If I'm going to be be on time for soccer, I should probably leave now. Thanks god for soccer socks which are long and that means that I don't have to worry about shaving my legs. Then again my team-mates couldn't care less I'm sure. I could whip through dishes and be out the door by 7:30. I feel sick though because the post-office called me and asked me questions about the money order I sent A WEEK after I sent it. I know I have the angry tone for speaking Japanese down to a T, but I hav...

I like incense. Maybe not the cloying stuff sold back home, and not the particulary the stuff burned at the shrines or in front of family shrines or in old ladies' houses. Usually, if I mention incense, one of my Japanese friends pulls a face and mentions that they don't really like it becaus it smells like an old lady's house.Yesterday friend introduced me to a great incense store in Omotesando. From the outside, it looks just like a hip, modern art gallery with funky, artistic lights ma...

My husband has always encouraged my writing and my drawing. This is nice as I love to do it. Unfortunately, it doesn't pay any bills. Again, after that infernal exam, I am going to start back at this idea I had-- designing cards. I think it might be fun to sit out on a street and see if anyone will buy what I sell. At the very worst, I should get a pretty decent day of people watching in. Hopefully, hubby or a friend will sit with me as I am sadly naive about any ettiquette for selling ...

Think about it, think about it, think about it. That's usually what I end up doing. This time I am doing something about it! I signed up for that conference and I am going! I'm going to get my manuscript finished and bring that with me! I am totally psyched about getting a chance to work with other people about writing. Now I just have to save money so I can pay for it and actually get there!

Lately, I've been able to indulge myself in some pampering and some of my favorite things. Bubble baths with one foot high pile of bubbles Reading a book in my living room about 2 hours before sunset (I get the best light) Cup of hot chocolate at Maison du Chocolat in Ginza Reflexology foot massage Writing my book while burning jasmine incense Ginger scented shampoo from origins Traveling around Tokyo and taking photos The cityview from Mori Tower in Roppongi Hills Sitting in my ...

I finally got internet at home! Yay! After all the hassle of finding a provider and getting a connection without shelling out the 80 000 yen or so it costs to get a phone line, after all the waiting and missed appointments for installation, I finally have internet. It is really nice to be able to sit at home instead of some smokey internet cafe and getting force-fed somebody else's sidestream smoke. At least they get a filter. I'm studying for my Japanese test which will be in a few we...

I forgot your name so I can't look your blog up. I had asked you a question about your cow and was wondering what the answer was. LOl... I remember the cow's name was Turd. that was a good blog.

Weigh in if you want. This is regarding people who are supposed to be in relationships already. If you're single, then have at 'er. I couldn't care less. but... I think people have secret on-line relationships because they are selfish uncaring bastards (or bitches). Sorry, I don't care what kind of crap is going on in their lives. If they have to keep it a secret then they know darn well they are doing something they shouldn't. It's the most cowardly way of running away into escapis...

Bring it on! Bring it on! Bring it... oh, wait. I have too much to do now. Sorry, come back later. I have all this free time (thanks to job search and the generosity of hubby) and I can't seem to get the mental wheels moving. Well, the wheels are moving, it just that those wheels don't seem to be on the ground at the moment so nothing is happening. I now have at least 5 projects on the go and it seems easier to start new ones than to complete the ones at hand. Granted, some technic...

I am going home today. My plane leaves at 7:30 a.m. and I am still packing. I think that I am done. I always do. Then I realize that I am not. I just to have to pack some books ,I think, and my on-flight bag. Let me go check... Yeah, uh-huh. 25 minutes later I think I am really done now. But as I type, I realize that I can't find my flip-flops nor a charging connector for my palm pilot. And what am I doing? Blogging! Come to think of it, I think I brought ear-rings with me, to...

I'm getting sick and tired of paying for a service then later finding out that it wasn't exectued. I have to accept some responsibility here, as I should never just assume that anybody is going to actually do what they say they will and I should hound people until it is done and I have the proof in my hand. Problem is, I make the mistake of thinking that everyone is diligent and professional. I understand that we all make mistakes, (I make more than my share) but if it involves money, I ...

I did some research, the software got some good reviews and it is within my budget. Sadly, Adobe Premier is astronomically WAY out of the budget. The freeware thing got to start looking like a rabbit-hole I couldn't get out of just to save some bucks. I find it hard to get computer help in Japan, so I decided to get what was likely most dependable. I looked up some stuff on the Pixela software that came with my sony video camera. Most of the posts were about people who couldn't get it t...

I am thinking of downloading virtualdub 1.5.10 for video editing. I used that stupid pixilar program that came with my video camera (obviously it sucked!) and imovie on mac. Any advice? Am I only asking for heartache by downloading freeware?

Good start for the month of August. I did some good rewrites on my book so I am pretty happy with that. The insomnia continues so I guess I'll get back to it before I go to sleep tonight. Saw the movie "Dodgeball." Silly story, but some parts of the humor were just so extreme that I couldn't help laughing. I loved their training regimen--dodging wrenches and playing Frogger in the traffic. "If you can dodge wrenches you can dodge a ball" resonates quite strongly with me. I feel k...

While I am still a novice practitioner, I have never hurt my neck doing yoga before. In fact, I am usually really careful to listen to my body while doing yoga because I do it to help my body, not get hurt. I don't know what ouchy signal I missed this time, but my neck is killing me. I think that I won't be doing shoulder stands for long periods of time ( if ever again, if I get my way) until I am at a higher level. Oh... to be honest, I am extremely annoyed.