Nathan's Blog

MY REGULAR BLOG

2008-12-06T17:48:00.000-08:00

I have not been using this blog for some time now, as it is obvious to see. I've been writing in my opera account, so if you come across this page, please go to my CURRENT BLOG and check on me there!

Less Than Two Weeks!!!

2008-09-05T02:36:00.001-07:00

So this summer has been pretty nice so far. Despite not having a job and having no plan whatsoever for the 3 months, I really made out well when everything is taken into account. Here's a list of some of the more notable things:
1) Broke my computer, which resulted in...
1a) Got a Macbook
2) Went to Seattle and uprooted more Himalayan Blackberry bushes for my aunt than anyone should ever have to see in their life. And the hill was like a 60% slope...
3) After getting my Macbook, my old computer (still under warranty) was replaced with a new computer for free, which I had absolutely no need for anymore so I pretty much spent unnecessary money.
4) Painted a friend's house

Number 2 took the longest, but I also took my sweet time with it, working only a couple hours a day. It was nice to spend time with my aunt for the month I was up there though. Number 3 pissed me off more than number 1, and I hurt my back doing number 4. Number 1a was pretty exciting because hey, new computer! It also made me realize I don't have as big of a bulge in my ass-tight "skinny jeans" as most Portlanders do for Macs. God I hate how trendy they are - and now I'm encouraging it. Actually, I hate how trendy Portland(ers) are, but that's neither here nor there. By the way, I don't wear the "skinny jeans," I was talking about, I was just trying to make fun of how half of the males in Portland wear their little sister's pants.

I made money on 2 and 4, so that will definitely help me with my travels. Which brings me to the main point of this entry - less than two weeks until I leave! I'm scheduled to fly out of San Francisco on the 15th at 11:25am and arrive in Japan on the 16th at 2:10pm. Japan is 16 hours ahead of us here in Portland, and the plane ride is about 11 hours, so I'm trying to figure out how I should go about this so I won't have jet-lag from hell when I get there. They say you don't get jet-lag when traveling West, but I think it's an exception if you're flying over the International Date Line. Pretty much, I'm flying from the 5th LATEST time zone to the 10th EARLIEST one. If that doesn't make sense, which it doesn't, refer to this page. I'm thinking about staying up most the night before my departure, and then sleep only a little on the plan so when I get to Japan in the afternoon I will be pretty tired, and then just suck it up and stay awake until that night, when I would just crash, and wake up at a normal hour. If anyone else has a better idea, please let me know.

With less than two weeks left to go before I arrive in Japan, you'd think I'd have been communicating and getting to know my future host family. I'd think so too, but we'd both be wrong. The program I'm going through REFUSES to tell the students ANYTHING about the host families they have picked out for us. They assured me they do have a family in mind for me, but their excuse for not telling me anything about them is that they give one final interview to the students when they arrive in Japan to double check if they matched them up with the best host family, and if they switch the host family on you based on that final interview, they don't want to have to explain it. I guess it WOULD be pretty crappy if they gave the student the contact information of the potential host family, and the student got to be friends with the potential host family before arriving in Japan only to find out they are going to be paired with a different host family because the final interview determined that the previous host family to-be was not the "best" for them. That last sentence was full of sarcasm, if that wasn't clear. I think it's absolutely ridiculous that, if they wait until the absolute last minute to decide who your host family is anyway, to give the students the option of communicating with the host family whether it be through broken English/Japanese and pictures, or collegiate level, essay style emails back and forth (the language proficiency levels of the students as well as host families varies immensely). Wouldn't that be a better way to arrange the host families? That way, if the student and family don't get along well for some reason, it can be determined earlier on. The same goes for if they get along great - they can be set and have peace of mind and be much more prepared for what they are about the encounter. I don't know, it just seems so simple to me, and when something seems so mindless to me, and is made so complicated beyond reason, it annoys the bejesus out of me. Enough of my ranting.

