My dog (my parents' dog actually) isn't looking too well these days. She seems to have no specific ailment, she just seems to lack her usual joie de vivre and energy. She is acting pretty sucky these days, too. Calling her to come usually means that she will stop as close to you as she can ending up on top of you is not a possibility. She's an affectionate dog, but this behaviour seems to be a real call for sympathy-- which she gets, of course. She's a nine year old border collie. She...

There are a lot of ants in our back yard. They don't bite or anything. They are kind of cute in their little anty way since they are small and don't bite. Sometimes they crawl on me if I stand near the bar-b-q and because they are so small that I don't notice them. When I do, I try to shake them off, but there is always another one on my leg. Now I've kind of got the heebeejeebees and I feel like ants are crawling on me all the time.

So I'm back home for the summer holidays. I went back to Tokyo last August. It doesn't seem like I've been gone that long, probably because I was back in February for my Grandfather's funeral. The jet lag wasn't too bad. I tried an oxygen treatment at Vancouver International. I'm still not sure if it was worth the twenty dollars or if I just got rooked. The jet lag wasn't too bad. It's hard for me to tell. I'm generally a night owl, so getting into a time zone doesn't mean I'm on the...

It seems that there are certain things that I should avoid saying. "Things are going great," seems to top the list at the moment. It is like inviting trouble to knock you down on your ass. I haven't decided yet if even thinking that phrase is anathema as well. I am also going to avoid any obersvations about people's happiness, because I don't want to muck things up for anyone. So far, "You look well" hasn't produced any dire effects for anyone. I can only keep hoping. If I have wis...

Let's see if I got it THIS time! http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?c=c5pmfzv5.2mjmiykx&x=0&y=ogeq58

Well, I started applying for jobs already, and I have already gotten my first PFO letter. Lovely! I really appreciate being laid off AFTER all the other schools have done their hiring.

I just submitted my entry! YAY YAY YAY time a million! woah! Some background may be needed. Last week I tried to enter a writing contest and wrote furiously to make the deadline, only to notice later that the dealine passe a week ago. I obviously need some more instruction on reading instructions. That's why I am a teacher. Hah! This time, I got my act together and got stuff submitted an hour before the deadline! For the procrastinatrix, this is a feat worthy of... I don't now wh...

Hubby comes through with the Harry Potter tickets and orange peel chocolate! I have to wait until the 26th but that schould be good training in delayed gratificcation! BTW-- that chocolate is AMAZING! YMMERS! WA-HOOOOOOOoooooo!

LAID OFF! sigh... another opportunity for change and seeking my true path has been offered to me. I feel compelled to take it.

I've got a contest deadline tomorrow, and heaps of homework for Japanese class that I have not even touched and what do I do? I spend last night tinkering with digital images on photoshop and print them out in post card format (some nice printed images if I had taken care to reset the pixels). Today, I spend all my free time writing post cards to people I haven't been in touch with for a long time. These are all good things on their own. The photography thing could even be argued as a d...

I had all these nice plans to go watch a recording of the Stanley Cup finals. My home town team(Flames) were in the final. I was SOOOOO rooting for them to win. I was going to go to a Canadian bar in Shibuya called the Maple Leaf to watch a recording of the game. Then my co-worker mentions the live updates on globeandmail.com ruining my carefully cultivated ignorance of the event. It's not long after that that I can no longer wait and check the score. Dreams are dashed. Lightning win...

If you don't count the printer ink that I bought for myself, I got dinner and dishes done. He made curry, which was pretty tasty and did the dishes. Usually whoever cooks doesn't have to do dishes but I really don't like having to wash out a curry pot. So I got to work on my photos while he cleaned up. Apparantly, he still hasn't read my blog either so he is a little clueless. Coincidentally, I did get some chocolate. Giving me chocolate is a pretty safe bet. But two things were not...

I have no idea where this well-spring of optimism is stemming from, but lately, I just have the greatest snse of well-being. I have lots of things to be thankful for and a great husbanis being prtty supportive. This is not simply a bid to get him to take me to the fireflyviewing dinner at the FourSeasons in Tokyo. It just occurs to me that when I disappear to my room to wirte (mainly procrastinate about it in reality) he has no problem with doing dishes or taking up some of the slack. ...

This is my way of subtle hinting to my hubby of what would be good ideas for our anniversary because he reads my blog sometimes. DH (that's you honey, Dear Husband 'cause I feel freaky using your name on-line) First, thanks for the last five years. Most of them have beeen pretty good, and we don't need to rehash what could have made those freaky ones a little better. Most of the time, it's pretty fun hanging out with you. You're still my favorite person to spend time with! Thanks also,...

Writing has been stalling a lot lately. It could have something to do with holding down a full time job, trying to prepare for a Japanese proficiency test and still spend time with hubby. Still, you gotta do what you gotta do. To kick start my procrastination habit I decided to enter a small writing contest. No big eal, write the next chapter 1000 word limit. In one respect, it was great. I whipped off 2000 words, trimmed to 1200. The next day, I am still trimming. I double-checked ...