Oh Akido makes my life happy.

What a Week! Its been purely a mad house week until today, I feel the week slowing down and taking a breath giving me a chance to take a breath also.
what has been going on you may ask?

Rain, sickness, and tests. Three things that in small measures and separate aren't necessarily bad. Together in large amounts are quite terrifying and down right painful. As I mentioned two times post ago, I was not going to aikido because I had sprained my wrist and upset my knee. Well, on Thursday I got a nasty cold, had a test on Friday in Economics (I got at 85 :( ) and a quiz in Japanese I wasn't really prepared for because I hadn't felt good (got a 90 anyways though), on Saturday I was feeling better and made some curry that didn't turn out very good. I Don't know what I did wrong. Then on Sunday the Cold had come back with avenge! And so passed in a Nightmare-ish sleepy haze Sunday and Monday. Tuesday I was feeling a bit better but today was the first day I was feeling semi- myself like.

I feel really bad for missing one of my friends first presentations as a President of the Japanese culture club, interestingly enough he didn't talk about his failure in his normal smug trying to hide that 'I felt embarrassed by my work not being what I felt it should be', instead he sounded resigned to his failure, no cheery I will do better next time. Which is scary and interesting all at the same time. Though I have noticed that he is mellowing out a lot this semester compared to last year. which might be good for him, the stress was really upsetting him last year.

I went to aikido via walking, and finally met the Sensei of the club. He is so cool especially for a middle aged doctor. The way he teaches makes more sense to me, though I am beginning to see I look at aikido very differently from most of the other members of the club. I am starting off where most of them don't get until they get their first belt, mentally. I think of aikido as a way to be aggressive, I view this as a way to mentally and physically stable. That's what I came to the Aikido club looking for. I must also point out most of my fellow club members are guys, most larger guys going into some form of law enforcement or began Aikido as a class to meet graduation requirements and decided to continue on.

Observation about Boone:
1) It rained / stayed cloudy nearly two and half weeks straight. People had a look of disbelieve on their faces when they saw the sun today. Its quite funny.
2) I have become a normal face around town walking. Lots of people wave and smile at me these days when I go by, and my fellow walkers get that knowing grin on their face. It makes me happy.
3)Football seems to be losing its strong hold in Boone this year. Lots of freshman are choosing not to go to games this year just because they don't want to have to deal with the awful crowds and the drunk fans.
4) Boone seems so comfy this year. when I drove back this fall I was so happy my parents weren't in the car with me so they didn't see me cry when I arrived back. I missed it so much. I am scared/ sad at the idea of spending a semester or even a year away from here so I can get my study abroad requirements.

Its 10 pm I have my final test of the the week tomorrow at 12:30 its in Business law so it will be easy, but I still need a shower (I smell horrible) and I want to practice my newly learned breathing techniques before I go to bed.

Night beautiful world. Good night and have good dreams.

Gingered beef makes the world better.

Well, I am finally getting back into the norm, and fixing two or more of my meals a day for myself, and this semester I seem to be capable of doing that without spending much 'real' money (money not on my meal card, I actually have to have cash.

I am currently eating gingered beef over rice, it makes me happy and I had a vegetarian onokoyaki for breakfast. Vegetables and rice make me happy!

I have test all next week and for the first time I didn't even hesitate on my Japanese Quiz for sensei, I was so quick I forgot she gave us a key (A. take medicine match to what vocabulary?) and just wrote down the right answer without question.

I love my new major, though I really need to be motivated to study for my finance test next week, its so easy but its math and needs it respect or it will bit you.

Sunday is not a day of rest.

I am suppose to be doing my Homework but instead I am posting to my empty blog.

Life is changing I feel it, and by bob, I am nervous. Every time I think about it all I feel my stomach twist into knots.

I don't know why, but its only since school has started that I feel like 'YES I am an international business student!' I have been saying it with my lips but my mind has just now decided to believe it. It makes me happy and nervous. I don't have a plan but I think its okay, it will work out, I just need to work hard, enjoy it all, and every thing will be fine. I never felt that way about Geology, it worried me to death ever minute of everyday if I even thought about it, even though I had a plan, and I hated it. When I think about my major, all I see is the hard but interesting work that it will be. I don't wish I wasn't thinking about it. Though I am avoiding doing my homework in the way that everyone does until they actually start working on it.

In other news, my friend, Sean, began his semester at Kansai Gaidai in Osaka, Japan. He seems to love it, though I miss him so much, and I am afraid of what will happen when he comes back. Some of my other friends came back this semester from going their own ways from the school, and things are so different. I can not tell if its that they change so much or if it all me, but things are the same, I don't care as much about them personality wise anymore, some days they down right annoy me, and I get the feeling that they don't like me much anymore.