While I was in Seattle shredding my hands in the delicious blackberries that weren't quite ripe yet, there were many days it was just too hot or rainy to work, so I would stay indoors and practice my Japanese. I have started learning the 1,945 "basic" Kanji (Kanji are the Chinese pictorial characters that represent words as opposed to a single letter) that are taught in the school system through high school, and are needed to be able to function in every-day life in Japan. By this I mean that these 1,945 Kanji need to be known in order to read newspapers, books, or anything for the common person. Kanji that aren't in this so called "Joyo" group must have the reading written next to them so they can be read without problems. Anyway, I have been learning the meaning and writing of these Kanji (not the reading yet) and am up to 600. I did that in 2 weeks, so I think it's a very reachable goal if I just put my mind to it. The method of learning how to write the kanji and know what they mean before learning how to actually read them suggests that if you can recognize and put meaning to Kanji, it will be easier to remember how to read the Kanji when you see them when they come up in life, rather than learning all the readings before you ever see them on a street sign or menu. I think this is a genius idea, and it appears to be very compatible with my brain. To practice my Japanese further, I've found some good Japanese Podcasts as well as a couple dozen Japanese artists I found in the foreign CD section of the library that I have put onto my hard drive. Whenever I'm not spending time with people, I listen to Japanese. In Seattle, this was upwards to 18 hours a day, and I really can notice a change. I listen to spoken word Japanese in my sleep, and I have actually had multiple dreams with at least some, if not a very notable amount of Japanese in them. It's quite encouraging.

Anyway, it's getting pretty late and I should get my rest. I'm sick and want to get over it before I leave for Japan. Well, until next time!

Quote of the Day:
"My applesauce tastes like toast."
- Vincent

Pop Culture Made Me Do It!

2008-07-08T12:19:00.000-07:00

So, I've gone to the "dark side" and went ahead and bought a Macbook - sorry Cameron! After weeks of searching for a good deal on a used one, with my student discount and the free iPod Touch promotion Apple has going on right now, it just made sense to pay about a hundred bucks more and get a new computer. I spent more than I'd like to admit - I dished out an extra $300 for the iPod, but that will come back to me via the mail-in rebate. The only question is, how long will that take? (By the way, I'm thinking of selling the iPod for $250, unless I decide to crack it open and play with it myself which is a good possibility. If anyone wants it though, let me know!) As with any big purchase, it was SO hard to push the "Submit Order" button that smiles at you so enticingly. After checking, double checking and triple checking that I had all my information right, and that I was ordering exactly what I wanted, I still didn't click the button for another five minutes. Finally, I did, and the website told me to expect it in the next week. I just checked the status of my order, and it says "Not yet shipped." It should be by the end of the day. Anyway, I just wanted to say that I'm excited about it, even though I've had my doubts about Mac OS in the past. Hopefully my transition to a Mac will be an easy one, though I do have a Pocket PC that runs Windows Mobile, as well as a Zune that I'm not sure what I'm going to do with with the new Mac... Hmm...

Quote of the day:

"I just got married to the cutest, shortest little Mexican you've ever seen. We'd been dating for 2 months but we just knew it was right."
-Some random middle aged woman at a hole-in-the-wall Chinese "restaurant" off of 82nd and Foster.

Everything from Grades to Hide's Birthday Party

2008-06-14T00:07:00.001-07:00

It's been a while - but like I said, I've got no computer right now! Sorry! Anyway, I'm done with classes!!! Wednesday was my last day - my final was at 8pm which is absolutely ridiculous!! Anyway, I did fine in all my classes but one... I got 100% on my Japanese written final, missed 3 points on the oral, got 74/100 on my math final, and I 'passed' the one I didn't do good in, but because it's in my major I had to get a C- or better to ACTUALLY pass... so given that information you could probably guess I got a D. Ah well, I've been thinking about changing my major anyhow...

Regardless, I'm done with school for the year, now I just have to get things in order for the summer and then Japan! I need to call a place I used to work to see if they'll let me come back for a little. I'm probably going back to Portland around the 25th, and then I want to work, but want to be done working a little before I leave so I can say bye to everyone and what not, so I'd really only be able to work about a month... hopefully that'll work out!

