So, about those free plane tickets I won

I:ve decided to use them to go to Osaka. Not that this will make my Osaka trip with my parents boring, just different, because when the family goes we:ll be spacing it out between Osaka, Nara, Kyoto and the like. This trip is with friends (Curi, Maru-ne, and Tiffany (I feel weird calling her Tiffy-chan, she might just turn into Chifu, but I haven:t decided yet) and will be for that weird Friday holiday that we in November. I:m taking (an ungodly amount) 3 days of nenkyuu for this trip, just so that I can use the free tickets (which black out during holidays, of course) because when you break it down, which costs more, an extra night at a hotel or a full plane flight? This:ll mean that I:ll have taken 6 days of my 20 for one semester of work. Which I guess is less than 1/3, and (knock on wood) so long as nothing bad happens, I should be working out okay.

So yeah, decided this last night. So today I:ve gotten approved for 2.5 days of nenkyuu, and will go book my plane tonight after school if I get that last bit approved (I asked my supervisor, which is 1\2 of what I need for each day, and I:ve asked Heiichi, cuz I:m taking two of their days, but I have to drive to Sunagawa after I get off work to ask for their permission too, that last 1/2 of one day). I:ve also looked up a bunch of possible hotels and sent them off to the other 3 girls for final review. I feel all kinds of accomplished.

I guess if other people want to come on the trip too, I won:t say no, but I:m really looking forward to the close friend time, you know? Honestly I think I would be happy if we didn:t go anywhere and just stayed in the hotel talking. But if we:re in a great city, then we do need to go around, you know? I guess what I:m saying is if people ask to come too, great, although while I:m there I might not hang out with you as much, and if not, that:s good too.

Stupid free ticket making me all kinds of stressed out. But I:m still happy that I won it. I should save me about 25000yen. I hope, anyway.

I:ve been feeling a bit depressed/stressed this week. Not figuring out what I was doing with my lesson til Tuesday didn:t help, and then getting everything ready for the Mid Year Conference didn:t help (although why I got it in my head that I Had to do that this week, I don:t know, but it:s almost done, I just have to call the hotels I want to stay at and reserve my room). And I:ve just been feeling lonely. No really reason behind it, I don:t think, just one of those "I:m on the other side of the planet from most of my friends and family and not feeling the love that I know everyone is sending me" moments. Which is why I:m really glad I get to go see Curi next weekend, and I get to see her again in November along with Maru-ne and Tiffany, and I get to see Veronica in early Nov too. And I get to see Natalie for week and a half just the two of us (although I might kill her or she me, for that long, but eh), and I get to see my Marmy and Daddy shortly after. And in March I get to see Leo, who when I was talking to him earlier this week (go me for actually taking that hour long nap so I was awake enough to talk to him), I asked where he wanted to go, besides my island, because I didn:t want him to get bored, and he said "I don:t really care, we can just stay on your island. I just want to see you." And yes, I cried. Just a little bit, but yeah.

Oh, and I asked some of my teachers about the weather the past few days. Apparently it:s been freakishly cold here for October. And it:s only been in the mid 70:s. I:m hoping to get several more visits to the beach in this season. I hope it warms back up.

Oh, and if everyone could (while I:m thinking about weather) take a moment and pray, send good thoughts to, ask the universe nicely (whatever you believe in) for there to be rain in Georgia, I:d really appreciate it. It needs to happen, now lets use that power of positive thinking and think/pray rainclouds. Big thick rainclouds that hang in the bottom they are so full of torrentual downpoars. Big, think, black omnious rain clouds that cover the horizon from east to west, north to south, that won:t go away until the earth has drunk it:s fill and can:t take any more. Let:s all think something like that.

Hmmm. In other news. Other than school work, I:ve caught up to the Japanese release in Bleach, started reading Moon Called (Patricia Briggs, another random I:m trying), started reading Zombie Powder (only 4 volumes, and I:ve read the first . . . 2? already), watched the first 2 episodes of Reaper (not bad, reminds me of Psych, in writing style and direction), watched the first 4 episodes of Heroes (I:ve caught up with the American release), watched Smallville as it came out, and yeah. Cleaned my apartment a bit at a time (the mess just moves around as I clean one section and the other sections get messy, then I clean the next and the last section becomes no longer prestine). Which I was hoping to have completely clean by Saturday, when I:m hosting a dinner party, but seeing how I:ve only gotten one resounding maybe, if I don:t hear from anyone by tonight, I:m just gonna send the email out saying never mind, maybe in December. Because next week I:m out of town, the week after I:m here, but I:ll be recovering, then Ishigaki, then Naha, then Osaka, then break. Then on the 14th (of December we:re talking) Naha again for Natalie, then family until January. I wonder if people will wonder where I:ve gone to . . .

Oh, I just remembered, it:s Pizza tonight. I haven:t been the last two weeks because of other Fuctions, but now I can finally go. But I think I:m gonna go home when I:m done eating (or slightly after), I usually eat really slowly and wait for other people to show up, but I:ve been really tired this week (stress, and depression, never a good Go Get Em combination) so I think I:ll try to go home early-ish.

Oh, and I:m planning to dye my hair this weekend. I love the henna stuff I use, it doesn:t really grow out and leave awful roots (or at least I don:t notice if it does), it just "fades gracefully," which is nice. But this:ll be the last box of it that I brough with me, so I:ll either need to order some more, or have Natalie bring me some when she comes in December. (I figure once every two months is not too much of a budget expendature, and it makes me feel all pretty). And it did seem to fade a little quicker this time, so I think I:ll actually use the stupid cap (I didn:t last time cuz it was Just Too Hot) when I keep it on for those 7 hours. Because it works, and I don:t feel like sleeping in the stupid cap.

Hmmm, I:m running out of things, but school still has time. And I:m caught up on my lesson plans (for the next 2 weeks, actually ^_^) so I could be doing this, reading, or web surfing, (or studying Japanese, but my heads not in the right headspace for that), and I feel like this is being slightly more productive. As I am doing the thing that they:ve told us to do when we:re feeling down. Write a letter to someone back home. And looky, I:m writing to how many people? All at once! Because I:m talented (or kinda lazy, if you wanna look at it that way, but I prefer to think about talented).

Hmmm, but yeah, really don:t feel like talking about the shapes the clouds make (because they make really interesting ones here, I:ve actually seen one of those "eviloution of man" things), or about how the teachers seem to want me to become fat (I honestly don:t know how they stay thin with all of the snacking), or how the road work on the iinkai street is really annoying and causing lots of traffic (a back up of more than 5 cars, I:m telling you, it:s crazy). So yeah, I:ll think I:ll just sign off. Ah well.

Take care!