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tiaramerchgirlBy the time I get this posted, I will be 20 years old.
Finally legal in Japan - and oddly enough, right at this moment there is a birthday party going on on TV. Apparently there is a coming-of-age ceremony done earlier in the year for those turning 20...I missed it, but I'm sure I'll have a ceremony of sorts for my own.
My host family is waiting up for me, who knows why. They've been ultra sweet to me this past week, even though I've spent most of the week being ill and flu-ey and frustrated at not being completely capable at handling Japan. They keep giving Noelle and I things...fans, purses, toys, scarves, disposable cameras even.
They got me birthday cake! They thought I was turning 19 at first but then I explained my age and they were a lot happier. They plan on coming to see us in Nara, which is even cooler. So generous.
My sister called! Finally got to talk to her after about two months. I miss her voice, I miss talking to her. She was about two hours early but that's ok, at least I got to talk to her.
The article about me and my webmistressing has shown up in Seventeen's October issue back in Malaysia. If you can get your hands on it, please do. I haven't read it yet; I hope it's good! The day of the interview was really a series of mishaps so I'm a bit worried. If you have scans, do send them over.
Saturday was a really long day. A whole bunch of us went trekking around Nagoya - Nagoya Castle was quite nice, Zen-like almost. Unfortunately I grossly overestimated my health, and by the time we got downtown for lunch I was sick and dizzy. It didn't help that I had the worst time trying to figure out food (it took FOREVER to find something without pork and which was affordable - I still ended up paying through my nose), drinks (thank Goddess for an English-speaking person), and directions (why did the bookstore have to be one million miles away?!).
Everyone wanted to go for karaoke; I honestly wanted to go home, but I didn't want to be a wet blanket, and besides it didn't seem like they particularly cared about how I felt anyway. (Bally and Cristy were among the very, very few who cared enough to ask.) Karaoke wasn't too bad - they had Shima Uta, the Japanese song we're singing for the Celebration, so that made it funny.
We had all sorts of barbeque today at our host mum's sister's house - including cow tongue, which tastes like the rest of cow really. And Indian food! Of all the places to finish a glass of lassi, I had to do it in Japan. I normally avoid lassi since it's too sour for me, but the one I had today was actually quite nice.
This time period seems to be one of much change. There are people I know who have deep relationships broken. Some people are changing plans for life. Even I have made changes to plans; though really, it's not so much a change of plans as it is following my principle of taking the best opportunity that comes my way. (And I'm not a planner to boot.)
Before this trip I planned to finish off the second semester of my first year in college once I return from here. That's not likely to happen anymore. Right now the Up With People crew are looking out for people to return next semester as staff, and I am really looking forward to being one of those people. I can be Tom's assistant, since I keep doing the PR stuff anyway. Or some other External Relations thing. Or maybe something with Creative Productions or even Operations. Heck, make me the Official Webmistress, since that's part of my role at the moment (and I really have to buck up; I owe Tom an article. Oops.).
If I get offered a job, I'll take it - which means I won't be returning to LUCT. Most likely, if I get the job, I'll work there for a while and then continue college (or an even better opportunity) elsewhere. But not LUCT. Not the place that screwed me over at the worst time ever. I'm not giving them any more money.
Let's just hope I get offered a job, because Plan B doesn't look too inviting.
Ah, my host family has left for bed. Thank Goddess; I didn't want them to stay up late just because I'm following my tradition of staying up till it hits midnight September 26th, my birthday. (I'd like it if they'd join me, but I don't want to deprive them of sleep.) There's less than 10 minutes left...
Hopefully I'll get better at this Japan business. Hopefully I won't have to deal with even more illnesses. I suspect the humidity has much to do with this, since I get just as sick back home. Worse, even.
I wonder if it'll be weird to not be a teenager anymore. 20 is a strange sort of age; sure, it's the legal age in Japan, but in most places it's the in-between age. You're not quite adult but you're not a teenager either. It's like a trial year, with your actual initiation in 21.
There will be something quite interesting about 20, at least for me since I'm already on the road during it. It's the first time since I was about 4 that I've had a birthday overseas - as far as I remember anyway. And it's on a Travel Day to boot, so I'm moving around even more.
Miho's birthday is today! September 25th! We still have three minutes! We can both party on the bus, it'll be fun.
I wonder (yet, again) if anyone's sending me text messages on my birthday. I won't be able to check them since Japan's on a completely alien cell system. Too bad Maxis doesn't offer some sort of online text message checking service...they really should, it would be ultra useful.
One minute more. And even then it won't be my birthday officially. I was born at 11:07 AM Malaysian time - 12:07 PM Japan time. I still have half the day: maybe we'd already be in Maruko by then.