Tonight we finally had a party for Hide, one of the Japanese students. His birthday was last Friday, but we didn't get anything in order for him until now. It was fun, I didn't stay very late though. I went out drinking last night and was fine not drinking two nights in a row. He got pretty drunk, really early on.. which brings me to the quote of the day...

"Ca....c...ca...ri....B-B-B-B! Ee-an!"
-Hide, when trying to read "Caribbean Rum" on a bottle.

Got My Ticket!!

2008-05-27T19:10:00.001-07:00

Well - not EXACTLY. I bought it from Student Universe and they still have to verify that I'm actually a student before they give me the ticket. It was really hard pressing the "finalize purchase" button. I actually almost did it once, but then read the terms and conditions and it said something about some countries that wouldn't give you entry, and some airlines that wouldn't let you board if you didn't have the "correct documents." I wasn't sure if my student visa would allow me a one-way ticket entry, so I called up Todd Waddell in the OUS Program (on his cell - I felt bad!!) and he said it was ok to go on a one-way. I was a little irked cause I found out that the original ticket I wanted to buy (but then thought was the wrong day) was in fact the right day but there was a typo on the handout they gave us. They said one date but wrote something else, so I didn't know which information to go off of. Anyway, the original ticket I wanted was a direct flight from Portland and it apparently sold out. It was also about 25 bucks cheaper, but the main perk was it was direct. The ticket I have now is with United Airlines, and I leave Monday, September 15th at 7:55 in the morning. I fly into San Francisco at 9:40 and then have a layover for 1 hour and 45 minutes, which was the shortest one I could get. Then comes my LONG flight. I depart at 11:25AM on the 15th and get into Narita Airport at 2:10PM on Tuesday the 16th, local time (10:10PM Monday, Sept. 15 Portland time.) Hopefully jet-lag will show me some mercy. I think I can tough it out... Let's see - if I stay up until 10PM Japan time, it will be 6:00AM on the 16th, Portland Time. Man, I don't know, I'll have to really plan this out if I want to beat jet-lag. If I don't sleep at all on the flights, I'd be up for at least 24 hours straight... which is not fun. Maybe I'll stay up the entire night before my flight, zonk out on the plane from SF to Japan, and wake up with enough energy to keep me up in Japan until a reasonable hour to go to sleep... Off the top of my head, that seems like the best option.

I know I said I probably wouldn't be able to write anything cause my computer is getting fixed, but I'm at work right now and we have absolutely nothing to do until the people in the auditorium get out of here, and then all we have to do is move the stuff off stage. It's a really easy day, and I'm glad. Marcus went home for a little to grab some allergy medicine and some food so I'm in the office by myself. If something were to go terribly wrong with the audio, the customers would be in a world of hurt. Actually, I could probably figure it out, to be honest, it just wouldn't be on the first try. Anyway, I'm gonna stop writing now - just wanted to let *everyone* (I know no one reads this blog) that I got my ticket, so I'm officially going to Japan!

PS - I guess my life has been really uninteresting, seeing how there has been no updates on pictures and/or quotes of the day - I'm sorry1

Weekend at Home

2008-05-26T18:47:00.000-07:00

It was awesome to get home for the weekend. One of my friends took my shift that I had tonight for me so I could have an extended weekend. I got a ride home with another friend on Thursday night, meaning I had to skip 2 classes on Friday, but it was well worth the break. Even though there is only a couple more weeks of school left, I just didn't want to wait that long to take a break from Corvallis.

This weekend has been pretty uneventful, but that's good. I have been trying to Contact Theresa, the international advisor, about my plane ticket to Japan but she hasn't responded yet. I found a ticket for just over $500 (one way) but I just wanted to double check that it was for the right date. If I get it for the wrong day, I'll be stuck in Tokyo to fend for myself. I've heard Narita airport is 2 hours away from the main city, so that would not be fun to have to figure out a way to get into town, and THEN find the hotel. I'd much rather just get it right the first time and get a plane ticket for the right day and have someone pick me up. I really hope that she gets back to me bofore I check the website again only to find that the ticket is no longer available. There are plenty of other tickets I COULD get, but this particular one is direct from Portland to Narita. All the other ones stop in LA or San Francisco or something, and that's just one more thing - I'd much rather just get on a plane in Portland and get off the plane in Japan.