I am happy that I am growing, but for the first time in my life I feel a bit of sadness because we are growing apart and we can't stop it, and I know one day I will wake up and no there is nothing between us but memories.

I like my room mate, We don't have much in common, but we seem to get along personality wise, and we don't spend too much time together but we can talk when we need to or want to, which is way better than my last two room mates.

I am starting to go to the Aikido club, though last week was a failure, because I strained my wrist, so I could not go. I feel bad but honestly I was feeling horrible.
I have been trying to work on my personality, mainly by taking more interest in the people around me. Not doing so good, though I have come up with a chant that I have been randomly saying in my head when I realize I am not being the person I want to be. Which I am putting in below.

I need to start my homework, now, I feel happy and I have posted for the first time in months, I will try to post every week from now on, I apologize for not doing so this summer to any of my readers who have been waiting.

The chant of mine, supposedly its famous, but I just like it for what it says, all I know is the terms in it are Japanese:

I have no parents; I make the heavens and the earth my parents,

I have no home; I make 'saika tanden' (abdominal region) my home.

I have no divine power; I make honesty my divine power.
I have no means; I make docility my means.
I have no magic power; I make personality my magic power.
I have neither life nor death; I make 'a um' (art of regulating one's breath) my life and death.

I have no body; I make stoicism my body.
I have no eyes; I make the flash of lightening my eyes.
I have no ears; I make sensibility my ears.
I have no limbs; I make promptitude my limbs.
I have no laws; I make self - protection my laws.
I have no strategy; I make 'sakkatsu jizai' (free to kill and free to restore life) my strategy.
I have no designs; I make 'kisan' (taking opportunity by the forelock ) my designs.
I have no miracles; I make righteous laws my miracles.
I have no principles; I make 'rinkiohen' (adaptability to all circumstances my principles.
I have no tactic; I make 'kyojitsu' (emptiness and fullness) my tactics.
I have no talent; I make 'toi skumyo' (ready wit) my talent.
I have no friends; I make my mind my friend.
I have no enemy; I make incautiousness my enemy.
I have no armor; I make 'jin-gi' (benevolence and righteousness) my armor.
I have no castle; I make ' fudoshin' (immovable mind) my castle.
I have no sword; I make 'mushin' (absence of mind) my sword

Random Onokonmiyaki

I want Okonomiyaki.

I have cabbage, I have flour, eggs, I have giner, I just need to make it in the morning for breakfast. *nods to self*

I need to go to sleep.

There was a point to this post, I just forgot what it was when I looked at the page.

And the race begins

Well, school started last week, on Tuesday, its been a fun week, though I don't really want to talk about why it was so fun. It just makes me out to be a bad person. The race against time to get myself papered for my hopeful study abroad has began as the school year began. Hopefully next Fall at this time I will be half way across the globe once again in Japan this time more likely not in Tokyo, possible in Osaka or Nagoya.

I have my Three choices (you have to have three for the exchange program I am going through). Nazan, Kansai Gaidai and Ritsumeikan . Two are in Nagoya and one in Osaka.

Now I need to decide which one I want to have has my first and second; Ritsumeikan being my third. I don't care for its program very much, at all. I like my ability to choose some of my language courses at Nazan (you have eight hours of required standard hours, and then you can choose your other 6 to 10 hours, including more indept language study classes focusing in an area). Though I know from people who have went about Kansai Gaidai and its programs.

Because once in a while a short post is good.

This evening while drinking a chocolate milkshake at what could very well be called my farewell party, I had a profound realization:

This summer with all its interesting moments has been the best summer of my life.
And a small bit of me that sometimes thinks it just knows stuff, thinks this is going to be the best summer of my entire life, period.

And for the first time in Five years...

I am unemployed. I am very temporarily a NEET!!! ::image me doing dramatic seeing- something-horrifyingly-awful faces::

Actually I am not overly upset about this, though the shock of knowing I was let go because my mother was being laid off, was very much so. Yes, my mother was laid off, which sent waves of terror through the plant, because you see my mother does everything paper work wise for that plant. I use to think my mother was over stating her value, but since working there, I realized if anything she might have been understating it. They got rid of her and seventeen other highly crucial members of the staff; so they think they are all just waiting for their papers. Which wasn't too surprising as the company almost went under a little under a year ago (before the 'crash') and the parent company of the company hired a very efficient CEO for the company of Asian descent who does a lot of work in Hong Kong with a twelve month contract. With interesting rumors as to his connections in Hong Kong.. . He is one of the people who are sent out on save or bury companies that aren't doing well for bigger/ often parent companies. He has been here for eight almost nine months, the company doesn't look good.

<.< So yeah. THat was my day. Work for four hours, get told I was laid off, had lunch and then went home and got some much needed sleep.