GMT

some are pretty big at the end....

if you want to see more of me (i'm cute ^_~):
Gowtham's Pictures
Kyle's Pictures

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 17:17:35 GMT

i think its been about a month since i've updated, so i figure its about time. i've started writing stuff and then got disinterested about two sentences in.

well its actually getting pretty close to the wedding now, although it still just feels like i'm playing pretend.

i wrote about christmas/new years in my mixi.jp journal, so i guess if you can't read japanese then you're out of luck because i don't feel like writing it again.

two weekends ago, we had the second bridal shower, not to mention some actual japanese style karaoke the night before. this weekend on saturday, we had a meeting with the florist, then the reception hall, and that evening with the ceremony musicians. and it was a pretty good thing that i got to meet again with the reception hall coordinator because i feel alot more assured about things than i did just a couple of days ago.

dividing up the guest list into tables wasn't as hard as i'd thought it was going to be, but it wasn't without a couple of "grrr" moments. today will be dividing them up into tables time.

its just been taking me a while to start doing that today. (i've been getting distracted by the internet.)

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 18:23:52 GMT

1. Ahhhhhh commercials are so much louder than actual programming.
2. Sam Bernstein should not put his children in his commercials, they're not that attractive (not that he is, or anything...)
3. from channel 2: "tired of salting you driveway? want a better eco-friendly way to clear snow? tune in at five..."

umm. a shovel?

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 16:46:52 GMT

organizing apartment.

i just found a pair of my shoes that are a size 5.

O.o

ya, thats pretty small.

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 03:13:27 GMT

i really wish it was like, four months from now.

yea, i think i'd be rather okay with that situation.

i just really want school to be over, and this paper done.
i really want my group members to effing email me back when i email out about the group project, because im not going to do this by myself.

i really wish i had graduated in the summer. :[

not gonna make that mistake again, i guess?