I'm just about ready to head out of Portland and go back to Corvallis to finish of the remainder of my term, and very unenthused about it. I just want it to be done and get to Japan. Anyway, my computer kept having problems of overheating so I took it into BestBuy before the warranty expired - this is the 3rd time I've had to bring it in... I really hope they just replace it. They BestBuy guy said they SOMETIMES do, but usually they'll replace it the 4th time you send it in. When I get it back from it being fixed, I'll probably only have 2 or 3 more weeks on the warranty, so my plan is to take it in if ANYTHING at all happens, in hopes of getting a replacement. All this to say, I probably won't be able to write in the blog until the middle of June, when school is out, unless I take the time to go to the library and write out a blog. Maybe I will who knows. But until then, I'll keep my spirits up and look forward to the end of this school year!

Eugene Study Abroad Orientation

2008-05-18T01:14:00.000-07:00

Today I had a study abroad orientation down at UO from 9-4, but went a little late so we left around 5 or so. It was a LONG day. The weather was gorgeous outside, so it was a little disappointing I had to stay inside all day, but I guess the AC was nice. A couple weeks ago there was an email sent out, asking all the participants at OSU if they needed/could give a ride for a carpool down there, and they matched people up according to their needs. I got a ride from a girl named Christina who was nice enough to open up her doors to me and another girl named Brianna. She even picked me up and everything. We all had nice conversations there and on the way back - I really enjoy hearing other people's stories, and how they got to where they are. Both of the girls were going to Quito, Ecuador for Fall term, but to different schools. In the midst of all our talking, a bird trying to catch a quick meal ran into Christina's bumper while we were cruising down the freeway... whoops. Sorry birdie. Anyway....

ONE STEP CLOSER TO JAPAN!!! I'm starting to get super excited. I looked at ticket prices today, but I want to wait to buy one until I get everything figured out with my friend in Japan. My friend, Yukari, wants me to go to her hometown and spend a little time with her and her friends before I start my school year. I'm totally down with that and am just waiting to hear back from her for her to let me know the dates. I think what I'm gonna do is buy two one-way tickets from a website called student universe that's a great resource for student travel. The way the study abroad program was telling me to buy the ticket was to buy an open ended one, so I could change the end date in case I needed to due to Waseda's weird school schedule. They won't have spring term's schedule figured out until sometime mid-year, and OUS (the study abroad program) estimated one of those tickets to run around 2000 bucks when all was said and done. I found a one way for 523, including all taxes and everything, so I think that might be the better deal. Anyway, I'm gonna get to bed now, but I just wanted to post something for this orientation thing, cause it really feels like the first REAL step to going to Japan. Woo hoo! I'm getting excited!!

The Nicest Day This Year

2008-05-10T03:07:00.000-07:00

Today was by far the nicest weather we've seen all year. The temperature was not too hot, not too cold, the sky was blue, the air was clean, and people were happy. To celebrate this momentous occasion, I spent a few hours outside, some of which going on a bike ride. It was really nice - I was surprised at how pretty Corvallis really is. There's this short little stretch of neighborhood off of 35th and Harrison that is absolutely gorgeous. It's definitely the place I'd like to live if my permanent address was here. It was short lived though. It stopped being pretty after about 2 or 3 blocks which was a little disappointing to see how nice it COULD be and then have it just end. Ah well, not too worried about it.

After the bike ride, I went home and to my surprise, the house was completely empty. I think it's the first time that's happened all year. Living with 6 other guys really doesn't allow for the house to ever be empty, but apparently today was an exception. Luckily, my friend Ashlee called just a little later to save me from the empty house and we went on a ride in her new car. We passed this really sketchy roller skating rink that me and some friends tried to go to a few years ago on my birthday, but it was closed. It looked like it never gets ANY business whatsoever, but it must cause it's still there... I really don't get it. It's out in the middle of no where, honestly. The ride was nice - I got to see some of the countryside which was a nice break, even though there isn't much city to get away from here in Corvallis.