DING! DING! It's September 26th 2005; happy 20th birthday to ME!
Finally legal in Japan - and oddly enough, right at this moment there is a birthday party going on on TV. Apparently there is a coming-of-age ceremony done earlier in the year for those turning 20...I missed it, but I'm sure I'll have a ceremony of sorts for my own.
My host family is waiting up for me, who knows why. They've been ultra sweet to me this past week, even though I've spent most of the week being ill and flu-ey and frustrated at not being completely capable at handling Japan. They keep giving Noelle and I things...fans, purses, toys, scarves, disposable cameras even.
They got me birthday cake! They thought I was turning 19 at first but then I explained my age and they were a lot happier. They plan on coming to see us in Nara, which is even cooler. So generous.
My sister called! Finally got to talk to her after about two months. I miss her voice, I miss talking to her. She was about two hours early but that's ok, at least I got to talk to her.
The article about me and my webmistressing has shown up in Seventeen's October issue back in Malaysia. If you can get your hands on it, please do. I haven't read it yet; I hope it's good! The day of the interview was really a series of mishaps so I'm a bit worried. If you have scans, do send them over.
Saturday was a really long day. A whole bunch of us went trekking around Nagoya - Nagoya Castle was quite nice, Zen-like almost. Unfortunately I grossly overestimated my health, and by the time we got downtown for lunch I was sick and dizzy. It didn't help that I had the worst time trying to figure out food (it took FOREVER to find something without pork and which was affordable - I still ended up paying through my nose), drinks (thank Goddess for an English-speaking person), and directions (why did the bookstore have to be one million miles away?!).
Everyone wanted to go for karaoke; I honestly wanted to go home, but I didn't want to be a wet blanket, and besides it didn't seem like they particularly cared about how I felt anyway. (Bally and Cristy were among the very, very few who cared enough to ask.) Karaoke wasn't too bad - they had Shima Uta, the Japanese song we're singing for the Celebration, so that made it funny.
We had all sorts of barbeque today at our host mum's sister's house - including cow tongue, which tastes like the rest of cow really. And Indian food! Of all the places to finish a glass of lassi, I had to do it in Japan. I normally avoid lassi since it's too sour for me, but the one I had today was actually quite nice.
This time period seems to be one of much change. There are people I know who have deep relationships broken. Some people are changing plans for life. Even I have made changes to plans; though really, it's not so much a change of plans as it is following my principle of taking the best opportunity that comes my way. (And I'm not a planner to boot.)
Before this trip I planned to finish off the second semester of my first year in college once I return from here. That's not likely to happen anymore. Right now the Up With People crew are looking out for people to return next semester as staff, and I am really looking forward to being one of those people. I can be Tom's assistant, since I keep doing the PR stuff anyway. Or some other External Relations thing. Or maybe something with Creative Productions or even Operations. Heck, make me the Official Webmistress, since that's part of my role at the moment (and I really have to buck up; I owe Tom an article. Oops.).
If I get offered a job, I'll take it - which means I won't be returning to LUCT. Most likely, if I get the job, I'll work there for a while and then continue college (or an even better opportunity) elsewhere. But not LUCT. Not the place that screwed me over at the worst time ever. I'm not giving them any more money.
Let's just hope I get offered a job, because Plan B doesn't look too inviting.
Ah, my host family has left for bed. Thank Goddess; I didn't want them to stay up late just because I'm following my tradition of staying up till it hits midnight September 26th, my birthday. (I'd like it if they'd join me, but I don't want to deprive them of sleep.) There's less than 10 minutes left...
Hopefully I'll get better at this Japan business. Hopefully I won't have to deal with even more illnesses. I suspect the humidity has much to do with this, since I get just as sick back home. Worse, even.
I wonder if it'll be weird to not be a teenager anymore. 20 is a strange sort of age; sure, it's the legal age in Japan, but in most places it's the in-between age. You're not quite adult but you're not a teenager either. It's like a trial year, with your actual initiation in 21.
There will be something quite interesting about 20, at least for me since I'm already on the road during it. It's the first time since I was about 4 that I've had a birthday overseas - as far as I remember anyway. And it's on a Travel Day to boot, so I'm moving around even more.
Miho's birthday is today! September 25th! We still have three minutes! We can both party on the bus, it'll be fun.
I wonder (yet, again) if anyone's sending me text messages on my birthday. I won't be able to check them since Japan's on a completely alien cell system. Too bad Maxis doesn't offer some sort of online text message checking service...they really should, it would be ultra useful.
One minute more. And even then it won't be my birthday officially. I was born at 11:07 AM Malaysian time - 12:07 PM Japan time. I still have half the day: maybe we'd already be in Maruko by then.
DING! DING! It's September 26th 2005; happy 20th birthday to ME!