Well, this weekend is Mother's Day, but unfortunately I won't be able to be going home. I've got no way to get there! My mom will just have to live with getting a phone call this year which is a shame cause recently she's been sending me care packages, cookies and coming on random visits! It's been really cool.

It's already 12:45, but I don't wanna go to bed even though I'm sleepy. I have nothing to stay up for really...

SO - It's now 3:07. My computer overheated AGAIN and shut off. It's getting on my nerves! I forgot about the blog I was writing until now when I "restored my session" on firefox and it popped this back up. I've been watching the Japanese TV Series "Ikebukuro West Gate Park." It's a really good one!! Anyway, I'm gonna go to bed now, I was just checking my email before I did. Too lazy to remember a quote of the day and add a picture, sorry. Next time!

Japan Night and Barbecue!

2008-05-05T22:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Japan Night. Luckily I didn't have to work, so I got to go to the event. It was really cool - lots of traditional dance performances and alot of free food! The Mochi was my favorite. I dressed up in a Kimono, but I think it was a woman's. Ah well. It was fun hanging out with my friends. I actually had lost my ticket because they were super tiny, and when I took it out of my wallet one day to check what time it was at, it never made it back in there and disappeared. I went there anyway cause I had heard you only needed the ticket to eat food, but they wouldn't even let me into the event without the ticket. Luckily Yoshiko Sano, a grad student who substitutes in my Japanese class sometimes, was walking down the stairs just seconds after I got rejected, and she also happens to be the leader of the Japanese Student Association, the group that was putting the event on. I told her what had happened and she got me in! It was awesome, she's so cool. After the fashion show, the food, and the dancing, the crowds died down and only a handful of people were left when we went upstairs to watch a Japanese style comedy routine called Rakugo. It was performed in English, and it was more explaining what Rakugo was and its history than the actual thing. It was still fun though. I'm glad I got to go!

Today the weather was super awesome, so we had a barbecue! The weather has finally let up and gave us a couple nice days in a row, if you can believe it! There were tons of people over here and we played some horseshoes and South Dakota golf. Marcus and Corby played beer pong together in their MATCHING t-shirts. What a riot, right? We're crazy over here. I didn't drink though because I have a test tomorrow and had homework that was due by midnight tonight, which I didn't even do very well on - it pissed me off! I swear, I just hate all my business related classes in general. Anyway, a bunch of my Japanese friends came over, so that was cool they got to meet a couple new people. They sort of just congregated around eachother for the most part, though. Anyway, I'm gonna get to sleep, just wanted to write about the barbecue before I forgot to do it, like I've been forgetting to do later.

Quote of the Day
While me and Noel were driving, we saw a moving truck tilting WAY to the side and started laughing. The driver motioned us to roll down the window and said,
"You guys won the prize!"
and me and Noel both were confused...
"What?..."
"You're the first people we've seen smile in like 3 days!"

WHAT IS THAT???? Anyway, I'm gonna go to bed now to get ready for my full day of studying tomorrow!!

Backyard Sports

2008-04-28T20:45:00.000-07:00

Today was actually a pretty nice day. In the morning when Kyle and I rode bikes to class it was a perfect temperature, but was a bit overcast and felt like it might rain. The rain held off though, and the sun finally broke through around noonish. It was awesome weather! The only thing that could have made it better was less wind. The trees were losing all their blossoms in the wind like crazy! It was pretty cool to see, and looked like something out of a movie.

After my classes were done I had an advising appointment to figure out my schedule for next year cause all the classes at Waseda don't necessarily have a corresponding course here at OSU, so we had to figure that sort of thing out. It doesn't seem like it'll be that hindering to go to Waseda. I mean, obviously I won't get as many credits that can go towards my major, but all the credits will transfer, whether they be in my major, or just elective credits.

When I got home, Kyle and I played a couple rounds of horseshoes (my second time ever playing, my first being yesterday) and not to blow my own horn, but I was pretty good! It's really fun. After that we played South Dakota golf which wasn't as fun as I remembered it being. Last time I played that was at Corby's parent's anniversary party a couple years back. Another friend, Blake, showed up and then Matt, my room mate came out and we played doubles. The game was head to head at 20-20 and I got the game winning point, but then Blake stole the point from my by getting closer to the pole! It was frustrating, but a really fun game.

Anyway, my day was pretty uneventful. I stayed up really late last night playing video games, so I'm pretty tired. I think I'm gonna go and do something... Sorry - nothing for the quote of the day today - nothing worth mentioning has been said today.

Blah

2008-04-24T18:16:00.000-07:00

So I didn't do too hot on that midterm. Not in the least. I guess I can't really expect much though - I didn't really study. I'm so apathetic to things I have no interest in, and these days it seems like that's a lot of things. I mean, people always say you've gotta go to school for what you love to do, and to get a job doing something you love doing, but the only thing I really enjoy that I've found here at school is my Japanese studies. I really don't know what I could do with that if I decided to make Japanese my major. Even if I did make Japanese my major, I'd have to transfer schools AGAIN. To my knowledge, OSU doesn't offer it as a major, just a minor. UO on the other hand, has it. Even though it's something I really enjoy doing, and would love it if it could be the only thing I studied, it would take a lot to switch schools again and I don't know if it would work out. I think I'd lose a lot of time. I've already taken a year off of school, I'm going to Japan next year and I don't know how well the credits will transfer, and then if I decided to switch to UO, I really don't know how well my credits would transfer. It just seems so out of the question, even though it'd be following what I love to do.

Business is definitely not what I want to do.

Anyway, I just started watching these two shows yesterday that a friend of mine told me about. He's got a blog too that's pretty interesting. He told me about this site called sars fansubs and apparently it's legal to download these dramas from overseas because most of them aren't licensed here in the States, or elsewhere for that matter.

The first one I started watching is called "At Home Dad" and it's about what you'd probably expect. It's a pretty lighthearted comedy about a stay-at-home dad, but he is often criticized by a lot of people saying that he has no pride as a man and that the job is really easy. A well off business man who makes rather famous advertisements who has this frame of mind happens to move in next door to the stay-at-home dad and they don't hit it off very well. Unexpectedly though, he loses his job simply due to bad luck in a transfer, and he becomes a "temporary" at-home dad himself, and the two men bond fairly quickly. I've only seen a couple episodes, but it seems pretty entertaining

The second one I just started watching today is quite a bit different. It's called "Hana Yori Dango" which means "Boys Before Flowers" and is about a girl named Makino who goes to a very popular private high school that only high society people go to. The girl's family isn't very well off. In fact, they are really pinching their pennies to have her go there and it eats her up inside. Not only does she hate the fact that her family is sacrificing for her sake, but she also feels the school isn't even somewhere she wants to be, whether he family was scraping by or not. She hates that everyone is so materialistic, but worse than that, she hates that the school is run by 4 boys who call themselves the Flower Four, or F4. They are all sons to widely known families in Japan, and are heirs to large companies, or other social positions. Their parents donated large sums of money to the school, and to make a long story short, they basically don't have to abide by any rules but their own. When someone does something they don't like, they give them a "red alert" which means the whole school is going to beat up on them until they leave the school. Makino gets one of these one day standing up for a friend, but is not so weak-willed as the past red alert recipients have been. She puts up a fight and ends up getting on the good side of the F4, but not before catching a few feelings, and giving a few. I'm only a couple episodes into it, but it seems pretty cool, after I gave it a chance. It sorta seemed like it was just bullying in the beginning, but I think over the course of the season, the pro-bullying feel will die down.

Anyway, I'm gonna go wallow because of my bad grade in Managerial Accounting.. But I'll post something later.

Quote of the Day:
Marcus: "But I only download stuff that everyone else wants to watch."
Noel: "Who wants to see 'Horton Hears a Who?'" -While having a discussion about abusing the internet

Marcus and Noel yapping. Seriously, who wants to watch "Horton Hears a Who?"

Peanut Butter Jelly Sandwiches

2008-04-22T21:07:00.000-07:00

So today after class I went to see the students from Bunkyo University, or "The Asians" as everyone in my house calls them. I brought over a couple loafs of bread and a few jars of peanut butter and jelly, and some honey. It was a pretty easy "hang out idea." Everyone seemed to have a good time. I also brought over some cookies my mom made me, (thanks mom! The Asians called you a "country mama.") and everyone loved them. One of the guys named Kotaro made a Big Mac sandwich with jam, butter, peanut butter, honey... and two cookies.. I warned him he was gonna feel crappy, and he did. It was funny though. Anyway, I'm sure it was more fun to be there and not so much fun to read about. I had a good time - then I had to go to work :( Today wasn't bad though, I was only in there for a couple hours, we got everything done real quick.

Ahhh - so that test this morning was pretty rough. I have no idea how I did, which is probably worse than knowing you failed. At least when you know you've failed, you are ready for the grade. The grades will be posted on Thursday, so I'm sure I'll write the results in here. Whether it be an entry of frustration or joy, we'll see. I'm gonna get going though. I'll write again soon.

Quote of the Day: "I can't herky jerky right now!" - Marcus, while being molested by Noel.

Marcus, doing what appears to be "herky jerky"-ing.

Waseda!

2008-04-21T17:20:00.000-07:00

So right now I am totally just procrastinating. I really have no drive or motivation to do my school work or studies, and I have a test tomorrow at 8... It's really bad, I know. Anyway, as promised, I want to write about Waseda! (Above: Statue of Waseda's founder)

So, the first term this year I thought it would be cool to apply to go to Japan and study there next year. I looked into everything, and decided I would want to go to Waseda mainly because of the living situation. At another Japanese institute in Tokyo there was housing in dormitories and I thought that would be awesome if it were with Japanese students, but I found out that it would be mostly with other international students, and I'm sure that I would speak English way too much if I went there. Another school offered both dorm and host family options, but that was out in the sticks, back country of Japan. Waseda is the third and last university that OSU partners with in exchange programs, and it seemed to fit what I wanted best: it is in the city, and I'd get to stay with a host family where I could be completely immersed in Japanese. The more I thought about it, the more it made sense to stay with a host family. That way, I will be able to learn not only the language, but also the culture and family life, and be introduced to other family friends and make a network outside of school as well.

After I decided Waseda was the best fit for me, I had to wait until the term was over to apply because a 3.0 GPA was required for this particular program (2.75 for the others) and I had no GPA history with OSU. After receiving my grades, with fingers crossed, I got all A's and B+'s, with one exception... a D+ in math! I was so furious because that dropped my GPA down to a 2.84, crushing my hopes of going to Waseda. Oh, did I forget to mention that the application was due by the beginning of next term? Well, it was, so I had no way of brining my GPA up before the application was due. Turns out, it wouldn't have helped much anyway cause I got a 2.92 Winter term, which only bumped me up .4 of a grade point.

Bitter and devastated, I went on with the term with a grim outlook on things. Two weeks or so before the application was actually due, I thought I might go into the international office with one last plea of desperation. I asked if there was any way I could combine my GPA from my previous school to the GPA I received Fall term at OSU. They said that it was a possibility, but they've only tried it twice before - both times it happened to work. They were giving me no guarantees, but it still revived the idea of it all. I tried not to get my hopes up because what if it didn't work? I think I'd be even more crushed. There was still a lot to do if I was to get everything in on time. The main thing I had to get done was obtain official transcripts from my previous college, which turned out to be simple enough. I called and asked if they could send it directly to Theresa Cuenca, the woman in charge of exchange programs to Asia (who is an absolute angel - she is so helpful and nice. I'd recommend studying in Asia just so you can have her as an adviser!). They said they could, and that was that. Sort of. It was getting really close to deadline, and I assumed everything was in order. Then, there was an email in my inbox from Theresa saying she hadn't received my transcripts. WHAT?!?!? I had ordered them nearly two weeks ago and now there was no way I could ask them to send them through the mail again and expect them to be there on time! I was pretty irate. I called Corban and asked them what the deal was, and they said they sent them off the day after I called. "This sucks." I thought to myself. That's all I could think. After a frenzy of dialing, redialing, and faxing, I drove down to Salem that day, picked up a copy of my transcripts and hand delivered them to Theresa. No way was I letting them get lost in the hands of someone else again. NOW that was that. Everything was in order and I had to play the waiting game...

In the meantime, Peter and I (who had a falling out back in Greece last year) made amends and he asked me to be in his wedding down in Florida this summer. I couldn't accept it definitely because I wouldn't be able to afford both a plane ticket there, and to Japan, so I told him I would love to, but it entirely depended on if I got accepted to Waseda. I felt bad because it took a really long time for them to finally tell me their decision.

Long story short (I know this has already been much too long, and you've probably stopped reading two paragraphs ago) Waseda asked me for the ridiculous number of 12 passport photos, (or $27.50 in college kid's talk) but they still had not officially accepted me. Theresa said they were very anal and proper, so it could just mean they wouldn't process my application until they had every last minute piece of it. Turns out they needed all those pictures to send to the immigration bureau, host families, and for my student ID card! Theresa sent me an email about a week after sending the photos off, saying I had been accepted! I was SO excited, to say the least.

Now I'm unable to be in Peter's wedding which is real sucky cause I love him to death and wanna be there to see him take probably the biggest step in his life ever, but won't be able to. It's even more sucky cause I'm supposed to be in it, but he made a backup plan if I did get to Waseda. So it's really mixed emotions, but Japan is just such a big opportunity and I know I'd regret it forever if I didn't follow my passion of learning the language and culture. Peter understands too, but it's still obviously a bummer. If you're reading this Peter, I love you and will try and crunch numbers and find a way!! No promises, but I swear I'll try.

Anyway, I've spent way too long writing this, so I should get back to my studying... blah.. I'll write again the next time I wanna vent or something interesting comes up. Oh, actually, tomorrow I'm probably going to be making some great All-American cuisine (pbj's) with a bunch of my friends from Japan. They don't have those over there, so it should be fun to see what they think, maybe I'll write up how that goes!

Bad Day

2008-04-20T23:19:00.000-07:00

So I don't quite know how I'm going to use this blog yet. I'm not sure if I'm going to write as if I'm writing to an audience (which I think is the more common way) or to write like I'm writing in a journal to myself. I guess we'll just have to see as the blog progresses.

The thought that triggered me making this blog was to keep my thoughts in order though, because things always happen, or I always think of something that I think is important at the time, and then just forget about it and let it pass. That, or I just have something I really want to say but don't have anyone to say it to, not because I don't have friends, but because I get excited/upset about some pretty ridiculous things that no one else would find even the littlest spark of interest in. I think it'll also be good to just speak my mind, even if no one is listening - it's gotta be therapeutic in some way, right?

I'm listening to Bjork's Greatest Hits album right and it's pretty dang good. I've always liked her music, but this is the first album I've got. Her voice is relaxing, but at the same time, the music and her tone/delivery can be pretty intense and exciting. Anyway, the relaxing part is really nice right now cause at work today I just about lost it. I was scheduled from 2-7 but took Kyle's shift, which I was fine with, but it just meant I had to start at 11 instead. I think I got so frustrated cause I really need to study for a test I've got on Tuesday, and the second half of work could burn in hell and die. Seriously, I think my already caveman-ish brow bone must have grown an inch or two more with the scowl I had on my face. I was absolutely irate. It just took way longer than I had anticipated, and once I think something is going to happen a certain way, if it changes, sometimes it just gets to me, and apparently tonight was one of those nights. Anyway, I think I'm done talking about that for now.

Next time: I got accepted to Waseda! I'll tell the story next time I get on!